#I don’t know if there’s official info on why the sudden hair change

[fic-dumpster]

I wanna know what made Ran cut his hair. A bad breakup? I wanna forget and hair holds memories type of thing? Or someone finally did the Miss Trunchbull’s hammer pigtail throw to him? And he decided that was it.

[angelsinflight]

Roxas’s Story

[Copied from the Kingdom Hearts Character Files official release.] [Master Post here ] [Info, Photos, and thoughts under the cut.]

“I Remember You”

There were seven days left in my summer vacation.

“On our next day off, let’s all go to the beach, huh? Just the three of us.”

I definitely remembered someone saying that to me. “Three of us”. . . Who in the world were the three? I’d forgotten everything. When I stood in front of Sora, I remembered.

I thought I remembered everything. But there was actually something I hadn’t remembered-- something really important.

Way back, I didn’t really know anything, and Axel had just explained what a summer vacation was. It was on my first day off since I’d joined the Organization. Though, if I told people like Sora that even the Organization had vacation days, they would look at me funny. All of a sudden I was told I had a day off, and I couldn’t find anything to do, so I was eating sea salt ice cream at the top of the clock tower. Axel arrived, and together we watched Hayner’s group play in front of the plaza. Back then, I didn’t know the names of Hayner and the others yet.

“Are the kids here on summer vacation already? . . . Nah, can’t be. It’s much too early.” “Summer vacation? What’s that?” “It’s a dream come true, that’s what-- where they get a whole month off.”

When we talked about things like this, it was weird that Axel had memories from when he was human and I didn’t have any. It made me uneasy.

“Most kids spend the time just goofing off with their friends. Hanging around with friends is fun. I’d forgotten all that since becoming a Nobody, I guess.”

That probably meant Axel had friends when he was human. I thought Axel was my only friend. But I remembered.

At the time, I intended to leave the Organization.

“Your mind’s made up?” Even Axel’s question didn’t stop me. Because I didn’t trust him anymore.

“Why did the Keyblade choose me? I have to know.” “You can’t turn on the Organization! You get on their bad side, and they’ll destroy you!” Axel shouted, and I stopped at last.

“No one would miss me.”

After saying this, I started walking. But I had no destination. I didn’t know where to go, so I ended up at my usual spot, the clock tower.

The one who arrived after me was the girl I forgot for a long time-- Xion.

“Roxas. . . This is him. It’s Sora.”

With her hood removed, I saw that Xion wasn’t Xion. Her face had changed into someone I’d never seen before. And this person was the one I’d been wanting to meet.

“You’re next, Roxas. I have to make you a part of me, too. Don’t you see? This is why I was created.”

With her coat thrown off, Xion was a puppet.

I didn’t want to fight her. But she attacked me.

Please, Roxas-- end me.

As I was fighting, I began to lose what I knew. Who was I fighting? I was rapidly forgetting things that were important to me.

And before I knew it, an unfamiliar girl with black hair was collapsing in front of me.

“Who are you. . . again? It’s weird. I feel like I’m forgetting something really important.”

The girl slowly opened her eyes.

“You’ll be. . . better off now. . . Roxas.”

I held her up.

“Am I. . . the one who did this to you?” “No. . . It was my choice. . . to go away now. Better that than to do nothing. . . and let Xemnas have his way.”

The girl put her hand on mine.

“Goodbye, Roxas. See you again.”

A small smile appeared on her face.

“I’m glad. . . I got to meet you. Oh. . . and of course, Axel, too. You’re both my best friends. Never forget. That’s the truth.”

In that moment, I remembered. Xion.

“No! Xion. . . Who else will I have ice cream with?”

But she was disappearing.

“Xion.”

All that remained of her was a Thalassa Shell.

And I wanted to get Xion back, so I fought Riku. I lost all my memories, and then I was in Twilight Town. And when I stood before Sora, I thought I remembered. But that wasn’t true.

Now, I remember everything.

I remember you, Xion.

——————————————————————————————————– Just uploading scans of the character files pages is making it hard to read, so I’m trying to copy things over for my friends abroad who aren’t able to get ahold of the book, as well as hopefully making them more accessible to people who use screen readers.

Man.... so far out of the main characters, Xion and Roxas’s stories have hit me the hardest. They never got to just be kids.

Since it’s in this photo:

Roxas’s Keyblades

Oblivion & Oathkeeper Roxas’s two Keyblades. The fact that they each have a connection to Riku and Kairi, respectively, as to do with Roxas being Sora’s Nobody. Before he wielded these two, he used the Kingdom Key.

[thebookreader12345]

Friendly Parenting Pt. 2

Pairing: Connor Rhodes x reader

Summary: Owen is now a few months old, and Natalie and Will decide to set Y/N up on a date with Connor

Requested: Yes, by anonymous

Warnings: mentions of a car accident and heart problems

Word Count: 1,509 Words

Pt. 1     Pt. 3

“You’re late,” Maggie told me as I entered the ED.

“I know. I’m sorry. I promised Natalie I would drop Owen off at her mother-in-law’s place, but just before I could leave, he spit up on me and I had to change and-”

Maggie cut me off. “If I didn’t know you and Nat’s situation, I’d say you sound like a mom. Hurry up and drop your stuff off. I’ve got a case for you.”

“All right. Give me two minutes,” I say and rush into the lounge. I practically threw everything into my locker and shoved my stethoscope into my coat pocket. Pulling my hair up into a ponytail, I made a beeline for the exit only to be blocked by Connor.

“What’s the rush?” Connor asked.

“I was late today, and if I don’t get back to Maggie in the next 45 seconds, I’m toast,” I exclaim. “Excuse me.” I went to walk around Connor, but he gently grabbed my arm and stopped me from leaving the lounge. “Connor, I said I have to go.”

“Calm down, would ya? You’re working with me today. And you’re not really late considering that our patient hasn’t even come in yet,” Connor notified me.

“Oh. Sorry,” I reply. Connor gave me a small smile, and I could feel a light blush creeping up onto my cheeks, so I turned around so that Connor couldn’t see it. I then made my way back to my locker to organize it since I had the time. “Got any info on our case?”

“Not much. All I know is that it’s a car crash vic. Apparently he lost consciousness at the wheel, hence the car crash,” Connor stated.

“Sounds exhilarating,” I joke.

“What? Not your kind of case?” Connor asked, even though he knew me well enough to already have the answer to that question.

“I prefer the cases that keep you on your toes. The ones that start as a mystery and have you dying to figure out what’s going on even though it’s staring you right in the face. Those are the cases that get my adrenaline pumping, and they’re the ones that make me feel like I’m really helping people out,” I admit.

“Connor! Y/N! Incoming!” Maggie shouted from the nurses’ station at the ED.

“Duty calls,” Connor proclaimed.

“Duty calls,” I repeat and follow him out of the lounge and into the ED. “What have we got?”

“Mason Porter. Age 63. He lost consciousness at the wheel and caused a two car collision at an intersection downtown,” one of the paramedics informed us.

“Mr. Porter? Can you hear me?” I question as the paramedics transferred him from the gurney to one of the beds in the ED.

“I may be old, but I’m not deaf,” Mr. Porter responded. I see we had ourselves a jokester on our hands. 

“You ever lose consciousness like this before?” Connor asked.

Mr. Porter shook his head. “Never. The paramedics said there might me something wrong with my ticker?”

“That’s for us to find out. Did you feel dizzy before you passed out? Or was it more sudden?” My question wasn’t answered, and I glanced at Mr. Porter to see that he was staring off into space. “Mr. Porter?” Mr. Porter looked my way, and when he saw me, he smiled.

“Ah, my beautiful granddaughter is here!” Mr. Porter said and reached up to touch my cheek. “Mya, why haven’t you come by more?”

“He’s hallucinating. Chances are he’s got a severe case of endocarditis. We need a chest x-ray in here,” Connor called out into the ED. Seconds later, the machine was brought into the room, and Connor and I plus the others in the room put on our protective aprons. The x-ray tech positioned the x-ray over Mr. Porter’s chest, took a picture, and then the picture of Mr. Porter’s chest popped up on the computer connected to the machine. “What’d I say? Endocarditis,” Connor spoke and smiled at me.

“You’re always right, aren’t you?” I question teasingly as Connor grabbed onto one of the bed’s rails.

“Most of the time, yeah,” Connor replied with a small smirk. “Look, I’ve got to get Mr. Porter up to surgery.”

“Okay. Have fun,” I exclaim as Connor pushed Mr. Porter’s bed out of the room. I exited the trauma room and walked up to the nurses’ station to get another case, and as I was waiting for Maggie, Will walked over to me. “Hey, Will. What’s up?”

“You, me, Nat, Molly’s. Tonight after shift,” Will told me.

“Will, I was up for half of the night with Owen,” I confess.

“Right, which is exactly why you need a night out. Natalie’s getting Helen to keep Owen for a bit longer, so everything is taken care of. I’m not taking no for an answer,” Will declared.

I sighed. “Fine. Molly’s tonight after shift.” Later that night, after my shift had ended and I changed into some new clothes, I headed to Molly’s. When I walked inside, I didn’t see Natalie or Will, but I did spot Connor sitting at the bar. I made my way over to him and slid into the barstool at his side, waving Herrmann down. “Hey, Connor.”

“Hey,” Connor responded as Herrmann walked over to me. 

“What’ll it be, Y/N? Just a beer?” Herrmann guessed.

“You know it,” I say.

“Herrmann, put her drink on my tab,” Connor requested.

“Gotcha,” Herrmann confirmed and placed a beer in front of me. 

“You didn’t have to pay for my drink. I make money too, you know,” I remind him. Connor smiled and took a sip of his beer.

“I know, but I wanted to,” Connor disclosed. I only shook my head and took a sip of my drink. After about twenty minutes, Natalie and Will were still nowhere to be found. I sighed and glanced at my phone to see if either of them had texted, but I had no new notifications. “You waiting for a text or something?” Connor asked me.

“Not exactly. Will and Natalie were supposed to meet me here after shift,” I answer.

“Wait a minute. I’m also waiting for Will and Nat,” Connor claimed. At that moment, everything made sense. I groaned and took a big gulp of beer in front of me, enjoying the way the bitter alcohol burned my throat. “Something wrong?”

“Natalie and Will, they set us up,” I inform him.

“Set us up? What are you talking about?” Connor questioned.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “I may have told Natalie that I liked you, and in turn she told Will, and so they tried to set us up. I feel so embarrassed,” I murmur.

“Why? I told Will the exact same thing,” Connor spoke.

“Hold on. You like me?” I ask.

Connor nodded. “I’ve liked you since the moment I got back to Chicago and got a job at Med.”

“Well, I did not see this coming,” I state. 

Connor laughed. “Me either. But since we’re here, and we both know that we like each other, Y/N, would you like to consider this our first date?”

“I would love to,” I say and wave Herrmann down towards us again. “Herrmann, we’re going to need some more beers.” The night went really well. It was nice getting to talk to Connor outside of work. There was so much we didn’t know about each other, and tonight gave us the opportunity to learn more. After a few drinks, it was getting late, so Connor and I decided to head out. Connor walked me to my car, and just before I could climb into the driver’s seat, I turned to Connor. “You know, there’s one thing we still have to do to make this first date official.”

“I think I already know what that one thing is,” Connor muttered and leaned forwards, pressing his lips to mine. I smiled against Connor’s mouth and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling his body closer to mine. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but it was an amazing few seconds. “Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Night, Connor,” I reply. The whole ride home, I was filled with happiness. I couldn’t believe I had kissed Connor. When I walked inside me and Nat’s shared house after about a five minute drive, I still had a smile on my face.

“You’re smiling,” Natalie pointed out. “And I’m guessing that because you’re smiling, things went well between you and Connor.”

“It was wonderful,” I breathe out and plop down on the couch next to her.

“And I’m ready to hear all about it. Spill,” Natalie demanded. The rest of that night was spent with me telling Natalie about what had happened between me and Connor. And when it was finally time for me to go to bed, all I could think about was our date. I was super excited to see where things would go with Connor and I, and I was ready to see what awaited us in the future.

______________________

Tag List:

@prettypyschoinpink @securityfriendly-jay @scarletsoldierrr @lorenakaspersen @virtualreader @carnationworld @caitsymichelle13​ @king-crockett​

[raendown]

Another follower milestone gift fic. This one is for @sarcastic-mommy for the prompt word obdurate.

Pairing: MadaraSakura Word count: 1249 Rated: G Summary: Sakura knew a lot about Madara before they ever even met. Loved him, maybe, from the first time they talked.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI and commission info in the header!

Hard Headed, Soft Hearted

She saw him for the first time on the day Madara moved in to her building, scowl in place because he hated this town, hated having to leave his home, and Sakura remembered laughing from her window as she watched this new guy with crazy hair argue with his own boxes like if he could only yell loud enough they might pick themselves up and walk right in to the elevator for him. She remembered wondering why there was no one around to help him move but it was none of her business. The wondering only lasted about a month until half the building jolted upright at three in the morning to the sound of uninhibited sobbing while a man’s voice rang through the hallways saying, “But you didn’t tell anyone you moved again! Are you moving on? This is so healthy for you, Maddy! I’m so happy I found you!” 

By then the sound of Madara’s shouting was familiar enough that Sakura went back to sleep, perfectly assured that everything was okay. He didn’t sound angry. Sakura didn’t bother to question the way she already knew his moods by the tone of his yelling. 

It was something close to a year of living in the same building but a floor apart before they actually met officially and Sakura found herself laughing again as she gave her name, amused at the flabbergasted expression on Madara’s face when he offered a grunt of “Uchiha Madara” and all she could say in return was, “You should call Hashirama more often.” It wasn’t like he lived his life very quietly but Sakura grew up with two boys for best friends whose default volume was screaming in each other's faces. She was used to it. 

After that it was like the universe began carefully pulling at their strings, dancing the two of them back and forth through life only to trap them in that same dingy elevator together time and time again, never anyone else around and always such a coincidence that they managed to be there at the same time. Their schedules didn’t even line up. Yet there they were again and again until finally Madara scrubbed at the back of his head and asked if she wanted to stop off at his floor for a while. Sakura asked him why he’d waited so long. 

There were a lot of things about Madara that she knew before they ever met, things she picked up from the voices that shouted through the floor while she did her yoga routines and scrubbed out the bathtub. She knew that Madara liked his coffee black, knew he couldn’t stand his best friend’s little brother, knew he’d grown his hair long because his baby brother asked him to. She knew that same baby brother had passed away the year before they met and Madara had run to three different cities trying to escape the pain before he landed here in her old ass apartment building. There were a lot of things she knew. But knowing something and experiencing it for yourself were two very different situations and if Sakura had thought she knew what stubborn meant before, well, now she was convinced the definition of that word should be changed to simply a picture of Madara’s face in the dictionary, scowling like he was now over the rim of his soup bowl. 

“Do you or do you not live in the twenty-first century?” she asked him with a roll of her eyes. “You’re so old fashioned sometimes that I think about buying you a pocket watch. Or an ear trumpet.”

“I am not! And my hearing is fine!”

“You think women can’t propose to men? Hello? Get with the times, grandpa.”

Either it was the heat in her eyes or maybe the way she wielded her soup spoon like a tactical weapon but something made him sit back in his seat, crossing both arms over his chest with a snort, looking away like her gaze was too heavy to hold. 

“I never said women can’t propose to men, I said I don’t want you to propose to me.” 

“Still kind of a pig thing to say.”

His eyes flashed back, all fire and brimstone with the anger he carried always just beneath the surface. If she didn’t love it so much Sakura thought maybe she would hate it except she couldn’t ever imagine hating anything about Madara. Not even when he glared at her the way he did now, soup pushed to one side and one hand coming out to point accusingly in her direction. 

“Take that back,” he demanded. “I am nothing if not a gentleman.” 

“Yesterday you let the apartment door slam in my face while we were leaving,” Sakura pointed out. Then she bit the inside of her cheek as he flailed the hand between them. 

“I thought you had gone back inside! You said you needed to grab your purse!” 

“Okay, I’ll give you that.” After all, he couldn’t have known she meant the one that was sitting right beside the door. She did have a lot of purses. He complained about that all the time. 

Madara snorted. “See? Now take it back.”

“I don’t get what the big deal is! We talked about it, we’re gonna get married someday, what’s so bad about it if I’m the one who gets a bunch of roses and goes down on one knee and all that crap?”

And for all the things that Sakura knew about Madara, now and before they ever met, there was one thing that she often forgot in the heat of the moment when his voice reached impossible octaves and his volume attracted yet another call in an endless succession of calls to the police for one more noise complaint. Sometimes she just forgot how soft his heart was underneath all that bluster. It struck her again now, like it had so many times before, watching his face burn a sudden cherry red, pushing away from the table abruptly to stomp across the room and dig his hand around in that one broken light fixture they just never got around to fixing. 

When he pulled out a tiny blue velvet box Sakura could swear all the oxygen in the room vanished. 

“You can’t propose to me,” Madara growled, shaking the box like a threat. “Cause then I can’t propose to you! Quit ruining my plans, Haruno!” 

“M-madara…”

Pouting, he cradled the box to his chest and stomped off towards their bedroom with his nose in the air. “Now I have to find another hiding place for this. Vile woman. You know you make my life so damn difficult. Hmph. No, don’t get up, I have to call Hashirama. We need a new plan now.”

Lukewarm soup splashed across her work blouse when Sakura let it slip from her fingers and fall down in her forgotten lunch. She didn’t notice. For a minute or so all she could do was blink sightlessly while her brain tried to catch up to the revelation that apparently her boyfriend had been planning to propose. And that she’d ruined the surprise. Eventually a smile stole across her face and Sakura leaned back in her chair, peace stealing through her veins and warmth in her skin that had nothing to do with the sun streaming through the window. 

Gods but she loved that he was stubborn enough to do it right even when he didn’t have to. 

[tomuraxashes]

Found you - part 1

- Tenko! - a young, white haired boy run towards him from the swings.

- Touya-chan! How could you come? - he asked with  confused tone in his voice.

He remembered his friend told him yesterday he wouldn't make it to come even today to the playground.

- Ah, it was easy. I convinced my mum to go and visit her parents together and after we came back I just asked her to take me out here. So I am here! - the young Todoroki smiled.

- Oh, I'm happy then. - the black haired boy said somehow delightfully, but his little cute face immediately turned back to the gloominess it was before - but wat if your dad finds out?

- Dont worry Tenko, after he learned that you are a Shimura, he doesn't really mind when I hang out with you. Sure, I still have to train but he allows me to have a friend, moreover a friend from a hero dynasty. Common bullshit of his, ya'know.

- Yes, I see, but I'm still worried about you! Your scars on your arms .. I .. let me see.. let me try to heal it!

- No need - Touya opposed - I don't have big scars today, I didn't receive any serious injuries. I don't want you to harm yourself just because of these small scratches.

- I don't care.. - the little boy said with a serious gaze in his ruby eyes - besides my mum or Hana-chan, you are the only one for I would use it.. You are the person I like the most, and why should I have this quirk, if not for helping my loved ones?

Now give me your hand...

.

.

They boys were at the Todoroki's house, playing inside of Touya's room. But they still could hear the shouting of Endeavour and Rei from the another room.

"Enji, he is just seven! How can you do this to him?

"He is already seven! He is my eldest son, and I want him to become the no 1, no matter what. He will surpass All Might! I won't let my dream down!"

From the room where the boys were in, a quiet sobbing was heard after the argument.

- Tenko chan.. I .. I don't even know if I want to be a hero anymore! - the white haired boy cried silently

- It's okay.. I will always be here for you and support you, no matter what.

.

.

- Mum, why Tenko's mum is not answering to your calls?

"Breaking news! The no 1 hero Nana Shimura is dead!"

- Mum! It's... Tenko's grandma on the TV! What happened?

"The heroine kept her private life in secret, but unfortunately the tragedy happened there as well. His son's entire family was eliminated, the circumstances are still under an investigation, the suspect is unknown."

- Mum? Dad? - the white haired boy almost cried - Whats the report about? Why we can't reach Tenko? Is he safe?

His mum couldn't answer. All he got is his father's uncertain hug, with a sad gaze and his trying to calm him down.

- I'm sorry, son...

.

.

He was so young back then, but then he was able to feel some happiness. He had one fucking friend in this cursed life, yet he had to die.

He didn't remember to much from his childhood - he didn't want to - but the small black haired boy with those ruby eyes was his sweetest memory ever.

He is not the one he used to be. The white haired hero-to-be is now gone, the world thinks he is dead now. And maybe they know right .. Touya Todoroki is truly dead.

Dabi is the one who lives. Dabi, the villain, the bad guy, who kills people just for fun, and kills heroes to calm his broken soul a little bit.

What would Tenko think if he could see me now?"

But there is no Tenko anymore.

There is no one who would heal his injuries, who would make him smile, who would care for him.. there is no one in this world for him. He is alone.

The only thing what makes him happy is to kill those fucking heroes.

Those scumbags who never helped anyone for real, they weren't there for him when his father almost killed him,  neither for Tenko when he... passed away. Somehow.

It has been so many years yet no one knows how this case happened. The investigators claimed it had something to do with All for One and Nana's war, and via that, they didnt really look into it.

Dabi wanted two things in his life.

Firstly , he wanted to kill the person who made him and his whole family suffer - his scumbag of a father.

Secondly, he wanted to find out the truth about Tenko's death.

And that's why he is exactly there where he is right now.

He joined the League of Villains.

He heard from some underground fellas that there is a guy named Giran who can find literally anything. Well, the information is the most expensive trading stuff of his, so Dabi knew he has to make some money first.

And what's a better option than making money from killing heroes? And besides that, if he ""sells" himself to Giran first, and the  League would be pleased with him as a villain, than the man would owe him.. perfect plan.

Well, it somehow worked. He was in, the LoV took him and even they gave him the opportunity to make them proud.

Even the boss seemed to acknowledge his powers and determination.

Well, the boss.. he was really something. Dabi - nor the others - couldn't see his face,he had always covered it with a human hand. It was kinda creepy but the whole guy was, as well.

He learned that his quirk, the decay is extremely dangerous and that he didn't think a lot about killing. If someone pisses him off, he is willing to turn them to dust within a sec. He has to be cautious, Dabi noted himself.

*

Shigaraki didn't  seem to care too much about his subordinates but in fact, he did. He couldn't even explain it for himself, he just didn't want them to die - maybe.

He didn't exactly know how to "care". He didn't interact with people too much before establishing the LoV. He had Sensei and Kurogiri, and sometimes he was in touch with Giran if he needed something from the black market.

But then Sensei wanted him to get some people, who are his "own". So that way, it was not necessary to ask Giran for some ragtag mobs if he wanted to make a bigger action.

Now, he had some really hardcore fellas, with real power and willingness. He was satisfied.

He was the leader. They listened to him, they obeyed him. That was the most important thing.

