#I took off my glasses and was v interested in this beautiful short haired woman

[khathastrophe]

fool me twice....

[ottopilot-wrote-this-txt]

Coven, Part II

Coven is a work of erotic fiction, intended for adults 18+, written by Ottopilot. Original version with AI-generated images. Content warnings: sexual content, mature language, mind control, corruption, occult, sadism

Previously: Part I, This is: Part II, Continued in: Part III, Part IV, Part V

[Lily Solomon, a beautiful multiracial Black woman, sits at a desk in a university library. She is wearing a white t-shirt and reading glasses and has her hair in messy bun. She is typing on a laptop computer.]

Lily tossed her messenger bag on the sturdy but well-worn pine table, followed by her drip Clockwork Coffee, black, and had a seat. She pulled out her laptop and opened the clamshell.

Taking the coffee to her lips, Lily closed her eyes and took small, careful sips. Still too hot to take a big chug, she needed that strong acidic bite and intoxicating aroma to get the cobwebs out. Clockwork wasn't for everyone — too corporate for some, not foodie enough for others — but Lily appreciated its consistency. The trademark dark roast offered a dependably predictable experience in a world that was anything but.

The senior journalism student took a deep breath, drawing the earthy smells of coffee and university library into her nostrils, and began by reviewing her notes from Sarah's debriefing.

"I took Dr. Bishop's class on polytheism and paganism my senior year, and she wrote my recommendation letter for grad school. She's my faculty advisor, and we've become very close friends."

Starting with Dr. Helen Bishop's university bio, nothing pegged her as Future Evil Sorceress, Lily thought, chewing on her pen. B.A. Stanford, M.A. Harvard, PhD Brown. Tenured faculty at Blackthorn College, vis a vis Dartmouth, Wesleyan, and Amherst. Expert in polytheism and witchcraft. Author of two books: The Many Faces of the Divine: Polytheism in a Monotheistic World and The Arcane and the Divine: Magic, Ritual, and Worship in Antiquity. Her headshot, a black-and-white photo of a middle-aged Southeast Asian woman with short hair and a friendly smile, was pleasant and benign.

Lily frowned, peering at the search engine results. Amazon.com link to her books. Link to a piece in Anthropology Quarterly. Glowing student reviews of her classes. Notices of past speaking engagements. A neglected Instagram account with photos of her travels and food. Her LinkedIn profile.

With a frustrated sigh, Lily removed her reading glasses and rubbed her temples. There's either something I'm missing, Lily thought, or Sarah's out of her freaking skull.

"Through word of mouth, we formed an unofficial witchcraft interest group. We performed positive spells for personal growth or things we wanted. For example, the professor regretted never having children, so we cast fertility spells for her." "Did they cast spells for things you wanted too?"

The door to the apartment closed as Jamie headed off to class, and Sarah Rodgers was alone. He seemed like a good guy, she thought, making it harder for her to despise him out of pure jealousy.

Lily had practically sprinted out the door this morning, while Sarah pretended to still be asleep on the couch. It was clear Lil was trying to avoid her. She was doing Sarah a favor, a huge one, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

It felt strange to wear Lily's clothes, especially the sweatshirt. This goddamn aquamarine, threadbare sweatshirt.

Sarah didn't think it was intentional. Lil could come off cold and impersonal, but she wasn't insensitive. No, Sarah thought, just because she had strong memories of this sweatshirt doesn't mean Lily gave it a second thought.

[Sarah Rodgers, a pretty young college student is holding up the light blue sweatshirt she is wearing to her nose. She is a white Latina woman with long auburn hair. Her eyes are closed as she smells the sweatshirt nostalgically. She is in an apartment living room.]

Sarah took the sweatshirt in both hands, bringing it up to her face, and inhaled deeply. It wasn't exactly the same. She guessed Lily switched detergents. But it still smelled like her, sweet like a summer peach.

She loved to wear it, Sarah reminisced. Anytime she caught a chill, she put it on, unzipped, over her clothes. The bright hue clashed with Sarah's goth-influenced, monochrome tastes. But Lily loved it.

And Sarah loved Lil. So she came to love it too.

Spring of her freshman year, Lily ordered some sexy lingerie online as a surprise. But Sarah was late, stopping to pick up Szechuan on the way back from class, and Lily got a little cold. When Sarah arrived, there was Lily, an absolute knockout in sheer and lace…and glasses, and that goofy sweatshirt.

[Lily is laying on her side on a bed in a revealing black lace bra and panty set. She is also wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt unzipped and reading glasses. She is slightly younger and has shorter hair as this is in the past. She is in a college dorm room.]

They both had a good laugh, and they stayed in all night, making love and eating out of take-out boxes in bed. Sarah truly loved being dominated by Lily. She craved submitting to her, had trusted her with her safety. Even after Lily had marked her flesh, after Lily's fingers closed around her delicate neck, she would have let her do it again.

Sarah remembered Lily before she became guarded and closed-off, when she didn't take herself so seriously. They were so happy then. As she sat alone, wiping away tears with the sleeves of Lily's favorite sweatshirt, she wasn't sure she had been happy since.

If you thought magic could heal your broken heart, was it so illogical to try it?

"When Helen came back to school this fall, something had changed. She had changed."

Lily felt a chill. This damn library was always so drafty. You think with the cost of tuition, they could turn the heat up a bit. Guess it's bad for the centuries-old books.

She pondered this sentence. Assuming Sarah hadn't lost her mind, what happened to Dr. Bishop last summer that made her go off the rails?

Lily leaned back in the chair. Besides wanting to get out of the apartment, Lily liked to work in the library because of these firm, unrelenting chairs. It was harder to fall asleep if the chairs weren't comfortable.

She looked at her notes. Looked at the browser. Cycled through the open tabs. Amazon. LinkedIn. Instagram.

Wait.

Turns out the good doctor was fairly active on the Gram for a while. A photo with a graduating student. A batch of cookies she baked. Striking Italian architecture. A pasta dinner and a generous glass of wine. Tuscan vineyards. A necklace bought at a shop. That was the last photo, 4 months ago.

Lily looked at the necklace. An odd thing, made of iron, triangles overlapping with horns, inset with rubies. Not particularly pretty, though definitely old looking. A strange thing to turn up in a tourist-trap Italian antique shop.

Excited at the prospect of a lead, Lily selected an area around the necklace's charm and conducted a reverse image search. Lily was initially discouraged as very few results were returned - until one of them stood out from the others.

"Hell yes," Lily said to herself, leaping out of her chair. She hurried to a computer, looking for the library's copy of "The Arcane and the Divine: Magic, Ritual, and Worship in Antiquity" by Dr. Helen Bishop.

[A hand is pulling a back from a long bookshelf. The author photo on the back is a black-and-white photo of Dr. Helen Bishop, a smiling Southeast Asian woman with short hair and bangs.]

With the enthusiasm of a bloodhound on the trail of murderer, Lily scoured the aisles of books until she found it. Quickly she scanned the index, and found the entry about the demon Asmodeus.

Lily read the passage aloud to herself:

"In Abrahamic religions, Asmodeus is a demonic king associated with lust and revenge. He wielded a weapon, the Ruby Rod of Asmodeus. It is believed that, in tribute, worshippers of Asmodeus circa 100 A.D. created an amulet called the Eye of Asmodeus. Constructed of iron, the Eye of Asmodeus contains a large ruby surrounded by both a triangle and inverted triangle, forming a pentagon. The Eye also has bull horns on both sides. "The ruby in the Eye of Asmodeus is rumored to have been created by submerging the ruby in the spilled blood of innocents. It is suspected to give the wearer the ability to influence and control minds, at the cost of eroding sanity and morality of the user."

"Well, that sounds bad," Lily said.

"She was leading us down a dark path, but we were so seduced by the power we willingly followed."

Watching morning game shows, Sarah tried to think back on how she got here. She thought of the metaphor of a lobster being boiled alive, the temperature slowly rising while the clueless lobster succumbs to its fate. The corruption of the coven was innocuous, comforting and soothing until she realized it was almost a full boil.

When Helen came back to school, she had so many new spells and techniques to show them. They all saw the immediate results, and were drawn to the power Helen yielded. She made them feel special and chosen and worthy of this forbidden knowledge.

The spells began small, with unforeseen consequences. Amy wasn't feeling well, so Helen taught them how to alleviate her nausea. Michiko had a disgreement with a neighbor in her dorm, and Helen taught them to make the girl see the error of her ways. It wasn't initially clear Amy got better by stealing energy from healthy students, or that the neighbor was mentally manipulated. The group identity of the coven eroded the morality of its members, making them rationalize the means to justify the ends.

Sarah started to wonder if she and Laura had overreacted. Maybe it was all a misunderstanding. There might be punishment, but the coven would take them back, Sarah thought. And now, Sarah was reconnected with Lily. Lily had a curious mind and a thirst for knowledge. They could learn about the mysteries together… maybe, this could be a rebuilding point.

"Samhain, after dark tomorrow, is when the barrier between the physical and spiritual world is weakest. That's the origin of Halloween. But what if I told you it was real?"

Lily did not have "ask the school librarian about cursed grimoires in their collection" on her bingo card, but here she was.

A yawn escaped Lily's mouth as she looked over the musty tome. She wasn't even sure what she was looking for. Three years of high school Spanish was only marginally helpful for translating Latin. She was basically looking at pictures like a toddler reading the encyclopedia, trying to follow along.

"This has potential," she murmured, as she looked at a drawing of a person, laying on their back in the middle of a pentagram. "Samhain… luna… corpus… Ah, fuck this."

Lily pulled out her phone, opening up Google Translate. There's no way it can read this handwriting, she surmised, so she furiously typed the words into the text box.

Samhain cum plena luna occurrit, corpus daemonibus deditur; anima daemonium regis coronatur.

"Okay, Translate," Lily said, hitting the purple button on her phone. Within seconds, she read the resulting message.

At Samhain, when the full moon occurs, the body is given to the demons; the soul of the demon king is crowned.

"Oh shit," Lily exclaimed. Sarah was right, and in grave danger.

"One of the junior witches, a literature major named Laura Valencia, took me aside. She said she overheard Helen planning a ritual with another witch, and that she mentioned a sacrifice."

The Price is Right had ended, with a college student jumping up and down, hugging Drew Carey, before transitioning to the mid-day news. The anchor, a handsome well-coiffed man, spoke with a booming baritone.

