#HI HELLO I MISS THE LOOKING FOR THE PEEPS ACTUALLY

[jinouchibhue]

figured out you can have multiple wallpapers les fookin GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLOOOO

[haikyu-mp4]

I’d say it’s destiny

word count; 1605 – f!reader, implied age gap

Osamu and Atsumu weren’t completely identical, as some might know. Most notably, they decided to dye their hair differently in high school and it made the contrast of their eye colours stand out more.

However, one scenario it always worked for was substitute teachers. Osamu really didn’t mind stepping in for Atsumu today, because it meant he owed him later, but he totally forgot he was stepping in at all when he saw you.

Fresh out of university and first-time substitute teacher.

And you were crazy good-looking.

So when you were taking attendance and asked for Miya Atsumu, it went something like this…

“Here!”

“Hello, Miya,” you said, just like you did with all the other students because some teacher you once had said it made the pupils feel seen. Perhaps they weren’t considering high school students though.

“Call me Osamu,” he said with that trademark smirk he borrowed from his twin as if he was acting his part despite saying the complete opposite.

“…Atsumu?” you read off the paper, with no intention of using his given name but still curious about the name change. Suna already had his phone out in his lap, camera peeping just over the edge of his desk to film this.

“No, that’s my stupid brother.”

“So why are you… here then?”

Osamu slowly deflated, not looking as confident as he did a few seconds ago. Right, he’s not actually in this class. “I’d say it’s destiny?”

You blinked for a moment. This was not what you expected on your first day, and you weren’t quite sure what to do. Do you send him to the principal’s office? At least he’s getting an extra lesson, his apparent twin is the one who missed his. “Come to my desk after class, Miya,” you said strictly before moving on to the rest of the list, not missing the way some brunette kid snorted in the corner as Osamu agreed like you asked him out for dinner.

“You wanted to see me?” Osamu said, a cocky smirk back on his face and bag slung over his shoulder. You frowned, trying your best not to find it funny.

“Not like that, but you know it’s not okay to attend in someone else’s place?” you started, still not decided on how to lecture him properly. Fortunately, you had the number of another teacher that gave you some help.

He sat down on the chair on the other side of your desk. “I’m sorry my brother gave you trouble. What did you say your name was?” he asked, earning another squinted glare from you.

You ignored the comment and question, sighing and looking at the post-it note stuck to your schedule, scribbled with a name. “I was told I should talk to Kita Shinsuke about this, so unless you have something better to say, I think we should move along to find him and your brother.”

Osamu felt like the colour might have drained from his face, thinking of facing both his idiot brother���s complaints and Kita’s cold lecture at the same time. “Oh, uhh…”

You gave him a small smile, standing up already. “They should all be in the gym, right? Please show me the way there, I still get lost.”

Osamu would be damned if you kept smiling at him like that, making him stand right up with a sigh and hold the door open for you before leading you there. “Right this way, my lady.” At least he got to ask you about your favourite foods and other basic stuff that you didn’t mind answering on the way there.

Once again, he opened the door for you when you got to the gym, eyes quickly scanning around to see Suna already showing Atsumu the video. “Kita Shinsuke?” you asked loudly, looking around until you made eye contact with someone who seemed to respond to that name. The grey-haired boy came over, calmly asking you how he could help you while Osamu avoided eye contact but still didn’t want to leave your side. “I’m sorry for disturbing you, but another teacher told me you’re familiar with the problem. I had this Miya in my class while it should have been the other one,” you informed him, almost letting their given names slip off your tongue. Osamu was tuned into your voice, but it was difficult to ignore the agitating voice of his brother, which he heard in the background.

Kita nodded with a confirming sound, dark in his throat as he glared to the side at Osamu. “My apologies, I will make sure they receive the proper consequences,” he said and bowed to you.

Osamu looked at you with a sheepish smile. “Thank you for following me here, I’ll see you around?” he asked, using his possibly last moment alive to look at you one more time with every ounce of charm he had left.

You huffed a small laugh, nodding and turning around to find your way back. “Sure, have fun at practice, Miya.”

Kita and Atsumu were both angry, but who cares?

Osamu Miya was in love.

You saw Osamu around a couple more times while substituting for other teachers, even stepping in for the volleyball coach once. Now that, was something.

“What’d ya think, coach?” Osamu asked you, quite frankly looking like a puppy after spiking and turning to you. You sighed, once again trying to act indifferent and ignore him while also treating him like any other student.

“That was great!” you said with some enthusiasm, also leaning a bit to the side to look at his twin. “And a great set as well!” So now you had two flustered Miya twins.

“Let’s try the soul swap, ‘Samu!” Atsumu roared with newfound vigour, and you could see Kita about to protest.

“Here we go, I should film this,” Suna snickered from somewhere beside you, and you couldn’t help but agree.

After a year, you were offered a permanent position at another school in the prefecture, meaning you didn’t really see any students from Inarizaki again. You had almost forgotten them by the time you walked past a sign that said Onigiri Miya after going to an interview for a higher position in another school.

You tilted your head, squinting at the sign as you tried to remember where you heard that before, and then you looked down and through the window. Jaw slack, you were looking at a much more grown version of your biggest fan, Miya Osamu.

Walking in, you were overwhelmed with the delicious smell, your chest filling with air as you took in a long breath. Then you walked over to the short line, standing behind a rather burly man, meaning Osamu probably hadn’t seen you yet. You got a bit nervous, almost wondering if he would actually remember you or not.

Finally, the line moved along and you were face to face with a mouth-watering man. Mouth-watering food! He was even taller than in high school, shoulders broader and body a bit beefier from choosing this line of work but probably still maintaining some workouts.

You had to shake your head a bit when you realised you were just staring, plastering on a smile and then realising he was staring too, looking pleasantly surprised. Perhaps it was inappropriate to suddenly be interested in him, but while an awkward age difference stopped you from looking at him like this before, he was now an adult and you suddenly saw him in a new light.

“Hi!” he said cheerfully before huffing when he accidentally knocked over a cup of pens, scrambling to pick them all up again and shuffle them back into the cup. He glanced up at you with that familiar sheepish smile. “What can I get you today, teach?” he asked, applying the nickname to further emphasise that he remembered you.

You could feel your ears turning red as you pursed your lips, and you were about as beautiful as he remembered. “I’d like two tuna mayo onigiris, please,” you requested, pulling your card out to pay while he was watching your every move. He was glad he already had a lot of food prepared at this time of day so he wouldn’t have to leave this station to make them for you.

“I thought you liked salmon, want to try one on the house?” he asked, somehow remembering your conversations back in high school. You were shocked for a moment before nodding.

“If you insist.”

He smirked, and it was so familiar yet the feeling it gave you was so new and exciting. “I sure do,” he confirmed and then put one on a plate to hand it over. No one had come in after you yet, luckily. “I haven’t seen ya in a long time, do ya live close by?” he asked hopefully, trying to sound nonchalant.

“I’m out on a job interview actually,” you said, taking a bite of the onigiri and sighing with appreciation at how delicious it was. Truly made with love. “So who knows, maybe I’ll be around here more.”

“Then you’re more than welcome to stop by again.”

You smiled at him, and it was warmer than the ones he had received from you before. “I’d love that. It’s a bit far from where I live, though.” Your voice drifted off, unsure if you were oversharing because you were nervous.

“Oh? How did ya end up applying for a job here, then?” he asked, moving around to grab some fresh onigiri in a box for you and taking an extra breath to calm his heartbeat.

“I’d say it’s destiny.”

masterlist

[ladykailitha]

Around the World Part 7

I know I said that Nanny would be out this week, but I just finished this and am really wanting to get it out as soon as possible and that includes the epilogue.

But if I time it right, this series and Hellfire will end the same week and I'll be able to return to some kind of normal schedule instead of pumping these out on a fucking grinder.

That said, I probably won't do a Christmas story with the way things are right now. But we'll see the closer we get to the holiday.

In this we get the proper Jack the Ripper tour and the author has opinions, okay! Steve draws attention to himself at the Paris Opera house. Murray is a bit too knowing. And of course as @val-from-lawrence guessed, visited the Catacombs!

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

~

They had done the Tower of London and St. Paul’s Cathedral during the day and got ready for the Bauman Experience as Murray called it. They all had a flashlight and went to go meet him where they had the night before.

They caught him dealing with some obnoxious tourists.

“Oh thank god!” the Karen cried. “An American. Could you please explain to this woman that we only have dollars to pay with. She has to take it!”

Murray blinked at her for a moment. “Well that is quite the cock up, you absolute muppet. Are you dead from the neck up? British pound sterling is the brass here, you silly cow!”

The woman’s head reared back in shock, clutching her chest. “I beg your pardon!”

“To make it perfectly clear,” Murray said leaning forward into her space. “You fucked up, you moron. Are you really that stupid? Dollars aren’t the currency here, the British pound is. Just like you can’t use the pound anywhere but here, you can’t use the dollar anywhere but America so why don’t you go to an ATM or bank and get it exchanged. Or and here’s the really neat part about living in the age of technology, use or credit or debit card and your bank does the conversion for you.”

When she started sputtering angrily, Murray waved her off. “Now, shoo! I’ve got actual paying customers waiting for me.”

Murray turned to the four of them with a smiled. “Well, hello! Welcome. Now that things are dark and therefore sufficiently spooky, let’s take you on a proper tour of Jack’s slaying grounds.”

He went through the different murders until he got to the double murders of Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes.

“Now,” he said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, “Miss Stride is usually considered his third victim and that he was interrupted, moving on to Miss Eddowes. But I think Stride was a copycat. The person only knew the bodies were mutilated, but not how. So for me, I don’t count her in the confirmed kills.”

Robin nodded sagely. “I don’t either. There was far too little evidence to prove he had been frightened off, because otherwise Eddowes would have been more brutal than it was. He would have been angry he couldn’t finish with Stride. You would have expected her to look like what Mary Kelly’s body looked like, not cool and calm.”

Murray smiled up at her. He turned to Eddie. “I really like her. She’s clever.”

Robin blushed and ducked her head.

A short time later, just as they were wrapping up the Kelly murder, Murray stopped. He looked at a pair of older teenagers and then back at the group.

Chrissy picked up on it first. “You thinking what, I’m thinking, Mur?”

Murray turned to her and cocked his head to the side, considering. He nodded and Chrissy pursed her lips.

Steve caught on just as quick. “Eds, baby. I think those boys may have guessed who you are, love.”

Robin and Eddie shared a concerned glance.

“Fuck,” Eddie huffed. “I liked this jacket.”

Robin grabbed it from him and gave him her jacket. “Mine doesn’t look as fancy,” she explained pulling his jacket on. “Just like Boston, peeps!”

Murray tilted his head to the side and did a quick Google search. “Or... if you’d like, my car is literally around the corner.”

The four of them stopped swapping clothes and looked up at him.

“That’s easier,” Steve said. “Who’s all for easier?”

The other three raised their hands and they followed Murray to his car. Robin sat up front while Steve and Chrissy covered Eddie between them.

“Drop me off at the hotel,” Steve said, tapping on Murray’s shoulder. “I’ll check us out and then meet you at Shakespeare’s Head.”

Murray looked behind him and grinned. “Smart thinking.”

~

Eddie had changed into a trucker hat and a puffy hunting vest over sturdy blue jeans and thick work boots.

“Kids and their cameras these day,” Murray huffed, sliding a pint of beer over at Steve as he sat down between Robin and Chrissy. “So what’s the story with loverboy here?” he asked Eddie, cocking his head to indicate Steve.

“He’s not out,” Eddie said dryly. “His parents are complete assholes who could and would make things very difficult for him if he was.”

“Nothing says asshole parents,” Murray said with a nod, “quite like those that have the money to make you miserable.”

Steve snorted. “You’ve got that right. But I’m more than equipped to make it work.” He half shrugged. “I’ve been doing it for almost a year.”

Murray’s went wide and he gave an opened mouthed smile. “Have you really? I would have never guessed. Good job! ”

“How did you spot the kids, by the way?” Robin asked around her fruity cocktail.

“Oh,” Murray said, ducking his head a bit. “You’re walking around a small group of people at night in a bad area of London. Whitechapel isn’t as bad as it was in Jackie’s time, but it’s still not a good neighborhood. You have to keep an eye out for people, but especially older teens wishing to knock you over for a bit of loose change.”

Steve cleared his throat and ducked his head. “I am about to ask the most bougie question imaginable. And you can tell me to go to hell if I’m out of line here.”

Murray’s eyebrows went up and he leaned back in his chair. “Wha’cha got, kid?”

Steve licked his lower lip as he tried to word this in a way that wasn’t instantly offensive. “How entrenched are you in this job?”

“Not very,” he replied with a shrug. “I’m just moving through the world enjoying myself and taking jobs that would be fun. I’ve got more than enough money. Why?”

“We were talking in our group chat,” Chrissy explained taking over from a very embarrassed Steve, “and we thought we’d offer you a job as main look out and part time driver for when we’re in Europe. You really saved Eddie today and we could really use someone like you with us.”

Murray glared at her. “You sure I wouldn’t cramp your little foursome you’ve got going on here’s style?” He made a little circling motion with his hand to indicate all of them.

Robin shook her head. “It’ll make it harder for people to recognize a quartet if it suddenly became a quintet. Plus, we’d pay for your room and board. None of us are skint, believe you me.”

“We’ll be staying in haunted hotels, motels, and bed and breakfasts,” Eddie added. “But we won’t force you to join us. We can put you up in a nice place nearby and we join back up whenever we go out.”

Murray eyed them suspiciously until Steve slid over an envelope. He picked it up and pulled out a check. His eyes went wide. “That’s quite the pretty penny.”

“That’s half,” Robin huffed, crossing her arms and throwing herself against the back of the chair. “You’ll get the other half once we leave Europe for Asia.”

“All that for a month’s worth of driving you four around and making sure fans and paparazzi don’t find Eddie here?” Murray asked. “Have you gone crazy?”

Eddie shook his head. “We just want a romantic tour of the spooky places of Europe. I hate the thought Steve getting caught up in something just because I’m recognized everywhere I go and he isn’t.”

Murray licked his lips slowly as his eyes narrowed. “That’s not how that’s usually said.”

Steve frowned and tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean? How is what said?”

Robin put her hand on his elbow as he bristled slightly at his tone.

“Usually people will say ‘famous and they’re not’,” Murray said thoughtfully, “he said ‘recognized’. Meaning Stevie here is famous too, but not in a way people would recognize him on the street. What is a famous painter or some shit?”

She cocked her to the side and said dryly, “If I told you that, I’d have to kill you.”

Murray laughed. Just full on cackled. “Have I mentioned how much I like her? Because I really like her.”

Eddie leaned forward to put his elbows on the table. “So what do you say, Murray?” he asked tilting his head to the side. “You want to work for me again?”

Murray slipped the check into his coat pocket and stuck out his hand. “I think you’ve got yourself a deal.”

~

Their first stop on the Continent was Paris and the catacombs. Eddie was still trying to figure out how Robin did that one. It had been closed to the public for years.

Robin just smirked and said, “Well we aren’t the public.”

Steve was also sure they didn’t open it up to anyone who opened their wallet, either, but wisely stayed silent. Plus he was having fun watching Chrissy and Robin run circles around Murray in terms of sheer knowledge.

“Um...Stevie?” Eddie murmured so the trio couldn’t hear him. “Can I hold your hand? It’s getting a little creepy in here.”

Steve held out his hand, the one that had the little guitar on the inner wrist. Eddie looked down at the offered hand with a fond smile. He took the offered hand and their tattoos matched up. Eddie felt braver with every step knowing that Steve would always be there to hold his hand through the darkness.

Chrissy looked back at them and grinned at their clasped hands. She sped up her walk just a little, forcing Murray and Robin to speed up to match her pace, leaving the two love birds the privacy they so richly deserved.

Once they were out in the sunlight and among the city once again, Eddie refused to let go of Steve’s hand.

Steve looked at their joined hands and then back at Eddie. Eddie gave him his brightest smile and Steve was smitten. Even more so than before. He just loved him so much.

They toured the Paris Opera house and Eddie pulled out a cape and mask.

“Sing for me my angel of music!” he said to Chrissy.

She burst out laughing. “My name may be Christine, but I really don’t think they’d want me shattering the glass.”

Eddie turned to Robin who waved her arms in front of her. “No way! I sing like a frog in heat!”

“No.” Was all Murray said.

Steve raised an eyebrow and Eddie grinned.

“Sing!” Eddie crowed.

Steve took a deep breath and belted out that high note, held it perfectly and then took a bow.

Murray blinked and slow smile spread over his features. “You’re in one of those bands with the masks aren’t you? Like Sleep Token or The Fallen, huh? That’s Eddie here said recognized and not famous. Good on you.”

They all shared looks of concern.

“I’m not going to tell anyone,” Murray huffed, holding up his hands in surrender. “And I’m certainly not even going to try and guess which band it is.” He pulled out his phone and messed around on it for a while.

During which they all watched with ever increasing dread. The silence seemed to stretch out on and on.

Then Chrissy’s phone pinged. Everyone jumped as she scrambled for her phone. She opened it up and blinked a moment.

“You signed a blanket statement NDA?” she asked handing her phone to Robin. “Why?”

Murray licked his lips and crossed his arms over his chest. “Did it suck when Corroded Coffin pulled out of my management causing a shit ton of other people pulling out, too? Sure. But that’s the nature of the business. One that I had been in for over twenty years. I took it as a sign from the universe to retire and enjoy my life. Unlike the CC boys pulling out on Nancy Wheeler because she about to do some pretty shady shit. And I say that having been part of a business that used to be built on shady ass shit.”

Chrissy coughed and looked away to hide her smile.

“I’m guessing Steve’s band is why Corroded Coffin went nuclear on her in the first place?”

Steve looked over at Eddie and then nodded. “She was an ex-girlfriend and she tried to hold that over my head to get me to work with her.”

Murray let out a long and low whistle. “Shady doesn’t even begin to cover that shit. The void would be fucking closer. Shit.”

Robin handed back Chrissy her phone. “How did you get an NDA that fast anyway?”

“Oh that?” Murray asked with a huff of laughter. “I have a bunch of basic contracts and shit in my Google docs. Things can move fast in this business and it’s a good idea to keep a few on hand. Back in the old days we kept them in our briefcases that we carted around. This is sooo much easier.”

“Smart.”

Murray grinned back at her. He turned to Steve. “Come on, show us what that classical vocal training can really do.”

Steve blushed and began warming up his vocals as Robin grinned.

“You may think you’ve heard Steve sing,” she crowed, “but you’ve ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Then Steve really opened up and began to sing. There was a deepness to his voice that didn’t have anything to do with his range. He was clearly a tenor, but the rich quality to his voice just elevated it somehow.

“Rigoletto,” Murray said nodding appreciatively. “Well done.” He clapped slowly, but it wasn’t mocking. “Your parents must have been livid when you didn’t go into opera.”

Steve snorted. “About as angry as when they found out I was bisexual. They know what I am but if I go public with it...”

“They’ll make your life a nightmare?” he asked. Steve nodded. “I feel for you, kid.”

He looked around and grimaced. “I thick it’s time we make like Opera Ghost and scram. That performance of Steve’s here, is getting more attention than I thought it would.”

They looked around and sure enough there were people pointing at Steve.