But ... since they lived together, he saw the connections between the members. How they get on with each other in their free time. How they talked, played, had fun, etc.

And for Tomura, it was all strange indeed. He has never done it - at least, not after Sensei found him.

Before -

"Hm, that's not relevant anymore, what happened before..."

*

Dabi was in a good mood recently. No one from the League knew the reason, but the scarred man teased them less than usual. He was even nice with them sometimes.

They were all in the bar, even Shigaraki sat there and drank some spirit when Toga just asked Dabi randomly about his sudden emotional changes.

- Well, if you really wanna know - the burnt man started to speak theatrically - I will finally receive the thing I always wanted to!

- And what's that thing? - Magne asked excitedly- you ordered some goth stuff from Wish?

- Lol nope, that's ..wait, why do you assume I have my stuff from Wish? I definitely don't! But that's not the matter! After the last mission I finally had the cash to buy something from Giran. And he promised me the stuff for todaay!

- What the hell did you buy from that crock? Do you need some guns or what? - finally Shigaraki spoke up too.

He wasn't fond of the fact that he has now some company but he was aware he needed to socialise.

He quite liked the League and that's why he didn't want them to think that he is some creepy loner - well, he is.

- What for? I have my own firepower, it's not the thing. I bought some information...

That was all he shared with the League. At least, for now. He have to see Girans files at first and maybe after he will reveal the truth about himself - and Tenko in front of the League.

When he almost died, and that way he became Dabi, he promised himself he won't share his past with anyone, but since he lived with the League, he wasn't that determined anymore. He felt like there is a bond between them, and if they could help him find Tenko.. it would be worthy.

Even if he - somewhere deep down - realised it is nearly impossible to find his soulmate being alive, the hope never left him.

Neither when Giran gave him the files - with a sorrowful storyline, about AFO's and Nana's fights, about how Nana tried to hide Kotaro's existence, and then after a time skip, there was Kotaro's own family. Birth dates, basics infos, some pictures and the date of their deaths.

So that was it. No trace of life, no chance of survival. The destruction may caused by Afo.

Who is currently in the jail, so Dabi can't even speak to him.

He knew he has to give up on his hopes. There is the fucking evidence his soulmate really died back then.

Dabi just put the files on his drawer, not really paying any attention to hide it. He will do it later - now, he just doesn't want to think about it.

That's why he volunteered for the Leagues next mission.

It was a dangerous one, he needed to a sneak in the Hero commission's building and steal their newest "top-secret" plans.

It was actually spying, and they needed to do it with the minimum amount of men.

Kurogiri would teleport him in and out when it's time, but it is still risky.

Mostly - for a spying- there was Toga or Twice because of their quirks were suitable enough, but now it was required a real fight as well. So the final version was him and Twice. Twice would copy the looks of a random official, and Dabi will hide and somehow steal the secret files.

.

Shigaraki was really good at making plans. He always calculated a lot of possibilities in, and nearly all the stuff what could happen.

He was aware the mission is not a child's play but a serious one.

He looked over it many times already before presenting it to the others, but the overthinking and insecurity were his habits and can't let him stay calm.

At the evening, he decided to talk with Dabi about it. He wanted to be sure that the flame villain is okay with the whole thing, he knows the details and stuff.

He headed to his subordinate's room. The door was halfway open so the young boss don't really mind to knock on it.

There was a semidarkness in the room, but Dabi was nowhere to seen. Shigaraki came from the bar, the burnt villain was not there either.

Tomura thought he may use the bathroom or whatever, so he decided to wait him in his room.

He was about to sit on his bed, when he accidentally noticed a file on his drawer.

On the top of the file, there was a picture. That particular picture, of his dad and Nana Shimura.

Tomura stood there for minutes like an ice statue. He couldn't imagine how the picture could remain - and mostly how it got into Dabi's room.

At the meantime Dabi finished his stuff in the bathroom or wherever he was, so he came back to his room, only to see his boss holding a picture from his file and staring on that somehow inscrutably.

If it wasn't for Tomura, Dabi would be pissed off, cuz he doesn't like at all when others just come in his room and start to rummage his stuff, but since the blue haired man was his boss, he tried to keep it cool.

- Hi boss, how can I help you?

Tomura turned up when he heard Dabi's voice. He still held the picture, and judging by the mess on the drawer he also took a look into the files.

He was so confused right now he had no clue what to say. His thoughts were so loud and they didn't subside. He wanted to ask Dabi why the hell he has this goddamn file with the picture, how did he get it, and mostly.. could is be possible that he knows his secret?

"No way" - Tomura thought - "he would hide this somewhere and he wouldn't act so normally with him" But he was certain he needs to figure it out.

However his thoughts were still so messy he couldn't ask the proper questions he wanted to - without being suspicious.

He somewhat calmed down when he read those files - and they all stated he.. not he, Tenko - is dead, all the family is dead. No sign of survival.

So Dabi - or the one who gave him this - cannot know about him.

- How did you get those? - he finally managed to ask. His eyes were more deadly than he wanted tho.

Dabi suddenly felt himself quite uncomfortable. What should he say? If his boss would be curious, how should he explain why he wanted these datas? And why is his boss'es suddenly so resentful?

- This is the stuff I bought from Giran - he started to explain - I needed it for.. personal stuff.

Tomuras eyes widened - what kind of personal stuff of his can he related to his family? He noticed how Dabi's mood changed before he met with Giran - he was almost happy and really excited. But after the meeting he got gloomier than usual. Even now - when he spoke up, his voice was somehow sad.

Tomura decided to not deal with this right now, they all need to focus for the next day's mission.

- Anyways - the bluenette said - I just wanted to say not to fuck it up tomorrow. That's all for now. And I will keep this picture. Good night!

And with that, Shigaraki quickly left his subordinates room.

Now Dabi was the more confused one. He just couldn't understand what exactly his boss wanted to do, and why he got so distracted by that fucking picture. And mostly, why did he keep it?

Not if Dabi would need it, there wasn't Tenko on the picture just his dad as a kid with Nana Shimura.

"Maybe Shigaraki recognised the heroine and that's why he was asking? Probably" - Dabi thought. He knew about All for One and the Shimuras were enemies, so maybe that's why Shigaraki acted so strange.

.

(Part two right here on my page, just couldn’t write here the whole stuff cuz it’s long)

[yukipri]

On Deuce, Part 1 - a One Piece Mermaid AU Text Story

Alrighty, here's a story thing on Deuce!

My goal for this story? series? thing, is to not just give everyone a better idea of who Deuce is, but also bring up other Novel A characters and events that are relevant to the Mermaid AU (and there are several), especially for those who have not read the novels. Also want to give some info on what the hell Ace was doing in his Three Years between when he first left Dawn at 17, and him restarting his journey together with Lu.

I am defs in no way going to retell Novel A (if you wanna read them, the official English translations are out through Viz), but there are defs some major changes that occur in Ace's past as a result of Lu being a mermaid, that I feel are relevant and will tie in to some future decisions.

WARNINGS for this section:

＊I have not read the English translation of Novel A, only the original Japanese, and as such names etc. may be inconsistent.

＊This section contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Novel A volume 2, specifically about the identity of one of the novel only charas. If you want to read the novel without being spoiled, you may want to hold off on this, but if you don't care, go ahead!

＊Just a lotta Deuce being introspective, he's just that kind of guy.

＊Hint of implied AceLu

~~

Three years ago, Deuce met Ace on a deserted island, and they formed the Spade pirates together. Deuce was Ace's first crew mate on his first adventure, and he finds it poetic that he's also his first on his next, a journey all the way back to the starting point.

Deuce, in many ways, is Ace’s opposite. While Ace was the Spades' fire, their Sun, the charismatic leader who drew them together and whose flames fueled them forward, Deuce was the voice of reason and responsibility. Deuce was their strategist, their navigator, and their doctor all in one, a true First Mate who gave more orders than the captain to keep their crew functioning. If Ace was their beating heart, Deuce was their backbone.

Ace loved the Spades, and the Spades loved their captain, love him still, even after joining the Whitebeards. But Ace also carries darkness, and secrets that he decided he didn't want to burden his crew with, both for his benefit and theirs.

Ace has two major secrets: one, that he’s the Pirate King’s son, and two, that his “little brother” is a female mermaid.

The first, only Deuce knew among the Spades. He found out on accident, back on that deserted island where they first met.

Deuce likes to think that the rest of their crew would have accepted Ace regardless, that their faith wouldn't be so easily shaken by their captain's heritage. But at the same time, he both understands and sees wisdom in Ace choosing to remain silent. Knowledge of even the mere existence of the continuation of the Pirate King's bloodline is something that the World Government would and has killed for. Ace doesn't want to subject his crew to that, and to be honest, Deuce doesn't either.

But one other on their crew knew Ace's second secret, regarding the identity of his younger brother.

When Banshee, the lone woman on their crew, revealed that she was a mermaid, Ace's reaction wasn't that of a typical pirate. Their other crew members were a mix of awe at her tail, and rude disappointment that their mermaid crew mate was a plump older woman and not a sexy young babe.

But Deuce watched Ace, and saw his eyes widen, glued to the shimmering rich green of the mermaid's tail, and Deuce knew that he was being reminded of a specific person.

Deuce was already in the room when Ace asks Banshee to join them to talk in private. Deuce makes to leave, but Ace gestures for him to stay--after all, Deuce already knows what they're going to talk about.

"Auntie, sorry for calling you in here all of a sudden," Ace begins, using the nickname the crew had adopted for her.

"This is about me being a mermaid, isn't it," she says bluntly. "Is that going to be a problem, or...?"

"No, no, not at all!" Ace quickly holds out his hands placatingly, eyes wide.

Deuce doesn't blame Banshee for her wariness; he's heard more than enough about the dangers of mermaids out at sea, especially around pirates. Which, is probably what Ace wants to talk about anyway.

"It's...well, this is less me wanting to ask you questions, and more me wanting to let you know something," Ace begins, and Banshee frowns. The crew knows the basics of their captain's origins, and has had their ears chatted off about his love for his brother--but he doesn't talk much about himself much.

"It's about my little brother--"

Banshee heaves a huge sigh, all tension leaving her shoulders, and she throws an are you fucking kidding me glance at Deuce, who also sighs but minutely shakes his head to redirect her incredulous gaze back to Ace. Because well yeah, it is about Luffy, but it's actually serious this time.

"Well, you know my little brother Luffy," Ace begins again. "I don't tell a lot of people this, and actually other than you, only Deuce here knows. But...he, is actually a she, and she's, well, a mermaid."

Deuce watches the information sink in, because it clearly wasn't what Banshee was expecting.

"Is that why you caller her 'younger brother'?" she finally asks.

"Well that...that's a bit complicated, actually. That's not the reason why she's my younger brother. But I realized it's convenient, so I've just been going with it."

"I was going to say, if it's intentional, that's awfully clever of you, captain," she smiles teasingly, and Ace sputters while Deuce snorts. Banshee has a point, because Deuce actually had been the one who'd mentioned the convenience of the title 'little brother' in protecting Luffy's identity. But, he keeps quiet for now.

"So, yeah, I just wanted to let you know that well, that's where I stand regarding mermaids." Ace shrugs, then scritches his cheek, looking away. He's always awkward about Feelings talk, but it needed to be said, and Deuce feels proud of him.

Because mermaids are so incredibly vulnerable above sea level, surrounded by humans. While young maidens are the most targeted, coveted by slavers as a free ticket to wealth, power, and connections to even the Celestial Dragons, even an older woman like Banshee might face discrimination and danger. Ace had wanted to make Banshee feel safe and secure on his ship, and revealed his own familial connections to give his words weight.

The woman smiles fondly at Ace, much like she might a son, and ruffles his hair as Ace blinks dumbly. "Thank you, captain," she says. "I knew I had a good feeling about you, before I asked to join this crew. It's not often a mermaid joins a pirate crew, you know?"

"You surprised me, I didn't know mermaids could have legs," Ace says honestly, eyes brimming with blatant innocent curiosity as they flick shyly to her feet, and Banshee ruffles Ace's hair harder. "It's my first time meeting a mermaid other than Lu."

"Mmm, well, she seems to be in good hands, with an older brother who knows how to be discreet about her, even if it's only by following Deuce's plans," she says, and Deuce guffaws while Ace buries his face in his hands, because of course she'd already guessed. "But well, I know now. So you can ask me anything you'd like, and tell me about her, if you want."

With Banshee's invitation, Ace pounces on the opportunity, and Deuce listens in even as he continues writing in his journal, occasionally taking notes in the margins when their their conversation gets interesting. Banshee tells them how merfolk tails split when they reach thirty, allowing them to live as humans on land. She tries to convince Ace to keep his brother hidden until that age, when mermaids are far safer and less attractive to slavers, but Ace shakes his head. It was hard enough convincing her to stay behind this time. She'll be leaping off that island at seventeen, no matter what I say.

Eventually, someone comes banging on the door to pitifully beg Banshee for food.

"Thank you, Auntie," Ace says as they get up to rejoin the crew outside.

"You talk to me again whenever you want, captain. And I'm always ears to hear more about your darling Luffy." She says the last part with a knowing little wink, before stepping out, leaving Ace blinking with confusion.

Deuce sighs, because Ace can be oblivious at times, and clearly doesn't know how he looks when he talks about Luffy. And Banshee just found out that said Luffy's a girl, a mermaid, and unrelated to Ace by blood.

To be fair, Deuce's pretty confident that Ace's feelings wouldn't be any different even if Luffy was a guy and human, but he gets where Banshee's coming from. Even if it still seems far too early for Ace to come to any realizations about himself.

~~

~~

~~

Bc YEAH, Ace had a mermaid on his crew, so of course that is Majorly Relevant to AU.

Prolly jumping right to Whitebeards next update for this series, whee~

As always, thank you so much for reading, and an extra thank you so much to anyone who can spare me a few words of thoughts! ;A;

❀ ❀ Send YukiPri an Ask! ❀ ❀

~This ask has been added to the Mermaid AU Text Headcanons Compilation post~

[stayndays]

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟏: Don’t Be Suspicious

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆! This chapter includes:

Possible Story/Grammatical Errors

𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒 : “You came here to assist your boss at a party he’s invited to, not to solve a murder with a group of strangers you’ve just met. Yet here you are, staring at the dead mansion owner who hosted the party in the first place, surrounded by nine men with high statuses in society: and one of them is a murderer. The question is who? And can you solve the mystery without being killed yourself?”

Visit the masterlist first before proceeding. It has all the info you need to read this series.

“You got this?” Hyunjin asks you nervously while you straighten out your outfit, his hands on your shoulders.

“I’ll be fine, you?” he nods in exchange, and you motion for him and Jeongin to shoo so you could walk in casually. Clearing your throat as quietly as you can, you lightly knock on the door twice before entering the bedroom, making sure to leave the door open enough for Hyunjin to sneak in later on.

“Jisung?” Your eyes drift over to the mounds of assorted items and clothes, thrown around messily across the carpet floor. You suppose that this was Jisung’s attempt to search for evidence. He whips his head around at your call, and smiles when he notices it’s you.

“Y/N! Thank you so much for saving me earlier, it means a lot,” Jisung praises you. “Say, can you close the door for me? I don’t want anybody to listen to us.”

Your eyes widen in surprise at his sudden request, and on instinct, you rush to close the door.“Oh, of course! I don’t want one of my fellow friends to be locked up or even worse…” you manage to speak out while focusing on closing the door, but not all the way like Jisung wanted it. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice, or at least care. “Are you searching for something right now?” you attempt to change the subject while moving over so Jisung’s back is facing towards the door, and your eyes could clearly see what’s behind him.

“Yup! And yes, it was a close call. But…” Jisung clicks his tongue. “You aren’t teamed up with the others, correct? You gave me a scare a while ago, and I just want to confirm.”

“I’m with you two, but how about you and Minho? Didn’t Minho say something against you last house meeting?” you inquire, trying to drag out the conversation for as long as possible so Hyunjin can grab the key.

“We patched that up! Minho just said that to confuse them, so you don’t have to worry about us,” Jisung beams, and you try to match his grin with a shaky laugh.

“But what’s the truth then, who threw the knife-”

You’re cut off by Jisung, who looks like he’s trying to steer the conversation away from that particular topic. “Anyways! I’m getting a bit suspicious of Changbin, actually. You want to know why?”

“How come?” you blink in surprise at his random suspicion, but urge him to continue. At this point, your eyes glance over at Hyunjin’s hand wrapped around the door for a split second, but focus back on Jisung in matters time.

“Because! He was so quick to jump onto the bandwagon to label me as the killer. What if, now get this, Changbin wanted everybody to believe I was the murderer, so he can kill me and get away with it?” Jisung exclaims, using his pointing finger for exaggeration. “And he’s definitely insane, kind of like ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ by Edgar Allen Poe? Can you believe it’s been more than a century since it’s been released?” You quickly shake your head no to match his energy, raising your eyebrows with curiosity. Hyunjin’s now fully inside of the room at this point, and was somehow able to enter without a single sound.

“But then he might target me now! So I’m a bit worried, the murderer already tried to kill Jeongin, maybe even you, so what if I’m next?” Jisung’s movements are getting more frantic, his arms and hands creating all sorts of gestures, making it harder for Hyunjin to snatch the key without causing Jisung to look behind him. He sends you a look practically saying “Help me” and you know what to do.

Grabbing the sides of Jisung’s arms, like how Hyunjin did with you awhile ago, you shoot him a sympathetic expression, Jisung freezing up at your actions. “Hey, calm down. You’ll be fine,” you say in the most calm voice you can manage. You catch Hyunjin’s hand etching closer and closer to Jisung’s pocket, and he uses his middle and index finger to scissor the keys out.

Keys out. Apparently, when Hyunjin grabbed what he thought was only one key, he instead pulled out three, all held in a circular, metal loop.

“Thanks for the reminder, Y/N.” You let go of your grip on Jisung, watching the door close silently. If you listen extremely closely with your ears, you might even be able to hear Hyunjin’s footsteps pattering down the staircase, reaching Jeongin, who’s back in the guest bedroom downstairs.

Jisung continues talking, “I might bring up my suspicion about Changbin at the next meeting-”

“Next meeting? W-When do you plan on it?” you stutter out, still processing the sudden information. This wasn’t a part of the plan.

“Hmm… in five to ten minutes time? The four of us upstairs are just scanning the area for any more little clues, I haven’t found anything so far, though,” Jisung laughs airly, the same laugh you’d do if you got bad marks on a test and joked to your friends about it.

“I can see that,” you take another look at the mess surrounding your figure, exhaling through a small opening of your mouth. “Well, I’ll be off now. I just wanted to check on you.” You loop around Jisung’s confused body, making your way to the entrance.

“Wait, where are you going?” he tries to force an answer out of you.

“Downstairs! See you soon, Jisung,” you wave him off with a pleased look on your face, and close the door shut.

However, halfway down the stairs, you hear labored breathing coming from back upstairs. “Y/N!” It’s Jisung, why does he look so disheveled?

“Hm? Yes?” you hum casually, but deep in your mind, you’re panicking.

“Have you seen my- uh- my-” Jisung pats down the pockets of his fancy coat with fear coating his eyes.

“Your what, Jisung?” you cock your head to the side, hopefully appearing as though you’re confused on what Jisung’s trying to say.

Oh, you know what he’s looking for. And it’s not good.

“Ah, forget about it,” he runs a hand through his hair before turning around and marching back into the room he was previously in. You blink in surprise when you figure he’s given up, and shake your head, struggling to forget your previous interaction with him, and continue down the stairs.

~

“Good news,” you start off. “We got the key, more than one key, actually!” Hyunjin proudly holds up the collections of keys dangling on his finger, and Jeongin lightly applauds the two of you. “Bad news… I’m pretty certain Jisung knows they’re missing. Along with that, he wants to hold a group meeting in a few minutes, so we don’t have much time until we have to cover ourselves up and lie.”

Jeongin groans in agony. “My goodness, why can’t we just have a peaceful escape attempt?”

Hyunjin chuckles quietly before answering Jeongin’s question. “Because there’s a murderer, two people trying to kill the murderer, and five people trying to solve it. Of course it’s not going to be easy, Jeongin.”

“Now that we have the keys, though, where should we check first?” you break up their conversation, getting down to business straight away.

Hyunjin clears his throat. “Right. Well, we know that the front door is too risky, and the backyard door is also kind of risky, so that leaves…”

“The trapdoor in the kitchen?” Jeongin finishes Hyunjin’s thought, to which he nods in approval.

You stand up abruptly, catching the other two’s attention. “Then let’s go.”

The three of you make your way down to the kitchen, pausing when you hear loud voices coming from upstairs. Understanding that you don’t have much time to waste, you all crouch down next to the trapdoor while Hyunjin pulls out the keys.

The first key is a rusty copper, which is longer than all of the other keys. The second, unlike the first one, is sparkling clean, showing off its silver tone. And finally, the third one is a stub compared to the other two, painted in a gold color. Hyunjin tries the silver one first, but can’t even reach past the opening. He then tries the copper

Peering down into the hole, there’s a wooden ladder leaning against the wall for support, which you assumed was there to access the room below in the first case. The flooring and walls are cobblestone, but it’s so dark inside that you can barely see what hides deep inside.

“Well, how should we go on with this?” Jeongin asks the two of you.

After much thought, the three of you decide on two main choices. The first one being that all three of you enter at the same time, and hope for the best. The second plan shows that only one of you enter the room below the mansion, and the other two are in charge of covering for them.

WHICH PLAN DO YOU CHOOSE?

~

Hmmm... Let’s stir things up a bit.

From now on, every single vote will be a limited voting box. Is that clear? 

Let’s hope you catch the next one.

Good luck, players. May the Killer King spare you today.

[ VOTE HERE. ]

~

CHOICE CHOSEN: #1 - You | #2 - Hyunjin 

VOTING RATIO: #1 = 3-1-0 | #2 = 0-3-2 (Response 9 was a tiebreaker vote)

ROUTE CHOSEN: Escape the Mansion

OFFICIAL ALLIES: Jeongin and Hyunjin

BEST NAME IN THE VOTING BOX: “mommy shark doo doo doo doo doo doo mommy shark doo doo doo doo doo doo mommy shark doo doo doo doo doo doo mommy shark” 

THEORIES (Will be answered with either Yes, No, or Cannot Say)

Response 2: Yes. Yes and no.

taglist: @desertofdessert @crscendoforsung @cotccotc @poeticallyspaghetti @skzctnightnight @freckledberries @nizhonimoon @hanniiesuckle17 @binniesbabybear @tsuki-moons @lbxgsunshine @csbverse @mangoisawesome @peachyhan @worldtriiiip @golden--rain @bubblyjisunq @kimpchi @loey-letters @pokyloky @wherevermyway @avrea-tt @bossuns @sunoo-luvs @katherineee19 @ph0ebevix @qt-k1mb @444scb @grandmasterslickfox

[flwrywrites]

love in a bottle

txt -- “message in a bottle” soulmate au

char -- reno

wc -- 1.2k

info -- swearing, fluff, gender neutral reader

It’s impossible to avoid all the attention and news around soulmates. There’s always some scandal or another on the news, or gossip among your friends about who’s received a bottle and who hasn’t.

