#ALSO the one who threw him against the wall was most definitely Louis I can’t imagine it being anyone else | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

larryfanficwriter98 · 4 years ago

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Chapter Thirteen

-The missing/wrong lyrics are on purpose-

-Warnings: Heavy oral smut ahead-

Louis woke up the next day to a loud alarm ringing in his ear. He groaned rolling over to grab his phone and turned it off.

"What was that?"

"My alarm. I have work in two hours." Louis mumbled rubbing his face with his hand

"Want me to make you breakfast while you shower?"

"No baby you rest." Louis said

"I'll make breakfast." Harry said wrapping his arms around Louis' waist, "you can wear my clothes, you always look so good in them."

"You only say that because you like me wearing your clothes." Louis said grinning

"Not my fault you look so good in them. Go shower, I know how you like your morning showers."

"You okay?" Louis asked instead of getting up

"Emotionally exhausted." Harry said snuggling his face into Louis' neck, "are you coming back after work?"

"I can. Do you want me to?"

"Of course. I always want you here."

"Okay. Well before I come back the lads and I have plans to talk about living plans."

"Why?" Harry asked

"Our yearly lease is over in May and with Zayn and Liam getting married they already told us they want to live on their own. Niall and I can afford the place just fine without them, but it's a bit big for only us two lads plus Niall mentioned moving to a flat a few times. We just need to sit down and talk and make plans. I'm fine either way. If we all move out I'll need to start looking though obviously."

"You can move in with me." Harry said Louis looked at him and Harry grinned

"What? Harry, we've only been together for five months."

"So? We'll be together eight months by May and that's a good time to move in together. At least just think about it and if Niall can't find a place in time he can stay here as well. I have the room. You guys don't need to worry about finding a place in two months especially with the wedding coming up. They have enough to worry about. Just mention it today."

"I'll tell them and we will talk about moving in together when it gets closer to the time. For now, I need to get showered and dressed." Louis said pressing a kiss to Harry's forehead before he climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

Harry climbed out of the bed and got dressed then went to a guest bathroom to brush his teeth and have his morning wee. He then headed downstairs and started a simple breakfast of pancakes and sausage. When Louis got out of the bathroom and picked some pants and one of Harry's sweaters from the closet. After finishing his morning routine he headed to the bedroom and noticed Harry's phone on the bedside table going off so he grabbed it along with his phone, wallet, and keys then headed downstairs.

"Hey, baby your phone was going off." Louis said entering the kitchen sliding the phone to Harry who was placing three pancakes and two sausage links on a plate.

"Oh, who was it?"

"I didn't check." Louis said shrugging as he took the plate, "Thanks, baby." Louis stood at the island and grabbed the syrup pouring it on his pancakes as Harry stood beside him.

"So why exactly did they want bad PR?" Louis asked as he stood outside holding Harry's hand in his right hand and a cigarette in his left hand.

"Nobody cares when you're boring." Harry said with a shrug.

He was inside leaning against the wall so he was able to hold Louis' hand not wanting to let go just yet. Also, Louis smoking was hot to him even though he never cared for smokers. At first, he had been afraid seeing Louis smoke would be gross and a complete turn-off, but it has in fact made him breathless the first time he saw it in Florida in his back patio. Louis had been with Liam and Zayn, all three of them smoking after breakfast as they talked and laughing about something while he and Niall had watched them and played the guitar together. Since then Harry always joined them outside just to watch Louis, the only smoker who didn't make Harry want to puke.

"Is that so?" Louis asked snorting

"That's what they believe. I'm always in some type of tabloid." Harry said rolling his eyes, "besides they think you're too...mature for my audience."

"Ah, so it's me not being Disney approved." Louis said grinning as he looked at Harry

"Say it how you want. They were going to find something somehow and you just made it easy for them." Harry said watching Louis nod as he took a drag from the cigarette. The smoke leaving his lips a few seconds later, "but it doesn't matter because I wouldn't have you any other way."

"Well, that's good." Louis said looking at Harry, "I have to get going though." Louis said putting the butt out on the bottom of his shoe like usual then turned to Harry.

"Okay. I'll see you later today, don't forget to mention what I offered to the lads earlier." Harry said pulling Louis to him so he could kiss him against his lips that smelled and taste like cigarettes. Which definitely should have been a complete turn-off and make him want to puke everywhere, but since it was Louis it made him want more.

He splayed his hand across Louis' lower back and leaned further in to deepen the kiss which Louis immediately returned. Louis' hands slid up his torso to his hair where they immediately tangled in the long curly strands. Harry stepped back a few steps pulling Louis inside before he was pushing him gently against the wall where his hand slid around his waist and the other one slid down to his thigh lifting him up easily. Louis wrapped his legs around Harry's waist and tighten his hold in his hair as he held back a moan as he felt Harry press him against the wall and felt him pressed his body against his as their to gues danced calmly against each other.

"Harry I really have to go to work." Louis said pulling away

"Just call off."

"I can't. Put me down." Harry whined but did as told setting Louis down on his feet, "I love you. I'll text you when I can."

"I love you too." Harry said cupping his face to kiss him, "drive safe, have fun, if you need anything call me. If it's late probably just do pizza or take out tonight." Harry said

"That's fine. I'll pick up a pizza on the way here. Text me your toppings. Bye." One last kiss before Louis was out the door and getting in his car putting the cigarette butt in his car ashtray before he started the car. He waved at Harry before backing out and leaving to head to the Daycare.

《》《》《》《》《》《》《》

Weeks passed and at first, Louis had thought Harry wasn't as affected by the millions of tabloids, but Louis figured out that wasn't true. Harry stayed inside most days, only leaving when absolutely necessary and he didn't want to do anything that would bring attention to him. Harry stayed home and cooked and waited for Louis to come over. Louis was getting hay fever as he had decline pub night three times already and it was starting to irritate him. Louis got off early and came straight to Harry's house and headed upstairs to Harry's room to drop his weekend bag off before he looked for Harry. He pushed the door open gently and frowned when he saw Harry lying in bed. He walked over and saw Harry's MacBook was opened to Twitter and he didn’t have to read more than two tweets to know Harry had been secretly reading hateful tweets about him canceling the tour and not addressing it. Louis grabbed the MacBook and closed the app then saw the webpage opened to tabloids about him. He shook his head as he closed the MacBook then stepped outside to the patio connected to Harry's room. He sat down and pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. After his cigarette, he went inside and laid behind Harry spooning him from behind. Harry was always the big spoon when they cuddled so Louis had to wait for Harry to fall asleep to be the big spoon. Louis shifted until he was comfortable closing his eyes as he traced threw butterfly on Harry's covered stomach.

"You only get half of the story

The cash, and the cars, and the glory

Cause nobody cares when you're boring

He's just like you

Even though his problems

Look nothing like yours do

He gets sad too

And when he's down he needs

Somebody to talk to

He feels the same as you do

Same stress, same shit to go through

He's just like you

If you only knew."

Louis sang softly before he kissed the back of Harry's neck, he knew Harry was awake, woke up when Louis started tracing his stomach. But if Harry didn't want to talk them Louis wouldn't make him.

"You say to me your jeans don't fit

You don't feel pretty and it’s hard to miss

I wish that you could see my point of view

As someone staring back at you

On Friday night when we're all out

I turn to you and you're looking down

And you don't wanna dance,

I know you love to dance

You would never stop given half the chance

Just keep your head up, Love

Don't hide away, don't ever change

Keep your head up, Love

Don't look away

Cause everybody's looking at you now

My, oh, my

I guess some queens don't need a crown

And I know why

Even when your tears are falling down

Still somehow

You're perfect now."

Louis grinned as Harry rolled over onto his back and looked at Louis with tear-filled eyes and a soft smile. Louis pushed some hair away from Harry's face as his hand held his head up.

"You never do, but if you asked me to

I'd tell the truth lying next to you

Cause you're the only one

When its said and done

That makes me feel like being someone

Good to you, even at your worst

You steal the scene and it's unrehearsed

Don't you wanna dance, just a little dance

I would never stop given half the chance

Just keep your head up, Love

Don't hide away, don't ever change

Keep your head up, Love

Don't look away

Cause everybody's looking at you now

My, oh, my

I guess some queens don't need a crown

And I know why

Even when your tears are falling down

Still somehow

You're perfect now

Every insecurity like a neon sign

As bright as day

If you knew what you were to me

You would never try to hide away

Cause everybody's looking at you now

My, oh, my

I guess some queens don't need a crown

And I know why

Even when your tears are falling down

Still somehow

You're perfect now."

Louis made to wipe away every tear that escaped Harry's eyes as he sang soft and gentle. When Louis couldn't think of anything else to add he leaned down and kissed Harry softly on the lips surprised when Harry held him there slipping his tongue into his mouth. He was even more surprised when Harry rolled them over so he was on top of Louis between his parted legs.

It wasn't their first time in this position by any means, Harry and Louis have rubbed off on one another like teenagers more than enough times to be familiar with this position. Harry has even ventured to palming him over his pants as they snogged heavily. However, whenever Louis would try to return the groping Harry's body language would change immediately.

So Louis just pretended his path was just to his ass or thigh since those were safe areas. Harry never wanted Louis to go anywhere near his cock to put it simply. Louis didn't understand why, but he respected it of course, and would wait for Harry to be more comfortable around him. Louis groaned when Harry rolled his hips down perfectly against his, he could feel Harry's fingers under his shirt on his stomach where Harry loved to grab his stomach pouch.

At first, Louis absolutely hated it, but then Harry spent an hour putting love marks all over his stomach when Louis was napping. Since Louis came to love feeling Harry's large hand grab his stomach, his nails sending a jolt of pleasurable pain through his body. His stomach always had possessive bruises in the shape of Harry's fingers now

Louis helped Harry take his shirt off then he went about removing Harry's shirt quickly groaning when his hands were able to run along his bare torso. Louis so lost in Harry that he was taken by surprise when he felt Harry's large hand slide from his stomach to where his button and zipper were.

"Harry-"

"Please. I just..I want to." Harry said pulling just far enough away to look him in the eyes. He nodded before he pulled Harry down to kiss him again.

Harry's hand was already working on the button and zipper before he grabbing and pulling down with breaking the snog. He pulled as far down as their bodies let them without pulling away then he put his foot on them and pushed them down with his feet and Louis' help. His hands trailed up his leg feeling his thighs and squeezing them before they went on his hips feeling them as their tongues tangled with the others. Harry's hand kept trailing from his stomach to his hips to his thighs then back up.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked suddenly pulling away go look at Louis with worry evident in his eyes. Louis smiled softly, nodding as his hand cupped Harry's cheek.

"I'm fine. Are you okay?" Louis asked

"Yeah. I'm fine." Harry said smiling softly then they kissed soft and slow as Harry's hand rubbed his stomach. "I adore this part of you. It's just so lovely."

"My little pooch?" Louis asked with a laugh

"Your pooch is adorable. I love it." Before Louis could tell him he was a dork Harry's mouth was suddenly on his neck making Louis groan.

He moved his head back to give Harry more room as he mouthed his neck finding Louis' most sensitive spot pretty fast. Louis' fingers tightened in Harry's hair and his breath got caught in his throat as Harry started to focus there with tongue and teeth. Louis whined, his hand tightening in his hair and his nails digging into Harry's back as Harry's sucked and bit him suddenly. He barely registered when his large hand finally grabbed his cock and started to slowly pump him with his large hand, his wrist twisting at the head expertly.

"Fuck Harry." Louis said breathlessly then Harry moved down to his nipple and Louis groaned as he mouthed at them and teased them. His free hand made sure to focus on the one his mouth wasn't paying attention to while his other hand didn't stop jerking him off using the precum as lube. Then right when Louis wasn't paying attention anymore he suddenly felt a wet tongue lick from his balls then up the underside of his cock to his head. Louis threw his head back as his hips thrust up at the unexpected feeling.

"Harry you don't have to do this baby. Just come back up here and- fuck." Louis groaned when Harry's lips wrapped around Louis’s head and his tongue licked and danced over his slit. Harry then went took Louis as far down as he could before Louis was just shy of hitting the back of his throat. Harry moaned around his cock sending vibrations through Louis making him groan as he spread his legs wider to accommodate Harry's broad shoulders. Louis' fingers gathered Harry's hair in a fist to keep it from falling into Harry's face.

"Fuck..Harry." Louis groaned as he watched Harry's head bob up and down, Harry's groaned and opened his eyes looking up at Louis with big green eyes. "You're so beautiful. So fucking gorgeous." Louis told him brushing his thumb over Harry's cheek watching as Harry's eyes closed in pleasure. Harry sucked hard sending a shock through Louis.

"Harry. Harry darling you have to pull off. Like right now. I'm- fucking hell Harry I'm going to cum." Louis said groaning as he felt Harry suck harder and faster, "Harry please I don't want to hurt you or make you- fuck." Louis gasped then cursed throwing his head back as Harry very gently and carefully let his teeth brush against the underside of his cock where a vein was. Louis came undone after a few more seconds and he watched as Harry groaned swallowing it as his hand jerked Louis off through the orgasm. Harry puked off slowly making sure to clean Louis as he did then he kissed Louis' hip. Louis pulled Harry up then leaned in to kiss him, but Harry pulled away blocking his mouth with his hand.

"You can't kiss me I just gave you a blowjob and swallowed." Harry said

"Yeah? And?" Louis said, "I'm trying to kiss you so come over here and let me." Harry hesitated but then leaned over and pressed a chaste closed mouth kiss to Louis’s lips, "what the hell was that? Get over here so I can shove my tongue into your mouth Styles."

"You can't I just-" Louis growled then grabbed Harry's wrist and rolled them over pinning Harry's arms to the bed just before he shoved his tongue into Harry's mouth groaning when he was able to taste himself on Harry's tongue. Harry hesitated but then slowly started to kiss him back enthusiastically. "Thatta boy." Louis said grinning before he sucked on Harry's tongue.

Louis let his hand travel down to Harry's nipple where he pinched and teased him mercilessly hearing his soft gasps and groans. After successfully distracting him Louis let his hand slowly travel down to Harry's jeans. He grabbed Harry's thigh and pulled it apart then slid it up feeling Harry's body tense underneath his when his thumb got to the highest part of his thigh an inch away from his crotch area. Louis pulled away and looked at him, studied him for a few seconds.

"Why don't you want me to touch you Haz? It’s not that you're uncomfortable, if you were your body would react differently. You're nervous why? You don't let me touch you or even see you hard with clothes on. Is there...Harry, I love you, all of you. What are you nervous about?" Louis asked rubbing Harry's thighs keeping his eyes on Harry's face instead of his body knowing Harry didn't want him to see him hard.

"It's just... I only took my clothes off once upfront of one person and..." Harry shifted then sat up crossing his legs

"Harry if it's a um..a size problem, you don't have to be embarrassed or afraid. I love you. I don't care about size no matter what. Let me pleasure you." Louis pleaded, Harry's face turned red and he looked away telling Louis it was a size problem, but then he nodded hesitantly. Louis grinned and made sure to give himself a lecture about poker faces and inappropriate giggles or smiles as he undid Harry's pants.

There was a smaller bulge, one barely noticeable, but Louis didn't mention it. He looked at Harry who nodded chewing his lips. Louis made sure to lean up and kissed him feeling Harry relax as much as possible. He then climbed off the bed and made sure to pull the jeans off first then he kissed Harry again as he pulled the tight briefs down as far as he could before he helped Harry kick them off with his feet.

Louis ignored it and instead let his hands travel all over his body them slowly he let his hand travel down his chest to where the Butterfly tattoo was. He traced it gently then only moved an inch or two below it before his fingers touched the wet head of a cock. A cock that was most definitely not small nor micro nor on the smaller side of average. He groaned as his fingers wrapped around the head feeling and hearing Harry gasped against his lips.

Louis gathered as much precum as he could before he trailed his wet hand down Harry's very long length. He wasn't able to help the groan that escaped his lips as he started to jerk Harry off. Harry who made Louis believe he'd be small only to pop out at least 8 inches of cock. Louis pulled away from Harry's mouth breathing heavily as Harry panted underneath him.

Louis leaned down and attached himself to Harry's neck biting, sucking, and licking everywhere he was able to teach before he moved onto his nipples. Harry was so responsive and easy to please, hypersensitive almost. Louis looked down as he sucked on a nipple and stared at the long and thick member gliding wetly in his hand. Not able to control himself Louis slid down and licked Harry from root to tip where he wrapped his lips around his head and licked it wetly.

