#And there's the fact that he wears earrings because of Jack confirmed here too

[jacksintention]

.

[harlowtales]

Request: Jack gets in a fight at his concert over a teddy bear meant for his pregnant fiancée 🐻❤️‍🩹

18+ drama,romance,violence,language

You were beyond excited to see Jack in concert! Early in your pregnancy you were so sick it was hard to see him perform. Tour was well underway and he was happy you and his mom finally could come to his Louisville show.

“Baby, what do you think of this outfit?” You we’re trying to find something you and your belly could fit into and were getting frustrated.

“You look gorgeous whatever you wear.” Jack replied kissing you on the forehead.

“Of course you’d say that.” You said with a sigh

“Baby, I don’t care what you wear, I’m just happy you’re coming.” Jack said “A car will be coming to pick you and mom up soon okay?”

“Got it, thanks babe. Good luck tonight!” You called after him.

“Seriously? I need luck? I’m getting that rusty?” He joked

“Mid at best.” You teased with a straight face. You were even better than Jack at that. Hence one of the many reasons his parents said he met his match.

“Watch it I can take that ring back. I got a discount anyway.” He said with a grin as he took off for the Yum Centre. You knew your engagement ring was custom made and worth so much it had insurance on it, but it was just like your future husband to crack jokes.

Just then you felt a kick and felt a cramp. “Come on baby just let mommy go to see daddy tonight please!” You begged your growing little bean as you rubbed your belly. All the excitement about going tonight was probably too much excitement. You decided to not stress about your outfit and did some deep breathing to calm down.

“You ok Y/N?” Jack’s mom asked politely poking her head in you and Jack’s bedroom to see how you getting ready was going.

“I don’t look good in anything anymore but Jack said to wear whatever. I just want to look pretty for him tonight” You said as if it was impossible to pull off.

“I have to agree with my son.” His mom confirmed “It doesn’t matter what you wear. Just be comfortable and have fun.” She soothed rubbing your back. You had the best mother-in-law. It made moving to Louisville to be with Jack a no brainer. His family had become yours. “Maybe you’re over-thinking it because you haven’t been out in awhile and you know the cameras will be flashing.” She reasoned

“I’ll be ok as long as Jack thinks I look nice.” You said. You finished pulling a look together and in fact looked stunning in a black jumpsuit, heels, and a sleek ponytail with big hoop earrings.

“You can wear heels all night in your condition?” His mom said in awe “You look gorgeous! I certainly did not ever look like you when I had your husband in my belly.”

“I feel so sorry for you to have to go through baby Jack.” You laughed

“I feel sorry for you. It will be even worse.” His mom joked with you but she was interrupted by the phone. “The car is here let’s go!” She said

The venue was already packed and your anxiety mounted. You should’ve told Jack you would watch from backstage but the show experience wasn’t the same seeing the back of him the whole time. You insisted on sitting in the crowd. At least you were near where Jack would be walking out so he could see you and touch you.

The house lights dimmed and the smoke machine made everything murky. The band started playing Common Ground and screams erupted as your husband slowly walked onto the stage. You felt like a teenager and couldn’t help screaming for him like he was some crush. “Go Baby!!!” You yelled and girls in your section looked around at you. It was no secret some girls flat out hated you in Louisville. In his walk to the stage he passed by and touched your outstretched hand giving you a wink.

“OMG!! He looks so good!” You exclaimed

“Y/N you live with him calm down.” His mom said shaking her head “Go Hunny!!” She yelled out.

Jack put on an amazing show as usual. You had made a cardboard sign like a fan and held it up when he did his usual thing and asked for the lights to be turned down so he could read them. He broke down laughing when he read your sign “Thanks for the Cinnamon Swirl” he read slowly with his hand over his eyes so he could see that far. “Your welcome baby.” He said “Everyone give it up for my fiancée Y/N!” He said to the crowd as they cheered and laughed at your sign.

“Y/N y’all deserve each other!” His mom laughed

You enjoyed the rest of the show and anticipated him walking by. Fans had thrown random things on the stage like stuffed animals and flowers. As Jack exited he looked for you and threw you a teddybear he had collected. As he threw it a crazed fan began wrestling you for it. You were holding your own but were pregnant and lost your grip on it not wanting to get hurt over little teddy bear. Maggie jumped in “Hey! Give that back to her! That’s his fiancée!” She yelled but fell down taking you with her in the struggle to take it back.

The fan just gave her attitude back and held the bear high up in the air out of their reach. “This for my girl lady. I got it fair and square.” The guy said when he knew he had taken from you.

“Mom! Y/N!!” Jack saw the commotion and instantly started making his way up to your section. “What the fuck!! Are you stupid?” He yelled to the guy. Security and his friends tried to keep up with him but let him go. They were prepared to back him up. “I’m coming for you!” He said navigating through the crowd getting ever closer. The stadium was buzzing and everyone had their phone out. This was one time Jack didn’t care what they caught on video. His nostrils flaring and eyes flashing he demanded the guy give the bear back as he helped you and his mom to your feet. “You got beef?” He said chest to chest now with the guy who was even a bit taller than him.

“Please pretty boy. Can’t even rap.” The guy said disrespectfully turning around as if he was going to brush Jack off

“Where you going?” Jack said turning the guy around.

“Baby it’s not worth it!” You pleaded. Security and Neelam were keeping you and Maggie at a safe distance.

“Get my girl out of here.” Jack said about to security. Venue police were making their way to the confrontation. But didn’t get there fast enough because Jack got off a punch in the guy’s face before his friends stepped in between.

“Jack I got this!” EJ ordered Urban, Copelan, and Sunni to get Jack away from the scene as he held the guy back.

Sunni, Urban, and Copelan had a hard time holding Jack back and getting him to leave the guy alone. He went into blackout rage and kept fighting to charge back at the guy. “Fuck let me at him!” Jack said struggling against them in frustration. By this time venue police made it up to the situation and handed the bear back to Jack. “You don’t ever take anything from my girl like that.” Jack growled through his teeth

“This isn’t over!” The guy said

“Try me” Jack stood up to the challenge.

“Alright fellas, break this up.” Venue police said as the crowd dispersed. They escorted Jack back to his dressing room where you and his mom were getting tended to by paramedics. You were cramping but refused to go with paramedics to the hospital without Jack. When you saw him you pushed passed everyone and ran to him engulfing him in a kiss.

“Baby are you ok?” He said totally out of breath after performing and fighting. “Is muffin ok?” Jack said kissing your belly. He had already given the baby a nickname.

“Are you ok?” You said not thinking about yourself.

“I’d fucking go to war for you, you hear me?” He said heaving from the altercation. Sweat was pouring down his face and every curl was clinging to him. He had a scrape on his face and you kissed it.

“Me too baby.” You said starting to cry “better get that cleaned up ok?” You said

“Not you looking after me right now.” He said amazed that you weren’t giving your own condition much thought.

“They want me to go to the hospital to get monitored and checked out but I wouldn’t leave until I saw you.” You explained

“You should’ve gone right away.” Jack said sweetly “Oh and here’s this.” He said giving you the teddy bear.

“Thank you but I didn’t really need it baby I have you.” You said taking it and hugging him.

“It’s not about the bear. Nobody does that to my girl, my baby, and my mom.” Jack said with a serious look on his face.

“Ok everyone involved in this altercation get down to the hospital and we will question you there. We appreciate your cooperation.” LMPD (Louisville Metro Police Department) officers said as they had just arrived on the scene to back up venue police.

“You ok Mr. Harlow?” They asked “Maggie” one of them said tipping his hat to her as she was well known in town.

“Hello officer. I’m ok just a bit sore.” Maggie replied

“And mom?” They asked you

“I’m…I’m ok but not feeling well.” You said weakly. Jack had his arms around you.

“Babe lets get you to the hospital” Jack said “That won’t ever happen anyways because from now on you only leave home with security and watch my shows from backstage.” Jack said

“Aw come on.” You whined as he expected you wouldn’t like it

“Sorry baby. That’s how its gotta be. Think I want to do jail time over a teddy bear?” He flashed you a dimpled smile and you knew you couldn’t argue with him.

“Ok baby whatever you say.” You said against his sweaty chest knowing you and your baby were safe.

@killatravtramp @itsyagirljaz @jacks-daycare @ride4harlow @heavyhitterheaux

[clickerflight]

Clove: Part 12 - Why?

Masterlist

Part 11

I love my boys, of course of course, but also have you seen Margie and Josh? IDK what this side plot is doing, but I am invested personally.

Content: Werewolf whumpee, vampire caretaker, so much fluff, so much panic, mentions of a child who is chronically ill

............................................

Everything smelled like Ephraim. Hyrum hummed softly, nestling farther under whatever was draped over him. He felt content and safe. Protected. 

Faintly, he caught the scent of Ephraim’s blood and his eyes flew open as he scrambled up to see what was wrong. Ephraim was sleeping in the bed next to him, and he woke up as Hyrum started checking him for where he could smell blood. There was dried blood on his shirt on the floor so Hyrum pulled the shirt Ephraim was wearing back and forth, trying to see whatever damage there was as much as his addled brain could manage. 

Ephraim reached out, taking Hyrum’s arms, making him whine. 

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Ephraim asked. 

“Blood,” Hyrum said, struggling to get free, to make sure the vampire was okay. “There’s blood.”

“Ah,” Ephraim said. He sat up, letting Hyrum go and lifted his shirt. There was a pale scar across his chest and Ephraim said, “I’m okay, see? There was a dangerous man at the cottage and he hurt me when we were fighting, but I’m okay.”

Hyrum brushed a finger over it, to make sure Ephraim was telling the truth, but true enough the wound was sealed and all that was left was the scar. 

“Oh,” Hyrum said softly.

Ephraim dropped the shirt and held his arms open, letting Hyrum plough into him. Ephraim held him for a while, soothing all of the spiraling little fears that had taken up residence in his brain the night before. Still, there was a quiet terror he couldn’t quite shake. He had gotten a tiny taste of what it would be like to lose what he had here and it had been devastating. The real thing would surely destroy him entirely. 

He tried to shake the fear. Just because there was a bad man at the cottage, it didn’t mean that it was necessarily Jack. Who knows how many bad men there were in the woods. Hyrum knew that Jack had friends so it stood to reason there were even more than that. In fact, at one point he’d been convinced that all humans were like Jack.

Still, curious and apprehensive at the same time, Hyrum twisted, grabbing one of Ephraim’s hands and closed his eyes, smelling it deeply. 

His hackles rose as his deepest fear was confirmed and he froze. 

Ephraim pulled him into a tighter hug as the werewolf began to hyperventilate, tried to pull closer to Ephraim, tried to crawl into his very chest so he could hide forever. 

“Goldenrod, hey,” Ephraim’s soft voice said urgently. “I know you’re scared. I know, I know. Stay with me, sweetheart.”

Hyrum made a conscious effort to calm down, pressing his ear against Ephraim’s chest and listening to Ephraim’s very slow heartbeat. Ephraim ran a soothing hand up and down Hyrum’s back, a touch the boy couldn’t have even imagined just a month ago. 

Hyrum quickly came to a realization, one that he had shied away from before because it couldn’t possibly be true, but now….

“You’re not going to let him take me,” he whispered in awe, twisting his head to look up at Ephraim, only really seeing the bottom of his chin. 

“No, I’m not going to let him take you,” Ephraim said gently. “And the next time he comes to cause trouble, I’ll…. I’ll kill him. And then he’ll never get to take you.”

Hyrum relaxed into Ephraim’s arms as Ephraim pressed a kiss to his head. 

“Thank you,” Hyrum breathed. 

“Of course, Goldenrod,” and Hyrum was too ecstatic and relaxed to hear the gentle and complicated sort of sadness in Ephraim’s voice. 

…………………………………….

Margie was exhausted. She had spent nearly all day working on the cottage and she had only cleared the front room. There hadn’t been any traps or curses in the kitchen or the storage room, but both of the bedrooms were hexed to the high heavens. 

Josh helped support her as she grumbled, unable to do anything else even with Josh’s help. They’d have to come back in the morning. Not for the first time, Margie realized she needed an actual apprentice, someone to take over for her when she was too weak to do this anymore. Most of the time she pushed the thought off to deal with when she was ‘actually old’ in her mind, but now, exhausted, feet aching underneath her and feeling sick to her stomach, Margie allowed the thought to actually stay this time and make a nest in her mind. Maybe she didn’t feel ‘actually old’, but she recognized that she was. 

She was faintly miffed with herself that she needed to be so run down to be able to accept thoughts like that, but here she was. 

She ran the people of the village through her mind, trying to think of who would work best for this sort of job. Someone who was careful and fairly neat in their actions. It would be useful if they had some knowledge in distilling and brewing, even if it wasn't specifically experience with potions. Lots of free time on their hands to learn this sort of thing and an ability to sort out magic by feel. Not likely to be bowled over by other people’s opinions. 

Just as she was starting to run the adults of the village through her mind, she realized the answer was right in front of her. Or, rather, right beside her helping her walk. She inwardly groaned. Still, there were worse people to work with and Josh met all the requirements. Well, most of them. While his business with wine and alcohol meant he had knowledge in brewing and distilling and gave him the winter’s off because of the money made during the summers and he wouldn’t have to tend to the grape vines he kept, he had three children he helped his wife look after so free time might not be as free as she liked, but he was the best option, especially after seeing him work alongside her in the cottage. 

“Josh,” Margie said in a croaking voice.

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever considered becoming the village’s magic man?”

Josh’s stunned silence lasted only a moment before he said, “Can’t say I have. Why?”

Margie grumbled a little before saying, “You were very helpful in there, and I can’t keep this up forever, you know.”

“Are you asking me to become your apprentice?” he asked, a wry smile on his sun tanned face. 

“If you have to know, yes.”

Josh thought about it for a moment before he said, “I think I could? I’ll have to talk it over with Anna first, of course.”

“Of course,” Margie grumbled. “Maybe I could teach her too. You could split the load between the two of you. She’s already proved herself useful when it comes to herbs and remedies and the like.”

Josh sighed. “Yeah. I guess that sort of happens when you have a child like Dimitri.”

Margie nodded. Dimitri was a weak, though resilient sort. He was almost always sick but still plowed on through life like he was going to live it to the fullest, no matter if it shortened his lifespan. It seemed to make his parents happy, though. The village often watched him carefully, wondering if this was going to be his last winter. 

Margie certainly remembered his birth and his first winter. Anna had nearly died giving birth to the child and he practically lived in Margie’s little hovel during that first winter with endless bouts of croup and any passing cold that decided to drop in for a visit. 

“I’ll walk you to your house and then I’ll let Ephraim know he can’t go back today,” Josh said matter of factly, and Margie bristled. 

“I can tell him myself.”

“Oh, no, old bird,” Josh said easily and Margie nearly cursed him out. He had been growing to be just as brazen as his wife. “You’ll go home and rest. Orders from the possible future magic man.”

Margie huffed. “Insufferable. Completely insufferable.”

“Your knees will thank me,” Josh promised. 

And Margie hated that he was right.

……………………………….

Guntar was kind enough to let Ephraim and Hyrum stay in his house while he was out working, and Ephraim was glad for it. He didn’t much feel like leaving the bed, and Hyrum certainly wasn’t up to it. 

As the two laid curled together, dozing off in intervals, there was a knock on the door which made Hyrum whimper, grabbing hold of Ephraim. 

Ephraim stroked his head, listening as a familiar voice called, “Ephraim!?”

Ephraim placed his hands over Hyrum’s sensitive ears and called back, “In here! Come in!”

The door opened and Josh shuffled in, eventually poking his head in. 

“Oh, sorry,” he said, surprised when he saw the two. 

“It’s fine,” Ephraim said. “Goldenrod and I had a bit of a scare, so we decided to just rest for today.”

“So I heard last night. Well, not that I actually heard it. Embarrassed to say I slept through the whole event,” Josh said. “Anyways, I went up with Margie to try and sort out your cottage. It’s a mess up there. The spells were laid pretty thick. We did what we could but the bedrooms are still hexed and trapped. We’ll be going up again tomorrow to see if we can finish…. Well, that’s if Margie can make the trip back up the hill. Her knees have been giving her some trouble, see?”

“Oh, thank you, Josh,” Ephraim said kindly, pulling up the blanket to hide Hyrum a little better. “I know you probably have things to do, but would you be able to drop by the butcher’s shop and ask Guntar if we can stay here another night or if we should find other accommodations?”

“Absolutely,” Josh said with a warm smile. Ephraim deeply appreciated that Josh didn’t pry as to why Ephraim couldn’t do it himself. He didn’t want to draw attention to Hyrum when he was so scared. “I’ll be back in a bit, then.”

“Thank you,” Ephraim said softly and Josh nodded, heading back out to do as he was asked. 

Ephraim stroked Hyrum’s head under the covers, laying his own head back down on the pillow, contemplating the situation. It sounded like he and Hyrum wouldn’t be able to go back to the house for a while, which left him in a rather sticky situation. He wasn’t certain how well Hyrum would do when it came to being around other people. As far as the vampire could tell, the werewolf was terrified of everyone who wasn’t Ephraim. 

And even after Josh and Margie got the spells cleared up, Ephraim would have to find someone to try and clear out Jack’s scent or at least cover it, or go do it himself, though he wasn’t sure how well Hyrum would take it. He supposed he would just have to see how Hyrum reacted after he had a couple of days to process everything. Who knew, Hyrum had proved to be rather resilient, if a bit hesitant. He could grow to like people after finding that they wouldn’t hurt him. After all, he had grown quite attached to Ephraim pretty quickly, so there was a good chance that all would be well. 

“Ephraim?”

Hyrum had shifted, poking his head out of the blankets, his ears flicking up once freed from the covers. 

“Yes, Goldenrod?”

“Who was that?”

Ephraim smiled. “That’s Josh. He’s a friend of mine. He’s married to Anna. You met her when Morticai was in town, remember?”

Hyrum nodded. “So he’s…. Like you?”

“I’m not sure I understand your question, dear.”

“He’s not going to h-hurt me? Or tell Jack?”

“Oh, no. Not at all.”

“Oh…. I just thought that humans were…..” Hyrum searched for the words for a moment before continuing with, “I thought they all knew Jack and that they’d help him.”

“No. People who would help Jack are pretty few and far between, really. The people in the village are my friends, mostly… maybe not Harry or Katrina. They’ve never really warmed up to me, but that’s alright.”

Hyrum mulled those words over carefully, his ears flicking slightly back and forth as he did so. “So…. what does Josh want then? Jack wanted to make me a weapon-” Doubtful, Ephraim thought to himself, “-And you want to keep me safe and M-Margie wants to heal people? Then what would Josh want?”

“He probably wants to take care of his family,” Ephraim replied. “You know, making sure his children grow up strong and are happy and have happy lives of their own.”

“Oh.” 

Ephraim supposed the idea would sound quite foreign to Hyrum, so he just let the werewolf process that information for a moment. 

After a few long minutes, during which Ephraim started to drift off again, Hyrum patted his chest to get his attention again. Ephraim gave it willingly, opening his eyes. 

“So… most people don’t want to make weapons, do they?” Hyrum asked. He sounded like he was coming to that conclusion himself and just wanted to make sure he was on the right track. 

“No, they don’t,” Ephraim assured him, though that seemed to leave Hyrum more confused. 

“Then, why would Jack want to make me a weapon?”

Ephraim had expected this question, though perhaps not this early. He thought it over for a moment. He could see no rhyme or reason to what Jack had done, and he certainly wasn’t trying to make any sort of weapon. Hyrum had turned up on the verge of death, for crying out loud. 

“Hyrum… I’m not sure he was trying to make you into a weapon. I really have no idea what he was doing, but I think he was just hurting you for the sake of it. I’m so sorry I don’t have an explanation, but what he did was not okay, and it was not normal, and I’m here to protect you now.”

Hyrum stared at him, and Ephraim wasn’t sure the werewolf really comprehended him. Hyrum looked down, distressed as he gently kneaded his stomach, trying to wrap his mind around it. 

“But….. Why!?”

Ephraim just held him closer while Hyrum whimpered softly, kneading his stomach harder. “I’m sorry,” he whispered into Hyrum’s hair. “I’m so so sorry. It’ll be alright. I’ve got you now. He’s not going to come anywhere near you.”

Ephraim’s heart could only break as Hyrum shuddered under his arms, hiding his face in his hands.

Part 13

Clove Taglist: @wolfeyedwitch @the-blind-one-speaks @whumpsday @extrabitterbrain @inkkswhumpandstuff @honeycollectswhump @whump-blog-reblogs @pigeonwhumps

[yukidragon]

SDJ - New Clues, Theories, and Headcanons

So many new pieces of art and lore teasers have been dropped on the Sunny Day Jack twitter, that I simply must make a post to gush about them, as well as the new thoughts and headcanons they’ve sparked for me.

Strap in, folks, this is going to be a very, very long one. I’ll be throwing in a lot of pictures for evidence, including pieces that were on Jambeebot/Sauce’s public twitter before it went down. On that note, please remember to support them and their game by following their twitter or contributing to their patreon or kickstarter. This beautiful game, art, and ideas wouldn’t be possible without all their hard work.

Also, I know I said it in the headcanon post I made earlier today, but it bears repeating - please don’t repost private images from the patreon. Reposting the images elsewhere, even cropped, is harmful to SnaccPop Studios and everyone working there. It’s fine to gush over what was posted there and direct others to join as well, but the money pledged to the patreon is going to a good cause to make this engaging game.

With that said, let’s start with the picture that is just oozing with lore.

There’s so much here, so let’s break it down piece by piece.

Jack is obviously a ghost(?) in his reflection. The blood, glowing eyes, and unhealthy shade of his skin makes that pretty clear that he’s no longer human.

His colors are faded and more in shadow than the rest of the lighting of the room.

He’s midway between being Jack and Joseph, as evidenced by his visible mole, the cigarette, the smudged makeup, his earring, and the tank top he’s wearing.

This contrasts strongly with the autographed photo of himself done up in costume and makeup properly, smiling and happy.

LambsWork Productions appears to be the studio responsible for the SunnyTime Crew Show. It was theorized that might be the case in the mock 80′s horror movie poster that was posted on the official twitter, but this card seems to confirm the theory.

Jack’s eyes, when not glowing, are definitely brown, as suggested by his official merch plushie.

Everything in this room is dingy and dirty. The wallpaper appears dirty, there are spots on the doll, the eye paint is chipped, the flowers are dark as though withering, and there’s a nasty stain on the lunchbox.

The fact that the flowers are blue is interesting. They appear to be roses, and are a shade of blue that is decidedly unnatural (kind of like Jack’s blue wig), which would make a bouquet of them more expensive than regular flowers. Usually white flowers are used for funerals and memorials to represent honor, peace, and innocence.

The symbolism of blue flowers is, as stated by wikipedia, “desire, love, and the metaphysical striving for the infinite and unreachable. It symbolizes hope and the beauty of things.” That first part definitely gives Jack vibes to me.

Symbolism aside, the reason blue flowers were chosen might simply be because of the blue of Jack’s hair. This is a memorial directed more at Jack the character, rather than Joseph the actor. Intentional or not, the memory of Jack is on full display, while there’s nothing of Joseph except what bleeds through in the mirror.

Most likely this is Jack’s dressing room at the studio, as that would be an appropriate place to put a memorial like this for a fallen co-worker.

Since the flowers are still holding their shape despite withering some, it means this takes place not too long after his death... or those flowers are plastic and just got especially dirty.

If this does take place a short while after Jack’s death, this suggests he might have wandered around as a ghost(?) before being trapped in the tape.

Or this could be a dream of Jack’s in the present about the truth of his situation that he’s trying so desperately to bury...

I find the name of the studio that worked Jack to death and buried his memory to be quite ironic. LambsWork Studio. One could say that a lamb’s “work” is to be sheered... or slaughtered.

Jack certainly seems to have suffered both fates, hasn’t he? He was “sheered” by being overworked to play the part, then “slaughtered” when he was murdered while on set.

Then there’s the fact that Hollywood has been rumored to have cults and rituals taking place. What if Jack being trapped in the VHS wasn’t actually an accident? What if his murder was for the sake of a ritual that required a lamb beloved by many to be slaughtered?

The question would be then what the ritual would be for, and why they would need someone so popular and so loved by children? Would their love for the character be part of the ritual? Is the reason why Joseph, a drifter, was chosen for the role was because it would be the easiest way to cover their tracks when there would be no family to look for him?

This picture also gives me an idea for a new scene in Sunshine in Hell, but I won’t spoil it here. Suffice to say, Jack is not going to like what he sees in the mirror...

Interestingly enough, this version of Jack appears again elsewhere.

His hair is brown fading into blue, his eyes are the same distorted sizes while glowing, he’s bloody with smudged makeup, wearing a tank top, and has his tattoos visible. We can also see he’s wearing one of Jack’s gloves and Jack’s pants. It’s very much a transitional state between Jack and Joseph. It’s very telling and so unsettling, especially since his body is decaying.

All four of the male leads have their own animated pictures. They appear in bouncy animation in front of a fun “party” type background, then for a split second we see them in a more horrifying light.

In Jack’s case, there are two horrifying versions of him. Here’s the other one:

Jack is in full costume this time, not only bleeding but also splattered in blood to imply he committed violence of some sort, and his skin is clearly rotting like his other scary image. However, what I find most interesting is the blank white eyes of his that are overflowing with tears. We haven’t seen Jack’s eyes look like that yet.

The fact that there are two versions of Jack feels telling to me. It might represent Jack’s persona as the character he’s trying to be, as well as the actor he was when playing the role, affected by Jack’s presence even in his real life. The empty eyes do hint at this version of Jack being empty. In a way, he has been divided into two, and one half of him is buried underneath his trauma and desperation.

Also, I’d like to talk about the text that goes along with these gifs.

Everybody likes Jack!

The question is, what happens when he doesn't necessarily like everybody back?

This quote is pretty straightforward in what it’s insinuating - Jack is a yandere. He doesn’t like anyone who might keep him from his sunshine. The game is literally called Something is Wrong with Sunny Day Jack. We’ve seen plenty of teasers of Jack being scary and covered in blood, implying that he caused violence to happen.

Jack doesn’t directly cause violence in the teasers. He has issues with breaking character in any sense, that’s why he doesn’t swear and why he panics when he’s reminded of his personal past as Joseph. Instead, he convinces others to hurt themselves, as we’ve seen with Nick regardless of our choices at the end of the demo.

You know, that always confused me. Nick, apparently, is a random customer who asked Sunshine if they had a boyfriend. No matter what option you choose, he gets rejected and goes away without any attempts to push it further. Furthermore, Sunshine doesn’t react positively to Nick asking that question, so there was no hint that they would want to date him.

On that topic, can I just say how uncomfortable what Nick did was? People in the food service industry have a hard time when customers flirt with them while they’re working. The servers literally are being paid to act friendly and smile at the customers, and if they displease the customer, they could lose their jobs. There are plenty of customers who take that to mean that the server is flirting with them or otherwise interested and ask them out or leave their phone number. No matter how uncomfortable or even scared for their safety the server is, they have to keep being pleasant, even if the customer feels entitled to more than just friendly service from their server.

While there are plenty of people who take one look at Nick and are immediately interested in him, Sunshine rejects him in every route, and has this reaction:

Hm. I don’t know whether to be flattered this is happening. Or terrified this is happening.

I’m going to go with terrified for now.

“Well. I mean. I uh…”

Shit. Shit. What do I say?

What am I supposed to DO?

Sunshine is not comfortable with being hit on at their job where they can’t escape the situation. It’s not a fair situation to put anyone in, and a lot of servers lie that they’re in a relationship just to escape a potentially dangerous situation. Fortunately Nick seemed to take the rejection well and went away, right?

While in the “no” route, I can see why Jack would feel bitter towards Nick, as Nick was the catalyst that set off a very traumatic moment. It’s clear revenge and a defensive measure to prevent Nick from being a threat in the future.

