#I do really like how his face came out here. getting Avery’s stupid head down to a science.

[kyngsnake]

it’s him, the guy, the guy who is the guy. had fun making one of these for Avery.

Tagging @krokaxe @wastelandhell @druidgroves & anyone who feels so inclined.

Template under the cut:

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

WIR Everlark are hot-hot-hot. But I wonder could we have a little something about finding out Katniss pregnant. First or second time. I love parents-storyline of that fic just as much as Peeta being horny.

How about a little of both? Lol. No graphic smut here, but there are some very adult themes and language in this piece. Fair warning: sometimes, being pregnant is not fun.

Also, I have one more request for pregnant Wrapped in Red Katniss, and that piece will feature much later down the pregnancy road.

A refresher on ages before we get started. For this piece: Karina - 19 Avery - 15 Olive - 13 Cole - 7

** Karina **

“So is Katniss preggers yet?” Meaghan asks as she half hangs off my bed, painting her nails a deep shade of purple. I watch as several drops of polish land on the towel I laid out on the floor under Meaghan’s hands when she got started on the impromptu manicure.

“Not yet. At least, they haven’t said anything,” I tell her and reach for the polish but retract my hand. “Can’t you do that sitting at my desk like a normal person?”

“No, I really cannot,” Meaghan says happily. “I need some childish insanity like this. I spend too much time at school, stressing over my grades and making sure my dad doesn’t find out too much about my life there because he’d never let me leave the house again if he knew about Jack.”

“And Bryan… and Trevor… Drew,” I tease. “Really half the Zeta Psi house.”

“What?! I’m only nineteen. It’s not like I’m gonna repeat my parents’ mistakes. I’m not settling down to have a kid with The One anytime soon… I’m just… enjoying myself before I get around to finding him. And the Zetas are easy practice for making myself irresistibly charming to the future Mr. Hawthorne.”

I purse my lips and look away. I know she doesn’t mean anything by it. Talking like this. Meaghan’s mom was nineteen when she was born, just like mine when I was born. And my dad, too. But unlike mine, Meaghan’s parents stayed together. Not that I would have wanted my parents to stay together. Exactly. I mean, from where I sit now, it’d be stupid to wish that. Especially since we have Katniss now.

“But my dad is…” Meaghan makes a face and I can’t help but laugh. 

“Overprotective?”

“To say the least,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “Oh my god, I didn’t tell you about this one,” she starts, finally screwing the cap back on the polish and handing it to me. I shake it a little and peel off my socks, starting in on painting my toes the same shade.

“What?” I prompt.

“I forgot I was doing my laundry earlier today, and I guess Dad decided to move it for me. Not sure if he was trying to be helpful or impatient, but whatever. And he started yelling for my mom like he was on fire or something. She came to me with my basket of dry clothes and told me that I should probably make sure to keep track of my laundry if I’m going to be washing my thongs at home…so my father doesn’t get traumatized.”

We stare at each other with matching, wide eyed, shocked expressions until we can’t hold it in anymore. Then we explode with laughter and screeches of mingled horror, embarrassment, and amusement.

We’re still screeching when someone knocks on the door, and before I can say a word, Dad pokes his head in. “Kare-Bear, we have really loved having you at home for the summer but--”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry, Dad. We’ll try not to wake Cole again,” I say. He sighs softly and runs his hand through his hair.

“Or Katniss.”

“Mom’s already out for the night?” I ask and Dad nods. “Again?”

“Yep,” he says. “So please keep it down just a little.”

We agree and I sigh too as my dad closes the door. “I’m worried about her,” I admit to Meaghan, only half paying attention to my toes as I swipe on the polish. “I can’t remember her ever sleeping this much before.”

Meaghan snorts and snatches up the bottle of clear top coat. “And your dad sounds frustrated as hell.”

It takes Meaghan waggling her eyebrows at me for it to sink in what she’s saying. I grab the nearest pillow and whack her with it as she laughs.

“What? It’s the truth. He’s a total horn dog for Katniss, and you know it!”

“Ugh!”

“You wanted to set them up!”

My cheeks are burning and I shake my head. “That doesn’t mean I want to think about them having sex, let alone talk about it!”

“And you wanted siblings! How do you expect to get those siblings if there isn’t some bow-chicka-bow-wow between your parents?”

“I was fine with adopting them,” I insist and Meaghan guffaws. 

“I think they’re cute. It’s obvious how in love they still are. I figured you’d appreciate that and all given…”

She trails off and I fight the urge to snap at her. She’s not being mean. We’ve talked a lot over the years about how awful the last few years were before my dad and Glimmer finally realized they just needed to get a divorce already.

“Maybe,” I counter, “but unless you wanna talk about your parents getting frisky with each other--”

“Pffft, old news,” Meaghan says with a roll of her eyes. And she really does sound so blasé about it. It truly doesn’t bother her at all, and I wonder what that must be like.

“God I hate you sometimes,” I mutter with false venom and she shakes her head.

“No, you don’t. You--” She stops talking abruptly and her eyes round out, saucer wide. “Holy shit.”

“What?”

“Holy shit!” she practically squeals, but she does it under her breath.

“What?!” I ask again and she motions me closer.

“Okay, you cannot freak out about this, but when I was downstairs, getting snacks and things, they were in the laundry room, and your dad was pawing at Katniss--”

“Really, Meaghan?” I ask, wishing I wasn’t blushing this much.

“Shut up and listen,” she retorts and I snap my mouth shut. “He couldn’t keep his hands off her, and I swear to god, I heard him tell her that the shirt she was wearing made her tits looks amazing and that he wanted to--”

“Does this have a point?” I try not to screech. Don’t get me wrong, I really do love that Dad and Katniss are so in love with each other. So happy together. And that their romance still seems to be going strong, chemistry still sizzling, all those are good things. But that doesn’t mean I want my friend witnessing or sharing graphic details.

“Yes, this has a point. Because he’s right. I noticed it, too. Haven’t you?”

I open my mouth to protest but then I stop. Because I did think the other day that the shirt Katniss was wearing stretched a little tighter, dipped a little lower than anything I remember her wearing before.

“Oh my god,” I whisper as Meahghan starts nodding.

“And she’s tired all the time now…”

“Oh my freaking god!” I squeal again. “I’m gonna be a big sister again!”

We dissolve basically into excited chaos. It’s only when someone knocks on the door again a few minutes later that I realize how loud and squeally we’ve gotten. We silence ourselves immediately, and I call out a timid, “Come in!”

It’s Katniss this time and I have to purse my lips the whole time she’s standing there, with her arms crossed over her chest, only making it more obvious.

“Really, girls? I know you’re enjoying your newfound independence at college, but please. There are people trying to sleep here.”

“Sorry, Mom.”

Katniss smiles softly at us then and notices the nail polish. “Alright. Just try to be considerate while you enjoy your girl talk. I think Dad is planning to make his spinach and feta croissants for breakfast, Karina.”

“Yes! We’ll be awake for it,” I promise and Katniss looks askance at us.

“Uh-huh. Sure.” She slips out the door, closing it behind her.

** Katniss **

“See?!?!” I hear Meaghan hiss through the door and I pause for a moment. “Either your mom got a boob job recently or she’s totally preggers.”

“Do you think they know? And why haven’t they told me yet?” Karina asks and I’m thrown back to years ago, when Meaghan knew that her own mother was pregnant when Madge had only told Gale and myself.

Maybe I should’ve put on Peeta’s sweatshirt before I went in to see them, I think with a sigh. Although it sounds like they already suspected.

“I dunno. But there’s all kinds of reasons why they might not be ready to say anything yet. My parents kept it to themselves after Mom had a few miscarriages.”

“I guess. They were trying for a really long time.”

“Yep. Exactly. But it’s so obvious now. No wonder your dad wants to slide his dick between her tits.”

“Meaghan!” Karina squeals and I almost join her. I can’t believe Meaghan witnessed Peeta saying that to me without my knowing. I can’t believe she’s talking about it. As the girls dissolve into more chatter and laughter, I make my way back downstairs to where Peeta is taking care of a few last cleanup tasks before bed.

“Hey,” he says, clearly surprised to see me. “Thought you were asleep.”

“I am. I think I’m sleepwalking. That or college girls gossiping while on break woke me up,” I tell him and he sighs.

“I warned them to keep it down.”

“Hmmm but how can they with such juicy material like Gale having heart attacks over discovering that Meaghan wears thongs and—“

“What the fuck?” Peeta freezes and stares at me in shock. I blink and bite my lip, trying to hold back his clearly smoking brain as he makes the next logical leap. “You don’t think Karina is wearing thongs too, do you?”

“Love. I would never betray her trust in me and tell you what sort of undergarments we’ve gotten for her. But do I have to remind you that you used to be okay with this sort of thing?”

“I know, I know,” he says and I sit gingerly in one of the barstools at the kitchen island and he moves to stand next to me. “I guess I just… she’s nineteen and I know we’ve taught her to be careful but I still worry she’s gonna get caught up in the moment with someone and—“

“And what?” I prod and his shoulders slump.

“Maybe I should be grateful that the daughter I had at nineteen turned out to prefer girls,” he says and I snort.

“We still could wind up dealing with broken hearts.”

“I just wish she felt like she could tell us,” he murmurs and I set one hand on his cheek to reassure him.

“She will. In her own time.”

“I know, I just… I guess I worry that we’ve done something to make her doubt how supportive we’d try to be, or to make her not trust us.”

“All we can do is keep being there for her, and be there for her as much as we can when she does tell us. And then we’ll definitely be dealing with a whole other host of issues,” I remind him.

“I’ll take them. I like my chance of intimidating a girl better than I do the meatheaded frat boys Meaghan’s been supposedly chasing.”

“Poor Gale,” I say and can barely contain my chuckle. Or my feeling of vindication, knowing what I do about his tendencies before he started seeing Madge. “Too many to count,” he’d once told me.

“But really, Peeta,” I soothe and slide my hand up his arm. “I think you'd be much better at intimidating horny college boys. I mean, you know exactly how they think.”

“Or don’t think,” he offers. “That’s half the problem. Most of them are too young, dumb, and full of cum to be afraid enough of Daddy to do us any good. I was, at least,” he pouts, and I laugh slightly.

“Except you have an advantage.”

“Oh?” He perks up at this and ever so subtly flexes his arm muscles.

“You’ve been acting like one of them lately, according to Meaghan. Wanting to slide your dick between my tits and all.”

He stares at me for a moment and then groans, hanging his head in embarrassment. “She heard that?”

“Yep. And apparently, my amazing new boobs are what clued Meaghan in about our new little one.”

“So the girls know?”

“Yeah,” I say.

“So much for keeping it low key.” Peeta’s laughter softens as he pulls me to my feet and slides his hand soothingly over my belly. I’m still nowhere near showing, but I still love the way he touches me even now. Almost reverent.

“God I can’t wait to meet them,” he whispers and we share a meaningful look. We’d almost given up. We’d been trying for over a year with no luck. Then we stopped trying specifically to get me pregnant and decided that we’d just set it aside, revisit the conversation six months later and decide if we wanted to give fertility treatments a go or if we’d just accept that it wasn’t meant to be.

But four months after we stopped actively trying, I missed a period. Then two. And my boobs started to feel heavy and the thought of drinking milk turned my stomach and then Peeta made a comment about my shirts looking a little tight as things got heated one night. He peeled my shirt off and stared at my breasts, gaping at me and then suggesting I take a pregnancy test.

It came back positive. But it had taken us so long to conceive that I wanted to see a doctor before we told anyone. And then, shortly before our appointment, the nightmares started. Horrifying, violent images that make me question my sanity and drive me to a near paralyzing fear of losing our child. Peeta’s child.

Of course, Peeta has been a rock through the whole thing, waking me from the terrible visions and holding me while I sob. Going to the appointment with me, and when the doctor confirmed what we already knew, Peeta went into what I have dubbed his nesting phase. He’s constantly cleaning the house and reevaluating the safety of it. He’s constantly touching me as though he can’t believe I’m still real, and he’s always checking on me, verbally demanding reassurance that I’m okay. He pampers me like nothing else, too. Back rubs, foot rubs, fragrant baths. All the smallest of tasks that he’s suddenly taking care of so I don’t have to. He brushes and braids my hair for me almost every day. Cooks almost all the meals unless I chase him out of the kitchen with a spatula.

But my food has become a battleground over what’s the most nutritious and has the least empty calories versus whatever the fuck I want to eat without feeling like I’m gonna vomit. But even that, I know, stems from his love for me and our child.

And there’s this, the way he so effortlessly reassures me that everything is going to be okay. We’ll have each other, and our already formidable brood of kids. And it’s okay that Karina still hasn’t technically come out to us. She’ll do that in her own time as well.

“You’re already an amazing mother. I can’t wait to witness you slay at this form of motherhood too. Can’t wait to parent our baby with you from day one,” he tells me.

I smile as he whispers words of love and loop my arms around his shoulders. I’m still smiling and stifling my own girlish giggles when he carries me upstairs and lays me out naked on our bed.

** Peeta **

I’m already awake when I feel Katniss stirring beside me. I couldn’t go to sleep, even after. Wrestling with my own fears and unable to articulate them to Katniss just yet. Maybe I shouldn’t at all, given that it looks like her nightmares might persist awhile longer. She’s dealing with enough. When the whimpering starts, I roll over and shake her awake.

“Katniss. Katniss, honey wake up,” I murmur. It takes twice more before she flies upright with a huge, gasping breath. Her eyes wildly roam the room and her chest heaves before her gaze lands on me and her shoulders sag. There’s a faint sheen of perspiration on her face and chest. I reach out for her and she’s already crying quietly when she buries her face in my shirt.

I fucking hate this. I hate that she lives in terror during the night. I hate that it’s my fault, for wanting another child. With Katniss. I hate that there’s nothing I can do but hold her after the nightmares.

I hold her, rocking our bodies ever so slightly as her breathing comes under control. I reach out and snag a tissue from the box on my nightstand and barely pull back from her, lifting her chin to wipe away the remaining tears.

Katniss takes the whole tissue from my hand and blows her nose rather loudly. I smile slightly and hand her a second tissue when it’s clear one won’t be enough.

“Better?” I ask, tossing the used tissues aside to deal with later.

“Not really.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?” I ask and press a kiss to her forehead.

“Not really,” she repeats, but her words are less certain than before. “Peeta… am I going crazy?”

I almost miss the question, she whispers it so quietly. But I hold her face in my palms, dragging my thumbs over her cheeks.

“No more than anyone else,” I whisper back. She bites her lip and in the faint light from our phone docking station, I can see her eyes welling up with fresh tears.

“It’s just… I’m afraid of my own thoughts,” she whispers. “The things I see… they’re horrible.”

“I’m scared too. Scared I’m too old, that I won’t have the energy or patience I need anymore. Won’t be enough—“

“Not like that,” she cuts me off, and something in her voice chills me.

“My nightmares… they’re not about the baby. They’re … they’re about people I love. Hurting other people I love and…” she pauses to swallow, her eyes closing as she murmurs the rest. “And enjoying it. Everyone I love becomes a psychopath in my nightmares and I… see what they do to each other, in graphic, horrifying detail.”

I open my mouth to comfort her but no words come out. She manages to speak first.

“Did Glimmer have dreams like this? With Karina?”

The question startles me. We don’t talk about Glimmer very often. Not because we’re avoiding the topic, but because there’s rarely something that needs to be said about her anymore.

“Not that I know of,” I say. Katniss looks stricken for a moment and I rush to reassure her. “But that doesn’t mean she didn’t. She just might not have told me about them. I looked it up, though, right after the nightmares started. It is sometimes a pregnancy side effect. To have night terrors.”

At this, Katniss snorts. “Great. As if becoming a parent isn’t terrifying enough already.”

I can’t help but chuckle and pull her into my arms again. We lay back down and settle in, although I don’t think I’ll be getting much sleep.

“You’re already a parent, Katniss. Karina hasn’t called you anything but ‘Mom’ in years. Avery, Olive, Cole… you are their mother, Katniss. maybe the girls have memories of their biological parents, but a person can have more than one mother.”

She nods against my chest, her fingers clenching to grip my shirt then relaxing, again and again.

“Maybe I should talk to Madge,” Katniss says, just as I think she’s about to fall back asleep.

“I think that’s a great idea,” I tell her. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a slight pang of jealousy. But a few deep breaths and reminders, and it passes. Katniss needs and deserves friends who can truly understand what she’s going through. And while I’ve been a parent longer than Katniss, I’ve never been pregnant. I’m not a Mom.

Her breathing starts to even out and it takes me a while to join her in sleep, but in the morning, I wake up and realize she’s still cocooned peacefully in my arms. No more nightmares after that first round.

Thankfully, we already had plans with the Hawthorne’s, so Katniss won’t have to wait long to talk to Madge about it, although I don’t bring it up. I worry that if I do bring it up during the daylight, it’ll only make Katniss shy away from the idea.

We meet up with the Hawthornes downtown, with plans to eat lunch together and then let the younger kids play in the park while the older ones roam the shops along the main street of the town. After lunch, I engineer a reason to talk to Gale, and we wind up focused on the younger kids in the park while Katniss and Madge sit on a nearby bench, talking quietly, with their heads bent together.

It’s not much of a conversation between me and Gale. Mainly, I listen while he vents about whatever shenanigans his twins have gotten up to lately. Growing up hasn’t stopped Hunter and Archer from being absolute terrors. And they’re both planning on studying engineering, which means Gale is worried that now their shenanigans will only grow more complex and dangerous, and further reaching.

“At least their hearts are in the right spot,” I try to remind him and he snorts.

“Sometimes, I’m not sure.”

His phone chimes in his pocket and I take a second to make sure Cole hasn’t gotten bored and wandered off. He’s actually made his way over to the bench where Madge and Katniss are sitting. I’m about to call him back over, to give Katniss space to talk to Madge, when Gale curses under his breath.

“What’s wrong?”

“The fuck is this shit?” he says instead of answering and walks with purpose towards Madge. “Margaret Denise Hawthorne, what the fuck is your daughter doing with her life?”

“Pardon?” Madge asks, her pretty face already folding into a scowl. And I can’t blame her, based on Gale’s tone.

“First the thongs in the laundry, which you assured me are no big deal. Now Meaghan is using her credit card to buy something from a store called…” he looks at his phone and grinds the name out through his teeth, “Baby Bundles and Booties?”

Madge lifts one eyebrow at him and then coughs. “You really think she’d be buying baby clothes for herself right now if she were pregnant? Especially on her card, which you have access to the statements for?”

“Fuck if I know,” he says. I notice Cole’s eyes going super wide, and Katniss is starting to blush. She leans forward, like she’s going to speak, but Madge holds her arm protectively across Katniss’s chest. 

“Come on, Gale, she’s smarter than that. And why are you getting notifications about every purchase she makes? I thought we talked about trusting her more?”

“One of us has to make sure she doesn’t destroy her life over some asshole boy,” he says and Madge stands up to square off with him.

“You mean like I did?”

Gale sputters and Madge snatches the phone out of his hands.

“Here’s an idea. Instead of spying on your daughter, try talking to her about these things. It’s what I’ve done, and you’ll notice that I’m not making an idiot of myself in the park.”

“All I know is our daughter has been wearing skimpy underwear and now she’s buying--”

“It’s probably for me!” Katniss blurts out and everyone goes silent.

“Katniss, you don’t have to--”

“But I want to,” Katniss cuts Madge off and looks up at me. I hold my hand out to her and give her a slight nod. She places her hand in mine and rises to stand next to me. I wrap my arms around her and kiss her temple, letting her know that whatever she decides to tell him right now, I’m behind her. “We wanted to wait a little longer, because I was afraid, but Gale you’re one of my oldest friends. I know you’d never be intentionally cruel if things don’t… don’t go well.”

Her voice catches and Gale looks down at his phone screen. I can see him trying to make sense of it, so I go ahead and step in.

