#I really like that pink plant too. shame that one's limited‚ it's fun

[resplendent-dwellings]

[hoodie-2]

Hours had passed since the "math duel" and the sun had began its descent, setting the town ablaze with a warm orange glow. Krel had spent a portion of the evening exploring, or rather wandering, throughout more of the town, observing it's people. Many of the humans were out in pairs at this hour, some of the pairs had included smaller versions of themselves in whatever activities they were partaking in. He had spied a young pair of, well, human girls at the park, almost identical except in the tones of their skin and the color of their hair, and a pair of adults he assumed were their parents seated on a bench not far away, sitting at polar ends from each other on the bench conversing on their communication devices, otherwise leaving the two children on their own.

The girls themselves didn't appear perturbed or at all bothered by their parents behavior, more entertained by the images on the platform they made with the unusual writing untensils in their tiny hands. Well, all Earthly untensils were unusual in Krel's perspective; pencils, pens, markers, but ones that the two girls used were different even from those. These were maybe the length of an unused pencil but far thicker than a marker and... powdery? His head tipped as he watched one blow away part of her line, the colorful powder pushed into the air in one big gust, as she redrew the line. Her fairer toned sibling patted a hand on her clothes, a blue colored handprint left behind on the green fabric. Both girls took notice of the mark and giggled, the first girl Krel was watching pressed a hand to her own clothes and left a pink handprint similar to the other's blue. The action brought a smile to his face, it has been a while since that happened.

He eyed the girls' parents again. Would it be rude if he just started talking to the children? Their parents didn't seem to be very attentive at the moment. Doesn't that sound familiar? But he was curious about their weird, colorful writing tools. Hm, maybe if he just kept a decent distance as he spoke to them. He didn't want to come off as strange.

"Excuse me," he approached the girls, kneeling to their height at what he believed was a respectable distance. Both girls looked at him, shifting as if they were preparing to run at the first opportunity, Krel wasn't exactly surprised by the reaction seeing as a lot of the commercials on the picture box involved something called 'stranger danger' and he was, afterall, a stranger to them. But he pointed at their drawings, from a closer examination the colorful etchings turned out to be crude imitations of other Earth creatures, a lot of them with long ears and roundish tails and a few like clouds with legs. "What is that you are writing with?"

The wariness in their eyes wavered as they looked down at the drawings around them and then at the untensils in their hands.

"You mean chalk?" The yellow-haired one asked, pointing her free hand to the blue powdery stick she held.

"Chalk," Krel echoed thoughtfully. "And you, ah, draw with it?"

"Yea, dummy," her sister answered. "Haven't you used chalk before?" They gave him identical looks of confusion only someone their age could.

"No, actually, I haven't." Krel answered back quietly. "We don't have anything like 'chalk' where I am from." He looked down at their drawings again, noticing colors other than pink and blue, there was a yellow circle he figured was the sun judging by the green landscape below it and many other colorful dots he supposed were plants. His head tilted so the image wasn't completely upside down in his perspective. "You have some very pretty drawings."

"Do you want to try?" The yellow-haired girl asked, holding out her chalk stick to him.

He eyed the shrunken piece of blue in her open palm. "A- are you sure?"

"Sure!" The girl chirped, a smile spreading over her features, a matching one on her sister's as well. "We do this all the time, its fun."

Krel took the chalk from her, rolling it and turning it in his hand, blue powder stuck to his palm wherever it touched. He looked up to see the girl reach behind her sister and pull out another stick of chalk, purple this time. They went back to scribbling on the bricks around them. He watched as their creativity grew and spread, narrowly crossing over each other's work and somehow still blending together.

Looking down at the emptiness around him where their chalk hadn't yet touched. What would he draw, he wondered. Things considered artistic escaped him, even on his planet; he couldn't understand poetry, the closest he gets to crafting is inventing gadgets, even basic drawing on a telepad wasn't something he had much skill in. What could he draw? Well, shapes are pretty simple.

He started with a triangle, Earth's history was full of them according to Kubritz and her research teams. Ancient tombs and monuments to societies that have long since passed, the triangle was acknowledged as the strongest structure, those words rang true clearly. A square, the basic form of most present day structures; there wasn't anything too spectacular about it, a little more space than a triangle, sure but meh. Then a circle, a shape Krel was most familiar with, there wasn't a screen or viewing monitor in Akiridion-5 that did not have circles, and even then there were links that connected them to more circles. On Earth, circles meant unity to some and a means of 'alien' communication to others - Kubritz.

"Can't you draw?" The brown-haired girl asked as she crawled over to look at his work.

"I am not very talented." Krel admitted. "But drawing with chalk is fun."

"Try drawing your family." Her sister suggested as she joined them. "That helps me sometimes."

Krel hummed at that logic. It was sound enough, even if he was currently at odds with his family and it was an extremely delicate situation. But they are human children, it was probably best to go along with it.

He started with Aja, forcing himself to recall her human form; it wasn't perfect, especially since he was limited to one color but he knew. Next his mother, whose disguise he's only seen a handful of times so this may be a little more difficult. That was nothing to drawing his father. How does one draw face fur?

The girls giggled at the etching.

"That one looks like a monkey." The yellow-haired one pointed to his etching. His gaze roamed over the attempted drawing and felt laughter bubbling in his chest.

"It seems you are right." Oh, how was Krel going to look at his father's face without laughing now?

He looked around them, seeing that the sky was gradually getting darker, getting closer to the time that younglings would be taken back to their homes. The girls' parents were still occupied with their own priorities, poor girls.

"I suppose I should go," he sighed, giving back the chalk he was given, "you will be going home soon." Krel did not expect such saddened expressions at his words.

"Do you have to?" The brown-haired girl asked, watching him stand up.

"I'm afraid so." He dusted the blue powder on to his jeans. "But I'm sure we will see each other again."

"Really?" The yellow-haired girl asked excitedly.

"Of course," Krel chuckled. "I wander around when I have free time." He watched as they shared a look, tipping his head as they stood as well, the yellow-haired one picking up the blue chalk and holding it out to him again.

"My name's Abby," she said, bouncing a little on her heels as she shook the chalk at him.

"And I'm Gabby." Her sister added proudly. "You can have the blue one, then we can draw again next time. Right?"

A smile pulled at his lips again. It would be a shame to see their faces fall again in sadness. He took the chalk from Abby. "That sounds fun. My name is Krel, it was nice to meet you both."

They waved at him as he walked away, pocketing the chalk he was gifted. Maybe he can find out where they get it next time so he can obtain more himself. He admired the blue powder that tainted his palm, opening and closing his hand, it was somehow amusing how the color clung to his flesh. It was almost as if his real body was peering through, if only.

After a bit of wandering, the sky growing darker, and some of the street lights were blinking to life Krel found himself at a back alley behind some stores that surrounded the park, if his memory of the town map was correct. It was empty of any lifeform that was human as he stepped in, looking around at his surroundings carefully; four-legged creatures that he was told were cats saw his approach and ran off into hiding; even smaller creatures scurried away behind them, leaving Krel alone with the garbage bins of two different sizes, the walls of the buildings were clean aside from the occasional stain near the bins or moss that grew more toward the ground.

He wasn't sure what compelled him to do so but he pulled the piece of chalk from his pocket and wrote the equation from the math duel, following it with his correct work and answer. Satisfaction washed over him as he wrote his answer, the right answer, his original answer. He was still a bit stuck on his why's during the duel, he knew he did a good thing for Seamus so what did it matter anymore. Why did Seamus stare at him when it was over?

Krel's hand moved to write another equation, it was more complex but watching the letters and numbers come into being it made sense to him, it always made sense to him, similar to cataloging past events and his planning for the future. It was comforting as he continued the equation, spreading it further along the wall, blue clear against the red brick but still convoluted. Had he been less taken in with his work he probably would have felt more guilty about how much of the chalk he was using up. He didn't notice the approaching person behind him until they addressed him.

"Kubritz?"

Krel whipped around, instinctively taking up a defensive battle stance startling the newcomer. That was... Seamus? And was holding an item in each hand, they didnt seem to be weapons though so he could relax somewhat. Not completely though, he has noticed around the education prison that some human males in their age group tended to be, well, boorish and found amusement in harassing other males they perceived as weak, and Krel's human form unfortunately suited that perception. Primitive. He'll be sure to correct that.

"Uh... hey," Seamus waved one of the things he held, the action stiff. His eyes flicked beyond Krel, looking over the equations behind him. "What're you working on?" His gaze followed the equation to the start, lingering on the work shown. "Looks complicated."

"You have no idea." Krel wasn't trusting this interaction, not that there was any reason to.

"Hey- Look, you can relax, uh, whatever move that is," Seamus gestured to Krel's posture with whatever it was he held. "What is that anyway? Judo? Jujitsu?"

Krel eased his stance but kept a leery eye still on the human. "Nothing you have ever seen, I assure you." He answered in little more than a monotone.

"Ookay...?" The human coughed, taking a few meeger steps toward him with a hand extended outward. "You want a burrito? I dunno if you've eaten yet or anything but it's an idea right?" He gave a pitiful laugh as he stopped only a few feet away, the thing in his hand slumping over his fingers like it was trying to slip out of his grip.

As a being of energy, Krel had no need to consume organic materials, but he has been curious. On another hand Earth has a history in poisoning consumables for enemies, again not that it should affect him, maybe.

A sigh escaped Seamus, seeming to notice Krel's reluctance. "I just want to apologize for my behavior." He said, "You didn't deserve it. You earned the grade fair and square."

"I suppose I should say that I'm relieved you've gained some sense." Krel retorted, not completely convinced.

"Okay... I earned that." Krel saw Seamus' grip tighten around the 'burrito', his restraint was admirable. "But you didn't have to let me win, so why did you?"

Krel finally took the burrito, examining it for a moment before tearing the aluminum wrapping like he's seen other humans do and bite into it. The texture was strange, soft, soggy; the taste was savory, it was weird feeling the crunch of vegetables but overall it wasn't bad but he didn't have much in expectations, so, another point for Earth.

"Wanna sit?" Seamus gestured to the the sidewalk. Krel didn't object, taking another bite of his burrito and joining him on the cold cement just a yard or so from a flickering lamppost.

"I had nothing to gain," he answered finally, getting a startled look, "from winning the math duel. Nothing to lose either, unlike you."

The human's head ducked almost sheepishly. He must have recalled how loud his father was in bellowing their agreement. If it could have been called that.

"Again, I'm sorry," he declared. "My dad just has high expectations. Very high."

"Understandable."

"Is it really?"

Krel frowned at him. "Just because my parents are not present does not mean I don't have my own problems with them."

Seamus' face turned even more guilt ridden. "R-right, sorry," he stammered, a red hue spreading over his features. He was quiet for a moment, taking large distracting bites of his own burrito. The silence allowed Krel a moment to gather his thoughts about the present situation, and possibly plan for what could happen next. Maybe he could somehow make Seamus an ally, like Aja had with the majority of their peers, to keep his disguise here. It certainly would make things easier than researching every tidbit about this mudball to blend in while Morando outsources the search for Gaylen's core. The question was how to do so.

"You," Seamus spoke up again, breaking the silence between them, "you came from a warring country, right, like Aja Tarron and her family?"

The words brought a bitter curl to his lips. Her family, may as well be, ironic, consider she used to run away from her family at every opportunity.

"Yes," Krel answered softly. "Maybe even the same country, if luck would have it." Some luck that would be.

"What happened? I-if you don't mind me asking."

The expression on Seamus' face was different from before; softer, solemn, perhaps even sympathetic. It's been a clear background to his class that Krel escaped from a war torn country with no family besides Morando who was discharged due to injury during the fight. Could this be the opportunity he needed to make Seamus his ally? To make a 'friend'? In one quote Krel had heard, he now understood. When opportunity knocks, it would be wise to open the door.

"I-it all happened so fast," Krel began, quickly coming up with details to twist the story from the traumatic reality. "It happened on the coronation day for the royal heirs; my parents both had high political and military positions so my sister and I were allowed good seats to see the crowning," he kept his voice low, allowing some of the emotion he kept at bay to fill his words, "everyone was excited, we all had high hopes. The princess hadn't made her appearance yet when the attack happened." Krel swallowed thickly as the real memory came to mind. The running, his parents ordering him and Zadra to find Aja, falling behind, and being left behind. "It was chaos; people were running everywhere, trying to find each other and to find shelter, soldiers and their weapons, the cannon fire..." his eyes were leaking again, it was too much already with so little spoken. What was wrong with him? "I- I was too slow, my... my parents- my sister, gah, what is wrong with me?" He took the fabric of his shirt, quickly trying to wipe away the streaming liquid, his chest felt heavy, his core ached. Krel hadn't felt like this since he first found Aja and their parents on Earth. His head hurt.

A hand touched his shoulder making him freeze up. "It's okay." Seamus' voice was calm, relaxing even. "You've been through a lot, huh?"

Krel sniffed, trying to regain some composure before answering. "You have no idea."

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth

Warnings: noncon sex (oral, m&f, intercourse)

This is dark!Steve and explicit. 18+ only.

Summary: The reader is a fic writer and her number one fan can’t get enough.

Note: This is probably the most meta shit I’ve written but for all the fic writers out there, this one if for you. Hope y’all get the good d you deserve but until then, here’s this!

Please let me know what you think in a reblog/reply! <3 please and thank you.

You let out a sigh of relief and hit ‘post’. It was almost pathetic but it was the best part of your day, or most days. Having something to share with others was nice. The fact that they enjoyed your work and your boredom-induced work made it worth the frustration. 

It wasn’t real writing. You knew that. Fanfiction was a genre to be laughed at. You didn’t admit it to anyone but there was a sense of pride to go along with the shame. 

That part of you was kept online. The darker parts; the lust, the angst, the fear. It all went hand in hand and no one would guess that the bookshop assistant was stevies-doll. It felt almost scandalous to have a virtual alter ego.

You closed your laptop and checked the time. More than enough to get ready for work. Plain blouse, grey pants, mary jane flats. You were the typical bookish girl with dreams that would never come true. 

The bus was late. Oh well. You’d still be there in time you’d just have to forego your usual espresso. Afternoons were draining and you often needed the boost to keep from nodding off in the last hour. You really weren’t sure why the shop stayed open so late; not many came out after five for books but traffic was relatively steady in the hipster village.

Nina met you with a frown. She preferred you at least ten minutes earlier. Tardiness had seen several other clerks fired and you had been the only to make it more than a year in the shop. Three in fact. This place was like a second home. A garden of ideas to plant the seeds of your mind.

When Nina left, you rearranged the desk. You moved aside her ledger and replaced it with your notebook, two pens to the right of it. In between the chime of the door and the rare customer queries you did most of your writing. When you reached a block you’d read, but today you felt particularly inspired.

The world was saved again. The news reports had shown footage of the daring rescue. As grim as the situation was, you couldn’t help but fantasize. The first avenger with his golden hair and sharp jawline was every woman’s Adonis. At least, you thought he was the very picture of perfection.

It wasn’t obsession. That was your mantra. You often argued with yourself. As much as you thought of the great Steve Rogers, it was only admiration. It wasn’t the possessive infatuation often found on social media. It was a hobby. An escape from the world. 

You bent over the notebook. The shop was empty. The dulcet tones of indie folk floated along the shelves. You set pen to paper and waited for the ring to draw you away from the world behind your eyes. 

You leaned on the counter and scribbled the first line in ink. That was always the hardest part. Then again, the beginning was always more exciting than the end.

‘The day the earth went dark, there was but one beacon left to shine…’

-

It was amusing at first. The thought of another person spending so much time writing about him. That someone would fabricate an entire universe in which he was entirely different. Somewhere out there was a woman who wore the pseudonym ‘stevies-doll’.

Steve knew he should have been perturbed by the fact. The idea of another so consumed by him that they would post almost every other day about him. He couldn’t remember how he stumbled on the small blog. A decent following but nothing close to viral. 

The first story he read was cute. It even made him feel warm. The second was very much the same. He clicked through to another, this one more serious. Grey and daunting. A few more and he stumbled upon one he found most interesting, the letters NSFW emblazoned across the top. He googled the acronym and clicked back to the tab. Excited almost.

When he finished, he was warm in another way. Hot, almost. The things he read, the idea of him doing them, was almost arousing. Of course, he had never done any of it. Had never been more than the perfect gentlemen. Sweet and doting. That was how love should be. But that wasn’t love, no, that story was sex. Pure, unadulterated fucking.

He forced himself away from the computer after that. He needed to sleep. He had intended to browse his email quickly but he often found himself in the oddest rabbit-holes. That was definitely the deepest. He shook his head and chuckled. It was funny.

The next morning he awoke and went about his usual routine. He was out the door by seven. Off to save the world. Or wait around for it to need saving. At Stark Tower, he listened to Tony with his eyes on his phone. It wasn’t anything important. Some recounting about how he had scared Pepper with a nano-spider. 

Steve gave a half-hearted chuckle and Tony went back to his screen. “Tough audience,” He muttered to Bruce who merely shook his head.

Steve leaned against a stool and squinted at his phone. He stared at the google search. Why had he typed it in? Somewhere in the tedium of Tony’s chatter, he had keyed in the name. He hit the first link and his phone loaded slowly. 