You’ve always been a little wary of the concept, some part of you wondering if you would be the one exception to it and would never receive a bottle, or simply have yours sink into the waves and join the shipwrecks at the bottom of the sea.

You’re not quite sure what sparks it, but one day you decide once and for all just to get it over with and see what happens. No one’s sent you a bottle, so it’s up to you to send one of your own, you figure. Even if nothing comes of it at least you won’t have to spend any more sleepless nights worrying about it.

Pulling out a pen and paper, you scribble down a hasty note, including some essential information about yourself along with a few non-essential tidbits as people usually did from what you had seen. You know that if you don’t do this now, the letter will go under your bed and collect dust for who knows how long, so down to the beach it is. The weather is nice today; it’s overcast but still fairly bright and warm, and you’re hoping the clouds will deter too many people from being at the beach.

On your way, you stop by a store that sells glass bottles particularly for this purpose. The slogan on the door details something about people throwing their hopes out to their soulmates and you fight the urge to roll your eyes. Once you’ve chosen your bottle--a translucent green one--you stuff your letter inside and officially begin making your way to the beach.

Your steps feel like they’re getting heavier and heavier the closer you get, sand starting to crunch under your feet and the glass bottle getting sweaty in your palm. Maybe this was a bad idea after all--but you round a corner along a wooden walkway and the beach is right in front of you, the crashing waves and cawing seagulls in your face and you know you can’t turn back now.

You walk along the beach, making your way to a rockier part you’ve visited before occasionally where there’s significantly less people. The clouds weren’t enough to keep the crowds away, and this definitely isn’t something you want an audience for.

The rocks rise up and create a wall between you and the rest of the beach once you’ve walked far enough into them. Planting your feet in the sand, you close your eyes and take a deep breath. When you open your eyes again, you hold your bottle up to the sky, the glass catching what few drops of sunlight there is and illuminating the paper inside.

“This has never been something I’ve wanted to do,” you say, almost surprising yourself with your words, but you continue anyway.

“I’ve always been scared I’m the one exception to this soulmate rule, so sorry if this bottle is pretty late, soulmate-if-you’re-out-there. Finding love in a bottle sounds too good to be true to me, but...maybe I’m being paranoid. I don’t know. Um...I hope this reaches you quickly and that I can meet you someday. A soulmate would be...really nice.”

You pause, then lower the bottle and sigh, feeling almost worse than you did before you started speaking. This was going to really suck if nothing happened now.

You pull your arm back to toss it in the waves, but before you’re able to let it go, a voice sounds from nearby and makes you jump.

“Shit, that was kinda...depressing and somehow cheesy at the same time.”

You whirl around, clutching the bottle to your chest, and find a man with bright red hair and an infuriating grin on his face leaning casually against a rock in front of you.

“What the fuck! Who--what the fuck are you doing? I’m trying to do something personal here, thank you very much!”

The man raises his hands in a mock surrender, smile never leaving his face.

“Sorry about that, I just heard someone monologuing to themself and I couldn’t help but investigate. ‘Love in a bottle sounds too good to be true,’” he says, changing his voice to imitate yours, and you scowl.

“Shut up,” you say, and turn away from him to face the ocean again, ignoring his laugh that follows.

Your moment is already ruined, so without bothering to tell the stranger to go away, you throw your bottle at the sky-blue waves.

You hold your breath as it splashes into the front, bobbing once, twice, and then...disappearing from view into the waves.

You wait a few more moments, heart pounding, but your bottle doesn’t show.

The corners of your eyes are burning all of a sudden and your breathing is shallow--you knew it, this was exactly why you never wanted to take part in this stupid thing, your bottle is sinking to the bottom of the sea right now with no soulmate in sight, and--

A small wave appears in the middle of the slower, larger ones, and suddenly a sea-green bottle is riding the top of it, and--you swear that’s the one you just threw in--

The wave crashes back into the sea and sends the bottle hurtling through the air towards you. It nearly misses you and you whip around just in time to see it fly straight into the middle of the stranger’s forehead. He lets out a cry and swear mixed into one and immediately grips his head with both hands.

The bottle lies forgotten in the sand as you try and fail to contain your laughter, not fully realizing what this means just yet.

“Are you okay?” you manage to ask after you’ve collected yourself a little more.

“I’m fine,” he pouts, gingerly pressing the spot where the bottle hit.

After a few more moments, his brow creases, and he pushes himself off the rock to go pick up the bottle from the sand, and it’s then that you realize--

“This is for me?” the stranger says.

...Shit.

“I--I think so,” you say, heat starting to creep up your cheeks. There wasn’t really an alternative, right? You threw the bottle, it came right back to him…

The stranger seems to come to the same conclusion as you do, and he pops the cork on the bottle. You shift your weight from foot to foot as he unfurls the paper, feeling very self-conscious. He murmurs things aloud as he reads.

“Ah, pretty name...uh huh...oh, we have that in common...you like that? Me too!”

He curls up the letter once he finishes, and you’re struck with a whole new kind of anxiousness.

Now that your soulmate is standing right in front of you...what if he doesn’t like you? What if you can’t learn how to get along? What if he’s already dating someone?

“I’m Reno,” he says, holding out a hand to you, a smile on his face that feels more genuine than the one he was wearing earlier.

“It’s nice to meet you,” you say, taking his hand hesitantly, and you revel in the discovery that your hands fit together perfectly.

You slowly but surely return his smile, and you’re struck with the odd feeling that this will work out one way or another.

[whathappenedtomyweekend]

It’s Just A Spark Ch.14 - Fools

"Good evening, everyone."

Scott's head snapped around at the chipper sound of his cousin's voice, just in time to witness Hiccup walk in, all bounce-y steps and wide grins, and drop his bag on his desk.

Gobber stopped, raising an eyebrow at his colleague over the rim of his mug.

"What're you all smiley for? I thought I'd given you the day off."

"My guess? He got lucky," Scott grinned and crossed his arms behind his neck.

Gobber clicked his tongue with a wave of his hand.

"Don't be stupid. If he'd done as much as kiss her we'd know."

The dark-haired man hummed in response and leaned forward to closely watch his cousin, who was getting progressively less smiley.

"Yeah, you're right. It'd be all over the news. 'Henry Haddock - source confirms Berk's most desired bachelor is going steady. Local singles outraged'."

Hiccup frowned, raising his hands.

"Okay, guys - can we please stop speculating about my love life?"

"Oh, so we're already talking love now, huh?" Snotlout smirked, resting his head on his hand, a smug smile playing on his lips.

Hiccup only groaned, rolling his eyes and turned away, muttering something under his breath.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"I said if you wanted the new Berk's issue cover story, you should've scheduled an interview."

Gobber barked out a laugh and gave Hiccup a well-meant slap on the back.

"Come on, boy, we're just messin' with ya."

Hiccup hesitated but then let out a short exhale, the dopey smile slowly stealing itself back on his lips.

"I know."

Scott grinned and nudged his shoulder.

"There he is! Now, come on, at least give us something! You can't just waltz in, all dopey and shit and then expect us to not want any info."

Hiccup shrugged, waving vaguely as if there was really not much to talk about, honestly (his tried-and-failed nonchalance was not bought for a second)

"Well-"

Her hands sinking into his hair - they're stumbling back into the apartment -

"If you MUST know-"

There is barely any space between them, and he doesn't think he wants there to be any-

"She stayed for the night - you know, because of the storm-"

She's wrapping her arms around him and buries her nose in his chest, and he wants to never let her go-

"A-and before she left, we, uh-"

They've stumbled backwards - his hands can't stop tracing her-

"We kissed."

Gobber's mouth hung wide open.

Snotlout let out a sound that resembled a mix between a strangled sob and a squeal.

Hiccup waited. A couple of moments passed. Then, finally, Gobber broke out into a whoop of laughter, and Hiccup was mentally preparing for the usual slap on the shoulder, but was instead pulled in a hug that he could have sworn was cracking a few of his ribs.

"Ha! I knew it! I knew it - you owe me ten, Snotlout-"

"-you bet on me again?"

"Yeah, well, it was a minor storm."

"Ho- how is that a justification?" Hiccup exclaimed and helplessly searched Snotlout's gaze.

But Scott Jorgenson was speechless.

This happened very - very - rarely. The last time Hiccup had seen him like this had been five years ago after they had pulled a feral, muddy and scared Hookfang out of a frozen creek.

"Scott?" he asked carefully, leaning closer to his cousin. "You okay?"

Snotlout was scrambling for words, helplessly opening and closing his mouth again, looking up at his cousin.

"I - I just didn't think you'd actually do it," he then got out, and to Hiccup's horror, his eyes were watering.

"Oh- God, Scott, I - wait, why is this such a big deal to you? I mean, we're a couple, it was official - I told you and you were completely okay."

His cousin's face crumpled up.

"What? You - you were a couple and you didn't tell me?"

"No, I - I did, I definitely did-" Hiccup stopped, his hands flying up to his hair. "Shit, I told Gobber. I didn't tell you."

"And you're asking me why I'm making such a big deal out of this?"

"Ooh my God, Scott, no, I-"

"Since when? Huh? How long have you been keeping this from me?"

"I wasn't - 3 days."

"Three da- oh wait, that's actually a lot less than I thought it'd be."

Snotlout stopped, looked at Hiccup and then shrugged, and his next words were completely levelled as if he hadn't just been yelling and on the brink of tears at being presented with the fact that his cousin had found love. "Yeah, that's chill."

Hiccup blinked.

"Wait - what?"

Snotlout shrugged again.

"Yah, it's fine. Three days is fine. Gobber once took a week to tell me he got Grump And a new arm design, so you're good."

Hiccup exhaled, relieved. "Okay, good."

He paused, frowned, turning back to Gobber, furrowing his brow.

"You didn't tell him about Grump?"

Gobber shrugged unassumingly.

"No, but seriously," Snot grinned and nudged Hiccup's shoulder. "I'm really happy for you."

Hiccup grinned back at him. "Thanks."

"But don't think that means you're getting out of telling me everything that happened!"

"Yeah, no, I know."

__________________________________________________

Hiccup's words were still ringing in her head. 'Take a step back. Clear your head.'

So she went out for a run. The memory of his lips still burning on hers. Every breath she drew was burning, and her legs felt like they'd give way under her, but Astrid couldn't stop grinning to herself.

Something led her past the fire department, and it was either her heart or her memory, but it was hard trying to bite down her smile, so she gave up and grinned at the ground under her.

His heart had beaten so loud she'd heard.

Astrid remembered the dream she'd had a few weeks back, and she couldn't help but think how that hadn't even gone close to comparing to the real thing. Hiccup's calloused fingers seemed to have left invisible imprints on her skin, and heat rushed to her cheeks as she imagined them ghost over the same trail again, his mouth following his hands.

Astrid came to a sudden halt, leaning against a facade, trying to catch her breath. She screwed her eyes shut and dragged her hands over her burning face, trying to chase the previous thoughts out of her mind.

It turned out that it was downright impossible not to think of - memories of stepping on each other's feet and desperately trying to get closer were as present to her as the wall she was leaning against.

Astrid remembered wishing for fourth, fifth glances, get to know him past his jokes and easy smiles - she thought of him that night, sitting with his leg pulled up, fingers trembling over the fabric. The look in his eyes that was begging her to both to watch and look away.

She'd looked at him and realised that he had never really tried to hide anything with his jokes - but that this Hiccup, right now, was letting her know that there were things in his life that were real and that were painful . He had looked at her and apologised.

A part of her wanted him to know that she was willing to share and ease his pain; another part of her desperately needed him to know that there was nothing to be ashamed of. But she also knew that he needed time to grow comfortable with that idea. And she was willing to wait, however long it took.

By the time Astrid got back home, it was already dark outside. She dropped her keys on her bedside table and quickly checked on Stormfly, who was already asleep, before she toddled into the kitchen, turned on her computer, put on the kettle and opened the fridge, where the only things remotely resembling a meal were a slightly wrinkley paprika and a container with some fruit salad. Usually, she would have at least sighed and closed the door again, only to open it up a few seconds later to check if anything had magically changed - but today, on this particularily unordinary day, she shrugged and opened up the container.

So she sat and ate, in silence.

Astrid had no problem with being alone. In fact, she even enjoyed it. Usually. But again, today, on this particularily unordinary day, she had a problem with eating alone. Specifically, eating without Hiccup.

She wondered how she'd got so used to spending time with him so quickly. All she knew right now was that doing the dishes after finishing this fruit salad would be a drag again, maybe just because they weren't doing them together. A smile bubbled up inside her chest at the thought of yesterday, and she bit her lip, trying not to think about how he'd kept throwing little glances at her anytime he'd handed her a dish, their fingers sometimes brushing, in fear she'd miss it too much now if she did.

But she already had, and now she did miss it. Astrid sighed and put down her fork.

____________________________________________________________

The steady tapping of her fingers on the keyboard was interrupted by a sudden rap on the door, before a key turned in the lock and she heard the door open -

"Put on your pants, we're having dinner!" Ruffnut Thorsten declared from in the middle of her kitchen, shoes and all.

Astrid blinked and looked up from her screen.

"We are?"

"Yup!" Ruff confirmed, grinning brightly at her friend. "Come on, grab your keys, wallet, I booked us a table."

"What, right now?"

"Well - yeah. But first," Ruff grinned and plopped down in Astrid's place when she got up and walked over to the kitchen counter. "I wanna see how you're getting on with this."

Astrid shrugged and handed her friend a mug of coffee - two spoonful sugar and so much milk it was an offense to everything Astrid stood for - and sat down again, curling her legs under her.

They sat in silence for a while, and Ruff took a sip of her abominable coffee choice (Astrid's words, not hers) and remarked calmly, "So, I don't know if this is intentional, but it says here under personal skills 'kissing Hiccup', and, uh, you might wanna give that one a second thought, sis."

Astrid choked on her coffee, slamming the mug down on the table.

"What."

"Well, it says -"

"I wrote that?"

Ruff hesitated, her eyes scanning her screen. Suddenly her face went uncharacteristically slack with surprise. "That's … not the only thing you wrote."

"Wh- let me see."

Astrid scrambled to her feet and grabbed the laptop's screen, pulling it closer.

Stumbling back against the wall … couldn't stop smiling … his hands …

With every passing sentence Astrid's expression grew a bit more horrfied. For a blurry moment she wasn't even sure what her mind had made up and what had really happened yesterday.

There was a moment of silence after they had both finished reading.

Ruff clapped her hands and rubbed them together, her voice almost cheerful when she spoke.

"Well, at least nobody will ever read that, right?"

Astrid looked at her, completely mortified.

"You just did!"

"Shut up, as if i count."

___________________________________________________

"So?"

Hiccup stopped and waited for Scott to catch up with him, keys already in hand, and chuckled. "So what?"

Scott had convinced him to change shifts at the same time, so now Hiccup stood in the department's drive way, waiting for his cousin to finish up. It was a clear, calm and starry night - not a single reminder left of the passed storm.

"So," Scott stressed, jamming his hands into the pockets of his jean jacket as they picked up a leusurely pace. "How do you feel? About all of this. Yesterday, I mean."

Hiccup stopped short, having expected another prod for 'details' from his cousin.

But, to his surprise, Snotlout was watching him with an earnest expression. So he hesitated for a few moments, not sure what to say.

Snotlout went on, "'Cause, listen. I - I mean, we both know you've never had - well. Something like this - but let's be honest, you're a bit of a sap. I know you, so you're probably completely head over heels, but … is she serious about this? As serious as you are, I mean?" At his cousin's expression he quickly raised his hands. "I just don't want you to get hurt. I care about you, man. I want this to work out for you."

It was in this moment, and maybe it was the fact that they were out on this particularily starry night, or that Scott's expression and voice were so soft and concerned it was impossible to think that there had ever been any animosity between them years back from now, or that at the thought of yesterday he felt an intense wave of serenity wash over him - it was in this moment, that Hiccup realised that there was a word for what he was feeling.

"I'm in love," he whispered into the darkness, and Snotlout stopped walking, and the words were so easy they chased a smile to his lips. "I think I'm in love with her, Snot."

It was for the second time today that Scott Jorgenson was rendered scrambling for words.

So Hiccup continued walking and gave his words some more room. "I've been living in this flat for almost five years now, Scott. And I don't know, maybe it's the job or the amount of hours I spend talking to my cat each day, but every time she's in my apartment it feels like I'm finally home. Like I've stopped searching," Hiccup paused for a second, then he grinned. "And honestly? Fuck sleeping alone."

Snotlout couldn't help but snort at that, making Hiccup's grin widen as he grabbed his arm and leaned against him, making both of them stumble. "There he is."

Scott laughed and pushed him off, stumbling onto the empty street.

"I knew it! You sappy fool! And you didn't tell me earlier!"

"If love be blind, it best agrees with night," Hiccup chipped swiftly, and quickly ducked away from his laughing cousin's arm.

"You know I don't get your Shakespeare references!"

"That's why I make them," Hiccup grinned and pulled Snotlout back onto the pavement.

"No, dude, but seriously," Snotlout's expression was serious again. "This isn't one-sided, is it? Emotion-wise?"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "How do you mean?"

"Well," Snotlout shrugged. "Are you sure she's feeling the same for you? Or at least to some degree?"

Hiccup paused for a moment.

Her hands are open on the table, calm, relaxed. 'That's good. 'Cause you've caught mine, too.

'It's good to see you.'-

Her voice is still trembling, but she's smiling as she presses her lips to his cheek-

"And this is for ... everything else."-

Her voice is the first thing he hears that morning. 'I've missed you,' she confesses and he's redefining his own meaning of the word.

He looks up, and the sun's coming up, and she's out of breath but still breathtaking- 'You okay?'

The plank bed is bending violently and she leans into him - "I'd rather be here and spend the night with you than going back."

They're already back inside and he's fiddling with the radio, so maybe she thinks he doesn't notice the expression on her face, but then he looks up and she's smiling even wider-

She wraps her arms around him and he can feel her grin against his chest-

"You're not staying?"-

She's comforting Toothless, he feels himself dozing off, her calm voice surrounding him, and he can feel her drape the blanket over his shoulders-He's trembling, and he's wishing he wasn't, but then there she's taking his hand, "Let it be ugly"-

-Then he's holding her, or maybe she's holding him, and he can feel her heartbeat, and it's as erratic as his own-

"Hiccup Haddock, I can't even begin to tell you how much I'd like that."

Hiccup looked at his cousin and nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I am."

[jincherie]

florescence | i

❀ — pairing: taehyung x reader x seokjin ❀ — genre: hybrid au, hybrid tae, hybrid jin, poly, fluff, smut (future), angst  ❀ — words: 4.7k+ ❀ — rating: sfw ❀ — warnings: lowkey highkey threat of euthanisation (wooo dystopian hybrid elements!), shy and blushing boys prepare your hearts ❀ — notes: this is written for an old old old old request! you can find it here for now, but I’ll make a post for more convenience later. besides that, I already have about 18k written for this and have barely dented what I want to include so... guess we’re in this for a bit of a long haul! I’m still in the process of guiding where I want this to go, but until then... I’m eager to kick-start it! Since I technically already posted this, I’ll post the second part relatively soon. Please enjoy! lmk what u think!!! love u!!

Okay, so maybe you’re lonely, and maybe there is something missing in your life, a void that you maybe want to fill with a companion that may or may not be of human origin... You’re perfectly content not doing anything about it though, until your best friend calls you in desperate need for your help and you suddenly end up coming home with not one, but two hybrids that may or may not have been on the way to the chopping block had you not taken them in. They’re more than a little rough around the edges, and the situation is less than ideal but... maybe the best things don’t always come in perfect, shiny packages. Maybe they just need a little time to bloom.

— posted; 28.07.2019 // masterlist || next.

Nerves have your knees wobbling slightly as you stand in place, the impressive height of the B.H. Laboratories building looming over you. Really, you’re not that anxious about what you’re about to do, yet your knee still feel slightly weak and your shoulders pinch with minute tension. Your body might be a little out of tune with your brain, you think, or perhaps the emotions attached to the physical reactions just haven’t hit you yet.

You waver in your spot, finally deciding to bite the bullet and take the handle into your grasp. It’s cool against your palm and smooth to the touch, if slightly worn. As you shift your wrist and twist the bolt, you recall the panicked and desperate voice of your friend as she’d called you barely half an hour ago. Seulgi is hardly the type to get worked up over nothing, so when you’d answered the phone to the sound of nothing but fear and urgency in her tone you’d been instantly at attention.

Your raven-haired best friend works at the massive Lab currently in front of you, filling in the role of the receptionist and taking her placements here as she completes her degree. Her ideal career path is one of science, but one of her passions and interests lies in the complex matter of hybrids. Really, this job is perfect for her—B.H. Laboratories specialise in genetic matters and in the creation of hybrids, most specifically those made to be companions. Long since passed are the days where hybrids were still new and shiny and held under the most barbaric of laws, if any. For some the strangeness and novelty has worn off since then, yet that doesn’t mean that the laws regarding hybrids have kept up with the shift in the population.

B.H. Labs, from the very beginning, have been pioneers of sorts in the field. Always pushing the limits, extending past perceived boundaries and paving the way. A lot of what Seulgi gets glimpses of is new hybrids, new combinations and variations. The goal of the company is to achieve the perfect companion for the people and the individual, and they work hard in their efforts to create such a thing.

This means that new lines and batches of hybrids are always being created, prototypes always being tested and tried out. Usually, the hybrids pass and go on to the next stage—they go to shelters for adoption while the data recorded from their stay goes towards the creation of the next batch. Usually, this is how it goes. However, there are the rare exceptions—batches that begin to vary and differ as they grow, turning out nothing like intended. Batches that don’t meet the goal of the experiment or that are lacking in some way or another, are marked as failures. If even a single hybrid of the bunch is deemed unfit, the rest are scrutinised brutally and received the blemish on their records as well. This, actually, is a topic that sparks heated debate in the community— because it’s common knowledge that at most hybrid facilities, failed batches aren’t sent to shelters like their predecessors, but instead are put down, like nothing more than the animals they are spliced with. They don’t have the opportunity to make connections for a possible home, and so the only destination that awaits them is the gallows. B.H Labs stand out from the rest here, due to their spotless record of product success. Never have they euthanised a hybrid of their making, and never has a batch or single hybrid been deemed a failure. However records and streaks of success, like all things, must come to an end eventually.

This… is why Seulgi had called you in such a frantic manner earlier.

She’d caught wind of a last-minute decision that had been made about two hybrids who had been deemed ‘failures’ for whatever reasons. They were being moved from their quarters as she spoke and are scheduled for the chopping block tonight. Seulgi is far too good a person to just stand by and just let it happen, and while floundering for any possible solution she’d come across you.