“The girls figured it out already. They were talking about it last night, but they don’t know Katniss and I know they know.”

Gale can’t help but laugh a little at my ridiculous sounding sentence. Katniss rises up and kisses my jaw. I hope she and Madge at least got in a decent conversation about the nightmares.

“So this is probably them buying something for you two,” Gale says, waving his phone around. “And your… your baby.” 

“Yep,” Madge says, and Gale’s growing smile fades as he gives her an apologetic look.

“Wait, so we’re gonna have a baby?” Cole asks and I wince. I really would have preferred we had the chance to sit down and talk to him and Avery and Olive about this in private. They knew we were trying, because we talked about it with all of our kids when we first made that decision, and they seemed fine with it at the time, but maybe something has changed.

“We are,” I tell him as gently as I can.

“Awesome. As long as I get a brother and not another sister.” For a second, his face remains intensely serious and I can feel Katniss gearing up to explain to him when his face breaks out in a grin. “Hello, Baby Brother!”

He hugs Katniss tightly and she holds onto him for a minute or two. 

“Can we go out for dinner tonight? To celebrate?” I open my mouth to say maybe not, since we ate out for lunch, but Cole isn’t done. “Babies are a lot of hard work. So Momma needs to rest… so do you, Dad.”

“We’ll think about it,” I say but I can already tell from the look on Katniss’s face that she’s not only going to insist on giving Cole what he wants, she’s probably going to let him pick the restaurant.

From there, whatever conversation we were going to have turns into expressions of happiness and excitement. Madge hugs Katniss last, and I just barely hear her whispering.

“I know they’re awful. You can always talk to me about them, but it’ll be so much easier to deal with them if you tell Peeta, too.”

I try not to feel insulted that Katniss obviously told Madge that she felt like she couldn’t talk to me about her nightmares. Because it’s not really about my ego or my feelings. I’m just glad that she’s felt comfortable talking to someone about them, even if she never does talk about them with me.

The rest of the day is almost a blur. For now, all of our kids seem excited about the news. Only time will tell if that excitement holds. As we’re getting ourselves ready for bed, three of our four children already asleep, Karina knocks lightly on our door.

“Hey,” she says shyly after Katniss tells her to come on in. “With all the excitement today, I didn’t get a chance to give this to you.”

She presents us with a gift bag, pale yellow tissue paper poking up out of it. Katniss hugs her and I watch happily as Karina melts into her embrace.

“Okay, well good night!” Karina says when she steps out of Katniss’s embrace and flings herself briefly into mine.

“Don’t you wanna stay for us to open it?” Katniss asks and Karina shakes her head.

“It’s been a crazy day. I figure you two want some alone time,” she says and scoots out of the room before either of us can say anything.

“Should I bring her back?” I ask as Katniss sits on the bed with a smile. She shakes her head.

“No. We can thank her for the gift in the morning. Besides, if I had to guess, knowing Karina, she’s trying to do something for us, to show us her excitement, without it having any kind of effect on her siblings.”

“Fair enough,” I say and sit next to Katniss as she pulls the tissues from the bag and pulls out a soft, pale green set of footie pajamas, patterned with frogs leaping between lily pads, and a matching cap for an infant.

“Oh,” Katniss says and I have to bite back my laughter when two seconds later, she’s crying on my shoulder and using a thousand phrases of profanity to curse her hormones. “I feel like I owe so many apologies to Madge right now.”

I fail at holding back my laughter when she says that, but I don’t ask her to explain. I think I can imagine pretty well how frustrated Katniss might have once gotten with Madge and her pregnancy hormones, and how Madge would’ve pushed back instead of taking it.

“Can I see the gift?” I eventually ask and Katniss sits back, wiping her nose with her sleeve before gently handing the pajamas to me. I hold them for a second and then Katniss curses again, right before tackling me and flinging aside the pajamas.

We’re a frenzy of movement and my head is spinning by the time she’s got us both naked.

“They’re just pajamas. How am I supposed to control myself when there’s a baby in your arms wearing the pajamas?” she asks, and my laughter at her fury is cut short when she slides down onto me, taking me inside her. I wrap my arms around her and nuzzle under her ear as she starts to move.

“Hopefully, you won’t have to control yourself. I don’t want you to control yourself.”

It’s only much later, when we’re breathless and spent and our bed is a fucking mess, that Katniss rises up on her elbow to gaze down at my face. Her movements are languid as she kiss my pectoral and then sets her cheek over my heart.

“The nightmare last night… it featured what I can only describe as erotic cannibalism.”

“Erotic… okay,” I say carefully. “That explains the way you phrased it. People you love hurting other people you love and enjoying it.”

“It was…terrifying. And I…” She trails off and I wait, but when she doesn't go on, I try to comfort her.

“It sounds terrifying,” I agree and she hums quietly.

“My brain has to be so fucked up to come up with something like that.”

“Not really,” I say. “Dreams are already fucked up without the pregnancy hormones and all the worries you’re working through. These night terrors… they aren’t something you should blame yourself for, Katniss. They’re just nightmares on steroids. Or pregoids… since you’re pregnant.”

I hear her release one reluctant snort and figure I’m safe to try and get her to laugh a little more. Not because it’ll make the night terrors go away, not because it’s funny that she has them, but because maybe it’s better if she doesn’t dwell on them too much.

“So um… who did I roast and eat? Or was I the banquet?”

“What?” she asks and gives me an odd look.

“I mean, not to make light of things, but I think I’d look pretty damn sexy wearing nothing but an apple in my mouth. Perfect feast for a bunch of erotic cannibals. Did I at least get to partake in the orgy before you feasted on me?”

“Oh my god,” she says and covers her face with one hand. Her shoulders are shaking and it's  only when she moves her hand that I see she’s laughing. “You were definitely the main course.”

“Come on now. Did I get to partake in the orgy first? Was I at least delicious?” I ask and she smacks me with a pillow before I can wrench it from her hands. “Oh now you’ve done it.”

By the time we manage to stop playing around, she’s smiling and then holding me close to her. I kiss her temple and wrap my arms tight around her.

“Thank you. Sometimes, I just need you to hold me and I know it’ll be okay,” she whispers as we settle back in to hopefully sleep.

“Joke’s on you,” I say. “This is me pinning you in place to make sure I at least get to take part in the orgy before the feast.”

She laughs again and when she finally slips into sleep, I notice that her expression is relaxed. Maybe, I hope, it’ll help her subconscious stay away from such horrifying images. But if it doesn’t, at least now I know just how terrifying her fears are to her.

[percontaion-points]

EatToD chapters 4 & 5

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Chapter 4

His hand lowered to my hips, moving over my skin to gently caress and lull me into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter 4 summary: Avery takes Liz to this really large house, and explains that the boys used to live there with Sophia. He then randomly explains that after Hunter’s parents were murdered, there was a bid by the local paparazzi to get a picture of him crying that he couldn’t properly grieve for 2 years. It was only after Avery’s baby mama was murdered that Hunter finally broke down. 

Avery then tells Liz the horrific details of the night his wife/girlfriend was brutally attacked by werewolves, which resulted in her death later that night. 

They then check into a hotel, where Liz demands why Avery acts the way he does. He starts in on this long-winded metaphor about the power of holding a sniper rifle, and how he almost killed Liz that one time. That’s it’s difficult for him to now allow other people into his life. 

Liz then starts ordering him around. He gets her off with his mouth, and then they finally bang for the first time. 

Chapter 5

The night before we were going to leave, James met us at the house.

We’re roughly at the halfway point. There is literally only one thing that I actually want to see right now, and it’s Liz finally putting Garrett down like the rabid dog he is. 

Halfway through this stupid book. 

And don’t get me wrong, because it’s nice that the author has finally kicked the spice up a notch. But right now, it’s kind of frustrating how much time has been wasted on that rather than the actual plot. 

“Where’s Traitor?” Riley had basically taken ownership of my cat.

 “Traitor? She’s around here somewhere.”

 “He is?” I looked around, realizing that she must have come in Riley’s purse. Like always. She spoiled Traitor rotten, but I actually liked it, because she was taking care of her when I was distracted with everything else that had been going on. I called out for her, searching through the room. 

I literally forgot about this cat. 

In my defence, I’m pretty sure the author did, too. 

“What if, ” I was almost afraid to ask it. “What if he didn’t marry her, and he’s waited for me this whole time?” My heart pounded in my chest. “He would feel betrayed if I came back with all you guys and I didn’t even give him a chance.”

Yes, sit down and explain to your harem that they might be getting a werewolf brother-husband soon. 

But my main problem is that there’s too many “what ifs” right now. They won’t know what’s going on with the Aaron situation until probably after they deal with Garrett. 

I looked into the mirror, noting that my face was flushed and my chest was moving in and out in raggedy breaths.

Chapter 5 summary: The next night, Riley comes over so that they can spend some time together before they set off for their mission. Riley also promises to visit them in the States once everything has been settled. 

They get onto the plane to head off to the USA in the morning. On the plane, Liz tells them about how she’d like to fold Aaron into her harem… If he’s even willing to do such a thing. However, before she even broaches the topic with Aaron, she obviously wants their permission. All of the boys are down, so long as they can still have Lizzy, too. However, James is beyond rude about the entire thing, and he wonders why she’d want yet another guy. Which I suppose is kind of fair, but he’s being an ass about it. 

Lizzy is kind of upset, and gets up to use the toilet. James follows her in, and asks her why she lay claim to him, yet hasn’t exactly been including him in things. However, she’s also quick to call him out on his macho bullshit. 

He starts kissing her, and telling her how good it’ll feel, etc etc. But before she can make up her mind, he walks away. 

[casspurrjoybell-32]

A First Chance At Love - Chapter 10b

*Warning Adult Content*

Caleb Carmichael

“You seriously got him, to be with you? Finally?” Levi exclaimed as he sat cross legged on my bed.

I had just got out of the shower and I was towel-drying my hair.

He had come a few minutes after I had left Avery's bedroom and told him everything.

“Well, he’s really iffy about the whole thing still and I want to open him up a bit you know. So I need to find a place that’s perfect for a first date.”

“I’m amazed that you even got him to leave Aiden's side, at all.”

I chuckled.

“Yeah. I had to ask Aiden myself because he was having second thoughts.”

“So what are you going to do today then?”

This got a shrug from me.

“I have no freaking idea. I’m new at dating too... I usually get it on... then bounce,” I cried, as I stuff my black shirt over my head and pulled up a pair of semi-dark-blue, skinny jeans.

Levi popped up with...

“Why don’t you go to that fair they just set up about a week ago on fourth and Langston? They start at six,” he offered suggested.

I scrunched up my face.

“Do they have clowns at these things?” I asked timidly causing him to frown.

“You’re practically the big, bad wolf and your scared of clowns? How fucked up is that.”

“They are just... not normal,” I exclaimed.

“Yeah. A majority of the world would say the same thing about your date with Avery.”

I glared at him.

“Whatever,” I huffed yanking a brush through my wet hair.

“Stupid white faced, red nosed, big footed, ugly crazy clothes wearing freaks,” I mutter to myself silently but Levi hear of course and started laughing hysterically, rolling around in my bed.

Growling I threw my brush at his stomach making him grunt and curl into himself.

“Fuck-wad,” I barked.

“Jerk,” he wheezed throwing my brush back which I caught easily.

Snickering, I turn back to the bathroom, wiping the steam away and continued to combed my hair, till it was in my face a bit.

I walked back out.

“Do you think I should cut my hair?” I asked him seriously.

It was well past my ears and stray strands were hanging over my eyes reaching my upper cheek.

Levi gave me a ‘are you crazy’ look.

“Hell No. Your hair is hot Caleb. Have you seen mine? If I don’t fix it up like I do, every day, I’d look like the chick from the Ring.”

I chuckled, dropping down on my back beside him on the bed.

“Your hair could never get that long,” I told him.

Laying on his side he rested the side of his head on his hand.

“I know that you’ve wanted to be with Avery, for a long time now and are excited that he finally cracked but what are you going to do when your fated-mate comes along? You will have no chose but to leave with them and what happens to Avery, Caleb? I don’t think it would be fair to him.”

'Oh no. Here comes the practical Levi.'

I groaned loudly.

“Seriously? I’ve told you and just like I’ve told him... I don’t want my fated-mate. They’ll just end up being a disappointment. And why do I have to give up my right to choose... who I want to be with... just because of some stupid fated- mate-shit... that the Wolf Spirits and the Moon Goddess... came up with. It’s not fair and it’s certainly not right... for Avery to never be able to experience love... just for being what he is,” I ranted.

My blood began to pump faster at how angry I was about this.

“What part of that is sensible? So screw what the Spirits and the Goddess have planned. I’m making my own,” and with that, I got of the bed and grabbed my jacket, leaving Levi to sit there, staring at me sadly.  

It was around six thirty when I had cooled off and Avery came out of hiding.

He was sitting on the bottom step of the front porch, so I came up and sat beside him.

“So are you ready?”

He didn’t answer or look at me.

He just continued to peer into the trees.

Sighing, I slid of the step and knelt in front of him, till he was looking straight at me.

I took his hand and stood up taking him with me.

“Come on,” I told him softly, pulling him towards his car.

I knew that he was uncomfortable with this, so I didn’t mind being the dominate one for tonight, if it made his loosen up towards me.

I reached into his pocket and pulled out his car keys.

“I’ll drive,” was all I said and he gave me no protest.

The car ride was quiet and a bit awkward.

Every time I tried to come up with something to talk about, he would answer it with one word answers.

I didn’t know how to make him open up to me.

All of this was new to me, just as it was to him but he was making it a bit more difficult.

We arrived soon, at the fair and Avery gave me a weird look.

“What?” I asked stepping close to him so we could walk together to buy our tickets.

“A fair?”

I bit my lip.

“You don’t like fairs? We can go somewhere else if you’d like,” I offered quickly, grabbing his hand and pulling him back the car.

He sighed, pulling me to a stop.

“It was just a question Caleb. I don’t care either way,” he reassured me.

I scratched the back of my neck, letting out a nervous chuckle.

“Oh. Okay.”

Shaking his head he walked me to the ticket booth and bought both of ours.

While standing there I noticed he hadn’t let go of my hand.

I looked down at our hands... his was so much bigger than mine and so warm.

It gave me a feeling of security, being with him, so close to me.

“So do you want something to eat?” he asked as we walked around.

“Um, a soft pretzel?”

He nodded and after telling me to sit down, I watched him stand and talk to the guy, ordering our stuff.

I took the opportunity to perv him out.

He was wearing a tight grey t-shirt that stretched over his muscles deliciously and a pair of well-fitting blue jeans, making his ass noticeable and yummy looking, with his black Harley Davidson steel capped boots.

His hair was in its usual messy style.

I remember this morning walking up on top of him, the way his body fit perfectly with mine and how smooth his skin felt under my fingers.

Oh and don’t even get me started about his delectable ‘V’ in between his hips.  

By the time he came back, I was hard as a rock.

He set down our food, taking the seat across from me.

Not soon after he had settled, his head shot up to look at me in surprise.

Crap he could smell my arousal.

I felt the blood rushing towards my cheeks as I picked at my pretzel.

“So…” I started trying to distract him from my embarrassing horny scent.

“Do you like to swim?” I asked randomly.

He was still looking at me knowingly but answered evenly.

“It’s okay, I guess.”

“Do you prefer one sport from another?” I asked popping another torn piece of pretzel, in my mouth.

“Football or should I say soccer.”

This caused me to frown.

“Why would you say football, then Soccer... unless… Where are you from originally?”

He tensed.

“England,” he said moments later and my eyes widened.

“But you don’t have an accent.”

He chuckled softly.

“Aiden said the same thing.”

I lifted my foot, onto the bench I was sitting on, letting my knee rest against the table.

“You told Aiden this.”

“Of course. There is nothing I can hide from him, even if I wanted to and I didn't want to,” he confessed, biting his food.

My brows bunched up.

“Why Aiden?” I asked him.

He peered back at me with those damn brown eyes.

“Why ask why, Caleb? I have no control over who I was meant to protect... I just searched until I found him,” he explained.

“Like you have no control over your fated-mate or lack of one?” I muttered.

He placed his pretzel down and looked away from me.

“Yeah,” he whispered and I sighed, feeling like an ass.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized reaching out and taking his hand in mine.

“I didn’t mean to upset you.”

He looked back at me, his face serious.

“Now do you understand, how lucky you are?” he asked me, his hand tightened in mine.

“Avery, don’t start,” I warned him, trying to take back my hand.

“No. You are privileged to have a person who could make you whole, Caleb. A person to make you happy for the rest of your life. The perfect person for your wolf. His and your mate for life.”

I gritted my teeth.

'Dammit. We are going... two steps back... instead of forward.'

I stood from the table and yanked Avery up with me.

Grabbing his hand, I stormed back to the car and once there, I pushed him up against the gate, we were parked by and grabbed his face.

“Stop it. Stop telling me what to do. I want to be with YOU Avery, no one else. What about that is so hard for you to comprehend? I’ve been chasing you all over this damn town and you have rejected me every step of the way... until now. You're finally letting me in and I will be damned if you pull back now. Yes... I’m going against the Wolf Spirits and the Moon Goddess and Yes... I'm loving you, even though you’re not my so called fated-mate. But I announce it to the high heavens, here and now, that I will love you... unconditionally and screw what they or anyone has to say about it. I’m declaring you to be... my chosen life-mate.”

Once the words had left my mouth, my wolf took over my body, complying too my declaration.

Growling, I felt my canines extend and I bit down in between his neck and shoulder, extracting my essences, deep within his body, making him mine and no one else’s.

I felt his knees give in for a second, so I grabbed the gate, pressing him into it further.

“Ahh,” a soft moan left his mouth, as I growled with the taste of his blood on my tongue... it was so sweet but strong and powerful... giving me a high, like I never experienced.

His arms circled around my waist and lifted me off the floor, holding me close as he withered under my teeth, as I refused to let go.

“Hmm,” I whined against his skin.

Finally I unlatched my canines from his neck.

I slid down his body, as he slowly let me go.

Our chests were heaving, as we tried to catch our breathing.

I licked his blood off, from around my mouth and gazed up to meet royal blue eyes.

“What did you do?” he asked huskily pressing his hand over his neck

I didn’t miss the fear there as well.

“I-I d-don't k-know... I-I d-don’t k-know... ”

[miyagihawk]

opposites attract | eli “hawk” moskowitz x reader

summary: everyone is confused about yours and hawk’s relationship; you two couldn’t be more different. you reminisce about the night you met him.

warnings: cussing, fluff, hawk being a big softie for you, there’s not really a plot just cute moments :)

a/n: sorry y’all ik im a harry account but ive been obsessed with cobra kai (particularly hawk) anyways enjoy

word count: 711

Heads were turned towards you as you walked down the hall, with Hawk’s arm hung around your shoulders.

Usually so many eyes following you would’ve made you really nervous, but you were reassured by Hawk constantly looking down at you and pulling you closer. You actually felt kind of confident; being around Hawk always made you feel that way.

It wasn’t surprising that everyone was staring at you two. You and Hawk were an unlikely pair. You were a soft-spoken artist, who only had a few friends and kept to yourself. Hawk on the other hand, was loud and attention grabbing. If his mohawk didn’t already get eyes on him, then his reputation for starting fights does.

You two met at a party that your friends dragged you to. It was an hour in when you needed air; the smell of smoke was too much.

You sat by the pool in the backyard and dipped your feet in. There were still people around, but it wasn’t as stuffy as being inside. You felt yourself get lost in your thoughts as you stared into the glimmering water that reflected the night sky.

Suddenly, you heard yelling and two figures were right beside you, looking like they were wrestling. Then one of them fell in the pool, and you were soaked by the splash.

You quickly got up, looking down at your wet clothes. In front of you was the person who pushed the other guy and the first thing you noticed was his obnoxious hair.