His own face stared back at him. The banner was a press photo he had taken over a year ago. His bright eyes were staunch beneath the mask as he stared off into the distance. She had posted again. His thumb hovered over ‘read more’. Did he dare? 

He looked up to make sure he was not being observed. The two scientists were too distracted to care about his online activity. He stood straight and cleared his throat. “I’m gonna hit the gym,” He lied. A grumble from both scientists as they squinted at the floating screens. “Right, have fun.” Steve said dryly as he left them to their work.

He stepped out in the hall and pressed his thumb to the screen. He bent his head over the phone as he walked blindly down the halls. Neither Tony or Bruce noticed through the window that he had gone entirely the wrong way. Steve didn’t either as his eyes flitted over the screen.

‘The day the earth went dark, there was but one beacon left to shine…’

-

You couldn’t believe how much your blog had grown in the last few months. You didn’t know if it betrayed your unexciting life or your one-track mind. Both, maybe. But it made your everyday responsibilities a little less tedious.

And the messages were even better than the hit count. Several had messaged to say they loved your work and went so far as to call you an inspiration. It was flattering but it was easy to remember who you were. No Stephen King or JK Rowling. You wrote silly one shots with limited development. 

Today your inbox had been steady. Every time you found yourself bored at work, you opened the app and you had another message. Most of them short or even just emojis but nice nonetheless. And there was one you were waiting to answer

So long and in depth you had to give it more than just a thanks. You opened it several times and reread it.

‘Your story is really interesting. I think the way your portray Steve is believable. In this type of writing you rarely find anything realistic but your writing feels genuine if not entirely accurate. I would say you capture the essence of Steve perfectly and his actions at least make sense.

I always enjoy your updates and even look forward to them...especially the NSFW ones. ;)’

It was one of the few users who didn't use the anonymous feature and also left a complete comment. It was refreshing and you had come to look forward to their commentary. They went by CapUSA. Another Steve fangirl who was surprisingly inactive outside your blog. Her page was almost a clone of your own. They liked every post, reblogged, and commented. What more could a writer ask for?

Original characters maybe and not just fantasies of someone who’d never know of her existence. You closed your laptop and sighed. It felt like time. You could feel the block at the back of your head. The little thrill you got was wearing off and it felt like a phase better left to fade with your emo days in high school and that month in university when you dyed your hair purple.

You readied for work. Back on days that week. Opening was always easier. It didn’t feel so drawn out. Nina would be in at one and you’d keep her company until four. It meant little time for writing. Maybe that was for the better. You needed to start planning. For the future. For something truly your own. A fantasy so detached from reality that it would make market and maybe even a dime.

That was your dream. You didn’t want to be the listless fangirl forever. Ugh, how you hated to even call yourself a fangirl. No post today, you resigned. Maybe none tomorrow. You’d have to work up the courage to announce your hiatus. Life was calling and for once a sliver of genuine inspiration. 

And the bookstore. It was Shakespeare’s birthday, which conveniently was also his death day. This meant two for one on all of his works. Nina also  hired actors to stand outside the shop and re-enact famous scene from the playwright’s repertoire. They wouldn’t arrive till noon but you had a lot of set-up to do. Enough to keep you from thinking of the disappointed messages that would fill your inbox.

-

Steve scrolled through the pale pink blog for the dozenth time that morning. It had been two weeks since stevies-doll posted. The longest two weeks of his life. He wasn’t sure when it had become a staple in his life. A ritual almost. He’d read her latest fic as he laid down and try to clear his head of blood and grime. Lose himself in the person she dreamed he was. The man he had come to envy. Fictional but all too real in his head.

But there was nothing. At first he re-read and read again. But that grew old. He knew almost every story by heart at this point. He could recite the intro line to most and he fell asleep as his imagination reconstructed the things he had never done. 

Her banner flashed across his sight when he woke, the image of his blue eyes staring beyond him. He’d come to think of her Steve as an altar ego. The beast buried deep inside of him. He was tired of being the nation’s golden child. Their unwavering moral beacon. He wanted to be him and she had helped him figure out who he truly was.

But she was gone. No green dot above her name in the chat window, her last post dated fourteen days ago, her blog like a time capsule. The ice that had preserved him for seventy years. Where was she?

Then a thought struck him. A devious one. He had been on enough missions to know his way around a computer. He considered himself quite savvy after living nearly a decade ahead of his time. It was simple enough. He tracked down many a drug pin this way and they were often concealed behind walls of encryption. He doubted she had more than a store-bought antivirus, if that.

He climbed out of bed and booted his computer. His leg shook impatiently and he tossed his phone just beneath the corner of the monitor. He rubbed his palms together as the home screen loaded and he clicked on the browser.

Her IP was simple enough to find. Right-click, inspect. When he found it, he felt his heart jump. This was a line. A very clear one. If he did this, there was no going back. He let go of the mouse and leaned his chin in his hands. He stared at her page, split by the window of code, and his jaw ticked.

He hit back and went to the messenger. He clicked on her name and his fingertips ran over the space bar. He didn’t know what to say. He’d send her little asks about her fics but he never messaged her directly. Would she respond?

‘Hey,’ He typed slowly, his fingers sped up with each key, ‘I’m a fan of your work. I think it’s excellent. I just wanted to check in and see if you were still writing for this blog.’

He hit enter and waited. He focused on the grey dot beside her name. If she saw this, it likely wouldn’t be until morning. He checked the time and sighed. It was late. He had an early briefing with Tony and he should try to sleep. 

He hovered the cursor over the x but the dot turned green and he paused. The little ‘...’ blipped in the bottom of the chat box and the ding of her reply was music to his ears.

‘Hey, sorry. I know I’ve been quiet lately. I’ve just been so busy with work. I’m a bit behind at the moment. Thank you though for following me. I always enjoy your comments :)’ He read it several times before he could reply. Before he could even think of the words to.

‘It’s okay. We all have responsibilities. Take your time.’ He wanted to tell her to hurry up but who knew? She might be someone important, like a lawyer or teacher. He could wait. As long as there was hope. 

‘Thanks. I appreciate that. Really.’ That response was quicker. Curt, almost.

‘I don’t want to overstep but are you okay?’ His cheeks were hot.

‘Ah, you know, life.’

He scratched his chin as he leaned back in his chair. Slowly he sat forward and typed. It took him three tries to get it right. Concerned but not pushy. ‘Anything you wanna talk about?’ He waited. The three dots appeared then faded. Several times before her answer blipped up.

‘I don’t wanna trouble you but I appreciate you asking. Nothing I won’t get over.’

‘Ok, no problem. Just know that if you need it, I could listen. It’s could to talk about stress.’ He laughed at himself. He should take his own advice. He had a horrible habit of letting things pile up until he burst at the seams.

‘Thanks again. I’ll ttyl. I gotta get some sleep. Have a good one.’

‘You, too,’ He replied a bit too quickly. ‘Talk to you then.’

-

You were ready to post again. It had been almost a month since your last fic and you had been reluctant to return. You couldn’t help checking in daily to see your notifications and scroll mindlessly through your own content. And your offline writing had come to a halt. You were stuck and you didn’t know how else to cope but fall back on what you knew.

Your new friend had helped too. CapUSA had quickly become a stalwart of your blog. She, or he, you still weren’t sure, spoke to you almost everyday. They encouraged you to try one more fic as you mulled over a certain prompt. Why not? It would be like a writing exercise. Maybe it would help you with your original writing. Take some of the pressure off.

And you didn’t just talk about writing. You talked about the bookstore and Nina’s incessant complaints. You talked about the stresses of your lives. Friends, or lack thereof. Cap seemed a popular person and recounted stories of the latest drama. A close knit group of friends who acted more like adversaries. It was amusing and made your forget that your life was rather empty.

You hit post and smiled. That familiar rush rolled over you and you snapped closed your laptop. You were already dressed and ready for work. You crammed in the quick editing session before the bus was due and now you’d have to run for it.

Back on afternoons. It was rainy and you were soaked by the time you got to the shop. The weather always helped traffic and you ducked behind the counter where Nina was tending to the line with Cara, a new addition. The curly-haired blonde reminded you of old Hollywood. Her high cheekbones and rose lips rivaled Monroe’s.

“Do you want me to start early?” You asked as you tucked your bag under the counter between them.

“You better. I’m gone in ten and Cara’s only on til three.” Nina muttered. “We got a new shipment. Boxes are at the end of the aisles. We’ve not had a chance to touch ‘em.”

“Okay, I’ll get right on it,” You pin your name tag on and stepped back around the counter. She was in one of her moods and all the better that you avoid her until she left. You went to the end of the history aisle and opened the box against the wall.

‘You working?’ The vibration drew your attention from re-arranging the non-fiction section. The message floated in a bubble on your lock screen. You smiled. This faceless stranger felt like more. Of course, virtual friendships were often fleeting.

You glanced down the aisle, both Nina and Cara were squinting at the computer as a customer waited patiently for them to figure out their conundrum. You swiped away the lock and typed swiftly with your phone hidden behind your leg. 

‘Closing. Here all night.’

‘Oh :( you got company at least?’

‘For a couple more hours. But no shortage of work. :/’

‘Damn. Should I leave you alone?’

‘Up to you. My responses might be sporadic. Boss isn’t very pleasant today.’

‘Cool. I just read your new fic.’ 

‘Yeah? Sorry I haven’t checked my notifications just yet.’

‘No problem. I left a comment is all.’

‘What are you up to?’

‘Taking a break from driving. I should actually get back to it. It’s a long trip.’

‘Where are you going?’

‘To see a friend.’

‘Ah, ok. Well, drive safe.’

‘I will ;) See ya later.’

‘ttyl :)’

-

‘Nina’s Nook’. Steve read the crooked moniker several times over. He couldn’t believe he was actually there. That she was inside. He made good time on the road. An eight hour trip in six. Of course, he hadn’t exactly abided the speed limit. His impatience had turned to recklessness. So unlike him.

The sky was dim. The summer nights came later and later. She’d be done in an hour. The streets were dying down and the door hadn’t chimed in almost as long. He felt nervous all of a sudden. He tried to shrug of his anxiety and took a breath. 

She wouldn’t know it was him. Well, she might recognize him but she wouldn’t know he was CapUSA. He couldn’t wait to see her reaction. Steve Rogers in her bookshop. In this town. It would be a story she would recount for the rest of her life. An encounter she would never forget. 

Oh, he’d make sure she remembered it.

He crossed the street. A single car passed as he stepped up on the curb. It was much quieter than New York. No honking, no shouts, no hissing sewers. He liked it. It was quaint. He stood before the door and peeked through the glass. There was no one behind the desk. But the sign read open and the lights shone in welcome.

He pushed down the handle and slowly opened the door. The bell announced his entrance and a small voice called from the corner of the shop. “One moment, please.” He heard the shuffle of books and light footsteps. She emerged from the far shelves and his lips parted at the sight of her.

He had seen her before. Her few photos on Facebook and Instagram. He had found those shortly after he ferreted out her IP. He couldn’t see much but her privacy settings allowed him a glimpse into her real life. Her smile was nicer than in her pictures. 

“Sorry, I was--” She stopped short as she saw him. She blinked. He closed his mouth as hers fell open. Her voice was higher when she spoke next. “I was just sorting some stuff out. I--How can I help you?”

“Um, a friend recommended a book to me and I was passing by, I thought maybe by chance… you might have it.” He kept his voice even. The same one he used for his press conferences.

“Do you have a title?” She asked. He could see her fingers tremble. The guilt as her eyes rounded. She was thinking of all the things she had wrote about him. He was thinking of those too.

“Jeez, you know, I’ve totally forgotten but the author was, uh…” He pretended to think and his eyes drifted down her body. Her flowered blouse was boxy but her pants hugged the curves of her hips and legs. She clasped her hands together and the gesture pushed her chest together between her arms. “Margaret Archer--er, Atwood.”

“Hmm, she’s done a lot. Do you know what it’s about?” She pulled her hands apart and wiped her palms on her dark pants. His eyes followed the movement. He wanted his hands there. Wanted to feel her thighs against him.

“Something about an apocalypse...um, a character named...Snow--Snow something.” He acted like he coudn’t remember. Couldn’t recall that it was stevies-doll who had recommended the very book. 

“Oh, Oryx and Crake, I think it is. It’s an interesting one.” She smiled, proud to have figured out the riddle. “If you will, it should be with our most popular books.”

She hesitated as she passed him. He followed her as she went to the shelf just beside the counter. She hovered her finger before the titles as she read them. She bent as she got lower. He admired her ass as she did. He tucked his hands in his pocket before he could reach out.

“Yeah, I think it’s in sci-fi.” She stood and peeked over her shoulder. “It’s just over here.” She led him down the narrow aisle to the end. “Starts just here so Atwood…” She scanned the shelf, “Here.” She pulled out the book and held it out to him. “We have it in hardcover too.”

He took it and felt the raised letters on the cover. “Thanks.” He didn’t even acknowledge the book in his hand. The aisle was so tight she was trapped between him and the wall. She gave a sheepish smile and he turned to press his back to the shelf. “Sorry. Go ahead.”

She nodded and squeezed past him. Her chest brushed against his torso and she pretended not to notice. Once past him, she cleared her throat. “If you need any help, I’ll be up front.” She turned before he could respond and her watched her go. He never would’ve guessed the mousy shop assistant would have such a lurid imagination.

-

You were in disbelief. It couldn’t be. Steve Rogers in your book shop? No, you were dreaming. Or was it a nightmare? Oh god, why had you written all that stuff? You needed to delete. Now. You could hear him. The floor creaked as he moved slowly down the aisle. You hoped he would’ve taken the book and gone. The longer he stayed, the worse you felt. Your cheeks were on fire.

Your phone vibrated. You swiped the screen and found a new message from CapUSA. You sighed and rubbed your eyes. You should just pretend you didn’t see it. You unlocked the phone and read the message.

‘Hey, how’s work?’

‘It’s fine.’ You answered. What could you say? Who would believe that Steve Rogers had walked in your door?

‘I just was thinking about your last fic.’

‘Oh yeah?’ You peeked over at the far aisle. The floor no longer whined with his weight.

‘Yeah, I’d love to re-enact the last scene.’

‘Sorry?’ You sent the message and it went unanswered. ‘I don’t get it. What do you mean?’

‘The one with the girl on her knees. Begging to be fucked.’

‘Okay? I still don’t understand.’ Your heart jumped. This was really weird.

‘Or maybe and I could fuck you on that counter you’re standing behind.’

You hit close and locked the phone. You dropped it and looked around the shop. You rushed out from behind the counter and glanced out the window. You turned the latch and the floorboards groaned. You turned and pressed yourself to the door. You forgot he was there. 

How could you forget something like that?

“Sorry, uh, we’re closing up,” You felt around for the lock, “I was just--”

“That’s okay. I think I’m just about done.” He slapped the book against his palm and placed it on the corner of the counter. He set his phone on top of it with a flourish. “Why don’t you flip the sign and we can get started.”

“What are you--”

“Do you prefer I call you by your real name or stevies-doll?” He leaned against the counter and smirked. “Or I can just call you doll. I know you like that.”

“No,” You exhaled shakily, “Y-you can’t be…”

“You’re not happy to see me?” He asked. He didn’t sound like the hero you saw on the news. Barely looked like him now. His pupils dilated to darken his blue eyes and the shadows of the shop cast his face in sinister tones. “You can call me Stevie if you like.”

“I...What I wrote, it was just...” You spluttered. “I’m s-sorry.”

“You don’t have to be.” He pushed himself away from the counter. “I’m not mad. Intrigued really.”

He stepped closer and your ears pounded as the adrenaline coursed through your veins. You turned and fumbled with the lock. The door opened an inch before his hand slammed it shut again. He easily flipped the lock back into place and spun the sign with a flick of his thumb. 

“You can close early and we can have some fun...maybe inspire a new fic.” His arm was around your waist and you grabbed onto his thick wrist.

“They’re just stories.” You kicked as he pulled you away from the door. He tugged the blind down over the window. “Stupid fantasies.”

“Well, consider this a dream come true, doll,” He spun and let you go. You collided with the desk and gasped as the air was knocked from your lungs. “I think you remember this scene.”

“What do you want?” You clung to the desk as you turned to him. 

“You know, I’m everything people think I am. Straight-laced, valiant, boring.” He planted his feet and stared you down. “Or was...until I found your blog.” His tongue ran across his bottom lip. “It gets lonely on the road. At first, your blog was like a secret companion. It gave me something to look forward to but then it made me think. So many things I never even knew I was missing out on.”

“Please, I don’t know what you want from me,” Your voice cracked. Your fear surged and left you shaking against the counter.

“I want…” He tilted his head and his eyes flashed, “You.” He paused and pushed his shoulders back. “On your knees.” Your eyes rounded, “Oh yes,” He raised a finger, “Naked.”

You stared at him. You were frozen in place. The counter your only support from melting into a puddle. His nostrils flared as he exhaled; long and drawn out. 

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” He snarled and his hand balled into a fist.

You gulped and held yourself with one hand against the counter as you bent to unlace your oxfords. You kicked them off with your socks and mustered your strength. You stood on your own and unbuttoned your shirt. You kept your eyes on the aged carpet stretched across the hardwood.