"More reporting on our lead story from this morning: a fatal bus crash on Interstate 495 has traffic snarled up for miles around. It appears the culprit was poor visibility, as the driver lost control during last night's surprise storm.

"The driver and all passengers onboard were killed in this tragedy. The bus was a Greyhound bus destined for St. Louis."

[Sarah has her hands on her face in a look of shock and terror. Her mouth is open. She is wearing a light blue sweatshirt. There is an orange wall and a window with curtains behind her.]

Sarah covered her mouth in shock. No. No no no no no.

Laura's bus. Sarah put her on that bus to get her away from here last night, before going to Lily's.

She wasn't being paranoid. She was in danger too.

"Without Laura and I, there are only 11 witches in the coven. Samhain - Halloween - is tomorrow night. I don't think the ritual can take place without us, and I don't know what will happen when it doesn't."

In a panicked frenzy, Sarah tossed blankets and couch cushions, looking for her phone. She had to call Lil, to get out of here, before they found her. Where the fuck did she put it?

She heard her ringtone, from the bathroom. Of course, she needed to charge it last night. She started towards the bathroom to retrieve it, when a voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Hello, Sarah."

[deans-baby-momma]

Once In A Lifetime

A/N: Well guys. I guess you can say I fell down a rabbit hole....DEEP down a rabbit hole. And I’m going to blame Walker. LOL I’ve always been a Jensen/Dean girl with Jared/Sam curiosity and after a dream I had a few nights ago, THIS happened.  Now the dream was only the first part of this story, meeting them in a restaurant but them, while writing it took on a life of it’s own and I am not sorry in the least. 

Summary: During your shift as a waitress as a restaurant in Austin, you are surprised to find two of your favorite celebrities in your section. How will that encounter cause you to have a once in a lifetime experience? 

W/C: 11,138 words ( I’m not the least bit sorry)

Y/N: Your Name; Y/E/E: Your employment establishment

Warnings: ogling, fantasies, smut, p in v, fingering, v on v, oral (both giving and receiving), fisting, anal play, cum play, dirty talk, slight breeding kink, squirting, daddy kink, mama kink

"Holy shit," I exclaim before clapping my palm over my mouth as there were three adorable children in the vicinity. "Sorry. My name is Y/N and I'll be your server today," I say as I try to calm down. Jared and Genevieve Padalecki were seated in my zone at Y/E/E. "Can I interest you in some appetizers or some coloring pages and crayons for the kids?"

I can't help but glance around at the five of them. They two boys sporting the longer locks like their dad and the little girl, all dolled up with her light brown hair flowing down over her shoulders. They were three of the six most adorable kids in the world; the other three being the Ackles kids but I had yet to see them in person, only on the computer.  

“We will take some buffalo cauliflower bites and some mozzarella cheese sticks with marinara,” the loveliest voice I’d ever heard spoke. I look toward Genevieve to see her smiling at me, her brown eyes sparkling. 

“And-” I pause to swallow. “-for drinks?”

“Whatever is on tap for Jared, I’ll take a sweet tea with lemon and the kids will have Sprite,” she tells me, the smile on her face unmoving. ‘God she’s gorgeous,’ I think to myself as I write down the orders. ‘Jared is one lucky son of a bitch.’

I grin as I tell them I will be right back with their drinks and head toward the server area. I throw my pad down on the counter and lean against it, my palms flat against the granite. How the fuck am I going to get through serving them? I have had a crush on Genevieve since I watched Wildfire a few years ago. And then when I caught an episode of Supernatural and got a glimpse of Jared, I was in lust, for both of them. 

And now I had to cater to and serve them while being professional and less of a crazy fan. Yea that isn’t going to happen. I know myself too well. I’m going to do or say something that will absolutely humiliate myself in front of the two celebrities I have adored for years. 

Thanks to some tactical breathing exercises while waiting on their food and an internal pep talk, I got through serving the Padalecki family and when they asked for the bill I was a bit saddened that their visit was coming to an end. I knew I’d probably never see them again.

As I printed out their receipt I lamented the fact that the one time I met anyone famous it was at work and I couldn’t ask for an autograph or photo with them. I smiled as I gave them the sales slip and walked away. 

From my post behind the server’s desk I watched as the five of them got up and walked toward the door. Genevieve looked my way and smiled and waved as they left. I returned the gesture and giggled. 

After making sure the coast was clear, I approached their table to collect the payment and take it to the register. What I wasn’t expecting with the cash, was a handwritten note with a phone number on it. 

‘Y/N your service was magnificent. Here’s a little tip for you and a bigger one awaits, if you are interested. (xxx)xxx-xxxx. ~Gen’

Did she really expect me to call her? Was this even her real number? What kind of tip is she referring to anyway? I look at the money in my hand to see that they have paid almost $50 more than their bill! What bigger tip than that could it be?!

I waited until my shift was over and I was in the comfort of my own vehicle before I pulled the piece of paper with the number out of my apron.

Opening the text app with shaky fingers, I typed out the response I had thought of all evening.

Hey. Is this Genevieve Padalecki? It's Y/N from Y/E/E. I was your waitress earlier. 

Almost immediately my phone pings and I see that whomever I texted had responded.

Hey Y/N. Yes, it's me. Glad to see you found my note.

Yea, I did. What I can't figure out is why you left it. Did I do something wrong?

Oh sweetie no! You were the perfect hostess. Sweet, friendly, easy on the eyes ;)

Whoa, was this married woman flirting with me? This famous married woman who had an attractive, sexy, famous as well husband. 

Uh, thanks. 

You caught not only my eye but Jare's as well. We'd like to get to know you better.  Have you already gotten off? From work, I mean. Ha!

Ok, if that isn't flirting then I don't know what is. That was definitely an innuendo, right?

Yes. I'm sitting in my car.

Wanna come over? The kids are in bed. Us adults can talk without interruptions. 

Uh, okay. I'm gonna kinda need your address. I might be a fan but I'm not that kind of fan.

Gen sends me her address, along with the code to get into the gate. I realize they live in the gated community about 45 minutes away. 

I look in the rearview and notice my hair is frizzy and half of it has fallen out of the ponytail it was in. I really didn't want to show up on their doorstep looking like a charity case but then again was I going to pass up the opportunity to get to know two of my favorite celebrities?

If you aren't interested we completely understand.

Gen's message breaks me out of my reverie and I look at it, deciding what the hell.

On my way now. 

We can't wait to see you again Y/N!

I place my phone in the cupholder and start the car up, still in shock that I'm headed to the personal home of Jared and Genevieve Padalecki. 

What universe am I in?!

I get to their house and Genevieve meets me at the door.

"Hey Y/N," she greets me with a smile. "Did you have any trouble getting in the gate?"

"No, it opened right up as soon as I punched in the code." 

Gen is dressed down for the evening. Well, as dressed down as I'm sure famous rich people can  be. She is wearing velour sweat shorts, probably some name brand designer and her t-shirt has the Family Business Brewery logo and name printed on it. 

And here I look like a slob who can't care for herself. I so do not belong here.

"Come on in," Genevieve continues as she opens the door wide. "Jared is in the kitchen making us ladies some drinks."

"Uh, I don't know. I mean, I still have to drive home later."

"Or you could stay," she says as she takes my hand and stands right in front of me. Genevieve is just a couple inches taller than I am so we are practically face to face. 

"Oh."

That's all I can say. It is glaringly obvious now what this visit is. And if I said I wasn't down for it I'd be lying!

Gen smiles as she takes her free hand and reaches behind me, pulling the tie from my hair. I feel the weight of it fall to my shoulders. 

"That's better," she says then turns and pulls me further into the house.

We get to the kitchen and Jared is standing there, dressed down also in a pair of running shorts and a t-shirt. I can't stop myself as my eyes run down the length of his body.

The t-shirt doesn't do much to hide the breath of his shoulders or the bulk of his pecs,  the arms of the fabric stretched tight over his biceps. As my eyes wander lower, I realize that all the rumors I'd heard about the heft and length of his 'conda were not exaggerated as I can definitely see the outline of it behind the silky material of his shorts.  But what really draws my attention is the definition of his calf muscles; even relaxed they distend from his legs, the skin taut over them.

"Hey. You made it," his voice brings my attention back to his face. "I'm Jared."

"I know," I say sincerely, internally wincing at how nervous I sound. I smile to hide the uneasiness.

"Yea, I kinda figured that out at Y/E/E by your reaction," he chuckles as he hands a glass to his wife.  "Gen wanted a margarita but we have some craft beer in the fridge if that is more your taste. It's really good. Our friends, Jensen and Dee, own a brewery."

"Family Business," I state with a nod. "I've wanted to go check it out but haven't had a chance,  yet."

"Well, maybe we can get you a private tour sometime," he tells me with a wink. "Now, name your poison."

I settle for a Cosmic Cowboy, Jared grabs a Grackle for himself and the three of us make our way to the living room.

Their house is magnificent. There are logs, de-barked, as beams across the ceiling and even the staircase is made of the same type of wood. I'd seen it in a family picture on the internet but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be inside this home to appreciate the beauty of it.

The Padalecki's and I talk for what seems like hours. We all seem to have so much in common. Eventually I had traded the beer for one of Jared's famous margaritas,  thanks to Gen's suggestion and before I knew it I was on my third one and not feeling any pain.

A smile was glued to my face and I couldn't stop giggling. I was drinking with Jared and Genevieve Padalecki! Who would have ever thought that.

Jared takes the almost empty glass from my hand and laughs at the pout I give him.

"Ok lush," he says with his own deep giggle. "If you get too drunk we can't talk about what we invited you here for."

In my inebriated state, I say words I never in a million years thought I would ever utter. "You want to fuck me."

Jared looks surprised and glances at Genevieve, which causes me to look at her as I realize what I just said.

Can you go from intoxicated to sober in less than 5 seconds? Because I just did!

"Oh my god!" I exclaim. "I'm so sorry. I have no filter when I've been drinking."

I start to fidget and prepare to be thrown out of their house. I am taken aback when Gen smiles and says, "Yes we do."

There is a trail of clothing from the top of the staircase down the hall to where we are now. My body is being held up against the wall as Jared devours my mouth, Gen's lips on my neck and shoulder.

"You are so fucking sexy," she whispers and I whimper into her husband's mouth. "You caught my eye as soon as we walked into Y/E/E this evening. I knew I wanted you and Jared agreed."

