#<- always gotta shove in some bbq

[sleepyc63]

plushie photo dump because it snowed a few days ago :D

[lunarw0rks]

please tell me i’m not the only one who thinks soap would be horny at the WRONG times?

like let’s say you’re hosting your very first end of the year bbq and you invite your close friends, the task force, + los vaqueros. you’re excited because you just had moved into your first house as well.

all is good until good until soap starts getting needy, purposely brushing up against your backside whenever he passes by, mumbling the most sarcastic ‘oops my bad’. he even says something along the lines of ‘sending everyone back home so we could have some alone time�� and plays it off as a joke but you know he’s being serious 💀 like that man does NOT CARE, he’ll take you in the bathroom if he has to.

a/n: naur, you're onto something anon. I always picture Soap as a horny bastard; not much restraint in his not-so-little body. got a little carried away on this, lol. warning(s): nsfw, horny stuff, fem!reader

imagine you bought a house together and the nice idea of throwing a little housewarming party, for him, for you — inviting his co-workers and some friends of your own. he insisted a thousand times that you didn't have to invite them; but only because of all the embarrassing stories they were going to tell you about your boyfriend.

but, when all was said and done, it was a great gathering. you did it all yourself — the meals, the decor, the staging of your newly purchased outdoor furniture — everything. it was alluring to Soap, how frazzled and insistent on "perfection" you were. though, you heard about a thousand times, that they would eat anything you put in front of them.

when you two sat around the fire, gaz asked how you two planned on celebrating the new house once the festivities died down. an innocent question; but it sparked in your boyfriend's mind. "aye, we'll find a way to celebrate, that's for sure. jus' gotta make sure the timing's right," he played it off with a chuckle, but there was no mistaking how flustered it made you.

it was going perfectly, or as perfect as a party with these people could be. a lengthy dinner in the backyard, endless conversations, and a little too much indulgence in the booze for some of them. "great party, great house. should have you decorate the base sometime, eh? if it's half as nice, it'll help with morale." price commented as he talked to you and him.

Soap's arm remained around your shoulder, your waist, or anywhere throughout the night. you didn't think anything of it, frankly, you were too laser-focused — until his neediness grew. brushing against your backside, a caress on your thigh lingering, a small wink when the guests weren't focused on you.

some went off to the side to smoke, and others remained on the patio to continue their conversations. by now, it was time to get the mess cleaned up. plates, cups, wrappers, empty bottles, and the other trash that had accumulated.

"i'll help you with that, love. you've done enough tonight, haven't ye?" he approached after dismissing himself, grabbing the second stack of silverware and following you inside. Soap finally had his opportunity to seize what he desired, when he knew the party was much less alive, much less prying eyes on you two.

you stepped inside from the patio, him closing the sliding door behind you. dumping the plates into the sink, you turned on the faucet with the intention of beginning a long night of clean-up duty. his hand reached around you, turning off the faucet, "not what i meant by helpin' you, lass. c'mon," he motioned his head in the direction of the hall.

you took one more look out the window, seeing the preoccupied guests, most paying little mind to your guys' close proximity in your new kitchen. why the hell not? might as well cross the guest bathroom off your list of "places we've had sex in our new home" — right?

before the door even closes, he's hiked up the hem of your evening dress, shoving his hand down the waistband of your panties. Soap ends up fucking you senseless on the bathroom counter, gagging you with his fingers in case any of his co-workers came inside the house to grab another chilled drink. you were only a few feet from the kitchen, it was the definition of risky.

mid-thrust, there was a soft knock. price, goddamn price. "everything alright in there, sweetheart?"

even with his superior on the other side of a door, about a foot away, did Soap stop? no, of course not. he slowed down but never stopped. he removed his fingers from your mouth, biting his lip to mock you that look in your eyes, whilst they shot open in a frenzy. you cleared your throat to conceal a moan, using every ounce of strength to not feel Soap bottoming out over and over again. "uh, just a— just a little wine on my dress, John. no worries!"

as soon as price's steps retreated down the hall, Soap's ragged, growly breaths resumed. in a split second, his ruts went from mockingly slow, back to a relentless pounding.

before there was any chance of another interruption, he finished with a sneer on his face. "wine on the dress, eh? smart girl. i like that." he heaved against your lips, gently wiping any mess that smudged on your lips. you were livid, despite coming down from your own high. a palm smacked his chest repeatedly until he shut your heated whispers up with a hundred pecks across your jaw and mouth.

Soap walks outside first, blaming the lost time on him fishing through the moving boxes for a Tupperware you needed. whether it was believable or not, that was up for debate. the sweat lingering on his brow, the afterglow of sex on his face? unmistakable.

now, you've either have to splash water on your dress to imitate where you would've scrubbed a wine stain off. or... just, walk on out of there like you hadn't just been fucked stupid — with trembling legs, naturally.

[sincerelyaudri]

— FRIENDS

bambi ( @pixieshallowed ) — oh bambam! i love her! i always go to her bakery on my way home from pilates class, she makes the best custard pies! and her donuts are to die for! you have to let me take you there sometime. she’s just a soft and nice as her pastries are!

dori ( @xoxodori ) — oh me and dori go waaayyy back. we’re good friends, even though we might fight sometimes. i think of her like a little sister! just…do me a favor? yeah, don’t leave your dogs unattended around her…yeah, long story. don’t ask.

eliza ( @elizahoney ) — sweetest soul on planet earth! as patient as a saint considering the job she has. i’m supposed to make her some cookies..i should stop by eventually..

isla ( @twislajade ) — ume’s handler. she’s the one you can expect to be around on the rare occasion that guy has too much moonshine and can’t find his phone. selfless and sweet. feel free to say hi!

lily ( @luvlils ) — i know i say everyone’s sweet but listen. everyone is! lil reminds me of strawberry filled donuts. you ever had one of those? they’re lovely. that’s lils. just lovely.

chika ( @holychika ) — terrifying. i avoid him like the plague. the way he looks at people is unnerving. some people are into it but…i usually go through his publicist if i have to speak to him. much better experience.

hajime ( @twumemiya ) — umeme! i love him! he’s sick at air hockey, i’m due a rematch with him actually. if you’re looking for a good friend i’d say shoot your shot with him!

hayato ( @hsuos ) — …i just don’t know anything about him, you know? it’s nuts! i gotta figure out something…starting with what’s the story behind that stupid eyepatch.

jo ( @fromtogame ) — oh jo? he’s nice…ah, you think he’s cute too, huh? yeah, he is. shoot your shot! the guy needs to get out more and i think you might strike gold with him. me? nah, not my type. we’re pretty good friends though. he comes to the studio sometimes!

kanon ( @kanonb ) — huh? who? banjo? who’s banj— you mean kanon? ugh. pass. what? he’s a dickhead! egotistical asshole who thinks he’s some big shot just because he can play guitar. and he’s hot or whatever. listen, stay away from that guy. he’s bad news.

kyotaro ( @sugiiis ) — kyota? ...u-uhm, well, h-he's, uh..s-stop looking at me like that. he's a friend! he's, a really good friend of mine. that's, uh, it. i swear. i promise. you- what? scared? no! no no, absolutely not. he really is a friend of mine! i know he looks scary but he's not. couldn't hurt a fly! hehe...huh? fights a lot? ...okay, well maybe he can hurt a fly..

mitsuki ( @kiryucutie ) — mitsuki? u-uhm, well…he’s cute. he’s so…cute..huh? no i’m not daydreaming again! neither am i blushing! e-even if i was, you wouldn’t be able to tell either! ugh, just shut up! moving on!

rindou ( @thebetterhaitani ) - he’s not so bad! he’s a little…intimidating, yes, but he’s a good guy once you get to know him. plus…he’s really pretty to look at. if i’m honest? it’s hard not to be a little shy around him. you feel it too? yeah…the feeling’s hard to shake. he’s gorgeous.

seishu ( @seishuinc ) — he’s pretty, sure, but he gets on my nerves. 🙄 could do with a little bit of humbling…or shoving something in his mouth. like a tongue. or a foot. no i don’t like him, what are you talking abo— ..my cheeks? shut up! shut up!!

takashi ( @saintsuya ) — what a gorgeous man…huh? what? daydreaming? no! a-anyway, he’s swell! super easy to talk to and super sweet too. you should say hi! …blushing? i’m not— are you gonna keep pointing that out? ugh, moving on!

toma ( @renegadetoma ) — toma! he’s such a sweetie pie. he acts like such a grandpa sometimes, i love it. i call him peepaw. gets under his skin though and unless you want his ulcers to flare, my advice is to not do that. he’s got such a delicate tummy. i’ve been trying to get him on a vegan diet, it might help his stomach. speaking of, i’ve gotta drop off some bbq jackfruit sometime today..

yamato ( @endoffcl ) — oh boy. i’d say to stay away but no one ever listens to me…so instead i’ll say good luck. you’re gonna need it.

[littleferal]

Defensive

A requested head-canon for the guys reacting to a friend behaving really gross/creepy towards you. We all hate Tom so no surprises here Will attempt to finish all 5 of them!

ezra | frankie morales | javier peña

1194 words.

Warnings Angst, men being fucking gross, saying inappropriate things and making reader uncomfortable + violence warning

Frankie is always slow to boil over, well practiced at keeping a lid on his temper because it can be explosive. He doesn’t like the thought of you seeing that, worried it’d scare you off - Frankie knows what he’s capable of and it doesn’t sit well in his head.

Right now Tom is truly testing his patience. The BBQ is in full swing, military buddies and their partners all mingling beyond your familiar group and the alcohol is clearly running through some people more than others. Tom is one of those people.

Molly has wandered off to talk to her friends and Tom has been left with you, Frankie ducking out before Molly to get another drink. It’s an awkward silence as you think on how to extract yourself politely. Tom just really isn’t one of your favourite people. He breaks the silence.

“I gotta know, how’s the sex?” You swivel around to him, eyes wide in shock. He laughs at your expression, barely even raising a hand to wave off your tension. “I’m only asking cos our boy is hardly the life of the party. I mean, that interests you?” You fix him with a stare, anger creeping in. “Ok ok, your choice.” Tom goes back to his drink and you think that’ll be the end of it. It’s not.

“You ever look at any of the other guys?” Your anger flares back up. “Bet they’d do better by you.”

“Fuck you Tom.” His chuckle is dark.

“Not me baby, I’m married remember.” His response only makes your anger sharper.

“I love the man I’m with, thank you very much.” You bite the words out and turn to leave but Tom grabs your shoulder.

“Oh yeah? Come on.” He leans into you and you pull back, the alcohol in his breath strong. “You know I’m right. You must want more. A woman like you,” His eyes running up and down your body. “You must want more. We both know who could fuck you better.” His grin suggestive.

Frankie catches the tail end of the conversation and it’s all he needs to hear. He sees you shrink a little under Tom’s gaze and he sees red. Before Tom can get out another word he’s yanked choking back by his collar as Frankie pulls him, spinning and shoving him hard against the wall. His arm is across Tom’s neck before Tom can react, his face dangerously close. Suddenly all eyes are on the pair of men, a hush falling over the BBQ.

“Frankie?!” His anger shocks you but he doesn’t hear it.

“Don’t you fucking dare speak to her like that.” Even Tom seems shocked at the words being spat in his face, clearly never having been on the receiving end of Frankie’s wrath before. “Don’t you fucking dare.” Tom tries to give a motion with his hand, waving off what was happening. Frankie noticed. “No. No. This is important. Pay attention. You don’t treat her like that.”

“Yeah man. I get it.” Tom’s voice is choked as he grabs at Frankie’s wrist, trying to relieve the pressure on his throat. Frankie leans into him more.

“Do you? Really?”

“Frankie leave it. It’s ok.” You know he hears you, he shoulders drawing up. He ignores you. “Frankie!” His fists tighten, the veins and muscles showing in his neck.

Santi appears at your shoulder, a calming hand on it as he passes.

“Frankie. Hey bud, calm down.” Frankie doesn’t respond, his eyes locked on Tom. “Déjalo ir.” Frankie snaps.

“No. I’m fucking done. It’s bad enough when Tom says this shit behind her back he doesn’t get to fucking say it to her face.” Frankie leans into the arm on Tom’s neck. Santi steps tentatively towards his friend, knowing his anger better than anyone. You catch Will and Benny hovering off to either side, clearly ready to step in if need be. They all exchange glances.

“Tranquilo, hermano, tranquilo. Lo entiende. Déjalo ir.” Easy. brother easy. He gets it. Let it go. Santi motions low with hands as he walks forwards. “Easy.” His eyes flick up to Tom’s face, starting to go red as his breath slowly gets cut off.

From where you are you can see Frankie’s fist tightening and loosening as he fights his own anger. He gives it one last go, removing his arm to grab Tom tightly around his jaw.

“¿Crees que estás mejor? Eh? ¿Es por eso que hablas así? Don’t fucking speak to her again.” He finally lets Tom go, the man choking and slumping down against the wall. The rest of the guys visibly relax, the fight starved off. Santi steps cautiously towards Frankie, tentatively placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Tranquilo, hermano, tranquilo.” Frankie’s frame doesn’t relax under the touch but he lets Santi pull him aside as Molly comes running over, dropping down to Tom. She fusses over him, delicate hands running up his sides.

“I’m fine. It’s fine.” Tom tries to wave off what happened as well as Molly’s hands, his spare hand tracing his neck. You can’t find it in you to feel bad for Tom at all, only for Molly for being married to him. You look back to Frankie. His back is still turned to you as Santi murmurs to him in Spanish, calming words by his tone as his eyes dart between yours and Frankie’s face.

“Frankie?”

He finally turns to you. There’s no anger in his face, instead his expression one of guilt and distress as he fidgets with his hands. He takes one look at you and he runs.

—-

You find Frankie in his pickup, forehead pressed to the steering wheel. You notice the key in the ignition but he hasn’t started the engine. He doesn’t look up when you open the door, instead curling in on himself more.

“Frankie?” Nothing. “Baby?” He tightens, fingers white-knuckling on the wheel. You hesitantly place your hand on his shoulder, daring to rub a bit when he doesn’t flinch away. You think on what you can say to him right now. “Thank you Frankie.” His eyes snap up to you at that. There are tears in the corners of his eyes, already red-rimmed.

“Thank you? Are you kidding? With what I did?”

“You defended me!”

“I…I.” Frankie’s jaw clenches as he turns to stare ahead. The next time he speaks his voice is quieter, almost timid. “I got angry. I’m…I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? Frankie he was being a fucking ass.” He still doesn’t turn back to you. “Baby. Baby you helped.” You reach for his face, try to gently turn it to yours. “I know Tom wouldn’t have really done anything but I feel safe because of you. Frankie I feel safe with you.” He turns back at that, his expression almost hopeful. “Frankie I love you and what just happened doesn’t change that. I fucking love you ok!? Deal with that.” He starts to shake, his emotions finally releasing. You crash into a hug as he meets you, desperately wrapping himself around you as best he can. “I love you Frankie. You.”

“I love you more mi amor."

— — — my masterlist

[achliegh]

Could we see O and O's first big fight

LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE THE TWINS ARE GONNA FIGHT!!!!

Lol but yes 10. Olive and Otto’s first big fight has been requested and I am here to deliver!

TW/CW: Arguing, drama, feeling left out and unloved, feelings of favoritism, crying, tattooing.

Some Characters belong to @lumosinlove

Thanks to my clone @clearsuitcasecookienerd for listening to me try to figure this out

Let’s read!

Otto later on in life would say that this fight actually did mean a lot when he looks back on it. It was the start of him telling people how he feels instead of sticking to himself like he always did. It was an important fight and it was something that seven year old's fight about. Favoritism. Who favors which child more, it is very common with twins at this age unless they are angels, it definitely took the parents by surprise.

Winter 2023

Leo was watching Olive skate around the rink after her practice ended, she always needed to cool down afterwards, he taught her well. The schedule worked out so that Leo would pick up Olive and discuss hockey with her on the way back to her mothers house. Ink doesn’t understand hockey at all so it lets Olive talk about her hobby without trying to explain everything at the same time.

Ink having been a performer though loved talking to Otto about figure skating because her and Leo were cheerleaders. They understood the importance of loving what you do to be able to pull off a great performance. Somedays Ink would run late from tattooing to pick Otto up and he would be the last one at the rink with the coach. 

Leo was never late to pick up Olive though, for some reason that really stuck in Otto’s little brain.

Leo would talk to Otto about figure skating but Olive would always but in to talk about her hobby and little Otto wouldn’t say anything, he would just sink into the background and let her talk. It hurt even if he wasn’t emotionally mature. Even if he was still a little kid he saw how everyone adored his sister, the Lions would actually start conversations with her instead of waiting for her to talk first.

“Olive how is practice going”

“Olive did you decide on what position to play.”

“Olive if you need any advice on how to skate fast just ask.”

“Olive, you’re gonna be the greatest player one day.”

“Olive”

“Olive”

“OLIVE!”

It started to irritate Otto going to family dinners after traveling Lions games, so he started to stay home with June. She was quiet and knew how to talk to Otto like he wasn’t inferior to his sister. Like he was… an only child. He loved his parents but sometimes they are dumb.

It all came to a halt one day when a Sunday dinner turned into a full on fight. Sundays were when Leo would come over to Ink’s house and eat dinner as a family. June would go over to the apartment with Finn and Logan and do whatever they wanted. But Sundays were family days. 

“Daddy, I have decided to play defenseman!” Olive smiles at him brightly, proud of herself. She had some BBQ sauce in the corner of her mouth and her hair was falling into her plate. Otto rolled his eyes and rested his cheek on his fist, elbow on the table just punching his food around.

“Put your hair up Olive, it's getting in your food. That's great honey I’m proud of you.” Leo smiles at her, the same spot on his face also has BBQ sauce. “Otto, elbow off the table Bud.”

A sigh comes from Otto and he slams his fork down sassily removing his elbow from the table. Crossing his arms and glaring down at his plate. Ink and Leo share a look of confusion, then, look back at Otto. Ink sets her fork down gently.

“You alright there Bud?” She looks at him a little worried and it makes him even angrier.

“What do you care?” Ink is taken aback by this, normally Otto is the sweetest child you have ever met. This attitude is new. “It’s not like I’m the star player of a stupid game.”

“What are you talking about?” Leo furrows his brow trying to figure out what's going on, as any parent would say. He doesn't have a favorite kid just like he doesn’t have a favorite boyfriend. Olive just talks a lot more than Otto, did he miss something.

Otto scoffs and looks Leo in the eye. “I know you like Olive more than me… Everyone does.” He looks back at his food as tears form in his eyes but he doesn’t want to show them that it hurts. “It’s always ‘Olive this’ and Olive that’! She-she talks over me and no one ever talks about figure skating with me except for mom and she doesn’t even understand it! She compare it to cheerleading when it really is the only way I can talk without talking! Olive is a good hockey player like dad so everyone talks to her like she is the most amazing person to ever exist and they all forget about me! The team, my friends, the school… My own parents!” Tears are now streaming down his face and he angrily wipes them away.

“You make everything sound so bad! When you were sick and got everyone attention I didn’t care!” Olive snaps at him and glares at him with the Icey stare she is known for. Everyone always says her eyes are scary while Otto's are sweet. Yet still more people talk to Olive.

“I hate you!”

“I hate you more!”

“Hey! Hey!” Leo watches as Otto shoves his plate away and storms off to the room he stares with his sister and slams the door. Ink has her head in her hands massaging her temples. “I’ll go talk to him after he cools down, but you” He turns to Olive “That was uncalled for, Otto getting sick was not us giving him more attention because we ‘loved him more’ or whatever is in your head. He got more attention because we didn’t know if he was going to live.” 

Olive is looking down at her plate and looks up at her parents with the biggest, saddest eyes they had seen in a while.

“I didn’t mean to say that- I don’t know why I did.” She sniffles and wipes her nose on her sleeve.

“I know honey, but you will have to apologize to your brother. This is something that makes him feel really bad. What we should do, instead of hurting someone because they said something out of anger, is let them get all the emotion out until they are ready to talk. Okay?” Ink wasn’t sure how she should explain the way she handled people to a seven year old but this was all she could think of. Olive nods, wiping her eyes and then putting her hands in her lap just looking at them sadly as the words she said keep flowing through her head. “It’s okay to feel bad about things we saw, but we do need to do the proper actions after to clear our heads, and this time it would be to apologize.” Olive nods again.

“I’m going to see if Otto has calmed down at all.” Leo stands, walking to the door that was just slammed. He knocks twice and hears hard crying behind the door, his heart hurts as he listens to his child gasp and sob into a pillow or his teddy bear. He can hear the soft mumbling of the team and knows Otto is listening to the build a bear from his fourth birthday. Leo hadn’t seen the bear in a while. “Otto, can I come in?”

