#(so actually sugar would be 19. turning 20 soon after the fic starts)

[mdverse]

How old are the characters? I feel like this is a college au of some sorts but I’m still slightly not sure

In canon glee Marley would be the youngest, Sugar would (probably) be a year older, Tina a year older than the previous, Santana, Finn, Britt and Quinn all a year older than Tina and Kurt is the oldest overall, does the same apply in the volley au? Or are they all the same age?

mm it's not technically a college au, no. some of the girls are technically still in college but it's not super plot-relevant. i have their ages at the beginning of the fic listed here + some additions here but essentially i do mostly stick to canon age differences i think?

quinn, britt, finn, kurt and mike (also rachel and theoretically mercedes if i ever decide what she's been up to lol) are all fresh out of college (santana would be too but she dropped out)

(i did also make kurt the youngest of that bunch bc sth about kurt being younger than finntana scratches a v specific itch in my mind) (at least for this au)

tina and sam would be in their senior year of college (tina is on a gap year for this tho)

sugar is a junior

marley and kitty are sophomores

and then there are like. extra ocs to fill out the rest of the team and their ages range from 18-24 i think?

[zombie-honeymoon]

First Lines Meme

Tagged by: @tropical-gothic @foriamproud and @justanotherblonde thank you! Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20 just list them all!) See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening lines. Tag 10 authors! Do I know ten??  Tagging: @lilac-bramble @kakuzuisabigidiotwholoveshidan @jashinist-feminist @thatshipcat @anon-omatopoeia @eidolonlathi @justanotherfoolhere (if you’ve been tagged already, I’m sorry! and there’s no pressure to do this of course!)

Since it’s long, I’ll stick it under a cut...

1 Restless Night  Words weren't needed as they fell into bed, one after the other once finished with their showers respectively; both completely and utterly exhausted after a long, but successfully completed mission. 

2 Just Praying, on the Floor In his time as a professor, Tobirama had seen a lot of things on campus, usually involving students. Walking into the sports office to deliver a message only to find the new mixed martial arts instructor lying flat on his back, a silver rosary held loosely in one hand, fingers no longer curled around it, eyes closed and seemingly passed out, was a first.

3 Some Tea, or Something  After an entire afternoon and evening spent at the hospital getting an arm full of stitches and a bag of blood, Hidan stumbled into his apartment and was sure he would have face planted had Kakuzu not been right behind to catch him.

4 When You Were Scared  He would have gotten them a room anyway, Kisame wasn’t one for sleeping out in the open during a downpour, but it was more for Hian than anything else. 

5 Anything but a Gentleman  He was back. Again. Kakuzu was sure for a new shirt, or maybe it was to have his buttons sewn back on once more. (Did he not have a valet to do that for him?) How one man lost so many buttons was beyond him. 

6 With No Space Between Us  Kakuzu hadn’t yet fallen asleep, instead he had stayed up watching the flames in the hearth as they slowly burned down, dwindling to embers while snow piled up outside, and an icy wind found its way in under the door. 

7 Honeymoon at the Clown Motel  Hidan checked the calender, sighed dramatically, then cleared his throat as he pulled out a chair from the table and sat across from Kakuzu. Their anniversary was coming up and it was always cause for an argument. Though lately, everything seemed to be cause for an argument between them. 

8 Long Distance Love  If someone had told Kakuzu three months ago that he would be using an international online dating app to find love, he would have laughed in their face and told them to mind their own business. But here he was, trying to take a selfie for his just filled out profile. 

9 Muse  As he looks across the room, Sasori thinks his newest model is exquisite, nearly perfect and he wants him all for himself, hates sharing him with his class, with other artists that he models for. It won’t do. Sasori doesn’t like to share. 

10 Happy Birthday  Alone on his birthday, Hidan ordered a cheap, single topping pizza for dinner, got a couple of beers from his fridge and made himself comfortable on his couch with netflix in his underwear. It was kind of pathetic, but he'd had worse birthdays. Still... he couldn't help but feel hurt that his two closest friends hadn't even at the very least sent him a text.

11 Hot Spring Ghosts  The drink was certainly getting to him, along with the heat. Loosening not just his tense muscles but his memories and with it, his tongue.

12 Campfire Tales  “I’ve heard tales,” Kakuzu started, looking at Hidan through the campfire between them, “of a demon who takes on the form of a young man, that he uses blood magic to curse his victims.”

13 Sir, That’s My Emotional Support Sugar Daddy Finally having gotten his break, Hidan was shovelling his lunch into his mouth when he got a text on his personal phone. It was from Deidara.

14 Kakuzu, Hidan, and the Twelve Foot Skeleton  Kakuzu stepped off the ladder and rolled his eyes at Hidan who was hanging up yet more of his Halloween decorations.

15 Save a Horse, Ride  A week at a working ranch for ‘team building’ had Kakuzu and Hidan working better together if their current position on the couch of the small cabin they shared was anything to go by. Several drinks between them definitely helped as well. 

16 Self Isolation is Better Together  Waking with a pounding head Kakuzu groaned and rolled over, pulling the blankets with him and burrowing down into them. It was cold, and he was hungover. Just as soon as he was settled and falling back to sleep, he felt something tugging on the blankets.

17 Poison  Only three steps out of Sasoris’ workshop before the first wave of pain had Hidan doubling over, arms wrapped around his stomach.

18 Light Alfie swears under his breath as he waked up alone in the middle of the night when he knows well and good that he fell asleep with Tommy right beside him.

19 Zombie Prom Being assigned to chaperone the senior prom had not been something Kakuzu had been looking forward to. Until he saw who else had been assigned to chaperone with him: Hidan. The gym coach.

20 Need a Little Help? It was unusual for anyone else to be in the library so late, so when Rasa heard the rustling of fabric behind him, he paused and looked over his shoulder. A young woman, he had never seen her before, and likely wouldn’t again. He turned his attention back to his task at hand. The kazekage had sent him to find a set of scrolls, not a woman.

I’m actuall very bad at picking up on patterns, but doing this I see I tend to establish the location the characters are in with the opening lines. I think so anyways. If there’s anything else, someone else would have to point it out to me lol!  This was fun, and I also read a few of my fics and enjoyed them.

[outropeace]

elotito tagged me on this so i’m gonna do it for her <33333

1. describe how you first started writing and when you first posted

i began to write in general since i was around 14 like any other emo kid kdjdjsks and o began to write fics when a friend asked me for one as a birthday present. it was written in a hurry and it’s not my favorite but i really enjoyed doing it. i posted that exact same fic on their birthday

2. which of your characters do you typically resonate most closely with? do you base any characters off of yourself?

it depends the fic i guess. and not really, i think the closest i’ve been to do that is in the rockstar au (coming to the @bottomlouisficfest very soon), i put one or two of my old insecurities in h so he could connect better and wouldn’t be persieved as just an asshole-y dude cause i don’t like that and louis don’t deserve that uwu🌸

3. where do you often find inspiration?

music, movies, tiktoks (DONT JUDGE KDKDKS)

4. has quarantine helped or hindered your writing process?

before the quarantine i had around 3 wips, now i have 8

5. do you listen to music/noise while you write or do you prefer silence?

i listen lofi youtube playlists shjdkld

6. what is your biggest writing pet peeve in your writing or in general?

me repeating “Oh...” over and over again through tall my fics, it shouldn’t be legal

7. describe your ideal writing setup

rainy day, good coffee, comfy sweater, my cat besides me, arely sending texts about teeth/imessage games, snacks

8. favorite time of day to write?

nights (it’s usually when i have time)

9. favorite genre to write + one you’d like to try writing in the future?

i’d LOVE to write a thriller

10. do you struggle with writer’s block? how do you typically overcome it?

i just leave the fic for a bit, i don’t really like to push myself about this cause i’m just doing it for fun

11. what is the easiest part of your writing process and the most difficult?

the easiest is the dialogues, i could write pages and pages of just dialogues in hours and the hardest is the smut dhjdd

12. how do you come up with original characters? (if applicable)

it depends, is the antagonist? i ask myself how’d i feel if i were them, like a third party just trying (and usually failing) to get in between

13. what is your favorite and least favorite word?

i like “wet” i just... yeah.... and least favorite i don’t really know tbh

14. what is one thing about your writing that you’re really proud of and one thing you hope to continue working at?

i like that people conect with the characters because i always put a lot of effort in making them realistic (as much as i can), i make them flawled and sometimes even messy but with good hearts and intentions, all of them are (even the antagonists). and my grammar OH MY GOD MY GRAMMAR

15. what work of yours has your favorite ‘verse/world building? how did you come up with it?

hands down the ice prince fic. and funny thing is, i already had my prompt for the fic fest but i just couldn’t stop thinking about one particular prompt about a bratty prince and an alpha who hated omegas and the amount of POSSIBILITIES that had. two days later or so, the mods of the fest gave us the opportunity to pick another prompt if we wanted and the rest is HISTORY

16. what font and size do you write in? single spaced or double?

11 and single

17. what is a typo(s) you find yourself making consistently?

baby do we have TIME FOR THIS ONE?

18. (if applicable) do you separate fic writing from fandom?

yes, always 100000000%

19. what emotion is your favorite to write? which is the most difficult?

angst, sadness, anguish, sorrow, jealousy, i love to hurt hearts. and it’s not an emotion but after they get together it’s really difficult to me to actually keep going (oh god dkdkdkkdd)

20. what is one thing you hope readers always take away from your works?

that that’s okay to fuck up, that no matter the circumstances you have to respect your partner and TALK WITH THEM and that a person can be successful, independent and a badass while being soft and a c*mslut

21. what is the best and worst writing advice you’ve ever received?

i think “write whatever you like, you’re not being paid for it anyways” is the best and only advise i’ve actually listened to

22. which one of your works would you most want to see turned into a film/television show?

it’s complicated cause my two favorites are abos and idk how that would work dkskkss but the ice prince and the alpha/alpha fic

23. do you write scenes chronologically or out of order?

chronologically but i have a document apart where i write everything that comes to my mind at the moment, that one is A MESS

24. how do you handle criticism?

i think good, if it’s respectful

25. what is the advice you would give to someone who is looking to start writing?

trust yourself, have fun

26. what kind of feedback on your work always makes your day?