You dropped the blouse onto your shoes and unzipped your fly. The wool trousers slid halfway down without help and you untangled your legs from them. You added them to the heap and stood straight.

“Look at me,” Steve ordered. Your eyes snapped over to him. “Good.” You reached back and he raised a hand. “Stop...I wanna do it.”

He waved you forward and slowly you stepped away from the counter. He bared his palm in a gesture for you to halt and you hung your head. “Eyes up.” He corrected as he came closer. He walked around you and stopped just behind you.

His thick fingers touched the band of your bra and ran along it until they met at the hooks. He carefully unclasped it and the cups fell loose. He tickled your arms as he pushed the straps down them. He took it and flung it away from him. His hands came up to cup your tits and he pushed himself flush to your back.

“You always wrote so vividly of me but...I never knew how beautiful you truly were...how good you feel.” He squeezed and slowly lowered his hands. He dragged them to the side of your panties and slipped his fingers beneath the elastic. He bent as he guided the panties down your legs. “God, that ass.”

You shivered and his hands cradled your ass. He ran his rough palms along your cheeks and up your back. They settled on your shoulders and he pushed down firmly. “On your knees.”

He stepped back and you unsteadily got to your knees. He walked another circle around you. You could hear his dusky breaths. Glimpsed how his hand ran over the front of his jeans. 

“Now ask, like a good girl,” He stopped before you and stared down with a smirk. “Go on, doll, I know you want it.”

You closed your eyes and swallowed. You grit your teeth and gather what was left of your wits. A story. That’s all this was. The letters could be backspaced and no one would know better of it. 

“Please,” You recalled the last scene you had posted. The tingle which had flowed through you as you hit the button. What had she said? You opened your eyes. “Please, I want to...I want to make you happy.” You shuddered as the words whisked from you. “Can I?”

“Can you...what?” He taunted.

“Can I suck your dick?” It was barely a whisper. 

“Oh, well, since you asked so nicely,” His hands were on his belt as he spoke. “But I have a different scene in mind for tonight. A new one.” He unbuckled his belt and cracked his neck. “I want you on the counter. On your back.”

You made to stand and his hand went to your head. He held you down. 

“Crawl.”

You weakly dropped forward and turned. You crawled on hands and knees as he followed, stopping just in front of the desk as you followed his pointed finger to the other side. You stood and lifted yourself onto the counter and laid on your back. He guided your head over the side as he pulled you close and his hands found your tits again. He tweaked your hard nipples and you bit your lip.

He rescinded his hands and finished unzipping his pants. You tried not to watch as he pushed his pants down, his briefs too. The blur focused and you gaped at the size of him. He gripped himself and you snapped your mouth shut. He grabbed your chin and squeezed.

“Now, now, don’t act like this isn’t what you wanted,” He pressed his cock to your mouth and you were forced to open as his fingers threatened to crush your jaw.

He slid inside and your gasp was stifled as he met the back of your throat. He forced himself further and you threw your arms out. A clatter of books and papers as you swept them off the counter. He lingered at his limit and wiggled his hips. You arched your back as you choked and he grabbed your tit, kneading it as he slowly pulled out.

He pushed back in just as you gulped down air and you writhed atop the desk. He thrust in and out of your mouth. You gagged and groaned. The noises only fueled his fervour and he sunk in over and over until your head pulsed. The spit smeared around your lips and his balls.

He pulled back and slammed back in suddenly. His motion slowed as he came. He grunted, his breaths stuttered by the staggered rock of his pelvis. You clawed at the counter top and kicked until you could breathe again.

He slipped his cock from between your lips and his cum leaked from your mouth. You sat up and coughed. His hands were on your shoulders again. His fingers danced along your throat as if to ease your struggles.

“Come on, that’s just the first act,” He drew away and you glanced over your shoulder. “Turn around.” 

You turned on the desk and he pulled your legs over the edge. He pushed your knees apart and stepped back to admire the view. You dug your nails into the lip of the counter to keep yourself from closing your legs.

“I know you’ve been dying to see this,” He grinned and pulled his shirt over his head. 

His cock hung out of his pants. It twitched as he tossed his shirt at you. You caught it. It smelled like him. He shoved his pants down without pause and he hardened again. You dropped his shirt and looked away guiltily. 

Had you not written this scene a dozen times over?

He was completely naked when you looked again. He came close, his hands on your knees as he knelt before you. You tried to pull your legs together but he held them apart. He shook his head and tutted. 

“Just sit back and enjoy,” He licked his lips. “Trust me, it’s better than you could ever imagine.”

Your shock took over completely. You watched as he bowed his head and you felt his hot breath on your thighs. When his tongue met your pussy you gasped. He delved between your folds and swirled around your clit. Your nails went deeper into the wood and your thighs shook. It felt good. It shouldn’t, though.

He buried his face deeper and you watched his golden locks from above. He reached over blindly, his large hand found yours, and he guided it to the back of his head. He held it there a moment before letting go. You clung to him as he hands glided up your thighs and he framed your vee with thumb and index.

You arched your back and moaned. It was your declaration of surrender. You couldn’t resist it any longer. The heat stirred inside of you, the flames licking at your thighs and back. You urged Steve closer though he couldn’t possibly go any deeper. 

His hands slipped down to the outside of your thighs. Your legs closed around his head and held him there. He tipped you slightly and you curled around him as he continued to lap. Your breaths mixed with throaty hums and you fell back. 

You had one hand still on his head and the other in your hair as you cried out in a mighty climax. He didn’t stop until you were shaking across the counter. When at last his mouth left you, you shivered. A sudden coolness washed over your body. He stood and you looked at him through the haze.

He grabbed your waist and pulled you to your feet. You wavered and he spun you quickly. You caught yourself on the desk and he slapped your ass. “That’s it,” He purred. “You’re getting it now.”

He nudged your shoulder until you were bent entirely over the counter, your toes barely met the floor. He rubbed your ass and pulled your cheeks apart. His cock poked you as his hand slipped lower and he tickled just below your ass. You squirmed and he chuckled.

He felt around and his cock slipped lower as he bent his knees. He dragged his tip along your folds before prodding at your entrance. He shoved his hand between your legs and forced them apart. 

He pushed inside and slowly stretched you around him. Your head shot up at the strain. A mix of pain and pleasure as he got deeper and deeper.

You whined as he bottomed out and his hips bucked almost instinctively. He hit your cervix and you cried out. He eased out and pushed back in. He repeated this again and again, his motion careful. Deliberate. He brought his pelvis flush to your ass and groaned.

“Fuck,” He slapped your ass again. 

He drew back and slammed into you all at once. All restraint was lost and he thrust mercilessly. His pace was wild. You reached out to grab at the edge of the counter, your hips hitting the other painfully. The spark had caught and you felt the flame about to burst. 

Your orgasm was surprising. More agony than pleasure. You whimpered and pushed your head into the counter as you heaved. You could barely breath as Steve never wavered. He fucked until you until your walls ached. Until they turned numb and you were nothing but a mewling fool before him.

He bent over your, his muscled torso against your sweaty back. He rutted atop you frantically. His hips jerked as his grunts deepened. His breath caught and he swore. He lifted himself off you and you felt the warmth spill down your ass and thigh. 

You laid breathless as he panted behind you. He rubbed his cum into your skin with two fingers and you shook. You tried to push yourself up from the desk. He caught your hip and shoved you back down.

“Oh, we’re not even close to the finale,” He pinched your ass and you squeaked. “Not to mention the epilogue.”

-

tags to be added in reblog

[kariachi]

So on Sunday my brain decided to throw Gwen/Mike/Kevin/Argit at me for some reason and today decided to continue with it, so.... Have a couple thousand word double feature.

~~

The house was smaller than the one Mike had been living in when they met, but just as if not more grand. Enough so that even Gwendolyn, nonetheless Kevin and Argit, had to stop as soon as they were out of the car to stare at its white stone walls, intricately paned windows, and the sheer amount of well-tended greenery and flowers. For all they had been told this wasn’t the normal place for family get-togethers due to being ‘not fit for hosting’, they simply couldn’t see it. It was still huge and gorgeous. No wonder Mike had been rolling his eyes when he said it. They couldn’t have been stood there gawking long before the front door opened to reveal a small woman dressed to impress.

“Mikey!”

“Monie!” And immediately Michael Morningstar- who in the three years since he’d gotten clean and the two he’d been a part of their little quartet had not engaged in displays of affection more grand than jewelry- bolted across the lawn, scooped the similarly excited woman up into a spin, and hugged her fiercely as soon as her feet had touched the ground.

“Remind me to get him to spin me at least once during this relationship,” Kevin grumbled as he and Gwendolyn rounded the car. “I don’t care if it happened right before he drops me into a volcano, as long as it happens.”

“Jealous, much?”

“Don’t be a hypocrite, Red. And stop scowling, she’s his cousin for fuck’s sake.” Something that was easier to tell as they came closer. There were plenty of differences- golden toned versus pink, tall versus short, blond versus grey, blue eyed versus green- but a few key features stood out. Their eyes were the same shape, they were of similar narrow build, and they carried themselves with the same proud bearing. The woman- Monie- stepped back as they approached, flashing them a toothy grin as Mike turned to present them.

“And these are my…” He goes quiet, mouth twisting and hand curling shut. They’ve never really worked out terms. Kevin and Gwendolyn were boyfriend and girlfriend, Kevin and Argit were partners, but Gwendolyn and Argit? Any of them and Mike?

“Yours?” his cousin offered in fond amusement. Mike nodded.

“Mine. Kevin Levin, Argit Levin, and Gwendolyn Tennyson.”

“Monette Morningstar,” she introduced herself, stepping around Mike and towards them. Gwendolyn stepped forward to offer a hand to shake, only to be wrapped in the same fierce hug Mike had gotten, and for Monette to quickly do the same to Kevin and Argit. “It’s a pleasure and an honor to have you here.”

“It’s a pleasure to be here,” Gwendolyn answered, still reeling a bit from getting a warmer welcome than she got from a fair chunk of her own family.

“We were beginning to think Sparkles was lying about having relatives,” Argit continued, “to make himself look better.” Kevin and Argit only had family in the Amalgam Kids and Cooper, who were always around, and they all were practically tripping over Tennysons, but Mike was the only member of his family he interacted with in their area, and the three times he’d gone to family events since they’d gotten together he’d insisted on going alone.

“Not surprised,” Monette said with a nod, “most of the others already hate you.” Gwendolyn snorted derisively while Kevin groaned beside her. They’d been warned the entire drive up, but still. “He doesn’t shut up about you, you know. Well, he hasn’t shut up about you since he was twelve-”

“Monie!” The woman kept her same easy, welcoming smile as he and Gwendolyn both went red around the edges.

“-but he’s even worse now. Shame, it would’ve been so fun to see him just drop you all on the family at once.” Stepping forward, Mike scowled at her.

“I am not putting them through that,” he said with finality as Argit snickered.

“Of course not,” she replied, waving off the very idea. “It’ll still be the funnest holiday since you ran off.” With another flash of perfect teeth she gestured them towards the house, falling in behind the little group with light steps. “Now come on, lunch is all ready and you kids must be starving-”

~~~~~

~~~~~

They had claim over the master bedroom whether they wanted it or not, their hostess more willing to eat her own legs than to risk them being crowded in one of the smaller beds. Not that it was much of a concern. Kevin had always been a tactile man, Argit had been born for piles of people, and between them it wasn’t at all difficult to cram the four of them into a space smaller than they had available.

It just meant they got to stretch out a bit, was all.

Gwendolyn was taking up as much space as possible, her legs hanging off the side of the bed and her head on Kevin’s chest. Meanwhile Mike had pressed the whole of himself against Kevin’s other side, stretched over him just enough so he could hold a tablet in place for he and Gwendolyn to read the book on it together. Argit didn’t even bother with distractions, content to doze splayed out across the boys’ legs, tail wrapped around Gwendolyn’s wrist. This was the norm for them, and Kevin had long accepted his destiny to be a mattress, generally working on a project or a book over the others’ heads until one of them groggily forced him to set it aside and go to sleep.

He’d already set it aside himself tonight.

“So,” he said into the quiet, fighting back a smile, “are we just not going to mention the whole ‘mine’ thing?”

“Yes.” Ears twitching, Argit snickered.

“Good. I’d much rather hear about how you talk about us all the time.” Mike groaned, shifting forward to bury his face in long red hair.

“Gwendolyn, lovely, perfect Gwendolyn-”

“Sorry, it’d work with Kevin but you know I can’t shut Argit up.” She shuffled away, just enough that she could turn her head and crane up to plant a kiss on his cheek. “It was nice to hear though. You’re harder to get an ‘I love you’ out of than Argit.”

“Because I don’t love you, Red,” Argit cut in cheekily, as Mike heaved something between a huff and a groan, “I tolerate you for the men’s sakes.”

“Uh-huh,” she replied, fidgeting with his tail, “you keep saying that.” Beneath them, Kevin chuckled as he reached out to tug gently at a lock of blond hair.

“We love you too, Sparkles.” In response Mike just pulled away with roll of his eyes and a huff, as if he wasn’t going red for probably the fourth time just since they’d pulled into the drive.

“I hate you all,” he answered with far less bite than he likely intended, “and one day I’m going to eat you out of pure spite.”

~~~~~

~~~~~

The first day of their holiday was definitely the best one. A nice, if simpler than expected, lunch with Monette. Meeting Mike’s Uncle Hector (Zombozo. Mike’s uncle was Zombozo. Zombozo, who wanted to start over fresh because apparently his line in the sand was risking making things harder on his nephew.) They’d had fresh pasta and baked apples at dinner, spent the evening exchanging stories, watching movies, and looking at pictures of Mike from birth to his teen years. Pictures Mike assured them, with a pained expression, had not been gathered for this event. His cousin and uncle were just exactly the types to have them on hand.

Monette’s parents had shown up on the second day and things had started getting tense. They loved their daughter, that was evident from the first moment they’d arrived, but otherwise… Nobody could really blame them for being openly unimpressed by Hector- excepting the younger Morningstars, apparently- but they treated Mike the same way some of Gwendolyn’s relatives treated her. Loving, but with the sharp edge of impossible expectations. The rest received polite distance, like they were some fling Mike’d drug along rather than people he’d been with several years. Still, they managed a nice, if awkward, dinner, and sat up late listening to embarrassing stories of Monette and Hector’s childhoods. It wasn’t fun, but there were fresh desserts and the evening wasn’t any more painful than larger Tennyson gatherings.

The third day though, that was Thanksgiving proper, and it brought the rest of the family. The middle cousin, Teddy, and his fiancé. His parents. Great-aunt Winnie. And suddenly, like a curtain was flung open, you could see how Darkstar happened. You could even see how Zombozo started.

These people did not like mutants.

They did not like aliens.

They did not like bastard children.

It hurt to know that the two had been outnumbered for so long.

Dinner was beyond awkward. Passive-aggressive comments flew to a degree even Argit hadn’t seen before, and he made it his job to antagonize Gwendolyn’s mother’s family whenever they met. Both sides threw jabs back and forth- about people’s jobs, people’s diets (never before had Kevin been seen passive-aggressively giving someone food but the moment Winnie had said something about Mike’s appetite it had been war), people’s lifestyles, people’s taste in clothing. Nothing, it appeared, was off limits, with the exception of a single “while you’re around” comment batted at Gwendolyn that’d had Mike tensing on the other side of the table and Monette putting her foot down as hostess. What sort’ve jab it had been was unknown to the non-Morningstars in the room, but it took a good forty seconds for people to begin talking again after the snapped reprimand.

By the end of dinner nobody was in a good mood. There was a steak knife lodged to the handle in the far wall of the dining room, from where Kevin had lost his temper and flung it at Teddy’s head (in his defense, he had warned the table about making any more comments about his partners, and Monette treated it no differently than if he’d had the misfortune to drop it on the floor), Argit was muttering about “no wonder you didn’t bring out the good cutlery for these people”, Mike, Gwendolyn, and Hector evacuated the room as soon as it was polite to do so for their own mental health, and Monette had a smile on her face that was sharp enough to cut glass. It was amazing nobody (namely Winnie) had been thrown out a window and most likely that was only because they were really nice, presumably expensive, windows.

The rest of the evening didn’t even have the decency to be entertaining. Just a slog they got through with tight-lipped politeness and a healthy dose of passive-aggression before heading to bed- ignoring the pointed comments about ‘making’ Monette give up her room as they went. Mental and emotional exhaustion had them sleeping soundly, waking at first light. They stayed long enough for coffee, breakfast, and Mike to hug his proper family members goodbye before heading out before anyone could wake up enough to start in again.

They were an hour down the highway when Kevin pulled over.

“Okay, I’m saying it now,” he announced in a tone that brooked no argument, “Monie can visit anytime, your uncle is a maybe, but I am never sitting at a table with the rest of those fuckers again in my life.” The others nodded at Mike in agreement, though Gwendolyn at least had the decency to try to look sorry.

“You know,” he replied, honestly looking like a weight had been taken off his shoulders- and with how Gwendolyn could be about her own family it probably had been- “I think I can live with that.”

[beauty-of-sins]

When Tommorow Comes(Tissaia and Triss)

Gif Credit: @thewitchersdaily​

Triss and Tissaia talk before the battle of Sodden Hill. 