"L-Lou you don't have to...I know it's um...too big to-"

"Remind me to kill your ex-boyfriend later." Louis told him before he sank down until his nose was buried in Harry's smooth pubic area. Harry cursed loudly moaning as he threw his head back and grabbed Louis’s hair tightly in his large hand.

"Fuck. Louis- Lou- what-" Louis groaned as he pulled up and off gasping before doing it all over again.

His eyes closed in pleasure as he felt Harry twitching in his throat. He pulled off and gasped, he could feel himself getting hard again before he went all the way down and started bobbing and sucking as if his life depended on it. He never thought he had a size kink, just figured he liked a good stretch every now and again, but fuck him he was wrong. Louis was moaning as much as Harry was whenever the cock slid down his throat.

"Louis...Louis..Lou- fuck oh fuck. Louis, I'm- I'm so close baby I'm not- fuck." Louis bobbed and sucked as fast and best he could until he felt Harry's cum suddenly shoot into his mouth.

He groaned using two hands to jerk Harry through it as he swallowed every little drop that came across his tongue. Pulling off only able to get a gasp of air before Harry was shoving his tongue into Louis' mouth and his large hand wrapped around Louis' cock jerking him off quickly. Louis groaned coming onto the black butterfly he loved so much as he and Harry panted in each other's mouths. Louis didn't even care when he collapsed on top of Harry with the pool of cum on his body. They shared breathless "I love you"s as they panted which slowly drifted off to a well-deserved deep sleep.

#New Chapter #Larry Stylinson #larry fanfiction #larry stylinson fanfiction #larry fic #larry smut #Wattpad #archive of our own #larry is real

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idcnticxl-1 · 4 years ago

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@dirtylimerick said:

Nova & Sean ♥

General:

How long will they last? - I truly think that Sean and Nova could be together for the long haul. Even if we stayed true to the events of the film, I don’t think Nova would give up on her relationship with Sean? If anything I could see her perhaps bonding to him in their trauma. It would be hard no doubt and the long distance if he goes to St. Louis would be an adjustment at the very least but Nova would want to put in the work necessary to stay with Sean.

How quickly did/will they fall in love? - So fucking quickly. These two fools are such hopeless romantics.

How was their first kiss? - I don’t think we’ve ever talked about their first kiss! But imagine it was very soft and sweet. I think either of them really could’ve initiated it, perhaps it happened on one of their dates.

Wedding:

Who proposed? - Sean.

Who is the best man/men? - Derek (if we’re going the noncanon route), maybe Rowan if he’s old enough. Not necessarily a Best Man but Bowie could be one of the Groom’s Men.

Who is the braid’s maid(s)? - Jenna of course. Maybe a couple of Jenna’s friends that Nova gets along with.

Who did the most planning? - I’d like to think they planned together.

Who stressed the most? - Nova funny enough

How fancy was the ceremony? - Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? - Honestly I can’t think of anyone who they would not invite? At least not from Nova’s perspective. I think even if Sean joked about not having Don at the Wedding that Nova would gently talk him into it. Perhaps mention that it’s not fair to his mother to exclude her husband or something.

Sex:

Who is on top? - honestly?? surprisingly i actually think Sean is. I know I usually talk about how Nova get nervous and cagey but I think she trusts Sean and feels safe with him to the point where she’s actually okay with it.

Who is the one to instigate things? - Sean, but Nova initiates more make out session.

How healthy is their sex life? - Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now

How kinky are they? - Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head

How long do they normally last? - If you don’t count for foreplay probably 15-20 minutes on a good night.

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? - I think Sean would wanna make sure Nova cums as much as he does, but Nova kinda struggles with it and she really hates the way she reacts when she does (crying) so she’d probably stop him.

How rough are they in bed? - Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it.

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? - No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory.

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? - Nova has a genuine phobia of being pregnant so if they were having a child “naturally” it would be through surrogacy. While canonically I don’t think Nova would want children, for the sake of this meme, I’ll say they’d have 1.

How many children will they adopt? - They definitely Psuedo-adopt Jenna’s kid who is their goddaughter anyway. They are super involved in her life (as much as any aunt/uncle can be) and They are the BEST aunt and uncle in the world.

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? - definitely Sean. Nova very nearly threw up the first and only time she tried to change Jenna’s daughter’s diaper.

Who is the stricter “parent”? - honestly i dont think any of them would be?

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? - Sean.

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? - they both do, but Sean is more likely to actually pack them.

Who is the more loved parent? - Jenna’s daughter definitely love’s Sean more, it’s the Irish accent. Their kid I don’t think has a favourite.

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings?- They both do.

Who cried the most at graduation? - I think Nova (both for Jenna’s daughter and the kid i created for the sake of this meme.

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? - Nova. Sean probably lectures them but Nova isn’t above subtly reminding Sean of his own run ins with the law and telling him he should go easier on the kids.

Cooking:

Who does the most cooking? - Sean

Who is the most picky in their food choice? -neither i don’t think.

Who does the grocery shopping? - They go together, unless they’re busy.

How often do they bake desserts? - Nova likes baked goods on special occasions

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? -Salad

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - Sean

Who is more likely to suggest going out? - Nova.

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidently while cooking? - Nova, which is why she doesn’t cook.

Chores:

Who cleans the room? - Both, but Nova has more time to clean.

Who is really against chores? - neither.

Who cleans up after the pets? - Both

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - Sean but only if he’s in a rush.

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - I think both.

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - Nova because again being her own boss she has more time on her hands. She puts all spare change in a little jar by the door.

Misc:

Who takes the longer showers/baths? - Sean

Who takes the dog out for a walk? - Both. But Nova doesn’t mind going with the dog on

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - Nova definitely goes hard on Christmas maybe Valentine’s day. I could see them maybe doing Halloween too.

What are their goals for the relationship? - Nova wants someone who will be there for her, someone who she can talk to and always go to if she needs something.

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? - I think Sean. Nova tries to let him rest for a long as he can since he doesn’t always get to.

Who plays the most pranks? - I don’t see them as a couple that does pranks on one another. They’re playful in other ways.

#otp; The Difference Between Real Love And The Love On TV (Nova/Sean)

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howrry · 5 years ago

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ice

a/n: finally! i’m settled into skool lyfe and bella is back in business bitch (we love alliteration) here is that full fic of ice i’ve been hinting at :~)

w/c: 4.2k

warnings: this fic has an age gap of about 4 years and one of the characters is an older teenager! this is totally legal where i’m from but if it’s not where you are or it makes you uncomfortable then maybe don’t read this? also smut

***

Waiting for that one Facetime was like watching a huge pot of water boil. It was cliché, but you were running out of mundane things to do since you’d gotten home from uni. Seriously—laundry, reorganizing your soulless childhood room, even fully unpacking despite having weeks to get comfortable. Of course, as soon as you came back, you had your reunion with your parents and other family, but you hadn’t quite reached the seeing-friends phase of coming home.

At least, not until that lovely ringtone hummed through your room and you pounced on the bed, swiping on Gemma’s beautiful face. “Babe!” you cried.

“Hush,” she joked, crunching on a red apple on her side of the screen. You could hear her turn down the volume by clicking the buttons on her phone.

“Are you ready for me, then?” you asked, bouncing up and down on your tippy toes.

“No, don’t want to see you,” she crunched again, “just wanted to call to see how your mum’s doing. Of course I’m ready, twit!”

“Watch your language!” you chastised. “But I’ll be over in a New York minute.”

Getting ready was a rush—at this point you were just ready to get down the street. You shoved your feet into your Birks and grabbed your phone and keys, and once you’d padded down the stairs, your parents merely got a “be at Gem’s, later!” before you slammed the door.

When you got there, it was Harry who greeted you. You’d knocked and waited, since their house was always locked anyways. He threw the door open so fast that his cross necklace was still swinging when he rested his head on his forearm propped up on the doorframe. “Sorry, we don’t want any Girl Scout cookies,” he joked, smirking around his own jab.

“Ha ha ha,” you sarcastically bit. “Move it, Fisher-Price, I’m here for your sister.”

“I had a great semester, thank yeh for askin’,” he smiled, moving back and letting you in. “What about y’self?”

“It was productive, actually. Good to see you again, H,” you responded congenially. Ahh, the smell of your friend’s home was so nostalgic and inviting. It was fall all year round with the pumpkin in the living room, vanilla in the foyer, pine needles upstairs…

“Likewise,” he winked just before you went upstairs to your friend’s room.

Harry had always been a little charmer. Anne raised him to be very polite and he was naturally entertaining despite his introverted tendencies, but he’d always been Gemma’s annoying little brother to you. He always tried to butt into your hangouts with her, as far back as when he was four and you were eight and he wanted to play outside with you two, up to when he was 15 and you were 19 and he tried to buy beer from Gemma.

But soon, things changed. Harry got taller and his voice dropped and his skin got clear, and suddenly he wasn’t just the annoying little brother anymore. He was almost an adult, and he certainly developed a way with girls. The first time you went to see Gem and Harry had a girl over, something you couldn’t describe churned in your stomach. There’s no way Harry didn’t notice the way you cut your eyes when you initially saw her.

Ever since then, he just took a different light in your eyes. Going to Gemma’s house suddenly had double the benefits since you were seeing your best friend and her stupid hot little brother. If she left you alone for any period of time, you’d do anything to get Harry’s attention. He would chat with this amused smirk, one hand in his pocket and the other fiddling with his cross necklace, as if he knew you were subtly pining.

It was honestly kind of pathetic. He was still in high school, and you were in the home stretch of university. You had a potential hook-up pool that was at least five times the size of his and a much better selection, yet you were yearning for a guy who can’t even buy his own cigarettes.

But you didn’t care, and obviously Harry didn’t either. He humored your goofy flirting and gave it right back to you. For the most part, it was just harmless compliments and light schoolyard jabs and never escalated past that, until, well, it did.

You were going to go to brunch with Gemma that day. She’d gotten a part-time job as a photographer’s intern downtown that year, and invited you to try a new café with her. It was the perfect excuse to wear that flowy Free People dress you got, so you agreed.

While getting ready, Gemma called you in a panic. “Y/N! I forgot my wallet on my vanity at home,” she breathed. “Do you mind getting it before coming over?”

“Not a problem,” you hummed, checking your lipstick.

“Thanks, love. My mum left the front door unlocked when she got in this morning so just make yourself at home looking for it. See you soon!” Gemma blew a kiss into the phone before hanging up.

Her front door was open, just like she warned, and you hopped up the stairs to her room. Unfortunately, Gemma was more of the messy type, so finding her wallet was no easy task. Her vanity was covered in makeup and hair care bottles and papers from the previous semester. Where the hell could the wallet possibly be?

“Looking for somethin’?” Harry asked, leaning on the door frame with a Coke can in hand.

You looked up, pushing the hair that had fallen in your face to the side. “Need your sister’s wallet. It’s brunch time.”

“Ooh, bring me back a ricotta toast,” he ordered, reaching into Gemma’s Louis purse hanging by her door and pulling out her black wallet.

“You’d be lucky if I brought back a napkin,” you sneered, taking the wallet from him and going to shove past him.

He blocked your exit and held a hand up to your shoulder. “Wait, doll. Your earring is twisted backwards.” The hand that stopped you trailed up to softly ghost across your face and fix your earring, which must have gotten tangled in your wild goose chase.

Fuck, he was close. You could hear the soft breaths fanning out from his nostrils, his almost disinterested gaze slowly morphing into his classic smirk, and hand not leaving your skin in a timely fashion. His piercing green eyes rendered you stupidly frozen.

And the tension snapped. Within minutes he had you out of your dress and was fucking you into Gemma’s floral duvet. Everything was happening so fast; you didn’t even stop to think about how wrong it was. The feel of his teeth dragging across your neck and the stretch of his cock inside you were really the only things on your mind at that point.

It was rough and quick and dirty (and quite possibly the hottest thing you’ve ever done) but by the time you two were adjusting yourselves and catching your breath, you were twenty minutes late to lunch. You blamed it on traffic and Gemma didn’t care to push it.

So that’s how it started. It wasn’t anything exclusive, it wasn’t intimate, and it certainly wasn’t something you talked about outside of the bedroom. “The bedroom” being figurative, of course, since Harry and you liked to get it on whenever you had the chance. It wasn’t weird if you ended up bent over a washing machine or on your knees in front of him pressed up against the wall in a hallway.

When you thought about it, like reallypondered in a hot shower, you knew it was fucked up to be doing what you’re doing. It’s not like it was illegal—you just felt like you were betraying Gemma. You were closer to her than anyone else in the world and you were sneaking around with her brother.

He didn’t make it fair, though. He was so poised and smooth and fucked like he wasn’t still in AP Physics. The way he bantered with not only you but his sister and mother was definitely more witty than most boys his age. It only made sense to let him rearrange your guts.

So you had a bit of an internal dilemma. Frankly, if your little affair is well kept from Gemma, it shouldn’t be a problem at all. So you thought.

***

“So, do you have lice or something?” Gemma asked, raising an eyebrow from behind her magazine. The two of you had finally settled into winter break time and were taking turns spending at each other’s houses. Today, it was girls’ night at the Styles’ home.

You froze, one hand ruthlessly digging in your hair. “What? No. There’s just a wicked knot in my hair and I can’t get it out.” It was in the most unfortunate location on the back of your scalp, and your fingers could make no sense of the mat of hair.

“Do you need some help?” she offered, setting down her literature.

You reared back even though she was sitting at her desk across the room. “Gross, you just painted your nails! No thanks. Besides, I think I’m getting it.”

She shrugged and blew on her soft blue nails. “Whatever. I’m getting a yogurt.”

“I want one too,” you hummed, sliding off her comfortable duvet and gently pulling out a few strands of broken hair. A tiny plopaccompanied your feet on the rug and you spun in confusion. The noise was too soft to be a phone, but you still checked that yours was in your pocket. Barely visible in the fibers of the shag rug rested a solid black metallic ring. It was Harry’s.

You stared at it in horror. The ring had been in your goddamn hair. Earlier that day you’d given Harry a blowjob that left him slack-jawed and pink-cheeked and his hands had been so tangled up in your hair that your hair stole his ring. Which just fell out onto the floor in Gemma’s room.

“Is that Harry’s ring?” she hissed, gaze locking on the ring standing out from the white rug.

Oh no. Oh fuck oh fuck fuck fuck—

“He’s such a twat. Why does he leave his jewelry everywhere? You could’ve stepped on that!” she continued, reaching down to pick it up. “I’m gonna throw it in the trash.”

When she moved to her trash bin, your eyes widened and you squealed a “don’t!” That ring was really nice and you knew Harry would be devastated if she threw it out.

Gemma turned slowly. “Why?”

Your mind raced to think of a good excuse. “Because, if you throw out a ring he wears all the time, he’ll throw out something of yours that youcherish.” You gestured towards her vanity where the Tiffany box sat. She’d just bought herself a necklace for doing so well on her exams and you knew that Harry would retaliate with it.

Your best friend eyed the necklace and then the ring in her fingers. “You’re right,” she finally agreed. You let out a huge breath—there was always the risk of being too weird about Harry and blowing your own cover, but once Gemma ducked into her brother’s room and pinged Harry’s back with the ring, you knew the cover was totally intact.

***

God, you didn’t want to party. The break ended next week and soon it’d be books and schedules and debt again. Who could be shotgunning 4Lokos at a time like this?! Plus, none of the bars were open this day of the week so the only option was a freakin’ house party. What uni students over the age of 21 go to house parties?

But Gemma wanted to, and what she wants, she gets. Though you loved her tenacious attitude at times, all you cared about right now was taking off your revealing top and climbing into bed.

You nursed on straight Coke in the kitchen and absentmindedly watched Gemma go hard. You trusted her and vice versa; she knew her limits but still could have a really, really good time. The men of the party were in awe as she threw back tequila and slapped the bag right after, and even the inside of yourmouth was feeling withered just watching her.

“Hey, there,” you heard from off to the side. You casually lulled your head over to see a shockingly attractive guy. He had thick, dark hair with a sprinkling of light brown freckles on the bridge of his nose.

“Hi. You lost?” you joked, moving to make room on the upholstered bench next to you, where the mystery man joined you.

“Not anymore.” Mm. The faint scent of alcoholic breath wafted to your face but this stranger was keeping his composure quite well. “I’m Russell.”

“Y/N, pleasure,” you hummed, shaking his hand.