ANY type of positive feedback makes my day tbh

27. which fic ‘verse of your own would you most like to exist in? which fic’s characters would you most like to befriend?

none tbh dkdkks and louis, obviously

28. what do you always enjoy getting asks about/wish people would ask about more?

about my stories, i love when people just come to rant to me about certain things the characters did and ask me why they did it

29. what has writing added to your life? how has it changed you?

it relaxes me a lot. i just can write for hours and hours and it just feels nice and in some way exciting

30. why do you write?

refer to question 29 kdkdkxk

boost yourself + tags!

1a. share the last sentence you wrote

from the exes to lovers au:

The second hiccup of the night came in the form of his ex smiling to a boy sitting next to him on a couch. The boy had gorgeous, dark and wild hair, clear hazel eyes and a pretty pouty mouth. Their body language screamed attraction and that they both were ready to devour each other. Louis was familiar to the smile Harry was giving to him, bright and seductive, ready to give anything you asked for.

2a. describe the wip you’re most excited about

right now i’m very excited for the happiest season au, my “cliche story” au and for my exes to lovers au dksks i’m excited about a lot of my wips i’m so sorryjdjd

3a. share the piece of dialogue from one of your works you’re most proud of

from the alpha/alpha au:

“I’m not giving up on love,” He softly touched the hand that was still grabbing his thigh. “To me, love is like flowers. Each one needs a special treatment, if you give an orchid the same treatment you give to an iris, the orchid will die. Same thing with love. I’m not giving up on love, I’m just changing the treatment. We might not be an orchid, but we could make such a pretty iris.”

4a. share the best first and last lines from your work(s)

favorite first line from the sugar baby au:

Powerful people only end up with powerful people. The rest are just playthings in their lives. Louis Tomlinson was many things, but he wasn’t anybody’s plaything.

favorite last line from the ice prince fic:

“Who would have guessed…” Harry whispered after a while, smiling against Louis’ lips. “the dragon finally got to keep the princess.”

5a. link the last fic you read

HAYLEY’S MASTERPIECE

6a. link the last work you published

that’d be the ice prince fic

7a. link to your ao3 (if applicable)

hereee

8a. someone that inspires you

louis teheeee

9a. a comfort fic/work that you’ve been grateful for this year

god, again, there’s so so many of them, like the amount of authors i’m so grateful for, the list is infinite but these are a few that comes to my mind

all elote’s (@defencelesst) fics makes me really really happy and never fails to give me a cozy/wintery feeling, her louis IS THE MOST PRECIOUS THING ON EARTH AND HER HARRY IS JUST PERFECTION, i’m in love with her descriptions and how she just takes you THERE. hanis @loulicate-recs always makes me smile so fucking hard. ris @falsegoodnight fics NOW.... well.... ris fics they make me smile but also make me want to throw my phone to the other side of the room BEST OF BOTH WORLD IG. MAR’S FICS (loubellies on twitter, idk their @ here i’m sORRY) ARE LITERALLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE AUTHORS AT THE MOMENT, such a pretty louis IM SO IN LOVE WITH MAR’S LOUIS ITS UNFAIR

10a. other writers that you’d like to tag!

omg i’m probably so late to this and idk how many of you have actually done this so here goes nothing @allwaswell16, @runaway-train-works, @greenfeelings, @kingsofeverything, @thepolourryexpress, @larents

[blouisparadise]

Here is a list of amazing bottom Louis fics that were posted or completed during the month of January. Between the second month of the Bottom Louis Fic Fest and all the other fics that authors posted throughout the month, it’s clear that this was a great way to start off the year of bottom Louis fics!  Happy reading!

1) You Can Be The Boss Daddy | Explicit | 1641 words

This is just Louis being used and humiliated by his strong Daddy

2) Don't Pretend That I Don't Entice You | Explicit | 2086 words

“Speaking of which, he couldn't wait to get home to see him. They both worked long days and most of the time their days off didn't line up. But they made up for things like that when they could, spending hours cuddling in bed and talking about the randomest of things or ya know, having mind-blowing sex that left them sated and panting, heated limbs tangled together and breaths and scents mingling. Harry enjoyed those moments quite a bit, if he was going to be at all honest.”

3) The Sound Of Music | Explicit | 2602 words

Harry quietly makes his way down the stairs and into the large foyer, the marble floors are cold against his bare feet and he regrets not taking his slippers.

The tinkling of piano keys flirts its way to his ears and he turns his head in the direction of their living room. His mouth quirks sideways with a smile and he makes his way towards the music.

4) Letters From Boston | Explicit | 3316 words

Louis’s standing in the kitchen when he opens the first letter.

5) Starlight In Your Eyes Of Blue | Mature | 4434 words

Harry is in New York while Louis is back home at London waiting for Harry’s return. Unfortunately, Harry may be unable to come back home in time for Christmas and most importantly—Louis’ birthday. Louis can’t wait any longer to be in a bed that’s no longer empty but in the end it changes.

6) I Couldn’t Get Away From You | Mature | 5185 words

Suddenly in the heat of the moment, Harry’s eyes turned darker as he pushed Louis’ back more and more towards the wall. “Fine.” He plants his lips on Louis’ and begins to roughly kiss him, soon enough turning it into a make-out session.

“Fuck you, Styles,” Louis moans and grips onto Harry’s shoulders, hands trailing up to the taller’s hair and gripping that as well.

“We’ll see about that.”

7) My Kingdom for Your Graces | Explicit | 5257 words

Louis gets a last minute day off and Harry decides to surprise him with a visit. They proceed to do what lovers do.

8) I Think I'm In Love | Mature | 6019 words

Louis' a young man looking for love. Harry's a sugar daddy looking for a new sub. They meet through a dating app and decide to try out a relationship.

9) Daddy's Little Kitty | Mature | 7224 words

Harry Styles is a gentle master. But what happens when Louis pushes him to his limits?

10) There's More Than One Place To Call Home | Explicit | 8416 words

Harry never asked for much from his neighbors - he didn't care about barking animals during the day or loud talking during the night.

The only thing he needed was silence when he was writing. And that was the only thing his new neighbor wouldn't give him.

Deciding to confront the loud guy who lived next door, Harry found himself ringing his doorbell one night. And that decision just may be the best thing that's ever happened to Harry.

11) Cooking With Styles | Explicit | 9119 words

Anyone can cook— or so they say.

12) Watching The World Fall | Explicit | 11777 words

This segment has been going on long enough that Louis knows what’s coming before James starts in on it, trying to sell him on something he knows that Louis wouldn’t normally be buying. But there’s four cameras surrounding him, and an audience watching him expectantly, so if Louis wants to continue convincing people that he’s doing just fine, he’s going to have to go along with it.

“We have a whole host of single men backstage waiting to meet you, Louis,” James tells him. “We want to help you find love tonight, on Late Late Live Tinder. Is this okay? Do you want to play?”

It actually kind of makes sense that his first date after the break-up is going to be just as public as said break-up. Something like coming full circle.

“Alright, James,” Louis agrees, hopping down off his stool.

“Okay, come down to the stage,” James says. Louis can’t even tell whether the excitement in his voice is genuine or not. “Right now, come on down!”

13) We'll Be the Fine Line | Not Rated | 13443 words

Louis listens to Fine Line, and, drunk, he leaves a voicemail for Harry after months of not speaking. This reminds Harry of a time before everything fell apart, slowly, painfully, a time when the two of them were still in love. And he desperately wants to go back.

14) (You're Gonna See Me In A) New Light | Mature | 13631 words

A fake relationship au where everyone knows it's real but Louis.

15) Don't Know If I Could Ever Go Without | Explicit | 14140 words

“We’ve come up with a solid solution. You’re not going to like it.”

“What is it?” Louis narrows his eyes suspiciously, glancing at a visibly enthusiastic Liam.

“What if you pretended to be an Alpha?” Zayn suggests.

16) Something Wicked This Way Comes | Explicit | 16526 words

A regency murder mystery au where Louis is married to an earl and Harry is a detective. Hatchets are buried but not everyone is as they seem.

17) Keep It Sweet In Your Memory | Explicit | 17039 words

'How'd it go?' Harry pushes them into Niall's room and shuts the door behind him, so Georgia doesn't overhear.

'It was good. We just caught up, mostly... I may have done something a little stupid, though.'

And Niall's eyebrows are in his hairline at that.

'I mean. Okay, so I invited Louis out on Saturday.'

'Saturday? Your--'

'Yes, my bachelor party...' and then Harry has to explain himself, 'I just felt guilty. I think. He was like. Telling me he wanted to hook up.'

'He WHAT!?'

'No. I mean, not with me. Like. He wants to go out and meet people.'

'He'll hate that. He's too much of a romantic.'

'Yeah, well. Whatever his name was messed him up a little, it would seem.'

18) UN(RE)SOLVED | Explicit | 20873 words

The ghoul boys are back, but this time around there are some unresolved feelings involved. Harry is a skeptic, Louis is not. Watch them go on their ongoing investigation into the question: are ghosts real?

Or, BuzzFeed Unsolved AU.

19) The Way The Storms Blow | Explicit | 21649 words

Louis doesn’t have a habit of thinking about Harry’s dick.

That would be weird, seeing as they’re best mates, and they share a flat, and they’ve spent holidays at each other’s family homes. Their friendship hasn’t ever risen to a point where Louis should want to see his mate’s dick, and he’s happy to keep it that way.

Except, all that Louis can think about is exactly that. The size of it. The shape. The amount of people it’s been in.

Maybe it’s the tequila talking, or the fact that Louis’ just recently walked in to an eyeful of Harry taking turns on some slags that he’s never seen before, but. Louis’ mind can’t stop obsessing over the idea.

20) Hold Onto This Heaven (Of Yours) | Explicit | 25213 words

an ode to being too young, too sad, and too in love.

(aka: a college au, harry is a frat boy, and louis wants to know all of his secrets.)

21) Weightless | Explicit | 25330 words

He hopes that Harry still thinks of him. God knows Louis thinks of him every day.

Or: Harry is the best dragon racer the world has ever seen and Louis is an almost-vet who feels like he is carrying the weight of the world.

22) Creep | Explicit | 26092 words

Harry is a wallflower, louis is a sophomore brat with a heart of gold no one seems to notice, harry, a senior, is a musician in disguise. louis finds him in the music room, Harry performing his self written song Creep on a talent show. he steals Louis' heart and begins to stalk Harry on social media, finding out the boy is gorgeous inside and out, tattoos popping against his milky skin, unashamed of his amazing body.

a story of a boy with dark thoughts finding his way through the dark with his light guiding him.