The results are vastly different in the “yes” route though. Nick is practically a wingman, allowing Jack to nudge Sunshine into finally making the choice to deepen their relationship. If anything, Jack kind of owes Nick in this route.

And yet Jack still drives Nick to madness anyway.

What further confused me was the timing of it. In both routes, Jack and Sunshine have sex. The next morning, Jack is clingy and doesn’t want to let go of Sunshine. Being so intimate together for as long as possible would be very reassuring to him, especially after such a traumatic incident as the brief rejection in the “No” route and how reluctant Sunshine was to accept him.

So, why then did Jack (presumably) leave after Sunshine fell asleep to drive Nick insane?

Admittedly, the news report about Nick doesn’t exactly state when the incident happens. Maybe this is jumping ahead several weeks or a month ahead of time after the demo ends with Jack asking who Shaun is. However, its presence in the epilogue makes it seem like the news report was broadcast on the day Shaun visited, which would imply that Nick was driven to madness the night before. This implication is strengthened by the earlier incident where Sunshine passed out and woke up Jack’s jacket, and how that suggested to many players (including myself) that Jack did something suspicious that night while Sunshine was unconscious.

I think most of us just assumed Jack’s choice to go after Nick was just yanderes being yanderes - pre-emptive violence and rash decisions in order to keep the one they love. However, Jack is anything but rash. He’s very methodical and clever. Having an impulse to go after a random guy who asked out his sunshine but got rejected and slunk away without a fight seems out of character for him, especially since in the teaser art, Jack would resort to violence when a threat “just won’t go away.”

Granted, these images are not strictly canon, just some great teasers for SDJ in general, but they both have the same sentiment - when someone keeps getting in Jack’s way and is a burden on his sunshine, he’s pushed to drastic measures.

But Nick didn’t do that, right? Sure, he walked into the shop for yogurt the day before he asked if Sunshine had a boyfriend, but he accepted rejection easily and left. How is that a burden or a threat that keeps getting in Jack’s way and just won’t go away?

Unless there was more to it than what we saw.

Our perspective is limited by what Sunshine perceives. We’re inside their head, privy to their thoughts and feelings. When they go unconscious, the story cuts short, as was shown when Sunshine “dozed off” on the couch with Jack. We don’t see anything they don’t witness, and they didn’t witness what Jack did to Nick.

So what if there were things Nick did that Sunshine didn’t see either?

Allow me to turn our attention to a few interesting details that can be gleaned from Nick’s profile and his Spotify playlist.

Nick may keep a cool head, but he's got a lot more going on beneath the surface than most people realize.

A social media influencer by day, and a professional male dom by night,  Nick's seen his fair share of unsavory things, but at the end of it  all, he has his close family bonds and twin Pomeranians (Pico and  Cheese) to keep him sane.

Will that always be enough, though?

I was pretty shocked that Nick, the guy who was shy and took two days to gather up the nerve to ask if the cute person serving yogurt had a boyfriend, was a social media influencer, and a professional male dom. Both those things demand a strong amount of presence and confidence to handle, as the former requires being at the center of attention for many and handling a lot of social media, while the latter is taking charge of other people sexually for money. Kind of strange that someone who can pull off both these things would be so shy, right?

Although, social media influencers and professional male doms can be said to be playing a role, putting on an act for their paycheck. This begs the question then - was the shy customer we saw in the demo Nick’s real face?

Some of the song choices on his playlist further raised my eyebrows. I won’t go too deep into depth here since this post is getting long enough, but more than one song is about obsessive love, drugs, being the bad guy, and loss of sanity.

Sure, Jack drove Nick crazy, and maybe that’s where the drugs come in. After all, Nick’s scary glitch image showed him in clothes one might expect to see a patient wear at a mental hospital...

There’s also the quote given along with the gif.

So close, yet so far away~

What if this quote isn’t referring to Nick’s kickstarter goal being so close to offer a route to save him, or how “close” Nick came to becoming Sunshine’s boyfriend?

What if Nick has been close to Sunshine for a while, and they never even noticed? What if they’ve been coming to the store a long time, but Sunshine never paid attention - after all, he was just another customer. It was Nick’s strange behaviors like asking if the obvious employee worked there that made him stand out.

What if Nick didn’t simply go away when rejected? What if he’s been stalking Sunshine without being noticed? What if on the day he was rejected... he secretly followed Sunshine home to their apartment while they were too exhausted to notice?

What if someone, say, was so obsessed with their crush on Sunshine it bordered on criminal? So many yandere characters break into the homes of those they are obsessed with. What if Nick didn’t actually take his rejection well, and he decided to pay Sunshine a little unexpected late night visit?

What if Nick is a yandere targeting Sunshine?

Well, an immediate threat is certainly a good reason for Jack to leave the reassuring warmth of his sunshine’s embrace, wouldn’t it? He can’t exactly savor the afterglow and how their relationship finally evolved into something deeper when a threat is breaking in to take his sunshine away...

This would make Jack’s actions make perfect sense to me. It also adds a new unsettling context to what Jack said to sunshine after Ian’s phone call.

Remember what I told you…

About…Other people?

Jack was worried about “other people” even before Ian’s phone call and warned Sunshine as such. What if that was his discreet way of warning them to be cautious because Sunshine had a stalker, and he didn’t want to scare them? Jack wants to take care of Sunshine, so he’s going to hide scary and ugly things from them so that their light will always shine... so he has reason not to tell them something that could trouble them. He’ll take care of them. He can provide them safety.

These ideas, as well as the other glitch cut-ins from the other guys, led me to a new theory/headcanon - all of the male leads are yandere for MC.

I mean, let’s just take a look at Ian here.

It isn’t easy to tell due to the animation and distortion, but I can confirm that there is a heart in his pupil. On patreon, there’s a picture of him with this exact same love-struck expression, including with a heart in his eye.

A star is born!

With a face like that, Ian could do a lot of damage in the acting scene!

Naturally, this remark seems to be pointedly referring to his glitched image where he’s covered in blood.

Ian is dressed up as Sunny Day Jack, not just any Jack, but a redesigned Sunny Day Jack... like in a reboot perhaps? His outfit is different in so many ways, including the belt, elbow pads, sun logo, fingerless gloves, general jacket, and even the shape of the makeup on his cheeks.

Is Ian possessed by Jack, who then committed acts of violence in his body? It’s possible. It certainly was a theory in the fandom for a while.

It was also a theory that Ian is a yandere, and as such he might be the one actually responsible for all the bloodshed here.

After all, Jack and Ian do share a common dislike in their profiles - they both dislike being left alone. I find that a pretty interesting coincidence. Not to mention all the other parallels they share, such as taking the starring role of Sunny Day Jack.

Let’s also look at the phone calls from Ian. He constantly calls Sunshine to apologize for cheating on them. His profile confirms that his cheating is why they broke up.

He had you, until he lost you. Formerly your childhood friend, high school sweetheart, and your boyfriend, Ian has fallen from your good graces after admitting to cheating on you while attending performing arts school.

Nothing will stop him from proving his undying love for you, though. And this new job of his as the main character of an upcoming big budget TV show should do nicely as a fresh start for both your lives.

Ian said in the demo that he had something that would “fix” everything. He thinks this new job, presumably starring as a rebooted version of Sunny Day Jack, will somehow undo the damage he did when cheating on his partner. That is a very strange assumption. Why would a new job, even one that offers fame, undo the fact that he cheated while he was away?

Does Ian believe that game and money can soothe away the pain he caused and prove he is worthy of forgiveness? Does he believe that’s enough to make them happy?

Sunshine has been shown to be very poor. It’s one of the big plot points in the story that they’re struggling for money. They work long, grueling hours in a job that mortifies them, their co-worker Carol shoves work onto them to take care of, their boss calls them in on their day off... They can’t even afford to replace their wardrobe.

I’d been looking for clothes at the local thrift shop. 

You know…As one does when their wardrobe consists of 75% stolen and borrowed shirts from their ex.

…And they’re too much of a tightwad to shop for new clothes in an actual new-clothes store.

Not only does Sunshine rely on Ian’s wardrobe to be clothed, they also rely on the apartment they got together. I find it interesting that Sunshine is still living there. Normally, after a break up, wouldn’t you want to move out from a place that causes you so much pain? Sunshine doesn’t seem to like thinking about Ian’s bedroom at all, so that’s even more reason to move. The breakup with Ian is why they’re “recklessly” rejecting all things nostalgic. Plus, if they’re struggling for money so much, why are they still paying for a two bedroom apartment? Can they really afford to pay for it all on their own?

That got me wondering... what if they’re not? What if, like the borrowed shirts, Sunshine is still relying on Ian financially despite being broken up? He could still be paying half or more of the rent. Ian could frame it as an apology for how much he hurt Sunshine. After all, Ian would do anything to make up for what he did, right? Begging, bringing up old memories, constantly calling them, claiming he has a right to know if they’re dating anyone... emotional manipulation...

Ian sounded so shocked when Sunshine said they were trying to move on, even though they were broken up. And why wouldn’t he? They’re still living in their shared apartment, still relying on his money. It’s only natural to assume that they’re not moving on. They can’t.

Let’s not forget the Afterlife moment where Ian was presented as, well, I’ll quote Sunshine here on this one:

He was a nerd, and he was silly, and he was VERY apologetically himself, but…What we had was special.

It seems as though Ian has a habit of apologizing in their relationship. We’ve seen many instances of him being apologetic even before he cheated. Often times when people apologize, they give the person they wronged gifts to represent their sincerity, sometimes really expensive gifts. Ian was jokingly referred to once as “Team has money, will pay ur bills.”

What if Ian has a habit of throwing money at his problems? What if he thinks money can fix, well, everything?

This does lead a new headcanon I have about Ian’s home life, particularly who his father might be. There’s this common theory that Ian is related to Jean Laurent, former co-star on the SunnyTime Crew Show who played the part of Rory Rainberry alongside Jack. Both Ian and Jean have similar orange hair and freckles, which has made this a compelling theory, even if the different surnames pose a wrinkle to the idea. It certainly would make sense how Ian has money and got a job as the new Jack if he was related to a famous actor with connections, particularly to the old show...

Now, I’m going pretty deep into headcanon on this point but I think Jean really is Ian’s father. Ian could have his mother’s last name, but not because Jean took her last name upon marriage. I don’t think there was actually any marriage at all.

This seems kind of strange given how religious Ian’s mother is, right? Obviously someone who was so upset at her son doing something so “sinful” as to live with their partner before marriage would get married themselves right? That’s not necessarily the case. Sometimes people are just plain hypocritical and project their own mistakes and problems onto people they control.

There’s a picture of a woman theorized to be Ian’s mother. The quote from this woman is very telling, even if it’s not strictly canon for the game.

Let’s break the picture down. This woman is in heavy makeup, with styled hair, long nails, and drinking presumably an alcoholic beverage in that martini glass. She is telling someone, presumably a child, that they are so ugly, the only way they’ll get sex is from a desperate sex worker unless they have a lot of money to burn.

Quite the awful woman. If she’s talking to her child, then that’s a sign of an abusive parent. Ian’s mother certainly seems similarly abusive in the afterlife story.

“...My mom called me.”

“Someone gave her our address…Or she might have had one of her friends watching. I don’t know…”

“S-She…Uh…She says that…To live with someone out of…Wedlock…I-It’s a sin? And I’m going to hell?”

“She said I’m only doing it to…To satisfy…My manhood…”

“I-I’m not taking advantage of you by doing this…Am I?”

What if these opinions of Ian are projections his mother had about herself and his father?

My headcanon is that Jean, a famous star, had a lot of sugar babies. Ian’s mother, Ms. Duff, was one of those people who latched onto him for money, connections, and fame. She tried to baby trap Jean into marriage, but that plan failed to work. She still got financial support from Jean, but now she was an unwed mother forced to raise a child on her own. That led her to being resentful and clinging more to religion and control over her son to vent her frustrations at the choices she made.

Ian seems to struggle with wanting his mother’s approval, even though she’s a horrible woman. What if he learned how to be apologetic from not only her abusive treatment, from her apologies as well? Why, she gave him something nice, so it means she really is sorry, right? She certainly could have been given plenty of nice things when her sugar daddy acted out but still tried to keep her on the hook...

Abuse can be a cycle that chains into the next person. Jean has control over Ian’s mother, apologizes when he hurts and upsets her, and gives her fancy stuff to make amends and keep her coming back to him. Ian’s mother abuses Ian, but gets him to keep listening to her through guilt and gifting him money for, say, a fancy college.

Those things might even be reason enough for Ian to unblock her and let her back into his life to keep influencing him. Sadly, there are people who have been abused to unblock their abusers out of guilt... or because they’re afraid of getting cut off.

Now Ian thinks that a new job with fame and money can fix his relationship with Sunshine. Of course it’ll work. It worked on his mom, who kept coming back to Jean despite how many times he cheated to satisfy his manhood...

Again, that is just my own headcanon and there’s very little evidence to prove it for sure, but I think it fits many pieces very neatly into place. Ian can use his connections through his dad to get the job at the rebooted Sunny Day Jack show, which is probably being produced by Jean, or at least Jean still has his old connections to LambsWork...

Of course, if the earlier theory that Sunny Day Jack was a role of a lamb to be slaughtered, what might that say about Jean giving his son the same part that murdered his co-worker all those years ago?

Now let’s finish things off with Shaun, who has kind of gotten the short end of the stick in terms of how much we know about him.

Shaun seems to be the most normal of the bunch, right?

Here, kitty-kitty~

You don't have to worry about anything with friends like Shaun looking out for you~

He might be into horror movies, goth fashion, and come from a family of funeral directors, but he seems pretty normal.

He seems normal.

There was a tweet, unfortunately now deleted, where Jambeebot seemed amused by the idea that the fans believe Shaun is the most normal of the love interests. There’s an implication that he might be just as... not quite right as the rest of them.

There’s not all that much to indicate Shaun is a threat to Sunshine. Even the creepy cut in picture is just him looking shocked/upset/angry while covered in blood. It doesn’t hint at him being the cause of violence. Even his profile and the teaser quotes don’t hint at a sinister side.

I still can’t quite shake the idea that if the other three leads might be yandere, Shaun might be too in order to round off the set.

After all, I had proposed the idea a while back that there are plenty of ways to be a yandere. A yandere essentially means “love sick,” a person who is unhealthy with love. I posited that there could be yanderes who aren’t inherently violent to others, but to themselves.

Remember in the demo the story about Shaun staying up all night then buying Sunshine breakfast the next day? What if Shaun is the type of yandere who sacrifices himself to unhealthy extremes for the sake of the one he loves?

Though there might be other things about him that are more dangerous that we’ll learn in the full release of the game. After all, the demo is short, and there are glimpses of a much bigger story waiting to be told...

Of course, we can’t dismiss the threat Jack poses over the others. After all, there’s this gem from his profile:

Jack is ready to be your best friend until the end in the most literal sense. The only question is-- what to do about those pesky, inferior other friends of yours who came before him and now stand in his way?

A “friend to the end in the most literal sense.” I think we can all get what that’s implying. The question is if Jack plans to speed up that end, or if it’s just he plans to be with Sunshine until the end of their natural lifespan?

It seems unlikely to be the former, as Jambeebot stated that Jack sincerely does love Sunshine and just wants to bask in their warm and happy light. This still seems quite sinister in any case.

Then, of course, there’s the fact that Jack finds Sunshine’s other friends to be pesky, inferior, and in his way. Is it just because they’re friends, or is it because they want what he wants - Sunshine’s love?

We can’t dismiss the idea that Jack really is the game’s one and only antagonist and he could possess and manipulate others into violence. Personally though, I want to go with the headcanon that all the guys are yandere for Sunshine.

Wouldn’t it be such a great twist if the obvious threat of the ghost in the cursed VHS tape was actually the person who is the least dangerous threat to Sunshine? After all, as Jack said, he can’t do anything Sunshine doesn’t want him to... No other yandere would have the same supernatural guarantee of their consent and safety.

Edit:  Oops forgot the obligatory tags for @channydraws and @earthgirlaesthetic. If you want to get tagged when I make the next headcanon post, just let me know!

Also, if you like my writing, consider checking out my SDJ fanfic, Sunshine in Hell and leaving a comment telling me what you think. I just adore hearing from you!

[avenirdelight]

Number Seven | PART 1

Jack Grealish

Part 2 | Part 3

Jack was surprised to see her in the crowd wearing an England shirt number seven. Let’s just say their relationship was... Complicated.

Inspired by that video of Jack and Phil. This piece is dedicated to @jackgrealishbrummiesuperstar who wondered who Jack was looking at and @daikiry19 who attempted on lip reading😆 (Thank you for the ideas!) And definitely for all Jack’s girls out there!

She was there. She was up there in the stands, wearing an England home shirt.

No. Not just an ordinary England home shirt, but one with a number seven written on the front. Jack was the number seven. He needed to focus on her shirt to make sure that he saw the right thing and after a few seconds he could confirm that she was indeed wearing a Grealish shirt.

Jack's lips twitched upright very slightly and that was when Phil came closer to him, snatching his attention by saying, "We are really going to the final, bro."

Jack immediately turned his attention away from her and looked back at his little brother who was smiling from ear to ear, clearly still high on adrenaline because they had just won over Denmark that sent England to the Euro's final.

"Did we really do it? This feels mental," Phil said again as he put his hand on Jack's shoulder.

"Yeah, of course we did, listen to those cheers, man," Jack finally responded as he quickly looked around. All the fans were still buzzing, some were clapping, some were cheering, and some hadn't stopped singing Sweet Caroline. Jack stole a glance again towards her and felt his heart jump a little bit when he saw her staring at him.

"Who are you looking at?" Phil furrowed his eyebrows, realising that Jack was spacing out and looking out somewhere.

"No one."

"Yeah? Doesn't feel real, does it?" Phil suddenly pulled him into a hug and Jack wasn't sure why. Maybe just because he was extremely overjoyed and Jack understood that because he also still couldn't wrap it around his head, the fact that they were really going to the final.

"My missus is here. She's here," Jack mumbled. He didn't know who he was saying that to, Phil or himself. He didn't even know why he said that she was his missus when she was certainly not. But he didn't think Phil caught what he said because the man continued to say something about winning it all and lifting a trophy, which he didn't pay any attention to because his head was full of thoughts of her.

To be honest, Jack had no idea she was there.

They had met a couple of times for the past month to talk and Jack had been making his intention clear, but she hadn't really given him a green light. She said that she needed time to think and that it would be best for them to wait until the Euro is over. Then the Euro took over and all Jack could do was to keep their communication going by texts and random short calls once in a few days.

They had met a couple of times for the past month to talk and Jack had been making his intention clear, but she hadn't really given him a green light. She said that she needed time to think and that it would be best for them to wait until the Euro is over. Then the Euro took over and all Jack could do was to keep their communication going by texts and random short calls once in a few days.

Jack wasn't sure if he was really making any progress, he wasn't sure if they were going in the direction he was hoping for. She was just very hard to read and he was desperate to figure out whether she had developed more good feelings towards him. Unfortunately he had to wait for at least another week. What made it worse was that he missed her more than anything. He wanted to invite her to the semi-final before, but he was too scared of taking the wrong step. She also said that work had been crazy for her so he really didn't want to disturb her.

It was a huge surprise for him that she was there without him even asking, that she really went to all the trouble traveling from Birmingham to London for him. What was more surprising was the fact that she had worn the number seven shirt. It had to mean something, right? At least Jack hoped so.

Jack wanted to give her a call as soon as possible. He had dialed her number before he even closed his hotel door, closing it with his foot before he impatiently discarded his shoes in front of the mirror on his way to the bed. He sat on the bed, his heart gradually beating faster while he listened to the never ending ringing tone. He was considering hanging up and waiting for another ten minutes, thinking that maybe she was still busy doing something else, but then a little hello came from the other side of the phone.

So familiar, so sweet, and it literally made his heart stop for a second.

"Hi. Where are you?" Jack said. He sounded more eager than he meant to.

"Just arrived at the hotel. Oh, my feet are killing me. I'm with Henry and Alicia, by the way. We went together and we're going to catch a train back home in the afternoon," she said, immediately reporting to Jack about her plans. It had become a habit for them lately, since their busy schedules usually only let them update each other with what they had been doing. Her voice sounded awfully hoarse, definitely because of all the screaming she did, which made him imagine an image of her cheering for him when he got subbed on.

"Where are you?" she asked him back.

"Yeah, just got back to our hotel too. Listen, I don't want to hold you for too long because I know you're tired. I just— I just want to say thank you for coming."

"You're welcome," she replied. By her voice, he knew she was smiling. "I wasn't sure I could make it but my meetings tomorrow got cancelled, so I asked Henry if he still had any tickets left and luckily he had one."

Freaking Henry. Worst friend ever. He didn't even say a word about her tagging along. Jack was the one who gave him some tickets.

"I really didn't know you were coming. Could've played better if I knew you were there watching. Why didn't you tell me?"

She giggled. "Wanted to give you a little surprise. Hey, you did your best. Congratulations for reaching the final. You're making history, Jack."

"Thank you." A smile grew on Jack's face, his heart getting even warmer from hearing her compliments. Another reason to be proud of himself tonight. "And you wore my shirt," Jack said, diverting the topic. The image of her standing up there on the stands wearing a number seven shirt was still so vivid on his mind and it was still driving him crazy.

"Of course I did. I've got to show who I was there for."

And Jack swore his heart just exploded right there.

He jumped to his feet, violently ran his hand through his hair before yanking it as he tried so hard not to scream. He fell silent, completely losing all his words. He swore she had never been this blunt before with everything she had said. She had never blatantly said something that would sound like a green light.

Jack's friends were there together at the match, he invited plenty of them. Some of them knew she had something going on with him, some of them didn't even know who she was. And it was driving him crazy, the fact that she wanted to show people she was there for him. This was definitely a green light, right?

"Jack?" Her voice brought Jack back to Earth. "Are you there?"

"Yeah, yeah," he quickly answered. "Just wondering, does this mean I can take you on a date when I get back?"

It was her turn to fall silent and Jack the passing seconds felt like minutes and hours for Jack. He bit his thumb, impatiently waiting for the answer. He silently cursed at himself, thinking that it was a complete mistake to ask her the question. She clearly told him that she needed time to think and wait until after the Euro and he just put her on the spot now.

But he felt the biggest release when he heard her voice again.

"Yes. Yes, you can," she finally answered.

Jack threw the biggest air punch, mouthing the most passionate "YES!!! YES!!!", and quickly tried to compose himself. He hoped she didn't hear any of that, he just couldn't contain his excitement. He sat himself down on the bed again, his hand gripping at the edge of the bed for support.

"Thank you. And thanks again for coming... Wish I could've played more," Jack said, trying to sound as calm as possible.

"Not your fault. You've always done great. Hopefully you'll start in the final, yeah?"

"Hopefully. Will you be there?"

She giggled happily. "I would be crazy if I didn't come to England's match in a final. Besides, I have to show my support to player number seven."

Jack felt his heart explode once again and was left speechless. Getting the national team into a major tournament final and getting back the girl he was in love with at the same time? This was definitely one of the best nights of his life.

—

i just realized that my 2 other pieces of jack was also him being in a complicated relationship (and one of them was also him on the phone) so maybe i need to stop writing about that🥲

here if you want to check it out: do you see it? & maybe

My Masterlist🤍

[mirukostallbabygirl]

BNHA boys after passing No-Nut-November

Yeah. It’s what it sounds like. Prepare to have your backs blown out folks 😌🤚

Characters: deku, denki, Kirishima, Aizawa, Hawks, Mirio

All characters are 18+

Warnings: Cockwarming, Overstimulation, rough sex, phone sex

Deku ~ Izuku Midoriya

Dude was literally DYING all of November

Because now that he has a girlfriend why wouldn’t he have sex??

But you seemed excited and suspicious of his ability to do it, so— like a true hero— he took on the challenge

He didn’t realize how used to sex he already was, and he sometimes woke up to himself humping a pillow in his sleep (but shh he didn’t tell you about that)

The two of you were texting during the night of November 30

And you could feel the desperation in his texts

Seeing the minutes tick by... 12:30... 12:45... 12:5

It was maddening

He didn’t want to come on too strong, so he decided that he would rather FaceTime you, because he though it would be less awkward (and there aren’t receipts if you say no)

But you were one step ahead of him

You had your alarm set to go off at 12:00 AM December 1st

He was startled when the annoying chime blasted out of your phone, stuttering on what he was saying

So you cut him off, turning your screen to show the time and asking “hey baby, do you want to come over?”

This mans eyes SPARKLED LIKE A KID ISTG

He didn’t even reply. You just saw a shaky view of his room and the sound of shuffling clothes and shoes, then the click of a door lock

He showed up at your door a few minutes later, after having hung up without another word on his way there

You opened the door and there were lips on yours, strong arms gripping your waist

Then groping your tits and ass

He never goes insanely hard

But that was the roughest sex you two had ever had

It honestly made not being able to have sex with him worth it for the absolute monstrous fuck you guys had

And it was a LONG session

You thought about calling in sick from work to stay with him and see if you could make your torn-apart body go for another round

Denki Kaminari

He gets zappy when he’s horny (like— literal electricity)

And he’s horny a lot because you refuse to let him have sec with you, and even worse— he can’t even Jack off to the thought of you

He tried to get away with it a few times only for you to feel the change of static in the air and come to his bedroom

He DEFINITELY would not have made it through if you hadn’t held him accountable the whole time

And even though at those times you were helping, you weren’t making it easy for him otherwise

You’d wear the short skirts that he liked and purposefully bend over to grab things from the floor, flashing yourself to him

It was funny to see how red he got and then how hard he got— smirking when you caught a glimpse at the tent in his trousers

So on November 30, he had it all planned out

He picked out an outfit for you, and set up his room all elegant

And he asked you to come over to spend the night

You were excited

It’s not like the two of always had sex impromtu, but there was never this level of preparation

You came in around 11 for a late-late night dinner (because what’s a sleep schedule— neither of you knew, that was for sure) of boxed macaroni

His lack of cooking ability was endearing

After dinner, he handed you a bag to go change into

It had thigh high socks, thigh harnesses, and a black and gold lingerie set

You looked hot— you couldn’t lie

When you came out you saw that the clock read 11:57

And Denki turned around, turning a bright crimson

You teased him “you picked this out, silly, why are you getting so flustered?”

He pulled you down to straddle despite how red he got

The two of you kissed until the clock hit 12

And it wasn’t like the two of you hadn’t kissed all month, but it felt special when you’d be intimate for the first time in a while

He brought you to the bedroom and the two of you spent a whole 3 minutes being romantic before both of you were ravaging each other

It was hard to tell who missed sex more between the two of you

But you were both relieved it was over

Red Riot ~ Eijiro Kirishima

During all of November, he decided that whenever he was missing your body, he would train

And he did OH HOW he did

He was big and strong and he’d taken on extra hours to work on his hardening quirk, and had shown a lot of improvement

You suddenly had to cope with the fact that your boyfriend got EVEN HOTTER, and you weren’t having sex with him

You even gave in a few times, begging him to fuck you, but every time he denied, “that’s not very manly of me to fail the challenge” he would explain and then head out to the gym

It’s fair to say that it sucked for you

So when November was ending, you made a plan

He worked long hours at his agency, so he wouldn’t be back until it was almost 12, which (you being the night owl you are) has never been a problem

But it was today

So, here you are at his agency, rapping on his office door during his lunch break

He hugged you and pulled you inside of his office like he’s done every day you showed up at his office since you started dating

But you were horny and so was he and the tension was high between the two of you

No one wanted to make the first move, because that would be admitting defeat

So you walked to the side of his desk, his eyes following your ass, and bend down to grab his lunch from the left drawer

You hiked your skirt up enough so that he could see a flash of your panties

You weren’t going to make this last day easy on him, but you weren’t trying to make him lose either

But he was on you after that

Hands on your hips, cock pressed against your clothed ass

And you were so in

You both lost your stubbornness quickly when the lust grew too hard to handle

So you let him pull your panties to the side and start thrusting

God you missed this

And he was so much stronger now

You let out moans as he co tinued, not caring if anyone out in their cubicles heard

You were Red Riot’s and he was yours

You both came, multiple times

And when he relaxed back on his desk chair which you collapsed on his chest

You decided to make the final blow

“You realize you lost, right babe?”