He started chatting you up, but to be fair, it was in one ear and out the other. He was clearly throwing words to the wind, and not even his good looks or nice cologne could draw your attention. It wasn’t like Harry, who could entice you with conversations about chopped liver if he so wanted to.

Ahh, Harry. You wondered what he was up to right now. He was probably at a party himself, drinking watery beer and flirting with any bird with eyelash extensions that gave him attention. God, why were you getting so jealous of him? You certainly didn’t owe him any loyalty and neither did he. In fact, if you so desired, you could go out and get laid right now and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it!

Your attention drifted back to the cute boy next to you. Somehow, as Russell droned on about his recent physics prof, you started to see Harry in his features. Certainly not in anything coming out of his mouth, but the curls that flopped down into his face were just like H’s after he’s played footy all day. Russell’s hands had prominent veins on them, just like Harry’s hands when they were grabbing at your skin and smacking your ass. Even the way he toyed with his bottom lip while thinking aloud.

Though H was really the last person you wanted on your mind right now, all these physical thoughts were making Russell more and more attractive by the minute. He wasn’t Harry, but maybe he could be Great Value Harry. You reciprocated his flirty chatter and got touchy with him, and things quickly devolved into kissing in the corner of the kitchen you two occupied.

Things were happening surprisingly fast for how sober you were. You went upstairs with him, you made out with him on a random bed, you undressed each other, and before you knew it he was rolling on a condom and pushing himself into you.

It wasn’t necessarily that it was bad sex. Russell had soft lips that kissed your neck as he thrusted and he certainly wasn’t small, but it didn’t really blow you out of the water. Your toes didn’t curl and your eyes didn’t roll back into your skull. He even lasted a decent amount of time, but once you made your mind up about not getting an O, you kinda just wanted it to end.

Once it did, he got busy falling asleep and you tried to not take it personally (c’mon, it’s pretty taxing for a guy to cum). You tugged your clothes back on and went out to look for Gemma, and of course she was upstairs as well, throwing up into a bathroom trashcan.

“Hey, Gem, how you feel?” you asked, rubbing at her back and tucking your hair behind your ears.

“Better now that this is out of me. Wanna go home?” she mumbled, sighing and wistfully staring at the toilet that she was seconds from making it into.

“Yep. C’mon, I’ll call an Uber,” you said to no one, hoisting a lackadaisical Gemma onto your shoulder and out of the house.

Once home, getting Gemma situated was the most difficult part. Her mother worked late and Harry was probably out, but even without the chance of running into one of her family members, she was still heavy. Her choice to not use her legs at all certainly didn’t do you any favors, either.

When the front door opened and the familiar smell of her abode hit Gemma’s nose, she perked up. It became minimally easier to hoist her up the stairs and into her bed. You did your best to scrub at the makeup that had lasted through her dancing and puking without waking her, but she was so tired and lulled to sleep by her drinks that an earthquake wouldn’t make her stir for at least eight hours. You nodded at the unopened cheap water on her nightstand, reminding yourself to get her a reusable bottle.

Your work was done. Gemma was snoring smoothly within minutes with a clean face and a drink waiting for her in the morning. You got laid, even though you were completely sober, it wasn’t exactly a great dick review, and you’re a 21-year-old who got fucked at a house party. Maybe it was just time to go home and accept the night for… whatever it was. You padded downstairs softly despite the minor coma your best friend was in. Common courtesy, you supposed.

Thump.

Face first into a chest. It was totally dark in the house and you definitely didn’t expect there to be a solid torso in Gemma’s living room for you to bump into. A sharp gasp filled your lungs and the figure reached behind and clicked the lamp on. Harry, of course.

“Jesus Christ, you scared the hell out of me,” you breathed, slapping a hand to your chest.

“It’s my house,” he grumbled. As your eyes adjusted to the light, you saw his puffy eyes and messy hair and wrinkled clothes. He’d been sleeping.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you? I thought you’d be out.” Just seeing him in such a soft state made your lower belly swirl.

He shook his head a bit. “What are y��doing here?”

“Went to a party with Gem. She got too wild so I put her to bed,” you bluntly explained.

Harry pursed his lips, crossing his arms and eyeing you focusedly. “Did you have a good time?”

“No,” you answered quickly, because you didn’t. “I didn’t drink and I had to take care of Gemma and I fucked someone.” That last part fell out of your mouth before you had a chance to think twice.

There were a few beats of a heavy silence and you wondered if you made a mistake. “Did they fuck you good, baby?” he finally asked, no emotion inflecting his words.

You couldn’t have been less prepared for that response. “No,” you whimpered, face getting hot at his critical stare.

“Oh, doll, they couldn’t fuck yeh like I can, huh?” His voice was pure sex—every response he had to you threw you off more than the last. Everything he said just floated off his tongue and danced into the room and onto whosever’s ears they were around.

“No, they couldn’t,” you choked out. You felt like your throat was closing. “No one fucks me like you do and I can’t understand it. I shouldn’t be seeing you because it’s so wrong but...” God, shut up shut up shut up. Your word vomit amused Harry beyond belief. The smug look on his face was making you feel even smaller than his height already did.

“Oh, I know what you’re sayin’, doll,” he laughed. “You wanna do the right thing by m’sister but yeh just can’t. Deep down y’know you’ll always come back to me, hmm?” Harry took a step towards you, and you completely froze. You thought that he was about to bend down and kiss you but he surprised you yet again by snapping a hand up and gripping it around your neck. “I own you, y’hear me?”

You nodded, or at least the best you could with his vice grip on you. Every breath you tried to take stopped short in the back of your throat, and it almost felt like your feet were about to lift off the ground. Your own hands flew up to claw at Harry’s hand before his grip finally softened. A thick gasp sucked in and your legs threatened to not support your body, but he grabbed at you and steadied you. His fingers grazed your quivering lips. “Who’s mouth is this?” he asked, intently staring.

“Yours,” it came out as a whisper. Normally he’d be much meaner and wouldn’t accept such a quiet response, but he was feeling generous, apparently. He leaned down and kissed you, sucking in on your bottom lip and biting the red flesh.

The two of you made your way down to the couch, such that you were straddling Harry and he was cupping at your ass. Your hair kept falling in your faces, but he didn’t care and continued to kiss you and grab at your throat.

He took a break and leaned back on the couch, taking his time to lazily cup at the soft skin behind your thighs. “Mmm, and who’s ass is this?” When you breathed out another “yours” he smacked it audibly. “Goddamn right, pet.”

He didn’t take your shirt off, nor any of his clothes. He lifted you just enough for you to tug your shorts and panties down, and for him to pull his leaking cock out of his dark sweats. You tried to tease for a moment, grinding your bare center against him, but he put a stop to that. “Do I even have t’ask if this is mine?” he growled, assertively cupping your cunt with his big hand. You shook your head and he smirked, guiding his tip up and down your slit.

“Nope, because I know it’s mine,” he whispered, letting you slip his whole length inside your wet pussy. He shoved his hands up the back of your shirt, dragging his nails down the soft skin. Once you’d bottomed out and you were desperately grinding your clit against his pubic bone, he put a hand flat on your chest. “Lean back and ride me, pet.”

You obeyed to the best of your ability. You put your hands behind you on his knees and shifted your weight back, allowing him to fully watch himself disappear into you. The coarse, dark curls at the base of his member lightly stimulated your clit on the downstrokes, making you helplessly whimper while you fucked yourself on him.

“Are yeh sure you fucked someone?” he grunted. “So fuckin’ tight, I just don’t believe it.” His fingers snaked down and played around with your clit, which undoubtedly threw off your bouncing. Your hips begged to stay down and enjoy the circles he was tracing over your button, but he wouldn’t let you. His free hand went to your hip, just above where it bent into your thigh, and guided you to start moving again. “Uh-uh. Keep ridin’ me, love. I know yeh can keep a rhythm, hmm?”

So you kept riding. The pressure of his tip ghosting around your G-spot combined with him stimulating your clit was making it difficult to stay quiet. Sure, Gem was asleep, but she wasn’t dead, and if you made a ridiculous amount of noise, she’d definitely investigate.

“Gonna cum, aren’t yeh?” he asked, and fuck, he was right. That knot was already starting to form in your lower belly.. “I can tell. Yeh gonna let go, all over m’cock? Gonna make a mess fo’ me?”

His words caused you to spill over, and you were no longer able to hold yourself up leaning back. He was very forgiving of this, and let you grab at his shoulders while riding out your high. Once you’d stopped shaking and panting into his neck, he thrusted his hips up into you once, twice, three times and came inside of you with a grunt and some more nail-digging, this time into your thighs.

And then it was silent. You meekly got off of him and shakily pulled your shorts back up. You two quietly redressed, Harry nearly dead from his draining orgasm and you weak in the legs from your sexual workout. The only noise was the scratch of fabric on fabric and your shared heavy breathing. Finally, when you were gathering your things to leave, Harry spoke in his sultry, hoarse voice.

“I like when you come around,” he smiled, and you immediately returned it. It didn’t seem like much, but this was Harry’s way of expressing affection. Regardless of how good he was in bed or how witty and charming he came off, he was still a goofy teenage boy who had trouble talking about his emotions.

A little giggle came out of your nostrils. “Thanks, Haz.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, hmm?” he asked, pinning that unconfident noise at the end despite knowing you’d be back. He was already relaxing, crossing his arms behind his head and lazily eyeing you scramble towards the front door.

“Yeah,” you dreamily affirmed, giving a quick wave to Harry (which he goofily returned) and floating out the front door. “Tomorrow,” you said to the empty street in front of you, toying with your car keys in your hands.

#yahtzeeeeeee #harry styles #harry styles smut #harry styles one shot #harry styles writing #harryforvogue #permanentcross #jawllines #haroldloverboy #inwhichitrytowritesomething #adashofniallandasprinkleoflunacy

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wordywarriorwrites · 5 years ago

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Chapter 17: Deliverance

Masterlist: The Boss of Brooklyn A03 Story Link Author: @wordywarriorwrites Summary: When it comes to being The Boss, James Buchanan “JB” Barnes rules with an iron fist. For him, there’s no room for sentiment, and certainly no time for distraction, even if it is in the form of an old flame. Steve Rogers had bowed out of the life a long time ago, but a twist of fate brings him right back into the fold, and face-to-face with a man he once loved. When a game of cat and mouse turns into a matter of life and death, both will be forced to decide whether they’ll be loyal to the business, or faithful to each other. A/N: Bucky Barnes Mob Boss AU. Stucky. For: @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan Star’s Multi-Fandom Follower Celebration with the prompt, “Why did you do it?” & @sherrybaby14 Sherry’s Fall Into You Challenge with the prompt, “Show me. Prove that you can handle me.” Warnings: Language, violence, drug use, alcohol, smoking, explicit sexual content, illegal activities. *Re-blogs are welcome. Plagiarism isn’t. *

Twelve Weeks Later…

Grand Bahama Island was nothing short of paradise.

Clear-blue waters and sandy shores. All-inclusive resorts, fantastic cuisine, and a population that consisted of friendly locals, old money, and the nouveau rich. Privacy, exclusivity, and luxury, all wrapped up in an idyllic package.

And now, Bucky owned a piece of it.

The deed was discovered inside an understated, navy-blue letter storage box. It had been found crushed at the very bottom of the heap of customary tributes and gifts Bucky received on his birthday. Banner, Sam, and Natasha had been helping him sort through everything and write thank-you notes for weeks, and they were finally in the home stretch.

Those lower on the totem pole gave cash or a nice bottle of booze. Others higher up on the food chain arranged to foot the bill for more extravagant things, like a tailor-made suit or a custom watch. People at the very top spared no expense, and usually gifted items like a trip to a destination of his choice or an imported car, but in this instance, someone had decided to give him a multi-million-dollar mansion just off the coast of Florida.

“It’s from Fury,” Banner declared. “Paperwork’s legit and the place is legally yours.”

Sam let out a low whistle, “That’s one hell of a birthday present.”

Natasha opened the final envelope from the pile and pulled out a stack of papers, “And here’s another.”

Bucky quickly scrawled a personalized message to Fury before he set his pen aside and accepted the file. The pages had little sticky-note flags that drew attention to each place that required a signature, and all corresponding lines had been properly dated, initialed, stamped, and notarized.

It had taken awhile, but Steve finally signed the documents, and had formally stepped aside.

“I hope you’re happy now,” Natasha muttered.

Bucky sighed and turned to Bruce, “Take this directly to Wanda, and tell her to transfer the money as discussed. Sam, go with him. I want you both back here and ready to leave in thirty minutes.”

Both men nodded and hopped to it, and once they were gone, Natasha crossed her arms over her chest and gave him the stink-eye. He pointedly ignored her huffiness, left the office, and went to double-check his luggage. He, Sam, and Bruce were due to fly out to Bermuda in three hours to set up shop, and after Bucky made sure he had everything he needed, he left his bedroom, and dropped the bag by the door.

“He’s gone,” Natasha snapped as she entered the living room. “Are you satisfied?”

“Don’t start,” he warned.

“Given enough time, you two could’ve taken the whole of New York. You could’ve been an unstoppable, untouchable powerhouse, and your influence at home and abroad would’ve been limitless.”

“He wanted his freedom,” Bucky bit out lowly. “And I granted it.”

She laughed and threw up her hands, “Well, if you won’t have him, others will. I know some guys here who’ve been chomping at the bit for years, and they just can’t wait to get their hands on him.”

Somewhere on the fringes of his brain, he heard Natasha point out that Steve was smoking hot, filthy fucking rich, and had that whole “wounded, bad-boy” thing going on – all of which his future bedmates would find exceedingly attractive. She also surmised Steve was bound to fall in love again eventually, and might even get married someday. Natasha then went on to say she hoped to be invited to the wedding, and that if Steve and his future husband ever adopted children, she would be the best auntie.

Bucky wasn’t entirely too sure how it happened. One minute, Natasha was prattling about baby clothes, in-home nannies, private schools, and how expensive college tuition was; the next, he had her by the throat, and slammed up against the wall. How the gun got in his hand was a mystery, and he didn’t know how the barrel ended up pressed to the center of her forehead, either.

All it took was one look into her triumph-filled eyes for Bucky to know she’d keyed him up on purpose. Natasha was the only person in his life he truly trusted and cared for, and Bucky had never raised a hand to her before, but his violent overreaction was proof he’d let his emotions overrule his reason yet again.

Bucky immediately released her and lowered the gun, “Nat… Shit, I didn’t…”

“An unacknowledged weakness is a dangerous thing,” she wheezed.

He cleared his throat and took a step back, “I just… I need you to leave it alone, alright?”

Natasha closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall, “What you need to do is nut up, go to Steve, and beg for his forgiveness. You know he belongs here with you, so, stop fighting it.”

The long stretch of heavily-weighted silence was broken by the return of Sam and Bruce. Both men had been laughing and chatting excitedly about the upcoming trip, but when they saw the cannon in Bucky’s hand and the abrasions around Natasha’s throat, they fell silent.

“Everything cool?” Sam wondered.

Natasha coughed and waved him off, but it wasn’t until Bucky holstered his weapon that the tension dissipated. While Banner examined Natasha, Sam approached him, and asked if he was all good.

Bucky nodded and clapped him on the shoulder, “Just a misunderstanding. Won’t happen again.”

A few moments later, a text announced the arrival of their car, and as it was Sam’s job to ensure it was actually their ride and not some sort of ambush, he shouldered his rucksack, and headed down first. After Bucky received the all clear, Bruce picked up his duffel, mumbled that travelling with the Boss was a pain in the ass, and followed suit.

Bucky gathered his bag and told Natasha he’d text when they landed. He’d been waiting in the hallway for the elevator for some time before the door to his penthouse opened, and she came out to join him.

“Can you forgive me?” he requested solemnly.

“Bring me back something pretty and I’ll consider it.”

“Just let me know what kind of jewels you want.”

Natasha said, “diamonds and rubies,” and on the heels of her quip, the elevator door parted. As they descended, she linked arms with him, placed her head on his shoulder, and confessed she didn’t want him to be alone. When he pithily told her that she’d end up with wrinkles if she didn’t stop worrying, she pinched his bicep hard, and called him an asshole.

Bucky grinned and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, “Stop busting my balls, alright? I’ll be fine.”

Whatever she may have said by way of response was cut off when the elevator signaled that they’d reached the ground floor. The driver was quick to stow his bags and open the door for him, but before he could get in the back seat, Natasha tugged his arm, and halted him.

