#And then they see you with you're drop dead smile and deep brown eyes and they're all like - who else...

[saturnsorbits]

Saturn don’t you dare do this to me.

👀 I have no idea what you're talking about, my love...

[afyrian]

ch. 1 - corner of my mouth m.list

    taking in a deep breath, you wipe your hands against your apron, the clay smudging against the canvas fabric. the floral design covered by the clay and slip smudged against your hands. looking down at the creation you've made, your eyes narrow. something about it seems off to you. the size, the shape, something about it doesn't seem right. 

  this evening has been filled with the constant uncertainty of the project. whether it was the sketching of the piece or the clay not coming to the right consistency. none of it was working out to be in your favor from the beginning to this very moment. running your tongue along your teeth, you shake your head, stepping back from the wheel.

  you take a few steps back, looking at your shelves of pottery. the mix of colors and designs linger in your head, resting there are you garner inspiration. just as you start pursing your lips, the back door opens slowly, a familiar voice following, "n/n, you still awake in here? thought i'd bring you some dinner-"

  osamu walks in with a smile on his face. his sentence cutting short when he sees you standing in the middle of your studio. you have papers strewn about your counter, designs scattered throughout. and on your wheel remains an unfinished project, something osamu's seen far too many times by now.

  "hi osamu.. sorry about the mess.. i don't even know what time it is, really," your shoulders raise, an adorably sweet shrug remaining on your shoulders. 

  it had only been a couple months since you started dating and he's already seen you at your lowest. the dead of night, clay on your face and through your hair. however, feeling mildly embarrassed by him seeing it all has not dissipated. "it's alright, but it's nearly eleven and i figured you hadn't eaten yet if you were still here. so, i brought some leftovers from the shop," he raises up a brown bag, the smile somehow staying strong.

  "i have no idea what i would do without you 'samu," you let out a soft sigh, one that's no longer filled with frustration.

  "you'd probably keep a lot more instant ramens here than you'd care to admit," osamu raised an eyebrow, stacking some of the papers to push them off to the side and setting down the brown paper bag. 

  for a second, you want to punch his shoulder, but you're quickly reminded of the clay still covering your hands. watching as he pulls out containers full of delicious food. you can feel the saliva in your mouth build as the smell fills your studio, the smell of clay dissipating to the food's dominance. 

  staring at the food, your gaze keeps returning to the wheel. inspiration starts to build while you look at the noodles swirled together, the toppings resting perfectly atop the broth. "i have a microwave, would you mind reheating it in a minute? i have so many ideas, i need to form this clay," you look back at your boyfriend, eyes searching his.

  food has always been his love language, so offering to reheat it sends a string of pain up his spine. osamu shakes his head, bringing his hands up to your face. staring into your eyes, he gives you a soft smile. "no, you don't have to reheat it. you work on your pottery and i will feed you like a greek goddess in an old painting," leaning up, he kisses your forehead. 

  "you don't have to do that, you're probably tired and-"

  "trust me, it's okay, n/n. i am absolutely fine with helping you. besides, i can always call off work tomorrow and we can spend the day resting together," he brings his hands back, grabbing your favorite dish and some chopsticks, the wooden utensils resting comfortably in his hand. 

  your shoulders drop, a sense of peace rolling over you. sitting back down on your stool, your hands run up and down the piece again, taking a sponge and adding more moisture to it. osamu pulls up a stool and sits beside you, making sure he's not hovering over the piece with food resting precariously above it. 

  your eyes stay focused on the clay, to forming a slightly wave design. imprinting a few areas for fingers. your gaze flickers to osamu, watching as he brings the chopsticks up to your lips. opening your mouth, the umami flavor follows the soft texture of the cooked veggies, a few noodles mixed within. you want to close your eyes, savor the flavor that osamu's created for you.

  and yet you try to stay focused on the process. "you like it?" osamu questions, voice low, making sure he's not interrupting your focus. 

  "yes, more than you know. i don't understand how someone can create something so wonderful.." you give him a smile, trying to keep your eyes on the clay despite your want to meet his gorgeous, grey eyes. 

  he gives you another bite of food, feeding himself in between your conversations, "you don't? when you own the most popular pottery shop in the city, you don't know how someone can create something so wonderful? i love you so much."

  the moment the words leave his mouth, you fully look up from the clay. “you said it-”

  “no, i didn’t… i don’t know what you’re talking about. you want some more food?” osamu shrugs, taking a bite of some onigiri. 

  you shake your head, biting your lip. nearly bringing your hands up to your mouth out of surprise, “no, you can not take this back. osamu miya, you said you love me. and i definitely heard it so you’re not taking it back now.”

  osamu sets down the food onto your counter. letting out a sigh, he keeps his eyes on yours. there’s a nervousness running through you. no one had ever been as close to you as osamu has been. so to hear him say the very words that you’ve been thinking of since you met him, sends your heart racing. “so, let’s say i did say it. what would you say to that?”

  “i’d say, i love you too,” you smile at him, hands hovering the clay, “now, could you give me some more dinner, i’m starving.”

  osamu shakes his head, rolling his eyes. leaning forward, he gives you a gentle kiss on the corner of your lips. his are sweet against your’s, like he’s recently had one of the leftover desserts onigiri miya now sells. one of his hands reaches up and caresses your cheek, feeling rough against the softness of your skin. “i feel like you’re only with me for my cooking…”

  “gosh, i was hoping i could last longer before you figured it out.”

a/n: so… a kneading kiss is back?? i missed writing mbb sm taglist: @causenessus @osakis-gf @eggyrocks @brkfclub @marisabel14

@bbybibi @etoiile @miyamoratsumuu @girlokarina @gsyche

@cherrypieyourface @zephestia @acowboykisser @whosmarjj @gumiiiiezzzz

@guitarstringed-scars @19calicos @savemebrazilhinata @phoenix-eclipses @theycallmenanamisgirl

@softpia @certaindreampost @miiyas @bakery-anon @nekozaki

@applepi25

[jamdoughnutmagician]

A Cut Above The Rest

As If By Chance (Part 1)

Mechanic!Eddie x Hairdresser!Fem!Reader

Summary:You never thought that you'd find yourself driving back into your hometown of Hawkins, but then again you never thought that you would find your boyfriend in bed with another woman.

Word Count:1,894

Next Part ->

Masterlist Series Masterlist

Driving back into Hawkins with your entire adult life packed tightly into the biggest suitcase you could find was not something that you had anticipated when you left there 10 years ago. 

Now it was just you, your suitcase and your old rusted car against the world.

An old rusted car that was now slowly rolling to a halt in the middle of a road.

No. No. No. Shit. Come on you piece of shit! you wailed, frustratedly thumping your hands against the steering wheel of your car. The car’s engine sputtering pathetically as it grinds to a halt on the dark and desolate stretch of road.  Fuck. The threatening dark skies above join in on your misery and open up, as heavy drops of rain begin to batter against your window.

As if this day couldn’t get any worse.

You reach for your phone that's tucked away in your bag that's sitting on the passenger seat, only to see that the battery is completely dead.

Apparently it could.

You looked out to the wet and miserable grey evening sky. You were going to have to get out to pop the hood of your car to see what was wrong, not that you knew anything about cars in the first place, but you were on your own on this one. 

Pulling your sweater closer to your body, you brace yourself to face the elements. The cold droplets soaking through your clothes the moment you set foot outside your car.

Popping the hood open you're immediately reminded of your limited knowledge of the inner-workings of the bucket of bolts you called your car. You had no idea what was wrong and no idea how to fix it either.

Head hanging down, you defeatedly slam down the hood with an exhausted sigh.

You resigned yourself to the fact that you were going to have to walk the rest of the way into town, until you could reach Robin’s house.

Just as you had given up hope of anything going your way today, you looked out down the road and the beaming white lights of another vehicle’s headlights gleamed brightly as the van drove closer to you

The van rolled to a slow stop beside your broken down car.

This is it. This was how so many horror films started. The damsel in distress murdered by the scary guy with the creepy van. This is how you were going to meet your end.

“Hey? Uh..Do you need some help there?” The man asks, stepping out of his van and pulling his leather jacket closer to his body.

You turn to face the man who’s offering his help to you, and you’re met with the familiar deep brown eyes, button nose and mop of dark curls of the boy you had had a crush on for all of your high school years. He was a few years older, of course, but that same cheeky smile was unmistakable.

“Oh my god! Eddie?” 

“Y/N?” He stutters out. “Christ! What on earth are you doing out in this weather?”

“Well my car finally decided to give up the ghost, and kind of left me stranded here” you explained, tapping your hand against the hood of your car.

“You need me to give you a ride? I mean it’s no trouble at all” Eddie offers kindly. 

Maybe things we're all that bad. Maybe there were still good people in the world.

"But what about my car?" 

"Don't worry, I'll call up the shop to get Randy to tow it in, I can check it over tomorrow for you, see if I can find out what the problem is." He assures you with a smile.

"The shop?"

"Yeah, the mechanic garage. Technically it's my uncle Wayne's shop, but he's getting on a bit so I mostly run things there."

"You're an absolute life-saver! Thank you so much! Just let me go grab my things" You say as you rush around to grab your bag and your suitcase.

“Going somewhere?” He chuckles as nods his head towards your hefty suitcase.

“Something like that.” you nod uncomfortably, not really wanting to talk about your reasons for coming back into Hawkins.

"Here, let me get that for you." Eddie chimes, changing the subject as he takes your suitcase and loads it into the back of his van. "Get yourself settled in."

You get in the passenger side seat and strap yourself in with your seat belt. Eddie makes his way around to jump into the driver's seat before turning to you. 

"So where are we headed to, hm?" He asks. 

"Can you take me to Robin’s place please, it's over on Ivory Street."

He nods, putting the van in gear before taking off.

The ride is sound-tracked by Metallica's Fade To Black playing lowly from the stereo and the pattering of heavy raindrops against the window.

"So what's got you coming back to Hawkins, huh? Last I heard, you moved up to Chicago to live with that boyfriend of yours?” Eddie asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

Ah yes. The boyfriend. The as of now ex-boyfriend. The whole reason why you were coming back to Hawkins in the first place. 

As cliché as it had been, Jacob was just someone you had met in a bar. At first he was kind and sweet, even charming, as he shamelessly flirted with you, but never making you feel uncomfortable. You were young in a new city, happily living with your boyfriend until one fateful evening.

You had come home late after one of your client’s appointments had run a little longer than you realised. The chat flowed easily as you snipped away the final few strands of hair. You finished up her cut, accepted her money and gathered your things to get back home to your apartment.

You pushed through the door of your apartment door, tired after a long day of driving to and from clients and cutting, colouring and styling their hair. Ready to just sink into the arms of your boyfriend, order some pizza and just chill out on the sofa.

However, upon opening the door you could hear the faint sounds of some high-pitched keening moans. A woman. A woman’s moans coming from yours and your boyfriend's shared bedroom. 

Walking on uneasy feet, and a rising nauseous feeling crawling up your throat you move towards the bedroom. 

Flinging the door open you’re immediately confronted with everything you desperately hoped was just a terrible, horrible dream. 

However, no amount of pinching yourself would be able to bring you out of your shocked state of finding your boyfriend in bed with another woman.

Seeing her kiss-bitten lips and ruffled hair, and his fingers sinking into the plush skin of her hips as he kissed into her neck was enough to have you stumbling back out of there with tears in your eyes.

“Um..Fuck…Wait! I can explain! Wait up! I can explain! Please just give me a chance!”  Jacob chased after you, stumbling to put on his boxers and a t-shirt.

You turned around on your heels to look at him, despite the hurt and betrayal you felt was bubbling up inside you.

“You're always here, there and everywhere! And I'm always at work, we only ever see each other for a few hours a week!" He starts to explain himself.

Your mind immediately rushes through every time you’d been running late after finishing up with a client, or when he told you things were running long at the office. Had he been lying to you this entire time?

"And yet, somehow, you still found the time to stick your dick in another woman?" You seethed.

"Well, I just missed you, I missed your touch" he pouts pathetically.

"Clearly you don't, since you found someone to fill my position just fine." You say, your voice level, but firm, not wanting to break down in front of him.

In the middle of the argument the other woman emerges from your bedroom, now fully dressed. 

"Get out of my home!" You spit.

She’s quick to scurry her way out the door, leaving just you and Jacob to fight it out.

“Y’know what? I don’t need this. I don’t deserve to be treated like this by you.” You scorned, as you pushed past him to go into your bedroom to gather all your clothes and as many of your belongings as you could into a suitcase. 

“So that’s it then? You’re leaving me? Just like that?” He bombards you with questions as you zip up your suitcase.

“It looks that way, doesn’t it.” you snark, unable to resist the urge to have one final poke at him. You didn’t want to stay in a place where he had brought another woman to. The place you had once called home now felt tainted.

“I’ve paid my half of this month’s rent, after this you’re on your own.”  And with that you walk out, slamming the door behind you as you go.

It’s only when you find yourself sitting in your car, desperately calling your best friend that you allow the tears to fall.

“Hey, Robin?” You sniffle. “You know when you said that if I ever needed a place to go, I could stay with you?" You ask hopefully. 

By the time Eddie drops you off at Robin’s apartment the rain had subsided.

You grab your bags and suitcase and make your way out of his van, thanking him kindly for the ride.

"My shop's over on Mount Avenue, if you come down tomorrow afternoon I'll probably have your car fixed by then." 

"Thank you so much Eddie!" You smile.

"You're welcome, Darling."

You give him one more kind-hearted smile as you make your way to Robin’s place and try not to let your mind linger too much on the affectionate pet name that he dropped. He was being nice, that’s all. Don’t think too much into it.

Once you knock on the door, Robin is immediately there to take your bags and wrap you up in a warm towel.

“My car broke down.” you huffed a tired laugh as a way of explanation for your dishevelled state.

“You know you’re welcome to stay here for as long as you need.” She reminds you.

“Thanks Rob, it means a lot.” You sniffle.

“So where’s your car now?” She asks.

“Funny thing about that, I got a lift from Eddie.” You explain, with a shy smile playing at your lips.

“Eddie? You mean Eddie Munson? The same Eddie Munson who you used to have the biggest crush on in HIgh School? That Eddie?” Robin asks in a babble of questions.