And deep red eyes met yours with a seriousness rivaling that of some prestigious heroes (which was hardly eijiro— everyone loved him as a refreshing kind savior rather than the usual aloofness of heroes)

“I could keep going if you want to be a brat.”

Eraser Head ~ Shota Aizawa

He’s not a very sex-motivated guy

But he definitely liked it every once in a while— especially with you

His baby girl struggling to take him, writhing in pleasure, cumming 2,3,4 times

He loves it

And he decides that he’ll still get to see his baby get pleasure, and just not get any of his own

So most of the month, if you were in the same room as him, you had a vibrator buried deep in your cunt

It didn’t feel the same as him feeling you up, but it was hard to sit still or focus when he was indirectly doing such lewd things to you

So November was long for you

And not in a bad way, but you were ready for it to be over, and you could tell he was, too

He was near his wits end from not getting to unload into his little girl, and it reflected on his teaching

You wondered if his students could tell he was lashing out because of sexual frustration

The thought made you laugh

So he cancelled or denied any plans anyone made that night, and so did you

You spent the afternoon together, watching tv mindlessly as you sat on his cock

That was something you two had done a lot more— cockwarming

It was nice to be so close to him

And he argued that the challenge was that he couldn’t cum, not that he couldn’t have his dick in you

So you agreed

And now it was nearing time, and he started slowly thrusting into you, both of your heads turned to the clock as you counted down the seconds until you could both cum

And when the clock finally shone 12:00, it was over for you

Brutal thrusts from underneath you left you with a cream-filled pussy, and then again on your hands and knees against the couch, and on the kitchen counter, and the bed

He had to make up for all the time he wasn’t able to pleasure you himself

So you let yourself be completely destroyed by his cock multiple times

Your legs were t even working past your 3rd orgasm, so he’d just carry you to his new destination

Hawks ~ Takami Keigo

He loved you, but this was not a hard challenge for him

He hadn’t got laid for most of his teenage years

And the two of you did it only on occasion before you teased the idea and he said that he didn’t think you could do it— not have sex with him

So it was more like no-nut-November for you

But you wouldn’t let his teasing be confirmed

So you stood your ground

The two of you made it through the first week with fire in your eyes— encouraged by the want to win against the other

Even the second week was fine

Then you walked in on him fapping like a teenager in your bedroom, surrounded by a few of your sentimental stuffed animals from when you were a kid and a pair of dirty panties

You didn’t intrude

You just let him

And your fingers made their way to the waistband of your panties

You were egged on by his moans seeping through the wall and to your ears

Gorgeous, erotic, and effortless moans that could make you cum without touching yourself at all

But here you are, rubbing your clit and dipping your fingers into your puffy cunt as he jerked himself off on your bed

The two of you never mentioned this

Neither of you were going to admit that that could t even last 3 weeks

You weren’t even sure he saw you, but you sure saw him

And it didn’t happen again, as much as you wanted it to

The sex wasn’t life changing when he could do it again

The real reason you two were together was because you love the other, and that didn’t go away just because you couldn’t fuck

So the two of you were solidified in the shared opinion that you would be happy no matter what happens

And you spend the night bare against his chest, wings brought around your body in a protective shield

Togata Mirio

He made it through the month just fine, usually too busy training and working to have time for you two to have sex

Instead the two of you work together and cuddle at night

And it’s satisfying, but it’s not mind-blowing for either of you

You’d much rather be able to have sex when he has an off night

He actually has a business trip spanning from November 27-December 3, which was a painfully long time for you

You had gotten your hopes up to be able to be destroyed by him

Instead you two FaceTime every night

And he’s too shy to mention it, but once November has passed, he’s aching to get back to you

Aching to get his cock back buried deep in you

You start touching yourself on FaceTime the night before his flight back

He didn’t notice at first

But he saw your arm flexing as you rubbed tight circles on your clit while listening to his voice

“Whatcha doing there sweetie?”

He asked it all innocent but you know better

You slide the phone down to show your pussy dripping with need

You hear him mutter a soft “fuck” before you hear the sound of unzipping and clothing falling to the ground, keeping yourself in view for him while he shows his equally needy cock on the camera

It’s blushing red on the top, so ready for you you wish you had a teleportation quirk

But the two of you were relieved to be doing just this after so long

And after you both came on your fingers, he promised he would give it to you so good when he got back

And he did not disappoint

[diavohno]

peccant pt.1

▹ pairing: lucifer x fem!reader, mammon x fem!reader, leviathan x fem!reader, satan x fem!reader, asmodeus x fem!reader, beelzebub x fem!reader, belphegor x fem!reader

▹ genre: smut, rut!au

▹ words: 6.6k

▹ rating: nsfw

▹ warnings: mc curses like a sailor and solomon has no filter, lucifer’s had a rough time, a pinch of grinding, mentions of masturbation, hickies, explicit sexual content, vaginal sex, rough sex

▹ notes: tadaa! this took a bit longer than I had originally planned (hence the big gap between the sneak peek and the full release) but I was determined to crank this out for @hornywrath​‘s birthday! hope you enjoy a lil bit of mammon hun, and happy birthday! also, I guess this also counts for a 400 follower milestone, which we hit very recently! thank you all for being here, I hope the wait was worth it ;)

“Solomon, I’m about ready to fight someone,” you seethed to the sorcerer as you glared up at his ceiling from your comfortable resting spot on top of his bed.

The entire situation was ridiculous. The brothers had been actively avoiding you almost all week, which was annoying enough, but today they had cut off all communication with you entirely. No one came down to breakfast, no one was in any of your shared classes, and no one even bothered to text you so you’d know what the hell was going on. If they were going to give you the cold shoulder the LEAST they could do would be to tell you why.

Instead, you were left to wonder what you had done wrong because surely there was some explanation for their behavior. After a full day of scouring your memory during boring classes (in which there was no one to distract you, unlike usual) you were still drawing a blank on what exactly you had done. 

This only meant one thing: you were 100% innocent in this situation, and the brothers would never live this down if you had anything to say about it.

When you were about halfway back to the House of Lamentation after class your D.D.D. buzzed. Your heart nearly leaped out of your chest seeing that the notification was a text from Lucifer. It was the first time any of the brothers had contacted you all day! With any luck, you’d finally get some explanation as to just what was going on, and (if you were lucky) an apology. The second one is highly unlikely given that it was Lucifer who had texted you, but you still had hope. That is, until you opened the message.

After class, immediately go to Purgatory Hall. You will be staying there with the other exchange students until further notice.

A second set of buzzes followed the first, in case one punch to your heart wasn’t enough.

Under no circumstances are you allowed to return to the House of Lamentation without permission.

Excuse you? Were you seriously just told that you weren’t allowed in your own house anymore? Sadly, yes, that seemed to be exactly what had just happened, and Lucifer isn’t the sort of person that you’d argue with about an order.

But come on, you hadn’t even gotten an explanation!

With no other choice, you turned your livid butt around and marched (read: stomped) over to your new home, ready to tell (read: rant to) your fellow exchange students of the injustices you had been served as of late. As if Lady Luck wanted to send an ‘F U’ herself, Solomon was the only one in Purgatory Hall when you arrived. Not the beautiful and benevolent Simeon, or Luke, who you thought of as an angelic younger brother, but Solomon, with a fox’s grin that was far too smug for your liking. And, unfortunately, the smugness only grew as you lamented about how abysmally bad your week had been thus far.

“Oh, y/n,” he said, a teasing coo woven into his tone. Your attention shifted from his incredibly interesting ceiling to his incredibly boring head that he was propping up on his desk with his incredibly boring hand. Solomon may be one of your best friends, but you’d be lying if you said he didn’t push your buttons all the damn time. “You’re so naive to the ways of the world.”

“Sorry I’m not a fancy pants magic bitch like you,” you grumbled with no real bite behind your words. Would you believe he then had the audacity to snicker at you? Because that’s exactly what he did. It took all of your strength plus a little extra from the Big Man Upstairs to not clock the white-haired menace into next week. “Solomon, explain to me what’s going on before I do something I won’t regret.”

Ever the fake pacifist, he raised his hands in mock surrender. “Alright, alright, no need for violence. And, really, it’s your own fault that you don’t know about demon ruts.”

Silence filled the room, leaving you to sit there and drown in it as Solomon seemingly decided the desk itself would make a much more comfortable seat than his chair. With just those few words he had managed to switch your brain from operating on Google Chrome to Internet Explorer, and what is the next thing he does? Perches on his desk like it was normal. 

After some time passed with you buffering and Solomon preening as if he had just been graced by God, you finally managed to spit out, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

More snickering. Try as you might, you couldn’t fight off the blush that had been steadily creeping onto your cheeks, so you instead gave in and decided to find out as much as you could. “You mean, right now, they’re at home—”

“Jacking themselves off on anything of yours that they can get their cummy little demon mitts on? Ding ding ding, you’ve guessed it! Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve been in your room already. Having a—” calculating eyes swept your form from head to toe before continuing irritatingly hesitantly, “presumably fertile female so close is akin to torture when they’re rutting, so what remains of your pheromones are probably the only thing they can smell at the moment.”

Taking the high road for once in your little gremlin life, you chose to ignore the ‘presumably fertile’ comment and remained focused on the topic at hand: the brothers were going through a demon rutting period. “That is so unbelievably disgusting and hot at the same time.”

So some of your inner gremlin slipped out, sue you.

Solomon sighed as if he expected nothing more from you, white strands of hair falling onto his face as he pressed it into the palms of his hands. “Leave it to you to be turned on by the suffering of others.”

“Shut it, Solomon, you know what I mean.” Heat flared across your cheeks at the insinuation. You may be many things, but a sadist was not one of them; Lucifer had that title locked down anyway. “Dammit. What do I do, Solomon? Lucifer texted me saying that I can’t go back, so does he really expect me to wear the same clothes for however many days it takes for their ruts to end?”

“Probably. He’s twisted like that. Ooh, what if he’s getting off to the idea that you’re—”

Before you had a chance to cut Solomon off from finishing a sentence that would have undoubtedly mortified you to no end, a series of rapid-fire buzzes from your phone did it for you. You had patted both yourself and the area around you on the bed down thoroughly only for Solomon to dangle your phone in the air. Warning bells sounded off in your head loud and clear the moment you noticed his cheeky grin.

“I think you should put this one on speaker.”

With a flick of his wrist, your phone sailed through the air and landed on the bed next to you after you failed to catch it. Ignoring Solomon’s snort, you flipped your phone over to see who was calling you. The name, along with everything you had just discussed with Solomon, caused your pulse to pound in your ears.

It was Mammon.

Panic ran through your veins like liquid lightning. Should you answer it? There could only be one reason why he would be calling if he was rutting. Warmth shot straight to your core. Deep down, you realize that if he was calling you to ask for help, you’d say yes. Solomon cleared his throat and gestured at your phone, reminding you to answer before you lost your chance. Without hesitation, you answered the call, switching to speakerphone with a pointed glare from the man across from you.

Within seconds, breathy groans rang out from the phone. Your face flushed as you spared a glance at Solomon, who had donned a shit-eating grin, before your attention snapped back to the phone upon hearing Mammon’s voice. “Where are ya, y/n?” he whined. “I need ya so bad.”

Your teeth caught your bottom lip between them. “Lucifer told me not to come back for now, so I’m at Purgatory Hall.”

A string of expletives exploded from the speaker, although they died down as quickly as they started. When Mammon addressed you again, the pleading tone to his voice was in no way subtle. “Please. . . Please come help me, y/n. I need ya.”

“Mammon, babe, are you rutting?” Your eyes widened in horror while Solomon snickered gleefully; the question had fallen out before you could really even think about it. 

You weren’t given much time to worry over it, though, as Mammon answered in confirmation, “Yeah. And everythin’. . . Everythin’ fuckin’ HURTS. It hurts so bad, y/n, please.” Images of some of your succubi and incubi friends flashed through your head. It would probably be best that a demon helped him through his heat. If you helped, you’d likely get hurt. You had just begun to offer to call one of your friends when your words were cut short with a growl. “No, dammit! I only want you! Only you, ya hear me, y/n?”

A milky-white hand clamped firmly against his mouth was the only thing preventing Solomon from alerting Mammon to the fact that you were not the only human hearing him at that moment, and that hand was getting dangerously close to not being enough to save the two of you. The thought of how Mammon would react upon finding the two of you out sent a shiver down your back. You could NOT let that happen.

Executive authority coursed through you as you turned off the speakerphone and brought it up to your ear instead; a curling lick of satisfaction in your chest was the only thing Solomon’s huff of discontent managed to elicit. “Okay, Mammon, I’m on my way.”

A pleased groan answered your words, followed by a click. You blinked a few times, waiting to no avail for anything else— he had hung up on you. Although you’re not quite sure what you expected (some thanks would have been nice) you couldn’t help but to notice how your body seemed to be thrumming with anticipation.

“Oh, you’re on your way, are you? You DO realize that if you go to help one of them you’ll have to help ALL of them, right? So are you stupid? Is that it?” the whirlwind that was Solomon accused, white brows furrowed in total scorn. “And here I was, thinking that you were a creature of intelligence. Oh, how it pains me to be wrong.”

Already on your feet, you pocketed your phone and smoothed out your clothes, ready to head to the House of Lamentation at any moment. After concluding that you were presentable enough to go have a demon rip your clothes off your body— a matter that you had grown incredibly serious about in a somewhat suspiciously short amount of time, as if the thought of being ravaged by the brothers had crossed your mind before— you turned to address the snarky sorcerer in the room. “You heard him, Solomon. He’s in serious pain right now, and he wasn’t going to accept anyone else’s help getting through it.”

“That’s a bullshit excuse and you know it,” he said in exasperation. “He’s a DEMON. He’d say whatever he needed to in order to get you there!”

Arguing with him was clearly going to get you nowhere. Instead, you stared down Solomon, daring him to continue trying to change your mind. It was a battle of the minds, and luckily for you, you happened to be one of the most bull-headed humans to ever grace the earth. After what couldn’t have been more than a few minutes, Solomon relented with a burdened groan.

“Fine, just let me cast a spell on you so you aren’t impregnated and obliterated, for the love of God.” His eyes searched yours imploringly. If you didn’t know any better you’d almost think that he was worried about you, but that would be a ridiculous idea. Still, you agreed, to which he let out a breath of relief.

Without wasting any time he crossed the room and took your hands in his own. Low mutterings in a language you didn’t recognize left his mouth, so you focused on the feeling of his hands; they were surprisingly soft and a bit bigger than you had previously thought.

A faint warmth and a corresponding tingling sensation started at your fingertips and soon encased your entire body, the tingling somehow reassuring as it raised goosebumps to the surface of your skin. Your eyes flitted up to Solomon’s questioningly, only for them to widen in shock— his eyes had gone entirely white and were glowing. Just as you were about to admit that his magic was actually pretty cool, it stopped.

The warmth and tingling disappeared, and Solomon’s eyes blinked back to normal. The only effect of the magic that you could feel was a particular humming sensation in your lower abdomen. That, and you felt like you could take on Diavolo himself and win, but that wasn’t a new feeling; an uncommon one, sure, but definitely not new.

Satisfied with his work, Solomon staggered a few steps backward before flopping onto his bed. “You should be good to go.” He propped himself up on his elbows, fixing you with a squinted stare. “You’re lucky I enjoy our banter, y/n. Can’t let you go and get yourself fucked to death, now can I?”

“God, don’t phrase it like that,” you said in a strangled voice, to which Solomon cackled and dropped onto his back once again. Just when you thought the two of you might have grown closer, he had to go and say something as mortifying as that. With renewed vigor, you scurry out of the room.

Solomon’s silvery voice echoed through the open door behind you. “Like what, the truth?”

He just managed to catch your snort before you walked out of earshot, leaving the sorcerer sprawled out on his bed, his chest heaving in deep breaths of air. The spell he had cast on you had taken quite a bit out of him. Now, he struggled to even keep his eyes open as waves of sleep crashed over him.

Would it normally take this much energy to prepare a human body for a demon rut? He supposed not, although it wasn’t exactly something he did except on the rare occasion, but he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that you wouldn’t just be dealing with one demon. There was something else, too. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

Ah, well, it was sure to come to him after he had rested up again. The comforting blanket of sleep settled over him, as well as his own blankets after he slipped under their covers. Right before he entered dreamland, the vision of a glowing pact mark appeared in his mind. His eyebrows knitted together; was this a premonition?

However, the mark was soon swallowed up by the foggy mist of his mind, and Solomon drifted off to sleep. 

x x x x x

Never before had you gotten to the House of Lamentation faster than you did today. Just going home wasn’t nearly the same level of motivation as going to get some demon dick, so you hauled ass in record time, weaving in and out of random pedestrians you encountered that were walking the paths around the Devildom. Your friends really were right: you had no hope of making it into heaven. The worst part is, they had no clue whatsoever how true that statement was.

You came to a halt in front of the dorm you had recently come to call home, your hands on your knees as you struggled to regain your breath. It took everything you had not to just collapse into a weary heap on the front steps, but the promise of what was to come was enough to keep you going. Instead, you took a minute to steady your breathing before climbing the steps and slipping into the house. Technically, Lucifer had forbidden you from coming home, so it would probably be best to not alert him to your unwanted presence.

Thankfully, you had plenty of practice tip-toeing around from all of the times you’d snuck out with Asmo to go clubbing. Lucifer would never know you were there.

As you snuck past the kitchen toward the hallway of bedrooms, the sound of the tap turning on freeze you in your tracks. With your heart in your throat, you slowly twisted your head toward the direction of the sound, hoping from the bottom of your sin-stained heart that the person responsible wasn’t who you thought it was.

There, his bare back hunched over the sink with a glass of water clenched tightly in his degloved hand, stood Lucifer. Although the mere presence of the man had you rattled, what he was wearing— or rather, what he WASN’T wearing— made you even more so. He had donned a pair of baggy grey sweatpants that rested low on his hips and had lost the rest, leaving little to be imagined. Little to be imagined of HIM, that is— the sight sparked plenty of thoughts on your part. 

The temptation to slink away to Mammon before you were discovered was great, but the temptation of marveling this new side of Lucifer was greater; you steeled yourself and moved toward him.

His rut seemed to have taken quite the toll on him already, as his usually well-kept hair was now disheveled and somewhat damp as if he had just recently gotten out of the shower. A shiver ran down your spine as the image of Lucifer in his shower was plastered to the forefront of your mind. With much thanks to your abysmally short attention span, the thought was easily discarded when you noticed that his muscles rippled along his back with each movement he took: emptying his glass; placing it back down on the counter; pushing his hair back.

Even as he turned around and realized someone had joined him in the kitchen, you couldn’t find it in yourself to run for cover. Maybe you’d screwed up your survival instincts at some point?

“y/n?” Lucifer croaked, his gaze predatory as it raked down your form. Something akin to a harrowed smirk cracked across his face when you shivered at the intensity radiating off of him, yet it was soon replaced with a pained grimace. His hands clenched the edge of the counter behind him so tightly that his knuckles were white as he ripped his gaze away from you. “I believe I explicitly told you not to return here until you received further instruction. You disobeyed me.”

You’d be lying if you said that the commanding growl in his words didn’t turn you on. Hell, if anyone told YOU that you’d just laugh in their face because damn if that wasn’t the sexiest thing you’d ever heard. Not to mention the electrifying effect it had on your body; it was as if every fiber of your being was on edge right now, acutely aware of every single thing that Lucifer said or did.

You found yourself longing to press your body up onto his, to entangle your hands in his already messy hair and mesh your lips together while you hook one of your legs around his waist to keep him close as he slams you up against the counter—

The purposeful clearing of his throat snapped you out of your imagination. It’s odd for you to have become so withdrawn from reality, but you just chalked it up to it being a side effect from whatever spell Solomon had cast on you. Anyway, Lucifer had asked you a question, and while it may not have been the smartest decision in the long run, you were in no mental state to be pulling lies out of your ass. “Mammon asked me to come over and help him.”

“Oh really? So you’ve discovered our dirty little secret, but still came?” he hummed in thought, more to himself than to you. Some switch must have flipped in him as he had gone from very obviously holding himself back to slowly stalking toward you with a wolfish glint in his eyes. It was at that moment that your survival instincts kicked in and you took two small steps back for every one Lucifer took forward. Sadly, you seemed to have walked further into the kitchen than you had originally thought you did and soon found yourself pressed along the center table with nowhere else to run from the demon in front of you.

A pink tongue darted out from his mouth, wetting the bottom lip that it dragged along. Lucifer had you right where he wanted you. It took a total of three steps for him to close the gap between you two, his arms resting on either side of you to cage you in. Desire flickered in his half-lidded eyes as he stared you down. “Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for you to be here?”

You hummed in response, too fixated on how alluring his slightly-parted, flushed lips looked. Due to your intense focus on said lips, you didn’t miss how the corners of his mouth quirked up before he leaned forward and out of your sight. Your breath caught in your throat as his heated breath fanned out across your neck while he spoke. “You’re lucky that you ran into myself and not one of my brothers. Unlike them,” his hips met yours and instantly began to slowly roll, “I can control myself.”

The hardness of his length and the waver in his tone seemed to suggest otherwise. 

A devious thought pushed itself to the forefront of your mind, one that you were all too willing to go along with. One of your hands ghosted down his chest, your nails lightly scratching his pale skin while the other snaked upward and caressed his cheek. Lucifer shuddered into your touch and bit back a quiet groan, his hips grinding against yours with a tad more urgency.

“What happened to being able to control yourself?” you asked breathily. With any luck, you’d be able to get his self-control to snap and he’d take you right then and there. Your thighs tensed slightly as heat shot to your core at the thought.

Then he pulled away and your entire mastermind plan came crashing down.

Lucifer stumbled backward, fingers pinching his nose tightly shut as he glared holes into the ground. Wait, do you smell or something? You could’ve sworn you had put deodorant on that morning. A discreet sniff of yourself reassured you that you did not stink, so why the abrupt stop?

“I believe that you should find Mammon in your room.” He staggered backward with urgency; so much so that he would have clipped his side on the counter had you not warned him. Pink dusted his cheeks for a moment as he cleared his throat, clearly embarrassed from not noticing the counter. Your bemusement was cut short, however, when he fixed you with a piercing look that sent shivers down your back. “I expect to see you in my room once you are finished.”

Unable to stop yourself, you quipped back, “I’ll think about it.”

“By all means, do,” he purred, red eyes narrowing into seductive slits. Even as he backed out of the room, sweat beads beginning to glisten on his forehead, he somehow still made you want to do nothing more than hand yourself over to him completely. “But let me assure you that the actual thing will be so much more enjoyable than whatever you end up imagining.”

With that, he was gone, and you were left with nothing but yourself and your newfound neediness. You had half a mind to chase after the first-born, but the other half of your mind was insisting that you go to Mammon, as he was the one who had called you in the first place. With a small sigh, you headed off down the hallway toward your room. It was a short walk, as per usual, but the anticipation that had once again began to swirl in your stomach lengthened it a good bit.

What, exactly, did helping a demon through their rut entail? You assumed that they needed help finishing, but was that it? Of course, you’d help the brothers out with anything, ESPECIALLY if they were in pain because of it, but it was a little unnerving not knowing exactly what you had gotten yourself into. Thank God that Solomon had been there to help cast a spell on you (which you still had no clue what it did, but you trusted him enough to believe that you’d be fine) because, now that you’ve had some more time to think about it, there was no way you’d be able to walk away from this little excursion of yours unscathed.

You hesitated outside of your partially opened door for just a moment before stepping inside and locking the door behind you. As you turned around to once again face the rest of your room, quiet huffing and groaning alerted you of the demon in the room with you.

The sight that blessed your eyes ignited a white-hot fire in your core.

Mammon was sprawled out buck-naked on your bed, your sheets and comforter rumpled enough to lead you to assume that he had been wriggling around on them for a while. As a surprise to no one, your eyes immediately zeroed in on his hand— namely, how said hand was loosely wrapped around his length and lightly jerking it. His caramel skin glistened under a sheen layer of sweat from his exertions, and his head was tipped back against your pillow as he chased a semblance of relief.

You mindlessly take a few steps toward the sight. Had he not noticed you were in the room yet? Considering how tightly his eyes were screwed shut and how his breathing was getting progressively louder, it wasn’t impossible.

“Mammon?” you called out hesitantly, unsure if you should be interrupting or not. Although, he had called you specifically to help him with this exact thing, so maybe you were worrying about nothing.

His eyes snapped wide open the moment his name came out of your mouth; he really hadn’t heard you enter then. A shuddering inhale shook his form for a moment before he pushed himself up to a seated position and said in disbelief, “You really came.”

As if you could ignore his phone call. You rolled your eyes as you finished closing the gap between the two of you, your hands lifting to cup Mammon’s warm cheeks. “I said I would, didn’t I?” Unintelligible mumbling followed that you silenced by pressing your thumb against his lips. “What do you want me to do?”

Without a word, Mammon’s hands gripped your waist and guided you onto his lap, your knees on either side of him. His hot mouth instantly found your neck, the feeling of his hasty kisses and the occasional nip stealing your breath away. Not staying in one place too long, the kisses quickly trailed their way down toward your collarbone, only for the fabric of your shirt to get in the way. Aside from his annoyed grumbling, Mammon didn’t make any comments about it and simply tugged at your shirt, wordlessly asking you to take it off.

Of course you complied (because why would you not?) and freed yourself from the now-restrictive fabric. No sooner had you wriggled out of your top than had Mammon’s hands begun to roam all over your body, almost as if he was attempting to commit your form to memory. 

Everywhere his hands went brought a tingling sensation to your skin. Eventually, one dipped low enough to fiddle with the band of your shorts, although it didn’t go any farther than that. As great as the makeout session was, a growing firmness pressing along the inside of your thigh and the unsteadiness of his touch reminded you of exactly why you were called in the first place.

“Mammon,” you tried, but your words fell on deaf ears as Mammon was too lost in the feeling and taste and touch of you to even register that you had spoken. Fog rolled across your mind as he found a particularly sensitive spot and capitalized on it, teeth gently scraping against the skin which was immediately followed by a soothing swipe of his tongue. Still, you found it somewhere within you to try again. “Mammon, wait.”

“Hm?” His lips buzzed pleasantly against your neck, eyes turning up toward your own.

Your stomach flipped at the sheer want pooling in their golden ichor. “I’m here to help you with your rut, but right now I feel more like we’re focusing on me.”

“Of course I’m focusin’ on you,” he harrumphed, a look of embarrassment shading his features. “You’re a human! There’s no way you’d be able to jump right on in without gettin’ hurt, so I’m… I’m tryin’ to warm you up a bit.”

You chuckled, running a hand through his hair reassuringly. “That’s awful sweet of you, babe, but I’m seriously fine. Solomon hooked me up with some magic before I came over, so I’m all set.”

His grip on your hips tightened at the mention of the sorcerer, but he didn’t say anything about it. Instead, his hands jumped from your hips to your shoulders, flipping you onto the bed with Mammon positioned between your legs. You’d never noticed it before, but his canines were slightly more pointed than a human’s; they’re all you focused on when a smirk crept onto his features. “You should’ve said somethin’ sooner.”

If before had been the warm-up, then the main event was the warm-up times ten. Your mouths crashed together, and you found yourself fighting to stay caught up with Mammon’s urgent pace. The bed creaked underneath the two of you as Mammon rushed to get the rest of your clothes off. It was impressive how he managed to slide off your shorts without breaking away from you, but you weren’t allowed to dwell on that thought for very long at all.

