#I loved staying in the room while the pony slept even after gathering up her toys because it was so soft and sweet

[runawaycarouselhorse]

[always-coming-home]

Leaving Home

I will tell a bit about my childhood and how I left my mother’s house with Verou, even before I went to the coast. 

The year I was born in Ounmalin, the rains were late and when the Grass was danced, the hills were still golden and the people feared drought. I brought the rains with me, my mother Reads Twice said. The night I was born, the clouds had been gathering all the day before, promising but not giving, and as my mother went into labor, they cracked open and poured rain on the dry earth. My first name was Raining. 

Verou was born five years later, close to the World, and when she was born, Reads Twice heard the first crickets of the year singing, and so Verou’s first name was Cricket. We were born dancing across the hinge, as they say, balancing each other in many ways along the gyre. 

I loved her from the moment I saw her. She was a quiet baby with laughing eyes  and a sense of peace about her that part of me recognized even though I was too young to know what I was seeing. Looking back, it was funny, a reversal, that she should carry peace with her, for we balanced each other out in another way, one I wouldn’t see until years later. I was born while our parents were still coming together. Varou was born when they were going apart. 

I have said that my father was not well-regarded. The thing was, he knew it and resented it. He thought that people should see him as important, but did not wish to do the work to actually be important, central to the community. Coming from Tachas Touchas to Ounmalin, he didn’t have many close friends or family in town...maybe not any, because he always tried to place himself above other people, and who can be a close friend with that? His own family did not like him. His mother and sister raised him poorly. It is odd how far downhill trouble in a family can flow.

While Reads Twice taught and studied in the Serpentine heyimas, he spent most of his time in the Warrior’s Lodge, smoking and boasting, or with the Finders, talking about his few journeys as a young man and how he had done things so much better than people were now. I think he resented not having a son. His head wasn’t really on straight, I don’t think. I will never understand what my mother, who was studious and quiet and orderly and giving, saw in him to begin with. 

When I was eleven, after I had walked in the path of the mountain lion for the first time, but had not yet gone to the coast, he took up with a younger woman from Tachas Touchas behind Reads Twice’s back and danced the Wine with her. He didn’t yet want to leave the house, because the woman wouldn’t have him in hers and because his family wouldn’t be eager to have him back either, but he resented his wife for not being as young and beautiful as she had been before I was born, and he told her so. Reads Twice reacted at first with sorrow and pleading, and later with anger of her own. There were ugly words often. I would take Verou and go far out on the planting side, away from the house, so that she would not hear too many of them. 

There was one particularly terrible fight one night, when I wished the neighbors would come and stop it, but they did not. People are not always good at knowing when to step in. I cowered with my sister in the sleeping room trying to protect her and cover her ears, while in the hearth room, our parents screamed at each other and threw things. The sound of pottery smashing bothers me still, whenever I drop a bowl or a plate. He took his things and left, leaving Reads Twice sobbing on the floor. She didn’t come in to comfort us or even acknowledge that we were there, and at that point, Verou was crying hard. I was torn between the two of of, but I stayed with my sister and we fell asleep together. 

The next day, my mother sat all day on the floor, not minding the wreckage around her, not making food or speaking a word to us, no matter how Verou begged for her attention. I set about picking up the broken pottery, the smashed wood, the glass, and trying to set the room into order. I heated beans and rice for us to eat, which my mother would not touch. She drank a little water and went to the outhouse, but other than that, did nothing else and would not speak. She did not sleep that night either. 

The morning after that, I left Verou in the heyimas and borrowed a pony to ride to Maddinou to tell my aunt about the troubles. She came back with me and after a few days in her care, my mother began to live again, but she was not the same. She drank more than she ever had before and she was quick to anger with me and with Verou. We walked on tiptoe around her for weeks. My sister tried hard to make our mother smile, bringing her flowers and berries and clowning. I simply tried to avoid making her angry, but both of us failed in these efforts. This went on for weeks, with the wheel of her anger turning and tightening against her daughters. 

When she screamed at Verou that it was our fault her husband left, that in making her a mother we had made her ugly, and threw a pot at me when I tried to step between them, I had enough of it. When she fell asleep on the hearth, drunken, I quietly set about packing baskets for my sister and I. We slept a few fitful hours, and then before dawn, we left that house for good. 

I thought about going to our aunt in Maddinou, but it was too close to Ounmalin and she might try to make us go back to her sister’s house to benefit her. It would be a very long way for us to go on our own, but going to our grandfather in Kastoha seemed like a very good idea to me. It was the furthest away from Ounmalin that we had any family and our grandfather and his second wife were good people and well-regarded. They lived in a large household with her daughters and their daughters and son and daughters in law and sons in law and an assortment of children, so I thought they might make a little room for us in all that big house with all those people. 

I will tell about that journey another time, though. 

[tasteslikepepsicola]

Somebody Else (Sodapop Curtis x Reader Part 3)

Part 2 - Please read first

When Steve shows up at her window unexpectedly, Y/N can no longer run away from the decision she has to make.

Word Count: 2,400+

Warnings: mentions of smut, angst

Authors Note: Hey all, sorry this took so long, I’m on vacation this week and it’s been hard to find time to write, but I had a sudden burst of inspiration tonight and managed to finish it. This story is not over yet though, stay tuned for the next couple parts which will hopefully be posted in the next few days. Thank you for all the love on this story <3 I really truly appreciate it so much. Enjoy!

Y/N wakes up to an abrupt loud noise. She sits up, catching her breath.

“Oh, sorry, Y/N, I didn’t mean to wake you. I’m real dumb- I dropped the pan while I was trying to get it out of the cabnit to make breakfast.” Ponyboy explains. He’s standing in the kitchen, flustered, and alone.

“It’s cool,” she tries to rub the sleep out of her eyes. “Where is everyone?” she asks.

“Sodapop was gone when I woke up, Darry left work a little while ago.” he explains.

“But Sodapop doesn’t work on Saturdays, so he didn’t leave a note or anything? Where could he have gone?” Y/N feels a sick feeling rising in her stomach, hangover, and dread. Had Sodapop remembered what he said last night? Was he trying to avoid Y/N by sneaking off before she woke up? Did he no longer mean it?

“No clue, maybe he decided to meet up with Steve or something.” he suggested, though Y/N found this very unlikely. And then it hit her- Oh god, she needed to talk to Steve. But what could she say? How could she justify abandoning him at a party? And with Sodapop, no less. Of course, she could always leave that part out...she could say she felt sick, or-

“Y/N?” Ponyboy interrupted her thoughts. “You alright?” he asks.

“Oh, yeah, sorry- I just- have a lot on my mind, is all.” she reasons.

“Well, are you hungry at all?” Pony offers.

The thought of eating made Y/N’s stomach turn, so she declined. “I actually should be getting home, my mom will start to wonder.” she started to gather her stuff. “Thanks though, and tell Darry thanks for letting me crash. See you around, kid.” she waves goodbye, and is out the door swiftly.

*****

That night, Y/N lies in bed, contemplating the events of the past week. How could everything have changed so suddenly? She probably would have drove herself mad, had she not been interrupted by a few knocks on her window.

Y/N sat up quickly, turning to the window to see Steve. She thought back to all the times she had crawled out that same window to go see him and Soda. Those nights were always the most fun, the ones where she hadn’t told her mom she had left. The thrill of doing something she wasn’t supposed to. It wasn’t like they ever got in real trouble, often opting to grab a few coca-cola's at the local 24-Hour diner. Sometimes they would just sit at the lot and talk. Occasionally Steve would try to convince the group to meet up with Dallas and go to a party, usually at Buck’s, but Soda always declined. And Y/N tried to split her time between them evenly when this happened. Saying she would meet up with Steve at the party, just a little later. That time she spent with Soda, that must have been when she fell in love with him. No one except them knowing where they were, what they were doing, it was quietly and peacefully intimate. 

Tonight, Sodapop wasn’t with him. Y/N was opening the window and inviting him in, not climbing out to join them. 

“Steve? What are you doing here?” Y/N asked.

“I needed to see you. After you left last night, I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” he responds.

“About that- Steve I’m so sorry-” she starts.

“It’s okay, Y/N, I’m not upset. I just wanted to talk to you. Can I come in?”

Suddenly realizing he was still outside, Y/N agreed, quickly moving out of the way so he could climb inside. Realizing she was only wearing a tiny tank top, no bra, and shorts, she shuffled across the room to throw on a sweatshirt. By the time she was done, she turned around to see Steve sitting on her bed, cross legged, fiddling with his thumbs. Y/N sat beside him. 

He sighed, “Are you okay with all this? Am I moving too fast?” Steve turns towards her, looking at her with concern in his eyes. 

“No, Steve, you aren’t doing anything wrong. Everything has been going perfect.” she replies.

“Okay, so, be honest with me, Y/N, is there something holding you back from wanting to make this official?” 

She looks away, a lump forming in her throat. Suddenly, she's lost for words.

“I-” she chokes out.

“It’s Sodapop? Isn’t it?” he asks, defeated.

Y/N isn’t sure what to do, does she deny? Pretend that she's okay, that he’s not on her mind? Or is she honest with Steve, and risk her relationship with him? Let alone their friendship. She thinks for too long, and Steve is already saying something else.

“I- I get it Y/N, I know he’s the one the girls fall in love with. I’m not blind, I have eyes. I know how I look compared to him. I’ve seen the way you look at him. I guess I really was a fool for thinking you could have looked at me like that, too, huh?” he rubs his eyes, and Y/N is sure he’s fighting back tears.

“No.” she says. Y/N grabs his face and holds it between her hands. “Look at me, Steve.” she begs. 

She doesn’t give him much of a choice, so he makes eye contact with her.

“You’re wrong. You’re not second best. You’re not my second choice. I like you, Steve, a lot.”  She tries to convince him.

“Why did you leave with him, Y/N?” the hurt in his voice can no longer be concealed.

Y/N softens her expression. She looks everywhere except at him. 

“I just took him home because he was drunk and wasn’t making any sense and I was worried he would get in trouble- I- you know how he is, he never drinks, and I didn’t want anything to happen to him.” she explains.

“That’s all it was? Truly?” he asks.

“Yes, Steve, that’s it.” she replies.

“And you’re telling me you’ve never thought about him like that?” his posture is defensive, standoffish even.

“Steve-” she starts.

“Y/N, no more lies.” 

“I guess, technically, I did have a thing for him at one point. But that was then and this is now, you’re the one sitting in my bedroom right now. You’re the one who gets to take me to parties, and the movies, and hold my hand, and kiss me.” At this point, she isn’t sure who she is trying to convince. Either way, Steve seems satisfied.

He smirks, “Wanna test that theory?” and leans in for a kiss. And another, and soon enough they are making out.

He trails his kisses down her jawline, and neck, and Y/N finds herself feeling frigid. But Steve is kind, and funny, and willing to lay it all out on the line for her, something Soda could only due drunk.

Steve slowly creeps his hand under her sweatshirt, noting the lack of a bra. She doesn’t stop him. 

The longer they remain kissing, the more aware Y/N becomes that all she can hear is Soda confessing his love for her. She needs to make that stop, she needs to get him out of her mind. 

And when Steve reaches into her shorts, she doesn’t stop him.

*****

Another week goes by, and Y/N sits in bed, alone this time. She’s reading a book she just recently picked up from the used book store, a ten minute walk from her house. The landline phone she has in her room rings, and she instinctively reaches for it without hesitation. 

“Hello?” she waits for a reply.

“Y/N!” a cheerful voice comes through on the other line.

“Sodapop?” she hadn’t been expecting to hear from him, she didn’t know if he would ever talk to her again after their last conversation.

“Hey- how have you been? I haven’t seen you in days.” his voice shakes.

“I wasn’t sure that you wanted to see me.” she replies.

“Well, I do. Can you stop by in say...half an hour? An hour maybe?”

Y/N glimpses at her alarm clock, signaling it was half past ten. She had slept in more than usual, but it was a Saturday, and she didn’t have anywhere to be.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll see you soon.” they exchange polite goodbyes, before hanging up.