“Yes. Robin. That Eddie.” You nod, noting her teasing tone.

“So…Is he still as cute as you remember him?” Robin snarks with a nudge of her elbow in your arm.

“Come on Robin! It’s been ten years since I’ve spoken to him. He just gave me a lift here when my car broke down. He just happened to be passing by, it was pure chance.” you shake your head at your friend’s insinuation.

“You say chance, I say destiny.��� she says with a smirk gracing her freckled features.

Whatever it was, you were eternally thankful that Eddie had been there to save you just when you needed it.

@itsfreakingbats @xxhellfiregirlxx @penguinsandpotterheads @munsonology @seatnights

[matchingbatbites]

Persephone runs. He can hear footsteps behind him, chasing fast. Hears a voice yell "Come on, little goddess! You can't run forever!"

Tears fill his eyes, blurring his vision, but he continues forward, flees from the man behind him. Suddenly, there! Even through his tears he can see the gate up ahead, and he gets a burst of energy as he bolts for it.

Persephone hurls himself through the opening and trips over something, lands rough on the ground, tearing open the skin of his hands and knees. The hurried footsteps come to a stop and he turns, sees Ares standing just outside the gate, his face red in anger.

"You shouldn't be in there," Ares says, and Persephone shifts into a sitting position.

"Better in here than out there," is his reply, and Ares scowls. The man takes a step forward, a single foot landing inside the gate, and from behind Persephone comes a voice.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Persephone looks back at the speaker, and his heart flips in his chest, because standing there is Hades. Persephone has never met him, only heard stories, really, but he knows in his heart that must be the man standing before him.

The god is stunning, with milky, pale skin, and brown curls that are pulled up into a decorated updo. He's draped in black, with silver jewelry adorning his hands and ears, all signs of his status, but it's his eyes that Persephone is drawn to.

They're so dark, they appear to be solid black in the dim entryway, but as the man steps closer to the gate, they catch the sun and transform into rich, deep brown.

"I was just trying to help him up," Ares says as he gestures to Persephone, "I'll take him and we'll be on our way."

Hades's mouth twists into a sneer. "No. You'll make your way by yourself, Ares.”

Ares scowls, his hand clenches as he says “You don’t want to cross me, Hades. Just give me the boy and I’ll leave you be.”

And for a moment Persephone is worried that Hades will, that he’ll give him up just to have them both out of his hair.

And then the temperature drops.

“What is the domain you command, Ares?”

Hades pauses for a moment, like he’s waiting for the other to respond, and continues when he only gets a growl in response.

“War. Something so terrible, and so temporary. Humans can go years, decades, without war. Many prefer to avoid it. But death is not so fickle. It does not stop, it does not rest.

"It will continue forever, and when the final human takes their final breath, the concept of war will die with them. It would do you well, Ares, to remember where dead things go, and who tends to them in the afterlife.”

Ares' face twists in rage, and Persephone is surprised when he simply turns and stalks off without another word, looks back up to Hades to see him smiling, satisfied.

And then he looks at Persephone. He reaches out a hand, says “Come now, such a lovely thing doesn’t belong on the floor.”

Persephone flushes and takes the offered hand, cautious of the bloody scrapes on his palm. Hades frowns when he sees them, helps the other to his feet before cradling the hand in his own.

“I have some salve for these, if you’re willing to take a trip to my home?” he says, looking up at the goddess, and Persephone nods.

“I am. I- Thank you.”

Hades smiles. “You’re very welcome.” He holds Persephone’s hand as he leads them further into the gate, heading deeper into the Underworld.

Hades glances back at him. “What’s your name, little goddess?” And oh, that sounds so different coming from his mouth, more like a term of affection than the taunt Ares had made it.

“Persephone.”

Hades shakes his head, glances back again, like he can’t help it. “I already know your title, what I wish to know is your name.”

And Persephone stops in his tracks, pulling the other to a stop with him. The others have only ever referred to him by his title, no one has ever asked for his name before.

“Steve,” he says, and Hades beams at him, and it’s like a little bit of sunlight in this dark place.

“It’s nice to meet you, Steve. I’m Eddie.”

(Later, when Eddie asks about the flowers in his hair, Steve will stare at the coreopsis he'll pluck from his locks, and flush when the flower whispers to him love at first sight.)

Part 2

[kissorkill16]

Break Out: A Hello Neighbor Fanfic

By JJ

Summary: Nicky goes to visit Mr. Peterson in prison, and things go a little too far South.

Nicky rang the bell at the front desk. "Excuse me, sir. But I'm here to visit Mr. Peterson."

The man looked down at Nicky, "Theodore Peterson?"

Nicky nodded.

"Are you a relative?", asked the man.

"No, I'm just a close friend of his children."

The man sighed, but got up and led Nicky to the backroom.

"You get 5 minutes.", he said before leaving.

Nicky walked past all the other metal bars that contained other criminals, and stopped when he found the exact person he's been looking for.

An impossibly shadow loomed over him, engaging him in darkness. The man stepped forward, and when he looked down at Nicky, he smiled.

"Hello, Nicholas.", said the man. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, a long while.", said Nicky. "But I didn't come here to talk to you."

Mr. Peterson shrugged, "I figured. What do you want?"

"I need to know if you have any clues to Crowface's identity."

Mr. Peterson let out a deep sigh, and shook his head in disappointment and condescension.

"I'm going to tell you what I told your little friend.", he said. "His name isn't Crowface, we call him The Guest."

"Okay then. I need to know if you have any clues to The Guest's identity."

"Better.", said Mr. Peterson, reaching his head through the metal bars to gently pat the boy on the head. "But to answer your question, I don't have any clues."

Nicky crossed his arms and looked at the ground, "Yeah, I figured. The others think that he's a guy in a costume, but me and Finch think he's a supernatural being with extraterrestrial powers. But thanks anyway for your help.", he said, making his way towards the exit. "By the way, Finch is a new member of our group."

Mr. Peterson reached his hand through the bars again, grabbing the boy on the shoulder and pulling him back towards him. "Wait.", he said. "Maybe I could help you with this little investigation."

Nicky rolled his eyes, "Yeah right. What makes you think we need your help? Especially after what you did to me."

"Now now, little boy.", said Mr. Peterson. "You do need my help if you're so desperate to find out who The Guest is.", Mr. Peterson paused for a moment before continuing. "Especially if he kidnapped your little friend."

Nicky turned around to face the man, "How the hell do you know about that?"

Mr. Peterson shrugged, "Word seems to get around pretty quickly in Raven Brooks, especially in prison.", he said. "But I know he took your friend, and if you get me out of here, I promise to help you find him and stop The Guest."

The man turned around to grab a brown book with a crow and a golden apple on it, and he turned to a page which contained some sort of spell. He handed it to Nicky through the bars.

"Where did you get this?", asked Nicky.

"He came here last night and gave it to me.", replied Mr. Peterson. "All you have to do is recite this spell, and it'll bust me right out of here. In return, I'll help you rescue your friend and stop The Guest.", he said. "Does that sound like a fair deal?"

Nicky looked at the man, then the spell. He was skeptical. "How do I know you're not tricking me?"

Mr. Peterson leaned down, looking Nicky dead in the eye. "Because you're the last of the closest things I have left to a friend."

Nicky didn't want to believe the tall, hulking, pale man in argyle, but what other choice did he have?

He looked at Mr. Peterson one last time, but instead of seeing the monster he's become, he saw the man he used to be. A friendly, fatherly, creative, warm man. The man he met when he first moved to Raven Brooks.

"It's a deal."

He looked down at the book and recited the spell.

A moment of silence, and then a sudden strike of thunder crashed through the sky.

The sudden strike made Nicky drop the book and back up against the wall, watching Mr. Peterson smiled menacingly at him.

Another strike, and instead of Mr. Peterson, he saw the same shadow monster he saw in his room and in his nightmares.

Lucy and Mya.

"Stay. Hide. Forever. Darkness.", they said.

They fused together into a skinnier figure of the shadow, then started circling around him, chanting "Stay. Hide. Forever. Darkness."

Nicky grabbed the sides of his head, trying to snap out of it, but it was all too much. The shadow kept chanting "STAY! HIDE! FOREVER! DARKNESS!"

One last strike of thunder ripped through the air, and he finally snapped out of it.

When he looked up, he saw that Mr. Peterson's cell door was wide open. His eyes widened in shock. He grabbed the sides of his head once again.

He was gone, along with the book.

"Oh my God.", he whispered to himself. "Nicky...what did you just do?"

[dragonflylady77]

Mr Steve and the Monster Hunter

Hope you're ready for this chapter... @bigbangharringrove

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

On Ao3

Steve has questions and Billy has feelings

Chapter 3 - It's a code red

“Whose car is this, Daddy?” Livi asks, pulling him towards the front door.

“I have no idea, princess,” Billy replies. He wonders for a moment if it may be Steve but dismisses the idea. There is little chance he’ll hear from Steve, too much bad blood, even if it was a long time ago. Some things don’t change, no matter how much you might want them to.

They walk in and Livi drops her bag in the foyer before following the noise from the TV in the lounge. Billy follows at a slower pace, stopping in his tracks when he hears Livi’s voice.

“Mommy, where is Mama? And why is Mr Steve at our house?”

He’s here…

Robin’s reply is lost as Billy’s blood is suddenly rushing in his ears and the tips of his fingers tingle. He feels his power rise like a slow wave and he makes himself focus on taking deep breaths but it’s too late. He hears El’s voice in his head, checking in, because she felt it too.

Billy

Hey, El

Are you in danger

No, I'm okay, I’m with the girls

Then why… Oh

Billy feels her pause and he knows she knows.

Yeah… Steve’s here

Good luck

Yeah, thanks

Billy breaks the mental connection a few seconds before Livi comes running up to him. He picks her up, grateful for her little arms wrapping around his neck, providing him with a few extra minutes before he has to face Steve again. He can see Robin’s smirk from here but since he’s the one who decided to tell her and Heather about his long lasting unrequited crush, on a drunken night many moons ago, he needs to get over himself. 

“Daddy! It was Mr Steve’s car. He’s on the couch with Mommy. Mama is having a nap. Mommy said I could go and tell her about our day.”

“Great idea, princess. You go cuddle up with Mama.”

“I love you, Daddy,” Olivia says, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for taking me to the zoo today. I had the best day.”

Billy grins. “Did Mommy tell you to say that?”

Olivia rolls her eyes and, boy, does she look like Heather when she does. “No.”

“Okay. I had a lot of fun too. I love you.”

He lets her down after one more kiss and cuddle and watches her run towards her moms’ room, calling out to her and putting a finger across his mouth to remind her to be quiet when she puts her hand on the door.

He turns towards the living room to find Steve in the doorway staring at him. Suddenly he’s back at Tina’s house, the night of her Halloween party, after winning the dumb keg stand, Tommy Hagan dragging him into the house to show him off to King Steve, who clearly didn’t give a fuck about any of it. 

He stares back at Steve because he can’t help himself, the big brown eyes fixed on him calling to him like a siren in the fog. There’s something in them that wasn’t there before and Billy fleetingly wonders if he will ever get a chance to find out. 

He’s always been gone for Steve, since the first time he saw him in the parking lot of Hawkins High on his first day, and he’s tired of pretending he’s not. But at the same time, nothing good will come of this, Steve is not interested anyway. He’s just curious because Billy came back from the dead.

Billy dispels the memories gripping him with a shake of his head and walks over to Steve. He stops far enough that he won’t be tempted to touch Steve, but close enough to smell Steve’s aftershave.

“Hey there, pretty boy. Twice in two days. A guy might start to get ideas,” he says, with a trace of his old bravado. There’s always been something about Steve that keeps him on edge. To his relief, Steve smiles. It’s small and tentative, a lifting of the corner of his kissable lips, but it’s there and Billy takes comfort in that.

“Maybe he should,” comes Steve’s reply and Billy feels it like a punch in the gut.

He’s trying to figure out what to reply—his brain trying to process this new development and his dick yelling at him to drag Steve to his room and shove his tongue down the other man’s throat—when Robin comes out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a dish towel.

“Hey, B. How did today go?”

Billy smiles and reaches into his pocket. “Great. You know how much she loves the zoo. Thanks for the use of your car, as always. Here’s your keys.” 

She takes the keys off him with a knowing grin. “She really does. What did she con you into buying her this time?”

Billy chuckles, aware of Steve’s gaze on him still. “Another stuffed otter for her collection, since apparently someone suggested she name them following the letters of the alphabet and she’s up to J…”

“Yeah, that wasn’t me, my friend. What did she call this one? Jasper? Juniper? Jeremiah?”

“Jehoshaphat?” Steve throws in with a grin, and Robin and Billy turn to look at him.

“Nice one, dingus.”

“Nah,” Billy replies, “Jane, after her auntie Janie.” His eyes linger on Steve and his fingers start to tingle again. He forces himself to take deep breaths to push back. This is not the time.

“Awww. You should bring her next time.” Robin walks back into the kitchen and Billy follows her. The keys jingle when she dumps them in a bowl by the toaster and he gets himself a glass of water, before leaning against the counter. Steve lingers in the doorway again, leaning on it with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Rob, you know very well that bringing her means bringing the other two, they’re pretty much joined at the hip.”

“Yeah, at the hip…” Robin snickers and Billy smirks. 

“What, um, who are you talking about?” Steve asks, stepping into the kitchen and Billy shares a glance with Robin, who shrugs before putting the dish towel down by the sink.

“Up to you what you are willing to share, B. I trust him. On this note, I’ll leave you guys to it, I need to go put my kid to bed.” She pets Billy on the shoulder as she walks past him then gives Steve a quick hug before she leaves the room.

Then it’s just the two of them and Billy peels off the counter to sit at the table with his glass. He takes a sip of water and waits for Steve to say something. Mostly because he isn’t sure where to start, or how much Steve wants to hear. 

“So…” Steve says, grabbing a chair and sitting across from Billy at the square Formica table.

“So,” Billy repeats, sure Steve will have questions because how could he not. He keeps his eyes on the glass in front of him, the power humming quietly in the back of his mind and in the tip of his fingers.