“I’m not sure what the Venn diagram of opera and metal fans,” Chrissy said, “but I’m betting it’s not two separate circles.”

“Yeaahhh,” Eddie said with a wince.

He grabbed Steve’s hand and they ran for the doors. Murray and the girls hot on their heels.

~

Part 8 Part 9

Tag List: CLOSED

1- @mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence

3- @goodolefashionedloverboi @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @irregular-child @blondie1006

4- @yikes-a-bee @bookworm0690 @anne-bennett-cosplayer @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten

5- @genderless-spoon @y4r3luv @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt

6- @disrespectedgoatman @dawners @thespaceantwhowrites @tinyplanet95 @garden-of-gay

7- @iamthehybrid @croatoan-like-its-hot @papergrenade @cryptid-system @counting-dollars-counting-stars

8- @ravenfrog @w1ll0wtr33 @child-of-cthulhu @kultiras @dreamercec

9- @machete-inventory-manager @useless-nb-bisexual @stripey82 @dotdot-wierdlife @kal-ology

10- @sadisticaltarts @urkadop @chameleonhair @clockworkballerina

[mischiefnevermanaged89-blog]

Love Me Like You Do

Juice Ortiz X Reader Fic

*Hello my dears! Please be patient with me as this is my 1st SOA fic! Thought I’d try it out here with you wonderful peeps! Now, a little about this story:

Reader is Opie’s half little sister (we’re going to say they share Piney as a dad, she has a different mother than Ope)

She returns home to Charming to own her own business

Reader is plus sized (since that is what I identify as and can write from personal experience)

This may not follow the seasons. It’s an idea that popped in my head from the song it’s named after. I hope you enjoy it! Please, feedback is appreciated!*

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

~He was the missing piece I didn’t know I needed until he walked into my life. The day I returned home, that’s when I met him. That was the day my life changed. ~

I stood in the middle of the old building, just coming from signing the paperwork to make it mine, for a cheap price I might add, from the old man who used to own it. I couldn’t help but smile. My smile grew bigger as I heard the motorcycles pulling up out front. This is what I had been waiting for.

My back was still turned to the doors as they opened, sending a ray of sunlight in, illuminating the place better.

“We’re looking for the new owner of this old place. Know where I can find him?” A deep voice boomed in the almost empty space.

I chuckled. “Yeah, but it’s not a him. I just bought it off of old man Sinsom.”

“I know that voice.”

“Me,too.”

I smiled as I turned to see my older half brother Opie and his best friend, Jax, standing in front of Jax’s stepfather.

“Hello, boys. It’s good to see you.”

Opie laughed as he strode over and pulled me into a hug. “(Y/N)! When did you get back?”

“Today. Well, last night actually. Drove up so I could sign the papers making this place mine.” I waved my hands around me.

“It’s good to see you, Darlin.” Jax said as he hugged me tight.

“You, too.” I stood back and looked at them. “I see you grew up and got VP Teller.”

Jax nodded. “Yeap.”

I looked at the other guys standing behind them. “Well, I’ll be damned! Is that Tiggy?”

Tig smiled and opened his arms. “Hey, baby. It’s good to see you all grown up.”

I gave him a hug, him being my second favorite when I grew up around here. “It’s only been three years since I last seen you.”

“Hi, Bobby. It’s good to see you, too.”

“You, too, sweetheart. You’re old man’s gonna have a fit when he sees you.”

“Speaking of, where is he?”

Bobby nodded his head towards the door. “He’s comin’. Takes him a few to get around with the oxygen.”

Just then, the doors opened and in walked Piney. The man still looked the same as he did three years ago. I couldn’t help the smile on my face when I seen him.

“Hi, daddy.”

“My god. (Y/N). You’re back. Come here, sweetheart.” He smiled.

I gave him a hug and just held him. I had missed him the last few years, I missed them all. He held me in front of him by my shoulders and looked me up and down. “Still as beautiful as ever.”

“Oh, Opie. You didn’t tell me he’d went senile.”

Opie laughed. “He gets that way sometimes.”

“What? No love for me? I’m wasting away over here.”

I turned to see Clay with an arrogant smirk on his face. I gave him a quick hug. “It’s good to see you, Clay. How’s Gemma?”

He shrugged. “She’s good. Be glad to see you.”

I nodded. Before I could say anything else, there was the sound of someone clearing their throat.

“Oh, shit. Sorry, man. (Y/N), this is Juice. He’s been with us a few years now. Juice, this is my baby sister, (Y/N).” Opie said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

I held out my hand to the younger of them. “Nice to meet you.”

He nodded. “You, too.”

He took my hand and I swore I could feel electricity run through my fingers at his touch. I cleared my throat and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

“So, sweetheart, what brings you back to Charming?” Dad asked.

“Well, I came back to get a new start. Mom’s pissed at me. Grandfather passed away a few months ago and left me everything. And I mean everything. She got pissed when he left her out the will. Saying, and I quote, ‘I leave all my monetary and physical possessions, including the house and vehicles, to my only granddaughter, who was my world when no one else loved me in my final years. To my daughter, I leave you with nothing but the hopeful guilt you feel for abandoning your family. May you rot in hell.’”

“Holy shit! Seriously?” Jax asked, amused.

I nodded. “Yeap. And the best part is, she cannot touch anything. I sold the house after he died. It was just us the last three years and I wanted to come home. So I sold the house and all but one car.”

“So, what are you doing with this old place?” Clay asked.

“I’m going to do what I’ve always wanted to do. Own my own business. And what better way than to open up a roadside bar on the outskirts of Charming?”

“Really? That’s what you’ve always wanted to do?” Tig asked.

“Yeah. Got my business degree online while I was taking care of Grandfather and took all the right courses to get all my licenses. Found this place while looking to come home and here I am.”

“What do you need from us, darlin?”

“Some labor. I got to get this place up to code. I’m calling tomorrow to get people in here to work on the wiring and the old kitchen. I just need some help to take everything out and clean up. Plus I got to find a tech wizard to help me set up security cameras.”

“We can do that. Got a prospect that can come and we got our own tech wizard.” Jax clapped Juice in the shoulder. “Juice here is the best when it comes to all that techy shit.”

I looked at the young Puerto Rican and smiled. “Well, Juice, looks like the two of us will become friends if your as good as they say you are.”

He gave me a shy smile. “Yeah. Maybe so.”

I clapped my hands together. “Well, as wonderful as this family reunion is, I want a shower and some takeout.”

“Where you staying?” Dad asked.

“Place has a little house out back. It’s semi furnished enough to stay in tonight until my stuff arrives tomorrow.”

“Why don’t you come to the house. Surprise Donna and the kids. Have dinner with us.”

“Okay. I’ll be there. Seven?”

Opie nodded. “Yeah. See you tonight.” He hugged me and kissed the side of my head.

After hugging all the guys, minus Juice, I waved them off, noticing Juice was the last one out. I smiled to myself as I walked out the back door to my little apartment house to get ready for dinner.

[teabreakpancakes]

hello!! i absolutely love your writing and cant get enough of it!! the fics with jack is so cute ;;!! is it okay if i request norton, jack, michiko, joseph (or anyone else!!) with an energetic s/o being able to shrink like the explorer and it gives them a heart attack like “oh my god where are they—WHERE-“ “STOP DONT JUMP OFF THE SHELF-“ “ARE YOU INSANE I NEARLY STEPPED ON YOU-“

Fun-Sized Ball Of Energy Norton, Jack, Michiko, Joseph, and Antonio with an Energetic S/O

Genre: Fluff

𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐋

often times, he finds it hard to keep up with your energy

luckily, you like it when you're smaller, and it's much easier to catch you when you're smaller

"Not another peep out of you" the prospector chided, covering your mouth with his finger. You squirmed in his hand, attempting to break free, earning an eye roll from your lover, he had enough of your energy for today—he wasn't going to chase you around again.

he's considered purchasing a tiny bed for you, along with more tiny furniture

one time, the hunter almost stepped on you, but before they could, he pulled them away

oh boy, you were in for a scolding

"Idiot!" Norton yelled out, forcing the hunter to collide with the church's walls. He vaulted over the open window, picking you up with one of his hands before running off to the open exit gate. Onyx eyes glared daggers into your tiny form as you tried getting away from his sight, burrowing into yourself.

STOP HIDING FROM HIM, HE JUST WANTS TO TALK

Your heartbeat raced, not because of the hunter, but because of your lover. You pressed your body up against the kitchen island, hoping that he wouldn't see you at all costs. An angry Norton was a scary Norton after all.

"(Name) come out! i'm not that mad anymore, probably" he hollers, a somewhat eerie smile plastered on his handsome face. He roamed the halls, entering the kitchen. Where were the others you ask? well, they all had a match, you simply had to hide until your boyfriend hopefully stopped.

he's asked miss nightingale to design costumes and clothes for your tiny form despite knowing that your clothes will shrink down with you in matches

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐑

he thinks it's pretty interesting, a pain in matches though

he likes putting you in his breast pocket

Jack hummed, roaming the manor with a small smile. He steps outside, taking a seat in the garden on one of the many garden benches. The smell of earth soothes you, coaxing you into leaning into the soft material of his suit.

He brings out a book, flipping it to where his bookmark was fixed at. Your arms hang outside his pocket, reading along with him and listening to his hushed voice. He truly was an excellent narrator.

please stop climbing up shelves or walls without him watching over you

"Dear!" the hunter exclaimed, visibly alarmed. You had almost fallen off the shelf you were climbing up. A small pout graced your face as he told you off, "I promise to not climb anything without you around, can I go now?" you whined, nearly laughing when he lets out an exasperated sigh at your antics.

he tends to caress you as if you're a little doll, you sure are as fragile as one

he likes dressing you in doll's clothes

"These types of clothes suit you" he crooned, smoothing over the fabric of the tiny apparel. He picked you up gently, placing you in front of his vanity mirror. You stared in awe—you truly did look like a tiny doll. "I look pretty" you whispered to yourself, bashfully twirling around in a small circle. Jack chuckled softly, "You always do darling" he spoke, smiling down at you.

you're so small he's actually afraid of accidentally crushing you

he asks you to be his muse often, your small size adds a touch of surrealism to his paintings after all (i'm well aware that surrealism began in the 20th century and that the ripper is from the 19th), roses held nothing against your beauty.

𝐆𝐄𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐀

she thinks you're even more adorable when you're tiny

she often worries about the chance of you getting hurt when you're shrunken down, so you tried lessening your tiny adventures

"Please be more careful about roaming about while not being your normal size, you could have gotten seriously injured" she spoke, sounding very disappointed and worried. You couldn't bear to look at her, not when she already sounded so upset.

Noticing your downcast gaze, she approached you, embracing your smaller form. "Don't be upset, I only worry because I care about you deeply" she soothes, rubbing your back gently.

you remind her of a cute little porcelain doll

she enjoys crafting clothes for you: regular sized or doll sized

Michiko appears to be engrossed in her sewing—making sure to pay a great deal of attention to every detail on the miniature clothing. Various types of fabric surround her, along with mini and regular sized tailor's mannequins.

she has a small chair for you that's always on her coffee table for when you and her have tea parties

"It seems that it's taking you a while to finish your cookie, would you like me to make it smaller?" she inquired with a teasing smile. You shook your head vigorously, turning away from her while still munching on the large cookie in your lap.

you like playing hide and seek with her in her room

𝐉𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐇 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐀𝐔𝐋𝐍𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐒

you are going to be the death of him

the amount of heart attacks this man experiences within a day is outstandingly concerning

"Honey! catch me!" you shouted from above the staircase. Joseph looks above him, onyx eyes widening upon landing on your figure. Just as you jump off, he rushes to catch you, making sure to not scratch you with his long nails. "Ne refais plus jamais ça mon amour!" he scolded, holding you to his chest. Inky tears trickled down his cracked porcelain-like cheeks as he pressed a small kiss to your small head. That was the moment you vowed to no longer put yourself in any kind of danger.. outside of games of course.

you are cute but troublesome.

STOP HIDING IN HIS POCKETS, YOU MIGHT GET HURT

Joseph chaired the gravekeeper, the last survivor before getting sent back to the manor. Whilst walking down the halls and towards his quarters, he hears a soft yet familiar giggle coming from inside the inner pocket of his coat. He pauses, placing a hand on his temple and closing his eyes in preparation for the upcoming headache.

Using his other hand, he gently fishes out your figure from his pocket. You wave at him, kissing his hand with a sweet smile. Good god, how was he going to get mad at you if you were this unbearably adorable.

you have taken a liking to hiding in cookie jars

The photographer reaches for the cookie jar in his bedroom, opening it to be greeted by the sight of you nibbling on one of the cookies. "My, and what is this delectable treat doing amongst these common pastries~" he teases, picking you up with a smirk. You freeze up, avoiding his gaze. A deep and rich chuckle was drawn from his lips as he closed the distance between you and his face,"Why don't I give you a taste then?" he whispered.

tiny doll's clothes—not including your normal clothing—fills up the drawer of his bedside table

he likes taking pictures of you, he always brings a camera with him in order to document your tiny adventures: walking through the garden's flowers and even on the kitchen cupboards, you can have an adventure everywhere if you're tiny!

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐓

antonio is amused by your ability to shrink, seeing as he literally examined you from head to toe the first time he witnessed it... he deadass held you in front of his face by your ankle.

he adores you both ways

he babies you when you're shrunken down, treating you as if you were made out of porcelain

"Name! darling! don't lift anything larger than you in that form, you'd likely injure yourself!" Antonio berated, lifting up the teapot, peeling away your tiny limbs from the ceramic. His chucked the crockery behind his head, cradling you in his hand. You blinked owlishly upon hearing the porcelain shatter, opting to instead lean into his touch.

he lets you sit on his head when you're in your smaller form. it sure is nice to have a tall lover, unless you have a fear of heights

he gets you a tiny violin it's just a violin that was shrunken down mysteriously

"'TONIOOO! is this for me?" the survivor questions, shooting an expectant starry-eyed look towards the hunter. The violinist nods, lifting the tiny survivor up to his face using one of his hands. "You seemed rather interested in one and since you're often in your smaller state, I decided to get one appropriate for your size—of course, it can grow to back to it's regular size" he spoke in a hushed tone, not wanting to be too loud because of your close proximity. You squealed happily, hugging his face. "Thanks Toni" you whispered, kissing his cheek.

he accompanies you on your tiny adventure, playing music so it seems like you're in your very own show. he actually enjoys listening or even joining you in your monologues

"As the brave adventurer wanders through the gigantic forest," you monologue, weaving through the tall grass. Antonio played a piece suited for adventure, adding more drama than necessary; his playing was more gentle—telltale sign that it was you he was playing for. A soft smile branded his face as he watched you pretend.

"But alas, the adventurer had to stop midway, for their beloved waited patiently for them to come home from their journey" Antonio butted in, gesturing towards the food spread out on the picnic blanket. They gasped mutely, growing to their regular size before lacing their arms with their lover. "Let's take a break, adventuring can be done later—after we eat!" they beam, causing the violinist to chuckle, amused by their quick change.

of course, you guys don't get back into adventuring after since you both end up taking a nap. always

when you sleep next to him in his bed in your tiny form, he swaddles you in his hair so you don't fall off the bed

you aren't able to wander off this with man, his hair is wrapped around you at all times as long as it's outside matches

[fullofgiggles]

This post/fic is for my best friend, but if you’re not her and you’ve stumbled across this, hello welcome

@switch-writer

over the course of the past few years you have been nothing short of an actual gem in my life. from our daily talks, to our watching of shows, i can’t think of anyone else that i’d rather spend my time with. you are my comfort person, the one i’d go to for anything, and it blows my mind that a community like the tword community was able to bring us together and create such an unbreakable bond between us.

as i’m writing this, it’s been over a year since we met up the first time, and since then, you’ve helped me improve so much. whether that be mentally, emotionally, with my writing, with my confidence, etc- you’ve helped me improve every aspect of my life.

with that being said, since you’ve indulged me so often the past few years by reading whatever i’ve written, and even posting one of my fics for me since i was too scared to do it myself, i felt it was time to repay that. i’ve been a while revising this, screwing up rough drafts, and figuring out characters- all the while trying to not stray too far out of character. so without further ado, i love you so much light switch👹👹 and i hope you enjoy this as much as i enjoyed writing it. it might be on the shorter end, but still😅

may not be as many twords, but i just kinda wanted to write soft mihawk :))

An unexpected smile, xox, Ghost Princess

Although a calm day on Kuraigana Island, it wasn’t unusual. The warlord sat comfortably on a plush chair, taking his time as he flipped through the pages of the daily news.

What was unusual, however, was the fact that Mihawk hadn’t seen Perona in a solid three hours. It was already half past noon and he hadn’t heard a peep from the pink-haired nuisance. Usually she’d have peeked her head in to pester him or argue with him by now.

Despite that, Mihawk couldn’t really complain. He enjoyed the quiet, and he certainly enjoyed not having someone pester him every five minutes. Just as that thought crossed his mind, he directed his eyes up and away from the newspaper.

Surely he didn’t miss her- No. Definitely not. It was just quiet, something he hadn’t been used to since before Perona had taken refuge in his castle. It was almost sad how Mihawk had felt from the unexpected change in routine.

Wake up, brush teeth, brush hair, get food- And there, sitting across from him at the table, was usually Perona. Every time she opened her mouth to speak or laugh, Mihawk had felt a part of him shrink away as his daily bout of annoyance began. But today was different- Why hadn’t she joined him for breakfast or lunch so far?

Again, it’s not as though he cared at all. However, the thought did cross his mind that he should check on her. And so that was exactly what he did.

Walking through the halls of the castle, the warlord took his time getting to the Ghost Princess’s room. Once he got there, he rapped his hand three times on her door.

“Perona?”

No answer.

He knocked once more.

“Ghost girl? I haven’t heard from you all day.” He spoke, half mumbling his words. He didn’t exactly care, it was just out of the ordinary to not hear her high pitched squawking at this hour of the day.

Despite his knocking and calling of her name, there was still no movement nor noise from the other side of the door. Finally, the warlord huffed and slowly opened the door.

“Are you even in here?”

By looking around the room, he answered his own question. She wasn’t in there. In fact, he wasn’t even sure where she could be, because the chances are that she’d say something if she was headed somewhere.

Mihawk narrowed his eyes in confusion as he thought for a moment. How peculiar. First, he hadn’t heard from Perona by half past noon- She hadn’t showed up for breakfast or lunch. Her high pitched voice wasn’t heard ringing throughout the castle all day. And now she wasn’t even in her room?

The warlord shrugged, closing the door as he began to walk away. She was an adult, she could handle herself. It wasn’t his problem.

As he made his way back towards his chair, Mihawk felt two hands grab his shoulders from behind. Though the feeling was slightly startling, he tried to not let that show.

“You do care! You even came looking for me and everything!”

There was that high pitched voice… The warlord sighed and closed his eyes, his daily bout of annoyance and frustration already beginning.

“I don’t care. It’s just not usual for you to be gone all day. It’s been so pleasantly quiet, I thought I was dreaming.”

“Damn, once an asshat, always an asshat.” The ghost princess sighed as she stepped up next to him. “Then why’d you come looking for me in my room?”

“Like I said- I’m not used to the silence. I was almost beginning to miss my daily frustration upon hearing your dog-whistle of a voice.” The warlord nearly cracked a smirk at that one.