“You’re sure about this?” His breathless question warmed your heart. Even now, as his legs trembled with the discomfort he was surely in and his gaze grew hazy, he had the decency to make sure that you were sure. You hadn’t faltered from your original commitment once, but now you were certain you had made the right choice.

A cheeky grin split across your face. “I’ve never been more sure about something in my life.”

No sooner had you gotten the words out than had Mammon’s cock shoved its way through your entrance, his hips pressing flush against your own. The burning feeling of your walls stretching to take him in so suddenly proved too much to handle, your body arching into his own as a gasping whine tore from your lips.

For a moment— just a moment— he stilled, allowing you to adjust to his size. One of his hands hooked underneath your knee and pulled it closer to your side so he could get a better angle. A shot of pleasure ran through you as the repositioning briefly caused your muscles clenched around him. Seeing the shudder rack your form, Mammon rolled his hips into yours. Your head tipped back at the feeling of his swollen length dragging against your walls, and he wasted no time in leaving blossoms of orchid and rouge along the now-exposed column of your neck.

As your eyes rolled back at the feeling, you missed how he shifted above you, gripping the head of your headboard with his other hand for support. You didn’t miss how his hips pulled back and thrust up into you, nor did you miss how each thrust following that was just as strong.

Unrestrained sounds fell from your open mouth as Mammon launched into an aggressive pace that left you scrabbling for purchase on his shoulders or back so you wouldn’t hit your headboard. The moment your hands bumped into something protruding from his back, your eyes flew open to search for what exactly you had just touched. 

At some point, Mammon must have shifted to his demon form, as his wings were currently curling over the two of you almost like some sort of shield. Your legs squeezed together at the sight, allowing Mammon’s next thrusts to find your g-spot. 

“Fuck, Ma-Mammon,” you cursed, the demon on top of you growling lowly as he buried his face in the crook of your neck.

“You’re so tight,” he groaned before pressing a firm kiss along your jaw. “You’re doin’ so good for me, y/n.”

You answered with a keening moan, as you were sure that you wouldn’t be able to articulate any more actual words— not while Mammon kept plowing into you at this speed, anyway. Tension coiled tightly in your abdomen, each thrust drawing you closer and closer to your peak. You couldn’t tell how close Mammon was, but with as ragged as his panting was growing, you assumed he wasn’t all that far behind you.

With every passing moment, your body grew more and more flush with heat and your moans increased in volume, which Mammon encouraged with more whispered praise. One particularly strong smack of his hips against yours triggered the release of a loud whine from your throat, and you were sure you wouldn’t be able to last much longer. “Just like that, sweetheart.” His lips brushed tantalizingly against your ear, making sure that you heard him over yourself. “Let ‘em all know who’s makin’ you feel this good.”

A few more solid thrusts were all it took to make you unravel, your toes curling and your body arching into Mammon at the utter bliss engulfing you entirely. 

“Mammon!” you wailed, all other words escaping you as stars danced behind your eyes. Your walls clenching down on him pushed Mammon over the edge as well, his hips stuttering before pressing as deep inside of you as he could, release spilling into your throbbing core. A groan tumbled from his lips as his teeth sunk into the crook of your neck, the sharp stinging drawing a soft whine from yourself.

After a few moments of deepening his mark, Mammon flopped onto his back and rolled you on top of him, his arms wrapping tightly around your body to gently hold you against him. The bliss from orgasming was now wearing off and was being replaced with exhaustion. Tension seeped out of you in waves as you relaxed against Mammon’s heaving chest, his skin cool against your warm cheek.

Laughter soon met your ears, and the shaking body beneath you made it pretty obvious who it was coming from. Drowsily, you pushed yourself up to a sitting position and let Mammon slip himself out of you while you threw an inquisitive look his way. The eyes that met your own were no longer ones of a demon in rut, but ones filled with total admiration. “What are you laughing about?”

“You,” he answered simply, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear while his other hand rested loosely on your bare hip.

Your heart fluttered at that, but you played it off with a small smile and a tiny slap against his chest. “Why are you being so cheesy?”

He said nothing, only answering with another laugh as he leaned forward to pepper your face with soft kisses. His laughter turned out to be infectious as you, too, began to laugh, leaving the two of you giggling into each others’ mouths before he pulled away, resting his forehead against your own. “I’m just so happy you actually came, y/n.”

“Me too, I was starting to get worried there for a bit,” you snarked, the teasing lilt evident in your tone. Mammon scoffed at playfully rolled his eyes, wrapping his arms tightly around your waist as the corner of his mouth tugged up in a smirk. 

“Sure fooled me. You sure sounded like you were enjoying yourself.” Now it was your turn to fake being offended; you gasped indignantly before turning your head away in a fake pout.

“With this much disrespect, maybe I’ll just show myself out.” 

“Woah there, let’s not be too hasty.” A thumb and forefinger grip your chin and turn your head back toward Mammon, who had a peculiar twinkle in his eye. It was something warm and knowing and light, but you just couldn’t put your finger on it. The odd look didn’t leave when he pulled you against his chest for what felt like the hundredth time that day, nor did it leave when you tangled yourselves up in the other while you cuddled, just taking time to soak the other in.

Eventually, Mammon gave himself over to sleep, his light snores rumbling softly against the side of your neck as he unconsciously wriggled himself impossibly closer into you. You were just about to as well until two short sets of buzzes caught your attention.

Twisting around carefully in Mammon’s arms, you were just able to see your D.D.D. flicking off again after receiving the messages. Luckily, your shorts had ended up getting thrown onto your nightstand, so it wasn’t too much of a challenge to snag your D.D.D. from your back pocket without waking up the sleeping demon latched on to you.

Flicking it open, you saw that the messages had come from Levi.

come over please. I know your with mammon right now

I need help too y/n, please

You cast a glance over your shoulder at the said demon, guilt gnawing at your heart as memories resurfaced of how sweet he had been earlier; however, those memories were soon replaced with ones of Lucifer, disheveled and leaning into your touch, and of Solomon, warning you that you’d end up helping all of the brothers out. With a sigh, you tapped a quick reply to Levi that you were on your way and eased yourself out of Mammon’s arms.

As you got to your feet, you were surprised to find that you weren’t sore in the slightest, despite how rough Mammon had been. Solomon’s magic really was no joke. It didn’t take you long to slip back into your clothes (granted, you didn’t bother putting your bra and underwear back on because you’d just be taking them off again) and you soon found yourself staring down at Mammon.

You were still guilty about running off to go fuck his younger brother while he was sleeping, but at the same time, you’d feel even more guilty about only helping one brother and leaving the other six to deal with their ruts by themselves. Worrying your bottom lip between your teeth for a moment, you finally steel yourself and commit to your decision, pressing a chaste kiss to his forehead before turning around and marching yourself straight out of your door. You don’t look back, because you know that if you do, the rest of the brothers would end up suffering through their ruts alone.

[shinygoldstar]

Midnight Snack

DannyMay Day 11: Midnight

(Also DannyMay Shadow, Scars, Power, Nature, Seasons, Teeth can you find them all?)

Word Count: 2271 (not beta’d. experimental writing)

Warning: mentions of ghost cannibalism, nothing explicit

@floralflowerpower ​ – for that ghost cannibalism post

(it’s 1 am so i’m gonna sleep now. might post on AO3 later)

Edit: AO3 Added!

.

It was mid-October. The leaves are starting to turn yellow heralding the approaching autumn. Danny was happy because that meant the unusually hot weather is almost over. It wasn’t that he’s melting from the heat- quite the opposite, he’s probably the only person in Amity that isn’t sweltering under the sun with his cold core. But due to this exact same reason, his cooler body temperature also drew in water vapor which condenses on his skin, pooling into beads of water dripping down his shirt, making him appear extra sweaty. He can’t wait for the temperature to be cool enough to not change clothes every few hours. Good thing his clothes are purchased by the dozen; no one really noticed him wearing new sets of clothes throughout the day.

.

It was the contaminated fridge foods that disappeared first. No one missed them. At least until they can’t find the mutated turkeys for their annual Thanksgiving hunting event.

.

Danny yawned as he and his friends entered Fenton Works. Autumn is comfy. Just the right temperature where he can wear loose clothing and not be stared at for being underdressed for the weather. No ‘sweating’ either. His mouth closed with a click, a bit too fast on his new fangs. Danny winced. The fangs seemed to have grown longer overnight again. At this rate Danny won’t be able to pass them off as normal pointy canine teeth for much longer. It didn’t hurt but the itch is annoying. Danny took a detour to the fridge, grabbing an ice cube from the freezer and popped it into his mouth, absentmindedly chewing on the cubes to take the edge off the itch as they walked down to the basement lab. His parents are at a paranormal convention at a nearby city and won’t be back until tomorrow. Danny and his friends gladly took the opportunity to do their ‘Danny’s quarterly fitness test’.

Danny flipped on the light switch and walked to the center of the lab, transforming into his ghost form. “Okay I’m ready. What’s first on the list?”

Tucker dropped his bag and took out a piece of notebook paper, “Okay, first we gotta do the baseline measurements. Height, weight, temperature, and the ecto reading.” Sam dug through her sports bag, pulling out the measurement tape. She held it against Danny, eyes scanning the tape measurement numbers. “Still the same height.”

Tucker nodded, noting down the measurement in Danny’s health notebook. “Next, weight.” Danny stood over the scale. “Yup, still the same weight too.”  

.

Then it was the ecto-samples that Jack misplaced in the kitchen fridge. Jack warned everyone a few days later (everyone knows to avoid glowing food on normal basis so the delayed warning is mostly just courtesy), but no one could find where it went and assumed it grew legs to join the other tiny ecto-samples lurking as their equivalent of household pests. (No matter how often Maddie tried to patch up the mouse hole it keeps reappearing in the same shape but in a different part of the house as if the original mouse hole got transplanted from its original location)

.

“Lunch Lady’s right. You need to eat more. You’re still as skinny as ever.” Sam remarked as Danny took the thermometer out of his mouth. “76 F. The ghosts keep attacking me all day and night. You’d think my parents would notice when a ghost sneaks pass them while they work in the lab but I triggered all their ghost alarms just by being in the house so they deactivated the system when I’m around. They must’ve kept it turned off during the day too.”

“Tough luck dude. Ecto scan next.” Tucker passed the scanner to Sam while Danny stood still for her to scan. The machine beeped, “Wow 6.8, that’s quite a jump from last quarter’s 5.1”

“Maybe it was from all the ghost fighting I did over the summer?”

.

As the leaves began to fall from the branches, ghost attacks lessened in frequency. Not looking the gift horse in the mouth Danny happily enjoyed the lack of ghost attacks to focus more on his studies. If he did well enough, he might even get Bs for his efforts. He also managed to avoid getting detention for the entire week much to the relief of everyone involved.

.

Two days before Thanksgiving, the Fentons finally remembered their turkeys. But by then it was gone. In a rush, they quickly purchased a pre-made turkey instead. While Danny enjoyed the fact that they’re having a normal family dinner for once, he can’t help but feel like there’s something off about the chicken. As if it’s missing a particular tangy or zingy flavor that would’ve made it richer in flavor. ‘Must’ve been because it’s overcooked.’

.

"Honey? Have you seen the new ecto-samples I placed in the basement lab fridge?" “Again Jack? This is the third time this month. Have you checked the upstairs fridge?” “I-ah was pretty sure I placed them in the correct fridge this time. Must be some no-good thievin’ ghost.” “I’ll set up the ecto-anti-theft, that’ll get ‘em good! No ghost can escape Jack Fenton for long!”

.

*Intruder Alert* *Intruder Alert*

Red lights peppered with robotic voice and alarm noises lurched Maddie into full alert mode. She quickly took stock of her surroundings and tried to wake Jack up. But Jack had his earplugs on and continued to snore blissfully. A loud knock on the door caught her attention. “What’s going on mom?” Jazz’s voice floated through the door. Maddie quickly rose to open the bedroom door, swiftly pulled Jazz in and locked the door. “Jazz dear, try to wake your dad up. I’ll go check on the intruder.” Maddie strode quietly to the door then paused, “Have you checked on Danny?” Jazz bit her lips and looked away for a moment “-ah yeah! Danny’s snoring so loud he can’t hear the alarm.” Maddie twisted the doorknob but paused, hesitating. “He’s fine mom.” Jazz reassures her. “If Danny wakes up, he’ll come here first. I’ll let him know what’s going on.”

The alarm rang loudly in her ears as she walked down the stairs to the basement lab, its loud ringing noise effectively covering up the sound of her footsteps. Reaching the basement floor, Maddie quickly crept over to hide behind the shelf on her left, eyes scanning the lab for the intruder.

The glass jars clinked as a shadow moved about the fridge. A very familiar shadow. That didn’t glow. Maddie turned on the lab lights. “Danny?” she started, carefully walking over to face him, her eyes still scanning him to check if he’s really her Danny. The faint, barely noticeable scar on his eyebrow from his attempt to fly off the tree when he was five is there confirming his identity.

“What are you doing down here-?” Maddie noticed the glowing jar in his hand, “and what exactly are you doing?” Danny hazily stared at her; eyes half-lidded. Maddie snapped her fingers to get his attention. Danny didn’t blink. “He's still not awake, Danny come on wake up!”, she shook his shoulders. “Huh? Wuzzat?” Danny groggily woke up. He blinked in confusion.

Finally aware of his surroundings, Danny looked down at his right hand that still held the glowing sample. “Aah!” Danny yelped dropping the sample, then realizing he dropped the sample, tries to catch the jar, fumbling clumsily. Maddie would’ve laughed if it was anywhere else but in this situation. “Danny, do you remember what you were doing?”

“I was doing my homework and was craving for a good cheeseburger?”

---

“And the half-opened jar of ectoplasm?”

“Pickles?”

---

“Dude are you for real? That was priceless!” Tucker crowed with laughter. Sam leaned away from Tucker to avoid the meat spittle, “Urgh! Gross Tucker! Swallow it before you speak!”

Danny grumbled into his glass of milkshake, “’s not funny Tuck. you didn't see her face. She was about ready to scan me for signs of ecto-possession. Good thing my lie about craving cheeseburger and opening the wrong fridge worked. Otherwise I’d be in big trouble if she scanned me now with my latest ecto-reading. Anyways I'm banned from the lab now.” Danny bit into his burger.

“So what really happened there dude? Did you seriously sleepwalk into the basement lab?”

“I think so? I don’t really remember anything before Mom found me in the lab. Only that I was feeling a bit hungry.”

.

The ghosts stopped coming. Everyone in Amity held their breath when there were no ghost attacks for two weeks straight, then a month. Then two months, three. No ghosts. They let out their collective breath. It might be too soon to hope but for now they will enjoy their ghost-free, perfectly ordinary life. It feels a bit strange to not have ghost related interruptions as part of their daily routine but they didn’t miss the ghost-related reconstruction expenses. The local insurance company employees received a nice bonus for the ghost-free month.

.

By the time March rolled in, Danny is restless. “Guys, there's definitely something big going on.”, he waved his hands for emphasis. “The Fenton portal is still open yet no ghost came through? Not even Boxy since the North District warehouse thing last month. There’s definitely something big going on. I've been taking the ghost-free break for granted for a while now and it helped save my grades but this is too big to ignore.”

“Dude, maybe it’s because you’re much more powerful now? Your latest reading last week is 8.2. None of the ghosts we’ve met so far is above 6 except for Vlad and the Ghost King.” Tucker suggested.

“You might have a point there, Tucker. We haven’t seen any of the ghosts bothering Vlad so far and he’s definitely higher than 6.” Sam added.

Danny frowned, “Maybe you’re right but I just have this nagging feeling that that’s not quite it.”

.

Danny entered the Zone with little fanfare. The area around the Fenton portal looked normal enough, the usual rocks and clouds of debris are still floating around in their usual areas. Danny aimlessly passed through the nooks and crannies, ducking under the endless spiral staircase, not entirely sure of what to look for. The Zone felt a bit quiet today but Danny haven’t been to the Zone that frequently to be certain about it.

.

The Ghost Zone, while still filled with random bits of odds and ends felt empty somehow. It wasn't until he sighted Skulker that he realized he hasn't seen any of the tiny blog ghosts nor the occasional passerby ghosts through his trip.

.

Luckily or unluckily, Danny quickly spotted someone he knew in the distance. As if called, Skulker turned his head towards Danny, then veered sharply to the left and flew fast in Danny's opposite direction, a first for the self-proclaimed hunter to not hunt his favorite prey. ‘Something's not right and Skulker definitely knows something.’ Danny thought.

Danny quickly chased after him; Skulker could never beat Danny at speed chase even at his best, and he won't be winning today's unplanned race either. “Hey Skulker! What’s going on?” Danny yelled over the gap between them but Skulker gave no reply, diving down deep into the reddish forest ravines of the island below. Not to be deterred, Danny did a quick aerial flip, adjusting his flight angle to follow down Skulker’s path. Danny soon caught up to Skulker and launched him into a nearby rock with sticky ectoplasm to hold him still long enough to talk. Skulker ejected from his metal suit but Danny was faster and caught the real ghost before he can escape.

.

(Why is Skulker fleeing?)

.

"Hey Skulker, not hunting me for once?" Danny asked teasingly.

Skulker paled (Danny never knew ghosts can turn pale) and squirmed even more. Danny's smile dropped.

"What’s going on Skulker?" he asked worriedly. “None of the ghosts have appeared in the human world and the Zone looks empty somehow”

Skulker squirmed a bit more but realizing he’s stuck finally said, “Ghost Child, haven’t you ever wondered why the Infinite Realms is never overcrowded?”

Danny frowned, puzzled as to where this leads to. “How is this related to this situation?” Skulker stared at Danny stunned.

“What?” Danny asked, suddenly self-conscious, “-was there something I was supposed to know about?”

Skulker sighed, unconsciously loosening a bit of his tension, “You’re so young. So very young. We Ghosts don’t fade as fast as Newcomers arrive from your world. In the Realms, there's a natural system that keeps the population under control. An ecosystem. There's predator and there's prey. And then there's the Apex Predator. There's a reason why Dark was feared. It wasn't just for his harsh rule. It was because he was the Apex Predator.”

Danny struck at the odd wording, "’Was’? Was that because he got sealed?” Danny paused, “But wait- if he's sealed, he would still be the Apex predator. So how-? Wait. Did I?"

Skulker nodded, "Good you're catching on fast. By defeating Pariah Dark, you have proven to the Realms that you're the best candidate for the Apex Predator. And with the new status comes sets of conducts, one your body instincts know well. You've been culling down the uncontrolled excess from Pariah Dark's sleep quite fast. Your hunger would settle down soon of course once balance has been re-established in the Realms."

“But- How- Wait- What-?” Danny looked down at his hand “Hey Skulker--!” but his hand is bare.

.

Danny’s lips tasted oddly tangy, energized.  

.

.

.

-----

(Skulker might've slipped out of Danny's slack hand while Danny is in shock. Danny might've bit his lips hard enough to bleed. It's not that hard with his new fangs. But this is just speculation...)

[grimoireofwritings]

Hi! Could i get a nsfw scenario where William masturbates for one night thinking about his fem s/o?

.......

So here's me, casually appearing randomly from the void to finally post this months later 0_0

I'm so sorry y'all, mental health has been in the gutter lately and suffering from major heart and brain damage at age 21 is just not a fun gig. Nonetheless, I hope this was worth the wait, you thirsty hoes >.<

Warnings: smut, light femdom ( I headcanon William with a lean towards sub )

Scenario: William's female s/o walks in on him jerking off.

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

Guilt.

It was all William could really feel in that moment. Well, aside from a general, looming sensation that had been plaguing the poor gentleman for a while now. It made his stomach all fluttery and nauseous with two completely contradicting urges... Which didn't result in a good state to rest in, as he lay propped up on his simple bedroom mattress. It had even prevented him from getting proper sleep lately. One such part of the equation was his complete and utter shame, which replayed punishing thoughts in his mind on repeat... Mentally battling with himself on how wrong it was to think such filthy things about a woman so pure and angelic. A body like that, he could easily imagine it sculpted from marble like the most honored and beautiful of Goddesses in ancient times. Every curve, and the warmth of that soft skin that he could dream of... How could he ever imagine desecrating it? Dirtying it, and perhaps staining it with his intent?

Apparently he could, and he did... Quite frequently. Such horrendously ungentlemanly thoughts popping into his mind had him mortified with himself.

For this reason, he kept his uncontrollably growing desires a secret from his partner. It seemed to him that she was comfortable with their current level of intimacy in their relationship, therefore.. he would remain quiet and allow her to call the shots. It had always been this way, with him considering himself lucky to have her in his life at all, what with a face like his... As well as his history. So he kept quiet, allowing her to make all the first moves so as to not make her uncomfortable. Despite the longing and craving he had for her, and the shame it brought him, he would suppress every last desire, and would never utter a word or clue about it.

It was getting harder however, every passing day. More and more challenging not to notice the lump in his throat when he had to refrain from staring at certain parts of her in particular outfits, and keep his hands from wandering over the perfectly smooth plains of her thighs, or even passionately gripping on to those breasts that took his breath away.

He gave a slight audible whine, there in his bed, tortured by these thoughts popping up once again.. because once they started, they couldn't stop. This time around for some reason it was particularly agonizing to ignore the growing need in his pajama pants, which was legitimately painful to disregard at this point. He'd end up sweating, palms gripping on to the sheets, as he refused to touch himself to the thought of her. Absolutely not... Never.. he could never be so degrading and perverted towards someone who deserved only the highest respect.

Even as he told himself this for the millionth time, the words had been losing their influence that week, and it was at that moment that he caved, giving a strangled whimper of regret whilst his right hand crept under his waistband. From that point on his vision went blurred and brimmed with red, framing pictures in his mind that could only consist of her.

And goodness was that woman breathtaking. He somehow felt starved for a touch he'd never quite experienced before with her... A deep craving as he could practically feel those lips of hers, divine and smooth like rose petals, grazing over his sensitive neck. Would she perhaps moan his name out softly into his ear, as his hands wrapped around her rear to slip a finger between her wetted and ready slit? Yes... Not only could William picture it, but he could almost feel it, too.

Hands, on her velvet skin, squeezing and caressing here and there.. her labored breaths brushing past his cheeks. By this point William had thoughtlessly worked up the courage to start stroking himself, his movements terrified and shaky, slow but gradual. The tortured man could not help himself.. he really couldn't. Despite the fact that he felt like an atrocious person, that previously sick feeling in his stomach was being replaced by mind splitting pleasure.

Warmth.. so much warmth he was feeling down there, in fact it was warm enough now that it was exactly what he imagined her hot, inviting mouth would feel like. This time he let out a soft but much more discernable moan, a couple of lost syllables and stutters rolling off of his lips as he imagined her tongue massaging in place of where his fingers currently were. He vaguely had a couple of thoughts warning him he should stop soon... She'd be back in their shared room any moment now, after finishing up her nightly chores around the headquarters. But he was way too far gone, and foggy in the brain, to give a damn and have the self control to even do so.

Not to mention, the slightest surfacing of precum wasn't helping, given that it added a slight lubricant to the situation and really solidified the illusion in his mind he'd created for himself. His greatest fantasy would be to have her ride him, perhaps..

Absolutely. Just her, in all of her glory, above him and in her rightful place where he could worship and adore from below. The image alone of her hair framing an expression of ecstacy like a curtain, eyes hazy with pleasure all because of him, whilst he allowed his hands to boundlessly wander over every surface of her divinity.. maybe his lips would latch on to her skin and travel down to a breast, all the while drowning in her sounds.. it was enough to drive him mad in the most beautiful way possible.

By that point, poor William Vangeance was too far gone to even notice the barely audible creaking of the door whilst his girlfriend stepped inside their now shared room. A slur of pathetic, whiney mumblings and moans were leaking out into the air for her to hear in utter shock, as well as her name whispered breathlessly to confirm that he was, in fact, masturbating while thinking of her.

"William? What are you doing?"

It was about as sudden as flipping off a light switch. Light to dark in an instant.. except this time it was his voice and his movements. In the dim room, the only light source being a small candle which cast an orange glow on his face, she could make out a look of complete panic, his entire frame completely paralyzed in his position. Had he gone catatonic?

While she had found the display amusing, she was now distracted, more worried about him than anything else. "Love? Are you alright? This isn't very expected of you.." she trailed off, but before she could finish, William snapped out of his trance, causing her to gasp and glance up at the unexpected tone of his voice.

The poor man could hardly form any coherent words in his next jumbled sentences, sometimes the only noticable parts being things like "I'm so sorry for-" and "I will get my things and go out to the front room couch for the night-" to which his partner was dumbfounded by his amount of panic. In fact, William looked to be on the verge of tears, utterly destraught, much to his partner's worry and dismay. However.. she figured she could easily fix this.

Sauntering over to him, she sat beside him on the bed, placing a finger to his lips in an instant to hush him. Leaning forward to speak directly to him, she could tell he thought he was in for a scolding, but what came next had his jaw practically hanging from its hinges in a gape.

"Touching yourself without me here to take care of your needs? You've got some nerve doing my job for me, Captain William Vangeance. I was surprised you hadn't asked me sooner for favors quite like the ones you were probably just imagining.. but now that I know you've been naughty and doing this in your own time, don't expect any mercy from me tonight. I'll prove to you why I'm far more efficient than your right hand. And I'd better not see this again."

She gave a cheeky smirk, completely digging that expression he was wearing. He 100% never would have guessed such lewd words could ever come out of her, and honestly, it already had his entire body lighting up with heat. That confidence from her.. the domineering and sexy edge to her lips, curled into a dark sneer.. it was all blindingly amplified the moment she straddled over him, looming over his body to speak in a low tone towards his ear. "Are you prepared for me to devour you?" She asked.

This was really doing it for him, and he caved, his pent up desire mixing with his excitement and impatience of the moment... Unable to handle the anticipation. As a result, he resumed, feeling already quite close to an orgasm as he frantically jacked himself off with her weight and presence above him. He just... Couldn't wait anymore. And she was too dazzling, too seductive, much too hypnotizing with those devilish words.

"You have the audacity to continue right after what I just said? Bold move, Captain. Either I underestimated you or you're fucking desperate for me. Which one is it? Care to share with me? If you do, perhaps I will let you off the hook... A bit."

"Y-y/n... P-please! L-let me-"

His begs and pleas were interrupted by a deafening, breathless, gasping cry as he came on the spot, a few whimpers following in a perfect sequence as the white hot pleasure seized violent hold of his body, almost aggressive in nature after having been repressed for so long. Panting, he watched his partner witness his helpless and needy state, almost amplifying the experience to a degree.

She was dead quiet, watching with sharp eyes and an intensity in her stare as he slowly came down from the high, body naturally going limp with exhaustion and his breathing evening out. He chuckled sheepishly then, eyeing her with a noticable hint of anticipation and excitement in his gaze, slightly curious if she'd follow through with her previous promise. "B-better to ask forgiveness than p-permission, right?" He tried meekly, biting his lip at that irresistible smirk returning to her face.

"Incorrect" she stated, which set his nerves aflame yet again.

"See... You're the one who wanted me so bad, aren't you? I honestly had no idea... Especially with how shy you are, I was waiting, but it seems you've made me wait longer than necessary. Not to mention, after directly disobeying me, you owe me a couple rounds. Understood? You'll bear with it like a good boy... And I'll be sure you enjoy it too."

There.. that softer look in her eyes at that last statement, despite how perfectly and wonderfully dominant she was - it made his heart melt. William found it very comforting that he didn't have to take charge right away and that she was naturally the one in charge in such an environment - he spent so much time worrying, being afraid, stressing, overthinking, and telling people what to do... That giving up control to someone he trusted was just a complete relief.

"Yes ma'am," he stated, having gained back some composure. "I'll do my best to endure whatever my goddess intends to give me.. please allow me to touch and praise you."