“Oh shit. I’m so sorry,” the boy apologized but he was holding back his laughs.

You looked at the other boy, now swimming in the pool; he had dark hair and braces. His hands were covering his mouth as he giggled. “Sorry.”

“All good,” you shivered. It was a cold night out. You weren’t angry, there’s no use getting mad at someone who is probably drunk. You turned away to head back inside; to you this looked like a sign to just leave the party.

“Hey, hey, wait,” the boy with the mohawk jogged up to you, lightly grabbing your arm. “You’re cold. Here,” he slipped off his jacket and held it out to you.

“I’m actually leaving now, but thanks,” you replied, and continued your walk to the house, dripping and shivering.

“You came with Avery and Cassie right? I’m pretty sure they left,” the boy called from behind you.

Just my luck, you thought.

You internally cursed at your friends for leaving you at this stupid party that they made you come to. You were starting to get pissed. Being wet, cold, and betrayed made you wish you just stayed home. Now you had no idea what to do.

“I can give you a ride? To make up for... you know. That,” the red-haired boy gestured to your wet clothes.

“Aren’t you, like drunk?” You questioned. The way he was acting with his friend made you believe he was, but maybe he was just crazy.

“I’m not, I promise. I couldn’t anyways, I have a tournament tomorrow,” he explained, and you wondered what sport he played.

“I can’t go with you, I don’t even know your name,” you laughed. He wasn’t a complete stranger though. He knew your friends and you’ve seen him around school sometimes. I mean how could you not when his hair could be spotted from a mile away.

“Hawk. I’m Hawk.”

Now as you walked with him to your next class, you smile at the memory of meeting him. It’s been almost a year since then, and you know him through and through. You know him enough to see that you two actually aren’t all that different.

“I’ll see you after class,” Hawk took his arm from your shoulders and put his hands on your waist to pull you to his chest. You hooked your arms around his neck and played with his hair at the nape of his neck.

You got butterflies as he leaned in to give you a kiss. You felt so good being his, with his arms embracing you.

“I love you,” you kissed his nose softly and he scrunched his face. He laughed, genuinely, and in that moment you saw right through his bad boy facade.

[baby-bearie]

the 7 ways he’ll tell you he loves you

(NOT MY GIF ALL CREDIT TO OWNER)

jj maybank x reader

taglist: @snarkystarkey @sunflowermotel @howdyherron @drew-starkey @maraseavey @outerbanqs @yelyahryan @obxwriterfan @avashroom @rewindlr @raekenliar @imsad05 @ceruleanjj @dolanfivsosxox @heyhargrove @lashtonandmalumsbaby @beautyandthebleh @pancahke @outrbank @johnbsflowr @corleigh @poguemacking @maybe-maybanks @katie-avery @5sos-seavey

a/n: this is unedited, so sorry about the mistakes. i saw a lot of trouble going around with plagiarism on wattpad and i did report a lot of books with stolen fics and props to you guys for getting a few actually taken down!! plagiarism and theft of intellectual property is HURTFUL, writers put SO MUCH into their work, and it’s not so you can get some votes on a wattpad page. also, boys using lovely as a nickname is ;alsdjffenve. 

How long is forever supposed to be? Months? Years, decades, lifetimes? Forever was supposed to be you and JJ. 

Forever feels like the 15 minutes that he’s been fighting you for. 

“Y/n, I don’t get why you’re turning this into such a big deal.” 

“Stop doing that. Stop acting like I don’t get to be mad. I do! I am! You know, you always do this JJ.” “I do not.” “You do. I’m sick of it. I’m- I’m sorry, JJ, but I’m done. I don’t wanna do this anymore,” you sniffle. You refuse to cry. Not in front of him. “We’re going in circles, I really think it’s time to, to just call it quits.” You shrug. JJ is silent. You wait, you yourself need to process what just came out of your mouth. 

JJ is on the couch. He leans on his knees with his elbows and his head is hanging low. He nods. Slowly at first, then quicker. 

“Okay,” he sighs, “You’re right. You’re right.” You nod, relieved that he agreed with you. A bigger part of you was upset that he agreed with you. It would’ve been nice if he had put up some kind of a fight. 

“So, uh, I’ll go.” “Yeah.”

You collapsed onto the couch, rubbing a hand over your face. A brightly colored magazine was open on the coffee table in front of you. Cheetah printed bold letters spelled out a headline: 

The 7 Ways He’ll Tell You He Loves You.

Talk about bad timing. You flipped the cover back over it. 

#1: He’ll flat out tell you. 

“You know, you’re one of the dumbest boys I’ve ever met.” “Right back at you.” JJ grinned up at you. “Oh, low blow, dude.” You laughed, tackling him down onto the bed. JJ fell back with a loud oof, the breath knocked out of his stomach. 

“One day, you’ll do that and I won’t get up, you know that? You’re actually going to be the death of me.” “Oh, I hope so. I’m already sick of you.” “This is literally you confessing to my murder.” He laughed, shoving you off him so he could hover over you instead. “They won’t arrest me, I’m too cute.” You gave him a cheesy smile. 

“That you are,” JJ smirked, leaning down to press soft kisses into the skin between your jaw and your neck. You hummed in approval as he pulled away. You fiddled with the necklace which dangled from his neck. “I love you,” he muttered. 

“ ‘Til I murder you?” 

He pecked your lips. “Til you murder me.” 

He couldn’t have fought for you? Put up some sort of argument? This was a stupid battle to pick with yourself. You were the one who instigated the break up.  

Maybe you weren’t expecting him to actually agree with you. You weren’t expecting him to let you end things.

#2: He’ll protect you. 

“Maybank, I swear to god, if you don’t get us down from here right now I will throw your ass off this cliff.” “It’s really not that high up!” “Holy shit!” You yelped and turned to bury your face in JJ’s chest. He instinctively wrapped his arms around you. 

“Hey, you’re okay, alright? You’re okay. I’m not gonna let anything happen to you. I got you. It’s okay, I got you.” JJ assured you, laughing a little through his words at how tightly you were clutching his tank top. 

The next couple of weeks hurt like hell. It’s a sad process, trying to leave behind someone you were rooted to so deeply. You’d see him at parties or even just out on the street sometimes. 

His eyes always followed you. When you were dating, you were amazing at being able to tell when JJ was watching you.  A shiver used to run over your spine, and you’d turn and immediately meet his eyes. He’d smirk and raise his hand to salute you. 

God, how you missed that smirk. 

Apparently, after you stopped dating, your body never forgot what it felt like when his eyes were on you. These days, when you turned to look at him his eyes were intense. He held your eyes for a second. One second when you could forget how you cried and how he left without kissing  you goodbye. 

Then he looked away. 

#3: He thinks of you when you’re not with him. 

“Hey, baby, look at this.” JJ threw the door to the Chateau open and marched over to you. His smile was proud, like a child trying to impress his mom. He stuck out his hand and dropped a small square magnet into yours. You flipped it over to see the front. 

It was brown and painted badly to look wooden. There were two u-shaped magnets painted on as well, and it read, ‘I can’t help but be attracted to you’. You read this out loud and JJ grinned, ecstatic with his choice.

 “Where did you get this?” You snorted. “It was at some cheesy gift shop. It made me think of you so I had to buy it.” “It’s perfect. I love it.” You stood to kiss his cheek and slid the magnet onto the fridge. “You’re very welcome.” 

JJ has always been nearly unreadable. He’s scarily good at hiding his thoughts and feelings from everyone around him, often including his best friends. You knew John B at least had some knowledge of JJ’s emotions, but you doubted the rest of the group did. 

You had at least managed to make a couple cracks in the hard walls he had built up around himself. 

#4: He shows you his emotions. 

You gaped in awe at the bruises littering his torso. You had no idea just how bad it was. You had no idea why he never told you. 

“I can’t take him anymore, Y/n, I can’t take it- can’t do it anymore.” JJ sobbed, his arms tightening around you. You guided his head down to your shoulder. 

“I know, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, J. C'mere.” You took a deep breath. You would not cry. Not when he needed you to be strong. “Let it out. You’re okay now.” You locked eyes with John B, terrified.

His tears soaked the skin on your shoulder and the first of many that night fell into his hair. 

But since the breakup, from what you saw of him you couldn’t get anything. His face was expressionless every time you made eye contact with him.You had seen him smile at his friends once or twice, but nothing real. JJ was very good at fake smiles. They looked nearly identical to his real ones. But you loved him for long enough to know what a real one should look like. 

#5: He’ll try and make you laugh. 

“Why are you sad, lovely? Stop it, I hate seeing you sad.” JJ pulled you on his chest, brushing hairs out of your face. You shook your head, tucking your face into his chest. 

“Ok. Fine. You leave me no other choice.” JJ sighed loudly. “What do you call Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson when he tells time?” 

He waited a second for an answer that never came. “Dwayne ‘The Clock’ Johnson.” 

You laughed abruptly, but it came out as a sob. You didn’t lift your head. 

“Alright, you want more, fine. What do you call Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson when he won’t shut up? Dwayne ‘The Talk’ Johnson. What do you call Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson when the doorbell is broken? Dwayne ‘The Knock’ Johnson. What do you call Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson when he wears comfortable, breathable footwear? Dwayne ‘The Croc’ Johnson.” 

Your whole body was shaking with uncontrollable laughter now. You were certain that JJ had been practicing those at some point. 

“No more, no more, please,” You finally lifted your head and JJ wiped away a fallen tear with his thumb. You choked on a laugh. “So how long did it take you to come up with those?” 

JJ frowned. “What do you mean, I came up with those like just now!” He laughed.

“Okay, sure, JJ.” “Don’t test me, I have like, 8 more.” 

You think the worst part about this is being lonely. You’re surrounded by comforting friends who try and take you places and get you to have fun but at the end of the night you go home to an empty bed and you wake up in an empty bed.

And every morning without fail, you’ll wake up and reach for him. And every morning without fail, he won’t be there. 

#6: He’ll make romantic gestures. 

“JJ? Where are you?” You sat up, groggily. He wasn’t in bed, that’s for sure. 

“G’morning, lovely,” JJ strolled into your room, carrying a tray. You propped yourself up on the headboard and took it from him. 

“Aw, JJ, what is all this?” “Breakfast.” “You made breakfast?” 

JJ stole a berry off your plate and popped it in his mouth, nodding. He took a seat near your legs. 

JJ can’t cook for shit. 

“Baby, it’s okay, it’s the thought that counts, I thought it was sweet!” “Nah, dude, that was shitty, I’m sorry. That bread tasted like a frying pan.” “The berries were good.” “That’s because all I did to them was wash them.” 

You hit up another party with your friends. They were the best kind of distraction. You pulled up the green bikini strap that was falling down your shoulders. This was his favorite top. 

“Y/l/n!” You heard a voice shout. “Y/n!” 

You turned to see who was shouting your name and smiled at John B. “Hey, Routledge, good to see you!” “Hey, Y/n. Look, I know you guys aren’t on talking terms- “John B, no,” You interrupted, but he kept talking over you. 

“But, please, Y/n, he won’t talk to anybody and we’re all worried about him.” “I really can’t, I don’t think he- “He’s in the van. Driver’s seat. Thank you!” And then he was gone. You huffed. 

You could see the van from here and you could barely make out a figure sitting in the front seat. 

You stood there for a second before you forced yourself to get over it and you made your way around dancing teenagers to the van. 

You pulled open the door and climbed into the passenger seat. He turned to look at you. 

“Hi,” you forced out. This felt uncomfortably unfamiliar. “Hey, Y/n.” 

“How are you?” He asked. He was being formal. He was never formal with you. 

“Fine, I guess. What about you?” 

He said nothing. “Small talk? Is that what we are now? We have to make small talk?” He laughed, exasperated. 

“I know you hate small talk.” 

“What happened to us?” His eyes are wet, and he doesn’t look at you, just stares straight ahead. “I made a mistake.” You said it out loud. You hadn’t forced yourself to admit it yet. That you were wrong for putting him in this position. 

“What?” He turned to look at you. 

“I shouldn’t have broken up with you. I think some part of me thought you wouldn’t actually let me do it. That you would fight to make us work.” You shrugged. Your eyes watered up. 

“Well, I didn’t want to break up with you.” He spoke quickly. 

“What?” Now it was your turn to be confused. 

“Of course I never wanted to leave you, Y/n. I love you.” “But you said I was right. And you left.” “I thought that was what you wanted. I want you happy. If that means I have to get out of the picture, then I’m gone. I left because I thought you wanted me to go.” 

You scoff. “So, all this time we’ve just been playing ourselves.” 

JJ laughs, a wet one. “You know, nobody told me just how fucking useless I was going to be without you.” He finally really looks at you. 

There’s a half smile on his face and his eyes are full of tears. 

You leap into him, and he meets you halfway. He buries his forehead on your shoulder and his hand is holding the back of your head. “I missed you. I missed you so much, lovely.” He cries into your hair. 

#7: He’ll do anything if it means you’re happy. 

[necros-writing-stuff]

Fucked up love interests you say? Can I request Eden getting sick of Avery keeping his kid from the woods, so Eden breaks into Avery's place, ties to to a chair and makes him watch as Eden ruin's his kid. He wanted to rail them in his cabin, but fucking them stupid in front of their dad works too. Better if it starts as noncon, but the PC is addicted to Eden's cock by the end.

Would Avery get off on watching this, even with how much he hates Eden?

Got a little carried away here, so under the cut for length

Eden comes into town looking for supplies, same old, same old, only this time his eyes end up falling on non other than stuck-up Avery coming out of an expensive looking jewelers with the prettiest little thing Eden has ever seen following soon after.

He's overjoyed when you call out "Father!" to get the businessman's attention. He's your dad, not your daddy. That's good, Eden doesn't like the thought of that fucker having touched you.

Immediately, fantasies about bringing you home and having you sit in his lap so you can cockwarm him while he reads rush through his mind, and the hunter finds himself trailing the two of you to Avery's car. And memorising the make, model, and licence plate.

It takes so long to find out where you live. Big, fancy house with a pristine garden - no suprise there. Then he has to watch and find out when you'll be home alone. Easier to get you that way. Then he had to call in favours from Bailey to get some stuff to disable the over the top security system.

One day, when he's walking past, he bumps into Avery by accident. The rich prick had the audacity to sneer at him and tell him to get out of the neighbourhood, that his mere presence is bringing down the property value, before shoving past and entering his gated community. Looks like someone hasn't grown since school. If he'd stayed a moment longer, Eden would have started throwing punches.

Instead, Eden's plans to get you alone and take you away secretly morph into something else. Something more vengeful.

When the time comes, he slips in through a window and silently makes his way up to the master bedroom. Avery sleeps peacefully, in silk pyjamas of all things, and the hunter gags him before he begins binding the man. He wakes up half way through, but its too late at that point.

Avery struggles against the rope and tries to scream, skin going red at how angry he is. Its funny to see, actually. Such a high and mighty man reduced to this. The hunter drags his catch out of his room, across the hall, and into the room of his sleeping prey.

You wake up, hearing the racket, and freeze in shock at what you see before you yell out for your father. Still, you hide beneath your blanket - as if it'll protect you from anything. You don't need to be scared anyways, you're about to have the ride of your life.

Eden drops Avery on the floor, maybe purposely letting his head bounce against the wood for his own entertainment, before marching over to you and ripping away the covers.

Kick and scream all you like, the hunter finds it easy to tear your clothes off and wrestle you into submission. You're so small and delicate, you need to be protected and cared for properly - and considering what happening now, clearly the businessman isn't capable of doing that.

Just like your father, Eden ties you up. Unlike him, you're not gagged. He wants to hear you beg for him at some point tonight. Wants to hear you moan out when you cum on his prick.

"You did a good job making this one," he praises as his hands trail all over your bare skin. Avery still flails on the floor, voice going hoarse from all that screaming he's been doing. Tough luck, he's stuck until Eden decides otherwise.

You're crying and shaking, begging to be let go as the hunter flips you onto your back and spreads your legs to get a good look at that pretty little hole. His mouth waters, and he can't help himself from having a taste.

He's never gone down on someone before. He hopes you enjoy the way his tongue teases, the way he fucks you open with it.

"Please, mister, please stop!" your voice quivers as you say it, obviously affected by the stimulation he's giving you. Maybe you're just trying to put up a front for dear old dad, so he doesn't think you're a whore. It's okay, Eden will still give you what you need.

Your taste is amazing, he thinks. You're amazing, body so perfect, voice so sweet. He could tongue-fuck you all day, but tonight he has other things in mind.

The hunter is breathing heavily by the time he comes up for air, desperately hard in his pants. He nearly tears them when he shoves the fabric down his thighs, letting his massive cock out and laying over you so you can see exactly how deep it will go. The thing reaches your belly-button.

Eyes wide, you try to wiggle away. "No, it's too big! Please, it'll hurt, mister, please-"

Not listening, Eden presses the thick head to your spit-slickened hole and starts pushing in, savouring how you gasp out and go stiff. A loud bump from the floor let's him know Avery is still trying to get loose. Frustrated screams tell him it's not coming along great.

Bottoming out, Eden leans over your body and starts fucking into you like an animal, squeezing out every whimper and whine that he can from between your lips.

Full, is how you feel. So incredibly full and it's hard to breathe from how this stranger batters your poor hole. Each drag of his dick against your gummy walls send a million jolts of pleasure through your body, and you want to cry harder from the guilt that it makes you feel.

Your father is there! Bound, being forced to watch as you're raped - as you enjoy being raped - in your own bed! Who was this man, anyways? A competitor? No, he's not dressed like a man your father would bother with. He looks wild and uncaring. Rugged. And unfortunately, handsome.

"Such a delicate thing, aren't you? You'll make a wonderful spouse when I get you home," he says as he pounds away, before turning once again to Avery. "You're not going to see them again after tonight. You don't deserve to have such a sweet thing as yours. Can't even protect them in your own home."

It makes you nauseous to hear the plans he has for you. That you're about to be abducted and kept god-knows where by this mad-man with a grudge. Will he hurt you? Will you be forever kept captive?

You can't look at your father. You can't see the heartbreak, anger, maybe even disgust that could be on his face. That would be a sight that would haunt you in your dreams, and you want your memories of him to be good ones. Like the times he takes you for icecream after you do well on tests, or takes you to wonderful parties where you can wear your best clothes. Instead, you study the wild man above you. Focus on the stranger's long hair and muscled body. Try to steady your breathing and hold in moans as a coil forms in your stomach.

One last time, you attempt to get away, only to be pulled right back onto his length. The change in angle makes it hit something inside of you just right, and you keen in a high pitched tone. So good, it feels so good, and you hate this man for it.

Eden loves the dazed look in your eyes as he hammers at that special spot. How he can see all logic leave, replaced by lust and a need to get off. So he stays consistent in his movements, giving you exactly what you need, so he can feel you tighten around him, ready to milk his cock like a good little pet.

Back arching, your whole body shakes as you reach your peak, incoherent babbling falling from your mouth. Its all so hot, so addicting to see, and the hunter joins you in your bliss soon after.

Dick still twitching, Eden stays buried inside of you. He'll be starting up another round in a minute or two, but he wants to treasure this moment. Treasure how you've become putty in his hands, not even whining when he leans over and kisses you. You have such soft lips.

"Good pet. There's plenty more where that came from, I promise. You just have to keep being so well behaved, just for me," he whispers into your ear, placing butterfly kisses along your neck as he does so.

Reluctantly, he pulls back. A certain someone had gone quiet, and the last thing he needs is the bastard getting free and starting a fight.

Luckily, Avery is still where he left him. Must have gave up fighting, instead laying there with his cheek smushed against the polished floorboards, breathing hard through his nose.

"Tired already? Come on, you've barely moved. Fucking pathetic, really. What, don't love your kid enough to make a real effort to save them?" there's no reaction from the businessman, so Eden pushes further. "Nah, you're all performative. Only pretending to care so they'll be obedient and keep your reputation up, right?"