“Just promise me,” she insisted. “Promise me you’ll think about what I said.”

Bucky was saved from having to lie to her when Sam leaned out and yelled that they needed to get a move on. The last thing he heard before Natasha slammed the door in his face was, “Steve’s in Île Saint-Louis,” and her blurted declaration caught not only his attention, but Bruce’s as well.

“That’s not good,” Banner spluttered. “If Steve’s in Paris… Oh, that’s bad. Very bad…”

Sam glanced at him and made a motion with his hand for him to continue, “You want to fill me in?”

Bruce launched into what could only be described as an impassioned tirade that lasted for the entire drive to the airport and all the way through take off.

He informed that Mason Dubois, the only child and beloved son of multi-billionaire and former mob Boss, Luc Dubois, lived in Paris. They were direct descendants of Jules Bonnot, who founded the Bonnot Gang in France in the 1900’s. Luc had followed in his ancestor’s footsteps, but unlike Jules, he hadn’t been an anarchist, and he’d never been caught. Before his untimely death, Luc ran the biggest game in the country; when the father passed away, the son stepped in, and his political ties, fortune, and Bonnot lineage meant he had more money, status, and power than God himself.

It was common knowledge that the Hornec gang was the most active and notorious crew in Paris, and though Dubois received a cut of the profits, racketeering, drugs, and illegal slot machines weren’t his stock and trade. He and his associates were definitely upper-crust, white-collar criminals, and they were extremely well-funded and very well-connected.

Sam still couldn’t see what the problem was, which prompted Bruce to reveal that Mason Dubois was Wanda’s cousin by marriage. He’d been in town the night of Bucky’s party and Wanda had introduced him to Steve. They were both in the business, knew some of the same players, and had common interests. Mason was also considered one of the most eligible bachelors in France, and for all intents and purposes, Steve was single as well.

The not-so-subtle implications of Banner’s long-winded diatribe made Bucky close his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose. As soon as the plane landed and they got checked in to the resort, he retreated to his suite, and poured himself a more than liberal drink.

Bucky had done the impossible. He’d reclaimed Brooklyn; restored his people’s confidence in full; asserted complete control over the West Indies; and had come back from what could’ve been a very costly and fatal mistake. He should’ve been glad his long-term plan had succeeded, but he wasn’t, and the more he examined the reasons for his uneasiness, the more uncomfortable he became.

Steve’s acquiesce to the terms and subsequent departure to Paris meant he’d decided to free himself from the last vestiges of their strained, complicated relationship. He was no longer under any obligation to Bucky or the Families, which meant all bets were off. Wanda could play match-maker all she liked, and as a free-agent, Steve could conduct business -- and climb into bed -- with whomever he wished to.

And there was nothing Bucky could do about it.

His former best-friend, past partner-in-crime, and soon-to-be-lost love of his life was in danger of being taken off the market in more ways than one, and Bucky knew Natasha’s parting words had been a last-ditch effort to make him come to terms with it. She wanted him to not only admit his feelings, but also face the consequences of his actions, and repair the damage.

If Bucky had been honest – if he’d, just once, put Steve first – maybe things could’ve been different. If he hadn’t pulled him back in; hadn’t lifted him up just to screw him over; hadn’t betrayed him and rejected him and broken his heart so many fucking times…

The sound of his phone going off prodded him out of his thoughts; he’d forgotten to text Natasha, which explained why she’d reached out first, but before he could type a reply, another message came through.

The words, “Let me handle Bermuda,” appeared, along with a URL that redirected Bucky the website of his preferred airline. According to the departure schedule, if he booked the ticket immediately, and hauled ass to the airport, he could be in France just after sunrise. Natasha followed up again mere seconds later with, “You go get him and bring him home.”

Bucky scraped a hand over his face, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. With his heart somewhere in the vicinity of his fucking throat, he penciled himself into first class, checked in before he could change his mind, and called down to the lobby for a car.

Though the prospect of an uncertain outcome terrified him, Bucky was going to Paris, and in twelve hours, he’d know for sure whether or not his change of heart was just in time, or far too little, and much too late.

Chapter 18: On Va Voir

Everything: @jennmurawski13 @nerdy-bookworm-1998

Steve Rogers: @patzammit @hearttoearth The Boss of Brooklyn: @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan @jamesbarnesappreciationsociety @captain-rogers-beard @lilliannaansalla

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ericsonclan · 4 years ago

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Beware the Mitchotaur

Summary: Brody enjoys swimming with her friend Willy after school. When she leaves to go home she meets a new monster that she's never seen before.

Read on A03:

Brody could feel her anxiety bubbling inside of her as she strolled down the hallway to reach the school pool. There wasn’t swim practice today but still it always helped her to spend some time at the pool after school. Especially when her anxiety was overwhelming her. It was the first few weeks of classes so it wasn’t hard to pinpoint what was making her anxious. A new school year always freaked her out.

Still, there were some really nice new monsters in her sophomore class. Louis seemed to stick out promptly in her mind. He was a frankenstein which was extremely rare and he’d only been created a week or so before school had even started. He had a lot to learn but he was definitely the warmest and kindest of the new students. There was also a vampire that had joined in this year that shared a few classes with the selkie. So far Prisha seemed like an interesting person. If Brody could summon up some more courage, she was sure she’d be able to see how nice of a vampire Prisha was. Although she did have an intimidating presence... but so did Violet when Brody first talked to her and now the two of them were good friends. Perhaps the most unusual of the new students that joined her class was Clementine, a human. Why a human would decide to go to a school full of monsters Brody had no idea. Clementine seemed to be overwhelmed by all the different types of monsters but Brody could tell that she was a good person who wanted to see the best in all of her classmates. It would just take some time.

Brody slipped into the door to the pool. The comforting smell of chlorine filled her nose, causing a happy smile to appear on the selkie’s lips. She pulled the sides of her sealskin closer before walking to one of the benches on the side and placing her bag down. When she looked up she noticed that Willy had already made it to the pool and was doing his unusual tradition of pouring salt inside. When he had first done it in front of Brody, he explained that while chlorine had a faint saltiness to it it was nowhere near as salty as the waters where he originated from. So he had come up with the brilliant idea to add salt to the pool to make it feel more like home. The crazy part of it all was that it worked. He only did it on Fridays though so that when the pool got cleaned over the weekend the water would be back to its usual state for the other monsters who swam in it.

Brody kicked off her shoes and walked over to the sea creature who gave a happy grin when he noticed her. “Hey, Brody,” His grin faded slightly when he picked up the fact that she was really anxious today. “Rough day?”

“You could say that,” Brody mumbled and sat down at the side of the pool, putting her feet in and slowly kicking the water back and forth.

“Well, then I know what we’re doing today.” Willy jumped up to his feet, causing a slapping sound to emit throughout the room when his webbed feet hit the tiles. “Let’s see who can hold their breath the longest.”

Brody’s eyes danced at those words. There was something very calming about being at the bottom of the pool and even though it was a competition it was always in good fun so it didn’t stress her out. Wordlessly Brody got up, threw the doppled grey seal skin over her head and dived into the waters which bubbled until she emerged in her seal form.

“Yeah!” Willy pumped a fist in the air while he jumped. He quickly took off the container attached to his wrists and jumped in, causing a large wave to wash over Brody. “Okay, you know the rules. Swim down to the bottom and hold your breath. The longest one wins.”

Brody nodded, giving an excited bark before diving down further. Willy joined her in an instant and the pair hovered down at the bottom of the pool. It was only eight feet down but it felt like home to Brody. The calming waters around her, the light that danced off the edges of the pool and reached to the bottom. The company. It was perfect. Brody looked over at the sea creature whose gills were shut closed. An excited determination filled his eyes while he looked at Brody with a smile. Brody looked at him with a similar determination. As time passed Brody’s anxiety started to fizzle out and was replaced with warm, serene feelings. She looked over at Willy; she was really lucky to have a friend like him. The two spent many afternoons after class at the pool, whether it was races, showing off tricks, tag or simply sitting down at the bottom of the pool to do a breath-holding competition. Willy was always there. He really had become one of Brody’s closest friends. A constant happy light in her life here in the human world. She was grateful for him.

Willy started to squirm around and kick his webbed feet wildly; he was reaching his limits. Brody was starting to feel the pressure too. It was going to be down to the wire to see who would last longer. Willy bounced off the pool’s corners, trying to distract himself by making funny faces. Brody barked from laughter, releasing all of her air and causing her to shoot up. She took a few deep breaths before Willy appeared beside her. He shook his hair wildly, making droplets of water hit against the selkie.

“Down for a race?” Willy kicked his legs playfully.

Brody gave a happy bark before doing a backflip in the water. With that the race was on. Now that Brody had been on the swim team for a while it had become harder and harder for Willy to keep up. But he was no slouch: out of the newest tally they kept in the first few weeks Brody was only up by one win. Willy was determined for that to change.

“Ready, set, go!” Willy swam with all of his might, kicking his legs with such great force that it kept up with the selkie’s smooth swimming and against all odds Willy’s webbed hand was the first to reach the other end of the pool. Brody was only seconds behind, booping her nose against the pool. Brody transformed back into her human form and offered a hand out to the sea creature who took it immediately with a grin.

“Well, it looks like we’re tied again. But not for long.” Willy declared proudly.

“Yep, because I’m going to win next time.” Brody readjusted her sealskin on her back before flashing a confident grin over at Willy who was busying clicking the containers back onto his arms.

“Nope, because I still have some tricks up my scales so you better watch out,”

“Oh yeah? Well, don’t count this selkie out.” Brody’s eyes wandered over to the clock, her face falling when she saw the time. “I should probably head out.”

“Oh, okay,” Willy held his arm behind his back shyly. “Can you swim again after school on Monday?”

“Of course!” Brody gave a warm smile to her friend which caused him to beam.

“Yes! I can’t wait!” Willy exclaimed, his gills puffing out excitedly. He was shocked when Brody suddenly moved forward and wrapped him a hug.

“Thanks, Willy, for being my friend and spending time with me.” Brody whispered, tightening her hug. Willy’s arms wrapped around Brody as he swayed back and forth.

“Thanks for being my friend too! I can’t remember the last time I’ve had this much fun and such a cool friend.”

The two stayed there for a moment, each of them swaying with the hug until Brody pulled away, ruffling Willy’s hair before grabbing her bag and exiting the pool. She walked down the corridor with a happy smile. Even though the day had started out rough, it had ended great as it always did when she got to go to the pool. She turned the corner, ready to head home when she heard a fellow monster’s voice call out in the hall.

“Hey, watch out for the Mitchotuar!” The student’s voice had a teasing edge to it. But the sentence was what really threw Brody. She didn’t have much time to think, however, when rushing down the hall came a tall, horned boy. His hooves clacked loudly against the hallway floor while he ran forward only to be stopped when he rammed into a wall, his horns getting stuck in the plaster. His legs pushed back roughly as he shook his head and gave angry snorts when his efforts to release himself failed.

Mitch couldn’t believe it. He had been so caught up in his own emotions and thoughts because of that argument he had with another monster that he ended up getting stuck. I look like such a fucking idiot. Mitch yanked back to try and break free but it didn’t work. His tail whacked harshly against his legs while he pulled and pulled but to no avail. He was really stuck.

“Do you need a hand?” A gentle voice appeared beside him.

“Of course I need a hand!” Mitch snapped, his eyes shooting over to look at who had spoken to him. His eyes immediately softened when he saw the girl who was standing beside him. Her auburn hair was slicked back with what he figured was pool water considering the level of chlorine that was covering her scent. She looked like a normal human; the only odd thing about her was a sealskin that she was pulling closer to herself. What kind of monster was she? Whatever kind she was, she had got to be one of the prettiest he’d ever seen. Her pale blue eyes were beautiful. Mitch snapped himself out of his thoughts. That didn't matter right now. Right now he had something he needed to do: apologize.

“Sorry,” the minotaur mumbled. “I didn’t mean to… I just want to get my horns unstuck.”

“Don’t worry about it,” The girl moved forward and took a closer look at the situation that Mitch had gotten himself stuck in. “I think I can loosen it if I can just reach…” The girl went on her tiptoes to reach her hands around Mitch’s right horn and with a gentle grip she shifted it back and forth, loosening it. Doing a light jog over to the other horn, she did the same. After a few seconds she stepped back with a deep breath. “Okay, now try moving back a bit.”

Mitch moved his hooves back and with a firm tug pulled himself out of the wall. A huge grin appeared on his face, glad to be free from the wall. When he looked over he noticed the girl was still there. She seemed happy as well.

“Whew, I’m glad that worked out. I’m Brody by the way,” The girl extended her hand which Mitch accepted right away, giving a firm handshake.

“Mitch.”

“That’s a nice name. I haven’t seen you in the halls of Ericson before. Are you new?”

“Yep, just started this year. I’m a sophomore.”

“Oh, the same as me,” The girl played with her sealskin. Mitch felt the warmth in his heart grow. She was the same year as him. “Sorry, guess I just didn’t notice you in class.”

“Eh, it’s fine,” Mitch waved dismissively. “Although it's crazy that you didn’t considering how big I am.”

The girl gave a light-hearted chuckle. “Yeah, I’ve never met a minotaur before.”

“Makes sense. Most are still on the island of Crete. Those who aren’t, well...” Mitch scratched the back of his head. “Let’s just say we aren’t a favorite amongst humans or monsters.”

He looked over at Brody who seemed saddened by his statement.

“Well, I won’t pay them any mind if you don’t.” Brody’s words came as a surprise to the minotaur. She definitely wasn’t reacting like he thought she would after he snapped at her.

“Umm, well, thanks,” Mitch was starting to feel overwhelmed. “This is probably a stupid question, but what kind of creature are you?”

“Oh, I’m a selkie.” Brody smiled up at Mitch.

“Selkie...selkie,” Mitch scratched his horn as his face scrunched in concentration. “I’ve heard that before.”

“Yeah, probably in one of the classes. We’re sealfolk. This sealskin helps me be able to change into a seal."

Mitch’s eyes widened at that. “That’s badass.”

Brody looked shocked for a moment, looking away with a shy smile. “Thanks.”

“So, does that mean you’re in your seal form at school?”

“No, only when I visit the pool or during swim practice.”

“You’re on the swim team?” Mitch’s ears perked up; this girl was getting cooler by the second.

“Yeah, for almost a whole year now.” Brody smiled up proudly at the minotaur.

“So, were you coming from practice today?” Mitch started to walk down the hall, hoping that if they found a spot outside they could talk some more. Brody jogged for a few seconds to catch up then kept pace with the minotaur.

“No, there wasn’t practice today. I was just swimming with my friend Willy. He goes to the junior high next door. He's a real sweet fella. A sea creature just like me. But he’s more scaly and fishlike. Has large eyes and webbed feet and hands. A real good swimmer too. We usually swim together after school.”

Mitch could tell from the way that Brody described him that he was a good friend and a pretty cool one too by the sounds of it. “He sounds awesome.”

“Well, if you’re free after school on Monday you can drop by the pool to meet him with me.”

Mitch’s eyes danced with excitement. “I’d like that.”

Brody seemed happy with Mitch’s enthusiasm and was about to ask him a question when the bell rang, signaling that another hour had passed.

“Oh, is it five already?” Brody’s face fell. “I’m really sorry to cut our talk short but I should get home.”

“Oh, okay,” Mitch’s tail fell flat at that news. He was really enjoying the conversation with Brody.

“We can talk more on Monday if you’d like.”

Brody’s words made Mitch’s heart beat excitedly, his tail curling around his leg. “Yeah, sounds good.”

“Great,” Brody’s hands wrapped her sealskin closer to her. “Then I guess I’ll see you Monday.”

“See you then.” Mitch gave a friendly wave goodbye to the selkie who returned it in kind with a warm smile before turning to walk home. Mitch felt an odd excitement course through him as he strolled towards the exit. For the first time in his life he couldn’t wait for the weekend to be over. His hooves clicked against the pavement when he stopped in his tracks, a realization washing over him. He had to let the school know about the mess he made in the hallway. It would becoming pretty fucking clear that it was him with one look so he might as well fess up and tell the principal.

“Fucking shit,” Mitch mumbled to himself and turned sharply on his heel. He stormed back into the school with an annoyed groan. Sometimes he really hated being a minotaur.