23) Blue Lotus | Explicit | 29815 words

Note: This fic is Louis/OMC.

After the Second Rebellion and the dismantling of President Cowell’s regime, Louis struggles to make sense of life.

A post-Hunger Games AU.

24) You Contain In Your Eyes The Sunset And The Dawn | Mature | 38152 

Harry Styles was to spend six months at AT&T Inc. of all telecommunications companies in the world, also known as the largest one in its field. This was the biggest deal of his life; it will both improve his expertise in the domain and maybe secure the job of his dreams. There was only one problem standing in the way, and it came in the form of a stunning, irresistible and intimidating cat hybrid of the name Louis Tomlinson. In other words, his boss.words

25) We Can Go On Forever (When Everything’s Gone Forever) | Mature | 39421

Harry spent most of his adult life focused on either his studies or his books - 5 of which he has already had published before he was 30. Immediately after completing his dissertation, he was offered a lectureship at Cambridge University where he’s been for 2 years now.

This wasn’t the first time in his life that he had felt the incessant itch to know more about a subject by any means. However, this was the first time the subject had been an Omega.

26) Canyon Moon | Explicit | 40895 words

For as long as Louis has remembered, he has been promised to be mated to Harry, his best friend and the future pack alpha. But Louis’s heart belonged to the forest and to the hunt more than he could ever imagine it belonging to Harry.

Then Harry’s father dies in a violent accident, and Louis’s future alpha disappears on the wind.

An A/B/O Lion King AU

27) Strangers In Love | Explicit | 42207 words

Louis wakes up to find himself in a marriage with the last man he thought he'd ever end up with.

28) If You're Out There (I'll Find You Somehow) | Explicit | 55916 words

Harry looks so intensely into Louis’ eyes it’s as though he’s reaching in and touching his very soul. “I never thought… I never… I’ve been searching for so long, Louis, but I never gave up. I couldn’t stop, wouldn’t stop trying,” Harry says, bottom lip trembling as he strokes the backs of Louis’ knuckles. “I just knew that if you were out there, I’d find you somehow.”

OR the story of how one man’s love changed the world.

29) “If I Cut Out a Heart...” | Explicit | 66225 words

Stripper au! louis is a stripper who’s known for his huge ass. he works at a club owned by harry and everyone wants to fuck him. eventually louis has sex with each of the boys, separately and perhaps eventually all together in a big gang bang. lots of focus on louis’s big bum (even twerking, jiggling, etc.)

30) You Smell Like | Explicit | 185369 words

The one where Louis is the Alpha’s mate and everyone is aware of it except for Louis and Harry. Go figure!

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

You can find other monthly roundup fic rec lists here.

[jaxsteamblog]

Hesitancy

Click here to read the full fic on AO3

Because they were all mature, rational adults, Katara met with her friends at a coffee shop in Republic City to make one of the biggest decisions of her life. Sokka and Suki sat together on the one couch, establishing their dominance over one whole corner of the shop. Rohan sipped a blended drink with more sugar than caffeine, looking oddly pleased with themself. That was probably due to the fact that sitting opposite of them was Thuy and Toph. Mister Whiskers was under their couch, nosing the white cane Toph used when she was forced to wear shoes.

“Why are you here?” Katara asked Toph.

“Thuy is supposed to be training.” She answered. “Plus, it sounded like it could potentially be fun.”

“Don’t you have other students?” Katara questioned.

“You don’t need to worry about them, Sugar Queen.” Toph said with a chuckle.

“Wha- Sugar Queen?” Katara balked.

“So where’s Zuko?” Sokka asked.

“He’ll be here soon. He had to stop at the embassy.” Katara replied.

“While we’re waiting, I brought a selection of candidates.” Rohan said and laid out a line of magazines with a flourish.

Seeing the headlines, Katara covered her face and groaned.

“No tabloids Rohan.” She said from behind her hands.

“Well hey, I like this one. They’re reporting the existence of a creature known as a pig.” Sokka said.

“You mean a sheep pig?” Suki asked.

“Nope.” Sokka replied.

“What about a cow pig?” Thuy asked.

“Just says pig.” Sokka said.

“No way it’s just a pig.” Toph scoffed.

“It’s a tabloid!” Katara shouted, throwing her hands up. Seeing the people turn to stare, Katara smiled weakly and sank lower into her chair.

“Unicorn cream berry blast?” Rohan asked, offering their drink. Katara pushed it away and sat back up.

“We’re not announcing our relationship in a tabloid.” She hissed.

“Well they’ve already been talking about you.” Suki said, sliding one magazine off another and exposing the picture. It was grainy, but it showed Zuko and Katara dancing at her coronation.

“Lots of people have been talking about you two.” Toph confirmed.

“How do you know that?” Katara asked.

“Uh, I’m a Beifong? A lot of puffed up dirt brains have dinner with my parents in order to suck up and I have to go to a lot of them.” Toph said.

“Hey, sorry I’m late.” Zuko said as he swooped in on their corner. “I’m going to get a coffee, did you want anything?”

“Not tea?” Katara asked with a sly grin. Zuko did not look amused.

“If I drink commercial tea in public, my uncle will disown me.” He said.

“Oh, uhm, would you mind grabbing me a vanilla latte?” Katara asked.

“Sure.” He said and walked to the counter.

“Why don’t you use social media? Just announce it on your channel or something.” Thuy said.

“I don’t know if I want that to be in the same place where I post my pictures of cool rocks.” Katara said.

“You take pictures of rocks?” Toph asked.

“Only the cool ones.” Katara said.

Toph blinked. “What?”

“Anyway, I don’t really have the following for it to be what I need.” Katara said.

“I think it’s bonkers that the Avatar, the crown prince of the Fire Nation, and the Queen of the Water Tribes all have MicroDose accounts.” Toph said.

“You don’t?” Sokka asked.

“I’m gonna give you a chance to walk that question back.” Toph said.

“Yup, I got it now.” Sokka nodded and sat back on the couch. Suki chuckled and rubbed his knee.

“Ya walnut.” Toph muttered.

“Okay so, the good news is, I got our drinks for free.” Zuko said and walked around the couch, heading to where Katara sat. He handed her a cup and took a seat on the arm of her chair.

“What’s the bad news?” Katara asked as she lifted the cup to her mouth.

“The bad news is that I was recognized by the barista and now everyone is staring at us.” Zuko said.

“Was it the scar? Did the scar give it away?” Sokka asked, grinning.

“You know Sokka, I think it might’ve been the scar, yeah.” Zuko said.

“You know, Mister Whiskers has her own MicroDose account too. She has over three million followers!” Thuy said. She leaned over in her seat and peered adoringly down at the catgator. The animal rumbled in reply and it was a sound that shot fear into the prehistoric parts of Katara’s brain.

“Aww, Mister Whiskers wants some more whipped cream.” Thuy cooed.

“Have you decided anything yet?” Zuko questioned, resting his hand on the back of Katara’s chair.

“Only that we are not going the tabloid route.” She replied.

“They might do it for us if we don’t hurry.” He said.

Katara sighed and leaned against the other arm, propping her head on her fist.

“I know.” She said.

“Why don’t you guys just take the plunge and do an interview? I’m sure some talk show would love to have you.” Suki said.

“We thought about that. It’s just,” Katara started and then looked up at Zuko.

Sucking in air through her teeth, she looked back down at her cup. “Should we even be doing this?”

“Don’t you both have PR people for this?” Toph asked.

“Yeah, but we didn’t want them involved.” Zuko answered.

“Why not?” Toph pressed.

“Because the Fire Nation would not be kind to Katara.” Zuko started.

“And Arnook has been getting in my way since he doesn’t approve of the match.” Katara finished.

“Does anyone?” Toph asked.

“The Swamp Tribe does!” Thuy exclaimed cheerfully.

“Thuy has won them over with her exuberance.” Katara admitted. “They’re fine with the relationship.”

“And the South Pole is okay with it as long as our dad is okay with it.” Sokka said.

“What about the Fire Nation?” Suki asked.

Zuko moved his hand to Katara’s shoulder and she put her hand on top.

“That’s the reason why we’re hesitant.” Zuko said.

“But they can’t do anything about it right? There’s nothing in the law that says you can’t date someone from outside of the country.” Sokka said.

“There is actually. Unless it’s a matter of state.” Zuko said.

“Katara.” Thuy said with a gasp. “Did you become Queen just so you could marry Zuko?”

Katara laughed and shook her head. “For one thing, we’re not getting married. And for another, I became Queen so I could take care of my people. Dating Zuko would have happened regardless.”

“Is that so?” Zuko asked, amused.

Leaning back in her chair, Katara smiled at him.

“Of course. How were you ever going to say no to me?” She quipped.

Zuko leaned down but stopped as Sokka cleared his throat.

“Could you not?” He asked.

“What? She’s my girlfriend.” Zuko said.

“She’s my sister.” Sokka shot back.

“I’ve seen you kiss Suki plenty of times!” Katara said.

“We’re getting off topic.” Suki said sternly. They all sat up and Suki sighed.

“The interview is the best option. I even know of some shows that would work the best. But, is this what you want? Going public is going to change things.” She went on.

“We’re sure. We don’t want a tabloid to be what tells people we’re dating. It’ll make them think this is something that needs to be hidden.” Katara said.

“Okay. I’ll go collect some phone numbers.” Suki said and stood up.

“I’ll call you later.” Sokka said as he rose. They said goodbye before Sokka and Suki left. Toph exited shortly after, dragging Thuy along while Mister Whiskers scurried after them.

Rohan lingered, slurping loudly from their drink as Zuko took Toph’s empty chair.

“Nervous?” They asked.

“Extremely so.” Zuko said.

“Have you ever thought about talking to Roku?” Rohan questioned.

“What?” Zuko and Katara said together.

“Thuy is amazing at channeling the previous Avatars. I am not at all ready to see my Pop-Pop again, but I got to meet a super cool Airbender that was Avatar like, nine cycles ago.” Rohan explained.

“Do you think that would help?” Zuko asked.

“Can’t hurt. He is your great-great-grandfather.”

Zuko sat firmly back in the chair, staring up toward the ceiling.

“Huh.” He said, working his jaw as he thought.

“Anyway, I’m gonna head out too. I’m supposed to be leading an Urban Dust meeting in twenty minutes.” Rohan said.

“Bye Rohan.” Katara said and waved as he walked out of the coffee shop.