“Y-yeah” Otto hiccups, he is sitting on his bed under the covers with his back against the wall, his Lion being held tightly to his chest. Pressing the paw every once in a while because he misses the team like this. He feels Leo sit next to him but doesn't get under the covers with him.

“Want to talk about it?”

“I just feel really lonely” Leo sighs silently and rests his head on the top of Ott’s. The cover being a barrier between them. “I just want people to talk to me like they do Olive, no one hesitates to talk to her, or tell her how good she is. You and mama never tell her to not talk over me. I feel like I’m not here sometimes.” Otto began to cry again leaning into Leo’s side.

“I didn’t know we were doing that, I’m sorry.” Leo wraps his arms around the figure leaning into him and kisses the top of his head. “How come you didn’t say anything.” Leo should have noticed this going on, now that he thinks about it, Olive really does take up most of his time. He feels horrible for not noticing. Maybe he would talk to Dumo about this.

“I didn’t want to be annoying.” Leo hums', he knows that feeling. They sit there for about twenty minutes, until Otto uncovers himself and hugs Leo fully. “I gotta say sorry to Olive, I feel really bad.” Leo nods and gives Otto a squeeze before they get up and walk towards the door.

From that day on Otto let people know what he was feeling.

[tdatdroleplay]

Crashing Date Night

Including @RaucousRomanian @BiteOuttaCrime @HisTeenDream @RookByTheBook 

Nicolae: [He and Nash had gone out to lunch. This little hole in the wall taco place that was incredible. And because he was well versed in multiple languages, he carried on conversations with the sweet elderly woman who worked there. Once he and Nash had eaten, they hit the gun range, popping off a few magazines and practicing their accuracy. They were finished after about an hour or so, hit the gym, and then were back at the station to finish up those reports that were due by the end of the day. Looking across the desk at Nash, he blew out a breath, signing the last report.] You got plans tonight?

Nash: [He was focused on the last of his reports and he could hear Nic saying something about plans when he dated the last form and closed it in the folder.] Tonight? No, why? Got something in mind? [He looked over at him as he leaned back in his chair. He threw his hands back, fingers lacing behind his head as he stretched his legs out.]

Nicolae: [He watched Nash lean back and relax a bit.] Well, I thought if you didn’t have plans that maybe we could go grab some dinner. I’ve got the /strangest/ hankering for some Creole cuisine. [He bounced his brows and chuckled.] C’mon. It’ll be fun. Normally, we get some takeout, watch some baseball, bullshit around, and fall asleep with a bottle of beer between our legs before one of us leaves the other’s house and fucking goes home to wake up and do it all over again. Let’s just go get some good food, meet Rook’s new chick, have a little fun, some laughs. Ask if she has any friends. [He chuckled.] What do you think? 

Nash: [His brows lifted when Nic suggested the two of them go crash Hank’s date with his new old girl. He shook his head.] You’re too fucking much, man. [He laughed and then realized that he was being serious.] No shit? You wanna go down to where he’s at and just stroll up in there getting some crawfish? [He lifted a shoulder and thought about it for a few minutes.] Yeah, why the hell not.

Nicolae: [He clapped his hands together when Nash finally agreed.] There you go! And hell no, I ain’t gonna crash his date. I’m not going to run up on him and be like, “Hey there, girl. Drop the Rookie and get with the…” [He couldn’t even finish the sentence before laughing. When the two of them headed out, he shook his head.] Let’s just head to our places, get showered, look decent, and go grab some food. Meet outside the restaurant?

Nash: [He shook his head and chuckled as he walked out the door. He was glad that there wasn’t any big issues that came about on their shift. As much as he and Nic were junkies for the rough shit at work, it was a good day when they weren’t needed. That meant people weren’t being hurt. He nodded his head.] Alright, man. I’ll meet ya at the restaurant. 

Nicolae: [He waved to Nash and then got into his SUV. Pulling out of the spot, he was booking it back to his place. He was decently quick in the shower, cleaning himself up in a hurry. He went ahead and jumped out, dried off, and grabbed some clean clothes, pulling them on. His place was a damn mess. He needed to clean it up, but...that was low on his list of priorities. He went ahead and locked up before jogging out to his SUV to head on over to Cookhouse to wait on Nash.] 

Nash: [He was out of the shower and drying off with his clothes laid out. He blew out a breath. The silence was deafening which is why either he or Nic would be at the other’s house. Just got them through the day. After he got himself dressed, he felt much better about going out and doing something for a change. He locked up his place and went out to the garage, getting on his Ducati before heading toward the restaurant where he knew Nic would beat him. He wasn’t a man who was ever late. He was always early. It’s just the way he was.] 

Nicolae: [He was sitting in the parking lot waiting for Nash when his mother called. And he knew better than to send her to voicemail. After that initial greeting and some idle chit chat about what he was doing, the conversation took its normal detour off into his mother speaking quickly in her native tongue to him. Talking about how she wasn’t sure this job was good for him.] Totul este bun, mamă. Știu că vă faceți griji. Dar eu sunt un om crescut. [He’d told her that everything was fine, that he was a grown man, that there was no need to worry. Another pause where she told him he was never that grown. He nodded his head though she couldn’t see.] Da. Stiu. Voi fi mereu băiatul tău. [He sighed, telling her yes, he knew. He’d always be her boy. He broke the tense conversation with a bit of humor.] C’mon, ma. Next thing you’re gonna be saying is when am I having you some grandkids? [He chuckled, but groaned when he heard her. “Asta e o intrebare buna, Nicolae.” Which translated to… “That’s a good question, Nicolae.” Well, that shit backfired. Looking out the window, he saw Nash and murmured.] Saved by the Ducati. Ma, I gotta go. Nash’s here. Yes, I’ll tell him. Love you too. Bye. [He swung the door open, shaking his head as he tucked the phone into his pocket.] The woman’s relentless.

Nash: [He lifted a brow as he heard Nic speak about a woman and he knew exactly who it was.] Momma? [He chuckled and wet his lips.] How’s my favorite lady doing? [He grinned and then looked around not seeing Hank’s truck.] Tell me we beat this man to his own date? [He chuckled and then blew out a breath.] Damn, my stomach’s growling big time. I guess I’m glad we came here. 

Nicolae: [He nodded with a chuckle.] Of course it was. And she sends you her love. Told me to tell you. [He shook his head. His mother just thought the damn world of Nash. Such a sweet boy. He rolled his eyes and laughed.] Well, he never technically said what time he and his date were getting here. So…[He shrugged and then nodded.] Right? I’m fucking starved. Let’s head on in. Try to get a table. Sit at the bar, something.

Nash: You give her a big kiss from me. [He chuckled and wet his lips as the two of them started toward the restaurant.] That’s true. Bunch of fucking creepers we are, ain’t we? [He grinned as he walked up to the place and then went inside. He loved Cajun food. Spent some time in Louisiana too and it was always more about the food than anything else.] 

Nicolae: Shit no. [He laughed, shaking his head.] You keep your lips away from my mom, Nash. [He chuckled and then slapped him on the shoulder.] We aren’t creepers. I mean...just a little. Hank mentioned this place and well hell, I like me some Cajun food. [He pushed open the door and they both stepped inside. It wasn’t too terribly crowded. At a quick glance, he didn’t see Hank anywhere.]

Nash: [He chuckled at Nic when he said he wasn’t gonna give her a kiss from him. He shook his head.] That’s too bad. Your momma loves me. We both know I’m her favorite. [He grinned and lifted his hand, with two fingers up so they would know what they needed. The both of them being taken to another table in the back. Didn’t seem too busy which was alright by him.] Hell, maybe they ain’t coming until later on and we’ll just be here drinking Abita’s all night. 

Nicolae: [He rolled his eyes again.] Cut the shit, Nash. That’s my momma. She loves me more than anything in the world. /I’m/ her favorite. You’re just...a close second. [He shoved his shoulder and then chuckled.] Hey, I’m good with that. [He smiled up at the hostess and then took the menu from her.] Thanks, darling. [He flipped open the menu and started to look over it while they waited for their server to come to the table.] So it’s a given that Hank’s gonna be SWAT soon enough. He’s gonna pass those tests. I don’t have any doubt about that, do you? The boy can shoot. Have you ever seen him at the range? [He looked up at the waitress as she introduced herself.] Well, hello there, Amanda. [He shut his menu. He honestly didn’t even really need it.] I’m gonna have a beer, bottle, not draft please. Abita Amber’ll be fine. I’m gonna start with those Cajun Cracklins and then I’m gonna have the Blackened Louisiana Catfish. And can I have some shrimp on the side too? Pretty please? [He handed her the menu as she nodded with a smile.]

Nash: [He chuckled and shook his head as he handed the menu back. He already knew what he was getting.] I’ll have the same. Amber. [He wet his lips and then smiled.] Charbroiled oysters and the BBQ shrimp, please. [He passed the drink menu back too. Nothing too fancy for him. But this place had good seafood. When she left, he nodded.] Yeah, I don’t think there’s a question about that and I have seen him at the range. They’d be damn stupid to let that one walk away. He’s made for this kinda thing. Though like I said, I just hope he can manage it. 

Nicolae: [He wet his lips and looked around the restaurant.] Well, I’m sure he can. I don’t see why he couldn’t. The kid’s been preparing for it for quite some time, you know? I mean shit...is kinda crazy though that some girl from his high school days comes back to fuck with his head. But he seems like someone who has his head on straight. He works hard. I’m sure he can find that balance that I haven’t been able to. [He shook his head with a sigh before the waitress brought their beers over.] Thank you, darling. 

Nash: [He shook his head.] Have you been really trying though? That’s the question. I haven’t. Not that that’s a bad thing, just means that there’s been other shit going on and I don’t...didn’t wanna subject someone to the bullshit that’s our job. I agree that it’s possible to do it though. It’s just a lot harder for us than it is for the average person. And you’ve gotta find the woman that makes you wanna work that hard to make things happen. 

Nicolae: [He brought the beer bottle to his lips, taking a drink.] Well...no. I don’t guess I have. Otherwise I might be out there looking instead of just…[He chuckled, shaking his head.] Neither one of us is really putting ourselves out there I guess. But you know…[He took another sip of beer.] But, not to sound too much like my mom, neither one of us is getting any younger. [He lifted a shoulder.] And it might be nice to have someone to go home to. To warm up your bed at night. 

Nash: [He shook his head.] Yeah, but it’s not an everyday woman that can deal with what we do for a living. She has to know that any day her man might not come home. [He shook his head.] I can’t help but always look at the shit in a morbid way. You’re always better at making shit sound more positive. I leave the good shit to you, I’ll bring us back down to earth. [He chuckled as he drank a few sips of beer.] 

Lux: [After spending a few more hours with her dad, she told him goodbye and then headed back to the house. She was excited to see Hank again, to get to dress up a little for him, really try to knock his socks off. She hadn’t been out on a date in such a long time, and the idea had her feeling a little nervous. After finding the right dress, she hopped in the shower to get ready for their date.]

Hank: [He went ahead and made his last rounds before trading his patrol car for his truck and then went on home. He grabbed a quick shower, let the dog out, fed him and then finished getting himself ready. With a quick text to Lux, he grabbed his keys and started for the door. He decided to leave the dog out instead of penning him tonight. He got in the truck before hitting send to her. “On my way babe.” Pulling out of the driveway, he headed toward Lux’s house.]

Lux: [She got his text as she was finishing her hair. She was probably incredibly overdressed, but then again, it was just a dress and a pair of heels. The hair and makeup is what really made it look dressy. Still, she didn’t have the time to second guess herself now. She blew out a soft breath as she looked at herself in the mirror, placing the last pin into place in her hair. She draped a coat over her shoulders, which also gave the ensemble a little more of a dressy appearance and then waited by the door.] 

Hank: [He pulled up out front and got out of the truck. He was gonna make sure it was like a real date. He made his way up to the door and he had to admit to himself that he was nervous. This wasn’t something they ever did...granted, they were a little reversed, but he didn’t mind and he didn’t think she would either. He lifted his hand and rang her bell, waiting for her to answer the door.]

Lux: [Grabbing her bag, she opened the door with a smile. Glancing at the clock, she nodded her head.] Right on time. Looking as handsome as ever. [She stepped outside, shutting the door behind her.] So where are we going? [She raised a brow as she looked up at him before reaching out to take hold of his hand.]

Hank: [His brows lifted when she opened the door.] Damn...you look...absolutely gorgeous. [He shook his head. All the right things in all the right places. He slid his hand against her waist, leaning in to press a kiss to her lips before handing her the flowers.] That’s a really pretty color on you, baby. I feel like it’s gonna be me, telling all the damn men to put their eyes back in their heads. [He chuckled.] Well, I thought we’d go to Cookhouse. Get some Cajun. But if you wanna go somewhere else, just let me know. 

Lux: [She laughed softly.] I’m probably /way/ too overdressed. I just got a little excited at the idea. [She took the flowers, her smile even wider now.] Hank, these are beautiful. Thank you. You didn’t have to do this. But I love them. [She brought them up to her nose to inhale the sweet fragrance before she answered him.] No, no, that place is great. I’m totally good with that. [She took his hand, carrying her bag toward the truck.] You might have to help me up into this monster. This dress doesn’t allow for a ton of moving around. [She looked up at him with a laugh.]

Hank: [He chuckled and shook his head.] You ain’t overdressed. You look perfect and that’s all there is to it. [He winked at her and then gave her a nod. He wouldn’t mind doing that for her. Grinning, he opened the passenger side door before turning to scoop her up and slide her into the seat.] How’s that? [He chuckled.] 

Lux: [She made a soft surprised sound when Hank scooped her up to put her in the truck. She laughed as he placed her on the seat.] That’s just about perfect. Thank you. [She put the overnight bag in his backseat before turning to give him a kiss. Once he’d shut the door, she clicked her seatbelt into place.]

Hank: [He had a grin on his face as he made his way around to the driver’s side and climbed on in. He started up the truck and pulled out. It wasn’t until they were on the road that he reached over for her hand. He just wanted to have some type of connection to her.] Jesus…[He couldn’t help but laugh at the thoughts he was starting to have.]

Lux: [She looked over at Hank with a bit of a confused expression.] What? What’s the Jesus comment and the laugh for? [She smiled as she kept hold of Hank’s hand as he drove them toward the restaurant.] Something amusing to you? [She wet her lips and looked back over to him.] My dad’s thrilled, you know? Which is weird. Normally dads aren’t crazy about their daughters dating.

Hank: [He chuckled and shook his head.] It’s because I keep thinking about how this was all shit I thought about then, you know? Like, just ask her out. Take her out. But no, I didn’t say shit. And now fast forward years later and we’re on a date. [He shook his head.] It’s just funny how things go sometimes. [He looked over at her and nodded.] Well, yeah. That’s because he knows I care about ya. And that I have for a long time. And he also knows that I ain’t someone to just toss a woman aside. We’ve talked. A lot. 

Lux: [She smiled when he talked about wanting to do these things back when they were in high school together.] Things work out the way they’re supposed to. And now here we are. On a date. Though we kinda did this totally backward, didn’t we? [She laughed, giving his hand a squeeze.] Oh really? You guys’ve talked a lot, huh? Well...that’s got me feeling pretty curious.

Hank: [He chuckled.] It’s not that bad, right? I mean, we’ve known each other for years and sometimes...that just lets us have chemistry in ways we wouldn’t have if we just met. It lets those walls already be down. [He winked at her and then pulled up at the restaurant.] Well yeah, we’ve talked. He knows what I want in life, knows where my heads at. He knows I’m not a breeze through kinda guy. 

Lux: [She shook her head.] Don’t get me wrong. I’m not ashamed of anything that happened last night. It wasn’t like we’d just met or anything. We’ve known each other for years. We just caught up in a way that...most people don’t. [She laughed a little and then looked out the window when they pulled up at the restaurant.] Are you hungry? [She clicked her seatbelt and leaned over to give Hank a kiss on the cheek.] It’s good to know that you aren’t a breeze through kind of man.

Hank: [He smiled at her and then got out of the truck to go help her back out. And once he did, he reached for her hand.] Yeah, I’m decently hungry. I’m a big guy. I need to get my calories and carbs in. [He chuckled and then walked her toward the restaurant.] Do you like Cajun food? It’s something I like to change up from my normal Mexican most of the time. Or pizza. Just...pretty much live on that. 

Lux: [She shook her head.] Well, I do like Cajun food. I’m pretty well into spicy food. The spicier, the better. [She raised a brow at Hank as he helped her down out of the truck and they started toward the restaurant.] Well...you know...I’d be more than happy to bring you lunch down to the station. To pack your lunch for you the night before. To make you breakfast before you head out to work. Have dinner ready for you when you came home. [She shrugged with a smile.] Just so you aren’t eating the same ol’ thing all the time.

Hank: [His brows lifted when she said what she had and he wet his lips.] So you’re willing to do all of that just so I don’t eat the same thing over and over again? [He grinned and then chuckled.] Sure it ain’t more than that? [He moved his hand to her lower back and wet his lips.] Either way, that’s something I would definitely look forward to. I mean, until you weren’t able to because of working or...auditioning and playing.

Lux: Well, it might be more than that. I might just wanna take care of you. Just a thought. Not anything you have to agree to. I don’t want to embarrass you or anything in front of your tough SWAT cop friends. [She smiled as he pulled the door open and she stepped inside.] That’s /if/ I get a callback. Which...I’m not sure I will. I might have to get a job doing something else in the meantime. [She inhaled deeply.] It smells delicious in here.

Hank: [He shook his head with a chuckle.] Hey, listen...if you wanna do all of that for me, we’re good. You can. I don’t even care if you cut the sandwiches into hearts. They’ll bust my balls and then I’ll kindly remind them that I get to go home to the woman who makes me those sandwiches and they get to go home to their hands. [He grinned and then walked with her back to a table for two.] Well, I’m sure you will. You always were incredibly talented and I know that hasn’t changed at all. 

Nicolae: Yeah, you’re gonna have to let some of my optimism rub off on you, Nash. Jesus, man. You’ve got to get positive and happy. I mean, yeah, it’s definitely something to think about, but let’s be one hundred percent honest with each other here. We’ve never had any close calls. Not saying it couldn’t happen. It could. But...why are we not trying to have some sort of relationship just to keep that shit separate when we could have both. You and I are partners, best friends, and you know as well as I do that we could find some badass ladies to roll with us. Yeah, they’d have to be understanding, but that isn’t…[He raised a brow as he saw Hank and a tiny little blonde walking through the restaurant. He cleared his throat and gestured with his bottle of beer.] Your three o’clock. [He chuckled.]

Nash: I get what you’re saying, I do, but neither of us makes the damn time. That’s all I’m saying about it, not that it can’t happen just that…[He turned and looked over his right shoulder as he saw Hank and this tiny blonde walk in the door. His brows lifted.] He wasn’t kidding was he? Look how damn small she is compared to his brick shithouse self. Goddamn. [He shook his head with a chuckle.] Yeah, look at that grin on his face. He’s already anticipating later. 

Lux: [She smiled up at Hank and then shook her head.] That’s right. At least I’m hoping you’re coming home to me from now on. [She knew that his job was dangerous. She didn’t like it, but she understood it, and she was proud of him. She walked back toward the table with him.] And I don’t mean that in a scary way. I just mean...you know...cause all this just started with us. Still, I’m hopeful. And thank you. You haven’t heard me play in years. I’m a little better than I was then. [She smiled, sitting in the chair he’d pulled out for her.] Thank you.

Hank: He pushed her chair back under before he took his seat and then looked over at her.] I’ve got no doubt that you’re still incredible. And yeah, even more so now. [He smiled.] I mean, we’ve got to figure it out. You’ve got a place, I’ve got a place. But I’d assume that one of us would be at either place at any given time. I know you’re going to need to be closer to your dad now. And I’m alright with that. Just like I’m alright with spending more time there to make sure things get done. More than just mowing every once in a while. I don’t want you worried about the heavy lifting and I damn sure don’t want him worried about it either.] 

Nicolae: Well, maybe we should consider making a little damn time, Nash. I mean look at that. Don’t you wanna be the one with the goofy grin on your face escorting a gorgeous woman to a table in a restaurant. [He chuckled at what Nash said.] Shit, I’d be anticipating later too. Look at that dress. [He grinned and then looked up as their server brought their starters. He continued on after she’d left.] She’s /way/ smaller than him. You know he’s peacock strutting right now. Can’t blame him though. 

Nash: [He chuckled and shook his head.] Well, yeah...but there’s gotta be time. You can’t just be like, hey...you...that’s the one I want right there. [He rolled his eyes and then wet his lips.] Better be careful and not let Hank hear you talking about her like that. Cause if I were him, you’d be missing teeth. [He grinned. That was true on so many levels. You couldn’t just talk about someone’s woman like that and expect to get a high five. Maybe to the face.] 