"Good boy," she cooed, encouraging his words of loyalty, as she slowly lowered herself to gently and sensually take him into her mouth to start off. Almost immediately, a tortured cry of overstimulation escaped him, but at the same time it felt completely euphoric.

It occured to William that one of the best nights of his life was about to take place, so he closed his eyes, and placed a hand down on the head bobbing over him.

~end~

[estrel]

The Christmas Compromise

merry christmas, @lilliankayl !! ‘tis i, your secret santa! this ended up getting a little long, so there will be multiple parts up...soon. here’s the first one, which you will also eventually be able read on ao3 when it’s complete. hope you enjoy!!

Part One.

Dean feels his mouth start to form a lazy smile.

Through the winter chill and the foggy annoyance that his blankets are skewed around him to provide the least amount of heat and warmth, there is a distant recognition that the smell of coffee in the air isn’t just any brew.

Despite the effort to untangle the sheets from his legs and feet, Dean manages to bare his skin to the winter cold of his room, provided the damage to his heater. He makes a mental note to fix that later, after they come back. Dean can last a few days until then.

He can practically see his breath hanging in the air when he yawns, pulling on warmer clothes as quickly as his stiff muscles and numb fingertips will allow him. Sweats, then t-shirt, then hoodie, because he isn’t expected to be anywhere until later and he can always change before that if he needs to.

Better to die comfy than in plaid.

It’s early morning, judging by the darkness outside and Dean’s alarm clock that blinks 5:30 AM at him in white block numbers, but he can’t find it in himself to care that he’s awake to see hell freeze over. Lucky for him, there’s a quick fix to his sleepiness less than twenty feet away.

The socks take entirely too long to fit onto his feet. When they finally do, Dean yanks his door open and pads down the hall, stopping at the entrance to his kitchen.

It’s a modest kitchen—a modest home, really, but it does it’s job—and it’s empty save for an occupied chair at the kitchen table.

Dean stares for a second.

He’s allowed to notice clothes and posture before that second is disrupted by Miracle making a racket coming into the kitchen, and Cas turns to face them.

“Morning,” Dean greets him. The smell of coffee is much stronger here, and Dean can feel his mouth beginning to water.

Cas pushes a full mug towards Dean’s seat.

“Good morning, Dean. I made you—”

“My favorite brew,” Dean finishes for him. He sits, letting his fingers thaw under the ceramic of the mug and breathing in the heavy scent of Cas’ coffee.

“It’s everyone’s favorite brew,” Cas says, taking a sip from his own cup. “That’s why it’s the priciest.”

Dean levels a look at him.

“I have to make money somehow,” Cas defends.

“Yeah, yeah,” Dean waves him off, bringing the drink to his lips. The first taste is hot—too hot—and it burns his throat on the way down.

“You never learn,” Cas says. Dean doesn’t need to meet his eyes to know that they’re squinting at him. “You’ve been burning your tongue on my coffee for years, you’d think it’d make an impact by now.”

Dean only frowns and mumbles into his coffee something about “not every time,” to which Cas rolls his eyes.

They can only pretend to be angry with each other for a few more minutes before it subsides into companionable silence. Dean lightly kicks Cas’ foot under the table to get his attention.

“You gonna need a ride to work?”

Cas sets his mug down and shrugs. He’s still in his night clothes: a white t-shirt—Dean has never understood how Cas can stand the cold—and borrowed sweats, but he’ll probably burrow through more of Dean’s wardrobe to get his outfit for today. The guy might as well live here with the amount of time he spends at Dean’s place and the fact that Dean’s closet is practically Cas’, too, now.

I could always just ask him…

Dean swallows the last of his drink and stands before he can contemplate the question again. He busies himself at the sink, and then ducks under the counter to get Miracle’s food from the cabinet.

“Yes,” Cas says eventually, evidently having gone through every other option before arriving at that one. “Is it a bother?”

Dean pokes his head over the counter to look at him.

“No, man, you know I like driving Baby around. Besides, I’ve got some shopping to do, and, y’know…”

“Free breakfast,” Cas adds for him, a teasing note in his voice. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed the muffins that go missing every time you drop by.”

Dean sets down Miracle’s food and whistles softly, standing straight once Miracle trots into the room and to his bowl to eat.

“Hey,” he points a finger at Cas, “Consider it a compromise since you never pay for gas.”

“It’s not like I haven’t offered,” Cas meets Dean by the sink to wash his cup out. “Do you want me to pay for gas, Dean?”

He’s standing close in that way that Cas always stands close—in the way that Dean has stopped correcting for years now. That’s just how he is, he reminds himself, and puts visible effort into keeping his eyes trained on Cas’ blue ones.

“No,” he says, “You don’t need to pay for gas. All I’m asking is that you look the other way when I happen to find a cookie just laying there for the taking. Do that, and it’s free rides for life.”

“When you say ‘laying there,’ I assume you mean in the casing, behind the counter, where only employees are allowed,” Cas sasses back, face stripped of emotion except for the slight furrow to his brow. Imperceptible, if it wasn’t Dean that was staring.

“So now I’m an employee?” Dean asks, finally pulling away from their bubble to pretend to clean the counter. “Jee, Cas, you shoulda told me. I would have put my apron on.”

Cas punches him lightly on the shoulder, done with washing his cup but fingers still wet from doing so. It leaves an imprint on Dean’s hoodie, which Dean acts like he hates, but it gives him a motive to attack Cas back.

They scuffle, elbowing each other and pushing each other around the kitchen—Dean even manages to try for a few tickles to Cas’ armpits and stomach, but still to no avail—until Miracle joins in and they stop so as to not accidentally step on a paw.

“I’m going to take a shower,” Cas says, once they’re done with the rough housing. Patting Dean’s back once, he leaves the kitchen and enters Dean’s room down the hall.

Warmer, now, with the extra movement in him, Dean leans against the counter to catch his breath. At least that’s what he tells himself, watching Cas mill around from door to door until he hears the bathroom shut and the shower start.

When Dean is sure that Cas is out of hearing range, he pulls out his phone.

“Bitch,” Dean starts, pressing the cold surface to his ear and cheek.

“Jerk.”

He smiles. “How’s it goin’?”

“Same old, same old. Got a case about to close up here real soon, so. Expect to see me at the Bunker in a few days.”

“You’ll be there,” Dean confirms. “Glad to hear it.”

“And you? Everything good?”

Dean shifts at the accusatory tone in Sam’s voice.

“Yeah, man. All good. Shop’s runnin’ just fine. Bobby says hi.”

A huff of laughter. “He still kickin’ your ass?”

Dean nods, even though Sam can’t see him. “Bobby’s Bobby. You know how he is, never a moment’s rest. Come to think of it, I actually had to remind him that it’s Christmas this week. The guy was asking if I’d be in on Friday. Had to tell him he wouldn’t be in on Friday, crazy bastard.” He hears Sam chuckle. “Oh hey, by the way, I think Rufus is coming with this year.”

“Really? Haven’t seen him since—”

“Yeah, I know. Well, he’ll be there—you can recount the tall tales of Rufus and Sammy to everyone as a Christmas present.”

There’s a pause, and Dean checks to see if the call had cut off before returning his phone to his ear.

“—coming?”

“Sorry, what?”

“Is Cas coming?”

Dean hears the shower shut off. The guy makes quick work.

“I was assuming,” he says.

“Well, you should ask.”

“Why?” Dean scoffs, “It’s pretty much a given, dude, he always comes.”

He can practically feel Sam’s eye roll over the phone.

“What?”

“I dunno, Dean, c’mon. You can’t just expect him to come whenever you call. He’s got his own family, you know, and—”

Dean grimaces, folding an arm over his chest. “No, he doesn’t. We’re his family. Those dickheads are—” He sighs, tries to contain the outburst before it can be unleashed. In…out.

“Trust me, Sam, he doesn’t want to see them. He’ll be at ours on Friday.”

“Dean—”

“Nice talkin’ to you, Sammy. I’ve gotta go, taking Cas to work.”

“Wait, he’s there?! Hang on a second—”

“Bye!”

He cuts the call before he can hear another word out of Sam, and just in time to see Cas in the bathroom doorway. He’s looking at Dean with his head tilted curiously, and Dean’s breath immediately catches in his chest.

“Was that Sam?” he asks. As if his hair isn’t all wet and towel-rustled, as if he isn’t dressed in Dean’s clothes.

“Yeah,” Dean croaks. He clears his throat. “Yeah, yes. He says hi.”

“I’m sorry I missed him,” Cas frowns, making his way over to Dean. Dean stills.

“It’s six,” Cas continues, “I should be at work by seven, if you can manage it.”

When Dean just stares back, Cas adds, “You should get dressed.”

“What’s wrong with this?”

“You’ve been wearing that hoodie for three days straight and you’re beginning to smell like Miracle,” he deadpans. “Go shower, I can wait.”

Dean pushes himself off the counter and brushes past him. “Thanks, Cas. How considerate.”

-

When Dean parks Baby in front of Heaven and Hell Cafe, he does so in his grey henley and several layers of long-sleeves, with jeans that do nothing to combat the cold.

Shivering, he follows Cas inside, and warmth envelops them upon entry, along with the jingle of the door bell.

“Cas!” comes a familiar voice. Dean hears more than sees a set of doors opening, and Jack is suddenly in front of them wearing a huge smile.

“Oh, Dean! Good to see you,” Jack lifts a hand in greeting, but it looks more like he wants a hug. Dean smiles back at him and waves.

“Hey, kiddo. Everything alright?”

Jack nods. “Yes. Although, I…I do need to see Cas for a second.”

“Oh, um. Of course.” Cas glances at Dean with a look that says ‘I’ll be right back,’ and follows Jack through the double doors that lead to the kitchen.

Dean trails after them half-way, stopping behind the counter to sleuth after some morning treats. He decides on what he thinks is a cinnamon roll, pulling it out of the casing and shutting the door as quickly as he’d opened it.

He stuffs the pastry in his hoodie’s pocket for later, and thanks the universe that it’s wrapped and won’t get covered in fuzz this time (he’d learned the hard way).

“—makes sense. Just let me know if anything changes.”

Cas appears through the doors looking slightly stressed. Dean fights to urge to get up and soothe, to run his hands across Cas’ shoulders and ease the tension there.

“You good?” Dean checks instead. Cas nods.

“Fine. Just…It’s fine. Didn’t you say you had shopping to do?”

“Are you kickin’ me out?” he jokes.

“No, but the shop opens in thirty minutes. Feel free to stick around if you’d like.” Cas’ eyes drop to Dean’s crotch area, and he quickly looks down to see what Cas is looking at.

“You can eat that here. No point in hiding it since the gig is up.” Dean lets out a breath. Cas had been staring at the lump in Dean’s hoodie pocket, where Dean was keeping his breakfast. What happened to ‘looking the other way?’

“Thanks, but you’re right, I should probably get going. I’ve gotta do errands and be at the shop later to work for a few hours. You coming over tonight?”

Cas pauses in the middle of putting his apron on, contemplating the question.

“No,” he says slowly. “Not tonight.”

Dean tries not to frown. Suddenly the weight of his phone in his pocket is ten times heavier than it was a few seconds ago. ‘Well, you should ask,’ the little voice inside his head that sounds like Sam, says. He sighs softly.

“How about, um. You’re—you’ll be there on Friday, right? Do you need a ride? I was planning on leaving on Thursday, if you wanted to come with. I know Claire’s heading out earlier. Jody, and all them, too…so.” Dean forces himself to meet Cas’ eyes. Something in his chest feels tight when he notices Cas’ expression has only gotten worse.

“I,” Cas starts, gaze falling to his shoes. “I don’t know, Dean.”

That thing in Dean’s chest solidifies and sinks to his stomach, settling there uncomfortably. 

“Don’t know what?”

Cas starts rummaging through the bakery cases, adjusting things that don’t need to be adjusted, meticulously cleaning crumbs from platters and making sure the little banners with the pastry names on them are all straight and perfect. 

“If I’ll be able to go,” he says finally, not looking up. “It’s the holidays and I’m busy here this season, people have been ordering pastries for Christmas, and I don’t know if I plan to close on Christmas day, because my regulars might want to come in still, and—“

“Cas,” Dean stops him, leaning over the counter. Cas notices and lightly tries to push him off so he can start on the counters, but Dean grabs his wrist to get his attention. 

“You’re going to work yourself to death, man. It’s the holidays. Your regulars will understand if you don’t show up on Christmas, okay? And you’ve never had this issue any other year, so...” Dean makes Cas look at him. “What’s really bothering you?”

to be continued...

-

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[chilly-me-softly]

Every Little Thing's Gonna Be Alright • Chapter 23

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 - Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18 - Chapter 19 - Chapter 20 - Chapter 21 - Chapter 22

A few months later the situation between Evelyn and Jack was quite stable, both of them very happy with their relationship and always doing their best to see each other as much as possible. Not everything had always been rosy, of course, sometimes distance or small misunderstandings turning into big ones had contributed to create bumps along the way. But the two of them always found a way to fix things, either in person or from a distance.

Cece continued to grow pampered by everyone, giving smiles and babbles here and there. It was impressive how much she had achieved in that time, how she could keep everyone trapped around her little finger. How much love Evelyn felt for that little creature who every day added a brick to her personal growth and development.

Another football season was coming to an end and Jack had made her a proposal she'd had a lot to think about recently. Villa's last game would be at home and not only had Jack asked her to go to the game, but also to take part in the traditional lap of honour to thank all the fans for their support during the season.

Needless to say, she had taken a few days to think about it. Taking part in the event would certainly have meant first of all making their relationship public, exposing not only her but also Cece and giving the green light to various gossips and unwanted free opinions. On the other hand, however, there was being able to spend time with him, in his world. Taking the relationship a step further.

It was in those moments that she realised that her good intention to think less and act more would be more difficult to carry out. If she could let herself loose on some things, well, there was still something of her old self that surfaced from time to time. It was always like that, she knew from the start that she would eventually go but until that day she wouldn't stop worrying about this and that, about what might happen....

As she sits on the bed keeping an eye on Cece who is playing with the puppet given to her by Ben, Jack phones her. A smile automatically forms on her face as she runs her finger across the screen to accept the call. It's time to give him an answer.

"Hey you"

"Hi. Where are you? Doesn't look like your room to me or am I wrong"

"We're in Ben's room. Apparently this girl here got bored of hers" Evelyn shifts her phone slightly to also frame Cece who continues to chew on that bear's ear she holds in her hands undisturbed.

"Who is he? Who is he? Is he Jack?" she coos as the little girl pays attention to that familiar figure she now sees regularly, waving her little legs and babbling something making Jack smile.

"Hi sweety! Hi! I miss you so much"

"So I have news for you"

"Really?"

"Don't act like you didn't call just for that" he chuckles throwing a quick glance at the calendar where the date is marked a thousand times with a black marker.

"So what did you decide?"

"Well me and my girl have been consulting a lot"

"Oh yeah?" he interrupts her smiling cheekily as he closes one hand in a fist and uses it to hold up his head.

"Yeah" she teases him sticking her tongue out at him as Cece starts opening and closing her hand to greet him.

"Ha ha she doesn't like it when you're a smartass. Tell him we're not going anymore"

"That's not true!" his voice almost covers the last part of what she's saying but in reality he's understood all too well that in a few days he'll be able to hold them both again, and the smile on his face cancels out the poor attempt to claim he's offended.

"Say bye bye to Jack"

"Nah she likes me"

"To sleep, sure. I'm a little jealous to be honest she has the blanket with your scent on it though"

"You have me" he promptly replies as she bites her lip moving her gaze out of the camera frame.

And they continue to talk as they always do, the confirmation took a load off both of them, with Jack most of the time just watching the two girls while Evelyn plays with Cece wishing time could move faster. Until they are forced to interrupt the conversation due to a nappy change and the little one has already hit her with the puppet a couple of times.

-

Evelyn and Cece arrived at Jack's a few days before the last game of the season. He has promised that sooner or later they will also be able to get out of that house and maybe take a walk in the park taking advantage of the beautiful days the weather is offering, but the first few days are for him and no one else.

He comes home after the last training session of the season a little later than usual because he stopped for a little extra with some teammates and finds no one downstairs. As he goes upstairs, however, Evelyn's voice and Cece's little cries become more and more indistinct enough to take him to his room, and when he opens that door he can't help but smile. The two of them are playing tenderly with Evelyn leaning over to kiss the little one's tummy and the baby laughing moving her tiny hands, closing her fists around her mommy's hair.

He can't help himself when Cece won't let go of a lock of Evelyn's hair causing her to moan, laughing and blowing his cover. Evelyn looks up at him immediately lighting up and signalling for him to come closer.

"We have a surprise for you" she tells him and his curiosity immediately ignites so much that he almost runs making those few steps that separate him from the bed.

"What is it?" Evelyn simply shifts her gaze between him and the girl wanting to point at something and he after a moment gets the message by lowering his gaze, his eyes immediately falling on the Villa crest and wandering over the small kit trying to find differences from the usual. But it's only when Cece rolls onto her side, showing part of the Grealish name on her back, that he swears his heart has stopped beating for a few moments.

Cece's kit had always been plain, no name no number on the back. Evelyn had always felt on the edge for a choice that was so simple on the outside but actually brought up so many questions. Should she have had 'Daddy' written on it? No it was too soon. What did Jack think, was it too much? And again, does using his surname mean forcing him to take responsibility? What are we? Geez, the fight with her madness was really open.

And it was Jack who had then put an end to her paranoia, as always, and bought a small plain kit, giving her further time to clear her head and be satisfied with the fact that for the time being she would still wear the kit while supporting the team he played for.

"Since we're only going to see each other tomorrow when the game is over, we made a preview just for you" Evelyn pulled him back into the room and he reached out to the little girl taking her in his arms.

"Probably for the best or Jack would have cried in front of the whole stadium. Don't you think so too?" he murmurs cuddling the little girl, who seems to just want to reach up his nose, under Evelyn's tender gaze.

"I can't wait for tomorrow now. I mean look at this!" Jack lifts her up in the air like in the Lion King scene so he can look at that name once more and Evelyn can't help but laugh at the boy's excitement, happy it was the right choice after months.

The atmosphere in the stadium is something sensational, but she wouldn't have expected less to be honest. That's how it is when someone cares about a team, you stick together through thick and thin. It's a mutual kind of love. It doesn't matter if the previous week went well or badly, every time you try to do your best on one side and show all the support on the other. And that season for Villa had not gone badly at all, no one's fate depended on that game but it was still an opportunity and should be taken as such.

That hour and a half passed between watching something of the game, entertaining Cece, chatting with some of the girls she had already met in the previous months until the final whistle blew and little by little everyone began to prepare to take the field. Having fulfilled their duties more or less, even the players can finally allow themselves to relax. Jack is quick to find them and take Cece in his arms leaving her a loud kiss on the cheek, happy for the win and the moment.

"Ready?" Evelyn just nods, following Jack around the field but still remaining a little on the sidelines allowing him to do what he needs to do, greet the fans and enjoy the moment. More than ever she can understand when both he and her brother referred to those people as a second family, seeing them all gathered there happy and smiling joking with each other or playing with their kids. Everyone seems to know everyone, everyone is nice to everyone and she really has a good time getting to know this new family.

Once home and having put Cece to bed, who had fallen asleep in the midst of all the commotion, the two of them enjoy a moment alone snuggled up on the sofa.

"Today was nice"

"Evelyn" Jack sighs and she waits for him to continue, but when that doesn't happen she lifts her head from his chest meeting his eyes, "Move in here"

"What? Are you sure? Just know it's different from having us here only once in a while"

"I want everything. I want you here every day when I wake up or when I go to sleep. I want you here to cheer me up or have fun together. I want to live both of you every day, I want to be part of your lives fully, make this our home and I don't want to worry anymore that you might leave. I want to give you everything I'm capable of and build something strong with you" Jack strokes her cheek softly.

"So what do you say?"

----

I just want to let you know that there won't be a chapter next week, I need to focus on something else but I'll be back for the last chapters normally then. In the meantime I hope you enjoyed this one x

Tag: @alexajanecollins @emwritesfootball @rosie7703

Chapter 24

[imagineaworlds]

Rules & Roses

“you’re late”

Written By: @desperately-bisexual​

Request: None.

Warnings: Cursing, mention of death. Pretty sure that’s it.

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Non-binary!Reader x Emily Prentiss (poly triad)

Word Count: 2046

“You’re late,” I said to him while grinning. He shook his head, trying to stop himself from laughing so that he could focus on running up to me.

Aaron Christopher Hotchner was his name. Though I had learned a lot about him since we officially started talking on that cold Tuesday morning, I still thought of him as that six foot Nordic God. He hated that nickname, though. No matter how many times I used it, he never gave in, but I liked teasing him with it. Only two weeks had passed since we first started talking, and yet it seemed like we knew each other a lifetime. More than that, actually. My worries of talking to a stranger faded quickly the more we passed each other on the trail, then would chat as we walked to our cars. It was a nice, unspoken ritual we had. But it always started like this. No matter if it was warm or cold, sunny or cloudy, busy or quiet, we met at that park bench at the top of the U-turn. Usually, we ran beside each other, or he would be waiting up for me. This time, I was waiting on him. That wasn’t usual.

“How am I late?” he asked.

I looked at my watch. “It’s 7:17.”

“So?”

“You never reach the bench later than 7:15.”

Aaron smiled and put his hands on his hips to help him catch his breath. “Who’s stalking who now?”

“I never said you stalked me. Those are your own words.”

“Ha. Ha.” He panted for another second. “My son woke up late, so I got here late.”

I froze. During our little conversations here and there, he had never once mentioned anything about having a family. He didn’t wear a wedding ring, he seemed more than happy to flirt with me, and he never, ever said anything about having a son. This whole time, I thought he was an available man. I would have never flirted with him if I knew that he was taken, that he had other promises and responsibilities besides meeting me, practically a stranger, in the park every morning. Of course someone like him would have been snatched up by someone else. Of course the one person I saw myself potentially getting involved with since moving to D.C. was the one person I couldn’t have. My fucking luck, right? I was so stupid. How did I not see it before? Why did I get involved in all of this in the first place? I promised myself I wouldn’t talk to a stranger, and I broke that promise for him. I promised that I wouldn’t let my desperate urge for sex and love blind my ability to read social queues and dictate what was good and bad for me— and I fucking broke that promise. I saw him— I felt his hands on my hips— and everything I had learned from past experiences flew out the window. For a moment, for a blissful, wonderful moment, I forgot about Lauren because I had all of my focus on the Nordic God. A Nordic God that was taken. How fucking ridiculous.

Aaron sat down next to me. I scooted away, and he immediately noticed. A couple of days ago, I asked him what his job was at the FBI, and he told me that he studied the behavior of serial killers in order to find them. When he cracked a joke that his ability to “profile” serial killers was a curse that affected every aspect of his life, I asked him if he could profile me. Profiling was putting together all of the behaviors he spotted in someone in order to tell what kind of person they were, are, and could potentially be. Aaron laughed. He said that he had already profiled me the day we met. “Your eyes were on my friend the entire time,” he said. “Her name’s Emily, by the way.” So, that had confirmed that it wasn’t Lauren I saw. Though I was somewhat relieved, I was also disappointed, and Aaron noticed. He asked me why I was staring at her, and I simply dodged a real answer by telling him that I thought she was someone else. His profiling skills seemed to tell him I was lying. Despite the fact that he knew I wasn’t telling the truth, he didn’t pry. He never did. When I moved away from him on the bench, however, and he noticed, that was the first time I ever heard him get serious with me.

“What is it?” he asked me quietly and sincerely. I shook my head. “Y/N, it’s not what you think—”

“Why…” I hesitated for a beat. “Why would you keep flirting with me if—”

“My wife died years ago, Y/N. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”

If I wasn’t embarrassed before, I was as red as a fucking tomato, and this time for all the wrong reasons. Originally, I had simply assumed that him having a son meant that he was still with someone. My first mistake. Then, I thought that it all meant that he didn’t like me, that he had been stringing me around for no reason, that maybe I was seeing between the lines. My second mistake. Now, I was embarrassed because I had made a complete fool of myself by tensing up at the thought of him having a kid— something I really didn’t mind, actually— and then I admitted that I thought he was flirting, all while practically pushing him away. I fucked this all up. Why was it that he made me trip over my tongue like this? I mean, he was always in my head since that first day we met and I felt his hands on my hips; and I found myself wanting to spend more time with him and impressing him. All of that had just been flushed down the drain. Any chance I had to keep being this happy and distracted had just disappeared because I had been stupid.

“I’m sorry.” I did a lot of compulsive apologizing around him. Because he made me trip over my own tongue, I always happened to say the wrong thing, so I constantly needed to apologize, which I could tell he found adorable, but I found it to be humiliating. “I didn’t mean to force that out of you.”

“It’s okay. It’s been so long, and I’ve had to tell so many people; I’m neutral about it these days.”

“I’m still sorry.”

“If you say sorry one more time, I’m going to start feeling bad.”

“Sorr—” I caught myself before laughing. “That’s going to be a bad habit to break.”

“All habits are hard to break.” He shrugged, leaned back, and looked forward to make the feeling between us casual again. “New rule, no more apologizing.”

Part of getting to know each other was making rules in order to make ourselves comfortable. I didn’t pry about his work, he didn’t ask me any more about his friend Emily. I didn’t stare below his belt (a personal rule I made for myself that I never disclosed to him), and he didn’t stare too long at my breasts when I would wear a low cut or tight shirt (a rule he made for himself that went unsaid). The rules would come up occasionally, but only when we were sitting on that park bench surrounded by roses. The parking lot, however, was fair game. Because that was the last time we would get to see each other until the next day, which was never guaranteed since he traveled so much— just like Lauren always did— we both got to break our staring rules until we would get into our separate cars. This new rule about apologizing didn’t seem like just a roses rule, though. If I had to guess, Aaron was going to keep an eye on me to make sure I wouldn’t  break this new rule.

I nodded. “Okay, fine. But, no more being late,” I said. He also nodded. “And, I need a 6AM warning every time you won’t be here.”

Aaron looked at me. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“Phone,” I demanded while holding out my hand. Aaron urgently dug into his pocket, racing to grab his phone before I could change my mind about giving him my number. He was too chicken shit to ask for it, so I didn’t mind taking that first step for him. Afterall, it was the most I could do since I totally messed up by getting uptight about his son. Speaking of which, when I turned Aaron’s phone on, I saw a picture of him holding his son, both of them smiling ear to ear after what looked like a victory after one of his son’s soccer games. I felt myself melting. “He’s adorable.” He had blonde hair, which wasn’t like his dad at all, but the brown eyes, lips, and nose were all a mirror image of Aaron.

“His name’s Jack.”

“How old is he?”

“Nine.”

I smiled at him before looking back down to unlock his phone and put my information into the Contacts app. When I was done, I turned it off and handed it back to him. “There. Now you can text me at 6AM every time you know you’re not going to be here.”

“And what about… other than 6AM?” He was biting his lip again. I always knew that he was flirting with me when he would bite his lip like that. He was the professional profiler, yet he couldn’t have been more obvious. One would think that he knew how to hide his tells better than that, but he really seemed to suck at it. “Can I call you tonight, maybe?”

“For what?”

He hadn’t anticipated that I would nudge him back with a question. “I—” He didn’t know what to say. I giggled. “Is it too late to take my rule back so that I can say sorry for being too forward?”

“Yeah. It is. Sometimes it’s okay to be forward.” I stood from the bench, giving him the idea that it was time to go. He stood, too, taking my lead because he seemed like a lost puppy that needed to be told what to do. “I get off work at seven. You can call me for whatever it is you have on your mind any time after that.” I jumped on my toes to warm myself up, also testing to see just how long he could keep his eyes on mine and not one any other part of me that was a little more… distracting. “I’ll race you to the parking lot.”

“What happens if you win?”

“Who said there needs to be prizes?”

“The new rule I just made,” he said like it was a tease.

I squinted at him. “You can’t just make rules up for your benefit, Aaron.”