#twdg #twdg brody #twdg mitch #twdg moody #twdg willy #Brody Willy Brotp #fanfic #we are monsters we are proud au

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unfortunate-stranger-losers · 5 years ago

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Six Baudelaires AU, Part Three {AO3} {Masterlist} {Part One} {Part Two}

Chapter Twenty-Eight → in which Everything Goes to Shit

It was a bit hard to walk down the hall blindfolded.

Frank or Ernest took Lilac’s hand to lead her down the hall, and she took Violet’s, who took Nick’s, who took Klaus’s, who took Soli’s, who took Sunny’s. They stumbled down, hoping very much that they wouldn’t run into anything, and the manager wouldn’t lead them off the stairs without warning. Thankfully, he managed to get them into the elevator, and he found the button for the ground floor so he could lead them down. They stumbled out into a large crowd, and they gripped very tightly onto each others’ arms so they couldn’t get separated.

“Attention!” Justice Strauss yelled over the noise, beating onto wood with a gavel. “Attention everyone! The trial is about to begin! Everyone please take your seats!”

“We can’t see shit!” Nick shouted.

“Feel around with your hands!” Justice Strauss said. “Move to your right. Further. Further. Further. Furth-”

“Ow!”

“Not that far. There! Sit! Now the rest of you do the same!”

It took several minutes for everyone to find their seats- the Baudelaires sat beside each other somewhere in the front row, while Frank or Ernest wandered off somewhere, seemingly able to find his way just fine.

“Alright! You may remove your blindfolds briefly!”

“Why couldn’t we have done this five minutes ago?” Nick grumbled as he removed his blindfold, and then leaned over a struggling Klaus to help Solitude with hers.

“You see,” Justice Strauss announced, as Solitude helped Sunny with her blindfold, “Justice may be blind, but evidence must be seen to be believed. You will put the blindfolds back on for the verdict.”

“That makes no sense.” Klaus said.

“Nothing makes sense, Klaus, get used to it.” Lilac sighed.

“I am.” he groaned.

Justice Strauss pounded her gavel. “All rise for the High Court Judges, myself and my esteemed colleagues.”

She gestured up, and as they stood, the Baudelaires could see two distant figures, several floors up and leaning over the railing.

“Why are they so high up?” Solitude asked.

“The High Court decided to interpret their name literally.” Justice Strauss said. “You may sit.” She waited a moment for everyone to take their seats before continuing. “Now, it has come to the attention of the High Court that certain wicked deeds have gone unpunished, and that this wickedness is continuing at an alarming rate. We planned to hold a trial on Thursday, but after the death of Mr Denouement, it is clear we should proceed earlier, in the interests of justice and nobility. We will hear what each witness has to say and determine once and for all who is responsible. The guilty parties will be turned over to the authorities, who are waiting outside to make sure nobody will try to escape.”

Lilac slowly reached over to squeeze Violet’s hand as she glanced around the crowd, trying to decide if they had a good chance or not.

“Count Olaf, our defendant, is seated in his own box where he can’t sneak out the back.” Justice Strauss said.

“Yes,” Olaf said, and the Baudelaires snapped their heads to the side, seeing that he was in a small area against the wall, “As if I’d do anything so treacherous.”

“The High Court and I have already looked over my evidence,” Justice Strauss held up a large book, entitled Odious Lusting After Finances, “And now all that is left is to hear from the defendants. Baudelaires, you are our first witnesses. I call you to the stand.”

Slowly and shakily, the Baudelaires got to their feet, with Nick and Klaus helping Soli and Sunny down. Babbitt hopped from Soli’s pocket to her shoulder, nuzzling up against her for comfort. The twins helped the youngest children onto the edge of the bench before seating themselves, while Lilac and Violet sat at the other end.

“Please state your names.” Justice Strauss said.

“Lilac Emily Baudelaire.”

“Violet Malina Baudelaire.”

“Nick Liam Baudelaire.”

“Klaus Louis Baudelaire.”

“Solitude Theodora Baudelaire.”

“Sunday Theo-dora Bau’elaire!”

Justice Strauss smiled slightly, despite herself. “Occupations?”

“Mechanic.”

“Inventor.”

Nick took a moment to respond. “E-Explorer?”

“Researcher.”

“Herpetologist!”

“Chef!”

“I object!” Olaf called. “Their proper occupations are ‘orphan, or inheritor of a large fortune.’”

“Witnesses cannot object.” Justice Strauss sighed. “I caution the defendant about speaking out of turn.”

“I caution the defendant about speaking at all.” Nick said, in a very low voice, so only his siblings could hear.

“Baudelaires,” Justice Strauss said, “You have traveled a great distance and suffered a great deal, but now it is finally time for you to tell your story. We want you to tell us everything.”

The siblings, all sitting as close to each other as they could, clasped hands very tightly. They looked out into the crowd; they recognized some faces, and some faces they didn’t. Some might listen to them, and some may not. Nick was shaking, and Sunny was biting her lip, and Soli leaned onto Klaus’s arm. They knew that most of the people here were Volunteers, and some were Firestarters, and some had just been caught up in the crowd to enjoy the show. They knew, from what Nick had implied, that the Volunteers could not help them, and from experience that the Firestarters definitely wouldn’t, and nobody else was reliable.

It was just them. But maybe that was all they needed.

“It began one gray and cloudy day.” Lilac said, her voice choked up; she still looked dazed, and she carefully moved her hand away from Violet to push back her braids. “Our… our parents let us take the trolley down to Briny Beach to spend the day, so long as we were home for supper.”

“We were testing an invention Klaus and I had worked on.” Violet whimpered. “It worked.”

“That’s when we saw a figure coming from the fog.” Lilac said.

“It was Mr Poe.” Nick said, spotting the banker in the crowd. “He told us…”

After several seconds of torturous silence, Klaus said, “He told us our parents had perished in a terrible fire.”

“He sent us to live with that bastard over there, if the Court will pardon my figurative use of the term.” Nick said, giving Olaf a death glare.

“We went to live with Count Olaf, who…” Violet took a deep breath.

“Who decided he wanted to make our lives miserable.” Solitude said.

“Sertam!” Sunny said, which meant, “He gave us one bed and forced us to work for him!”

“He struck Klaus across the face!” Lilac shouted, her voice breaking.

“He tried to marry Lilac!” Klaus said.

“He kidnapped Sunny and Soli and stuffed them in a birdcage to die!” Nick said.

“He poisoned Uncle Monty and pushed Aunt Josephine to the leeches!” Violet started to cry.

“He hypnotized Klaus and tried to force him to kill someone!” Solitude added.

“Kidnapped the Quagmires!” Sunny said.

“Yes,” Violet breathed slow, “He kidnapped the Quagmire triplets from Prufrock Prep!”

“He teamed up with Esme Squalor and…” Nick trailed off, his eyes staring into nothing.

Klaus grabbed his arm. “And they kidnapped Nick.”

Nick flinched at Klaus’s touch, and started to cry. “They broke me.” he said, barely audible to the courtroom. “They… I can’t even say what they did! I couldn’t function! I… I still can’t even…” he shut his eyes and leaned onto Violet’s shoulder.

“He hid them in the Village of Fowl Devotees.” Violet continued.

“He murdered…” Lilac bit her lip. “He murdered Jacques Snicket!”

“Framed us!” Sunny added.

“He kidnapped Violet in the Heimlich Hospital!” Klaus said.

“He drugged her and tried to cut off her head!” Lilac cried.

“He pushed Madame Lulu to the lions!” Solitude said.

Nick cried, “He kidnapped Sunny and forced us to help him set Caligari Carnival on fire!”

“He tried to push us off a cliff!” Violet said. “He almost threw Sunny off the waterfall!”

“Him and his horrible associates kidnapped the Snow Scouts!” Klaus said.

“He captured the Queequeg and tried to let Soli die!” Lilac shouted.

“He would have done worse if we hadn’t fought back!” Violet screamed. “He would have killed us if he had the chance!”

“He could have done such terrible things!” Nick was sobbing now, gripping tight onto his siblings.

“He is what is wrong with the world.” Klaus said. “He would have killed all of us. He would have assaulted our sisters. He would have torn us apart just because he’s sick.”

“He’s a monster.” Lilac said.

They all turned to look at Olaf, who didn’t even look uncomfortable. They wanted him to be uncomfortable. They wanted him to be scared. They wanted him to know that they were done with his bullshit, no matter what happened at trial. They were never letting him run their lives again.

“And he’s gone unpunished because nobody listened.” Solitude said, frustration ebbing in her voice.

“Everywhere we went,” Violet turned back to the crowd, her siblings following, “We tried to tell people! We tried to tell them he was following us! We tried to tell them he was after us!”

“But they didn’t listen!” Klaus said, tears falling down his face.

“Nobody would listen!” Violet’s voice broke as she also started to cry.

“Nobody!” Nick shouted. “Not a single one of you! Or anyone outside! Nobody did anything just because we were children!”

Sunny and Soli were crying, too. “Audit,” Sunny said, meaning, “People never listen to children.”

Violet reached up to wipe her eyes, as she said, her voice cracking so much she could barely get the words out, “We lost everything.”

What Lilac did next took only a few seconds, but it felt so much longer for Lilac as she turned and looked at her siblings. Gripping to each other, holding each other.

They’d saved each other. More than she could count.

Violet had come up with the plan for her to write with her left hand, and Nick and Klaus had freed the infants. They’d split up to prove Uncle Monty’s murder, and Solitude had released the reptiles to keep them from being caught by Count Olaf. Her and Klaus had figured out Josephine’s note, after she had gotten them out of dinner with Captain Sham, and then Violet and Nick sailed the boat, and she and Violet made a signal. They’d worked together to unhypnotize Klaus and the mill workers, and they’d worked together at Prufrock, and they’d worked together to try and save the Quagmires at 667 Dark Avenue; Sunny had crawled up an elevator shaft by herself, for fuck’s sake. Then in the Village, when they’d first made her promise to never sacrifice herself again, they’d worked together to decode Isadora’s poems, escape jail, and free the Quagmires, while Sunny and Soli drove them out of town. They’d taken care of Nick, who fought his trauma so much in order to help them. He was so brave, braver than he knew. They’d all saved Violet in the hospital, they’d all saved each other from the lion pit. They’d rescued Sunny from the slope while she discovered the last safe place, and they’d all saved Soli after the grotto, after breaking out of a brig. They’d sailed to Briny Beach, and infiltrated Hotel Denouement, and now they were still here. Still standing. Still alive.

In those few seconds, Lilac realized something.

Her siblings had grown up. And she was okay with that.

But she realized something else, too- they were her siblings. Hers. And nothing- nothing- could take that from her.

It was only a few seconds after Violet had said, “We lost everything,” before Lilac reached over, and grabbed her hand again, squeezing it tight and letting Violet collapse on her shoulder.

And then Lilac said, her voice breaking as she spoke, “Except each other.”

Nick watched her, and then announced, “We survived only because we knew we would stay together.”

“We knew we had each other.” Klaus said.

“And we knew that one day,” Solitude said, “Olaf would be gone.”

“Whether he’d be dead in a ditch or rotting in prison,” Lilac spat, “We would one day be free.”

“And we could move on.” Violet said. “And never have to fear for our lives again.”

“Because we’ve been terrified.” Nick admitted.

“We’ve almost died, and we’re only alive because of each other.” Klaus said.

“And everything,” Sunny turned to glare at Olaf again, “Was because of him.”

“The world will never be safe,” Klaus spat, “Until he is somewhere where he can never hurt anyone again.”

“And only then,” Lilac finished, “Could we finally… go back to being people, and not fugitives or outlaws or orphans. Please.” She turned to the court, and begged, “We can never go back to who we were. But we would like to have peace, just for a little while.”

They all fell silent, and the room felt very cold, very uncertain, and very frightening. So they held onto each other, holding onto the only warmth left in the world.

“Thank you, Baudelaires.” Justice Strauss said quietly. “You may take your seats.”

They stood up, with Nick lifting Solitude and Violet moving to lift Sunny, and then they walked back together, holding their heads high and ignoring the stares and whispers and chills. They sat again in the front row, still holding onto each other and refusing to let go.

“And now,” Justice Strauss said, a hint of resignation in her voice, “Count Olaf is called to the stand.”

Frank or Ernest stood next to Olaf to lead him to the stand. He didn’t look concerned, which was still worrying.

“He should be scared.” Klaus said quietly.

“Why isn’t he?” Lilac said.

“Maybe he’s pretending.” Violet said.

“We all know he’s not that good of an actor.” Klaus said.

Justice Strauss, contempt behind her eyes, said, “State your name.”

“Count Olaf.” said Count Olaf.

“Occupation?”

“Impresario.”

Klaus turned to his siblings and said, “We need to make sure he doesn’t lie again. Doesn’t cover up the truth.”

They all nodded, and Nick gripped Solitude tighter. “Go.” he whispered.

Klaus got to his feet, and he said, “Justice Strauss? I would like to question the witness.”

Lilac jumped up to stand beside him. “We would like to question the witness.”

Justice Strauss looked surprised, as the crowd continued to whisper. “Witnesses questioning a witness is not very normal.”

“According to a book on criminal law I recently read,” Klaus said. “A witness may question another witness if they’re acting in loco advocatus.”

“In the role of an attorney.” Nick translated for Sunny and Soli.

Justice Strauss looked very pleased. “I see you’ve kept up your legal studies. Very well. Baudelaires, the floor is yours.”

Lilac grabbed onto Violet and Klaus’s hands, and Nick clung to Klaus’s arm. They stepped up closer to the man, furious at the audacity he had to look smug.

“Well, well, well.” he said. “You have some questions for me?”

“We don’t need to know anything from you.” Lilac spat. “But we want to make sure you don’t lie your way out of this.”

“Why, I’ve never told a lie in my life.”

“That’s a lie.” Klaus said.

“You can’t prove that.”

“Oh, for the love of-” Lilac elbowed Nick before he could swear again in front of an official courtroom.

“All you’ve done is lie.” Violet spat. “And steal and murder and assault and threaten and be a giant piece of- garbage.”

“Trash.” Solitude agreed.

“Shit.” said Sunny.

“Have I?” Olaf raised his eyebrow. “And you think these people,” he gestured to the crowd, “Are going to lock me up? Put me away so you can go back to playing dolls?”

“You’re a murderer,” Lilac said, “And these people are here to deliver justice.”

“Do they, though? Do they deliver justice? They’re my associates.” Olaf said.

“No, they’re not. There are Volunteers, Villains and sane people here.” Nick said, his voice low, his eyes on the wall so he didn’t have to look at Olaf, and arms gripping tightly onto Solitude, who was glaring at Olaf for him.

“Really?” Olaf smirked darkly, and he scanned the crowd. “Because it seems to me that everyone here has helped me more than they helped you.”

“Shut up.” Violet said, narrowing her eyes.

“Look around, orphans!” Olaf said, standing up on the witness stand. “I see a banker who cares more about a promotion than six children, and only came here to investigate a stupid bank robbery.”

“Vice President of Orphan Affairs!” Poe said.

“I see two men who were too afraid to protect you.” Olaf gestured to Jerome and Charles, and then to Hal, “And a librarian who believed that you would intentionally destroy his life’s work just because I said so.”

“Stop it.” Klaus said, gripping onto Nick.

“I see a vice principal who let me into his school the second I stroked his ego,” Olaf said, “And the teachers who didn’t care enough to stop him. I see rich people who only cared about you because you were In, villagers who only took you in to do their chores, and volunteers-” he spat the word- “whose complicated codes and pretentious literary references are useless against the real treacheries of the world.”

Then he turned to Justice Strauss, and said, “And presiding over us all, a justice so blind she let me marry you!” Lilac flinched back. “These so-called decent people have done more to help my schemes than any of my associates. They should be up here right now.”

“They’re not.” Nick spat.

“You are.” Klaus said.

“And so are you.” Olaf turned his gaze to each of the six children in turn. “Tell me, who broke into my suitcase and stole one of my sailboats?”

“You’re a villain, and we had to prove that.” Violet whimpered.

“Who caused all the destruction at the Lucky Smells Lumbermill?”

“He was hypnotized, you-” Nick began.

“Who tried to break into jail, then broke out again, and stole a firetruck from the Village of Fowl Devotees?”

“You were going to burn us at the stake!” Klaus shouted.

“Who set Caligari Carnival on fire?”

“You took Sunny!” Lilac said.

“Who kidnapped Esme Squalor and held her hostage with intent to injure?” Olaf smirked. “Who did that?”

Nick snapped, “Who did that to me, asshole? You had our sister and I knew what the hell you could have done to her, so we did what we had to!”