“Are we doing the right thing?” Zuko asked. He rolled his head to look at her, still splayed out on the chair like a corpse. “Want to run away?”

Katara laughed and stood up.

“I’m done running.” She said, walking to stand in front of him. “I don’t need to be afraid anymore.”

Zuko smiled and pushed himself onto his feet. She took a loose strand of his hair and tucked it behind his ear. Seeing the hearing aid, Katara smiled.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42

[ysalamiri-queen]

2019 Fic in Review

Inspired by @myevilmouse I’m going to sum up all the writing I’ve been up to the past year. I’m really proud of what I’ve accomplished, and thanks to you all for the encouragement to put my ideas out into the world! This has been a year of trying new things, and really growing as an author I feel… And wow according to AO3 I’ve written about 400k words in the past 12 months, damn. So let’s get to the list, going from the beginning of the year to the end, and as always please heed the tags on these before reading.

Note: As I go back, I’m realizing a lot of the links were messed up or are just straight missing. I am on the Mobile App so things can get messy. Please visit my works page on AO3 HERE to see all of these on my page under JessKo and my other pseuds.

1 Late Night at the Slab

Idea: Filling a prompt for the Thryce server in which some, uh, unique Chiss anatomy was assigned.

Result: A 3-way with Thrawn, Arihnda, and Eli and my first foray into the more Xeno side of things in a Modern AU setting. Yeehaw!

2 The Trouble With Free-Roaming Ysalamiri

Idea: Based on some adorable ysalamiri cuddles art by @strength-through-order I wanted to write some Thranto fluff.

Result: Ysalamiri-filled Thranto fluff X’D

3 Inquisitor’s Debt

Idea: What if the Grand Inquisitor changed sides at the end of Rebels season 1?

Result: Some fun throwbacks with Obi-Wan and Caleb Dume leading up to Quizzy defecting with Ezra.

4 Ancient Stems

Idea: Eli Week drabbles based on the Vanto Week prompts.

Result: A silly buzz droid narrative with Thrawn and some cute slice of life Eli backstory/Ascendancy days bits.

5 Charnsuka

Idea: Kinky stuff with Lord Garmadon when he’s an Anacondrai.

Result: Kinky stuff with Lord Garmadon when he’s an Anacondrai. Sorry Zane!

6 Caged Like Prized Birds

Idea: Again inspired by the awesome Chiss anatomy and Thrux drawings by @strength-through-order , I wanted to craft a narrative around Armitage, as a young man, stumbling upon a clone of Thrawn.

Result: Man, this might just be one of my favorite things I’ve ever written, had so much fun plotting it out and the smut is mmm! Tentacles everywhere~ I’ve gone back to re-read this a lot, I’ll admit it. I hope you all enjoyed it too.

7 Quiet On Set

Idea: Must. Write. Talos.

Result: A cute little platonic x-reader with everyone’s favorite Skrull. This was my first MCU fic too.

8 Diagnostic

Idea: Wanted to apologize to Zane for the damages done in Charnsuka with some Glacier shipping fluff.

Result: A silly glacier thing leading to a bit of foolery. I’m happy with it!

9 Heron Soaring

Idea: A continuation of the plot line from Heron Rising with Kanan and Thrawn.

Result: Too many feels… but some great sex to soften the blow, Kanera too!

10 Patron

Idea: Responding to a tumblr prompt from @wukeskywalker regarding Thrawn commissioning LOADS of artworks of Eli.

Result: More Thranto fluff! I see a trend here…

11 Black Heron

Idea: Kanan x Pryce for @myevilmouse , I think this was our first ‘collaboration’ on something!

Result: Juahir hires a special someone to show Arihnda a good time!

12 Red Heron

Idea: @star-wars-rebels-4 is always an amazing wealth of ideas for Grand Inquisitor, and encouraged a work featuring him and Kanan.

Result: Delicious back alley smut when an undercover Jedi is caught!

13 Warm Homecoming

Idea: Give my and a friend's OCs some cute fluff.

Result: OC fluff and a vacation to Hoth!

14 sowing the seeds

Idea: Add something cute to the spank war project.

Result: Another contender for my ‘favorite thing I’ve ever written’ rank. Two chapters of pining, cooking lessons, and sweet slick smut.

15 Red Frost

Idea: After watching “The Evil of Frankenstein” with @sneakybunyip ‘s amazing movie night group, I wanted to do something fun with Victor and Hans.

Result: A fun little adventure fic with some huddling for warmth to boot. Victor and Hans are the hammer-horror-verse Thranto send tweet.

16 a setting sun to hide the ruins

Idea: What if I tortured Kanan to the point he turned evil and joined the Inquisitors (and went a little insane in the process)

Result: Instead of torture, let’s just use some serum that drives him mad. Perfect. Smut ahoy, pretty much a dead dove type fic.

17 Pinktown

Idea: When browsing abandoned towns in Florida, I came across Flamingo… what if Thrawn had been exiled here instead.

Result: An alternate history of Thrawn’s exile and eventual discovery by the Empire. Huge thanks for @badgerandk on this one for the perfect epilogue and beta.

18 the sun rises to only illuminate the stranger i have become

Idea: Setting sun… part 2! But it’s actually what happens before sun?

Result: How Kanan ended up where he is for ‘a setting sun’... lots of imp smut and again, it's sort of a dead dove style fic.

19 Frozen Over

Idea: Ar’alani x Eli Vanto

Result: Somehow me and my writing partner ended up at sensory deprivation focus on this one.

20 Shape of Honor

Idea: Well, this one started in 2018 but ‘finished’ in 2019. Still working on the epilogue. Lots of tweaks… If you are not familiar, this is my AU in which it explores how the Thrawn novel and Rebels show would be altered if Palpatine distrusted Thrawn from their first meeting and accused him of being a Chiss spy. Vaguely inspired by the film The Shape of Water.

Result: Well it's nearly a novel now, isn’t it. This was a great adventure in learning how to create compelling story arcs. I’m extremely satisfied with how it is shaping (lol) up.

21 Datura Stamonium

Idea: Thrawnbine ovi smut.

Result: Oops it has plot now, a whole backstory with Eli and such and so fourth. Will need further stories told…

22 Desert Entropy

Idea: Luke/Wedge modern AU shenanigans.

Result: Also pulled Nath/Wyl and the Rogue Squad/Alphabet Squad peeps into this. Set in Vegas, Luke and Wedge meet and have a cute little romance, but some legal troubles set them back (Palpatine, as always, is That Bitch™) Very happy ending!

23 The Great Eli and Thrawn Prank War

Idea: See Chapter 1: Mullet Thrawn

Result: This thing really grew up, and thanks to all the contributors for allowing me to join in! My contributions were: 7-Bombs Away! In which a bit of drama brews and Thrawn makes a paint bomb that forces him and Eli back into being roomates. 11-Tooka Troube 2: Electric Boogaloo in which Eli finds his quarters slowly filling up with Tooka plush toys, and then something huge goes off in supply. 17-The Bitch is Back In which who knew Thrawn could sing?!

24 Clipped Wings to Keep Us from Flying

Idea: Continuing the story line from Caged Like Prized Birds

Result: Dragging Eli and the OG Thrawn into this, seeing that their stories were left untold in the first work. Also Armitage and the clone are up to all sorts of cool things. Still a WIP, on the list to keep working on this year!

25 I’ll do what I can.

Idea: Some Ronan/Krennic feels post Treason

Result: A Ronan character study that I really needed to get out of my system and finally a stable alliance between Krennic and Thrawn!

26 Purple Heron

Idea: @punk--kenobi and I concocted some fun Kanan/Zeb/Hera smut featuring Lasat heat cycles.

Result: Ah this came out so cool, full of emotion and wonderful imagery. Massive kudos to @punk--kenobi for beta-ing my portion and contributing some of the best smut one can find!

27 Ninjago Angst Week 2019

Idea: Do some 1-shots for Ninjago Angst Week

Result: ow right in the feels. Each character got a highlight in their own ‘dark retelling of a canon or canon adjacent event’ chapter.

28 Vertigo

Idea: Thing’s don’t go right planetside for Eli, Pik, and Waffle in Treason.

Result: Big oof. I hope Eli can one day forgive me… I even put strain on the end game Thranto! Bittersweet ending and lots of angst.

29 More Than Just a Treat

Idea: What is Obi Wan up to in the desert…

Result: Aunt Beau and baby Luke baked him cookies obviously!

30 Datura Metel

Idea: Continuing the Datura cycle…

Result: Just how Eli ended up where he did in the first installation.

31 Here & Now

Idea: Some Thranto Fluff! For @jewelliffer

Result: A camping trip for shore leave! And a marriage proposal for extra sugar.

32 Monster Under the Bed

Idea: Benevolent Boogeyman Chiss

Result: Modern AU Thranto spooky sillies. Bit of an intense climax but they talk it out!

33 Haunted by Sentiment

Idea: Nath is in denial of being the Squad Dad for @glassprowlers

Result: Nath’s very bad no good oh so terrible day! It's very silly and I really like how it ended up, the title is way more serious than the story itself XD

34 Pulse

Idea: Werewolf AU Lavashipping

Result: Oops Kai is a werewolf! Good thing Cole is here to help him figure out how to press on.

35 Stories from Area 51

Idea: remember the raid Area 51 meme? I do! Gotta clap them alien cheeks!

Result: Oh no it got PLOTTY! Pretty much all of my favorite characters and ships cherry-picked and plopped down into a Men In Black style facility in the middle of the desert. I really have a thing for the desert huh…

36 Good Day

Idea: The “truth” behind the “Good day, Lieutenant Vanto” from Thrawn in Treason.

Result: Oh stars the FEELS! Thrawn is in deep water and he KNOWS IT! GAH!

37 Fur Ball

Idea: Chiss are mogwai/gremlins…

Result: Silly Thranto fluff. Thrass shows up too! Feeding them after midnight is actually a good idea here… Grow your own ideal man!

38 Came Back Haunted

Idea: A mission fic centered around the @peters-pumpkin-day prompts.

Result: Ice planet survival with Tarkin, Krennic, Galen, and Ronan.

39 Sewn Together

Idea: This drawing actually is what lead to the fic-

Result: A fairly unique reuniting of Thrawn and Eli after both return to the Ascendancy.

40 Spiked Heron

Idea: Oh no… Kanan gets himself in deep poodoo this time.

Result: Devaronians really like humans huh? The next chapter is half way written I swear it is coming soon!