Nerves pulse through her as she gets ready. What could he possibly have to say to me? Does he even remember our last conversation? Oh god- I told him I would always love him. Maybe he forgot about that part...he was pretty wasted. How could he have been so casual on the phone otherwise? But why ignore me for a week then?

Nothing seems to add up, but she decides that she is just getting in her head about it, and she makes every attempt to treat this like she would any other day, or any other hang out.

When she arrives at his doorstep, she knocks lightly, and the door is opened almost instantly after.

“Y/N! It is so good to see you.” Sodapop pulls her into a hug, and she hates the electricity she still feels from his touch. Once he finally lets her go he says, “Come in,”

They are the only ones home, from the looks of it. Y/N wonders if he planned that. 

“I haven’t heard from you in ages,” she tells him as they both take a seat in the living room. Y/N sits on the side of the couch that faces Sodapop in the arm chair that Darry typically claims. She is acutely aware that she is seated in the same spot she was the last time she was here, the night everything changed. I wonder if Soda realizes, too.

“I guess I didn’t know what to say.” he stares down at his hands, which are resting in his lap.

“So, you remember that night?” Y/N asks, suddenly feeling her heartbeat quicken intensely.s

“I remember parts, it’s all a little fuzzy. But I think I’ve been able to piece most of it together. And I was hoping you could help me fill in the rest.”

Y/N feels dizzy with anxiety, what does he remember? What do I admit to? What should I deny?

“Okay,” is all she says.

He takes a long, deep breath, his nerves quite apparent. “We can’t avoid it forever, so I might as well just come out and say it. I told you I loved you.” his cheeks heat up in a way Y/N almost never seems them. Sodapop has always been the cool, smooth talking guy. He flirts with every pretty girl he meets, never striking out, always knowing what to say.

Y/N feels relieved that he hasn’t said anything about her saying it back, yet.

“Yeah…” her voice trails off.

“I’m so sorry Y/N, I know I’ve probably ruined everything. And I didn’t want you to-” he starts.

“It’s okay, you were drunk, Soda, you weren’t in your head, it’s alright that you didn’t mean it. People say stupid stuff all the time when they’re drunk. Like that time I told Dallas if he wanted-”

“I didn’t want you to find out that way.” he interrupts, to finish his prior sentence.

Y/N swears her heart stops. The world doesn’t just stop spinning, everything is frozen. This isn’t like last time, now, he knows what he’s saying. She can’t deny that he means what he’s saying anymore.

“You didn’t want me to find out you loved me? Or that you love me?” she hears her heartbeat in her ears as she waits for a reply. The mere seconds between her question and his reply feel like hours.

“Did you mean it?” he asks, not answering her previous question.

“Mean what?” she asks, too overwhelmed to bother protesting about him avoiding her question.

“You told me, always. That you’d love me, always.”

“I could never not love you, Soda, you’re my best friend.” she argues..

“And that's it? You love me like a best friend, always?” he sounds frustrated, especially when he emphasizes the last word.

“Of course I do.”

“And nothing else?”

“Soda-”

“Y/N!” he yells.

“I slept with Steve.” she spits out. Her head hurts, her pulse so loud and pounding in her head, and she feels as if she could pass out. She isn’t sure why she said it. All she can come up with is that she couldn’t let Sodapop love her, when if he knew what she did he would hate her. He deserved more than that. 

He deserves more than me. She tells herself.

Silence takes over the room, and Y/N feels very out of place. Silence had always been a comfortable concept between Soda and her. They had always felt so comfortable in the others presence that they could go hours together without saying anything. But now, the silence is deafening.

“When?” is all he says. He mumbles it weakly, like hes already given up. He avoids making eye contact with her.

“Saturday night, he came to my window and- I wasn’t expecting him at all. But then we started talking about what we were and where we were going, and I guess one thing lead to another.” Her cheeks heat up. “I- I guess it was my messed up way of a distraction.”

He places his head in his hands, rubbing at his eyes, which are now turning red and puffy. Even with his eyes swollen and skin red from fighting tears, he still manages to be the most handsome boy shes ever laid eyes on.

“The night after I told you I loved you?” his voice breaks, and so does Y/N’s heart.

She feels a tear roll down her cheek, and she realizes she has no right to cry, so she quickly wipes it away. “He asked me to be his girlfriend.” 

More silence.

“You know,” he says. “when you told me always, it sounded like the prettiest, most beautiful word in the world. Now it just feels like one big lie.”

By now she can’t prevent the tears from falling, so she lets them, a tiny sob leaving her body when she realizes he’s crying too.

“I didn’t lie.” she tells him.

“Then why are you with him?”

“Because I couldn’t have you.”

[coffeecomicsgalore]

25 Days of Adrien (+6 of Marinette)

A Christmas Miracle

Part of the MLHolidays2k19 prompt.

Ao3

Chapter 25 – Christmas Day

Adrien’s alarm rang a few minutes to six, giving him enough time to say goodbye to Marinette, transform, and land safely back to his room before Nathalie would wake him up for the day.

He rubbed the sleepy sand from his eyelids and planted kisses on Marinette’s jawline.  

She scrunched up her face and gently swatted away the man who was teasing her awake. “Bad kitty.” She mumbled.

“Come on bugaboo. I have to go. If I don’t go now, Nathalie will figure out I’m missing and I won’t be able to come by for brunch. Plus, I’ll only be gone for about an hour.” He kissed her lips. “I’ll be back soon. I promise.”  

Marinette pried one eye open while pouting at his words. “I guess if it means I see you soon, then okay. I’ll see you soon.”

He pressed one last kiss to her lips before calling upon his transformation and vaulting out the skylight in quick action.  

Soon enough, Marinette woke up to Tikki nuzzling her face, reminding her to get ready before Adrien came back over. Marinette slowly woke up, already missing the warmth that had left her side. She ran her hand against the bare spot, smiling at the fact that Adrien had been over sleeping peacefully beside her. It wasn’t the first time he slept over, but it only reminded her that the number of times that they could do this would soon end.  

She chose a pretty shimmery, crimson, long sleeved dress that stopped mid-thigh, and paired it with white leggings and black combat boots. She wore her hair down with strands tied back into a half pony with a crimson bow. Natural looking make-up completed the look.

“Joyeux Noël! Merry Christmas!” She kissed her maman and papa before moseying into the kitchen to help set the table for morning brunch. She sniffed the air. “Mm. Papa, everything smells so good! What are we having?”

“The Christmas special! Crepes, fresh fruit, croissants and jam, danishes, and peppermint coffee.”

“Oh, I can’t wait! Adrien should be here soon.” She remembered her conversation with Adrien the night before and looked over to her maman. “Adrien called me last night after he got home. His father invited me over for dinner today. I was hoping it was okay for me to go with him, only after we finish everything here, I mean.”

Her maman smiled at her shy request. Even at 18, Marinette was always unsure when it came to family matters. She did not want to hurt her family in any way, also considering that today was a holiday, but she also didn’t want to upset Adrien’s dad and not show up to dinner, even more so that he requested she be there himself (or at least through Adrien).

“Of course, sweetie. As soon as brunch, presents, and games are done, you are welcome to head over to Adrien’s home. Make sure you bring the box of treats we set aside for him.” Sabine gestured to the pastry box on the table. Her papa must have created a few extra treats for Adrien to bring over today.

“Thanks, maman.”  

As soon as the table was set, the doorbell rang and Marinette bolted to the door to greet her handsome blonde beau.  

“Joyeux Noël!” Adrien chimed before kissing Marinette. He turned to Tom and Sabine. “Joyeux Noël!”

“Joyeux Noël!” Tom and Sabine replied back, Tom reaching over and giving Adrien a hug. “You’re just in time! I just finished breakfast and Marinette just finished setting the table.”

Adrien shifted the gifts that were piled in his hands and Marinette grabbed a few before bringing them to the tree. The family sat and enjoyed the delicious breakfast, laughing over some funny baby Marinette moments from Christmas pasts. It only prompted an embarrassed and flustered Marinette, but Adrien enjoyed that the color of her cheeks matched her dress perfectly.

Soon enough, the table was cleared and the family all gathered around the tree to open gifts. Sabine handed Adrien two gifts while Tom handed Marinette three. Adrien and Marinette each handed the parents their gifts to open. Adrien received a scrapbook kit and a camera, something that Adrien had said he wanted in passing. Marinette opened hers to reveal brand new artist markers, a sketchbook, and soft emerald fabric that she had been eyeing. Tom received a personalized apron that said Master Punny Baker with a chef hat and two whisks crossed behind it to look like skull and bones from Adrien and a handmade sweater from Marinette. Adrien gifted Sabine a family tree pendant with birthstones that represented her, Tom, and Marinette and received a handmade ornate dress from Marinette.

Sabine and Tom each handed a gift to each other while Marinette and Adrien exchanged gifts of their own. Marinette had made Adrien a few cat pun shirts with some physics garble on it while Adrien gifted Marinette a necklace and bracelet set with two very distinct charms on each – a paw print and ladybug on the necklace and a black and pink charm (for Plagg and Tikki) on the bracelet. Adrien noted that once they added members to their own little family, she could add on as many charms as she wanted.

Games were played and the morning passed quickly before Adrien noticed the time. He turned to Marinette and nodded noting it was time to go. “While I wish I could stay here all day and hang out with all of you, it is time for us to head to Christmas dinner with my Father.” He gathered his things and placed them on the table as Marinette grabbed the pastry box and gifts for Gabriel, Nathalie, and Gorilla and placed it near Adrien’s belongings.

Tom and Sabine hugged Adrien goodbye, thanking him again for the wonderful gifts and spending time with them. They bid their daughter farewell and shooed them out the door.

-----xoxox-----

Marinette and Adrien arrived to the mansion quickly, thanks to his bodyguard. As they entered the atrium of the mansion, Adrien assisted Marinette’s coat off her shoulders and placed it in the arms of his bodyguard. Marinette and Adrien shifted uncomfortably as Nathalie came through the doorway wishing them both Joyeux Noël in a cheerful tone. Marinette smiled and wished her one back, Adrien repeating the phrase with a friendly tone himself.  

“Your father is waiting for you in the dining hall, Adrien.” He nodded and placed a hand to the small of Marinette’s back, both to guide her to the room and for stability. Gabriel stood from his place at the table wishing them both a Joyeux Noël before gesturing to sit at the table in front of them.

Adrien and Marinette both wished him back as he guided her to his usual spot at the large table. When he noticed the table settings were not set, Adrien looked back to his father and noticed the settings were all placed near Gabriel. With that, he also noticed that there were extra settings at the table, one presumably for Nathalie and the other for Gorilla. He looked to both the secretary and the bodyguard and noticed a smile to their faces, waiting for Marinette and Adrien to take a seat at the table before they took theirs.  

Gabriel looked to Marinette. “Mademoiselle. When you came for lunch a few weeks back and assisted Adrien in trimming the tree, you brought back a light that was missing in this house. I noticed you sitting beside him, allowing Adrien to speak and remember her. You helped me remember those moments that we cherished so much.” His reminder brought up a teary smile. “It helped me so much that every moment I am away from my office, I stand in front of the tree and look to the ornaments that I had given her. The angel – the last one she had given us – is the one I look at the most. It reminds me of her in so many ways.” He looked to his place setting, nudging the wine glass to the side.  

“I know I haven’t been the best lately, especially during this time of year.” Gabriel glanced at Adrien placing a tender hand over his. “I miss your mother terribly, but that is no excuse for me to ignore you. And I deeply regret doing that to you. I’m sorry.”

Adrien audibly swallowed. Marinette guided her hand over to his, encouraging Adrien to speak in order to break the silence.

“All I wanted was for us to be a family, Father. I wished you could have been there all the times I needed you. I wished so much for that. I accept your apology, and I love you, but I would love for us to work on our family before I can forgive you completely.”

Gabriel nodded in understanding. “That’s all I ask.”  