“And that’s what everyone does, orphans.” Olaf said darkly. “What they think they have to. You did what you thought you had to. You have relied on treachery for survival, just like everybody else. Because here is the real truth no one is willing to tell you! There are no noble people in the world! Not even your stupid fucking parents!”

Lilac took a deep breath, tears at the edge of her eyes, and then she said, “What part of torturing us was what you thought you had to do? What part of that?”

Violet gripped her hand and nodded. “We may have done what we could to survive, but you did what you did because you’re a monster.”

“Anyone can see that.” Klaus said.

“And if they don’t…” Nick shut his eyes and hugged Solitude. “At least we will.”

Olaf gave them a look. “You think you can justify this to yourselves? Anyone can justify anything to themselves.”

“And you can justify the horrrible things you’ve done,” Nick snapped, his voice rising, “Just because of what our fucking parents did? We didn’t do jackshit to you son of a bitch!”

The Baudelaires all froze, and then Olaf said, “Does that mean you told them, my dear Nick?”

Nick’s eyes widened. “I-”

He turned, in a panic, to Justice Strauss, who was incredibly confused, but caught onto his distress quickly. She banged her gavel, which caused everyone to jump, and she shouted, “That is enough! Frank- or Ernest, or- whoever! I have one more question for the witnesses and defendants before they return to their seats and we discuss sentencing. Beginning with you, Count Olaf-” she glared at him, and said, “Are you guilty or innocent?”

Olaf’s eyes widened in mock surprise. “I’m unspeakably innocent.” he said. “I’m so incredibly innocent that the word ‘innocent’ ought to be written on my face in capital letters. The letter I would stand for ‘I’m innocent.’ The letter N would stand for ‘nothing wrong,’ which is what I’ve done. The letter A would stand for-”

“That’s not how you spell innocent!” Klaus snapped.

“I don’t think spelling counts.” Count Olaf grumbled.

“Spelling counts.” said the judge.

“Well, ‘innocence’ should be spelled O-L-A-F, and that’s the end of my speech.” Olaf said.

Justice Strauss sighed, and then said, “Baudelaires. Now you. Are you guilty or innocent?”

The Baudelaires all hesitated, looking to each other, the rest of the room melting away as they did. They had done good things, for good reasons, and bad things, for bad reasons, and mixtures between those. They were not noble people overall, they knew that. Nobody was.

But next to Olaf?

“We’re comparatively innocent.” said Lilac.

“Alright.” Justice Strauss said. “Everyone please return to your seats and replace your blindfolds. It is time for the High Court to review their decision.”

The children shuddered as they returned, and Nick and Violet helped the youngest children with their blindfolds. Ernest or Frank led Olaf to his seat, and after a silent moment, the kids heard Justice Strauss hmm.

“Bene?” Sunny asked. “Is that good?”

There was another hmm, a bit louder.

“Justice Strauss?” Klaus asked, playing with his fabric.

“Hmm!”

Then they heard another voice, one they recognized immediately, as an aura of menace descended over the courtroom.

“Do not worry about Justice Strauss. She is simply eating sour candy. Keep your blindfolds on.”

“Man with beard!” Solitude shouted, and Babbitt let out a nervous chirp.

The children grabbed each other, and Violet said, “What should we do?”

“Peek!” Sunny said.

“If we peek, we’ll be guilty of contempt of the court!” Klaus said, feeling Nick tremble beside him.

“Everyone keep your blindfolds on, we are deciding on our verdict!” said the woman with hair and no beard.

Lilac took a deep breath. “Maybe this court desserves contempt.”

They all threw off their blindfolds, and gasped. Count Olaf was dragging Justice Strauss down from her podium, a gag over her mouth and a harpoon gun pointed to her neck. Rope hung from the higher floors, and the man with a beard but no hair and the woman with hair but no beard were standing beneath them, watching with some interest.

“The Baudelaires have removed their blindfolds!” shouted the woman.

“Everyone!” Violet shouted. “Count Olaf has escaped!”

“He’s kidnapped Justice Strauss!” Nick screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Don’t listen to the Baudelaires!” said the man. “They’re guilty of contempt of court!”

“The High Court has been infiltrated by Firestarters!” Lilac said.

“We are the authorities!” said the woman.

“You can’t trust the authorities!” Klaus shouted.

“Strauss!” Sunny said, pointing, as she was dragged away.

Charles got to his feet. “I believe the Baudelaires! They’re noble people!”

“I don’t believe them!” said Esme, jumping up from the back. “They tried to ruin my cocktail party!”

“Is that still a thing?” Hugo asked.

“They’re good children!” Jerome said.

“They’re bad students!” Nero said.

“They’re murderers!” said someone who might have been from the Village of Fowl Devotees.

“They’re readers!” said a Volunteer.

“They’re cakesniffers!” said Carmelita.

“They’re children!”

“They’re murderers!”

“They’re orphans!”

“We don’t have time for this!” Solitude shouted.

“Later, bitches!” Lilac shouted, and they spun on their heels and ran after Count Olaf.

Behind them, everyone was in disarray. Shouting and jumping up and trying to decide if it was worth it to believe them. Nobody thought to just look. Nobody ever looked.

Olaf had dragged Strauss into an elevator, as she clutched Odious Lusting After Finances. He pressed a button to shut the door, but to everyone’s surprise, Klaus leapt forwards and pushed the doors back open.

Olaf raised his eyebrow. “Going somewhere?” he said.

“Wherever the fuck you’re going, bastard.” Violet said.

Olaf watched them curiously, but did not move as the children ran into the elevator, just as the doors slammed shut.

The elevator shot down to the basement, and as it did, Nick and Violet leapt onto Olaf, pummeling him with their fists and trying to rip Justice Strauss away. Olaf shouted, and Lilac and Klaus immediately jumped help, managing to pull Justice Strauss out of his grip as Soli and Sunny screeched and started biting at his ankles, with Babbitt jumping over to the judge so they didn’t get squashed. The siblings had been waiting for this a long while, and they weren’t going to waste time.

Justice Strauss ripped her gag off, and said, “Baudelaires!”

Lilac ripped his arm back, grabbing for his harpoon gun, while Violet kicked him in the shins and Nick and Klaus just started hitting anything they could reach. “Stupid! Mother! Fucker!” Klaus shouted.

“We are going to fucking kill you!” Lilac said.

“Piece! Of! Shit!” Violet said.

“Bite his foot off, girls!” Nick encouraged.

“Death!” Solitude shouted.

“Fucker!” Sunny said.

For the few minutes they were shooting down to the basement, they thought that maybe they could win. Lilac was close to wrestling the harpoon gun out of his grasp, so they could stab him with that, and once he was dead or dying, they could find some way out. Justice Strauss could clear things up, or they could go on the run. Anything would be better than letting the bastard live.

And then Olaf kicked out, knocking Sunny and Soli across the elevator. Lilac gasped, momentarily distracted, and Nick leapt to grab them, which gave Olaf enough room to rip something from his belt.

They all had an incredibly delayed reaction to what he did. Until the doors opened, they’d all frozen over, just staring as Olaf wrenched himself away, straightened up, darkly let his knife shine under the dim light, and once again pointed the gun at Justice Strauss.

But then Lilac looked down at the blood on her dress, and the doors dinged, and their brains started working again.

#asoue #asoue netflix #asoue movie #a series of unfortunate events #six baudelaires au #the penultimate peril #six baudelaires official fic #mine #my fanfic

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statusquoergo · 5 years ago

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Part I

Early the next morning, Samantha’s already gotten wind of the suit against Brick Street and is none too pleased that Harvey didn’t tell her about it first thing, but no time for that now because Mike and Jeremy are already here for the deposition!

Small wrench in the gears: Whatever Mike was planning, he planned to do it with just Harvey, who “might have forgotten to mention” that Brick Street is now Samantha’s client, not his. Samantha’s derisive sneer of “Mm, the protégé” pours some more salt into that “Mike has been replaced” wound, but Mike cuts off Harvey’s hostile attempt to keep Samantha from taking the case (it is, after all, against her client) by pointing out that it’s frustrating, but they all know Harvey’s going to take his client back whether she likes it or not, so they might as well just let him do it. Samantha says his sob story about Brick Street’s poor factory conditions isn’t going to work here and Harvey says that “Sob stories are his specialty,” which is really just unnecessarily hurtful (and maybe also a little resentful), and Mike leaves them “to discuss who’s gonna take the loss,” patting Harvey on the arm on his way out and leaving me with some conflicting emotions (the physical contact is nice, the overall detachment of the gesture is not so much). Samantha comments that Harvey’s protégé “is a douche,” and like, I get it, but Harvey’s reply is “Not gonna argue with you there,” and what the fuck happened to “Mike’s my guy” (s04e06)? What happened to “If push comes to shove, I’d do what I had to to get Mike out” (s06e06)?

Wait, actually, I just remembered the look on Harvey’s face when Mike told him he was moving to Seattle and okay, maybe I can see where he’s coming from.

Samantha argues that she knows the client and the contract well enough that she should have the case, and in a rare example of the elusive callback/foreshadowing double-tap, Harvey says that he knows the man, reminding us again that Mike flew across the country specifically to pick a fight with him. They agree to handle the case together, and this is definitely going to go flawlessly well.

Personally I didn’t like the Katrina/Brian plot very much the first time around, and I don’t particularly care that it’s coming up again, but at least it gives Katrina an amusing (if totally out-of-character) montage of attempted and aborted (and increasingly awkward) calls to Brian’s cell phone, including both “B-dawg, it’s Kitty Kat,” and “Mother of pearl! Just tell her you love me and that it’s over!” She wraps up by reading a scripted message that signs off, “Cordially, Katrina Bennet,” and this is obviously the behavior of someone who’s totally fine.

So the deposition.

Jeremy Wall took a goodwill trip to…a place (somewhere in China, we learn later), where he saw one of Brick Street Athletics’ factories, which operates with “objectionable factory conditions.” The workers are miserable, but as Harvey points out, “misery isn’t a violation of international law.” And I mean, he’s right, but this is also very Season 1 type behavior (i.e., pre-Mike Ross), so that’s a little concerning. He then derides Jeremy for not knowing that, “because [he’s] a basketball player… not a lawyer,” and again, he’s right, but given the set dressing of Harvey’s office, and the whole “Michael Jordan on speed dial” thing, it’s a little odd that he’s so snobbish toward this guy’s profession.

Then Samantha asks why he’s only bringing this up now, if he visited the factory six months ago, and Jeremy says he didn’t know what to do or who to turn to; Harvey challenges that he was afraid he wouldn’t be paid his full contract, Mike tells him not to speak to his client that way and points out that they “can’t speak to his motivations,” and Samantha says, quote, “I don’t care about his motivations.” Which is funny, seeing as how she literally just asked him why he waited. She brings up that an activist named Charles Hu contacted him about the factory conditions eighteen months ago, which contradicts the claim that he only started caring about the conditions six months ago, and Jeremy says the letter “got [him] a little concerned, but [he] didn’t take it seriously until [he] saw the conditions for [himself].” Mike, appearing rather flustered, argues that the unsolicited letter “didn’t trigger his awareness,” Samantha zeroes in on the fact that “he used the word ‘concern,’” indicating that it did just that, Mike says that’s a technicality (I would’ve gone with the fact that the legal definition of the word “concern” is open to interpretation, but whatever), Harvey shuts him down with a cuttingly personal and mildly patronizing use of his first name (“No, Mike, it’s the terms of his contract”), and Samantha sits back in her chair to smugly proclaim that “this case is getting dismissed.”

I…want to feel bad for Mike, but mostly because Jeremy seems like a good dude. Mike himself seems kind of unprepared, which I guess is what happens when you schedule a deposition for the following day. Also he was ready to take Harvey on alone and Samantha is fucking up his plans, but like, details, whatever.

Following up on that “ready to take Harvey on alone” thing, Mike and Harvey go back to Harvey’s office so Mike can ask him what the fuck that was all about. Harvey says “it’s there in black and white,” i.e., in the contract, Mike argues that he doesn’t care because Jeremy found out about the conditions six months ago, Harvey points out that he’ll have to explain to a judge why Jeremy is on record saying he ignored the factory workers for an entire year, and then…this happens:

“Harvey, they’re exploiting these people and you know it.” “What I know is, you’re the same old Mike playing that violin to get me to help you.” “I might be the same old Mike, but you are not the same old Harvey.” “What’d you just say?” “You heard me.”

Okay, so, yes and no. Mike certainly appears to be playing up his old strengths, trying to get Harvey to care about these people on a humanitarian level and do the right thing because it’s right rather than because it’s legal, but Harvey is also being very much the old Harvey; as I said earlier, this is heavily reminiscent of his Season 1-type behavior. “It’s there in black and white,” and he’s going to use that to his advantage to win the case without paying attention to the humanitarian ramifications.

But then:

“That’s why you did this now. You know Faye’s breathing down our necks, and I can’t fight at full strength.”

Hold on. So Harvey is admitting that he’s only at his best when he’s cheating? Faye is literally there to make sure they don’t break the law in their pursuit to practice law; if he plays above board, he should have no trouble getting past her.

“Her being here might actually make you fight fair for a change.” “You saying you’re gonna fight fair?” “All my bad habits I learned from you.”

To be fair, Mike learned how to be a lawyer from Harvey, so most of his good habits, he learned from him, too.

Mike then proposes that “Anything that could get us disbarred or put in prison is off limits,” and Harvey mocks him for still being afraid of prison, since “Frank Gallo’s dead,” and do I need to replay the entirety of Season 6 for these assholes? Do I need to do that, does that need to be a thing that happens? Harvey was terrified for Mike’s safety; even before he knew Gallo was going to be there, he threw a fucking glass at his head to prepare him for how vigilant he was going to need to be.

Anyway Harvey agrees, but stipulates that “[They] end this thing on good terms, no matter who wins.” Which is when Mike pulls that “You got it. I’ll make sure to accept your loss gracefully” line from the previews, and just as Katrina saying she’s over Brian is equivalent to her admitting that she’s not over Brian, this agreement is as good as a warning label that this case isn’t going to end well, so there’s something fun to look forward to.

Speaking of Katrina, she tells Donna about her adventures in trying to call Brian; Donna decides they’re going to go out clubbing that night, and then gets an alarming message on her laptop that she has to “figure out how [she’s] gonna handle.”

Speaking of subplots, Louis gives Sheila a new, I assume larger pair of $9000 glass slippers, and Sheila tells him about an anonymous $50,000 donation that just came in this morning. Louis is thrilled until Sheila snaps that she knows he did it, because anonymous donations aren’t made anonymously, they’re just made by people who ask her to keep their names confidential to the public. They have a loud and heated argument that kind of makes sense, and Louis proposes that they go see Lipschitz together for some couple’s therapy.

Turns out that alarming message Donna got was an online edition of “the journal,” with a copy of something that’s going to be on the front page tomorrow courtesy of Mike Ross and which doesn’t sit very well with Samantha. Whatever this thing is, it’s going to “tell the world that [Brick Street] exploits people,” but Donna asks Samantha to cut a deal with Mike because he’s family. Samantha says he’s not her family and Donna says he is, and I thought she was gonna go hard on that found family metaphor, what with Mike having been a member of the firm for so long and Harvey’s protégé and all that, but no, she says that Mike is Robert’s family and therefore he’s Samantha’s, too. That feels kind of…technical, and gets back to an old theory of mine that this show spends a lot of time driving home the message that family needs to stick together no matter what (even if, say, one’s mother is an emotionally abusive self-victimizing gaslighter or something), and Samantha seems to agree with me that Mike marrying Robert’s daughter is incidental to her loyalty to her clients; Donna changes tack because “this ad is just the beginning,” and Mike, who is just as tenacious as Samantha and Harvey, isn’t going to stop here, so Samantha had better compromise with him if she doesn’t want a “lose-lose.”

Um. Advertisements don’t run on the front page.

Right, so, Katrina and Donna go out for drinks, and it seems there was a little miscommunication somewhere along the line because while Donna wants Katrina to drink martinis and lie about her identity and hook up with hot guys, Katrina just wants to talk about how she’s feeling. She tries to leave, and Donna immediately backpedals, asking Katrina when she was last in a “real relationship”; Katrina says she’s not comfortable discussing that with Donna, and Donna reminds us that one minor misstep doesn’t mean she doesn’t still know everything about everyone:

“In other words you’ve only been in one real relationship, and you broke both your hearts because you didn’t want anything to get in the way of your career, and I must be losing it because I completely misread the situation.” “What do you mean?” “Brian was your soul’s way of telling you that there’s more to life than work. That the person you need to develop a relationship with, is you.”