41 A Colder Embrace

Idea: Thrawn/Purrgil/Ezra and Luke/Wampa for SW Rare Pairs.

Result: It's very cold on Hoth… and even colder in space.

42 Surround

Idea: Luke/Wedge for SW Rare Pairs

Result: Luke has to confront Wedge post ESB regarding what is, essentially, his deserting the Rebels.

43 What Happens Planetside…

Idea: Eli/Pik/Waffle for SW Rare Pairs

Result: heheh a scrumptious Eli sandwich! And surprise tentacles because, well, why not?

44 Hesperidium

Idea: Fluffy Kylux for the Kylux Secret Santa event

Result: Ah its so sweet you might get a cavity

45 Reanimator

Idea: Lovecraftian eldritch horror Thranto

Result: This is the sort of project that it takes 2 months to fine tune each chapter, so bear with me, but I can promise a wonderful, creepy ride is ahead!

46 Floral

Idea: Luke/Faro for SW Rare Pairs. Enjoy the Jedi lovin’, @myevilmouse

Result: Sex pollen and accidentally defecting from the Empire. Whoops!

47 The Harch

Idea: Bouncing off of THIS art by @mamidlo , we worked together to create this plot. Very much inspired by the Hammer Horror films, such as Dracula and Frankenstein.

Result: A fun and spooky romp of Kallus and Zeb getting trapped in a creepy castle featuring mind controlled drones and a species-obsessed Harch. This was my first time posting the entire story at once, too!

Wow, I can not believe how much has been written this year. Thank you all again for reading and kudos-ing and your amazing comments. I’d not be here without the support and love <3 Cheers to 2020 and much more fic ahead!

[ohblackdiamond]

little t&a (paul/gene, nc-17) (part 4 of 29)

         “Wake up, Gene. I made breakfast.”

           Rubbing his eyes, Gene still had to do a double take when he saw Paul. Back in a bathrobe, of course, although this time he at least had last night’s shirt underneath it. The bathrobe was different, too—this one was white and only hung down to his knees instead of his ankles.

           “Breakfast in bed? And here I thought the romantic schtick was you putting on.”

           “It is. Up.”

           Gene raised an eyebrow.

           “Up?”

           “It’s in the kitchen. I’m not bringing it to you.”

           Gene laughed but followed Paul out of his bedroom.

           He hadn’t made a fancy spread out of it. Several pieces of toast, some with cheese, and some crusted with butter and cinnamon-sugar, scrambled eggs, and a carton of milk were all that greeted him, but it was still a lot more than Gene had expected out of Paul, who tended to only eat cereal, if anything, early in the morning.

           “What’s the occasion?” Gene managed before digging in. Paul shrugged.

           “You’re putting up with a lot right now.”

           “I didn’t know you knew how to cook.”

           “Toast and eggs isn’t really cooking, Gene.” Another shrug. Paul frowned, and then untied the bathrobe and draped it across a chair, to Gene’s surprise. And disappointment. Underneath, he was still wearing both the shirt and boxers from last night. “Me and Julia had to fix our own food growing up.” He started to laugh, dryly. “Lots of T.V. dinners and frozen shit. It’s probably why I was so fat as a kid.”

           “Didn’t your mom—”

           “My mom’s a nurse. She was always working.” Paul picked one of the pieces of cheese toast off the plate, tearing off the crust as he spoke. He hadn’t sat down yet. “And my dad had his shop… he’s still got his shop, you know.”

           “Still?”

           “He said he didn’t want me taking his living away from him. He thinks we’ll go bust any day.” Paul’s mouth twisted, and he walked over to the trash can. “He was probably right.”

           “I’ll eat the crusts,” Gene said abruptly, when he realized Paul was about to toss them in. The wince that flashed across Paul’s face was just enough for him to backtrack, though Paul did hand over the crusts. “We’ll see the psychic today. We’ll get this taken care of.”

           “Is that your way of telling me to get dressed?”

           The dress Paul had said was in the washing machine was significantly shorter than the polka-dot number from yesterday.

           “Absolutely.”

--

           “What’d you tell the psychic, anyway?” Paul asked, as he pushed his sunglasses back up to the bridge of his nose. He was driving again. They’d gotten an appointment for only an hour after breakfast. Just enough time for Paul to shower and for Gene to pull on his clothes from yesterday. Paul had halfheartedly offered his own clothes to Gene, but Gene, aware they wouldn’t fit, had turned him down. If he kept having to spend nights at Paul’s, he’d have to grab some of his own clothes from home and bring them back. He didn’t think Paul could tolerate him in the same outfit for days on end.

           “Oh, that I was Gene Simmons and my girlfriend thought I was cheating on her.”

           “Gene!”

           “Relax. I just told her I was coming in with a friend.”

           “Why did you tell her that?”

           “Easy. It’s a cheap litmus test.” Ace’s superstitious dabblings were probably the scant leftovers from his hippie days, for the most part, but the guy was pretty canny, in a certain way. Gene couldn’t quite see him falling for some run-of-the-mill swindler. “If she’s really a psychic, she should be able to figure out something’s wrong with you without being told.”

           “God, Gene, you make it sound like I’ve got leprosy.” Paul changed lanes, leaning in to get a better look at the street sign ahead. “I think this is the right road—lemme see that address again.”

           Gene unfolded the paper and held it up in front of Paul, who nodded.

           “You know what I meant, Paul.”

           “Still.”

           He pulled into the parking lot near the dilapidated building. Like Ace had said, it looked like she only had an office there. The paint on the window looked relatively new, at least, “Suzie’s Psychic Readings” in bubbly, neon-bright letters. They got out together, Paul tossing his keys and sunglasses to Gene, and went inside.

           It wasn’t quite as garish inside as Gene had feared. There was the smell of incense and patchouli, a beaded curtain, potted bamboo, and a cheap Oriental rug, but no stockpile of weird merchandise like crystals and Japanese trinkets. That was a little reassuring. A blonde girl in bellbottoms and braids rushed to greet them.

           “Mr. Simmons!”

           She stuck out her hand, and Gene shook it. Abruptly, Gene realized Paul wasn’t the only one who’d forgone a bra this morning. Her nipples were obvious beneath her thin peasant-style top.

           “I’m Suzie! Now why don’t you and your friend come on back? How would you like to start, is your interest in tarot-reading or more of an astrology bent—are you looking for guidance on—”

           “It’s actually more about my friend,” Gene said. “I’m just here for support.”

           “Are you?” Her grin widened. She held out her hand for Paul, too, who took it without enthusiasm. The girl jerked back as soon as she touched him, the smile fleeing her face. “What the—I-I’m sorry, you—” She was staring at him hard, eyes only briefly going to Gene’s face, almost in accusation. “Did you do this to him?”

           “What the hell? No! I’m trying to get him back to normal!”

           “He is,” Paul vouched. The excitement was clear on his face. “Gene, you said you didn’t tell her.”

           “I didn’t.”

           “Come on back,” Suzie said. She looked scared, almost. The perkiness had completely disappeared from her demeanor. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

           They followed her into the next room. This was laid out a little more like Gene had expected, a table covered by a heavy purple tablecloth that dragged the floor, decks of tarot cards, and star-covered curtains. She pushed the cards aside, waving them to take a seat and grabbing Paul’s hand as soon as they did, tracing her fingers across his palm.

           “You won’t mind if I skip the usual spiel, will you? You’re not here for me to tell you about your past or your future, you’re here to find out who did this. Aren’t you, Paul?”

           Gene made a mental note to thank Ace profusely. Just leading him to this girl was repayment for all those drunken fiascos on tour. He glanced over at Paul. He looked tense, but he nodded.

           “Yeah. Ace, he recommended you.” He swallowed. “I’ve been over it. I don’t think I’ve got an ex who’d do this.”

           “You don’t.” Flatly. “But you’ve slept with someone who would.”

           “A groupie, then? Was it the one who—sorry,” Paul said suddenly. “I’ll just let you tell me.”

           “I don’t know.” Her eyebrows were knitted together, and she was staring at Paul’s palm hard. She didn’t drop it for at least a minute. Gene was a little concerned that she was trying to go into a trance, or something weird like that, but then she looked up again. “I can’t break the curse. The best I can do is try to lead you to the one who did it. Do you have anything from before this happened? Anything you were wearing, or kept on your person?”

           “I’ve worn this dress before this happened,” Paul said bluntly. Suzie flushed. “What, won’t it count?”

           “Something more, ah, regular. Something you’re tied to.”

           Paul shook his head.

           “Like what? My rings don’t fit. I don’t carry a handkerchief. I didn’t bring my wallet. Shit, am I really going to have to go home and get something before you can help?”

           Gene reached over on impulse. Paul flinched slightly when he touched his hair, letting out a breath when Gene’s finger ran across his good ear, and the small gold hoop still dangling from the lobe.

           “Would this do?”

           Suzie brightened.

           “Yeah! The stronger the connection, the more likely I’ll be able to get a read.”

           “You get a read from objects?” Gene asked.

           “It’s psychometry,” Paul said, unscrewing the earring from the post and giving it to the girl. “It was probably on before; I always forget to take it off. Might as well be good for something besides getting caught in my hair.”

           “Perfect.” She rubbed the earring in her hand. Gene was almost offended on Paul’s behalf; the way she was rubbing it, it seemed like she was expecting the finish to come off on her hand, but then she closed her eyes. “Oh…”

           Gene waited, glancing at Paul intermittently. Paul was actually sweating, his focus totally on the psychic. Better to not disturb him. Gene’s glance sunk down—the black-on-floral dress hung to just below Paul’s knees when he was standing, but his posture while sitting meant it was riding up above his knees. He was getting a pretty good view of Paul’s legs (he’d shaven, even, probably out of habit from being on tour). Distracting as all hell, the long, uninterrupted line from the hem of the dress to Paul’s pumps, even though his ankle was hanging out of them. He swallowed, trying to force his attention away before Paul noticed. Luckily, Suzie started to speak again.

           “I can see a nightclub.”

           “Which nightclub? When?”

           “There’s letters…. C..B…”

           “CBGB? What the hell were you going over there for, Paul? That place is a dump!”

           “Shut up, Gene—”

           “She’s small. Brown hair and freckles. She’s—you’ve had her before, but you don’t know it.” The earring was still clenched in her hand. “She’s been wanting to hurt you since the last time you met.”

           “Why?”

           Suzie didn’t answer.