The dinner moved forward with conversations between all parties. Adrien still could not believe what had happened; his father was actually speaking to him and his girlfriend. Nathalie was having a meaningful conversation with them all. Laughter and jokes were at the table. Even Gorilla smiled!  

At one point, Adrien leaned into Marinette’s ear and whispered, “Am I in shock and this is all a dream or is this really happening?”

Marinette turned to Adrien and smiled as she put a hand on his. “I’m calling this a Christmas miracle. But I’m proud of you and standing your ground. I just hope he continues to treat you like this.”

“Years of damage won’t be fixed overnight, but I’m willing to try if he is.” Marinette nodded in agreement. “But it is a Christmas miracle, indeed.”

[justgrits]

Come back Home part two

It's been two weeks since the date with Angel. That boy knows how to make it up to you. Rolling out of bed you laugh to yourself remembering you’ve got to watch Mia for Bishop today. Angel had slipped out of the house earlier to meet up with Gilly and Coco. Turning the coffee pot on you look around at the small house and smile remembering when Angel had begged you to come see the place Marisol had told him he had to get for you. Resembling the house Angel had grown up in he loved it right away. The one bedroom is a play room/ guest room which had been taken over by Mia not even 8 months after being born. Bishop had it all planned out after they had Mia. You became her babysitter for most of the week and eventually Angel would grow up and give in to you wanting to become a mother. This however had taken a bit of a delay with everything going on with the club and with how bad it has been getting with the rebels Mia was going to be staying a lot.  

Picking up the empty beer bottles off the table and tossing them in the trash can you went to get ready, a simple tank top and jeans with your flip flops and hair pulled up into a high pony tail. Mascara was all you were able to get on before the energetic 4-year-old came barreling in the house. Mia was screaming for you with Angel walking behind her smiling holding her bags.  

“Tia (Y/N)!!! Tio Angel said I get to stay 3 whole days with you!” Mia finally stopped yelling at the entrance of the bathroom looking up at you.  

Putting down the tube of mascara you turned when Mia’s feet had hit the hardwood floors. Bending down to get eye level with Mia you nodded “that’s right baby, Tio Angel has to go with Daddy though so it is gonna be a Girls weekend how does that sound?”  

Mia wrapped her arms around you and squeezed as tight as she could before letting go breathless. “okay but Daddy said Tio Angel is gonna” Angel had picked her up before she could finish the sentence twirling Mia around.

“What did I say it’s a surprise remember and if we tell Tia (y/n) it won’t be a surprise anymore and then she’s going to be sad” Angel kissed her head before sending her into the playroom to unpack her new toys she had convinced Angel she needed.  

Angel pulled you close to him before kissing you slowly holding you to him for a moment before pulling away. “Don’t let her ruin the surprise okay, I’ve been working hard on it and I want you to really be shocked okay” he smirked while brushing your hair off of your face.  

Looking up at him you shook your head slightly. “I won’t” holding your hands up stepping back slightly “but I will miss you while you are gone so I need you to be careful and call me when you can.” plucking his hat off his head you sneak past him and walk back into the kitchen pouring a cup of coffee for him to take on the road and one to drink now before pouring yourself one.  

The weekend went by slowly, Mia never once slept in the bed she had convinced Angel to get her a few months back. She slept on Angels side of the bed curled up in his pillow while she kept her feet on your back. Thank god you had a king size bed otherwise she would have already kicked you out. Mia had spent the weekend making cookies for everyone and even made bags for them with drawing of them on it. She insisted that you let her write their names on them with a sharpie which after three hours she finally gave in and did so with the Washable marker that had been next to her the entire time.

Angel had called about an hour ago to let you know that he would be home soon you were trying to clean up while Mia came behind you dropping toys along the way while dancing to the songs playing on the radio. Turning around when the music cut of indicating a phone call you sighed seeing all the toys back out of the toy box but picked up seeing bishop on the other line   “Hey Bishop Mia’s fine...the clubhouse at 4, bring Mia? Um okay, I will... Bye” hanging up you looked at your phone for a moment before looking at Mia “do you know about this little miss?” raising your brow giving her a questioning look. Mia giggled before shaking her head no. “I don’t know, Daddy said it’s a surprise” She took your hand dropping the last toy she had. “we have to get ready though, really pretty!” Mia lead you to her bags and pulled out a shopping bag “Tio Angel said to give this to you and make sure you wear it” she pulled out a similar bag for her “this one is for me” she spoke confidently while heading to your room. “now we gotta hurry or we are going to be late!

Getting Mia dressed was easy for once. She insisted on getting makeup too so you curled her hair and put some blush and lipstick on her. Once she was finished you did your hair and makeup and then slipped into the black dress and heels Angel had bought you. When you were making sure you had everything ready Mia came in with a note from Angel, you could tell it was from him by the way it was folded. Memories of high school started to flow through you, the notes that had been passed back and forth in class, days planned to skip to go to may’s and eat huge stacks of pancakes and get a lecture for not being at school. You sat Mia on your lap and read the note  

Hey love,  

I just want you to know how much I love you and thank you for being there with everything. I know I have a lot of work to do to make up for the past few months. I hope this helps.  

P.s. Mia helped with everything and I can’t wait to show you the rest  

Love always  

Angel ❤

You read the note out loud to Mia and smiled down at her. “I guess we should get going then huh?” Mia nodded and jumped down “we can’t forget the treats!” you sat the notes down and picked up your purse before gathering Mia’s things and putting them in your car and went back inside and got all the bags of cookies and Mia. Once she was in her booster seat you, we finally on the way to the club house.  

The club house had been cleaned up and strings of Christmas lights places around the porch. Ez had made sure pops had gotten the food inside and set up. Angel was standing next to his brother waiting for you to arrive. The run only actually took the guys about a day and a half to finish and then they set out on finding you the perfect ring. Angel had a ring his mom gave him before she passed and asked him to make it into something new when he was ready. Bishop took Angel and Ez to a man on the reservation he knew would be able to live up to the expectation. The Diamond was the same from his mom’s ring and the band was a sterling silver that was designed to look like a tree branch that wrapped around and locked the Diamond into place.  After all these years he was ready to make it official.  

[crazyzaika]

Love on Detours - Chapter 7

Hey guys, and here comes the next chapter. It's still unchecked, but I hope it's not to bad. I hope you like it. Let me know what you think.

Greets Z

Chapter 7

He stroked with his fingers through the long blond hair that spread over the pillow and looked smilingly at the ceiling, had his other arm tightly wrapped around her, while Lucy nestled to him and slept. The wedding dinner had been over for hours and he still felt this joy in his heart. After the confession and the kiss they had gone back and Natsu had called Michelle and Mirajane and informed them about everything so that Lisanna could not run and squeal to her grandfather. He didn't want Lucy's parents to come in here in the next few days and destroy everything. Because finally Lucy was His. His girlfriend, his woman. She belonged to him and he belonged to her and that would not change, he would take care of that himself.

A slight grin was spreading on his features. He became a father, damn it! Apparently his mother had been right. But did it bother him? Not really. She had proudly shown him the picture of the ultrasound and when he learned that there would be twins, the party had been even more lively. A big grin lay on his lips and warmth spread in his chest.

"Why are you smiling like that," Lucy asked quietly and her voice was drowsy. Apparently she had just woken up. He turned to his side and looked down at her with a smile, grinning even wider.

"I'm just happy, that's all," he replied and stroked his fingertips over her pale, soft skin. Lucy's eyes got bigger and she blinked. Then she giggled and snuggled closer to him. He pulled her closer to his chest, stroked her neck and enjoyed the feeling of her soft body against his.

"I'm sorry I've been silent so far," she said. He pulled her a little closer and buried the face in her hair. She smelled wonderfully of strawberries and vanilla and he grumbled contentedly.

"Luce ... stop apologizing," he purred and kissed her neck. She gasped and he felt her fingernails clawing into his chest. His lips wandered over her skin, stroked over her ear and he bit hesitantly into it what made her wheeze again. He grinned. She was sensitive and he would lie if that didn't turn him on. He felt a pull in his groin and she gasped again, this time a little frightened. Natsu detached himself a little from her and met her gaze from big brown eyes.

"But ... "

"No buts. You were afraid I'd understand... but Luce?"

"Yes?"

"Don't ever do that again, you hear? You know me, I hate lies," he said and his voice was colder than he wanted. Lucy's eyes widened and she swallowed, then she nodded. Redness spread on her cheeks. He smiled and pressed a kiss on her forehead, pulling her closer again. She was so damn soft and fragile at the same time. How did that work?

"Uh ... do you think you can wait with the sex?" she asked then and Natsu froze in his movement. Silence lay over the room and his cheeks glowed as he cleared his throat.

"Um ... "

"I mean ... I love you and everything and ... uh ... your body is absolutely hot", she started and he had to grin, "but ... I don't feel comfortable having sex right now. Is that okay?" she seemed so insecure and it stabbed him in the heart. Nevertheless he smiled and stroked through her hair.

"Sure. We've been a couple since last night. Don't worry about that," he said quietly and grinned at her. She sighed and smiled broadly at him, nodded and snuggled up to him a little more. He closed his eyes and played thoughtlessly with her silky hair. His heart beat fast and strong against his ribs.

"Twins, huh?" he asked and she giggled softly.

"Yep."

"I'm surprised that mother hasn't beheaded me yet," Natsu replied and felt Lucy giggle softly again, which made him grin. Even if it worried him somehow that the possibility still existed. But it was a fact that no one who was still in his right mind voluntarily exposed himself to the wrath of Grandeeney Dragneel. She wasn't the Oyabun's wife without a reason. Everyone here had the greatest respect for her, some people were more afraid of her than their father and that meant something. Even Zeref, Acnologia's foster son, who really didn't have all the cups in his cupboard, obeyed her instructions. And normally he only listened to Acnologia or to him.

"She got drunk when I came back from the first examination," Lucy whispered quietly and Natsu's eyes widened. He swallowed.

"And your father cried in joy and kissed the ultrasound image," she giggled quietly and with disbelief he looked at Lucy.

"Are ya serious?"

"Absolutely. Your mother was about to strangle him," she said and he laughed. That his old man reacted in such a way that something he never would have thought of.

The vibration of his cell phone woke him up and annoyed he turned to the side, detached himself from her sweet, soft body and pulled the smartphone to him, answering the call.

"Mhm," he growled into the receiver.

"We have an assignment, Laxus. Come out of your bed, I'll wait for you on the ground floor," the female but harsh voice reached his ears and he sighed annoyed.

"Erza?" he asked confused. She had woken him from deep sleep. But that wasn't a trick, because he had an absolutely light sleep. Nevertheless the words reached him slowly and he sighed deeply.

"Yes, you flat pliers. Who do you think is speaking here? Santa Claus? Your father, or what? Come on down here, or I'll come and get you," she said, and with every second he wasted waiting, her bad mood seemed to grow. Cold shivers glided down his back.

" Yeah it' s good, I'm coming down. Give me a break," he said, snorting annoyed. She growled again, but hung up. For him the sign that he was dismissed for the time being. But definitely only for the next five minutes. As long as he wasn't down then. The young woman next to him stirred easily and grumbled reluctantly. He bent over her and gave her a quick kiss, then he swung his legs out of bed, overcame the small distance to the table on the wall where his clothes hung over a chair and slipped in.

"Where are you going?" her soft voice quietly reached his ears and he sighed. So he had woken her up after all. Great. What he couldn't use now was an affectionate girlfriend. That's why he snorted annoyed, turned to her while he put on a vest and locked it and then put on a black shirt over it. He avoided her gaze. Shunned the gaze from those big blue eyes that now looked at him reproachfully. He swallowed slightly, his throat tightening.

"You are going ... to work?" she asked and alone she the way how she emphasized the word work, clearly showed him what Mira thought of his job. She came from a rich family. Quite in contrast to him. He had grown up in the gutter before Igneel had found him and taken him in, before he had met his grandfather. Accordingly, he had joined his clan at that time. Igneel was his great role model. He sighed and drove irritated through the blond short hair he had from his mother, as he knew.