“Well, if you win, Y/N, I’ll stop making up random rules.”

“And if you win?”

I saw his answer coming from a mile away, but I still felt myself smiling when he said, “I take you out for dinner after our call tonight.”

“Deal.”

Aaron wasn’t prepared at all yet, but that didn’t stop me from beginning my dash down the path. Though I was inevitably going to let him win, I still had to put up somewhat of a fight to make his win believable. Aaron seemed to notice immediately. Before I could make it very far, he was already speeding past me, intent on winning so  that he could take me to dinner. Dummy. I wasn’t trying very hard to win. He didn’t seem to notice, though,even as we reached the parking lot where he claimed his victory. He slowed to a stop. As I caught up, he turned around and smiled.

“You’re late,” he teased me.

I rolled my eyes. “Pick me up at eight.” I immediately started making my way towards my car, which gave Aaron the chance to break his rule so that he could stare at me for a little longer than he was supposed to. “And don’t be late!” I called back to him.

------------

criminal minds family: @peggy1999​ @gorgeousdarkangel​  @alex--awesome--22​ @oceaneblu​ @brithedemonspawn​ @absolutemarveltrash​ @bshelley322​

[1zashreena1]

Quarantine- New Ranch Flavor! -5

18+, m/f, technically OCxDiego Jimenez [Power]

Summary: Princess is stranded in NYC with her Murder Panther for the duration of the quarantine. As a high risk patient she has no choice but to isolate as much as possible. Simulated domesticity ensues. Princess texts a running commentary to her bff Lisa.

WARNINGS: Ridiculous descriptions and ‘the code is more like guidelines’ outlook on grammar. Is it OOC if the character was given essentially zero development in canon???

No actual smut, nasty ass snack foods, plus size insecurity, unprotected sex, feels are icky, plus size woman+fit man, bad boys with too much money and not enough impulse control, secondary OCs, excessive swearing (???), illegal business dealings… I mean, its DIEGO

A/N: Princess took on a life of her own and has essentially become an OC. There are infrequent mentions of her description (specifically as plus size) and her actual name in later pieces (its Bicki). She started as self-insert so she looks like me (plus size, white, short, blue eyes, curly hair). If that is not your thing, I totally understand. And do not feel obligated to read this, I will not be offended!

I’m not a fan of “plot” so be aware that most of this series is just meandering through their relationship, angst-fluff-smut whiplash style. But with dick jokes.

TAGLIST: @chelsfic​ @symbiont13​ @nicke0115​ @bunnykjm​ @rosee-sensuelle​ @girlpornparadise​ @mandoplease​ @heresathreebee​ @xxsteph-enrixx​ @jetiikad​ @joalsglasses​ @mutantcookiesecrets​ @demoncatstone​ @squidlywiddly87​

Please let me know if you would like to be tagged.

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Thursday 11:22am

From Princess

Day 1 and I literally have an ice pack on my pussy and

Hold on he’s not wearing pants again gtg

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Friday 9:49am

From Princess

Video chatting with sister when Diego walks past in the background… shirtless.

She put her phone down (my entire screen was just ceiling) and I could hear her crying. Hung up after 10 min

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Friday 10:14pm

From Princess

He sucks ass at Jenga and its adorable

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Saturday 11:49am

From Princess

I was provided a to-do list for the day.

It's just his name

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Sunday 1:32pm

From Princess

We have sorted every liquid in the penthouse into 2 categories:

Potential Lube

Definitely Not Lube

Except we’re arguing about ranch dressing

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Sunday 2:17pm

From Princess

Update: Ranch went into the Not Lube category because it “smells nasty when it gets warm” This fact was previously unknown to me and I was afraid to ask for more details

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Monday 8:40am

From Princess

Morning announcements include the fact that 8:37 is the earliest he has ever gotten up

I’m worried about losing my job. Diego advises me to apply to Dyson because I “never lose suction”

Am I offended or proud of myself?  It’s not even 9am

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Tuesday 1:12am

From Princess

This is the most weed I have ever consumed in my life (I know, not a high bar) Why is he hanging upside down off the couch making motorboat noises??

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Tuesday 1:14am

From Princess

Ahh. He was composing a poem about my tits

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Tuesday 2:49am

From Princess

The railing up the stairs to the bedroom does not in fact support my weight. Pole dance competition is OFF

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Tuesday 2:57am

From Princess

You know that thing you do with my bras? Where you put it on like a headband and it makes mickey mouse ears?

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Wednesday 11:17am

From Princess

Julio required to give 10 min warning prior to arrival so Diego can take off his pants

Yes you read that right

Freak

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Wednesday 11:19am

From Princess

Yes you do so know who Julio is. Big, round, only wears ivory/eggshell/off white/ThisIsMy 2ndWedding  colored blazers. Jeez Lisa you're not old enough for dementia yet girl

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Wednesday 12:52pm

From Princess

I have played myself. Just ate an entire cheesesteak while being a cockwarmer

Turns out I’m the freak

Julio present and accounted for

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Thursday 9:37am

From Princess

He’s crunching  a bowl of something via spoon. I ask what it is. Crushed cheez-its and mayonnaise. What in the actual fuck this man is a literal monster

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Thursday 12:10pm

From Princess

Edible body paint works on windows. Had to sit on his shoulders but this is the largest ‘FUCK’ I have ever written. Very proud

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Thursday 12:22pm

From Princess

Bottom half of the ‘C’ has transferred onto my ass. But 7 orgasms. Pick your battles

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Thursday 11:47pm

From Princess

Tried a pickled habanero. He’s still face down in the rug crying with laughter. It’s been 10 min dude come on

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Friday 10:12am

From Princess

Me: Why are you so heavy?

Diego: I keep eating you

Me: High five

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Friday 3:17pm

From Princess

He’s trying to “conduct business” via 3 cellphones. Would offer my tablet but I’m too pretty for prison. Gonna take a nap

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Friday 4:41pm

From Princess

Pants are forbidden in the bedroom. We’re just making the rules up as we go I see

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Saturday 9:59am

From Princess

He’s sitting in the corner of the window walls staring dejectedly outside. I hear the tiniest forlorn whisper “THOSE people are outside”

Too cute--must blow---BRB

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Saturday 1:32pm

From Princess

Angry texting. Muttering “No I can’t go outside and no you can’t come in here. Bitch…. No no, delete delete delete”

Me:  Where is your sister anyway? LA?

Him: Very Squinty Eyes

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Saturday 9:22pm

From Princess

My ass is stuck in the kitchen sink. While he was very helpful getting me in here he is of no assistance getting me out.

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Saturday 11:46pm

From Princess

Apparently ‘douchecanoe twatwaffle jerkface’ is the most hilarious insult he has ever heard. My brilliance is unparalleled

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Sunday 5:51am

From Princess

Me: Hey what’s the worst thing you’ve ever put in your mouth?

Him outrageously offended: I’m not answering that!

Him:  ... you first

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Sunday 7:12pm

From Princess

Is it a legit massage if he has to pause in the middle to jack off?

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Monday 11:06am

From Princess

Ordered groceries via Amazon Prime drone delivery. Sitting on the rooftop patio wrapped up together in a ginormous blankie waiting.

Does this count as a date?

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Monday 1:13pm

From Princess

Drone arrived. I lost my shit. Coolest thing ever. He’s frantically ordering more stuff because I haven’t looked this ecstatic since the time he rubbed my feet then went down on me for 2 hrs

Hold up change of plans

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Monday 2:28pm

From Princess

stubble burn on bottom of feet :-/

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Monday 6:44pm

From Princess

We can both fit in the jacuzzi tub. Almost drowned when his phone rang and we both spazzed out

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Tuesday 10:10am

From Princess

Today’s formal edict: He will only be referring to himself in the 3rd person. I am required to do as told. Should not be this turned on

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Tuesday 11:58am

From Princess

Watching him try to answer calls like this is a level of hilarity I could not have predicted

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Tuesday 1:53pm

From Princess

He gave me a crash course in chem. Still don’t know anything but it was hot as hell

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Tuesday 2:57pm

From Princess

Despite all evidence to the contrary I’m a Good Girl. Did as I was told. Got rewarded. 13 times

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Tuesday 5:33pm

From Princess

Unlocked a tiny piece of tragic backstory*™: He’s never been to a zoo   :-(

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Wednesday 11:24am

From Princess

Julio and Bastian brought 4 pizzas. Currently eating them individually sitting in a giant square in the living room SOCIAL DISTANCING

Like he wasn’t inside me 10 min ago wtf

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Wednesday 11:25am

From Princess

Yes cute driver Bastian. Btw you are barking up the wrong tree girl. His favorite animal is bears lol

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Wednesday 12:39pm

From Princess

Garlic butter: lube or no? Round table discussion happening.

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Wednesday 1:19pm

From Princess

I won in favor of No

Me: slams hands down on table

Me: HAVE YOU EVER HAD A YEAST INFECTION???

All men present:   :-[

                             :-[

                             :-[

~~~

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Wednesday 1:32pm

From Princess

Diego: puts garlic butter cup in the empty box and slides the whole mess off table to the floor without breaking eye contact. My sugar daddy is truly a murder panther

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Wednesday 3:49pm

From Princess

Flipping channels (he only has 5000) when he comes downstairs from the bedroom wearing Ginormous Blankie as cape.

Him: Can we do the thing again?

Me: Gotta be way more specific babe

Him: Flaps blankie like wings and gives me puppy dog eyes

Him: You know. Thing. On the roof. ...please?

Did

Did he just ask me to cuddle???

~~~

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Wednesday 5:58pm

From Princess

Can confirm roof cuddles.  He fell asleep with his face mashed into my neck-shoulder after watching sunset. Every time I move he whimpers and squeezes tighter. I don't know what is happening but it kinda hurts in my chest

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Wednesday 9:12pm

From Princess

Me: You know those girls you send away when I come up? There's one that sorta begrudgingly likes me?

Him, stuffing a 2nd Oreo into his mouth(there's already a whole 1 in there)

Him: Frahnthessga?

Me: Yeah! Can I fuck her?

….I should worry about my job again pretty sure Murder Panther Sugar Daddy is dead

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Wednesday 10:48pm

From Princess

We splintered the plexiglass-divider-shower-wall thingy. His solution was to just hold all 215lbs of me up in the air and finish. I have no words

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Thursday 4:12am

From Princess

I can hear him on the phone downstairs listing names. I don't know these people. I'm going in the bathroom to run water so I can't hear anything else

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Thursday 9:02am

From Princess

I slept thru a breakfast meeting. There's a laptop  and a box of 1 doz Boston cream donuts labeled PRINCESS on the bar counter. He's watching news with Julio + Bastian on the couch. Odd but ok I got fave donuts so whatevs

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Thursday 9:17am

From Princess

On 3rd donut when I catch him staring. Can only see from eyes up bc he's peering at me over back of the couch. Have inadvertently activated Horny Murder Panther mode via accidental slutty licking of cream filling. 

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Thursday 11:40am

From Princess

Me: I don't like avocado

Diego: bitch what the fuck 

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Thursday 12:10pm

From Princess

He asked what the deal was with white people and meatloaf. I requested clarification on food or music. He's confused it's fucking adorable

BUT NOW I HAVE TO EXPLAIN THE ENTIRE GENRE OF CLASSIC ROCK

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Thursday 2:14pm

From Princess

I'm making a meatloaf for dinner. Also brownies. TV is still on???

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Thursday 4:24pm

From Princess

Found a big round can of guava paste in the back of the fridge. He's spoon feeding it to me while watching me make meatloaf

Diego: I did not realize you were so… domesticated

Me, no brain to mouth filter: Yeah well gettin dicked down 3x a day will do that to a girl

Please send hitman asap 

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Thursday 5:10pm

From Princess

He just turned TV off. Local news was listing all major crimes in NYC today. Last story was 6 bodies found inside meat plant freezer, execution style kills with "on-site" equipment. When I whisper Dafuq??  he distractedly mutters 'captive bolt pistol'  

He's texting again

~~~

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Thursday 5:39pm

From Princess

I kinda wanna come home now

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Thursday 7:48pm

From Princess

I have converted another person to meatloaf lover (food not music)

On 3rd brownie when he declares: I am never letting you leave again. Mine now

Look up from rolling my eyes to receive Super Intense I Can See Into Your Soul Diego Stare

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Thursday 9:50pm

From Princess

He's looking for a scary movie via voice command on remote. Other hand is on my foot. I can't even see my foot. What is the actual purpose of hands that big?? What is the evolutionary goal to this endgame? ?? Why am I wet just thinking about a    h a n d    ?????

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Friday 12:34am

From Princess

Con: This asshole is delighted to learn that I don't like scary movies

Pro: Hiding my face in his chest means I fucking feel the rumble when he laughs at me. I think I'm developing a heart condition. Hurts again.

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Friday 1:40am

From Princess

He's rubbing his face all over my stomach. I don't like this. Sir why. Please it's literally the least attractive part of me

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Friday 2:11am

From Princess

He likes it…? I don't see. How does. But it's.

No

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Friday 3:47am

From Princess

He's asleep on my stomach after spending 40 min declaring his love for belly

I'm crying and I can't stop. My whole chest hurts. What is this. Is this the most long game prank ever. There's no way he's for real. I'm afraid. Do you think I should try to escape?? Please you know I'm not easily frightened but I just. Please text back I need my BFF

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Friday 7:18am

From Princess

Woke up in bed alone and naked. Gonna grab a shirt and handle this. I can't just ignore it. This is probably a bad idea but I can't just let it go. If you don't hear back from me by noon call my parents. I love you

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Friday 11:38am

From Princess

Halfway down the stairs 3 dudes I don't know come out of the office, Diego and Julio follow. They take 1 look at me and launch into laughter and some rude fucking spanish. I'm rusty but I know fucking "fat bitch" tyvm. Diego picks this mf up by the throat and throws him into the elevator. Drags the other 2 in and... no one has come back since

Been locked in the bathroom. I'm afraid to hear anything

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Friday 1:48pm

From Princess

Relocated to closet earlier. Reading. I'm 2 chapters in and I don't even remember the title. Gonna take an ativan. Hands are shaking

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Friday 2:27pm

From Princess

You know what? I don't even care. Like as long as it's never directed at me I just don't care.

It's too late I'm in too deep. I don't know if I can even come home after this. I'm not who everyone thinks I am. I don't know who I am. I'm turning the phone off now I'm sorry but I just need everything to stop for a while

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Friday 7:48pm

From Princess

I'm ok, sorry for the dramatics. Woke up still in the closet corner but under Ginormous Blankie and can hear shower running. Decide it's time to put my big girl panties on and march in there. No I did not learn from the last time. Standby

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Friday 9:22pm

From Princess

We're good.

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Friday 11:49pm

From Princess

Ok. Marched into bathroom, launched into speech: I'm sorry but I did not know anyone was here. You have to leave me a note or something. Please tell me I did not ruin anything

Him, still in shower: Get your ass in here.

It was a literal growl

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Friday 11:50pm

From Princess

Apparently that guy had been fucking up small time and Diego was waiting for him to fuck up big time. I will never see all 3 of them again (No do not ask)Yes it was frustrating but not mad at me. Ok a little because his sister hired that guy and now he has to explain the dude's ...disappearance. Without mentioning me. No one can know about me I am a "liability"

Um ouch..? I think?? Chest pain again

~~~

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Friday 11:51pm

From Princess

He's been asleep, I'm just staring at the ceiling. Demanded I let him prove that he would never put hands on me that I don't want. I thought he was gonna cry. I did start crying but said yes. Not gentle per se, but definitely ...emotional? Like soft sex. Slow soft sex but with emotions?? I'm lost

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Friday 11:54pm

From Princess

Please tell me no. Talk me out of this. Tell me I'm fucknuts and I need to just come home and be reasonable and sensible. You know when you stand at a ledge and a little voice tells you Just jump. Do it. Go

Do I want all in? Can I do this? I should not do this. I should not care about him. Especially like this. I just. When I'm not here this is all I think about. No one else makes me feel this way

~~~

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Friday 11:56pm

From Princess

I'm hysterical right? This will go away if I just sleep. I can't stop looking at him. Touching his face, hair. Ever since the Kitchen Blowup (after the first fight??is it a fight if you're not technically in a relationship?) he's been different. Careful?? Like he really listened to me and heard. I can see him trying. Like reining in his knee jerk reactions and stopping to think before he says stuff to me. What am I supposed to do?

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Friday 11:59pm

From Princess

I want to trust him. I want to be spoiled and fucked senseless and all the giggles and private planes and shopping sprees and sleeping in til noon. But what about the other side? Constantly looking over my shoulder? Worrying that he might not come home from whatever the fuck he's out doing? The other actual supermodel hot women??? I'm not naive.

~~~

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Saturday 12:10am

From Princess

I just need to turn this off. Shut it down. Cut off emotions and just fuck. I can't do this and I can't have him for keeps. So it's time to be realistic. After this shitty quarantine ends I'll take whatever cash he wants to give me and go home. I can move if I have to. It's not hard to change your name these days. This whole nightmare will be the hilarious rumors in my future nursing home

~~~

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Saturday 4:44am

From Princess

Got up at like 350 for the bathroom. When I crawled back into bed he yanked me backwards to be smashed into/under him. Buried face into my hair and ordered:

Stop

Leaving

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Saturday 9:10am

From Princess

Woke up alone. Gathered shirt. Did surveillance from top of stairs. Music blasting. Bastian and Diego are working out. I had to sit down for a while

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Saturday 9:40am

From Princess

Finally made it down the stairs. Eating donuts while watching live action porn

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Saturday 10:27am

From Princess

Show's over. Diego announces he is going to shower with a wink. I am staying on this barstool with my donuts. I am determined

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Saturday 10:38am

From Princess

Sharing donuts with Bastian. He is staring at me

Me: ...wut?

Bastian: You know I haven't driven Franchesca anywhere in 4 months

I don't know how long I've been sitting here staring at this half eaten donut but Bastian is gone

Shower still running

~~~

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Saturday 1:36pm

From Princess

Slut level 7: Shower blowjob

Realized I have to wash my hair now. He demands to do it??

Diego: How much fucking conditioner is this going to take?

Me drooling blissfully: Uhhh... please not that word right now

...I literally heard Horny Murder Panther transition happen.

He did not touch anything but my head. Came via voice command. How the fuck

~~~

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Saturday 1:39pm

From Princess

Then it was Round 2 still dripping wet in the bed. No idea how he recovered that fast not looking gift horse in the mouth.  Haha   Horse

Also slow soft again? Does this mean something?? I feel like I'm missing some key piece of info. Never had a dude like kiss all over my face and stroke my hair. What is this gentle?? Don't like the whole looking into my eyes thing

~~~

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Saturday 3:02pm

From Princess

Received an assignment. Was trying to budget for next month (on my new laptop! Whole Microsoft office package!! SPREADSHEETS!!!)

Instructed to help fix what I fucked up…?

It's resumes. He wants me to look at resumes.   Um

~~~

Incoming Text

Saturday 4:12pm

From Princess

We traded laptops. I picked 3 resumes for 'warehouse labor'  This is fucking surreal

Got my laptop back and… all the internet tabs were closed?? I was paying all my bills dude wtf. His phone rings but before he walks off tells me the title will be mailed to me. ?????

~~~

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Saturday 4:47pm

From Princess

He's still in the office on the phone. I'm in the closet in shock. He paid my loans. He paid my Loans. He Paid My Fucking Loans OFF

CAR

STUDENT LOANS

$$$$$   30,000  $$$$$

THIRTY GRAND

~~~

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Saturday 4:52pm

From Princess

No you can't have him if I don't want him!! Fuck you

~~~

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Saturday 5:32pm

From Princess

Bastian came back, left a big box on the counter, said "This is for you honey" and left again. Diego still in the office.

...should I open it or wait for him to come out??

~~~

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Saturday 5:36pm

From Princess

Fuck it. I'm opening this shit

~~~

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Saturday 5:42pm

From Princess

It's a very large Brahmin bag.

Holy fuck its gorgeous 

~~~

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Saturday 5:47pm

From Princess

You know what? You Know What?

IT'S KITCHEN BLOWUP 2.0 TIME

~~

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Sunday 8:42am

From Princess

I think we're ok? I actually uh, accidentally recorded um… everything-ish. And I might send it to you later. But right now things are kinda wobbly and I just wanna enjoy everything while I can. I'll check back in later. We're going to bed now

~~

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Sunday 1:58pm

From Princess

Woke up to 1 gigantic hand stroking down my back. 2nd hand stuffed up my pussy to the knuckle. Villain voice directly into left ear. Memory hazy after that

~~

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Sunday 3:01pm

From Princess

Do Oreos in bed at 3pm count as breakfast? My hips hurt

~~

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Sunday 6:40pm

From Princess

Ok we all know I'm very much A Freak. Trysexual if you will. Only way to know you don't like it is to try it right? So anal. Never really worked. Great in theory really unpleasant in practice.

Turns out others were trying to insert the wrong appendage. Related: I fucking love beards

e v e r y w h e r e

~~

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Sunday 10:40pm

From Princess

Yes I know you wanna know about KITCHEN BLOWUP 2.0, someday I'll tell you about v.1. It's complicated. There are feels. I can't take the vague, wishy washy, up in the air status. So it went kinda like this

Me: You want to "keep" me? Wtf does that even mean?? And how, via purchasing me??? Don't get me wrong, I like being spoiled. I'm not an idiot. But you don't even know me

He looked like I stabbed him. It was horrible

~~

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Sunday 10:42pm

From Princess

So I laid it all out: I lived in my car for a while in my 20s. Escaped an abusive ex after 8 yrs. Survived cancer at 26. Did 2 rounds of trade school just to be scraping by at like $15 an hour. That you just paid off like it was nothing. You try to protect me from you and your life. But you have no idea what I've already survived.

So here's the deal: You wanna keep me?? Then I get to keep you.

But it's everything. If I can't have everything then I don't want anything. And if it can't be ONLY me then I gotta go. I'm not a back up plan or a convenience.

~~

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Sunday 10:50pm

From Princess

At this point I'm scream-crying, gesticulating like I'm hysterical. He's collapsed on the floor at my feet looking like I just killed his dog. Only makes me worse. I'm demanding an answer right fucking now. This is a disaster.

~~

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Sunday 10:54pm

From Princess

He starts yelling about how he can't keep me if I'm dead. This isn't a fucking game and I'm just like Do I look like I'm playing right now?!?

Lisa, he was crying. Just kept repeating "She's right. She's fucking right. That bitch is right."

Head in his hands sobbing.

I couldn't. 

~~

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Sunday 10:59pm

From Princess

So I got down on my knees in front of him and reached for his hands. Just like the first blowup. I was terrified because he's obviously not in control and like I don't know the things he does but I Know. And the PTSD from ex… but I finally got him to look at me and asked him to just Tell Me.

And he did.

~~~

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Monday 12:04am

From Princess

If you had told me that night in the club that any of this would happen. That this man was capable of everything these past 10 months have brought. I would've taken you to the hospital myself.

He collapsed on me and was just begging me "Don't go don't go. Please stay. Stay just for now. Please. No one else no one."  I have a lot to consider. Probably gonna be quiet for a few days. I'll text you when things calm down. He's asleep on my chest right now

~~~

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Monday 12:10am

From Princess

I mean 10 months...how many weekends have I been up here? 12? 16? And only twice did I reach out first and ask. I have stuff here. You saw the closet section. Every time I arrive there's coke and ketchup in the fridge. My face wash and toothbrush and a huge bottle of gel in the bathroom. Last time here he gave me the safe combo???

~~~

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Monday 12:14am

From Princess

YES THE SODA JFC

I mean, I've never seen ...other… in the fridge. I don't think it needs to be refrigerated???

I Don't Know Okay

~~~

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Monday 6:40am

From Princess

Woke up around 5 and he was just staring at me from like 2 inches away. He left once he realized I was awake. I didn't follow. He still hasn't come back to bed yet. Should I go find him?

~~~

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Monday 11:38am

From Princess

Found him on the couch. Coffee table covered in vast array of firearms. Did not realize there were so many in this penthouse. Little uncomfortable. But I'm a fast learner with good mechanical skills so now I can do gun stuff. Please don't ask me about it

~~~

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Monday 11:41am

From Princess

Ok yesss. We had the stupid movie cliche moment of big tough guy stands behind damsel to teach some physical skill. Gawd.

...yeah doing it feels better than watching. You happy now???

~~~

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Monday 2:28pm

From Princess

Mood swing. He declared vengeance on behalf of his closet. I have worn too many shirts. This cannot continue. ????? Stay tuned

~~~

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Monday 2:59pm

From Princess

This man runs the largest distribution enterprise in the western hemisphere.

Currently stuck in one of my $6 tank tops from Target. 

~~~

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Monday 4:17pm

From Princess

I'm out a tank top. And a thong. Go ahead and just think about that

...But I'm still wearing one of his shirts :-D

~~~

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Monday 5:48pm

From Princess

Instead of admitting defeat he decided to forcibly remove the shirt from me. Since I have to be difficult, I ran. If this place wasn't soundproof there would be so many police here.

What level of fucked up is it to enjoy screaming No!, while struggling, not less than 3 sec prior to orgasm??

~~~

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Monday 5:52pm

From Princess

The scale only goes to 10. You don't gotta be a bitch. Damn

~~~

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Monday 8:17pm

From Princess

14 days will be up this Thursday. But they're talking about extending it, really bad here. I'm scared. Gonna try a drink, maybe ativan because I'm starting to freak out.

~~~

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Monday 9:57pm

From Princess

Watching the news and I just sorta came unglued.  Diego not really a soft/gentle guy (obvs) but once I got thru a blubber-cry explanation of immuno-compromised and cancer treatment I got full lap cuddles. I want this every time I'm upset. Warm and solid and big hands and soft nuzzles and scratchy velvet cheek kisses. Feel so tiny and safe

~~~

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Monday 11:40pm

From Princess

Think I'm fukced up. Everything feels good. Petting all the things

~~~

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Monday 11:44pm

From Princess

I'm fiiiiine. One drink. Once ativan. Thats it

~~~

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Monday 11:49pm

From Princess

Omgod ill be fine it's good donot call me

~~~

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Monday 11:55pm

From Princess

What are fiddlesticks? Like the worrd not a instrument accessory?why do we say that

~~~

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Tuesday 7:42am

From Princess

Holy shit I slept so good. I looked back thru the texts. Wtf was I doing?? I don't remember any of this

~~~

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Tuesday 8:32am

From Princess

He's giving me that all teeth smile. I'm very suspicious. And surprisingly not horny?? Am I dying?

~~~

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Tuesday 9:46am

From Princess

Have been informed that I was very adorable last night. I'm afraid to learn his definition of adorable

~~~

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Tuesday 10:12am

From Princess

Omg he has 3 hours of video

~~~

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Tuesday 11:17am

From Princess

I spent 45 min yelling about Pluto planet status being revoked and the kilogram definition being forever altered. He was very invested in the 2nd part. Legit academic discussion

~~~

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Tuesday 11:49am

From Princess

Next part: I decided to make a fried egg sandwich. He started recording like a cooking show. I almost lit my hair on fire.

~~~

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Tuesday 11:57am

From Princess

Oh I see where everything went wrong. I had 1 drink and 1 ativan. Then I finished his drink. Then I drank his replacement. Why tf did he let me do that??

"You were so cute! How could I say no to this face, bonita?"

...I will remember that

~~~

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Tuesday 12:13pm

From Princess

Apparently we exchanged playlists. This is not good

~~~

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Tuesday 12:28pm

From Princess

Omg I revealed the Murder Panther Sugar Daddy title. Oh fuck. Shit shit shit

~~~

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Tuesday 12:42pm

From Princess

I spent 40 min petting him all over while listing everything I liked and why. He is going to be insufferable for forever after this

~~~

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Tuesday 1:22pm

From Princess

Lisa. Lisa. Holy shit. He said we made a porno. I laughed. He fucking narrated an opening to it. I am dying  I am going to die   I am dead

Him, offscreen: Diego and Bicki make a Porno!

Me, onscreen, twerking on the bed in lace bra

Me: eeeeeeeeeeeeeee ASS AND TITTIES!!!

Diego pops into shot, giggling: Pretty Princess Pussy!!

The whole thing just dissolved into shaky blur and us laughing hysterically

~~~

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Tuesday 1:24pm

From Princess

No I'm not sharing it. What is wrONG WITH YOU??????

~~~

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Tuesday 3:44pm

From Princess

It… did not go the way I thought it would. And apparently he had not watched it either because we were both surprised.

That. Was not sex. Seeing the soft slow with emotions from the outside was pretty damning.

That was lovemaking

~~~

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Tuesday 6:32pm

From Princess

I'm locked in the bathroom. Everything is fucked.