That gets his attention. Earns Eden a seething glare that only makes him laugh. Then it's back to you. To caressing your cheek as he starts pumping his hips again.

"I'll care for you, genuinely. I promise. You'll never have to doubt me," he coos, a hand coming between your legs to play with your sensitive sex. You arch up into his touch with a moan, too tired to deny your body the things it seeks.

Preserve your energy, you tell yourself. Be pliant and good so you can fight back later. Don't think about how right it feels to be impaled on this man's prick, how mind-blowing your orgasm was.

Limp, covered in his own sweat, and full of solemn defeat, Avery watches from across the room. Sorrow is what he feels, along with rope burn across his skin perfect, cared for skin. Sorrow that, yet again, Eden has won. That he can't break free of these ropes despite working so hard to keep in shape. That his only child is being defiled by such a brute.

Avery can't do anything as his baby is fucked into oblivion over and over again. Can't tune out the moment you stop begging for it to end and instead ask for more. You're only trying to please the hunter, he reasons. Only being submissive so you aren't hurt, you're smart like that.

At least, that's what he hopes.

[callemreine]

Snake from hell

Au August

Day/Prompt: Day 10 - Fake Dating

Ship: Platonic or romantic prinxiety, implied past roceit/anxceit

Word count: 882

Cw: swearing / unsympathetic Janus(?) / brief weapon mention

A/N: This was so last minute so I apologize if it's all over the place. Also, have a little piece of one of my ocs that I have touched in a year

@tsshipmonth2020

“Fine. But, only because I would do the same if I was in your situation,” Roman breathes out in defeat. Virgil thanks Roman multiple times before hanging up. He was left with no other choice. His mom forced him to go to the wedding in place of her, Janus is gonna be there, and his sister has a girlfriend. Which wasn’t supposed to be part of the problem in the first place. But, according to their mom:

“You both know that I wouldn’t go to the wedding with a date. So, no dates. I want it to be just like I am there.”

Stupid mom(don’t worry he wouldn’t actually call his mom stupid). He wasn’t actually breaking his mom’s order. He just needed someone to avoid Janus with him. And, Roman was perfect for the part, considering their mutual hate on the guy. He could just be like his plus-one. Yeah…

~*~*~

“Okayokayokayokay. We’re just going as friends-”

“You’ve said that five times already since we left your apartment. Which was like four minutes ago…” Roman interrupted. 

“Just calm down. I got this. Plus, I’m a better actor than you are,” he continued with a grin. “It’s you I’m worried about. Is it really good for you to go to this wedding? I mean, it’s clear you don’t want to,”

Virgil frowned, “It’s what my mom wants. And, knowing her, pictures and videos are mandatory. And, this is the only thing she’s asked from us in months,” He buried his face in his hands in defeat.

~*~*~

“Avery?! The fuck are you doing here?!” Virgil whisper-yelled as he grabbed his sister by the wrist the moment he saw her at a place she wasn’t supposed to be, wondering how she slipped by him the entire duration of the wedding. “Relax, Virge. Mom never said I couldn’t go to the wedding. Plus, I can’t just let you have all the fun,” she smirked, knowing full well what she had done.

“Alright, fine. Fine. Just try not to get in our way. This is one thing I ask of you, Ave,” Virgil practically begged his sister no matter how much of a shithead they are to each other most of the time.

“Our?-” her eyes panned over to Roman who was just silently standing by the siblings, scanning the crowd of guests as if he was looking for someone. “Oh, you are so dead! But, nice catch though. You could’ve just told mom you had a boyfriend. Then, you wouldn’t be here in the first place,” she says as she goes over to Roman, assessing him while the latter confusedly looks at her then to Virgil. “Uhh. Virge?”

Virgil sighs, knowing that this is her revenge for that time Virgil did the same to her girlfriend, “This is Roman. He’s just a friend and he’s accompanying me to this wedding as a friend. Roman, this is Avery, my sister,” They exchanged pleasantries before Virgil pushed Avery back to her table.

“I see the resemblance,” Roman laughed as they headed to their table.

“Shut up,”

~*~*~

“Fancy running into you here,” the pair froze as they heard the familiar venom of the voice they came to know so well in the past. They looked at each other as Roman mouthed 'play it cool' before turning to face the owner of the voice.

"Janus," Virgil greeted with a blank expression. "I mean, I knew Virgil was gonna be here. It's Roman I'm surprised about…" he replied with a smug expression, eyeing Roman.

"No, wait. Hold on. Let me guess. You were forced to come here. And, knowing I was gonna be here, you needed someone to avoid me with. So, you invited Roman because you both have a mutual hate for me. Did I miss any details, Virge?" 

The pair stared at the man in disbelief. What else were they supposed to say? Virgil could just barely make out Avery staring at them a few meters behind Janus, ready to make all hell break loose if anyone wasn't too careful.

Virgil was a little startled when he felt someone grab his hand. He looked up at Roman with a confused expression. "Don't worry, Virge. I think the snake needs to know," the taller man softly smiled at him.

"Actually, Janus. I'm Virgil's boyfriend-"

Oh.

"-so if you'll excuse us, we have better stuff to do" Roman admitted as he pulled on Virgil's hand as they attempted to pass by Janus. Only to be blocked by the man, "Now, look. I know something wrong when I see one. But, I'm glad you two are together. I'm just so glad to be the reason why." He then moves out of their way to let them pass but a smirk remains on his lips.

"Oh, and Virge?" He continued before the pair could go far. "Please, let Avery know that the daggers she's throwing might hit someone else, instead of her target," They all glance over to Avery who was still glaring at Janus, her girlfriend holding her arm to stop her from making a scene. 

Roman and Virgil look back at Janus, only to see an empty space where the man was supposed to be.

"I swear that man is the literal snake from hell," Avery growled, startling the two.

Again, I'm sorry this is so messy

[willow-salix]

Ok, so, here's the next chapter.

It's a wee bit weird, so feel free to skip most of it, it won't affect the story at all. It's just there, doing it's thing.

Here's the first part, you can follow the link to read the rest of dip out here if you don't want to read a full ritual.

---

“What do you mean Lin is in the hospital?” Selene gasped, unable to believe her ears. “I just saw him no more than...” she glanced at her phone, “four hours ago.”

“Yeah, well, that was before the arrow hit him,” Vera snorted, tugging at Selene’s dress as she unzipped it and yanked it down.

“Arrow? What arrow?” Selene asked, her voice muffled as a new dress was slung over her head.

“The one that hit him in the leg,” Alegra answered as she bustled past with an armful of candles, clearly heading outside to the circle clearing.

“What the hell was he doing to get shot in the leg?”

“Teaching an archery class, it appears someone had very bad aim. One legged Linden strikes again,” Alegra replied.

“That name is because he is the master of Tree pose, not because he only has one working leg!" Selene argued, starting to feel more than a little stressed. “Who the hell is going to be my Priest if Linden is out of action? There’s no one else I’ve worked with enough to even have a connection with let alone one enough to raise the power needed for the circle.”

“Don’t you worry your head about it,” Vera snapped, tugging violently on Selene’s arm, yanking her down in a chair where she sat as still as a statue, allowing the old lady to attack her hair. “Tanzi said she had a plan, so give her some time to see what she can pull out of her arse before you start your panic flapping.”

“But there isn’t anyone here,” Selene argued. “Why don’t we let Tanzi take my place, she’s worked with far more people than I have, she'd know how to work their energy better than me.”

“Because it’s your role, that’s why.”

“But I- OW!”

Vera pulled the brush back like she might donk Selene on the head again.

“We’ll have none of that negativity, my girl, I taught you better than that. You know negativity before a circle is a no no. Just trust the Gods, trust they have a plan and a reason.”

“Linden won’t like that he was part of whatever plan they supposedly had,” Selene grumbled but stayed still as Vera slapped a flower crown on her head and set to work curling her hair around it.

"Well, it's not like he has a say in it now, is it?"

-x-

“I feel ridiculous,” John complained as Tanzi straightened his tunic, giving him the once over.

“Oh hush, you look gorgeous, she’s gonna shit a brick when she sees you.”

“I swear, if anyone even dares to take a picture I’ll make sure that they never get an internet connection again for the rest of their lives,” John threatened, wincing as Tanzi grabbed a comb and a pair of scissors to start attacking his hair. "Are you sure this is completely necessary?"

"Oh yes, very necessary, you have to dress the part, besides, it'll be worth it, you'll thank me later," Tanzi grinned admiring her handiwork. "That bitch is gonna send me a gift basket for making you look so good."

"And there's really no one else to do it?"

"No, I already told you. Linden is out of action and it's been years since she's worked with anyone close enough to lead a ritual with them. You're bonded to her, you're basically her familiar, you're the perfect solution. Don't worry, it'll be fine, believe it or not she does know what she's doing, she won't let you mess up."

"I never thought for a moment that she wouldn't be completely capable and in control, she always is. She may seem flighty but-"

"You don't have to tell me," Tanzi interrupted, patting his shoulder. "I've known her since she entered the craft, in fact I think tonight will be quite eye opening for you. You've never seen her in a ritual before, have you?"

John shook his head.

"Then you're in for a treat, she's a natural performer as well as a talented witch."

"My wife with a penchant for dramatic performance? Never."

Tanzi sniggered under her breath but declined to comment, focusing her attention on the back of his head as she worked.

"Are you sure this is all I have to do?" John asked, unfolding the instructions he'd been given and reading them through again. They seemed simple enough, follow Selene, stand where he was told, do as she directed and only speak when she spoke to him first or asked him a question, it sounded like a standard social event to him.

"Yep. You've got your part of the performance there too, just make sure you give Sel her part."

"Tell me again why we aren't warning her about this?"

"Because I want to see the look on her face," Tanzi shrugged. "I'm old, I have to get my kicks somewhere."

John snorted out a laugh. "Don't let my Grandma hear you complaining about being old, she gets very defensive when anyone under sixty even dares to mention they have a wrinkle."

"Good job I'm over 60 then," Tanzi answered distractedly, tugging at the side of his head as she tried to wrestle his hair into submission. He resisted the urge to flinch and instead focused on her words.

"Sure you are, and I'm planning a career change to become a game show host." The woman didn't look any older than he did, let alone old enough to appease his Grandma.

Tanzi grinned evilly. "Look me up if you don't believe me, but sit still while you do it."

For want of anything better to do John pulled out his phone and did as he was told. It took him less than two minutes and a tiny bit of government file delving to find the truth.

"There's only one Tanzanite Summerland, who is apparently seventy-eight years old."

Tanzi hummed a little sound of acknowledgement as she worked on his parting, trying to force his hair to lay in a way that didn't come naturally to it. "Why won't your bloody hair stay where I put it?"

"Selene asks the same thing, I gave up trying to change it years ago and just work with it, but don't think I don't know you're trying to change the subject," he retorted, on to her game.

She huffed, giving up on the parting, deciding to work with what she had, smoothing it back into place instead. "I'm mated to a full bloodied Shifter, Nikos is 297."

"He's what?" John spluttered, turning to look at her. "That's impossible."

"Dude, you turn into a cat, nothing should be impossible to you," she drawled, her tone implying she thought he was being particularly dense as she grabbed his head and turned it to face forward. "Avery is 413."

"Avery too? What does he turn into?"

"Nothing, though I'm sure he'd love to embrace the bat cliché if he could."

"Bat? Why would h-"

Tanzi raised her curved fingers to her mouth in a crude depiction of fangs and hissed.

John's eyes widened.

Tanzi nodded. "Yeah, and he's still not matured into a fully functioning adult, he'd be lost without my sister, I swear. Now, you've got your words, I've done the best I can with your hair, I think you're good to go."

"What? No! I've got questions, you can't just dump this kind of information on me and expect me to just accept it. I need answers."

"No time my friend, chop chop, it's getting dark, move your arse, your wife's waiting."

-x-

"Seriously?"

Selene couldn't have been more shocked if Tanzi had produced a monkey from her pocket to slap her around the face.

"You think John is the solution to our problem? How? Why? He hates people!"

"Oh hush," Tanzi soothed, brushing away her concerns. "He'll be fine, it's only a little ritual-"

"Little? There's a hundred and fifty people out there joining in!"

"In at the deep end," Tanzi shrugged, "he married a witch, he's gotta learn sometime. He said he'd do it."

"But why him? Is there really no one else?" Selene fretted, more worried about her husband's social anxiety than the ritual itself. "Can't you do it?"

"Nope, you're our poster child, you're the one they came to see, we can't let them down. He's the only person here with a connection to you that won't dull your energy. You know a Priest is supposed to enhance it, not drain it."

Selene wanted to argue, but her friend did make a good point, not that she wanted to admit it. She had worked with John in little ways before, working on his intuition and raising his personal power quicker and easier before each shift he attempted; it really wouldn’t be that much different for him, you know, apart from all the people staring at him.

“Fuck it, we’ll make it work,” Selene huffed. “Did you at least prepare him, even a little? Gods, he’s never going to leave my side again after this. I walked away for an hour and he was drafted.”

“Of course I prepared him, I gave him a script and everything,” Tanzi promised her, crossing her heart.

“Which script?” Selene asked suspiciously.

“This one,” Tanzi grinned, handing Selene a book of Shadows already opened on a page.

Selene quickly scanned through the pages, recognising the revised ritual instantly.

“I’m going to make a few adjustments,” she stated in a tone that allowed no arguments.

“Wouldn’t expect anything less,” Tanzi assured her, knowing that she had won that round.

“Fine,” Selene sighed, checking the time. “Then I guess I'm ready.”

“Good, let’s go,” Tanzi said, draping a cloak around Selene’s shoulders.

“Hang on, where’s my chapstick?”

“Do you really need it?” Tanzi asked, desperate to get the other woman moving.

“Yes, I do, especially as I have a lot of foreheads to kiss out there,” Selene answered, already scrabbling through her bag looking for the elusive little tube.

“Where the hell is the bloody...Oh, thanks, babe,” she said in response to the chapstick that appeared in her line of sight, recognising the ring on the hand that held it. She took the stick and slicked on a generous amount, making fish out of water noises at her reflection in the mirror before turning around. She stumbled, reaching blindly behind her for something to hold on to, because praise be to every single deity for the God that was her husband.

“Holy shitballs Batman!”

“See, I look stupid!” John huffed, his cheeks burning. He should never have let himself be talked into it.

“Rubbish,” Tanzi scoffed.

“Wow,” Selene breathed, seemingly unable to form any full sentences.

“Told you she’d like it,” Tanzi grinned.

“What...I mean...how the...my Gods,” she breathed, unable to tear her eyes away from the pure gorgeousness she was seeing. Her eyes kept darting to a new part of him, there was simply too much beauty to take in in one go. “Wow.”

“Yes, I am a miracle worker, I know this,” Tanzi preened, brushing a non-existent speck of dirt off his shoulder.

“Is that a wig?”

“Clip in extensions.”

“My Gods,” Selene whispered again. John’s hair was now brushing his shoulders, falling in shimmering red waves that perfectly matched his own colour. His usual side parting had been maintained, the extensions having obviously been trimmed to blend in with his forelock, which somehow made it look less alien on him. Her fingers itched to run through all that silky looking hair and she actually reached out a hand but Tanzi slapped it down.

He was dressed in a black shirt with loose fitted sleeves that laced up across his chest under a dark forest green tunic. His legs were encased in black leggings and dark brown lace up boots that came up to just below his knees. He had a black cloak over one arm and a metal headpiece that encircled his head looking rather like a crown. But it was the pointed ears that peeked out from his hair that really pulled the whole look together.

“Fuck...me,” Selene was absolutely stunned, taking a few steps towards him, wanting to be close, to touch, to kiss...

“Later,” Tanzi ordered. “You two have to get moving, I can hear the drums already.”

Snapping out of her dazzling husband induced daze, Selene grabbed a sword that had been laying on a table in one hand and reached for his hand with the other.

If John felt nervous dressed in his ridiculous costume, it was nothing compared to how Selene seemed to be feeling. He could feel her hand shaking in his and hear the way she kept sucking in a deep breath before letting it out slowly.

He wanted to say something to make it better, but knew that in times like these words made very little difference to her. Instead he repositioned her hand in his, linking their fingers and giving it a comforting squeeze. She looked different tonight, he’d seen her in ritual robes before, but this time she had replaced the dramatic makeup she had been wearing earlier with something much more subtle. She looked younger, less sure of herself, with pale golden eyeshadow, pink blushed cheeks and no lipstick, maybe that was part of the reason that she looked a little less confident than normal.

They waited just outside the perimeter that had been marked out for the circle, around which a ring of people stood, others seated in little huddles on blankets, obviously not part of the actual ritual but wishing to observe. The whole clearing was lit up by the crackling flames of a large bonfire, which warmed the chill air to a more pleasant temperature now that the sun had gone down, taking its heat with it.

The drumming that had been growing louder with each passing moment reached its crescendo and abruptly stopped. He felt her stiffen and heard her inhale deeply once more, holding it for the count of five before letting it out slowly.

“Show time,” she whispered, more to herself than to him. “Just follow my lead, babe, I won’t let you down.”

“I know,” he assured her, bringing her hand to his lips and placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles.

Link to Ao3

[georgescatcafe]

the unofficial official catboy george au — 5

catch me if you can

rating: t warning/s: none pairing/s: dreamnotnap, dreamnotfound, georgenap, dreamnap genres/tags: catboy george, fluff, humor, domesticity, dogboy sapnap, dogboy dream, one shot collection word count: 1736 summary: Dream wakes up to George running around in the middle of the night—silly time.

+ao3 +masterpost

;;

In new company, George is quiet, politeness his number one quality, personality near gone, found only in the glimmer in his gaze, the curl of his lips. In not so new company, George is quite loud, whining and bratty, demanding and proud; it’s never unbearable, but eventually you start to wonder if the voice in your head is George or if he just hasn’t shut up. But it’s never unbearable. Just one more thing to love about him. Half the time, the ruckus he creates isn’t even words, just noises. He’ll purr, he’ll scream, he’ll hum, he’ll push your keys off the counter, metal scraping against granite then clanging on the tile floor.

So it comes as a surprise when Dream wakes one night to find it only him and Sapnap in bed, though he distinctly remembers there being a body between the two of them. He sits up, eyes darting around the darkened room, though George remains out of sight. Dream looks at the doors, the entrance and the bathroom, but no light comes in from underneath either, just more darkness. It’s hard to believe George could slip out of bed and leave the apartment completely silent, unnoticed, and to put it simply, Dream doesn’t believe it.

“Sapnap,” he whispers, hand reaching out to grab the other’s shoulder. “Sapnap,” he repeats, giving said shoulder a shake when he still gets no response.

Finally, Sapnap makes a small noise, sheets rustling around his legs as he stretches and looks to Dream. “What? Okay?”

Dream allows himself a smile at the half-mumbled words but is quick to give his concern. “George is missing.”

“Bathroom,” Sapnap says, immediately going to shuffle back down under the covers from where he had been starting to sit up.

“Nope,” Dream says. He nods his head to the bathroom door. “Peeing with the lights off?”

“He’s Shithead,” Sapnap replies, once more under the covers. “He’s got to pee with the lights off.”

“That video is, like, ten years old, shut up.” Dream gives a soft laugh before turning to get out of bed. “I’m going to check the kitch—”

Footsteps. Loud and fast, running past the door.

Sapnap sits up as Dream looks at him, eyes wide with alarm. Sapnap puts a finger to his lips, and Dream nods, turning back to the door as another round of footsteps go by.

Dream leans back, fingers curled tight around the edge of the mattress to catch himself from going back too far. Sapnap leans towards him and Dream puts his lips against the other’s ear. “Is that George?” he asks, the words hardly more than a rumble in his throat.

“I don’t think George can move that fast,” Sapnap replies.