"Listen ... ", he began and paused, his gaze lay on her, but he did not know what he should say. Mira swallowed and turned the gaze away, pulled the slender legs close to her upper body, wrapped her arms around it. Her luscious breasts were pushed up and he wished he could stay and hold her in his arms. Wish he could calm her down, pull her over and make her forget the world out there.

"Mira... sweetie," he began and his voice was husky and rough. He swallowed. How could he make her understand it? That he had duties? He was not allowed to talk about his work, that was a fact. But he wanted her to know that he wasn't doing dirty things. He did not want her to hate him. His lips pressed together, his hands clenching into fists. But she shook her head. The white pony fell into her forehead and the white curls fell like a veil around her, enveloping her body.

"Just go, asshole. Then do your job. But don't come to me when you get shot," she growled and he heard the pain clearly in her voice. He knew she was afraid that one day he wouldn't come back. He knew it, but Laxus couldn't change that. Everyone in this world had a role to play in doing a job and his role was to kick the ass of the really bad guys. Because that was what the clan actually did. They all had the image of a yakuza clan, but they actually dig out terror cells and organizations when the government demanded it. Sure, the clan also had two three brothels in the red light district, but the girls there were well treated and if they didn't want to, they weren't forced to do anything. But those were things he wasn't allowed to tell her, he couldn't tell her.

It hurt him and he would love to change this world for her, but he was just a small cogwheel on the whole. The fact that she was talking to him made him incredibly happy. His cell phone was vibrating, but he ignored his phone.

"I love you, you know that," he said and his voice trembled slightly. He swallowed and took a deep breath, drove over his neck and then grabbed his gun holster, put it on and strapped two knives to his thigh.

Mira watched him do it and it simply killed her that he was going. That he would hurt people again. She wasn't stupid, she knew he was a yakuza. Scum of society. She had already known that in high school and yet it hadn't stopped her from falling in love with him. She bit her lower lip, felt the burning in her eyes. Her heart cramped. She knew that he loved her and yet it hurt that she couldn't stop him from the violence. Again the phone vibrated and she felt as if she could feel the anger of the caller. Angrily, she looked at the smartphone, pressed her lips together and crawled resolutely across the wide bed, reaching for the device. And before Laxus could stop her, she answered the call.

"What?" she hissed. For a moment there was silence.

"Where is Laxus?" came the cold, irritable counter-question. Mira's eyes became narrow. She knew his voice. Erza. A dark rumble rolled up her throat and hot rage gathered in her belly. Poisonous dripping jealousy stretched her claws out to her heart.

"Listen carefully, you red-haired slut. He's about to put on protective clothing and weapons! If anything happens to him, I'll skin you and your darling. Only that this is clear," she hissed furiously into the device and silence spread both in the room and on the other side of the listener.

"Are you serious? If you think you can defeat me in a duel, Strauss. You're just a ridiculous little doll and don't deserve him at all, you snipe," came the cool answer. Mira felt the inevitable urge to drag Erza through the phone and rip her head off. Or to cut her into strips. Whichever fitted better.

"I mean it, Scarlett! If I don't get him back in one piece and intact, you'll lose more than one eye, understand? Then you will suffer so much that you wish you had never been born," she nagged and then the mobile phone was taken away from her. She hissed furiously, straightened up and wanted to grab it, but then she was pulled against his hard body and he kissed her possessively, plundered her mouth. Mira slapped his shoulders to let her go, but at the same time returned the kiss. She was so unspeakably angry. Then Laxus detached himself from the kiss, grinned at her dirty and she gasped softly. Her chest raised and lowered hectically and a deep blush lay on her high cheekbones.

"You're incredibly sexy, Mira," he snarled, pressed a quick kiss on her lips, loosened and bit her neck still teasingly, then licked her skin apologetically. She moaned. He was mean! Her body tingling and rage turned to excitement. But she knew he wouldn't go to bed with her.

"Erza, calm down, I'll be right there," he growled into his cell phone and hung up. He pressed another firm kiss on her lips, stroked her back and sucked the scent of her hair, her body deep into his lungs.

"I'll come back to you, don't worry. Nothing and nobody can stop me from ever coming back to you," he said and his voice was rough. Mira smiled slightly, nodded and her gaze followed him until he left the bedroom, walked down the hall. Her throat tightened and she felt the treacherous burning of her eyes. She swallowed when she heard the crack of the door and gritted her teeth tightly. And then the tears came.

He drove the 10 floors down to the underground garage with the elevator. With a quiet ping, the technician announced that he was on the desired floor and while the door slid to the side, the view of his light grey soul mirror slid through the poorly lit underground car park. He immediately saw the bright red head of hair and set himself in motion.

And he had clearly not been mistaken. She was furious. But that didn't really interest him. He walked the remaining meters while she, wearing clothes as black as he, crossed her arms in front of her chest. Her weapons were hidden under leather clothes and she fixed her eyes on him.

"What?"

"It took too long, Dreyar," she hissed angrily and sighed annoyed, twisting her eyes.

"Put a stain on your shirt, Scarlett. Mira is more important to me than the shit here," he growled and stepped to the passenger seat, because he knew that she would drive. He knew her too well then. Erza Scarlett, undercover agent by profession, would never let anyone else drive her beloved car. Not even Jellal was allowed to drive the car and that should mean something. He was usually allowed to do pretty much anything with Erza. She growled at him angrily and for a moment he was afraid that she might jump over her car and go to his throat, but then she seemed to have calmed down, because she got in without comment, but threw the car door too loud. He turned his eyes again, then got into the car with her. She just got so annoyed that it wasn't funny anymore. But she was also his partner on the job.

Whereby that was something that was chosen according to abilities and not inclinations. If he could decide, he would never have made Erza his partner. He just couldn't stand her enough for that. She was annoying, always had a different view and opinion than him and argued with him far too often. And in her opinion, he should just send Mira into the desert. He buckled on because the crazy woman next to him drove like a sow and pulled out his smartphone to check the data on the job.

Razzia in the docks, he thought and pulled the eyebrows together. There was clearly too little information left for him. But he knew that the terrible thing next to him would clearly have more information. So it was time to engage in a conversation with her, even if he didn't like it at all.

"So ... a raid?" he asked growling and she grumbled in agreement.

"Erza ... "

"Don't talk to me stupidly from the side, I'll drive," she snarled at him and he frowned. That was not her way. So ... somewhere already, but normally she didn't hold any information from him.

"Okay ... Raven Tail or Tartaros?" he asked and she stiffened. Which confused him even more, but it also made him slightly aggressive that she didn't speak out.

"I need to know what we're going to dig up," he said and she sighed quietly, turning with squeaking tires. It was a miracle that the car had not overturned at this speed. But he wouldn't make the mistake of commenting on her driving style. He was attached to his life.

"Both. Mard Geer lets Jackal buy drugs," she said, and he hated it when he had to pull everything out of her nose.

"And who is the buyer? According to your information?"

"Flare Corona," she said quietly, and he sighed annoyed. He knew her, had grown up with her on the street. She hadn't been as lucky as he had been. On the contrary. She had really slipped into the shit. Sold drugs, weapons and if the rumors were true, then Raven Tail also got into human trading. So it was time to get this yakuza clan out. Whereby they were not a real clan. They tried to become one, to join the big ones. He knew that, because none other than his own dirtbag of his biological father was the boss of Raven Tail.

"And that was so hard now?" he asked into the silence. He took a look at the integrated navigation device and frowned. They were almost there. Only 5 minutes left. Erza sighed again. Something seemed to oppress her, but the way he knew her, she wouldn't just give it up.

"Go on, talk. I don't feel like thinking about it during our job, all right? That's just distracting," he growled and stared out of the side window.

"Flare ... you know her. That makes it problematic."

" Yeah is clear. I am an adult, Erza."

"You're 25."

"Yes, jesus. I am grown up. I can handle it. She didn't pay attention and keeps riding herself into crime. So I will nail her down and hand her over. Just like this bomb junkie Jackal," he said and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Erza's gaze seemed thoughtful as she stopped in a side street and turned off the engine, parked her car. Then she looked at him with a serious look.

"Let's hope so."

Laxus grinned, unbuckled himself.

" Will go wrong alright", he said and got out. He loosened his shoulders.

Then let's go, he thought, and his gaze was grim as Erza followed him. He pushed all his thoughts away as they walked through the darkness, pulling their weapons.

[eliniei]

Those Hard Days - Chapter 16

Summary: Rae’s brother always made sure she was tough as nails. But when her father flips her world upside down, will she find that there’s a limit on how strong she can be?

Warnings: Rape/Non-con (non-graphic, fade-to-black), child abuse, underage drinking, underage smoking, drug use, violence, major character death

A/N: New week, new chapter. Nothing too exciting in this one, but really, I love Rae’s relationship with Dally.

AO3: here Fanfiction.net: here

Masterlist

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Chapter 16 - Mouthy

When Rae woke up in the morning, Dally wasn’t in bed anymore. She wondered what time it was and how long she had slept. She sat up and took a look around the room. Her brother had left the bedroom door open. Someone was in the kitchen making breakfast, pots and pans banging around, oil popping. Probably Darry. She could also hear someone in the shower.

Rae pushed the blanket off her body and slid out of the bed. She made her way to the kitchen, yawning and wiping the sleep from her eyes. Sure enough, Darry was in front of the stove, frying some eggs in one pan, a second pan full of shredded hash browns cooking on the burner next to it. He looked up when she walked in and gave her a small smile.

"Mornin’, Rae," he said. She gave him a small wave with one hand, covering her mouth with the other against another yawn. He lifted his spatula "Want some food?"

"Yeah, sure," she replied. "What time is it?" Darry took a look at his watch.

"’Bout a quarter to nine," he answered, then went to flip the eggs and crack a couple more into the oil. She gave him a thumbs up in lieu of a ‘thank you’ and walked out of the kitchen. She made her way back down the hall in search of a new outfit. Even tied, Soda’s pajama pants were on the verge of falling off her hips and she’d dropped off some clothes the night before when they went to the dance. By the time she made it down the hallway, Rae noticed steam was coming out of the now open bathroom door. She peered inside and saw Dally standing in front of the mirror, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans, running a razor over his chin. She leaned in the doorway and crossed her arms, watching him. He caught her staring at him out of the corner of his eye and turned towards her.

"What?" he asked. All of the shaving cream was pretty much gone from his face.

"Waitin’ for your slow ass to get outta there so I can have a turn.” He scoffed, but grabbed a towel to wipe his face off.

"Fine, fine," he said, rolling his eyes. “When did ya get so mouthy?”

“Wonder who I get it from,” came her sarcastic reply. She lifted herself off the door frame with a pointed smile and went to gather her clothes. When she got back to the bathroom, her brother had vacated it. Rae closed the door, stripped out of Soda’s clothes and jumped into the tub. She turned on the shower and let the hot water wash over her. A sort of heaviness vanished from her chest, her breathing suddenly easier.

A knock at the door brought her back to reality. She jumped and almost slipped.

"What?" she yelled.

"How long you gunna be?" Two-Bit's voice came through the door. “Some of us, ya know, need to use the facilities.”

"You don’t pipe down and I’ll take longer!" she called out and rinsed the rest of the soap off her skin. She turned the water off, got out, and dried off. She threw on a long-sleeved shirt and some jeans. She exited the bathroom, comb in hand. Rae scowled at Two-Bit as she ran the comb through her hair. He stood, leaning against the opposite wall.

“There, happy?”

"Finally," her friend said in reply. "You’ve been in there forever." Her eyebrows lifted in mock surprise. She started backing up into the bathroom and put her hand on the door, ready to close it in his face. “Oh, come on,” her friend said, pushing himself off the wall. She pointed a finger at him in mock seriousness.

“Be nice to me.” A coy smile spread across her lips. He shook his head, but smiled as well.

“You’re in a good mood today,” he observed as he passed her and went into the bathroom. Rae headed for the front room. Dally was lounging on the couch, feet up on the coffee table. He had a plate in his hands, and he was cutting up his eggs with a fork. When she walked in, her brother looked up.