Lux: [She nodded her head, a sigh on her lips.] Yeah, well, I’m still clinging to the hope that he’ll start responding to those treatments and he’ll get better. But I know what you’re saying. And you don’t have to worry about me trying to do any heavy lifting. [She laughed, shaking her head.] I can’t. [She glanced down at the drink menu before ordering a Hurricane when the server came over to take their drink order.] I don’t think dad can either, Hank. He’s lost a lot of strength in the past few months. 

Hank: [He went ahead and ordered a beer as he listened to her talk and he shook his head.] Yeah, I know he’s probably just exhausted, but I know he’ll keep fighting. As long as he’s got something to hold onto, he’ll fight. [He wet his lips and went ahead and ordered the cajun cracklin’s. He shook his head. Again.] I just want to make sure I’m there, Lux. That’s all. 

Nicolae: [He had just bit down on one of those cracklins when Nash spoke, and he found himself just staring at him.] First of all, give me some credit. I may be optimistic, but I’m not a raging dumbass, Nash. I know it takes time and work and not just oh...first one I see I’mma gonna fuckin’ take for my bride. [He chuckled, shaking his head as he spoke in a way he normally would never.] Second, I wasn’t talking about her like that. I was saying that she’s a beautiful girl wearing a very nice dress. And if I were Hank, I’d be proud too. Hell, I /am/ proud of Rook. That’s all. Wasn’t scoping her out for myself, Nash. You know me better than that.

Nash: [He couldn’t help but to laugh as he took an oyster and ate it.] Well, you never know. Might be part of your...old world tradition over there. [He laughed when Nic shot him a look.] I’m just saying. Can’t put it past momma over there. [He chuckled and nodded and drank more of his beer.]

Lux: [She ordered the Fried Boudin Balls to start and then watched as the server left to put those orders in. She looked back at the menu for a few seconds to decide on her entree.] Well, he’s been fighting pretty hard, but if they can’t stop it from metastasizing then...his prognosis gets a lot worse. I know. I know you want to be there. And that means so much to me. [She reached over, her hand on Hank’s.] I know you want to be there for dad too. It isn’t all about me, and that makes it even more genuine and sweet.

Hank: [He turned his hand over, taking hold of hers as their drinks came back. His beer and her Hurricane. He smiled.] Well, I just wanna make sure that I don’t give you a reason to leave again. [He chuckled.] Purely selfish. I admit that. [He smiled at her and watched her take a sip of her drink.] How is it? Taste good? [He did the same with his beer.] 

Nicolae: You’re so funny, you know that? [He shook his head.] Though there is an eastern European tradition of kidnapping the bride. [He chuckled, wetting his lips as tasting the spice on them. It had them tingling a bit as he reached for his beer.] You know that, Nash? I’ve known you now for several years. And you’ve never, /ever/ really had a relationship. In fact, I don’t ever remember you banging it out really with anybody. Never met any of your girls. You’re probably just keeping them all for yourself, huh? [He chuckled and then finished off his cracklins. Looking over at Hank and the little blonde, he could see them holding hands.] They’re cute. Rook’s all starry eyed. And look at her. She’s looking up at him like he hangs the damn moon. [He looked at Nash and leaned forward.] Why don’t you ever look at me like that? Huh? [He laughed, downing the rest of his beer.]

Nash: [He shook his head.] I kind of believe that there’s one person...just one out there for everyone. And if you just jump the gun, you’re gonna miss what you were meant for and you’re gonna end up hurting the person you’re with. Because you won’t be able to keep yourself from that person. That doesn’t mean I haven’t spent time with anyone. Trust me, I have. But it ain’t something I’m just gonna be like, here we go...meet my best friend and the people that are important to me. I don’t...do that. [He wet his lips.] Though I’m thinking I might change that. Give someone the chance. Hell, if they can make it through you then they might just be the one. [He laughed.] Well, it’s because you never take me out to nice places. [He grinned and then finished off his oysters.] 

Lux: You just keep doing what you’re doing, and I’m not going anywhere. [She smiled up at Hank as the server brought their drinks. She took a sip of hers and then ordered her entrée of gumbo and a side of fried green tomatoes. When she’d left, she looked back up at him.] I do like it. It’s fruity and sweet. Can’t even really taste much alcohol in it. I could get in trouble drinking these. [She took another sip.] So anything interesting happen at work today? 

Hank: [He shook his head and then wet his lips.] No, not really. I mean, same as usual. I did a bit of paperwork and then went ahead and did a few rounds of patrol. I’m still kind of nervous about the skills aspect of the evals coming up. It’s not something I wanna fail. I’ve wanted this for so long, you know? [He chuckled.] Oh...I forgot. Two of the SWAT guys that work my shift, Nic and Nash...they’re partners. Anyway, I kind of told them about you and they were both really persistent in that I ask you if you’ve got any friends you or we could introduce them to. 

Nicolae: [He pulled a face, nodding his head as Nash talked about there being someone for everyone, and him not wanting to miss that or end up unnecessarily hurting people.] Yeah, that makes sense. I mean I’ve told you about a few wild nights, but I’ve never really introduced you to anyone that I felt like was going to be around long term. I mean...I let you meet a few girls. [He chuckled, shaking his head as their entrees were brought and the starters were cleared off.] Well, dear...I’ll have to take you on nicer dates, now won’t I? [He rolled his eyes with a laugh.] This looks good.

Nash: [He shook his head.] Mhmm...well, I don’t know when I became the bitch in this relationship, but we’re getting outta this conversation right damn now. [He chuckled and wet his lips as he nodded his head.] Yeah it does. [He grabbed the bread and tore off a piece before he dipped it in the sauce that was coating his shrimp.] I love the seafood at this place. They make it right. Tastes just like it does in NOLA.

Lux: Oh come on, Hank. You’re great at what you do. I remember back in high school. Anything you set your mind to, you accomplished. You’re a hard worker. And you’re smart and determined and...well, you look plenty fit. I’m sure you’ve got all the skills necessary to secure a position in that department. You’re gonna get it. [She sipped at her drink and then widened her blue eyes as he spoke about two other guys in SWAT.] Nic and Nash? Do they ever catch hell for that? Sounds like Nick at Night. [She laughed and then shook her head.] Are they nice guys? I don’t want to hook any friends up with assholes, you know.

Hank: [He listened to the things she was saying.] It means a lot to me that you have so much confidence in me. I appreciate it. [He lifted her hand, kissing the back of it and then laughed.] I’ll have to call them that once. And see what happens. [He nodded his head.] Yeah, they’re good guys. Nic...he’s a little louder, but he’s funny. Quick mouthed. But he’s respectful. Speaks Romanian. [He chuckled.] Nash? He’s a little older, more quiet, but he’s funny too. He’s traveled around a bit. But the both of them are best friends and do a lot together. As long as I’ve known them...a few years, they’ve never been into using people or anything. They’re not assholes. Maybe to each other every once in a while. 

Nicolae: [He ended up laughing when Nash said he was ending the conversation because he’d somehow become the bitch in it.] Mhmm...you’re the bitch in this relationship, Nashtopher. [He laughed again at the expression on his face.] Bro, I’m fucking with you. You know this. [He took a bite of the catfish and then nodded.] Yeah, it’s seriously delicious. You and your damn travel. I mean...granted...I’ve been to Romania. So...and Mexico. And Italy. And France. [He smiled.] But you’ve been all over the states. Between the two of us, we’re pretty well traveled.

Nash: [He chuckled.] Eventually I’ll make it where I need a passport...other than Canada. [He chuckled again and took a bite of his shrimp. It was damn good. He enjoyed every single bite of it. He wet his lips and tasted the sauce again.] You didn’t find anything in any of the countries you were in? No one you wanna bring home to meet momma? 

Lux: [She laughed when he said he’d call them that and see what happened. She wet her lips.] Well, I’ll have to eventually meet them to see if I think any of my friends would be interested. I don’t just want to randomly chance it. Romanian? That’s...obscure. Not many people speak that language. Is he Romanian? That’s interesting though. And Nash is older? How old? Like daddy old? Like...silver fox old? What am I working with here? [She laughed.] I’ve got to have the details if I’m hooking these guys up with my friends. They’re going to want to know these things.

Hank: [He laughed and shook his head.] Uh...no. Not silver fox, but early thirties. [He nodded his head and chuckled.] Yeah, he’s Romanian. But he’s been to like...a shit ton of countries. He speaks French and Spanish and shit. He’s just...well, you could say cultured. I mean, I can introduce you when you come to the station next time. I’m sure they’d like to meet you. 

Nicolae: [He shrugged.] There were plenty of beautiful women in the different countries I’ve been in. But beauty’s only one thing. You know? And I’ve never been in a place for...well, long enough to actually get to know someone properly. It’s...meeting my mom? Yeah, you’ve gotta be up there to do that shit. Let’s be honest. You’re the only person who’s met my mom. And it took awhile for that to happen. [He worked on finishing his meal for a few minutes.] I think it’s like you said, Nash. You’ve got to take the time. Devote the time, and I’ve been too much of a joker, fucking around, not taking anything but my job seriously. And I can’t blame anyone but myself for that. But...I don’t know. Maybe I’m ready to try that. Maybe…[He chuckled.]

Nash: [He shook his head.] It’s a big step and it’s a lot for us to be open about shit. Trusting people it’s not something that either of us do freely. So going ahead and giving someone the fucking keys to fuck us up is a huge thing, but…[He sighed as he finished up his food.] The thing is, that I think it’s easier to joke around. To not take shit seriously then you don’t have to feel some shit when it goes wrong, but yeah...it’d be nice to feel something go right, you know?

Lux: [She laughed.] Early thirties isn’t too old. And that’s really interesting that he speaks multiple languages. I’m sure that comes in handy on SWAT when you guys run into people who don’t speak English. [She nodded.] Yeah, that’d be nice to meet some of your friends, coworkers. [She wet her lips as the server set down his Cajun cracklins and her boudin balls. She smiled up at her.] Thank you. [She looked back at Hank.] Maybe we could have some sort of get together at your place once I figure out...you know...who’d be a good match for those two.

Hank: [He chuckled.] We could do that. I don’t think that’d be a problem at all. [He winked at her.] They’re gonna be thrilled as hell that I asked you. I’m pretty sure they’d think I wasn’t gonna, but...I said I would and I’m a man of my word. [He smiled.] They’re kind of a package deal. [He laughed.] They’re always together. Always hanging out. Best damn friends. It’s gonna be hard to make that a trio. You know...if I get it. [He grinned at the food that was set down.] Damn...this looks good, doesn’t it? 

Nicolae: It’s fucking terrifying is what it is. [He chuckled and shook his head.] And if you get a woman and I don’t? I’m gonna be one sad sac just hanging out by my damn self. [He laughed and wiped his mouth with his napkin.] But yeah, I think it’d be a good thing to have someone to...at the risk of sounding like a pussy…[He laughed.] someone to love. Someone to share shit with. Sometimes we go home...and the shit we’ve dealt with? Nash, having someone to hold onto, having something good? It might make all the difference. [He looked over at Hank and his little girlfriend.] You want dessert? Or should we head on over and say hey before we leave?

Nash: [He chuckled and started to shake his head.] Nah, man. I get it. Believe me. It doesn’t sound fucked at all. It’s what I want. And why I’m not just fucking every piece of pussy that throws itself at me. There’s plenty, I just don’t want it. Ain’t nothing like a woman who just gives that shit up to everyone or...better yet...finds their soulmate in every dick they suck...just fucking no thanks. [He chuckled.] Oh...he gives me butterflies. [He laughed and shook his head before looking over at Hank and his girl. His brow lifted.] Oh hell...why not. We’ll get fucking doughnuts before we head back to...your place or mine? 

Lux: [She was nodding about the food looking and smelling good, but turned toward Hank, her hands coming up to cup his face.] Hey...no ifs. You’re going to get in. Don’t doubt it for even a second. And they’re going to accept you. They’re partners. I’m sure though once you’re part of that unit, you’ll be right there with them. [She leaned in and brushed her lips against his before sitting back with a smile.] You never know, they might even want to take you under their wing and...you know...do what SWAT guys do to...make you feel welcome. [She laughed.] Just no strip clubs. [She picked up her fork to try one of those fried pork and rice balls.]

Hank: [He chuckled and shook his head after he returned her kiss.] Baby, they ain’t going to no strip clubs. At least I don’t think they are. Sounds like they just hang out at each other’s places and drink beer. [He grinned at her.] You ain’t got nothing to worry about, but if they do go to strip clubs, best way to fix that? Find them some pretty girls you call friends. [He chuckled and winked at her.]

Nicolae: [He signaled for the server to bring their check and then looked back at Nash.] Yeah, nothing gets my engines revved like a woman who’s had seventeen loves her life in the past eight months. [He snorted out a laugh and rolled his eyes.] Anyway...hopefully Miss Minny over there won’t have friends like that. [He pulled out his wallet, putting his card on the tray.] I got this one. It was my idea. You can get dinner tomorrow. Or lunch. [He handed the folder over to the server and when she brought the slip back, he signed it and took his card.] Let’s go to your place. Mine’s a fucking toilet. I’ll tell you what. If I ever /do/ get a girlfriend, I’m gonna have to clean that bitch. [He looked at Nash with a laugh.] Obviously I mean my house, not the woman. [He laughed some more as they made their way over to Hank’s table, hearing the words strip club. His brows raised as he stepped up behind them.] Hey, strip club? [He did a little shimmy and then chuckled.] What’s up, Page? Fancy seeing you here. And you? [He looked at the blonde sitting next to him.] Where on earth has he been hiding you?

Nash: [He couldn’t stop fucking laughing at the “clean that bitch” comment.] You better get some fucking bleach and a brush if that’s the path you’re going down. [He chuckled and nodded.] Alright...my place then. Lunch tomorrow. [He chuckled and stood up. He didn’t even get to say anything before Nic was already starting in. He lifted his brows as Hank looked up at them both and he grinned.] Looks like this is a real SWAT spot, huh? [He chuckled and slapped Hank’s shoulder before looking at the woman.] Pleasure getting to meet you. 

Lux: This is true. I’ll have to get on that. [She turned her head as she heard someone behind them, her brows raising as she saw a man doing a little dance behind them. She laughed a little and then felt her cheeks getting hot. When the other man spoke about it being SWAT, she wet her lips.] Let me guess. Nic and Nash? [She pointed to the dancing one.] Nic, right? [She then looked to the other.] And you must be Nash. He isn’t hiding me. He just didn’t know I was living here again. I’m Lux. It’s nice to meet you both. I hear from Hank that I’ve been tasked with finding two lovely ladies for you two. [She shook both their hands with a smile.]

Hank: [He was about to say something to her when he heard the unmistakable sound of Nic’s voice.] Are you absolutely shitting me…[He looked over and sure enough. There was Nic, dancing around and then Nash coming up second. He rolled his eyes and dragged a hand down the front of his face.] Well…[He chuckled and lifted his hand.] You had it right. Nic. And Nash. Or...Nic at Night. [He shook his head and wet his lips.] I’m sure y’all had absolutely no idea I was bringing Lux here tonight...oh wait...I told y’all before I left. Hmm… 

Nicolae: Oh shit, Nash…[He laughed.] She knows us by name. Good man, Hank. Good man. [He patted Hank’s shoulder with a grin.] Nic at Night? [He laughed and shook his head.] Alright. Alright. You got us. We knew. You told us where you were going and Nash and I were just...it’d been a hot minute since we’d had some good Cajun food. Just gave us a hankering. You know? [He grinned and nodded.] That would be ideal. Two lovely ladies. [He looked over at Hank.] Nash and I aren’t here to crash your date, man. Just finished our dinner. Thought we’d swing by, meet your beautiful lady here, and remind her about the friend thing…[He laughed.] 

Nash: [He chuckled and shook his head.] Exactly. We just wanted to introduce ourselves. You know, we’re gonna be on the same team soon enough and she’s gonna have to get used to our mugs. We’ll be around a lot. [He grinned and nodded.] That’s right. Lovely ladies. Might wanna prepare them about the job though. [He grinned once more.] We’ll all have to go out and celebrate when Rook becomes SWAT officially. 

Lux: [She laughed when Hank outed Nic and Nash, saying he’d told them where he was bringing her this evening. She nodded when Nash mentioned them all going out to celebrate once Hank was officially SWAT.] That sounds wonderful. And I’ll have to invite some of my friends along. Just...no strip clubs. [She laughed.] It was nice meeting you both. I’ve already heard about you. And I’m glad that Hank’s around such...entertaining people.

Hank: [He shook his head.] Entertaining…[He laughed.] Well, at least they know when to be serious, huh boys? [He grinned as Lux brought up bringing some of her friends along and he nodded his head.] See? Told y’all I’d talk to her about it. And she’s agreed to put her feelers out. [He laughed.] Shit, Nic...don’t quit your day job either. Ain’t no one paying you for those moves. [He chuckled and then nodded to Nash.] Well, now y’all met her. And yeah...she’s beautiful. [He reached over and squeezed her hand.] 

Nicolae: Jesus, Debbie Downer. [He looked at Nash.] You never know. They might think the job’s a pro. Not a con. Sexy. Dangerous. All that shit. [He nodded.] Yes, Page, you did. And I’m thankful. [He scoffed.] Don’t even go there, man. I just didn’t want your girl to leave you. I mean if I’d really broke out the moves....[He laughed and shook his head.] Alright, Nash...let’s leave the lovebirds to their date. You and I...well, we’re heading back to Nash’s place. [He laughed at the innuendo.] Where we’ll drink a six pack and fall asleep on the couch. I know. Thrilling. [He grinned at Hank.] I’m sure a better night’s in store for you, Page. [He gave him a salute.] And hurry up and take those tests, Rook. The quicker you pass, the quicker you’re on the team, and we’re all celebrating.

Nash: [He rolled his eyes at Nic and then lifted his hand to wave at Lux.] It was a pleasure meeting you. And I look forward to having that celebration. [He patted Hank’s shoulder and then looked back at Nic.] Alright, asshole. Let’s go. No sense in wearing the floor out behind our boy’s chair here. Y’all have a good night. [He pointed to the door.] Let’s go. I’ve gotta stop and get more beer.

Lux: [She shook her head with a soft laugh.] Oh, he’s definitely in for a good night. [She waved to both Nic and Nash.] Nice meeting you, boys. Have a good evening. [She shook her head and looked back at her food once they’d walked away.] They’re definitely something. [She looked at Hank.] A decent balance of serious and crazy. They help even each other out, I’m assuming? [She kept one hand in Hank’s as she ate with the other. The food was delicious. And she offered him a bite of hers.]

Hank: [The both of them exchanged bites back and forth until the food was gone and he nodded.] Mhmm. That they do. But I have a feeling that both can flip those roles any time they want to. Just a matter of the occasion. [His brows lifted and he chuckled. He was most definitely happy with the fact that he was in for a good night.] 

Nicolae: [He bounced his brows at Hank and Nash when Lux said he was definitely in for a good night. Chuckling as he and Nash headed for the exit, he shook his head.] Never thought I’d be jealous of Rook. [He laughed, pushing the door open and heading out to the parking lot.] But...I’m happy for him. And you know...I’m sure he appreciates the encouragement about our confidence that he’s gonna be part of the team. Hopefully it puts him at ease about taking those last few tests. [He headed for the SUV.] You wanna stop at the station around the corner?

Nash: [He chuckled and nodded.] Yeah, it’s true. I’m sure he’ll go in there with even more confidence than he already has and that’s a good thing. He just needs to trust his gut. [His brows lifted.] Need something in there? [He reached into his pocket getting out his keys waiting on Nic’s answer.] 

Lux: I’m sure they can. Well, Nic would have to have a serious side to do the job he does. And Nash would have to have a silly side to put up with Nic. [She laughed and pushed the plates away. With the starters finished, their entrees arrived in a few minutes, and looked equally as delicious as the starters had. She loved gumbo and fried green tomatoes, especially with the little dipping sauce they had it paired with.] Thank you for taking me out on a real date. I know you’re a busy man with a lot on your mind. But this is nice. [She looked over at him as they ate.] Do you want to get an order of beignets to go? To take home with us? 

Hank: [He chuckled as the entrees arrived and he nodded his head.] I’m busy, but never too busy for you. Or for us, remember that. There’s a balance that I have to be in for work, but I don’t want that to get in the way of us. You’re important to me. And you’re always going to be important to me. [He grinned and nodded his head.] I think we can certainly take those home with us, darling. Get all that powdered sugar all over the place. Ain’t nothing wrong with that, huh? [He bounced his brows.]

Nicolae: Jesus, Nash, are you serious? [He stood there just staring at him with a raised brow.] Are you getting that old? You said you needed to stop and get beer. So I figured we could stop there. You alright? You seem like you’ve had some shit on your mind lately. And I haven’t said anything cause if you wanted to talk to me, you would, but...is there something going on?