“I saw you die, Billy,” Steve whispers, and Billy looks up at him then. His brown eyes look haunted and Billy hurts from it. He feels the water in his glass starting to heat up and he forces himself to tamp the surge down. He doesn’t need El reaching out again.

“You saw me fall,” he says softly, like it explains anything. “Doc Owens said I would have died if they hadn’t reached me when they did. I spent six months in hospital, had to learn to walk again because I was in a coma for weeks.”

“The website says you were in the Marines?”

Billy lets out a short laugh. “Yeah, that’s part of the cover story they came up with. I mean, I tried but… let’s just say that I have issues with authority figures that want me to call them Sir while I follow their orders blindly.”

“Oh. What about the rest of your bio?”

“I did some intensive training once I left the hospital, then Owens recruited me and we set up HellGrove. I’m sure Robin filled you in on the details.”

“A little, yes but I was wond—”

Billy

El’s voice in his head masks whatever Steve was saying and Billy focuses on her.

What’s up?

Code Red

“Fuck.” Bill stands up immediately, rubbing both hands over his face. Not now! 

“Billy, what? Were you even listening to me?”

Billy looks down at Steve. He sighs. “I am very, very sorry about this, pretty boy, but I have to go.”

“Go? Go where? Robin said you’re staying in the guest room?”

El? Gimme five

Okay, Will and Lucas on standby

Thanks

“Billy? What the fuck is going on? You said you’d answer my questions and now you’re leaving?”

“I know, and I am sorry.” Billy leaves the kitchen and walks to the guest room, a pissed-off Steve hot on his heels. 

“Hargrove!” 

Billy grabs his duffle bag and puts it on the bed. Fuck, fuck, fuck! The universe is really taking the piss. The one time he finally gets to sit down with Steve to have that talk he’s been dreaming about…

“Rob!” he calls out as he pulls out his go bag. Steve is pacing between the door and the window and Billy doesn’t have time to deal with it. Not when El called a code red. FUCK!

“Yeah?” Robin appears in the doorway, and Livi comes up beside her in her unicorn pajamas.

“Are you okay, Daddy?” she asks and Billy smiles before walking over to them. He crouches down to Livi’s level and kisses his daughter on the cheek. The timing fucking sucks. 

“I’m sorry, princess, Daddy has to go fight the monsters. Auntie Janie called and she needs help. I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay? I promise.”

“She called? How did she call? Hello?” Steve says from somewhere behind him but Billy ignores him. There is no time.

“It’s okay, Daddy. I understand. I love you. Be careful, okay?”

“I will. And I love you too.” Billy gets up and walks back to the bed where he unzips his go bag.

“How bad?” Robin asks as Billy sheds his jacket and the button-down shirt he was wearing to change into the mission-sanctioned black tee with the HellGrove logo on the chest. He hears a gasp in the corner and figures it’s Steve, probably reacting to the scars covering his body. 

“Code red.”

“Oh. Yeah, okay. Olivia, come on, sweetie, time for bed. We’ll let Daddy get ready.” Robin picks up the little girl and turns to Billy. “B, no portals inside the house. I’m serious. You singed the carpet last time, and this is a rental!”

Billy turns around and rolls his eyes. “Oh my god, that was one time, Robin!” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Steve, lock the front door behind you when you leave. Good night.” She waves at them before retreating down the hallway with Livi.

“Portals?” Steve asks, standing in front of Billy. 

His hair is a mess and he looks more confused than pissed off now, so fucking kissable it hurts.

Billy sits on the bed to swap his Chuck Taylors for steel-capped boots that match his all black outfit, then he puts on his leather jacket and zips it up before looking at Steve. “I wish I had time to sit down and explain, pretty boy, but I have to go.”

“Yeah, no, I get that. You and Robin have made that pretty fucking clear. What I don’t get is how you found out about this code red bullshit and how exactly this Auntie Janie called you. I’m assuming you mean Eleven?”

“Come on, pretty boy, surely you’re able to add two and two together and get to four. Yes, of course I mean El. She and I have… a connection. It started that night at Starcourt, when she pulled me out of his control. I also ended up with some extra abilities, leftover perks, I guess.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry too much about it. I’ll be out of your hair in a minute and you can go back to your life.” Billy knows he’s out of time and out of luck. He wanted a sign from the universe and he got one. He doubts he’ll get this chance with Steve again. With a sigh, he picks up his backpack and hoists it on his back. “And apparently I have to go outside to preserve the fucking carpet.”

“Fuck this, I’m coming with you.” Steve moves in front of the door, and Billy is of half a mind to open the portal in the bedroom just to see the look on his face.

“Steve, I’m not taking you into the Upside Down. It’s way too dangerous. You're… you’re my kid’s teacher, for fuck’s sake!” He can’t risk it, can’t risk Steve, even if he never has a chance with him. He won’t be able to deal if something bad happens to Steve. Also he’ll never hear the end of it if Max finds out.

“I killed demogorgons with a baseball bat full of nails before you even knew what the fucking Upside Down was, Hargrove.” The steel in Steve’s voice hits something inside Billy’s chest. There’s that fire everyone was talking about that he’d missed. It makes his power hum in approval.

"Okay, fine.” He looks Steve up and down. “But you can’t go dressed like that, you’ll get us killed.”

Chapter 4

[bloofinntoona]

Can I request Sebastian X Reader that reader has social anxiety and Sebastian tried to make friend with them pls.

a little hurt/comfort fic based on this prompt. thought i added ominis too! less romance, but more of friendship and little crushes. not copyedited yee haw

༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺　༻✦༺༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺　༻✦༺༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺　༻✦༺

Blue light flickered from the tip of your wand, dimly illuminating the darkness at the Undercroft. You sat down beside a tall stack of empty boxes, tucked in the corner, hugging your legs close to your chest. Drops of tears fell down from your eyes, stinging your reddened cheeks - the aftermath after sobbing away the pain you had been feeling in your chest.

You had never considered yourself a social butterfly. Even before you were plunged into the Wizarding world, you kept a small number of friends close to you. Quality over quantity, you believed. The British social circle wasn't particularly welcoming anyways, especially due to the ancient magic that had been brewing deep within you, you noticed judgmental glances from your muggle schoolmates when objects would shift on their own around you.

It was difficult enough to maintain your composure as the new fifth-year at Hogwarts. All eyes were on you ever since you sat in front of the great hall, clammy hands formed into a fist as you kept yourself from physically shaking out of control from all of the attention you received. School days were not as bad as you thought since the Professors and some students have been accompanying you to learn more about magic.

Earlier that day, you were walking past the hallways to get to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. It started as a great day, really, you had a keen interest in the spells that Professor Hecat had been teaching the class, and you always had fun dueling with your new friends. You can't deny that your heart skipped a beat whenever Professor Hecat paired you with a certain Slytherin named Sebastian Sallow. Ever since the whole ordeal with the library, Sebastian had become your closest friend in Hogwarts, and by extension, you started to get to know his dear friend Ominis Gaunt as well.

"I can't stand the new fifth-year." The hurtful sentence stopped you dead on your track, as you promptly hid behind the wall close to the group of sixth-year students gossiping.

"I received an owl from my mother, who works in the Ministry, and she said that the student came from a completely muggle family! Not even a trace of wizard blood lies in that wench - and now she got special treatment from the Professors!" the group erupted in laughter, spewing filthy names and making fun of your family.

"Can't believe we have to deal with another sodding mudblood."

With that last sentence, you ran back to the stairs, and into the Undercroft. Your breath became erratic as you felt your chest was about to burst from how fast your heart was beating. Although your vision was blurry and you could barely walk anymore, you found a dark corner and situated yourself there - cradling your body while you continued to sob. You let all your tears flow until you calmed down a little. You looked at the wand you just got from Ollivander's, a soft blue light from your Ancient Magic emitted on the tip. Dark thoughts clouded your mind.

I don't belong here

I don't belong here

I don't belong here

I don't-

A gentle tap on your shoulder surprised you, pointing your wand to the figures in front of you. The boy with the brown hair and freckles put his hands up, flashing you a soft smile, "Relax, it's me, Sebastian." Next to him was the blonde boy, his face scrunched up in concern.

"We didn't see you in class today. I thought you were out with Fig, but looks like you're not alright," Sebastian said and took a sit beside you, "I won't press, but would you tell me what happened?"

You hesitated, yet you braved yourself to tell them about the group of students gossiping earlier. Sebastian's and Ominis' face turned sour as you progressed through your story. Ominis leaned down and gently patted your back, "For the love of Merlin, don't listen to them. Purebloods maniacs aren't all that either, they are just a pompous bunch."

Sebastian was deep in thought before he groaned, "Do you remember their faces? Which house were they in? Well, I don't mind paying them a visit-"

"Sebastian, no! I don't want to cause anymore problem, please." you grabbed his sleeve.

He sighed, "Look, if this happened again, let us know, alright? We're here for you." Sebastian put his hand on top of yours. You felt warmth spreading throughout your body. "Besides, you are more special than them. You can wield magic far stronger than those so-called Purebloods. Don't ever think that you're lower than them."

Ominis nodded, "Chin up! I'd say we should just head to Hogsmead. I bet a glass of butterbeer will cheer you up."

You sniffled and let out a giggle. "Thank you, Sebastian, Ominis. I don't know what I would do without you both." You stood up, patting the dust off your robes, "Three Broomstick sounds lovely."

Sebastian did as well, he gave your hands another squeeze, "everything will be alright. I promise you that."

The three students made their way to the pub and Ominis was right, enjoying butterbeer with your true friends was one of the best way to lift your mood.

"So... Ominis, are you paying?" Sebastian asked as the curfew drew near.

"No."

[systemadministratorclu]

🌌- Their alternate universe self

For Milo and/or Rourke from the muse reactions meme

@the-haunted-office

//Since I already had someone ask for them meeting canon Rourke, I'll have them meet canon Milo here. My Rourke will love that. :D //

They're just minding their own business, standing on the roof and looking out over everything and just enjoying an evening together when it happens. Now, people from other universes just appearing out of nowhere isn't unusual, but it's usually some random person neither of them knows. So it's not a surprise when a portal opens and drops someone into their midst, rather, the surprise is who that someone is.

As soon as he arrives, after groaning a little from the fall, he's on his hands and knees searching for something. Probably the pair of glasses right by Rourke's foot. He picks them up while Milo goes to the stranger's side.

"Are you okay? Anything hurt?" He asks, causing the stranger to look up at him.

"Here you go, I think these are yours." Rourke adds, placing the glasses on the stranger's fingers. He tenses up when Rourke speaks, but he takes the glasses and carefully puts them on......and immediately scrambles away from Rourke.

"H-How are you here? Y-You're dead! I saw you die! I saw you die in the volcano by Atlantis!" They're both shocked by the voice and by what they see now. Because Milo finds himself staring at.....well......himself. And Rourke is now looking at two Milos. A pair of rings on one's hand is quite literally the only difference between the two. Well, that and the new one is dressed in Atlantean clothes and barefoot, where his Milo is in a tank top, military pants, and boots. But other than that, they're exactly the same.

"Uh, no, I can assure you I'm very much alive." Rourke said, raising an eyebrow to conceal his 'I am so screwed' look. There were two inhumanly adorable little nerds now.

"Hey, it's okay." His Milo assured, "He's right, he's very alive. And you don't have to be scared of him, he's-Lyle, stop making weird faces, you're gonna scare him-he's good. I know, you're scared outta your mind and confused, but you're gonna be okay."

"He tried to steal the-" Canon Milo cuts himself off as he looks closer at the big man, as the exact clone of himself at his side is too weird right now. It is definitely Rourke, and yet, it's not the Rourke he knows. This one isn't trying to kill him, for one thing. But as Canon Milo looks closer, he sees that this Rourke is wearing an Atlantean crystal and has a tattoo of the Heart just like his, except Rourke's is on the opposite shoulder. And he doesn't remember Rourke ever having a wedding ring, yet this Rourke has one. And all these features are shared by his clone at his side. Most telling about this Rourke are his eyes. Still a deep brown, but softer and warmer, looking at him with concern, not hate or bloodlust. Now he thinks about it, even the voice is different, with a softer tone to it.

Canon doesn't move away this time as Rourke sits down beside him, leaned against the wall around the rooftop. He tenses when Rourke moves closer, but all the big guy does is put an arm around him.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of ya," Rourke says, giving him a small smile as his Milo moves to his other side and leans against him until Rourke's other arm wraps around him.

"What he said." Milo agreed, "Just stick with us. You'll be okay." Canon nods, then yawns and Rourke bites back a smile......until his Milo does the same. The stars have come out on a moonless night by now.

And Rourke sits against the wall with two Milos in his arms, both of them having fallen asleep against him and a smile on his face at the double dose of cute he now holds close.

[hazbinahelluvatime]

Dead Man's Hand: Chapter 1

The past continues to haunt Husk's dreams, seemingly no matter what he does. All he wants is to move on, but he has far too many memories plaguing him. --- I wanted an excuse to write out past headcanons for Husk and here we are. If all goes well, you're in for a ride because I thought up far too much for good ol' Husker.

Some may recognize this first chapter from elsewhere, as I decided to bring it over to this new blog. I dropped it for a very, very long time, and decided to rehash it into a reader insert instead. This is the only chapter that I had publicly available, so this is more just a preview I suppose. No reader character is introduced in the first chapter, but will be in the next. Under a read more to keep separated from my author text.

The sounds and lights of the casino were considered overwhelming for many of the uninitiated around these parts. The idle chatter seemed to echo from all corners of the room, not to mention the clashing of chips and the ringing of some of the old fashioned machines mixed with music emanating from the old jukebox down at the end of the bar. However, the young boy seated at the counter had grown all my numb to it - he was raised here, and even at the age of eight he had learned to wash out and ignore the cacophony of sound. Occasionally, he felt his eyes wander to some of the crowded tables or even the colorful machines - but he had learned a while ago not to go sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. This was an adult’s world - he was just given the privilege of peeking in. 

“Niall? Sweetie?”

The boy jolted, his attention quickly swiveling back behind the counter to meet the lovely blue-grey eyes of his mother. Sometimes he wished he had her eyes instead of his father’s. At the very least though, he had her darker brown hair. 