You can’t believe she remembered it, but one time you’d confessed to her while blind-rotten drunk that you were actually a little bit lonely, living by yourself in your large two-bedroom apartment as you were, and kind of longed for a companion. You’d never ever meant to let slip that you’d considered getting a hybrid, because you both held very similar views regarding them, but it had tumbled from your pouting lips nonetheless and now Seulgi is privy to one of your most embarrassing secrets. If she wasn’t your best friend and didn’t know that you’d rather cut off all four of your limbs than mistreat a hybrid, then your drunken confession might have earnt you a potent smack and the cold shoulder. As it is, all you can remember receiving was a drunk laugh and sly smile.

You didn’t think she would remember it, but clearly you were wrong because here you are now, all of a sudden about to receive not one but two hybrids in one go.

The second you step foot into the reception area your presence is noticed and a high tone pierces the air, stationery and folders cluttering against a desk along with the familiar sound of small wheels sliding across the linoleum.

“Oh, y/n, thank god you’re here.”

You turn, catching sight of Seulgi as she bolts up from her position behind the counter and darts around the desk, heading straight for you. She might have slammed straight into you if she didn’t catch herself a little before she arrived.

“I’d give you more info but we really don’t have time, they’re going to move them soon so we need to get our asses going.” She’s speaking so fast you can barely keep up and if you didn’t know her so well then you might not have understood what she was saying at all. She grips your hand and begins down the stark white and light blue hall, tugging you behind her. Fuck, okay, this is going much faster than you prepared yourself for. “Thank you so much for coming, y/n. I know you were kind of thinking of adopting only one, and from a shelter, and this is way out of the ball park of what you ever imagined but… thank you.”

At the mention of the other details you’d accidentally confessed to her while drunk that time, you blush, but choose to let it go for now. You aren’t sure why it embarrasses you exactly, but you know she doesn’t say it with ill intent and that she is stressed to high hell right now so you’re willing to ignore it.

“It’s no problem,” you say, shooting her a reassuring smile when she turns to catch your gaze. “I couldn’t live with myself if I said no, knowing what will happen if we don’t…”

Seulgi doesn’t say anything but the way her features twist into a grimace are telling enough that she knows what you mean.

“I asked them earlier if they could be spared if someone was interested in them, and they said yes but since they don’t know anyone, they’re still going ahead as per normal procedure,” the raven-haired female informs you, the two of you hastening your pace down the winding halls. Deeper into the bowels of the building you venture, Seulgi navigating with so much ease that you are sure she could do it with her eyes closed. “So long as we get there before they start the final part of the procedure, we should be good.”

Everything has gone so fast since Seulgi first called you over half an hour ago, and it continues to do so as you round corners and duck down halls. Eventually you reach a wing with walls painted pastel red instead of soft blue and your stomach churns and dips as the situation suddenly becomes much, much more real to you. Are you actually ready for the way your life is going to change in just a few short minutes? What if things go wrong, or they hate you and—

Seulgi stops suddenly, turning to you with wide eyes. “Oh, shit. I almost forgot—I should tell you before we go in there, they aren’t… from a batch that was deemed a failure.”

Your brows furrow before you can stop them, confusion on your face plain for her to see. She hurries to explain, “They’re… they’re from two previous batches. The rest of their batches were fine, but these two… something about them deemed them unfit to be pushed forward to the next stage.”

You can see the embitterment on her features as she continues, lips tugging down, “They… they were kept for a while, observed a little, but they… the next batch is larger than the last ones, and they’re clearing out the block to use all the room they have available. And with nowhere else to send them, since they weren’t ever officially cleared for release from the lab like the others that go to shelters and sellers…”

You’d come here already empathising with the poor hybrids, but your chest aches and your heart throbs even more now. It saddens you that this is happening to them, that this is their reality. The idea of how powerless and scared they must feel right now… it makes your lungs pinch and constrict in sorrow.

Seulgi swallows, turning her gaze to the side; you hadn’t noticed before but she’d stopped you right outside a frosted glass door, and if you strain your ears you can just barely hear the low tone of male voices on the other side.  The shorter female seems hesitant as she glances back to you, as though concerned that your mind has suddenly changed or something along those lines.

“Stop stressing,” you smile, pushing down the incriminatingly thick, wriggling bundle of nerves in your stomach. “I already agreed, I’m not going to turn back now. I want to help them.”

Your words ease her worries instantly, and she appears sheepish for a moment as she averts her gaze. “No, I know, I just… the thought of what would happen if I didn’t know you…”

She trails off, shaking her head before catching the reassuring gaze you send her. “Alright, let’s go in. We can’t afford to waste any more time.”

With that, she reaches for the handle of the door, swiping her personal card on the scanner beside the frame with her other hand. A beep permeates the air and the light flicks from red to green, lock clicking open. She’s quick to act, twisting the handle and bursting into the room with you hot on her heels, acting in the moment before your nerves can catch up to you.

“Wait, please wait! I brought her, I brought someone who will take them, please wait!”

The sight that greets you as you enter the room is one that you should have expected yet it still comes as a surprise. Three people dressed in slacks and button-ups with clinical coats over the top turn to face you in shock; one is by the door on the other side of the room, hand poised by the handle, and the other two are stationed either side of the remaining two figures in the room.

The hybrids, you realise instantly. You feel the breath whoosh from your lungs suddenly as they spin in place with wide, fearful eyes and you catch sight of them in all their beautiful glory.

They’re about the same height, with the same golden skin that glows nicer than it should beneath the unforgiving fluorescent lights of the lab. That is where their similarities end for the most part though, as they appear to be different hybrid types altogether, something that is consistent with what Seulgi said to you earlier. The one to the left has soft, pale reddish-coloured hair and large triangular ears with thick tufts of white on the inside. His eyes are rimmed by long, dark lashes and the iris swims citrine green-gold with dustings of cocoa by the pupil. His hips are narrower than the hybrid beside him, his posture drawn in as he hugs himself and his tail, deep russet and incredibly fluffy and thick, wraps around his long legs.

The male beside him sports soft charcoal hair, the ears settled amongst the strands speckled grey and black to match the fluffy, white-tipped tail that brushes his calves. His eyes are deep amber, gleaming gold in the light, and rimmed with dark lashes that only serve to emphasise the contrast of his irises. His shoulders are impossibly broad and his upper body tapers into hips that, while aren’t as narrow as the male beside him, are still slim and give way to long legs. Both of the hybrids are wearing the standard loose white clothes that come complimentary from the lab, and both are looking at you with mixed emotions playing on their features.

“Seulgi,” the male by the door lets out a heavy breath of relief, hand dropping from the handle completely. “Thank god, I thought you weren’t going to come—I tried to take as long as possible but there’s only so much I can stall when I have orders from the higher-ups, you know?”

Seulgi nods, her gaze flitting from the hybrids in question to the male’s face. “I know, I’m sorry I took so long, Jooheon. Are these the ones?”

The male, Jooheon, nods and begins walking over to where you are, reaching into the deep pockets of his lab coat. The other two humans in the room visibly relax at the turn the situation has taken for them.

“They are,” he affirms, gaze falling to you with what you swear is a hint of gratitude. “And this is your friend, y/n? The one who offered to take them?”

You nod along with Seulgi, and Jooheon lets out another huff of relief. “Thank god. Okay, I brought the release forms down so all you will have to do is sign and then the three of you can be out of here.”

He pulls a folded bunch of papers from the pocket, placing it along with a pen on the desk to your side that you in all honesty didn’t even notice until now. He then turns to the two hybrids, who are looking frantically from you to him with wide, confused yet somewhat hopeful eyes. Your heart gives a painful throb as you see the glossy sheen beginning to gather over them.

“You’re saved,” Jooheon breathes, and you watch as the hybrids seem to shake slightly. “This is y/n, she agreed to be your owner and take you two home to take care of you from now on. You’re safe now, you won’t need to worry about… what we talked about earlier, anymore. Okay?”

The two hybrids look like they’re about to cry, chins wobbling and lips trembling, but they manage to keep the tears at bay just a little longer. They turn to you, appearing as though they want to say something, but Jooheon takes your attention again before they get the chance.

“Alright, y/n I need you to sign here and here, on both forms,” he instructs you, holding the paper open and pointing to the areas amongst the lines of fine print that needed your signature. You take the pen and do as told, and once he is satisfied with your progress, he turns to the other two staff members that were in the room. “Hyungwon, Changkyun, you can take their wristbands off. They won’t need them. Did you bring the collars?”

They both nod, the taller one reaching into his coat pocket while the other goes about removing two thick bands from the hybrids with a tiny, specialised key. You finish scribbling your signature where it’s required just in time to receive the two simple leather collars that the tall one is holding out to you.

Now that what you guess to be the ownership forms are signed, Seulgi has visibly sagged in a combination of relief and exhaustion—she did stay here well after her shift ended to sort this all out, after all. She isn’t normally here until almost nine o’clock at night.

“Thank you, Jooheon, Hyungwon, Changkyun,” she breathes, striding forward to grasp the papers and fold them neatly. “Thank you for letting us do this.”

Jooheon shakes his head, a fond, thankful smile tugging his lips and making dimples appear on his cheeks. “No, thank you. I… I don’t know what we would have done if you two didn’t…”

The silence that falls at his words is heavy, and you look to the two hybrids to see their gazes directed at the ground, forms trembling. You want so badly to comfort them and reassure them that everything is going to be okay, that you’ll keep them safe and do everything in your power to make them happy, but you can’t bring yourself to overstep that boundary. You’re new to them, they don’t know you. The recollection of that fact makes your face heat in embarrassment at the nature of your instincts in this situation.

“It’s no problem,” you say, the first words you’ve uttered so far in this room—every gaze whips to you accordingly. You shoot Jooheon and the two hybrids a smile. “I’m happy to help. I promise to do my best.”

The male nods at that, relieved, and he turns to the two hybrids.

“Alright, you two come with me. We’ll go grab your things and make sure you have everything ready to go.” He turns to Seulgi now, “We’ll meet you at the front of the building in a few minutes, make sure to grab the guidebooks for her.”

And with that he’s grasping the two hybrids gently and leading them down the hall, disappearing from sight within moments. You don’t even notice the other two lab employees bidding you farewell until Seulgi is tugging at your arm and leading you in the direction you came from.

“Come on, let’s go,” she says, a smile tugging her lips to replace the stressed frown from earlier. You’re glad to see a brighter expression on her face. “I’ll grab those guidebooks for you then we’ll meet them out front. You caught the bus here right? I’ll drop you three home.”

x     +     x     +     x  

Barely half an hour later finds you standing on the footpath outside your unit complex, waving to a grinning Seulgi as she pulls from the curb and toots her horn in farewell. Something that you probably could have gone without, if the way the two hybrids by your side flinch is anything to go by. Silence drifts over the three of you as you watch her car disappear into the night, taillights flashing before she rounds a corner and is gone form your view. The short trip to your house was spent much in the same manner, Seulgi the main perpetrator driving the conversation as you respond occasionally from the front seat, the hybrids bunched together in the back with their tiny amounts of luggage. You’re not really a quiet person— quite the opposite, really— but you don’t want to overwhelm and intimidate your new housemates more than they already are. Thus, a majority of the trip was spent in silence.

You realise as you’re standing there that you know little to nothing about these two hybrids—there was no ‘getting to know them’ process as there might have been at a proper shelter. Normally, the procedure is that you enter the shelter, fill in application forms and tell the clerk what you’re looking for—they direct you to hybrids they think will be suitable, and then you spend some time with the hybrid to get to know them a little. Obviously, nothing like that happened tonight; actually, you’re still reeling a bit and the events that have occurred so far haven’t even caught up with you yet. You can’t find it in you to complain though, not when you know that choosing them meant that you saved them from a fate more befitting to an animal.

“Do you two have everything?” you ask suddenly, doing your best to make your voice as gentle and nonthreatening as possible. It still startles them though, and they flinch before their attention whips to you, their eyes wide—both are taller than you so it’s almost kind of comical, the way they react. When they nod you let out a hum and send them each what you hope comes across as a reassuring smile. “Excellent, please follow me and we’ll go inside.”

They do so without qualm, and you can’t help but wonder as you turn on your heel and begin to walk towards your unit—sat on the ground floor to the front of the complex and hidden behind a tiny courtyard—what exactly was quote-unquote wrong with them for them to have been marked as failures and lined up for the fate they almost faced tonight. You climb the few steps that lead to the courtyard with them in tow, making it to your front door and unlocking it with speed and practiced ease. You hold the door open for them, closing it softly after they file in.

“Alright,” you hum to yourself, moving to slip your shoes off and deposit your bag to the small table to the side. You go to face them, about to ask them what they would like to do first, when you come to a startling and embarrassing realisation.

You don’t even know their names.

The two hybrids are already looking at you as you turn to face them, soft smile on your face.

“I’m sorry,” you apologise, hands wringing somewhat nervously. The events of the past hour are only just sinking in, a jumbled mess your mind is struggling to disentangle, and it all feels so….surreal. “This has all gone pretty fast, huh? I just realised I never asked your names. I’m y/n, as you probably already guessed. And you…?”

The two of them share a glance before the one to your left, the one with raven hair and bright amber eyes, speaks first—the other shifts behind him, cheeks dusting pink as he ducks his head a little, russet-coloured strands hanging over his forehead.  

“I am Seokjin,” the male speaks clearly, but you can hear the tremble in his tone that betrays just how nervous and on edge he still is. “This is Taehyung. Th-thank you for taking us in, mistress.”

At the title he attaches to the end of his sentence you blanche, shoulders pinching in discomfort as a squeak escapes you. You reach and take his hands into yours without thinking, desperate to reassure him.

“No, please! You don’t have to call me that. I don’t know what you’ve been taught but we’re equals in this house, just y/n is fine,” you inform them, gaze flicking from one face to another. “Okay?”

The second your hands grasped his a deep blush stains Seokjin’s cheeks, his eyes wide and ears slightly pressed to his skull in what you guess is fluster. He nods when you send him a prompting look, Taehyung following suit from next to him. You allow your eyes to scan their trembling forms for a moment, taking in the way their tails press tightly to them and wind around their legs, ears half lowered. You’ve barely recovered from what almost happened to them, so you don’t doubt that they’re still caught up on the fate they oh so narrowly missed. Your heart goes out to them.

“You’re still a little shaken up, huh,” you murmur in observation, brushing your thumbs over the knuckles of the hands in your grasp before you realise what you’re doing and gently let go. You do your absolute best to fight the embarrassed flush trying to colour your cheeks as a result. “I’ll show you to your room, then you can decide if you would like to shower and freshen up or have something to eat first. Is that okay?”

Seokjin’s eyes are wide as he regards you with something akin to shock, plush lips falling open before he musters an answer for you in the form of a nod. You turn and see Taehyung shyly nodding as well, a hand reaching to grip the back of the other hybrid’s shirt as he shuffles slightly behind him. You suppress the urge to raise your brows—wow, he’s a shy one, huh? You’re a little taken aback but it’s honestly a little endearing.

“Okay, let’s go,” you say, offering them a smile again. Seokjin attempts to return it, but Taehyung is too busy staring at the floor to catch it. “My house isn’t very big, but I’ll point out places as we go.”

The two hybrids trail after you as you proceed to give them a makeshift tour, pointing out the main rooms and adding little comments of what you liked to do in there or what you use certain things for. They observe their surroundings with wide, inquisitive eyes, and the further into the house you delve you catch them sniffing subtly as they take in the different scents in your home, tails unwinding from their legs to tentatively brush wall corners and furniture. Bit by bit they seem to ease, tension fleeing their forms somewhat, and you’re glad for it. You don’t want them to be on edge for the whole night, and you don’t want them to feel uncomfortable for longer than is normal.

“—this one is my room, and this one here is yours. I’m sorry, you have to share a bed for now but I will be able to get two separate ones soon.” You run your hands through your hair sheepishly, eyes sweeping over the room for anything that shouldn’t be there. You duck in and grab a box of paints you left to the side, offering the two hybrids an embarrassed grin. “I promise I will get all this stuff out of here as soon as possible, too. Ideally I would have cleared it before you got here, but tonight was a little short-notice so… yeah.”

Taehyung is hiding behind the other male but is watching you with rapt attention over his shoulder, absorbing everything you say even if the blush on his cheeks betrays that he’d rather be averting his gaze right now. Your eyes flick to Seokjin and you catch him chewing his lip as he processes your words, amber hues flitting about the room and taking everything in.

“It is fine,” he says, offering you a small smile in reassurance. “We will be okay. You have already been more than generous enough.”

You shake your head at him, attempting to smile though it doesn’t reach your eyes. “I appreciate that, but you guys deserve better than the state of the room as it is right now. I want the two of you to be happy , so… as soon as we can, we’ll get some stuff for you to decorate and make it your own… okay?”

You swear his eyes are shining as they whip and meet yours, his mouth falling open once more as he struggles to form a response. You clear your throat, speaking so he doesn’t have to.

“Just there is your bathroom. I have one attached to my room, so that one is just for you two,” you inform them, fingers wringing nervously again. “We can maybe go tomorrow and get everything we need, but it would be really helpful if you guys thought about what you want and maybe make a list? I’m happy to get whatever.”

They seem taken aback at your words, not for the first time tonight, but nod nonetheless. You let a bright smile onto your face. “Awesome, thanks. You can pop your bags in here—would you like to shower and freshen up first, or do you want some food?”

The hybrids share a look, and Seokjin turns back, opening his mouth to answer when two loud grumbles pierce the air. Both hybrids flush bright pink, mortified, but you just laugh.

Guess that answers your question, then.

a/n: please let me know what you think! i hope you liked it, i’m excited for more to come :) 

also as always, please feel free if you like my works to support me by buying me a coffee!! and if you enjoyed this, please let me know by liking and/or reblogging <3 next.

[petals-and-bullets]

Spirits I

Pairing: ? x Reader

Word count: 2874 words

Info: Please read the prologue before reading this fic! You can find the prologue here, and moodboards for Axl and Izzy’s birds here and here respectively! Maybe William and Jeff were bad influences on you. But maybe you wanted to let them be bad influences. Especially when you found yourself in LA.

A/N: This is another experimental piece; it’s an AU - everything is the same, albeit the fact that everyone has wings and can transform into birds. I will be answering questions in my ask box if anyone has any (please do send some in, it can help me clear up the lore a little better in my own mind while I’m writing!). I hope you enjoy it, and please do give me any feedback you have!

Tag List: @dustnbones @ubernoxa

Summers in Lafayette were almost always too warm. It made it impossible to do anything under the sweltering heat, and being forced to sit indoors for six hours a day never helped, either. Most of the things you were taught in school were useless, anyway, and any questions of why were always shrugged off with sighs and eyerolls.

It was official. You were going to be bored to death.

A flash of muddy yellow passed the window, and you perked up, tilting your head as you craned your neck to try and see the culprit – and of course it was William. You shook your head when his face appeared at the window, lips curled into a mischievous grin as he held up a packet of cigarettes. His hair clung to his face, and there was a streak of mud across his forehead; he’d obviously been digging again. Which probably meant that Jeff was somewhere near him – out of the three of you, Jeff was quite clearly the better digger. You supposed it made sense, considering he was a burrowing owl, but it was rare for him to indulge in William’s habits, and you flinched when William started to motion for you to join him outside.

It was difficult for you to say no to him; it always was. Even when you were both still chicks, with your wings only being covered in soft featherdown, William caused trouble and you were dragged into it with him. The only other chick that followed had been Jeff, but that was when he had dared to even appear from little burrows he used to dig in his mother’s garden. After another minute of William motioning for you to join him, you sighed and threw your hand in the air to catch your teacher’s attention. After a moment of almost begging the man with your eyes to allow you to use the bathroom, you grabbed the most inconspicuous parts of your belongings and hurried out. As soon as the door to the classroom was shut behind you, you shook your head and arms before closing your eyes and focused on shifting.

Most people used to tell horror stories about the first Spirits, the first changers. They used to say that their bones snapped in half, that their noses would stretch like Pinocchio and would contort into a beak, but to you, it wasn’t like that. It was a calming experience, with the only sensations being soft tingling as your body contorted into a small bundle of feathers. After lifting your belongings with your small feet, you fluttered down the hallway and through a slightly opened window, before you glanced around for William. The faint sound of tweeting caught your attention, and you flew towards it before you landed beside William. He merely stopped whistling and looked down at you with a mischievous grin, and you just knew that look spelled trouble. Evidently, you weren’t going to be going back into school for the rest of the day. After a moment, you rolled your eyes and changed back before you slapped William upside the head with a wing.

“Hey! What was that for?” He laughed, quickly ducking to avoid another slap. His deft hands quickly opened the small carton in his grasp before he offered a cigarette to you, his eyes twinkling with what could only be honestly described as mischief.

“You could’ve really warned me at the beginning of the school day, you know,” you bemoaned, but accepted the cigarette he offered and swiped the lighter from his pocket. You lit it as you leaned against him and sighed in bliss as his wing wrapped around you, the loose flecks of dirt tickling your nose, which made you wrinkle your nose.

“It was kinda impromptu. The old man left his cigarettes on the counter, and I figured they’d be the only way to bribe a certain owl out of his pit,” he muttered back, and you startled a little at just how deep his voice suddenly was. It wasn’t like you hadn’t expected it, but when he was singing with such a high pitch, it was only normal to expect his talking voice to be high. After a moment to recollect your thoughts, you rolled your eyes playfully and nudged him before you took a drag of the cigarette you held.

“Besides, aren’t you going to help me disturb the great and mighty Jeffrey from his pit?”

“I don’t like being disturbed,” a grumble emerged from the burrow before you, and a pair of grey eyes appeared within the darkness, a grimace painted on his features. A streak of dirt also graced his face, and you merely smiled before you offered the cigarette. After a moment of eyeing you suspiciously, a pale hand reached out and swiped the cigarette from your grasp, the lit end allowing you to see his face clearer, if only for a moment.

The three of you remained in silence while Jeff finished his cigarette, neither you or William wanting to disturb him. Ever since the three of you had discovered cigarettes, it rapidly became a past time for the three of you to just sit and enjoy each other’s company. As soon as the last drag was taken, Jeff climbed out of his burrow and sat in front of you and William, flicking the cigarette butt over his shoulder lazily while he stretched his wings out. He yawned and scratched his nose, but he clearly was prepared to actually have a conversation with the pair of you. You did consider just how in the hell Jeff hadn’t been removed from the school yet, your brow quirking at the thought. William’s parents would have a fit if they heard just what he had been doing exactly, and your own parents would be similar.

But Jeff’s? Well, they had more on their mind, you supposed.

“Are you seriously still trying to dye your feathers?”

“It’s a shitty yellow colour, man.”

“Will. C’mon. Dirt isn’t going to suddenly scare the yellow off.”