Nash: What? Well shit… you said station, man. I thought you fucking ment the goddamn station house. [He chuckled and ran his fingers back through his hair before he rolled his shoulders forward.] Just the full moon coming. Always gets me a little rowdy. But hey...things’ll be alright, ya know? [He lifted his brows and cleared his throat.] I mean...we should probably get more than beer. [He sighed and then moved his leg over his bike and looked at Nic.] 

Lux: I know what you do takes a lot of your time, and I’m prepared for that. For the broken and postponed dates. For the sleeping alone. For the...missing you. I’m not going to love it. But you’re important to me too. And when someone’s important to you, you...hang on. I should’ve stayed in touch with you for the past four years. I didn’t. And that was my mistake. I’m not gonna make another one. I just want you to be safe and as careful as possible. And to come home to me when you can. Your job is important. You’re keeping people safe. You’re running into dangerous situations instead of running /from/ them. And that’s admirable. [She smiled and pressed a kiss to Hank’s cheek before she offered him a bite of what she had.] And yes to all that powdered sugar. And yes to getting it wherever we please.

Hank: [He smiled and nodded his head.] But you’re important to me too. And I want to make sure I’m not breaking my promises to you. I’ll do my best to make all those deadlines. [He leaned over, tipping her chin up and pressing a kiss to her full lips.] I will be as safe as I possibly can. And I know those boys will have my back as much as I have theirs. [He leaned back in his seat, ordering the dessert to go.] We’ll have to go ahead and see just how messy we can make it.

Nicolae: No, man, I meant the gas station around the corner. [He wet his lips, leaning against his SUV.] Are you sure? I mean the full moon’s the full moon, but how’s that…[He shook his head with a sigh, knowing /exactly/ what Nash was talking about.] What? You mean like liquor or some shit? There’s a liquor store a couple blocks over. Hangover’s gonna be a bitch though if we overdo it. 

Nash: I’ll stop for beer, you stop for bourbon. [He nodded his head. He knew that Nic had gotten what he meant about the full moon and how it affected him. He guessed sometimes it was easy for Nic to forget that his best friend and partner was a wolf.] Don’t worry...I’ll babysit so you don’t get a hangover.

Lux: [She smiled at him.] I’m glad to hear that I’m important to you. And that you’ll try to keep the balance. [She let her lips purse against his.] I know that you guys depend on each other. You put your lives in each other’s hands. [She put her hand against Hank’s thigh as they sat, their dinner finished, just waiting on the check and dessert.]

Hank: [He went ahead and paid for the meal before taking the bag of dessert with the container inside. He could smell the damn fried sugary dough. He stood up when she did and helped her back into her coat before he took her hand and walked her toward the door. Once they got there, he went ahead and moved his hand to her lower back.] I had a really good time tonight, baby. 

Nicolae: [He lifted a brow at Nash and nodded.] Alright. I’ll get the damn bourbon. [He blew out a breath as he pulled open the door to his SUV. He remembered back when he first learned about Nash being a wolf. He hadn’t believed it until Nash literally had to show him by shifting in front of him. He shook his head, climbing up into the driver’s seat.] No need to babysit. [He chuckled.] I’ll see you back at your place.

Nash: Yeah...See ya then. [He wet his lips, he didn’t bother with a helmet. He shook his head.] On second thought...Nic...get the beer, I’ll get the bourbon. [He tapped the back of seat which was the only spot on the bike he could fit a bottle. No beer was fitting in there.] See you back at my place. [He lifted a hand before he used his keys to start the ignition. Steadying it, he started to head out of the parking lot.] 

Lux: [She stood up and headed outside with Hank, feeling his hand against her lower back. She looked up at him with a smile once they were outside.] I had a great time too. The food was great, but your company was even better. And I’m gonna go ahead and admit that I’m pretty excited to see your place. [She walked over to his truck, and she was pretty sure Nic and Nash were just leaving the parking lot as she climbed up into his truck.]

Hank: [He smiled as they both walked out and got into the truck. When he started it up and headed out of the parking lot, his brows lifted as he saw the bike and SUV head out too. He shook his head.] Oh, it’s not much at all. Just a simple house. Not much in there. [He chuckled.] Mostly because I don’t usually spend that much time there. [He chuckled and looked over at her.]

Lux: It isn’t that I’m expecting some huge house, Hank. I just want to see where you live. Where you spend some of your time. And hey…[She gestured to the bag in the back.] You bet that ass I brought a toothbrush. And I’m leaving it. So all the possible girls who might try anything...they’ll see that toothbrush and know. Oh...he belongs to someone else. [She laughed.]

Hank: [He shook his head.] Baby...ain’t a damn women getting close enough to see there’s a toothbrush in my house. That’s disrespect on a whole other level to bring her into my house, were you sleep and let her see your toothbrush. No, ma’am. I won’t be doing any of that. [He chuckled.] 

Lux: [She smiled at Hank, holding onto his hand.] I know you wouldn’t do that to me. You’ve never been that guy. You’re no Cameran. You’ve never disrespected me. You’ve picked at me, sure, but never in a disrespectful way. But it’s always nice to hear that from you. That you won’t bring anyone else over. That it’ll just be me. [She sighed as she turned toward him.] I know this is all happening really fast. But you were right when you said we’ve known each other for a long time. Sure, we’ve changed in that time. And not just physically. But...maybe it was because you were shy, because you never voiced any sort of attraction to me, but I didn’t feel that insane chemistry with you back in high school. Maybe I just couldn’t recognize it. I was just a kid.

Hank: [He shook his head.] It’s alright that you didn’t feel anything for me then, Lux. I couldn’t help it. I already felt it for you. But...for you? It’s hard to think about something in a certain way when it’s not even an option. And I wasn’t the most attractive guy back in high school. I mean, sure I wasn’t a dog or anything, but I didn’t stand out. I was average. There wasn’t a reason you should’ve felt...chemistry I guess. [He lifted his shoulder in a bit of a shrug.] But we’re not kids. So there’s no point in wondering why you didn’t feel anything then, but have interest now. 

Lux: Hey, no, no, no, wait just a second there. I never said I didn’t feel anything for you then, Hank. That’s not true at all. You were one of my closest friends. I loved spending time with you. You always made me laugh and smile, even when I felt like shit. You were sweet and absolutely the most mature guy in our class. You’re right though. I didn’t know it was an option. That’s not to say I never thought about you like that. Do you remember junior prom? We went with other people, but there was a point during the dance where...I have no clue where our dates were, but you and I were standing there. And a slow song came on. It was Adele’s...Someone Like You. And you asked me to dance. And while we’re dancing...I realized that...I had this weird feeling inside. One I’d never had around you before. It was just the way you held onto me. It was different. It wasn’t just grabby or copping a feel. It was just...intimate. And that whole song I thought...I don’t want to go back to my date. [She smiled, shaking her head.] And I thought you might kiss me. But you didn’t. And when the song was over...well, that was it. But...I remember that so vividly. And there was no way I’d ever bring it up to you because I thought I was just being stupid. And I didn’t want to mess up our friendship by imagining that you might’ve wanted more than a friendship with me. So...don’t think I didn’t feel a thing. I did. I just never knew you did. 

Hank: [He listened to her talking about how it was for her when they were younger, about that night at their junior prom. He shook his head.] I wanted to. I wanted to kiss you, but I was so worried that you’d be so put off that it would just ruin everything and we wouldn’t be able to go back, or things wouldn’t be the same. I really thought at that time we were going to be in each others’ lives and that night I struggled because I thought...eventually I’m going to have to watch you with your boyfriend, which would turn into something more serious with someone eventually. And then I thought...she’s gonna grow up. Get married, start a family, be a world famous cello player and here I am..sitting in my borrowed suit...with my borrowed shoes. And no way to be the person you said you wanted. [He nodded his head.] I wasn’t sure if I felt that because I wanted to and I was just...getting a bit of wishful thinking from you. I really should’ve kissed you. We would’ve worked while you went to college. I know we would have. I would’ve come to see you, spent weekends. Brought you back down on your breaks. Go to Mexico for spring break, we would’ve done it. But now...we just have to figure it out from here and let go of what we didn’t do in our past. What we do from this moment on is what’s important. 

Lux: I just didn’t want you to think it was all one sided, that I never had a single thought about you maybe being more than just my friend. I did. But I didn’t think you were thinking the same thing. And I didn’t want to mess up what we had. But that’s probably why...well, do you remember Georgia Robins? [She pressed her full lips together and then smiled at Hank.] She had the biggest crush on you, and she asked me to talk to you about dating her. And I...didn’t. I told her I did. But I never did. Because I didn’t want you to be hanging out with her all the time and not me. That was selfish. I know. But it wasn’t just you thinking about well, she’s going to date other people. Because I was /not/ looking forward to you getting a girlfriend. Because I know for a fact that she wouldn’t be OK with us hanging out as much as we did, as close as we were. I talked to you about everything. [She leaned her head over onto his shoulder.] But I’m ready to take this from here. I’m ready to...finally be your girl.

Hank: [His brows lifted as she spoke and couldn’t help but to chuckle.] Georgia Robins had a crush on me? [He shook his head.] I didn’t even realize...look at you...cockblocked me. [He chuckled.] That’s alright though...I wouldn’t have been interested and I just would’ve had to hurt her feelings so you just saved that girl's feelings instead. [He grinned over at her, kissing the top of her head before they pulled onto the road to his place.] 

Lux: Yeah, that was mean of me, I know. I should’ve told you. And I shouldn’t have stood in the way. You two really could’ve liked each other. But I just...couldn’t bring myself to do it. Cause I didn’t want to lose my friend. [She lifted her head off his shoulder and smiled.] I’m sorry for cockblocking you. Actually I’m not. I don’t want this anywhere near Georgia Robins. [She slid her hand up the inside of his thigh until it was resting against the crotch of his jeans, her lips pressing against his jaw.]

Hank: [He was about to interrupt her when she was apologizing for it, but then said she wasn’t. And he was glad she wasn’t sorry, but then he heard what she had said and felt her hand and his brow lifted as he looked down at her, his hand moving on top of hers.] That ain’t going anywhere near Georgia Robins, baby. Trust and believe in that. That’s all yours, slick. [He grinned at her and let the truck idle in the driveway as he pressed his lips to hers.]

Lux: [She smiled against his lips when he kissed her. Pulling back, she looked up at him.] Good. Better not. I’d hate to kill poor Georgia Robins. [She laughed, pressing another kiss to his lips.] Come on. Let’s go inside. You can show me your place. [She pulled off the seatbelt and reached for the door handle.] And then you can take your pants off. [She turned back and winked at him before opening the door to get down out of the truck.]

[nayutai]

Gotta Go

⤳ Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

⤳ Prompt: “the reader is out singing karaoke in NYC at a Korean BBQ place or something and BTS is touring there, and they stop in to relax and have fun, and they hear the reader singing? And then I suppose it could go any way from there”

⤳ Happy One Year to the BTS Smut Club! I’m so, so thankful to be a part of this network. I’ve been able to meet so many amazing authors who have taught me so much and allowed me to improve my own writing through them. This is my contribution to the anniversary project and I hope it’s everything the requester wanted it to be 💞

⤳ Warnings: language, oral sex (f receiving), protected sex

“Janae your rich ass better be paying for this food. BTS has taken nearly a grand from my bank account and I’ll be damned if I spend $50 on some bulgogi and tea water.” You call out from the bathroom as you lean in close to the mirror to fill in your eyebrows. After waking up at three in the morning to catch your flight and then spending the afternoon exploring New York City with your three best friends, despite the occasional rain storm, you looked and felt like shit. All you want to do is curl up in bed and watch a movie but your friend Janae is craving korean bbq and is dragging the rest of you with her.

“Don’t worry, love. Mommy’s paying for this one.” Janae says as she walks up behind you waving around the black American Express card her mother had given her. Both of Janae’s parents came from old money and subsequently became big whigs in their respective professions. Janae was primarily raised by nannies while her parents threw money at her to fill the void left by their absence. She made sure they paid dearly for it and you can’t say you blame her.

***

Hoseok flops down on top of Jungkook with a whine while Taehyung and Jimin cackle from across the room. The three of them have been trying unsuccessfully to convince Jungkook to go get food with them but the youngest is being stubborn. Shocker.

“I’ll pay just come with us.” Hoseok whines, wrapping himself around Jungkook’s bulky frame. Jimin and Taehyung writhe around in laughter at the smile on Jungkook’s face that can only be described as victorious.

“Well since you offered...I found this korean bbq place nearby that’s supposed to be really good.”

“This was your plan all along, wasn’t it, you maknae brat?”

“That’s not important so are we going or not?”

“Yeah, I’m starving. Let’s go”

Jimin and Jungkook are fighting over the last bite of kimchi, despite the fact that their waitress has just left to go get more, when the host that greeted them at the door rolls out a karaoke machine and announces that the floor is open. Anyone who scores 85% or higher gets a half off discount on their meal. The only catch is that the machine will be shuffling through a kpop top 50 playlist and the patron has to sing whatever song comes up.

The sound of a girl clambering forward for the microphone catches the table’s attention. Jimin and Jungkook even stop arguing to see what’s going on, allowing for Hoseok to swoop in and steal the kimchi they’d been arguing over. Taehyung licks his lips when his eyes wander down her figure. He’s not entirely sure how she managed to fit her ass into her shorts because they look painted on but he’s glad she did. The host presses shuffle and the rest of the girls at her table immediately start yelling when the first notes of Chungha’s Gotta Go begin to play.

Taehyung is mesmerized by the way she flawlessly moves as she puts on a show for her fellow patrons. He’s even more impressed with how good her korean pronunciation is. Cheers arise from the crowd during the dance break when she really goes all out.

“She’s really good.” Jungkook murmurs around a mouth full of rice.

It’s no surprise when she receives a near perfect score. She graciously bows to the host when he hands over her well-deserved coupon before bowing deeply to the crowd. Her friends smack her on the ass repeatedly in celebration of her performance when she returns to the table. Jimin and Hoseok whisper amongst each other before flagging down one of the waiters when he walks by their table on his way to the kitchen. Jungkook and Tae share looks of confusion but remain quiet. Whatever the other two members are conspiring about will be revealed eventually.

Taehyung nearly chokes on his drink when he watches the young man turn on his heel to walk back across the restaurant to the table Taehyung hadn’t been able to tear his eyes from. They seem to not believe whatever it is the waiter says to them but Taehyung’s eyes widen when they follow him anyway to the dark corner of the restaurant that they’ve been occupying for the better part of three hours.

***

“Holy shit he wasn’t lying.” You breathe out as your friends stand shell-shocked by the table. You all slowly lower yourselves into the extra chairs that are rushed over while Hoseok asks for your names.

It’s awkward at first but once everyone gets past that, conversation flows much more smoothly. Especially once it’s revealed that you all studied abroad in Seoul for a year and therefore speak basic Korean. Taehyung finds himself even more enamored by you the more he hears you speak. He thinks you’re absolutely adorable as you scrunch your nose up in concentration whenever you forget how to translate specific words into korean. He vaguely registers the fact that each of your friends has paired off with one of the other members.

Jimin orders a couple rounds of shots and things start to get a little more interesting. Taehyung takes careful notice of the way that the two of you seem to be moving closer together as the minutes go by. He’s afraid to read too much into it but dear god he’s hoping this means you want him the way he wants you. Your eyes seem to be drifting to his lips every few seconds and it’s making him fidgety with the urge to touch you. So much so that he drops the piece of meat he’d picked up. It lands right on his crotch. Before he can react, you snatch it up and pop it in your mouth with a wink and a flirtatious grin. Time to go.

Taehyung stands, pulling you with him, noticing then that Hoseok and Jungkook have already disappeared with two of your friends and Jimin is about to do the same with the one still at the table. He hadn’t even noticed their absence in the slightest. The air outside is crisp and serves to clear his lust-clouded mind a little bit.

“Nothing has to happen tonight. You know that right?”

“I’m well aware of that fact. I’m also well aware of the fact that I want to ride you into oblivion and I can’t do that if I don’t leave with you.” Taehyung’s jeans feel three sizes too small as his cock swells at your crude words. The hotel is on the next block but as he weaves through the crowd with your hand securely in his, that block feels like a mile.

***

Taehyung is almost frantic as he rushes to reveal what your clothes hide. Your giggling morphes into small moans and gasps when he buries his face between your legs without warning. His hands rhythmically squeeze your upper thighs as he holds your squirming hips in place. His tongue is sinfully talented and coupled with the darkness of his eyes staring into yours you’re a goner. Your thighs are trembling from the force of your orgasm when Taehyung finally releases you from his grasp.

Your hands fumble with his belt while his lips tangle with yours. For some godforsaken reason the man is still fully dressed. He even still has his sneakers on. His shirt joins your clothes somewhere on the floor, pants shoved halfway down his thighs. You hum in excitement at the lack of underwear. One less layer of clothing for you to contend with.

Taehyung reaches for the condoms he’d haphazardly thrown into the drawer of the bedside table. He hadn’t planned to bring anyone back to his room but it’s always better to be safe than sorry. You snatch the latex from him once he’s got it open, relishing in the deep grumble he lets out when you roll it on him. He presses your thighs to your chest and slides his rigid length through your wetness until he’s coated in your juices. A shiver of pleasure runs through you every time he bumps against your clit.

“Stop teasing me.” You demand through gritted teeth. He chuckles darkly. The low timbre of it has your inner muscles clenching around nothing.

“As you wish, love.” Taehyung draws his hips back, thrusting forward to roughly bury himself inside you. You would scream but it feels as though he’s forced all of the air out of your lungs.

Taehyung is similarly affected. His head tossed back as he savors the sensation of your walls hugging him so tightly. He’s sure that yours is the tightest, wettest pussy he’s ever had the pleasure to be inside of. Another groan escapes him when you start squirming around beneath him. You’re begging for more and more he’s about to give you what you’re asking for.

His pace starts off slow and steady like the gentle rocking of a recently vacated rocking chair but it builds. It builds until his hips are pistoning into yours at high speed. If the loud smacking sound his thighs make every time they collide with your skin doesn’t give away your activities, the banging of the headboard against the wall surely will. Taehyung bends his head down to latch his lips around one of your nipples. His movement changes the angle of his hips only slightly but it’s enough to have him roughly stabbing at a particularly sensitive spot inside you repeatedly.

You cry out his name as you’re thrown headfirst into a mighty orgasm. He thrusts a few more times before your spasming muscles make it too difficult for him to continue fucking into you. Instead, he lets you milk him dry, a hoarse shout escaping him as he fills the condom.

“Fuck that was good. I might need a wheelchair for your concert tomorrow though.” Taehyung huffs out a laugh while still trying to catch his breath.

“That can be arranged.”

[thotteus-beaumont]

(Oh oh it’s magic) When I’m with you

Summary: {Just a cute little High-School AU!}

:Pete and Henry had been casually hooking for around 3 years now. Neither of them had the courage to mention it in a way that wasn’t just a request for more...

:The Beav was what filled the holes in each of their hearts, he was the rock and roll playing on their radios. Beaver was probably the first great love of each of their lives...at least, it felt that way to Jonesy who’d loved him since the kiddie school days...

(I’m still new to writing for these characters! Hope this is ok?) 

{Lifted a chunk of dialogue from this ficlet  that I did for Pete/Henry cause I loved it & wanted to use it for a bigger fic. SO the words are the same but it’s in different context now.}

Ships: Pete/Henry & Jonesy/Beaver 

Word Count:  4,681

{Tuesday Afternoon}

Pete and Henry had been casually hooking for around 3 years now. Neither of them had the courage to mention it in a way that wasn’t just a request for more.

It was getting close to what would be their 3rd Summer, it was hot and they were parked outside some building that sold lawn sprinkler systems. Pete’s mouth was kind of full when he heard Henry’s moan transition to more of an excited gasp. He popped off to glance up, the radio was now much louder in his ears

“Summer, it turns me upside down Summer, summer, summer It’s like a merry go round…”

“Really?” He scrunched up his nose and swiped the back of his palm over his mouth to which  Henry responded by pouting.

“Hey, you’re not done down there, Pete.” He chuckled and grabbed at the boys hand, they could joke about it but that was about it.

“Pretty sure that I am if you’re more focused on the radio than me.” Pete shrugged and crawled back onto the bench seat next to him. The night air outside was deadly silent and they both knew how the other man hated that. So Pete decided to get talkative as he casually threw his arm over Henry’s shoulders while the man made himself decent again. But Henry had other plans-

“When I’m with you (Oh oh it’s magic) Just a little magic You know it’s true I gotta hold on you…”

“This detour was very much appreciated but...we should probably get going, huh?” Pete scrunched up his nose when Henry wiggled away and went for the steering wheel again. The two of them were in desperate need of some alone time and fooling around in the car was getting uncomfortable these days....so off they went because 

on half-days of school, it seemed that a silent agreement went into motion that each grade would go somewhere different & specific to celebrate.

Freshman were designated the crummy little McDonald’s where they could comfortably cause a scene yet miraculously not be kicked out.