I just… I just hid my face and said "I want to go home." Like a fucking coward hiding behind my hair, I took off upstairs and now I'm here. It's been a long time. I'm still alone

~~~

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Tuesday 6:39pm

From Princess

No shit Sherlock, I know I have intimacy issues.

Men don't love me. Sure I'm fun to fuck for a while. But they don't take a poor fat girl home. Come on, you've seen it firsthand. Clearly, since here I still am by myself

~~~

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Tuesday 6:42pm

From Princess

I don't know what I was thinking. I don't belong here. Guess I'll just ride out the last 2 days then come home

~~~

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Tuesday 6:45pm

From Princess

I think Julio is here. I can hear their voices but can't make out the words

Oh no his sister is here. They're yelling in Spanish, I can't catch any of it

~~~

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Tuesday 10:14pm

From Princess

They screamed for a while, then she finally left. Been silent ever since. I don't know if he's still here

~~~

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Tuesday 10:40pm

From Princess

He's definitely still here. There's a tantrum going on

~~~

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Wednesday 12:32am

From Princess

Fell asleep in the closet corner again. Except when I woke up he was wedged in there with me

Me: … um

Diego: I think I see why you do this

Then he went to sleep on me

~~~

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Wednesday 5:48am

From Princess

Have been talking since 3. Still in the closet.

~~~

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Wednesday 7:10am

From Princess

I'm coming home when this is over. I need some time and space to think. 

~~~

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Wednesday 7:12am

From Princess

Is that even the right term? Do you 'break up' with a sugar daddy???? 

~~~

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Wednesday 7:13am

From Princess

NO I WANT TO KEEP HIM

BITCH I WILL STAB YOU

~~~

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Wednesday 7:16am

From Princess

Gonna shower and go to bed. You mention that last text and I literally will stab you. BFF or not

~~~

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Wednesday 4:40pm

From Princess

Just listened to an hour of descriptions of Mexico.

I am… tempted

~~~

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Wednesday 6:54pm

From Princess

I'm flying home Friday, they just lifted the travel ban here.

~~~

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Wednesday 6:59pm

From Princess

No, no one is happy here. We're both clingy disasters today

~~~

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Wednesday 7:17pm

From Princess

Went downstairs. It's a war zone. We came back upstairs 

~~~

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Thursday 6:19am

From Princess

Couldn't sleep so I'm packing. Diego is watching me from the bed with the biggest, saddest puppy dog eyes in existence.

Effect kinda ruined because I can see his bare ass

~~~

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Thursday 6:22am

From Princess

Why would you ask me that? You know he's an exhibitionist 

~~~

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Thursday 6:23am

From Princess

I can't decide if you're the Best or the Worst BFF ever. Gawd

~~~

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Thursday 6:25am

From Princess

...IMAGE LOADING…

~~~

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Thursday 6:27am

From Princess

Yeah. You see my dilemma now???

~~~

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Thursday 6:28am

From Princess

Yes I bite it! What is wrong with you today???

~~~

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Thursday 6:43pm

From Princess

He spent entire day attached to me. I..??? What do I do with a clingy cartel boss drug lord?? Its too much

~~~

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Friday 8:52am

From Princess

I'm on the plane. He rode here with me. Looked so… broken. Feel like a monster. But I'm scared

~~~

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Friday 1:45pm

From Princess

Lisa. LISA. LISA.