She remembers when Triss first showed up to Aretuza much younger than most, stumbling to their front doors. They didn’t bother looking for her parents, she was probably tossed aside like the rest of them.  Unwanted and unloved. At least they had to decency to leave her there.

Tissaia sips on the bitter ale as she looks around the little makeshift party. A little fun to forget what this really is-a war-and no doubt some of the mages she’s known for ages will be dead by this same time tomorrow. Out of the corner of her eye, she spots a mass of chestnut brown hair. Triss. 

A young mage, not as old as most of her students who joined her on Sodden Hill, who last she heard helped King Foltest out with his little “werewolf” problem. She looked at her, the young woman had fully grown into her features. Her soft face framed by her curly hair while her freckles had a slight blush(most likely from the alcohol) to them as she talked with her fellow mages near the food.

She remembers when Triss first showed up to Aretuza much younger than most, stumbling to their front doors. They didn’t bother looking for her parents, she was probably tossed aside like the rest of them.  Unwanted and unloved. At least they had to decency to leave her there.

If she was distraught by the abandonment she didn’t show it. She had taken to Tisssia quite quickly despite the older woman’s annoyance when she interrupted her studies by barging into her office or slipping from her given caretaker just to find her. She liked to cling behind her legs, the only thing you would be able to see was her poofy hair. Some of the older students gave her the nickname “Lion” for it.  Her blue eyes, always wide, struggling to hold the excitement in them, eager and ready to learn about everything around her. She was barely able to peak over her desk as she babbled on and on in her office. Sometimes Tissaia would just put her pipe down and stare at the small child who was talking aimlessly. It was refreshing to see the brightness in this child’s eyes. It would be a shame that she would have to dim it in order to prepare her for this world. It wouldn’t be a pretty world especially for her but like the rest of her students, Tissaia was going to teach her how to thrive. Become a goddess amongst men.

Triss got older and was disappointed when she found out she was allergic to magic. She spent a whole week in despair walking solemnly around the place, the quietest that Tissaia ever saw her. It was surprisingly unsettling.  When making her rounds she turned toward Triss’s room, hearing her sniffles and sobs, lingering there before moving on. She waited for her to make the choice on her own. Tissaia watched as she became interested in botany, interested in growing and healing, carving her own path around her handicap.

She stopped chatting so much and poured herself into the studies and Tissaia obliged her, pushing her harder than the rest of the mages in her class. Pushed her until she stretched Triss to her limits and sometimes far beyond until she cried, until she raged at her, until she asked why she hated her. Tissaia would fix her with that same passive stare before continuing the lesson. The other mages did not envy Triss. She would make Triss’s weakness her strength. 

Tissaia would catch her in the greenroom late at night, her hands trembling from exhaustion, her palms scratched from some of the plants she was using. On those nights, she would say nothing gentling wrapping Triss’s palm up before escorting her back to her room. She became one of her best students that ever ascended. 

-

Triss saw her looking over and smiled brightly before excusing herself from the group, slightly swaying as she approached her old mentor. Tissaia smiled at the sight. She wondered just how drunk she was. 

“Soooooo-” Triss drawled, raising her eyebrows, her eyes sliding over to Vilgefortz with a mischievous glint. “I see you're enjoying yourself.” Tissaia followed her line of sight, to which he noticed her looking and winked at her before turning back to his conversation. 

She quite liked Triss’s boldness. If there was one thing to appreciate from this upcoming battle, it was a nice refresher, from her new students who would tremble in fear at a slight look from her. 

“I see you are too,” she said, slowly. Looking into the almost empty, what had to be the third cup, Triss had that night. 

“We might all die tomorrow so might as well,” Triss said it jokingly, but there was a tinge of something behind it as she stared at beyond the hill. She stared up at Triss, seeing a thousand different ways she could die tomorrow. A quick bow to the chest making her fall dead before she could stop it.  A single swipe of a  sword to her neck.  Another person she would have to bury, someone who for a mage was barely an adult.  If this was going to be the last conversation they would have she should at least make it mean something. 

“Do you ever think about them?” she said, abruptly never one to beat around the bush.  

Triss’s smile dropped a little bit at the topic, as she tensed up. “Does it matter?”

“Does it?” her tone sharp, which made the girl flinch a little bit.  Triss sat down next to her, taking another sip of her drink staring out into the darkness, her face hardening.

“I do. I still do.” Triss said finally, letting out a little sigh.  “I always have.” 

“I could never tell.” 

Triss gave a wry little smile. “Most people couldn’t. I tried my best to not let it bother me. What did I have to complain about? I probably had a better childhood than most,” her eyes roaming around to eventually land on Yennefer.

“And yet you still wonder,” Tissaia said. Triss’s hand tighten around her cup.

“Foolish, I know.” she said bitterly, all teeth but no smile. “I felt like I had to prove that I was worth keeping. Even though they probably never wanted me even for a minute. Even now I feel like I’m doing this for them to show them what a mistake they made.”

Tissaia looked over her form, watching her eyebrows furrow, the way vines snaked out from between her hands, the way her nails dug into the cup. So similar as to when she used to patch her up, pulling the thorns out the palm of Triss’s hands. It was such a strange look to see her like this but it was not an unwelcome one. Anger has its uses.

“That they did.” she said finally sipping from her own cup, before continuing.  “Life has no room for what-ifs, Triss.” The other woman looked over at Tissaia. “What must happen will happen.”

“And look at who you’ve become.” The sincerity in Tissaia’s voice caught Triss off guard and she knew it couldn’t have been the ale. She barely drank any. 

To her surprise, Triss’s smile slipped back onto her face. Her smile becoming wide. “We all have a purpose don’t we.”

“And what do you think yours is.” Tissaia said, raising her eyebrows. 

“Only destiny can truly tell,” Triss said, tilting her head down at her, a teasing smile on her face. “Isn’t that what everyone likes to tell us.”

For a moment, she felt as if she was the child, that Triss could see beyond this moment. There was something beautiful about it.  “But despite everything I know one thing to be true. That it's my fate to be here. Right now with you.” she said to Tissaia. “No matter what.”

Triss said it with such finality and passion blazing in their eyes. She seemed like the brightest thing at the camp. Neither mage said anything as they stared at each other. Her little lion had grown up into a beautiful mage. Tissaia cracked a proud smile. Now her equal, standing even taller than her now. Able to look her in the eyes and hold her own.  

“Go enjoy your night, little lion,” she said, flicking her head toward Yennefer who was staring off in the distance ignoring the way Triss’s cheeks flushed at her childhood nickname “And maybe encourage others too as well.”

Triss nodded, making her move and then stopping suddenly. She watched as Triss’s hands moved before she produced a flower and presented it to her. She gently reached out taking it in her hands. Then, Triss left practically skipping towards Yennefer.

Tissasia watched them with a warmness in her chest. No matter how hard she was on them or how brute the others thought she was to her students. They turned out into beautiful mages who would fight with her till the end. She twirled the flower, a pink carnation, the beautiful color vibrant among the cold stones.   In return, she would guide them to their purpose like she always had, shielding them from themselves before turning them out to the world, the bringers of change. They would be her legacy. 

She couldn’t ask for anything more than that.  

[idontworkforsega]

🤔 How about...a Amy vs Omega prompt...with Sonic cheering for Omega in the background just to mess with her!

(This was the only image I could find of the two. lol)

@cutegirlmayra is usually the one who does Prompts… but I can give it a go?

Friendly reminder, Cutegirlmayra is on Prompt Shutdown, meaning I’m also not taking new prompt requests. Please keep your ideas safe and sound until she reopens them on her blog again. :)

How does she start these things off again? Oh right!

Prompt:

The Sonic Heroes blazed a trail into the new era following Metal Overlord’s demise, however, they still had an appetite for adventure and battle! To determined which team was the strongest, they held a competition…

The Team Battles!

One player from each group would be assigned to compete in different activities and sets, and funny enough, Team Rose was down to their last contender, Amy Rose.

With determination in her eyes, she pulled her fists up forward and had a spark flare up in her heart. “This is my chance.” She looked to the screen, seeing that Knuckles had beaten Shadow and Cream in the last arena.

That was simply for tactical advantage though, the game was to find something in record time. Cream was almost going to make it but Shadow Chaos Controlled near the location. Right before reaching for it, Knuckles burst from the ground and clamped down on the item with his mouth, refusing to let it go till he was declared the victor.

It ticked Shadow off, but Cream and Cheese flew back to Amy safe and sound.

“We’re sorry, Miss Amy…” Cream’s eyes bent in submission, clearly disappointed she couldn’t score a point for the team. “I wasn’t quite as fast enough as Mr. Shadow… nor as ingenuitive as Mr. Knuckles…” she hunched forward, her little Chao repeating the same action with his cute remarks as well.

“Chao, Chao…”

“There, there. You two did your very best.” Amy’s compassionate heart couldn’t be limited, and especially not here, with her friend looking so down and blue. “The next test is going to be primarily about keeping the upper hand. It’s like king of the hill, but we have to keep one primary spot till the timer runs out. I think this is about power and speed.”

“Endurance too… Maybe…” Big shrugged, smiling as usual in his cheery way.

“Right.” Amy turned back to him and nodded. “Big’s already won the Flicky challenge. Gathering them all up last second by lassoing his fishing line around the other teams Flickies.” she giggled at that, motioning what had happened with her hands. “I’m sure I’ll come out on top with this one too.”

“You sure sound confident.”

Amy’s heart gasped with the familiar-sounding voice, doing an Irish jig in her chest as she slowly turned around to see the man of her dreams.

His smile could slay millions of frowns, dry up a billion tears, and keep the world a better place… if it’d only look her way, it could do far more!❤️

“Sonic!” She swooned, holding her hands together and up by her left cheek as swarms of hearts fluttered in her eyes.

Sonic looked to Cream then, “Great work out there, Cream! You really put everything into that challenge! Me and Tails were really impressed!”

“Y-You were?” she blushed in pride, comforted a bit more than before. “Thank you, Mr. Sonic! Mr. Tails!”

Tails blushed too in embarrassment, scratching the back of his head, “Ah, gee. It’s the honest truth!” he then nodded to Amy, “So, you’re going up against Sonic and Omega next round?”

Amy’s face suddenly looked as though a large bell had smacked her on the head, draining the color from her face and leaving her condemned. “S-Sonic… And Omega?” her knees suddenly trembled slightly, and she had to turn away, shivering at the idea of facing not only her true love but also a behemoth of a killer robot!

“What’s wrong, Amy?” Sonic raised an eyebrow, deciding to play the teasing jokster of the bunch. “Scared you can’t take on the big boys?” He narrowed his eyes, smirking.

The challenging tone of his voice sent a new wave of thunder throughout Amy’s body from her core, reaching out from the center and giving her new vigor and life.

Her eyes, shining white with heaven’s lightning turned back to Sonic, “I’ll see you on the field!” she bolted as fast as she could to the entrance arena, where Omega was also speaking strategy with Rouge and Shadow.

“THERE ARE NO EGGMAN ROBOTS PRESENT IN THESE COMPETITIVE ACTIVITIES. REQUESTING TO ABORT UNNECESSARY ACTIONS AGAINST YOUR FAMILIAR LIFEFORMS.” Omega seemed to be asking permission, but something about his body language made you think he was begging.

“Don’t worry, Omega. I’m not all too thrilled to be participating in these strange contests of strength and unity either.” Shadow stated, looking off to see Amy rushing by them. “It does seem pointless… but Sonic and his friends are offering Chaos Emeralds to the champion team. That’s incentive enough for me to compete in these ridiculous feats.” He walked up to Omega, seeming to side with him on this one. “We’re choosing you for this match. You’re sturdy. Plant your feet on the ‘X’ and keep the others from budging you off. We should be fine.”

“Hmph, I wouldn’t be so sure.” Rouge flew down beside the two.

“What have you heard?” Shadow crossed arms.

“Sonic is the next pick for his team, and I hear Amy is taking the slot as well.” Rouge dusted off a wing and then some of her arm. “Shame, I thought you wanted to have a go at Sonic again.”

“I’m only after the Chaos Emeralds now… But our time will come.” He narrowed his eyes, “He’s rash and leaves people apprehensive. Amy will most likely be distracted into fighting either with him or against him. It just means Omega has a safer chance at securing this game more easily now.”

“Oh? You doubt she’ll side with him?” Rouge seemed to lean more on the fact that she’d help him win. “Why do you suppose that?”

“From their interactions… it looks like she’s got something to prove.” Shadow concluded, “I honestly don’t think she’d just back down in front of him.”

“ANALYZING EMOTIONS.” Omega turned to Amy, scanning her from a distance.

His eyes lit up momentarily and Amy turned around with a ‘Hey!’ instantly.

He turned his head in an owl-like movement back to his teammates. “IDENTIFIED. SHE APPEARS TO BE FUMING WITH MOXIE.”

“You better believe I am!” Amy cried out, “Let’s up the anty a bit, shall we?” Amy turned to Sonic, who had just raced up to the starting line as well.

“Oh? A wager?” Sonic flicked his nose, “Now that’s my style!”

“If I win, you have to marry me!”

“Pass.” Sonic disregarded the statement quicker than when he joined in the topic. He placed his hand on his right cheek and looked up to the sky, immediately bored by the once interesting prospects and began tapping his toe, waiting for the timer.

“Awoohhh! You’re not being very fun!” Amy complained.

His head rose a second, and he swung around to her, “What was that?”

“Fight me! I’ll show you I can go head to head with the fastest hedgehog alive!” she beamed with a brilliant drive in her, but Sonic just stared…

He shook his head, “Better idea… I know you can take me head-on, Amy.” Sonic seemed to happily consent to that fact. “But what about Omega?”

“What about him?” Amy’s gaze pierced through Sonic’s subtle hinting.

“Heh.” Sonic seemed to regain his mischievous nature, and continued, “Let’s see how long you can go with Omega. He’s not like the usual trash-heaps Eggman throws at’cha. What do you say?”

“It’s a trap.” Shadow and all of Team Dark walked over to the starting line then, Shadow clearly not having any of Sonic’s ploys.

“Oh?” Sonic leaned away from Amy, “Easedroppers. What are you so afraid of? A girl and her mighty hammer?” There was a double-edged sword in his words, but Amy just glared at him, not pointing it out right now.

“He’s only trying to get you to focus on Omega and let him seize the prize.” Rouge countered, but Sonic just turned himself away.

“She’s right, Amy. But man, I would have really loved to see that fight.”

Amy felt a bit torn, hearing him say ‘love’ so casually like that…

“Word of advice,” Rouge didn’t particularly like Amy, but she could see what Sonic was trying to pull here. She turned to angle herself towards Amy and make an even bigger distance between her and Sonic. “Don’t let men so easily manipulate you.”

Manipulate?

The word clung to Amy’s ears. It stung. Sonic may be playful at times, but he would never hurt Amy with lies.

Now her head was reeling… who should she go for?

Omega moved into position, along with Sonic, both to her right and left and in front of her.

Tails began the countdown till the timer started.

She studied their backs, gauged whether to go for Sonic or Omega first. She couldn’t not go after one of them… but if she went after Sonic, she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop Omega’s large frame from sitting pretty on the target. As for Omega… many would think she was working for Sonic, being… 

Manipulated.

“On your marks!” Tails’s voice boomed.

Amy’s eyes settled to the ground, her head lowered in conflicting feelings that battled one another. Victory and defeats in a matter of seconds, an entire age of war waged on while Tails’s voice continued.

“Three!… Two!… One! Go, Heroes!”

Amy took off, immediately figuring out what she would do next.

She wouldn’t be the only one to play cleverly in this game…

She went for Omega.

Her hammer slammed into his shoulder, knocking him slightly off stride as he swung an arm back at her.

“PINK HEDGEHOG HAS ENGAGED. PREPARE FOR OFFENSIVE MANEUVERS.”

“Bring it on!” Amy cried out.

“Woo! Go Omega!” Sonic called from the front, booking it to the spot they needed to claim on a hill.

Amy’s anger spiked then, ‘Did he lie about not wanting to see this match!?’ But he sat high and mighty on the hill and clapped, looking eager to watch the two squabble.

Amy swung another hard hit into his side, but Omega stopped running to focus primarily on stability.

“Tsh, that girl.” Rouge was enraged and disappointed, seeing her do exactly what she thought she would. “You’d think a girl would be smarter than that.”

Shadow watched intently… Seeing something that perhaps Rouge hadn’t noticed yet.

“Don’t swing so hard, Omega! She didn’t mean it!” Sonic’s commentary was annoying Amy for once in her life. She actually wished he would just stop. “Remember that one time you told me not to blow up that robot, Amy? Can I ask the same from you? Heheh.” Sonic snickered, not realizing his jokes were falling on deaf ears. “Woo!!!”

Tails also sweatdropped, not exactly proud of Sonic’s behavior. “He’s acting rather… eccentric now, isn’t he?”

“Eh, should have known.” Knuckles sighed, folding his arms. “Amy wouldn’t want to hurt Sonic. She’d rather see him succeed than have her hero fail because of her, you know?”

Cream and Big looked down a little worriedly to the match too, not sure as they both turned to each other.

“Do you think Amy’s okay?” Big asked.

“Don’t worry, Big. I’m sure Miss Amy has a plan to get us that point!” Cream tried to stay cheery.