Sophomores got the Sub-Sandwich joint that was quite the walk away from the school and got your order right most of the time.

Juniors were at the warm pizza shop with the most delicious slices a person could ever ask for.

Seniors were basically living in the BBQ restaurant. It was the staple of their crummy little town and deservedly so.

And Pete and Henry were now laying side by side on Pete’s rickety twin-sized bed, happily skipping the tradition. Pete was propped up by his forearm which was gradually falling deeply into sleep and his spare was hanging in the air while his fingers curled and uncurled around Henry’s arm. The sun was coming in through the window and leaving the tiniest sun-spot against the wall behind them and from where Henry was sitting, it dusted Pete’s face with a golden blush. He scooted over slightly to give his friend some more room but only succeeded in causing another loud shriek of protest from the bed springs.

Henry let his head fall back with a sigh. “God, your bed is so fucking loud.” His hair shook out of his eyes with the sudden movement. “It’s gonna give your parents the wrong idea, you know?” He laughed and pushed Pete’s palm back against the pillows. “And they already don’t like me.”

Pete rolled his eyes and smacked his hand. “My parents love you, man. They like all three of you losers.”

His friends eyebrow shot up with doubt but Pete only continued.

“They talk about you guys all the time. Why do you think I invited you for lunch today-?”

“Easy, you love my company and we needed more room to fool around.” His voice was teasing as he dragged his fingers down from Pete’s now open palm to his elbow. When Henry’s attention was pointed downward, Pete took the time to sigh with subtle disappointment he was too embarrassed to voice after that response. 

“They think you’re good people.” Pete dipped his chin down to emphasize that he really meant it and Henry blinked his eyes away like he always did when things got serious. So Pete took the initiative and grabbed for his left arm when he made the move to bring his fingers back up. “Hey, I’m serious. They are psyched that I have such stand-up friends...y’know, except the Beav.” He let go of Henry’s arm with a laugh. 

Henry hummed quietly and curled his fingers around Pete’s wrist. “Even though I spilled your dad’s soup all over your kitchen table last time I ate here?”

Pete laughed loudly at the memory. “They thought that was funny.”

“Funny?” Henry frowned. “I ruined that tablecloth.”

“Yeah but my parents appreciate funny shit, man.” Pete giggled. “I did not tell them it was because you were trying to play sexy footsie with me and accidentally kicked the table leg.” Pete rolled his lips together to try and conceal his laughter when Henry’s cheeks flushed with a real pink blush.

“Hey! That’s not what I was doing, Pete! I was just...-ok, so I was antsy for action, sue me!” Henry playfully started attempting to roll his body over Pete’s. “That was so fucking embarrassing though!” He kicked his left leg over him and crawled on top, the twin bed’s springs squeaking over and over.

Pete couldn’t stop laughing long enough to remind Henry of the noise but he didn’t much mind with all the wrestling. That was until he started hearing the sound of his mothers footsteps coming up the stairs. There wasn’t enough time to do more than just shove Henry off of him…sending him to the carpet with a soft thud just as his bedroom door creaked open.

“Hey boys, lunch is downstairs when you’re ready.” She smiled, stringing a dish towel through her fingers while she spoke. “And remember not to kill each other, huh?” She shook her head as her eyes fell upon a dizzy looking Henry on the floor.

When she went back along downstairs, Henry smirked. “Kill each other, huh?”

Pete smacked his hands over his face as soon as his mother left and groaned with embarrassment.

“You’re lucky you have carpet, Pete. I smacked my head pretty hard.” Henry teased, crawling over and kneeling in front of where Pete sat on the bed. Slowly he grabbed at his friends wrists and pulled his palms from his eyes.

“That was your own fault.”

“Eh, well.” Henry shrugged. “That may be true but you owe me cause you’re the one who threw me off the bed instead of warning me like a decent person would.” He playfully shook Pete’s wrists and his friend scrunched up his nose.

“I panicked. I didn’t have enough time.” He shrugged and rolled his eyes. “But I’ll get you lunch on my card tomorrow if it makes you happy.” He grinned and wiggled out of his grip so he could start getting up.

Henry only shoved his way between Pete’s legs and grinned. “You’re so good to me, sweetheart.”

A nickname. That was new. There’d never once been an exchange of that kind between the, considering it was strictly a casual thing. Despite how often Pete may have quietly ached for more. 

“You’re an idiot, you know that?” Pete closed his legs around him as tight as he could, figuring it was ok because his mother had mostly shut the door. Henry rested his forearms atop Pete’s thighs and shrugged. 

“Yes. Now, can we please go eat?” Henry asked with a smile. 

Pete nodded but then grabbed at Henry’s hands again, pulling at his long sleeves. “Wait, say that again, would ya?”

Henry paused before he put together what Pete was gettin’ at and his face fell into a unsure kind of expression. It looked neither happy nor too annoyed. Maybe just...confused? He sighed a bit and started to get up with a laugh, figuring Pete was only teasing. “Let’s go, you idiot.” He smacked Pete’s arm gently but it only set bolts of confirming sadness through his friend who was in fact...not teasing at all. 

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

Beaver’s legs were completely soaked, the boot-cut jeans were about to stick to his thighs and give him that familiar thick itch he associated with summer camp. But that knowledge didn’t stop him from walking further into the little lake created by the heavy rain of the last few days. 

The water was cupped by the mushy concave grass field outside of the BBQ restaurant. Jonesy watched helplessly from the edge of what was basically a huge puddle while the Beav’s motorcycle jacket rested on his shoulders. 

“-So be true to your school now Just like you would to your girl or guy Be true to your school now.”

Beaver sang out loudly (and obnoxiously) as he continued on his way to the baseball cap floating in the middle of it all. 

The cap had been plucked off the Beav’s head by some piece of shit washed up jock waiter who’d graduated the year before. Good Ol’ Beaver couldn’t resist going at him with that back mouth of his when the dude was bragging about all the great shit he could do now that he was outta high school to a table of girls. 

Yeah, Beaver kicked it off by singing from the next table over (As he so often does)...“Another Saturday night and I ain't got nobody...!”

“Careful Beaver! Don’t wanna drown!” Jonesy laughed from dry land. 

“It ain’t that deep!” Beaver called back, now leaning on one foot to reach the old cap with a sewn on Scooby-Doo patch, it had been a gift from their good buddy Duddits. Beaver’d die before he let that thing get lost. 

“Maybe not for someone of a regular height, buddy!” Jonesy laughed, loudly. “The kiddie pool at Splash-town is too deep for you!” 

Beaver rolled his eyes fondly and held out his middle finger the whole journey outta the water until he came back to his friend, hat in hand. “Piss a penny, Jonesy.” He flicked some water off his hand and happily scampered off with his jacket & bag towards the front of the restaurant, moist hat back on his head. 

The afternoon sun was blazing golden beams down onto Derry with welcomed warmth and intensity. The Beav was practically melting in his motorcycle jacket but kept it on, nonetheless. You had to admire his strength because...

“That jacket must smell terrible.” Jonesy chuckled as he caught up to him next to the red fence with the giant painting of a pig. “How long have you been sweating in that thing now?” 

Beaver shrugged his shoulders. “Plus, it was Randy’s before so...think of all the Clarendon germs this baby’s covered in.” He pulled it tighter and just looked so damn happy in the piece of clothing that Jonesy had to smile. 

The two began to stroll away from the high-school hangout with their hands shoved into their pockets and book-bags still covering their backs like turtle shells. That wonderful feeling of relief from school was still washing over them as it did every weekday. It was a feeling like nothing else, in Jonesy’s experience. 

For his whole life, it meant that he’d get to spend the rest of the day with his buddies. Beaver, Pete, Henry & Douglas. 

There were no better people in the world than those you so desperately wanted to spend time with, that it’d drive you to hide in their homes when your mother came to pick you up. Jonesy couldn’t count the number of times Roberta Cavell had to deal with the three of them hiding in various places just to keep hanging with Duddits. 

“When we get to my house, I wanna go look for a spider in that...-dirty corner in my garage, y’know the one by our old refrigerator?” Beaver elbowed his friend on the arm and Jonesy broke free from his thoughts.

“Spider Corner™? Yeah, I remember.” He nodded as thoughts of chasing each other with the creepy crawlies in the palms of their hands ran through his brain. “What for?”

The Beav smirked. “Randy broke his bedroom door the other day and he can’t shut it or it’ll lock him inside, right?” His grin was classic Beaver and held it’s weight in Jonesy’s heart. “Well, he’ll be sitting in there so I figure...” He gestured with his hand which was still in his pocket. “I’ll grab a bug, throw it in & shut him inside. He’s freaky about spiders.” 

Jonesy giggled. “You should be nicer to your big brother, Beav.” He feigned a stern voice. 

“Jesus-Christ-bananas” He shook his head and smiled. “This is us being nice, Jonesy my boy. Clarendons show affection this way.” He flashed more teeth and hopped further down the sidewalk, over some chalk drawings. 

“Make sure you get one of those fuzzy little fuckers then. Really show him just how much you love him.” Jonesy laughed and broke out into a gentle run when Beaver went off in a laugh riot and sped to the speed of a child running to the swings at the playground.

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

Pete laid across the white sheets of his bed and enjoyed the sun shower that was breaking through the glass window and warming him up like a microwave meal. 

He’d just gotten out of a cold shower and the water dribbled down from a loose hair which streaked down his cheek like a tear. The bubble of liquid cradled his chin for a few seconds before rolling down his neck and pooling in his collarbone. Pete sighed with pure comfort and delicately turned his head from his lounge position and found his company. 

Henry, always the Moon’s melancholy child in Pete’s opinion, was curled up on the hardwood floor with a textbook open in his lap. It must’ve been Spanish or something of the sort because his brows were furrowed with frustration, an easily recognizable face for Pete who had trouble in a lot of subjects these days. “Two roads diverged in a snowy wood, is that how it goes? Something like that anyway” Henry mumbled to himself as he flipped pages. “I have no idea how to say that in Spanish.” He shoved the back off his lap. 

“I’m gonna fail this test and end up being the laughing-stock of 3rd period Spanish, Pete. How will I live with myself-?” Henry stood with exaggerated dramatics. He threw out his arms with annoyance before giving it up and yawning. “You want a hot-dog?”

Pete hid his grin in the crook of his elbow. “Yeah, sure.”

With that, Henry made his way downstairs to Pete’s kitchen to actually take the time to make them both hot-dog meals. He returned with a neutral grin and two plates full with the thick meal and bags of chips. 

“Oh, you meant an actual hot-dog?” Pete smirked. 

“Yeah, what did you think I-” Henry paused when his eyes found his friends smirk. “Oh.” He rolled his eyes and hopped onto the bed across from him. “Eat your food and we’ll see.” 

Pete took a large bite and enjoyed the way Henry shoved him. They talked mindlessly as they ate. Mostly dumb little things like why Pete didn’t have his planet printed sheets anymore and what they thought Beav & Jonesy were up to. 

Pete was in the middle of a story which required expressive gestures when Henry swallowed the last bit of his food and shot forward for the heated kind of neck-kiss which always began their dirty endeavors. Pete was knocked back a little but happily hummed. “I still have hot-dog in my mouth, asshole.” He mumbled. 

“Swallow it, maybe I’ll feel it go down.” Henry laughed as he continued to suck Pete’s neck. 

Pete broke into a laugh that might cause him to choke on that good ol’ thick dog. “You can be such a weird fucker, Henry.” He managed to croak out the words as he swallowed and tried not to moan. Henry kept kissing until the urge to laugh was too strong to hold back and Pete sighed like he’d just finished off the greatest meal in the world. 

Henry giggled and fell onto his friends chest and Pete blinked so slowly that it looked like he might just drift off into his pure joy. The boy he adored was laughing into his chest with genuine spark and appreciation of the moment. Henry deserved some carefree laughter because he could be such an asshole to himself...put way too much pressure on his shoulders. 

Pete dared to reach out and brush the tips of his fingers up and down Henry’s spine. “Can I talk to you about something-?”

Pete didn’t finish the sentence because Henry noticed something shining between the wall and the bed, he rolled off Pete and grabbed for it. It took all of Pete’s strength not to huff because he knew just what was coming. 

“Why is there two beer bottles shoved down there?” Henry waved the bottle around. “That damn Deli needs to stop letting this shit get to minors, Pete.” Henry now shook it under his friends nose. 

Pete glanced up for a second or two with a face tinged with annoyance. “People drink, Henry-”

“Yeah but you could at least wait until you’re twenty-one to have the drinking problem of a forty-year old, Pete.” Henry didn’t truly intend to be so cold or upfront but the his currently anxiety was enough to burn a small fire in his chest. 

Pete chuckled like it was no big deal and smiled. “I’ll probably be dead before I hit twenty-one anyway-”

Henry rolled the bottle onto the rug but desperately he wanted to chuck it out like he’d once done with big rocks by the lake with his best friends. “Don’t say things like that, asshole.”

Pete paused for a minute or two and rolled his lips together. “Sorry. I’m sorry.” He held up his hands in mock-surrender. “I know I’ve been a piece of work lately…”

Henry thought about making a joke to lighten the mood but decided against. Rather, he finally loosened a bit and turned as best he could to face this boy who was far better than this. Surprising both of them, he reached over to brush some of his wet hair back. 

“And I don’t admit to that…like ever. So, take it while you can.” Pete stole a joke and laughed lightly. But both of them knew he was not too happy and both of them were worried.

“It’s not comforting when you talk like you despise yourself, y’know?” Henry blinked. That comment hadn’t been one of Pete’s worst in the last week nor was it even close to how Henry talked to himself these days. But it sure wasn’t warm. 

It was hard to ignore the man’s self-deprecating attitude which appeared whenever the topic of drinking came up. And none of his friends would ever want to ignore it. In all honesty, it was deeply unsettling but not uncommon to hear the other man talk like that. As long as he’d known him, Pete put on a front that he was some confident man. It was so smooth and effortless that it was entirely convincing. Hearing him crack jokes and smirk at his own extroverted personality gave the illusion that it wasn’t stemming from insecurity. 

Henry quickly saw through the facade because it wasn’t all that different from what he did.

“Like you’re any better.” Pete countered him and Henry leaned back as if slightly blown away by the little gasp he let out. “You’ve casually hated yourself for months now.” Pete’s voice was soft but fully believing of his statement, as if not realizing how hard-hitting that accusation was. But it came from genuine concern and familiarity. Henry’s stomach twisted. 

The air between them turned a little spoiled and thick. Neither man knew how to move on from the subject. “I'd like to talk with you. And I mean, I'd like to really talk with you.” Pete sat up and leaned against his wall. Henry nodded and crossed his legs. 

“How close are we?” Pete asked and Henry smiled despite the odd mood change between them.

“The closest friends can be.” He gently thumped his friends leg but Pete just swallowed. 

“What do I mean to you?” He blurted his insecurity right then and there in question form. It would have been nice to see the multiple choice bubbles Henry had in his mind, picking one to fill-in.

"What do you mean to me?” Henry repeated. "Pete, you're my best friend. The five of us are...something else, man.” He looked concerned and a little confused as he answered.  

“I know, man. And I - I know -...I know I'm your friend. And that’s a great thing. It’s just-” Pete looked away again and rolled his lips together. “But...three years of...?” He gestured between the two of them. “Do you...? I mean because I-...”

Henry blinked and felt any words he could possibly say get stuck in his throat. 

“I think I kinda...y’know?” Pete looked absolutely miserable yet semi-hopeful. 

Henry almost choked on his own spit at the sentiment he hadn’t ever expected to bloom. He supposed feelings developed in situations like theirs but...he had never thought about it that way, himself. But looking at Pete’s sincere eyes...well for once it made him think about it. 

“I-...I love you. I mean, all of you guys but you...Henry -” Pete frowned and picked at his shoe. “I dunno...I don’t expect anything from you. It’s fine, Henry. Really. I can go right back to being Norman Normal.” he spoke because the silence was driving him crazy. 

Pete glanced down at the empty beer bottle and suddenly wished it was full and going at rocket-speed down his throat. He shrugged and pretended he was on the fucking moon. "It doesn't have to change anything," he said, not sure if he was pleading or promising.

"You – you love me," Henry pointed out, with a neutral face "How can that not change anything?"

Pete let out a bitterly amused chuckle. “It hasn’t changed anything in three years, Henry.” He rolled his eyes and leaned off the bed to pick up the bottle and twirl it in his hands just to have something do. 

“All that time-?” Henry’s face turned into concern which only seemed to trigger annoyance in Pete. It actually looked like he’d kicked Henry in the gut or something. The comment made him flinch...actually flinch. “I feel like such an asshole.” 

Leave it to Henry to take the responsibility. Pete softened. “I wouldn’t love ya if you were an asshole, pal.” He bumped the tip of the brown bottle against Henry’s thigh and tried to give him a grin worthy of taking Beaver’s best smile title. 

Henry only looked sadder. Shouldering a man’s love for you was a responsibility and would be difficult if you just weren’t sure how you felt. 

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

“BEAVER! Get down! That thing is so fucking old.” Jonesy shouted into his cupped hands and tried to stare up at his friend who was currently standing atop the roof of his garage. He was burning through all of his after-school energy with spark. Jonesy couldn’t think of a better way to spend his day. 

The Beav was what filled the holes in each of their hearts, he was the rock and roll playing on their radios. Beaver was probably the first great love of each of their lives...at least, it felt that way to Jonesy who’d loved him since the kiddie school days.

The day was beginning to dwindle into the latest afternoon, the sky looking like burnt toast. Beaver was looking down at his friend with pure energy and sincere admiration. He felt like a kid again, after a long day of rolling around in the grass. 

Randy hadn’t been happy about today’s activities and vowed to get Beaver back for the damn spider but he couldn’t be bothered. “Kiss my bender, Jonesy. Get your scaredy-cat ass up here or piss fire!” He laughed madly and Jonesy felt amusement flow through his body though he wasn’t quite sure what that one meant. 

He took to climbing the side of the garage and tumbled atop the flat roof next to Beaver, who was now laying on his back with heavy breaths.

Unbeknownst to his friend, Beaver turned his mind to dreams of driving down a large scenic street. The radio playing loudly and Jonesy sitting in the passenger seat, probably rattling on about some horror movie he saw. Beaver would have to turn the radio down to listen but he wouldn’t mind in the slightest. 

He rolled his tooth-pick to the other side of his mouth and when Jonesy smiled-....Beaver opened his lips slightly as he admired but the wooden stick instantly shot down Beav’s throat.

He sat up and started cough his guts out, hoping to fuckin’ God, Jesus or John Lennon...whoever was listening...that he’d eventually see the stick in the pool of spittle. 

He cradled his neck in his hands and tried to shoot the damn painful thing out. It finally tore free when Jonesy thumped his back and the pointy little asshole flew over the roof and somewhere onto the grass below. “Bitch-in-a-buzzsaw, I almost just fuckin’ died!” He keeled over with laughter and desperately held onto the little wall in front of them. 

Jonesy burst into giggles too and tried not to do that little wheezy-whistle laugh that sometimes escaped his lips when he laughed too hard. But Beaver hoped to John Lennon that he’d slip it out. “Oh, but to die in your arms is such a heavenly thought, Gariella.” Beaver leaned back into his friend with dramatics very familiar to him. 

Jonesy shoved him off and laughed even harder. “You should be so lucky, Beav. The last thing you’d get to see on this earth is this.” He gestured to his face and feigned a flashy smile. 

“I’d love that.” Beaver winked and felt his heartbeat pick-up speed. Jonesy stood and held out a hand to help his friend without second thought.

When Beaver was pulled up, he found that Jonesy did not let go of his hand and instead started to swing their grip with blissful comfort. He blushed. He’d been feeling a mixture of things recently and a whole lotta something for Jonesy. But he just didn’t see it coming to fruition. But this was...something? Wasn’t it? Maybe his friend was just worried he would go tipping off the side of the roof which could be a possibility, knowing himself. 

“Is this a thing we do now, hold hands?” Beaver asked with a smug, teasing tone because he brought attention to things when he was nervous.

Jonesy looked back at him and rolled his eyes. “Nothing gets past you, Beav.” He chuckled and put-on a face that seemingly only he could pull-off. Half-bothered, half-amused.

Beaver didn’t verbally respond and instead opted to smack the back of his friends head gently with his right hand. 

“You always cheer me up, man.” Jonesy sighed with happy relief when they climbed down and sat back in the grass.

“You needed some cheering up? From what?” He narrowed his eyes but Jonesy only shrugged. 

“Just life sometimes. We’re Seniors - minus Pete - and the world is waiting for us to make something of it. Very stressful but you always got something to make the day better. I love ya for that.” Jonesy happily leaned his head on his friends shoulder but Beav found a deep sort of depression in his gut. It was not the kind of love confession he wanted...and the job was a difficult one...

Shouldering the happiness for his friend was quite the responsibility and sometimes it just got hard for Beaver when his own feelings got confusing. 