William rolled his eyes and you leaned back on your hands, quietly watching the interaction between the two boys with what could only be described as amusement. It was a daily conversation the two boys had, and yet it always ended in the same way. William would undoubtedly have some sort of fit, Jeff would roll his eyes and retreat into his burrow, and you would be left trying to calm the canary down. You sighed and braced yourself for William to lose his temper, but it never came. You dared a glance at Will and blinked at the pout on his face, only he never actually fought back against Izzy’s words; it was almost like he’d… Given up.

“I know. It still doesn’t mean I can’t try. Besides, lay off, would you? You’d think you were my old man, with the amount of bitching you’re doing at me,” he grumbled, his face contorting more into a grimace as he crossed his arms, before he sighed and looked back at the sky, leaning back as he pressed his wings against his back. Jeff merely raised a brow before he heaved a sigh and retreated back into his burrow, only to reappear with a small handful of dirt before he clambered behind you and William. After a moment, he sighed and shoved the dirt into William’s feathers, effectively hiding the colour of his feathers. Almost instinctively, William relaxed and allowed his wings to flutter a little, his hand reaching out to grasp your hand gently. Quietly, you wrapped your fingers around his and tightened your grasp, your eyes meeting his.

“… I’m leaving.”

“What?” You released William’s hand and turned to face Jeff with a look of shock, your eyebrows raised as your mouth hung open.

“I’m leavin’. As soon as we graduate, I’m skippin’ town, and I’m goin’ to LA,” he muttered, his brows furrowed as he focused on scrubbing the dirt into William’s wings, his tongue poking out from between his lips. Eventually, he sat back and moved to sit back in the entrance of his burrow, crossing his legs as he watched you and William.

“LA? As in, Los Angeles?” William questioned, his own brows furrowed as he grabbed your hand again, although you suspected that he was far less bothered about the news in comparison to you. William had always talked about leaving Lafayette, ever since you both were old enough to comprehend just what the word leaving meant. No doubt, he’d beg Izzy to take him with him.

“Yeah. Don’t you wanna come with me, Will? We can actually join a band. We can do something we wanna do,” Jeff’s eyes were alight with a sudden fire, his lips curled into a smile. It was a sight for sore eyes, and you struggled to remember a time when Jeff had last smiled in such genuine way. It was… Relieving. Almost. It still hadn’t changed the fact that Jeff was suddenly talking about leaving – and there was the chance Will would go with him. You weren’t prepared for such drastic changes, not when you were so close to graduating from high school.

“I… I can’t.”

You startled at his words, and you quickly looked at him with wide eyes. His lips had curved downward, and he was staring at his lap while fiddling with the loose hem of his shirt. He sighed softly through his nose and shook his head before he dared to look back up at Jeff, teasing his lower lip between his teeth. Evidently, he wanted to say otherwise, but it seemed like he was being held back by something; and you could only suppose that something was his family.

“What do you mean, you can’t?” Jeff hissed, his eyes narrowed as he leaned forward, his lips curling to expose his teeth.

“I can’t, man. Amy needs me, and-“

“So what, all this bitchin’ about how you wanna get out of this shitty ass town was for nothin’?”

“That’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is-“

“Okay, that’s enough,” you interrupted, and you sat straighter when both boys turned to glare at you. It was rare for you to interrupt their bickering, as you always claimed you were far more mature than they were and just didn’t want to lower yourself to their level. But this time, you couldn’t stand to listen to Jeff lose his temper with Will for something that was, in your eyes, valid.

“It’s bullshit, Y/N! You know that it is! He keeps talking about how he can’t wait to leave, and yet he’s now sayin’ he can’t go when I’m offering him a way out?” Jeff snapped, and you flinched back at the murderous glare in his eyes. For once, you understood why the younger kids in school avoided Jeff’s burrows – even when he’d long since abandoned them – and you merely closed your eyes to recollect your thoughts. Once you’d managed to find the courage to continue your argument, you opened your eyes and realised it was already too late.

William scrunched up his nose and glared at Jeff before he turned. It always was slightly amusing that William, a guy with such a loud personality, was such a small bird – but you stifled your look of amusement as you watched him fly off, his small body still covered in the dust and grime that he’d scrubbed into his feathers.

“Fuck him.”

“Jeff, you can’t say that.”

“Yes, I can. Fuck. Him. Y/N, you’re coming to LA with me, right?”

You hesitated, and idly brought one hand to your wing as you scratched at the feathers nervously, your mind running in overdrive. What would you lose if you did go with him? It’d be hard, sure. The pair of you barely had any experience working, but deep down, you knew that Jeff would take care of you. He always had. After a moment of staring at each other, you sighed and nodded, reaching out to take his filthy hand into yours.

“Okay.”

That had been nearly a year ago. A year since you’d decided to up and leave Lafayette, with barely anything but the savings your parents had hoped you’d use for college and some clothing. And Jeff. Well, he’d announced his name was Izzy on the way to LA, in the cab of his barely-running pickup that his mother had given him, his eyes glinting with a light that could only be described as pride.

You left behind a lot of things, and yet you felt the guiltiest about leaving Will behind. He had come to bid you farewell, his hair tied back in a bun as his face was set in a grimace in an attempt to hide his tears, but he and Jeff – Izzy – barely looked at each other, let alone dared to say another word to each other. It was almost like the two had just given up on their friendship, and it took everything in you to not slam their heads together in the hopes their common sense would return. Instead, you’d merely hugged him and promised to keep in touch – which he had accepted with a sniff and a nod of the head.

LA was everything you had dreamed of, and more. It was loud, it was busy, and it was so much more different than Lafayette – and you loved it. Izzy seemed to be at home, with his style and music rapidly adapting and evolving to fit into the scene that the pair of you had found yourselves in. Your apartment was barely an apartment – it was a single room that you used as a bedroom, kitchen and living room, with the bathroom pretty much being nothing but a tiny room that may as well be a wardrobe. But it was enough for the pair of you, and it wasn’t too hard for you to find a job that could help bring in at least some money.

It was nothing much more than working as a cashier in the local gas station, but it was enough. Izzy, however, kept his employment to himself. Whenever you questioned him on it, he merely shrugged and grabbed his car keys before leaving you alone on the couch. You supposed that maybe he had been doing something illegal, which immediately caused you to become alarmed at the concept. Whenever he was late, you would sit and pick at your wings, letting feathers drop around you as you allowed yourself to worry about what could’ve happened to Izzy. He could’ve been arrested. Or worse.

You looked up quickly at the sound of Izzy’s keys in the door, and sure enough, he stepped in, a cigarette placed delicately between his teeth. He merely winked at you when he noticed your presence before he kicked the door shut behind him, dropping his wallet on the side table. He dropped down beside you and leaned back with a sigh, closing his eyes.

“… Long day?” You asked softly as you turned to look at him, reaching out to gently scratch at his wings. He merely hummed and took a drag of his cigarette before he quirked a brow, his lips curving into a smirk before he stood and offered the cigarette to you. You took it, and took a drag before you laughed a little as a pillow was thrown your way – Izzy was clearly going to build a burrow with the multitudes of pillows and blankets he had collected. While LA was a jungle of buildings, there was no room for digging burrows. Not for an owl like Izzy. And it took its toll on him when he was stressed, so the pair of you had taken to making a burrow out of the pillows and blankets. It happened rarely now, but at times it had gotten too much for him.

Once he was satisfied with what he constructed, he climbed into the burrow with you and wrapped you close, his wings securely bundling you against his chest. You offered the cigarette to him again, and he quietly leaned forward to take a drag, his eyes fluttering closed. After a moment, he exhaled and rested his head on yours, his fingers running down your wings gently.

“… Got a call today,” he eventually murmured after about an hour of silent cuddling, and you shifted to look up at him quietly.

“Will… Well, his name’s Axl now. He’s comin’.”

“To LA?”

“Yeah. Guess his old man got sick of him and kicked him out.”

You hummed softly and yawned, before you smiled. William was coming – and that meant that it was going to be just like it was in your childhood; the three of you against the world.

“I wonder if he still scrubs dirt into his feathers,” Izzy mused, and he snorted softly at the thought. You rolled your eyes as you reached out to stub the cigarette into the ashtray nearby. It was almost soothing to think about, and you allowed yourself to be pulled more against Izzy’s chest as you yawned again, your eyes slowly drifting shut.

You supposed you could interrogate Izzy about why he was late in the morning.

[sfthearts]

Sunshine (part 5)

To be completely honest, I’ve been writing this for forever and haven’t really read through it in a while, so do with that info what you will.

Twelve months later.

Brendon and Adelaide were spending the day of their one year anniversary doing their favorite ‘together’ things. They both refused to receive gifts from the other, instead agreeing to a marathon day of activities.

First on their list, they wanted to wake up and make breakfast together, Adelaide an expert in her signature stuffed french toast recipe, while Brendon was in charge of making bacon, and cutting up various fruits.

They decided to be as cliche as possible and feed each other breakfast in bed, laughing the whole time, surprisingly not spilling their breakfast everywhere, as they listened and sang along to Adelaide’s happiest playlist.

The second thing on their list was to take a drive, just as they had done on the day Brendon officially asked Adelaide to be his girlfriend. Taking this drive with him, her hand clasped in his, actually made Adelaide tear up a bit. It was so surreal to her that she had already known this man for over a year. She shook her head to clear her mind of the sappy thoughts, and she began remembering the funny little moments of their relationship, smiling broadly at one in particular. Brendon noticed this and nudged her, a smile appearing on his face as well.

“What are you thinking about over there, baby? What’s with that big smile?” He laughed.

Adelaide lost it at this point, laughing loudly before finally composing herself enough to speak. “I was just remembering the time we went bowling and you threw your ball backwards.”

Brendon smacked his forehead at the reminder.

“My hand slipped right out! It wasn’t my fault!” Brendon whined, only making Adelaide laugh more.

Brendon looked over at her as she laughed. He loved her laugh. He took her hand, which was still in his, and kissed it softly.

The two reminisced and drove some more until they arrived at their favorite park, which they would often go to and lay on a blanket and watch the clouds and see the ducks in the pond together.

They had a little lunchtime picnic and pointed out the shapes they saw within the clouds like little kids would do, and just enjoying being outside in the warm weather with each other.

After a while, they finally drove back to Adelaide’s place and started to make dinner together, but it was mostly Brendon watching her work in awe.

After dinner, they shared a bottle of wine and some chocolate dipped strawberries, and despite their agreement on gifts, Brendon still surprised Adelaide with her favorite flowers, which were delivered to her doorstep.

“You’re a jerk for breaking the rules, but I absolutely adore you.” Adelaide said while smiling after closing the door. She walked to the kitchen table and set the vase of flowers down in the center. Brendon had a smug look on his face before becoming sincere.

“I love you so much, Sunshine. I’m so beyond happy to call you mine, and that I’ve had the privilege of doing so for an entire year.” He said warmly, walking to her and swooping in for a kiss. “I love you.” He whispered, he had the softest look in his eyes.

“I love you forever, Brendon.” Adelaide said sincerely, looking up at him.

Brendon looked down into Adelaide’s eyes and felt his chest ache with love for the girl. He placed his hands on the sides of her face, cupping it so gently.

“I can’t wait to look into your eyes for the rest of my life. I can’t wait to buy you a ring and marry you and buy a big house and start our lives together. I never thought I’d be able to open up to someone like I’ve opened up to you, you’ve changed me, Adelaide.” Brendon said passionately, now unable to contain his emotions.

Adelaide melted. She couldn’t even speak, she felt like the wind was knocked out of her. She only hugged him as tight as she could and whispered “I can’t wait either.”

He squeezed back and they stayed in that position for a minute, before Brendon had a thought.

“Th-that wasn't me proposing, trust me, my proposal will be WAY better than that.”

Adelaide laughed and gave him a kiss.

“I’m still saying yes.”

The rest of the night, Brendon and Adelaide stayed up cuddling, talking, and just enjoying each other’s company. At around 1:30 AM, Adelaide found herself laying on top of Brendon as he played with her hair and occasionally rubbed her back. Soon after, they both drifted into a peaceful sleep. Brendon woke around 3 to Adelaide’s arms tightly wrapped around him, as she snored softly into his chest. He smiled down at her and ran a hand through her hair. Moments like these still caught his breath in his chest, he still couldn’t believe he had gotten this perfect person to spend an entire year with him. He never thought he would find someone to love him for who he is, and he much less expected someone to take him out of his shell and bring him back to the person he used to be.

He debated for a little while on whether he should wake her and take them both to bed, or if he should just carry her there, but decided on the latter. He sat up, moving her sleeping body into his arms, and carried her to her bed. He made sure she was all tucked in and looked comfortable before leaving the room, turning off all the lights in the rest of the apartment before rejoining her in her room. Pumpkin followed him around, carefully watching his movements, until finally taking his spot at the end of the bed.

Brendon slipped his jeans and t-shirt off, and climbed into the other side of her bed. He grabbed Adelaide once more and placed her in nearly the same position they were in on the couch, as it comforted him feeling her body weight resting on him like that. He softly kissed her cheek and forehead before laying back down onto the pillow.

Adelaide shifted slightly in her sleep, sighing and returning to her soft snores.

Brendon gently pulled the covers up over them and quickly fell back to sleep as well, and when they woke the next morning, neither one had moved an inch.

Adelaide woke up first, lifting her head from Brendon’s chest and looking up at him. His mouth was open slightly and his hair was messy, her favorite sight to wake up to. They slept at each other’s houses most nights, so his morning face and bed head weren’t anything new, but it still made her smile each and every time.

She noticed his arms locked tightly around her waist, holding her like a kid with their favorite stuffed animal, preventing her from moving. She smiled and kissed his cheek and his jawline before laying her head back down on him, snuggling in a little closer. She dozed on and off for a while, as the golden sun began to peek its way through her flowing white curtains.

Brendon slowly awakened in that time, temporarily forgetting why he felt a weight on top of his body.

He opened his eyes and saw the girl sprawled out on top of him, breathing warm air on his bare chest. He shivered pleasantly from the sensation.

Adelaide stirred at the sudden jolt. She raised her head for the second time that morning, this time greeted by Brendon’s soft brown eyes.

“Morning bub, you cold?” She asked him with a slight frown, noticing the goosebumps on his arms and chest. She lightly kissed his chest and shoulder.

He shook his head with a lopsided grin.

“I’m alright, how did you sleep?” He asked, placing a hand on her head and combing his fingers through her tousled hair.

“Fantastic. I like sleeping with you.” She said with a happy smile. Brendon raised his eyebrows teasingly, with a stupid grin on his face. His reaction confused Adelaide for a moment before realizing the double meaning of her words. “I- I don’t mean-“

Brendon only laughed, as she sputtered her way through an explanation, her cheeks glowing bright red.

“You’re okay, baby. I know what you meant. I like sleeping with you too.” He giggled, poking her side teasingly.

“I mean, I like sleeping with you like THAT too, but I really did just mean sleeping.” She explained, now hiding her flushed face in his chest.

He stroked her hair soothingly now, smiling to himself. They laid like that for a while, and Adelaide had almost dozed back off with the feeling of his hand in her hair, when Brendon spoke again.

“Hey, so I have that meeting with the band today, do you wanna come with me?” He asked.

In the year since he had met Adelaide, things had really taken off for Brendon and his career in music. He had properly become a part of a band he filled in for sometimes, and they had even finished recording a demo. They began sending it out to anyone they could think of, and actually had received a lot of responses from it.

Brendon knew Adelaide enjoyed learning about his music, and everything behind the scenes, so he hoped she would say yes. He loved watching her become involved in his favorite thing, and he wanted her to be there today especially, since it was a very important meeting.

“Of course love” she mumbled sleepily, not yet thinking of the fact that this was the meeting where they would decide who they wanted to officially sign with and begin production of their first full album. They had gotten a few offers, and as dangerous as it could’ve been, they told them all they needed to discuss the offers further. This, thankfully, had paid off, and only made them more desirable. Brendon was about to remind his sleepy girlfriend what the meeting was when she suddenly gasped, throwing her head back to make eye contact with him. She pushed her body up using his chest, so she was now sitting on him.

“Oh my god Brendon wait, today is THE day!!!” She exclaimed excitedly, placing her hands on his chest.

Brendon laughed softly and put his hands at her sides.

“It is THE day.” He confirmed.

Adelaide squealed and attacked his face with kisses while squishing his cheeks in her hand.

“I am SO PROUD OF YOU!”

“Well nothing’s official yet, don’t get too excited.” Brendon said, giggling through her kisses.

“I know, I know, it’s just that you’re so close to everything you’ve ever wanted, I can’t help but be excited for you!” She explained.

“You are everything I’ve ever wanted” Brendon quickly corrected, reaching up to tap her nose.

“Aw baby-“ Adelaide said softly, placing a hand on his cheek.

“I’m serious, I love music and making music but if I didn’t have you, I don’t know where I’d be. I don’t think I’d be… here.” Brendon said sincerely, gesturing around them.

This broke any strength she had, and Adelaide began to cry, which quickly caught Brendon’s attention. His eyes opened wide and his eyebrows turned up in the center.

“No no no, please don’t cry, it’s okay baby, come here” he said quickly, pulling her into him once more and giving her a tight hug, rubbing her back as he did.

“You okay now?” He asked her after a moment.

“I just can’t believe how much I love you” she said softly, tears still evident in her voice. “And how sad I would be if I didn’t have you.”

“Well you don’t have to be sad, you’ll always have me. No matter what, okay?”

“Promise?” She asked

“I promise.”

[scandalsavagefanfic]

So I love angsty brujay as much as anyone but can we get doting!husband Bruce and hot trophy husband/professor Jason who is alarmingly good friends with a lot of the society SOs and uses the info for cases and everyone else is like wth and Bruce is just 😍

Yes! 

I saved this for after the angsty post B&R #20 thing I did so that I could have some sweet, fluffy brujay to make me feel better.

Hope this is kind of what you meant :D

Black Onyx and Gold (Read on AO3)

Words: 2846

Rating: E

Warnings: BruJay, blow jobs, hinted Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain… that’s pretty much it. 

[[Jason was never found/taken in by Bruce. Steph is a politician.]]

Bruce never tires of the view when he exits his closet(which is really more of a dressing room) in the mornings. The body sprawledout in his bed is smooth and tan, the sunlight coming through the giant windowshighlights the curves of hard muscle running down the boy’s back, strong armstucked under the pillow. There’s a small wet spot from where he’s drooled inhis sleep.

He approaches the bed, smiling softly, fastening hiscufflinks. The only thing that could make the scene better is if the bit ofsilvery sheet draped over the flawless swell of Jason’s backside slips lower.Or off completely.

Unable to resist, Bruce gently brushes the lock of whitehair, a wonderfully unique birthmark, off the much younger man’s peaceful face.

Jason hums in his sleep, following the light touch before groggilyblinking his eyes open.

“Mmmm… time ‘sit?” He sighs contentedly, leaning intoBruce’s hand as it cups his cheek.

“Nearly six.”

Jason groans and tries to bury his face in the pillow.

“I don’t even have a class today,” he whines, voice muffledby fabric and Eider down, “You’re a very mean, evil man, waking me up soearly.”

Bruce gives a small huff of laughter before lightly dragginghis fingertips across Jason’s shoulders to slowly travel along his spine.

“I have a board meeting at eight,” Bruce rumbles as hisfingers approach their target, “There’s a couple of minor matters to take careof before it starts but I have few minutes if you want to… have breakfast.”

Jason giggles as Bruce’s fingers nudge the sheet just enoughfor the satiny material to slink off him like liquid.

“Breakfast, huh?” He says, turning over, sleepy sea greeneyes flickering in amusement, unconvinced.

Bruce just smiles at him innocently, eyes snapping to theflash of black onyx and gold on the younger man’s hand.

It’s still so new. The sight of it continues to make hisheart leap.

He reaches out, feels Jason smiling happily, watching asBruce takes his hand, lifts it to his own lips and kisses the wedding band.

Jason takes the opportunity to slip his hand around Bruce’shead, tangling his fingers in Bruce’s still (mostly) black hair, and pulls himdown.

The younger man’s lips are soft and warm and even thoughJason hasn’t brushed his teeth yet, Bruce can’t get enough of the taste of him,a lingering flavor of the bourbon they drank last night clings to his tongueand Bruce sucks on it playfully, chasing the flavor of alcohol and Jason.

He moves from his husband’s lips to his jaw, down histhroat, across his chest. He pauses to worry at a pink nipple with his teeth, coaxingout those pretty little choked off gasps he likes so much, before licking thelines of the valleys between Jason’s abs and finally making his way to hisdestination.

It doesn’t take long, once he gets Jason’s length in hismouth. Jason is always so sensitive but especially in the morning, when he’sstill soft and sleepy, all breathless moans, arching into the mattress, onehand twisted in the sheets the other gripping Bruce’s hair tight.

The way the younger man comes undone, so open and trusting,so expressive… Bruce would do anything for him, anything to keep him.

He knows that’s what the kids are worried about. But hetrusts Jason, more than he’s trusted anyone from outside the family in a verylong time.

He knows that troubles the kids too. But they don’t know himvery well yet. Bruce is positive they’ll like him once they do.

Jason finishes with a muffled cry around the fist he’s movedfrom the sheets to his mouth, the gold of his ring flashing in the morninglight. He’s always been vocal about his enjoyment, but ever since he officiallymoved in, he’s been trying to be considerate of that fact that Damian and Tim stilllive down the hall. Even though Bruce has told him the walls and doors are thickenough that they won’t hear.

Swallowing, Bruce lets Jason slip from his mouth, reaches upand gently takes Jason’s hand from where he’s biting down on it, rubbing histhumb over the indentations of his teeth. Then he presses his lips to hislover’s for a sweet, prolonged kiss before standing.

His intention is to check his slacks in the mirror, see ifhe’s wrinkled them too noticeably and change if he must.

But his wrist is snagged in a strong, soft hand, and in onefluid, graceful movement, Jason has pulled him back to sit on the edge of thebed and knelt in front of him.

“I don’t have time,” he objects weakly. A brilliant grinflashes up at him, clever fingers deftly undoing the button, the zipper.

“Guess you’re going to be late then.”

The world dissolves around him, everything narrowing to the wet,velvet heat of Jason’s divinely filthy mouth. The things this kid does with histongue, his teeth, his lips. Sometimes Bruce wonders if it’s an addiction.

When Jason’s intensity and determination is focused entirelyon him, Bruce never lasts.

But the younger man pulls off him with a wet pop when Bruceis moments away breaking.

“Look at me,” Jason rasps and and that’s when Bruce realizeshe has his eyes squeezed shut.

He fixes his gaze on Jason’s face. The pupils in those greeneyes are blown wide under heavy lids, his cheeks flushed pink, lips red frombeing stretched around Bruce’s remarkably long, thick cock.