"What took you so long?" he asked after he swallowed his current mouthful. “Your breakfast is on the table.”

"Oh, just thinking," she confessed. Rae moved to the dining room table to grab her plate. She bit into a forkful of hash browns. It was cold. Oh well.

"You still day dream too much," he remarked. "Your friend called, uh, Carrie?”

"Oh, yeah?" she asked with a full mouth. “What’d she want?”

"She said somethin’ ‘bout a sleepover?”

"Oh!" Rae exclaimed. "Did she say when?" She forked some egg into her mouth.

“She said she was hopin’ for tonight if it was alright with me,” her brother answered. “Doesn’t Buck have a sister named Carrie?”

“Mmm. Yeah, she’s Buck’s sister,” she acknowledged and swallowed. “Chrissy’s mom must’ve finally come around.” Rae looked at her brother with pleading eyes. “And?” Dally pointed at her.

“Don’t look at me like that, kid,” he ordered. “Ya don’t need to beg. I think it’d be good for ya to get out for a night.” She smiled, and stuffing another forkful of potatoes into her mouth.

“Thanks, Dally!” She was pretty sure she might’ve spit some food at him.

“Manners?”

“Please, like you have any more manners than I do.” Rae reached her hand out to take his empty plate. He handed it to her and she wandered back into the kitchen to do the dishes.

“Just make sure to have your homework done before ya go!” he called after her.

“Yeah, yeah,” she grumbled.

Once she was done in the kitchen, Rae did as Dally ordered and sat on the couch while working on her History paper. Two-Bit dropped into the seat next to her after a while. As she finished each page, she handed the pieces of paper to him to proofread. He may not try very hard, but he sure was smart as hell. He went over with her what she needed to fix, and went to throw together a couple of sandwiches for lunch while she did so.

“Ya know, Two-Bit,” she started, biting into her sandwich. “You’d get good grades if ya actually gave a shit. Ya could probably get into one those, um, ya know? Really good colleges?” He shrugged, taking a sip from his glass of milk.

“Where’s the fun in that?” She huffed a laugh and continued eating her lunch, reviewing her paper one last time.

Later in the afternoon, Dally wandered back to the Curtis house from wherever he had been. Rae was stretched out on the couch watching television. Two-Bit had gone home a while before and Pony was reading in his room. She sat up when her brother walked through the door and flattened her hair with her fingers.

“I ain’t got the car today,” he announced. “But I’ll walk ya to Carrie’s.”

“You know where it is?”

“Oh, yeah. I’ve been to Buck’s parents’ loads of times.”

"Alright," she said and went to grab her backpack. Rae poked her head into Pony’s room and told him what was up. He nodded and she went to join Dally again in the living room. As soon as they were outside, he lit up a cigarette and then reached into his back pocket. He held out a couple of tens.

“If ya’ll decide to go out,” he started. She reached for the bills. He pulled his hand away, quickly, before she could grab them. “Be. Careful. Ya know what happened last time.”

“I know,” she drawled. He lowered the money back down to her. She pocketed them in the same pocket her brother kept his money in. “Thanks, Dally.” He took a drag of his smoke.

Before they reached Carrie’s house, Dally put out his cigarette and aired out his jacket so he wouldn’t smell like smoke. Rae knocked on the door and was greeted by Carrie’s mother.

“Rae Lee! It’s so great to see you again!” she exclaimed in her endearing ‘mom’ voice. Out of the corner of her eye, Rae saw her brother trying to hold back a laugh at the use of her middle name. She’d always hated it. When a call came from down the hall and the older woman turned to answer it, she took the opportunity to elbow Dally in the side. He blew out a surprised breath, his chest shaking with silent chuckles. “Dallas, it’s great to see you too,” Carrie’s mother said, and put a gentle hand on his arm.

“Yeah, you too Mrs. Merril,” he said, his most gentlemanly smile plastered on his face, trying to calm his laughter. “Can’t stay, though. Just droppin’ my little sister off.”

“I had no idea you two were related!” She looked them both up and down, trying to find the resemblance. “Anyway, honey, come on in. The girls are waiting for you in Carrie’s room.” She turned to head back inside, but stopped to look at Dally again. “Won’t you stay for dinner?”

“Oh-no, ma’am. Thank you. I got somewhere to be.”

“Alright, sweetheart. Take care. And Dallas, next time you see Buck, let him know it isn’t a crime to come visit his mother now and again. His grandparents missed him on our trip.”

“Of course, Mrs. Merril.” She disappeared into the house again. Rae turned to her brother.

“See ya tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” he answered and ruffled her hair.

“Stop!” she whined, but tried to reach up to his feathery, blonde hair. She stood on her tiptoes but he moved out of her reach and she pouted. “That’s not fair, you’re too tall. I can’t reach your stupid head.”

“Go have some fun, kid.” She stuck her tongue out at him and turned to wander into the house. “But ya know, not too much fun.” She heard Dally shut the door behind her.

[miserablesoldier]

Go Fish

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x Reader, Steve Rogers x Reader

Summary: on a mission to capture an enhanced individual, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes unassumingly come across them in an elevator in a run down hotel in which it gets pretty awkward when it gets stuck in the middle of the night.

Warnings: Swearing.

Word Count: 4k+

Author’s Note: After a much needed mental break and an episode, I’m reposting these fics and maybe I’ll post new ones in the future.

The end of autumn and the start of winter, the beginning of getting plastered for an entire month. What could be better than that? Oh, right, getting out of this piss stinking hotel and out of this cramped city. You weren’t a fan of New York City at all, especially with all the crazy crap that happens in that city.

You can’t really complain about that since you were associated with the crazy crap. You made sure to stay out of every sort of media eye and out of the Avenger’s shadow. It would have been easier to avoid them a month ago but now, not so much.

You didn’t really think that fully fledged enemies or arch-nemesis was actually a thing for you, but it looks like you pissed the wrong guy off because it looking like someone is spilling blood in your name. 

Which you weren’t too happy about.

As much as you would love to take the guy out, that would make too much of a mess and cause too much attention. You didn’t want to get on the radar, you wanted off the grid completely. Which is what you were doing.

Designer clothes, accessories or anything of the style wasn’t your forte so you could pick what was essential and go like it was nothing. You do have an actual house to call a home but that’s shoved far back in the crevasses of your mind. It needed protecting, it was your home. No damage will be done to it so cheap, dirty motel rooms were the right way to go.

No questions asked and nothing ever worked other than the shower which is all you really needed.

You dropped off your room keys and the money for the room before you turned on your heels for the elevator, you wanted to go to the roof which was wasting time realistically but had your knocked about Polaroid with you and it was a weird tradition that you took a picture of the location and skyline of where you stayed. You would write down the place, time, date and how long you stayed there.

A slide of a large map came into mind. Your old room, all your old childhood possessions gathering dust in that empty, boarded up house. Safe. How it should be, for now.

You smiled to yourself as the memory faded in your mind. One day. You would make it back home in one piece, crossing every ocean if you had to. The imagery of returning home held only yourself walking past the rusted gates and up the stoned pathway with no one by your side. You were perfectly content with that ending and you didn’t see it as any other way.

You pulled at your pony tail, tightening the band around your silk hair. You decided on a side Dutch braid for today, up your hair game a little. You didn’t know why, you were fine with a standard pony tail every other day but today felt different. A good different, but that is yet to be determined.

Clutching your patch covered army green back pack, you made your way from the front desk to the elevator at the end of the stained corridor. For clothes, you raising the Amy Navy Surplus store for plain, cheap shirts and heavy duty boots and thick jackets. You grabbed a couple cheap black skinny jeans from Primark. Pretty reasonable and quality, at times.

Mid walk, you pulled your phone out and slotted your cheap earphones in and pressed shuffle. Your music taste was soft, dark and a mix of 80s groove. It was weird.

You stopped at the elevator and pressed the button with the arrow pointing up to the skies. With the music sending spiralling waves of art into your ears, you didn’t much hear of the two pairs of foot steps coming up beside you for the elevator.

You glanced to your right and saw a tall, broad and muscly blonde haired man sporting a baseball hat and sunglasses. Very inconspicuous. He felt familiar to you. He gave you a kind smile and nodded his head.

“Ma’am.” Who in the world talks like that? You returned with a small smile of your own and a raise of your eyebrows. You weren’t much of a talker to strangers especially.

To your left, was an equally tall, muscly and handsome man with dark brown hair pulled back in a man bun with a few strands left in the front. Another baseball hat. “Ma’am.” He said it too and you gave the same the response to this man as well. He wasn’t as familiar as the blonde but there was something about his eyes.

Honestly, waiting for the elevator to come down and open is far worse than the music that plays in it when you’re in it. You wished for it to come sooner.

You wish didn’t come true. You had to stand in between these two men for another two minutes. You contemplated just leaving and forgetting about the photo. It may be silly but it’s important to you. So, you stayed and waited for the elevator with them.

The silver doors with bullet dents creaked open. That’s comforting, you thought to yourself.

“After you, Ma’am.” The blonde insisted and you quickly shuffled into the elevator. It wasn’t the biggest but it could have been the smallest with these two beefy men in it with you.

You pulled one ear pud out. “Thank you.”

The dark haired man smiled at her and then turned to the door where the buttons were, his attention went back to her. “What floor, Ma’am?”

I hate the way they call me that. “I’m going to the roof.” You continued before it got even more awkward.

“To take pictures with my camera.” You said and they nodded. The one with the pretty eyes pressed the button for the fifth floor and then the tenth floor.

You nodded your thanks, and placed the ear pud back in your ear and leant against the cool stainless steel walls of the elevator. You closed your eyes to enjoy the music and to ignore the men.

The blonde haired man bought that you couldn’t hear him or his friend through your music but he was wrong. “Bucky, this is the very last motel in the area that Bruce came up with. If she’s not here then she is long gone.”

“Steve, It’s always the last place you look, that’s what Wanda keeps saying.” The aforementioned Bucky told his friend.

Steve sighed but remained focussed. “Let’s hope, she’s always on the move and we have no idea what she looks like.”

“Now that we’re doing this legally, it will take time to get her ID from Scotland Yard and they’re not particularly friendly with Stark.��

Your eyes quickly opened.

Stark.

Blonde.

Steve.

FUCK.

The elevator screeched and shook to a halt which caused you to fall to your knees while the two stood firm with their hands on the walls. Bucky helped you up to your feet and you muttered your thanks to him.

You rubbed your forehead. Your head collided with the metal cage you’re currently strapped in now. “Ow.” Steve heard that and looked over at your direction.

“Are you okay, Ma’am?” He asked softly, placing a hand on your shoulder to steady you.

You winced but nodded. “Yeah, I think I’m good. Just a bang on my head when I fell.”

Bucky gave a concerned glance over to Steve which he reciprocated which you couldn’t have missed. You dropped your bag on the floor and looked over at Bucky. “Are you going to ring the alarm or what?”

He looked confused. You frowned and pointed to the button with the yellow bell on it. “Press that and it triggers the alarm, someone will answer.” You hoped to gold holy Hell, you wanted out and now. You couldn’t be in a stick elevator with two of Earth’s Mightiest hero’s.

This could be your hell right now but everyone else’s heaven.

Bucky followed your instructions and pressed the bell. It rang for fifteen minutes and he wasn’t pleased no one answered. “They should’ve answered. It’s their job.”

“Not in this motel, sweetie. It’s the most run down piece of crap in town. Nothing works.” You would have smirked or at least given have a comforting smile but the thunder raging in your head didn’t give you the luxury. You saw the slight pink hue on his cheeks and you couldn’t help but feel proud of yourself in the most worst ways.

“Bloody hell.” You and me both, honey.

You slid down the wall of the elevator with one leg outstretched and the other bent with your bag in between them. You unzipped it half way and pulled out a bottle of water and some ibuprofen.

Steve kneeled down to you. “You sure you’re okay, Ma’am?”

You nodded as you met his gentle blue eyes. “I’m fine, and please, call me (Y/N).” He smiles but there was still worry circulating in those eyes of his.