I'm home but but he. Omg

~~~

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Friday 2:38pm

From Princess

There's a tiny stuffed panther in my bag with a note:  I just want to be with you

My very own Tiny Murder Panther 

[whump-town]

Shattered Hearts, Fractured Lungs

(Chapter Fifth; Warnings for: school shooting, violence, language, and heart failure; you can find the first chapter here, the second here, the third here, and the fourth here)

Emily Prentiss just wants to do her job but a messy case sends her sprawling into the arms of a dying man with a toddler and his weird, broken family.

“We don’t even ask for happiness, just a little less pain.” --Charles Bukowski

Aaron places his tea in the microwave knowing that it’s going to put him behind schedule for the morning. He still needs to get ready for the day but he can afford just a moment to make himself a cup of tea. Anything to soothe his raw throat. Besides, knowing his ragtag group of students he’s going to need his voice today. He’s going to have to be able to keep up with them.

The thought makes him smile, a light warmth spreading along his chest. He settles his hips back against the counter and settles his gaze along the room. He can’t remember cleaning up but the dishes are actually clean, resting in the sink waiting to be put away. 

He never washes the dishes. It’s a fatal flaw but he hates washing the dishes and… where’s the dishwasher? It had been a pity gift from Dave. No point in washing dishes by hand when you’re---

When you’re… he can’t remember where he was going with that line of thought. It’s just blank. The sentence just--- the microwave beeps behind him and dejectedly, he turns and opens the microwave except the beeping doesn’t stop. He shuts the door and the fact that the beeping just keeps getting louder and louder and it’s overwhelming causing the soft edges of pain to start blooming across his chest. 

And he remembers, there are no kids to go to. No school. No family. No fucking heart---

“Easy,” thick, rough fingers wrap around his bicep. A tight squeeze that grounds him to the moment and away from the microwave still beeping frantically from somewhere to his right. But he’s not at home. He’s not at home because everything is white and it stinks. It smells like bleach and he hates it.

He doesn’t know where he is and everything hurts. He can’t breathe. It hurts so bad. Tears sting his eyes as they fall but all he can do is limply lay in this bed, in this place he doesn't know. He’s not sure what he did wrong but he's sorry and he promises he won’t do it again.

He’s sorry… please just make it stop.

“Family of Aaron Hotchner?”

Five and a half hours of waiting--- fuck, she’d read somewhere it was only supposed to take four. Reid, anxiously pacing, had reminded them all of this fact. It’s taking too long but that has to mean some fraction of hope for them, right? As long as it’s not too short he hasn’t just coded on the table and left them reeling with his loss. Without a fight. With a gaping hole where he once was, wheezing but here.

He’d been here and now…

Standing from her chair, she’s not sure what to expect. How can she? The last time she was here for this kind of news, Anderson was dead. Anderson was dead and she was about to be gifted to another office-- sent away. What is the likelihood of that happening again? This time there’s more at stake. There’s Jack and Reid and Penelope and she’s quickly realized that in this look group, this misfit family, Aaron is the glue.

What’s going to happen if he doesn’t make it out of this?

“He’s in CICU,” the doctor informs them with a nod. “He’ll be there for the rest of the night until he’s breathing on his own.” The doctor’s had warned them of this very likely outcome. His lungs have been working double time for months and they’ll want this reprieve. 

Dave, jogging Jack up his farther in his arms, nods his head. He’s really the only one wrapping his head around this information past the point of--- he’s alive. “Can I go back,” he asks, voice thickening with the release of stress now overcoming his body. 

The doctor frowns as he considers it. The Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit doesn’t have much room for patients and visitor’s to be moving around. However, it’s pretty understandable that his patient and his family might benefit from a small visit. That is, as long as they can stand the sight of the bandages.

“Briefly,” the doctor caves. “He’s not going to be up for too much.”

Alive. Not up for much but alive.

“I’ll take it.”

Dave has to leave Jack in the waiting room. He’s still half asleep when he climbs into Reid’s lap without complaint. It seems to calm the genius nerves, being able to wrap his arms around the small boy. And alone Dave follows the doctor down the hall. 

It’s eerie and the only sound down the long, winding hall is the heart monitors. To his untrained ears they all sound steady and he wonders if the doctor hears the same steady rhythms.  

“It’s for his safety--”

Dave is practically covered in scrubs and plastic. They place gloves on his hands after they instruct him to thoroughly wash. Taking his temperature and handing him a mask to place over his face. He starts to sincerely doubt if he should be back here. If Aaron’s health is so dependent on all this, Dave doesn’t want to place him in unnecessary danger.

Stepping into the room, Dave’s taken aback by all of the wires and the machine. The ventilator pulls in each of Aaron’s breathes and releases them with hiss and beep. He’s awake though, light brown eyes pinched in pain as he slowly answers the nurses question.

“You’re doing great, sweetheart.” The nurse commends. “One last question,” she promises, squeezing Aaron’s hand. “1 to 10, how much pain are you in?”

Hotch’s entire chest feels like there’s a herd of baby elephants sitting atop it. It’s worse than anything he’s ever felt. Hell, bleeding out on his classroom floor wasn’t as bad as this. Still, he raises only seven fingers. The nurse has to lean over his hips to see his trembling left hand hardly raised from the bed and fingers hardly uncurled. Still, seven. 

“Honey,” she says, gently and so understanding. “I need you to be honest with me, otherwise, I can’t give you any pain medication. Okay?’

He nods and this time he raises a more honest answer. Nine.

The nurse squeezes his knee as she stands, smiling. “See,” she says, “that I can work with.” When she looks up, she finds Dave and to him her smile softens significantly. “Looks like you’ve got a visitor, sweetheart.” 

Aaron moves his head, feeling the uncomfortable pull at his mouth as the tubes remain still. Dave. 

“Don’t cry,” Dave whispers, feeling his own tears sting his eyes at the sight of the ones pooling over in Aaron. “Oh my boy,” Dave walks up to the side of the bed. He takes one of Aaron’s hands and the other moves to his hair, gently soothing down the sweat soaked locks. 

Dave smiles sadly as he wipes away one of Aarons’ stray tears. He can see just how tired Aaron is. The dark bags under his eyes look more like bruises but all of that can be excused. Aaron’s alive and he’s got a new heart and a chance at life. 

Of course… his future is built solidly on a hand-ful of medications he’s going to have to take daily. He’ll have to be careful each flu season and fight from here on out to keep living. To eat healthy and get enough sleep and-- 

“You did so good,” Dave praises, softly. He keeps his hand in Aaron’s head, luring him back to sleep. Not that Aaron has very much fight left in him right now. “Get some rest, son.”

Where Emily had expected leniency or maybe even some rule-bending she finds only hard schedules and a very weak, recently cracked open Aaron Hotchner. He gets two days to rest. In those days Dave is the only person they allow back and just as he’s starting to get restless they bring him down to a different floor. They pass through so many floors she stops bothering to learn which intensive care unit it is. 

What’s important is that he’s on his feet and making slow progress down the hall. 

He’s leaning a little bit more on Dave than he should be but gone is the tube in his throat. Pulled behind him is the oxygen tank that the doctor has already decided he no longer needs. But for today he pulls in deep breathes through his nose and tries to make it down the hall without incident. 

“Emily,” he greets breathless, stopping and shaking in place while he looks her up and down. He’s not checking her out, there is no baited heat that should make her cheeks flush. Instead, she feels the familiar warmth of his presence wash over her. Nothing but at ease familiarity.

She presses a kiss to his cheek, smiling when he chuckles breathlessly. “You look---”

His chest moves a little too much when he pulls in a breath and he winces, face pulling back in a tight grimace. “--like shit?” he offers, not even fighting when the nurse that had been trailing them pushes the wheelchair behind his knees. 

She smiles softly but it’s Dave to confirm, “just rest a moment.” He rests a hand on Aaron’s shoulder, gently rubbing, “you can try again in a moment.”

Once he’s settled, his eyes moving back up to Emily she shakes her head. “Are you kidding,” she asks. “You look hot enough to pick up anybody in this place you wanted.”

He pulls his arm against his chest as he groans, the smile on his lips all she needs to know that he’s laughing through the pain. “Don’t lie to me,” he chides without any heat. It’s him that blushes first and it makes her smile that much harder. 

She rolls her eyes and reaches down to mess his hair up even more. 

He wonders if this new heart is really going to be able to deal with all the beats she made the old one skip. 

“So, hot stuff,” she looks over her shoulder to the rest of the hall. “You supposed to be walking down this hall?’

He nods, throat impossibly tight at the way she says hot stuff so casually.

He really does look worse for wear. His dark hair is perpetually swept in every direction, no brush or amount of gel and water seems to tame it. Normally, his neatly trimmed facial hair never sees the light of much more than a light shadow. Unable to lift his arms and unwavering on his decision to not let a nurse shave him, he’s grown a nice beard. 

He’s scraggly and well past just windswept. 

He’s lacking nearly all of what makes him so much the Aaron Hotchner the world gets to see. His shoulders aren’t squared, he can’t even stand up all the way.  But Emily Prentiss finds that she’s never loved just a ragged thing as much as she does this man. 

As teenage girls love the abhorrent idea of a straw too mangled to go loved by another soul. As a child might choose the smallest, most beaten down stuffed animal. Emily Prentiss loves this man  who looks up at her with heavy, beaten down eyes. Not because he’s broken but because he gets back up. 

And Aaron Hotchner might just love her back.

[oreoambitions]

In Which Boobs Get Kara Into Trouble

There will come a time later, when Kara is standing on the roof of Spherical Industries with a gun to her head, when she will wonder how she ever got herself into such a mess. The rain will pour and the city will roar, oblivious, far below while Kara tries to piece it all together. And it will end as it began: with a pair of brilliant green eyes and a sad smile.

Kara spies her at the hotel bar and, if she's being honest, the first thing she notices are the boobs. I mean, can you blame her? The cut of that dress is scandalous at best and the woman wearing it is a vision, truly. Kara, lingering in the doorway in her slacks and buttondown, tired and a little unkempt from a long day on her first field assignment as a junior reporter, almost forgets for a moment that she's shy and awkward and Definitely Straight Thank You Very Much. She flashes her brightest smile almost before she realizes it and, to her surprise, the woman with the boobs looks up and smiles back.

The second thing Kara notices is the older gentleman leaning in across the bar, his hand lingering on that dress somewhere just north of inappropriate as he reasserts his position at the center of the boob woman's attention. The journalist in Kara says: I wonder what their relationship to one another is. The Definitely Straight Thank You Very Much side of Kara says: I should go rescue her.

There will come a time when Kara curses the fact that she's somehow inherited that trademark Danvers penchant for heroism and trouble, but this is not that time. This is the time when Kara strolls up, one hand in her pocket, heart pounding in her ears, to flash that million dollar smile one more time and adjust her glasses. She glances dismissively at Just North of Inappropriate as she inserts herself into the situation with all the grace of a bull in a china shop.

"Sorry I'm late," she says brightly. "Just a little bit of traffic on the bridge. Shall we get a table?"

The plan, if you can really call it that, has just about formed in Kara's mind by the time she finishes speaking. There are, she assumes, roughly two possible outcomes. Either the boob woman doesn't need rescuing after all and Kara is about to suffer an incredibly humiliating encounter, or she does need rescuing and they can head to the hotel restaurant together where Kara can see her delivered safely to wherever it is she'd like to be. What actually happens is neither of those things.

"Darling," the boob woman says, a sad smile on her lips. "I was just about to call. This is Jack, the gentleman I was telling you about. Jack, this is my wife..."

It is to Kara's credit that she only hesitates for a moment. She did take an improv class for half a semester in undergrad; she's about as well prepared for a curveball like this as anyone could reasonably expect. She extends her hand and says, "Kara. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Likewise," Jack replies, his eyebrows high. "Forgive me; Lena didn't mention you were coming."

Lena slides an arm around Kara's waist so casually that for one insane instant Kara wonders whether this woman has confused her for someone else. "You know how it is," Lena is saying. "Work doesn't always allow for travel; I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up."

Travel. So Kara, Wife of the Woman with the Boobs, is not supposed to be from here.

Jack fixes Kara with a smile that never quite reaches his eyes. "I hope the flight wasn't too difficult."

"Somehow it always feels shorter than I expect," Kara says, mind scrambling. Where is she supposed to have flown in from? Is this a test? Is there something she should know to say?

Jack chuckes. "Well, Metropolis to National City is a short trip compared to what you're used to, I'm sure. If you'll excuse me, I'll just let them know we'll be needing an extra place at the table."

Lena is hissing as soon as he's out of earshot. "It took you long enough, goddamnit. I called for backup an hour ago! I think he has the asset here, at the hotel. If we're lucky we can- shit. Hope!"

And just like that Lena is all smiles and warmth but for her white knuckled grip on Kara's hip. She waves to a woman lingering in the doorway and Kara finds herself tangled in pleasantries and small talk, playing the part as best she can.

Now the plan is: get out of this as soon as possible.

It becomes clear that 'as soon as possible' might be a while coming when Jack returns and the four of them are escorted not, as Kara had assumed, to the hotel restaurant, but into the elevator. Oh. They are dining at the private club on the top floor, and all at once Kara is conscious of the fact that her entire outfit is likely worth less than the average glass of wine here, that her hair is coming a little undone in the back, that she didn't put makeup on this morning because she was hoping that seeming a little more like 'one of the guys' might earn her a more favorable quote at the conference she was working this afternoon. This is trouble, and if Kara's gut is right, it's dangerous trouble at that.

The menu doesn't list prices but Kara navigates the social waters by ordering just about whatever Lena does - although she kips the salad appetizer in favor of egg rolls - and fumbles through conversation by saying as little as possible until the conversation drifts to the Kaznian refugee crisis and Kara begins to shift uncomfortably in her seat.

"Well, you know as they say in Kaznia," Jack is saying, "Without work, there is no desert."

He says the phrase in Kaznian so smoothly that it would have passed by perhaps anyone but an actual Kaznian refugee without comment. But Kara has never been the best when it comes to holding her tongue and so she corrects him almost without thinking about it. "Bez prace nejsou kolace. Without work there is no cake."

Jack raises his eyebrows, but it's Hope who comments, "Are you from Kaznia too? Is that how you two met?"

Kara is frozen, processing the implication that Lena may also be a Kaznian refugee, but Lena is already answering. "Our fathers knew one another, yes, but we actually met at a bar. It's a terribly mundane story. There I was, enduring the cumbersome attentions of some ape, and she simply swooped in for the rescue. The rest is history."

Kara almost laughs. "Really, it was love at first sight," she says. "Coming to the rescue was the least I could do. Even if I did turn out to get rather more than I'd bargained for."

Lena's smile is sugar sweet as she leans over to press a warm kiss to Kara's cheek. "I'm worth it," she promises and, mercifully, she changes the subject.

They make it most of the way through dessert before the conversation finally turns to business.

"How long are you in town?" Jack asks. "Not just for the conference, I hope."

Lena hums, noncommittal. "Maybe a few days longer. There are a few business meetings I'd like to take care of while we're here."

"Well I hope you'll save one of those meetings for me. Spherical Industries has made a breakthrough, I'm sure you've heard, and while I've obligations to the board to hear a few proposals the real prize would be a partnership with L-Corp.  We could do great things together, you and I."

A number of thoughts cross Kara's mind in quick succession.

The first: Jack's tone is so overtly predatory, so intensely suggestive, that Kara is absolutely shocked that he would speak to Lena in such a way in front of her (supposed) wife or in front of his own spouse.

The second: If Lena works for L-Corp, Kara has gotten herself into the middle of something very complicated indeed.

The third: Jack is, as Kara has suspected for the better part of an hour now, not just some rando putting his hands on a woman in a bar. He is, in fact, none other than Jack Speer, as in Spherical Industries, as in the man responsible for the conference where Kara has been working. The conference where she was hoping to hear something that might confirm a rumored breakthrough to which Jack just openly admitted. And, if Kara's sources are to be believed, Spherical Industries has gone to great length to keep the details of that breakthrough out of the hands of the authorities. Kara would give just about anything to find out why.

"You know I always have time for a few drinks with an old friend; I'm sure something can be arranged," Lena says. "It really is lovely to catch up with you both. And isn't your anniversary coming up soon?"

"One year on Sunday," Hope replies.

“Well then an early congratulations to you both.”

When dessert has been consumed, coffee sipped, and the check paid (by Spherical Industries, at Jack's insistence), it's time for the long walk to the elevator and down the hall to what is presumably Lena's room.  Jack and Hope walk them all the way, and the small talk lasts another excruciating handful of minutes while Lena fiddles with her key until, at last, Hope suggests that everyone must be tired.

Kara's mind is reeling. Jack and Hope aren't walking away and so, in order to keep up appearances, she follows Lena into the hotel room.

It's almost - almost - not a surprise when, as soon as the door shuts, Lena pulls a gun on Kara. There is still something a little inherently startling about finding herself on the wrong end of a firearm but, well, that's been looking like the almost inevitable end result of this evening for a little while here and Kara figures the best thing she can do is handle it as calmly as possible.

"Who the fuck are you," Lena demands, "and who the fuck do you work for?"

"I can ex-"

"You are definitely not the backup I called for. Are you with Edge? How did you find me?"

Kara raises her hands in the universal symbol for surrender. "I don't work for anyone," she explains. "Well, I work for CatCo, actually, but the point is, I think we might be on the same side."

Slowly, her eyes never leaving Kara's face, Lena lowers the gun and engages the safety. Kara's gaze drops to the boobs. If there has ever been a time not to be distracted by boobs it’s this moment but, well. Kara may be Definitely Straight Thank You Very Much but even she can appreciate the absolute goddess standing in front of her in a sinful dress with a loaded weapon in hand. She swallows and forces her attention back to Lena's face and to the knowing smirk that says her distraction has not gone unnoticed.

"I'm listening," Lena says.

[andipxndy-writes]

holiday mishaps (part 4)

fandom: alex rider x ncis [crossover] warnings: mentions of blood, typical ncis stuff requested by: @lilcoffeecup word count: 7.8k

cross posted to ao3

summary: Alex Rider just wanted a relaxing holiday, somewhere where he could relax without any trouble cropping up. And with Jack and her family, he almost got that. ALMOST. And then he had to go and take a midnight walk. On the other hand... Ziva David swears she recognises the fair-haired witness to their murder case.

holiday mishaps

If Ziva was being completely honest, she was pretty glad that Gibbs hadn’t let her drive to the mall. She knew what kind of driver she was — everyone had made her very well aware of what kind of driver she was — but in a rush like this (where she felt partially at fault for a young man being put in so much danger) she probably would have caused at least one accident. Or maybe two. She wasn’t completely sure, but she knew that Tony would be very willing to tell her if she just asked him. As it was, Gibbs’ speedy driving had kicked in the moment he’d started up the sedan, and Tony was hanging on tightly to his seat the entire way there.

He did not appreciate the way she hissed, “Wuss,” at him over her shoulder, but she didn’t feel like he had any right to complain about her choice of words.

As soon as the car screeched to a halt outside the large building, all three agents leapt out of the car, the engine barely even starting to cool as they headed towards the entrance to the building. Of course, Gibbs had decided not to take the time to actually head to the parking garage, but Ziva was pretty sure they could get themselves off the hook for it later. Or just charge the ticket to the agency.

Pulling out his phone, Gibbs quickly dialled McGee’s number before pressing it to his ear. “McGee, where are we headed?” Ziva didn’t hear the answer to the question, but as soon as Gibbs began jogging through the crowds and in through the double doors she sped up her pace, following him into the busy building of people.

A busy building of people who could easily get in the way if something went wrong.

And she could feel that something would definitely go wrong with this. Call it a… gut feeling.

Soon enough, Gibbs was tucking his phone back into his pocket as they began weaving through the crowds, leaving Tony and Ziva to follow.

“Where are we headed, boss?” Tony asked before Ziva could say anything. Ziva wasn’t exactly sure how or whether McGee could pinpoint exactly where in a mall a person could be using their phone, but he could find a way of getting a location some other way… right?

“McGee says Alex started off in the lingerie district,” Gibbs started, and Ziva elbowed Tony harshly when he let out a snort. “He’s not hiding there, but should be somewhere close by. Keep an eye out.”

“And Rossi?” Ziva pressed, wondering how they would be able to get Alex to safety and the man arrested in the same day.

“Keep an eye out for him, he could be anywhere.” And he was searching for Alex just like they were. It’s likely he even had a head start on his location. They had to stay sharp. “DiNozzo, head to the upper floors, see if you can find any hint of Alex there.”

“Upper floors near lingerie central?” DiNozzo sensed Gibbs glare before he saw it. “Could’ve got to an elevator and travelled up to hide. On it boss.”

“Ziva—”

“I will head to the men’s section near the lingerie.” Which left Gibbs with the home stores. Much easier to search amongst men’s clothing than large stores full of furniture that anyone could hide in. “On it.”

***

Ziva had to admit, searching for a teenaged boy in a crowd of busy, moving people was not easy at all. Never mind the fact that she still had to make it down to the lingerie sector first before making her way back through the men’s stores (so that she could retrace his steps), forcing her way through a crowd without using her badge was tough enough. She couldn’t just give away the fact that she was a federal agent and tip off the drug dealer looking for Alex too. Otherwise he would disappear without a trace, and they wouldn’t have the murderer for their case. And he could also come after Alex for revenge.

She had to play it carefully.

Reaching the lingerie section, she turned on her heel and paused for a moment, forcing people to walk around her to get to their destinations. Glancing around, she thought she could spot a security camera and was tempted to ask McGee if he could find Alex on there for them. But that would require them going to security and getting a warrant and then permission… they didn’t have the time for that.

Gradually she made her way into the menswear sector, looking around at the different stores. Sports clothes, lounge clothes, general wear, suits…

Suits.

She didn’t know why that one sounded right to her. After all, who would look for a teenager in a suit store?

Then she realised why it sounded so right to her. Who would look for a teenager in a suit store?

If Alex was smart, he would have headed in there to hide. If not, she’d have to look elsewhere. Perfect.

Heading straight for the door, she wasn’t surprised when one of the store assistants tried to stop her. After all, she was clearly a woman going into a store for men’s clothing. The polite smile she was given almost made her roll her eyes.

“Can I help you, ma’am?”

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her badge and flashed it at him, tucking it away quickly. She was here on business. “I am looking for someone. A teenage boy. Fair hair, rather tall.”

The man almost appeared as if he didn’t want to help, like he didn’t want to get involved, but then he glanced towards the changing rooms. Ziva began to move even before he spoke, “Last I saw, a kid of your description headed in there. I haven’t seen him come out, and he’s been in there a while, but I may have missed him leave.”

Ziva just about remembered to throw him a quick thanks as she headed for the changing rooms, ignoring the various looks she received from men as she passed them. Before someone stopped her at the entrance to the changing rooms, she brought out and flashed her badge again, clearing her path pretty quickly.

Soon enough she was basically backstage, heading straight through the fitting rooms to find a cubicle that seemed suspicious enough to hide a teenager, and a pretty smart one at that. Most of the cubicles were open, and any that were closed had a voice flitting out from behind the curtain or visible feet casting a shadow from underneath.

Apart from one.

It was one of the penultimate changing cubicles, the last-but-one, and from what she could see the cubicles at the end were empty, curtains open. After all, who wanted to go that far back into the changing rooms when they could be in and out much faster closer to the entrance. She was pretty much certain that Alex had to be in this one.

Of course, in case it wasn’t, she unholstered her gun and set it to her side, holding it close in case she had to use it. Of course, the safety was on, but she knew she could be quick to take it off and shoot if necessary. Mentally, she counted in her head, slowly reaching for and taking the edge of the curtain.

One…

Two…

Three!

She pulled back the curtain and raised her gun, only to have to duck out of the way quickly when a clothes hanger came flying at her head. She started wide-eyed at her attacker, holding up her gun and very close to taking the safety off.

It was only because it was Alex that she didn’t actually do it.

“You could have taken my head off!” she snapped, glaring at him now. She, of course, did not appreciate the fact that he'd tried to attack her, even though she was glad that he had something to attack with in case it hadn’t been her or any other NCIS Agent.

Alex didn’t even look sheepish. “You could have shot me,” he responded, sounding almost calm.

“The safety is on.”

“I didn’t know that. All I know is that you’ve got a gun pointed at my chest.”

Ziva was almost tempted to point the gun at his face instead. Instead, though, she holstered her gun and pulled her jacket over it so that people didn’t see it and assume the worst. “Has anyone else come for you?”

“A couple of people have opened the cubicle expecting it to be empty. Other than that, though…” he shook his head, “nothing. No one.”

Well, that was good, Ziva supposed. Rossi hadn’t found him yet, meaning that they had the time to get Alex out of there and to safety and then track down the drug dealer and bring him in. This was all turning out brilliantly — or, at least, as brilliantly as it could go, which was to say, it wasn’t turning out terribly.

“Good,” she responded, nodding her head towards the door. “Let’s get you out of here. Then we can get you to safety and make sure you are protected before anything happens to you.”

“What about Jack?”

Ziva hadn’t expected that question. Jack? His guardian? “Well, she will be in protective custody with you.”

“No, I mean…” he hesitated for a moment, biting his lip. “She came to the mall with me. When we realised someone was following me, we split up to lose them, and now…”

Ah, great. So now they had another person to look for in this mall. That, of course, made their jobs a lot easier.

Not.

Ziva pulled out her cell, dialling Gibbs’ number and putting it to her ear. It only took two rings for him to pick up.

“You got him?”

“I have Alex,” she confirmed, glancing at the teen. “We have one problem, though. The guardian, Jack. She is somewhere in the mall. And not with Alex.”

She could practically feel Gibbs’ frustration through the phone call. “I’ll get DiNozzo on it. Any idea where she could be?”

Ziva looked to the teen for help.

Alex, of course, wasn’t a mind reader. So of course he couldn’t he hear what Gibbs was asking over the phone, even though he was usually good at that sort of thing. He had a feeling Ziva was holding the phone pretty tightly against her ear. “Yes?”

“We need details on when and where you last saw Jack, and where you think she could be.” Ziva handed the phone over to Alex. “Speak to Gibbs.”

Taking the phone from the female agent, Alex realised he didn’t need to explain what Jack looked like — all of the agents had met her before, as she’d gone with him to NCIS. So it wasn’t exactly a secret that she was a redhead with a spunky attitude. Well, spunky and protective, but most people missed the protective part if they weren’t looking hard enough. He paused for a moment to try and think on what to tell Agent Gibbs.

Gibbs seemed to sense that Alex wasn't exactly sure where to start.

“When did you last see her, and where?”

When and where. A good place to start.

“We were in the Nike store when I first felt like we were being watched, and we were heading towards JD Sports to try and get me some more stuff when we decided to split up.” Well, it had been less of a “we” and more of a “he” considering the plan, but he didn’t need to tell Agent Gibbs that. It wasn’t as if Jack would spill that to them when they found her anyway. “We’d just got out of the store, maybe about four or so feet away, in the middle of the crowds. Jack headed in one direction, probably still towards JD, and I headed towards the home store section.” Which had ended up with him in lingerie, but he didn’t need to mention that.

“When?”

“About half an hour to forty minutes ago,” Alex guessed, looking down at his watch. He couldn’t exactly recall the time he’d last seen Jack, but it felt like it had been that long anyway. “We agreed to meet at the food court an hour from splitting up, and to call if one of us was unable to turn up and tell mall security.” He said “we”, but it had been Jack’s idea, and she had definitely made that suggestion so that he remembered to contact her if anything happened. Because, of course, he had a habit of getting into trouble and forgetting to tell her when he was safe.

There was a brief pause on the other line, and Alex was pretty sure he could hear a bit of scuffling. “Pass the phone back to Agent David.”

Well. Alex would have appreciated a “thank you” or an acknowledgement that his information was useful, rather than that gruff response. In fact, something to acknowledge his usefulness would have been polite, given the circumstances. Alex could very well have gone looking for Jack on his own, knowing that he could hold his own in any sort of battle. Well, most sorts of battle. When there weren’t civilians surrounding the area who could possibly involved in the whole situation. But he passed the phone back to Ziva anyway, who was nodding and muttering a few things into it before she ended the call, tucking the mobile device back into her pocket.

“Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo are now searching the upper floors for your guardian,” she informed Alex, and the teen nodded before realising that that meant they weren’t searching the upper floors. That put him a little on edge.

“Where are we searching, then?” he asked her, and he could see the slight pinch on her face that told him he wasn’t going to like the answer that she was about to give.

“We will not be searching. We are going back to the car to make sure that you are safe, and if possible I will escort you back to the home of your guardian’s family.”

He didn’t like that answer one bit.

“Bullshit.” As if he was going home to face Jack’s family when she was somewhere in the mall hiding from someone who was most probably after him. He couldn’t deal with that sort of judgement. “I’m not going into hiding when Jack’s out there. I’m coming with you.”

“You cannot come with us.”

“You wanna bet?”

Ziva’s eyes narrowed. “I will force you into that car.”

Alex’s own eyes narrowed, a small smirk growing on his face. “Try me.”

***

It turned out that Alex was a lot better at convincing Ziva than he’d previously thought, considering he was now out searching for Jack with her instead of being tucked away in a car and being sent home. There was no way he would have been able to sit still at home with Jack out there anyway, and he was pretty sure he would have found a way to sneak out and head back to the mall to search for her himself. Which would have put them all in more trouble, if his track record was any indication.

Really, Ziva should consider herself lucky that he was there with her. Then she could keep an eye on him whilst they searched. He knew he had a habit of veering off the rails of safety and doing stupid things when left to his own devices.

“So, where are we headed first?” Alex asked, and Ziva raised an eyebrow at him. As if she still wasn’t sure how he’d managed to convince her to let him join her in searching for Jack. But it wasn’t as if she could do anything about it now; he was already there. He was probably about to get her in trouble with her boss for taking a minor on a possible rescue mission, but he wasn’t too sure he cared at that moment.

“I thought that you were the one with the idea on where to head next?” she asked.

He paused for a moment to think about it. Even if he was the one who had any sort of idea where they had to go next, he still had to think of where they actually had to go. If Jack had started off by heading towards the sports area, then…

“Maybe we should head to JD Sports?” he suggested, his hand coming up to scratch the side of his face thoughtfully as they wedged through the busy crowds. At least, they seemed to be dying down a little compared to how busy everything had been earlier. “That’s where we were heading before. If we head there, then we can try to follow wherever she could’ve gone, maybe trace her steps and find her then?” And then, if the hour was up, they could head to the food court and see if they could spot her there. She would probably call if the hour was up and she couldn’t make it, like she’d told him to do, so then they could find out exactly where she was and find a way to get to her and get to safety.

Ziva nodded. “A logical course of action,” she agreed, and part of Alex was glad that she agreed with him on that. Not that he needed validation from a federal agent, considering he’d even worked with the CIA before, but it was nice to know that his plans weren’t bat-shit crazy.

Unless she, too, was bat-shit crazy. Then they were both in trouble.

Regardless, the pair of them began to gradually make their way towards the sports shop that Alex had mentioned, weaving through the steadily thinning crowds as they went. It felt like they had been weaving and shoving for hours before Alex finally saw the shop Jack had intended for them to visit on their shopping trip. When he couldn’t see her standing outside it, he worried a little, before he realised that she would probably be hiding inside. Hiding outside would be a stupid plan if someone was chasing you, obviously.

A few minutes of weaving later, and they were inside the store asking about a redhead who may or may not have walked inside to try and buy some clothes, maybe head back into the fitting rooms. Or, rather, Ziva was asking, whilst Alex was looking around and trying to find any hiding spots that Jack could have used. She may not have his spy fighting and investigation skills, but she was pretty damn good at hide-and-seek from what he could remember of his childhood.

Ziva walked back over to him when she finished questioning as many retail workers as she could find. Alex couldn’t quite read her expression, but he stood from where he had been searching underneath a couple of clothing racks and brushed himself down. Jack clearly wasn’t hiding underneath those.

“She did briefly head in here, but was turned away since she tried to head into the changing rooms without any clothing, and clearly wasn’t buying anything from the displays or the racks.”

That, obviously, frustrated Alex a bit (why hadn’t she just gone and picked some clothes off the racks?), but he supposed he understood. This wasn’t the sort of thing Jack did. She didn’t know how to look as inconspicuous as he did. Plus… she didn’t exactly look like the sporty type either. Though part of him still wanted to look in the back changing rooms, in case she told those store assistants to feed that lie to anyone who came looking for her. Which would have been a smart idea, and he would commend her for that if she actually did.

Ziva’s quick search of the changing rooms, though, revealed that Jack actually hadn’t done that and really had been escorted out of the store. Unfortunately.

“So she left?” he muttered, more to himself than to Ziva, and he turned towards the store exit. If Jack had left the store after being kicked out… where would she have headed to hide next?

If they had agreed to meet at the food court, then he would have gone to hide somewhere near there until the agreed time was up. Would she have done the same thing? Perhaps that was more his stomach talking, though. “Are there any stores near the food court?” he asked curiously. “Maybe she could be hiding in one of those, if that was where we agreed to meet?”

Ziva took a brief moment to think about that, and Alex gave a small sigh of relief when she gave a small nod. “There are some stores around there that I believe we could search. It shouldn’t take too long to figure out which stores to search in. If it does take longer than expected, we will at least be in the vicinity of the food court.”

“Exactly,” Alex agreed, before beginning to head for the store exit and completely forgetting that he wasn’t the one leading the search. “Come on.”

He didn’t notice the look that Ziva sent before she followed him out of the store and back into the crowds.

***

Alex didn’t realise it at first, but by the time they were reaching some of the stores close to the food court it had already passed the hour mark. Jack should have called him by then, and even if she could call him, then he should at least attempt calling her. Of course, he didn’t realise this until they’d reached the first store to search through, noticing the time on his phone when he randomly pulled it out to check it. His eyes widened.

“It’s already been an hour,” he pointed out with a frown, before checking through his call log. Nothing from Jack at all. Not even a voicemail message. “It’s been an hour, and she hasn’t called me.” He paused for a few moments, and Ziva watched him as he realised this. He stared down at his screen for a few moments, trying to decide on what to do, before he made his decision.

He’d call her first.

He didn't have to scroll far through his call log to find the last time Jack had called him, and he tapped on the number before putting the phone to his ear, waiting for the rings to end and for her to answer.

Except… she didn’t answer.

He felt Ziva pull him to the side, out of the crowd, but other than that he was focused on anxiously waiting for Jack’s voice to interrupt the rings. For her to tell him that she was okay, but would be late to the food court, or something along those lines. Something, anything, to prove that she was still okay and hidden from whoever had been following them — to prove that he was the one who had been followed when they’d split up, that whoever they were had left Jack alone and had ended up just losing him instead.

He could only cross his fingers and hope.

When Jack didn’t pick up after the sixth or so ring, he began to genuinely worry. Jack was never bad at picking up her phone. If anything, he was the one who was terrible at answering calls — Jack was always good at answering, and was always berating him for not picking up his phone when she called him. He tried to force down the feeling that something was wrong. Maybe she was just at the food court and it was too loud for her to hear her phone ringing in her pocket. Maybe she was perfectly fine but was trying to order some food and would call him back in a minute. Maybe he was just overreacting.

Because he had to be overreacting, right?

“She did not pick up?” Ziva’s words were phased as less of a question and more of a statement. Which put Alex on edge a little, but he tried not to let it show.

“No,” he admitted, trying very hard not to grit his teeth in frustration. He didn’t need her stating the obvious right then. “It’s fine. It’s probably too loud where she is to hear the call.”

The silence that followed his comment felt like it stretched on for aeons, and only served to make him feel more anxious about the situation. It took him a lot of willpower not to run off an start searching for Jack by himself.

“We should head to your meeting point, then,” Ziva concluded, a resolute tone to her voice as she pulled out her own phone — likely to contact Agent Gibbs. “It would be best to head to the meeting point now, just in case she is there already or is headed there and looking for you."

Alex was still staring down at his phone, but he nodded. It was probably the best course of action. Just head there, and make himself easy enough for Jack to spot. Maybe he would even be the one looking for her shock of bright red hair. That thought was enough to give him a bit of hope. He didn’t tuck his phone back into his pocket, instead holding it in his hand as the pair of them headed for the food court to wait for Jack and hopefully head home.

***

A few minutes of walking and a brief call to Gibbs later (where the senior agent’s displeasure at the whole situation had been very clear), the pair of them were sat in the food court, waiting to see if they could spot Jack. Alex hadn’t seen any particularly bright shocks of red hair about that would definitely strike him as Jack’s, which only got him more worried the longer they waited. Ziva buying him a burger and fries to sate his hunger and calm him down certainly helped in him feeling less worried about the whole situation. Popping a couple of fries into his mouth, he looked up at her to see what she was occupied with.

Of course, her eyes were scanning over the food court for him.

He felt a little bad, leaving her to look for Jack on her own, but he hadn’t realised how hungry he was until he had smelled the various foods being sold in the area. He knew that had he been with Jack, he would have somehow convinced her to buy food from almost every stall so that he could try a bit of everything. And by trying a bit of everything, he meant inhaling everything. If anything, it would have been something that they would have joked about on the way home, where Alex would have still had enough space to fit in a large home-cooked dinner.

Because, of course, he was a bottomless-pit phase.

“I still do not see your guardian,” Ziva muttered, before looking back at the teen. Alex had almost missed what she said over inhaling the food in front of him. He put down his burger and wiped his mouth with the paper napkin before looking about, trying to see if he could spot Jack.

He couldn’t.

He really wanted to get up and properly search, but not only would it look suspicious to be searching for hiding places in a food court, it would look utterly ridiculous to do it whilst still eating. He’d have to finish his food first.

And then, his phone started ringing.

Alex frowned, looking down at the phone buzzing on the table, before recognising the called ID.

It was Jack.

Scrambling to clean his hands, he quickly cleaned them as much as he could on the napkin before answering the call, putting the phone to his ear. “Jack? Where are you?”

“A-Alex, I—” Her voice cut off, putting Alex on edge, but it was the sound of another voice that put the teen on edge.

“Hello, Alex. It's so nice to finally hear your voice. I have heard so much about you.”

Alex’s breath caught in his throat when he heard a voice that definitely wasn’t Jack’s coming over the line. The suddenness of it had him torn between yelling and throwing the phone away from himself, and threatening whoever was on the other line so that he could hunt them down and possibly kill them for even thinking of touching Jack. Of course, that combination had him frozen, alerting Ziva to the fact that something was wrong.

Very, very wrong.

“Who are you?” Alex finally demanded, and Ziva was watching him carefully. She had no idea what was going on, but she definitely felt like it was something dangerous. Her thoughts were only confirmed when Alex looked up at her and a look of concern on her face, and he pulled the phone away from his ear, putting it on speaker so that they could both hear whoever was on the other line.

“Me? Oh, I think you know who I am. I definitely know who you are. In fact, I would be surprised if anyone in our world didn't.” Ziva recognised that voice straight away, putting her on edge. Rossi had Alex’s guardian’s phone.

“I’m not in your world,” Alex snipped, his eyes narrowing. Ziva could sense the hostility from the teen, but it felt like much more than an angsty teenager would have towards an offending adult. This sounded serious. And it only made her suspicions about Alex, and who exactly he was, increase. Who exactly was this teen who spoke with a drug dealer so callously?

“Oh, but if I think you are who this woman, your friend, says you are… then you very much are in my world.”

“What do you want?” Alex changing the subject added to Ziva’s curiosity about the whole thing.

There was a pause on the other line, as if Rossi was considering what he actually wanted, and Ziva quickly stood pulled out her cell, moving away from the table. If he had taken the guardian, Jack, and was going to make ransom demands… Gibbs needed to know. And he needed to know now. It didn’t take long for her to dial his number, and it took even less time for him to answer it and for her to quietly relay what was going on.

And all whilst the man was making his ransom demands to Alex.

“I want an escape vehicle. Maybe a helicopter. Or a plane. Something to get me out of the country discretely. You can figure it out.”

Clearly you have the funds to get one for yourself, Ziva wanted to say. But considering how the conversation was going, she had to assume that the man thought that Alex was alone. So she couldn’t say anything loudly enough for him to hear, otherwise she would risk the lives of both Alex and his guardian. Why Rossi wanted out of the country so quickly, though, she had no idea. He had power on these streets, and even if he did get arrested he would probably gain power behind bars. There was… something a little suspicious about it. Like he had done something worse than just kill a Petty Officer, which was terrible enough in her eyes.

“You want to leave the country,” Alex voiced, unimpressed. “That’s really original. Escape punishment rather than face and learn from it.”

“Ah, the typical ‘Rider wisdom’. I was hoping to hear it. For some reason, it is far less impressive when you hear it for yourself.”

“People usually hear it when they’re about to die or get seriously injured by me.”

That made Ziva double-take, and then she really saw the look in Alex’s eyes. Of determination and anger. A look she’d seen in the mirror multiple times before. The look of a person out for blood, because you’d touched something they considered more precious than diamonds. Warning bells started going off in her head. She knew Alex. Or, at least, she knew of him. After this whole thing was sorted out, she was getting in touch with some old contacts to make sure she had his identity right.

The man on the other end of the line laughed. “I doubt that will happen.”

“Most of the other people who come up against me tend to doubt too.” Alex was looking down at his nails now, like this was a conversation he had had with many people before. A conversation that was starting to get old and boring. “None of them are alive. So, I’m warning you this one time: return Jack, and you won’t end up six-feet-under.” And the look in Alex’s eyes told Ziva that this wasn’t a simple threat that the teenager was making — this was a promise.

Alex Rider wasn’t a teenaged boy; Alex Rider was a dangerous man.

“Well, I’m not most other people.”

“You’re right. Most other people wouldn’t have taken Jack, so you’re doubly fucked.” Alex was glaring at the phone now, as if he could glare at the man through the device. “So, what are you going to do? I’d suggest you give Jack back to me so that you can get on with your life as if you’d never met me.”

Ziva was beginning to think that this would be a wise decision, a very wise one, but clearly Rossi wasn’t all too wise. Which is why she wasn’t that surprised when the man answered with, “I’m not going to do that. What I’m going to ask for is an exchange. For your friend, a guaranteed escape route from the country, complete with a vehicle. And I want it in the next couple of hours, or you’re not going to see this friend of yours again.”

Ziva David didn’t appreciate threats. She had never appreciated threats. If anything, she detested them, and tended to vow to kill or seriously harm anyone who threatened her or her family in any way. So for someone to threaten a teenager like Alex, who was not only a minor but someone who was a lot more dangerous than he appeared… woe be unto them, she supposed. She focused back on her phone. “Gibbs?”

“McGee is tracing the call now. Stay with Alex — do not let him out of your sight. We're coming to you.”

Looking over at Alex, she knew that he would probably run at the next given opportunity to find his guardian. After all, that would be what she’d do in his position. Before she could answer Gibbs, he’d ended the call, meaning she was left alone with Alex waiting for Gibbs and Tony to arrive whilst Alex seethed in his seat over a call that had just ended for him. Honestly, Ziva felt if they didn’t get the man and put him into jail, Alex would end up doing something… and she wasn’t exactly sure what, but she knew that for legal purposes she wouldn’t want to know about it.

The conversation he’d just had didn’t stop Alex from finishing off the food in front of him, though. Soon enough he was polishing off his meal whilst scowling down at the table in front of him. As if that would be the solution to his problems.

Ziva got the distinct feeling that he was thinking up a plan to try and get his guardian back, and he would carry it out with or without NCIS getting involved. Ziva wasn’t sure whether she wanted to get involved, but she was going to. For the sake of protecting this teenager from doing something he would regret for the rest of his life. God knew she had done that more than enough times in her own life.

“What are you thinking?” she pressed, narrowing her eyes at him, and he glanced up at her. And then he did something she almost thought was uncharacteristic — he bit his lip, looking a little nervous.

“I have a plan,” he admitted, and she knew from the guilty look on his face that it either wasn’t a smart one or wasn’t a safe one. “I’m going to need your help to carry it out.”

“And why my help?” She frowned at him. What made her so valuable that he was going to ask her for help before Gibbs and Tony even arrived?

“Well, you’re Ziva David, right?” When her eyes widened, he continued, “Then you have the skillset I need to pull this off, and you know exactly what I need to do and how.”

That… definitely put Ziva on edge. If he knew who she was, and wanted a particular skillset of hers… then she knew exactly how she knew of him, and how he knew of her. And she also knew that if and when Gibbs found out about this whole plan that Alex had in mind, he was not going to be pleased at all.

***

It turned out that when Gibbs arrived and Alex told him what he was going to do and what he wanted to happen, the Senior Supervisory Agent wasn’t pleased at all. Ziva could see it in the expression on his face — she’d learnt how to read Gibbs fairly well over the time that they’d known each other. But he didn’t say anything against it. Ziva had a feeling it was because he knew that the plan was a good one, and he couldn’t come up with anything better to both get Jack back and solve their case, but she also knew that it was because Gibbs probably would have done the exact same thing. Except without involving a teenager.

The plan did, unfortunately, involve them actually obtaining a getaway vehicle for the man. Well, getaway vehicles, and Vance wasn’t happy about NCIS supplying any of them. After all, Gibbs didn’t negotiate with criminals who kidnapped and attacked random civilians.

Ziva, by this point, knew than Alex wasn’t a random civilian, but someone intelligent who may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or maybe he was just where the drug dealer had planned for him to be, and the Petty Officer’s death was just a ploy to trap him. If so, this whole thing was likely to turn against him in a pretty terrible way very quickly.

The fact that they managed to get everything Alex needed in about an hour impressed the teen, from what Ziva could tell, but he didn’t show it very much (if at all). Ziva herself wasn’t too surprised, because that was the way their team worked when it came to ransom calls, but a small part of her was a little worried that the plan Alex had in mind wouldn’t work. First of all because it mostly included just her and him, and secondly because she didn’t know how he worked. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to work alongside someone she barely knew, someone whose files said he was just a schoolboy when he was clearly more skilled than that. She’d have to try, though, for the sake of that woman.

The next step was to go to the vehicles and check to make sure they were up to scratch, so that Rossi couldn’t say that they were trying or kill or sabotage him. Which disappointed Alex a little, but the teen was working with federal agents who were more in line with the law than most other agencies and had standards on how they treated their criminals. Even though many others would claim that they couldn’t see how Gibbs had standards. Once they were ‘up to scratch’, they headed back towards the mall, and Alex made a call.

A call that decided their next course of action.

The man had said to meet them up on the roof of the mall with the keys and locations of the vehicles he would use to escape in under two hours. They certainly had that sorted, but Alex wanted to make sure that the man was exactly where they had agreed to meet. Apparently, he had something against possibly losing Jack ‘again’. Ziva didn’t know what that meant, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to.

McGee, obviously, was tracing the call to make sure it was coming from the exact location that they expected, and Alex had the phone on speaker so that they could all hear the call coming through.

“Is there any reason you're trying to call?”

“Well, I’m clearly not trying if I’ve got through to you,” Alex pointed out casually, leaning back in his seat and crossing one leg over the other, ankle on his knee. Ziva almost did a double-take at the apparent change in personality, and Tony actually did do a double-take. The teen appeared ten times as confident as he had just seconds before, and it was baffling.

Almost like he was putting on a mask.

Ziva was becoming more and more certain that she knew who Alex Rider was.

“What do you want?”

“To be certain that you’re holding up your side of the bargain.” The teen looked to Tony, silently asking if he was getting any sort of confirmation from McGee that the man was exactly where he said he would be — still at the mall. Tony rushed to speak into his phone, pestering McGee (as usual) about his job and whether he’d got a location on the outgoing call on Alex’s phone just yet. “I’ve got what you wanted, but I’m not following through if you’re not holding up your side of it. Because if you don’t, I will hunt you down and make sure I fulfil my promise.”

Maybe Gibbs and DiNozzo didn’t know what promise Alex had made earlier, but Ziva knew. And she felt the urge to stop the teen from making such a stupid mistake so early in his life. Holding grudges was good for no one. She knew from experience.

The other man only laughed, though. “Oh, Alex. You are quite amusing. Of course I’m holding up my end of the bargain. I’m exactly where we agreed to meet, don’t you worry. You just get here with what I’ve asked you for so politely.”

It hadn’t been polite, and Ziva knew this, but she could see Alex gritting his teeth. So she kicked him a little, silently telling him to cool it before he said something he regretted over the line. When she glared back at her, she turned to Tony. “Has McGee traced the call yet?” she hissed.

Tony held up a finger. “He’s working on it.”

“Well, tell him to work faster.” She wasn’t too worried about Rossi ending the call too early, since he seemed to have such an ego on him, but she was a little concerned that Alex would put his foot in it before the end of the call. Tony only glared at her before passing on the message, and McGee’s response made him roll his eyes. Ziva didn’t think she wanted to hear it if Tony was rolling his eyes.

And then suddenly, Tony was giving them a thumbs up. “He’s at the mall.”

Alex ended that call far faster than Ziva thought he could. “Great, see you in five.”

“Wait—”

A very mature way of ending a call for sure, but Alex sat back with a sigh, closing his eyes. “That was exhausting.”

Gibbs spoke up for the first time since the drive started, “Imagine how it was for us listening.”

“It was a joy to listen to and you all know it.” Ziva couldn't help but roll her eyes at Alex’s cockiness, shaking her head. And, of course, Gibbs only rolled his eyes, but Tony was smirking.

Of course he would be smirking.

***

Reaching the mall again, Ziva knew that Alex was more than tempted to just head off and find his guardian by himself. Honestly, if she were in his position, she would do the exact same thing, and she was pretty much known for bending the rules and doing things that Gibbs didn’t exactly approve of to protect those she loved. Her father, obviously, had been one of those people she toed the line with. But knowing what Alex wanted to do meant she was more determined to stop him from going off and doing something ridiculously stupid like that.

Which was why she was surprised when Gibbs was the one to pull Alex to the side to speak with him. Granted, she shouldn’t have been so surprised to realise that Gibbs knew what was going on and wanted to put a stop to it to protect a child, but at the same time it let a pleasant warmth spread through her. Her father would never have done such a thing for a stranger’s child, linked to a case or not. Gibbs, of course, was the far superior parent. No question about it.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Tony’s voice suddenly came from beside her ear. Had she been anyone else, she probably would have jumped out of her skin from the sudden voice. As it was, she just about managed to stop herself from turning her head sharply to look at him.

“Something that is none of our business,” she responded simply, before turning to face away from the conversation so it didn’t appear as if they were eavesdropping. Tony, however, didn’t seem to want to let it go.

“You really don’t want to know?” he pressed, raising an eyebrow at her.

“No, and I will snap your neck if you ask me that again.”

He smirked at her, leaning in close. “I don’t think you want to do that.”

She smirked right back. “I think you underestimate how much I actually want to do things like that,” she retorted, making his face blanch as she walked away grinning. As much as she did care for her partner, the fact that she was still able to freak him out with simple threats brought her a ridiculous level of joy.

Within ten or so minutes, Alex and Gibbs returned from where they had been chatting. Alex, rather than looking chastised as Ziva had thought he would, looked surprisingly calm. As if, well, he’d been trying to hide how he truly felt about whatever Gibbs had said to him. Though there was still a spark of appreciation in his eyes that Ziva could see — a spark that she hadn’t seen there before. It made her want to smile, and hope that this whole plan of his went through successfully. Oh, and also make sure the teen didn’t do anything completely stupid and reckless. She got the distinct feeling that that was the kind of thing he was prone to doing. And then they were heading towards the building’s stairwell and up to the roof of the mall, up to the meeting point.

It was time to get this plan underway.