Jason gives him a mischievous little smirk, makes a show outof wrapping his left hand around Bruce’s member. Black and gold, metal andstone, cool but quickly warming as it slides up and down the heated, red fleshwhile Jason leans forward and ducks his head, gently sucking Bruce’s balls intohis mouth, simultaneously giving Bruce a lovely view of the curve of his ass.

Unlike Jason, Bruce isn’t usually vocal. But he can’tcontain the little shout that is punched out of him. He watches his seed shootdown the line of Jason’s spine, watches as gravity drags it lower and lower, asit disappears between the rounded swells of his cheeks.

Straightening up, Jason licks the tip of his cock, cleaningit of the last drops of release. Then gives him a smug smirk before slipping hisarms around his waist and nuzzling his face against Bruce’s chest.

“I like the ring too,” he says into the lavender silk ofBruce’s shirt.

Bruce hugs him back, kisses the top of his head. Doesn’tbother asking how Jason knows. The boy lives in his head, he’s known that for awhile now.

“You keep staring at it,” Jason answers the unasked questionas he pulls back and stands.

“Hm. It looks good on you,” Bruce hums, pointedly givingJason, standing before him without a stitch of clothing or shame in just hiswedding band, a hungry once over.

The smile that blooms across Jason’s face is radiant and helooks like he’s ready to go another round.

Despite that, he nods at Bruce’s rumpled state. “You’regonna want to change.”

Jason has the shower running when Bruce emerges in a newsuit.

“I’m heading out,” he calls, popping his head into the lavishmarble room.

Jason pauses before stepping into the steam and tilts hishead.

“You gonna brush your teeth?” He asks.

“Already did.”

Jason gives him an exasperated but amused look. “I meanafter you just—"

Bruce leans in, cutting him off with another deep probingkiss, then pulls away and says, “Nope.”

His husband snorts and rolls his eyes.

“Don’t forget about the fundraiser tonight,” Bruce says onhis way out, moving quickly enough to miss the bulk of the grumbling.

 —————————————————————————————————— 

Bruce knows Jason isn’t the most social of men. The galasand fundraisers and charity events are a part of Bruce Wayne’s world and theycan be stressful or tiring for a more reserved, private person. But despiteJason’s grousing and preference for quiet evenings in front of a fire insteadof a band, with a book, instead of a crowd, he always manages to charm andenchant the scions of East coast aristocracy.

He watches his husband from across the room, barely payingattention to the conversation happening in the group around him. Jason islaughing easily with a handful of young women, much closer to his age thanBruce. The sudden reminder that he’s in some interesting company has himwondering if the much older husbands of those much younger women love theirwives as much as he loves Jason. Whether they love them for more than theirpretty appearances.

Jason is a vision. His burgundy three-piece is, unlike allthe silk and cashmere in the room, tweed. Bruce made sure Jason’s wardrobe wasbeyond reproach, that everything was of a quality that would blend with thewealthy. His brown suede Oxfords are the softest Italian leather, his floraltie is silk, his white button-down cost way too much for even the finest cotton.Even though he’d blend better with the extravagance in one of his other suits,one in black or grey or blue, Jason is more comfortable when he gets to behimself, even in a small way, like wearing tweed. Even at the risk of snidecomments. Which is probably why Jason has never replaced his old horned-rimmedglasses with something more fashionable.

Sharp green eyes catch him staring and they smile at eachother.

Bruce has an overwhelming urge to sneak his husband away toone of the many dark nooks around the manor’s grounds.

By the time he refocuses on his immediate vicinity, thegroup he was speaking to has dispersed, apparently losing interest in his… lackof interest.

He grabs a drink from a passing tray and starts trying tofind his kids. Cassandra is where she always is at these things, glued toBarbara Gordon’s side as the Police Commissioner’s daughter interacts easilywith high society. Dick and Tim are speaking to a group of 20-30 somethingsabout business. Or rather Tim is talking and Dick keeps glancing around likehe’s looking for a reason to excuse himself. And Damian is…

“Well, at least he fits in with the other trophy wives.”

Bruce frowns, glancing down at Damian and following his gazeto where Jason giggles with a beautiful, young blond woman.

“Come with me,” he mutters, putting his hand on his son’sshoulder to guide him out to the veranda.

Damian heaves a long-suffering sigh. But if he wanted toavoid another lecture, he should have avoided another tastelessjoke at Jason’s expense.

“I understand that my relationship with Jason is difficultfor you—“

Damian snorts and looks out into the darkness of thegrounds.

“—And that you and your siblings have your reservations,” hecontinues, deciding to ignore the little outburst. “But none of you have reallyeven spoken to him. You haven’t made any attempt to get to know him. You’remaking a lot of judgments based on very little information.”

“I think I have plenty of information, father. You are verywealthy, Jason is very attractive. The most obvious motivations are usually theones at play.”

Bruce narrows his eyes. “Damian. Jason is a doctor and a professorof abnormal psychology. He’s an authority in his field. His research and inputhave greatly increased the efficiency and effectiveness of Arkham, helped captureand incarcerate super-criminals even before he started helping with… our nightjobs.”

“Yes. Teachers and doctors who do most of their work pro bonomake enough money for it to be absurd for us to think it a factor in his…interest in you. And I am certain that you, a man surrounded by some of thegreatest minds in the world at any given moment, are more interested in a man’sbrilliance specializing in a soft science rather than the man’s much moreexceptional looks.”

“Damian.”

“Father.”

They stand in a silent statement for a long moment.

“You’ve made a number of unfair assumptions. First of all,even if Jason wasn’t incredibly intelligent, he would still be deserving ofrespect. He is kind and generous both of which are wildly underrated traits. Ofcourse I’m physically attracted to him, attraction plays a role in allrelationships. But I married him because he’s selfless and compassionate. Heloves this city as much as I do. And he loves me as much as I love him.

“Second, he married me because even now, despite hisaccomplishments, he is constantly patronized and dismissed due to his… humbleorigins. He faces more and more of it the higher he climbs, the more esteemhe earns, the more exclusive his circle of peers and colleagues becomes. I’vealways treated him with dignity, come to his defense when necessary.

“And finally, as if to help drive my point home, the youngwoman he was speaking to in there is not a ‘trophy wife’, as you so tactlesslysuggested. And your instinct to label her as such speaks volumes to your ownbiases. Stephanie Brown is one of the youngest representatives to serve in thestate legislature. She grew up in the East End, just like Jason. They’ve donequite a bit of work together to help Gotham’s less privileged neighborhoods.”

Damian shifts uncomfortably, eyes downcast. He scuffs thesole of his shoe against the flooring.

Bruce puts his hand on his son’s shoulder again andsqueezes.

“Jason is the one who asked for a prenuptial agreement. He’sasked that I don’t touch my will until you are all comfortable with him. Hetries to interact with you and, while none of you are openly rude… you haven’texactly made him feel welcome.

“All I’m asking is that you give him a chance. Speak to himand see where it goes.”

He turns to go back inside.

“Sorry, father. It’s… difficult… to know how to act aroundhim. He’s not much older than us but… he’s you’re husband and it is…complicated.”

“He’s not your parent. You’re all too old for for that and,more importantly, he doesn’t want to be. But he could be a friend.”

“Of course. I’ll… try. Promise.”

Bruce puts his arm out and wraps it around Damian’sshoulders when the teen approaches.

“Thank you, son,” he says as they rejoin the party, “Maybe youcan say something to your brothers too.”

Damian nods and heads off. Bruce loses him in the crowd,making his way to Tim.

“Hey, you,” a warm, rumbling voice purrs into his ear,immediately making him smile, “Where’d you disappear to?”

Jason’s arm snakes round his waist and Bruce returns thehold.

“You promised you’d never leave me alone at one of thesethings,” Jason continues, whispering, before Bruce can answer.

“Hm. Apologies, my love. I was… speaking to Damian.”

“Ah,” Jason grunts, then smirks up at him, “Did he call me a‘harlot’ again?”

Bruce snorts at that eventful memory. “A ‘trophy wife’.”

Jason’s laugh rings like sweet music and Bruce can’t helpbut smile as he watches him, completely smitten.

“Well, I think I may have gained some brownie points withCass.”

“Cass has always been the best about our relationship. Sherespects Barbara and Babs respects you.”

“True. But now she doesn’t have to takes Red’s word for it,”he nods to where Cassandra is gazing wide-eyed and captivated by a cute blondwoman speaking animatedly, hands flying as she communicates with gesture asmuch as words, “I thought she and Steph would hit it off.”

Bruce takes Jason’s hand, plays with the black and gold band,and just gazes at him for a long moment.

“You’re staring, old man.”

Turning to face him, Bruce pulls Jason into his arms andwaits for sea green eyes.

“You are remarkable. Did you know that?” Bruce murmurs tohim, forgetting that there are dozens of other people very likely watching them,“Absolutely singular.”

When Jason’s face flushes pink and he laughs it off, tryingto pull away, Bruce just tightens his embrace.

He closes the distance and presses a chaste kiss to theyounger man’s lips. Then he leans in further, lips brushing the shell ofJason’s ear as he whispers, “I’m going to skip patrol tonight. While the kidsare working, I’m going to take you apart. Slowly. Make you scream like you usedto. By the time I’m through with you, you won’t be able to get out of bed fordays.”

Jason shudders. And then balks when Bruce releases him and walksaway to mingle. He only just makes out Jason’s muttered “Asshole.”

Half an hour later, Bruce catches Dick and Damian standingwith Jason, chatting. Jason looks a little surprised but obviously thrilled at theunexpected inclusion.

For the first time in a long while, Bruce is optimisticabout the future. Or rather, his own future and how happy he’ll be in it.

[kiruuuuu]

Smoke/Lesion oneshot in which both of them come out of the closet. Literally, not figuratively. (Rating E, explicit + hints of fluff, ~3.7k words) - written for @catfacedcryptid​!! Thank you again for commissioning me 💚💚 I had fun writing this ship, their dynamic is intriguing to me :) Find my commission info here!

.

“And that concludes everything I have to say on these specific mines. Watch your step, everyone.” Lesion flips the laptop shut as another indicator of his talk being over before addressing the room with a blinding smile. “And break a leg.”

To an outsider, his audience must seem like a sorry excuse of a team – Glaz is doodling absent-mindedly on Jackal’s sleeve while the Spaniard has his eyes closed and seems to be dozing, Smoke is playing a crude imitation of foosball with Valkyrie opposite him (fashioned out of various office supplies), Gridlock is frowning up a storm with her arms crossed and looks ready to chuck the next person to look at her wrong into the trash bin, and Jäger is playing on his phone. And yet Lesion has no doubt that all of them not only understood but also retained the knowledge he passed on to them in preparation for an upcoming deployment in the Middle East: Glaz concentrates better when he draws, Smoke can only absorb large amounts of new information if his hands are occupied, Valkyrie has remarkable focus no matter what, Gridlock simply looks frightful when she’s thinking and Jäger most probably took notes while avoiding general eye contact. As for Jackal, well…

One of the others can fill him in later.

It’s one of the reasons why Rainbow works as well as it does – they draw from the combined experience of some of the best operators from all around the world and funnel their knowledge into a collective benefiting them all. Lesion can’t help but feel an odd sort of pride whenever he watches this group of individual disasters fuse together to form a horrifyingly competent squad.

Right now however, he’d like to fuse with just one member in particular.

“Porter”, he speaks up and is immediately granted full attention, allowing Valkyrie to score with a triumphant cheer. This will never get old, how easily Lesion becomes the Brit’s sole focus. If it’s honest, it’s addicting and he tests it now and then, calls his name from the other end of a room and is filled with a possessive warmth at the instant reaction. “Would you stay a little longer? There’s something I’d like to discuss.”

Bits and pieces fall into place, he can almost watch as the cogs turn in Smoke’s head. He realises this is premeditated, prologued by teasing touches this morning, taunting without providing satisfaction, a few obscure promises made over the past days. Smoke’s gaze darkens, his thoughts visible to Lesion only: So that’s how it’s gonna be. “Sure”, he replies, sounding normal, but Lesion would bet everything on the fact that his heartbeat just quickened.

Work is off limits. It’s a rule Lesion had to explicitly state a few weeks ago after an… incident involving him dropping a remark about Smoke’s gloves which ended up inside and around him in the most pleasurable way possible (filled with Smoke’s fingers, of course), the only problem being the location. Anyone could’ve walked in on them in the changing room, and it was only a fortunate coincidence nobody did. Therefore, Lesion set a rule with the addendum that only he is allowed to bend it – and that’s exactly what he’s doing right now. And Smoke has caught on.

Nothing gives him away. He’s so natural in walking up to Lesion he almost wants to keep poking him, tease him to a point where his composure cracks in front of everyone but this was a rule both of them set, so he doesn’t push it. They’re not ready to make it official yet, despite the quiet words whispered to each other every time they cuddle in bed.

And Smoke is a magnet. Compact body, malicious grin, sharp jaw, confident stride – he’s everything Lesion has always warned others against, only to realise for it to be precisely his weakspot, and now that he’s latched onto him, there’s no hope for him anymore. Not that he’d hope for anything other than being right here, next to this bastard radiating pure smugness.

One second, Smoke is yelling something after Valkyrie, the next his fist is grabbing Lesion’s shirt and dragging him closer. There are days on which he’s clumsy and vulnerable and soft and asking the weirdest questions (has Lesion ever stuck his dick inside a vacuum? No. No, he has not), and on others he’s all low growls and sharp edges and obvious dominance. Today it seems to be the latter and it couldn’t have been more perfect. “Here?”, he wants to know curtly. Their faces are mere centimetres apart and the air between them sizzles.

“We’re at the end of the corridor, we’ll hear it if someone decides to come back”, Lesion whispers in return and, when Smoke doesn’t get it straightaway, adds: “We can even leave the door open.”

Oh, he likes that. The grip tightens and the other arm wraps around Lesion’s waist to pull their lower halves closer. Gingerly, Smoke leans in, takes Lesion’s toothpick between his own lips, spits it onto the floor and Lesion’s gone. This move gets him unfailingly every time, the meaningful eye contact, the slow movement, the deliberateness of it all, and the wonderful implications. Smoke only does this when he’s about to blow Lesion’s mind.

“Why don’t you put your mouth to better use?”, he suggests in a low voice and though it’s quite obvious what he means, Lesion can’t help but talk back.

“Are you implying the things I have to say aren’t worthwhile?”

Smoke’s eyes narrow. “I’m saying there’s better wood for you to suck on than your stupid toothpick.”

Lesion grins. The urge to mouth off is extremely hard to suppress but this is not the right moment for their usual wrestling for control, not when their prolonged absence could raise suspicion. Both of them have a competitive streak which extends into the bedroom, causes an almost permanent pushing and pulling, a power struggle both of them relish because as much as it’s a fight for control, it’s really a series of concessions. They’re both well aware of how stubborn and resilient (and in Smoke’s case self-centred) they are, meaning they couldn’t make each other do things they don’t want. Therefore, whenever either of them gives in, it’s a testament of how much genuine affection colours their interactions. Every time Smoke goes out of his way purely to do Lesion a favour, it’s a new rush of fondness, and Lesion never misses his lover’s eyes softening when he takes the time to pamper him.

As Lesion sinks to his knees, Smoke’s expression slips from carefully guarded into holy shit YES and Lesion almost laughs at the sudden switch. He knows exactly how the Brit is feeling, has experienced the same many times before whenever Smoke told him to just lie back and climbed on top of him, so he savours the moment and makes sure to glance up at the other man before he gets to work. He hasn’t done this in a while but still remembers the motions, grabs Smoke’s hard thighs with both hands and unbuttons his trousers with his lips and tongue, pulls his zip down with his teeth. He’s going to show Smoke just what his mouth can do.

“Oh fuck yes”, the other man hisses sharply, eyes sparkling, “you look so good down there. Don’t you ever forget you belong to me. Don’t let anyone else touch you, you hear? You’re fucking mine.”

Despite the insistent words and the fingers carding through his hair, laying claim to him, he takes his time once more. He teases his lover more than necessary and coaxes his stiffening dick out of the underwear, noses at the coarse hair and licks at the base – and as much as he gets the feeling that Smoke would like to act nonchalant and roll his eyes, he’s too caught up as evidenced by the drawn-together brows, the shallow breaths, the pleading looks.

Lesion relishes it all. He hasn’t done this in a while, recently topped a lot not for a special reason but because it just so happened, and left Smoke’s dick largely untouched, so he imagines his mouth must feel divine. He lets the tip glide over the inside of his cheek, feeling a satisfied smile tug at the corners of his mouth at every gasp and wonders whether he should use all of his throat soon or leave Smoke hanging for a little longer. He could do this all day, has on various occasions sucked two consecutive orgasms out of the Brit, disregarding his whimpers and protests, and he feels so good on his tongue, heavy and hot and -

And there’s footsteps.

In the name of all that is holy, why are there footsteps?

He glances up, is confronted with an already wrecked-looking Smoke who’d give them away, no doubt, cheeks dark and gaze darker, prominent erection too obvious to hide and besides, the person sounds entirely too close for comfort already. There’s just one solution, one course of action which will spare them significant embarrassment, and so Lesion shoves him in the direction of their safe haven, hissing: “In the closet. Go!”

If Smoke wasn’t still visibly dwelling on the feeling of Lesion’s mouth around him, he might’ve replied with something like ‘that’s where I spent the first eighteen years of my life anyway’, but as it is, he simply complies, stuffing himself into the mostly empty (yet concerningly tiny) supply closet before pulling Lesion against him, allowing for the door to close. They’re pressed together from head to toe, limbs at an awkward angle though at least they’re out of sight.

Lesion makes use of their proximity by kissing Smoke, careful not to produce any noise but devoted nonetheless, slides their lips together and realises much too late how big of a mistake he just made. Because Smoke does that thing with his tongue, the sensation rushing to Lesion’s crotch like it’s nobody’s business, and accompanying it is the feeling of the unwaveringly hard boner digging into hip. And if that wasn’t enough, Smoke’s hands slip into the back of his trousers.

He’s excellent at bringing out Lesion’s inner child, impresses him with the smallest demonstrations in his lab and inspires him to play pranks to his heart’s content – and right now, he’s making Lesion feel like a horny teenager again. He can’t remember the last time he got this insanely turned on purely by making out. There’s no other way to put it: if this keeps going, he’ll come in his pants. Smoke is melting against him, hungry for any touch, any bit of stimulation he can get and it only serves to amplify Lesion’s own desire, the drive to give and take and feel. Their situation adds to the thrill, and knowing Smoke has vague exhibitionist tendencies fuels Lesion’s imagination.

“No idea why the other room was taken, but this one will work”, a completely oblivious voice states loudly behind Lesion’s back. “Let’s start the meeting.”

Oh no.

While it’s not pitch black, he can’t make out Smoke’s expression yet guesses it to be exasperated. It seems like they’re stuck here for a while.

Lesion is halfway through the thought of taking out his phone and typing out the suggestion of maybe just kissing until their colleagues in the other room are done when he’s interrupted by a finger slipping between his cheeks. He stills. Evaluates the situation, intends to slowly remove Smoke’s hand because fucking in a closet with a small group of their colleagues directly next to them wasn’t high on his list of things to try out – and then his lover is sucking on his pulse point while rubbing the pad of his finger over Lesion’s entrance and he only barely manages to swallow the moan threatening to leave his throat.

It’s too warm and stuffy, getting hard to think, and if he’s honest giving in seems a lot less complicated than struggling, so after a brief scuffle he ends up pressed face first against the door with Smoke’s hard shaft at his backside and insistent hands silently unclasping his belt. Outside, he hears Ash’s clipped accent and decides to rest his weight against the door to stop it from rattling, leaving him effectively no opportunity to use his hands while Smoke undresses him agonisingly slow. Biting his lip, he ignores the light-headed mixture of danger, excitement and arousal pooling in his belly and merely awaits the inevitable, his own cock free now and jumping in anticipation when Smoke’s hot flesh drags against his thigh.

This is the hardest part: trying to stay quiet while Smoke fingers him open. He might have a horrendous gag reflex but more than makes up for it with the magic spells his fingers can weave – they rub against all the right places and have Lesion’s legs turn to jelly in no time, slicked digits invading him in the best way possible. Both their trousers are around their ankles now and so Smoke tosses the small bottle of lube Lesion brought in preparation into one of them, apparently deciding after a few agonising minutes that Lesion is wet and relaxed enough. If the stars he’s seeing before his closed eyelids are anything to go by, Lesion is inclined to agree.

Coherent and rational thought have long left him and so all he focuses on is the blunt head nudging his ring of muscle, sapping all his composure and reducing him to a single thought: yes. Just yes with all its implications of how much he wants this, how much he wants Smoke, how much they trust each other to do all this without much communication and how much in sync they are.

Yet, he hesitates. Leans forward into Lesion and breathes one word, a question: “Alright?”

Lesion can only nod, spreading his legs in the cramped space, not even hearing the muffled voices from the other side, and inhales deeply when Smoke breaches him. Despite all, it’s wonderfully intimate, even more so when an arm wraps around his midsection affectionately, and so he pushes against his lover as soon as he’s adapted to his girth. It prompts a monumental-feeling slide, controlled motions which only serve to muddle his brain even further with how deliberate, how precise they are – they can’t go fast, meaning Smoke needs to find a different way of making Lesion go insane and, well. He’s pretty spot on.

There’s no way Lesion can keep this up without moaning his heart out.

After Smoke has stroked over his sweet spot repeatedly, Lesion’s fingers begin twitching, his toes curling, and he belatedly realises that this is probably payback for the weekend on which he spent an entire day riling Smoke up despite being in public – sending suggestive texts, whispering in his ear, exploiting weakspots, the usual – because there’s a certain air of smugness to all of Smoke’s movements. Lesion can’t even claim he doesn’t deserve it.

Normally, they’re not this slow, but the circumstances heighten all of Lesion’s senses, really make him feel every centimetre deep inside, cause him to shudder whenever he feels Smoke’s breath against his skin. He’s acutely aware of how bad it would be if they did get caught, and yet this only increases his urgency, has him clench down on his lover and -

Oh yeah. This is the last, tiny bit of control he still holds over the other man.

In between shaking like a leaf due to suppressing any and all noises, he starts meeting the thrusts, tensing up in time and basically putting on a show purely for Smoke’s benefit. He’ll be damned if he’s the only one who loses his mind over this.

He did not expect a retaliation. And he certainly did not expect the Brit to put a hand over his mouth in a gesture so thoroughly possessive that Lesion is this close to throwing all shame out the window and reward it with a throaty groan, just like he didn’t expect him to withdraw almost completely only to shove back in all the way. Silently, of course.

And thus begins the sweetest torture Lesion has ever experienced. With Smoke’s teeth nibbling at his ear (and dear heavens, that shouldn’t be as hot as it is), all he can do is hold on for dear life, hope that the door holds and pray that no one is sitting directly next to their closet just in case. Waves of pleasure are rolling through him, a constant ebb and flow which feels timeless, makes him forget about gravity and his own name and he’s so caught up in the glorious repetitive motions that he can’t make out the words murmured into his ear.