[myownpersonaldemons]

Self-Tober Prompt 9

Coffee

SF!Papyrus/Reader

Coffee.

When you were younger you hated the taste of it. No matter what you did it was always too bitter and disgusting. You preferred to drink tea instead if you needed a boost of caffeine.

That was years ago, and now you normally blearily shuffled your way out of your room and make yourself a cup of coffee still half asleep. You’d knock it back as you made yourself breakfast, and then on particularly bad days you’d have a second one afterwards as you either got ready for the day or sat on the couch and watched youtube videos or chat with your boyfriend if he was up.

You weren’t exactly a grump in the morning, but your responses were limited until at least thirty minutes after you woke up. Starting with small grunts or huffs in responses to single words to small sentences, to an actual adult conversation.

Those were all normal days.

Today...was not a normal day.

You woke up grumpy.

After having an extremely rough time falling asleep, Rus had come to bed late. You knew it really wasn’t his fault you woke up, he always tried to be quiet and he barely weighed anything so the bed didn’t dip down, but your body had reacted to the soft shift of the blanket of all things. Then it had taken you forever once again to fall back asleep and you kept waking up.

Back when you weren’t sharing a bed with someone, you would’ve flipped and flopped all over the bed before pulling out your phone to distract yourself from how angry you were that you weren’t falling asleep. Now? You knew that Rus had just as much trouble falling and staying asleep as you were having, so you only changed positions when you absolutely had to and only scrolled through your phone once, and that was under the blankets with the screen brightness all the way down.

In total, you had gotten probably less than three hours of sleep.

So, when you woke up suddenly to the feeling of Rus cuddling against your back you had jerked away and snarled something probably unkind (which you immediately regretted but you were too grumpy and exhausted to apologize right away) before thumping your pillow over your head.

You could feel him go stock-still behind you before he gently touched your hip and you smacked his hand away.

Another beat of stillness before he got out of bed and you were left alone. You took advantage immediately of being the only one in the bed to immediately tuck the blanket around you and roll into a burrito and plant your face directly into Rus’ pillow and grumble.

Fuck this.

Fuck that.

Fuck shitty sleepless nights!

You must’ve fallen asleep because you woke to the smell of coffee, and you slowly uncurled yourself from your burrito to see a large cup on the nightstand. You rubbed your sleep crusted eyes and then reached over and took a sip. You rested your mouth on the rim of the cup and exhaustedly stared at your lap. Each blink felt like it took ten seconds and when you finally took another sip you swore you had almost fallen asleep half sitting up in bed.

Eventually, you were halfway done your cup of coffee and you were starting to feel a smidge less grumpy.

It was almost as if Rus could sense that you were feeling even the slightest bit better, as he poked his head into the bedroom.

“mornin’ darlin’, uh...i made you breakfast too...if you’re hungry?” he said, taking a small step into the room. A noise that might’ve resembled a ‘yeah’ but it came out more like a ‘yng’ before sipping more of your coffee. Then you placed your cup onto the nightstand and attempted to untangle yourself from the blankets and stand up, but as luck would have it...that was an insanely bad move.

You hit the floor with a thud.

Not a peep left you as you stared blankly at the dresser.

Rus swallowed a snort, “uh- pf...you...you okay there darlin’?”

“Leave me to die,” you said, or you think you got that feeling across at least. It probably came out as more of a ‘lea’metadie’ or something equally as garbled. Rus let out the softest laugh and walked over to stand beside you. A flash of irritation bolted through you and you began to wriggle attempting to free yourself, and he wisely didn’t laugh, just crouched down and took pity on you.

“what’s wrong?” he asked quietly, half-tossing the blanket onto the bed as you slowly got to your feet. “this ain’t like ya.”

You couldn’t fight the yawn that erupted out of your mouth, and you flailed your hand in the vague direction of your cup until you felt it. “Tired,” you grumped.

A look, “uh...you’re normally...not...like this?”

“Grumpy,” you added, and then downed the rest of your coffee while using your other hand to grab the comfort and lazily attempting to wrap it around your shoulders. It was cold. You didn’t want to be cold. You didn’t want to be awake. You didn’t want any of this. Why was your life so hard right now?

“that’s...” Rus sighed giving you a look, “com’on i made your favourite.”

That appeased your mood slightly, so you turned and shuffled out of the bedroom. Rus adjusted the blanket around your shoulders before you could trip on the end of it. You still had to apologize for snapping at him earlier, especially when he just wanted to cuddle as it was rare that you were still in bed when he woke up. Later when you can actually articulate your words, you’d make it up to him.

It smelt delicious in the apartment and you started heading to grab a plate but Rus steered you towards the table. “i got this, darlin’.”

“Okay,” you mumbled sitting down and rubbing at your eyes roughly. God you were so fucking exhausted, but if you kept on sleeping now you’d never get to bed on time, and you had work tomorrow. At least that was a small victory.

You turned your gaze towards the window and gazed down across the street at the river.

Mist rose from the water as it flowed on by creating a fog that stretched out as far as you could see. You could see frost clinging to the orange and yellow leaves that still remained. People hurried along the sidewalk, covered with scarves, hats, gloves, and jackets. Though, there were still some people who walked along as if it was a bright summer day. You saw one or two guys wearing shorts.

The soft clink of the plate sat down stopped you before you could fully zone out, and you looked down just in time to see the second cup of coffee being placed beside the plate. As you glanced up, Rus bent down and pressed his teeth against your forehead. You exhaled softly, and nuzzled into the kiss which made him smile a bit wider.

It took you forever to eat as you kept zoning out whenever your gaze would return to the window, but Rus sat with you throughout it all even when he finished his breakfast and started guzzling down his BBQ sauce. Honey Hickory.

Once you were done eating, you felt a bit more human and less grumpy. You would probably take a nap later in the day, and there was the chance that you would continue to be irritable throughout the day, but you felt better with a full stomach.

“I love you,” you mumbled rubbing your face with one hand, “m’sorry.”

“nyehehe...love ya too...but uh...i-is anything wrong? you wanna talk bout it? d....did i do something?” he said, his voice going from amused confidence to hesitant timidness. The flash of irritation you felt was purely for yourself and you immediately shook your head.

“No, no, no. I just...got like three hours of sleep,” you explained shoving the comfort off your shoulders and onto the chair before standing up. “Kept waking up.”

“oh...”

Rus didn’t say anything more as you cleared the table and you thanked god that the apartment came with a dishwasher because you really, really hated doing dishes. As you closed the door, bony arms wrapped around your waist before a skull pressed against the juncture of your neck and shoulder. A soft nip. “sorry for waking you,” he murmured against your skin, “you can go back to bed.”

You reached up to stroke his skull. “If I go back now I’ll just be awake all night. Besides, I’d rather be with my favourite skellie,” you murmured.

“hehehe, good thing I’m-“

“Is your brother off today?” you interrupted, and he snorted releasing you instantly. You let out a soft laugh and turned around, wrapping your arms around his ribs and pulling him back to you. “I’m teasing.”

“better be. sans doesn’t need a bigger ego,” he replied, but there was a fondness to them that had you smiling. He bumped his forehead against yours and nuzzled you softly. You leaned against him, murmuring thank yous and love yous into his collarbone. There was the soft jolt of a teleport before he was giving you a gentle nudge. You peeled your eyes open lazily and saw that he’d teleported you a whole seven feet to the living room couch.

“Thought you’d take me back to bed,” you teased, releasing him and dropping down onto the couch. He chuckled and ran his fingertips over your cheek.

“mmmm...your morning sex opportunity is gone, darlin’. afternoon couch sex is still on the table, but ya gotta wait til after lunch, wanna ‘nother coffee?” he asked, to which you nodded. You weren’t in the mood to bone your bonefriend, at least yet. You’d have one more coffee and then wait a while to see if the three cups kicked in or if you’d need to try to convince Rus to zip over to Sans’ and steal his espresso machine. The two of you might be able to hide it behind Rus’ stash of BBQ sauce...

Rus teleported back over and placed your mug on the coffee table before nudging you. You reluctantly sat up, but the moment Rus had settled into the couch and was opening up Netflix, you were fluffing pillows and tucking them against his side before cuddling up against him. A soft chuckle left him before his fingers were threading through your hair, and the warmth of your coffee was chasing away the chill of the morning.

You practically melted against him, and felt all the frustration and irritation of not being able to sleep seeped out of you. Slowly your eyelids drooped as you cuddled your boyfriend, maybe you should’ve let him cuddle you this morning...might’ve gotten some sleep in.

Your coffee was soon long gone, the mug abandoned on the table, and Rus was lying beneath you (with plenty of pillows to pad his ribs and build up his non-existent stomach), his fingers gently running over your scalp and idly playing with your hair. Your fingers were running slowly up and down his humerus as you vaguely paid attention to the show that he had chosen.

His teeth pressed against the top of your head, and you stretched slightly before peering up at him. “love you,” he murmured, fingers trailing down your neck to rest on your upper back. “you grump.”

That got a snort out of you and you nuzzled his jaw before placing a kiss there as well. “I love you as much as I love my morning coffee,” you teased.

“damn, that means we’re in for the long haul,” he joked back but you could feel a bit of tension to his form.

“Course we are,” you replied easily, nestling back against him and you felt the tension flow out of him. You smiled softly. “Who else is gunna bring me coffee after I snap at them for wanting to cuddle? No one I know, you’re special. ”

He snorted at that, “i’d bring you coffee every morning if you didn’t wake up so damn early.”

“You wake up at 12 most days,” you shot back, but he didn’t bother trying to deny that. Instead, he giggled and returned to playing with your hair. Another episode went passed, and you shifted your head to tuck it under Rus’ chin better. You sighed contently and allowed your eyes to droop shut to the feeling of his fingers gently scratching your scalp and the quiet chatter of the television.

Only Rus could take an awful fucking start to a day and flip it on its head, and you loved him for it.

[huny-bun]

The best thing you can do is pick a fairly small room with minimal outer walls or at least small windows. Put as much fabric in there as possible. Think of this as your den. Clothing on floors and over any less insulated area (ex windows or gaps in doors) you want as little contact with any cold floors to keep your feet warm. As I’ve seen a couple other ppl say, the reason for small room/lots of fabric is because your body heat will heat up the room if you stay there. Every time you open a door you will let out the heat and will need to replace it so only leave if you really really need too and make sure to put fabric like a towel or literally anything on the bottom of the door when you do leave to make sure as little as possible gets out. You may be tempted to bring out candles and light a lot of them. And this will warm things up for sure, but you can’t have all that fabric and also have candles bc its an obvious fire safety issue and while the candles can heat up a room they wont do much long term if it just goes out the walls. We also have to think about how long this could last, I once went a solid week without power during a snowstorm (-35C) and trust me you don’t want to burn threw your candles within the first 2 days if you got 7 to go threw. Best bet would be to insulate the room and warm it with body heat and after a while see how tolerable that level is. If its still pretty bad, clear the floor and move all the fabric to any exposed walls around your bed and have the candles on the other side of the room. Anything like a fondue set or tea pot that can be heated by candle can help with the hot drink thing I bring up later.  Now about layering. You’ll skin tight clothes  (like yoga pants) are gunna be your first layer. This actually works best if they are breathable!! This is because if you sweat threw your layers the water will make you colder much faster over time. So don’t put on too many layers and thin/breathable/tight clothes on first. Dont be afraid to use socks as gloves. Even if you have to cut thumb openings they are better then nothing I promise. shoe wise you want something with a high ankle if possible and without breathable holes. If you do have an issue with them being running shoes you’ll want to double maybe even triple up your socks to minimize the wet and cold on your feet. Even if you have to really loosen up your laces this can make it way more bearable then having thin socks and risk them being wet. Now onto drinks and cooking. If you have hot water, drink it. Even if its from the tub, it is the easiest to heat up. I’d suggest making it more palatable with teas or juice packs if you have access. If you have a bbq it might even be worth it to put a kettle and make some soup on it honestly. This of course risks going outside so weigh the benefit of a hot meal with that. If you have food in your fridge thats going bad, I’d recommend filling a cooler with snow and shoving it in there or if you are in a place that your not too worried about animals you can very well toss it in a garbage bag and put it in the snow and bury it.  The last thing that I’m gunna bring up is health. With emergency services down along with a plague and this weather snap you gotta really focus on your health. It’s pretty common knowledge where I am at least, but since the romans fucked us over by not assuming we’d always be using oceans for our source of water I’ll bring it up. When weather goes from fairly warm, to pretty cold suddenly you’re likely to get headaches/migraines because of the pressure change that happens and your almost certain to get a cold because your body is all fucked up. That added with the lack of heat your body will likely feel like cold symptoms come on. If you have cold meds, put them into your Den room and keep them close in case, take any advil you have if you start to feel pressure in your temples or behind your eyes, creeping up your neck, or even shoulders. This weather also makes things like arthritis way worse. If you don’t have advil Lavender and birch is a natural anti-inflammatory and will have similar effect, many sleepy/relaxing teas have this and literally any amount of it helps.  This is a lot of info and if anyone has any questions for specific situations let me know, all my survival skills are built for mountains! Keep warm, stay safe babes. 

Hey guys! So this isn’t really what I usually talk about, but I just wanted to spread some awareness about it as it is something I haven’t seen talked about too much.

So as some people right now might know, Texas is currently facing a huge winter storm in which ever single county has a winter storm advisory. There is 5-7 inches of snow in many places and temperatures in the single digits. And while to many people who live in cold places, this is nothing, there are some things you should know:

Most places are currently without power

At some points today, almost half of homes were without power, and most hotels are booked. The power has been out in many places for 24-48 hours and is not expected to be back on for 1-3 days. The current temperature inside where I live is under 40 degrees.

2. No one has proper clothing

Barely anyone in Texas has proper gloves, winter coats, warm pants etc, so keeping warm when your house is almost freezing and it’s 10 degrees outside is difficult.

3. Road issues

With power out, lots of food has gone bad and the roads have been bad all week, so it has been difficult to get anywhere. We do not have snow tires, plows, or salted roads.

Also cell service has been off and on where I am, which is bad because if anything were to happen, you aren’t able to call 911 or inform anyone of your situation.

If you live in Texas, try to keep warm if possible by

Wearing warm clothes and layering

Keep freezers and refrigerators closed

Close blinds

Cover under doors to keep heat in

If safe, go to another location with power/heat

Also make sure to not use your stove for heat! Instead use a fireplace if you have one, wear warm clothes, drink something warm, use blankets, and keep your feet and head warm

If you live in Texas and have power PLEASE:

Keep thermostat at 68 or below

Keep lights off if possible

Unplug what you aren’t using

Avoid using an oven for long periods of time or doing laundry

If safe/possible maybe offer up a spare room or a couch to a family member or a friend in you COVID “bubble” for a night so that they can have power.

Please be understanding that people in Texas are not prepared for this and if anyone else has any tips feel free to rb and mention them!!

[din-skywalker]

A Texan BBQ

They honestly don't know how they'd gotten into this situation. It's not bad, mind you, but they hadn't been expecting to be in it.

Ed Edgar said he'd wanted to show them something he had large amounts of fun going to. And, because no one wanted to say no to him- they hardly ever do anything involving him- they said that they would go.

Turns out he just wanted to leave Google, Dark, and the Host with a few of the Jack egos- Anti, Marvin and Schneeple- at a Texan BBQ. He got them sat down at the long table in the middle of normal human beings, excused himself and then ran off, leaping over the nearby fence to get away.

Dark quickly found out had happened. And, he would have left, but there is a sweet old lady talking to him and knitting him a sweater and he would but he actually wants a sweater he’s not staying because he likes the old lady or anything though no way-

Anti is sat on the opposite side of the table, tapping his sharp nails on its surface impatiently. He’s glaring at the man and woman grilling because they are taking forever- they are taking way too long and he’s really fucking hungry. They have been waiting for an hour now and it should already be time to eat. Why the hell is it taking so long-? He’s moving to leap forward but then a hand lands on his shoulder, keeps him from attacking the person sitting in front of him in his blind hunger.

“... and this is my oldest brother Anti,” Marvin explains to a nice young man who had struck up a conversation with him. Not only is this young man cute but he’s also nice, starting the conversation with Marvin in his adorable Texan drawl and asking how he was and everything. Now Marvin is telling this young man- or, Ken- about his family, introducing him to the ones that are currently here. And sure Anti is terrifying, but he’s still family and Ken wants to meet him. He just has to get the demon’s attention. He shakes the shoulder he’s holding slightly and Anti’s wide and annoyance filled eyes turn to them. Great. He’ll have to do this quickly. “Anti, this is Ken!”

Anti looks this “Ken” up in down before growling softly, pushing past Marvin to the now wide eyed male. “I swear to god if you say anything to hurt Marvy-!” he’s yelling but then he’s dragged back because Marvin forces him backwards with an angered shout.

Schneeple laughs as he watches this occur. He already knew Anti was going to be a problem. He sits beside the host, their fingers intertwined and rested on the table for all to see. A few of the other people strike up conversations with them, give them drinks(beer and other alcoholic beverages) before returning to the people they know. Everyone here is so nice and warm hearted despite the lack of food at this later hour. Most people would be eating by now.

“Shouldn’t the food be done by now?” Schneeple asked a nearby woman, gaining her attention from the card game she had been playing. She sets her deck of cards on the table- face down- and hums with a shrug.

“It usually takes a little longer for the food to be cooked fully at BBQs,” she explained, winking once she sees Schneeple and the Host holding hands. Schneeple’s face heats up in the slightest but he runs a thumb along the Host’s knuckles. “But don’t worry- the food is always perfect after bein cooked for so long!”

Schneeple nods and glances over to where Google is sitting nearby, turning his gaze away from the still screaming Anti. He always does get even more short tempered when hungry. His eyes land on the android a moment later and he can see Google’s eyes locked directly on Marvin and he can’t help but smirk in amusement. It’s obvious that Google has a crush on the magician, he just doesn’t know it himself yet.

Why is Google here? He doesn’t need to eat. He doesn’t need to drink. Yet, here he is, at an annoyingly loud “BBQ” with a few others. The only good thing about this whole situation is the fact that Marvin is here. He does enjoy watching the masked magician walk about, even if he’s been obviously flirting with another man this entire time and vice versa. It’s not like he can control Marvin, afterall. Or Anti who is screaming and causing a scene. Though, most of the Texans gathered seem used to the yelling and screaming because they continue playing and talking as though it were a mouse squeaking.

Though, it is pretty funny watching Dark be forced to speak to an old lady as she knits him a sweater.

Dark continues to watch the old lady- she told him that he can call her Miss Peggy- knit up a storm. She is actually going at an impressive speed for a lady of her age(she’s probably around the age of 90 years) and she is even continuing to divide her attention from knitting to Dark to knitting again. She keeps asking for his personal preference of clothing and he keeps telling her and watching as she adds an all new pattern to the sweater in progress. He might actually be starting to… like Miss Peggy. Not that he would ever admit it, though. But she had even given him a piece of hard caramel that all old ladies seemed to carry around(he really likes caramel) with them. Maybe it wasn’t so bad that he was here… even if Anti is screaming in the background.

Anti continues to scream at Ken, even as Marvin is yelling at him to shut up and it’s chaotic, in all honesty. Ken is watching from the sidelines with wide eyes and god does Anti want to pummel his face for even trying to flirt with his little brother-

“Food is done cooking!” the woman who had been behind the grill yelled loudly over all of the chaos occurring currently. Everyone pauses, freezes completely still, eyes drifting to the grill and the now set up and perfectly cut food waiting on a nearby table. Anti instantly darts away from Marvin because fuck it he’s starving!

Everyone hurries for the table of food. Well, everyone aside from the Host, Dark, Miss Peggy and Google. The Host because he doesn’t want to trip from blindness, Dark and Miss Peggy because of obvious reasons, and Google because he doesn’t need food. It’s even more chaotic as people push and shove trying to get their own plate of food. Once everyone has some, however, they return to their seats and begin to dig in.

“You should go get some food for yourself, dearie,” Miss Peggy said, patting Dark’s wrist lightly before pointing to the table of food. She has pauses in her knitting to speak to him and he shakes his head, taking her hand into his gently. Her old and wrinkling skin rubs comfortable against his warmer and smoother palms.

“Nonsense,” he said in reply, lightly rubbing a thumb along her fragile knuckles. Human things are already fragile, but their elders are even morse. Dark may have a small soft spot for human elders. Not that he’d ever tell anyone. Ever. “Though, I could grab you plate of food, if you wish.”

“So nice,” Miss Peggy said with a small chuckle, reaching up with her other hand to pat Dark’s cheek and his lips press together because she’s so precious. “Please do. My old knees are so hard to walk with anymore. Though, nothing too hard or rough.”

“Of course! I will be right back!” Dark exclaimed, releasing her hand to quickly head for the table of food to get her a plate.