Dream wants to argue, on the off chance it is George, but Sapnap does have a point. Still…. “George can run,” Dream says. “When he wants.”

“Whatever.” There’s the quiet sound of a drawer opening, and then Sapnap is pressing a flashlight into Dream’s hand. “In case you need to clock someone or whatever.”

Dream nods, then rises to go over to the door. When another minute passes and there’s no footsteps, he opens the door and goes into the hallway.

Nothing.

He decides to keep his original plan of going to the kitchen. He’s passing the living room when there’s a blur in the corner of his eye and more footsteps. He pivots, flicking on the flashlight, and the noisemaker is illuminated by harsh, white light.

“George?” Dream asks, the flashlight now a spotlight on the other, who glares against the brightness, ears back and tail lashing this way and that. “Sorry,” Dream is quick to say, lowering the flashlight. “What are you doing?”

George doesn’t say anything, only watches him, eyes glowing whenever Dream accidentally raises the flashlight to high, before he gives a near full-body shake and runs at him.

Let it be known that Dream did not clock George. Instead, the thunk Sapnap hears is the flashlight hitting the ground as Dream lifts his arms to catch George when he jumps at him and into his arms.

“Shit, you’re heavy,” Dream wheezes out as he rights the two of them, George clinging on tight, panting into his ear. “You okay?” he asks. “You’re breathing a little heavy there.”

George just ducks his head, burying it into the space between Dream’s neck and shoulder. His tail is still fairly irritated, and Dream moves his hand down George’s back in order to give it a gentle stroke. 

“Have you done this before tonight?” Dream asks, walking them over to the couch so he can plop down on it, not even close to graceful but uncaring now that he’s got the full weight of George off of him.

George nods his head.

“And neither Sapnap or me have heard it until now?”

Again, George nods. “Didn’t want to wake you guys up.”

“Does this only happen at night?”

Another nod.

Dream sighs. “So you just wait until night?”

“It happens at night, too,” George says. “Just… it can happen in the day, also.”

“What is it exactly anyway?” Dream asks.

“Just this…,” George huffs as he tries to think of a word. Dream tightens his hold on him. “It’s, like, energy. Just… a burst of energy that I don’t really know what to do with.”

“So if it happens in the day, you just let it keep building until you end up here.”

George nods and Dream closes his eyes, leaning his head back over the top of the couch.

“Okay,” he says. “Would it help if you got rid of this energy outside? I can’t imagine our downstairs neighbors enjoy this much.”

George huffs a quiet laugh. “Sorry to them.”

“Sorry to them,” Dream agrees, nodding. “But really, should trips to the park where you can just… run become a normal thing?”

George gives a noncommittal shrug. Dream nods again.

“We’ll make it a thing,” he decides.

George nods.

“Dream? You ali—shit!” There’s a loud thunk before Dream and George turn and see Sapnap sprawled out on the floor. “I think I tripped on the fucking flashlight.” He brings his hands up to cover his face before sitting up. “I’m… I’m going to stay here for a bit. Glad to see you aren’t dead.” He reaches his foot to keep the offending flashlight. “I heard a noise but no screaming, but then the no screaming went on too long so I came out here to see what’s going on.”

“If I had been a murderer,” George starts, smart, “then Dream would be dead by now, and his death would be on you.”

“George,” Dream admonishes, though George only shrugs.

“It’s the truth.”

“You are so-o-o annoying,” Sapnap replies. “I hate you.”

“I’m not the one who’d let my boyfriend be murdered, but you know,” George tilts his chin up at the other before turning back to Dream to offer him a warm smile. Dream rolls his eyes but does lean forward to press his lips to the tip of the other’s nose. When he pulls back, he sees George’s tail has become a contented curl.

“So the footsteps were George?” Sapnap asks. “I thought he can’t run.”

“Excuse me?” George immediately turns back to the other. “I am an excellent runner. You wish you could run as well as me.”

“You don’t even play sports,” Sapnap says. “Like you could run.”

“I play tennis!” George argues, and Dream can feel the heat beginning to radiate off his cheeks, righteous anger.

“And your thighs look very nice when your shorts ride up,” Sapnap nods solemnly, “but that doesn’t mean you can run.”

George immediately whips around to look at Dream, eyes wide, mouth the slightest bit open, silently asking if he can even believe the other.

Dream gives a guilty smile. “You do have very nice thighs.”

George makes an indignant noise as Sapnap brings a hand up to rub at his chin thoughtfully. “Running shorts are, like, really short, right? Maybe George should be a runner….”

“That’s objectification,” George says. “This is objectification. You are objectifying me.”

“I’m appreciating your finer qualities,” Sapnap replies. 

“I thought that was supposed to be my intelligence.”

Sapnap shakes his head. “No, no, no. You’re the beauty, Dream’s the brains, and I’m the brawn.”

“So you’re stupid, that’s what you’re saying,” George says, immediately finding a weak point in Sapnap’s statement.

“Dream and I are simultaneously brains and brawn,” Sapnap replies, immediately amending said weak point.

“And I’m just the beauty, then?” George looks unamused. “Ha-fucking-ha.” He glowers for a second then says, “Have you ever considered how I got nice thighs? It’s because I run.”

“Bullshit.”

Dream tightens his arms around George’s waist as George shakes his head. “Try me.”

“You want that?” Sapnap asks. “You want your ass handed back to you? Fine. Race me.”

“That’s what I proposed,” George snaps. “We’re going to race.”

“Fine,” Sapnap says.

“Fine,” George agrees.

“You, me, Dream as commentator, Avery Park, Friday morning at ten.”

“He might win,” Dream says to Sapnap. “I think you’re just giving him what he wants.”

“Good,” Sapnap retorts, still glaring at George. “He has a nice smile.”

Dream sighs as George just huffs. “Yeah? Well, you have nice eyes.”

“Eyes that’ll be watching you lose,” Sapnap says.

“You fucking wish!”

Dream gives another sigh before standing, holding tight to George who gives a quiet shriek and wraps his legs around the other’s waist, arms squeezing around the other’s shoulders. “You two are so annoying,” he says. “Can we please just go back to sleep? George, are you still restless?”

George shakes his head.

Dream looks to Sapnap, who pushes himself off the ground, eyes widening at Dream’s words.

“Like… is it a cat thing?” he asks, making his way over to the pair to better look at George, who gives him a disapproving look, even as his tail moves to curl around Sapnap’s wrist.

“I think so,” Dream replies.

“It is,” George confirms.

“Oh,” Sapnap says. “You’ve got the zoomies.”

“I’m sorry?” Even Dream turns to look at the other.

“Yeah,” Sapnap says. “I don’t know what you guys call them, but when cats get all excited and start running around, they’re called the zoomies.”

“I don’t think that’s an official term,” George replies.

Dream just shakes his head, taking George back to their bedroom and leaving Sapnap to follow.

[gamergirl-niffler]

Technologically Challenged

Woderful @charted-uncharted​ Gave me idea about Sam having some problems with the new world after being pulled out from the prison.

I hope you like it, friend!

BIG THANKS to my best girl @martakasravi​ for playing the reader ♥

Sam didn't like fact that Rafe pulled him out from the prison. It's not that he didn't want to be free, but he knew that Adler basically meant a huge troubles.

Drake walked out trough the main gate and saw Adler with some woman, Sam wasn't sure what to think about this all.

"Ah! Look at that, Y/N. The Avery expert. Sam Drake, in flesh. Alive and well," Rafe said with nasty smile of his, placing hand on Sam's shoulder. "I hope they treated you well?"

Sam took the duffle bag off his shoulder. He wanted to puch Rafe right in the face but he simply couldn't. "Yea, they did."

"I'm glad, but now," Rafe said and looked at you, gesturing at Sam. "This is Samuel. Samuel, this is Y/N. She will take care of you."

Sam raised his eyebrow. "I am not that sexually deprivated to grab whatever girl you brought along, Rafe," he said looking at you with a frown.

Rafe only laughed. "My dear friend, the world has changed. She will make sure that you can understand it. I don't really have time for teaching and babysitting you."

You furrowed your brows at other man's comment; it wasn't that you didn't try to understand him but he behaved like a total jerk. "Well, even if Rafe would have paid me, I wouldn't ride your cock, buddy," you smirked at him coldly, tilting your head a little. "I suggest you to be a little less unkind. We're about to team up after all."

After these words you tugged slightly on Rafe's sleeve. "Can we have a minute?"

As two of you walked aside for a moment, you put hands to your hips. "So, you're saying I have to take care of this dude? Like, are you kidding me, Rafe? Do I look like a desperate? When you've called me saying you need a hand I thought about something else. I'm not a babysitter," you growled quietly.

"You are one from now on, babe," Rafe hummed and took a look at his phone before returning his attention to you fully. "Samuel is a nice guy, he is just a little bit lost. I told you what happened thirteen years ago. I bet he was expecting to see his little brother, not us," he said with a soft laugh. "Once you two get to the hotel, he will be nicer," Rafe patted your are and looked at Sam. "Ready to go?"

Sam only nodded.

You didn't reply to Rafe's words. Briefly glancing on Sam, you got into the car and waited for men to join you.

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

As the car stopped in front of the hotel, you patted Rafe's knee. "Wish me luck."

Rafe didn't reply to your words, he looked at Sam in the mirror. "Don't hurt her."

Sam rolled his eyes and get out of the car, taking the bag with him.

The hotel was for sure fucking expensive, it was Rafe afterall. He would never book a cheap hotel.

Sam looked at the high building and then looked down on his old clothes. "I hope they will let me in. I look like homeles," he sighed, looking at you.

You were observing how Rafe's car vanished in the distance. Then your attention went fully to Drake. "Well, you kinda do. All you need right now is hit shower and some rest," you summed up while patting his shoulder. "C'mon," you tugged on the sleeve of his old jeans shirt.

"I would give out whole world for a bathroom and soft mattress," he muttered and followed you.

Sam could feel the nasty glances on him while you were taking care of the this at the desk. He never really cared what people thought but here, in such a luxerious place, Sam felt judged even by a cleaning lady.

He was more than happy when you informed him you two can go to the room. Spending night in one room with woman he bearly know was going to be odd but at least he wasn't alone.

When you were awaiting for the lift, you handed him an entrance card to the room. "Here. I'll ride on the floor with you but you'll need to get to the room first as I have one more thing to do. I promise I won't be long," you told him and smirked when the lift opened its door for you. "After you."

Sam stopped right in front of the door and looked at you. "Well, I may be a stupid prisoner but even I know the door won't open without a key," Sam smiled playing with card between his fingers. "I could use that but this would be illegal.'

You got off the lift and looked at the man, tilting your head slightly. In the first moment you didn't get his point but when you finally did, you bursted in laughter. "Oh, God! Drake! I mean, I'm sorry! I should have let you know what to do! Hotels are not using traditional keys to room nowadays. They use magnetic cards, like the one you're holding right now," you informed while walking to him. "All you need to do is place the card in a scanner, like this," you took the card out of man's palm and slipped it into the device next to the door. The lock clicked and the door opened.

Sam blinked, looking at the door. "Oh... Pfff! I knew that! I was just playing, ya know, using some of my charm to make you smile," he winked at took the card from you, marching into the room proudly. He felt stupid. IN FORNT OF A WOMAN!

Throwing bag on the floor, Sam flopped on the first bed, nuzzling to soft pillows. "This is something," he muttered lowly, relaxing. "I better go take a shower before I fell asleep here, in this poor state. I hope showers still work the same."

"You don't need the card to get into the shower though," you chuckled and closed the door behind you. "So, bathroom is on the left, balcony on the right. I have to leave you alone for a while. Just remember that if you want to use electricity, the card needs to be put here, in this little device," you pointed on the wall right next to the main door. "Go take a shower and I'll be right back," you smiled at him a little before leaving the room.

Sam listened to you and nodded. "Understood, ma'am!," He saluted before going to the batroom.

The shower was a blessing. The privacy and warm water was something he missed for thirteen years! No reason to be afraid of all those "soap in the shower" jokes anymore.

After wasing off all the dirt, Sam used the hotel towel to dry himself and wrap it around his hips.

Suddenly, the door opened and you stepped into the room, holding few aper bags in hands. You closed the door with your leg and gasped, placing bags on the desk located near the bathroom door. "So!...," You were cut off by the sight of naked man with nothing but a white towel wrapped around his hips. You blushed a little but kept straight face. "I brought you few things. You need to try them on. I don't know your size, and taking fact you're pretty tall I'm afraid some of them might not fit well," you informed him. "Take a look."

"Oh... I was hoping these are takeouts," he sighed dissapointed and nodded. "Just give me a moment."

Sam went to the bathroom and left it few minutes later, fully dressed. "Okay, let's see how weird people like to dress up those days," he joked and looked into one of the bags.

He found there a nice, silky suit, a pair of jeans, two belts, few t-shirts and two spots of classic shirts, one black and one white.

He looked at you. "Ya know? I will take pants and t-shirts, all the rest is not really my thing," Sam repacked all bags, he put new clothes into his guffle bag. "Just... I have no money. Unless people now pay with credits like in Star Wars?"

You reached your purse and pulled the wallet out. You looked for a moment and handled h a gold credit card. "Your PIN is 6978, don't forget it."

"I remember the weirdest facts from history. PIN ain't a problem for me," he said taking the card. "Let me guess. It's hooked up to Rafe's fortune, huh?"

"Of course it's, my little bee," you told him. "He decided to spoil you a little so be glad and use as much as you can."

"So... Maybe I should get myself a nice bike, leather jacket, sunglasses, and drive off in the direction of setting sun," Sam joked.

"This credit card belongs to you now. You can buy and do whatever you want. Remember only that all of your actions will have consequences," you shrugged and sat on the edge of king-sized bed.

"It wouldn't really be my first time when the consequences bite me in the ass," he shrugged and sat next to you. "So? I am waiting at your lesson. What else changed in the world?"

"Here," you said while pulling something out of your jacket pocket.

It was nothing else but a newest iPhone.

"This is your new phone. All the necessary contacts are already added."

"And...," Sam sighed rubbing his face. He felt so lost. Being guided by a woman was kinda emberassing. "Okay, Y/N. Can you help me? I know it must be pathetic for me to not understand these stuff, but you know."

"It's normal taking you've been to prison for years," you told him. "First, you need to know what you operate on this phone only by using fingers, no matter how oddly it sounds, haha," you chuckled. "You need to put your finger here," you took his hands in your and guided it, "this is a finger scanner. It will unlock the phone for you."

Sam listened to you, nodding his head and following your instructions. After a moment he smiled at you. "Okay! I think I get it."

"I hope you do, oldie," you patted his back and got up from your place. "If you'll have any questions, you can always call me. I'm in your contacts under name Starlet," you chuckled.

"Wait, Y/N. I have a lot of questions. Don't leave me like this," he said, looking at you. "What if I lock myself in this room?"

"I need to go and order some food," you told him. "And you're a big boy. You'll survive for 10 minutes alone."

Sam nodded slowly, watching you leave. He was hungry but also tired. Out of the boredom, Sam pulled out the phone you gave him and started to play with it to check what else he could do with it.

When you came back, Sam was asleep on his bed. Phone was laying right next to him. Apperently he fell asleep watching gameplay from Tomb Raider on YouTube.

You closed the door after getting into the room. As you spotted him napping on the bed, you put boxes with chicken and rice on the desk and walked to the bed. You grabbed the phone in your hands and chuckled quietly seeing a video containing some adventure game gameplay that was still on. You exited the application and locked the phone, placing in on a nightstand. You clicked your high heels off. Then, you sneaked into his bed as you were tired as well. You put head to the second pillow and fell asleep.

[thefirstcourtesan]

Be My Eternity (M!Raleigh x MC)

Be My Eternity By Misha

Disclaimer- Not mine.

Author’s Notes- Happy Platinum weekend! So, I have always wanted to write a Raleigh proposal fic and never got around to it, but I got inspired by @platinumweekend and The Vinyl Awards Challenge. This is set a year after the events of the book. Special thanks to @raleighcarrera for calming me down when I had a little panic attack about this fic and hated every word.

Pairing- M!Raleigh x MC (Annie Marshall)

Rating- PG-13

Summary- Annie is apprehensive about returning to the Vinyl’s but Raleigh has a surprise up his sleeve that will take her breath away.

Words- 1460

“Nervous?” Raleigh asked as he helped Annie into the limo.

“A little,” she admitted, smoothing the skirt of her dress, “I mean after last year...” She trailed off, wincing at the memory of crashing Jaylen’s performance. Luckily her reputation had been repaired and her career was back on track, but she had a feeling a lot of eyes would be on her tonight.

“What about you?” She asked, changing the subject. “How are you feeling about tonight?” To her surprise, Raleigh had agreed to another Sunset Skatepark reunion, this one live at the Vinyls.

He shrugged, “good.”

Annie was about to push, concerned about the short answer, but Raleigh reached for then and pulled her into a deep kiss and all other thoughts flew from her head.

It was several minutes before they pulled away, both a little out of breath. Annie spared a thought to her hair, hoping it hadn’t fared too badly.

“Was that your way of telling me that you don’t want to talk about tonight?” Annie asked, curling into his side.

“No, it’s my way of saying you are gorgeous and I can’t keep my hands off you,” Raleigh told her, nuzzling her neck. Just then the limo came to a halt and he groaned.

“Hold that thought,” Annie told him, quickly checking her hair and makeup. Thankfully she didn’t look too bad and well if she looked like she had just been making out with Raleigh Carrera, was that really a bad thing?

As soon as the driver opened the door, Raleigh hopped out and held out a hand to her. “Are you ready?”

Annie took a deep breath. “As ready as I’ll ever be. After all tonight has to be better than last year, right?”

“I think we can make sure of that,” Raleigh promised cryptically, pulling her towards the red carpet before she could ask what he meant. She pushed the question as side as she put on her best press face and mentally prepared for the questions that were about to come.

She could do this. She could survive the night. At least she hoped so.

As if he could read her thoughts, Raleigh squeezed her hand and mouthed “you got this” and she felt her confidence return as she plastered a brilliant smile and answered a pointed question.

She had this. She could do it. And most importantly, Raleigh would be right there with her.

**

Despite her initial tension, the night seemed to fly by and then it was time for Sunset Skatepark to perform. Raleigh got up and motioned to her to join him backstage.

Annie was a little confused, but figured that he might need the support, perhaps suddenly questioning his decision to perform with his old band. To her surprise, Avery also got up with them.

“Didn’t want to watch the show?” Annie asked when Raleigh had left to get ready to go on stage.

“I can watch from here,” he pointed out, “I thought I would keep you company.”

There was something he wasn’t saying, but Annie figured that he might just be offering her moral support. Or maybe after last year no one trusted her back

stage alone. That was an unpleasant thought and she pushed it aside.

Avery was just being friendly, that was all.

She was distracted from further questions of her friend’s motives by the sight of Raleigh on stage with his old band mates. The trio began a mash-up of their hit songs, leading into a performance of “Be My Eternity”. As Raleigh and Cameron began the opening, Blair suddenly addressed the crowd. “We have a special guest joining us for this part, the one and only Annie Marshall!”

Annie froze, this was not the plan. She felt a hand on her back pushing her towards the stage. Avery.

“Go,” he whispered, giving her another push, and she suddenly realized he was in on what was going on, whatever that was. 

She took a deep breath and then walked on stage, a smile plastered on her face as she made her way to Raleigh’s side.

He didn’t answer, but he took her hands as he continued to sing, now singing to her instead of the crowd. “You’re a shooting star, every time I gaze at you, I make the same wish, and every time you make it true.”

Even though they were on a stage in front of thousands of people, with millions more watching at home, it felt like they were completely alone. There was a familiar warmth in Raleigh’s eyes as he sang to her that made it hard for her to be angry about the surprise. He obviously had his reasons and she trusted him.