Eyelids heavy, crotch tingling in the most wonderful way and gaze unfocused, he produces a dreamy hm? in response, wondering if he did anything wrong when Smoke stops moving.

Then his lover reaches out and opens the door.

Lesion nearly yells, grabs the frame at the last second as to not tumble out and is momentarily blinded by the light flooding in – long enough for his adrenaline to spike and bright panic to deafen him. Until he realises the room is empty, even the door to the hallway is closed.

“I said: they left a minute ago”, Smoke informs him, half amused and half wrecked and still very much inside.

“You’re such a fucking -” And he slams against Lesion, making his words the last for a few good minutes. They stumble forward together until Lesion can prop himself up on one of the tables and then Smoke switches to his usual pace, reaching deep and going hard and making those little growls Lesion can’t get enough of.

“I should’ve done that five minutes ago”, Smoke rumbles, voice interspersed with content groans expressing his relief over being as loud as he wants, “let them all see. Let them see this side of you, show them that I own you.” He runs his mouth a lot during sex, Lesion knows this, but even so the mental image has his cheeks burning and the sensation between his legs intensifying as he instinctively tenses up. “That’s right, you’d love that, wouldn’t you? Gladly would spread your legs in front of them if I asked and -” He breaks off at a particularly fierce thrust but the damage is done, Lesion is thinking about it and can’t help but reach between his own legs.

Now that they’re free to indulge in each other as much as they want, their pleasure climbs and climbs, nearing its apex and Lesion, stroking himself in time with Smoke’s motions, adjusts the pressure to fit the timing, is so close, can tell Smoke is just as close – and then they come together, tumble over the edge simultaneously, Smoke with a blissful moan and Lesion mewling quietly.

It starts in his abdomen and spreads throughout his body, causes him to fold in half and pant against the cool surface of the table supporting him as he feels Smoke’s shaft pulsing inside. Reaching their climax at the same time is one of Lesion’s favourite things, they ride their high together, ride it out, move against each other in order to prolong the elating feeling gripping them both viciously. Smoke’s nails are digging into Lesion’s thighs painfully but it only sweetens the experience, sharpens it and reminds him of who he belongs to. The marks will stay for days. Until Smoke decides to leave new ones.

Once they’re beginning to come down, Smoke presses a kiss into his hair and starts cleaning them up, surprisingly gentle and loving in his touches and even ending with a tight hug Lesion gladly reciprocates. They calm down together, enjoying each other’s body heat.

And yet Lesion can’t help but possibly destroy their little moment: “That was a little too close for my taste.”

Smoke withdraws a tad so he can shoot him a questioning look. “Really? You seemed to like it though.”

Well. He hesitates, sparking a wide grin.

“You did. Tze Long, I didn’t know you were into this as much as I am. Does that mean we can finally make use of that one locker properly, while the others are changing?”

“We’re doing none of the sort.”

“Are you sure? Then you should probably never hold a meeting again because oh boy.” Lesion blinks at him in confusion, even more so when his lover turns a beautiful shade of pink. “Look. I didn’t know I had a competence kink either, okay? But when you address everyone so sternly, it’s just -”

He trails off, making a vague gesture which conveys everything and nothing, but Lesion gets it. And if this isn’t fantastic ammunition for him to use later. “You didn’t even look at me while I did my report”, he feels obliged to point out and is overcome with a special kind of glee when Smoke’s blush deepens.

“If I had, I’d have been drooling. But actually, I wanted to talk about how this still isn’t full payback for -”

Instead of letting Smoke switch topics, Lesion simply interrupts him with a kiss, trying hard not to let his smirk show.

He knows he’s doomed and incapable of saying no to this self-important, thoughtful, moronic bastard – but at least he knows for a fact it goes both ways.

[megnrdyfreakx3]

Samantha W. Silverman Age: 16 Race: Shifter (Wolf) Theme Song: War of Change by TFK She is unknowingly the granddaughter of the Big Bad Wolf. My goal for Sam here is very simple, I want ty o her to feel anxious, and isolate. She is dumped into a world that is very unfamiliar with (she is from 'our world'). So I first have her separated from her parents (father is MIA from the beginning of the book, and her mother is kidnapped.). So she is stuck in an unknown world with only have her younger brother, Michael and her "uncle", Nennuis. But will have her once again be separated for the ones (these two will be sidelined until book two when they go to Camelot.). Something I also to do with Sam here is having an inner complex on her parents and who they really are. And how coming to turns of who they really are. (For book 2 I was thinking of her dealing with more of her unknown powers and who she really is as a person but that is a whole other can of worms,). I am still trying to smooth out her character since I already have done with most of the side characters. I will most likely go back and tweet a few things since I want to have a complex MC but personally just want to focus on finishing my first draft. Anyway unlike with my other characters, I am 100% know how she will look like. Like all Shifters (the ability to transform in an animal), she will have Amber colored eyes, she looks more like her mother minus for the eye color, hair color (with she gets from her father.). In the book, she will have to adopt not just her new powers but also the whole new world she found her self in. She really doesn't have an official main weapon (she does know hand-to-hand combat thanks to her father.) But she would need to learn more to survive in this new world she finds herself in. That this was these craw-like gantlet come in. Since (Wolf) shifter has the inhuman reflective that are good for hand-to-hand combat, so this gantlet help with offensive moves (well that is the plan, still smoothly some world-building info like this so this might change shortly.)

If I would choose a song for the main character in my current WIP, Samantha Silverman it would be War of Change. The reason for that is not just she is dealing with the change in and around her but also internally (basically her being Shifter). I take the song as she warring with everything that is happening and being on the breaking point of everything (that is change) going on in her life.

Example: 'Wait, it's just about to break, it's more than I can take,

I see this being the stress (of the sudden huge changes she is dealing with) that Samantha is going through and how it is taking a toll on her.

'Take up my cross, not be afraid'

During times of stress, we have anchors (either metaphorically or a physical item that we have to help us in times of need. Something that helps us keep ground, either being someone or an ideal (or an item that is special to that person.) This is what I am planning on doing with Samantha.

'I feel it in my veins, it's not going away Everything about to change, 'There's a war going on inside of me tonight (don't be afraid)'

In the long term (as in through the series), Samantha will struggle with her new founded power). (aka being Wolf Shifter and the risk of losing it if she doesn't get a handle of her new power.) And the thought of her going crazy just like her grandfather, The Big Bad Wolf.

Other Random facts:

She hates being called Sammy. She has a younger brother named Michael Ness Silverman (Might change that). She is unknowingly the granddaughter of The Big Bad Wolf and is a Wolf shifter (more on that later). Her father has been teaching her hand-to-hand combat she has been homeschooled for all of her life by her mother, Cameron Silverman/ Hood. And she hates cats (for plots reasons of course ;>)

She is 5 feet tall and 4 inches her favorite color is blue she likes to sew. I am just clearing the basic here. She has Amber eyes like most shifters do. Black raven hair. Her father's name is Rhys “Fernis” Silverman as of the beginning of the book he has been away why wouldn’t he be cover until later.

Offical post on my twitter

Index

(If you have any questions or comments feel free to comment or whatever <3)

[collateralfiction]

23

Adrian

My eyes immediately shrunk due to the amount of brightness pouring inside of the room. If it wasn’t the sunshine irritating me, it was my phone that seemed to be ringing for the past hour nonstop. Reaching for my jeans off the floor, I slipped my iPhone out of my jeans and looked at the brightly lit screen. It was simply just my alarm going off so I dismissed it and placed my phone away from me, so I could resume sleeping. The thought of sleep seemed perfect but once I looked at the clock and noticed it was nearing fairly close to eleven in the morning, I knew I had to get up and do something. I couldn’t sit around like this knowing there was shit to do. Swinging my legs off the messy bed, I stood and stretched, cracking a few bones in the process. I turned to look over my shoulder and smirked upon seeing Bailey’s half naked body. We probably didn’t get in till three this morning and I know for a fact Bailey and I didn’t fall asleep until after five. She had to have this birthday dick before she tapped out.

She was a wild ass sleeper, that’s for sure. Cuddling was the only remedy to control her movements. She was turned over on her stomach with her ass sticking out and her hair sprawled out across the white and black pillows. Shaking my head, I trekked towards the bathroom and handled my business at the toilet. I washed my hands thoroughly before brushing my teeth and washing my face as well. Reemerging from the bathroom, Bailey was still knocked out. I give her another thirty minutes to rest. I had plans today for everyone and I didn’t spend about 25 grand just for it to go to waste. I looked through one of my duffel bags, pulling out a black tee, slipping it over my head before leaving the room altogether.

We had a hired chef for the week’s stay and every morning by ten thirty, an arrangement of food would be placed outside, waiting for us to devour. This morning was no different as plates of fruits, waffles, pancakes, sausages and bacon strips were set out for us with a jug of Apple and Orange juice. It was no surprise that Justine was one of the few that was up early; she was always like that. “Morning,” I mumbled, taking a seat on the opposite chair as her. She briefly looked at me and continued to pick at what was left on her plate which wasn’t much. “I said morning,” I stated again, grabbing a plate and beginning to fill it with what I wanted.

“And I heard you,” she gritted.

“Fuck is your problem?” I stated, dropping the plate back on the table, creating a loud thud.

“Nothing,” she stated sternly. “I’m just tired,”

“So why you not in bed sleep?” I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest.

“I’m not sleepy,” My face twisted into a scowl at her two contradicting statements. None of that shit was making sense and I wasn’t about to run around in circles to understand it if she was going to act like this with me right now. It was either you tell me what’s wrong now or walk around pissed ‘cause your ass wants to be stubborn as fuck.

“Alright, so don’t complain then,” I grumbled, going to fix my plate one last time. It looked like she had something on her mind but how would I know if she didn’t speak up? I wasn’t going to force her to speak up on something she didn’t want to talk about to begin with. However, it didn’t stop me from picking up on her strange ass behavior. Justine is very transparent so it’s easy to tell when something isn’t sitting right with her but it’s difficult to figure out exactly what’s wrong with her. It takes way more than a few simple questions. Sucking her teeth, she grabbed her plate and empty glass and stormed towards the kitchen. “If that was your way of getting away from me, you failed,” I chuckled. “You might as well come back and eat at the table,”

“No thank you,”

“Alright,” I nodded. “Be like that,” Which probably won’t be long. For the first ten minutes of me eating my plate of food was enclosed with silence. But just like I predicted, Justine was right back in front of me, starting up a conversation as if she wasn’t acting suspicious a minute ago.

“How was Bailey’s birthday last night?”

I smirked, licking my lips. “It was cool. She had fun,”

“Yeah, I could tell. You guys came in pretty late and then had the nerve to go to sleep late,” she said, giving me that knowing look. “Nasty,”

“I know,” I chuckled. “I would do it again if I ain’t have eavesdroppers,”

“Ugh, can you not?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

“I guess. So, what’s up with you? Why you acting sus?” I said bluntly. There wasn’t any way I was going to let her leave out of my eyesight without her telling me something.

“Am I really?” she questioned.

“Yeah, nigga,” I muttered, grabbing my glass of OJ. She rolled her eyes yet again before leaning back in the chair and crossing her arms over her chest. Regardless if she wasn’t acting strange or whatnot, I would still have a few questions in store for her to begin with. I took a few sips before hearing the sound of feet in the near distance. Turning my head around a bit, I saw Austin approach the table while rubbing his eyes. That officially ended the conversation before it even started but that didn’t mean I was going to let it drop either. While everyone thinks they’re on vacation, I’m certainly not. I still got shit to do and it’s going to get handled. I don’t give a fuck if I have to rain on everyone’s parade. “Ay, what’s up, lil nigga?” I greeted, extending my hand out for a dap.

“Seriously, Adrian? Watch your language around him,” Justine said, pointing her fork at me.

“Chill,” I said. “He ain’t picking up on it like that. Chillax,”

“Morning, ma,” Austin greeted, heading around the table to give Justine a hug. Without the help of a nigga around to help groom Austin to be a great man one day, Justine has been doing pretty well so far and I will never discredit her for that. Although half the thing she does I don’t particularly agree with, how she raises Austin is one thing I can certainly say she does well on 100%. They hugged and did all that motherly and son shit before Austin sat down and decided to grab the stack of Bacon to munch on.

“He still taking his medicine?” I questioned.

“It’s no longer required so naw,”

“That’s dope,” I smiled.

“Yeah, it is. He hated the medicine with a passion. I don’t blame him,”

“Me either,”

“I’ll be back,” Justine said, grabbing her plate and treading into the kitchen. I acknowledged her with a simple head nod before she left off, leaving Austin and I at the table still.

“You good?”

“Yeah,” Austin yawned shortly after.

“You sure?” I asked sternly.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Where’s Bailey?” he asked.

“She’s still asleep. After breakfast I want you to pack some of your clothes for an overnight stay,”

“Why?”

“You ask too many questions,” I chuckled. “We yachting out in this bitch,”

“That big boat we saw?”

“Yeah, the one you can live in. That’s my birthday gift to Bailey,” An expensive ass gift too.

“That’s not fair. She’s going to like your gift more than mine,” he frowned.

“Tough luck, kid,” I laughed.

“Here, Austin,” Justine placed down his plate and left the dining area all over again. It was a good feeling knowing that Austin was where he belongs, but it still tore me up knowing that at one point no one knew where he was at. No matter how much I try to justify certain shit, it always fell back on me and what I should have been doing versus what I was doing. Regardless, I know for a fact that something fishy had to occur and the two main targets are Lonnie and Ryan. I’m close but not nearly as close as I want to be. That shit is all about to change though. My primary agenda would be talking to Bailey, of course, and possibly having a conversation with Justine if she allows it. If Bailey is going to go back to her life, I need to be frank with her and let her know that Ryan got another bitch pregnant. I don’t know how well that’s going to go over with her, but it needs to be done. After that, I’m going to need to call G back in New York, so I know what to expect. Besides all of that shit, I just need someone I can lay all this info on because it’s eating me up that I only know.

“You know what I noticed, Uncle A?” Austin said, bringing me out of my thoughts. I gave him my full attention, so he knew that I was listening. “Your father isn’t around, and neither is mine,” Austin’s statement caught me off guard and for a second I was unsure of what he meant by that and where’d it come from. I paused as I stared at him with my eyebrows meshed together. It was almost as if what he said was nothing big of a deal. I don’t talk to Austin about his father and he doesn’t talk to me about his nonexistent father either. Where this is coming from all of a sudden, at this moment right now? It’s only leading me to Justine. I just stared at him for the longest, not completely believing that he had said that and how he easily returned to snacking on his plate of food while I had to digest something, I would have never thought I hear from him until he was well in his late teens.

“Yeah, something like that,” I said, clearing my throat. “Why you say that though?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “Just something I noticed,”

“You feel good about that?” I was at a loss of words to say the least, but I was also intrigued in what possibly was on his mind at the same time. Austin is a smart seven-year old child and I’m pretty sure he’s aware of everything that goes on around him, even half the shit I do. It’s not rocket science for him to realize his father isn’t around, but I wasn’t expecting to hear him talk about it either. I don’t know but him saying that just made things more complicated, at least in my head.

“I don’t care,” he said nonchalantly. My eyes widened at his bold statement. This didn’t seem like the same caring Austin I know him to be. Although I can’t lie and say that I’m not happy knowing that he doesn’t give a fuck about his father but it’s not the right thing for me to verbally say to him. The least I want him to do is have his own feelings towards whoever without me swaying his own ideas. Either way, it got me fucked up now.

Rubbing my temple, I said, “Don’t say that,” I sighed, saying words I never thought I would. “Look at me, Austin. I’m deadass. Don’t say that. You don’t know what you’re saying right now. Shit, why are you saying that?”

“I don’t know. It’s true. I haven’t seen my dad in a long time. He doesn’t care, I don’t care. That’s good, right?” I was in pure shock. I don’t even know how to end this conversation. “I have my mother, you, Caiden, Justin, Brian, August, G, my grandmother and even Bailey,” he went on to list.

“Did you talk to your mother about this?” I found myself asking.

“Kind of,” I nodded slowly, locking my hands together.

“We gon’ finish this conversation later, alright? Just know that we all got you even if your pops isn’t around, you hear me?”

“Yeah, I do,” he smiled.

“Alright, hurry up and eat,” I said, standing tall and grabbing my plate. “And eat them carrots your mom put on your plate!” I yelled. His laughter soon followed after that. I placed my plate in the sink and ran some water over it before leaving the kitchen. I had half the mind to go and see what was up with Justine and where Austin had got this random epiphany of basically saying fuck his father, he ain’t shit mentality. A part of me couldn’t fathom Justine putting that type of idea in her son’s head so where else he might have gotten that from… I’m not too sure. Maybe it was me. The other half of me didn’t feel like saying anything to her, not at the moment anyhow. Austin really fucked with my head too early in the morning.

Shaking my head, I headed back into my bedroom and softly closed the door behind me. Bailey was no longer lying in bed and from hearing running bath water, I automatically assumed that where she was at. Slipping inside the bathroom door, I found myself staring at her voluptuous body behind the clear shower glass. Her body was turned away from me, standing in the direction of the steaming water. She was leaning against the wall and from her posture, I could sense how she was still sleepy and probably still a bit tipsy. She still looked fine as fuck though. Stripping out of my clothes, I pushed the sliding glass open a bit and walked up behind her, gently wrapping my arms around her slim waist.

“Ugh, why do you do that, Adrian?” she groaned, relaxing in my arms. I turned her around to face me and she easily wrapped her arms around me, laying her head against my chest.

“’Cause I can,” I chuckled.

“Same reason as why you’re hard, huh?” she said, kissing along my neck.

“Yeah, you gon’ take care of it?” I said huskily. Dropping her arms from around my neck, she pressed her lips against mine, enveloping me into a deep kiss. Her small, warm hands trickled down my abdomen until she wrapped her fingers around my semi-hard dick, slowly moving her fingertips along the length of it. “Shit,” I hissed, staring down at her with hazy eyes. She knew exactly what she was doing. Her grip on me tightened as she increased her pace. I bit my bottom lip, not wanting to give her the satisfaction that her simple hand job was doing wonders to me. But being that Bailey likes to outcompete a nigga, she was going to test me until I gave in.

With a mischievous grin, she got on her knees and directed my throbbing dick into her mouth. My hands immediately went to the back of her head, my fingers becoming entangled in her hair. All through the different girls I’ve ran through, minus the exception of one, Bailey is the only one who I go out of my way when it comes to sexual shit. I rarely go down on a bitch if it ain’t my bitch, I usually don’t give a fuck if they cum or not because it’s about mine. But with Bailey, everything I do comes natural for her. I don’t think twice if I’m giving her head or whatever. Everyone else, my mind is already made up by the time I have them on their knees, ready to suck me off.

“Just like that,” I grunted in a labored breath. Her lips wrapped around my tip, licking the pre-cum off before enveloping the whole thing in her mouth; essentially deep throating me. Shit had me in bliss. She wasn’t sloppy and she wasn’t gagging either; Bailey’s a perfect ten. Her hand rubbed at my balls bringing me closer towards my peak. I got a handful of her hair, pushing her mouth further on my swollen dick. My head leaned back against the granite wall with my mouth slightly agape while she continued to bob her head at an even pace, much quicker than before. She had me in the palm of her hand and before I knew it, I was bussing all down her throat. She fucking swallowed. “Damn,” I grunted, watching as she stood under the water. “So fucking sexy,”

She smiled, pulling me closer to her. “Your turn,”

__

“Welcome to Carpe Diem, one of Turks and Caicos most elite yachts!” The head manager in charge spoke as we all crowded around the deck, staring up at the rather large and tall boat. “Everything you want will be provided, any service, we most certainly have. Your stay for the next 48 hours should live up to the hype you most certainly have heard. There are waterskis, kayaks, four massage room, yoga and dance room, gym, two saunas and an indoor pool. All your needs will be met regardless of any issue you think you might have. Please enjoy your stay at Carpe Diem,” Definitely didn’t have to tell me twice. Being that everyone knew about these plans in advance, Bailey was the only one with a shocked facial expression as she turned around and looked at me.

“What?” I chuckled.

“You did not mention the surprise being this,” she said, standing in place which caused everyone to walk around us.

“I didn’t have to. Happy belated,” I laughed. “It’s all for you and if I were you, I would hurry my ass on the boat before Justine picks the best room,”

“Aw, is your heart melting? Do you feel like you’re about to die?” she teased.

“Hell yeah, nigga,” I chuckled. Laughing along with me, she kissed the side of my mouth and headed towards the opening of the boat. I followed suit, giving a firm handshake to the man who was speaking moments prior. When Austin and I was looking for presents for Bailey’s birthday, I didn’t feel like buying her any materialistic shit, so I opted for a yacht in which everyone could benefit, and I could also one up my lil homie, Austin. Looking around at the yacht, I nodded my head in approval at the décor. For 25 grand, this yacht has no choice but to be less than perfect. Approaching Caiden, I tapped his shoulder in which caught his attention.

“Wassup?”

“When everyone is ready to doze off, we all need to talk for a second, a’ight?” I muttered.

“Yeah, no doubt. Can’t be all fun and no work,” he chuckled, rubbing his chin. “For now, I’m finna unpack and check out the rest of this shit. You must be sprung if you’re spending all this dough on her,”

“Sprung? You must be out your mind,” I said, shoving him playfully. “Fuck up,” I sat down at the barand grabbed one of the glasses of alcohol. I placed it under my nose to see what it was and took a sip once I noticed it was just Vodka. Everyone around me seemed to be basking in the moment of being on this yacht but I couldn’t enjoy it just yet. I haven’t been anyhow for the last couple of months so that wasn’t anything new. I quickly finished off my drink and ran my hand down my face. In the pocket of my shorts was a white envelope that I was going to give to Bailey tonight or whenever the mood strikes. Three simple words on a bland piece of card seemed to be weighing heavy on my mind and I wasn’t sure if what I was doing was the smartest, but I could no longer put off doing certain shit for the sake of Bailey’s feelings; she’s going to have to find out one day or another, why not now?

Then I had to deal with Justine and her son’s declaration this morning. Too much fucking shit. “Why you drinking so early? It’s only three,” Bailey purred, wrapping her arms around me from behind.

“You think I care what time it is?”

“I know you don’t. What’s wrong?” she asked, sitting down in the seat beside me.

“I’ll tell you later tonight. You like the yacht?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“It’s so beautiful! Come so I can show you our room,” she said excitedly, grabbing my hand.

“Hol’ up,” I grabbed another glass of Vodka and handed her one before taking one for myself. Following her lead as she dragged me around the boat, my vision stayed on her ass the entire time as she decided that she wanted to wear shorts. She looked good, no doubt, but that shit was distracting as hell.

“Look!” she squealed. “It’s gorgeous and so spacious,”

“You do know we’ll probably be everywhere but here, right?” I smirked.