“If you say so, (Y/N), but I’ll keep checking until we get out of here.” He rose up to his feet, looking at Bucky who wasn’t happy with the service in this place.

You took a gulp of water out of the bottle and took two small white pills of ibuprofen to hopefully cure the pain in your head. “I’m Steve Rogers.”

Rogers. Definitely the Avengers.

“Bucky Barnes.” The one with the shady past, you really couldn’t talk about pasts.

You tightened the top of the bottle water. “Nice to meet you both given the circumstances.” It wasn’t.

Bucky chuckled and shook his head. “You could say that again.”

A voice of static came out of the speakers. “Hello, is there anyone there?”

“Yes, the elevator got stuck at the fourth floor and we’re tapped in it.” Bucky has restraint which you found impressive as you thought he would go all Alpha on the guy for being lazy on his job.

“How many are you in there?”

Bucky glanced at Steve and then you before answering. “Three of us, sir, one of us has hit their head and we need to get out of here.”

“We’ll get you out of there as soon as possible, hang tight.”

You definitely didn’t believe that. You’ll be in here for hours. You recon you would miss the last coach out of the city but it isn’t like you haven’t slept in a bus station before. It doesn’t bother you.

“Hopefully, your injury will speed the process.” Bucky informed them, joining you on the floor to your right with his legs crossed. You noticed the single gloved hand of his. It is true about the metal arm then.

You pulled out your earphones. “Very doubtful, Bucky.”

You sighed unhappily and displeased. “We’ll be here for hours.”

Bucky, once again, was not happy. Steve joined them on the floor with his legs out stretched and angled to the metal doors.

“You know what…I’m calling Tony.” Steve pulled out his mobile phone but you shook your head. Before he would even turn the phone on he thought the worst with your expression.

“This motel doesn’t have service does it?” Steve deadpanned as she nodded.

Bucky banged his head against the wall. “What does work in this cursed motel?”

“The shower is pretty good.” You laughed.

The two followed with chuckle. Steve dragged a hand down his face. “We really are stuck here.” He couldn’t believe it. He’s been frozen in the Antarctic in a ship and he got out of that but a horrific elevator has defeated him. A super soldier.

You looked at the two avengers and a few few thoughts that weren’t exactly nice. Let’s have a little fun, shall we?

“Wanna play a game?” You raises an eyebrow, bringing out your playful mood in this down in the dumbs melancholy the two guys have. 

Steve sat up straight. “Like twenty questions?” He didn’t see the harm in it as it looks like you don’t know who they are. Just two friends and a woman stuck in a crap situation. 

“What? Are we having a sleepover? No.” You rolled your eyes and laughed as you rummaged through your bag which seemed like the bag that Mary Poppin’s has. Full of mysteries, infinite and full of weird stuff. 

You pulled out a Jack Daniels themed pack of cards. “You two in the mood for a game of play your cards right?” You smiled at the two. 

Bucky pivoted and the three of you are now sat in a triangle. “What’s play your cards right?” 

“Well, there’s a game called Higher or Lower and traditionally the first player is dealt a card. The player then guesses whether the next card will be higher or lower than the next card. If wrong, the player drinks once (because one card is showing). If correct, the player guessed again.” 

You continued as they listened intently to you, they seemed to never have played such a game before. “Since we don’t have any alcohol to play with we can mix it with twenty questions. So, if you are wrong, I get to ask you a question but if you get it right – you can ask me a questions about anything. Sounds fair?” 

“How will be taking turns?” Steve brought up a good point. 

You took a second to think it over. “First to five and then we switch or we could play a different game if you want…” 

You looked away as if you were embarrassed. “No, Doll, we’ll play. Right, Steve?” Bucky looked over at him as you brought your attention back to him. 

Steve smiled. “Yeah, of course we’ll play.”

They were easy. 

You smiled happily. “Great.” You pulled the cards out the pack and made sure to pull the jokers out before shuffling them. 

“Jack Daniels, huh?” Bucky smirked with a raised eyebrow. That look would make any girl swoon. 

You chuckled. “The pack came in a set with poker chips, and two small bottles of Jack. They went fast.”

“I bet.” Steve watched as you shuffled, he couldn’t help but enjoy your company. You were playful, had a great sense of humour and you made his best friend laugh. You were good in his books but your eyes really caught him off guard at first. 

He couldn’t put a finger on it though. 

You finished shuffling and you held the deck with the back to them so they didn’t see what the card was. “Just pick one card. Who wants to go first?” You were in quite the mischievous mood now. 

Steve went first and pulled the card out. He wasn’t sure if he should reveal the card. You nodded. “It’s okay to tell what it is.” 

“Oh, 3 Of diamonds.” 

You held the deck tightly in your hands. “So, do you think the next card in this deck is higher or lower than the card you have in your hand?” He and Bucky quickly understood the game after that sentence. 

“Higher.” He was pretty sure of himself. 

You pulled the card off the top. “7 of spades. Congratulations, Steve. Ask me a question.” 

“Why were you in the motel other than taking pictures?” 

You made sure to tell as close to the truth as you could. “I’m traveling, it’s easier to stay in places like these than fancy holiday hotels and I don’t mind roughing it a bit.” It wasn’t a lie and it was not that far from the truth. 

“Where have you travelled so far?” Bucky asked, he wanted to know more about her and he was sure Steve wanted to too. 

You shook your head. “Ah, Ah, Ah. You have to wait your turn and one question for a one right answer.” 

He rose his hands up in surrender. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

You laughed and shook your head. “Steve, do you think the next card after 7 of spades is higher or lower?”

“I can see where it gets tricky now. I want to say higher.” Steve pushed his luck. 

You pulled out the card and whistled. “6 of hearts. Sorry, Steve.”

He hung his head but chuckled. “I asked for that, what’s your question then?”

You couldn’t obviously just out yourself to him and Bucky, they would put you down in a heart beat. So, you had to go in light. “What do you like to draw?”

He and Bucky both blinked confused. How in the hell did she know that he draws? “What?” Steve asked, very confused and suspicious. 

“You have artist hands, Steve and you have pencil shaving stains on the side of your hands.” 

That made sense. “Oh, right.” She is quite observant. 

He cleared his throat. “Realism, landscapes, animals, people. That kind of thing.” He answered her with a smile. No one had enquired about his art before, not even Bucky or any of the Avengers. 

“I bet you’re a great artist, Steve.” 

His cheeks warmed. “Uh, I’m not sure about that.”

“He’s being modest, he’s a great artist. Never shows his pieces though.” Bucky had his back. 

You smiled at the two of them. You couldn’t help but feel a mixture of blue emotions. Sadness, shame, guilt. They were people, human (to a point) too. They were more than what the media portrayed them as. 

You’ll remember that. 

“Bucky, pick a card, please.” 

He slid a card off the top. “Queen of hearts.” 

“Do you think the next card is higher or lower?”

He stated to pretend to mull it over. “Oh, I need to think about this one.”

“Okay, smartarse.” You laughed with a roll of your eyes. 

He couldn’t help but love that sound and he was glad that he was the one that got that out of you. “Lower, Doll.”

“Are you talking about the card or..?” You smirked. 

Steve put his head in his hands. “Jesus Christ.”

“Doll, you’re such a tease.” 

You rolled your eyes and pulled out the next card. “8 of clubs. Ask a question.”

“What do you like to take photos of?” You were expecting a more different question. 

“Landscapes mainly, forests, everyday life and sometimes other people. I use a Polaroid camera, I feel more at home with it than I would with one of those chunky Canon ones.” Bucky was happy to learn more about you even if it was just for these next few hours. They would be back on their mission and she would be on that roof and then back to travelling. 

He will be sure to remember her or he doesn’t have to. Phone numbers and the 21st century make it work for long distance. He was optimistic and he was sure Steve was too. 

The game higher or lower lasted an hour at best, then went to a nice game of 21 in which you had to teach them that one as well. They played several games of that one which lasted a good two hours. 

They were in the middle of a game of Go Fish when your stomach made an abrupt rumble which everyone heard. There was a silence that lasted a long five to six seconds before anyone said anything. 

You piped up first. “I think I might be hungry.” 

“You think, Doll?” Bucky chuckled and shook his head. 

Steve pointed to your back pack. “Anything in that bag of yours you could eat?” 

“I honestly can’t remember.” You pulled the bag into your lap and unzipped it. You pulled out your purse, phone charger, clothes and underwear and then pulled a plastic container from the bottom that held half a ham and cheese sandwich. 

“I will thank any and all God’s for bestowing this gift of food for me.” The lads smirked and glanced at each other as their minds went to a god of thunder that they knew. 

They were surprised at how fast you are they sandwich. “You were really hungry.” Steve commented. 

“Yeah, I haven’t eaten since yesterday.” Bucky’s eyes widened, shocked. 

“You’ve gone over twenty four hours without food? How are you lucid?” Steve was worried even more now. 

It was bad that they were growing attached to her, especially with the life that they lead. It’s a bad idea for any human friends or companions in their line of work. He guessed that being trapped in a steel container really bonds you with strangers. 

“I have to save money.” 

That didn’t seem a good enough excuse for them but it was the only one you had. “What? Can we just play now?” 

A static fazed through the speakers. “Hello, are you three still okay in there?”

Bucky answered them straight away. “Yeah, just hungry, tired and in the need of a bathroom.” He hoped that would hurry it along. 

“The fire department is in the building now and will be getting you out within the hour. I’m sorry for this, folks.” 

The speaker was cut off after the man finished speaking. “Finally.” You breathed out. 

The lads looked at you. “No offence, as much as we all are best buddies now I would really like to get out of here.” 

Steve smiled. “I seconded that.” 

You gathered up the cards you played with and slotted them back into the box they came in. You shoved them back into your back pack along with your plastic container, clothes, purse and phone charger. 

You slowly got up to your feet and nearly stumbled. Bucky got to his feet quickly and got ahold of your right arm as Steve got your left. “Thanks, lads.” 

Looking at them now, you really enjoyed their company. It would be disappointing and sad to get out of this elevator and that would all change. They would continue their chase after you and you would escape out of their clutches. The elevator was a safe space, a neutral zone without them knowing it was. You were just some unlucky woman with a dark secret that got trapped in an elevator with two super soldiers. 

“I have an idea.” You spoke up and pulled the back pack to your front as you caught their attention. You opened up your bag and pulled out your Polaroid camera. 

You looked at them both. “Want a photo for the road?” You genuinely smiled at Steve and Bucky. 

“Of course, (Y/N).” Steve moved closer to her.

As did Bucky. “Go ahead, Doll.” 

You put them either side of you, like you began before you entered the elevator, but closer so they would be in the whole shot with her. You turned the camera lens to yourself and took three separate photos. 

One for yourself, one for Bucky and one for Steve. 

“Just shake them until you see the photo develop.” They did just that and watched fascinated as the photo of the three of them in the elevator came to view. This was definitely an experience they would never forget. 

A clang of metal on metal rang in the air. A few minutes went by with clang after clang. The metal doors were pulled open by firefighters and they got you out first and then Steve and Bucky, not that they needed the help to get out. 

“Cap! Barnes! There you are, you got yourselves stuck in an elevator. Didn’t you jump out of a glass one before?” That was Tony Stark’s voice. 

Your heart dropped as his eyes set on you. 

“You got the girl, too?” Steve and Bucky turned with genuinely shocked expressions, then they turned not so happy. 

“Now, this is awkward.”

[dreamypassionprecure]

Dreamy✰ Passion Precure Ep 1!

                      Lovely Performance! Cure Pointe's Debut!

                                        Also available on ffnet

  A young boy, no older than fourteen, ran through the crumbling halls of Remina Palace. His footsteps echoed off the walls and mixed with the sounds of his frantic breathing, his pale blue hair disheveled. In his arms, a baby girl slept soundly. He burst through the doors to the throne room.

   “Mother!”

   A tall woman with long white hair looked up from the conversation she'd been having with a guard. She rushed over to her children, a worried expression painting her soft features. She crouched down to talk to them.

   “Luna, I thought I told you to stay in your room with your sister. It's not safe out in the open. What are you doing here?”