“Okay-! That was incredibly rude! Uncalled for! You absolute negative nelly! Actually- I don’t mind the negativity, keep that up, but still!!” Perona huffed, crossing her arms. “Even I lighten up a bit sometimes- Clearly that’s almost impossible for you.”

“Most likely, yes.” Mihawk spoke, rather unfazed as he made his way back towards his comfy chair.

Perona huffed, straightening up her hat as she floated over to him.

“You’re such a sour old man. Too sour even for me.”

“You’ll live.”

“Seriously! I mean- Put a damn smile on your face every once in a while!”

“No.”

“I- What do you mean ‘no’?! You can’t just say no!”

“I can. I did.”

The ghost princess scrunched up her nose and furrowed her brows in annoyance. The daily arguments between the two finally began, and it was already quarter to one in the afternoon.

“You’re worse than my ghosts! Making everything around you depressed- You’re the worst!”

“Woe is me.” Mihawk sat back down in his chair, beginning to flip through his newspaper once more.

“That’s seriously all you have to say?!”

“Indeed.”

Perona huffed in annoyance as she went silent. Once more, the castle was filled with silence. The only sound being the occasional rustle of a page as Mihawk flipped through his newspaper.

After a few moments of peaceful silence, Mihawk saw Perona out of the corner of his eye. She was kneeling down next to him, her eyes glued to the newspaper just as his were.

The warlord paid no mind to it. She could use a bit of smart people entertainment, in his words.

The two sat in silence for a bit… that is, until Mihawk felt two fingers drill into his hips. The ravenette’s breath hitched as he jumped up and looked at Perona.

“What was that?”

“What was what?”

“Why did you do that?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The pink haired one responded, a smirk evident on her face.

“That thing you just did. Why did you touch me?”

“I didn’t.”

“You’re lying.”

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not!” Perona giggled, standing up as she floated towards him. “Even still… you really do need to lighten up. Your gloominess really can be a lot sometimes. And that’s coming from me. That’s saying something.”

“I really don’t.” Mihawk responded, though he took a step back as Perona reached her hands for him.

The ghost princess snickered as she lunged for him, skittering his fingers up his sides and ribs, then scribbling back down to his tummy.

The warlord gasped, flinching away as he held back what he presumed to be a giggle… a giggle? That’s preposterous. Practically unheard of. He rarely smiled, let alone laughed.

“Oh, oh! I almost gotcha! Cmon! Smile! I’m literally doing the complete opposite of what my devil fruit does… isn’t that ironic?” Perona laughed, her signature ‘horo horo’ slipping through every now and then.

Mihawk, being the strong person he is, could have easily slipped away. But did he want to?

It was hard to say. He was curious as to what Perona was doing- But perhaps she was right? That thought was rare in and of itself, but still. Maybe he did need to lighten up at times. Shanks had told him that previously as well.

However, his thoughts were cut short as one hand squeezed his hips, and the other skittered up his back. That caught him off guard, and he quickly flinched away with a slight chuckle.

The pink haired one gasped, freezing as she stared up at him.

“Was that-“

“No.”

“Oh, I think it was-“

“It wasn’t. You’re hearing things.”

“Oho… Oh, I got a laugh out of you! I did!! I did! I did! Oh, I’ll never let you live this down!” Perona laughed as she squeezed away at his hips, occasionally a hand would scribble around his tummy or sides.

The warlord yelped, bursting into somewhat uncharacteristically soft laughter. Not mocking laughter, nor fake, but genuine soft laughter. Who knew it was possible for the famous Hawkeye to have such a soft moment?

Mihawk could’ve easily shoved her away as well… but he didn’t. Surely he wasn’t enjoying this… Surely he wasn’t having such a soft moment with such an annoying person-

But he was. He was having a fun moment. One that was a long time coming, and well deserved for that matter. Since he was someone who’s dealt with a lot, he deserved a break- He deserved a chance to smile and laugh.

“WahAHaiT- CuhuHut iHiHit ohOut!” The warlord snorted slightly.

“Holy shit! You just snorted!” Perona giggled, skittering her fingers up his ribs.

“NoHOho IhiHi diHIhiDn’t!”

“You did! Do it again!”

“IhIhI- NoHo!”

The ghost princess snickered, scribbling her fingers across his tummy. Once more, he could’ve pushed her away… he could’ve remained stone cold and blank faced. But he didn’t.

Perona had known that he’d been working hard lately. She’d known that he’s been unusually tired.

And because of that… she’d known that he needed a chance to smile. Perona wasn’t exactly known for her ability to make people laugh and smile… but this would do.

So for the rest of the afternoon, soft giggles and snorts rang out throughout the castle halls. From Mihawk, occasionally Perona, but what mattered was that they were both happy. And more importantly, getting along.

[rose-riot-johnson]

Hello my Tumblr Peeps😃I have decided to write a Bleach smut fanfic, however this time this Bleach smut fanfic I will writing about, Shuhei Hisagi😁👍Time for me to drop some ideas for this particular, Shuhei Hisagi, Bleach, Smut, Fanfic😌😇😈

💌He Wants To Take Good Care Of You💌(Shuhei Hisagi x Female Reader)

Genres: Smut (and sex) and Fluff (Warning +18⚠️: Sexual Contact (including, dildo (sex toy) use, oral (both giving and receiving (pussy eating and cock sucking)), Vaginal penitration, Boob and nipple play, nipple sucking), Nudity, Hair pulling, and Language)

Shuhei knew he needed a vacation. While he is works extremely hard as one of the squad 9 lieutenants, has no problem with paperwork nor fighting hollows, however he has been exhausted and he misses girlfriend (which is you). Kensei has been noticing that he has been overworking himself more than to the point of exhaustion and he knows how much Shuhei misses you, so he decided to makesure Shuhei gets his vacation. When Kensei told Shuhei some vacation news, he was shocked to hear the news, as he said, "Are you sure, Captain Kensei Muguruma? Who's going to take of the journalist stuff, the lieutenant paperwork, fighting the hollows, and stuff?".

Kensei answered, "Look Shuhei... You have been overworking yourself more than you should be. I will take care of everything and I will makesure the other lieutenant Mashiro Kuna helps out, too... And I know you have a girlfriend from "the world of the living", Shuhei... I will keep it a secret for you, if that's what you want... I think it wouldn't hurt to spend your vacation with her and I know how much you miss her...". Shuhei was surprised about everything Kensei said as he replied, "Do you really mean all this captain?". Kensei replied back, "Yes... And that's an order that you spend your vacation with your girlfriend, so you can see her and you don't overwork yourself more than you already had... You deserve a break atleast, once in a while...". Shuhei knew Kensei was right, as Shuhei then did what Kensei told him, as he packed up for his vacation to spend some time with you in the world of the living. What Shuhei has been wondering about was how Kensei knew about his relationship with you.

Hours later, while you were cooking supper, you heard a knock on the door. You went to the door, as you were wondering who's knocking on the door. Once, you opened the door, you were happy and extremely surprised to see your boyfriend, Shuhei Hisagi, as you then hugged him and kissed him on one of his cheeks on his face, which made him happily blush.

Shuhei then smelled the food as then asked, "What delicious food are cooking, beautiful?". You then replied, "Well, Shuhei... I'm cooking up a ramen recipe for supper and I'm glad I cooked up plenty of ramen, after all.", as you then kissed his forehead, to make him blush, even more. When it was supper time, he realized you were right about being glad that you cooked up plenty of ramen noodles (and the ramen recipe, as a whole). You were happy he enjoyed your cooking, as always.

After the both of you finished eating supper, you decided to wash the dishes. While you were washing the dishes, Shuhei hugged you from behind to kiss your forehead, as he said, "The food was delicious and you're so beautiful, as always, my cute cherry blossom...", as he accidentally gropes your breasts. Once you felt his hands on your breasts, you smiled, because you pretty much knew he didn't realize due to the fact that he was tired and overworked just from the accidental grope. You then happily, replied, "Thanks, Shuhei... I'm glad you liked my cooking and I know you always appreciate me... I actually find you cute myself... Maybe when I get some dishes done, I'll have you take a nap in my room, while I take a shower... I can tell you're exhausted... After I get done with my shower, there's something I might be able to help you out with...". Shuhei then panicked once he realized he groped your breasts, however you assured him it's nothing to worry about.

Once you got in the shower, Shuhei decided to take a nap on your bed. He then whispered to himself, "Is it me or is today one of those days that is too good to be true? Should I be worried? Nah... I shouldn't have to worry. I know I'm safe here. Or am I? And why is this pillow lumpier than usual? My head is feeling unusually uncomfortable from that pillow right now... Maybe I should take a look...". He looked underneath your pillow, as he found an unusual object, which got him frightened as he screamed, "(Female Reader Name)!".

Luckily you were about done with your shower, as you ran out of the bathroom to check on your boyfriend Shuhei, as you heard his frightened scream. "What happened my, babe?", you asked once you went inside your room, with nothing on, not even a towel around you. Shuhei then pointed at the object as he asked back, "(Female Reader Name), who's dick did you chop off to make a trophy out of?", as he started to chew on his nails. You were shocked to see that Shuhei found the object, as you replied, "I'm so sorry you were scarred from finding it... I should have explained... It's not someone's cock... I assure you... You see it's a sex toy... This type of sex toy, you found is a dildo, Shuhei...". "A sex toy? A dildo?", he replied back with those questions, as he never seen any sex toys, especially not a dildo, since the soul society hasn't invented these things for some reason.

You then explained more about what a dildo is, how to use a dildo, how all dildos work, etc... You also explained about other sex toys, as well. After you got done explaining about sex toys in general and about dildos, Shuhei then touched your shoulders looking at your bare breasts, as he then asked, "May I have them?". You shook your head yes, as he then moved his hands to your breasts to start playing with them. He could tell that you're enjoying how he's groping you boobs the way he is, as he notices you groans when you touched his face with your right hand. He smiled and said, "I can tell you're enjoying this. Earlier what happened was an accident, however I really wanted to make it up to you, even if you were fine from earlier. Now, may I play with your nipples for a little bit?". You replied in a groan, "Yes, Shuhei...". He began to play with your nipples for a couple minutes, then he decided to pinch and pull on your nipples, which puts more of a smile on his face and he has been blushing just from the sight of your naked body.

From him pinching and pulling you nipples, you groaned alot. You then whispered in his ears as you asked him to start sucking on your nipples, which he did what you asked. While he was sucking on your right nipple, you started petting to let him know he's doing a good job with you and when he started sucking on your left nipple, you lightly gripped his hair, it definitely shows him he's doing amazing job, sucking on your nipples.

Once Shuhei stopped sucking on you nipples, he was going to get on his knees to eat your pussy, then you gently pull on his hair a you cooed, "Now, now, Shuhei... I can't have you go on your knees to have you eat me out... Wouldn't it be easier, if you were to lay down on your bed, as you devour me, while I suck on your cock? You look like you might be starting to get hard... And if you want you could also play with my clit and finger me on and off, as you keep switching back to eating me out...". Shuhei then looked at the bed and your dildo on the bed, as he replied, "Well, (Female Reader Name)... I guess you're right... I'm starting to get hard... And Maybe if you do suck on my cock, then I can play with you and eat you out for a little bit...". Shuhei did what you suggested, as he took his soul reaper uniform off, then laid down on the bed, to let you lay on top of him.

You started to play with Shuhei's cock for about a minute knowing that he was going to play with your pussy, by touching your clit and fingering your pussy. Once he started to eating your pussy, while having both of his hands on your ass cheeks, you decided to try deep throat his cock. This wasn't his first time getting his cock sucked by you, however this was the first time that you had ever deep throat on his cock. He kept eating your pussy to keep groans quiet, from you deep throating his cock.

Shuhei kept his left hand on your ass, while he's still eating you out as he was about to grab something with his right hand. Once he finishes eating you out, you were still sucking on his cock, as you began to feel something else inside of your pussy. Before you could think of asking him, what he's doing, you felt the vibration inside of your pussy.

Shuhei smirked, as he cooed, "Were you curious what I was doing, cutie? Aaawww... So sweet of you to think of asking me... I have been planning on this, after you gave me the idea on having me lay on the bed... Was it a good idea for you to tell me about the dildos? Maybe... Maybe not... I don't usually do this to you, my girly... I just wanted to spice things up a little to make you feel good, beautiful... I just think you always looked, so cute... You still look, so cute, especially like this... Try not to focus on this too much, while sucking on my cock now, my cupcake...", as he kept thrusting your dildo inside you and playing with the vibrations with your dildo. You trying to concentrate on deep throating his cock, as he kept using the vibrator inside your pussy.

After some time, Shuhei had a hard time containing his moans, the more you kept deep throating him, while trying to concentrate on getting you to cum from the dildo he's using in your pussy, as he moaned and praised, "Ah fuck, (Female Reader Name)... You're doing an amazing job with my cock, as you always do... With you deep throating me...". One more thrust from your dildo, he used on you, you have cummed all over your dildo while you still tried deep throating his cock.

Once you got done deep throating Shuhei's cock, you then turned yourself to look into his eyes, while still on top of him. He then asked, "I get when we have sex, I usually prefer you to ride on top of me, however would it be alright, if I try a different position with you, (Female Reader Name)?". You then happily replied, "Sure, Shuhei...". You went on your hands and knees on your bed, as he madesure he had his hands on your hips before putting his cock inside of you, then he started thrusting into you.

After a few minutes of thrusting inside you, he knows you felt good with his cock inside you, however at the same time he also knows something was missing to spice things up while he's thrusting into you. Unbeknownst to you, he was (still) holding your dildo, after he took it out of you, as he somehow holding it, while having both of his hands on your hips. He knew it was a good idea to hold your dildo.

Shuhei then asked, "Hey (Female Reader Name), did you enjoy my cock inside your pussy more or your dildo inside your pussy?". You then replied in a slight moan, "Both felt nice in their own way honestly... Why did you ask me that, Shuhei? What kind of question is that?". Shuhei then smirked, as he kept thrusting, "Well I'm only curious and I wanted you to be satisfied... Not just myself, obviously... I wanted both of us to be pleasured... Well more you getting pleasured, than myself, to be honest... I don't think I'm doing enough to get you a going, so why not try spicing this position up with both...", before keeping his cock inside you, while inserting your dildo inside of your pussy, to ensure your pussy feels snug around both his cock and your dildo.

Shuhei then slowly, moved his left hand to your side, while thrusting his cock inside of you and using his right hand to atleast occasionally thrust your dildo inside of you, considering that both his cock and dildo are still inside of your already, sore, pussy. Your voice became music to his ears as you started whimpering, "Fuck, Shuhei! I wasn't lying when I said both your cock and my dildo felt nice in their own way! I just didn't think about what it would be like to have both of them inside my pussy, at once... You always make me feel satisfied, Shuhei... You always impress me, somehow... I just feel, so warm... You make me feel warmer with your cock and my dildo inside me, like this... Please cum inside me, Shuhei!", as you became more and more of a whimpering mess, the longer he kept both his cock and your dildo inside of you (and the more he thrusts inside of you). After a few more minutes of thrusting with his cock inside you (and using his right hand to have your dildo thrust inside your pussy more), he finally released himself inside of you.

After Shuhei emptied his cum inside of your pussy (especially, covering your dildo), he took the dildo out of your pussy, then he proceeded to move his cock out of you, letting you lay down on the bed, as he whispered, "I'm going to clean the this dildo up for you... I will be back, (Female Reader Name)...", before he kissed your right side of your facial cheeks. You turned over on your back to face him, as you then touched his hair, as you then replied, "Okay, Shuhei...", as you kissed his lips. After he got back from washing your dildo cleaned, he put it on your dresser, then he went on your bed to cuddle with you, as he proceeded to put some hickies on your right side of your neck, while you pet his head and touching his hair, letting him know he did an amazing job with you. While you weren't expecting him to even surprise you with using the dildo on you at all, however you feel that he always satisfied you, when it comes to anything sexual the both of you do together, however you're always satisfied just from the sight of him, his physical touches, his voice, and other qualities you see in him.

Next day, you woke up next to Shuhei. He moved your hair to cup the right side of your facial cheeks, looking into your eyes, as he whispered, "Morning, beautiful... I see you had a good night's sleep...", proceeding to kiss your lips. You then touched the right side of his face, also looking into his eyes, as you replied, "With you, I always do, Shuhei... Anyways... Morning handsome... You seemed to have an amazing night sleep, yourself...", before kissing his lips, back. He replied back, "Well (Female Reader Name), when it comes to you, I always do, my precious, angel...". The both of you, then decided to snuggle with eachother for the rest of the day.

The End

I hope you enjoyed reading this smut fanfic with Shuhei Hisagi😃👍Anyways my Tumblr Peeps, I've only read 1 Bleach fanfic pertaining a dildo, however I don't recall reading any dildo fanfics with Shuhei in it so far, which I honestly ended up having the idea of what would happen, if he was to see a dildo for the first time ever. I will admit I did written him to do more than typical smut fanfics😅I just wanted to come up with other ideas with a Shuhei Hisagi fanfic involving a dildo and stuff. I was going to have a different ending for this Shuhei fanfic than I did, however I have my reasons to save that idea for a different fanfic to write about with him, as the staring character😃👍I still hope this fanfic made your day and/or night my Tumblr Peeps☀️🌕

[previousloversandmuses]

FREQUENCY: Episode 6 - A Soldier Boy Story

FREQUENCY:  A Soldier Boy Story

EPISODE 6: “You Make Me Feel So Young”

WORD COUNT: 7736 (sorry)

PAIRING: Soldier Boy X Reader 

WARNINGS: (NSFW) Foul language. Offensive slurs. Violence, depression, and mentions of suicide. Slow burn. Drinking, and drugs. 

A/N: This story is dark, and covers mature themes. The main character, as well as other major characters, are offensive in nature, and may offend some people. Please peruse with caution, and remember that this is fiction. Reader discretion is advised. Please message me for any questions, comments, or concerns. 

Masterlist | Taglist 

Everything was exactly where she usually would have left it. Hm, he thinks. Totally stumped. She’s never gone this long without telling him. Her apartment, vacant and cold, hadn't seen her around for about a month, and neither had he. Not since the last time she had come over, at least. 

He stalks around her place. Taking a peep into the fridge, only to be greeted by the smell of spoiled milk. He grimaces, shutting it so hard the door comes off of its hinges. Fuck. He leans it back up against the body of the refrigerator, not really bothering to fix it. Maybe she wouldn’t notice? 

He takes note of her bedroom. Her worn laundry is still in the hamper, including that little get up she had on the last time she came to see him. He reaches down into it, grabbing onto the black lace underwear, and taking a deep whiff. Still smells like her, which surprisingly brings him little comfort. He knew she did her laundry every day, or else the smell alone would drive her close to insane.

He rummages through her drawers, observing that almost all of her undergarments are gone. She’s also missing shorts, flannels, and her hiking shoes. Okay, he thinks, perhaps she’s just gone home for an extended period of time. Perhaps she is angry with him because of his reaction to her most recent proposition. Lord knows when she’d be back. But he knew he could always check. 

Leaving her apartment, her black lace underwear stuffed into the sleeve of his supesuit, he knocks on her neighbors door. He knows they are home, he can hear them. An older woman answers, her eyes wide, mouth dropped. 