“Chao, Chao!” Cheese also looked determined to not give up on her.

Omega looked up to Shadow and Rouge, “REQUESTING ADDED FIRE POWER SUCH AS MACHINE GUN EXTENSIONS.”

The two shook their heads, very adamantly.

“THEN… SECONDARY WEAPONRY WILL BE ENGAGED. BRUTE DESTRUCTION.” He rose his arm and was about to swing it down on Amy.

“Woah!” Sonic’s eyes widened, “Amy! Look out!”

Amy heard that, but only Shadow noticed her smirk.

The arm came down… the dirt and dust seemed excessive, but Sonic was already looking over Omega’s shoulder, having raced up to see if Amy would be okay.

Something red was laying on the ground…

“Amy!” Sonic whacked back Omega, crouching down by it. “Amy..?”

When the dust cleared, it was Amy’s red headband, but nothing more.

“Huh?”

“OPPONENT DISENGAGED. HEADING TO TARGET LOCATION.” Omega turned around before his scanners picked up on an image at the location. “PINK HEDGEHOG SPOTTED. INGITING BOOSTERS FOR MAXIMUM MOVEMENT.”

“What?” Sonic turned around, seeing Amy plant her mighty hammer down on the ‘X’, claiming it as her own.

“Some match, eh, Sonic?” She grinned.

Rouge looked amazed, “She fooled him?”

Shadow smiled, closing his eyes. “It appears she has fooled you as well.” He looked back over to Rouge who looked slightly appalled by the idea but conceded and sighed.

“I guess you’re right. She took his own dirt and flung it right back in his face.”

“Sonic’s not going to let a friend of his get hurt. She used that to her advantage as he had used her fondness for him against her.” Shadow explained, “Well done… Amy Rose.” he seemed to smile for a moment.

Cream and Big cheered, holding each other’s hands and jumping for joy, exclaiming, “She did it! She did it! She did it!”

But there was still a while left on the clock, she had to hold her position.

Sonic recovered from the mixup and headed right to her, making it there far before Omega did and throwing out a kick.

“That was a cheap blow!” he teased, but was in good spirits.

She blocked, keeping a stable footing and flinging him behind her.

“Ahh-yoh!”

“Remind me to show you how mighty my hammer can really be!” Avenging her honor felt sweet, but not for the big titan…

“SAFETY MEASURES DISABLED. PREPARE FOR IMMEDIATE SHOVING.” Omega blasted forward through the air, only hovering somewhat as he angled his shoulder to ram into Amy.

She moved her hammer into place.

“10 seconds on the clock!” Tails shouted out.

Now the intensity was rising…

Amy held her hammer firm in her hand, taking a deep breath.

‘9…’

She counted.

Omega swung his arm at her, Sonic came up from below to grab her leg.

‘…8.’

She let Sonic pull her to her knee, saving her from Omega’s hit but resisted being fully pulled off the hill.

‘7.’

She took Omega’s force and used it against him, hammering into his legs and then slipping her hammer in a fluid motion behind her and hooking Sonic’s side.

‘6.′

It was all slow motion clockwork, as she flipped Sonic into a twirl that he quickly got out of, but momentarily was unaware of Omega stomping down on the spot Amy was trying to procure.

‘5.’

Amy tossed her hammer, having Omega’s robotic eyes follow it as his primary threat level was hyper-focusing on it.

‘4.’

She watched his head completely turn to leave her in his blind spot, and with him toppling over, grabbed his arm to toss him over her.

‘3.’

Aiming for Sonic’s disoriented body that was just now landing back to the ground, getting ready for a comeback.

‘2.’

Sonic’s eyes widened as he had just gotten back his footing, but now Omega was being launched through the air at him, his thrusters still on!

‘1.’

Amy watched as the hulking mass of Omega slammed into Sonic and pinned him to the ground. She steadied her footing, and watched in amazement as the bell donged her ultimate triumph.

“Amy wins!” Tails exclaimed, completely flabbergasted as was everyone.

“I knew Miss Amy wouldn’t let us down!” Cream excitedly wrapped her arms around Cheese, embracing him in a victory hug as Amy stumbled back from the top of the hill, gasping for air.

“S…Sonic?” She motioned a hand to him.

A little blue head wiggled out from below Omega.

He gruffed in defeat, clearly annoyed, but smiled up at Amy. “I deserved that.” he winked, “But next time… no tricks!”

“Only if you’ll hold to it.” She sighed in relief, he wasn’t too upset with her.

“Now, uh… think you can… help get him off of me?” Sonic sweatdropped.

“Emm… No.” Amy’s eyes turned devious.

“Wha-what?” Sonic’s eyes shrank, knowing that look.

She approached him on the ground…

“W-wa-wait a second, Amy!” He struggled to get loose, but Omega had swirls in his eyes. “D-don’t do this!” he stretched his frown out to show his teeth, terrified as she came in for a smooching!

“Emm~ Muah, muah!” she kissed all over his head, making him cry out as though in pain.

“No! Stop! Help! Someone! Ah! Heeelppp!!”

She laughed and giggled, as Rouge shook her head, looking to Shadow who looked uneasy at seeing the open display of affection.

“How awful…” Shadow muttered, not even wanting to approach and help his friend while the act of ‘pecking one’s cheek’ was being done repeatedly under his poor fainted friend.

“Well, well. Looks like two can really play the same game.” Rouge looked a bit too proud to watch Amy get back at Sonic, placing a hand daintily by her cheek and lowering her eyelids to the two. “Women perfect everything. Even deception~”

“Let’s not go that far.” Shadow seemed to not want to agree with that, and moved to Omega’s head, hitting it a few times as Omega came back to life.

“OPERATING FUNCTIONS. SYSTEM STABLE. IT APPEARS I HAVE BEEN BAMBOOZLED. I REQUEST UPDATES TO RECTIFY THIS ASTONISHING FAILURE AT THE EARLIEST CONVENIENCE. REQUESTING THAT BE NOW.”

“Yeah, you’re not the only one. But you’ll be alright.” He patted his friend’s head and squatted down beside him. “Knuckles, Big… Care to join me?” Shadow humorously gestured to helping Omega off of a trapped Sonic, still getting pelted with Amy’s love and affection.

They all seemed a little awkward when approaching, but agreed.

Sonic tried not to underestimate Amy’s abilities ever again…

Fanfiction Entry 599 (x)

[smolbeandrabbles]

Charity: Most People Are Good - Emmett Dutton x Reader (Australia)

Author’s Note: I HOPE YOU BROUGHT YOUR INSULIN!!!  What have I done-!? This is ridiculous! I just really love writing him like this, he’s the perfect Mendo for it. I’m really surprised that I’ve only written him once before this! So Thank You for requesting him! Because he deserves a lot of love 💕 And the other was your idea too... sooo...

Disclaimer: Characters from Australia not mine / Requested Plot Not Mine / If you don’t have a Luke Bryan song in your playlist what kind of Mendo are you-!? AKA: Lyrics not mine

Premise: As Requested by @3134045126 😘 After the bombing everyone is leaving. A whole bunch of boys have been rescued - who's going to watch after them? Cue Reader! They make it to Adelaide; cue Reader who takes on the job of watching over the rescued boys who have no family, other than Brother Frank- Reader is sweet, and kind. Basically mothers all the boys. Giving up all her time, energy and resources to make sure the boys are well taken care of. Enter the Captain who notices  her and all she's doing for the boys and decides to be as helpful as possible. Cue a gentle, sweet romance started from these two taking care of the children.

Words: 4490

Warnings: N/A... But I meant it about the insulin... 

I believe kids oughta stay kids as long as they can ...Go climb a tree, get dirt on their hands I believe we gotta forgive and make amends 'Cause nobody gets a second chance to make new old friends I believe in working hard for what you've got Even if it don't add up to a hell of a lot I believe them streets of gold are worth the work But I still wanna go even if they were paved in dirt I believe that youth is spent well on the young 'Cause wisdom in your teens would be a lot less fun I believe if you just go by the nightly news Your faith in all mankind would be the first thing you lose I believe most people are good And most mama's oughta qualify for sainthood I believe you love who you love Ain't nothing you should ever be ashamed of I believe this world ain't half as bad as it looks I believe most people are good

---

noun

an organization set up to provide help and raise money for those in need.

the voluntary giving of help, typically in the form of money, to those in need.

Adelaide. Dutton didn’t think he’d ever seen something so beautiful in his entire life. Having said that it could have been anything. After Darwin. But, they were due to meet the main convoy here. So… Adelaide was the place he decided was the most beautiful. It's been a long hard journey. 30+ hours would be had enough if he only had his troops to think about. But Emmett Dutton now had a group of Mission Children to think of also. And any time he could he would have the convoy break to let the children be children. Even if that only lasted 10 minutes at a time. He was plenty glad for Brother Frank at all times. Because Emmett couldn’t look after all these kids alone. Much as he would like to try. It surprised him even more how much he found himself caring for these kids. He wasn’t never a kids person. He just wasn’t at all sure he was good at it. Frank was nearly 100% sure that he was. And even other members of his troop took time for the children. They didn’t have much considering all that had happened in Darwin, but… Everyone shared everything. It was on one such break that Emmett contemplated the future of the children. Usually if he wasn’t amongst the children himself he would stand watching them with a smile. There was still innocence at a time of war. Or he would just be happy… that there were good things. He had to continue to remind himself that there were still good things. However today Emmett Dutton looked worried. And Frank noticed this, wandering over; “Penny for your thoughts, Captain.” Emmett chewed his lip thoughtfully “…Brother Frank… tell me, when we get to Adelaide… what happens to the children?” Dutton already knew it was likely he would have to move his troops on. The convoy was not about to just end in Adelaide. It was likely Australia would play a bigger part in the war now. Would he have to travel to Europe to fight? To the USA? He shook that thought away as quickly as he could and turned to his companion for answers. “Well… Adelaide is a big place. It will have a Church.” “Surely the church cannot look after so many…?” It wasn’t Emmett didn’t think it possible. But the money, the people, the resource? …The fact the children were Aboriginal?... He’d seen so much injustice already done due to that. And adoption was so hard he didn’t expect anything to happen there of any consequence either. He’d explained that to Sarah many times. (And watched her fight it, though… He had to admit as much to himself). It certainly hadn’t deterred her, hopefully they would find more such people in the city… What Emmett thought they needed was another woman like her. “Well. God works in mysterious ways…” Emmett raised an eyebrow; “Indeed he may, but… Don’t these boys need a mother as well?” Frank’s face suddenly beamed; “I’m sure they will get one Captain. It’s only a shame I am not able to call ahead!” *** So now he was here in Adelaide, Emmett hoped that Brother Frank’s promise would pay off. Dutton wasn’t worried. But, now it was like these children were his. And he wanted to make sure they were well looked after and taken care of. The majority of the main army convoy was already here; but he was told that those from Darwin were allowed respite. Thank God. And rightly so after what they had been through. This gave Emmett precious time. And now he was tailing Brother Frank through the streets. “…So… Will they go here? Not the Church?” “If she can take them all. I’m sure she can! She has… the room, and the monetary resource at least.” “How do you know all this!?” “She does a great deal for the Church that is well documented. I’m sure she will be up for this too…” They continued on walking, and ended up a little way out of Adelaide… And Emmett couldn’t help but stop dead. Frank continued on; happy disposition as always, through the front gate and down the path. Emmett thought Faraway Downs was big; but it had nothing on this. In fact this was like taking Faraway Downs and planting it in the middle of a city… Maybe it was even bigger than the Administrators property in Darwin. “W-Wait… She lives here!?” “That’s right!” “Alone!?” How could one person manage an estate like this all by herself? “Yes.” Then Frank corrected himself; “Well, she probably wouldn’t by choice!!! But does, by circumstance.” They weren’t even all the way down the path before you were outside. And Emmett discovered the second most beautiful thing he had seen today. Your eyes flicked between them, amused. “You gentlemen look like you could be here for completely different reasons… And that you’ve seen better days. Should I invite you in, or are you simply too busy…?” You walked down the steps to join them on the path, addressing them correctly “Brother, Captain… How may I be of assistance?” You looked between them again. Okay, fine. He was cute by the clergyman was off limits, but the Captain... Well, someone that easy on the eye couldn’t have been single. “Actually we are…” There was a second pause, before the sentence was clarified “Here for the same reason, I mean!” “Oh!” You smiled, what could the Church and the army have in common? If the Captain was about to ask you to host troops that would make sense. But what did the Church have to do with something like that? “We have come from Darwin.” Your eyes widened, and you placed a hand over your mouth as you gasped; “Oh my goodness! I heard-! We all did! Oh-! Wow, my goodness… I’m… I’m so sorry… Are you all, okay?” “Those of us that made it… But, there were some children sent to mission island. It was hit, but, the majority survived.”  Your expression instantly softened, and Emmett took instant note of this as Frank continued; “I heard you might be the person to talk to…” “You want me to foster…. Children?” You tilted your head, but you were suddenly beaming; turning back to the Captain. “But what is the Army’s stake in this?” “Personal only… Ma’m.” You smiled; “Y/N. Call me Y/N… Please.” Then you realised “OH! I didn’t ask-!” “Oh!” He held out his hand instantly, manners maketh man, Emmett!! “Dutton. Captain Emmett Dutton… And this is Brother Frank.” “Emmett…” You liked that, and showed it by saying his name with a sweet smile; you took his hand “Thank you, for your service.” ***

 It surprised you that he was still around, so you certainly hadn't expected to run into him in the middle of town; "Oh! Captain Dutton! I expected you to be long gone by now..." "No no, not yet at any rate. Just waiting for the next posting... And please... Call me Emmett..." "Emmett..." you agreed, "I like that, it's a nice name..." You weren't sure if you were really complimenting him or it was just inane babble, but he seemed to turn a faint shade of pink anyway. "Thank you... But I shall not be taking the credit there..." he smiled "Can I be of any assistance...? You must have a lot to do, all things considered...?" "Oh... That’s sweet of you, thank you..." you let him walk in step with you, smile on your face "I'm just letting them settle right now. Brother Frank is a good help too... But... You have done so much for them already Captain, bringing them here... That’s very heroic..." you looked to his face for a minute; his hesitation. Probably to correct you on his name again. "Emmett! Sorry!" "That's okay... And I don't know about heroic... But they certainly needed to be far from mission island and Darwin..." "Mission Island... Oh. I see." you shook your head "They should be allowed to return home, don't you think?" "Well, maybe we can do that together..." You weren't sure if he was being truthful, but by the look in his eyes you would believe anything Emmett said, and that intensity. That belief as you had that that would be the right thing to do, took your breath away. "Y-yes... When all this is over..." Dutton nodded; “Well, hopefully that won’t be too long… I would hope humanity would have the decency to put a stop to this…” He shook his head “Maybe I shouldn’t go on believing it, but…” Emmett shrugged almost helplessly “When that’s all we have…” You smiled despite this; “You’ve not given up your faith in us all yet… Even with what you must have seen in Darwin?” “If anything it’s only made me more defiant. The world will get through this… They said the last war was ‘the war to end all wars.’ Maybe this one will actually do it.” You tipped your head “…Will we win?” “If it was all so black and white…” but he laughed “…I would think, in the end, the people who are meant to prevail will… But our most immediate problems… The things we can change…” He paused his walk, and turned to you – inspired “…Are right here!”

Emmett and you continued to wander around town together as he helped you run errands and shop for groceries. You hated to admit how much you enjoyed his company. Not because you wanted to come off standoffish, but because you knew that one day he would have to leave. And it would be soon. He wouldn't have reason to be here, in reality if they stationed him back up north... If he was so used to Darwin, he'd be so far away from you. You didn't want to start something just to see it all end. But you couldn't help falling for him. He was charming and sweet. How could you not?