"Let's take this into the bedroom," Jared murmurs against my lips and hoists me up by the back of my thighs, urging me to wrap my legs around his waist.

He carries me into the room with Genevieve following closely behind. He lays me back on the bed and hovers over me, his body pressed tightly to mine. I can feel his erection digging into my lower stomach.

"Jared," Gen calls in a sultry, seductive voice. "Share."

Jared pushes up off of me and Gen steps between my open knees. "Let's get these panties off of you," she says and I notice that she has already removed hers plus her bra and is standing at the edge of the bed in all her naked glory.

To say Genevieve Padalecki was beautiful would be an understatement but her nude? Well it just amped up the sexiness by a bajillion. She has no hair on her pussy, shaved (or waxed) clean. Her tits are perfect handfuls with pretty little rosy pink nipples that are erect and hardened. 

She has pulled her soft brown hair up into a makeshift bun and I watch as she reaches forward, her dainty fingers curling into the hem of my plain panties. Thank god I took the time before work to landscape!

She gasps as my equally shaven cunt is exposed as she pulls the garment down my legs and off my feet. 

"Such a pretty little pussy huh Jared?"

Jared comes back into my line of vision and he smiles at me before his eyes trail down to look at my bare body.

"So pretty," he says breathlessly as his hands come up and around his wife, his big hands covering her tits. "Bet it tastes so good. You gonna let Gen eat you out Y/N? Let her taste that sweet box."

I nod and he tsks. "Words Y/N. Use your words little kitten."

I swallow audibly and speak. "Yes. I want Gen to eat my pussy."

Gen smiles as she turns her head and kisses Jared passionately. After a few seconds though he pulls away, and pushes her closer to me. "Get to licking, baby while I open you up."

Gen bends down and I feel her hands on the inside of my thighs close to my center. The first touch of her tongue against my folds has me moaning like a porn star. She doesn't even breach my slit, just licks up the middle and then sucks on my outer lips.  

She moans and I look to see Jared has disappeared, on his knees behind her eating her out as she does the same to me. I can already feel the coil deep inside constricting. This is the most erotic sexual experience I have ever or will ever have!

When Gen does finally lick me open,  she immediately wraps her lips around my clit suckling and flicking the tip with her soft tongue. I feel a finger stroking around my entrance before it enters me. 

"Mmmmm," Gen moans and I open my eyes that I didn't even realize were closed. Jared is back in my line of sight, looking down as he notches his cock at her entrance.

He then places his hands on her hips and drives himself forward, burying inside his wife. Gen moans against my skin and I feel that coil tightening. I don't want to cum just yet so I brace against it, holding my release back.

With Jared's deep hard thrusts Gen's body bounces forward pushing her face closer into my pussy. She trades her finger inside me with her tongue and her thumb is rubbing circles around my clit as she licks my fluttering walls. 

My orgasm is bearing down and I'm beginning to fear I won't be able to hold it back.  

Jared is grunting and groaning behind her,  his eyes fixate on his wife's task of fingering me and licking my clit and labia. 

There is so much pressure between my legs I have to bite my lip to contain the scream that is begging to be released.

"Holy fuck!" Gen exclaims, pulling my attention to her. "Look babe. I have my whole hand inside her."

Jared's eyes travel to the spot and they widen as they take in the view. "Fuck! That is so goddamned hot."

Gen begins a soft thrust with her arm, twisting her wrist and letting her fingers hit my sweet spot. I see stars as I yell out. "I'm gonna cum!"

"Go on Y/N. Cum all over Gen. She wants it."

I let go and the pressure lessens as I feel my walls constrict and liquid squirts out around Gen's hand.

"God that was hot!" They both exclaim simultaneously and laugh.  Gen bends down and begins licking and suckling at my cunt as Jared continues his hard pace.

He slaps her ass twice and then stills,  groaning as I'm sure he is shooting his load inside her. Gen places her forehead on my inner thigh, catching her breath as Jared pulls out and looks down with a smile. 

"Baby you are leaking so much cum it's dripping on the floor."

When Gen moves out of the way, I get my first look at Jared's massive dick. And when I say massive,  I mean massive.  Not only is it ginormous in length but the girth is unbelievable.  How does he keep something that size hidden so well?

His hand is around the still-hard member and he looks at me as he fists up and down. "You ready?"

"Yes," I tell him confidently although inside I am not.

Gen has left the room, gone into their ensuite to clean up I'm sure. "Should we wait?" I ask hesitantly. 

"Nah, she knows I plan to fuck your brains out. She'll rejoin shortly."

“Okay,” I say with a nod and watch as Jared climbs onto the bed, walking on his knees to place himself between my legs. He is still fisting his cock, the mixture of his and his wife’s release lubricating the movement. 

“Can I kiss you?” he asks tentatively and I look up at him. He has one palm on the mattress beside my head and is hovering over me, but not touching.

I nod and then with a quirk of his eyebrow I remember his request, to use words. “Yes. Please kiss me Jared.”

Jared leans down and brushes his lips against mine softly but firmly. When his tongue touches the seam of my mouth, I open for him allowing him to lick into me. The kiss quickly becomes deeper, more passionate. My hands automatically reach up and my fingers entwine in the long locks on his head, pulling him closer.

Losing his balance, Jared falls on top of me, his hand that was holding him up, cupping the side of my face as we both get lost in the kiss. I can feel his moist, damp dick on my stomach and it causes me to writhe. God, I so desperately want that monster inside me!

The bed dips with Gen’s return and her hands run over the part of my skin that is visible under Jared’s large form. 

“You two look so fucking hot together,” she whispers as she kisses along my neck. “Y/N, you going to let Jared fuck you? Feel that big dick of his filling up that perfect little pussy?”

I can’t answer her because Jared is still kissing me senseless so I whimper and dig my fingers into his scalp. Her words are music to my ears, the assurance and suggestion  of what all he is planning to do to me all the encouragement I need. She is okay with me fucking Jared; she is actually urging it. I pull away, opening my eyes to see his hazel ones, lidded and filled with lust. 

“Fuck me Jared,” I say and he smiles as he lifts himself and grabs his dick, notching it at my entrance. 

“Ready baby?”

I nod and smile before saying, “More than ready.”

The stretch of my walls around his dick is a pleasured pain. It feels so good as he keeps sliding deeper in until it feels as if his tip is going to puncture through my cervix. I look down between us to see that he is to the root inside me and it makes me wetter, if that’s even possible. 

Gen pinches my chin between her thumb and fingers and turns my head to look at her. “Y/N, Jared is going to fuck you like you’ve never been fucked before. Are you ready?”

“Yes,” I answer breathlessly. 

Gen claims my lips with her own as Jared slowly and torturously pulls out until just the head of his dick is inside me. I feel his hands grip my hips and then he plunges into me in one swift movement. I can’t help but cry into her mouth as he sits the same fast hard pace as he had with her, his dick stretching my pussy and digging in deep.

I pull away from Gen’s mouth to yell. “HOLY SHIT! OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD!”

“Yea, you like that don’t ya?” Jared pants as he keeps thrusting into my willing body. “You like being impaled on my big dick huh?”

“Yes! Yes! YES!”

Gen reaches between us and uses her fingertip to rub circles on my clit, making that coil deep inside me tighten. I am going to be cumming any minute now, I know it. I can’t hold it back even if I tried.

“You going to let Jared fill you up. Pump you full of his cum until you’re leaking like I was? Yea, you are, aren’t you? You want to feel him throbbing and shooting his load into your womb.”

Her words make my eyes roll into the back of my head and I scream as I feel my climax bearing down. Without any more prompting from either of them, I once again feel that pressure from earlier and before I know it I am squirting out around Jared’s dick, my release splashing against his thighs.

“Fuck!” he exclaims as he ramps up his efforts and suddenly I feel the warmth of his cum and the throb of his length as he empties inside me, his grunts and groans barely heard over the blood pumping through my ears. 

Jared claims my mouth again, his cock still buried deep in my pussy as it softens. 

I just fucked this man while his wife watched, after having her way with me. Whose life is this?!

My eyes slowly open as I come to consciousness. I am hot, sweaty and uncomfortable and the need to pee is overwhelming. I go to roll over but am met with resistance, from both behind and in front of me.  What the hell?

I fully open my eyes and take in the view. That is not my ceiling and this is not my bed. My mattress has never been this soft, even when it was new.  I look down and see the ivory sheets and the maroon comforter and it all comes back to me. 

I fucked Jared AND Genevieve Padalecki! I am in their bed, in their house snuggled up between them.  I had sex with a married couple; not once, not twice but three times they fucked the daylights out of me. And I enjoyed every second of it.

I squirm as I feel something moving inside me, slowly making its way out of my body and sigh when I feel a clump of Jared’s cum slide out and down my ass, landing on the sheet under me. God, he cummed so hard and so much last night, filling both me and Gen up. 

And as good as it felt, it tasted even better. Especially out of Gen’s pussy. I had licked it right up as it poured out of her hole and onto my lips and tongue and she reciprocated before we teamed up and took turns swallowing him down, his palms cupping the back of our heads as we knelt in front of him, licking and sucking his cock.

My bladder takes me out of my reminiscence as the urge to piss becomes palpable and I wiggle and shift until I am out from under Jared’s arm and go to crawl over Gen’s sleeping form, unintentionally waking her.

“Hey sweetie. Where are you going?” she asks sleepily and the torpor in her voice is sexy and sensuous. 

“I gotta pee,” I tell her and she smiles before lifting her head to kiss me. 

“Ok baby. Hurry back.”

I walk into the ensuite and quickly sit on the toilet to do my business, still reeling from the events of last night. How the hell did I end up here? And how am I going to recover from having my dreams come true? How am I supposed to go back to my normal, boring existence after such an experience?

As I finish up and wash my hands, I decide that I’m going to leave while the leaving is good. What if they regret it? What if it wasn’t what they expected? What if I was just a first choice when they decided to have a threesome? Too many what if’s and not enough answers for my taste.

I tiptoe back into their room and grab my panties from the floor, pulling them on when I realize the rest of my clothing is thrown throughout the hallway. Shit! If the kids were up and strolling around the house they would see the waitress from the restaurant in their house half naked. 

“Y/N?” Gen’s voice causes me to turn my head to see her up on one elbow looking at me confused. “You’re not leaving, are you?”

“Y-yea. I think that would be best, don’t you?”