“Good evening, ma’am, I was wondering if-“ She passes out before she can answer. 

Great. 

He knocks on the other neighbor's door. He stomps his foot with impatience. His lips formed into a tight line. He crosses his arms over his chest and swallows his irritation with feigned patriotism. 

“Hello Sir, would you mind if I asked you a quick question?”

The man stammers, completely dumbfounded.

“Wow! Homelander, what a wonderful surprise,” He turns to look over his shoulder. “Honey, come look! Homelander is here!”

John rolls his eyes, only to resume his pleasant expression once the imbecile turns back to meet his gaze. 

“What can we do for you, Sir?” The idiot asks. 

“Well, I actually had a question about your neighbor.”

“Which one?” The man beams, a goofy grin on his face. His wife joins him at the door. 

“My God! Homelander! To what do we owe the pleasure?”

Homelander smiles back at her, nodding his head. His irritation becomes a lot more difficult to hide. 

“Yes ma’am. I was actually asking your husband here a few questions about your neighbor.”

“Who, Old Emma?” The woman asks. “She’s demented. Whatever she did, we had nothing to do with it.”

He raises an eyebrow at them, shaking his head. 

“Uh…no, no, not the old—I was asking about your young neighbor. Apartment D.”

“Ohhhh,” They both say simultaneously. The woman slapping her head, showing her idiocy. “Well, we don’t hear much from her, right Steve?”

The man looks at his wife, nodding, turning back to John. 

“She in some kind of trouble? Not one of those supe terrorists, is she?”

“No, no, God no.”

“Is everything alright? Anything we should be worried about?”

“No, just curious about the last time you saw her.”

The couple turn to each other, scratching their heads. Visibly searching their brain for some sort of answer. 

“Maybe a few weeks ago? She’s quiet. It’s not out of the ordinary. She usually comes and goes late at night anyway.”

John sighs, nodding to them. 

“Alright, thanks anyway. Sorry for bothering you two. Stay safe out there, okay?”

As he begins to walk away, Steve, the husband, calls after him.

“Hey homelander!” John turns back to them, a flicker of hope in his eyes. “Do you mind if we get a picture?”

Kill me now. He thinks. 

“No, not at all!” He walks up to the two of them with open arms. 

The two of them eat dinner every night together for a few weeks. He comes home from a long day of work, which again, he chose to do willingly. Something she still thinks is a feat in itself. He slips off his boots, and lays down on the couch. He’ll turn the TV on and flip to whatever channel is showing reruns of M.A.S.H. Although he does happen to enjoy Two And a Half Men, he was good friends with Charlie Sheen's father back in the day.

Last Tuesday she had borrowed one of Amas cookbooks, deciding on a southern style pot roast. Didn’t look too hard. You just stuff everything into a crockpot, wait eight hours, and call it a night. 

By the time he got home the house smelled heavenly, and had been obsessively deep cleaned by the freak herself. He had noticed during their time together that she had to deep clean every few days, otherwise it’d drive her up a wall, and she’d start acting like a deranged mental case. Although regular, established, modern people would just refer to it as irritability. He will never not call her out for it, no matter how many times she tells him that upsets her. 

Because of this interaction, his enjoyment of smelling whatever she had cooking for him would usually be cut short, ending in some ridiculous, twenty minute bicker. The two of them are equally hard-headed, and would never admit they were wrong. At this point they both give up, and begin to eat in silence, on the couch, side by side, watching some sort of movie. Finally beginning to talk normally from some obscene observation on his part. She’d never say it, but times like that she did find him funny. 

He was crass, and gross, and condescending, and simply everything she thought she’d hate in another human being. But, unfortunately, there was a part of her that found it charming. And come present day, she realized she might be sad the day he doesn’t come home to bother her. She’d been by herself for so long, the idea of even any sort of companion drove her crazy. But she had gotten used to this. And his nightmares had gotten at least a little better to the point where she could fall asleep without headphones, and lie back, being soothed to the sound of his steady heart beat. 

All that is short lived when she wakes up to a screech, or a shout--or something. Either way she knows it's him. 

Typically, in this situation, or what she’s done so far to cope, is turn on “Swan Lake” on her headphones. She cranks it up, rolling her eyes, and flipping over on her side. Facing away from his side of the house. But tonight, after a particularly heated conversation about the Star Wars Prequels, she can't help but feel a tinge of guilt.

She lies awake, staring at the ceiling, her box fan only doing so much to conceal his soft whimpers of misery. She gnaws on her lip, her heart aching with a sudden remorse for the oh-so-broken man that lies tortured by his own sleep. When was the last time he slept a full night? She thinks. When was the last time he woke up feeling rested? She knows he's strong as steel, and biologically augmented. He probably didn’t even really need the sleep. But mental anguish? Cognitive health? She knew from her own experience that can take a toll on even the strongest of Supes. Take John, for example, even he was a loose cannon for Christ's Sake!

She sighs, standing up, and making her way into the living room. It’s at least worth a try. She didn’t even really know what to try. She was never one for comfort, even with the likes of John. Hell, she didn't even know how to expect people to comfort her! 

He lies on the pull out bed, resting on his side. Small, innocent, puffs of air fall from his lips. He almost looks sweet like this. Like a little boy, so wholesome and demure. She's sure that won't last long when he wakes up. With this man's amount of pride, she's sure he'd have her in a chokehold for even thinking consoling him was a good idea. 

She softly sits to the left on him, making sure to not create too much noise. Did he wake up to stuff like this? Could he sense her presence or maybe he's well equipped to military style combat even when half asleep? She definitely wasn’t willing to find out. 

Another round of his wimpers start up again. She looks around awkwardly,  unsure how to go about this situation. She reaches her hand down, it hovers over his damp forehead. He’s going to snap my wrist, she thinks, grimacing. She bites her lip in preparation. Anything to get this wild, uninhibited man to have a full night's sleep. Shit, anything to get her to have a full night's sleep!

Fuck it. 

She begins cascading her stiff hand through his wet hair. She's moving like she doesn't have control of her arms. I look disabled, she thinks, shaking her head. It was a funny sight. If she were to tell someone she had cerebral palsy, she’s sure they'd believe it. She snorts at that. What an awful thing to think. She had definitely been hanging around him too much. 

He shifts over onto his back in his slumber, her hand moving away from him quickly. She eyeballs him to make sure he's not awake. His little breaths continue to puff away. She sighs in relief. She watches as he stiffens up, his whimpers bubbling from his throat again. Her eyes widen. She drops her hand back down to his scalp and begins to scrape her fingers through it. He starts to calm down. Like magic, she thinks. She shuts her eyes for a moment, suddenly desperate to feel any sort of electrical current dancing around underneath the top layer of his skull. And she does. It lights like a wildfire as his nightmare begins to calm down--

That is, until he nearly breaks her wrist, of course. He's up with a jolt, as he wraps his hand around her delicate, unaltered bones.

“What the fuck are you doing?” He demands, her eyes going wide.

She tries pulling her arm out of his vice grip, her bones creaking under the strength of his fingers. 

“You were having a nightmare,” She argues, slightly embarrassed. “I was trying to help.”

He laughs at her, dropping her arm into her lap. He stands up, separating himself from her.

“Only little boys have nightmares, and last time I fuckin’ checked, I’m a grown man.”

“You have kept me up every night for a week now.”

“What happened to your phoneheads?” He demands. “Those keep you from hearing things.”

She rolls her eyes at him. Hearing things. Whatever gets you to sleep at night, pal. Which was, obviously, nothing. 

“They are uncomfortable.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m uncomfortable when you come and caress me in my sleep-” He stops himself, thinking about that statement for a second. Well, maybe not that kind of caressing.  

“You’re perverted.” She already knows exactly what he's thinking.

“And you don't listen. How many times do I have to tell you I dont have fuckin’ shell shock?”

She shrugs, “You’re gonna have to keep telling me, because thirty years of captivity seems like it’d do a lot to a guy.”

“Yeah, well, maybe to one of those pussy desert storm vets. Those are the ones who were left fucking half-retarded.”

She stands up, scoffing, brushing past him, and walking back into her room.

“You liked it,” She states. “It shut you right up.”

He stares at her.

“But okay, tough guy, I won't do it again.”

He looks down at his feet, kicking at the floor. “Good, glad we're on the same page.” He says.

She closes the door on him. 

John has been sitting in Vought Security for the past four hours trying to find any surveillance he could of her quiet escape. He just wanted to make sure she really did go home. That she wasn’t flaking out on him. That she wasn’t abandoning him. Not that he cared or anything…

“Doesn’t she have a tendency to take out security cameras?” The young intern asks. 

He had stolen her from her minor duties as a security assistant. She wasn’t even sure what she was doing.

“Yes, but don’t you think we’d at least see her take them out?”

“Yes Sir, but if she left, then I’m sure we would have seen her leave by now.”

“Don’t question me. Filter through the next hour, I’m sure we’re almost there.” He breathes down her neck as he hunches over, getting himself closer to the screen to see.

And anyone could have missed it, but he didn’t. There goes her shitty old car, flashing past the screen.

“There,” He shouts. “Go back, pause it.”

The young girl sighs, rewinding the footage, and stopping on the blurry still of the car.

“There she is,” He smiles, “Now where the fuck are you headed?”

The two of them sit there for another hour as they watch her car travel from camera to camera across the city. That is until she reaches a big dumpster behind some shitty supermarket on the outskirts of Queens.

The camera on the lamp post that recorded this had to be at least twenty years old. It looks like it had been filmed on a fucking microwave.

“Is there any way we can make this image clearer?” He asks, gesturing to the screen.

The young intern shrugs, pressing some buttons, and filtering out at least a little bit of the grain.

“It’s not much better,” She sighs.

He pats her shoulder, she goes stiff, ready for this loose cannon to fire any second.

“This works.” He states, yanking her out of the seat and taking her place.

He gets obnoxiously close to the screen, squinting his eyes, and watches as Freak throws something into the trash can.

“Is that a body?” The intern gasps in horror.

John rolls his eyes, “No, it's not a fucking body.”

He begins to rub at his chin, “...At least, I don’t think so…”

The girl reaches over his shoulder, clicking a few buttons, then walks over to the printer and hands him the location.

“This is where this camera is located. I doubt whatever she threw out is still in there, but it's worth a try, I guess.”

“Wow, thank you so much for your input that I definitely did not ask for.”

Deadpan. The girl would rather him put her out of her misery by this point. They stare each other down pathetically for a moment, before he shoos her away to go about the rest of her day. 

He waits for the young girl to leave. Sighing as he turns back to the screen, he watches as Freak hops back in her car and drives off. He keeps the speed of the footage up, and only a few seconds later does he spot a homeless man walking over to the dumpster. He pauses the video quickly, putting it back into real time. The homeless man looks around suspiciously, before launching himself over the side of the dumpster.

John is at the edge of his seat. Please, Christ. He thinks. He begs. Anything that will get him on her trail. 

After a few minutes, the homeless man pops his head back out. He hops back onto the ground, something shiny under his arm. Maybe a laptop, he thinks. He follows the man on nearby security cameras until he reaches a pawn shop. The man is in there for a good five minutes before he walks back out, envelope in hand. He immediately walks next door and into the liquor store. Typical.

This is worth a try, John thinks. Although, this was recorded over a month ago. Even if it was sold, he's sure they wouldn't mind giving him the information on who bought it. I mean, he is the Homelander for Christ's sake. 

With that in mind, and location of the pawn shop in hand, he makes his way out of Vought Security, and then launches himself out of the tower. He’d find her. Even if it was the last thing he’d do.

They didn’t talk for two days after the nightmare fiasco. He’d come home to a dark house. She was either asleep, or hanging out with Ama until late. She never told her what really happened, just that his senile ass was getting on her nerves. 

All the young adults on the res had plans to go out on friday night. He didn’t really know what that meant. Partying wasn’t like it used to be, and he isn’t sure if he would even like to party at all. 

“You coming tonight?” Asher asks, taking a drag off a cigarette.

He and Ben lean up against a brick wall outside of the diner that they all frequent for lunch. 

“What’s it we’re doing exactly?” Ben asks, pulling a cigarette out of his pack and up to his lips.

“It's like a bar honkey-tonk.”

“A honkey tonk?” Ben grimaces.

“It ain’t too bad, they barely play any country, either. Usually old classics, disco, that kind of thing.” Asher adds.

“Old classics…what the hell does that even mean?”

Asher laughs. Ama and Freak had ended up telling the rest of the young people on the res about Ben. Who he was. Why she broke him out. What the plan would be come summer.

A lot of them were hesitant at first, and for good reason. The Soldier Boy they knew had not necessarily been too kind to them. He understood their resistance for acceptance. Hell, he didn't even really want to be talking to these people anyway. The further they stay away, the better. But, of course, that wasn’t how it seemed to work. Everyone had been harassing him about stories from the past. Hell, he was once the most famous man in the world at the time. 

“Old classics…80’s and under.”

“80’s and under?” Ben gapes. “Spare me.”

“Your version of old music is what…Beethoven live?”

Ben shakes his head, laughing.

“Fuck you,” He drags from his smoke. “So old music, drinking, and dancing?”

“Think you can handle that, old man?” 

“We’ll see.”

Asher finishes his cigarette, dropping it to the ground, and crushing it with his foot.

“There will be some girls there too, I’m sure. Plenty for you to choose from.”

With Ama and Freaks' admission about who Ben really was, also came everyone knowing that the two of them weren’t really together. He didn’t mind…Or, at least he didn’t think so. A few days after they let everyone know, Ben watched one of Ama’s brothers pull Freak off to the side of the outdoor pavilion. He rested his arm above her head and looked down at her with a glowing admiration. Soft, big puppy dog eyes, doing what they do best. A look she seemed to send right back to him in return. She had never looked at him like that.

Did he even want her to? He swallowed that feeling down before he let himself answer. 

“I’m a little rusty. I’ll come out for a little while and then turn in.” Ben sighs, still smoking on his cigarette.

“Your choice.” Asher shrugs, beginning to walk back inside the diner.

In theory it would probably be best for Ben's mental health to at least try to stay out later. Be social. Did he have to talk to women? No. These were baby steps. He could stay out, drink with the few friends he’s made, and listen to songs that made him feel comfortable. Think back to the good times. Hell, he might even get to see Freak let loose. 

“...Christ on a cross…” He lets out a heavy groan. He had almost forgotten about what happened a few nights ago. There's no way she’d be going out, he thinks. And even if she did, she sure as hell wouldn’t get anywhere near him. 

He felt bad for his reaction to her sweet gesture. How it was purely innocent, and kind. Something he rarely saw from her. She wasn’t cold-- well, not really. It was more like the idea of letting herself become comfortable with someone was, shocker, uncomfortable. His response to the situation ended up making him look weaker than what he was afraid of. He was acting like a little boy terrified of catching cooties.

He had always considered himself to be an open book, because to him there wasn’t much to be open about. He didn’t have any feelings that weren’t manly, and if he did, they were suppressed by bouts of irrational anger and rage. Reactions which he's sure led to his existence as a lab rat for thirty years. 

He was cold to all of Payback, especially Noir, who was always agreeable and pure. And even to Countess, who he claims he loved. No man would ever treat a woman they cared about that deeply with such discontent and hatred. He acted like she made him sick. He’s sure he had even slapped her around a few times. But he was so arrogant, and she wasn’t built like regular women. He thought she could take it. She was strong. She needed that treatment. She needed that to be stronger. 

In reality, his behavior all led him right back to his father. To his silver spoon childhood. His father, who was a disgrace. His father, who was unfair and disgustingly evil. His father, who was everything he turned out to be. Ben's personality was purely the result of mistreatment. Of parental negligence. Of deep rooted insecurity. Worst part is, he knows that now. He's been having to live with it. He’s been having to deal with these weird, foreign, repressed emotions. Ones that bubble to the surface as a short temper that's taken out on another broken human being who doesn’t deserve it. 

He remembers dinner with her about a week ago. She was freshly showered so her hair was dripping wet, making a little puddle on the floor. The back of her shirt damp, and sticking to her skin. She was ridiculously shiny, which was the result of some face mask from the nearby pharmacy. It smelled like blueberries, and he’s sure she could tell. Most definitely an overpowering mixer with their steaming plate of macaroni and cheese. She grimaced as she took a bite. 

“You put a lot of effort into yourself for a girl who’s so set on dying.” He says, breaking the silence. He had been refering to her planned suicide mission in the coming weeks. 

She widened her eyes at him, setting her fork down, and reaching over to take a sip of her water. She had been exhausted that day. There had been a big music festival thirty miles down in one of the valleys. That's all she had heard and felt for the past twelve hours. A little self care is what she needed. Anything to treat her pounding headache, and sore muscles. 

“I would've done it a long time ago if I wasn’t so set on revenge.” She stated, rubbing the sides of her temples with her fingers. 

He shakes his head, putting his fork down.

“You can’t let these people have such power over you.” He argued.

“I’m too tired to have this conversation right now.” She sighs.

She pokes around her plate with her fork, resting one side of her head on her hand. He watches her as she mopes.

“Y’know, sometimes people in my blast zones don’t even die they just…end up losing whatever fucked up thing the V did to their DNA.” He tries to act nonchalant about it.

She looked up at him. It was a sweet gesture, she thought. He obviously didn’t think she was worthy of dying. Worthy of throwing her entire tortured life away. He was willing to help her find an alternative to her suffering. The question was whether or not she was willing to do that. And at this point, she didn't think so. 

“Ben, it’s a nice gesture, really.” She smiles weakly.

She had always thought she was one of those people who were born to die. Like her whole purpose in life was death. That her existence had a deeper meaning, and that she wouldn't die in vain. She’d die in sacrifice. In the way she wanted to. She thought it was beautiful that she would be the final factor in her demise. That cancer, or John, or Vought, or an atomic bomb--any outside source wouldn’t have the ability to take control of her ultimate cessation. 

“We can keep you at a close distance so you wouldn't get hurt. It’d be quick, and you wouldn’t have to worry about shit like today anymore.” He sounded excited almost.

“This thing that V gave me, I hate it,” She starts. “But I wouldn’t know how to live without it, either.”

He nodded along. That he understands. 

“Like today for example; the ground is shaking, I feel it everywhere. It gives me a headache, raises my blood pressure. And the sound, the fact I can hear the bass from thirty miles away. I mean, to say my ears are ringing is an understatement. But, at the same time, the way I experience music is an incredible gift. I can hear chords and choruses and notes and keys--things machines couldn’t even be able to pick up…Without this curse, I would be just an empty shell. I wouldn't know how to live. So I guess, maybe the real curse, is just continuing to exist, compound V or not.”

By the time John gets to the pawn shop it had already been closed for thirty minutes. He lands just as the shopkeeper is locking up for the night. The man’s coat flies up from the force of John's arrival. He jumps in response. He turns to face him, John already putting on a shit eating, manufactured smile. The man freezes, dropping all of his belongings on the ground.

“How are you this beautiful evening, Sir?” It had been raining all day.

The man stammers, searching for some sort of coherent response. John grits his teeth. Deep breaths. He goes out of his way to continue the conversation. 

“I’m looking for something that may have come through in your shop, do you mind if I have a look?”

“I-I-I…”Almost there, it’s nearly out. “I’ve just closed up for the night Sir, can this not wait until m-morning?”