“Yeah mama?”

“You seemed a little out of it. Are you okay sweetheart?”

Caring. She was always so caring. He wanted to be like her so badly when he got older. He wanted to make her proud to call him her son. A small smile edged on his lips as he nodded.

“I’m okay. Just thinking.” A small pause, before he rested his elbow on the counter and his cheek against his palm. “When do you think dad will let me try the slots?” 

Her smile faltered ever so slightly, a small sense of worry gleaming in her eyes as she gently prodded at his wrist. He caught the hint, adjusting himself to rest his hands back on his lap and off the counter.

“You know how he feels about that, Niall. That’s why we play cards together, remember?”

“I know, mama… I know.” He mumbled softly, a frown crossing his features, “I just wanna try and play like the customers do.”

The two were silent for a moment as Niall’s mother closed her eyes, quietly contemplating something that Niall couldn’t begin to guess. He could tell just how deep in thought she was - she always scrunched her brow in the same way it was now when she was, after all. Finally, her eyes opened, and he immediately saw the playful twinkle in them as she grinned.

“How about this? When your dad goes on some of his trips, I’ll teach you how to play some real card games. Just like some of the customers do at the other tables.”

“I can’t, mama. I don’t have the money.”

“We don’t need money between us, sweetie. I’ll just teach you how to play and we can have some friendly games. Then when you’re older, you’ll be able to play for yourself. How does that sound?”

Excitement filled him immediately and he nodded with just as much energy as he felt. The idea of playing the adult card games filled him with a sense of pride he couldn’t even begin to explain. He wanted to make her so proud - and maybe, just maybe, if he could get a good hold of how to play… Maybe he could somehow even make his father just a little proud, too. 

“Now, why don’t you go outside and play, Niall? It’s too nice out for you to stay cooped up in here all day. Why don’t you go see if you can find Conan or Treasa? I’m sure they’re running around in town, don’t you think? Probably looking for you, I’d say.” She reached out to lightly pat her son’s head, gently petting over his hair as she did so. He hummed softly in thought for a moment - not because he didn’t want to go out and play, but he really liked to spend time with his mother. His father always made comments about it. Comments he really, really didn’t like.

“Niall?”

Apparently, he had been too deep in his thoughts. He didn’t even fully realize he had forgotten to answer. The young brunette finally gave a small, slow nod, feeling just a bit more at ease from his mother’s reassuring smile. He finally moved to hop off the bar stool, going around the counter so he could hug his mother before he finally pulled back - just in time for her to give him a gentle kiss on the cheek. He grinned at her and finally headed out the door, excited to see what his friends might be up to.

--- Husk awoke with a jolt, sitting bolt upright at the counter. His eyes gleamed in the darkness as he quickly looked around, trying to readjust to his surroundings. No one was around - he was alone in the lobby.

He was… alone.

A low, rough sigh escaped his lips. His throat felt dry, his mind fuzzy, and his back ached from the poor position he had been in while he slept. He felt so tired. A quick glance at the clock told him he had barely slept more than an hour or so. His ears twitched back ever so slightly as he grabbed at the still open bottle next time him, taking a deep drink without any form of hesitation.

These dreams always came to him. Dreams of a past he wished he could forget. Dreams that could do nothing for him now, where he was. He felt his claws dig into his palm ever so slightly - he was holding the bottle far too hard to be comfortable, and he set it down again while he let the burn of the alcohol wake him up a bit.

Hopefully, it would help him forget. That’s what he told himself anyway. Hopefully, it would help him forget and move on. That’s all he wanted to happen, at this point.

Of course, it never did.

He rubbed at his temples, knowing that he should technically try and get some proper sleep in a proper place, but knowing that even if he did try it wouldn’t come to him. He was far too restless now, and far too eager to shove those dreams far into the recesses of his mind.

No. For now, he would focus on cleaning up the bar. He didn’t want to sleep until he was either too exhausted or too damn drunk to dream. With a sigh, he grabbed a clean rag and began his nightly cleaning routine. After all…

“It’s gonna be a long fuckin’ night.”

[crimson-calligraphyx]

"So, this is goodbye?" I asked Noah, my throat burning as I tried to hold back my cries. I was angry. I was hurt. This was so sudden; there were no discussions leading up to Noah's decision.

"Come with me to LA, Meels," he pleads, reaching for my hand. I retract from his touch, shaking my head at him. "Noah, I'm about to graduate, I can't. You know that." He sighs, raking his hand through his hair in frustration. Why was he so frustrated? It's not my fault he dropped out of high school to pursue his music career. It's not my fault he thought I'd drop everything in my life for him and follow along like some love-struck puppy.

He hangs his head, defeated, when he sees I'm not budging. "I know. I just thought maybe you'd want to get out of here and start fresh." I snort sarcastically, folding my arms over my chest. "You are absurd, Noah. You know how hard I studied to get into UR." He sighs again, harshly, and picks his head up to look at me. His eyes were sullen, his face crestfallen as he accepted my decline in his offer.

I turn away from him, so I don't have to look at his face. I can't stand to see how upset he is when this is his decision to leave, not mine. I can't stand that he's making me feel like the villain.

"Nick is coming with me, you know," he says as I begin to walk away, stopping me dead in my tracks. "What?" I snapped, spinning back around with anger burning in my veins. He cringes at my sudden hostility. "I'm sorry, Amelia. This is what's best for me and Nick, for the band. You have to understand that." I shake my head at him in disbelief, backing away from him. "I hope LA treats you well. Goodbye, Noah."

"Mommy, someone's at the door," Leora tugs at my pant leg, pulling me from my thoughts. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I brushed my hand across the top of her head delicately. I wasn't ready to open the door and face the man I hadn't seen or even spoken to in five years, and I was certainly not ready to spend a weekend locked in a cabin with him and my family for Christmas.

Each year around Christmas time, Nick would fly home and spend the holiday with us. The weekend before Christmas, we'd journey up to our family cabin with our parents and celebrate the holiday. For some unknown reason, Nick decided to have Noah tag along this year, which didn't settle well with me considering our past. Why he thought this was a good idea, I'll never know.

I sighed after a moment and smiled down at my daughter. "Is there? Let's go see who it is!" She beams at me before trotting over to the front door, throwing it open. "Uncle Nicky!" she exclaims happily as she throws herself into his awaiting arms. Nick scoops her up and peppers kisses on her face, having her erupt into giggles. He settles her onto his hip after his kiss-attack, "How's my favorite munchkin doing? You excited for Santa to come visit us at the cabin?" "Uh-huh!" she bobs her head enthusiastically. "I've been a good girl aaallll year, so Santa is going to bring me everything I asked for." He laughs, "Is that so?" "Yeah! Mommy said so," she smiles over at me, "right?"

I make my way over to them and brush her bangs back, kissing her now bare forehead. "Yes, babygirl. You've been a very good girl. You're surely on Santa's Nice List this year." I give Nick a kiss on the cheek as he hands Leora back over to me, who settled in against my side. I take a step back for him to make his way into the living room, his suitcase in hand just as another entity makes an appearance at the door.

My heart was in my throat as my eyes landed on a pair of dark brown eyes, the same as Leora's. My breathing hitched as I took in his gentle stare, a friendly yet unsure smile curling at the corner of his lips. He was still just as good looking as he was in high school, even more so now that his facial features matured, and his haircut no longer covered half his face.

The tattoo on his neck was placed just right where it defined his jawline handsomely—stop it, Amelia.

Leora was already cowering from the tall stranger, burying her face into my sweater, and clinging onto me for dear life. "It's okay, Leo," I cooed while giving her a little bounce. "This is Noah... Uncle Nick's friend. He's spending the weekend with us, can you say 'hi'?" She whines, shaking her head back and forth against my chest. I chuckled, giving her a kiss on top of her head. "It's okay baby," I whispered, "go on over to Nana and Papa." I drop her to her feet, and she scurries away.

"Long time no see," Noah says as he closes the door behind him. "I didn't know you had a kid." "Yeah," I scoffed. "I mean, why would you?" I watch him tense briefly at my curtness, promptly pursing his lips into a tight line and nodding slowly. "Right. How've you been?" "Fine," I kept it short.

I watch his Adam's apple bob as he swallows. He looks as nervous as I feel. I suppose I could be nicer, more welcoming, and ask him how he was doing, but truthfully, I didn't really care. I turned on my heel and made my way into the kitchen where the rest of the family was, leaving Noah at the foyer by himself.

I smiled to myself as I leaned up against the entryway with my arms crossed, observing the scene before me. Nick, my mom, and Leora were sitting at the kitchen table attempting to put together a gingerbread house as my dad made his checklist for our trip, surely checking it twice.

These were the moments I lived for: the innocence of Leora as she applied an unnecessary amount of icing to the corners of the house as they cemented together—crooked, of course—the excess winding up on her arms, face, and in her hair. Her little tongue poking out as she concentrated on sticking the gumdrops and peppermints on the roof just right. Her giggles as Nick teased her by moving some of her decorations around, mom scolding him to let her be. Dad grumbling to himself as he made sure we had all the essentials for the weekend away.

Everything halted when Noah made his way into the kitchen, the tension filling the room as Leora stared at him with unease, everyone else at me. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, my heart pounding with anxiety from the uncertainty of how this would all play out looming over me. My family knew of the situation at hand; Noah did not.

I caught my dad's eye, and I know he sees my apprehension. He nods his head just enough for me to see, telling me he would find a way to ease the tension. He clears his throat and taps a spot on his list several times, breaking the silence. "I don't have any kerosene for the lamps in case we lose power in the cabin. Amelia, would you mind running out to the store and getting some?" I let go of the breath I didn't even know I was holding and nodded. "Sure," I agree, tacking on a fake smile.

I make my way out the kitchen, grabbing my keys off the key rack and shoulder on a jacket. I make my way down the steps, stopping short when I see that my car was blocked in by an unknown vehicle. I sighed, turning around to head back inside to ask Nick to move their rental, only to come face-to-face with Noah. "Let me give you a ride. They haven't finished plowing, the roads are shit," he says.

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and shake my head, "No, that's alright. Just move the rental and I'll be right back." He raises an eyebrow, eyeing my tiny Corolla. "You sure that thing will make it?" I take note in the difference of our vehicles; their rental being a Tahoe, it would make for a safer trip. I sighed, shrugging, "Fair point. Let's go."

The ride to the hardware store was not a comfortable one by any means. It was quiet; too quiet, not even having the radio turned on low to alleviate the tension. The only sounds were the wipers squeaking against the windshield periodically and the crunch of the snow as we drove over it slowly.

I had my elbow rested on the door, my chin planted in my hand as I stared out the window, just wishing for this weekend to be over already. My phone dinged in my hand, and I unlocked it to a picture of Leora smiling wide with Nick. His arm was over her shoulders, her grin showing how proud she was of her finished gingerbread house. I smile softly at my phone after saving the picture to my camera roll.

"She's cute," Noah's velvety voice fills the cab. I glance over at him, seeing he had been looking at my phone before I locked it. "Thanks." "How old is she?"

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Here we go; cue the small talk. I exhale, "She's three." I lie about her age by a year, hoping to deter him from the truth. He stays silent for a moment, and my heart begins to pound as I prayed to God that he doesn't see through my lie about her age and put two and two together. Not yet anyway. "Huh. Nick never told me he had a niece," he says matter-of-factly.

I wanted so badly to tell him that it didn't pertain to him, but deep down I knew that it did. Leora was Noah's daughter, after all, and he had every right to know about her. I never told him simply due to the fact we severed our ties, and I figured we'd be better off without him in our lives. We've been doing just fine without him.

I shrugged, "Must not have been on top priority, with your music and all." He lets out a sarcastic chuckle. "Must not have." I slumped against my door, putting my chin back in my hand. The rest of the ride to the store was quiet after that, the air thick between us.

We didn't speak to one another until we grabbed the kerosene and headed back to the Tahoe. Noah puts a hand on my shoulder when I go to open the back door to put the cans in, stopping me. I roll my eyes and turn my head towards him, "What? Can't let me put these in here myself?" He shakes his head, tugging me away from the rental. "There's something on the door handle. Someone tampered with the car—stay away from it." I furrow my brows and scoffed. "What are you talking about, Noah? We're the only ones out here."

He moves me behind him as he makes his way over to the Tahoe, cupping the sides of his eyes to look in through the tinted windows. I put the kerosene on the ground and folded my arms over my chest, now annoyed and cold, watching him take his time inspecting the car. I watched him shake his head and shrug as he turned back towards me, indicating there wasn't anything out of the ordinary inside. "All clear," he says, opening the back door for me.

I pick up the cans and place them on the floor before heading around the back, making my way to the passenger seat. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a dark figure as I rounded the backside of the Tahoe. I barely had time to gasp before he took hold of me, spinning me around and wrapping his arm around my throat. "I finally found you," he whispers menacingly in my ear. "No—" I tried to call for Noah, but he slaps a gloved hand over my mouth.

I tried prying at his arm, hoping I'd get him to release me as he dragged me backwards. Gasping against his hand, I tasted something sweet as my mouth began to dry up, my head becoming cloudy. The more I tried to fight against him, the less air I was able to take in, the panic now settling in quickly. Becoming weak, I gave up and let my body go limp in his grasp as he continued to hold his hand against my mouth and nose.

The last thing I saw before fading away was a blurry image of Noah, panic-stricken as he watched my captor take hold of me.

|Chapter 2|

[mandomover]

The Rookie

Part Fifteen - The day after the night before 

You try to come to terms with what happened last night and you wonder how to play it, while news comes in of the Avianca bombing. 

Warnings: swearing, smoking, mention of alcohol, mention of sex, mention of plane bombing

Words: 4750ish

Next ¦ Masterlist

The phone rings, pulling you from a deep sleep. Your hand reaches out for the phone, but you feel only an empty bedside table. You open your eyes and squint at it. There's no phone, because it's not your table, and it's not your bed, and you're not alone. 

You freeze when you hear a rustle behind you, before a lamp flicks on, and hear Javi's gravelly voice as he answers the phone. 

"Peña." 

You sit upright slowly, pulling the sheet up around you to cover your bare body. 

"What?" Javi hisses.