“Hell no. Get your perky little ass back in the bed,” she said authoritatively. “And take off those panties. I want to be able to touch you and caress you.”

I do as she says and she scoots closer to her husband as she pats the mattress in front of her. I climb in beside her and she promptly pulls me to her, her hand cupping my sex as she kisses along my ear. She whispers, “I’m never going to get tired of this pretty little pussy,” as she begins drawing circles on my clit and running her fingers down my folds. "Could eat it everyday and never get enough.”

I whimper at her words and she smiles against my skin. “You’d like that wouldn’t you? Me eating you out everyday, fucking you with my tongue, my fingers, my fist. Shit, I’m getting wet just thinking about it.” 

Her fingers tease my opening before two of them slide inside, curling up to hit that sweet spot. My back arches off the bed as I moan. “Yea, you like that don’t you. You like me fingering you.” She scissors her digits open and closed as we both groan at the slick that has accumulated. 

“Cum baby,” she urges. “Come on Mama’s hand.”

My climax comes out of nowhere as Gen sits up, propping her body with her free hand as he other works me furiously through my release. I watch her with bated breath as she removes her hand and licks her fingers clean. “Mmm, tasty.”

When she is done, she leans down and kisses me, her tongue prodding into my open lips, letting me taste the sweetness of my tang on it. I run my fingers through her hair, fisting them. 

“Jesus, what a sight to wake up to,” we hear Jared’s groggy voice and pull apart, looking at him. His hazel eyes are sparkling and there is a smug grin on his lips. “I could get used to this.”  Gen turns and kisses him just as passionately as we had just kissed and I hear Jared groan, knowing he is tasting the remnants of my release. 

Ok, so maybe this wasn’t something they regretted. This was what they both wanted and still want and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want it too. Maybe I had been the first opportunity they’d come across when they decided to have a threesome but I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. I would gladly take whatever they wanted to give. 

And from the sounds and sights coming from the bed beside me, I was about to have another out of this world sexual escapade with two of the hottest people on the planet. 

I’m sitting in the kitchen at the bar in my panties and a t-shirt Gen gave me drinking a cup of coffee and watching Jared move about the kitchen, cooking eggs and making toast.

A pair of slender arms wrap around me from behind, startling me. “Morning baby,” Gen purrs as she kisses my shoulder.

I tense up afraid of getting caught if one of their kids walk in. “Uh, where’re the kids?”

“It’s Wednesday. They always have a playdate with the Ackles kids on Wednesday,” Gen says as she comes around and sits beside me. “We’re good. Francine took them over and will bring them back this afternoon.”

“Oh. Okay,” I say hesitantly. I’m relieved that I don’t have to worry about being found out but I’m also nervous because the three of us are alone in the house. What exactly did they have planned? 

“It’s okay sweetheart,” Jared says as he sits two plates of eggs, toast and jam in front of his wife and myself. “We all need to talk anyway. And the kids do not need to hear what we have to discuss.”

Well, there goes my good feeling down the drain. Now is when they are going to drop the bomb; tell me that it was all fun and games but they’ve satisfied their curiosity and I’m on my own. God, how can I be so dumb. What made me think that two celebrities would want me to stick around?

I push the food around on my plate as I try to come up with a way to take the blow and leave with my head held high.

“Jared Tristan,” Gen admonishes. “Look what you’ve done. You went and made her feel bad. Honey,” she says as she places a hand on mine. “It’s not bad; what we want to talk about. I promise.” She leans over and places a chaste kiss to my lips. “Now eat up so we can get to it. I think you might need your energy if I’m reading this situation correctly.”

I try my best to eat as much of the food as I can with my stomach still in knots and my anxiety level through the roof. Gen clears her plate and then looks at me, silently asking if I’m finished. I nod and clear my throat. “Yes, thank you.”  

Jared grabs my hand and pulls me off the stool, dragging me toward the living room once again. Last night, this is the same exact place that they propositioned me and invited me into their bed. Now, here we are again, apparently discussing something new.

I wait with bated breath as Gen makes her way into the room, carrying her and my coffee cups, sitting mine on the table in front of me.

“First off,” she begins as she turns to look at me, one leg under her bottom. “Did you enjoy it?”

“Wh-what?” I ask in shock. Was she actually asking if I enjoyed having sex with them?

“Did you have a good time? With us?”

“Duh,” I answer cringing at my snarkiness. “Yes, I enjoyed it and I had an amazing time. And I understand if this was a one-off; something you wanted out of your systems. I get it. And I promise not to speak a word of it to anyone.”

Jared chuckles and Gen throws her head back, laughing. “Oh honey. I don’t care about that. Hell, scream it from the rooftops for all I care. We want to know if you’d like to continue.”

To say I am floored is an understatement. They are actually asking if I want to keep having sex with them? Have I died and gone to Heaven?

“Really?” I gasp. I never in a million years would have ever thought this was what we needed to discuss.

“Yes, really,” Jared tells me from the armchair. “We understand if it is too much. We, uh-” he pauses to rub the back of his neck and chuckle. “-got a little enthusiastic last night. It’s usually not that acrobatic. But yea, we want to know if you want to keep this going.”

I nod as my brows furrow and I look down at my hands, my fingers fidgeting with the hem of Gen’s shirt. How can I answer without sounding too enthusiastic or overly eager?

“Sweetie?” Gen asks, leaning down to look into my eyes. “Are you okay? Is it too much?” 

The worry in her voice is what gets me. Is she actually afraid I am going to turn them down? But I have to know something first.

“Can I ask a question?”

“Sure.”

“Why me? I mean, was I just the first girl you came across once you decided to have a threesome?”

Gen and Jared both chuckle. “No baby,” Gen assures me. “This isn’t our first time doing this. We’ve had threesomes before. We, uh- should we tell her Jare?”

“She’ll find out eventually,” he answers his wife. “Go on.”

“We had a relationship with Jared’s co-star Jensen for a few months. It went really well but then we decided to end it, amicably before we all got married. He was dating Danneel but she was living in LA while he was up in Vancouver with us. And well, we fucked. Not Jare and Jen, they just uh, shared me. Although they did get close to kissing once in a competition to see who could get me off first by eating me out simultaneously.” She ends with a laugh and I look over to see Jared blushing.

“Now, that...that cannot and should not be repeated,” he says, clearing his throat. “We just got too close and our tongues touched that’s all.” He explained my unanswered inquiry.

“So, this isn’t your first time having a threesome with another guy?” I ask. “But is it a first with another girl?”

“Yes,” they both answer resolutely. “You are our first female conquest.” Gen finishes before she laces her fingers with mine. “When I saw you yesterday at Y/E/E, I liked you immediately. Even though I could tell you knew who we were you kept it professional and when I asked Jared what he thought about you, I could tell by the way he looked at you he wanted you. We both did. That’s why I left my number. Figured it’d be safer to leave mine than his in case someone else found the note.”

“It’s in my car,” I smiled at her. “I wasn’t about to throw it away.”

“See, you knew. You might have not realized you knew, but you knew me leaving you my number was a big risk.”

“So?” Jared asks as both Gen and I turn to look at him. “Is this something you can see continuing?”

“Absolutely!” I answer confidently and certain. “I will be the third wheel for you guys.”

“Oh honey, in this relationship, we are all equals,” Gen says as she smoothes her hand over my hair. “Now, let’s talk about the rules.”

The 'rules' as I soon discover aren't really rules at all. Mostly we discuss what kind of things are turn-ons and what are turn-offs. 

I find out that Gen loves oral, receiving and giving,  whether it be male or female. She requests to be called Mama in the bedroom and is unopposed to anal play.

Jared's turn-ons include oral as well, he loves to maintain dominance over his lovers and inquired as to whether I am opposed to that aspect. I tell him an unwaveringly no. I will submit and comply with his control. 

When asked what I prefer, I shrug my shoulders. I'd never given it much thought. Sure, I'd had partners before; I wasn't a virgin by any means but to actually sit and think and come up with stuff I liked and didn't like was new to me. 

"Okay," Gen says, aware of my discomfort. "Well, we know you like oral, both giving and receiving it. And you like fucking, we are very well aware of that." She continues with a smile. "Are there any positions you're more fond of than others?"

"Uh, I like doggy style," I say, feeling my cheeks heat up. Good god, I've had sex with these people and I'm getting embarrassed!

"Hey now. None of that," Gen coos. "This is a judgment free zone."

I nod, feeling more confident. "I like it when, uh...when you pulled my hair while I was eating you out. And," I turn to look at Jared. "I liked when you spanked her while fucking into her. That was hot, but not like you know,  hard or a lot of smacks but...yea."

He smiles at me and nods. "Good to know kitten."

"Anything else?" Gen presses.

"Uh, nothing I can think of right now. No, but permission to revisit this if I do think of something?"

"Of course sweetie."

"One last thing," Jared announces and I turn to look at him. "Move in with us?"

When the kids come in later with their nanny, they stop in their tracks when they see me sitting on the couch with their parents, platonically of course.

The two older ones, Tom and Shep,  recognize me and ask their mom why the lady from the restaurant is here while the little girl, Odette, climbs onto Jared's lap and burrows into his chest, peeking out and glancing at me.

"This is our friend. Her name is Y/N and she's going to be staying with us," Gen eases the information to the boys. 

The middle child, Shep, is the first one to speak. "Does she like dinosaurs?"

Gen looks at me with joy and laughter in her eyes. I smile and tell Shep, "Dinosaurs are magnificent! My favorite is the pterodactyl.  What's yours?"

The discussion between the boys and I quickly turns to which dinosaur would win if they were all in a battle to which dinosaur could survive if they were to come back alive and be in the world as it is today.

Odette finally warms up and makes her way to my side,  telling me that Mommy dinosaurs have to wear makeup while Daddy dinosaurs go to work.

I had been terrified of how the kids would accept the fact that I was going to be living with them but I had nothing to worry about. 

Kids are resilient though. They can adapt and adjust to just about anything. The three Padalecki kids have no problem knowing there is a new person living in their home but I also know the real talk is going to come after dinner and after Francine leaves for the evening.

Gen and I work together that night, getting the dinner dishes cleaned off and stacked in the dishwasher. Every so often, Gen would glance around and then pull me into a kiss, keeping it mostly innocent and chaste. The only thing not innocent is when her hands would roam and grab a boob or my ass or one time she ran her hand down my crotch, pressing on my clit. 

Once the kitchen is cleared, the two of us join Jared and the kids in their playroom where we decide to tell them what is actually going on.