Sorry--wait until morning? Does this absolute fucking imbecile retarded fucking moron not understand who hes talking to? John stalks up closer to him, the shopkeeper trembling enough to drop his keys onto the ground. John watches them as they fall, only to turn back up to the man.

“You gonna pick those up?” John asks, cornering him.

“Uh, y-yes sir.” The man stutters, squatting down and picking up his keys. 

“Good job,” John praises. “Now, are you going to unlock this door and let me inside or am I going to have to force my way in myself?”

The man audibly swallows, turning back to the knob and unlocking the door with an old, rusted key. When the door opens John is hit with a waft of moth balls, old cigarettes, and dust. God this place was a slum. Who the hell would buy anything from there and expect it to be any quality higher than dog shit?

“Are you looking for anything in particular, Sir?”

John scans the room. There is furniture; some old and ripped, some newer and draped in red velvet. There is a section for jewelry, he's sure none of it is real. There is silver, china, guns, knives, japanese art, again, definitely not real.

“Do you have any electronics?”

The man gestures down in front of him. There is a glassed case that houses a few flip phones, a handful of Blackberry’s, some walkie talkies, and, Ah, laptops.

“We actually just got in a few new flip phones, Sir,” The man leans in closer, looking around, speaking under his breath. “Including a first generation keypad Nokia.”

John snorts, shaking his head. Unbelievable. 

“I’m actually looking for a laptop.”

The man takes a deep breath, “Aw man, we just sold our last one today. Microsoft Windows I think.”

John feels himself getting agitated. He’s sure he can no longer hide the look of discontent on his face. 

“So, no apple computers then?” 

“N-no, unfortunately not, sir.” The man swallows hard again.

John takes note of his blood pressure. One-eighty over ninety. He must be hiding something. He begins to laugh at the man.

“What was your name?” John asks.

“A-Akash.” He stutters, his palms beginning to sweat.

John could smell it.

“Okay, Akash,” John leans in closer, grabbing him by the collar. “I know an apple computer came through here a few weeks ago. And I’m gonna assume by the pounding of your heart rate that you bought it off of some homeless guy for thirty dollars and some change.”

Akash nods, beads of perspiration forming at the top of his hairline. 

“And I’m gonna bet that since you got such a good deal on a new, nice laptop, that you decided you were gonna keep it yourself. Is that right?”

Akash squeaks something, but John can hardly understand him due to his crushing vice grip.

“Sorry, what was that?” John says, pulling Akash up closer to his face, his feet hovering off the ground.

“Y-yes!” Akash cries, “P-please, Homelander, I have a family at home. Take whatever you want!”

“Where's the laptop?” He asks.

The man points down to his briefcase.

She stands in the kitchen, doing her makeup in the reflection of the microwave. She likes the natural lighting. She turns around, reaching to grab the controller, and turning the TV on. The New York news station is reporting about some Pawn Shop that caught on fire. Good, she thinks. As long as it has nothing to do with Ben. She's relieved to know that the two of them continue to be white noise. 

And ugh, speaking of Ben, she prays he won't be going out tonight. Maybe he’ll continue to be antisocial and isolate himself at home, watching reruns of “Happy Days”, and snorting mountains of benzos. She's tired of getting them for him. 

After she finishes up on her mascara, she walks back into her room and slips on her dress for the evening. It's black, tight, vintage Guess. She had gotten it from the consignment store the other day. Everyone had planned on going to dinner first, but most of the guys had a long day. They would rather go home and relax, and then go back out later in the evening. The club had alright bar food anyway. Well, at least from what she can remember. 

Smoothing out the edges of her dress with delicate hands, she sits back down on her bed, and turns on the TV. Waiting for when everyone was ready to go out. She’d rather be ready early than having to scramble during an already stressful evening. She hadn’t gone out in ages. 

As she settles back onto the pillow, she hears the front door creak open. She goes still, hoping he won't come in to bother her. He doesn’t, just goes to hop right into the shower. He must be going out then, she thinks. And if he is, there is absolutely no way he's leaving after her. She will be fashionably late. He can happily go early and hopefully turn in before midnight like the old man he is. Anything to guarantee avoiding an unwanted interaction. 

She's still and silent as she listens to him get ready. Her TV on mute. Her face heats up as she hears the familiar zipper of his jeans. She had gotten used to hearing that everyday. He clears his throat, keys jingling as he shoves them into his pocket. The clock on the wall now read 9:03. People would slowly start to turn up at the bar. 

Suddenly his phone rings, the one that she got him from Wamart. It was a cheap flip phone that had minutes. He still didn’t understand how any grown man is ever able to type on the tiny little keypad. His whole fingertip takes up half the screen.

“Yeah?” He answers, opening the front door and walking outside. It was Asher. “I’m leaving now…No, I don’t know if she's coming…Well tell Ama to call her that’s not my fuckin problem.”

She hears Tough Guy’s big ass truck pull up outside of the house. It growls as it comes to a quick stop on the gravel drive. He hops in, hanging up the phone as he does so. 

Thats not my fuckin problem. What an asshole. 

She bolts up after that phone exchange. Her skin was hot. She was embarrassed. Why the hell is he acting like this whole situation was her fault? All she was doing was trying to help him! She stomps over to the floor mirror, reaching for the ties on the back of her dress. She pulls it tight so her waist cinches in significantly. She reaches over to her makeup bag again, adding a load of eyeliner and an even thicker layer of mascara. Popping off the lid to her perfume, she drenches herself in it, making sure to get all of the parts any man would love to smell. The places that catch in the wind, only to make their breaths catch in their throats. 

What was this going to do for her? What sort of gratification was she wanting here? Is this her way of getting back at him for being a piece of shit? By acting like a slut and taunting him with something he couldn't have? Maybe. She’s sure it might work. She’s sure it would do something. Even if he didnt feel that way about her. The fact that she was letting loose and having so much fun without him. 

But what if this made him angry? What if this backfires and he blows the whole place to the fucking ground with everyone still in it? Or worse, what if he decided to back out? He says “fuck you, and fuck the family,” and leaves in a cloud of dust? She’d really be fucked then. Well, her rational brain wasn't thinking tonight anyway. She grabs her keys off the console and says fuck it. 

The car ride there was hot, and sweaty. Tough Guys AC in his car had stopped working and he was too tired to fix it. Although he must've been 200 more pounds than Ben, he wasn’t blessed with the likes of Compound V. That shit made him a human heater. They had the windows rolled down, which made everyones hair look fucking crazy.

Once they make it to the bar, all the guys hop out of the car. The place is buzzing with people. All different ethnicities too, which surprised him to say the least. You’d think the rednecks would've ran these people out of town by this point, he thinks. One thing everyone had in common though, almost all of them were wearing cowboy boots. Ben felt significantly out of place, and not just because he was a century older. 

The inside of the club is blasting “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees when they walk in. Okay, he could get behind that. In the center of the dance floor is a good amount of people, mostly couples or groups of girls. Some of the couples were grinding up and down on each other. It was inappropriate beyond gross proportions. I mean, some of these girls were literally rubbing themselves on these guys' thighs. The older crowd, anywhere between 40 and 70, stood by the bar, watching the dance floor. A lot of them were grimacing, although slightly amused by the ridiculous display of affection. Feeling the same way about it that Ben was. There were high top tables over there, one of them just freeing up as they headed over. The four of them wrap around the table, looking around for their friends. 

“I’ll go look for the other guys.” Tough Guy says, they all nod at him.

Asher looks around, craning his neck, searching for his girlfriend. 

“Ah, there she is,” He says. “Just in time.”

The music changes in the club “Who’s That Lady” By The Isley Brothers coming on. Ben turns his head to follow Asher. Ama and the rest of the girls begin to walk in the door. Perfect timing for this song, he thinks--And then his breath catches in his throat.

She walks in behind the rest of them, sticking out like a sore thumb. Girls like her beelong on the silver screen. They belong in films. On the cover of magazines. In art museums hanging up on a wall surrounded by a sea of onlookers taking her picture. She is it. She is money. She is light. She is so radiant in that tight, black dress he thinks the whole place quiets down when she walks in. Okay, he was not expecting that. 

The herd of girls say hello to him as they walk up to the bar. He nods, not paying attention. His eyes glued to the sight across the room. Adohi, the guy that had her up against the pavilion the other day, saunters towards her, two drinks in his hand. He passes her one, she accepts it happily, leaning in to give him a hug. 

“I'm surprised you could make it!” He yells over the music, she grimaces.

What an idiot, he thinks. Who the hell would forget that about her?

“Sorry,” Adohi says, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m just surprised you can even handle the music.”

She smiles at him, gesturing towards a pair of earplugs. She knew they didn't do much. But, those plus the gifts of alcohol made it much easier for her to tolerate. Once she got drunk enough her body would end up feeding on the sensation of the bass through the floor. She downs the drink quickly at the realization. Then starts sauntering over to the bar. 

She catches him in her peripheral, not daring to look at him. She knew where he was sitting the moment they pulled up. His heartbeat was so unique, it was easy to spot even from a mile away. 

“Freak,” He calls. Fuck. She wasn’t expecting that.

She looks over her shoulder quickly, not stopping her pursuit towards the bar.

“Hey,” She says, sounding completely uninterested. She said it in a way that you talk to someone whose name you don't remember. She is ice cold. Leaving him frowning on the chair.

Ouch, he thinks. This was going to be harder than he thought. Good thing he's persistent.

Throughout the span of the next few hours the both of them had their fair share of drinks. Ben was buzzed, and so was she. Not to the point where the two of them were incapacitated, but enough so the room was brighter, and they were significantly happier than they were the moment they walked in.

The two of them stood at opposite ends of the club all night. Both stealing glances, pretending that they didn’t catch the other one looking. She made it obvious she was putting on a show. Dancing with Adohi provocatively when any sensual songs came on. Ben gave up on moving slowly with women about an hour ago. After she had her first dance with Adohi. Currently, Ben sits at the bar leaned into a woman's ear. He has her howling with laughter, his hand resting on the small of her back. 

Ama and Asher watch from the entrance of the club after going outside for a smoke break. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. It was embarrassing, and immature, to say the least. These were two grown adults acting like petty teenagers to get back at each other for the sake of their own pride. They had had enough. 

Ama stomps over to Freak, who was currently grinding on Adohi on the dance floor. She was flushed and sweaty, her hair poofed up from the humidity within the club. 

Ama grabs her arm, “Mind if I steal her for a minute?” She asks.

Freak gives her a what the fuck look, as Ama drags her off to the bathroom.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to go alone.” She says, blatantly lying.

“Couldn’t you tell I was in the middle of something?” She asks as the two of them walk through the bathroom door. 

“Yeah, exactly why I pulled you out of it.” Ama pulls them into a bathroom stall. It's small enough where their feet are on top of each other.

“I was having a good time.” Freak argues.

“Adohi is three years younger than you and has a heart murmur, there is no way you are dancing with him because you want to.”

“I am so.” She crosses her arms over her chest.

“You are not,” Ama argues, looking down at the time on her phone. “Okay, one second.”

Ama reaches up and ruffles Freaks hair. Making it sexier, messier, voluminous. Then she takes her thumbs and drags them under her eyes, wiping away the running mascara.

“Didn’t your mom ever teach you about waterproof?” Ama teases.

“I don't have a mom.” Says Freak plainly.

Right, Ama thinks. She then reaches to unlock the bathroom door and pulls them back out.

“Hey, I thought you had to go to the bathroom!”

Ama drags them both out onto the dancefloor, the familiar intro of “How Deep Is Your Love” beginning to play from the speaker.

“It, uh, went away?” Ama says, looking around for Asher.

He sees him coming towards her, and just as Barry Gibb begins to start singing, Ama pushes Freak into Asher, who pushes Ben into her. The two of them running into each other. Out of habit, Ben wrapped his hand around her back to steady her. Having no idea who it was at first. They both stare at each other for a minute, not knowing what to say. It would be too immature and awkward if the other decided to just storm off, leaving the other one alone.

Looking around, all the other couples slowly start to slow dance with each other. A new one coming off of the side lines and onto the floor every few seconds. Freak eyeballs him, then slowly lifts up her arms and onto his shoulders. Not looking him in the eye. In fact, she looks everywhere but him. The ceiling was interesting this evening.

He rolls his eyes at her. He was so sick of her acting like a little teenage girl. Although, he thinks he's no better. The two of them dance in silence until the song is almost over. 

“I’m sorry,” He says suddenly, breaking the tension. “I’m sorry for all of it.”

She blinks at him, tilting her head to the side. She wasn’t expecting that to come from him so easily. 

“I was just- It was- I haven’t…” He trips over his tongue trying to find the right words to say. 

He takes a deep breath, looking her in her eyes. 

The song switches to “You Make Me Feel So Young” By Frank Sinatra. They usually played Frank this time of night before the older couples decided to turn in.

“I’m an asshole, and I’ve always been an asshole. And I know that now and I’m trying to be kinder and to adapt but I don’t know what to do or what to say or how to even exist…” He trails off, looking over to the side of the club.

“I get it,” She says, smiling softly. He turns back to her as she continues “I have a hard time feeling like a real person too.”

He looks down at her outfit, his voice getting quieter, his eyes becoming heavy.

You make me feel so young

You make me feel there are songs to be sung

Bells to be rung

And a wonderful fling to be flung

“You look so beautiful.” He says.

“Thank you,” She says, her eyes watering, her throat dry.

She doesn’t think anyone has ever said that to her in her life.

He thinks he's never said it and meant it before in his whole life. Not until now. This was the first time in his life he's ever felt it. The first time in a hundred years. When he looked into the eyes of someone and had the answers to every question he’s ever asked. 

And even when I'm old and gray

I'm gonna feel the way I do today

'Cause you make me feel so young

“I’m sorry,” He starts, resting his forehead on hers. “This is the closest to home I’ve ever felt. I’m such an asshole.”

She looks up into his eyes with a misty glimmer, a devious gaze. One that holds the whole world within it. A soul pouring out into another. And he caught all of it in the palm of his hands.

She leans up and places a gentle kiss on his lips. He’s reluctant at first, but slowly begins to smile into it.

This felt like home.

Masterlist | Taglist | Episode 7

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[b-afterhours]

Avenue of Sins: Neon

A Sequel to Avenue of Sins

SUMMARY: ‘90s. It’s the aftermath. Jaded, Bill and Alma navigate their new lives as they try to drag themselves out of the dark debacherous trenches they had once ensnared themselves in. It’s easy to forget their evils when a silver lining introduces itself into their lives but can they create a less hedonistic life that would be just as satisfying?

WARNINGS: adult content, mature readers only.

The completed first series can be read and found here.

Chapter Twelve

February 1993

He arrived in his lonely penthouse in New York City after a nonstop flight. He left Seattle near 11 a.m., but because of the three-hour time difference between there and New York, he didn’t get home until almost eight-something in the evening. He had locked the door behind himself and stood there briefly. The place felt cold.

“Hello.” He said to no one as his voice echoed, and he just sighed to himself. 

He took the back staircase, strolling down the long hall and peeping into the empty rooms on his way up to his bedroom. Walking the length of his bedroom, he dropped his duffle bag by the couch in the loft area and riffled through bills and junk mail he had grabbed from the residential postal room on the building's first floor. One piece of mail Alma had sent was large and thin. Something in it was being supported with a piece of cardboard to keep it from bending, but he was looking for the other piece of mail she had told him should be there. Once he had found it, he tossed them on top of his bed and went to the bathroom for a shower. 

His travel went smoother than when he went to Seattle. The only hiccup he had run into happened in Alma’s apartment. He had lost the keys to the rental. Alma was the last person with them until they both realized it was actually Echo who had them last, jingling them in her hand without a care. They looked under the couch cushions, and he even tilted the couch back to look for them. While they tried to look thoroughly, they were also somewhat slow about it, whether they knew it or not. It was as if neither of them wanted the visit to end. Alma was looking in the bedrooms while he took Echo’s toys out of the small chest in the living area, but even after he cleared the whole thing, they still weren’t found. As he put everything back, he jostled a shape-sorter toy of hers. Inside were block shapes, but he heard a jingle from inside and opened it, finally finding the keys. Echo was close by, playing with the toys he hadn’t put back in the chest yet. 

“Did you hide these?" He asked, turning to her and picking her up. It seemed like she also didn’t want him to leave. “I got to go, honey,” he said, hugging her after announcing to Alma that he had found the keys. “I would take you with me if I didn’t know you’d miss your mommy so much.” Alma stood there listening to him before he turned to her. 

“Call me when you land?” She asked, hugging him tightly. 

While he held it together, it was hard when he saw that Alma wanted to cry. It didn’t ever feel good to watch him leave. She had never liked it since the day he left Missouri. However, she also felt bad because she had done it to him so many more times now. She bit her quivering lip after he had kissed her deeply. He reassured her that he’d be back soon, and off he went, feeling empty again as soon as he left. He waited until he reached the stop sign at the end of the block and sank in his seat, harshly rubbing his eyes as tears stung them.

After his shower, he decided to call Bianca, and he looked at his clock. It was early in the evening, at least early for him.

“Surprised you didn’t pack your whole family back,” Bianca said to him over the phone.

“I thought about it,” he lightly chuckled, rubbing the hair on his thigh as he was only wearing boxer briefs. “Should I come in tonight or…” 

“Just relax, sweetie. What’s one more day? Everything has been fine while you were gone. You must have been busy over there. You didn’t call me a single time. Unless Alma forbade you from even thinking about work while you were there?” 

“Nah. I know you have a handle on things there.” While work would come to mind, he decided for himself that if anything happened, he would wait for a call instead rather than pester Bianca. 

“I love that you said it with confidence, because I do.” He could picture her with a beaming smile over the phone. “I gotta finish getting ready, but–”

“You’re getting ready in the loft?” He lightly laughed.

“Well, I have it to myself. Why not? So tomorrow?” 

“Tomorrow. Alma sent me back with a gift for you, by the way.” 

"Well, if that’s the case, I wouldn’t mind you coming in tonight. That’s so sweet of her.” She paused for a moment, thinking about how she missed Alma, but kept it to herself because she knew Bill did on a whole other level.

Once he was off the phone, he pulled on a sweater and sat against the headboard of his bed next to his daughter’s stuffed bunny that he had balanced on top of it. Sometimes he secretly cuddled with it. He called Alma at the airport once he landed. She reminded him to check his mailbox, instructing him to open the large yellow envelope first. He did as he was told, and inside was a gel print copy of Echo. It was a portrait stylized with yellow and hot pink ink, of her smiling and wearing his Rayban sunglasses that he remembered Alma photographing on her visit. He smiled to himself, realizing that she must have made it during Gregory’s event, which he saw advertised at the record store. It would need to be framed, but it was a nice, thoughtful gift and was similar to the styles of old tour posters he used to display in his adolescent bedroom. 

After putting the print away for safekeeping, he crawled into bed again and opened the other letter. He pulled out something that was wrapped in pink and red tissue paper, and as he peeled the paper away, his heart skipped. The smile on his face just kept spreading across his face as he flipped through ten black-and-white photos of the boudoir photoshoot Alma had shot for him. They were beautiful, sensual, sultry, and sexily enticing. He liked them all, but one in particular made blood rush to his member. It was a low shot of her bottom, her thumbs hooked on the straps of a g-string as she looked back at the camera over her shoulder. He was familiar with the sight, but having hard evidence was exciting to him. He spread the photos over the bed to see them all together while his hand reached down into his underwear.