You turn to him on the bed at the brusque sound of his tone through that one word. He's sitting on the edge, his side of the sheet pooling around his waist covering him, revealing his bronze back, muscular and taut. 

"Yeah, fuck- I'll be right in. Er-" he looks over his shoulder at you, heavy brown eyes looking at you from under tousled locks. 

"Yeah, I'll er- I'll pick up Rookie, no- I'll call her and tell her. See you soon." 

Javi sets the phone down before standing, the sheet falling and you avert your gaze, wanting to give him some privacy as he searches for his discarded clothes, despite what occurred between your bodies not hours ago. You look for something to cover yourself with and as you spy Javi's shirt you had borrowed, you reach for it, pulling it over your head and standing, letting the bed sheet fall as the shirt does, dropping to your thigh. You flick your messy hair out from the collar and look up to see Javi eyeing you lustfully, his mouth agape. You catch him just as he pulls his jeans up over his bare hips, buttoning them closed. You force a smile on your lips when you notice him looking at you. 

"So, what was that about?" 

"Fuck, hermosa," he breathes as his eyes trail up and down your body. You feel naked, despite being in his shirt. 

"Javi!" you snap, and he stirs, mouth snapping shut. 

"Oh shit, right, um, there's been a bomb… a flight… all passengers dead… " He trails off and shrugs as your own mouth drops open. 

Fuck. That's huge. A bomb? Who could have… 

Your own thoughts trail off as you piece it together, mouth dry from your slight hangover, so you rasp out, "Escobar can't be behind this, can he?" 

Javi nodded slowly, swallowing thickly as your eyes widen in shock. 

You didn't think he could stoop any lower but piecing that  together, he had bombed a flight? This fucking man. 

"Shit. So, are we heading in?" 

"Yeah, we need to hit the ground running, get on top of this."

"OK. Um, I need to go home first." 

You gesture to the shirt you're wearing as way of an explanation and let your hand fall limply to your side. 

"Sure, I'll take you there on the way," he says easily, handing you the sweats he had peeling off your legs and thrown onto his side of the room last night. 

You slide them over your calves and pull them up to easily cover your hips as Javi pulls out a shirt from the wardrobe, tossing it over his head. 

You search for your shoes in silence, finding them still in the bathroom where you discarded them last night. You eye yourself in the mirror as you stand from lacing them up, eyes heavy from lack of sleep as usual, and too much alcohol, but there's something else in your features that lets you take an extra second in front of the mirror. Your lips are plump and full, kiss-swollen, and your cheeks are rosy. You smile at yourself. You feel satisfied. More than satisfied, for Javi was as good as the rumors suggest, and you had fun, and you haven't had an orgasm (or two) like that in at least a year, but you feel cold fear creep in at the edges, pushing away those happy thoughts. What if Javi was looking in his bedroom mirror but feeling something entirely different? What if he felt disgust? Or regret? What if he was thinking of a way to keep distance between you right this very second while you mooned at yourself in the mirror? You caused this. Anything he felt was because of you and your actions. You let this happen, begged for it to happen. With Javi? This wasn't what your relationship was about. Purely platonic, for nothing had led to suggest that anything more would ever occur, right?

Until it did. 

Now what? 

You rush from the bathroom and your expectant, hesitant reflection and wait by the front door as Javi gathers his things. You shift from foot to foot, not sure if you should help tidy the place and the mess you made before you go, but when Javi enters the living room, bringing the smell of his spicy cologne, you forget about it, turning to the door instead and rushing out before him. 

The car journey is relatively quiet, much of it spent staring out the window, forcing yourself to think about what you might have waiting on you when you get to work and hear the official reports on what has happened. 

You can't think about last night. 

Before long, Javi pulls up in front of your apartment and you turn to him.

"Do you wanna wait here for me or would you rather come in, or?" You leave the question open, unsure of what you can offer him and he shakes his head. 

"It's OK, I'll wait here for you, have a smoke."

"Sure, I'll not be long." 

You jump out and slam the car door closed behind you as you sprint up the steps into your apartment. As you turn to close the door to your home, you notice Javi is watching you, cigarette already lit and dangling between his lips, eyes locked on you. 

After the quickest shower of your life, so quick the water didn't even have time to heat up properly, you grab a change of clothes and slip into them, piling your wet hair into a bun on top of your head and flicking the tiniest bit of makeup on to make yourself feel more alive. 

As you head to the door of the bedroom, you scoop the clothes you discarded on the way to the shower and toss them in the hamper, Javi's shirt crumpled on top. You're almost out the door when you pause, and backtrack slowly to the hamper. Peering down into the basket you see the shirt on top and you inhale slowly. 

You slept with Javi. You. And Javi. Javi Peña. Notorious womanizer. What the fuck are you supposed to do now? 

You know Javi's reputation, well known as a 'hit em and quit em' type. You didn't want that though. Javi had been such a good friend to you in your time in Medellin, and you didn't want to suffer the same fate as most of the women you saw in the office, glaring through slitted eyes and whispers to gal pals about what a dick he was for never calling them back, never even to speak to them again. But what could you do besides hope that that wouldn't happen to you, hope that your friendship had meant more than an accidental one night stand. You asked for it, you fucking loved it and you would need to be a big girl and ride out the consequences. 

You shut the bedroom door, closing the shirt and your thoughts in the room behind you and head back out to the crisp morning air, sun weakly trying to break through the clouds. 

Javi's truck isn't where you left it not fifteen minutes ago. You glance around, peering up and down the street but you don't see his truck anywhere. 

"Fuck," you sigh, starting off down the street towards the bus stop. You shouldn't really be surprised he wouldn't even stick around long enough to drive you to work after he had told you he would. 

Leaving you has just confirmed that he definitely regretted last night. You hoped your friendship meant more than last night but it doesn't look like Javi thinks the same when he's done to you what he does to all the other women he sleeps with then moves on immediately from. 

A part of you had hoped you were different to the other girls, the ones who sidled up to him in the hopes of taking and claiming Javier Peña. This was a one off. Could be ignored and forgotten about as if it didn't happen. You know it happened, and your legs certainly do, stiff and sore from the activities a few hours ago but you could be a fucking adult about it, could he not do the same? 

As you trudge along the street towards the stop, you get more annoyed, unwilling to believe that Javi has abandoned you this quickly. Annoyed at Javi, and annoyed at yourself for pushing yourself on him and causing this. 

Were you that shit in bed he couldn't even stand to stay the length of a journey to work? You didn't think he had complained last night, quite the opposite, but maybe in the harsh light of day things were different. 

You lean against the bus stop once you get to the end of the street, poking through your purse for some spare change for a ticket. Just as you find the last bit of shrapnel you hear a honk and look up surprised. Javi grins at you from behind his dark aviators, leaning on the steering wheel and looking at you with amusement. 

You huff audibly as you slide into the passenger seat. 

"You OK?" 

"I thought you'd gone on ahead," you snap, buckling yourself in. 

"No hermosa, I got you coffee, thought we could both do with it this morning."

Javi holds out a steaming cup of takeaway coffee with a sweet smile, and your fingers curl gratefully around it. 

"Oh." 

There's a knot tightening in your stomach as you feel instantly foolish for jumping to conclusions based on stupid rumors. You weren't the same as the girls in the office. You were different in so many ways, and you were actually friends (fuck Murphy for making you question your meaning of friendship yet again, like a teenager), assuming wrong yet again with Javi. When had he ever given you the impression he would let you down? Why start now just because of what happened last night? 

These thoughts were tumbling round your brain, slowly looping over one another in your hangover tinged mind. You didn't know what to think.

"Thanks," you mutter, taking a sip and instantly scalding your tongue. 

"Did you really think I would have just left you there?" 

He frowns, brows creased tightly and lips in a confused and suspecting 'O'. He touches your arm gently, his fingers curling round your forearm. 

Those curled fingers, curled like they were curled inside you last night. 

You shrug as a response, slipping your arm from his touch, face reddening as you recall the intense feelings and heat of last night, slight guilt for ever doubting him.

Javi sighs but leaves you alone with your thoughts, the air hanging heavily as you try to organize them. Despite feeling guilty, your friendship has probably been irreparably damaged by one night's lust filled misdemeanors. 

You were drunk, but not stupidly drunk you did anything you didn't want to do. You were the one who initiated it, and more than willingly so. 

But what would this mean for Javi? Now he ticked off another conquest, even if it was you, would he treat you like the other women were treated, another notch on the bedpost? You still had to work together for fuck sake, you couldn't handle the cold shoulder from him. Not when you had been so vulnerable with him. Not when you were always the most vulnerable with him. And you had to admit, you'd been vulnerable with him alot longer than just last night. 

Your friendship had long kept you going when things seemed too tough, tied together by the horrors you had both seen and lived. And you couldn't lose that. That, you were sure of. 

No one else made you smile or laugh the way he did. No one made you believe in your own ability the way Javi did, the subtle nods and encouraging words cast your way like they didn't brighten your whole day. No one else was a patch on Javi. 

Murphy was also your friend, despite pushing almost all of your buttons on the daily. But there was something about Javier that made you realize you cared a little bit more about him than you maybe did for others. You had allowed yourselves to be more vulnerable with each other in ways you hadn't been with anyone else before and that's what stood you apart. 

And that's how you'd ended up together in the first place. Knowing there was a part of you that only Javi could fix, Javi could soothe, with drink, with his words, by his mere presence alone. 

The crippling vulnerability which you had exasperated by alcohol, encouraging you to cling to him as he consoled you, and you pushed it further by pushing yourself on him. He hadn't exactly said no either, but it just messed things up from here on out. 

But he was simply your best friend. And you didn't want to ruin that. You couldn't ruin that. You would fix this. 

When you push the office doors open, there's a quiet hum of chatter, and the air is already thick with smoke. Your brain is throbbing with a headache from all your jumbled thoughts but you swore to yourself you would concentrate on work; that was more important right now. You follow the noise and at the back of the room outside the office Carrillo claims for himself, is an old TV set, tuned into the breaking news report about the airplane explosion. Too many bodies are huddled in front, trying to catch a glimpse of what the reports are saying but you can hear some bits of information float towards you. 

"107 pasajeros…. esto es por culpa de Pablo Escobar… ¿Qué hará el gobierno para poner fin a los crímenes?..." 

What were the government going to do to stop this shit? The polls were closing this week and a new president would be appointed. It looked like it could be Gaviria, but that's a hell of a welcome. Have to address the country and tell them that Escobar- the peoples Robin Hood- was responsible for the deaths of 107 people? And why the hell had he done it? What logical explanation could there be to take down a commercial plane with civilians? You needed to find Javi and Murphy to work it out, but you had run like a coward into the building the second you'd parked up, claiming you had to pee quickly, and you hadn't seen Murphy yet. As you round the corner by your desks you notice Murphy slumped in his chair, cigarette in hand, staring blankly ahead. 

"Murphy?" 

The ash falls from his cigarette onto the desk below and Murphy makes no sign to move, so you lift the burning cigarette from his fingers and take a deep drag before you stub it out in the ashtray on his desk, sinking heavily into your own chair, jarring your ribs. You hiss and then raise your fingers to your temples to try and ease the stress away. 

"Murphy." 

When he still doesn't move, or even blink, you lean forward and snap your fingers in front of him, vying for his attention. 

"Murphy, c'mon man, what's up?"

His eyes snap up to look at yours and they're wide, and he finally opens his mouth, as if he's about to answer when Javi comes round the corner and throws a stack of papers onto the desk. Murphy drops his gaze to the desk and shrinks slightly. 

"Got them," declares Javi. 

"Got what?" you snap, shifting your attention to him as he sits, shrugging out of his leather jacket. 

"The full list of passengers on board that flight. Carrillo has some CNPO's down there and got the list. We're going to have a look and see if we can connect anything to Escobar."

"Right," you sigh, and "Thanks Javi." 

You wait for him to look up from the stack so you can motion towards Murphy, but he just flicks through the stack. You clear your throat but neither men look at you. 

"Thanks Javi."

He still doesn't look up. 

"I said, 'thanks Javier'," you said pointedly, and Javi squints in confusion as he finally looks up at you.

He notices you flicking your eyes at Murphy and he cocks his head as he takes his partner in. 

"What the fuck's wrong with you Steve?" 

Murphy takes a deep breath and finally talks to you. 

"I had a bad feeling last night."

You just stare at Murphy expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate. 

"You and Rookie were in Cartegena and I was assigned as security for Gaviria. Both Gaviria and Sandoval were meant to be on that flight, until I told them I had a fucking feeling in my gut telling me to stop them. I don't know why they listened but I'm sure as hell glad they did. But someone was on that flight with that bomb and I'm willing to bet it all it was because of them."

Fuck.

You share a glance with Javi, before he grimaces at Murphy. 

"You did well Steve," he says, curtly. 

Murphy looks wrecked, looks like he hadn't slept at all, and his pale, sweaty face has slight stubble you can see from the other side of the desk. 

Murphy always shaves no matter what. 

He plucks another cigarette from the box on the desk and lights it, throwing the lighter back down. You creep closer, carefully, afraid you might startle him like a wild animal and you take his hand in your own, his large fingers engulfing yours. 

"Murphy, you did do well. This is what it's all about. You had a feeling and you acted on it. You saved their lives. You-" 

"I got 107 people killed Rookie."

He inhales and taps the cigarette harshly at the ashtray, ash skittering everywhere but in the ashtray. 

"You didn't get 107 people killed Murph, Escobar did. And we're going to find out how and why. If anything, you saved two of those people, and one is about to become Colombia's next president so you've done a great honor to the country we're trying to help protect."

Murphy snorts but squeezes your hand slightly, and you return the gesture with a light smile. 

"I still could have stopped it," he whispers. "I could have spent more time looking around to see why I had a bad feeling and who was on that flight. I might have seen a sicario and could have stopped the flight and saved them all."

"Forget it. You didn't look, and what's done is done," Javi interjects. 

You glare at him, his cutthroat approach maybe not the vibe you need right now but you say nothing to see how this will play out. 

"They're all dead and you can't change that. I doubt Escobar told one of the men he trusts to guard his life to just go on board a flight and blow it up. They've involved someone else. Someone they trusted, but not as valuable to Escobar." 