“I’m here now on one knee,” he crooned, suddenly dropping to one knee in front of her, one hand still holding hers while the other reached into his pocket. Annie’s heart raced at the gesture. He wasn’t— “asking you to be my eternity.”

Blair and Camon continued to sing as Raleigh held out a giant diamond. “Annie Marshall, will you marry me?”

Annie couldn’t believe that this was real. She was being proposed to on stage at the Vinyls, with millions of people watching. It was so crazy and over the top and she wasn’t sure what Raleigh was even thinking or how he had pulled it off. But that didn’t matter now, what mattered was her answer.

“Yes!!!”

The crowd was cheering as Raleigh stood up and pulled her into a deep kiss, but she was barely aware. All that mattered was Raleigh.

**

“I can’t believe you did that!” Annie exclaimed when she and Raleigh finally had a chance to be alone. It had been a whirlwind night and it seemed like the entire music industry had wanted to personally congratulate them. “What if I had said no?”

“Well, according to Fiona, I’d be humiliated and you’d be vilified and it would be a public relations disaster,” Raleigh told her, not sounding overly concerned, “she had a lot to say about it, actually.”

Annie could believe that. “So Fiona was in on it?”

Raleigh shot her a look, “I know I do a lot of stupid things, Annie, but even I know better than to drop that kind of surprise on Fiona. Plus I don’t think I would have been able to pull it off without her, she got me the ok from the people in charge, I don’t think they dared say no to her.”

Valid. And it answered her question as to just how Raleigh had pulled the proposal off. 

“She told me that it would either be the best or worst publicity move of my career,” Raleigh continued.

Annie froze, “is that what it was? A publicity stunt?” After all she and Raleigh had started as a fake PR relationship, so maybe it wasn’t impossible. But they had come so far since then and the idea that it wasn’t real...

Raleigh looked stunned. “What? No!” He pulled her into his arm, pressing her against his chest. “Babe, that proposal was 100% genuine.”  He gazed down at her, meeting her eyes, so she could see the sincerity in his. “I was going to do something private and low key, but... That’s not us. Our engagement was always going to be news and this way, I controlled the story and how they got it.” He hesitated. “I guess I also wanted to give you a new memory to associate with the Vinyls, for other people to associate with you.”

Oh. Annie gazed up at him in shock as the meaning of his words hit her. “Because tonight is what people will remember,” she realized, “not my ruining Jaylen’s performance.” Raleigh had not only declared his love for her in front of the whole world, he had also found a way to give her the kind of Vinyl’s memory she had always dreamed of.

Thanks to him, she wasn’t the unhinged pop star who had ruined her rival’s big night, now she was one half of one of the hottest couples in music, the recipient of a truly epic proposal.

“I love you,” she told him, wrapping her arms around his neck, “and I am so glad I get to be your eternity.”

End

[acciocriativity]

Spark of Happiness ||Harry Potter

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x Reader

Summary: You already went through a lot in your life, but while dating Draco the world you knew has changed dramatically and it seems like it couldn’t get any worse...

Word Count: 2,8k

A/N: Thanks for the request @loxbbg and sorry for tagging you, I just thought that you would like to, since I took a longer time than I promised. That’s my first time writing for Draco, so I don’t know if it’s what you wanted. Hope you’ll enjoy it!

Part II

Like in all relationships, difficult moments always come up to test the couple, their trust, their love, and their future together.

It wasn't easy to get through the first two but we were still together at a nebulous time in the Wizarding World and in Draco's life.

I always knew about everything, the return of you-know-who, the nightmares and I thought that eventually, when this all came to an end, we could live a quiet life somewhere, preferably as far away as possible.

Draco agreed with me when we talked about it the other day but things were not going well, besides the daily stress at Hogwarts, the anticipation of the weight of the black mark on his forearm was taking him down bit by bit.

He was drowning, losing what little light I could see inside him, and even if I insisted to know more, he still had to keep too much inside himself. Partly because no one else could know and partly because he had trouble expressing himself. It was always like this, although I like to think that we were slowly getting better at it.

"Draco, can you come sit with me for a little while?", I said watching the blond try to concentrate on the book in front of him only to fail, for the 3rd time in a row. "I promise that page can wait about 10 minutes, it's a weekend". My heart sank in my chest as soon as he turned to look at me, the dark circles under his eyes even deeper than the day before. Another sleepless night.

I heard his defeated sigh and soon after felt the warmth of his body close to mine and his natural scent fill my lungs.

"Why are you up so early, love?", his arms passed around my waist and his head lay on my right shoulder. "More than anyone, you should rest, even if it is during the day."

"I just couldn't sleep anymore", his voice husky and faltered and automatically my hands went to his messy blond hair, stroking the strands carefully.

"You know I'm here to listen to you and I know these nightmares are getting worse, I won't say anything after listening if you prefer but I can't watch you like this anymore, not without doing something about it”.

We were silent for a few minutes, all that could be heard was our breathing and his tired sighs. I continued in that position, I tried to pass on as much reassurance as possible, because there was nothing else I could do if he wouldn't allow me.

"My mother sent me a letter, when I go back to Malfoy Manor, I will get the black mark", he didn't look me in the eye and I tried not to take it to heart.

"And when did you intend to tell me this? It's not more than two weeks until Christmas, is that why the nightmares are worse?", I felt my head spin and I had to close my eyes to concentrate again.

He nodded and again silence fell over the room, each lost in his own thoughts until I decided to speak again.

"You want to tell me about the nightmares? You don't have to go through this alone", my hands came out of his hair and went around his shoulder.

And he told me everything this time. The meeting room where the death eaters gathered, the place most of the dreams usually took place. While he felt the worst pain he had ever experienced, his father was standing with a proud expression beside his mother, who was paralyzed and you-know-who looked pleased, basking in the fear evident on his face.

The worst part was left for the end, where the reason for his entrance was revealed, which changed every day. In some he was supposed to be just a spy, in others he was supposed to kill someone or be killed, and it didn't stop there. He was supposed to prove his loyalty by killing a muggle in front of everyone there, who would serve as dinner for the snake named Nagini. He had no choice, he could have no compassion or he would be there with that woman.

"They were laughing like it was the most fun situation, they were all there, the Carrows, Lestrange, Avery…”, I felt a few tears wetting my blouse but he pretended he was fine and I preferred to pretend I believed him.

He kept talking more names with a tone of anger and disgust but I stopped paying attention to Avery, which was the last name on my old birth certificate before it changed to both my parents when I was adopted.

"Love? Y/N???", his grayish blue eyes were reddened, I could clearly see where the tears had run down his face. "Sorry love, I was just thinking...keep talking, it's good to get it all out at once."

After I heard everything, I kept my word and didn't say anything so instead, I let him finally relax in my arms.

"What were you thinking about earlier?", his eyes were already closed, exhaustion was winning the battle.

"I was thinking it would be a much better idea if we got some more sleep now, don't you agree?", he couldn't see my smile but I could see his and there was nothing in the world I wanted to see more often.

"Sounds like an excellent idea...", he wriggled a little until we were both comfortable in a position to sleep.

Later after lunch I began to notice the change in Draco's mood, he seemed equally tired as the few hours of sleep were not enough but somehow, he was glowing and I was loving it.

The next few days followed the same path until he decided to tell me why.

"Meet me at the Astronomy Tower in 10 minutes - D.M."

That was all it said on the note his owl came to hand me and I couldn't help but smile.It's not easy to be dating at Hogwarts, where there are students everywhere so we usually meet during the night in my dormitory or somewhere empty in the castle.

I waited a few minutes to make sure there was no one else in the Slytherin common hall and then started my way to the tower with the utmost care not to run into Filch or his cat and I was really close to being caught on the 7th floor.

"I thought you got lost along the way", he said without the humor I expected to find in his voice.

"I had an accident with Filch but I'm here now, so did something happen? You're so serious", I said approaching him by the window and leaning on the window sill by his side.

"Yeah, sort of, I've been thinking a lot the last few days about what's going to happen", he took a deep breath before continuing. "And this time is different, this time I might have a choice".

I opened my mouth but nothing came out, he didn't want to be like his parents, it's not a new thing but to really stand up to them?

"I'm putting together a plan, well I was. I need to know if you want to be in it with me", I could see my own reflection in his eyes.

"Of course, as long as we end up alive at the end. What's the plan?", he grinned and explained to me the little bit that was already right in his plan.

He wouldn't go to Malfoy Manor for Christmas, instead he would have to sell something to get enough money to rent a room, which isn't hard considering his shoes are worth more than all the Hogwarts school supplies tripled. I didn't have to check to know it's true.

"That's a good start but I don't think it will be necessary, what do you think about coming back with me for Christmas? My parents won't mind. They want to meet you and it would be harder to find you there", he was staring at me intensely but not saying anything, I started to think I had said something stupid. "Draco? It was just a suggestion...you don't have to come with me if you're not comfortable and...", he gave me a quick kiss and smiled at me.

"I'd love to go spend Christmas with your family, and then we can think about what to do after that", he said moving closer to me to the point where our lips touched.

I agreed with a small nod and we kissed again, this time for much longer. The weather was perfect, the cold wind contrasting with my warm skin from the blond's touches, for me we could stay there forever.

A week later, another letter arrived for Draco during our breakfast in the Great Hall and his expression changed as soon as he picked up the paper.

"Draco?", he didn't answer me and continued reading and rereading non-stop with the most grim expression I have ever seen on his face. "Draco, can you talk to me?", I whispered and even with him beside me, I couldn't read a whole sentence.

He simply got up and left in a hurry, I wasn't going to stay and pretend that everything was fine. I didn't bother to make an excuse, since most of the table stopped to pay attention to what was going on, I walked out a little behind him and it wasn't hard to catch up.

"Draco! What the hell are you doing? We were going to work it out together, you don't have to run from me like you do the others", I said approaching in the middle of the empty hallway. "You're still not going to talk to me?", I said with my arms crossed zero percent intimidated by his angry expression.

"And for what? You can't do anything for me now. The plan has failed, they're going to ask the principal to send me home tomorrow", he started pacing back and forth, his hands clenched tightly, fear and despair formed a powerful alliance inside him

I had no idea what to say, what could be said to make this better? His steps became harder against the ground and I was sure that at some point something would be broken if we continued there.

"Come on love, let's skip class today. Let's think of another plan, you won't become one of them, I promise", I held his tense arm and guided him quickly into the dungeon.

"You can't promise that, how can you be so sure?", I could see a glimmer of hope that I wasn't going to let go."Because I will do whatever it takes to make sure it doesn't happen, okay?", I slid my hand down his arm until I found his.

It was a long day, we barely slept that night as we were both unsure if our idea would work out or not.

The next morning I awoke to an unusual movement downstairs, the clock I had been given by my parents showed a little over five in the morning. My friends didn't even move in their beds as I walked closer to the door to hear what was being said and I didn't recognize those voices.

"I will call him Mr. Malfoy, please settle down", was Professor Snape's voice and after that silence came.

Damn it, there wouldn't be time to escape as we had planned. I took a deep breath and started to think, I wouldn't stay here, I had to do something, I had to think but the sound of my own heart was getting in the way. I hadn't noticed that I was shaking until I took a step back to my bed, my legs had almost gone weak.

A few nerve-wracking minutes later, as if I had drawn it to me from thinking about him so much, I heard Draco's voice in my hallway moving closer to my room.

"She won't mind, I'm sure", I could hear clearly through the door and I was sure that if it had been any other student, not only would he not have made it upstairs but he would also have gotten the scolding of the century.

The door was opened and the first thing Draco did was to quickly push me back near the bed before Snape appeared inside the room as well.

"Miss Lewis, you may also go with Mr. Malfoy, your Christmas break will also be early. Your parents will be waiting in the Great Hall Mr. Malfoy", and he stood there until Draco left the room but he didn't leave before giving me a quick hug.

"Wait for me in the common hall", he left unaware that his voice had made me shakier than I already was.

"They let you leave early because the Malfoys asked? That's so unfair", the girls were all awake. "Will you two be quiet? I still want to get some sleep before breakfast time", the second one said, still covered up.

After that complaint, they went to sleep while I took a shower and tried to process what had just happened and what was going to happen. I got dressed in one of my warmest clothing, I grabbed my suitcase that was already packed and went downstairs, it wasn't even past six in the morning, no one but my boyfriend was there and I barely set foot on the floor when he ran up to me.

"We don't have much time, we'll have to go with them but I'll make sure we get out before the meeting starts. It won't take more than 5 minutes", he hugged me tightly and I smiled as soon as the strong smell of his cologne hit me, I rested my chin on his shoulder and we stood like that for a few minutes.

"We'll be fine, the end of our plan still works", I spoke softly and I could notice the skin on his neck got goosebumps."I'm just going to let it go because it's not the time for that sir”, I said with a grin across my face.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, miss. We better go soon, the faster we go, the faster this is over", he kissed me before we walked hand in hand down the halls.

“Draco, why didn't you let us know your girlfriend was coming to visit us for Christmas earlier?”, his mother was the first to speak as soon as we approached them, her tone was nice but her smile trembled.

As soon as we started our relationship we talked it over and thought it would be best not to mention to his parents that I came from a muggle foster family. We knew it would be impossible to keep this secret since his parents are quite "protective", so he only mentioned me when he had no other choice.

I already knew that there would be one reason for them to be polite to me, I had not been judged on whether I was appropriate or not yet. They weren't giving me the benefit of the doubt, they were giving it to Draco's choices.

"I must have forgotten but it doesn't make that much difference, does it?", he said calmly and I pretended I hadn't seen his father's expression harden.

"We shall be going, I can't waste any more time here”, the disgusted tone in his voice left me more surprised than anything else.

Since no one can apparate on the grounds of Hogwarts, we walked to Hogsmeade in awkward silence. His parents walked imposingly in front of us and we were right behind them holding hands, only communicating by glances. Once we got far enough, we stopped on the dusty road at the entrance to the small village.

"Alright you two, Draco you know how it works, dear, have you ever apparated before?", she was kind enough to ask me. "No Mrs. Malfoy, I have never apparated".

"The first time is complicated but you'll be fine”, she held her husband's arm and in one second we were standing in the middle of the road and the next we weren't.

Harry Potter Masterlist

[baby-bearie]

romeo, juliet, and evites to funerals

(NOT MY GIF)

jj maybank x reader

taglist: @sunflowermotel @howdyherron @drew-starkey @maraseavey @outerbanqs @tinylatina01 @yelyahryan @loveylangdon @obxwriterfan @jjmaebank @avashroom @rewindlr @katie-avery @raekenliar @ceruleanjj @adoreyoudrews @dolanfivsosxox @heyhargrove @lashtonandmalumsbaby @beautyandthebleh @pancahke @outrbank @kiarasflowr @corleigh @poguemacking @kristineee-obx @shawnssongs @thorsangel @daniel9seavey9 @hopefultrashforanythingreally @pixelated-pogues @dpaccione @thatshiscigar @hesscott @damonsalvawhore27 @fanficscuziranout @trustfundparker @teamnick @becca-harlow @trashmouthpogues @rudys-pankow @ilovejjmaybank @tomzfrog

a/n: uh oh. back again. thank you @jjmaebank for the beta read i love u. i did switch that one tangled reference i made.

JJ hates when you’re mad at him. You won’t text him, you won’t answer your phone, if you actually see him you’d never acknowledge him, and kisses? Forget about it. You’re not exactly a lot of fun when you’re mad at JJ.

You’re currently mad at JJ.

He figured that out after about the 3rd call you failed to return, and now he’s blowing up your phone. Nearly 50 unread texts, 27 missed calls and 13 voicemails, all in a span of 2 hours.

He’s persistent, he really is. Annoyingly so. Whenever JJ upsets you, his go to plan is to just irritate you into forgiveness. He thinks you can’t ignore him forever. You’re determined to prove him wrong. It’s been 3 days, and you’re proud of yourself. This is the longest you’ve held out against his torrent of digital apologies. You want to go longer.

It didn’t take JJ long to realize what you were mad about. For at least the fourth time this month, JJ had missed your date. You had planned a day on the mainland at a local fair, but you spent last Friday waiting as the ferry came and went.

If he had just canceled, you wouldn’t be mad. But he didn’t cancel, he just texted you every half hour, just when you were ready to give it up and leave, that he was coming and to hold on. And then around 5, a good 3 hours after he said he would come, he showed up.

And then he made fun of your outfit.

“Dude, what the hell are you wearing?” He even laughed.

So you left.

It is now Monday morning, and your phone has not stopped ringing for the past 8 hours. How the hell did he manage to keep going, nonstop, for 8 hours?

You can’t deny that you miss him. Going without JJ’s touchiness is affecting you too. Last night you had to cuddle a pillow.

You’re fixing your bed when the pebbles start hitting your window.

One, two, three, four. A pause. And then at least 30 pebbles all hit the window at the same time. You huff in annoyance, rolling off your bed to unlatch the window and shove it open.

“Hi, baby.” JJ is standing on your lawn, sheepishly smiling at you. His hand reaches up to rub the back of his neck.

You quirk an eyebrow at him, unamused.

“Oh, c’mon, Y/n! You can’t still be mad at me.” “Oh, I very much can! Or could you not tell from the numerous times I called you back?” You scoff.

JJ laughs, pushing his hands out at you, as if he’s reaching for you. “See, you’re talking to me already.” “Go away, JJ!” You grit your teeth.

“No.” “Go. Away.” “I don’t want to! Not until you forgive me!” “If you stay here another second, I’m literally going to ignore you for the rest of your life. We’ll get married and have kids and I still won’t talk to you.”

JJ snorts. “That would be bad for our family.”

“I will communicate with you through our children.” “Okay, well you’re pretty, like, vocal, if you know what I mean- “JJ, you disgust me.” “so I don’t know how you plan on me puttin’ a baby in you if you won’t talk to me. Communication is key, Y/n.”

“Okay, first of all, shut the fuck up. Second of all, if you don’t get off this street in the next ten seconds, I will call John B and I will make him drag you off.” You deadpan.

“That wouldn’t even work, John B would take my side.” “I’m his favorite!” You insist.

“Okay, I’m done talking to you, goodbye forever,” You begin to close the window, and JJ shouts. “Wait, wait, Y/n, wait, I swear I will start yelling.” “Goodbye, JJ.” You shut the window and JJ sighs dramatically.

He smirks up at you through the window before he opens his mouth.

“I am hopelessly in love with Y/n Y/l/n, and I’m going to scream about it now.” He whoops. Your neighbor sticks his head out his door. JJ turns and waves at him. “She’s up there!” He shouts, pointing at your window.

You yank the curtains in front of your window and flop back on the bed.

“Y/n, oh, Y/n, parting is something something? Oh, sweet sorrow! Something, something, I never read Romeo and Juliet last year, true beauty?” He screams.

You pull another pillow on top of your head, trying to muffle JJ’s yodeling outside your window. It barely works. You can make out more half-assed Romeo and Juliet references, but you know for a fact the only version of that play he knows is the gnome one.

Eventually, he leaves. You don’t dare actually check to see if he’s gone, scared that in true JJ fashion, he’s just baiting you. But after a good 30 minutes of quiet, you know JJ’s not patient enough for this. He’s gone.

He’s not done though.

He continues to overheat your phone with calls and texts. At one point he sends you an evite to his funeral. “Rip: jj maybank. Cause of death: lack of y/n.” The invitation reads.

At least he’s getting creative.

You’re almost thankful when the clear weather turns into a thunderstorm, knocking out your power. With no wifi, there’s no JJ.

Or so you were hoping.

You’re curled up with a cup of coffee and a family sized bag of chips in front of the TV, barely paying attention to the movie playing when he starts knocking on the door.

You’re not sure who would be at your door in the middle of a storm this bad. Obviously, one boy, but even he’s not dumb enough to come all the way here in weather this bad.

Except he is dumb enough.