As he pleased himself, he could feel the ghosts of Alma’s hands or her full lips that had touched him all over the past week, and he missed them. His mind became clearer after he finished on his sweater and pulled it off before he collected the photos back together. He paused for a second. Who developed these?

“Hello?” Alma said on the other end of the phone. After he had left, she loaded her Jeep with laundry—his included—and was currently sitting on her living room floor, folding it all after spending time at the laundromat with Echo. “Oh, so you finally got them?” She bashfully laughed when he informed her. “Um, did you like them?” And then laughed again when he admitted to already getting off to them. “They came out nice, but really that fast?” 

“Don’t laugh,” he said, chuckling as he looked at the photo on top of the stack of her elegant nude silhouette in soft focus in front of her bedroom window. With his thumb, he flipped it up to look at the one below, of her pulling the hem of a small white shirt so that it was pulled tight against her breasts and hard nipples. The phrase ‘God’s Favorite’ was scrawled across it. “Send me more.”

“Any requests?” 

“Only about a hundred of them. But where did you get these developed?” 

She rolled her eyes. “Only you and a girl from the place I go to get all my stuff developed have seen those. I asked that she only deal with that roll of film, and I think she understood why once she saw them.” 

“Well, I hope so…” 

“What’s the worst that could happen? I end up in Playboy?” She joked. 

“These pictures are fucking beautiful—you're fucking beautiful. But don’t start getting ideas,” he said, which made her laugh again. 

…

March – Spring Break Week 1993

It was early in the morning—nearly 4 am—but he was a bit restless after his shift. He was going to have a very busy week ahead of him with all the college kids who couldn’t make it to a sunny beach coming to his club for some fun instead. Bianca was leaving for Miami with her sons the next day, so he'd be manning the ship solo like old times. Bianca would be gone for the week. It was Lorenzo’s 18th birthday gift and an early graduation gift. Looking at his clock, he thought about calling Alma, but she had told him earlier that she’d be working late herself. If he could see her right now, he’d have seen her balancing on top of a down-turned tin trash bin behind the crowd, giving concert photography a shot. 

On his back, he decided to rest his eyes, hoping he’d drift to sleep that way. When he came back from Seattle, he slept well for a couple of days until his body went back into the same shitty sleep cycle that plagued him. Sometimes he’d call Alma and ask her to speak about anything. Just to fall asleep to the sound of her voice made him feel less lonely. Once, she just read him a pamphlet from the pediatrician's office. If he didn’t call her, he’d jerk off, which did help, but shockingly, he was starting to get tired of that after so many consecutive nights in a row now. After lying there with his eyes closed for so long, he figured he might just have to rub one out anyway. 

There was a knock at his front door, and he sighed. He’s hearing things now, he thought. As he tried to get more comfortable in bed, he heard it again. He took a deep breath and reached into his nightstand for his gun, which lay right next to the bundle of nude photos of Alma. No one should be there at this time. Absolutely no one. His mind raced as he quickly pulled on gym shorts and a t-shirt he had set aside to wear to the gym later that morning. 

He crept down the spiral stairs, and there was a knock once more. At the very least, he was glad it didn’t sound like someone was trying to break the door down from its hinges. The rhythm of the knocks sounded a bit urgent and even erratic at times. 

“Shit,” he grumbled under his breath as he cocked the gun slide back. 

He looked through the peephole and saw the back of someone's dark head of hair in a men's-styled cut. When they turned, he saw Giancarlo with a busted nose and bruising eyes, along with a bloody lip. He looked distressed, and while he knew this was Bianca’s son, he was weary of opening the door immediately. He decided to crack it open, leaving the chain lock in place. 

“Mr. Skarsgård! Could you let me in?” He pleaded. 

“What the hell, G’? Who’s with you?” He said, looking out past him skeptically. 

“It’s just me, it’s just me. I promise,” he said frantically as he blinked back tears. He looked genuinely scared and shaken up. “Please…” 

Bill closed his eyes as his jaw clenched tensely. “Hold on.” He said, lowly closing the door to unlatch the chain lock. 

He opened the door wide enough for Giancarlo to get in and quickly locked it. Purposefully, Bill took the live round from the gun out and then tucked the piece in the waistband of his shorts as Giancarlo watched. Realizing he was so close to being shot, he shrank further into himself. He knew that his mother had a gun, but she never brandished it around him or his brother. 

“So what the fuck is this? Why aren’t you home?” Bill asked sternly. 

Giancarlo took in a shaky breath as tears escaped his eyes. Bill sighed at his condition. His clothes were even a bit tattered and dirty, as if he had been dragged around. He had gotten beaten up, but for what he wasn’t sure. 

“Go,” he pointed to his couch, “sit down.” He left for his kitchen to get him a glass of water. As he handed it to him, he noticed him wiping his bloody nose with his sleeve. 

“Sorry,” he said when Bill came back with a dry dishrag. “Thank you.” 

“What are you doing out this late? Aren’t you supposed to be getting ready to leave later?” Bill asked, clasping his hands together as he sat on the edge of the couch opposite him.

Giancarlo cleared his throat. “I was just out with my friends at the Cherry Hill fountain.” 

“In Central Park? This late?” 

“It’s where all us kids go… but I don’t know what happened. Some people started to fight, and it started a whole brawl, and… I got jumped.” 

“I see.” He said looking at his state up and down.

“I didn’t even do anything, but then the cops showed up, and I just started running. You’re the only person I know here in Manhattan.” 

“The cops aren’t looking for you right now, are they?” 

“No, they were just hemming up whoever they could.” 

“How’d you even get past the doorman here?”

“I just ran straight past him… He’s a heavy guy.” 

Bill nodded. He didn’t like that it was so easy for someone to get by during these hours. Now he was going to have to complain later. “Okay… Well, do you want me to call your mom, or do you want to?” 

Giancarlo looked like he wanted to cry again. It was obvious to him that she had no idea he wasn’t home right now. Bianca didn’t have time for stuff like this and had raised her children to have sense, but Giancarlo liked to push it. Before he had owned the club, Myrna had said she didn’t want to pass it on to Bianca, who he felt should own it before he should have been considered. Myrna thought she should focus on raising her kids first, but Bill felt they were grown enough by now to partner with her. He wasn’t regretting his decision, but it seemed like her youngest son was going to need some extra guidance. 

“She’s going to be so pissed,” he said, wiping a tear from his cheek with the dishrag.

“If you call her, maybe she’ll respect that more than you having me do it. You keep wanting to grow up so fast… but I don’t think you understand what that means yet, Gian. Did you try to fight back?” He didn’t want to be rude, but he looked a bit pitiful. 

“Yes… but there were too many.” 

“You stay at the edge of a brawl, if you must, not in the middle of it. Just call your mom. That's the grown-up thing to do.” 

Bill turned away from him as he called home, trying to give him some semblance of space and privacy. Giancarlo explained what had happened to him with a shaky, terrified voice. He was still such a little boy compared to how he was at his age, but he also grew up too fast compared to most kids his age then. 

Bianca, while somewhat strict, overly doted on her sons more than an average mother would, but she meant business when the time permitted. Bill could hear her yelling on the other end of the receiver, and he glanced over and saw him crying again. Poor kid. 

“M-Mr. Skarsgård? My mom wants t-to talk to you,” he sniffled, holding out the phone to him. 

“Oh Bill, I’m so sorry,” Bianca said, exasperated. 

“It’s fine,” he sighed. 

“No. It’s not, but… does my boy look bad?” She said with concern.

“He doesn’t look too great, frankly.” He said, glancing at him. He had his head bowed in shame.

“Oh my god… I’ll come get him.” 

“Later. He can sleep in my guest room. And yes, I’m sure. There’s probably still cops out looking for stray kids on the street.” 

Bianca reluctantly agreed, and Bill passed the phone back to Giancarlo. Once again, she was yelling on the other end. He could make out her warning her son to not touch anything in his home, and after a few more words, Giancarlo hung up. 

“How long are you grounded for?” Bill smirked. 

“Until the end of the school year,” he frowned. 

“Mhmm. Well, go wash up in the bathroom down there,” Bill pointed down the hallway. “Just dig in the cabinets for some bandages. I’ll meet you in a minute.” 

Bill went up to his room and grabbed a tank top from a new pack and some old sweats of his for the boy. When Bill found him in the bathroom, he was shirtless, leaning into the mirror inspecting his battered face. He had been having trouble bandaging the cut on his brow because his hands were too shaky. 

"Um, Mr. Skarsgård, do you think you can help me?” He asked sheepishly, holding the butterfly bandage out to him. He was still used to his mother mending his cuts or scrapes. 

He set the clothes on the counter and grabbed it. “Your mom’s not here. I don’t care if you call me Bill,” he said, tilting Giancarlo’s head down. He pinched his cut together, which made him wince, and quickly bandaged it. “Your eyebrow is going to scar,” he warned. 

“Is my nose going to be fucked up too?” 

Bill chuckled. “Let me see." He lightly felt the bridge of his nose, and it felt fine enough. “Nah. You’re going to Miami with black eyes, though.” 

“Damn…” He said, shaking his head at his reflection in the mirror.

“Clothes,” he pointed at them. “Bed,” he said, walking out of the bathroom with Giancarlo following. The guest room had been rearranged. The configuration was changed to create a little office space. Taking the computer out of Echo’s nursery so she’d have the whole space for her things now. “You can help yourself to whatever you find in the kitchen. If you need me, just go up the back staircase. Knock first.” 

“Okay,” Giancarlo nodded, looking around the room that was illuminated by the red neon marquee across the street. “Thank you, Bill.” He said misty-eyed. 

“You’re a good kid, G’. Just don’t get caught up in shit, alright?” Bill was just about to turn to leave him but was caught off guard when Giancarlo hugged him. He stiffened at first, but then he hugged him back. "Are you sure you don’t have a concussion?" he tried to lightly joke, but inside he was thinking about the times he had felt like this at his age, but there was no one there to hug.

Giancarlo pulled away and sniffled. “Sorry, I woke you up with my bullshit."

“Just get some sleep. You have a long day of travel ahead of you,” Bill said as he walked out of the guest room. 

He made a detour to grab a bag of frozen peas to give to the boy, and then he took the back staircase to his room, shut the door, and locked it. Until tonight, he had always kept it open, and while he didn’t think Giancarlo would do anything to him, he still took precautions. The mezzanine area, where the spiral staircase took you before opening to the rest of the room, he wasn’t too worried about. He would hear anyone coming up that way. Yet he took his Glock from his waistband and rested it on top of his nightstand. He’d sleep better that way. 

He had managed to sleep for a few hours when the phone rang, and he lazily got up to answer. It was Bianca informing him that she was on her way. He laid back in bed, just relaxing and stretching his body a bit. Downstairs, the sound of a light switch turning on and the fridge opening could be heard. At least he didn’t have to wake the kid up too. 

He thought to himself that if his family were there, he would have never opened the door for him. Probably, Alma would much to his dismay. She’d have the mother's intuition to help another woman's child, but he had the father’s version of protecting his. It didn't matter who it was. 

He cracked open his eyes just to check the time. It was too early to call Alma, but he also missed the gym workout, meaning he’d just go jog then. He got out of bed and joined Giancarlo, who was eating cereal at the dining table by the spoonful. His face was fairly swollen, but the frozen peas certainly kept it from looking a lot worse.

“Um,” he said, chewing. “I can make you a bowl.” 

The corner of Bill’s mouth went up in a smirk. “You’re fine… for now. Your mom’s on her way.” 

Giancarlo lightly grumbled at the thought as he watched Bill put a single slice of white bread in the toaster. He thought Bill was about the coolest grownup he’s ever known. He had a nice place, a cool car, expensive clothes, and a hot girlfriend. He also worked at a strip club and got to see boobs every day. It sounded like a dream, and for a 14-year-old boy, it all still glittered and shined for him. 

“Does your mom ever give you grief sometimes?” 

Bill leaned on the kitchen island and crossed his arms, biting his lip. “Mm… no. She passed away.” 

“Oh… I’m sorr-” 

“It was a long time ago,” he cut him off, giving Giancarlo a pursed smile. “So listen to your mother and all that, right?" He said, catching the warm toast as it popped out of the toaster. He hardly buttered it and held it between his teeth as he reached into his fridge for a few eggs to hardboil. 

There was a knock at the door and Bill could hear the boy gulp loudly in fear. He quickly got up to take his bowl to the sink as Bill went to answer it. He paused, turning around to see him hastily trying to wash it. 

“Just leave it. I know your mom’s old school, but you don’t have to do that.” 

Giancarlo nodded and then braced himself when Bill opened the door. Bianca was dressed in a pink velour tracksuit with her hair wrapped in a silk scarf in a similar color. Bill greeted her but stepped aside to let her go directly to her son. She took off her large, buggy sunglasses when she saw the state of her son's face. He stood there uncomfortably, wishing he could disappear. 

“Come here,” she said, pointing at the floor below her sternly, and when he approached, she reached out and held him as relief washed over her. “My god,” she said, trying to cradle his face in her hands, but he flinched. “Your handsome face…” she shook her head. “Don’t ever do this shit again! Go down to the car. I’ll be right behind you.” 

“I’m really sorry, Ma’.” 

“And apologize to Mr. Skarsgård for putting him out with your foolishness.” 

“Bianca I–” Bill began to say, but she held a hand behind her to stop him. 

“Now. Apologize.” 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Skarsgård. And thank you.” He said, with his head held straight and making eye contact, that he knew his mother expected of him. 

“I’ll accept your apology this one and only time,” he said, putting on a stern tone to match Bianca's, but he discretely winked at the boy. 

The boy left, and Bianca eased once he was gone. Bill had her follow him to the guest bedroom to help her collect his tattered clothes, and they paused back at the front door.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with him,” Bianca sighed sadly. "Like, this is just beyond!” 

“Hm. Well, I think he’s learned his lesson. You didn’t raise your sons to be out in the street like he was. He was here shaking and crying,” he lightly laughed. “He even hugged me, too. He’ll be alright, though,” he lightly shrugged.

"Oh, so he got a real scare, huh?" She said, pleased by the fact. 

“Big time.” 

“Good. Well, I’ll see you in a week, honey. The family vacation photos are going to look insane with the state of Gian’s face, but we’ll be in Miami nonetheless, right?” She said hugging Bill. “And thank you. I owe you one.” 

“Yeah, yeah. Have a safe trip.” He chuckled. 

After his jog, he felt more awake, but when he took a hot shower, he felt tired again. His muscles relaxed yet ached at the same time. He lay in his bed in just a pair of boxers and a tank top and felt his eyes getting heavy. Unexpectedly he fell asleep. The phone woke him up again a couple of hours later. He had been procrastinating with moving the phone from the loft seating to his nightstand, and right then he cursed himself for it. He got up reluctantly and picked the whole thing up to bring by his bedside, but in the time it took him to do that, it stopped ringing. The phone downstairs began to ring, which signaled to him that Alma was calling. He let the one downstairs cut off first before dialing her apartment until the dial tone on his line went off and he switched calls. 

“It’s Alma.” 

“Yeah,” he said, clearing his throat, still raspy from sleep. “Sorry, what time is it?” 

“Um… It should be almost 1 p.m. over there. Are you okay?” She said with worry. She didn’t receive a call from him that morning. He called twice a day, but especially in the morning, he never missed those calls, and the evening calls would come too, even if sometimes they could be brief because he was usually at work or on his way when he called then. Currently, she was at work in the office with her feet up on the desk after helping clean up the mess from the show the night before. 

“I’m okay. I had a long night. I went for a jog, and I guess… took a nap?”

“Long night?" She questioned. 

Bill went on to explain what had happened with Giancarlo, and Alma was surprised the boy would even think of Bill’s place to go, as he can sometimes come off a bit cold, let alone that he would get into trouble like that knowing his mother. 

“It’s good you didn’t blast him through the door with your gun, at least. I’m glad he came to you, though.” 

“Eh. Kinda weird, but everyone else he knows is in Brooklyn, so.” 

“I mean, yeah, but he kind of looks up to you too.” 

Bill grimaced. He didn’t feel like someone anyone should look up to. “Lorenzo has a crush on you,” he deflected. 

“Those boys are funny, aren’t they? But really, I am glad he came to you. You’re such a dad now, Bill.” She giggled.

“Yeah, yeah,” he chuckled.

“Plus, Echo might get into shit when she’s a teenager. So this was a good glimpse of things that may come. Hopefully not, though.”

“More like, not at all. She’s not going to be running around Central Park during hell hours.” 

Alma laughed. “Bill, we used to be teenagers. Those late-night field parties, remember? We even left town two hours away to Kansas City without anyone knowing. Central Park is closer at the very least.” 

“Central Park is in the middle of a metropolitan city. We were in the middle of fucking nowhere. That’s the difference.” If Alma could see him, she’d see him speaking with his hands like he usually did when he was trying to make a point. 

“It’s not like it’s any better.” 

“Sure,” he grumbled. “Shit happens wherever you’re at. That’s why you and our daughter need to be here already.” 

“Oh god. Okay, yeah…” she digressed. “Are you ready for Spring Break Week at the club?” 

“Same ol’ shit, right?” He groaned, scratching his head. 

…

That week at the club was hectic, but it wasn't anything he hadn’t seen before or couldn’t handle. Of course, there were a few fights between college rivals, but that was to be expected. What he didn’t expect was firing the head chef for passing out drunk in the kitchen. The poor sous chef working back there looked terrified when he promoted her on the spot, but she knew the most, so he wasn’t worried that she couldn’t cut it. She just didn’t expect to start her new position during such a busy week. When Bianca comes back from her vacation, she can fix the arrangement with the kitchen employees. She liked it a certain way, and Bill didn’t mind that. The kitchen was a responsibility they both shared while they split the bar, his main duty, and the girls, her main duty. The DJ was the only employee they hardly checked on; he just needed to be there or else. Either way, they took care of anything should they have to. 

Luckily, it was the last day of such a lively week, and he was in the loft, sitting in the lounge area with Theo and his brother Damien, laughing about some situation over a drink with them. Damien had come to speak with Bill about some properties after he had lost the Brooklyn property to another buyer, but he also looked over the paperwork for Alma’s childhood home. His advice only served to confirm what he already knew himself. The phone on his desk rang. At first, he thought about ignoring it, but something in him told him otherwise. 

Alma was in her apartment in Seattle, feeling sorry for herself. Her daughter was asleep and finally settled next to her in bed. She had a hell of a day, and dread kept building in her heart as the phone rang over and over. The anxiety she was keeping at bay was wanting to break from the edge of her psyche. 

“Bill?” Alma said once the phone was answered, “Are you alone?” 

His brows furrowed with concern. The way she sounded on the other end of the line unsettled him. “Alma? One second.” 

Her heart was thrumming hard in her chest as she heard Bill ask his guests for privacy. She knew he wasn’t going to be happy with her, and she wasn’t ready for his reaction. She didn’t want others to have to feel it too. Maybe she should have called much earlier, or at least until she let the anxiety attack that was looming above her pass. 

“What’s wrong?" He asked nervously, sitting in his office chair. 

“Echo had an accident. She’s okay,” she said quickly before he started questioning her. “We got home from the ER about an hour ago, and she’s going to be fine.” 