"And now we're going to go through that list and see who it might be, OK?" 

Murphy clears his throat and nods.

"OK, let's start looking."

Jaime Carrera. 

That was the name that came up short. 

47 passengers had return tickets back to Bogota. 

34 passengers were on the return leg back to Cali. 

15 were businessmen who had open tickets but were accounted for by their places of work and business. 

4 weren't on the flight; Gaviria and Sandoval had come off at the last second, and two were accounted for in their homes with a bad bout of food poisoning. 

6 were crew members. 

The last passenger was a young father from the comuna, who picked up work via odd jobs to provide for his wife and newborn daughter. So why, or how, did he have a one way ticket to Cali? 

You had got straight onto the list of names Javi had received from Carrillo, and you had gone full investigation mode on it. It's taken you just under forty-eight hours, but that wasn't a feat; you hadn't been working all that time. 

Javi had given you and Murphy a lift home, thankful for Murphy's presence in the car so you didn't need to talk to Javi about what had happened and grateful he didn't even try to bring it up, and then last night, you insisted you would make your own way home when he offered to drive you home again, citing you would rather get stuck into your work. 

He had hesitated, eyeing you dubiously as you stared him out, your own eyes caving and dropping to your work before you, before he was pulled reluctantly away by Murphy. 

The cleaning crew had woken you up with a start at your desk at 5am, and you got straight back to it, ignoring the creak in your neck and your crumpled clothes. You worked it out just before Javi and Murphy arrived, telling them immediately who the bomber was. A little more research gave you a back story and a family, and you agreed it would be beneficial to pay his wife a visit to ask questions. 

When you pulled up to the dingy house, a scrawny girl answered, 19 at most, with a fussy baby in her arms. She eyed you all suspiciously, even more so when you flashed her your badges and asked could you come inside. As you sat opposite her on the couch, you noticed a shelf with a portrait of Escobar sitting proudly on it with candles littered around. She had a shrine to Escobar here like he was fucking Jesus Christ himself. 

Pulling yourself away now from the smug face of Christ Escobar, you look at the girl before you, but she's giving nothing away, looking at the blonde baby instead of you. 

"Where is Jaime?" Javi asks. 

She shrugs, "Don't know." 

"When was the last time you saw him?" 

"Don't know." Another shrug. 

"Are you aware he was on the Avianca Flight 203?" 

Shrug. 

"Your husband is dead. Do you not care as to why?" 

"Javi," you growl, placing a hand on his arm as if to restrain him. He scowls but his mouth snaps shut, jaw ticking. 

You sigh as Javi leans back into the couch, rubbing his hands on his thighs before he rubs his brow, jittery from lack of answers from the girl. 

You try a softer approach, and plaster a fake smile on your face as you grin up at the shrine. 

"You like Escobar huh?" 

Shrug. 

"Have you met him before?" 

"No," she answers quickly. 

"Ah. Have you ever met any of his men perhaps?" 

Shrug. 

You feel a twitch at your eye, her lack of anything bothering you as it clearly had Javi. 

"Any of his friends, ever come to see you or your husband at the house?"

"No, why would they?" 

It's your turn to shrug. Your neck is prickling, you can feel both Murphy and Javi's eyes on you and you lean in close to the girl. 

"They won't protect you, you know." Her green eyes look up at you, unfazed and unfocused, like she's not really taking you in but you plough on. "We can protect you, and your daughter, but you need to be honest with us." 

"I need to feed her."

"We can help you, we-" 

"I need you to leave so I can care for my daughter please." 

Javi grunts and gets to his feet, the chair scraping on the floor as he lifts himself out of it and out of the door. You hear Murphy sigh and follow Javi, and you look pleadingly at the girl before you nod your thanks and reluctantly follow the men outside, sure you're not going to get anything from her. 

"She doesn't know the danger she is in," you tell Javi and Murphy when you catch up to them as they walk toward the jeep. 

"Oh I'm sure she fucking does," Murphy spits. 

"I have a bad feeling about this, guys."

"What is it with you pair and 'bad feelings'?" Javi bristles. You ignore him but you know you're onto something. You feel an uneasiness creep over you as you walk away from the house, guilt settling in the pit of your stomach as if something bad has happened already.

"She's not safe here. We need to move her before the sicarios get her."

"We can't help her if she doesn't admit to knowing anything," Javi muses. 

You know you can't, but you don't like this feeling washing over you and you want to protect the young mother. Javi slows so his pace matches yours as Murphy stomps on ahead and he offers you a cigarette. 

"You OK, hermosa?" 

"Frustrated," you grouse, taking the cigarette from him. "I don't know how I'm supposed to help but I know she knows something." 

"Not what I meant," he smirks, jostling you with an elbow. "We didn't really get a chance to talk about the other night." 

Your face burns and you retort, "There's nothing to talk about."

You haven't slept, you're in yesterday's clothes and in dire need of a shower and a drink, and Javi bringing up the two of you sleeping together, right now, is the last thing you need.

You haven't even had time to think about it yourself, other than fantasize about how great it was, let alone talk to Javi about it. You inhale the cigarette quickly, and hand it back to him as you approach the jeep. 

"Don't worry about it, was a one time thing, won't happen again." 

Javi's steps falter, and you leave him behind you as you shove your way past Murphy right as his hand goes out to the handle of the rear door and you pull yourself into the seat, staring out of the opposite window so you can't see Javi when he finally gets into the car. 

Oh god, that was one way to stop that conversation. 

You know you're crimson but you refuse to look anywhere but out the window as you drive through the streets of the comuna on the way back to the compound, Murphy making small talk that neither you nor Javi respond to. You feel Javi's eyes burning into the side of your face from the mirror but you refuse to look at him, hiding from his glare. 

It's the safest thing to do. Play aloof so he knows you feel the same way he does. Act the opposite way all those other women act so he doesn't think you're a clingy mess, which, you're not, so hopefully it doesn't wreck your friendship and you can go back to the way you were before that night. 

If you play it this way, cool and unaffected, like it meant nothing at all, Javi might drop it, and then you can go back to the way you were. Granted it was definitely the best sex you've ever had, absolutely mind blowing, and that keeps niggling in the back of your mind, but you can't keep thinking about it, it won't get you anywhere. 

Christ, it got you nowhere when you were in the shower and had to use your own fingers to help ease the tension thinking about it brought you. It wasn't the same though, your own fingers pale in comparison to how Javi's worked you, how everything Javi did worked you and made you feel so damn good, in so many ways. You have to stop thinking about it. Have to get back to how things were, and if that means pretending it didn't happen then that's what you would do.

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[bilightningwhumper]

Shadow of a Shield (Old Version)

~plans to rewrite/modify~

Prologue

Masterlist . Next>>

Summary:

Steve goes back to 1949 with the intention of living the rest of his life out with Peggy. Instead, he finds an unexpected surprise. Jumping through time up until the end of Endgame.

Ao3 Link

Sometime in 1949

     Steve trekked through the woods slowly. Hopefully, this was the right direction toward a particular house. Returning the stones felt faster than this short walk from town.

     Luckily, no one recognized him as Captain America, though roughly three years had passed.

     He wasn't sure how he would explain this to Peggy yet. Time travel alone would be odd enough. Then again, she had seen him turn from a sickly scrawny man into a tall, muscular supersoldier. So anything was possible. If nothing else, his scent had probably remained unchanged.

     Just as the trees started to part, he heard an achingly familiar voice calling out.

     "Jamie? Jamie, dearest, where did you run off to?"

     Peeking around the last of the trees, he saw a pup, maybe two or three years old, toddling around the back of a small cottage.

     She kept picking up rocks, frowning at them before dropping them for the next. Short wispy brown hair fluttered around her face in the soft summer breeze. If Steve didn't know better, he'd think she was a younger Peggy. But she was too young to be Peggy's daughter. And it couldn't be a niece either because her brother was dead. So who-?

     He accidentally stepped on a twig, snapping himself out of his thoughts.

     Sharp blue eyes met his own. Startled, he froze, thoughts racing.

     This didn't make any sense. This girl looked like she could be Peggy and his daughter. Their pup.

     "Jamie!"

     The wind changed direction as Peggy stepped out of the cottage. Both her scent and the pup's drifted to him. Peggy's was still familiar: foxglove mixed with the smell of rain before a storm.

     The pup's, on the other hand…

     Steve had to fight back a protective growl. Somehow, this pup was his. She had no unique scent yet, being so small. It was still a mix of Peggy's and his own.

     Jamie, he assumed now, toddled towards Peggy, holding up a stone.

     Peggy smiled, kneeling to the child's height. "What's this, love?" she asked, taking the offered pebble.

     "Pops in the woods," Jamie said, so softly Steve barely heard her with his advanced hearing.

     He darted back around the tree, not before missing the shocked look on Peggy's face.

     "What do you mean, sweetheart?" he heard her ask.

     "In the woods." the pup insisted, sounding frustrated.

     Steve didn't have to look at Peggy to see her sigh and fond look. "Well, why don't you go inside and let Uncle Jarvis get you ready for dinner? I'll give this to your Pops."

     He could hear shuffling and started to panic. Should he just go now? Leave without them ever knowing? Go back to the future to be with Bucky instead?

     "Steve?" Peggy's voice tentatively called out, startling him out of his thoughts. Her scent grew stronger as leaves snapped and crunched nearby. "Steve, is that you?"

     Taking a deep breath, he stepped out from behind the tree, coming face to face with Peggy. "Hi." he breathed out softly.

     She didn't look as surprised as he expected. Startled but was not surprised. "You're older," she said simply.

     He chuckled, scratching behind his neck. "It's a long story."

     Peggy's small smile made him melt inside. "I've no doubt." She looked behind her towards the house. "But I don't think we have time for you to tell it."

     That made him pause. "Peggy, I came back to be with you. So we could grow old together."

     Her laugh was sad as she turned back to him, that faint smile still there. "I'm not surprised. But your place is with Bucky. We both know that. He's your mate." Before he could say anything, she said, "Your scent isn't sour again, like when you learned about the 107th or when Bucky fell off the train. So either you've found him again somehow, or you've moved on."

     His throat grew tighter. Peggy could always see right through him.

     "But our pup…."

     Peggy gave him a sharp look. "Jamie deserves a normal life. I've kept her safe this long."

     He raised his hands, backing away. "It's just…" he hesitated before continuing, "You never mentioned Jamie. And I haven't seen her before now. In the future, that is."

     That made her tense. The silence was almost unbearable as she faced the house.

     "Jamie is unique," she said finally. The breeze blew her hair back, her scent filling the air. "She will find you when she's ready."

     Before he could say anything, she turned and took his hand. With the other, she pressed something small into his palm.

     "Trust me, Steve." Peggy looked deep into his eyes, her smile sad and scent content. "Trust our pup. Go home."

     And with that, she left, her scent yet again doomed to be a memory.

     Looking into his palm, he saw the small stone his pup had picked up earlier.

     Jamie.

     Taking a breath, Steve let out a sigh. He turned away from the house to teleport back to the present. Back to Bucky. Back home.

     Hopefully, he’ll find his pup.

— — — — — —

2016-Fall

     Footsteps pounded down a metal hallway. An unimpressed woman looked up towards her door in a dimly lit, colorless office. At that rate, anyone coming to Mariya Ivanov’s office never brought pleasant news. How inconvenient.

     She listened to the newcomer stop at her door.

     A few heartbeats later, there was a knock.

     Mariya rolled her eyes and monotoned, “Come in.”

     A frazzled technician came in, stuttering, “Ma’am, I apol- I’m sor- What I mean to say is-”

     “Spit it out or leave.” she snapped, letting out a low snarl.

     The tech snapped to attention, bowing their head submissively. “Apologies, Madam Ivanov. I came to report the Black Widow Project is terminated. Romanoff and her companions destroyed the Red Room. We received the security footage right before it went down.”

     Mariya held back a groan. Very inconvenient. It looks like her plans would have to accelerate.

     “Very well,” she said, standing. “It seems we must take matters into our own hands, bringing HYDRA back to its former glory.”

     Striding out the door, the technician scrambled behind her as the posted guard outside fell in line to follow. Both men said nothing as the alpha’s aura radiated annoyance, even without her displeased scent.

     “Dreykov and Madam B were on the right track, but they always hesitated when it came to core biology,” she said as they entered a vast dismal lab as foreboding as her office had been. Scientists, guards, and technicians all stood to attention and bowed their heads in her direction as she approached the center of the room.

     The cryostasis chamber in the middle of the room drew her gaze, as it always did. An eager and hungry smile came across her face. “They always took out the option of breeding. But now we can finally see if raising a Widow from scratch, then using it for breeding will create more promising results. Phase One was successful. It’s time to begin Phase Two.”

     Behind her, several exchanged glances. Some were awed, some uneasy, all apprehensive.

     As if hearing their thoughts, Mariya rounded to them, sharpening her glare. “Get ready to begin the de-thawing process. We won’t be making the same mistakes as the Winter Soldier project. No brainwashing with equipment or chemicals. Both have proven to be faulty. We raise the subject traditionally. I will be its main trainer. Anyone assisting will be vetted and approved by me. Contact the other team and tell them we are moving forward. They should be prepared to come to join us here.”

     Her personal guard stepped forward, bowing as everyone else clambered about the room. “Ma’am, if I may offer my assistance?”

     She inclined her head. “Of what, Nikolaev?”

     “My mate, ma’am. She is an omega and a Widow still loyal to HYDRA. You could transfer her here to help train the child.”

     Mulling over his words, Mariya considered the man before her. He was only a beta, but he had proven his loyalty to the cause and her many a time.

     “If you trust your mate to be as loyal as you have been,” she finally said. “I will consider it.”

     As he bowed again, backing away, she turned to the cryostasis chamber. A still, frozen, terrified sleeping face of a young pup, around ten years old, could be seen behind the frosted glass. She could barely keep from licking her lips as her smile grew yet again.

     Finally.

— — — — — —

2018-Spring

     Tётушка and дядя met each other’s eyes before дядя left to the door, where shouting panicked voices could be heard, and loud noises soon followed. Not alarms? It hurt her ears.