Tom and Shep were sitting on the floor playing with toy cars, making engine noises while Odette sat on her dad's lap, coloring. 

"Guys," Gen speaks, getting the boys' attention. "Can you come over here for a moment. Family meeting."

Tom and Shep get up and walk to the table and stand, looking between the three adults in the room.

"Okay, you know how we have taught you all that honesty is always best? And that lying will only get you into more trouble?"

"Yes ma'am," they say in unison.

"Okay. Well your dad and I are going to be honest with you. Y/N is not only our friend, she is our girlfriend. We like her like we like each other; like Unkie Jensen likes Auntie D. And she likes us.

"You will see us-both of us- hug Y/N and kiss her just like we do each other. If you have a bad dream at night and come to our room she is going to be in bed with us. But we will always, always make room for you.  You three are our littlest loves and there isn't anything in this world we wouldn't do for you.

"Also, Y/N is the boss as much as your dad and I are so whatever she says goes. If she tells you it's time for bed you don't try to haggle your way out of it. If she tells you you've had enough candy, you listen. She is the adult, you are not. You understand?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Okay. Do you have any questions?"

They shake their heads no and Gen smiles as she reaches out to ruffle Shep's hair and then Tom's.

"You can go play for another hour and then it's time for baths and bed."

The boys go back to their spots and continue their game.

"Well that went better than I was expecting," I say with a laugh.

"Our boys are smart," Jared says with an air of pride. 

Odette looks up at him with a scoff, which causes both Gen and I to laugh.

"You're smart too lil O," he tells her before placing a kiss on her temple. 

When it's time for baths, Tom asks that I help him so I follow him to his room where he picks out a set of pajamas and underwear. We walk down the hall to the bath and he undresses as I begin filling the tub.

"Y/N?" Tom says as he washes his hair. 

"Yea?"

"Do you love us?"

"What do you mean?" I ask, trying to keep my voice even. This was not a question I was expecting from a 7 year old.

"Mommy said that you like them like they like each other. And I know mommy and daddy love each other and they love us just like Unkie Jen loves Auntie D and JJ and Arry and Zeppy. So do you love us too?"

I'm not sure how to answer his inquiry. Do I love him and his siblings? Sure, what's not to love about three of the best behaved kids I have ever encountered. 

They took their Mom's news in stride, like it was no big deal that both their parents had a girlfriend, like it was normal.

"Yes, Tom. I love you and Shep and lil O. How could I not? You three are awesome," I laugh trying to break the tension. "Plus we can talk about dinosaurs without people giving us weird looks."

"Do you love Mommy and Daddy too?"

Well, there it is. The one question I was hoping to avoid because I didn't have an answer.  I don't know the answer.

Do I love Jared and Genevieve? I know I've lusted after them both for years and the three of us have had the most remarkable, memorable sex of my existence, but love? Wasn't it too soon?

"I think it is time to finish your bath before you turn wrinkly like a raisin," I tell him instead. 

It is only a few weeks later that those three words are shared between us. 

As we are readying for bed, Gen and I doing a skincare routine in front of the bathroom mirror Jared waltz in and lifts the toilet seat, not caring to relieve himself while we are in the room.

After he finishes and he rights himself, he wiggles between us to wash his hands. We both laugh at his antics and while drying his hands he kisses Gen,  telling her he loves her  and then turns to kiss me.

"I love you too," he whispers against my lips and my eyes widen at his proclamation.

The whole world stills, the Earth quits spinning and the air stops flowing as he presses his lips to mine again.

"Y/N?" Gen calls to me and everything begins moving again. "Are you okay sweetie?"

"Uh." That's the only thing I can utter. Jared just told me he loves me.  He just dropped those three precious words like it was nothing. 

"Do you not love me? Us?" Jared asks as he pulls away and looks down at me. 

My eyes well up with tears and I can't stop my body shaking if I wanted to. 

"Yes," I answer with a laugh. "I love you so much!"

Jared wraps me up in a kiss again, deepening it as he bends me backwards.  We pull away with smiles.  

"I love you. I love you. I love you," I say repeatedly.

"I love you Y/N," Gen proclaims as she pulls me into a hug before kissing me senseless.

That night we don't fuck. The three of us make love to one another, proclaiming our love and devotion to one another over and over until we each find our climaxes together, as one. 

On Friday we decide it is time to visit the Family Business Brewery to stock up on some more beer since the supply at home is getting low.

I'm nervous as hell as today I get to meet Jared and Gen's best friends and former lover. Jensen and Daneel and the kids have been away, up in the north visiting family and now they are back and the plan is to hang out at FBB to let the kids play on their playground. 

The Ackles know that Jared and Gen have someone they want them to meet but as I find out on the way there,  they have no idea just what I am to the Padalecki's. They just think it's a new friend.

As we pull up, the parking lot is half-full with vehicles and people milling about ready to go inside and sample some the craft beer that is brewed onsite.

I look toward the building and immediately can make out Jensen's silhouette. Probably because of the crowd that has amassed around him. Being one of the main characters on the country's hit sci-fi show and part owner of this place drew a bigger crowd to the brewery than the alcohol did apparently. 

I notice that over half of the guests have some type of Supernatural paraphernalia,  be it a t-shirt, a purse, or just a photo or something they hoped to get autographed.

The crowd finally disperses and Jensen finally makes his way to us, a smile on his face and a beer glass in his hand. 

"Hey guys. Glad you could make it. Dee is inside helping Gino run the bar since we are down a person," he explains and then his eyes narrow in on me. "Hello. I'm Jensen."

"Y/N," I say with a nod.

"Jay, this is our girlfriend." Gen tells him and I watch for his reaction. He is one hell of an actor because other than a quick widening of his green eyes, he fixes his face into one of nonchalance. 

"So, you're still…..doing that?" he asks lowly before taking a drink of his beer.

"We hadn't for a while," Jared speaks up. "Since you but yea, we now share a girlfriend."

"Nice," Jensen smiles but I can tell it's not a happy-for-you one; it's more forced, more strained.

Daneel finally comes out to join us and Gen introduces me much the same way she announced me to Jensen. 

"Oh wow!" Daneel exclaims.  "I, uh, didn't know you two were into that sort of thing."

So apparently she had no idea that a few years ago, Jensen had been in my position.  Good to know as now I can be  more aware of what to say and what to keep to myself.

The day is nice in the grove where the brewery is located. The heat from the sun is abated by the gentle breeze that flows through the trees. 

Jared and Jensen, and sometimes Gen get pulled away a few times by excited fans asking for pictures of just to chat, leaving Daneel and I watching the kids.

I can tell she is dying to ask questions so once there is no one close by, I turn to her and tell her. "You can ask."

"Oh thank god! It's been killing me. How does it work? Do you all sleep together? Have sex together?"

I smile at her questions. And with living with the Padalecki's I have come to also believe the truth is better than lying philosophy.

"We love one another and we work together raising the three most amazing kids I've ever met. Well, until now; the Ackles kids are pretty fantastic." I pause to smile at her. "Yes, we share a bed each night. Sometimes I'm in the middle, sometimes Gen. It just depends on who needs the assurance and safety net the most. 

"And yes we have sex together. As with the sleeping arrangement, we take turns on who is between the other two. Sometimes Jared fucks Gen while she eats me out and sometimes I eat her out while being whaled on by the big moose."

Daneel throws her hands up and shakes her head. "Okay. Okay. I'm sorry I asked. That was a visual I did not need. And now it's stuck in my head."

She storms off and I can't help but laugh at her reaction. I mean, she asked after all. I just hope I didn't ruin her friendship with my lovers. 

Later that night, when I tell Jared and Gen about it they laugh and assure me that it's nothing Daneel won't get over; that she just probably will never ask me anything ever again. 

Over the next few months, I learn just how close the Padalecki's and the Ackles' are as we tend to spend every holiday together and attend each other's kid's birthday parties.

Daneel continues to be cordial to me but doesn't inquire any further into my relationship with Gen and Jared. 

That may also be because after paparazzi got a photo of Gen and I at the store holding hands and ran with the story that Gen and Jared were obviously on the splits, the three of us sat down to an interview with People magazine and told the world that the Padalecki's marriage and relationship was still going strong and made it known that they were also in a relationship with me.

After that, the buzz of it all settled down and everything went back to semi-normal. There would be some gossip on the internet about us or we'd received unmarked mail containing threats of damnation but, with the help of my girlfriend and boyfriend, I learned to let it all slide.

People would always have their opinions. I just had to get used to them being different than my own. The world wasn't going to stop turning just because I was in a relationship with a married couple. 

A year to the day that Jared and Gen had entered my life when they visited Y/E/E found us all in the kitchen; Jared and Gen sitting at the counter while I cooked us an anniversary dinner.

"Can you believe it's been a year?" Gen says as I pull the roasted chicken from the oven. "One year since we decided to go out to eat and run into the most beautiful human we've ever seen."

"A year since you left your number on a piece of paper before we left and waited patiently for her to call," Jared continues. "One whole year of the most magnificent mind-blowing sex of my life!"

"A year since I thought you leaving your number was a prank or a mistake but texted it anyway. A year of….hell, the best year of my existence, " I tell them as I plate up the chicken, pasta and asparagus before turning and placing their plates in front of them.

"I love you both so much."

"We love you equally," Gen says before we set about eating the dinner I cooked. 

The kids were staying over at the Ackles' so we had the house to ourselves.

Jared cleared the kitchen after dinner and dessert while Gen and I went up to the bedroom to get ready in our matching lingerie that we purchased special for the occasion. 

"Jared is going to flip when he sees us," Gen says as she comes up behind me in the mirror. "Fuck, are we lucky. Sweetie you are absolutely gorgeous.  I can't wait to pull this off of you," she says kisses my shoulder, grazing her teeth across my skin. "With my teeth."

I shudder at the thought and reach back tangling my hand in her hair, kissing her passionately. 

"Same goes for you darling," I tell her as we hear Jared coming up the stairs.

Gen and I rush to get on the bed, laying back in nothing but lace and silk waiting for Jared to enter the bedroom.

"Fuck. Me!" he exclaims as he walks in and sees us. "God damn, baby girls, you're going to give this ole man a heart attack," he says, removing his shirt and unbuttoning his jeans. 

As we both promised, we put a show on for Jared; disrobing one another with nothing but our teeth and lips. 