“Fuck. Alma? An accident,” he bit his cheek and took a deep breath to settle himself. "Okay, she’s fine,” he reiterated to keep his mind from thinking of something tragic. 

“Yes.” 

“What happened?” He asked, rubbing his forehead anxiously. 

“I was making dinner, and she was playing in the living room… and I swear I looked away for just a second, but she got on the couch arm and jumped off it. Her lower teeth cut inside her bottom lip, but they didn’t go all the way through.” Alma's stomach sank again, just as it did when she heard the blood-curdling cry that erupted from her daughter, just as she was able to take in a breath because she had also knocked the wind out of herself. The sight of her with blood coming from her mouth still made her queasy. 

“See,” he said angrily. “This is exactly what I was telling you! Shit happens! And I’m not there? It probably wouldn’t have happened if I was there, Alma!” He chastised. There was a long pause on the other end of the line. For a moment, he thought she had hung up the phone. 

She had dropped the receiver on the bed and cupped her mouth to keep the sob that had been waiting to be unleashed since the accident had happened. There wasn’t time to cry or freak out, only time to assess and get her daughter to the ER to be seen. Even that was an ordeal, waiting in the lobby holding a rag to her daughter's bleeding mouth and making sure she didn’t choke on her blood while they waited. It felt like forever to be seen, but soon enough, she was receiving two stitches inside her mouth. Just as she felt it would be over soon, a social worker came in to speak to her. 

“Are there times you become frustrated taking care of your daughter?” The social worker tried to ask with empathy and concern, but Alma knew exactly what she was trying to ask. 

While she wished Bill was with them, at the moment she was glad he wasn’t. He’d lose his shit completely with that line of questioning, and then they would actually take their daughter away then. Alma kept it cool with the last bit of it that she had left in her. The social worker took the last bit of it when she asked about the whereabouts of Echo’s father. Seemingly trying to find blame where there was none, pissing Alma off on his behalf. However, her cool, even answers satisfied the social worker that it was just an accident after all because it was. 

“They’re rambunctious at this age,” the social worker said, still clinging on to the feigned lightheartedness as she left. “I hope she heals well.” 

Alma sneered at her once she left and picked up her irritable daughter carefully to finally get the hell out of there.

“Hello?” Bill said into the receiver. The sobs Alma was trying to swallow back escaped, and he could hear her choke on her tears. His face fell now, feeling like a dick. “I don’t know if you can hear me… but I’m sorry… Alma?” He felt remorseful when he heard fresh sobs coming from her. He, too, would have been a mess had he been there to witness the accident. “I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.” He sighed, leaning back in his office chair, and looked up at the ceiling feeling helpless where he was. “Alma, please pick the phone back up.” There was some rustling on the other end, and then he could hear her sniffling. 

“I don’t need you to tell me that shit like I don’t already know,” she indignantly snapped back. “I feel like a piece of shit mother for taking my eyes off her already!” She cried, and tears began to spill afresh. This time, she didn’t care if he heard. 

"Shhh, baby,” he tried to softly soothe her. He hadn’t ever been too great at it. “Okay. She’s okay, alright. That’s all that matters.” 

“Yeah…” she said, wiping her face with the collar of her t-shirt. “It was just… scary.” 

“Did she need stitches?” 

“Yes, just two. I finally got her to sleep, but she still kinda looks uncomfortable.” She glanced down at her, noticing her swollen lip jutted out. It looked painful and she wished she could take it away. 

“Mhmm. Could you call me whenever she’s up?” She assured him that she would, but that she was probably going to sleep the rest of the night. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that alone,” he frowned. “You’re not a piece of shit mother. I don’t like that you said that.” 

“I just feel so bad…” she said with a quivering voice. The social worker’s accusatory questioning didn’t help with how she felt about herself either. She wouldn’t tell him that detail for his sake. As much as it would anger him, the accusation would break his heart.

“I love you, Alma. Three weeks,” he said, reminding her of his next visit. “And some change.” 

“I need you.” 

Bill felt his heart strain from the sincerity with which she said it. “I need you.” He said, closing his eyes and picturing her. “Now, why did she jump off the couch like that to begin with?” He lightly joked. 

Alma scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Fucking beats me. She’s crazy.” 

…

April 1993

Alma and Echo had been waiting at the Sea-Tac Airport for an hour before she knew Bill’s plane should land. They were taking rides up and down an escalator to pass the time when she heard the airline announce his plane's arrival. Alma happily smiled, pushing her long soft curled hair back as she picked up Echo, and hastily they made their way to his gate.

“Papa’s here, E’.” She said, kissing her cheek. 

Her injury had healed quickly, only the bruise lingered longer than the laceration. Her babysitter, Yolani, was in nursing school to catch anything if there were any issues but luckily there weren’t any. Once the stitches dissolved, Echo was back to her usual self: happy, free-spirited, and at times a little wild. 

They watched passengers file out the gateway, and suddenly he appeared. He was easy to spot, being taller than the group of elderly nuns in front of him. He fixed the strap of his duffle bag on his shoulder as he looked around for a pay phone to call his girlfriend. She was standing right by them, and he took off his sunglasses and smiled brightly, seeing his family waiting for him. Alma set Echo down as he approached them and coaxed her to run towards him. He scooped her up and planted a succession of kisses on her cheek.

“My baby girl,” he said, peering down at her, and then he ran his thumb along her bottom lip, inspecting it. "Ah, like nothing ever happened, huh? Silly girl,” he punctuated with another kiss on her cheek. “Come over here,” he said to Alma, putting an arm around her waist. "Fuck, you look good,” he said, looking her up and down before kissing her. 

Alma giggled, and so did their daughter, seeing them kiss, but she giggled because she didn’t think her outfit was particularly remarkable. Just a halter top and a short, tight skirt with sheer pantyhose, of course, all in black. She thought he looked good too, especially with his new haircut. The sides were shorter than the hair on top, which he had styled forward. 

“I need to get my luggage before we go,” he said, taking her hand and leading them to baggage claim. 

“What happened to ‘packing light’?” 

He looked down at her with a smirk. “I did. I brought you stuff. It’s your birthday week.” 

"Bill, you didn’t have to-”

“Don’t start,” he chuckled, shaking his head. 

Once he had gotten the largest luggage she’d ever seen him with, they went to her Jeep. After putting it in the back and with Echo securely situated in her car seat, Alma began to walk to the driver's seat when she noticed Bill following behind her. 

She looked up at him. “I’m driving?” 

“Eh… Just give me the keys.” 

“I know how to get back to my place the fastest.” 

“I… don’t like how you drive, Alma.” He said, scratching his brow.

“The fuck?” She sneered, offended.

“You drive like we’re still on country roads.” 

“Bullshit,” she said, getting into the Jeep. “I drive fine. You’re insane to think I’d drive like an ass with your daughter as my passenger." As she tried to close the door, he held on to it to stop her. “Rent a car then,” she said stubbornly. “Don’t fight me. It’s my birthday week.” 

He clicked his tongue in resignation. “Give me another kiss then I’ll let you drive.” 

She grabbed his face as he leaned in, and they began feverishly kissing, hungry for each other. When he felt her hand cup him through his jeans he moaned into her mouth. Before succumbing to her touch, he pulled away, and they laughed at their haste. 

“You know the fastest way, you said?” He asked, buckling himself into the passenger seat. She nodded. “Just drive the speed limit.” 

“I always do,” she said, backing out of the parking space. 

"Or, if it’s clear, just go a little over.” He said ready to be alone with her. 

When they arrived at her apartment, Echo had fallen asleep on the car ride. One moment she was melodically babbling and screeching along to a pop radio song, and then the next she was asleep. Alma carefully got her out of her car seat and, once inside, she gently laid her down in the playpen in the living room while Bill went on to the bedroom to leave his luggage. A moment had passed before he harshly whispered for her, not wanting to be too loud, and wake up their daughter. 

After she kicked off her boots, she appeared at the end of the hallway and smirked when she saw him standing in the door frame, undoing his belt buckle, looking like a scene from an erotic movie. He nodded his head back, motioning for her to join him. 

“You don’t want to take a shower first,” she asked, shutting the door behind herself, but he placed his lips on hers as if to say that it could wait. 

Not knowing how much time they would have, Alma took it upon herself to bend over, placing her hands flat against the bed in front of them. Rubbing her bottom on the bulge in his fitted Levi jeans. One hand pulled the jeans button open, and down his zipper went as the other pushed her skirt up over her bottom. He took a tantalizing moment to run his fingertips over the sheer hose stretched tight against her bottom before reaching the band to pull them down. Once they were pulled down to the middle of her thighs, he hooked a finger around the simple black thong she wore and plucked it aside as he freed himself. 

His eyes fluttered closed as he pushed inside her warmth slowly to feel her velvet walls encompassing him. Gripping her hips tightly, he sighed, feeling the tension and the stress of travel fade into the background. The sound of Alma’s breathy moans as he watched himself thrust into her was dizzying. His jaw went slack as he felt her getting wetter around him. She pushed back, righting herself and turning her head just so that their lips could link. With her arm reaching above her, she held onto the back of his neck as he kissed along the curve of hers. 

“Look,” she said breathlessly, as his hips never ceased. “Look at us.” 

Peering from under his brow, he followed the direction of her gaze. In front of them was a full-length standing mirror in the corner of her room, facing her bed. A new purchase. He grinned at their reflection, connected just as they were. He felt her pressing her face against his stubbly throat, leaving whispering pecks, but in the mirror, he could see it too. His right hand went up to cup her chin and redirected her gaze back to the mirror. 

"Fuck," he groaned. “Look at you. So pretty with my cock inside you.” She flashed a lip-biting smile full of lust at their reflection. 

He unhooked her arm from the back of his neck and gently pushed her back into position on the bed, taking back control. Seeing her in front of himself and the mirror just to the left of his gaze was undoing him. Just as her pussy tightened around him as he pounded her into her undoing. Leaning back, his right hand took hold of her thong like a rein. The ferocity of his thrusts made her arms give and her chest hit the mattress just as her face buried in it to muffle the loud moans she could no longer hold back. His hips snapped inside her as he came and collapsed on top of her, holding her close as they both caught their breath. 

Alma turned slightly to kiss him with thankful fervor before they had to disconnect to steady their breathing once more. Their foreheads were pressed together as they did so, and they started to chuckle at themselves. Their eagerness and impatience to be with each other this way made them feel adolescent. Lately, Bill had been feeling like a vagabond, traveling coast to coast but being with her in this way anywhere was home. 

[officialleehadan]

Oath Named

Hello darlings! Your second story today is brought to you by Kat! Darling, thank you so much for your support!

Prompt: Confidence Scheme

+++

Watching Leonardo in a new situation was fascinating.

For one, the man was a chameleon. He barely missed a beat as soon as he sized them up, and plastered on an absolutely flawless smile. If Will hadn’t known what happened earlier in the day, if the thief wasn’t wearing one of his too-big tshirts with white bandages peeping out from under the sleeves… well. He was observant, but Leonardo’s ability to control his own body and reactions was better than anything he had ever seen before.

No wonder the DoJ had been working so hard to catch the slightest hint of him. If Will had to guess, Leonardo could turn all that charisma off as easily as he could turn it on. A little change to his body language and a hoodie and he could be anywhere from twenty to thirty-five, or maybe older. He was unfairly handsome, but that too was more than half intentional charisma.

For now, however, he was doing accents to make Vanessa laugh, and pretending that this was nothing more than a friendly visit, not a deliberate attempt to hide him from whoever tried to kill him.

And it had been an attempted murder. All four of the men they apprehended were professionals with a talent for disappearing people. The fact that they were after Leonardo told Will that someone now knew that Leonardo was working with the DoJ and wanted him dead. That was about four different flavors of worrying. Either someone knew that Leonardo saw more than he should in that warehouse, or they wanted him dead for something else.

It was time to have an uncomfortable conversation.

Vanessa worked from home for the most part, and left her dough rising not he counter before heading up to her office. Will stole a kiss from her, laughed when she unashamedly copped a feel of his backside, and admired her as she strutted out the door. She had plans for Leonardo, but she was patient, and she liked to let people think it was all their own idea when they did what she wanted. Leonardo didn’t stand a chance.

When she was gone, Will cut into the still-warm brownies on the counter, handed one to Leonardo, took one for himself, and leaned on the counter.

“So, you’re way too smart to not know who’s taking shots at you,” he said without preamble and went for the wine cabinet next. “So, who’s shooting at you?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but I have an educated guess,” Leonardo said. He picked at the brownie but sipped the wine when Will passed a glass to him. “Thanks. I know I didn’t get seen that night. I would be dead if I was. There’s no way they couldn’t have shot me out of those rafters. I’m usually good about covering my tracks, but I do have enemies.”

“Who’s your favorite for this?” Will had hoped Leonardo would have names for him, but that was rarely the way their world worked. Still, he had been a thief himself. He knew that making enemies was part of it. Leonardo looked shifty all of a sudden. Or, well, he didn’t exactly look shifty, since his body and face were completely under his control, but he lost the New England accent he had been sporting, and slipped into something closer to Northern California. Accents, Will was realizing, were his best defense mechanism, but also his worst tell. “Come on, Partner. I can’t vanish them if you don’t point them out for me.”

“You’re with the Law, Cowboy,” Leonardo said, immediately putting on a Deep Texas accent just to tease him. “You’re not gonna vanish anyone.”

“I’ll vanish them into jail. Attempted murder is a crime, remember?”

“You know what? I hadn’t actually considered that angle,” Leonardo said, still in his Texas accent, but he lost the tiniest hint of stress around his shoulders. “I suppose you could lock them in a hole somewhere. I suspect it’s a client I did some work for. He’s a mean one. I don’t know exactly how he got my name. I work through a series of brokers.”

“Got a name for me?”

“Louis Oath.”

Will stared at him for a long minute and managed not to do or say anything he was likely to regret.

“Louis Oath is one of the biggest art collectors on this coast,” he said flatly. “He’s a billionaire with a dozen shady connections but nothing provable, and an army of lawyers that scare pretty much everyone with sense. You took a job for him?”

“I didn’t know it was him,” Leonardo said ruefully. “I was hired to do a series of forgeries, which I did and delivered. Got paid. Went my way. I saw three of the paintings I did on auction a month later.”

“You sure they were yours, not the originals?”

“I’m sure,” Leonardo said and huffed a laugh. “One of the paintings was Venganza de Tango Diablo.”

The painting that had gotten him Will’s attention in the first place. It was an absolute masterpiece of a heist. Not a shred of evidence. Not a hit about how he did it. Just the faintest skip in the cameras, a single replaced motion sensor, and a very good forgery left in the frame. Will hadn’t even been sure it was one of Leonardo’s until six months and four heists later, when he realized that the replaced motion sensor was as much signature as he was ever going to get.

“I assume you know where the original is,” he said dryly, which made Leonardo laugh. “That does make for some pretty compelling proof. Are the forgeries signed?”

“Of course not. I’m not some vaudeville thief from the soap operas,” Leonardo said, abruptly English, with an entirely offended air. “I’m a professional and my ego isn’t worth leaving a trail like that. That said, I do know my own work.”

“Worth a shot. So why does he want you dead?”

“I assume he was planning to eliminate me as soon as the job was finished, but I always go to ground after a big job,” Leonardo said with a shrug. “And I had other work at the time, so I was very much off the criminal stage. I imagine my little drop-in when I left you the note put me back on his radar.”

“That was a work of art too, by the way,” Will said, able to appreciate good work himself. “The escape tunnel was impressive. How’d you pull it off?”

“Hollowed it out from beneath, cut the rebar. Brought a sledge with me on the way in, broke it, got back out my own way.”

“Couldn’t have done better myself,” Will admitted, and leaned back against the counter. “Okay. So Louis Oath is after you, which probably doesn’t have any connection to what you saw in the warehouse. He may or may not know you’re in custody. He probably doesn’t know you and me are working together. Am I missing anything?”

“I think you’ve about got it all,” Leonardo said, and finally took a bite of his brownie. “So, Cowboy, I hope you have a plan. I’m not getting shot- shot again- to solve whatever I saw in that warehouse. If you don’t have a better option, I’ll need to run, and I’ll need to do it soon.”

+++

Confidence Scheme:

Deliberately Careless (Subscriber Only!)

Pure Guess

Phone Trace (Subscriber Only!)

De Vinci Terrace (Subscriber Only!)

Criminal Portraiture (Subscriber Only!)

Evidence Report

Bring a Crowbar

Proposal Lasagna

Hang from a Ledge

Taken Home

Oath Named (New!)

+++

MASTERLIST

[dragonaqe]

tagged by my gorgeous most dearest beloved @leefi (everybody go wish a happy birthday NOW) to put my favourite playlist on shuffle and list the first 10 songs that come up and then tag 10 people

I'm pulling from my riding and gaming playlists + the like 10 different y/n inspired playlists that all my favourite songs are scattered to currently

tagging: @vilkaas @rockerboys @malefiicarum @morvaris @aartyom @eurodynamic @denerims @frankboeijen @eviefrie @arklay (no pressure!)

song name is spotify link, artist is youtube

rotisserie (resauced) - yung gravy, bbno$, dontcry

THIS SONG COMES WITH ME EVERYWHERE RN. I've done so many spire of the watcher runs with it on repeat while I distract the boss and try to dodge supplicants. Anyway what a bop by my arch nemesis yung gravy.

use me - blake rose

idk what it is about blake rose that just makes me WILD NO I MEAN BUT LIKE “you look like i’ve been on your mind / i’ll make you feel alright / just use me, any time you like” HELLO???? I GOTTA GO. 🏃‍♀️ NO PHOTOS PLEASE 🏃‍♀️

swim back - daughter

i love daughter im glad they're putting out new music. anyway this is a new song, i've had it on repeat, its on my playlists, its gorgeous.

CHANCES - kaytranada, shay lia

kaytranada solos

just say - coco & breezy, tara carosielli

fun. flirty. thriving. new. makes me want to do my makeup and dig out my big heels and go to the club. i’m not a clubber.

yosemite - half alive

i love this song and i have a really special memory attached to it so. I'd try to tell u about it but it really would not come across properly but it still makes me :') anyway. stan half alive.

HEATED - beyonce

LOVE THAT THIS ONE CAME UP. ayah u know how much i love this one. honestly my favourite song off renaissance and there are so many good ones. i just sit and close my eyes and sway to this one all the time. idk what she did to this song while they were making it but its like catnip to me

anaconda - nicki minaj

PUSSY PUT HIS ASS TO SLEEP NOW HE CALLING ME NYQUIL.

nightclub (waiting for you) - bad suns

hi its almost my 10th year listening to them and they're my actual favourite band. they never miss. thanks. stream apocalypse whenever now.

levitating - dua lipa

dula peep

[moonlybxbe]

Jade Vine in frozen lake

An almost extinct greenish blue flower that blooms in the rainforests of Phillipines

Part 2

These small arguments did happen from time to time. Oya would be upset from all of that but would make herself okay eventually by watching TV, or having a good sleep. She was sitting on her bed with her laptop and a few snacks when her phone dinged with a message. When she saw who the message was from, she could not contain her happiness. It had been days since she felt so happy. The message read “How is the mighty Oya doing? To deliver some good news, I am back in town”. It was from none other than her best friend, Bangchan, who had gone to Australia for studies about 5 years ago. They both would text each other from time to time but it was never consistent because of the different time zones.