 "Emmett, come in for a little while, I'm sure they'd like to see you..." "well, I suppose I have time. Are you sure you don't mind?" "i just invited you didn't I...!?" you quirked your eyebrow - "Of course, also its only polite that seen as you helped me with all of this." "Oh no! That's nothing, any time..." You folded your arms with a subtle shake of your head; "That's not nothing... Anyway, please, just accept my gratitude and come inside!?" He laughed; "okay, you won't need to tell me twice..." Of course as soon as you got him through the door and the children realised, they were all over him. "Woah-! Woah-! Okay...boys!!" Emmett was laughing again, which you loved; it made you smile. So much it started to hurt to smile for much longer. "Just let me help Y/N alright then I will come and see you..." When he finally got some of the younger children to let him go, with a little encouragement from you - you both slipped into the kitchen: "I suppose you get that a lot?" he straightened out his shirt, looking curiously back into the corridor where several of them were watching you both "Less than you would think... But you? Oh, they talk about you all the time..." "Really!?" "Mmm, oh, Captain I know all your stories second hand. Granted there's some variations on what actually happened, and I certainly wouldn't pass up the opportunity to hear them first hand, But! Yes, they certainly like you a lot. And you obviously care for them deeply..." He turned back to you, and that look on your face he hoped he might be reading correctly. But also made him bashful: admiration? Why? Hadn’t he done what any decent human would do? He felt he'd done far less than you... “Oh I…” he struggled with what was best to say, so he opted for a simple “Thank you…” instead. “No… Thank you.” Emmett set about helping you put things away, but you realised pretty quickly that you had gathered a small audience, laughing with him like this. That was understandable, they were equally curious on what was making you so happy (not that you weren’t always) and Emmett himself. Eventually you pushed him gently towards the door “Go on…” “We aren’t even finished-!” You waved away his protests “Go on, they want to listen to you… I’ll come through when I’m finished…” He hesitated “Y/N… I… Are you sure?” “They want to see you! Go on, I mean, how much time may you really get with them?” “I suppose you’re right… But I…” “Emmett…” You pushed him gently again; “Please, go!” He looked like he didn’t want to leave you, so even when he walked from the room, he did it slowly – almost pleading with you to pull him back. You couldn’t help your cheeky wink; “I won’t make you wait long!” He had to laugh again; and turned back to the children once again clambering all over him to pull him through into your extensive living room. “Okay! Okay! It’s alright! I’m here…” You tidied away and then wandered through. Each and every one of them was engrossed in every single word. And you sat yourself on the arm of one of the sofas with some of the younger children to listen too. You barely heard a word that Emmett said, and he barely registered that you’d even walked in, but the way he told it… The way he wasn’t even that animated, but his passion, the way he spoke… everything had everyone in that room hanging on his every word. You weren’t surprised that when you finally had the inclination to look at the clock it was late; But you still waited until the appropriate time to interrupt his story; “OH! Boys… Dinner…” Several of them leapt up immediately to eagerly assist you.  Emmett stood “I suppose I better get going…” “Nonsense, Captain… Would you please join us? It’s only fair, considering all your help in town and telling us such wonderful stories… Also, you can finish them over dinner… What do you say boys?” “Yes! Please! Please stay…!” The clamour of voices all politely asked the same thing. And Dutton wasn’t about to resist them or you; “Oh… Then, I suppose I better stay… Thank you…” You grinned; “I better ask now if you can cook!” “Oh I---” he laughed nervously “I… Suppose I can… You do tend to pick up a few things, here and there…” You nodded, that would do, all you really needed was another pair of (firm but fair) hands to help you out. “Well, Captain, I suppose it’s time for you to put those skills to the test…” “Oh. If I’d have known there was a test… I’m not sure I would have accepted the invitation!” ***

Turned out that his ‘you pick up a few things’ was neither wrong, nor exactly truthful. "Why don't you stop acting so humble?!" you giggled slightly, "At this rate its gonna turn out you cook better than me!” He laughed, but blush swept his face “No! Oh gosh! I wouldn't want to show you up..!" "Too late captain!" but you were both laughing. You had some of the boys help you with the easier things and then sent them on their way again before returning to cooking. Emmett let himself just watch you for a minute, how you made 10 things at once look easy.

He couldn't help it; "You're amazing, you know?" it was quiet, like a thought he hadn't meant to slip out and yet he wanted to You turned to him "Me!? No... I'm... Doing what anyone would do..." "No, no... This... Is amazing. Those boys deserve a mother and... For sure you are one... They couldn't have done better than this. But you must have helped so many people... Brother Frank alluded to it but... You are nothing short of incredible." "Captain, please..." you pressed your hands to your face, feeling it heat up, you'd never been very good at taking compliments. You didn't do this to be noticed after all, but so that other people could live a better life, or pick themselves up. He crossed to you for a minute "All you're doing, people should just thank you more often." "Well, they think I'm crazy for doing it..." His voice was quiet again "Well, I don't..." You looked back into his eyes, still blushing. Well I don't was possibly the most significant thing he'd yet said. And he'd said a lot that meant something to you. He still had that ever so sweet smile of admiration on his face. And he was getting to you. You were close enough to feel the heat from his body; and something within you was pining for that closeness – for his touch… or his love. But it couldn’t have been just you, you couldn’t have just been imagining that he was leaning closer to you. That made you instinctively lean into him. And this could happen, you could kiss, and it could be like some kind of fairy tale. And all this went through your head very quickly. Of course, reality had something to say about that – as the timer in the corner of the kitchen went off. SERIOUSLY!? He pulled away from you and took a polite step back as if he was forgetting himself; “Oh… I… I’m sorry…” You wanted to tell him not to apologise; you wanted to grab him and tell him to kiss me, dammit! But you couldn’t. Your face was still flushed and what you did do was say “It’s okay… don’t worry…” NO! DAMMIT! Y/N! IT’S NOT OKAY! IT COULD HAVE BEEN A PERFECT KISS!!! No time to dwell on that, with dinner ready, but both of you did. Standing looking at each other, hesitant for just a few more moments… Until one of the older boys cleared his throat; “Should I tell everyone it’s ready, Miss Y/N?” You didn’t want to tear your eyes from Emmett, but you had to; “Yes! Thank you!” *** Dinner passed quickly, but Emmett continued his anecdotes to the boys. Every so often one of them would pick up on a story thread of his and begin sharing a story of their own; and Emmett liked watching how you gave it your undivided attention. You reacted appropriately, and asked relevant questions. You made every boy around that table feel special. And when you caught Emmett’s eye and smiled like that, that number included him.   He stayed long after dinner was over, and helped you both tidy away and put the boys to bed. Which he found was not an easy task. “Drink?” You couldn’t help giggle at his slightly bedraggled exhausted look as he tried to neaten his appearance; “Please… I don’t know how you do it! You’re a Saint.” “Oh-! Sometimes I don’t think they’d think so-!” You gave a wink, “Can be the total opposite if they won’t behave!” He shook his head, mocking shock; “I don’t believe a word of it!” You sat him outside and handed him a glass as a night cap. The air was still warm even though the sun had long since set, and it made for a pleasant evening. There was comfortable silence as you both admired the scene of your garden, lit every so often by the glow of fireflies, and you could think about the evening in a little detail. Eventually you broke the silence with a hesitant question; “Do you have kids?” He turned those inquisitive blue eyes back on you, “NO. No… Single…” You wondered why he’d added that statement, because that wasn’t what you had asked. Single wasn’t a qualifier for if he’d ever had kids. And unless he meant always been single which you couldn’t believe for a moment, it certainly had no relevance. “You’re good with kids…” You mused, finishing your glass and setting it down “That’s worth something?” You smiled back at him, gently “I think it is…” His next smile was significant as he fielded your compliment back; “You’re a good mother.” You opened your mouth to respond, but it was like it suddenly all hit you, and you took a noticeable deep breath out “I learned from a good mother…” “So you aren’t one?” “No… I had a lot of younger siblings who moved out… They are all around Australia and Europe now… some of them…” You looked back to the house “…I stayed to help look after my parents… and when they both passed on… I thought what better to do with their house than look after people…” “You really are a Saint.” You turned back to him; how he seemed to voice some kind of clarity that hit you again, full force. And your heart yearned for him. To have him here to tell you things you so desperately wanted to hear… “Maybe…” Your voice was quiet, and when you looked away from him again he reached for your hand; “Not a maybe… you have compassion and generosity that you can’t show gratitude for with mere words… And yet you do this all without shouting it from rooftops.” “I don’t do it to be noticed, I do it because, like you, I want to believe there can still be good in the world – even if I have to do it all by myself…” He set his glass down; and took your other hand in his; “Y/N… Believe me, you are not alone.” And in that moment, what you knew he meant was you have me. *** It was a few days later when Dutton found the time to wander back to your house to see you and the children again. You were out in the back garden when he arrived; still expertly keeping the attention of all the children. Engrossed in some story or other you were telling. Acting out scenes here and there with the help of some of the older boys. Emmett couldn't help but laugh to himself as he watched from your porch, relaxing himself by leaning against it. From here he was in the shade from the hot afternoon sunlight but it didn't seem to bother you or them in the slightest.

Eventually your eyes caught his, and you turned to the older boys to keep the game going whilst you took a breather; "Captain! You're still here!" The way you were beaming and the sunshine hit your hair and eyes and made you literally glow, was the reason that just this once he didn't bother correcting you; "You always sound so surprised!" He turned his full attention from the children to you as you joined him. "Well, I just don't want to get my hopes up that you'll stay..." Emmett tried and failed not to read too much into that, and his smile was gracious "Well... You never know, perhaps you should..." He nodded to the children in order to swiftly change the subject, "they all seem to be getting on well." "Yes, thanks to you." "Me!? You-!" "Emmett you rescued them!" "Not I... A good friend of mine... I simply delivered them into your care... You have saved these children... You have given them a far better life that they would have received on mission island I can tell you that..." You shook your head, placing your hand on his to turn him back to you; “But as I say, they always ask after you... Emmett... When you're coming around next, if you’re going to spend the day here... Every time they see you... I wish you would stay..."

He watched the way that your eyes nervously left his, how you bit your lip and stared at his chest instead. From nowhere he gained a moment of courage, and instead of the nervous laugh he felt, Emmett spoke up, this time entwining your fingers properly with his. "Is that the only reason you wish I would stay?" This time you did blush; those soft blue eyes and that sweet smile became too much and you could feel the heat from his face at your almost kiss again. “Maybe not… But it shouldn’t always be about me…” He couldn’t help his chuckle, you were probably the most charitable, unselfish person he’d ever known. How could anything you did ever always be about you? “Then tell me…” Tell me what I want to hear; that’s what he was pleading with you to say… But you weren’t hearing that, because you didn’t want to believe it could be true. “You told me I was a good mother…” He tilted his head, “I did. And meant it…” You decided there was no time to be bolder and looked back into his eyes with confidence; “Well… I figure those boys need a good father figure too…” “Heh…” he bit his lip gently, but smiled through it “That’d require me to stay.” “No… Just be there when you can be…” “Well what about you?” “What about me…?” He tried again, this time more obvious “Maybe I would hope you weren’t just saying that… for them…” “…Why are you asking me to say it?” Emmett gave a little shrug; “Because maybe if I hear you say it I will know it’s true. What you really want.” You took a breath; “I don’t know what I want…” You shook your head “I want you to stay, if you can stay… of course I do. But if you must leave, then I want you to come back… But what I know for sure, is that what I wanted the other night…” You hesitated a moment and swallowed “I just wish…” You shook your head “I should have kissed you.”

For a moment he couldn’t believe that you would be that forward, but he liked it. He loved it. “Well, I feel we should rectify that situation… If you would allow me to kiss you?” Your eyes widened slightly, you knew it! You’d known it… You should have done something then… But he was doing something now. So your smile was confident as you looked back into his eyes “You may.” He kept your hands respectfully in his, and leaned in slow and gentle, you closed your eyes. Hardly daring to believe that this was real; that it was really a dream that you were about to wake up from. But as his lips touched yours you held his hands a little tighter; and pulled him in closer. No dream would compare to this. The kiss was just as soft and sweet as he was, and you kept your eyes closed as he broke it and placed his forehead gently to yours. You realised that you didn’t need to ask him to stay, that that kiss was a promise. No matter what the future held, he would return to you.

--- 🙈 Was that too sweet?! Ah! Sorry babe! But thank you for requesting him! As ever 😘💙💜 Eeeeek! 4 Virtues Down!

#MendoTagSquad! @dennismitchell @krnncsbtch @happyskywhale

[sublisette]

Easter Eggs - Lisette & Madeline (Scene 1)

Lisette drew: Pool, Crop, During Clubs/Practice

Date: April 16, 2020

Featuring: Lisette Gilbert & Madeline Beiste

Kinks: Impact Play

It had been some time since Lisette had been with anyone but Frankie, at least not without Frankie nearby, so the scenes with Madeline were definitely a change in her routine.  But the Domme, still relatively new to the Institute, had been exceedingly friendly and polite, and there was no reason for Lisette to think that she would be any different in the context of a scene.  She was eager to feel the slap of the crop, and to hear what it sounded like with the echoes of the pool around them - she had every intention of making sure that the scene was good for Miss Madeline as well, that she learned what good fun a crop could be put to and how nice her ass looked when reddened.  Waiting just outside the pool, as promised, Lisette sunk to her knees with her arms behind her and relaxed into herself as she waited for Madeline to appear.

Madeline took a deep breath to steady herself as she looked in the mirror over her bathroom sink. Her hair was tied back adequately, and her clothes were smooth and wouldn't get in the way of using a crop for the first time. She just had on a simple blouse and skirt with tights and flats, but the outfit allowed her a decent freedom of movement in addition to looking nice. She slipped what she needed into her messenger bag and then made her way over to the pool. Seeing Lisette on her knees for her put a smile on her face, and she stepped over to the sub to set a hand on her head. She ran her fingers through her hair gently. "Such a good girl for me already," she murmured. "Come on, let's get up and go on in." She held the door open for her, and once she was inside, she sat down on a bench along the wall and set her bag on the bench next to her. "Over here, please, Lisette."

Lisette looked up slightly, smiling as Madeline's fingers tangled in her hair.  It was a little, affectionate gesture that really calmed down any possible lingering nerves about their first scene.  "Thank you, Miss.  And of course."  She got to her feet slowly and stepped inside the door.  Her nose was stung by the scent of chlorine immediately, and she was reminded of pools back at home in New Jersey.  "Of course, Miss."  She shrugged off her jacket and set it aside to reveal the bikini she'd chosen - in keeping with the setting of their scene - and then knelt down in front of the bench.

Madeline's eyes grew wide for just a moment when she saw what Lisette was wearing--or not wearing, as the case may be. Once she caught herself, she realized that she looked just perfect for their planned scene. "You look wonderful," she told her. "Much more thematically appropriate than me," she added with a self-deprecating chuckle. "It's just a shame that the swim season is in the fall so there's not a full swim team here to see how perfect you look, too." She got the crop out of her bag and set it across her lap. "Now, tell me, Lisette. What are your limits, and what is your safeword?"

The reaction to her outfit made Lisette grin, as it was exactly what she'd been aiming for.  "Thank you, Miss.  But honestly, thematic or not you look amazing - that skirt is perfect on you."  She would definitely have preferred the audience, but there was no way to know whether Madeline was the sort of Domme who appreciated that sort of thing or not.  "Maybe next time we can do something more public, Miss, if you'd like that."  She looked up at the Domme, wanting to make sure her voice could be heard clearly.  "My limits are scat and vore, and my safeword is Jersey, Miss."

"Aren't you a little flirt?" Madeline asked with a grin, showing that she wasn't upset in the slightest. "Perhaps the time after next we can go public. I don't think anyone else will even be awake at 4am for our next scene," she teased. Once she had Lisette's limits and safeword, she nodded. "Thank you. Now, I've done a bit of reading about riding crops." She twirled the implement between her fingers as she spoke. "But I'd like you to tell me where you feel most comfortable being hit, as well as anywhere you absolutely don't want me to strike you."

"Maybe a little bit, Miss," Lisette chuckled.  "But I'm also just being honest."  She laughed in response to Madeline's comment, conceding it with a nod.  "The time after next, for sure.  If there's anyone up at 4AM, they're probably not going to be too interested anyway."  Lisette kept her eyes on the Domme, paying careful attention to everything that she had to say.  "Of course, Miss.  The places I've been hit the most and enjoyed the most are breasts and ass.  There honestly isn't anywhere that I'm concerned about being hit, although if you could avoid my face I'd appreciate it."

Madeline nodded. "All right," she said. "I wouldn't want to hit your face anyhow. I'm not going to start off with a plan for where all I'll strike you, but we'll see what happens, okay? Keep you on your toes a bit." She grinned and got up, striding over near one side of the pool. There were some short diving blocks there for competitive swimming. "Come on over here and bend over, grabbing onto the block for balance. Spread those legs nice and wide for me--I want your back fairly flat."

"I appreciate it, Miss," Lisette smiled.  She wasn't the biggest fan of being hit there, so if Madeline didn't want to then that suited her just fine as well.  "Sounds like fun, Miss!"  If it wasn't going to be predictable then she was going to enjoy it much more.  She padded across the pool deck, taking not of the blocks and spreading her legs as wide as possible once she'd bent over without making herself uncomfortable.   "How's that, Miss?"

Madeline watched while Lisette moved into position, and she smiled as she clearly pushed herself to get into the position she'd been told. "Hm," Madeline hummed. She lightly tapped the inside of each of the sub's ankles with the crop, but she didn't actually make her spread her legs any wider. "That's perfect, Lisette," she said, satisfied. "Now remember, you have a safeword if you need it," she added before aiming a test swat at her ass.

Lisette waited for further direction when her ankles were tapped, but it wasn't forthcoming so she stayed in position and smiled.  "Thank you, and understood, Miss."  Safewording when she'd hit her limit wasn't her strength, but she was working hard at that.  The first swat made her hum pleasurably, and she wriggled as much as her position allowed.  "Thank you, Miss."

"Good girl," Madeline said, smiling to herself at the thanks. That wasn't something she'd been expecting, but she liked it very much. She swatted her a few more times with the crop, varying the placement--both on top of her swim bottoms and on the exposed skin of her ass and thighs below the fabric--and the intensity. Once she felt like she had a good enough understanding of the toy, she paused. "That was just a warm up," she explained. "From here on out, I'd like you to count each hit for me. Any questions?"

Lisette certainly had no issue with a riding crop, and she made sure that each strike was met with a pleasurable noise.  If she could reassure Madeline, make her more confident in the tool, that could only help the both of them.  "Not at all, Miss, I understand.  I'll count each strike for you.  Would you like me to thank you for each one as well?"  She was happy either way, the thanks could always be done at the end.