     Electricity sizzled out as the cattle prod clattered to the floor. Jamie scrambled back as

Master disappeared before her eyes. What was going on? Was this a trick?

     “Come, Солнышко. We don’t have much time.” Tётушка said as дядя crossed the room.

     Whimpering softly, Jamie yipped as her injuries were jostled. Tётушка didn’t let up their hold, though, which was strange. She whined louder, scared.

     They shushed her softly as дядя came back to hurry them out.

     “We have to be quiet, Солнышко. I don’t know what’s happening, but this may be our only chance to get you home.”

     Jamie went quiet at that. Home? Really?

     “Mama?” she whispered shakily.

     Looking down at her with that sad smile that always answered her small whispers, Tётушка said. “No, Солнышко. Not your mama. Your pops, remember?”

     No, no, that wasn’t right. Mama said not yet. Pops didn’t know her yet.

     “Not yet,” she whined. “Not yet.”

     Tётушка met дядя ‘s eyes again. Jamie couldn’t tell their thoughts this time.

     “We’ll take her to Kamar-Taj with us. The Supreme Sorcerer should know what to do,” he said before turning to wave his hands in the air.

     Jamie’s eyes widened as golden sparks floated through the air to make a circle in the air. Inside didn’t look like behind it. A moving picture? No, it wasn’t black and white and looked real.

     дядя stepped through and held out a hand to them. Tётушка took it, and he pulled the both of them through as the circle disappeared. It wasn’t any quieter on this side, but everything was new and different.

     Strange new voices and different noises rang against her ears. Jamie whimpered more, hiding her face in Tётушка ‘s shoulder. They were away from the scary place, she could feel that much. But the foreign surroundings were still unnerving.

     A door opened, letting more sound in, which caused Jamie to jam her hands over her poor ears, crying out before she could stop herself. It quickly cut off as whoever the newcomer was shut it behind them before speaking.

     “Liam Stern? What are you doing here? I thought you were under deep cover in Russia?” A man’s voice spoke, confused but kind.

     дядя answered the stranger. “Plans changed. We need help. Do you know what’s going on?”

     Jamie looked up to the newcomer as he sighed.

     He was a bigger man. Darker skin than дядя or Tётушка, kind of brownish. Kind of like her Uncle Jimmy’s, but not as much as Happy Sam’s. He was big but like a teddy bear rather than scary. His scent reminded her of the teas she’d tried once with Mama.

     “If the message I received is right, our current Sorcerer Supreme, Dr. Stephan Strange, lost his fight against Thanos. All of the Avengers did. Now half of the universe’s population is disappearing as we speak.”

     All of the adults grew grim, and Tётушка’s arms tightened around her. Jamie squirmed, trying not to cry out again.

     That got everyone’s attention anyway, and she hid her face away.

     “Hello, little one.” the strange man said kindly, coming forward. “What’s your name?”

     Jamie curled up more into herself, chewing on her tongue. Was this a trick?

     “It’s okay, Солнышко, you’re safe here.”

     Still not quite sure, she mumbled into Tётушка’s shirt. “M’ name’s Jamie. M-master tried to call me pet, but Tётушка and дядя help me remember m’ name every day.”

     The man made a noise. She heard movement and smelled his scent change to something else as he said, “Is this-”

     дядя cut in. “Yes. We found her. But she’s insistent that we don’t bring her to her father yet.”

     Jamie pouted, looking up sharply. “Mama said I know when ready. Not ready.”

     Tётушка let out a small laugh as the other two smiled.

     Her face burned as she shrunk down again. She spoke out of turn. She wasn’t supposed to do that. But why were they laughing?

     “She’s spirited. That’s good.” The man turned to her, gaze warm. “My name is Wong, little one. Welcome to Kamar-Taj. You’ll fit right in.”

— — — — — —

2023-Fall

     Coming back to the future, or rather the present, was still hectic. Bucky was surprised, but even he couldn’t hide his happy scent. That alone let Steve know he’d made the right choice.

     They all returned to the tower, where everyone had been staying while things were being salvaged from the compound. Tony was still in recovery back at Wakanda, but he was awake now.

     Natasha had gone there as well to get a medical exam. They weren’t sure what aftereffects there would be after her coming back with returning the soul stone.

     After a lot of hesitating, as well as a lot of supportive “encouraging” [read: pestering] from Sam and Bucky, Steve called up Tony.

     “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Capsicle. Not coming to see me in person?”

     Steve chuckled. “I’m retired now. The shield has been passed to Sam.”

     The line went quiet at that. “Wow, soldier boy is actually stepping down. Never thought I’d see the day.”

     He shifted in his chair, leaning back. “Nothing lasts forever. I’m going to live my life now. Wars will keep happening. There will always be bullies. But I think we both have things to keep now.”

     “Taking a page from my book then? White picket fence? House in the country or middle of the woods?”

     “Something like that.” Deciding to bite the bullet, he said, “Listen, Tony. When you were a kid, did Peggy ever mention someone named Jamie? She’d probably be around her late seventies by now.”

     Everything went so quiet again, Steve wasn’t sure if the line had gone dead.

     “Tony?”

     A shaky sigh, then, “Steve… Jamie’s dead.”

     Steve’s blood froze as Tony continued.

     “She was Aunt Peggy’s daughter. I found a picture of her once at Aunt Peggy’s house and asked. It was definitely a sore spot for her because she looked heartbroken, even if she tried to hide it. The picture disappeared after that too. If I remember right, she was adopted after the war. Orphaned because of the bombings. But when she was ten, there was a car crash, and… She didn’t make it. Aunt Peggy was in there with her. It was a miracle she survived.”

     Everything started going fuzzy as he zoned out. Faintly, Steve could hear Bucky coming into the room. That brought him back enough into the present to answer Tony’s recounting.

     “Tony, I-” he swallowed hard. “I saw her and-”

     “Steve? What happened?”

     Putting his head in his hand, Steve mumbled into the phone. “Jamie’s my daughter… My pup. Peggy must have had her after the crash. We’d had a one-night stand right before and…” He choked up, covering his mouth as tears pricked his eyes. Bucky’s arm came around his shoulders, and he leaned into it gratefully.

     For the third time, the line went quiet. “God, Steve. I’m sorry. If you need anyone to talk to…”

     “I know,” he said, voice quivering. “I’ll call you later. Keep resting.”

     Steve hung up right after Tony said goodbye. As Bucky pulled him into his arms, he sobbed. Just when he had found his pup, she was gone again.

—

     A hooded figure listened in across the street, perched on a nearby building. Iron Lad's customized earpieces helped her tune in certain noises and cancel the rest. He probably didn’t intend for her to use them like this, but he would understand if he knew.

     Activating her private coms, she called home. Once the line was picked up, she said, “He knows now.”

     “Are you going to tell him?”

     Jamie hesitated. “Not yet. He thinks I’m dead now. Tony told him Mama’s cover story that the news got. And we don’t know where Mariya is.”

     Tётушка’s laughter came across the line with дядя ’s sigh in the background. “Now, Солнышко. You wouldn’t be stalling now, would you?”

     Standing, she grumbled, “Even if I was, I’m still being sensible. …Right?”

     “Yes,” Tётушка said. “He’s still your father, but you know we’ll be behind you in whatever you decide to do.”

     Lights started turning out in the tower across from her. The sadness in Steve’s voice still rang in her ears, his sobs echoing in her thoughts. She knew she was making the right decision in waiting for now, but she couldn’t keep putting it off. Her time at Kamar-Taj had taught her much, as well as her training from Tётушка. But now that the world had gone back to “normal,” their home in Brooklyn wouldn’t be as safe anymore.

     “Come home, Солнышко. Your dinner is getting cold.”

     Jamie smiled at that. “I don’t know how pb&j can go cold.” But she did as she was told and portalled home.

Notes:

Sorry if this seems rushed. Beginnings aren't my strong suit, but everything needs to start somewhere. Hope you liked it! [Edited: hope anyone returning likes the longer content!] Russian used: Солнышко - little sun дядя - uncle Tётушка - aunty (Тётя - aunt)

[weministertomonsters]

Bloody Cycles

  The front door creaked open and stuck halfway. Cursing, the girl shoved it open with her foot, bumping it against the body of a young man that lay on the doorstep, surrounded by tiny dead bats. He didn't look much older than her, with his gaunt face upturned to the sky he had most likely fallen from. The girl had lain in her bed last night and listened to the sound of his body hitting the door, his hands slipping over the silver handle, the scream of frustration as he was burned again and again. Vampires were always hungry.

  She crouched, holding a broken broom handle in case he woke and she needed to stake him. She prodded his upper lip and smiled at his fangs, large enough that they curved down and dimpled the surface of his bottom lip. Not so young in vampire years then. He began to wake up, eyes fluttering underneath the nearly translucent skin of his eyelids. His skin was stained purple like bruised fruit. It had been ages since he had fed last, she guessed, no wonder he looked half dead. All the better for her.

  The sun cast its first weak beam over the valley and the vampire woke sluggishly, hissing and pulling himself away from the light, trying to shield himself behind her.

  "You poor thing," the girl tsked. "Come inside then." She stood, holding the door open for him like he was her prodigal housecat.

   He half scrambled, half dragged himself inside, and tucked his body against the whirring fridge where it was darkest, chest heaving under his ragged shirt. The windows had been partially boarded over, leaving pools of sunlight sprinkled around the dingy room. Enough so that he could not reach her without burning himself when she stood in one. Something skittered across the floor, furry, brown, and well-fed. A rat. She stepped on it with a crunch and the rat squealed and died. She picked it up and approached him.

  "Here you go," she said. "Drink from this."

  He shook his head, turning his face away. Her lips thinned.

  "I know it tastes bad but there is no way I'm letting you feed from me when you're in such a state. You'll suck me dry."

  She approached, shoving the smelly rat under his nose. "Drink," she stressed. "It's already going stiff."

  Again, he shook his head, throat dry and scratchy, fangs aching in his gums. Her eyes narrowed.

  "Must I do everything?" She muttered in annoyance, straddling him. "Stop struggling, the only person you'll hurt is yourself," she chided, grabbing his jaw and holding his head still as she pressed the rat against his mouth.

  His fangs did most of the work, piercing through so that the sluggish dead blood pooled in his mouth. Blood was blood, no matter how tainted. His hunger forced him to swallow, his large eyes staring up at her like he was seeing the devil.

  "Obey me and I reckon I can keep you fed," she said, clear eyes gleaming. "If you're really good, I'll even let you have a taste of my blood now and then."

  He struggled beneath her, his blunted claws scraping over her skin and drawing hot blood. His nostrils flared at the scent and he screeched. She was sitting on his chest now, knees clasped around his head to hold him still, grimacing as she pushed her fingers in his mouth and yanked, straining until a fang broke away. He wailed, blackish tears slipping out of his eyes.

  "Don't be such a baby," she grunted, pulling the other one out. "They'll grow back."

  She stood and backed away with her prize, watching him until she was satisfied that he was too weak to attack her.

  "I have more mouths to feed, you know. Rats and pigeons don't come cheap these days and the fangs fetch a good price."

  She washed them under the trickle of water that gurgled in the stained sink and then dropped the teeth into the jar which was already half filled with other yellow and ivory-colored fangs. "The shadows are deep enough over there," she tossed over her shoulder. "I'm going out to the garden."

  The kitchen door swung shut behind her. The vampire uncurled from his position beside the fridge and gingerly stretched out to lick the drops of her blood from the floor.

[airborn-potato]

Golden Eye's

Chapter 3

“What have I told you about drinking in here!” 

With a deep sigh, Alder finished his long sip of vodka and put the cap back on his flask. He got up from his seat on the break room sofa and stood to face his colleague. Short red afro complimented by dark skin and light makeup Ada Keita, the supervisor for the section of the lab he worked in, currently glaring at him with almost murderous intent. 

“You're supposed to be testing with the subjects!”

With another sigh Alder stepped up and towered over her 5’6 with his own 6’2.

“You can relax Mrs. Keita, there was an incident in my block and I was excused until the health and safety of myself and the specimens could be guaranteed” Was his reply with a bright smile to compliment it.

She shuddered at the sight of his smile. Anyone who didnt know him wouldn’t see any malicious intent, but she knew him so she did. Luckily a beep from his phone drew his attention away from her poorly hidden discomfort.

“Well that's my cue, I’ll bring you my report later Mrs. Keita” He punctuated his sentence with another long swig of his flask. As he made his exit.

Making his way down the hall, he could barely contain the excitement building within him with every step he took. Before the Bat attacked the Lupus, he had gotten a good look at the files of her specimen. 6 in total and 1 apprentice there for a close-up observation. A Golden Bat, the twin white mice, a koala bear, a greenish gecko, and the Nighthawk. His favorite little Nighthawk.

There used to be another one, a feline, but it was too small and frail and its deformity didn’t help its case. A minor spine deformity caused a permanent hunch in its posture that made moving around a visible and amusing struggle for it and it was put down a few years after. Fault could be partially put on the doctor who made it, but in the end it couldn’t adapt, so it died. That’s just the way things work in the real world. Maybe that's why he likes this Eagle so much.

This one was always changing, always adapting to the environment. It was entertaining watching it overcome every challenge that came its way, but he just couldn’t see why it bothered. Despite how wellmade it was compared to the other ones, its lifespan wasn't a guarantee. Even if it survived the tests, there was no promise that the Lupi wouldn’t kill it for fun, that the guards wouldn’t pull their triggers, that they wouldn’t just drop dead.

Alder’s internal monologue was cut short by the familiar door. With a smile breaking through the neutral expression he’d tried to maintain, he swiped his card and proceeded into the room for a second time. Shuffling was the first noise he’d heard upon entering, watching the creatures in the Six steel cages only widened his already present smile. After making his selection he crouched down and unlocked the door to one of the cages, and he was almost immediately lunged at. One of the mice had attempted to break free of its bonds and attack. Unfortunately for it, he had handled this exact situation more times than he can be bothered to remember, and a quick syringe to its leg was enough to pacify it.

“Lesson number one, you hesitate you die” he’d finally turned to address the final occupant of the room, who was cowering in the corner.