   “They attacked us, Mother! They're in the castle!”

   The queen gasped. She stood up to her full height and pointed her hand to the guard.

   “You! Go gather the rest of the soldiers! And alert the Precure while you're at it! We're going to need everyone we can get!”

   “Yes, Your Majesty!”

   The guard left the throne room in a hurry. The queen turned back to the children.

   “Luna, I want you to run. Take Sol and run to the Dream Gallery. I want you to go through the main veil and hide until I can come to find you.”

   “But Mo-”

   “That's an order! I promise you'll be safe there. I'm going to go help the soldiers.”

   Luna nodded, taking his sister and running out of the room. Once he left, the queen readied herself to face her subjects.

                                                   Snap!

   Temura Akiko shot up from her desk, a loud noise having woken her from her dream. Said noise had been her teacher whacking a ruler to the surface of her desk.

   “Temura-san, I understand how tiring basic mathematics can be. But I would appreciate it if you at least made an attempt to stay awake.”

   Muffled giggles resounded from the class as Akiko apologized, her cheeks matching her maroon hair much closer in shade now. She sat down and proceeded to hide her face in her hands. This had to be the third time this month she'd fallen asleep in class and had that exact dream.

                                             Insert op here

   The rest of the class was uneventful. Akiko kept her head down, toying with her single side pony tail nervously, until the bell rang. Then she packed her things and approached her best friend, Ishikawa Jin.

   “Jin, ready to go?”

   “Yeah,” Jin said, straightening her large glasses. “Do you have ballet class today?”

   “Mhm,”

   “Okay then, I can walk you there, but I need to get home so we should go fast.”

   The two looped arms as they traveled down the hall and out of the school. They chatted about this and that until-

   “Whaaaaaa!”

   “What was that?” Akiko stopped, looking around. She'd heard a tiny scream, almost like a child falling from the sky!

   “I didn't hear anything. Come on, Akiko, neither of us can afford to be late.”

   “But-”

   “You can check it out but I'm not coming with you. I need to get home!”

   Akiko paused. She wanted to see where the voice came from, but...

   “Help!”

   There it was again! Okay that was it, she needed to check it out.

   “Just go on without me, Jin. I can make it to ballet class on my own.”

   “Fine, I'll see you later then.”

   Jin jogged off on her own while Akiko went searching for the source of the voice. There was a small cluster of rustling bushes just a little down the road. That seemed like a good place to start looking. She got down on her knees and started rustling through the leaves

   “Anyone there? I know I heard something... Aha!”

   Akiko felt her hand hit something small and definitely breathing. It was a humming bird! A humming bird with odd proportions and a pink ribbon...

   “Wha?”

   The humming bird opened it's big adorable eyes and looked up.

   “Ah! A human! I knew I'd find one! Now, take me to the Precure vi!”

   Akiko stared at the bird.

   “...You talked?”

   “Of course I did! What do you expect me to do vi?”

   “Tweet, I guess. Or do whatever humming birds do.”

   “Humming birds? I am not a bird vi! I am Vivid, Royal Fairy of Remina, servant of Queen Stellia!”

   Akiko sat in silence for a good minute before pinching herself, hard.

   “Ow!”

   Vivid responded with a shocked squeak.

   “Vi! Why did you do that!?”

   “To make sure I'm not dreaming.”

   “...You humans are so weird vi...”

   Akiko shook her head a little, just for a bit of extra reassurance that she was definitely awake. There was just a talking humming bird, claiming to be a fairy, asking her to take them to the “Precure”. Wait, hadn't she heard that term before?

   “Earlier, did you say 'Precure'?”

   “Yes I did vi! Do you know where they are?” Vivid perked up a little.

   “Um, maybe. I might remember if you tell me about them.”

   Vivid looked at Akiko disappointedly.

   “Fine, vi, I'll tell you. Humans are so forgetful... The Precure are legendary protectors of Remina! Their powers allow you humans to sleep without having your dreams stolen! Geez, how disrespectful of you to forget about them. Honestly-”

   Akiko tuned out at that point. So the queen in her dreams had called for legendary protectors of dreams...

   She absentmindedly glanced at her watch while Vivid continued to shame Akiko for supposedly forgetting about these important figures. And she noticed the time.

   “Uwhaaahhhh! Late! Look, I'll show you whatever you want later! I need to get to my ballet class!”

   Akiko picked up Vivid and shoved her in her school bag. She ran down the street as fast as she possibly could, yelling about how she needed to go fast.

   “Viii! W-what are you doing vi!?”

                                         Insert eyecatch here

   “So your kingdom was taken over by...?

   “Queen Mara vi!”

   Akiko sat in the corner of  the ballet studio, holding Vivid in her hands while other students arrived and changed into their leotards. Turns out Akiko had been early for once. So now she had a chance to talk.

   “But didn't you say you were a queen's servant before?”

   “Yes, but I'm Queen Stellia's servant! Mara is a usurper! She stole the throne from Queen Stellia after her disappearance!”

   “...I'm confused.”

   Vivid groaned, face-palming, or wing-palming? Whichever. The ballet teacher entered the room and Akiko jumped.

   “Okay okay, I need to do class now. Stay quiet please.” Akiko placed Vivid on her folded clothes and stood up, going to line up with the other students. The teacher took role call and they launched into warm-ups, and then to the basic routine.

   “Akiko-chan, posture!” The teacher scolded. “Akiko-chan, watch your foot placement! If you don't you'll-”

                                                  Crash!

   “Owowowoww...” Akiko whimpered, now lying on the ground. She really should've paid attention to where her feet were, as well as the feet of the other students...

   “Oh dear, this is the fourth time this week... Why don't we take a break?”

   The students all milled about, getting water and talking with friends. The teacher left the room. Akiko limped over to Vivid and her things, disheartened by her mistake.

   “Wow, you're really bad at this vi!”

   “Shut up!” Akiko said, grabbing her water bottle and taking a long drink. She sighed, trying to listen to her classmates' conversations to make sure they weren't laughing at her.

   “Sensei is so nice! My old teacher would have made the whole class start all the way over if someone tripped like that.”

   “Oh yeah, I remember her! You were so afraid of her!”

   “I was not!”

   The girls giggled, teasing each other. Akiko was just glad they weren't making fun of her this time...

   “How silly,” said a mysterious voice.

   The room went silent. The source of the voice relieved itself as a boy with spiky red hair and teal skin, floating in the air.

   “Such a simple fear. An old teacher, ha! But it should be good enough.”

   The boy pointed at the girl.

   “Sleep tight!” The boy said, snapping his fingers. The moment he did, the girl fell to the ground, her eyes closed and her face contorted in fear. Her friends rushed to her side, trying to wake her.

   “She won't wake up, silly. Not until I'm done with her.”

   He held out his hand, to which a cloud of dark glittering... something seemed to fly from the girls body to his hand. At that point, the rest of the students ran from the room in fear.

   Vivid flew up and around the boy angrily.

   “Brux! You stop that, vi!”

   The boy, Brux, apparently, waved his hand around, trying to hit Vivid.

   “What? You're here too, feather duster? What are the odds?”

   “Leave that girl alone vi!” Vivid pecked at Brux with her little beak.

   Brux just laughed, swatting Vivid away from him. Akiko caught her in her hands. Vivid groaned, rubbing her head with her wing.

   “You gonna stop me with that little beak, feather duster?”

   Akiko looked around worriedly. She had absolutely no clue what was happening, who this kid was, what he was doing, or what that stuff was.

   “Vivid, what's going on? Who is that guy and what is that stuff?”

   “That's Brux! Queen Mara's evil servant! He's stealing the energy from that girls dreams!”

   “Her dreams?”

   Akiko paused, considering her options. Vivid was too small to do much and her classmates were all gone. She took a deep breath.

   “Hey! You leave that girl alone! Dreams aren't something for you to take for yourself!”

   Brux looked at Akiko like she was an annoying pest. But he seemed to be weighing his chances against her. She was a lot bigger than him, so a fist fight would go to her. Oh but he had another idea.

   “You want her dreams back so bad, take 'em.”

   He reached into his pocket and pulled out an oddly shaped crystal. He took the sparkling cloud stuff and somehow placed it inside the crystal.

   “Hallusion! Make this world a living nightmare!”

   The crystal started to glow and shake. Then it started to grow, cracking, more and more. It exploded in a flash of light!

   When the light cleared, there was a large monstrous thing. It had long teal legs like a ballerina, arms even longer than the legs, and a greyish old lady bun and glasses. It all connected by a pale blue, devilish mask.

   “Take care of her for me, 'kay?”

   “Hallu!”

   The monster advanced towards Akiko. Yeah, she'd lose a fist fight to that thing.

   “Run, vi!” Vivid squawked, flying away.

   The beast threw a kick at Akiko, who dodged, causing the kick to collide with a mirror, breaking it.

   “I can't run! I can't let her dreams be used for this! And this is my dance studio! This place is important to me! I can't just let this thing run around causing destruction!”

   Just then, a bright light began to emanate from her chest. It formed itself into a heart-shaped ornate lock.

   “What is?...”

   Akiko brought her hand up to touch the lock. But then another light appeared in her palm, forming into a key.

   “Vi! It's a Passion Key! Quick quick, put it in the Dream Lock!”

   Akiko warily placed the key in the lock and turned it. Nothing happened.

   “Why isn't it doing anything?

   “You have to say something vi! I... forget what though.”

   Well that was helpful. But Akiko felt something in her heart. Something was calling to her.

   “Precure! Stardust Unlock!”

   Light surrounded Akiko. She waved her hand, a ribbon of light and sparkles trailing behind. With it, she made a dress. A red tutu-like dress that faded from red to magenta at the skirt. Then she made a pair of ballet shoes and frilly gloves. Finally, her hair lengthened and turned from maroon to bright red. Her single side pony tail turned into two with a red ribbon connected to a gold sparkle emblem. The same emblem appeared  by her collar with another ribbon.

   “A preformance worthy of applause! ” Akiko said, twirling and striking a pose. “Cure Pointe!”

   The light faded, leaving Akiko, or Cure Pointe now, posing without really knowing what had just happned. She looked down at herself and saw what she was wearing.

   “W-what happened!?”

   “You're a Precure vi! Go, fight!”

   “P-Precure? Me?”

   Brux grit his teeth. This would be a bit harder now.

   “What are you waiting for? Get her, Hallusion!”

   The monster advanced. It didn't seem to care about what the girl in front of it looked like. It threw another kick, sending Pointe through the window and into the park next door.

   To Pointe's surprise, she wasn't really all that hurt. Any normal person would probably have cuts, bruises, and broken bones from that attack. But She felt fine, maybe a bit scuffed up, but nothing she couldn't handle.

   The monster jumped through the broken window, ready to attack again. But Pointe wasn't going to sit by and take another blow.

   “Take this!” Pointe yelled, leaping high into the air. She kicked the monster in it's mask-face, making it stumble back.

   “Hallu!” The beast came right back at her, punching at her. Pointe flipped backwards, landing on it's arm as it hit the ground. She ran up the arm and kicked it with a pirouette.

   “Oh! How did I do that?”

   Vivid flew to Pointe's side frantically.

   “Who cares about that? Just purify it already!”

   “Purify it?”

   Pointe put a hand over her heart. She felt like she knew exactly what to do now.

   “Precure!” Pointe shouted, holding her hand up.  Light surrounded her body and she began to dance. She pointed her hand at the monster in a finishing pose. “Pirouette Burst!”

                                                Boom!

  As the words left her mouth, an explosion enveloped the monster. It yelled before dissolving into dust.

  “You jerk!” Brux growled. “I'll get you for this!”

  Before Pointe could say a word, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. She sighed, at least things were done now.

  Pointe changed back into Akiko, the fancy clothes dissolving into sparkles.

  “You know what... I think I need a nap now...”

                                           Insert ed here

   “What do you mean I have to fight now? I can't fight alone!”

   “There are more Precure vi! You just need to find them!”

   “More? Cool! I'll start looking right away! Hm... I wonder where they could be...”