Madeline smiled at Lisette's thorough response. "You decide on that, Lisette," she said. "Only thank me when you feel appreciative." A deep breath helped her to steady herself before she started landing a series of harder hits, alternating between Lisette's left and right cheeks. She smiled to herself as the harder smacks echoed out against the tiled walls of the pool. She paused after the tenth hit. "I think the echo is actually a pretty satisfying part of the scene," she commented lightly. "Have you been paying attention?"

There really was no feeling quite as fun as pain, Lisette decided.   Madeline might not have been an expert with the crop, but she had the technique figured out quickly enough and the sharp sting of each impact against her ass was firm proof of that.  "I think you're right about that, Miss, there are excellent acoustics in here."  It made each blow sound much stronger than it felt, and the audible feedback was impressive.  "Ten, Miss.  I kept track," she insisted proudly.

"Good girl," Madeline said, running the end of the crop against Lisette's pink cheeks. "You're doing a very good job for me." With that, she started the smacks up again, moving less predictably this time. She landed strikes all over Lisette's ass and thighs, pausing for a number in between each hit.

Lisette wriggled under the praise, keeping her feet planted and her back as level as possible.  "Thank you, Miss!"  She grinned in delight as the crop's target began to shift from ass to thighs and back again, answering each strike with a number and working in a thanks every on every fifth one.  She was ecstatic at the way Madeline was reddening her skin, and she wanted the Domme to know it.

Madeline couldn't help the smile on her face as Lisette thanked her for the pain. She'd known people could be turned on by impact play, but it was another thing entirely for her to be the one causing the pain. It sent a thrill through her that was an altogether new sensation for her. She continued her strikes, building up a rhythm until Lisette's ass was so red, she wasn't sure it was safe to go much further. "Such a good girl for me," she praised, putting a hand against the sub's back. "How are you feeling?"

Lisette's breathing was rapid and her eyes were dilated by the time that Madeline came to a stop, at which point she announced the final count and her thanks in a hazy voice that belied her physical condition.  "So good, Miss," she smiled.  "Thank you so much for all of that - and don't let anyone ever tell you that you don't know what you're doing with a crop.  Because you so do."  Lisette knew just how wet she was, and the state of her ass, and she was delighted by the entire scene.  She'd never expected the Easter event to be so much fun.

Madeline rubbed Lisette's back. "You're very welcome, Lisette," she said proudly. "And thank you for the compliment." She reached down to grab one of the sub's hands and helped her up to her feet. Looking her in the eye, she asked, "Are you okay to walk with me back to my room? Do you need anything now?"

Lisette eased her way to her feet, stretching a little to work out her kinks.  "I'm..." she shook her head, starting over.  "I'm okay to walk, Miss, but I'm very deep right now."  Her voice felt far away, but she made sure to look at Madeline as she spoke.  "If we can cuddle for a while, that'd go a long way to bringing me back."  She didn't know whether Madeline was good with that or not, but she knew it was key to scenes she had with Frankie.

"Okay," Madeline said, her brain going a mile a minute when she realized that deep meant deep in subspace. She definitely hadn't expected that to happen with one of her first actual scenes ever. She wound an arm around the sub's shoulders and guided her back to the bench along the wall. "Let's get that coat on you again, and we can head back to my place for all the cuddles you could possibly need." Once she was covered up again, Madeline put her things away in her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and wrapped her arm back around Lisette's shoulders. "Ready?"

Lisette happily gave herself over into Madeline's care, glad to be with a Dominant that was so capable despite only arriving recently.  Shrugging into her coat seemed more complicated than usual, but she was happy to have it on so that she could lean against Madeline once again.  "That sounds perfect, Miss, thank you."  Cuddles were the perfect way to end any scene in her mind, and it would be neat to enjoy them with the Domme.  "Ready, Miss," she promised, letting herself be led out of the pool into the Ohio air.

[doughyduo]

¥ with summer winding down, might be time for Hana to do one last big ice cream binge for the sake of beating the heat!

“Hmm...I can’t believe I never actually did one of those! I guess it’ll have to be really big to make up for that.~”

After nearly an hour of waiting in chat, watching the numbers on DVa’s stream tick down as bunnies expanded and shrunk on the corners of the screen, bits of bubblegum doing so in tandem with them, you had wondered what the impromptu stream would be this time. Maybe something about her drawing up plans for Halloween or Fall sets with chat, teasing what they would be, showing off an outfit that she has planned, or a variety of other things. As the time ticked down to reach 00:00, your mind raced with possibilities, Hana saying it would be her most fun stream in the recent months. As it finally did hit 00:00, a small chibi figure of Hana appeared on screen, bloating up rapidly until she filled the entire thing.

Filling the screen, Hana rolled from side to side, her blubbery hips wobbling in the shade of her umbrella on the beach. On two towels, one pink and one blue, she giggled as she gave a small wave, taking a small break from the tiny cup of ice cream she had to greet her chat. “Oh hey everyone!~ I just wanted to let everyone know I was streaming soon because I wanted my last trip to the beach to be the most fun one. I figured I’d let all you guys in on the fun, too, so I made sure to go really all out on it all!~” Smiling wide, her chubby cheeks bouncing as she set her ice cream on the sand, she pat her bare, slightly-tanned thighs with her pudgy hands, running them across the miles of fat that covered them before reaching under them and pulling them up, wanting to ensure that she filled and spilled out the two towels. Patting her belly as well, the double-rolled glob of dough going to mid-thigh even as she leaned back, Hana jiggled it softly before she began speaking again. “I know all you have been asking for another big stuffing session because I haven’t done one in a while, and I thought you were all right. It’s not fair to leave you all wondering how much I can eat after I hit seven hundred and fifty pounds, is it?~” Sliding a hand under the bottom roll of her gut, she planted her other hand behind her, letting her hammy arm wobble lightly as it settled and kept her upright. With her other hand caressing the underside of her belly, she moved her plump fingers out to the side of her gut, grabbing it and lifting it momentarily, then letting it drop onto her thighs once more, a meaty slap making her smile and hum softly.

“Soo...with the recent heat waves lately, I thought maybe I should do something to cool off. It’s just too hot for a girl like me, I’m surprised I haven’t melted yet. As a true butterball, that’s a real worry I have a lot of the time. I wouldn’t want to be stuck here on the beach, begging for help as I struggled to get up, sweating grease and huffing up at you, would I? Just imagine the cost of getting a crane out here to take cool me off in the ocean before a truck comes to take this whale home.~” Giggling again, she flipped some strands of hair over her shoulder, winking quickly after. With her free hand, she began fanning her face, sending her breasts into a rhythmic bouncing, her belly wobbling, and her tubby forearm quaking. “So I decided it would be better to just go to a store, buy all the ice cream I could, and just leave it to the truck instead of the crane. I could probably help with the heatwave after that, letting people snuggle up to my cold, gurgling belly after eating dozens and dozens of gallons of chocolate, vanilla, strawberry...~ I bet I could help cool off at least...two dozen people with how big my belly will be after all of this. It’s a shame none of you are here to test that...~” Giggling again, Hana took a moment to wobble across the screen, twisting and leaning over her tremendous gut, grunting and groaning as she struggled to reach off screen. After a few moments of obvious struggle, a hand reached over to give her a gallon bowl of ice cream, to which she thanked them in Korean and settled back on her towels. With some sand under her thighs and her towels disheveled, she placed the ice cream in her boobs, shivering softly from the heat transforming to sudden cold. In another fit of unstoppable wobbles, the gelatin mold of a girl was handed an ice cream scoop, two which she thanked them again, popping off the top of the ice cream container and tossing it aside.

As a hyper-obese girl, far past the standards of obesity that any one could give, she was sure she could handle it. She’d surely had worse.

So, a multi-hour feast had begun, aided by an unknown figure that handed her more ice cream whenever she had licked the previous tub dry. A little talking and teasing here and there went on, mainly about how she wished you were there to help her get through the painful task of lifting her heavy arms up over and over again to eat the sweet, delicious ice cream, but most of it was filled with her gobbling down the sweet treat. Entire gallons of ice cream disappeared within minutes, the ice cream scoop being filled and then emptied into her mouth with one single bite, making her rabbit motif seem outdated, needing to be replaced by a pig. Dribbles of melted ice cream would get between her watermelon-sized breasts, dribbling down the rolls of her belly as she devoured gallon after gallon, only to be wiped up and licked off of her sausage fingers every couple of times she replaced her ice cream. An hour in, and she was still going, her burps and breaks for air getting more frequent, her belly growing redder despite being in the shade, and belly rubs from herself becoming more frequent. Every now and then, she would stop her eating to squeeze her gut with both hands, pressing down as hard as she could to get big burps out, but that only made how full she was getting more and more obvious; the first time, her hands had practically disappeared into caverns of adipose, emerging moments later after a hearty, raunchy belch that was followed by a soft giggle. By the second hour mark, her hands barely squished into her gut, only half of her porky hands squishing in. Despite the obvious fullness, she pressed on, her speed only decreasing slightly as she continued to eat, and eat, and eat, and eat...

By three hours in, the sun had begun to set, and Hana’s appetite was almost at its limits. Surrounded by ice cream containers and with her belly looking like a mosaic made by ice cream, she was huffing and panting, belching between mouthfuls, and groaning. Mumbles came out in Korean as she pushed herself to eat more, to fill herself until she couldn’t anymore, to really push boundaries and to set records. Surely she had to have eaten nearly a hundred pounds of ice cream after hours and hours of eating, making her belly rise higher and higher up, as well as further and further out, covering her knees and touching her shins by the time the sun began to set. Huffing and puffing, she was handed the final container, doing her best to power through it with flushed, sweating chubby cheeks, groaning between slow, heavy bites.

With one final gulp, covered in ice cream and containers, Hana groaned as she dropped the frigid ice cream scoop onto her engorged, burgeoning belly, dropping onto her back with a groan. Slow, heavy breaths could be heard as her gut softly rose and fell, the height of it extending up to a few feet, almost as tall as she was when she had been sitting straight up. A hand, covered in a mix of brown, white, and red ice cream, slowly went up to the side of her gut, patting it and making small circles as she moaned and groaned, unable to move without causing extreme pain, or letting out belches that would send her into a flurry of deafening expulsions.

“Aah...hah...m-maybe I...d-do...need a crane...guuuhhh...B-Bye, stream...다음에 또 봐...” And with a tired, lazy wave of her fat hand, the stream cut to black.

“BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBWWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!~~~”

[thetravelerwrites]

Elsabet (Female Lich) SFW

Rating: Teen Relationship: Female Lich x MTF Trans Reader Additional Tags: Reader Insert, Exophilia Content Warnings: MTF Trans, Pre-HRT, Dysphoria Words: 1536

I got a request from @chaoswolf1982 for a fem trans reader and a Lich lady, and managed to knock it out in a few hours! This was a fun one, since the Elsabet is from the 1600s and speaks all fancy, and I haven’t done a MTF trans woman before now, so that was a new experience, too! Please enjoy!

I accept requests, but they are limited to 1500 words. Anything more than that, and I’m afraid I’ll have to charge.

The day it happened was actually your first day on the demolition site. It was a shame; this crumbling ruin must have been glorious when it was first built. You could see the structure of the fallen parapets and towers in your mind’s eye. There weren’t many real castles in your country, and even though it was the job you’d been given, you thought it a pity to get rid of it.

The other construction guys had been looking at you sideways all day. You hadn’t started hormone replacement therapy or undergone any surgeries yet, so even though you’d grown your hair out and despite wearing black jeans with flower embroidery and a feminine-cut button-up shirt with thin, pink pinstripes and a half sleeve, you still had a five o’clock shadow and a tell-tall adam’s apple. You knew you didn’t quite pass yet, but you didn’t care. You’d spent too much of your life hiding yourself and you just plain refused to do it anymore.

At least they had enough consideration to hold their tongues while you were in earshot. Not that it mattered, of course; you were the only explosives expert within a hundred miles that they could hire, so what they thought about you and your life choices didn’t make a difference either way.

“Okay, so, that tower that’s leaning,” You said to the tear-down team. “It doesn’t need explosives. If you take out those three support stones underneath it, it’ll come down pretty quick. The main hall is the one thing I’d say we’d need to rig up, but we’ll work inward toward it and leave it for last.”

“Okay, boys,” the team leader said. “You heard the…” He paused, side-glancing at you. “Start on that tower. I want to have at least half of it cleared out by dark.”

You shook off your annoyance and started mapping out the plans for the main hall. You heard distantly the sound of the supports being smashed away, looking up to make sure the men got out of the way before returning to your measurements.

Then a blood-curdling screech shattered the atmosphere around you. You stood up straight and saw the men scattering, yelling and cursing.

“What the hell is that?” You asked the men as they ran past you like rabbits from a fox. They all jumped into their trucks to flee.

“Wait!” You called, but they were gone, kicking up dust as they sped off. “It was probably just a coyote, you fucking cowards!” You shook your head and growled at them, as they left you here. You reached into your own truck and pulled out your high-impact airsoft rifle. You weren’t really a fan of guns, but you worked in the country a lot and predators were a common problem, so at the very least, a non-lethal deterrent was necessary.

You approached the fallen tower with your rifle up and ready, whistling loudly.

“Alright, whatever is in there needs to fuck off! I have a job to do here,” You said loudly, your voice echoing off the stones. You grimaced at the sound of it. You didn’t have a lot of body dysphoria, but your voice was one thing about yourself that really bothered you. You didn’t know how to make it sound more feminine without feeling like you were pretending.

You didn’t see any movement inside the main structure, so you called out again. “I’m serious! Get out of here!” You even cracked a BB off of the nearest rotting wooden window pane in warning, which you assumed once had glass.

To your immense surprised, a largish rock came sailing out of the darkness in your direction, and you ducked with enough time to avoid getting brained.

“Begone!” A voice inside said. It was a rasping, crackling voice, as if whoever it belonged to hadn’t used it’s own voice in quite some time. “Let this accursed woman rest! I have paid your infernal tax well into the next decade! Get thee hence and vex me no more!”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” you said, lowering your rifle but stepping tentatively into the main hall. It was still pretty solidly standing. “This place has been scheduled for demolition. You can’t stay here.”

Another stone was lobbed at you, and you dodged it.

“Dost thou intend to eject a lady from her own dwelling? Bought and paid, I have! This land and all that exist within is my own! I shall not suffer thee! Darken my doorstep no further.”

“Ma’am, please,” You said. “This property is owned by the state. They’ve plans to turn it into a resort. You can’t stay. If I have to call someone to get you out of here, I will.”

“Threats?” You saw two pinpricks of light in the dark, moving around the room, and froze. “I should like to see thou maketh good on thy foolish promise. Come, then! Come and see that which you so blithely provoke.”

The person to whom the voice belonged stepped into the sunlight, and you immediately pulled your gun up again.

It was… a corpse. A walking, talking corpse made of tanned leather skin stretched over a skeleton with no muscle or organs beneath. It’s lips were drawn tightly back, leaving it’s long teeth exposed. The lights you had seen were coming from the sockets of its eyes, deep in the darkness of it’s skull. It was tall and wore a tattered, ill-fitting dress; old-fashioned, perhaps centuries old.

“Dost thou comprehend now?” It asked. “Dost thou see what it is you seeketh to expel from her own domicile?”

“What are you?” You asked in shock, your rifle forgotten in your hands.

“I am an undead thing, bound to this castle,” It said. It peered at you curiously. “What is thou?”

“I… I am a woman,” You replied, your heart skipping a beat. It was the first time you had ever said that sentence out loud.

The lights of it’s eyes dimmed, as if it was squinting. “Lookest ye not like a woman.”

“Neither do you,” You retorted, bristling.

You expected a barbed reply, but instead it said, “Thou dost not speaketh a falsehood,” It--she--sat on a moldering wooden chair. “This curse hast robbed me of much. My womanhood is but the smallest facet of the jewel that I once was.”

“How did this happen to you?” You asked, setting the rifle aside.

She waved a bony hand dismissively. “Money and power breedeth hostility. Any number of the vulgar rabble would revel in my misfortune. I am the last of my damned line. The curse hath fixed me so that no further children of my blood would be born, but that my house and name continue in death for eternity.”

She waved her skeletal hands at the remains of her castle. “All that you see is the remnants of my home and my prison. Eternally shalt I pay for the sins of my forebears, though no such sin did I commit.” She looked introspective, her angular shoulders hunched. “Perhaps, if thou dost breaketh down these walls, I shall crumble with it. Perhaps I, too, may fade.”

You knelt down. “How long have you been trapped here?”

“What is the year?” She asked, and you told her. She gasped softly in surprise. “Has it really been so long? I had grown melancholy that I thought to sleep for only a few years, just to pass the time. I have… severely miscalculated.”

You had the strange urge to reach out to her and take her hand, and you did. She looked at you in surprise.

“I’m sorry,” You said. “I can’t stop the demolition. It’s not up to me. You scared off this crew, but they’ll hire more.”

She shook her head, the wisps of hair still left on her scalp floated around her ears like dandelion fuzz.

“No,” She said. “What must be done shall be done. I shan’t stand in thy path or interfere in thy work. The time has come for the end, as all things must.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. “What will happen to you?”

“I do no know,” She said. “But circumstance will be different. That shall be well enough.”