Alright, Marianne, you can get off that soapbox anytime. No, I agree that Katrina needs to take time for herself away from work (which she determines to do, “[starting] tonight by having drinks with a friend”), but the whole “your soul’s way of telling you” thing is just…so stupid. So very stupid. Also just because Katrina wants to talk about her feelings rather than drink and have sex about her feelings doesn’t mean she’s only ever had one serious relationship in her life, so that’s pretty presumptuous.

Samantha takes Donna’s advice to try to settle with Mike, who opens the door to his apartment and greets her with, I’m not even kidding: “You’re not Harvey.” She asks what it’s gonna take to make this all go away, and he says either Brick Street starts making clothes ethically, or they let Jeremy out of his contract with full pay (or both, but he’s a realist and he knows they won’t do that). Samantha is “trying to find some common ground,” having known Robert forever and Rachel since she was a little girl; Mike asks who’s playing the violin now and Samantha indignantly proclaims that she saved Robert from going to prison, not to mention she’s only here because Donna begged her to come. Mike, however, “[doesn’t] care what Donna did. [He’s] not handing Harvey a win, and [he’s] certainly not handing one to his new second fiddle.” Samantha hands him a defamation suit and storms out.

Let’s come back to that a little later.

For now, Faye goes to Alex to ask about Mike, and Alex says he’s “cocky, arrogant, thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room, and he’s had my back more than once.” That’s nice, but Faye’s concern is that Mike and Harvey have history, and history makes people do things they shouldn’t, and I’m not touching that one with a ten foot pole, thank you very much. Though Alex fears that she wants him to spy on them, she says she in fact wants him to oversee them, and she came to him with respect because he’s the only name partner who hasn’t disrespected her; Alex says if she wants people to respect her, she should stop treating them like they can’t be trusted, and she quite correctly points out that “there’s a powder keg here” and she’s the only one trying to keep it from exploding. Also the whole reason she’s there in the first place is that they can’t be trusted, so yes, that is exactly how she’s treating them. Well spotted.

I guess Samantha went back to the office after she left Mike’s, because she finds Harvey to talk about the deposition tomorrow (again? Didn’t we go over this?) and he snaps at her for going to Mike behind his back because he “didn’t take this case to lie down. [He] took it to win.” She brushes off that she didn’t lie down, she slapped them with a defamation suit, and Harvey points out that Mike would’ve seen that coming a mile away, but now that she’s done it, they’re free to ask questions not just about Jeremy’s contract but also about Brick Street’s manufacturing conditions. I mean, yes? But also they were free to ask that before the defamation suit, since they’re still in discovery and this is just a deposition rather than a trial. Anyway Harvey says it doesn’t matter that Brick Street hasn’t done anything wrong because Mike just needs to make it look that way to a jury, and Samantha has a light bulb moment that they just need to make sure the case never makes it to trial.

The next day, Mike drops in on Katrina for one of those “fun scenes…with Mike and the old gang” that Korsh mentioned; the “fun” part lasts for about five seconds as Mike assures her that Rachel is doing good. “In fact, if [he] told [her] how good, [she] probably wouldn’t believe [him],” so that’s a nice not-subtle reference to the Duchess of Sussex. Mike then revives that old “Shiiiiiiiiit” thing from The Wire that they had going back in Season 3, before Katrina apologizes for getting senior partnership before him and Mike assures her that he’s “exactly where [he wants] to be,” in case anyone was worried about that. Katrina goes on to warn him not to push Samantha because she’s “an excellent lawyer, and deep down, she’s a good person,” and even though Mike argues that “this is between [him] and Harvey,” Katrina cautions that Samantha is “never just along for the ride.”

Part III

#suits usa #s09e05 #season 9 #marvey #analysis

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neverneverlouisland · 5 years ago

Text

surprise [louis tomlinson]

surprise

[fandom] one direction

[pairing] louis tomlinson x oc

[a/n] this was originally written over two years ago, so it takes place before the rest of the boys disbanded and also before Freddie was born. future writings and stories about Louis will definitely include his son

“Are you absolutely, positively, one hundred percent sure you can’t make it?” A slightly nervous chuckle sounded from the other end of the line, ringing through the speaker of the phone. His voice carried from his end to mine. It was filled with guilt, but he tried making the tone of voice light as he mocked me.

“Yes I am absolutely, positively, one hundred percent sure I won’t be able to make it.” I groaned, falling back on the mattress and facing the ceiling.

“Alright. Have fun.” I sighed and leaned my head back against the headboard, glancing around the bed and toward the place that would remain empty until after break.

“Don’t fret over it, you need to have fun.” He told me from the other side. He sounded so distant, being in another country and all. His voice sounded as if it was fading the longer our conversation ran on. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” I mumbled into the speaker, removing the phone from my ear and pressing the end button.

—

A blanket was wrapped around me as I sat in an armchair beside the flat’s heater, curled up in a snug ball. The snow had begun to fall a few hours ago, and the lightweight was slowly turning the individual snowflakes into clumped bunches of ice. They got through the screens, sticking to the glass of the large windows and sliding down the panels. The clouds were a faded grey, and they just kept dropping flakes of frozen water from the top, acting as a barrier to the unaffected part of the sky. I could hear the cold wind howling outside as it whipped at the bare trees and moved snow around, covering the city in a blanket of white.

I brought my gaze back toward the television, watching reruns of holiday movies that had been playing for the past month. Joyous songs were playing in the background, and I had yet to figure whether it was coming from the neighbors or behind the noise of the characters on screen. I reached over toward the coffee table, grabbing one of two mugs of hot tea before thinking and placing it back on the wooden surface. I stood, grabbing the second mug and heading toward the kitchen area. I sighed, placing the hot drink in the microwave to keep it warm and quickly going back into my earlier position, bringing my knees up onto the chair.

He’d been gone a good week or two now, and even though we kept in touch every day, it still felt empty. Usually around this time, we would be having the dumbest argument over taking down the Christmas tree that still stood proudly in the corner. He always wanted to keep it up the whole winter to keep us in the spirit of the season. We would still be doing all the other classic holiday traditions because we enjoyed the films, music and treats. There would be flour, icing and sprinkles covering the countertops and our faces. He would stare at me oddly whenever I entered ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ into the DVD player before joining me on the couch, still never getting the point of the movie. I tried to explain to him every year on both Halloween and Christmas, but he would shrug it off and enjoy the songs and how weirdly scary the characters looked.

A buzzing came from the table in front of me, and I looked away from the movie to see that my phone had received a message. I reached for it, grabbing the device and sliding in the passcode. I smiled a little at the incoming message, reading a short paragraph on how sorry he still was for not being able to make it home in time. I’ve had to shrug it all off for the past hour he’d been apologizing, finding it a bit silly for either of us to feel any sort of sadness. We were still able to talk today, and that was enough for me.

He ended up calling, saying how he missed my voice after not hearing it for days. I agreed with it, even though most of me was still sucked into the wonder that was holiday films and the songs that came with it. I partially listened to his own voice as I kept my eyes on the moving pictures set above the fake fireplace. I glanced at the object before bringing my gaze back to the movie; it was fake because we were on the third floor and couldn’t possibly get a chimney, so he got a virtual fire that still radiated the warmth we wanted.

We were still on the phone as I continued to watch and rewatch all the amazing films, not being able to look away when certain parts came into play. I could barely hear him calling me with how engrossed into the movies I'd become.

“Babe.. Babe?”

It took a few seconds to realize before I replied, “Yeah?”

“Are you alright?”

I let out a chuckle and brought part of my focus back on what was happening. “I’m alright, love. Just watching something.” There was silence on the other end for a short of a moment, and I somehow knew he was nodding his head as if we were right beside each other.

“Which one?” His tone was turning more cheery by the second, and I couldn’t help but smile more at the question.

“The Santa Clause.” I stretched over for the remote on the other couch, and opened up the guide for the channel. “All of them - it’s a marathon.”

He sighed on the other end of the line, and it made me giggle hearing him whine. “I’m missing The Santa Clause? Can you record it?”

“I would, but honestly Louis, I still have no clue how to handle this remote or the setbox aside from switching channels.” He laughed that childish, melodious laugh and I rolled my eyes. It wasn’t my fault he never let me near the thing when he was set on watching soccer, cartoons, or himself. (It was weirdly adorable. He just enjoyed watching the talk shows, like Ellen Degeneres, because the boys always did or said something stupid.)

“It isn’t funny!”

“It’s a little funny, sweetheart.” I huffed a breath and curled up in the blanket even more, setting down the cup of tea that was still hot enough to keep me warm and grabbing for a pillow.

“How is it that even when you’re thousands of miles away, you start bantering with me?” At first I thought I had done the wrong thing in mentioning how we weren’t even in the same country, but he sounded fine with it.

“I live to banter with you, sweetheart. It’s what drives me.”

I let out an embarrassing snort, causing him to go into a fit of chuckles. “Of course it is. Nice to know you’re only keeping me around for laughs.”

“Oh, not only for the laughs, love. Also for the food and cuddles.” I laughed and shook my head. It was just like him to carry on more jokes from another.

“Great.” I sarcastically snorted out, glancing at the clock on the wall. 6:28 PM. There was a still a ways to go until midnight, but he wouldn’t be here to really make the transition into the new year special. I threw my head back against the seat and groaned.

He responded instantly. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing. It isn’t like my boyfriend is across the ocean, a thousand miles away.” My eyes widened once I realized I switched the mood of the conversation completely. I wanted to apologize, but was there really a reason to? “I -”

He sighed, speaking into the microphone of his phone. He changed the subject. “What's happening?” It took a bit to realize he was talking about the movie, before I resisted the urge to sigh myself.

“He just found out the North Pole was real, and Charlie went off with Bernard while Scott took the chance to look around the place. So he's still having a hard time believing he's Santa Claus.”

It was his turn to snort, which returned the mood to what it was before. I rolled my eyes but stayed silent. “Of course he is. Would you believe you were a jolly, old man with a white beard and flying reindeer who could deliver presents in one night?”

I smiled a little. “Of course not - I'm a girl.” He laughed. “I would believe it if you were that jolly, old man and I was that man's wife.”

I could feel him shaking his head and the smile on my face grew wider. “Well who else would you be, love?” I finally let the sigh out, but this time it was one of content. He sensed it, and let out a chuckle knowing he would get an earful about marriage when he returned.

We spent the next couple of hours talking. I continued to narrate the movie for him, he would bring in his commentary, and it moved into the second film of the trilogy. I ended up taking the pillow and moving myself onto the elongated couch. It was much more comfortable and my body could stretch out. As we talked, it sounded as if he was just getting further and further away. The character's voices and the music were fading, and the pictures on the screen were turning dark.

—

I wasn’t sure how long it had been, but it occurred to me that at one point or another I fell asleep. I kept my eyes closed, still groggy, but listened in. My boyfriend had hung up on the other end after realizing I wasn’t awake anymore, there was now a stronger wind building up outside, and the film voices were nowhere to be heard. I felt something heavy against me; it was made out of some sort of cloth. That was when I opened my eyes.

As I looked around, I slowly started piecing together what was different. A thick, patterned blanket was set on top of me. The television was shut off and the cup of tea that was set on the table was gone. My eyebrows furrowed as I took in the rest of the flat. Is he...? I shook my head lightly. There was no way he was home this early. Surely he would have called me. I decided to stay on the possible fact that maybe I was just too tired earlier to remember that I had turned everything off and finished my drink.

Then I heard a voice. “I guess our song was right- you really can’t go to bed without a cup of tea, can you?”

My head whipped toward my left. In an instant and without warning, I threw the blanket off and jumped to my feet, tackling the figure in a hug that nearly toppled over the chair he was in. His harmonious laugh echoed throughout the flat as his arms wrapped around my waist and held me tight.

“What are you doing here?!” I let my arms loosen from around his neck and backed away to sit on the coffee table, giggling once he pulled me back and into his lap.

“I couldn't possibly let you find another guy to kiss tonight.”

“Right, because it wasn't like I stayed around the apartment all day.”

“You mean the flat?” He raised an eyebrow at me, shaking his head as he continued, "You Americans and your weird words.” He stated jokingly, a wide set grin on his face.

We stayed like that for the rest of the time - chatting about our holiday in both countries and what had been going on. He was on about how much him and the boys missed their friends, families and/or girlfriends. I rolled my eyes when he winked at the mention of the word. He said they all flew out early, which meant he had been in a wide visiting range the past few days.

I gaped before punching him in the shoulder. He flinched and immediately removed one arm from around me to hold it. “What was that for?”

“I thought you were in America this whole past week, you git!” I huffed, crossing my arms and looking at him.

“Well I apologize for wanting to surprise my girlfriend. I promise not to do it again.” The corner of his lip twitched into a smirk, and mine cracked a smile.

“I hope you realize that if my birthday surprise is anything but, I'll personally see to it that you sleep on the couch for the rest of that following week.”

“Oh well that just seems a bit cruel, doesn't it?” We both grinned at each other, spending the last few minutes of this year shoving and making jokes toward one another. It felt amazing to have him back for this holiday after having to spend the one before talking through a video screen. That year I had actually spent with the girlfriends of some of the other boys (my two favorable cousins and our mutual friend who they introduced me to). We made our boyfriends agree to a pact that if they were ever away, both groups would meet up and we'd video chat. It was actually more fun than it sounds.

A song from the band's very first album sounded from the table. I looked over to see my cellphone bouncing about the polished wood and nearing the edge. I got out of Louis’ grasp, ignoring his whine as I reached over and checked the time before shutting off the alarm. 11:55 PM. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

I shrugged, “I just wanted to talk with you for a bit before midnight. We weren't together together last time so..” I trailed off, glancing toward the balcony window.

I gasped in excitement and turned my whole body around to face it. I skipped over after realizing that the frost on the window had disappeared, allowing me to see through it. It meant the moon snuck it's way out of the clouds, and was shining bright as flakes still continued to fall. I didn't think or bother to grab a coat as I pulled open the sliding floor. I was near to stepping out when he grabbed my wrist.

“And where do you think you're going?”

I pointed lamely toward the snowy wonderland, “Outside.”

He shook his head and took my hand, “It's nearly midnight. It might as well be below zero.”

He intertwined our hands, lacing our fingers together and looking down at me with a sweet smile. I glanced up at him, a small grin settling on my face before fully acknowledging his concern and giving a firm nod. A chuckle escaped his through his parted lips and he leaned his head down, catching me in mid giggle and embracing my own mouth with a sweet kiss.

#louis tomlinson #louis william tomlinson #one direction #1d #x reader #louis tomlinson x reader #directioners

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vidkid20ssimblrlair · 6 years ago

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Episode 25: Decayed (Part 2)

My mind was spinning trying to comprehend what we had seen. I wanted to believe that there was safety in amongst these walls. Safety amongst the darkness that lurked within, but the world was again caving in on us. Driving us away from any semblance of normalcy and security. I wanted to curse myself for getting too comfortable. For playing native when I clearly saw the writing on the wall. Was Madison right all along? Was this place doomed from the start?

“CURFEW COMMENCING…”

“Fuck curfew!” Matthew roared.

“Language!”

“Oh please, Nate. He’s a teenager. Get real!”

“Yeah, but others can hear you!” I whispered glancing over at two guards staring at us as we stood in the hallway now. “One of us needs to take Tao back to his room. I don’t think he should go alone considering...”

“Hey! I can take care of myself!” the teenager protested. “I’m not some little kid. I’m not going anywhere. I want to help!”

“But your sister needs you more,” I asserted eyeing the young man.

“He’s right you know? She needs you,” Matt said nodding in agreement. He then smiled cutting his eye at me. “I sure couldn’t imagine going through a loss like that without my brother by my side.”

“But...”

“Kid, now it’s not the time to play hero. Trust me. They’ll be time for that, but for now, you need to see your sister. Ease her mind. You all she’s got now. Just trust me on this. ”

“Alright. Fine, “ he groaned rolling his eyes.

Matt put his arm the around boy smirking. I ruffled the boy's hair and whispered in Matt’s ear, “Good job.”

“See. I know how to handle these kids and I didn’t even curse,” he whispered back. “Now you be a good boy and go back to your room for curfew. We’ll talk there.”