Gen finally squirts after I bury my face in her sweet cunt, licking all around with my fingers knuckle deep inside her. Her breathing is labored as I pull away, leaving my fingers wiggling inside and turn my head to kiss Jared.

He groans as the tang of her juices mixed with my taste floods his mouth and I begin fingering Gen again, feeling her walls fluttering and quivering around them. 

"You like that Mama?" I ask as I pull away from my boyfriend. "You want more? I can recreate our first night."

"Fuck yes!" Gen screams. "Fist me baby."

I curl my fingers down and work my closed fist into her sopping wet pussy easily, twisting my wrist as she writhes above me. I lean down and suck her clit between my lips, flicking the nub with my tongue. 

"Shit! I'm going to cum again," she pants and I take my fingers and press against her sweet spot. Her thighs clamp around my head as she climaxes. 

Jared walks around behind me and I feel the swath of his tongue lick from my clit to my entrance and up to my ass. It isn't the first time he's ate me like that and it is erotic and obscene and I love it.

When Jared's tip notches at my opening, I wiggle my hips and he slaps his palm down on my asscheek. I moan as I lay my forehead against Gen's leg. Jared spanks me once more before he slams into me, burying his whole length in one thrust. 

"Oh fuck! Yes!" I yell out as he begins a pounding pace. His hands gripping my hips tight enough to leave bruises.

Gen finally recuperates enough to join in, kissing me senseless and whispering not-so-sweet nothings in my ear.

"Jared is fucking you real good ain't he? You're taking all that cock. You gonna let him put a baby in you? Yea you are, aren't ya? Get all big and round with a Padalecki growing in you. You want that? You want Jared to cum deep inside and impregnate you?"

"Uh huh," is all I can muster as Jared keeps pounding into me from behind, his balls bouncing up to slap my clit.

"Jared, put a baby in our baby girl. Fill her little pussy up."

"Yes Daddy. Please," I say, finally getting my voice.  "Please daddy put your baby in me."

"Oh god. Yea, I can do that. I can definitely do that."

"Mama?" I call out to Gen who lays down to meet my eyes.  "Are you sure? This is what you want?"

"Yes baby. I want to watch you grow our baby inside you. I love you sweet girl. And I know you'll be the best mom, you already are to Tom, Shep and O."

She smiles before capturing my lips with hers, wrapping her hand in my hair and tugging, making me whimper and whine.

Jared stills behind me as I feel his dick throbbing and spurting, filling me with his cum and hopefully getting me pregnant. It seems to go on and on before he finally slumps and pulls out of me, only to prod his softened dick back inside and thrusts, making sure the release goes where it needs.

If we made a baby together tonight or not,  I know these two beautiful people, my lovers, will be here with me through the celebration or if need be, the act of trying until we succeed. 

Six weeks later, I find myself peeing on a stick. I haven't told anyone but my period is about 8 days late and I've always been regular. 

I wait for the timer to go off on my phone, staring at the test laying facedown on the sink. Am I pregnant? Am I just late? But then if that's the case, why am I late? 

The device dings and I hesitantly reach for the test, turning it over to find out the result.

As I walk down the stairs, I hear my family in the front room laughing and just being goofy, none of them aware of what I hold in my hand. The small thin piece of plastic that is going to change everything. 

I stand at the doorway and just watch the five of them. I love them all so much and am grateful that they are now a part of my life. The kids accepted me and made me feel welcomed and loved from the very beginning and now they sometimes call me Mommy Y/N. It warms my soul when they utter those words. 

Jared and Genevieve. I never thought I could find a love like I have with them. It is an all-consuming love. They are so kind, caring and generous. The three of us are in love and we are about to bring another life into the mix. 

“Hey guys,” I call out getting their attention. Shep runs and wraps his arms around my waist and lays his head on my stomach, like he knows his new little brother or sister is growing inside me. But that can’t be, I haven’t said a word to anyone much less the kids.

I ruffle his hair and he looks up at me with a smile. “Why don’t you go sit on the sofa with your parents?” I request. “I have something to tell you all.”

“We’re having a baby,” I announce, not wanting to drag this out. I am happy, ecstatic even and I am hoping, ok I’m pretty sure this news will be accepted with joy. 

“What?” Gen exclaims, a smile blossoming on her face. “Really?”

“Yea,” I answer as I hold up the pregnancy test with the two bold blue lines. “I’m pregnant.”

Gen gently lifts O off her lap and jumps up, rushing to hug me and pulling me into a kiss. We’ve never hidden our relationship from the kids so to see their Mom and I kissing is no big deal to them.

When she pulls away, Gen looks at me with tears in her eyes. "We're having a baby?"

"Yea we are," I tell her, my own tears making themselves known. 

Suddenly Jared is pulling us both into his chest, his long strong arms holding us close.

"Where's the baby?" O asks as she looks around and in the floor. "I wann' see it."

We laugh as we break apart, going to join them on the sofa. 

I pull O onto my lap while Gen holds Shep and Tom is propped on his Dad's knee.

"The baby isn't born yet," I explain to my daughter. "He or she has to get big enough before it can come live with us. Right now, it's just a tiny little bean."

"I wann' see it," she repeats and I chuckle as I maneuver her around to straddle my thighs. I lift my shirt, exposing my stomach and take her hand to place under my belly button. "The baby is in here,  nice and warm and growing.”

Lil O’s eyebrows fuse together as she stares at the place her hand is and then she says, “Can I play with her when she gets here?”

I laugh and hear Gen and Jared chuckle.

“Of course you can sweetie,” I tell her. “But maybe not when she first gets here, she’ll be itty bitty.”

“She?” Jared says and I look at him. He practically has stars in his eyes with glee. 

“Well O called it a she so I just ran with it. Who knows, it could be a boy,” I say with a shrug. 

“I want a tyrannasaurus,” Shep declares. 

“Geez buddy,” I laugh as I look down at him. “You want me to explode? The baby is in my belly and you want it to be a dinosaur?”

“No, I wasn’t thinking about that,” Shep says, his voice remorseful.

“Hey Sheppy? It’s okay. I was just joking with you.”

“Okay,” he says as he reaches over and puts his hand on my stomach beside his sister’s. 

Before I know it I have three little palms against my skin, along with a slightly bigger one and a huge one over top of all of them; my family silently welcoming and loving on the new addition.

By the time Tom’s birthday comes around, I am huge! Gen had warned me that Padalecki’s were big babies but this is outrageous. I can't see my feet at all and need help to get out of bed every morning. This little one is making my life miserable but I know in the end, it will all be worth it.

We had decided against finding out the gender, mainly because I was still leery about how correct those results could be. So the five of us have begun referring to the bump as Baby P. And right now Baby P was kicking my kidneys and punching my liver. 

I still have almost a month before my due date of April 11 and it seems as if time is slowing down. Every day is a hurdle to get through, with being 8 months pregnant and still trying to help out around the house and do my chores, though both Gen and Jared have fussed at me for doing too much. But I’m pregnant, not disabled.

We’ve planned a barbeque party for Tom’s birthday and invited most of his friends from school, plus the Ackles and the Morgan’s and a few others from Jared’s time on the show. Both sets of grandparents are going to be here also, so it would definitely be a full house.

I am upstairs in the bedroom, trying to slide my sandals on but having trouble since I can’t see anything. Jared walks in while I huff and try again, only to push the shoe farther away.

“Hey baby,” he says gently. “Let me help you.”

“This is ridiculous,” I whine as he lifts my leg and slides the leather onto my foot. “I can’t do anything but waddle around, running into things and just getting in the way. I’m an annoyance to everyone. Maybe I should just stay up here.”

“You hush that right now,” he admonishes me, standing up to tower over me.  “You do not annoy anyone. You do not get in the way at all. You are pregnant, carrying my baby. You’re beautiful, baby girl. I love watching you, knowing that’s my child inside you; a life we created out of our love.” He tugs a stray hair behind my ear and tilts my chin up. “I love you. Gen loves you. Tom, Shep and O love you. We all love you and we love this baby. So get over yourself and get that cute little ass downstairs to celebrate our son’s birthday.”

“Cute and little is not how I would refer to my ass,” I retort with a smile. “I look like a Kardashian.”

“Mmhmm,” Jared mumbles as he leans down to kiss me. “More to spank.”

I chuckle as I tiptoe to kiss him and then turn to head downstairs to join my family and greet our guests.

The party is in full swing as most of the adults sit in lounge chairs, talking and catching up while Jared and Jensen man the grill and the ladies are in the kitchen gathering up the condiments and sides.

I have been commanded to stay in my seat and ask for anything I need. Jared went as far as to tell me if he saw me on my feet, he would spank me in front of everyone. And as much as I love him spanking me, that was something that no one else needed to see so I kept my promise, only asking that he give me a bottle of water for my stay.

Everyone seems to be having a good time; the kids are enjoying the gigantic bounce house that we rented and sat up in the backyard, the adults congregate on the patio talking and laughing and waiting for food.

I look around with a blissful heart at the family and friends I have acquired since becoming Jared and Gen’s lover. No one seems to bat an eye anymore about our relationship and took it at face value and that made me very happy. Sure, there were a few things still being said on the internet but those people don’t matter to me. What matters to me is the ones here today, celebrating our son’s birthday. 

A pain shoots through my body but as soon as it appears, it disappears so I think nothing of it and go back to watching Tom, Shep, JJ, and a few of their friends from school run around the yard playing tag. It’s a good day.

That good day turns when later that evening while the ones of us that are still lounging around, mostly family, my water breaks. Gerald and Sherri, Jared’s parents, stay at the house with the kids as Gen, Jared and I rush to the hospital.

In the early morning hours of March 18, we welcome Delaney Grace Padalecki, a whopping 9 pound 12 ounce baby girl. 

I thought I knew what love was, what love is but until I looked into my daughter’s eyes, I had had no idea. 

Love is infinite. Love is encompassing. Love is the glue that cements us all together. And I have found that with Gen and Jared and their-our-kids and now with Delaney. There is no way my life could be any richer. A once in a lifetime encounter gave me love and a family. 

THE END

@lostinaseaoffictionalbliss​ @spnbaby-67​ @tftumblin​ @sea040561​ @delightfullykrispypeach​ @larajadeschmidt13​ @atc74​ @vicariouslythruspn​ @squirrelnotsam​ @death-unbecomes-you​ @sandlee44​ @blacktithe7​ @hoboal87​ @mogaruke​ @deanwanddamons​ @supraveng​ @deandreamernp​

[maira-writes-shit]

You look cute

Tanizaki Junichirou x Tachihara Michizou

Tattoo parlor x Flower shop AU, meeting, fluff

Junichirou was a very simple person.