Marvin had been going to get his own plate but then Ken hands him one, winking at him and gesturing towards a seat. Marvin smirks and takes both, crossing his legs as he begins to eat. “I really like your mask,” Ken said suddenly and reaches up towards it. On instinct Marvin slaps his hand away and then gasps, eyes widening as Ken hisses in surprise.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry!” Marvin said quickly, regretting his action greatly. He really liked Ken. “I just hate it when people touch my mask!”

Ken smiles shakily and rubs at the hand Marvin had his, eyes darting to the face of a nearby woman. “It’s okay,” he said but Marvin could tell that it’s not really. “I gotta go now. Bye.”

Once he’s walked away Marvin sighs heavily, frustrated at himself. He leans his cheek into his hand and glares off into space. He’s still hungry, though. He grabs his plate and stands, wanting to sit somewhere else. Hopefully Anti hadn’t seen that. If he had- Ken would be dead in five seconds.

Marvin ends up sitting beside Google because the android had looked so alone sitting apart from everyone else.”Hey,” he said, plopping down in the chair beside Google. “Don’t mind me. Just gonna sit here.” Google shrugs and so he takes that as an okay and begins to eat, humming in satisfaction at the taste of the well cooked meat.

Miss Peggy eventually finished knitting after eating her small portion of food, holding it up to show Dark. The demon’s eyes widen because this is the cutest sweater he’s ever seen. It’s obviously homemade but also so well knitted; the patterns are clear and adorable even to Dark. Small black cats decorate the sweater all around and the sleeves are nice and long and as Dark pulls it over his head he finds out that they slide over and cover his hands completely. He pulls his head down a little, the sweater collar sliding up to his nose and he loves it.

“Thank you dearly, Miss Peggy,” he said to the old lady who smiles widely at him, her still perfectly white teeth shining faintly in the dimming light. “I love it deeply.”

“Of course, dear,” Miss Peggy said and actually winks at him.

She is too precious.

Turns out, each of the egos enjoyed their time at the Texan BBQ. Dark hardly ever takes the sweater off, even around the other egos, even as Wilford teases him about it.

He really does like the sweater.

____

Requested by the wonderful @i-am-a-fan I hope you like it! I had a lot of fun writing this, actually.

[5hfanfiction]

Say You Won't Let Go - Chapter 5

It’s been almost a week since New Years and The Holy Trinity would be moving into their Miami apartment today. The girls were met early in the morning by their security team, who from now on will be with them at almost all times.

When they recorded their last album, fans found out where they studio was. During a recording session, around 100 fans waited for the girls outside. When it was time to go home, the girls were mobbed by them, they were being pushed and pulled through the crowd.

They have no problem with their fans, they love them more than anything but some managed to follow them home. In the middle of the night, someone tried to break in. Nothing serious happened, but the label now wants a security team with them for the duration of recording this album.

The head of security, Max, came to pick up the girls and take them to the airport with 2 other guards. They would be traveling with them to Miami and Max would be living in the same apartment complex as them, just in case he’s needed at any given moment.

The bodyguards loaded the Escalade with everyone’s luggage, while Normani, Dinah, and Lauren got comfy in the back.

Normani and Dinah were grumpy for being awake so early. Lauren didn’t mind because she gets to see her family today. They would land in Miami around noon and go to Taylor’s BBQ.

She looked at her phone and got even happier when she saw KC posted a new video.

“Sup pumpkins. Hope your New Year is starting off great. Enjoy the video.”

Something about her voice was very familiar, but Lauren couldn’t figure it out.

My mama don’t like you and she likes everyone. And I never like to admit that I was wrong. But I’ve been so caught up in my job, Didn’t see what’s going on. But now I know, I’m better sleeping on my own. Cuz if you like the way you look that much, Oh, baby, you should go and love yourself. And if you think that I’m still holding onto something, You should go and love yourself. You tried to make me insecure. You tried to break me, Maybe cuz you couldn’t love yourself, Love yourself. But your poison was the cure, And by accident you showed me how to love myself. Cuz if you like the way you look that much Oh, baby, you should go and love yourself And if you think that I’m still holding on to something You should go and love yourself

“Well, that’s all I have for you. Love Only!”

“Haven’t heard that voice in a while,” Dinah said. “Have you talked to her?”

“I mean, we exchange messages, but it’s not like that.”

“Because you only have eyes for Camila now?” Dinah smirked, raising an eyebrow.

“No!” Lauren quickly said.

“Yes!” Normani countered.

Maybe, Lauren thought. “I haven’t seen her since New Years,” Lauren frowned. “Ally came over a couple times and Mani went over Ally’s house. And Dinah, you went to dinner with Camila last night,” she paused thinking about the pictures of Camila with Dinah that were all over entertainment news. “Did you see the paps pictures of last night? She looks cute.”

Dinah rolled her eyes. Last night when she was out with Camila, all the Cuban talked about was Lauren. “Well, have you even asked her to chill?”

“Not really,” Lauren mumbled. “But why didn’t she come when Ally came over?”

“Ask her,” Normani said. “Communication is key!”

“You guys are no help, at all.” She focused back on her phone to message KC.

Lauren: You killed that song! Bieber who!?!?!? You write that bridge yourself? KC: lol Thnx Laur ❤ I did. Lauren: Damn, you can sing. You play multiple instruments, and you can write. What cant you do? KC: I’m going to be honest with you, I’m perfect…it often gets overshadowed by my awkwardness. Lauren: lmao sure. Why didn’t you sing more? KC: tbh I recorded that after a shit night. I just wanted to sing to let it out, you know? Lauren: Is everything okay? I know we don’t talk like that, but I’m here if anything. KC: Everything is alright, no worries. Lauren: Okie dokie, I’m here if anything 😊 but I gotta go catch a plane. Hakuna Matata ✌🏻 KC: Ah the life of a popstar. Bye Lauren 😘

“Kissy Emoji!?” Normani faked a gasp, “Who are you talking to?” she asked trying to peak at Laurens phone.

“Your girlfriend?” Dinah suggested while Lauren pushed Normani away.

“Which one,” Normani laughed.

Lauren scowled at her bandmates. “I was talking to KC, not that it’s any of your concern.”

“So girlfriend number two,” Dinah joked. “You’re supposed to text number one!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lauren said annoyed with her friends teasing.

“Sure Lolo. I see you smiling at your phone like an idiot when your texting Mila…Oh, I’m sorry I mean Camz.” Dinah said playfully earning a smack by Lauren.

“Ask her why she hasn’t come see you…No! Ask her to hang out when we get to Miami. She’s going home today too,” Normani said.

“NO!” Dinah shouted. “Ask her to come to your sister’s BBQ. Your dad said to bring friends!”

“Yes! I’m going to text Ally.” Normani said excitedly.

“Wait, no. Let me talk to Camz first.”

Dinah smiled, “Okay Ralph,” she patted Lauren’s head teasingly, “You talk to Camz first.”

Lauren swatted Dinah’s hand away, and Dinah then started to ruffle Lauren’s hair. The two started pushing and shoving each other.

“We are here, girls,” Max said opening the door.

“I don’t know about these babies,” Normani said pointing at Dinah and Lauren, “but I’m a woman.” The three started laughing. They tried climbing over each other to get out of the car, which led to Normani falling out.

Max rushed to her and picked her up. “Are you alright, woman?” he jokingly asked causing more laughter.

After that, they made their way to the airport security effortlessly. There was luckily no problem with paparazzi, probably because their security shielded them well.

They were headed towards their gate when Lauren felt somebody bump into her. One of their bodyguards grabbed her making sure she didn’t fall. When she saw who it was she smiled widely. “Camz? What are you doing here?”

Camila looked up at Lauren and images of New Years flashed in her mind. She took a step away from the older girl with a terrified look. She shook her head trying to shake the thoughts.

“Lauren?” she asked. She knew Lauren would be at the airport, but she didn’t expect to run into her. Literally. “Uhhh, I gotta go!” she said and took off running.

Lauren frowned but decided to chase after her. She told Dinah and Normani to meet her at the gate. They stopped security from running after her, letting them know it was okay. Max was not happy about that.

He’d been with The Holy Trinity since they started. He always felt the need to protect them, especially Lauren. From the outside world and from herself as well. On tour when she managed to sneak off on her own, he’d always find her and make sure she was fine.

Lauren wondered why Camila was running away from her. Maybe the younger girl really didn’t want to see her. The thought made her feel guilty.

“Camila!” Lauren shouted chasing her. “I know you said you’re okay and everything, but it feels like you’re dodging me.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Camila said still running, looking around like crazy.

“Well for one, you are literally running away from me.” Lauren started catching up.

“Fuck!” Camila groaned, abruptly stopping. Lauren tried to stop as well but ended up tripping over her own feet and falling to the floor.

Camila bursted into laughter. “Laur, I’m not avoiding you. Trust me.” She reached her hand out and pulled Lauren up. “I was running to catch this flight but looks like it left. Ally really had to use the bathroom, I was going to hold the plane for her.”

“I’m not sure that’s how it works,” Lauren laughed. “I don’t think you can just hold a plane.”

“Sounds pretty ridiculous now that I think about it,” Camila giggled. Talking and laughing with Lauren felt so good, but she can’t get the image of angry Lauren out of her head.

“I’ll call her,” Lauren suggested after she noticing Camila’s silence while she looked deep in thought. She took out her phone and dialed Ally.

“Lauren?” Ally picked up confused.

“Yeah, hey I’m with Camila. You guys missed your flight, but me and the girls are headed to Miami, so you can fly with us.”

“Um, okay? Is there room on your flight?”

Lauren just laughed, “Yeah, stay where you are. Me and Camz are coming to you,” With that Lauren hung up. She looked at Camila who was looking around the airport and reached her hand out to get her attention. Camila flinched away the moment Lauren touched her.

“I’m sorry,” Lauren said quickly. She realized how afraid Camila was of her. Even though Camila may say she’s okay, there’s still a part of her that is scared of Lauren.

Camila shrugged, “I just wasn’t expecting you to touch me. I’m sorry.” She didn’t understand what was happening, why she was so scared of Lauren. Sure, they had a little fight but she thought she was over it. They talked a bit since then, everything seemed fine until actually seeing Lauren.

Lauren hated that Camila feared her, but decided to ignore it and tried to make the moment lighter, “Wanna race to Ally?”

Camila smile and nodded. “I’ll beat you, that’s for sure.”

“Oh yeah? Then let’s make it interesting…If I win you have to let me take you out.” Lauren suggested.

Camila rolled her eyes, “Fine whatever. If I win, you have to announce your undying love for me to the world.”

Lauren thought for a moment, “Management will not like that, so fuck it…GO!” She took off running.

Camila and Lauren ran through the airport with Lauren in the lead the whole time. They almost made it to Ally when Camila shrieked, “Ow!” she stopped running and gripped her ankle. “Lo, wait up. I hurt myself.”

Lauren stopped immediately and jogged back towards Camila, “What happened? Are you okay?” she said concern laced in her voice.

Camila started laughing, “You’re such a sucker.” She took off running, leaving Lauren stunned.

Camila got to Ally first and was ecstatic, while Lauren was pouting telling her she cheated. The three girls made their way to the gate where Normani and Dinah were waiting.

“Damn dawg, took you long enough,” Dinah said impatiently. “I’m trying to sleep on this plane.”

“These two missed their flight, so they are coming with us,” Lauren explain.

“Yay! Are they coming to Tay’s BBQ?” Normani asked.

Lauren looked at Camila and Ally, “Wanna come to my sister’s BBQ? It’s literally only going to be my family, nothing big.”

“Yes!” Ally exclaimed.

“I have to go visit my little sister, and I wouldn’t want to intrude,” Camila replied timidly.

“Mila bring Sofi! She’s probably The Holy Trinity’s biggest fan!” Ally begged.

“Aw, yeah bring her! Dinah is used to children because of her 1000 siblings. And Lolo, she turns into a little ball of mush around kids.” Normani added.

“My dad said to bring my friends, so it’s no intrusion. Please,” Lauren pleaded giving Camila her best puppy eyes, and pout.

It made Camila’s heart flutter, she bit her lip and nodded.

“Great! Let’s get going,” Lauren ordered.

The five girls walked outside going to the private plane, Dinah took that time to take pictures. Once inside Ally and Camila marveled at how beautifully sleek the inside was. Neither girl ever flying in something like this before.

Ally quickly took a picture before all the girls got seated and posted it on twitter.

Camila laid on a sofa near the back of the plane, Lauren sat in a chair across from her. In front of them, Ally, Dinah, and Normani sat at a table. And near the pilot’s cabin in front sat the three bodyguards.

When seated before takeoff Dinah decided to post a picture on twitter for the fans.

@DinahJane: I miss your faces, but Miami here we come ✈️✈️

@LaurenJauregui: @AllyBrooke Get off my plane.. #StrangerDanger 🆘 @NormaniKordei: @LaurenJauregui Leave @AllyBrooke alone. 😡 @DinahJane: @NormaniKordei @LaurenJauregui @AllyBrooke Why don’t you include me in conversations? I’m feeling unloved. @LaurenJauregui: @DinahJane Probably because no one loves you.

Lauren laughed at her phone making Camila glance at her to see what’s funny. She assumed it had something to with Dinah because she heard the Polynesian shouting at Lauren shortly after.

“Excuse me, but I think you have a love to confess,” Camila said innocently.

“You cheated Cabello. I’m not doing it,” Lauren said.

“Lauren Michelle! You know damn well if you would’ve cheated and won, you’d make me go on a date. Stop being a punk ass and post a tweet about how whipped you are,” Camila demanded.

“You don’t even have twitter,” Lauren grumbled.

Camila looked at Lauren wide-eyed. She had told the older girl earlier that she didn’t have any social media, but truth is KC did. “Not the point.”

Lauren sighed, “Fine.” Camila did a small victory dance in her seat.

@AllyBrooke: dMac I love you 💕 @DinahJane @NormaniKordei: 🙁 and Me? @AllyBrooke. @AllyBrooke: With all my heart. 💗 @NormaniKordei @DinahJane: and no one loves @LaurenJuargui @LaurenJauregui: I don’t need any of you @NormaniKordei @DinahJane @Allybrooke. I have something much better. 😍 @LaurenJauregui: My future baby mama 💛 #CamilaCabello

“I fucking ship it!” Dinah shouted to the two girls in the back.

Camila laughed and assumed Lauren must’ve said something on twitter. “Were you nice?” Camila asked Lauren.

“Aren’t I always, babe?” Lauren smirked.

“Not your babe, Jauregui.” Camila shook her head. “Hey Laur, what’s your favorite color? I read once that your favorite color plays a hand in your personality and behavior.”

Before Lauren can answer Camila rambled on, “You seem like a blue kind of person! Calming and cool. Charming and peaceful. I never thanked you for helping me through my little panic attack. See! Calming. So am I right?” Camila said in one breath.

Lauren bit her lip to suppress her smile, she thought Camila’s random rambling was adorable. Camila is adorable. Though she didn’t have a favorite color, she didn’t want to disappoint Camila who was sitting there excited and eager. “Yes, I love blue.”

“Ah, I knew it.” Camila smiled.

“If I’m so cool and charming, go on a date with me,” Lauren said, her phone buzzing in her hand.

Mani👑: Why you lying? DMac💖: Yeah dawg, your favorite color is not blue! Lolo: Stop snooping… but did you hear how excited she was? Lolo: It’s my favorite color now, I’m never gonna look at blue the same. 💙

Camila heard a loud “Aw” from the girls in the front. She shook it off, and went back to thinking about what Lauren said. Is she crazy for constantly rejecting Lauren?

She wanted badly to just say yes, and leave her heart out of it because she knew Lauren probably just wanted sex. That’s not what Camila was looking for. She wanted to meet someone and fall in love. Make love, not just fuck.

“I didn’t mean to make you anxious or something,” Lauren spoke softly.

Camila looked at her confused, and Lauren pointed to Camila’s stomach. The younger girl must have started scratching it subconsciously while in thought.

Before Camila could say anything, her phone started buzzing.

Shawn: Wtf. Why is Ally tweeting the holy trinity and why is lauren calling you her future baby mama Mila🐨: Maaaan I can’t even begin to explain to you what the fuck has been happening. Shawn: Well when you come over with Sof you gots some explaining to do lol

“Fuck,” she muttered.

“What’s wrong?” Lauren asked.

“I told Shawn I’d hang out with Sofi at his house. Whatever I’ll just tell him I have something else to do.”

Lauren felt unexplainably jealous at the second mention of this Shawn person, “Why don’t you invite him?” she suggested wanting to get a look at her competition.

“What? Are you sure? I don’t want to like be intruding family time.”

“Chill Camz, you can invite that person. You’re not intruding, trust me. Truthfully, I wanted to invite you earlier, but you hadn’t seen me all week and I didn’t want to seem like a creep.” Lauren admitted.

“Because asking me out every day is less creepy?” Camila joked.

Lauren laughed, “I’m not giving up.”

Camila laughed and shook her head refocusing on her phone.

Mila🐨: About that…wanna go to the park? Shawn: Sure Mila Mila🐨: with Ally.. Shawn: Yeah..? Mila🐨: and The Holy Trinity Shawn: What the fuck?! Are you serious? Mila🐨: so serious Shawn: dude, you really have to explain all this, but yeah I’ll go

For the rest of flight Camila slept, as well as Dinah and Normani. Ally watched a movie, and Lauren had a sketchbook and drew Camila sleeping. Lauren always like to paint and draw, but since being on tour and everything she didn’t do it often.

Lauren didn’t understand what made her so drawn to the younger girl. When Camila had the panic attack, Lauren just wanted to make sure she was safe. And now that she knows she hurt Camila more than just physically, it hurts her heart. This one girl is making her crazy, and it’s only been a couple days.

When they landed in Miami, the five girls were ambushed by fans. Dinah’s selfie and their interactions on twitter clearly didn’t go unnoticed. They tried to say hello to as many fans as possible before a swarm paparazzi came.

The paps mainly asked questions about Camila being Laurens girlfriend, making Lauren smirk. Camila didn’t expect one twit pic would turn into this much of a big deal.

The girls had two black Escalades picking them up from the airport. Dinah suggested Lauren and Camila go pick up Shawn and Sofi, while the rest go straight to Lauren’s house.

Lauren was more than excited to spend time alone with Camila. She wanted to get to know more about her. Day after day Lauren found herself wanting more. What started off as wanting to undress Camila’s body, turned into wanting to undress her mind. Finding out everything there is to know about the younger Cuban.

“You ladies ready to go?” Max asked as Camila and Lauren settled in the back of the car. He, of course, decided to drive Lauren and Camila.

“Just don’t drive too fast,” Camila spoke quietly.

Cars make her uncomfortable. In the limo with The Holy Trinity, she didn’t want the girls to think she was any weirder by mentioning her car anxieties so she just tried not thinking about it. Now in the car with just Lauren, she felt different.

“Don’t worry, Miss. You’re in good hands,” Max smiled and started to drive off.

“You’re scared of cars?” Lauren asked.

“Something like that,” she answered.

Lauren didn’t push it. She looked down at Camila’s hands, wanting badly to hold them. She knew that the younger girl would pull away out of fear. She hated herself for making Camila scared.

She took a deep breath, “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Camila turned to her shocked, “What are you apologizing for?”

“Can I hold your hand?” she asked, she didn’t look up.

Camila tilted her head a little, she reached her hand out to touch Lauren’s face. The older girl closed her eyes at the contact. When they opened, she locked eyes with Camila, who smiled. “It’s not you, Lo. Well, it’s not only you.” Camila dropped her hand from Laurens’ face to her hand, interlocking their fingers. “Me being scared, it’s more than just about you. I don’t want you to hold it against yourself.”

“I’m very sorry,” Lauren dropped her gaze again.

“I know, Lo,” Camila said.

They sat quietly for a bit. That moment between them felt intimate, but Camila decided to ruin it. She picked up her hand that was attached to Laurens, “And don’t think this means anything.” She waved their hands in front of her. “Don’t believe the paparazzi, I’m not your girlfriend,” she joked.

Lauren laughed, “Damn Cabello, you’re ice cold. I’m here being vulnerable and shit.”

“I know, you almost had me,” Camila said letting go of Lauren. “If only that was the side of you I met first.”

Lauren bit her lip, “I’m still going to win you over. I’m going to prove to you that I’m not this drunken monster. It was a slip-up, one I’ll never let happen again. I’m going show you that I’m more than one night stands like you think I am.”

Camila smiled and looked out the window. She tried to ignore the butterflies erupting in her stomach, “You can be very cute when you’re not being pretentious.”

“I know, but that cute side of me I’ll reserve only for you,” Lauren smirked.

“Okay, okay. Now you’re just trying to sweet talk me. Take those phony lines elsewhere.” Camila rolled her eyes making Lauren laugh loudly.