           “I see you in a hotel. She’s trying to get something of yours without being obvious. She starts tracing down your chest—”

           Oh, God. He was going to hear the play by play of Paul’s liaison. Not what he wanted to hear under any circumstances, but especially not now, with Paul sitting right next to him, in that body, hanging onto every word. Suzie was going redder than a tomato.

           “She’s the one that was pulling out my hair. Right?”

           “Y-yeah.”

           “Do you have a name? That’s what I want, more than anything.”

           “I…” Suzie hesitated. “I’m not… I’m not seeing that you asked for one.”

           “What?”

           “I… I just go off feelings, thoughts, sights. What was on her mind and yours. It’s like a movie. If it’s not in the scene, I-I can’t—”

           “What do you mean, it’s not in the scene! I slept with her! Can’t… can’t you trace her somehow? Suzie, I’ve got to track this girl down!”

           “Paul, I—”

           Gene’s brain felt like it was spinning in overdrive as he tried to think. Just a first name, all Paul might have ever asked for, wouldn’t have done him any good, anyway, but maybe—

           “Has—has she been to the club before? Is she a regular?”

           Suzie hesitated, then nodded. Paul tore his gaze away from Suzie to give him a look so gratified that Gene felt positively filthy for spending so long staring at his legs.

           “Does she know anyone there? Anyone working there? Or the bands—”

           “Her brother bartends. He—” She seemed to be concentrating again, opening her palm. She’d been holding the earring so tightly that the indents stood out red against the lines. Her other hand rested against her forehead. “I’m trying to see if she saw him there while you were with her. I… yes. He… he’s in his mid-twenties. Not tall. He’s starting to bald a little, so he combs over his hair.” She blinked several times in succession, and offered Paul his earring back. “That’s all I’m seeing. I’m sorry it’s not more than that.”

           “Don’t apologize. It’s a start.”

           “It’s more than a start,” Paul corrected. He took the earring, putting it back in. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

           “You don’t have to thank me. I just hope you find her.” Suzie stood up. “I’ve never seen anyone get cursed to such an extreme before. I don’t know that—” she stopped, and looked at Gene meaningfully. “Anyway, don’t thank me, but do pay me. And let me know if I can help again.”

           Begrudgingly, Gene pulled out his checkbook.

           “No telling Ace about this, right?”

           “I never tell my clients about each other.” She was considerably sunnier when Gene handed her the check. Almost back to the girl who’d greeted them so brightly. It worried Gene, her whole reaction. Obviously, people didn’t get their sex swapped on them on a regular basis, but all the caution, the wording… the way she’d cut herself off… he pursed his lips. Paul seemed more relieved than he was, which was the important thing. He clapped a hand on Paul’s back as she walked them out, trying to be reassuring. “Good luck, you two.”

           “I guess we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Gene said as Paul started up the car. “I still can’t believe you were picking up chicks at that punk rock dive bar.”

           “I wasn’t only there to pick up chicks.” Paul smiled faintly. It was about the first time Gene had seen Paul come close to a real smile in two days. “The acts there remind me of us.”

           “Really?” There was nothing punk rock about KISS. The edge the band had started out with was getting whittled away with every outside writer and musician they brought in on the records. “How?”

           “When we first started. They’ve got to carry in their own equipment, they don’t have much of a setup. They get real wild. They’re having a lot of fun.” Paul turned out of the parking lot and onto the main road. “Sometimes I think we’re losing that. I dunno how to get it back.”

           Gene knew what he meant. They couldn’t change their setlist on a whim anymore. The confetti and flashpots, the stunts, they were all timed. When the money was rolling in, he didn’t mind it, but if he allowed himself to think about it too long… something was getting too—manufactured, too predictable. He didn’t blame Paul for checking out the bizarre punk acts. It might be the inspiration they needed.

           “You’re not taking us back to your place, are you?”

           “Yeah.” Paul slowed to a stop at a red light. “We’ve got all day before we can try the club.”

           “We need to get some clothes first. You can’t go to CBGB in that outfit. Neither can I.”

           Paul hesitated.

           “We’d only be in there to find the girl.”

           “And it could take hours.” Or she might not even be there that night. “You’d stick out too much in that dress. It’s not punk at all.”

           Paul looked like he was about to argue, then he shook his head.

           “Okay, fine.”

[winryofresembool]

Love Can Melt the Ice, chapter 22

Summary: The morning after

A/N: There wouldn’t be an anniversary without an update, huh? Like I’ve already said 13245 times, it’s been a whole year since I posted the first chapter of this fic, and now this fic has already over 50000 words. And that wouldn’t be possible if I didn’t have such amazing readers ♥ So to each and every one of you who has bothered to read, thank you. The end is not quite here yet, but... it’s near. (Edit: forgot to thank @criis55 and @randomlyopeneddictionary for the help again, you guys are the best)

Previous chapters:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5.5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 pt 1, pt 2, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

Next chapter: coming

Companion pieces (note: these are all post Olympics happenings so reading the main fic first is recommended): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Words: 2800+

Genre: too much sugar

The next morning, Ed woke up to his phone ringing. When he registered what the sound was, his first reaction was to throw the phone at the wall and continue sleeping, with his girlfriend still using him as her pillow (the closeness felt surprisingly good in his opinion). But whoever was calling was persistent, forcing Ed to eventually take the phone from the bedside table and check the name on the screen. He carefully moved Winry farther so he could sit down. She stirred too, equally annoyed by the noise.

“What’s up?” she asked. “Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you up. I gotta take this, it’s Al. Hey, little brother,” he finally answered the phone, with some annoyance in his voice.

“Hi to you too, big brother.” Al retorted back. “Your teammates have been asking me where you are because you weren’t at the game, didn’t answer the calls and didn’t return to your hotel room either. So would you please keep your phone on from now on and let them know you are still alive?” His voice turned less scolding, more curious. “Also what happened to you after you left the arena yesterday? Tell me everything.”

“I’m in Winry’s room right now, but I’m supposed to go and pick up my hockey gear from our locker room later this morning. Wanna come help me carry my bags?” It was Ed’s code for ‘I’ll tell you face-to-face’.

“Oh, sure. Shall I meet you in an hour?” Al asked, a wide smirk spreading on his face. What exactly had happened between his brother and his crush last night?

“Sounds fine to me. See ya.” Ed finished the call and sighed a bit, running his hand through his messy hair. “Back to reality, I guess,” he told Winry.

“Nooo, not yet,” she mumbled against her pillow sleepily. “Let me be an Olympic champion with a brand new boyfriend a little bit longer.”

He turned her to face him and said, slightly amused: “Dork, you still have both of those things. It wasn’t a dream.”

Winry’s cheeks got some extra color when she decided to get a bit flirty: “Oh. Then can you remind me what it feels like to get a kiss from your boyfriend?”

Even though Ed pretended to be annoyed, he laid down closer to her and pulled her for a kiss.

“I could get used to this,” Winry noted when they pulled apart, still resting their foreheads against each other.

“Me too.”

Neither was reluctant to move for a good while, but finally Ed said: “I should go back to my room and get some fresh clothes�� Don’t want to go to the arena with the suit.”

“I understand. Will you be at my ceremony in the afternoon?” Winry asked. At the previous day’s venue ceremony, she had only gotten some flowers and a plushie, today would be the day she’d get the actual medal.

“Count on it. And I’m pretty sure Al will be there too.”

“That’s very nice of him!” Winry replied happily.

“That’s Al,” Ed noted. “But I still haven’t forgiven him for forgetting to tell you I was going to meet you after the competition yesterday so… he is gonna pay back some way.”

“Ed, be nicer to your brother. I’m sure there was an explanation for his behavior.”

Ed snorted at Winry’s comment. “Such as wooing a certain Xingese figure skater? Not a good enough explanation.”

“Jerk. Are you saying there’s something wrong with ‘wooing’ a figure skater? Because I seem to recall… Someone he’s related to did the same thing.” Winry poked his shoulder lightly.

“Hey, I didn’t woo you,” Ed said dramatically. “As a matter of fact, I don’t know how the hell I managed to catch your interest.”

“It was probably the automail.” Winry said playfully while stroking the metal shoulder.

“Fair enough. But I sure am glad it did that. Even though I put you through a lot.”

“It’s OK.” She gave him one more kiss before he started pulling his clothes on. Once he was done, he turned to look at her one more time. “Be happy that I really like you because I’m not sure how I’m going to survive Captain Bastard’s tormenting today.”

“Dork. Just go. The sooner you’ll get over it, the better.”

Winry threw a pillow at him, and he caught it and threw it back, leaving both of them smiling as he exited the room.

…

It turned out Ed wasn’t worried for nothing. The tormenting started already when he opened the door to his hotel room, revealing the amused Jean Havoc in there, scrolling through his phone casually.

“Well, well, well. Looks like the black sheep has finally returned to his flock. Where were you?”

“With Winry,” Ed answered, “but I don’t see why that information matters to you. I bet you were happy to have the room to yourself.”

“Not complaining, bro,” Havoc said. “It’s just that Mustang was wondering why you weren’t at the game.”

“I was supporting my girlfriend,” Ed emphasized the last word on purpose. “Which I’m pretty sure Al already told you guys.”

“He did, I just wanted to hear it from your mouth.” Havoc shrugged. “Well, I’m glad that girl of yours finally got some sense into you. So… did you guys seal the deal yet?”

“Just because we are a… couple…” Ed stopped to taste the word he hadn’t used earlier. “… Doesn’t mean we need to rush things. I’m not like you, Havoc. Anyway, I saw what happened in yesterday’s game. Do you have any excuses for the loss?”

“Trying to hit me into my weak spot?” Havoc glared at his younger teammate. “Low blow, Elric, low blow.”

“I think you were just missing your best forward,” Ed grinned as widely as only he could.

“Laugh ahead, dude. Once you get over that honeymoon phase, we will make you feel our pain.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Ed laughed before quickly grabbing some clean clothes and withdrawing into bathroom to change before Havoc could bite back.

…

“And that’s what happened,” Ed finished his story to Al who had surprisingly let Ed tell about last night’s events (with light censorship of course. For example Winry’s stunt after the automail measuring wasn’t mentioned) without interrupting him, other than slight snickering at the most amusing parts. They were about to enter Team Amestris’ locker room and Ed was glad he had managed to tell Al the most important events without Captain B… Mustang hearing him.