He loved his sister, his friends and his job.

He was a florist for one of the best flower shops in town.

Junichirou was currently working on a arrangement for one of their frequent customers. It was a old man that came by every week or so to get a small arrangement for his wife. They had been together for over 50 years now.

The redhead smiled down at the arrangement he just finished.

Their relationship is so sweet...I wish I could have that...

“Tanizaki! You’re back here, right?“

The man in question turned around to see his best friend Atsushi waving at him from the front of the shop.

The redhead nodded and walked out of the back room to the front the shop.

It wasn’t the biggest size wise and it was stacked with plants but it felt as much as home as the little apartment he and Naomi lived in.

„Aku is taking me out on a date. Could you cover my shift for today? Only if you're finished of course!“

„Sure thing, Atsushi! Don’t worry you’ll be fine!“

“Thanks you’re the best!“ the white haired boy then vanished into the back with a big smile on his face.

The older of the two looked at the closing door with a soft smile.

He had sadly been on the receiving end of most of his coworkers rants about this guy he constantly butted heads with but still somehow thought was kind of cute. It actually hadn't been that long ago when Atsushi had finally mastered the courage to ask Akutagawa out.

Junichirou was happy for him (also maybe because he wouldn't get random 3am calls of Atsushi screaming about said boy anymore...hopefully).

Since it was the late afternoon the shift didn't have many customers.

There was the old man coming to get his arrangement, a young man buying the classic (roses), a bride that came to check up on a few things and a mother and her little daughter who bought a couple of single flowers.

Junichirou helped them all and then sat back just scrolling on his phone.

He was just looking at the clock and realizing he should slowly start to close the shop, when the little bell above the stores door jingled.

The florist looked up to see a man standing slightly awkward in the door.

...a very handsome man.

He was around Junichirou's hight, with red hair some shades darker than Junichirou. The man wore a cropped green jaket and a white V-neck shirt as well as...a band aid on his nose?

Wierd fashion choice...b ut it doese look good on him.

He'd look good in everything.

Jun we don't even know his name!

I'm just saying!

Junichirou shook his head to get rid of his thoughts as he put on a smile again.

"May I help you?"

The man jumped a little but then went up to the desk at which the other redhead was sitting.

"Uh yeah. I think you can." Junicirou chuckled. "And how?"

The man rolled his eyes but his cheeks were tinted a light pink.

"I just need an arrangement for the front window of the place I work at." "Oh so you can say stuff that makes sense!"

Junichirou was usually not like this, especially to customers. He didn't know what it was about this guy that made it so easy for him to tease and joke but if he was honest...he liked it.

The redhead in front of him snorted and raised an eyebrow.

"So now that we've established that-" Junichirou stood up and grabbed his notebook and pen. "-what's the style you're going for?"

"Well it's a tattoo shop-" "The one down the street?" "-Uh yeah. Do you know it?"

The florist tapped his pen on the notebook.

"Yeah my coworkers boyfriend works there..." ,he mumbled as he walked over to some of the flowers in he coner that might be of intrest for the man.

"Oh-um well then if you've been there before you should know what type of aesthetic, I guess, we are going for, right?"

Junichirou hummed.

"'kay so I have some ideas. The thing is just you came very shortly before closing and frankly I have a sister at home that will beat the shit out of me if I'm not back on time so-"

The redhead went into the back to get his bag.

"_don't worry I'll have the arrangement finished tomorrow at noon. I'll just need you to write down your name and if you want it to be brought to the shop of course where the shop is. Please make it fast I can't be late."

The taller man in front of him looked slightly speachless but then seemed to regain his mind because he started writing the information down on the pice of paper JUnichirou had given him.

Tachihara Michizou, huh?

I'll remeber that...

Tachihara seemed to linger for a few seconds too long until he then turned around and walked to the shops door.

"Oh yeah by the way."

JUnichirou looked back up.

"You look cute." ,he winked. "Well see ya sometime, Red!"

JUnichirou just looked at the door closing with his mouth open.

"Wha-what the fuck just happned?!"

Honestly Junichirou was just confused.

He walked the short way to his and Naomi’s apartment without paying attention to anyrhing, nearly getting hit by a car.

He was so distracted that even completely ignored his sister who jumped to hug him the second he opened the door, which wasn’t good.

“Hey! Are you ignoring me?!“

“H-huh? Oh! Sorry Naomi!“

“Something must have happned at work today.“ the redhead could feel his cheeks heating up. „So I’m right!“

“Yeah ok ok you’re right.“ Junichirou walked around his sister into the kitchen, where he opened the cupboard to get out two bowls.

“So tell me!“

„You‘re a noisy one, aren’t you?“ „Hey! Don’t be mean to your adorable little sister!“

The siblings sat down as the water started to boil.

There was a comfortable silence between them even if Junichirou could practically feel Naomi‘s questions floating in the air.

“Ok it has to do with a customer.“ Naomi gave the happy little squeak she always gave when he told her, as she called it, „The tea“ from work.

“So I was just about to close where this guy came in.“ his sister seemed to visibly get even more intrigued.

„He was like really handsome. He was tall, had red hair, intense eyes and I’m pretty sure he wore eyeliner. He had an interesting fashion style and had a bunch of tattoos, because he works at the tattoo parlor Atsushi‘s boyfriend also works at.“

Naomi hummed with a smirk on her lips, as she held her head in her hands.

“Well he walked in last minute and asked for an arrangement for the front of their parlor. And of course I was like: „sure I’ll do it. It’ll be done by tomorrow just give me the name of the place and I’ll deliver it“, right?“ Naomi nodded.

“And everything is fine everything is normal.“ his sister raised an eyebrow. „Ok normal with a little bit more blushing.“

“Anyway! He walks out but just before he leaves he turns around to me and says, and I quote: „You look cute.“ and then he winked at me and left!“

The black haired girl in front of him gasped. „He winked?! No he didn’t!“ „Yes he did!“ „Oh god!“

The water was finally done boiling so Junichirou stood up to get it and finish their dinner.

“Well he seems to like you. Wait- did you get his name?“ „Uh- yeah I did. I need it for the delivery and everything, remember?“ „Yeah yeah. So what is it?“ „Tachihara…Michizou Tachihara.“

Even if Junichirou didn’t like the expression on his sisters face he just ignored it and sat down in front of her with the food.

„Good Morning Jun!“

„AHH Oh god Naomi don’t scare me like that!“

“Yeah yeah whatever. Come on I need to show you something!“

„Wait don’t I need to go to-wait it’s 6am. What the fuck Are you doing awake?“ „Pssst!“

Naomi basically ran through their small apartment dragging a very tried Junichirou behind her.

On the small couch the siblings own sat a girl with red glasses, long brown hair and tried looking green eyes.

Haruno, his sisters girlfriend.

„Good morning Haruno.“ „Good Morning Junichirou“, she said giving him a small smile. They suffered together by the hands of the one, Naomi Tanizaki.

“We found something out. Sit down.“ The black haired girl grabbed to open laptop sitting on the table in front of the couch.

With „we“ she probably mean Haruno, and she was just cuddling her half the time…

“Michizou Tachihara, 22 years of age, Tattoo artist. He’s currently single and a bisexual. He has been working at Port tattoo for about 2 or 3 years, not sure about that one. He’s pretty good friends with someone called Gin Akutagawa, but don’t worry they have a girlfriend.“

“Also before you ask: yes Gin is related to Atsushi‘s boyfriend. They are siblings“, Naomi‘s girlfriend piped up.

Junichirou was just stunned.

“Wha-what? When? How? Did you guys even sleep?!“

“No we did not but that is not important! What’s important is that we now know that he is single and probably attracted to you.“

He had no words.

Junichirou was distracted again.

He was just working on an arrangement for a handsome bisexual guy who told him he looked cute…

What the actual fuck?!

He took a step back.

The arrangement was beautiful, one of his best works he’d say.

A lot of dark blues and purples.

The hyacinths blending beautifully with the cornflowers. Just all in all pretty.

Sure he thought it was kind of embarrassing adding the cornflowers, he knew a lot about flower language after all but most of his customers didn’t really care especially for these types of jobs so the redhead bushed those thoughts to the back of his head.

Junichirou took a deep breath.

Lets do this!

Be confident!

He took the arrangement.

The walk wasn’t going to be long so it was fine for him to just carry it.

“Ok I’m off, Atsushi! See you in a bit!“ „Yeah sure thing, Tani!“

…

The walk to the tattoo parlor was blurr and now he was standing in front of it.

Oh fucking god-

Deep breaths Junichirou

Deep breaths

And he walked in.

“Hello how can I help you?“

The woman at the front was a little older than him, had blond hair that she had in a bun and had warm brown eyes. She looked nice.

“Uh I need to talk to uhm Tachihara?“

She eyed him a little bit visibly inspecting the vase in his hand.

She gave him a smirk.

“Yeah he should be free I’ll tell him.“

“Thank you…“

He had only ever been in here once. He had to wait in the front room as Atsushi and Akutagawa were at each other’s throats agin. Oh how happy he was they were dating now. Less fighting…less.

The place looked nice though.

Even if it had a rather cool color palette with a lot of blues, purples and blacks it still seemed very cozy and the seats were the softest things Junichirou‘s ass had ever touched.

Some of the work by the artist that worked here was displayed on the walls. These people were so goddamm talented.

[marvel-and-mischief]

His Saving Grace Part V

Title: His Saving Grace - Maxwell Lord x F!Reader  Words: 4400 Warnings: verbal abuse, alcohol, drunken behaviour, angst, swearing Synopsis: Maxwell takes you to a business gala, explains what happened on that unusual day, and meets a familiar face. But not everything goes according to plan.

Part I  -  Part II  -  Part III  -  Part IV

A month passes in a flurry of meetings and spontaneous lunches with Maxwell, and  being the odd one out whilst he spent his half a day a week with Alistair (Mrs Lord had decided that she trusted you enough to leave her son under your care). Though, by the third week Alistair had began to warm up to you, asking you questions and thrusting toys into your arms, urging you to join in the fun on the living room floor with him and his father. 