“What do you mean?” she asked, turning around to face me.

“The boat is too big to make it to this room. You’ll end up somewhere else before you get here. Promise you that,”

“Yeah, we’ll see,” she said, playfully rolling her eyes. Her eyes fell on the white envelope that was in my hand. “What’s that?”

“An envelope,”

“For real, Adrian,”

“Look at this later. Not right now, okay?”

“Why? Is there something I should be afraid of in here?” she chuckled, grasping the thin envelope in her hand. She stared at it as if the words that were in the inside of the card would magically appear outside. But as far as there being something that just might make her afraid, I doubt it. But, it will catch her off guard. However she reacts is up to her but anything else, that’s up in the air. I’m counting on August to man up and tell her what the situation with Riley was too, but I have a feeling that’s going to backfire. Not on August, on me.

“Naw, just read it later,” I stated.

“Okay,” she nodded.

Licking my lips, I stared down at her and she looked back up at me with a faint grin. It was crazy to me how someone you barely knew could come into your life and have such a strange impact on your life. I’m not saying that Bailey has changed me or some shit because that has to come from me and willingly, but she has changed shit along the way. Things were supposed to be strictly business between us and it could have been that way because I do have self-control, but I don’t know what happened this time around. It’s not a good feeling because it makes me feel like I’m off my game and no one should be able to throw me off my game like that. I had something on my mind that I wanted to speak about at the moment, but it wasn’t the right time. She looked like she was really enjoying herself and I didn’t want to be the one to end that for her. “Boat will depart in exactly an hour,” said a crew member from the loud speaker.

“Ooh, I’m so excited!” she squealed, brushing past me to join everyone else.

Bailey

It was absolutely beautiful sailing the ocean that boarded the small island. I was accustomed to traveling quite frequently since it would be my father’s go to resort when all options seemed to lack in certain departments. It was something about being far away from your troubles that brought peace to me, oddly enough. The ocean was such a beautiful hue of blue and the slight breeze around my body was just right. It was close to seven in the evening and we had been sailing for some time now along Grand Turk. I sat with a glass of White Wine in my possession near the rear end of the boat. Everyone was pretty much spaced out along the boat and really had their own quarter of space to be in. Well, except the guys. They were all huddled in one of the many tableson the bottom yacht last time I saw them and it seemed like they were discussing something urgent because no one seemed to return the small smile I had given them in passing. Well!

Grabbing the blanket that was near, I wrapped it around my body and curled up into a fetal position. My head rested against the closest pillow and I sighed deeply, having thoughts of my family back home surface in my head. At least once a day I would have thoughts and most of the time, I wouldn’t have anyone to talk about it to because I automatically assumed they wouldn’t understand as much as I would have liked them to. Why? How can you exactly sympathize with someone who has been kidnapped by your doing? The only person that probably doesn’t know the circumstance is Austin and there’s no way I can vent to a seven-year old about a predicament this large. It’ll go right over his head.

I miss the normalcy that my life gave me, despite what I’m surrounded around by force. If I wanted to, I could easily evade it and do something to distract myself. While being in the presence of Adrian, you really can’t and it’s not even like it’s by chose, it just happens. I miss my mother, that’s without a doubt. Even with me being closer to my father than my mother, I still miss her and her easy-going vibe. I miss Rayne too but a part of me feels like she’s doing something wrong. Out of the two of us, she’s probably the one that needs to be watched out the most. I miss Chance. He was my other half. We fit like a puzzle and had the same mindset, so it was easy for us to click. I don’t know what he could possibly be doing at this point, but I hope it’s something productive since the last time I seen him.

And then there’s Ryan. Do I miss him? Sadly, yes. I feel stupid for missing him but for him, it’s a different type of ‘I miss you’ than what everyone else gets. Ryan was better off being a friend than anything more, quite honestly. Relationships just might not be his forte and that’s alright; I just wish I knew that beforehand. Huffing, I placed my drink back on the table and begin to stand and head back in. I liked to be by my lonesome, but some company right about now wouldn’t be that bad. Shuffling inside, I headed up the stairs and towards the kitchen to set my glass away.

We had crew members on the ship and they were spread around the entire yacht, catering to our needs. Having a personal crew on board definitely came with its perks. Grabbing the platter of strawberry off the counter, I looked in the stocked fridge and pulled out the whipped cream and began my ascent along the yacht. I had no particular destination in mind, but I figure I walk around until I bump into someone. Hearing commotion from the next roomover, I stuck my head inside the room and notice Justine and Austin. It seemed like such a cute mother-son moment that I didn’t want to interrupt but it was too late because Austin had already spotted me and asked that I come in.

“Oh, okay,” I laughed. “It’s so difficult finding everyone,” I pouted, sitting beside Justine

“I know,” she agreed. “I have to look at the camera to find out where everyone is,”

“There’s cameras?!” I gasped. It brought me back to the time when I found out that Adrian had a camera chilling in my room. Actually, he admitted that he had a camera located in my room so nonchalantly one day. I didn’t believe him at first until he showed me his desktop computer and the monitor of my room being displayed. I didn’t even know how to react when I found out quite honestly. If I recalled correctly, I laughed and called him a pervert which in return, he acknowledged that he was a perv with a chuckle.

“Yep! All over. But most of the cameras are in the main room. The monitor is right over there,” she pointed. I squeezed some of the whip cream down on my strawberries before I picked one out and bit into it. They’re so fucking good.

“Do you feel any better from yesterday?” I asked, referring to her behavior. She sighed, running her hands through Austin’s soft hair. He was too invested in watching Toy Story 3 to notice anything subtle.

“Not really,” she frowned.

“What’s wrong then?” I said, hoping that this time she would actually say something this time around.

“Not around, Aussie,” she mouthed. My shoulders slumped forward, and I relaxed back into the soft couch. We sat in silence for a total of thirty minutes and every now and then I could see the disgruntled facial expression she would make but, yet she didn’t want to talk about it at all with me. I did understand how she might not want to talk about everything that bothers her right then and there, but I didn’t understand why she rather hold it in when I was more than willing to listen to her rant. I don’t know. Maybe I was digging into this too much, but it did hurt my feelings knowing that she couldn’t confide in me – the only girl here.

“What y’all doing in here?! Meditating or some shit? Why so quiet?” Adrian asked, barging into the room.

“Shh, Austin is sleep,” Justine shushed him.

“Yeah, that’s what he wants y’all to think,” he mumbled, walking towards the couch. I reached over the table, getting ready to grab the last strawberry, knowing that he eying it just a few seconds ago. Just when I thought I had it, he grabbed it from my grasp and bit in to it. My face immediately turned into a scowl as he grinned while finishing off the juicy fruit. “Com’ere,” he called, licking his lips slowly, purposely.

“Can I get a please?” I huffed, standing up anyhow.

“Not when you obey me like that,” he chuckled.

“Don’t make me snuff you, nigga,” I grumbled, walking beside him. He threw his arm around me and led us back outside to where I was trying to get away from. But the warmth from his body was more than enough. I figure he was leading us away from everyone to finally have this conversation that’s been bothering him ever since we got on this yacht. He was a lot tenser and I’m one for picking up on body language and I definitely noticed it by the way he was walking around here. He led me somewhere completely different from where I was once aware of to another private sectionof the yacht. “This boat is entirely too big,” I mumbled.

“I like it like that. I get claustrophobic,” he admitted.

“And you expect me to believe that?” I giggled, sitting down on his lap.

“Bitch, better believe it!” he exclaimed.

“Alright, cut that shit out. I won’t hesitate to punch you in your face and dick,” I said to which he chuckled at. But I was dead serious. Rolling my eyes, I watched him lean over and grab a tray that I had just now noticed was here this whole time. What might be on the tray you ask? Weed. However, I wasn’t going to throw a tantrum about it. I can’t control everybody’s behavior and besides, he looked like he really needed it. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Talk to me,”

“Everything,” he mumbled, lightening the joint before putting it to his mouth.

“I’m all ears,” I expressed.

“Shit, where do I begin, girl?” he shook his head lightly and took a pull from the potent blunt. “I’ll start with this morning. This morning I’m having breakfast with Justine, right? We’re eating and I peep shit. Something not right with her so I basically call her out on it. I’m usually a good judge of character and I’m trying to get information out of her and see what’s up. You know, be that loving brother. But she acting sus and if she continues to act like that, I‘m going to call her out on it and put her on blast. I don’t like that fake shit and it’s irritating me that she been trying to hide shit,”

“So, you’ve noticed it too?” I murmured.

“What you mean?”

“She was acting strange since last night,” I frowned. “Do you think something is going on with her?” I whispered, assuming the worst automatically. I’m not pessimistic but it’s the reality of the situation and what comes with this lifestyle. He stared at me for the longest, probably mulling over what I just said and the possibilities. “Trouble?”

“Naw,” he stated. “She would tell me if something is wrong. I expect her to do that much,” he gritted.

“I don’t know, Adrian. What if she’s afraid, maybe?”

“I’m giving her till tomorrow morning to open her mouth and say some shit. I shouldn’t have to guess around her and she also shouldn’t be afraid to open her mouth if it involves some serious shit. If I find out any other way, I’m going to be pissed,”

“Okay and that’s understandable. Just give her some time, don’t jump to conclusions,” I tried to soothe, the smell of marijuana circulating around us. With how much pre-rolled blunts he has set out, I’d assume that he had plans of smoking all night. I rubbed his shoulders gently because I could clearly see his frustration. “For someone who always seems to be in my business and got a fucking say in what I do, why she not trying to talk now?”

“Patience, Adrian,” I told him, rubbing his shoulders a little rougher. “What else is on your mind?”

“Austin, man,” He blew out the smoke from the side of his mouth. “Although I don’t want to believe it, I think he misses his pops,” My hand movement immediately stopped, and my heart felt like it was plummeting inside my chest. Even with me acknowledging the fact that Lonnie isn’t shit, I couldn’t help but feel for Austin, especially since I’m in a similar situation as him. My father isn’t around, his isn’t; I miss my father and I’m sure he misses his, although he might not talk about it as much as you would expect. It’s just something so unfortunate and for the fact that I had some type of hand in a situation such as this does rub me the wrong way. What if Austin was to ever find out? “He was talking about how me and him have similarities with how our pops ain’t in our lives. Man, that shit fucked me up. He seemed so cool and calm about it too like it was no big deal for a seven-year old to say that,”

That seemed to get under his skin more than anything. He was literally turning red right before me. I was speechless. I never once heard Austin talk about his father but that didn’t necessarily mean that he didn’t think about him at all. I remember once upon a time when I wondered where Austin’s father was at and to find out that I would basically have to play him a few days later, unbeknownst to me until Lonnie basically told on himself. We sat in silence as Adrian continued to puff away at his dwindling blunt. It was kind of hard watching him go through so many emotions and not have a single answer to any of his questions. I know Adrian is passionate; he didn’t have to tell me that to understand. However, it was just something I wasn’t accustomed to seeing him be so blatant about it. It was a little saddening to watch.

“Well for one, he didn’t mean it,” I stated as confidently as possible. “He’s young and impressionable so that’s probably why he said what he did. He doesn’t know better,”

“That’s not how it seemed,” he said. “Like, I feel like this was all under the influence of Justine and her trying to prove some type of point,”

“She wants Lonnie in Austin’s life, that’s understandable,” I sighed. “I don’t think she would sway Austin to think his father was a deadbeat,”

“Not when a kid walks away with the mindset that they all of all sudden don’t care no more,” he muttered.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Adrian. Maybe it’s one of those phases he’s going through,” Leaning his head against the support from the chair, he finished off the blunt with ease and sighed contently. “I wouldn’t hold it against him either,”

“I know,” he grumbled. “I feel bad for lil man, you know, cause that’s my nephew and all but I despise the fuck out of his sperm donor,”

“Why?” As far as I knew, I wasn’t 100% sure on what animosity Adrian had towards Lonnie besides the obvious and a few theories I’ve conjured up on my own. The main one solely being based upon how carless Lonnie was to allow Austin to go to the store by himself and end up in the worse case scenario.

“I never liked Lonnie to begin with, no one did. But my sister was stubborn as hell and went against everyone wishes. I was frank with her about how I see this shit ending for her and she never believe me. Now look at her and what he’s done. Something is hella sketchy about him and I haven’t found the energy to find out until Austin went missing. I don’t trust him, and I know he’s behind some serious shit. I have this gut feeling and it’s proven me right countless times,” he gritted. By the time he had finished explaining this to me, he already had a blunt to his lips, looking for his red lighter. I held it in my hands and did the honors of lightening it myself.

“Well, what’s going to happen now with Lonnie? Are you going to tell Justine? You don’t want to put her in a compromising position,”

“Lonnie is easy to deal with. Don’t worry ‘bout him. As far as Justine, I’ma tell her in due time but her ass gotta start talking first because she playing like I’m stupid,” he grumbled, his voice so husky like. I bit the inside of my lip and nodded. I felt like as soon as they confronted each other with their issues and problems, it just might be something more dramatic than what everyone anticipated. It’s no secret that they bicker and go back and forth over the smallest things but when will that come to its peak? When will the ticking time bomb erupt and leave the two of them hating each other forever? Anything could happen. and I’ve seen it even happen in my own family with my father and aunt numerous of times before they reconciled.

“I would tell her now,” I advised. “You’ll sleep easier,”

“You see this shit right here?” he said, referring to the blunt. “This is what makes me sleep… you should try it,” he smirked.

“No thank you,” I chuckled.

“Why not?” he pressed, licking his lips.

“I don’t have a reason to smoke,”

“You don’t need one,” he said quickly.

“Not now, Adrian,” I laughed at his failed attempts at trying to get me to smoke. It’s not that I’m against it, I just don’t do it.

“In the case, I need to bring something to your attention, baby girl,” His voice was stern, so I automatically knew it was something serious. I just didn’t know how serious it was and whether or not it would affect me or something. With everything Adrian has been saying in the past hour or so, nothing has been relatively positive. I just don’t know what more to expect and if I should become worrisome. It wasn’t helping that Adrian decided to take long dramatic pauses, only intensifying my worries. “I told you from the start that Ryan wasn’t shit and you would realize it too. You know that but before you’re able to go back to him,” he said, using quotations. “…. I need you to know that your man stepped out on y’alls relationship and got some side bitch pregnant,”

I don’t think I heard him correctly so instead of spazzing, I simply laughed. In my head, there was no way possible Ryan or anyone for that matter could possibly do that. I understand completely that Ryan and I might not have had that picture-perfect relationship but it was better than most by a long shot. My mind could not and would not wrap its head around something like…. the unbelievable. It seemed like some sort of twisted joke and punishment I seemed to have deserved for a reason unbeknownst to me. However, the longer I stared at Adrian’s stoic, emotionless face, I realized he wasn’t laughing or cracking a smile… not that I expected him to anyhow. Sliding off his lap and into the open space besides him, I stared blankly at the moving water with a blank mind. He wasn’t lying. He was telling nothing but the truth. “What the fuck?” I found myself whispering.

“I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, B. I just figure you should know before anything happens,”

I closed my eyes tightly, feeling the pressure of tears attempting to slide out of my tear ducts. If Ryan just so happened to be cheating on me, I think I would have been smart enough to find that out before hearing it from someone else. When could he have possibly had enough time to go out and do his dirt when we were always together even when we were having our differences? It just didn’t make sense and the longer I thought about it, the more I felt myself mentally caving. I would have never thought that Ryan would go as far as cheating on me when I have been nothing but faithful to him. Then to find out from Adrian of all people? This was definitely a stab to my back. Maybe I should have listened to my mother when she told me she didn’t believe Ryan was a good choice for me. Maybe I should have took Chance’s opinions into consideration. Maybe I should have listened to Rayne when the chance presented itself for her to give me her thoughts on Ryan. But I didn’t. I listened to my father and look where that has led me.

“Here,” Adrian muttered, extending his hand out. I looked down at the blunt and chuckled bitterly. My life has been turned upside down quickly in just a mere three months and I don’t know if this is something I should be grateful for because it’s eye opening or feel ashamed because I wasn’t aware before. Shit, I feel like both. So, for about twenty minutes, we both sat in silence as I finished off the perfectly rolled blunt by myself. Any other time, I wouldn’t have taken it but this was a different predicament; a predicament I wasn’t sure I could handle by myself.

“Are you sure?” I whispered, bringing my legs up to my chest.

“Positive unless Ryan ain’t the father,”

“So regardless, he was cheating?” I murmured, feeling defeated. That blunt didn’t do shit to numb me.

“I guess,” he said. I shook my head sadly, tears I’ve been trying to hide for the past half hour pour out of my eyes. There were a million and one things I could have been doing, saying or expressing but I was still in that initial shock and no matter how many times I mulled over it, I still couldn’t believe it nor would I ever think Ryan would stoop that low. Not only did he get someone else pregnant, but he betrayed me in the worst way and didn’t even have the courage to even tell me about it nor take responsibilities for his foul ass actions.

“Don’t cry over a nigga like him, a’ight? I tell my sister the same shit. Instead, you fuck their head up,” Adrian stated, bringing me closer to him.

“Why would he do something like that?” I whimpered.

“I’ma be honest with you like I am my sister; he wasn’t yours to begin with,” That only caused a permanent scowl to etch across my face as I allowed his words to sink in.

“I’m so fucking exhausted with all of this,” I expressed, tears still managing to blur my vision, even with Adrian doing his best to comfort me. I was so hurt by Ryan’s action and the fact that I couldn’t confront him at the moment because of obvious reasons only turned my sadness, regret and disappointment into anger. Why would he ever think it is acceptable to do something like that? Why be with me in the first place if that’s what you were going to end up doing to me? I didn’t deserve it, no one deserves that type of treatment and it was just grinding my gears. Not to mention, he ended up getting the chick fucking pregnant. I don’t know what I was mad at more. The fact that he cheated or that he didn’t use protection and someone that isn’t me is pregnant.

“As bad as it might sound, maybe this happened for a reason. You’re so much better than what Ryan can do and give for you. Don’t walk around with a pout and shit, a’ight? You should be happy God ain’t let you walk around with that nigga for eighteen plus years,” he murmured, rubbing my side soothingly.

“It still hurts,” I frowned. I seriously don’t even know how worse my predicament could get.

“Look, pain don’t last forever and that some real shit. Yeah, he cheated but you shouldn’t be the one feeling down about this shit. That’s all on him, baby girl. You hear me? He fucked up and now he has to deal with the consequences. You ain’t do shit wrong,” I looked up at him and smiled faintly. It was nice knowing that he felt that way but I still felt some type of way, as I should and I don’t know how long this feeling will last. I literally gave my all into that relationship and to see it end up with results like thatis heartbreaking. I said a long time ago that I was done with Ryan and indirectly, we are no longer a couple but that doesn’t take away the fact that he fucked me over like that. Had things been different, I doubt he would have ever pulled such a thing but sadly, they aren’t and now I’m stuck feeling like I was the one who purposely stepped out and got pregnant by some random nigga.

“I hear you,” I sighed, biting my bottom lip. “Look at me. I’m so fucking antsy and shaky now,” I said, raising my hand a bit so he could see. “You sure I gotta go back to him?”

“Naw, I can kill him on sight if you prefer,” he said nonchalantly with a mischievous grin on his face. Chuckling lowly, I shook my head.

“I’ll decline on that,”

“Alright, the offer is still out there though,” A moment of silence had passed before he spoke up again, intentionally bringing me out of my thoughts concerning Ryan and another thing he done to disappoint someone. “Get up,”

“Adrian, please, no. I just want to sit here and sulk,”

“Bailey,” he said sternly.

“Adrian,” I said in the same tone, crossing my arms over my chest. He knew that if he left me out here alone, I’d just end up crying and feeling bad for myself all over again. Despite his wonderful efforts of trying to distract me from the bigger picture, I had to face the music; no matter how off key it was too. Sucking his teeth, he leaned down and scooped me up in his arms, picking me up bridal style. I didn’t even put up a protest to his action and allowed him to do as he pleases. We ended up in the master kitchen and luckily for us, everyone was pretty much asleep or getting ready to sleep. It was nearing eleven and if Austin was sleep already, that meant everyone else would be too.

“This was supposed to be Austin’s but he can’t hang so I figure you would want it,” Adrian said after he placed me down on the granite counter. Walking to the freezer, he pulled out a container and grabbed a fork, finally placing the dish besides me. “Comfort food is the best, ain’t it?” he smirked, revealing the ice cream sundae. My mouth was literally watering for it.

“Thank you, Adrian,” I smiled, wrapping my legs around his body. His hands found their way around my waist, bringing me closer to him.

“Don’t mention it,” he said. I leaned in first and kissed his lips lightly. He softly sucked on my bottom lip before slipping his tongue inside of my mouth as our tongues wrestled against one another. The kiss began to turn aggressive quickly and without much thought, I found myself moaning into the kiss and pulling him closer. I needed comfort and Adrian was doing an excellent job at doing that, surprisingly. Then again, it’s not so surprising. He has a heart and it shows whenever a situation like this pops up.

“Can you stay up with me tonight? I don’t think I’ll be falling asleep anytime soon,” I confessed after pulling away.

“Why? So, you can talk my head off and smoke up half of my supply?”

“Please?” I pouted.

“After I eat this dessert,” he agreed, causing a faint smile to appear on my face. So, for the next half hour we both sat, talked and laughed while we could about almost anything. It was a good feeling knowing that he was doing his best to bring up my mood. If it was up to me, I would be in the room, feeling down as ever. It’ll probably happen anyhow, just not right now. I’m still in shock and it won’t hit me until I’m probably in New York and I’ve come in contact with him.

“I swear I just gained like three pounds,” I mumbled, softly running my fingers through his soft hair.

“Hope that shit goes straight to your ass,” he grunted, palming my ass.

“Shut up,” I giggled. We were snuggled up in one of the areasthat contained a TV since our room actually didn’t. His lanky self was laid out across the couch with him resting his head on my stomach and his arms around my waist. It was just so natural how conversation between the two of us easily flowed from one topic to the next. It was still difficult to not think about Ryan and what was just revealed to me, but I was trying to do well with keeping up appearances. I didn’t want to show how broken I truly was by the news. But the free-spirited talking didn’t last long because before I knew it, Ryan was now the topic of discussion.

“I need to know right now if you’re comfortable enough to go back home and be in Ryan’s presence,”

“I’m not,” I stated truthfully, and this has been expressed numerous times.

“So, what will make you comfortable? Regardless, you gotta go back,”

“And then what happens to you?”

He cut his eyes at me before resting his head back on my stomach. “That’s beside the point. Let me know now if you’re going to go back to him,”

“Not in that sense,” I muttered. “But there has to be some adjustments ‘cause I will not feel comfortable in his space,”

“We can do that,” he nodded, siting up and reaching for his phone; well, it was more a fake phone that he used when he didn’t want anyone knowing his number. “Call him… now,”

What?!