I then watch him guide the brooding boy down the hallway. He glanced back giving me a small nod and a smile before disappearing around the corner. Part of me wishing I tagged along as I felt lonely in the now empty hallway. I headed for my room making sure not to get the attention of any stray guards lurking about. As I passed a nearby office I heard someone calling for me. I froze listening for the voice. I then felt a pair of arms wrap around me and pull me inside the room. I fell backward letting out a small cry and peered up into the face of Madison.

I started to speak, but she firmly put her hand on my mouth stopping me. She stood up, pulled the door to the room close, and sat down beside me breathing heavily.

“For a minute I thought you were, Matt but you will do,” she whispered.

“What?!”

“You were an orderly or nurse right? That can be useful. These files aren’t exactly easy to read,” she said pulling out a stack of files. “Dr. Pinto definitely writes like a doctor. Scribbles and all.”

I rub my head squinting at her. "What are you even looking for?"

"I'm looking for floor plans. Information. Codes. Anything we could use to get out of here. Did Tao show you the roof?"

I nodded and sat up staring at her. My mind still spinning. I then got my bearings as I realized that it wasn’t the doctor's room as I first thought. Not at all. It was an office, but it was bright pink littered with glass objects and art on the walls. I also noticed we were behind a large desk. One I almost bumped my head on sitting up actually. I looked down at the plush carpet beneath feeling a ticklish sensation at my nostrils. I closed my eyes trying to hold it in, but a large sneeze came out causing Madison to jump and drop the papers in her hand.

“Could you be any louder?” she snapped.

“Where the hell are we anyway?”

“We’re in Marilyn Stone’s office. Sargent Stone’s wife I assume. I must say she has interesting taste in decor.”

“Stone’s wife? Shit! Are you crazy?”

“You know you whine just like your brother. It’s annoying.”

“That’s because you do crazy stuff like this!”

“I know. I know. Your brother already warned me about her and my snooping, but I’m not scared and I’m definitely not scared of her. I spent way too much of my life being scared,” she said flipping through papers. “Besides, if you help me we can get out of here faster and maybe not get caught!”

“How the hell you get in here anyway?” I asked stifling another sneeze. "I doubt I can be any help."

“The door was cracked open. Tao told me the lock on her door was broke.”

“Tao. Of course,” I mumbled before sneezing again.

“Shhh...quit the sneezing. You got a cold or something?”

“No. I’m allergic to cats. There’s cat fur all over the carpet I think. Does she have a cat?”

“I don’t know. Didn’t see any when I came in here,” she said standing scanning the room. “Maybe it’s the carpet.”

“No, it has to be a cat. It’s the only thing I’m allergic to. Well, the only thing we’re allergic to. Matt’s allergic to cats too you know, but unlike me he hates them.”

She chuckled, “Figures. Is there anything he likes besides you?”

“You...”

She blushed. “Nah. I’m pretty sure he finds me annoying. I’m going really owe him one if we get out of here though.”

“Sounds like he owes you. Maybe you call it even? Besides, don’t you owe Lin a pair of shoes.”

She laughed again. “Do you think Payless has custom Louis Vuitton heels?”

She handed me a file with red markings on it. I looked down at it reading it.“Terminate...Grace Wallace. Hey, this is Grace’s file. What does terminate mean?”

“Kill off. Bite the dust. Murder she wrote?”

“I know that, but you don’t think they want to...?

“Well, it certainly doesn’t mean she’s the terminator that’s for sure!” she said handing me another file. “What this all about? “Timothy William Stone? Think they’re related?”

“Maybe. Actually, it might be about their son. The night I was hiding in the storage room with Lin I overheard Pinto and Stone talking about his son."

"Ah...interesting. So what does it say?"

"Mentions test subjects and talks about 'rapid decomposition'...Wait. Decomposition?"

“Shit! I think someone’s coming! Get down!” she shrieked. She pushed me further under the desk and threw herself under it huddle up beside me. Just as she did a group of people entered. I spied three pairs of shoes to be specific. They were having a spirited conversation from the sounds of it and I instantly knew what voice belonged to who.

Dr. Pinto, Marilyn Stone, and Sargent Stone. Dr. Pinto’s being the most recognizable as he whimpered in his posh English accent. The doctor appeared to be in yet another heated conversation, but with both Stone’s this time.

“I’ve done what I’ve could. I’m not going to do it anymore,” he moaned as he walked over to the desk. He stopped in front of us causing us to freeze in our positions, but he continued. “It’s not fair to me. It’s not fair to anyone. Do you two realize what you’re doing? What you’re doing to Tim?”

“Did I say you had a choice in the matter, Aaron? I don’t remember me giving you a choice!” Sargent Stone shouted.

“William! Doctor! Please! You’re scarring Ms. Fluffy. Please lower your voices.” the Mrs. cooed as the sound of a purring cat could be heard. “If the good doctor doesn’t want to help, Timmy maybe we should get someone else.”

“Yeah. Not the first time I’ve replaced weak links.”

Mrs. Stone walked over to the side desk with her pink heels and placed a white fluffy cat on the floor. The cat shook flinging white little hairs into the air. I held my breath watching them float over to us and felt another sneeze coming on. Madison’s eyes widen and she put her hand over my mouth again. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. A small sneeze escaped.

“What was that?” I heard the Sargent asked.

The doctor promptly looked down spotting the two of us under the desk. We stared up back at him. Our frightened expressions mirrored images of each other. The doctor immediately looked back and strangely began stomping his feet.

“What was that? Did you see something Aaron?” Stone wife inquired.

He shook his head. “I...I saw a mouse. Damn vermin!”

“That good for nothing cat been cooped up in this room all this time and he can’t even catch a mouse?” William Stone snarled.

Then the cat walked passed Pinto’s legs. He did his best to shoo it away with his foot, but Marilyn walked over to him glaring back at him prompting him to stop. The cat then walked over to us meowing rubbing against Madison’s leg. She then came over to me rubbing her flowing white fur up against my chest and it felt like my head might explode. I held in another sneeze placing my own hands over my face. The doctor glanced down watching me and he began pushing the woman away.

“I...I think we should go see him. See Tim. He hasn’t had his bedtime story remember? You do that every night. Yes, yes, let’s see him, “ he stammered.

Wait! I think Fluffy see something,” she shrilled.

“What the hell has gotten into you, Aaron?” the Sargent growled pushing pass the both of them as I sneezed again. He came over to the desk and peered under it at us. He gasped looking surprised, but his face slowly morphed into a mask of anger.

“Friends of yours, Aaron?!”

Part 1

Part 3 this weekend or Monday at the latest! Now I need to study.

#sims 3 #ts3 #sims 3 Dead on Arrival #ts3 dead on arrival #sims 3 doa #ts3 doa #sims 3 simblr #ts3 simblr #simblr #sims 3 story #ts3 story #dead on arrival season 1 #doa season 1

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ericsonclan · 5 years ago

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A Feast Fit for Kings

Summary: The Ericson Pirates must sneak into a fancy party to steal food when their own supplies run low.

Read on A03:

The crew gathered around the deck, confused by what Louis would have called them up for. They talked amongst themselves when Louis dramatically threw back his coat, standing on top of the ship’s edge and causing the crew to quiet down.

“Alrighty, crew! I’ve called you here today to tell you of the great adventure I have in store!” Louis exclaimed, grinning ear to ear. The youngest boys gasped with excitement as they began hopping up and down.

“What’s the adventure this time, Lou?” Marlon looked up at Louis while Rosie hit her paw against his leg, demanding that his attention be on her.

“We are going to a ball!” Louis shouted, lifting up his hands in hopes to raise up everyone’s enthusiasm.

Ruby and Brody seemed excited, talking amongst themselves about it, but Violet definitely wasn’t. Her eyes focused on the deck with a grumpy expression, her arms crossed. “I’ll pass.” she mumbled, turning to leave when Louis spoke up once again.

“Wait!” Louis shouted, reaching out his hand. “We’re going to the ball to steal food!”

“We’re broke again, aren’t we?” Aasim’s eyes shot up at Louis, the annoyance clear in his voice. “Yes.” Louis mumbled, taking off his pirate hat and twirling it in his hands. “But!” he held out a hand, “With this plan we will feast like kings!”

“Food!” Willy screamed, grasping the sides of his head and high-fiving Tenn with so much passion that it nearly knocked him over. Sophie also seemed really excited about the prospect of food, beaming with an excited smile. After a lengthy description of the plan that was far too long considering that it boiled down to the crew stealing food and hiding it in their clothes, Louis stood impatiently waiting for the crew’s vote.

“It sounds like a pretty shitty plan.” Violet grumbled, still not willing to go to a ball on such a loose plan.

“I don’t know.” Sophie smiled over at Violet. “From what I’ve heard this crew has done crazier plans and succeeded.” She hoped that the crew would go with the plan. Sophie was down for it if it meant getting some good food. “I say aye!”

There was silence for a few seconds before one by one the crew agreed.

Louis jumped down graciously, landing on his tail coat and tripping before turning towards Aasim and Mitch. “Okay, lads! If you’d follow me, we can prepare for the evening.”

“Why the fuck are you calling us lads?” Mitch snapped, walking forward to follow Louis who led the guys to one of the sleeping quarters.

The girls followed Clementine who led them to the other sleeping quarters. Before beginning, each group went to their hammocks and opened the chests below to grab the right outfits to begin their transformation. The girls quickly began to change, putting on outfits that had the most pockets and hiding places for food.

Sophie casually threw off her shirt and went down to reach for her new one when she heard Brody gasp. Sophie felt her stomach drop. For just a moment she had lost herself in the thrill of a fun evening and had forgotten about the scars.

“Soph, your back...” Violet whispered in horror at the sight before her. Her voice cracked with emotion from seeing the overlaying scars that plagued her friend’s back.

Sophie’s body tensed at the comment. Every muscle in her body felt tight, an overwhelming fear filled her stomach. Reliving the day that she got the scars. An awkward tension filled the room before Sophie answered. “There’s no great story behind it.” Sophie tried to force a smile, hoping to play it off, but it was clear they weren’t buying it. Sophie felt her throat tighten at her next words. “I disobeyed this captain’s order and paid the price.”

The room fell silent. The mood had changed from what was once a giddy, bubbly excitement at the prospect of the ball to the tense reality of Sophie’s scars. Each girl tried to come up with some way to change the subject but failed to find the right words. Suddenly they heard someone from across the hall scatting.

“Do be do ba, do bee da doo...”

“Mitch, you can’t wear that!” Louis’ voice broke the tune.

“Why the fuck not?” Mitch shouted back.

“Because it has no pockets for one thing and the cut of the shirt is so low you’d be dropping more food than carrying!”

“It’s just not practical, Mitch.” Aasim’s voice rang out.

“What? Like your fancy outfit with the handkerchief?”

“It’s cravat!” Aasim snapped back, taking a huffy breath “How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“Ok. Ok. Guys, let’s calm down.” Marlon’s voice was level as he tried to deescalate the situation. “Mitch, we have to get food for this to work, so can you please just change?”

A few seconds passed before Mitch responded. “Fine.”

---

After 20 minutes had passed everyone stood on deck ready for the evening. Prisha and Aasim quickly went over the strategy that they had made even though they knew that probably half of the crew wouldn’t even follow it. The crew talked excitedly on the way to the ball. Sophie talked with Willy, each of them dreaming about which food they hoped they’d find at the ball. Tenn added his own favorite foods here and there when a break in the conversation appeared.Mitch and Brody were talking about something that had to do with the argument he’d had with the other guys and Aasim also seemed to be getting drawn into it.

When they arrived at the location the crew carefully made their way through the front, sneaking into the ball with ease. Their eyes widened in awe when they realized Louis wasn’t kidding when he called it a feast. Platters of meats and cheese filled the tables. Breads of all shapes and sizes covered each and every inch of open space. Bowls upon bowls of fruits were laid out around the room while servers walked by with fancy drinks. It really was quite the spread.

Mitch snagged a drink when a server went by, downing it in a single swig. Letting out a satisfied sigh, he turned to the rest of the crew. “Alright! Let’s get to work!” he announced before making his way to the nearest table with the younger boys. Willy and Tenn were busy sneaking food into AJ’s afro as Mitch stored some in his upper pockets, his eyes scanning the room to make sure no one was watching them.

Prisha and Aasim immediately put their plan into motion, methodically taking the food that would be the easiest to steal and store. Violet turned to the nearest food at the table before her and grabbed a few items only to drop them on the floor. “Shit.” Violet angrily whispered under her breath. Depth perception really was her worst enemy at times.

Ruby made her way to the fruit bowl that stood next to Aasim, glancing around before grabbing the side of the bowl and tossing the entirety of its contents down her shirt. She spent a few seconds shifting the fruit around in her shirt until it was hard to tell if she had stored anything in there at all. “No one would dare to check here!” Ruby winked playfully at Aasim. Aasim felt his face overheat. This situation was far too overwhelming for him.

Clementine, Brody and Sophie were by the meat and cheese taking turns snagging different cuts while the other two watched their backs. Brody frantically searched the table, panicking and throwing pieces of cheese in her pant pockets when Sophie gave the signal to stop; someone was nearing the table. Brody slammed hard against the table before she leaned her back against Sophie’s. The pair tried to smile normally in hopes that the man wouldn’t notice them. Clementine leaned on the table, snatching a roll and tucking it away while they waited for the man to leave. When he did so, Sophie turned around, grabbing up a whole platter of meat and hiding it away in her outfit. Giving a thumbs up to the other two, they made their way over to another table where they took turns swiping bread and other baked goods.

After a half hour the crew regrouped, checking to make sure they had snagged enough. Everyone looked pretty normal with the food safely stored inside their outfits except a few. Willy’s was especially bad; it looked like his pants were bursting at the seams in some places.

Prisha looked over at Mitch whose shirt was bulging with food. It seemed to prominently be around his chest area. Prisha snorted. “Nice moobs, Mitch.”

Mitch mockingly repeated the sentence then snapped back, “Shut up, Prisha! I bet I got more food than you anyway.”

Before she could respond, Violet let out a frustrated growl, cussing angrily under her breath as she took out her stash. “What kind of fucking idiot am I? I grabbed a bunch of wax fruit!” she groaned as she tossed a wax apple aside. It bounced on the floor, stopping at Mitch’s feet.

“Stupid assholes and their fancy fake fruit.” Mitch grumbled in agreement.

Suddenly a few guards walked by, causing Louis to panic. “Quick, everyone! Act normal!” He whispered, proceeding to lean aesthetically against a wall, his hat tipping slightly from the weight of the food hidden inside it. The rest followed suit, all striking unusual poses.

Willy instantly sat down, gasping in horror as he grasped his butt. “My buns!”

“Which ones?” Louis looked over with a mixture of concern and confusion.

Immediately Willy sat up to reveal two large dark colored splotches on each of his cheeks. The crew didn’t have time to react, however, as the guards had taken notice of them thanks to Willy’s exclamation. Their faces squinted in concentration before changing in recognition as they realized who they were. “You there! Hold it!” A guard shouted while he unsheathed his blade.

“Holy shit! Run!” Louis shouted, picking up the nearest of the younger boys and sprinting off in the direction of Ol’ Kickass. The rest followed close behind. Violet passed out the wax fruit to Sophie and Mitch who immediately started throwing it to distract the guards. Violet’s aim wasn’t the best. Most of her hits were connecting with the ground rather than the guards, but Mitch and Sophie were able to get a few good hits in.

“Eat it!” Sophie grunted, tossing a plastic banana that whacked one of the guard’s directly in the face. Mitch gave a proud smile and high fived her before pelting another guard with more wax apples.

As they scrambled back onto the ship they quickly got ready to set sail, but not before two of the guards jumped on deck. Aasim and Marlon fought them back while the others tried to get the anchor pulled up and the sail put down. Marlon and Aasim shared a look and smiled at each other. They tag teamed one guard, sending him off the side of the ship. Before the other guard had a chance to react, they kicked him over into the sea to join his fellow guard.

Only when they had gotten a good distance between them and the town did the crew stop to celebrate. They really did steal a meal worthy of kings. Each member continuously dug into the meal. Multiple hands snagged the different assortments of meats and cheeses. Marlon and Omar had even managed to steal a few drinks. Bottles clinked together as the crew celebrated another successful adventure.

“Here’s to many more to come!” Louis announced, standing up proudly in front of the crew who cheered in agreement, laughing and talking until the night turned to morning.

#fanfic #a pirate's life for me au #twdg louis #twdg sophie #twdg mitch #twdg violet #twdg prisha #hijinks and shenanigans

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