“Aww, brother, that’s so sweet. I’m so glad you worked things out. I can see she is not just any girl to you. And of course she seems to care about you a lot too.”

Ed was thankful that for once Al didn’t take the opportunity to make fun of him, and he understood it was Al’s way to show he really was happy about the change in Ed’s life. Al if anyone had had to see Ed’s dark side more than enough, and he wished those days were behind now.

“Yeah… It’s… weird. I mean in a good way. How on earth did I manage to snatch the most awesome girl at the Olympics? And let’s be real, in Amestris too.”

“Holy shit, brother, you really are in love.” Al could barely keep his voice calm. “Never have I ever heard you talk like that. Although, I would like to disagree about that most awesome girl at the Olympics part, because I dare to say that I found that one.”

“Oh yeah?” Ed challenged him. “So how are things between you and Ms. Chang exactly? A little bird told me someone forgot to tell someone else something important yesterday because he was gushing over someone else.”

“Whoops. I’m sorry, Ed.” Al genuinely looked ashamed. “It’s just, she sent me a message from the dressing room after the ceremony and told me that she’d like me to join her celebrations and I just… kinda forgot after that.”

“Maybe I’ll let it slip this one time. Don’t let it happen again, though!” Ed warned, although soon he was grinning again. “So, what happened at her party? Are you guys dating now?”

“I’m not quite sure,” Al replied honestly. “Maybe? I mean, we have a lot of fun when we spend time together, but I haven’t forgotten she lives in Xing. How do you maintain a long-distance relationship like that?”

“If it makes you feel any better, it’s not so easy for Winry and I either.” Ed sighed. “We are both traveling to our games and contests all the time. I guess the pro of having a broken leg is that I can’t travel and she can visit me any time wants to or has free time.”

“That’s… good. Oh, hey Mustang!” Al greeted the captain of Ed’s team who had just exited the gym of the locker room.

“Hello, Alphonse. I see you finally found him,” Mustang huffed at Ed’s direction. “Nice of you to decide to show your face here, Fullmetal. Did you end up worshipping the porcelain throne last night?”

“And why exactly would I have done that?” Ed raised his eyebrow threateningly. “In case you didn’t realize, drinking and a broken leg are not a very good combination. You’d think a smart person like you would understand that much.

“Ed ended up worshipping his girlfriend instead,” Al laughed, and Ed threw an angry glare at him. “What? I’m just telling the truth.”

“She’s the best figure skater in the whole freaking world, so of course I’m proud of her! And did you know she can build automails? Because…”

“Wow, wow, you need to cool down a bit. You start to sound like Hughes.” Roy snorted.

“Did someone call me?” a familiar voice could be heard from the gym.

“Nope. I just said Edward has started to sound a lot like you.” Roy gave his friend a self-satisfied smirk. “He’s been praising his girlfriend a lot while he’s been here, which is about two minutes so far.” He tapped his watch.

“Why does everyone use the g-word in a way that makes me never want to use it again?” Ed growled. “Yes, I have one. Yes, she’s great. I’m saying it how I see it. Why is that such a big deal?”

Roy continued to look pleased with himself. “Well, if you want an honest answer, here’s one: I didn’t think we would get to see this day.”

“Somehow, I still managed to get a girlfriend before you did,” Ed threw back. “How’s Riza doing, by the way?”

“It’s not that simple, Elric. Your girlfriend doesn’t have relatives managing our team,” Roy said, finally getting serious.

“Don’t mind him,” Hughes came between them, “Ed, we are actually really happy to see that you are finally starting to get better and found such an awesome significant other. I know a lot about her thanks to Gracia and I can say you could have done a lot worse.”

“Thanks, Hughes,” Ed told him. “So, now that we are finally done with that… About yesterday. It was really tough to follow. I wish I could have been there to help you guys out.”

“Don’t worry, Ed,” Hughes answered, even though he was still wincing a bit at the memory. “Of course it’s never fun to lose, especially such a big game. But it’s still just one loss, and we’ll get over it. It’s still been a fun tournament. Well, for the most part,” he added when he remembered Ed’s cast. “Bummer that your first Olympic tournament ended like that.”

Ed had never liked pity, so he just shrugged. “Could have been worse. I did learn something valuable during this time. About letting people in.”

“That’s the spirit!” Hughes slapped Ed on his back. “Hey, our ladies are battling for bronze this afternoon! What do you say, should we all go cheer them?”

“Sounds like a plan. As long as it’s not at the same time with Winry’s ceremony,” Ed remembered quickly.

“She already has you soo wrapped around her fingers,” Maes laughed. “But don’t worry, the game won’t start until 2 PM so you should be able to see her just fine.”

“Oh. That’s good then,” Ed agreed.

“Can I take Mei with me?” Al asked suddenly.

“Mei, Mei Chang from Xing?” Hughes asked, and Al nodded. “You brothers seem to have a thing for some great figure skaters. I completely understand the feeling, though,” he added and the rest of the time at the locker room he doted on Gracia while the others packed their hockey gear into their bags.

…

A cool wind pinched Winry’s cheeks as she was waiting to get called to the podium. The previous night had been a blur for the most part, but now she finally started to understand it: she had actually won gold. She imagined her Granny watching her at home on TV and smiling proudly, Den wagging her tail next to her. She also imagined how her parents would have reacted to this event. They probably would have hugged her and given a kiss on her cheek, telling her how proud they were. The thought made her emotional, though, so she decided to focus on the now: aside from her friends, she knew there would be one person who would be happy to give her a hug once the ceremony was over. She imagined how his golden eyes would shine happily when she’d show him the medal and maybe he’d even dare to kiss her if there weren’t too many cameras around. That thought made her smile again.

While waiting for the ceremony to begin, Mei started to talk to her. She told her how she had accidentally bumped into Ed and Al, how she and Al (or Mr. Alphonse like she still seemed to prefer to call him) had hit it right off, and ended up having a lot of fun together already two nights in a row. Some of it she had already heard from Ed last night, but seeing how much Mei seemed to like Al made her embarrassed that she had ever been jealous. She decided to confess Mei that she had seen her and Ed outside the arena and thought for a moment that someone was going on, to which the black-haired girl started giggling.

“What’s so funny?” Winry asked.

“It’s just… Mr. Alphonse is much more suitable for me than Mr. Edward. He’s so polite and sweet.”

“Hey, Ed can be sweet too when he wants to! He… may not always give the best first impression but he has a golden heart.”

The debate ended at that moment, because the announcer started speaking in a language that Winry didn’t understand, but she knew that was her, Mei and Lan Fan’s cue to start walking. They stopped behind the podium and finally she was able to see how many people were there to cheer for them. It was nearly overwhelming. To think that their sport could interest so many people… Finally, she thought she was able to spot a sea of green, meaning Ed and several of his teammates had arrived too. A wide smile spread on her face.

A local figure skating legend and the leader of the worldwide figure skating union gave Mei and Lan Fan their medals and presents (a silver watch), and then it was her turn. The watch was beautiful, it had her name and a female figure skater engraved on the back and behind the pointers there was a picture of the Olympic venue. However, she didn’t have a lot of time to admire it, because the national anthem of Amestris started playing, and for some reason it brought all the memories from this Olympic journey into her mind. The falling. Her friends’ support. Everything that had happened with Ed. The phone call with her granny. The final performance. Finding out she had won. And of course the amount of work it had required her to get to that point. It all overwhelmed her and she realized tears had started gathering in the corners of her eyes and she quickly swept them away before the others could see. She started singing along and realized that so did a lot of people in the audience. That made her realize how many people there really were supporting her, and after that she couldn’t stop the happy tears anymore.

…

“You OK? I saw you were crying on the podium.” Of course they were Ed’s first words once he finally reached Winry outside the ceremony venue. Winry wrapped her arms around him and buried her face against his coat while Ed tried to awkwardly hug her with one hand while keeping the other on the crutch so he wouldn’t fall.

“Yes, I’m OK, silly. They were happy tears.” She mumbled against the fabric.

He leaned his jaw against her head and wrapped the free arm a bit tighter around her. “Oh… then I’m happy too.”

[ohblackdiamond]

little t&a (paul/gene, nc-17) (part 9 of 29)

part 1   part 2   part 3   part 4   part 5   part 6   part 7   part 8   part 9   part 10   part 11   part 12   part 13   part 14   part 15   part 16   part 17   part 18   part 19   part 20   part 21  part 22   part 23   part 24    part 25   part 26   part 27   part 28   part 29

Four weeks before KISS gets back on tour, Gene discovers that Paul’s been cursed by a groupie. For the sake of KISS’ finances, Paul’s comfort levels, and Gene’s libido, this crisis must be resolved. Sexswap fic. In this chapter: Gene and Paul have doughnuts in the morning after, and Paul finally checks his answering machine.

            Gene woke up late the next morning to Paul’s head resting against his chest. Paul’s right hand was dipped underneath his boxers again in his sleep—Gene bit back a rueful grin at that, getting up out of bed as carefully as possible, trying not to wake him up. He got dressed—on top of the CBGB attire, he’d bought a regular pair of jeans and a collared shirt at the boutique, among a few other things—and left the room, digging around the main area of Paul’s house until he found the phone book. From there, he dialed a bakery. They didn’t deliver, of course—but they would for Gene Simmons.

            Less than half an hour later, he returned to Paul’s bedroom with a white paper box and a glass of milk.

            “Morning, Paul.”

            Paul grunted a bit, kicking off the covers.

            “Morning.”

            “Don’t get up. I got you breakfast in bed.”

           “You—” Paul started, then shook his head, reaching over the bed for his wallet on the nightstand. His shirt hiked up with the movement, exposing one bare hip and a few small moles. The boxers, as always, were barely hanging on. Might’ve held up a little better if the drawstrings weren’t untied. “Lemme pay you back. You’ve been buying all my meals lately.”

            “Don’t say that until you open the box.”

            Paul did. There were only four regular glazed doughnuts left. Sprinkles and scrapes of chocolate against the corners and bottom of the box were the only intimations of the rest.

            “Gene! Did you—were there twelve in—”

            “Were is past tense.”

            “Gene!”

            “It’ll be fine. We’ll be back on tour in a few weeks. I’ll lose all that weight jumping around onstage.”

            “If you don’t gain even more,” Paul grumbled, eying Gene up and down, shaking his head. He hadn’t gotten out of bed, as requested. He reached for the box and set it on his lap, taking a doughnut and carefully leaning over the open box as he ate it, to keep any bits of sugar off the covers. Gene climbed into bed beside him. “You… you really think we’ll be back?”