   “U-um, e-e-excuse me?”

   “Not now, Shimizu-san! I'm looking for Precure!”

   “Next time on Dreamy✰ Passion Precure!  An Artistic Encounter! Cure Mural's Creation! See you next performance!”

[yourdrippingholes-blog]

Jill open the door

It wasn't my fault. Not really. I didn't mean to be rough. You gotta remember I had just come off the rugby field. I was hot, I was amped. I was awash in adrenalin and aggression so when I saw Suzy my girlfriend looking so incredibly sexy in that short red dress and high heels, I just wanted to kiss her, touch her, hold her. Yeah, I guess you are right. I actually wanted to fuck her then and there, in the back seat of my car, in full daylight and full sight of the crowd who should have been watching the next game. Suzy pushed me away, roughly, angrily, aggressively. I made a grab at her, caught that long pony tail and used it as a handle to bring her mouth around to kiss me. Well that was the plan. My plan. Hers was much different. As I came up close, she bit me. On the lip. Hard. I jerked back and her teeth broke the skin on my lip. Before I could really react, she had slapped me and was out of the car at and running away from me. The last words I heard were, "You bastard. You utter bastard. We are through, you hear. Through." Of course her friends all gathered around, protecting her and glaring at me. I suppose I should have seen it coming, but I was too blind. The kudos of having a huge rugby player already 18 and driving a car were great. Problem was, I wanted more in the way of sex than she was prepared to give. Each date would end with me suffering from blue balls and having to relieve my tensions, alone, at home and by myself. Prick teaser she was. I suppose our break up had been brewing for some time and I just didn't realise it. The upshot of her constantly taking me to the edge and then stopping me was, I suppose part of the reason for my strong arm stuff.  Our last date hand ended on such a cliff hanger episode. We had been making out on the couch, she had my cock in her hand, I had my hand up her skirt and I was seconds away from coming when she got up and showed me the door. Completely without warning. I begged, I pleaded to no avail. I went home and jerked off. So it was that instead of hanging out with her until later that evening I headed on home alone, angry and not good company, forgetting that my mother was having the book club over for drinks and whatever else they do at book club meetings. That book club seemed to spend more time drinking than reading, but who am I to judge them? All I know is that Ma used to come home well tanked and go to bed early to "rest". Sleep off the effects I would have thought. Anyway, I arrived home in a total fury only to discover that the house was full of middle aged women, talking, laughing and generally have a good time, which I certainly was not. I tried to sneak in but Ma saw me, summoned me in to "meet the girls". How she could refer to women her age as girls I was not certain. The youngest of them was half my age again. She was actually rather an eyeful, short black mini, black stockings, see through top that showed off a black lace bra. In the state I was in I was immediately aroused by her.  "Meet Jill." Ma said and I shook her hand trying not to stare at her boobs and imagine sucking them. She didn't make it easier by holding my hand longer than was normal and staring me in the eye. If I had not seen the wedding ring, I might have thought that she was coming onto me. That impression was increased by the fact that she ran her tongue over her lips and her nipples seemed to stand out slightly more than they had before we were introduced. "Put him down Jill. You can't eat have him." One of the other "girls" shouted. I fled to the sound of ribald laughter. I closed myself in my room, but found myself ill at ease with the thought of jerking off with all those women in the house, especially as anyone going to the toilets would have to walk past my door. Jill had just added to my frustration and I was semi erect by the time I had closed the door behind me. I lay down on the bed and tried to sleep, but sleep evaded me. I was too tense, too aroused, too amped to do anything but stare at the ceiling and imagine fucking Suzy who somehow became Jill as I became more aroused by the thought. My cell phone pinged. A long, blistering, vituperative message from Suzy. More or less saying that I was dumb and violent and that if we met in a thousand years time it would be far too soon. I didn't reply. Having given up the idea of sleeping or jerking off I decided to sneak into the bathroom and shower. I stripped down and was just getting into the shower when the door burst open and a seriously inebriated Jill staggered into the bathroom. She stared at my short sightedly, swaying slightly.  "Hello. Now this is a lovely surprise." she said and in two steps had crossed the floor and was making a grab at my cock. Something in my head lost all traction and the frustrations of the day, the week, of Suzy, of my own overpowering randiness just took over. I grabbed her hair, just as I had with Suzy, tilted her head back and then paused. I did not want another bite. I had learnt my lesson. Jill stared at me for a few seconds then, "Well? What you gonna do now? Stare at me all day? We don't have much time cos someone is going to notice I am gone fairly soon." I didn't hesitate, brought her face up to mine and kissed her, thrusting my tongue into her mouth. My other hand got a life of its own and found its way under her skirt. No panties, and wet. Soaking wet and hot. She grabbed my cock and started to jerk me off, her other hand squeezing my balls gently, then she broke the kiss, pushed me away, turned around and bent over the basin, legs apart. I did not need any more invitation and was thrusting forward into her. "Slap my ass." she said. I did, but gently, Suzy's fury still fresh in my head. "Is that the best you can do?" I pulled back, held her by the hair and slapped her hard. She jerked forward, arching her neck as my hand held her hair, "Ah. Fuck. Yes. Again." I hit her again, now seeing Suzy's furious face. And again, just as hard. Her ass was now red from the slaps. I could see her pussy gleaming, wet and inviting.  "Fuck this for a waste of time." I thought and spread her ass cheeks wide with my thumbs "Later Bitch." I whispered in her ear and thrust hard into her, and again and again. The tension was just too much and I came in a huge spurt. I held her hips against mine so that I could pump my entire load into her and keep it there. She moaned gently "Too fast, far too fast. Fuck that was good."  She pulled away from me, stood up, straightened her skirt and her hair. Took out a cell phone.  "Punch your number in there. I will call you." And while I was doing that she redid her make up. When she was finished, she took the phone, kissed my cheek and left without another word. I showered and went back to my bedroom and slept like the dead. The next morning Ma was somewhat hungover but that didn't stop her from interrogating me. "What did you do after you left us?" "Showered and then slept. Why?" "Jill disappeared during book club and was a way for a time that seemed much too long and it was while you were showering. She didn't come in and interfere with you did she?" "Nope. Didn't see her." "She is bad news that woman. Has a kink for being beaten. Likes big strong and violent men. I saw her eyeing you." "Cummon Ma. She is much older than me and you know I am not violent." "Suzy's mother seems to think you are far too rough. She phoned and really gave me a helluva talking to. What happened?" I told her an edited version of the story and she stared at me for a while. "Best you stay away from her then. Bad news. Next she will be shouting rape. And also stay away from Jill too. She is dangerous. And when your Pa gets home, he must talk to you. You are getting too big and too dangerous for me to handle." Of course I didn't stay away from Jill. She messaged me later that day and we had a very hot and explicit chat. She sent me some pictures and I returned the favour.  It turned out that Ma was right about one thing at least. Jill liked rough stuff and complimented me on the bruises I had inflicted on her ass. Told me that she wanted me to slap her ass again. We agreed to meet later that week. I must tell you that Ma was not my Ma, but Jenny, a woman my father married after my real birth Mother died of cancer. I suspect that Pa had been screwing Jenny while still married to my Mother cos no sooner was she buried than he installed her in his house just off the river that he plied his trade on. Jenny was a roly poly big titted woman with a vicious temper and a overwhelming libido. Probably one of the reasons that Pa married her was because she fucked him so good and so often. How, I hear you ask, do I know she had an overwhelming libido? Cos every time my father came home I could hear them fucking from the other side of the house. Ma was what I have heard referred to as a "screamer". She would let everyone know she what she was up to in graphic detail. So I knew that she would fuck Pa senseless when he came home on shore leave. Ours being a fairly close community I heard whispers around town that she had a lover who visited her regularly while Pa was away. If she did, she was reasonably discreet, because I never caught her at it, but still the stories persisted. I have found that when things start to happen, they happen fast and mostly together. Incidents crowding together and pressing in on you, leaving you little space to manoeuvre. In my case, the third and defining incident happened the evening after Jill and I messaged our lusts to each other. I had been playing with automating my laptop to take photographs when it detected movement in my room. Aside from it being an interesting techy project, I also suspected that Jenny was screwing her lover, Charles on my bed so as not to soil the marriage bed. Strange logic, but then people are strange. I had started trying to make the webcam auto start up for some time but for some reason the laptop did not record any movement in my room. Possibly I was doing something wrong or possibly nothing was happening in my room. I fiddled some more, made some minor adjustment, went off to school, came home, nothing. This went on until the day after my impromptu shower fuck with Jill. I arrived home and when Jenny was well ensconced in front of the TV, I checked the camera directory. This time there was a video. A big one. I started up VLC my video viewer and loaded the video. There was obviously some delay between the motion detection and the starting of the video camera so that Jenny and Charles were not only in view, but Charles had his hand up Ma's skirt. I put headphones and cranked the sound up until I could hear her guttural voice that I had heard too often when Pa came home. Charles dropped her on her back on my bed, her head hanging over the edge of the bed and then thrust his cock into her open mouth. I could see the movement of his cock on her throat as he thrust into her mouth and down her throat with Ma taking all his cock down her throat without much effort. I was interested to note that his cock was smaller than mine by half a hand width. He thrust hard and fast, until at last he came with a grunt, Ma squeezing his balls as he stood there, head thrown back, back arched. He finally pulled out, wiped his cock in her hair and walked out. Ma rolled onto her stomach, shouted "Fucken come back and finish me off, you bastard."  Then got up and walked out of the room and the video ended. Now that I had the technique waxed I grabbed one of my Strawberry Pi computers and a tiny camera. Programmed it to auto record on movement, connected it to my network by wireless and then hid it in Ma and Pa's room. I got images of Ma masturbating, getting dressed and undressed, generally doing what people normally do in their bedrooms when unobserved. What was intriguing to me was that Ma had a butt plug which she inserted every now and so often. Each occasion was followed by a visit by Charles. I could not figure out the link at first, but one day while in my bedroom, Charles extracted the butt plug and quite obviously stuck his cock in the widened hole. Ma whimpered and moaned and groaned then came hard and long, obviously enjoying the experience immensely. Time passed and I gathered a fine library of porn starring Ma.  One evening after a particularly frustrating day in which I had missed an appointment with Jill because my teacher kept me in for extra classes, I got home, horny, frustrated and ready to kill. Ma was waiting for me. Seems my afternoons with Jill were not only interfering with my school work but had become the topic of conversation around town. The stories, some true, some false and some somewhat exaggerated had finally reached Ma's ears. "What did I say? Stay away from Jill. Seems you don't hear." I pushed passed her and headed from my room. "Come back here and listen to me." I kept on going, she followed me into my room.  "I am talking to you. You don't walk out on me." I ignored her, fired up my video viewer and started a compilation of her more raunchy activities that I had created. It started with that first blow job and went through the whole gamut finally ending up with her being banged up the ass doggy style on my bed. The video showed everything, Charles forward thrusts, Mas ass being pounded and his balls slapping against her pussy, her raucous moans and the slapping of flesh on flesh. Ma stood transfixed as the images rolled across the screen, not speaking, not looking at me, trapped by the video. Finally her hand started to stray down to her pussy and she started to rub herself. Faster and faster her hand moved, her breathing audible above the sounds from the video.  I slid in behind her, grabbed her breasts, and then her nipples, twisting hard, she grunted once and then her hips pushed back against me, finding my erection and grinding hard, back and forth, up and down on my hardon. I slid her pants down round her ankles, slid a finger in her ass, bent her over and thrust hard into her pussy. She moaned and jerked as I hammered into her, at some point I pulled back, slid my cock our of her pussy and into her ass causing her to cum and dragging me with her. As I pulled out of her, she sighed, stood up and lent against me. "You are bigger than your Pa. And harder. Took you long enough to find my pussy though. What kept you?" was all she said. I still see Jill, but now my step Ma warms my bed regularly only deserting me when Pa comes home and she has to fulfil her conjugal duties keeping a roof over our heads and food on the table. If Pa suspects anything he never says. I don't have motion sensors on any of my machines. That might be disastrous.