The rest drive to the Cabello house was short, filled with comfortable conversation. When they pulled up, Camila stared out the window for a moment. Hoping that everything would go okay. Minimal conversation with her father. She closed her eyes rubbing her temples, thinking about the flashback she had the other night.

Lauren noticed Camila’s apprehension. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, yeah. Just a little headache. Okay, I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“No! No, that’s quite okay. Alright, I’m going now.”

Lauren didn’t understand why Camila looked so uneasy. Maybe she hasn’t been home in a while, perhaps she’s just nervous. When Camila stepped out of the car, Lauren looked at her up and down. Her eyes looking at every curve her body did. Camila had the nicest body Lauren has ever seen.

Camila turned to say something to Lauren and noticed her blatant staring. “Eyes up here Jauregui. Jeez, I’m literally just in leggings and a t-shirt.”

“You don’t have to try, babe. Your body is close to perfection,” she said smoothly.

“Yeah, yeah. Not your babe.”

“One day, Cabello. Let a girl dream.”

Camila turns towards her house. She takes a deep breath and walks down the path to the front door. Lauren watched her from the car window. She laughed when Camila tripped slightly.

“Well, you seem smitten,” Max spoke up.

Lauren smiled, “I don’t know what it is about her.”

“I haven’t seen you like this in a while. It suits you,” he smiled.

“Max, don’t become a big softie,” Lauren joked making him laugh.

He was a buff guy, ex-marine. He was in his late 40’s with light orange hair that was graying. He had a deep gritty voice, and hearing him talk about this was weird to Lauren.

Camila stood in front of her house thinking of all the possibilities that could happen when she sees her dad. She barely rings the doorbell before it swings open.

“Kaki!” Sofi said with an angry face.

“Hey princess,” Camila bends down to greet her sister.

“No! I’m still mad at you,” Sofi frowned.

Camila felt a pang in her chest, “I’m sorry baby, Ally really wanted me to go to Texas. I can make it up to you. We are going to the park, and I have a surprise. It’s in that car over there.” Camila points to the car, “But first here this is for you.” She gave her sister a little box.

Sofi wasted no time quickly unwrapping and opening the gift. It was a silver bracelet that read “Sofia” with a tiara charm. “I love it. I’m still mad at you, but less mad. I’m going to tell Papi I’m leaving with you, then I’ll go get my other surprise in the car.”

“Good idea, Sof.”

Camila was relieved that her dad didn’t come to the door. Sofi came back and had the bracelet on while playing with the charm. “Papi said you better bring me back in one piece. – Ok, so what’s the next surprise Kaki!” Sofi beamed.

“You’ll see when you get to the car,” Camila said.

Sofi ran to the car with Camila chasing behind her. She opened the door and her mouth dropped. She looked at Camila and back at Lauren. “Lauren Jauregui?! You got me Lauren? Ok Kaki, I’m not mad at you anymore.”

Lauren and Camila started laughing. “Well, I didn’t go out and buy you a personal Lauren Jauregui. But we are going to be hanging out with her today. And her family. And Ally…and Normani. And Dinah.”

“DINAH AND NORMANI! AND LAUREN!? – YOU GOT ME THE HOLY TRINITY?” Sofi exclaimed.

“Ally said you were our biggest fan, and I just needed to meet you!” Lauren smile picking Sofi up and placing her on her lap.

Sofi hugged her tightly, “Best late Christmas ever!”

Camila was about to enter the car when she heard shouting from down the street. “Yo, Koala!” She looked to see who was yelling and saw Shawn walking to her. She took off towards him, jumping into his arms praying that he catches her. He did, and she gave him one of her Koala hugs that he was referring to.

“Did ya miss me,” she smiled climbing off him.

“Naaaaah,” he joked. “So, they’re in there?” He was nervous about meeting the pop stars.

“Just Lauren, she’s awesome,” Camila smiled looking back at the car.

Shawn looked at her, “Ooooh. Does Mila have a crush?” he smirked.

Camila rolled her eyes. “A little,” finally admitting what everyone knew.

Lauren watched their interaction from the car. Camila laughing and smiling with this guy made her envious. He was wearing a black jersey, handing Camila a matching one that she threw on over clothes.

“Hey Sofi,” she said. “Who’s that with Camila.”

Sofi looked out the window, “Oh that’s Shawn. They are best friends, but he loooves her.”

Who wouldn’t love Camila, she was the perfect amount of cute and dorky. Lauren shook her head and refocused on talking to Sofi.

After telling Shawn about everything that had happened and making sure he doesn’t tell them that she is KC, they made their way to the car. Camila opened the door and noticed Lauren was a little off. “Lauren, are you okay? Did Sofi do something?”

Lauren smiled, “No, she’s my favorite Cabello.”

“Haha,” Sofi said sticking her tongue out at Camila. “Lauren’s my best friend.”

“That’s right!” Lauren moved Sofi next to her and put the seat belt on.

Camila rolled her eyes and introduced Shawn to Lauren. Shawn felt intimidated by Lauren, and it didn’t help that she was glaring at him. Everyone got settled in the car, and Max began to drive to Lauren’s house. He redirected himself after Lauren got a call telling her everyone was on the way to the park.

Camila couldn’t help but feel like something was bothering Lauren. Shawn would try to make small talk, but she was barely talking. Sofi did all the talking, excitedly telling stories about her winter break.

The car pulled up to the park and Sofi excitedly hopped on Lauren’s lap again. “Are Dinah and Normani here?”

Lauren peeked out the window, spotting her bandmates dancing with Ally on the field. Her parents and siblings were laughing, sitting at a picnic table watching the show. She laughed shaking her head, “Yes baby, they are dancing. Wanna join them?” she asked Sofi, who nodded vigorously.

Max helped everyone out of the car, and Lauren pulled him aside.

“Can you do me a huge favor?” she smiled brightly.

He sighed, “I know you think I’m your servant—”

“No Max, I know you’re my bodyguard. I also know that for the last 4 years you’ve grown close to us and you love us like your own.”

He huffed, “What do you want?” and Lauren grinned.

Camila, Shawn, and Sofi stood by the car waiting for Lauren to talk to Max. Shawn was holding Sofi, spinning her around and tickling her. Camila’s eyes wandered to Lauren and she watched the older girl. She admired her curves and perfect face. Whenever Lauren smiled, it made Camila get butterflies.

She walked over to the two, “What’s the holdup?”

Max excused himself leaving the girls to talk.

“Nothing beautiful,” Lauren said making the younger girl blush. “Aw, you’re blushing. Does that mean you like me?”

“No!” Camila said quickly. “Why were you so weird in the car?”

“No reason,” Lauren said dryly. She glanced over to Shawn.

Camila followed her gazed and smirked, “You’re jealous!”

Lauren’s eyes widened, “Of that guy? No, no.”

Camila poked her stomach, “Admit it.”

Lauren rolled her eyes, “Have you seen me? I’m not jealous.”

“Oh, I see you, Jauregui! And you look jealous.”

“Whatever, come on,” Lauren started walking away. “You have to meet your future in-laws,” she smirked and Camila suddenly felt nervous.

It’s going to be a long afternoon, she thought.

[cuckhaus]

let’s just slide over for some real teen wolf talk tho

So Scott and Stiles have the best connection and are bonded deeper than anyone else on that show, fact. Who wrote this crud about Stydia being the Rose and Jack of Teen Wolf? I get that they’re really shoehorning the Stydia at us (specifically because they spent an entire season focusing on her connection to Parrish and then ditched it at the first sign of a series finale) but how can they realistically believe that Lydia and Stiles are closer to each other than Scott is to him?

I mean I was salty way back in season three when Deaton made Lydia be Stiles’ “anchor” in their ice baths to the white dimension. The writers were basically suggesting that Isaac and Allison, in their short flirtation with the rebellious side, were super healthy and good for each other? More so than how great Lydia and Allison were as best friends from the beginning? The odds of those three people getting a good anchor were stacked against us from the beginning but really? That’s the number one reason I’ve had a hard time jumping on the Stydia bandwagon, because the producers and writers have to frantically shove Lydia and Stiles into each other’s arms every other season finale just to make sure we’re convinced they are each other’s “one true love.” Even in seasons where one of them in dating someone else, or has a lot bigger issues going on than who they are dating the writers never forget to whirl around a scream “true love” and “soulmates” at the end just so we’re reminded that having more than one love in a lifetime is unreal and ridiculous.

 Stydia is not a bad pairing. When it began it felt a little toxic, with the whole nerdy guy gets ignored by hot popular girl until her boyfriend hits her and nerdy guy does mildly sweet thing that gets him out of the non existent friend zone is a very tired story line. When it morphed into Stiles understanding Lydia’s intelligence and them both reaching out to get to know one another I loved it. I loved the brief moments of vulnerability, and how Lydia felt like she could be her real self around Stiles. It was sweet and refreshing to see a guy and girl who are both flawed sort things out in a sort of flirty but mostly blooming friendship way. It made me root for them to go through the whole friends to lovers transformation. But then...the Scott and Stiles jealousy arc when the entire Scydia debacle went down, plus Aiden and then add in Malia. Granted it too me SO long to even slightly like Stalia, but that relationship had grounds to turn legit in a natural way. Don’t worry though, because significant others never stop people from remembering how much they love their “soulmate” and the viewers should never forget the otp of Teen Wolf, Stydia.

Meanwhile the writers do an entire arc of Parrish learning he’s a Hellhound and cushion it around LYDIA’S ENTIRE ABILITY AND EXISTENCE AND THE TWO OF THEM HAVE LITERAL MOMENTS OF CONNECTION WITH EACH OTHER AND ARE AT BALANCE AND HARMONY. THEY ARE SAPPY LITTLE FLIRTS WITH EACH OTHER AND LYDIA GOT TO BE SHOWN IN A NEW LIGHT THAT WASN’T USED TO BE POPULAR NOW JUST A WELL DRESSED NANCY DREW FOR OUR MAIN CAST. I thought Parrish and Lydia was great! Lydia spread her wings and through Parrish she learned more about her powers. They had extreme chemistry and every second of their tension filled will they won’t they dynamic was thought out and intriguing.

After the entire Marrish plot line in that season I was expecting amazing stuff between them in the next season but leave it to the writers to shove Stydia back into our faces with the entire Eichen House dilemma. It was monumental and beautiful to see the relationship Stiles and Lydia have formed over the years but it felt like friendship to me? Like the level of friendship that Scott and Stiles have achieved but for Stiles and Lydia. My hope for Teen Wolf has always been for the entire pack to be that close with one another. But the writers decided that two characters of the opposite sex cannot be platonic. They gotta fuck or be soulmates. Take one or the other.

Anyways...I cannot wait for this season to end with Stiles happily living a normal life after the bat shit high school experience he had while Lydia accepts her Nobel Prize of Mathematics and achieves her hopes and dreams. And Theo is redeemed fully in the eyes of the pack and I never have to see Liam and Hayden kiss each other on screen again. Also Derek comes back for monthly BBQs and Allison is alive and Scallison is ride or die otp of Teen Wolf once again. Also Scott McCall is treated like the angel he is.

[twoguystrybbq-blog]

Back Porch Bar-B-Q

Leo:

It’s in a hotel!

When Ben said that we would be meeting up at a hotel for barbeque, I had some concerns.  From previous outings at hotel restaurants and bars, I knew that they tended to be more expensive.  And how good could hotel barbeque be, anyhow?  Would they even be able to smoke their meat at a hotel?  Maybe this would be our first so-so barbeque experience in Kansas City (spoiler alert: it wasn’t!).

I drove out to meet Ben at the Adam’s Mark Hotel (near the stadiums and just off 70).  It was not a holiday weekend or anything like that, but the parking lot was packed!  I went inside and there were hundreds of people in the lobby.  I knew that there were fight weigh-ins going on, but it looked like there were also a couple sports camps and family reunions; it was craziness!  

I somehow found Ben in all of this madness and we headed to the hotel bar.  As we entered the bar, there was a stand that said “Back Porch Bar-B-Q” and we headed over.  No one was around the stand, but we saw several other tables with numbers and assumed they were waiting for orders.  

After a couple of minutes, a woman showed up and asked us for our order.  “Uhhhhh,” I kind of stammered, “where’s the menu?”  “Right here, sweetie,” she said patiently and pointed to a piece of paper.  I examined the menu: it wasn’t even laminated, it was just a simple, one-sided, no nonsense piece of paper listing the available options.  Of course, someone had shown up behind us, so I immediately felt a ton of pressure to order.  “I’ll have the ribs,” I blurted out without really thinking.  “Okay,” the woman smiled, “what’ll be your two sides?”  “How about potato salad and fries?” I responded.

“Uh-oh,” I thought, “how much did I just spend?”  She rang me up on an iPad (I’m still always so impressed by technology) and I braced myself for the bill.  With tip, it was under $20!  Which I didn’t think was too bad for a rib dinner (that’s about what a rib dinner usually costs, in my experience so far).  Ben ordered and we headed to the bar to get a drink.  Because it was a hotel bar, I knew it’d be expensive, so I leaned into it and got a KC Bier Co. Dunkel.  Surprise of surprises, it ended up being on special!  We grabbed a table and waited for our food.

Because it was a bar, they had a pool table, but Ben was not interested.  So we sat and talked about weigh-ins and the fights that Ben was going to cover the next day.  Interestingly, Ben had told a team that he’d be eating at Back Porch and they showed up right after we did.  The fighter on the team was a vegetarian or a vegan, though.  “Not a lot of options for vegetarians/vegans at a barbeque joint,” I thought.  But it ended up being really cool because the cook came out and worked with her on what she could order and still stick to her diet.  

The wait for the food was a little bit longer than usual, but it came out hot and steaming.  It was a bit of the opposite of what I’d expected from a barbeque restaurant in a hotel!  [Note: This was another restaurant that didn’t have sauce on the table, so if you like lotsa bbq sauce, make sure to order extra!].  

I’m noticing that, for some reason, I always dig into the sides first; maybe it is a bit of preparing my palette for the main course?  I started with the potato salad.  Hands down, it was divine.  This potato salad was everything that I wanted in a potato salad: chunky, mayonnaisey, rich, and without a lot of crunch (i.e. not loaded up with vegetables).  Needless to say, the potato salad was gone before I realized what had happened.

The ribs were amazing as well!  I got five long end ribs (meaning huge freakin’ ribs) covered in sauce.  As I had come to expect from KC ribs, these ribs were succulent and almost perfectly prepared.  They had just enough char on the outside to give the skin a smoky delicious flavor.  This also kept the tender meat together, but as soon as I took a bite, the tender meat melted and flooded my mouth with deliciousness.  Paired with a Dunkel, this was a perfect meal.

As kind of a side quest in our journey to try all of the barbeque joints in Kansas City, I’ve been taking note of the restaurants that provide you with moist towelettes for you to clean your fingers after eating barbeque.  And Back Porch Bar-B-Q is the first restaurant to provide moist towelettes.  I don’t know what it means, but I will continue to keep track and maybe at the end of all of this, we will be able to figure out if there is a distinction between the restaurants that provide moist towelettes and the restaurants that don’t.

We finished up and headed off to a Friday night of fun, but it was a great way to start the evening.  In fact, the next time I go to a Chiefs’ game or a Royals’ game and I’m not tailgating, I plan to go to Back Porch Bar-B-Q.  I think that it would be a really fun afternoon or evening to park and eat at Back Porch and then walk over to see some top-notch Kansas City sporting events.

Also, Back Porch is a step closer to Independence than we’ve gone before, so if you are reading from east Kansas City, we are making our way to you!

All-in-all, I was very pleasantly surprised by a great experience at Back Porch Bar-B-Q!  So, why not get some tickets to a home Royals’ game or a Chiefs’ game and stop by and grab some great barbeque.  Or if you don’t live in Kansas City, make a trip over here and stay at a great resort (I’m guessing) and eat some terrific barbeque.  Or go there for lunch today!  So many options, but all of these great options involve eating at Back Porch Bar-B-Q as soon as you can!  I know that you will enjoy it!

Ben:

I know we’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating: the beauty of this project is that it gets us (and vicariously you, the reader) to try barbecue joints around the city that we would have never stumbled upon otherwise. That’s the case about a million times over for our Friday night dinner at Back Porch Bar-B-Q, because this fine establishment is currently operating out of the Adam’s Mark hotel just across from Kauffman Stadium. So unless you’re in town to root on an away team against the Royals or Chiefs (gross), it’s easy to miss Back Porch Bar-B-Q. But have no worries, friends; Leo and I are here for you.

First, some background about what brought us to Back Porch on this particular Friday night. When I’m not scarfing down barbecue, writing about barbecue, or thinking of where to find my next barbecue meal, I cover and write about fights for CombatDocket.com. Yeah, that gruesome, brutal, anything-goes cage fighting you’ll see on your blood-splattered TV screen from time to time. I kind of think it’s the truest, most beautiful sport in existence, but that’s a 20,000-word essay for another time. Of importance here, I was at the Adam’s Mark on Friday evening to cover the weigh-ins for pro fights that were set to take place the following night. Fighters strip down to their skivvies, stand on a scale for a hot second, then raise their fists and stare at each other in a show of intimidation; it’s fun all around.

Back Porch Bar-B-Q is on our list as a barbecue joint located in KCMO, and from what I gather from my internet sleuthing, it recently relocated from its standalone location to inside the Adam’s Mark hotel. Perfect, I thought. I can kill two birds with one stone: catch these weigh ins, then immediately stuff my face with barbecue, all without leaving the Adam’s Mark.

And it’s a good thing I had done my research, because other than a single sign in the outrageously busy Adam’s Mark lobby, I couldn’t find any clear signage leading me to Back Porch. On my way to the weigh-ins (which went off without any pre-fight shoving or drama), I took note of the sign and my growing hunger.

Leo met me after the weigh ins were complete, about 6:30. Following the sign in the lobby, we made our way to… the hotel bar? Are we in the right place? But before Leo and I could look any more lost, we noted a host’s podium with a couple Back Porch Bar-B-Q menus on it, and a few seconds later, a nice woman (who I assume is the owner) greeted us, assured us we were in the right place for barbecue, and took our orders.

Back Porch doesn’t have a huge menu by any means, but it hits all the notes you need for your barbecue joint. Brisket, pork, ribs. Fries, beans, potato salad. Obviously there’s more, but this isn’t a Top Chef competition; Leo and I are here to try the best barbecue you have and not much else. I went with the pork sandwich with fries and beans. As we were ordering, I took note of some of the fighter-types in the room: a fighter set to compete the next night (she told us she was a vegetarian… but we later saw her speaking to the cook about getting something special), the TV commentators for the fight, and the number 14-ranked middleweight fighter in the world. It made me happy to see my two worlds -- fighting and barbecue -- coming together.

Since we were in a bar, we naturally ordered beers as we waited for our food. In fact, given how busy Back Porch seemed to be, we assumed we’d be waiting for a while (several beers-worth) to get our food. But it arrived quicker than I expected, brought out by an incredibly personable server -- something that’s the norm at barbecue joints, I’m finding.

My sandwich, fries and beans came in hearty portions all together on a plate. Outside of the normal rush of endorphins that hit when barbecue is put in front of me, the first thing I noticed about my sandwich was a floss pick (rather than a toothpick) sticking out. I pointed this out to Leo, and our server was quick to jump in: “You’ll need it. Gotta get every bit.” So, you’re saying the food will be so good that I need floss it out from in between my teeth to get another taste? Sign me up.

To be honest, the sandwich obliterated my expectations. The toasted bread, rather than soft white bread, was a welcome change that added a bit of crunch to the sandwich. And that crunch played perfectly against perhaps the most tender pork I’ve had yet. Looking closely at the sandwich, it’s piled high with sliced pork. But biting into the sandwich was like biting through butter. I didn’t find myself tugging on fatty pieces of meat or working around tough individual slices of pork. Oh no, my friends, this pork was the kind that melts in your mouth -- just incredibly smooth, tender, and moist pork that’s no doubt been smoking for hours upon hours. Throw that together with buttery toast and some light, sweet sauce, and you have an ideal bite of sandwich. I have no idea if Back Porch Bar-B-Q really started on someone’s back porch, but if it did, this would be the best back porch barbecue I’ve ever had.

The fries were huge and hit the spot. The beans were my favorite variety -- extra thick, with no shortage of meat, and certainly on the sweet side. They’re the type of beans that you could realistically eat as an entire meal; they’re hearty, filling, and bursting with barbecue flavor.

As we wrapped up, Leo and I discussed our expectations going in and how it compared to our experience at Back Porch. How is this place just hidden inside this hotel? Do all these guests have any idea that there’s some excellent barbecue in their hotel lobby? It all feels par for the course -- a relatively hidden gem in Kansas City that’s turning out some of the best barbecue you’ll ever taste. So even though it might mean sitting elbow-to-elbow with some random fans in town to cheer against the Royals or Chiefs, I’d happily recommend Back Porch Bar-B-Q to any Kansas Citian.