            “We’ll be back.”

            “But what about that groupie?”

            Gene reached over for a ninth doughnut. Paul swatted his hand away irritably.

            “Easy. We’ll call up Studio 54 beforehand. Have the owner tell all the doormen to be on the lookout for her, give them her name and description. We tell them to get her straight to the VIP lounge as soon as they see her, because Paul Stanley wants her.”

            “That makes me sound like a creep.” Paul dragged a finger down the inside edge of the box, gathering up the chocolate on his finger. He licked it off absentmindedly. “And then the doorman tries to take her directly to me, only he can’t find me because he’s not looking for—"

            “Okay, how about this, we say you and I want her, but you’re too shy, so if they’ll just take her to me instead, that’ll be perfect.”

            “Too shy, my ass,” Paul snorted. “Gene, you’re the one that won’t do threesomes.”

            “You all act like it’s a badge of shame.”

            “It kind of is.” Paul took the last bite of his doughnut, and reached for another. “You take six or seven up to your room and you only make it with one of them at a time.”

            “Who told you that?”

            “Peter.”

            “How would he know?”

            Paul shrugged.

            “He said you invited him up once. He thought you were trying to, y’know, offer up an orgy, and—”

            Gene could feel his face start to flush.

            “He’s making shit up. I was just trying to hide him from Lydia. He grabbed a girl and spent the whole time in the bathroom’s Jacuzzi.”

            “Uh-huh.” Paul’s eyes were gleaming a little. “Why don’t you, though?”

            “Why don’t I what?”

            “Have orgies. Or threesomes. Whatever.”

            “It’s too impersonal.”

            “Too impersonal? I thought you were just too square.”

            “I’m not square, it’s just a preference,” Gene protested, but Paul didn’t seem like he’d let it go, not unless he turned it on him. “Well, why do you do it?”

            “I don’t. I’ve never done an orgy.”

            “Really?” Gene tilted his head. That jarred feeling was back, the same one he’d gotten when they’d been in the car and Paul had casually thrown out Warhol’s name. The same one he’d gotten when Paul had tried to come on to that bartender. There was just… just such a disturbing disconnect between the sight and sound of the chick sitting next to him on the bed, and the knowledge of who she actually was. A girl that didn’t act or talk much like a girl at all, one on one—well, why the hell should he? Paul’d said it last night; he wasn’t actually a chick. Not in any way but physical. It was like sticking a Mr. Goodbar in a Hershey’s wrapper, except… no, no, that… that wasn’t quite it, either.

            Gene wasn’t really getting rattled. Not over Paul. Not even if he had gotten Paul off the night before. Actually felt him clench up against his hand, felt his whole body just tighten up those seconds before release. Paul’s legs writhing and shifting against the mattress with every movement of his hand, those sharp, high sounds and rambling curses as he got closer and closer—someone, maybe Sweet Connie, maybe Peter, had told him one that Paul screamed through sex like he thought it was a private concert, and he’d never quite believed it, not until he’d heard him.

            Last night shouldn’t have been as good as it was. He hadn’t seen a damn thing in the dark. He hadn’t even gotten off. It ought to have felt like a wasted night, or at the very least, like he’d only done Paul a favor. But—it didn’t. It didn’t feel like that at all. Paul had seemed to fit against him, soft and warm. There was something vulnerable to him, something that had been there as long as Gene had known him and probably longer. Something he’d never been close enough to touch before.

            He'd touched plenty last night, he thought dryly. He didn’t need to kid himself into feeling like he needed more. Paul was still looking at him, dark moppetish eyes fixed on his face. What had Paul even been talking about? Orgies. He’d been sitting on the bed, eating doughnuts, and talking about fucking orgies.

            “I thought you’d like having a bigger audience.”

            “God, no. Orgies are too much pressure, unless you’re high off your ass.” Paul pushed back his hair with his free hand. He was making steadier progress on the doughnuts than Gene had really expected out of him. The second was more than halfway gone already. “But threesomes… threesomes are nice.”

            Gene rolled his eyes. Paul didn’t seem to notice, poking another bite of the doughnut into his mouth, chewing and swallowing before he continued. There were bits of icing sugar smeared on his face.

            “Back when me and Peter’d share a room, early on… we’d be lucky to bring one girl back after the show. If we had a threesome, we wouldn’t fight over her.” Paul laughed. “And she’d think she was getting the real rockstar experience. It sounds stupid, but it worked. I kind of think that…”

            “What?”

            “It gets you to let your guard down, I dunno. Or it used to. You never let me talk about it before.”

            “You didn’t have tits before.”

            “Is that it?”

            Instead of answering, Gene tried again for another doughnut. Paul batted his hand back in response, but this time, Gene touched his wrist. Paul didn’t pull his hand away, just looked at him, almost expectantly.

            “Gene?”

            “You’ve got icing on your face.”

            “Oh.” Paul wiped his cheek with the back of his hand. “Did I get it?”

            “No.”

            “Now?”

            Gene shook his head and leaned in, just to see what he’d do. Paul, less oblivious than Gene had hoped, just stuck the remainder of the doughnut in Gene’s open mouth.

--

            Paul spent some time later that morning playing his answering machine messages. He’d exhausted the tape over the last week of not picking up the phone, apparently. He didn’t ask Gene to leave when he played the messages, which surprised him, just let the tape keep running while Gene finished off the milk. The box of doughnuts ended up on top of the dresser as Paul made up the bed. Gene watched him do it, leaning up against the wall.

            His own messages. Bill’s. Sean’s. A couple from Peter, one from Ace, a couple from various promoters. One from Paul’s therapist. Paul didn’t really react with anything but resignation to the whole slew, not until a little girl’s voice piped in from the machine.

            “Hi, Paul! This is Ericka!”

            Paul’s head jerked up, and he stopped making up the bed, hand frozen on the sheet. The message continued.

            “I got the souvenirs you sent! And the letter! Honey says you’re supposed to come visit before you go on tour!”

            “Honey?” Gene asked, but Paul didn’t respond. He was staring at the answering machine.

            “I wish you could visit more. I tell everybody at school you’re my brother, but they always say I’m lying. We should take pictures! Could you take pictures with me and the makeup? Then… then I’d have proof!” A pause. “I have to eat dinner now. I love you! Call me back!”

            Paul stopped the machine after the click of the receiver.

            “Honey’s my dad,” he said finally. “It’s what my mom calls him, so I guess it stuck.”

            “Ericka thinks you’re her brother?”

            “Yeah. She doesn’t know about Julia.” Paul’s tongue was peeking out from beneath his pursed lips. His jaw was tensed and tight. “Some of the assholes doing our publicity wanna let that story out. Use a seven-year-old kid to make me out to be some big hero of an uncle. All I do is pay her private school tuition and visit three times a year.”

            “Paul—”

            “I don’t want that for her. I don’t want her finding out like that.” He straightened the sheet and started on the comforter on top of it next, pulling it back into place. “Julia just… well, you remember. She dumped Ericka on my parents like… like she didn’t give a fuck.”

            Gene did remember, vaguely. He remembered Paul rambling about the baby, rambling about how his dad was on the warpath with him, threatening to throw him out of the house if he dared knock a girl up. He remembered telling Paul not to get worked up over it. Paul had said something acrid (“please, your mom wouldn’t kick you out if you assassinated Nixon”) and that had been the end of it.

            He hadn’t really thought about Paul’s family over the last three days. He’d thought about KISS and, of course, he’d thought about Paul, but he hadn’t considered much past that. A little shame was tugging in from somewhere in his gut. Paul would lose out on a lot more than his money if he stayed like this. He’d lose out on his relationship with his niece.

            “You care about her. Your parents care about her. That’s what matters.” Gene paused. “She’s wanted. She knows that.”

            “Yeah.” Paul looked away. “I’ll write her a letter.”

            “Don’t do that.”

            “Gene, I’m not gonna go quiet on her. That poor kid’s been waiting for months just to—”

            “You won’t have to go quiet on her.” Gene moved from his spot against the wall, reaching over and retrieving a pillow from the floor. Guilt was propelling him to do things he’d never bothered with in his life. Up to and including helping make up the bed. “Tonight’s the night we get you back to normal.”

            “That’s what we were hoping yesterday.”

            “This time yesterday, we only had a description. Right now we’ve got her name and the nightclub.”

            “Gene, there’s—there’s just no guarantee—I… I’ve gotta be realistic here.” Paul picked at his t-shirt. “Maybe we get her today, or tomorrow, or next week. Maybe we don’t. But I can’t keep setting myself up every day like… like some kid waiting on a package. It’s too much disappointment.”

            A thought occurred to Gene, out of nowhere. It was so stupid, so appallingly obvious, that he almost didn’t want to give it voice. He put the pillow on the bed, then reached over, tugging Paul’s sleeve. Paul turned around to face him, slowly.

            “Paul, listen. Why do you think Carol’s started to go to Studio 54?”

            “Because she’s a groupie. Because that’s where the biggest names are.”

            Gene stuck a finger against Paul’s mouth on weird impulse. His lips were dry and slightly chapped. Paul looked a little startled, but he didn't flush or back off.

            “Wrong. She’s there because she thinks you’ll be there.”

            Paul flicked Gene’s finger away.

            “That’s a gamble.”

            “It’s a damn good gamble. What do you bet she doesn’t even know if what she did worked? You’ve got to think—what does she know about you, really?”

            “She knows I had a seven-inch—”

            “She knows you like nightclubs and discotheques. Those are the only places outside of a concert she’d ever see you.”

            “Mary-Anne asked if it worked.” Paul said it slowly. Realization was dawning on his face, immediate as an onstage spotlight. “Remember? She knew Carol had done something to me. I don’t think she knew what, but—"

            “Exactly.”

            “Carol wants to see me.”

            “Yeah.”

            “Not half as much as I wanna see her.” Paul grabbed the phone, handing it to Gene, then scrambled around in the nightstand.

            “What are you looking for?”

            “My address book.”

            “Who am I calling here?”

            “Steve Rubell. The guy that owns Studio 54.” Paul was yanking everything from spare film canisters to pocket dictionaries to a couple tubes of K-Y jelly out of the nightstand in a bid for his address book. “Tell him I don’t care if she’s on Neil Diamond’s arm when she comes in. Tell him—just like you said earlier. Tell him you and me both want her in the VIP lounge tonight.”