She picked up her phone and dialed his number, after a few rings, he picked up “Hello Oya?” his voice sounded so different yet too familiar, like home “YOU ARE BACK?! CHANNN!!!”she yelled into the phone, getting up from her laying position and pacing the wooden floor of the room “my gosh! Oya I think you damaged my ears and yes I am back Oya!! Sorry it took me so long but I am back, how are you?” he laughed, his voice thickly coated with an aussie accent. “I am doing fine, how are you?”, her voice not hiding any ounce of happiness “I have never been this good, so wanna meet up at our old cafe?” his voice sounded like a child now at the mention of the cafe. She beamed with joy and yelled “YESS!”. The two long lost best friends set up a time to meet in the evening. 

She got ready to leave for the cafe, jumping all around the apartment. If she could, she would have just teleported to the place rather than wasting her time traveling all the way there. 

She reached the small cafe downtown, seeing the neon lit sign she remembered how as high school students they would always run out of school straight there, just to read the mangas and drink the world’s best lemon tea and how even the instant noodles felt so damn tasty. “Remembering old times huh?” a voice caught her attention as she looked to her side to see the face she had not seen in almost 5 years. “BANG FUCKING CHAN!!! THAT'S YOU!!!” she yelled as she engulfed the large man in a tight hug as tears sprang to her eyes “I missed you so much!”, she cried into his sweater as he put an arm around her and said “hey don’t cry! I missed you so much too” he patted her back, pulling her tighter into the hug “I missed you so much Oya” he said but this time it was much quieter. Oya had never felt so much at home even though she had one back with her husband, Kai. Breaking away from the hug, Bangchan bent down to her height and wiped away her tears, smiling, his right dimple melting her heart and eyes that shone a hundred stars. He said, “Let’s go order some lemon tea,” she smiled at him as they headed inside the cafe. 

They sat on their usual seats, looking at all the other students there. “We used to be like them”, Oya said looking at Bangchan who laughed saying, “Those were some fine days Oya, I miss irritating you” hearing that Oya scoffed earning yet another laugh from the fine young man. 

“Not gonna lie, but you have changed so much”, Oya said gazing straight at him “It shouldn't be so surprising, you saw me at your wedding too”. “Yeah well I did, but now I can see you properly, it was such a hassle then”, Oya said, sipping her lemon tea. “How was your life back in Australia?” she asked “well nothing much you know, I was busy with my studies, though you know these aussie peeps throw the best parties like damn! And did you know that kangaroos can pop up from anywhere and can actually fight , you?!” he said as his voice grew low as if telling a horror story, Oya snickered at that, saying “Well I did hear about that stuff, don’t tell me you fought a kangaroo!?”. Bangchan looked oddly embarrassed, his voice now defensive “well yeah I did, that was one experience, in conclusion, I hate kangaroos now”. Seeing the man’s expression, Oya let out the most natural and carefree laugh which gained a smile from him. “It's an amazing day”, Oya sighed and continued “wanna browse through the mangas?” as she got up and headed straight to the section filled with new and old comics. 

Oya’s whole evening went by talking to Chan and then spending a wholesome time together, they ate ramen together reading mangas. It started getting dark too soon and Oya had to leave, but Chan proposed to walk her to the bus-stop. On the way Oya said something that surprised her own self “I want to start a business again, I miss working”.

Chan looked at her so fast that he could have sprained his neck, Oya looked at him and saw his eyes sparkle, as he said “then why don’t you?”. Oya let out a small laugh and said “What’s with that expression?” “I am just so happy for you, you were a great CEO Oya, it has been your dream ever since and after you left your position, I felt sad and you love working. I know that.” He put an arm around her as an encouraging gesture and said, “you should definitely do it”. “But what about my husband? He might not like this”, Oya said looking down at her feet while walking “his liking and not liking shouldn’t matter Oya, it's you whose feelings matter”, Chan said smiling and Oya felt tears prick to her eyes as she thought ‘my feelings matter?’. Her face was hit by the oncoming bus, indicating the final goodbye to their day, “Well I will see you later, bye!” Oya said to him as she climbed onto the bus, Chan gave her a huge smile and yelled, “Think about it Oya, if you are happy then that’s all that matters, ok Byee!” waving at her.

[theuniverseawakens347]

DDG! Ya miss read halo as Halle he look like her right now cuz … when ya miss read her in ur relationship projecting ur own insecurity “failure” misunderstandings* on her..ya need make right with Halle BUT FOR YOU. … what you been doing w him up til now his yr bday… why ya celebrate it he a baby not going to remember except photos … I’m training a genius but read his body… he sleep,when you walk in the part … also little shit said okay … you hear fuck you… mama Tawana what was DDG like when 1-2 dub n other brother n dad n grandparents WHATS the vibe the .. forcing the now to mental stuck … sooo cows brain ready to roam loose.. mama energy.. trust me MY KIDS KNOW ME.. he doing his damn job right now enjoy his energy n work ur mental mind n stop project UR mistakes w Halle onto him.. ya talk rude to her when you shud have been calm even if she’s wrong… practice on mom or tee.. ya leave one woman out.. THATS WHY ALL YOU NIGGAS FET ME.. - THATS hotly weird but understand8ng now … he’s a sight sore eyes a quick learner playing stupid cause daddy being depressed n doing dumb YouTube videos he don’t wan actually be making.. YOU THROWING OFF THE VIBE HE WANA PLAY.. YOU WANA lay n bed n coddle by gg taking him cause he not dancing to the music ..OKAY FINE THE THE

Music in being a baby again… crawl with this nigga roll.. ITS ABOUT YOU BUT YOU NOT THE IMPORTANT MAIN CHARACTER RN YOU A TANGENT IN HIS STORY HE THE MAIN ROLE MODEL … YOU FOLLOW HIS LEAD MISTER NOT BRUSHING TEETH RN… THANKS WE IN THIS TOGETHER BUT HALO IS UR OR CUH STRAIGHT OR… if he wants to aimlessly roam in his walker leave em you don’t need to Hoover .. see side eye peep what he do… then bring some fun into that … is he going to sit there n stare at hands… learning how to use em… put a toy on the table part of the walker n see … EYE CORDNATION… but break it down to baby… like coach watching n building a team.. where are you weak how do I get u stronger muscle wise what ya need for the team to move as glue…. TALK PAST TO PRESENT BUT DONT HOLD GRUDGES STOP W THE DAMN SAGE .. GET INCENTS .. BUT WHERES UR CALM SPACE ALONE.. WHERES UR CALMS SPACE FOR FAMILY TIME AND CALM SPACE FOR SLEEPING… HE DONT NEED TO HOLD EM… - BABY JACK JACK … get em a small stress sack see what that does grippy grippy… file his names.. learn to be gentle w em.. he’s a boy yes… Neffi a pit aggressive breed WHEN PROTECTION NEEDED BUT A COMPANION FIRST AND ALWAYS - sore spot for what someone over looks BUT THATS MY BABY - kitty Cosmo.. ya come to me when you need mommy love n ya just know .. take being a boy out of it …. Inga WANA cry asses the environment if ur around what lead up to it.. if you off chilling he out of sight.. COOL HE NEED YA ENERGY KNOW SOMEONE AROUND.. IM MAKING NOISE NIGGA CAN U SEE ME.. HELLO JOYCE ARE YOUNTHERE COME SAY HI REAL QUICK - SIGHT ON HELP So vocal loud… or diaper or teething… or them nasty as chick films meal… ya seen my feed carrots to Neffi… THATS alarming .. SHES A DOG W TEETH THIS NIGGA JUST LEARNING A HAND BY SIGHT.., MOTOR SKILLS BEFORE SIGHT COMPREHNSION. that’s weird… yeah so are babies regress ur self he leads.

[alexanderthejustalright]

A Spirit needs help

I’m not sold the name of this series but it’s fine for now.

This is a sneak peak into a original series I’m writing I have a few chapters written down in a notebook so I just need to take the time to transfer them over.

I always appreciate any constructive criticism or feedback.

Mike.J.Geist sighed as he stepped out of the police station, and almost immediately his watch made it’s ear piercing peep.

As he stopped the peeping noise he started walking down the New York sidewalk while digging in his bag for his medication. As he popped one of the pills in his mouth he reflected on why he still took them,was it because of routine, making himself feel like they worked,or would it just feel like a disrespect to all the money wasted on those expensive therapy sessions during childhood.

Or maybe he might have gotten an addiction to medication he didn’t need but was continually being prescribed by doctors cause of his claims of seeing ghosts.

Ghost was a thing that was controversial on its actuality. Mike was unfortunately was able to say undeniably that they were real,but they were kind of just annoying and not really interested in interacting with the living.

Well all except him,they had a big interest in him.

Probably because they thought he could help them  pass on cause he was able to interact with them and the living.

As he stopped at a crosswalk he noticed an argument between what seemed to be a rare guardian angel and the extremely common demon.

The two where on the shorter side,almost exactly the same height, both had a business attire or something similar on. 

In between the arguing biblical creatures was a young girl seemingly in her teens and sadly seemed to be on of the many undead beings roaming the earth. The teen had Snow White hair that went down way past her shoulders and some sort of short sleeve band hoodie layered over a black long sleeve shirt.

The girl looked indifferent to the conversation and was admiring the fashionable men and women walking around.

Mike had unfortunately stared one second to long cause the angle and demon looked over to him.

As if sensing his ability to see past their spiritual veil the two grasped the teen girl’s hand and pulled her out of his view. 

Mike just sighed and walked across the street continuing his journey to his small shitty apartment. 

Mike wanted to pass out before even unlocking his door,but he manages to unlock it and make himself dinner.

Before he he could sit down and eat his dinner someone knocked on his door. 

“Swear to god Rodney if that’s you,”he mutters to himself as he sets his plate down.

He trudges over and opens the door,”hello Mr.Geist, I am the head angle of Heaven’s Passing of wandering souls. My name is Linda but you can call me Lin, and I would like a word with you,about helping me with a troublesome soul”.

It took Mike a moment to realize the young girl standing behind the small angel.

“I’m  sorry to disappoint but-,” 

“HOLY SNOT WHATS THAT,” the teenager loudly interrupted him and ran through him to get a look at his TV.

“Angelica!!, We talked about you interrupting people and to,”

“Totally do it,”a more gruff and male voice said stepping through the door.

The short demon man walked up to mike and holds out a clawed hand towards him.

“Alexander,most call me Alex,I’m the head honcho in hell’s corruption of lost souls,”Mike awkwardly shook the demons hand.

“Now that we all have gotten to know each other, Mr.Geist could you please answer my question.”

Mike sighed and rubbed his temple,”Look Miss Lin I don’t help out souls,I actively avoid them,and I don’t even know who that is,”he says pointing to the girl referred to as Angelica.

“Oh me, I’m Angelica Anderson,”she smiled showing off large canine fangs that poked out even when her mouth was closed.

“My answer is still no,last time I tried helping a ghost I was put on medication,” he then turned away from Lin to finish eating.

“Well aren’t you just a ray of sunshine,” Angelica says as she changes the tv channels,”But luckily for you I  don’t give a flying fuck about passing on,”she gleefully smiled.

Lin huffed,” Angelica, you can not stay here forever,”.

The two started arguing over this.

[cinhomi]

Hello Aurora dear, I just wanna say I fucking missed you 😭 omfgggg I just had an exam yesterday, got another on Thursday and I’m so done, so effing done rn😪 But I’ll be okay :3

I see you’re losing motivation everyday and it saddens me tbh. So many beautiful writers ending their journey because they feel they’re reaching a burnout, and I understand. Barely any excited feedback, which is the point of all this, the fanfic community. It’s not much of a community now that I look at it, just people who want to consume and go on their merry way. But peeps, a lil ‘this was amazing’ in the ask box or a tiny reblog on a secondary blog would go a long way to the authors, just saying.

Whatever you want to do baby, I’m not always around, but I got you okay?

Big hugssss

-🍯

hi cutie!! missed you too actually!! 🥹I hope your exam went well and I'm sure you'll do great in the next one!

losing motivation but not that sparkle that makes me love putting one word next to the other... I'll obviously think about it less, also because big things are approaching and I know that realistically, I won't be able to write and do the rest at the same time.

I endlessly appreciate every single letter spent for what I create, so I'm not completely neglecting what I already have... I just can't help but compare. it's natural that I do after all.

maybe it's because I don't post that much actual content. I think it's because of that to be honest. or I'm not good at interacting? I seem dry? maybe what I share isn't that interesting... see these are all things that flood my mind whenever I think about it and it's actually difficult to clear up after.

I won't leave tumblr, but I think about a change more and more every day that passes.

thank you for your words and for sticking around nonnie, I'd hug you and smooch your cheek if you were here. please take care of yourself and don't stress too much, yeah?

🫶

[cherrb333]

Renai's backstory

Ok, here we go, you can skip this section if you dont want to read it lol. Anyways, here it is, my first story that im posting here! Let me know if you would like to see more, im actually really proud with how to turned out, and i hope youll like it as much as i liked writing it:)

Fluff, angst, and a little bit of manipulation on big mama’s part. This is the story of Renai, who is the missing little sister of the turtles. They were separated when she was just a baby. Also ill repost an image of her to show you more info on her! Thanks for reading and bye bye~

ps. its also on ao3 if you wanna read it there:D

Explosions rippled through the building as sparks flew, one minute she was in the arms of a rat-looking guy, and the next she went flying into a sewer drain, crashing into a cold substance. She swam up, peeping desperately as she tried to keep her tiny head above water. As if god had heard her, a piece of wood floated over to her and she gripped it with her tiny little three-fingered hands. The water was strong, almost pulling the poor little turtle down into the deep depths of the water below, but she clung to it hard, desperate to stay above water as the waves smacked her back and forth, it didn't stop until a few hours later, she ended up crashing against a wall. She peeped louder and louder, desperate to be noticed by anyone! Soon, her peeps were answered. A high-pitched accented voice sounded from a few inches above her, completely silencing her peeping.

“My, my, what have we here? A little turtley-poo?” as soon as she was thrown into the water, the quicker she was pulled out of it, she blinked tears out of her little eyes, sniffling as she looked up at her saviour, making grabby hands as she continued to chirp and peep at the spider. The spider lady placed the little turtle on her back, beginning to walk away from the river curtly. “Ah yes, you will do well once you’ve grown, my little pet.” she ran her thumb over the little turtle's head softly, petting her head.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The sound of her alarm caused her to crash off the bed with a yelp, scaring the poor cat lying on her legs half to death. The cat meowed with a little questioning lilt in his tone, the striped turtle groaned as she sat up, rubbing her head, and she felt a bump forming where she had hit it. She sighed as she stumbled out of the blanket, almost tripping as she got caught up in the fabric. She pushed the blanket down, placing it back on the bed neatly as she petted her cat.

“Sorry, solstice, didn't mean to scare ya!” she giggled as the cat purred, already forgetting what she had done. She scrambled to grab her belt and mask, tying them on before running out to the hallway and down the stairs. “Good morning stan!” she called to the bellhop as she ran into the elevator with a pep in her step. The owl yokai grunted as he looked at her with a curt nod. He was always so quiet, so Renai didn’t comment on it. She bounced on her heels, tapping her fingers on her side nervously. “Sooooo, today’s my big day! Mama’s letting me join the battle nexus!” she spoke up, attempting once again to start a conversation, only to come up dry as the owl simply grunted in return. Her face fell into a scowl. “Not much for conversation as usual are we, Stanford?” she joked, getting a roll of his eyes in response. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tapped her foot on the floor of the elevator. She was always super hyper, so it was no surprise to see she couldn't stay still, even for a second. “Come on~ not even a hello? A si?? Come onnnnn, for your favorite turtle? Pleaseeeeee~” she batted her eyes, using her puppy dog eyes. She only got a huff in response, making her sulk as the owl turned away from her, opening the door to the elevator. 

“Here’s your stop miss…” he gruffly spoke, gesturing for her to leave, she sulked the entire time she exited the elevator.

“Fine~ but I will get a smile out of you soon! I promise!” she exclaimed as she bolted down the hall to her mother’s office, bursting through the doors with a sparkle in her eyes.

“G’ morning Mother!” she exclaimed as she came sliding through the door, almost crashing into a wall had she not been grabbed by Gus, who had been standing by the door when she came running in. She hugged the dog Yokai before jumping down, patting his head as she turned to her mother, who held a hand over her mouth as she snickered into her hand at her daughters' antiques.

“Ah! What scrumbulent timing, my pet!” she wicks her finger, beckoning the young turtle to come forth. “I have a special task for you my deary-doo!” she exclaimed, tapping her thumbs together as she swivelled around to look out the giant window that overlooked the outside world. Renai hummed, confused.

“With you joining the battle nexus soon, I must know you are up for the challenge pet,” she turned around giving her daughter a small smile. “I need you to fetch something for me…or really, someone” she explained vaguely, causing Renai’s confusion to be replaced by even more confusion and slight frustration. 

“Wh- b-but mom! You said-” She was interrupted by her mother’s tutting as she felt the slender fingers place over her mouth to quiet her.

“I know what I said, pet,” she exclaimed, pulling her fingers away from her daughter's mouth she stood from her seat. “But this mission is more important than your debut,” Renai felt as if her head was pounding. This was all so confusing, her mother never put anything above her precious battle nexus. This must be really really important. That’s two really’s. She huffed, bowing her head as she fell onto one knee in respect for her mother.

“Ok mother,” she sulked, almost tearing up as she felt a great sadness at not being able to prove to her mom that she was ready. “What is my mission.” Big Mama hummed, patting the girl's head, and running her fingers down to her striped cheek. 

“Well, little turtley-poo, you see, I have run into quite the oody-woozle. There has been a rise in mutants, and those pesky turtles keep getting in the way of my splendiferous plans!” she sulked, wiping a fake tear away from her eye. “So, I want you to watch them. Become friends with them.” she fell back into her chair, pushing a gem into her daughters hand. “And report back to me with any information you would find would benefit me- i mean us! If i find out what the turtley-poos are up to, i can finally take them down! And~ if you succeed, i will let you fight, in the battle nexus, no complaints. But, pet, if you fail…well lets hope you wont, because i promsie you, big mama will lock you up forever, never to interact, talk, nor fight. Ever. again.” she threatened, causing renai’s eyes to widen, fear swirling in the golden irises along with anxiety and sadness.

“Yes, mother, i promise you…i wont fail.” she bowed her head, clenching her fist against her knee as she swiftly stood up, receiving another pat on the head.

“Alright, good luck, my pet” she pulled her hand away, serious face quickly replaced by a fake smile. “Now, go pack. I have it arranged for you to stay in the city amongst the humans. You will be given a human disguise to blend in, and you will watch the turtles from afar. I love you, deary-doo!” big mama curled her fingers together on her desk, placing her head on her hands as she nodded at gus to escort renai out. 

“Love you too, Mom” she whispered, scuffling out the door where she was handed a suitcase full of her belongings. She quickly walked back to her room, where she grabbed Solstice, placed him in a cat carrier, and rushed out the door. Her feet fell on the carpeted floor rushing over to the elevator, where the familiar face of the owl bellhop stood with a scowl on his face. This was it. Her first time outside. She hoped it went well, she would hate to disappoint her mother

part 1/?

part 1 | part 2 | master post