A pale and pinkish toned boy with pale vitiligo spots, light brown hair, and fern green eyes. His nametag read Caleb. He had his hands over his head and was quaking like a leaf in a hurricane. With a shake of the doctor's head, long brown hair waving over his shoulders, he checked the pulse of the mouse he had shot down. He rarely messed up sedative injections but he couldn't be too careful with his favorite play things.

“Grab the Bat, I’ll Grab the other Mouse and we'll begin the first round of pre-checks.”

“D-” The doctor turned and raised a thin brow at the frightened boy “Do I have to?”

A malicious smile graced the doctors face yet again, “No, by all means Caleb show these things some compassion” He stepped closer, towering over him “Just remember that I’ll thoroughly enjoy myself when you're strapped down, tested to your genetic limitations, and disposed just like the rest of them” His tone was so cheerful that chills raced down the boys spine. “The weak minded don’t survive around here, you should be grateful that your aptitude test deemed you capable of stem work down here Caleb, Are these things really worth your chance at a better life?” A vigorous head shake from the boy was the only answer he needed “Good! Now that that's settled, be a dear and grab the Bat.”

With a tremble in his gait Caleb began to examine the cages for the one labeled "Brown Fruit-Eating Bat", He finally stopped in front of the tightly restrained bat. He stared at it for a long moment. For every animal feature, he saw a human one, he didn't want to do this. But he was out of options, he wasn’t ready to die. A nudge on his hand revealed a tranquilizer gun being offered to him. With a deep breath he began to approach the cage, carefully reaching out towards the door. Red eyes bore deep into him, sh- it didn’t want this, neither did he, but he knew the truth. In this world you either adapt or die. And with that final thought he tightened his grip on his gun and pulled the trigger.

[kissorkill16]

Hidden Feelings: A Hello Neighbor Fanfic

By JJ

Summary: Nicky and Maritza reunite.

(P.S., for @genericravenbrooksdude !)

Maritza walked out of the coffee shop, sipping on her latte.

Then she noticed someone staring at her in the corner of her eye.

A man. He had a little peach fuzz, messy brown hair, eye bags, and pale skin. He looked almost like a corpse.

She walked back in and straight up to the man.

"Look, dude.", she said, "I don't know what you're problem is, but please stop looking at me like that. Didn't your mother ever tell you it's not polite to stare?"

The man looked into her eyes, and his widened. "Mari?", he whispered.

Maritza stepped back, getting ready to run. "What did you just call me? I'm sorry...", she looked at the man's name tag, "Nick, but only my friends call me that. And as far as I know it, you and I are not...friends."

She finally realized.

The dead looking man in front of her was her long lost crush, Nicky Roth.

"Nicky?", she said. The man nodded, and pointed to his name tag. "I go by Nick now, Mari. But yes, it's me."

A moment of silence passed by, then Maritza pounced on him and wrapped her arms tightly around him, totally oblivious to the people now staring at them.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN, MAN?!", she yelled, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW FUCKING WORRIED I WAS?! YOU AND YOUR FOLKS JUST LEFT SO UNEXPECTEDLY AND YOU JUST SHOW BACK UP AND PRETEND NOTHING HAPPENED!"

"Mari, people are staring at us.", Nicky choked out, loving Maritza's new found strength.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU YOU FUCKING DICKHEAD!", she yelled.

Nick finally managed to push her off, and he stood up and took a deep breath.

"Apologies, everyone. Just go back to your business and I'll go back to mine.", he said to all of the people staring at him and Maritza. Then he took Maritza's hand and led her to the back.

"Look, Mari.", he said. "I'm sorry I left. ...It's just that I was going through so much. From my kidnapping to dealing with Crowface and fighting that shadow monster, a lot has been messing me up.", he took out a lighter and a cigarette and lit it up, inhaling a deep breath from the little cylinder. "My family and I moved away for better therapy."

Maritza's eyes widened, and she took out her own lighter and cigarette and inhaled from that cylinder too.

They leaned back against the gate as they smoked.

"I'm glad you're back, Nicky.", said Mari. Nicky smiled at her.

"I missed you too, Mari. I missed all my friends.", he said. "What do you do for a living?", he asked.

Maritza shrugged and smiled like it was no big deal, "I run a program that teaches disabled kids how to fight."

Nick's eyes widened in surprise, "Wow. That's interesting. I'm jealous, I just work at a coffee shop during the day and a liquor store at night."

Maritza let out a laugh and patted him on the back, "I'll come visit you at work more often.", she said. Then they both laughed.

Another moment of silence.

"Have you been seeing anyone special lately?", asked Maritza. Nick coughed out smoke, "What?", he asked mid cough.

Maritza looked down at her shoes, "I was just wondering. Since you're seemingly doing better, I thought that you'd be interested in getting into a relationship.", she said, dropping her cigarette and stomping on it.

"So who's the lucky someone?"

She pretended to be interested, but she so badly wanted him to say no one. She's had a secret crush on him for years, and was absolutely heartbroken when he left. So it would really make her day if he said he wasn't seeing anyone.

Nick stomped out his cigarette too, then he tapped his chin. "Well, now that you mention it..."

Oh no...

"I had sex with Trinity last week -"

Nick was cut off mid sentence when he heard a smashing sound. He turned to look at Maritza, and apparently she found a beer bottle and threw it at the brick wall beside her.

Maritza turned to look at him, and she looked absolutely pissed.

"What? What the hell? What's your problem?", asked Nick.

"Nothing! I don't have a problem! What're you talking about?! Me, having a problem with you being with Trinity?!"

Nick stepped back, afraid she was going to throw something at him. But Maritza didn't pick anything else up, she just looked at him angrily.

"Mari, what's the matter?", he asked, "Are you jealous of Trinity? Is that why you're...?"

Maritza seemed to calm down. She dropped down to her knees and leaned back against the fence, and Nick sat down next to her.

"I'm not jealous of Trinity.", said Maritza, "I'm actually happy for you guys. So happy for you guys in fact. It's just that..."

She curled in on herself, hugging her knees and looking away from Nick.

"It's just that what?", asked Nick.

Maritza still didn't look at Nick, but she answered his question.

"Some time after you moved to town, I've started to like you a little more than I should have. Everything about you was just so beautiful to me. Your interests, your personality, your voice, your fucking face. Everything. Then Trinity moved to Raven Brooks, and some time after she came, I started to see her as my guardian angel. She's saved me so many times during our little investigations together, and whenever I felt like giving up, she was always there to convince me to keep going.", she said. "I loved you both, and I was ashamed of it. Being in love with two people at the same time, it just felt so unnatural. So I just put on a dumb facade to keep it hidden."

She looked down at her shoes again, then she felt Nick pull her into a hug. Nick patted her back and laughed.

"If I'm being totally honest, I would've preferred that facade over you being a total simp for your crush like how Enzo was in middle school.", he said. "But I also would've loved it if you had just expressed your feelings. I remember telling you that you don't have to pretend to be okay anymore, because you have friends that love you so much. I love you, Enzo loves you, and I'm sure Trinity loves you too."

"How would you know that?", asked Maritza.

"Because she told me a secret once.", replied Nick. "Remember that time on the soccer field where you were just minding your own business? Trinity came up to you and kissed you on your cheek."

Maritza's face turned red.

"She told me she liked it, way more than she thought she would. At the time, she thought she was just confused because she's never been in love before. But when she kissed you, she felt like her stomach was going to explode with butterflies.", said Nick.

Maritza's eyes lit up in excitement.

"But what about you?", she asked. "Did you like me back? I'd understand if you -"

Then, out of nowhere, Nick kissed Maritza on the cheek. His face started heating up when he pulled away, and Maritza's face turned even redder.

"I kinda had a little crush on you too.", he said. "Like you, I also thought it was weird to be interested in two different people as well. Now I know it's totally natural.", he leaned in closer to Maritza, "Now we both know it's totally natural."

Without warning, Maritza pulled Nick in for a long, deep kiss. When she pulled away, both of them were breathless and red in the face.

"You realize we have to explain this to Trinity at some point, right?", asked Nick.

"We'll tell her together later. But right now, I want to have sex right behind this fucking shop."

Maritza stripped herself off and pounced on Nick once again, happy that her dream man and dream woman were with her, and felt the same way about her that she felt about them.

[angel-inked]

Silenced Fire, Chapter 4: Picking fights

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Taglist: @vvkingofgaybisciutsvv @thequeenofthewinter @hecatemoon87

"Ugh" Forrest grunted, fitting the four brown paper bags in the passenger seat of the brothers shared truck. He was in town, getting groceries, making shine deliveries, a Bondurant's usual errands. "Well well, look what we have here" a man snickered, Forrest turned to where the voice came from, great, the guys that Howard beat up the other day. The bald headed one of the two spoke with a New York style accent "you ain't got you're brothers 'ere to protect you this time do you" He seerned.  "I don't need protectin'" Forrest lied, he would always need Howard, no matter how useless he could be. His brothers are the only family he has left after all, Forrest was brought out of his thoughts when the man with a mustache, now sporting a bowler hat, took a swing at him. Forrest reeled back to avoid the punch, "if that's how you want to handle this" Forrest growled, retrieving his brass knuckles from his sweater pocket. Forrest' fist connected with the New Yorkers head, dropping him instantly. He sparred with the other, before the man flipped him around and started gripping his neck. "You better calm down before I choke you out" the man exclaimed, Forrest didn't listen, he couldn't quit.

Suddenly, bang!

The hatted man's arms went limp, falling off Forrest' back. Forrest glanced down at the damage done to the pair, a bullet wound was now decorating the mustached man's head in place of his bowler hat. Forrest looked up to see a woman, lowering her pistol. The woman was dressed in a red and light pink floral patterned dress with small white heels, her hair red and her eyes sea blue-green in color. "Are you Forrest bondurant?" She asked, placing her gun in her small white handbag. "Um.." Forrest murmured, not sure how to respond, this woman just shot a man and somehow knew his name. Well, actually the name thing wasn't all that surprising considering the Bondurant boys had quite the reputation. "Maggie Beaufort" she introduced herself, holding her hand out to Forrest. He took a step forward, shaking her out stretched hand. "My sister Rose and I heard you boys were looking for help running the station, thought I'd put in a good word for her" Maggie explained. "If she's anywhere near as feisty as you, tell she's more than welcome to come by" Forrest replied. The woman nodded, walking away.

Leaving Forrest in an almost shell shocked state, for lack of a better term, Forrest tried to shake off his paranoia but that was easier said than done. As he climbed into the driver's side of the truck, he noted pain and a stiff feeling in his right elbow, "must've twisted somethin'" he thought. His brothers were going to love this one, Forrest grumbled to himself, figuring he was going to be teased relentlessly for this, being saved by a girl, especially a pretty one at that. Oh well, nothing he could do about it now. As he pulled up to the station he could already hear it, the sound of Howard's deep laugh and Jack's breathless cackles.

A bloody Forrest Bondurant silently sauntered through the creaky front door of the gas station. Looking around, he was perplexed. Had his irresponsible brothers actually cleaned up well he was gone? He ran his hand across a table "not sticky.." he pondered, Forrest checked the bar in the same manner "not sticky either" he thought, almost impressed but he wasn't going to tell Howard and Jack that, what kind of brother would he be if he did?

Chatter suddenly arose from one of rooms in the back, Howard was the first to emerge "and that's what you get" he spat playfully, wiping soap suds from his hat. Howard's smile vanished as soon as he laid eyes on his brother's beaten body. "Forrest!" Howard exclaimed, rushing from behind the bar. "Howard, what are you shoutin' for?" Jack called, as he entered the room, drying his hands on a towel and the front of his shirt and jeans soaked through. Jack stopped dead in his tracks, observing Forrest, eyeing him up and down. This made Forrest uncomfortable, like he was some kind of statue in one of those bougie art galleries he heard talk of when the brothers made their last trip beyond the hills of their little backwater. Forrest cleared his throat, turning back to Howard. He opened his mouth to speak but couldn't force his voice to come out, so he just closed it again. Damn those men, Forrest now wanted to blow enough holes into them, you could see daylight through the other side.

"You don't have to say nothin', just show me where you're injured" Howard explained. Forrest nodded, rubbing his right elbow, wiping blood from a scrap at the corner of his eye on the same side, he turned his head so Howard could see the cut that landed just below his hairline on his left. "Jack, go get some liquid pain killer" Howard ordered, not moving his eyes off of Forrest. Jack nodded and disappeared back where he had come from, Howard started unbuttoning his little brother's cardigan "can't have you're favorite sweater all stained with the blood of you're enemies now can we?" Howard smirked, pulling the article of clothing off Forrest' shoulders and gently leading Forrest by the wrist to an empty barstool. Howard disappeared through the same doorway Jack had vanished through

Jack was the first to reappear, a mason jar in his hand. Howard wasn't too far behind, walking in with a bowl of water, some cloths and first aid to dab and bandage any cuts or scratches his brother had. Jack removed the lid and handed the jar to Forrest, before taking the barstool next to him. Howard sat his supplies down and started cleaning the cut on Forrest' head. "Did you two have a fight in the bath or somethin'" Forrest mumbled, finally finding his voice, all with an amused look on his face. "No, the kitchen sink actually" Jack chuckled, "well, he started it" Howard cut in, pointing at Jack. Forrest smiled and shook his head "I don't much care to know who started what" he explained.

"How'd you boys feel 'bout having another pair of hands around here?" Forrest blurted suddenly. Jack and Howard stared at each other for a long while, before ether of them could answer, the door creaked open. There in the doorway, stood a woman, clad in a deep blue and white spotted dress, her black heels clicked against the wood floor as she approached the brothers. A ruby red hair clip held her dark brown strands out of her sparkling brown eyes. A bluey-gray pit bull followed closely behind her. The dog walked up to Forrest, licking his hands and whining. A small lopsided smile appeared on his face, as Forrest stroked the beautiful creatures head. "I'm looking to speak with Forrest Bondurant" she announced, grasping her wrist with her other hand and rocking back and forth on her feet. "Uh, well, just let me finish up here and then you can speak to him" Howard explained awkwardly over his shoulder, "I hope ya know what you're doin'" he whispered, turning back to Forrest. Forrest assumed this had to be Rose Beaufort, word really travels fast in a small town.