You swing the door open to reveal a soaked JJ, squinting in the rain and holding up a bouquet of drooping carnations. He grins at you goofily.

“JJ, you dumbass, what the hell? Get in here!” You grab his wet arm and drag him inside. Even better, he came here in the rain, in a sleeveless shirt.

“Did you get my evite? Because I’m fucking freezing. I think this is how I go.” He’s dripping all over the floor.

You throw a glare over your shoulder as you retreat to find a towel.

Once you’ve wrapped it around him and forced him into a chair, you finally get to scream at him.

“You’re- You’re infuriating, you know that?” You cry out. “You drive me insane! What am I supposed to do if you get sick? Or worse!”

“Then you could’ve sent out those evites.” He smiles hesitantly.

“I’m being serious!”

JJ gives you another toothy smile and holds out the wimpy flowers. You take them from him and immediately hit him with them, spraying water droplets across his face.

“Ow. Okay, I deserved that.” JJ holds his hands up in defense and you hit him with them again.

“Maybe I shouldn’t buy you flowers anymore!” “You’re such an asshole!”

“I’m the asshole?” JJ stands now. “Yes, you’re the asshole.” “I’m the one getting beaten up with flowers!”

“What, did you think you could just show up here with stupid flowers and your stupid face and all would be forgotten?” “Well, no, okay, kind of?” JJ doesn’t know what to say to make you happy.

“That’s not how this works. You can’t just pull some big gesture and fix everything.” “Okay, you’re right. Y/n, I’m sorry.” He grabs your shoulders to look you dead in the eyes.

“You’re sorry?” “I’m sorry.” He shakes you a little.

“You’re sorry for what?”

JJ rolls his eyes, but finishes. “I’m sorry for standing you up and then being harsh about your fashion choices. I did not mean to hurt your feelings. It will never happen again.” JJ sounds like he’s reciting from memory.

“It’s going to happen again, you loofah.” “Loofah? I feel like that’s a new one.” “But you have to apologize, JJ.”

“I tried!” JJ protests, but you cut him off.

“And not over the phone.” You give him a look.

“Okay.” His hands travel to your hips. “Next time, I’ll say I’m sorry. Not over the phone. Can I please just kiss you now?”

“Is that all you came here for?” You laugh. “Pretty much, yeah.”

JJ leans down to kiss you, and you can feel him smile against you.

You pull away, eyes still closed. “I swear, stand me up one more time and I will dump you for- “Shut up.” JJ kisses you again but you lean back. “For good.” You finish and kiss him again.

“But then how would we,” He pecks your lips between words, “have that family you were talking about.”

You tug your head back completely. “I will leave you and my imaginary family.”

JJ shakes his head at you before he looks at the tv.

“What are you even watching?” “Romeo and Juliet.”

“Wait, isn’t he supposed to be a lot shorter than that?”

[dumbladores]

Anger

Pairing: Young Dumbledore x fem!reader

All in all this is a darker Fic, but with a happy ending, so don’t worry. And we see Dumbledore in action which is, I assure you, very sexy!

Warnings: angst, abduction but also fluufff

When I had made my way back from diagon alley all went pretty quickly. I had heard a sound behind me in the steps up my room in the leaky couldron. I had turned around and seen nothing. Then I had turned again to proceed going upstairs and that’s when she stood right in front of me. Before I could even make a sound the had knocked me unconscious with a spell.

When I woke up, I was in some kind of carriage. No, it was some kind of back of a truck. My hands where tied up and I was gaged with some kind of cloth. I felt a sharp pain in my head as if something had hit me there very hard. When my. Ire got clearer I could make out three people who were sitting with and in front of me on benches on each side of the truck.

“Look who’s awake”, said the voice of a woman in front of me. A painful moan escaped my mouth when I straightened up. There was a black haired woman and an evil looking man sitting in front of me. On my right side there was another man, holding my arm tightly. He must have done so all the way along, even when I was unconscious because my arm felt numb.

I recognized the woman’s face. I knew it very well from articles in the daily prophet, which reported on her torturing and murdering innocent wizard and muggles. It was the face of Bellatrix Lestrange. The face of the man next to her though I couldn’t assign to any name. But I surely had seen it before.

I had been captured. I had to be in the hands of the most dangerous deatheater known. Now that wasn’t so pleasant a surprise.

Bella looked at me, cunningly, her tongue between her lips.

„So, you are Dumbledore’s sweetheart, aren’t you?”, she said. I tried to avoid her gaze. It made me feel more uncomfortable and I tried to arrange my position in the bench instead. “Look, she’s blushing Mulciber, now that cute. Though isn’t he a little too old for such a little girl as you? Did he force you and you didn’t dare saying no to Professor Albus Dumbledore himself? Nah, I don’t think so, I think you wanted him, too.” She laughed a horrible laugh. “You like powerful men, don’t you, princess? Yeas, she does” she switched over to my other side. Avery and Mulciber exchanged a look but none of them said anything. Excitedly Bella shifted around on the bank, while I tried to avoid her eyes that glowed insanely. “So, if you like powerful man, you’ll like the one we’re bringing you to. He is even more powerful than Dumbledore. You’ll like him.”

I tried to ignore her, staring out of the window behind Mulciber. It was dawn and there was still nothing around us but wide fields.

“It’s not his power? Maybe it’s something else. Maybe it is that Dumbledore has a really nice cock!” Bellatrix broke into a lunatic laughter which made my blood freeze. She leaned closely over to and stroke a strain of hair out of my face. “Is it true, girl, is it?” She asked hysterically and all serious again, a mad glim in her dark eyes. “Does Dumbledore have a really big nice cock? He’s got one, doesn’t he? Yeah, you’ve seen it, you’ve felt it, haven’t you? Does he fuck you properly with it? Do you like it, girl? Do you enjoy it when Dumbledore fucks you hard?”

“BELLA!” It was Mulciber, that shouted. “Shut up.m and stick to the plan. Let the girl be, he said.”

Bella looked at him furiously. “Don’t tell me what he said, Mulciber. Remember that I was the one to choose you two cretins to accompany me. He trusts me with it, not you!”

“Still, lets just get over with it”, Mulciber said. There was a slightly nervous stone to his voice as if he feared something.

Bellatrix pouted but didn’t respond anything. Then she turned to me again, mustering me from the distance. “Well, I can understand why Dumbledore fell in love with you, can’t you, Avery? Such a pretty little face..” She reached out for my cheek and slightly stroked over it which made me shiver in horror. “Though..”, she retrieved her hand, mustering my face thoroughly, “you’re not that extraordinary, are you? Just a pretty little face like there are dozens out there. So what is it about you, that Dumbledore sees in you that makes his heart all soft and so pitifully vulnerable?”

I blinked.

“Ah”, Bella said knowingly, “did I hit a spot here? You’re asking yourself that, don’t you? You are not sure if he truly loves you. You’re scared.” She laughed derisively. “Where’s Dumbledore now? Why hasn’t he come to save you yet?”, she whispered.

I couldn’t hinder a tear was running down my cheek.

“Maybe he hasn’t even noticed you’re gone yet. I mean, where is he now? Maybe he doesn’t miss you at all. Maybe he’s happy you’re finally gone.” Bellatrix snorted satisfied. “We’ll find out soon enough. And if he doesn’t turn up we’ll have the pleasure, darling.” She would kill me, I had no doubt about that.

Even i knew Bellatrix said those things to hurt me, to scare me, to provoke me to say something, I couldn’t help but flinch at her words. She really had hit a spot. Was Albus even going to save me? Maybe he hadn’t even noticed I was gone. Maybe he thought I wasn’t worth being saved and I realized that that was exactly what I was thinking. It was very well buried in the depth of mu mind but now that she had said it I knew it was what I was thinking. I don’t fell worth being saved, I wasn’t. Dumbledore was our biggest hope in the fight against Voldemort and it wasn’t and the risk of saving me wasn’t worth losing him. He wouldn’t turn up. And after all, I understood. No, more, I realised that I not only didn’t believe he would turn up, I didn’t even want it. He would risk his valuable life just to bring me back. It made no sense and I hoped he knew it. Of course he must realize it was a trap. That was obvious. But then he would have to be not stupid enough to step into it.

Suddenly, the wagon tumbled and came to stand. The three deatheaters looked at eat other rigidly. There was a bumb in the front and then silence. Avory on my right side looked nervously to Bellatrix and Mulciber, as if waiting for one of them to give an order.

„Mulciber, go look what’s going on“, Bella said.

Mulciberd eyes widened.

„It’s not him!“, Bella cried but in her voice there was a hint of fear. „It can’t be. It’s not time, they can’t yet be aware that she’s missing!“

Mulciber reluctantly got up and went to the doors of the truck. He opened them, luring and got out. We heard nothing. There wasn’t a sound.

„Quiet“, Bella hissed when Avory was about to move.

There was complete silence. Then-

„It’s okay, come outside. We have to fix this wheel. Oh gosh.“

„You go help him“, Bella said and pointed at avory. „Go help him fix the damn wheel. I’ll stay here with her.“

Avory went outside the truck. Then we heard a scream. Bella froze, as if holding her breath.

„I insist you come outside Bella“, said Mulcibers voice. I could see how the wheels in Bellatrix head were spinning.

„Cone outside“, said another voice, a familiar voice but nonetheless strangely alien.

Bella grabbed my hear and pulled me to her while pointing her wand in my face. It touched with my skin and burned it at the touch. I gasped.

„If you make any move I’ll kill you, I swear“, she hissed. Then she tore my by my hear with her out of the truck.

Dawn lay on the fields around us and there was no village, no house in sight. Mulciber lay spread-eagled on the narrow path the truck had taken. Left from him, there were two men standing. The one with his hands raised above his hands and the other one beside him, pointing at him almost elegantly with his wand. It was Dumbledore.

Bella intensified the grip in my hear and I could feel it pulled out at the roots. „Dumbledore!“, she cried hysterically and drove her wand into my neck.

„Its over, Bella!“, Dumbledore said calmly but his voice had a tone I never heard in it before. The always so friendly and calm voice had completely changed. It sounded menacing. „You’ve gone way too far. I’ll let you go peacefully if you give me (Y/N) now. If you decide to do anything other than that, it will get very unpleasent for you.“

„Oh Dumbledore I don’t think so. I’ll bring this little darling of yours to him and he’ll do things to her you can’t remotely imagine! He’ll torture and abuse her until you surrender.“ Bella’s hand trembled in my hair in excitement.

I saw a shadow in Albus eyes and for one moment he looked so weak as I felt in that very moment. But then his traits hardened and his gaze went dark. He looked frightening now. Also Bella seemed to have noticed because she made a step back, tearing me with her. A wind seemed coming out of nowhere, blowing up the dust on the way. The sky seemed to darken further as the clouds were gathering above us, rumbling menacing. Even though Dumbledore hadn’t moved his wand one bit it seemed like he provoked a disturbance in nature.

„You can’t disapparate here“, Dumbledore said and made a step in our direction, never letting us out of sight. „I lied a spell in a radius of one mile.“

„Always so foreseeing“, Bella said. I noticed that she tried to slowly move us around the truck. „But what will you do if I kill her?“, she screamed and now I could clearly hear the panic in her voice. She was still moving backwards and dumbledore came slowly towards us, Avory was frozen on the spot. Dumbledore made a move with his wand and the whole truck, around which Bella had tried to cover flew ten meters in the air and then smashed right behind Bella, which made her stop.

„I’ll say it just one more time, Bellatrix. Let her go.“

I felt the grip loosening in my hair. Then, in a sudden movement, she pushed me from behind towards Albus. Then I felt a pain in my back, where her curse hit me. I fell in Albus arms, he caught me and I gasped for breath but I couldn’t. Something was hindering my lungs at absorbing the air. Something was completely cutting of my breath. Albus Lay me down on the floor and I could see the dark figure of bellatrix fading in the upcoming night, as she ran away through the field.

I desperately tried to inhale air, while Dumbledore knelt over me, murmuring words with his wand pointed at my breast. But he didn’t seem to work. It had to be dark magic or a curse he didn’t know of. Slowly, my sight faded. Dark was beginning to fall over me. I saw Albus hastily murmur magic formulas but his pretty face seemed to get more and more blurry. How beautiful he was. He had saved me. I couldn’t complain. Whether I would die now or not, he had saved me. It was enough. And he was there. Those pretty blue eyes, now distorted with fear. There was fear in his eyes, I saw it. He didn’t have to fear anything though! He had saved me. Those lips. How much I wished I could have felt them one more time on mine. Why wasn’t he kissing me? Why did he talk to me? He knew I couldn’t respond. He should kiss me!

„..Kiss!“, I managed to say. But then, all went dark.

The first thing I heard, was the crunch of the wagon jolting on a rough track. When I tried to part my eyelids, it hurt. they were heavy like if I had never used them before. When I managed to open them, I found myself in the inner of an old wagon. The sort of where farmers transport animals but closed from all sides despite a door in the front. But it didn’t smell like animal or hay. I lay also very comfortable. Actually I couldn’t remember having ever laid so comfortably in a bed. It was a bed indeed. And I was covered with tons of smooth blankets and my head laid on the softest cushion that could exist. I flinched a few times in utter confusion, having no idea how I had come here. Then, the memory seeped in. Suddenly and alarmed I raised up. Hadn’t I been captured and transported in some truck?

A figure next to me also moved. I turned my head around and saw his face. Albus was sitting in a chair right next to where my head had laid a few seconds ago. He seemed surprised at how fast I had raised. Confused, we looked at each other a few seconds.

„It’s all good“, Albus said calmly. „You’re safe. Lay down. You need to rest.“ His voice was as I knew it again, although there was something in it I couldn’t quite make out.

He wore his grey coat and wore the hat I liked so much. Through the door I could hear somebody whistle. This wagon had to be moved by horses or thestrals. That would also explain the unsteady movement and the swaying of the wagon.

Suddenly I felt a sharp pain on my chest and I groaned and my hand shot up against it. Albus, who had jumped up, helped me to get down on the cushions again.

„You have to rest. You were hit pretty badly by the curse. But there will be no permanent damage. Not physically, at least.“ he blinked his eyes fast in his typical manner. Even now I noticed that feature and it made me feel safe.

„The curse...“, I said slowly. That’s what my memory hadn’t recollected yet. I knew something had happened to me and that I had somehow become unconscious but my memory struggled. „What happened? You saved me? I mean ... obviously but-“

I looked up. Dumbledore mustered my face. There was sadness in his eyes.

“I did”, he said slowly. In his eyes flickered pain.

I sunk deeper into the cushion, suddenly feeling tiredness on me, like a heavy weight on my chest.

“You have to rest”, Dumbledore said and took a deep breath. “There’s no medicin but rest that can be done.”

“What was it?”, i asked. “The curse she hit me with. What was it?”

“It was dark magic. A pretty simple curse that made your lungs collapse. It ... it was a pretty cowardly attempt of Bellatrix to flee but it worked. I wouldn’t have let her get away with it if I had reacted more quickly. But... it took me a little time to fix it. To heal you.“

I swallowed. „Where are we?“

„A very old friend of mine driving this carriage. It’s a safer way to travel for you now than apparaing. I didn’t want to risk anything that could worsen your condition.”

He watched me calmly, something strange was in his expression.

“I never wanted to put you in any danger”, he said.

“I know”, I said.

“I should’ve known that you’d be a major target now. I shouldn’t have just let you go in public like that. I was naive. I should’ve known better. And you suffer he consequences now of my stupidity. For that I’m sorry.“

I didn’t want to listen, I felt so very tired. I knew he felt guilty. I knew he thought he was responsible for all this.

“I will never let you be harmed again“, Albus said slowly, looking at his feet.

I turned my head to him. He avoided my gaze.

„It was stupid of me to think... I was careless by thinking we could...“ he breathed heavily when he finally looked up to me. „I have many enemies. I should have known they’d come after you. I should have known I was putting you in great danger. I was selfish. I should’ve known better - that means, I DID know. But I acted against my better knowledge. For that there’s no excuse. I’ll...we’ll have to -„

He was about to say what I feared. It was as the curse again hit me. I sharp pain in my chest made me clinch my eyes.

„We’ll have to be more careful“, he said. „Well not separate again. I promise. I love you so so very much.”

And he leaned in to kiss me again.

[mybrothershands]

MBH/Dumpling Crossover

featuring @diddlesanddoodles lovely characters and edited by @thundering-sussurus

"No," Cairo said blatantly before Ka had a chance.

Farris eyed Cairo with a deadpan expression.

“Luckily, we ain’t so desperate a condition as to be needin’ yer services,” Farris replied, but there was a single vein along his temple that pulsed in repressed irritation. His eyes moved back up to Ka and he asked, “Ye always let that one talk fer ye?”

The man clamped his hand over Cairo's mouth. A lump had formed in Ka's throat, and he swallowed. "Ah... I, that is." He took a deep breath and steadied himself. Something about the man made him anxious, and he could not help but shuffle in place a bit. "No, I thank you very much for... for letting me work."

He glanced over at the men working the enormous pumpkins. It was so odd to see so many halfling giants in one place. They were a far cry from being human, and yet their weathered hands seemed small and delicate as they worked. Somehow they had cultivated larger foodstuffs, and Ka found himself a bit jealous. They did not look as lumbering or stupid as he must. There were so few foods that were to-scale for his kind, and yet these people seemed to have every luxury and more, even if some of the animals were a bit... unorthodox.

He quickly looked away, realizing he must have been staring. Ka's eyes moved to Nenani, still sitting comfortably in Farris's arm. It was then he realized this must be the man who watched her while she was sick. The giant cocked his head ever so slightly. Maybe there was more to this man.

Ka picked his head up, meeting the little giant's eyes for the first time. They were a piercing pale green, and he felt as if they might bore right through him. He cleared his throat, trying not to look away. "Is there anything I can do in the meantime? Anything at all. Decorations hung, moving tables..." he cringed before offering the next suggestion, thinking of what he might be asked to do to those poor birds, "...unloading the wagon?"

Farris did not miss the heavy reluctance in his voice.

“I know a tenderfoot when I see one. So stop lookin’ like a panicked scullery maid,” Farris admonished.

Scullery maid? Still, Ka nodded at the instructions, more than happy to listen in silence. "Yessir, thank you," he said when Farris was done, then eyed Avery. He was not sure how he felt about being called a beanpole, but, in any case, he seemed to have gotten over his shock well enough. Past that, he did not seem as hard as Farris. None of them did.

Cairo, however, was getting testy at constantly having his mouth shut by giant fingers. "You're gonna suffocate me," the human grumbled when he was finally free. His companion ignored him and listened for instructions.

“Avery and Bart will handle the birds. Yer with Saen on pumpkin duty. They need broken down, cut up, and fried so my bakers can get them into the pies and into the ovens for luncheon service.” He turned around to call out towards the black-haired cook sitting among the piles of pumpkins. “Avery. Come and start in on these birds. I want the first batches roastin’ within the hour.”

Avery stood, looking utterly relieved to be taken off pumpkin duty, and marched towards them. His step faltered, however, as he got his first real look at Ka. But he squared his shoulders and continued towards the cart, trying to play off his momentary hesitation.

“Fuckin’ hell,” he said, glancing him up and down as he fished two of the birds from the back of the cart. He held one under each of his burly arms. “Who’s the bean pole?”

“Ka’s helpin’ out today,” Farris replied dismissively. “Now shut yer gob and get to it. The spice mixture is in the green jar on the counter. Should be enough fer all of ‘em, so don’t be too heavy handed.” He turned towards Ka and jerked his head in a clear indication for him to follow. “We move fast down here, understand? Ye have a question? Ask it. And I ain’t no babysitter either. Only child down here is the lil’un.”

Farris led him over to the fire pit. A table had been placed nearby, and on it sat a few knives, a long handled wooden spoon, and two large crocks: one of butter and the other of honey. Farris eyed the knives and then said, “I’ll get a more size appropriate knife fer ye. In the meantime, sit down and Yale will be back with yer breakfast.”