“What’s your name?” You asked her.

She frowned, thinking. “It… it is Elsabet.”

The next week, you began planting explosives around the main hall. Elsabet had retreated to the treeline to watch from a distance. The other workers hadn’t spotted her; the faded green hue of her clothes and tan of her skin made it easy to blend in with the foliage.

You twisted up the charges and set it to the trigger, calling for the team to clear the area. Once it was free of people and everyone was behind a blast shield, you glanced in Elsabet’s direction, and she nodded once. You pushed the plunger down, and the entire main hall blew out from the bottom and fell straight down, shooting dust and debris across the forest floor.

That evening, after spending at least twelve hours cleaning up the wreckage, you made it home and sank onto your couch with a groan of exhaustion.

You felt something push the hair away from your brow, and your eyes jerked open with a start. Elsabet knelt in front of you.

“This place hast not the grandeur of which I am accustomed,” she said. “But… it doth retain a… charm. Perhaps, if thou wouldst enjoy my company, I may stay with thee? I shall endeavor not to be troublesome.”

You smiled at her and touched her cheek. “Only if you want to.”

Since my work is no longer searchable, please do me a favor and reblog this story if you enjoyed it. Help me reach a wider audience! To help me continue creating, please consider buying me a Kofi, becoming a Patron, or donating directly to my PayPal!

Thanks for reading!

My Masterlist

The Exophilia Creator’s Masterlist

[dankaroo-writes]

something along the way

Someone’s trying to destroy Supergirl and the Super name, too. In a freak accident, all of the Superfriends have switched bodies with each other — except Kara. Now they have to get the bad guy (and switch back) before he strikes again.

ao3

chapter 1/3

Kara Danvers loves a good sunrise. She’s well aware that sunsets are supposed to be more romantic or more beautiful or whatever, but there’s something about how the light creeps up the treetops and over buildings, up the toes of her boots and over her face, warming every inch of her— she can’t get enough of it. It has little to do with getting her powers from the sun, although she does appreciate the sentiment that’s she’s literally soaking in the strength of it as it rises. If she’s honest, it’s more about the serenity and quietness of dawn. She loves the silence right before the birds start chirping, the street lamps extinguish themselves, car horns blare, the airwaves clog with radio signals and pop hits singles of the week.

It’s the colors that she likes best of all, though. The soft pinks and oranges and yellows and blues remind her of the home she lost. Even though they have nothing on a Kryptonian moonrise, they’re as close as she can get these days. As close as she’ll ever get, probably. Kara doesn’t make a habit of getting up early enough to watch the sun wake up the whole city, but she’ll keep herself awake an extra half an hour to see it on the days she spends the early morning hours patrolling National City. It’s special enough to her to warrant the extra morning grumpiness that she — um, everyone else — will face later for that fleeting moment of peace. Those are the days she can fool herself into thinking that everything will be okay somehow, and that her life is pretty good. Not that she doesn’t like her life! She has wonderful friends and a loving family. And being a reporter makes — made — her feel like she is — ugh, was — contributing to something important. Like she’s making a difference, superhero or not. Sure, Supergirl could knock bad guys three city blocks away with a single punch and hold up a building until everyone can escape, but Kara wants to help too and now that she doesn’t have a way, she feels lost. Cliché? Yes. True? Double yes. She feels lost but not quite as lost as when she first came to Earth, of course. Nothing will ever compare with the loneliness of being the sole survivor of an entire culture. Maybe she’s having a quarter-life crisis or something. She hasn’t had one yet, not counting the whole coming out as Supergirl stuff. So what if she was born 50 years ago? She’s technically only 26, she’s as much a millennial as Winn and James and Alex. They all had one. Alex had, like, three. So maybe that’s what it is. She’ll have to ask Alex for her opinion later. The whole funemployment thing stopped being fun when it meant she had extra time to think about all this crap, genius-alien-brain-that-should-know-better-than-to-be-all-existential be damned. She heaves a sigh and is ready to turn in for the night. If she gets home now, she’ll have… forty-five minutes of sleep before she’s due at the DEO. Great. She decides that it’s a sunrise morning. She’s sitting on the roof of her apartment watching the rays peek over the CatCo building and then L-Corp, and then— The unmistakable sound of metal crushing against cement has her pushing off into the sky, full speed towards what can only be a car accident. She arrives to see the front end of a silver Lexus flattened against the side of an overpass. Without a moment’s hesitation, the hero rips off the roof of the car to free any people inside but instead finds a small gray device with a flashing red light. The device begins to blink more rapidly, and, oh shit, it’s a bomb. She scans the area for potential casualties and finds none, grabs the device, and launches herself and it into the sky. When she’s above any possible flight path or where any kind of living thing might be dwelling, Kara throws it further still as the light turns solid and the device explodes. Everything is quiet. The city is safe. Again. For now.

---

“Supergirl! Check out this thing I did! It literally downloads—” Winn is flanking Kara with some sort of metal USB drive as she beelines to the center of the room, but she dismisses him with a quick Sorry, later! and a grimace. He heads back to his desk, grumbling and fiddling with the memory stick for a while before busying himself with security updates to the network. “Something weird happened this morning,” Kara walks up to J’onn, arms folded across her chest. “I heard,” J’onn says, “But I thought NCPD had it handled. Nothing extra-normal, alien or otherwise.” Kara inhales deeply and explains, “It just didn’t feel right. It was early morning. No one was out, no one was around. Why plant a bomb if there weren’t going to be any casualties? I’m glad no one was hurt, but…” “It doesn’t make sense.” J’onn says. “You think it was a decoy.” “Yeah, but, for what?” “Whoever is behind this is trying to lure you out.” “You read my mind,” Kara jokes, and the faint pull at the corner of J’onn’s mouth is the only indication that he appreciates her jab at the limitations of his Martian abilities. “Okay, so you’re being targeted. That makes this DEO territory.” Kara sighs as J’onn takes his leave to make some phone calls to the National City Police Department. “I’m gonna go get some food before something else blows up,” she announces to no one in particular, arms crossed. “Mind if I tag along?” Oh, Winn. She’d been sidetracked and completely forgot. It’s been a while since the two of them hung out one-on-one, since she and Mon-El started doing… whatever it is that they’re doing. On and off relationships are so not her thing, and she’s so stressed, and gosh, she misses her friend. She breaks into a grin. “Let me change real quick.” He drives them into the city, and Kara’s grateful for the sense of normalcy of not flying. Winn parks in front of Noonan’s. “Thought we’d go back to our roots,” he beams. “Also I’ve been dying for those almond bearclaws.” Kara laughs and agrees, “Yeah, I could eat probably ten and not get sick of them.” They chat idly in a booth, sipping their coffees and picking at the dozen pastries they bought to share. They reminisce for a while about working at CatCo together and how they met, and Kara laughs at the appropriate times but her smile doesn’t fully reach her eyes. Winn leans over the table and rests a hand on Kara’s arm. She looks him in the eye, a little surprised by the physical contact, and he asks, “Hey, Kara, are you doing okay?” She adjusts her glasses and looks at her lap. “Yeah, of course, why wouldn’t I be?” Winn looks at her with a sheepish smile, and treads carefully. “It’s just, you seem to be, wound up? I guess. I don’t know if that’s the right word. James and I were talking—” “Look, I know you guys do the whole vigilante thing together but talking behind my back—” the whispering makes it sound harsher than she means it, and she feels a little bad, but then Winn cuts her off. “Kara, come on. No, listen. We’re just worried about you. Ever since you stopped, y’know, having a routine that includes stuff other than saving people all the time, you’ve been a little… touchy. We were just thinking that maybe it’s time for a friend night?” He punctuates the proposition with what Kara affectionately coined his Winning smile back when they first started to become friends. (She’d laughed at her own joke for about five minutes, and Winn knew he’d found a true friend in that moment.) Kara inhales deeply and rubs her temples. “I’m sorry, I’m— you’re right. I am a little moody right now.” She fiddles with her hands and looks up at her friend. “I’d love that. Friend night.” They share a smile, and she continues with a wince, “Is it really that noticeable?” “Oh, yeah. You’re like, eat-a-Snickers levels of grumpy. I’m the only one with enough guts to say anything, though.” Kara clutches her chest in fake agony and bows her head in mock shame. “You’ve all been conspiring against me!” Winn’s glad to have gotten a positive reaction out of her. “Only because we love you! How’s tomorrow work?” “Yeah, that’s great.” But she sits on that for a second, and then remembers, “Oh, wait, I have plans with Lena, actually. Maybe Saturday?” He thinks for a minute, and then surprises himself. ���Or,” he suggests, “you could just invite her like a normal person? Because she’s your friend? And this is your friend night?” Kara bites her lip in hesitation. “But she doesn’t know…” Winn gives her a look, eyebrows raised nearly to his hairline and half a smirk, that makes her want to draw her knees to her chest and curl up into a little ball. She knows she’s being silly, but the prospect of Lena knowing that she’s Supergirl has her stomach in knots. It’s her big life secret, that she’s an alien and a superhero. She and Lena are close, but are they there yet? Once they acknowledge it out loud, it’s kind of a best-friend-for-life deal. It’s a big step. A milestone, even. “Kara. The woman built a black body field generator, hatched a foolproof plan against her own mother to render a virus inert and save all the aliens in the city, runs a multibillion dollar corporation at the ripe old age of twentysomething, and has spent more than ten minutes with you. She knows.” “But!” Kara’s nerves have her reaching for any kind of proof that maybe Lena doesn’t know, but she comes up with exactly nothing. “She knows. Don’t insult her intelligence, I’ll tell her you think she’s not as smart as you,” he teases. He wouldn’t really, for reasons including he’s kind of afraid of Lena, but it’s fun to see Kara get flustered. She opens her mouth and gestures wildly with an index finger to defend herself, but only stammers out some vowels before she gives in, shoulders dropping in defeat. “I’ll text her.” She taps out a message and clarifies, “For the record, I don’t think I’m smarter than her. Or anyone else.” It’s not a fair comparison anyway, Kara thinks. Math and science classes are way more advanced on Krypton, and if Lena or Winn had the chance to learn there they probably would’ve done as well as she had. For sure. “Mhm.” Winn plays at being unconvinced, just to see Kara flounder a little. He misses this. She looks up to refute him and realizes he’s kidding. She sits back and crosses her arms, and then lets out a few short laughs before shaking her head and looking down at her phone. “If she doesn’t want to come, we’ll do Saturday, okay?” “She’ll want to come.” “But, I—” “You can’t keep her to yourself forever,” Winn says. She feels a little guilty about that, now that he mentions it. She wants Lena to be a bigger part of her life, she’s just worried because her friends didn’t exactly trust the Luthor at first, and that makes things weird. And Lena’s great, and Kara knows everyone will like her once they get a chance to really meet her, but it’s always hard to be the new person in a group and throwing her into the fire like this may not be the best way. For Lena’s sake, of course. Not because Kara’s afraid of taking that next step. Which she’s not. So Winn’s right. It’ll be totally fine. Just a normal old friend night. A night of friends. Of which Lena is one. “She’s a busy person, she probably won’t answer until tonight,” Kara says a little haughtily, “so I’ll let you know.” Her phone dings with a notification. Winn chuckles to himself, and Kara blushes a little. “She wants to come.” He whoops in excitement, mostly at being right, and they finish their lunch before heading back to the DEO.

---

It’s not awkward. Okay, it was at the beginning, but now they’re collectively three bottles of wine into friend night and things are great. Mon-El has been pawing at her hand for the better part of an hour, which has been kind of annoying, but other than that he’s behaving. Sort of. He’s also been pouting because she’s been paying more attention to Lena than him, but it’s only because Lena’s the newest and Kara’s her only connection to the whole group. It’s more important for her to be a good friend to Lena than a good girlfriend to Mon-El right now. She knows she’ll hear an earful about it later, but whatever. She’s having fun. And so is Lena. And everyone else, too. They’re playing a round of charades, with Kara acting and Mon-El and Lena trying to guess. James, Winn, Alex, and Maggie are sitting on the couch watching the hilarity about to ensue.

Kara holds up two fingers, prompting her team. “Two words,” Lena starts, and Kara makes a circular hand motion with both hands. “About…” Kara points to herself, “Supergirl.” Lena’s eyes are twinkling, and, yeah, it’s confirmed. Kara bites her lip and shakes her head no. “Kara, hero, hot girl, glasses?” Mon-El tries. Kara’s eyes widen and she shakes her head vigorously. She tries again and points between herself and Mon-El a few times. “Couple, dating, in love?” She rolls her eyes, and ugh, no, he’s not getting it, but when Lena blurts “Aliens!” Kara jumps up and down and claps, smiling. The other team is in stitches, and Kara’s pretty sure Alex is in tears. She holds up one finger. “First word,” Mon-El says. She starts to flap both of her arms up and down. A high pitched tone rips into her eardrums and she gasps in pain and doubles over, covering her ears. “Loud, sick, headache?” When she doesn’t respond: “Are you okay?” “Kara what’s the matter?” She’s not sure who’s asking what, but the tone stops and she drops her hands. “Sorry guys, there was this… never mind. It’s gone now.” She takes a breath and nods to show she’s okay, and starts flapping her arms again. Alex watches her carefully, and both Lena and Mon-El guess flying, and she’s ready to try for the second word when the tone starts up again. This time it’s reverberating in her skull and it’s persistent. She winces as she hones in on the source of the noise, and follows it to the windowsill. She picks up a small rectangular black box, and it juts out a lancet and pricks her hand. Well, tries to. The beeping stops when the lancet breaks off. Alex is off the couch in a second and steps towards her sister, holding up a cautious hand. “Kara, what’s —“ Something, no, someone smashes through the window. The intruder raises a massive blue fist and swings it at Kara, who ducks just in time and manages to get a hit in at his stomach on the way down. “Everyone, get back!” They’re matching blow for blow, so Kara throws her glasses aside and squints her eyes to zap his shoulder with her heat vision. The creature roars and grabs for her, misses, and stumbles. Kara takes advantage of his weak positioning to get a hand around his throat, and another around one wrist. She shoves him backward and has him pinned to the wall, next to the window he busted through. “You ruined friend night!” She’s mad, rightfully so, and headbutts the beast in his nose. One of his noses. Whatever. His face. He bares his teeth, but then his mouth twists into what can only be interpreted as a vicious smile. His confidence shakes her and she stares into his pitch black, beady eyes as she tightens her grip on him. With his free hand, he holds up a device identical to the one that Kara had found in her apartment and presses the small button on the underside. There’s a moment where Kara is afraid something terrible is going to happen, but then the brute’s face begins to fall, and oh, something is not right. All of the sound seems to get sucked out of the room, and then the device in his hand explodes. Kara is thrown across the room and lands in front of Lena and Winn, who are crouched behind the couch. The monster catches a glimpse of Lena as she’s pulling Kara behind it, and stumbles as he starts towards her. Kara looks up at him, confused by his hesitation at the sight of a human when he very clearly came prepared to attack a Kryptonian, and tries to stand up. She won’t let him hurt her friends. He takes one more look around the room, snarls, and then jumps out of the destroyed apartment wall to the street below. By the time the group has rushed over, he’s long gone. “Are you guys okay?” Kara’s facing her friends now, and they all look uneasy. Something’s definitely not right. There’s a few mumbled yeahs, and no one has a scratch on them. Thank Rao for small favors.

Kara turns around to inspect the damage to her house. The window is gone and the blast has taken a good chunk of the surrounding wall with it. A few pieces of drywall crumble and fall to the ground. She sighs. James walks up beside her and places a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay Kara, you can stay with me until this gets fixed.” Kara’s flattered, and her and James are good friends, but yeah, no. There’s hardly any awkwardness left from their break-up, and they made up after their fight about James being Guardian, but it would still be… weird, is what Kara settles on. She lets him down easy. “Thanks, James, but I think I’ll just crash with Alex.” She turns and offers him a reassuring smile, and then looks at Alex. Alex knits her brows and turns to look behind her, where no one is standing. “I’m not James,” James says, and then holds his hands up to look at them. “Wait, I’m James? No, I’m not!” “Did you hit your head? Should we go to the hospital?” Kara’s concerned, and reaches up to the man’s face to check for any missed injuries. “I’m James,” says Maggie, raising her hand. There’s a pause as everyone looks around the group. “I’m Maggie,” says Alex. “Wait, wait, wait. Everyone hold on.” Kara’s holding her hands out in front of her, trying to get her bearings. “I think I hit my head.” “Maybe, but, uh, I think something else has gone Super wrong,” and it’s Lena’s voice, but only Winn would talk like that. And make a joke at a time like this. “So if Maggie is Alex, and James is Maggie, who are you?” Kara turns back to ‘James.’ He huffs, “I’m your boyfriend, Kara.” Oh, great. So now her boyfriend is her ex, on top of this all. Perfect.

Kara looks between the two remaining people. Winn pipes up, "Alex." “Right. So if Lena’s Winn, and Winn's Alex, then you’re—” She faces the body of her boyfriend “—Lena.” Lena looks like she’s about to pass out. “I need to sit down,” Lena says. Kara closes her eyes and rubs them with the heels of her hands. “Okay, this is happening.” She takes a deep breath and picks up the device that has fallen to the ground.

“We need to call J’onn.”