"Thank you," Ka said as he approached the pit. He nodded politely to the one called Saen and noticed how the little giant's hair stuck up in the front. At first glance, he looked a bit puckish, though that was yet to be determined. Ka found and palmed the pumpkin Avery had left behind. There was a patch of the orange skin the skin already shaved off, he noted. Taking a moment to study it, Ka sat down near the table and took one of the small knives, despite Farris's offer.

After a few attempts to work with the little knife that felt like a kid's toy in his hand, he seemed to remember something. "Oh, I actually have... my own." He pulled on the strap of his satchel, then flipped the top open, producing a six-foot blade that was definitely not a kitchen knife. It was blunted and had several nicks in it, however, apparently unloved. He reached out, arm easily closing the distance, and held it into the flames for a moment to burn off any filth.

"I am Ka, by the way," he said, eyeing the man who looked about his age. "He told me your name, but... I'm afraid I've already forgotten."

Putting down his own knife, Saen extended a welcoming hand to Ka.

“I’m Saen,” replied the cook with a wide friendly smile. Ka at first reached out with his left hand to shake, but then realized his error and switched the pumpkin to his other hand and shook with his right. It did not feel too small, as he thought it might have. It was more like shaking a boy's hand, though calloused and firm.

"Saen," he repeated.

“And don’t mind Avery none," Sean continued. "He’s got all the tact of a mule and as much sense as a rusted penny.”

“I heard that!” Avery called as he came back up the steps from having delivered the first two birds to Bart.

“Maybe ye were meant to!” Saen retorted with a cheeky grin. Avery threw up a rude gesture as he went to the cart to collect two more birds. Saen just laughed and said, “Ye should be grateful this one came to rescue from prep work. Yer right shit at peeling.”

Yale appeared then at the top of the steps with the two meat pies, bundled up in a clean tea towel. He stopped to talk to Farris for a moment before continuing on towards Ka and Saen.

Nenani pulled at the kitchen master’s shirt to ask a question. “Fine. Just keep outta the way now and don’t be a pest, eh?” Farris warned before crouching down and releasing Nenani onto the ground.

“I won’t,” she promised and scampered along after Yale. Farris eyed the courtyard and the workers within before turning and taking the steps down into the kitchen.

Careful not to touch the still-hot blade, Ka made quick work of the gourd, peeling the skin away in long, thin ribbons. Both Yale and Saen watched with no small amount of awe at how Ka made such fast work of the gourd. With a wide grin, Saen turned to Yale. “Can we keep him?”

The pumpkin fit like a large potato in his hand, so the task really was not that difficult for him. Still, he bit back a smile and pretended to be too focused on his work to notice. Then two sets of feet approached, one big and one small, and he picked up his head. "Hello again," he greeted Yale. Finding Nenani on the ground, he thought it might be safe to release Cairo and set the pumpkin on the table. He double-tapped his chest as a warning before fishing the man out of his pocket.

Cairo grumbled a bit, but stretched as soon as his feet were on the grass. "Stiff as a board," he groaned, then reached his hand in his britches and scratched his rear.

Meanwhile, Nenani walked up to Cairo but stopped a few feet short. She bounced on her heels, a little bashful and said, “Hello.”

The man frowned, eyeing her with a squint. He looked the girl up and down, then squinted further. He turned his head and spit on the ground. "Can I help you?" he growled.

There weren’t many humans in the castle, and Nenani had wanted to ask the man questions about his life with Ka. But any questions she had died on her tongue as she stared down at the floor where Cairo had spit. She made a face and, looking back up, met his gaze with a disapproving frown. “That’s gross.”

He raised a brow. "So it is," Cairo said, a bit bored. He jerked his thumb back towards the kitchen where Farris had disappeared. "That one there, little man, he take care of you?"

She nodded. “Yeah. Everyone in the kitchen kind of does, but Farris is my actual guardian. See?” She reached into the top of her dress to pull out her marker. It was nothing but a simple leather strap with a struck metal medallion, and she held it up to him, showing off the side with Farris’s seal.

Cairo furrowed his brow and gave a simple grunt. "Collared you, then," he said. Still, it was rare he met one who did not fear the giants. Even Ka she had been kind to. Crossing his arms, he studied the piece, but did not move to touch. "Why?"

“It’s not a collar,” Nenani insisted with a mild glare. “It’s supposed to let everyone know I’m allowed to be here and to leave me alone. Because if you don’t have a marker, you might be trespassing. And not everyone here likes humans and might try to hurt you.”

The man regarded her for a moment. That did not bode well for him; then again, he had not planned to leave Ka's side, either. He thought for a moment longer, then spoke slowly. "We don't have anything like that," Cairo began, "but Ka does have a pocket that lets the regular folk know he's safe."

He had detested the idea of the marker at first, but on second thought, it might be quite nice to silently say that one was protected by a giant. A bit of a trophy in his mind. He then looked back and realized something else. "With protection comes..." He paused, trying to think of the correct word, and then realized what a stupid thought he had had. "I don't think it would be proper for me to wear one. It's my job to keep him safe, not the other way around."

She regarded him with confusion at first, looking back towards Ka and all his towering height and substantial bulk and then back at the much smaller Cairo. She smiled knowingly. “That’s what Jae says about Barnaby and Maevis. That Barnaby is more Maevis’s guardian than he is his.” She tucked her marker back inside her dress. “But don’t be worried about not having a marker of your own. Farris’s permission is good enough. No one will bother you while you’re here in the kitchens. I’ve only had one giant try and hurt me since I came here. I threw a pepperseed in his eye.”

Cairo raised his brow. "Good girl," he lauded. "And what did little man do when he found out?"

“Bart told Keral first,” she replied.

“What’s this about Keral?” Yale asked, having heard only the tail end of their conversation. He had moved to the fire pit and the large flat pan that had been placed atop a thin metal rack of sorts to hold it above the fire.

“I was telling him about Thrist trying to eat me that one time,” Nenani answered matter of factly.

Yale growled darkly at that. “Yeah, that swine-faced fucker ain’t gonna be tryin’ that again. He’s lucky Farris wasn’t around or he’d have had his arse fer curtains, and Keral would be down a scout.”

Cairo made an awkward snort before wiping his nose on his shirt. Eat her? What kind of hellish nightmare was this place?

"Do I put the pieces in there?" Ka asked, indicating the pan. He had finished skinning the pumpkin and rolled up his sleeves before uncorking the gourd. In truth, he had heard the conversation as well, but he was already squeamish at the idea and did not think he wanted to hear the rest of the tale.

"Down a scout?" Cairo asked, oblivious to Ka's discomfort. "You mean he ain't dead?"

“Aye, but first slice ‘em thin-like. They’ll cook faster that way,” Saen told Ka. He looked to Yale. “Lil’ man has a point though. Never did figure out how Keral managed to keep Thrist’s neck out of a noose.”

Yale shrugged, lips pinched into a frown. “I suppose bein’ the king’s favorite has it’s perks. So long he keeps him far away from the lass, I’m content with whatever hell trek Keral sent him on.”

Saen turned to Cairo. “Ye see, Thrist is a blue coat ranger. Ye might ‘a spotted one or two of ‘em here and abouts, but mostly they’re out in the provinces and the wilds, keepin’ an eye on things and reportin’ back to Keral who then reports to the King. He’s the captain of the Blue Rangers. Back when the Blood King was still alive, they were a bunch of murdering thugs. But since Keral took over, he’s been tryin’ to bring the order back to its original purpose.”

“He’s also Farris’s brother,” Nenani added.

"Brother," Ka muttered under his breath. There was a wafer-thin sneer on his face that faded as he shook his head. He hollowed out the pumpkin with a finger, holding the orange guts in his palm for a moment before holding them out. "You keep the seeds?" he spoke up in a kinder tone.

"And Farris would have wrent him limb from limb," Cairo said slowly, watching Yale's face as he said it.

“I’m sure he has his reasons, but I can’t say I wouldn’t have paid good coin to see that,” Yale replied. He sighed in resignation. “But Keral isn’t a bad sort, even if his men are pieces of walking rubbish. Probably the most cheerful man in the whole castle. Until ye make him mad and then he looks a lot more like Farris.”

“And his whiskey is top shelf. Got a bottle of it fer my nameday a few years back. But careful," Saen added. He gave Cairo a wink. "It’s got one hell of a kick.”

Ka adjusted his seat, still unsure what to do with the pumpkin guts in his hand. Finding no better place to put them, he tossed the glob into the fire and went to slicing up the pumpkin on the table.

Meanwhile, Cairo put a hand to his heart. "What! You take me for a drunkard? No, no, no no no," he waved both hands before himself. "Lost my uncle to the devil juice," he declared.

“Apologies,” Saen replied, shamefaced, and he raised his hands to placate the human. “Meant no offense. Sorry fer yer loss there, lad.”

Ka promptly knocked the man over with a knuckle. "Dirty liar."

"Hey!" he spat, brushing the dirt from his person as he got up.

The giant turned to meet Sean's eyes. "He likes mead. Had to carry him home half the time-- hey! Don't kick me! Old fart."

"You didn't let me finish," the human growled, glaring up at him. "I had him right where I wanted, too."

"Saen is nice, you shouldn't do that to him," Ka said plainly. This earned him another kick in the shin.

Saen recovered from his surprise quickly, looking to Yale with a haughty grin. “Ye hear that, Yale? I’m nice.”

Yale had grabbed up some of the sliced pumpkins and tossed them onto the pan with a knob of butter, and they began to sizzle. He waved the wooden spoon at his fellow and retorted, “Only ‘cause he’s never seen ye lose at the pebble toss. Or yer tantrum afterwards.”

“Ah, I don’t lose that often,” Saen replied, suddenly defensive.

“Well, the three shillings I won off ye last month say otherwise,” Yale replied as he turned his attention back to the frying pumpkin. He abruptly turned back to Saen as a memory suddenly resurfaced. “And then there was the time ye bit Kol.

“Oi. He stole my sausage,” Saen replied with a frown. “Fair punishment fer the crime.”

“Well, I think you’re nice,” Nenani said and Saen turned to smile at her.

“Why thank you,” he said.

“Even if you bite people,” she added with a grin.

Saen’s smile drooped and he held his arms out in exasperation. “It was one time, and I was drunk off my arse!”

Had Ka been wrong? Maybe his first impression had been right. They were not being rude, at least not to him, but it reminded him how little he knew. He was just an outsider, after all, so decided to keep his mouth shut for a little while. Since Yale had deemed his sliced pumpkin worthy of the frying pan, he regarded the small pile of gourds and wondered just how many pies they planned on making. He shrugged, taking another pumpkin and tossed end over end a up a couple times before setting to peeling again.

Cairo, however, had no such convictions. "You," he said, hammering a finger at Saen, "I like you." He crossed the lawn towards him, much to Ka's dismay. "So what's this about the king's whiskey," he paused, recollecting, "and what the ripe devil is a nameday, for that matter?"

Saen began slicing up more pumpkins but paused at Cairo’s question, regarding the human with a look of horror.

“Ye mean ye don’t have namedays where yer from?” Saen asked. “To celebrate ye bein’ a year older?”

The human squinted up at him. "It's a birth-day, you fool. Because it was the day you were...?" He shrugged. "Unless you hatched from an egg. I suppose you do look a bit like a lizard, then."

Saen slid his knife through the flesh of the pumpkin and paused, staring off into space as he realized the silly mistake he had made. “Oh. Birthdays...huh. Yeah, those.”

Off to the side, Nenani laughed. Saen sent a brief glare her way, but it left soon as it came and he moved on. “As fer the whiskey, it’s ain’t the king’s. Keral’s a bit famous fer his whiskey round here. He doles it out to those he deems worthy of it every once in a while. Farris may still have a bottle. Ask ‘im nice like and he may give ye a nip.”

“Best wait till end of day though,” Yale advised in good humor. “We ain’t bluffin’ about it havin’ a right kick. And we don’t need ya wanderin’ ‘round only fer ye to lose yer footin’ and fall arse end into the fire.”

Saen snickered. “Yeah, just ask Jae."

"Mmh," Cairo grumbled, waving his hand. "Never been one to ask nicely myself." He knocked twice on Saen's shin.

At the motion, Ka watched the man with round eyes and slowly shook his head back and forth. Still, Cairo did not seem to care, and repeated the motion.

Saen looked down curiously and titled his head. “May I be of assistance?”

By now, Ka was visibly shaking his head, openly nervous. The human either did not notice or simply ignored him. "Up, I said," Cairo laughed. He eyed the orange stains on his hand. "Wipe your grubby hands off first, mind you. I don't want to smell like rotten fruit in an hour."

“Oh. Alright then,” said the cook, pleasantly surprised. He sat his knife down and roughly wiped his hands onto his apron before bending down. There was a moment’s hesitation as Saen tried to think of the best way of picking the man up. Unlike Nenani, Cairo was an adult and therefore taller and with considerably more heft to him. In the end, he used the same technique he employed with the little girl, which was to shove his hands under the human’s arms and lift him up. Perhaps it was simply that he was more accustomed to the weight of a small human child, but Saen was a little taken aback by just how much heavier Cairo was. Though really he shouldn’t have been. He did his best to not let it show on his face as he lifted the man onto a clean spot on the table.

Cairo winced a bit as the giant pinched the old wound in his ribs. Once set down, he let out a puff of air and brushed himself off. "Boy you got little girly hands, don't you?"

"Cairo..." Ka warned, though this time did not bother to look up. His stomach rumbled again, and it was then he remembered the pies Yale had brought. He hurried to finish skinning the pumpkin.

Saen tucked his hands under his armpits and pouted. “...don’t have girly hands...”

From the fire pit, Yale started to laugh.

The human took a bow. "My apologies, Princess. Would you like me to kiss your ring?"

With a sudden devilish smirk, Saen grabbed a piece of sliced pumpkin and pushed his ring finger through it and then shoved it in Cairo’s face. “Go on then.”

Yale turned to Ka. “Sorry about that one. I’d say he’s normally not like this...but I’d be lying.”

The big man shrugged. "Don't apologise to me yet. Mine may do worse," he said as he chopped up the pumpkin on the table. Just as he said it, Cairo pricked up as though offended.

"What!" he growled, scrunching up his face at the slimy vegetable.

The human's mood seemed to change then, and he put on a mask of haughtiness. "Your grace, I was only jesting! I wouldn't dare touch thine ring. Tis too great an honor for a lowlife such as myself... but if you insist--" He then took not the ring finger, but Saen's middle finger, and bowed before it. Cairo then proceeded to stick his tongue out and lick the knuckle.

“Oi now!” Saen snapped loudly, pulling back his hand in disgust, but the force of the movement caused his pumpkin ring to fly off of his hand and up into the air. And when it came back down again, it landed on top of Ka’s head.

The little man roared with laughter, while his giant friend was left with a sticky bit of pumpkin in his hair. Ka sat there a moment, eyes distant and unmoving. At last he drew a deep breath, let it out slow, and deadpanned, "Your highness, I think you have lost your ring."

Nenani covered her mouth with her hands to stifle a giggle, looking back and forth between them. Saen drew a breath to make a retort when a bellow sounded from the archway.

“I’M HEARIN’ A LOT ‘A TALKIN’ AND NOT A LOT ‘A WORKIN!”

Both Saen and Yale, more than accustomed to Farris’s hollering, turned their focus to their work. Nenani, still growing use to the sheer volume her guardian voice could achieve, was startled badly and jumped.

Ka gasped and hunched his shoulders at the sound. "Sorry!" he squeaked, though he knew the man could not hear him. He took the pumpkin from his head and pitched it into the fire. It had been a fairly solid piece, but his hair was still sticky in places from the stuff. Cairo, he noticed, had not budged other than to turn in the direction of the voice and square his shoulders as if to fight.

The giant then caught sight of Nenani still pulling herself together. "Are you okay, little one?" Ka murmured.

She blinked up at him and then nodded with a small sheepish smile. “Yeah. I’m still getting used to how loud Farris gets sometimes.”

“Bit of a wonder we ain’t all deaf,” Yale murmured to Ka with a suppressed grin.

“Do you ever yell like that?” Nenani asked Ka. The question came more from a curiosity about Ka’s height. Farris was one of the taller giants she had met and Ka towered over him. If Ka were to get as angry, she wondered if he was that loud.

Ka glanced from Nenani to Yale and then back again. He shook his head as he reached for one of the pies. He hesitated, remembering Farris's call, and chose to grab another pumpkin instead. "I haven't raised my voice since I was a boy," he admitted. "People get nervous when I use my normal voice, so I try to be quiet."

"Y'ain't that bad," Cairo growled.

Yale gave Ka a strange look. “Nervous? Why would they be nervous? I agree with yer brother. That’s plain stupid. What’s other people’s business if yer voice is a tad loud?” Yale gave Ka an appraising look. “Fer as tall as ye are, ye don’t seem to care fer the attention.”

“I always thought it would be really inconvenient to be really tall,” Nenani mused. She had found a small rock on the ground and had picked it up and was idly passing it between her hands.

Saen laughed and replied, “We could say the same fer ya small folk being so short. Ye get winded just climbin’ the damn stairs.”

Ka shrugged at Yale's question, but found the words strengthened him a bit. Even if the man was a giant in his own respect, it felt good to hear some encouragement on the subject. "You are... much more confident than I," he decided.

The giant shook his head as he peeled. His voice got quiet and apprehensive. "I've scared people before. Humans, mostly. I don't like it." He forced a laugh. "Maybe I worry too much."

Cairo picked his teeth. Upon finding something, he pulled it out on his fingernail, then stuck it back in his mouth. "Sure do," he grumbled. He turned to Sean and curled his lip. "I don't have to climb your stairs, midgey boy."

Saen grinned and poked the human’s middle. “Maybe ye should start,” he quipped.

Near the pit, Yale was considering Ka with a little more of a critical eye. He took the sight of him in and his words and pieced more of the puzzle together. He understood easily the apprehension that came with interacting with humans, though he and the rest of the staff and Farris all made jokes and snarky remarks about popping them into stews and pies. It was all a balm against the festering wounds left behind by the war. It was easy to joke to and make light of it all. It was their morbid way to reconcile with the very real evils they had done. That Farris had done for them. To save them. But Yale held himself just as responsible as Farris. No matter what the kitchen master told him. He too remembered those faces...

He looked to Nenani then, who was watching them with an open curiosity. Innocent. She knew only bits and pieces, and even then, he wasn’t sure she knew anything of the whole truth. If she did, she never let on.

He took the slices of cooked pumpkin and dropped them into a shallow earthenware dish. Staring at the other slices still sizzling along the hot metal pan, he spoke to Ka.

“Didn’t use to be. Confident I mean,” Yale admitted to him. “When I was younger. Durin’ the war and all. Scared a lot of humans in my life. And I'm talkin' real terror. Wasn’t my choice to do it, but I did.”

Ka was silent for a moment, trying to think over Cairo's angry exchange with Saen. The humans here had been foolish enough to wage war with the giants? Behind that, what had they done to deserve their wrath? He shook his head and decided to ignore it. "I... haven't had to kill anyone, fortunately. There was that one, erm, accident with a dragon rider, but..." Ka shrugged as he rolled the pumpkin over in his palm, unsure how to finish his sentence.

He then glanced over to where Nenani stood and recalled how protective Yale had been of her. If so much had happened to him, how had he recovered so well? He himself had been a mess the time he had hurt Cairo. Then again... "I suppose there are bad humans just as there are bad giants," he finished.

Yale nodded with grim understanding at Ka’s words. There was no need for him to say anything else as his meaning was plain as well as his regret. It only served to confirm in Yale’s mind the kind of man he was and it brought forth a feeling of smug contentment. He wasn’t always as good a judge of character as Farris, but he wasn’t bad either. He felt pride in knowing his initial assessment of Ka had been right.