Most of Maxwell’s conversations with you were about Alistair, or how well his new investments were doing. You didn’t elect to bring up what had happened in the restaurant a month ago, where he had you blabbering like an idiot with a silly schoolgirl crush, and he didn’t bring it up. You thought he might’ve, that it was maybe an indication that something was brewing between the two of you, but perhaps you were mistaken.

Though you noticed his hand would linger on the small of your back long after he had ushered you through a door, and he’d taken to kissing you on the cheek, a whispered ‘thank you’ on a Saturday afternoon when Mrs Lord had picked up Alistair and your work there was done. 

But it was always respectful, professional. 

One Monday you arrived at Maxwell’s apartment for lunch. Though you didn’t meet everyday, Maxwell was sure to telephone you most days and the night before he had been eager to have lunch with you to discuss something important. You begged him to tell you over the phone but he insisted he wanted to tell you in person. The excitement in his voice had you grinning and accepting his invitation easily. 

He pulled you over to the island in the middle of the kitchen when you arrived and you saw it was lined with buttered toast and various jams, a cafetière filled with fresh coffee, plain croissants and a bowl of fruit. 

“What are you up to?” You asked, teasing him and roaming you eyes over the delicious food as you took a seat. 

“Must I be up to something to treat my favourite lawyer?” Maxwell looked genuinely affronted at your accusations before the mask slipped and a cheeky smile appeared on his lips. He fetched a bottle of milk from the fridge and a small saucer with sugar cubes on and placed them down next to your mug before taking his seat opposite you.

“Either that or you’re about to fire me,” you winked as you took a bite of your toast. 

“Absolutely not! It would be like shooting myself in the foot.”

It wasn’t the most obvious of compliments but it still had you finding your slice of toast much more interesting than it was, unable to meet Maxwell’s eyes. 

“I’ve been feeling very positive lately. With seeing Alistair every week and my investments working out. I think we should do something.”

“To celebrate?” You asked inquisitively, ignoring the part where he said ‘we’.

“Sort of,” Maxwell left his place at the island and picked up a pamphlet off a side table in the living room, “I saw this when I was out getting groceries. I would like to take you.”

Maxwell handed you the pamphlet. You curiously scanned the fancy writing, the black and gold color scheme, the illustration of a woman in a beautiful gown. It was a gathering of local business owners raising money for charity, or more accurately an excuse to dress up and have a party.

“There will be opportunities to schmooze and swap business cards but most importantly there will be dancing and copious amounts of champagne,” Maxwell seemed delighted at the idea, a hopeful look in his eyes as he watched for your reaction. 

You licked the crumbs off your finger and thumb and started to nod.

“It’ll be fun,” you wanted to match Maxwell’s excitement but you had never been to anything like this, it was a whole other world to the one you were used to. But to Maxwell, this was a taste of his old life again, the glitz and the glamor of throwing money around until it sticks. 

“It will be fun. You get to dress up and show everybody in the business world that you are the one to go to if they need help.”

You couldn’t help smiling bashfully. And yeah, maybe it would be nice to relax for once, let your hair down for a night, even show off a little. You were good at your job and everyone should know it.

But there was one thing nagging in the back of your mind. Maxwell had said he didn’t want this lifestyle anymore, was he really ready to go back into the limelight?

“Maxwell,” you put down the pamphlet in favor of reaching across the island and holding his hand, “are you ready for this?”

His smile dropped a fraction, a wistful look crossing his features as he gave your hand a squeeze. After a moment’s pause he spoke seriously.

“I cannot hide for the rest of my life. I must face the music one day, and what better way to do that than with a celebration?”

“But a gala for businessmen and women? You’re sure to bump into somebody you knew.”

“Perhaps. But these people won’t want to make a fuss. They’re all about appearances.”

“You’re sure?”

Maxwell chuckled, dismissing your apprehension. 

“Everything will be fine.”

You hoped he was right.

-

Four days later you were sat in the back of a car Maxwell had hired for the two of you, bouncing your leg with nerves and staring up at Maxwell’s living room window as you awaited your date for the night to leave his apartment and join you. 

You had brought your dress second hand, not sure if it was appropriate for the event or even if it was meant to match Maxwell’s outfit. You had no idea what was ‘etiquette’ at these galas, having never been to one. 

You’d found a long dark green dress with thin straps over the shoulder and gold embroidered wildflowers in random patterns all over. You’d also come across an old black clutch at the back of your wardrobe from your clubbing days to go with it. You felt beautiful getting dressed up for the first time in years, even better that it was with Maxwell.

Speaking of which, when he came through the doors of the building you audibly gasped at how handsome he looked. His sleek, black three piece suit fit perfectly to his shape, whereas his everyday suits often looked boxy this one didn’t have the over the top shoulder pads and he looked better for it, more approachable in appearance. His shirt was white and had a crimped style and instead of a normal tie he wore a mint green bowtie, a fun addition that put a smile on your face. 

Maxwell slipped into the car next to you, taking you in with a slow sweep of your outfit and an audible release of breath that had you second guessing your choices.

“You’re a sight to behold,” Maxwell admired you one last time before pointing to his bowtie and your dress, “and we almost match.”

You laughed, nerves dissipating as you allowed Maxwell’s compliment to seep in. Maxwell told the driver to drive on, unbuttoned his jacket and relaxed into his seat. He didn’t seem anxious to be going to a gala full of people. You were a little uneasy at the prospect of meeting people he might know, you had no idea how they would react to seeing him again but you were determined to have Maxwell’s back at every corner if you were met with conflict. 

When you rolled up outside the museum you had to wait for arrivals in the car in front of your own to exit before you could. You watched as the flashing lights of the photographers were blinding the people walking passed them, and it took you back to when those cameras were shoved in your face during the worst time of your life. Would these photos be publicised? What would people think about you turning up to a charity event with a disgraced ex-oil tycoon?

Maxwell shuffled to the middle seat to grasp your hand in his, calling your name to take your attention away from what was happening outside.

“Are you alright?” The concern in his voice was genuine and the hand holding yours brought you out of your spiralling thoughts. 

“I’ll be better once we’re passed them,” you pointed to the photographers but kept your eyes on Maxwell. He hummed and leaned over the front seat to whisper in the driver’s ear. Before you could question him, the car was driving away.

“Where are we going?” You asked in confusion.

“We’re going to enter round the back instead. I have some ties to this place so it should be fine,” Maxwell gave you a reassuring smile that had you instinctively leaning against his shoulder. It was comforting having Maxwell so close, you could smell his expensive cologne that reminded you of old books in a library and a little bit woodsy. Oh what you would give to be in his presence all the time. 

-

The Smithsonian was a thing of wonder, even entering through a discreet back door away from the sparkle of the main event. After charming a security guard he seemed to know, Maxwell guided you with a hand in yours through narrow nineteenth century corridors, moving closer to the loud music at the front of the building. You passed dark locked offices and hurried through rooms with posters of animals and glass cabinets filled with artefacts far beyond your understanding. 

“How do you know your way around here?” You asked as you took in your surroundings.

“I’ve been here before,” Maxwell’s reply was short, bordering on stern as he dragged you through the maze of corridors. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“

“No no,” Maxwell slowed down enough to bring you in step beside him, deliberately loosening his grip on your hand as he realised he had been clinging harshly and pulling you around the museum behind him. It wasn’t until you reached the gems and minerals department that you felt Maxwell stiffen up beside you.

“This is where it all began,” he confessed, pointing around the room in a generalised manner. You understood what he meant, but not knowing exactly what had gone down that day, you were confused as to how it linked in with a natural history museum. 

“What happened?” You ventured, hesitant to push too hard on the subject.

“There was a stone I’d been researching for months and I traced it back to here,” Maxwell glanced over his shoulder to a door that led into an office.

“What sort of stone?”

“A Dreamstone,” Maxwell breathed, his fingers flexing around yours, “it granted wishes,” at your sceptical look he huffed out a laugh, “I know, it’s madness but I swear it’s true.”

He wasn’t playing a practical joke on you, that much you could tell, but how could a stone make your wishes come true? You decided for the most part Maxwell was sound of mind so it must be true, somehow.

“So, you took it? And made a wish?”

“I did. I wished to become the stone, that way I could grant people’s wishes and take a wish in return. I had limitless wishes, and I used every single one of them for my own benefit, to get more rich, more powerful, more evil,” Maxwell whispered the last word as he began to walk away from the department towards another corridor. 

“You were already one of the most famous men in America, why did you need more?”

Maxwell let out a sarcastic laugh that made you jump. Thinking he’d scared you Maxwell tried to pull his hand from yours but you held tight, preventing him from doing so. 

“I told myself it was for Alistair, to give him the world if he asked for it. I’m sure you and all your goodness would say I was misguided but the truth is, I wanted it. I said to myself, why shouldn’t I have everything I’ve ever wanted? Damn the consequences.”

You shook your head, disagreeing with the harshness in Maxwell’s voice and words. He wasn’t a bad man, you knew Maxwell was good at heart. The man he was describing wasn’t the man in front of you today. The man who had you entering the back of a gala because he saw how uncomfortable you were with the cameras at the front. 

“I don’t believe you,” you stated adamantly.

“No, it is all true,” Maxwell argued but you shushed him as the music and the chatter of guests was getting louder. You came to an oak door and you knew the gala was on the other side. Before you opened it you paused and turned to face Maxwell.

“I believe your story but I don’t believe for a second that you wanted to be some king of the world. Otherwise why did you stop before you went too far?”

Maxwell opened his mouth to retort but closed it again, looking like a gaping fish out of water. He couldn’t come up with an answer that suited his self-deprecating view of himself. He saw Alistair in his mind’s eye, the answer to your question, but it would only further prove your point. 

“We should go out there and enjoy ourselves, what do you think?” You asked, reaching forward to straighten up Maxwell’s bowtie. When you finished, you saw Maxwell looking at you with a sappy smile and a look you couldn’t put your finger on. Before you could ask, he offered you his arm and you took it, pushing open the oak door together. 

-

You squinted into the dim, atmospheric lighting of the large room and paused for a moment to get acquainted to the loud music from the speakers on either side of you. The space was massive and could easily accommodate a couple of hundred people. There were cabinets of artefacts along the perimeter, skeletal displays hanging down from the roof, waiters walking around with trays of champagne. It was a world far from your own but you didn’t feel uncomfortable with Maxwell by your side.

You turned to Maxwell who nodded in the direction of the bar off to the side and up some steps. You let him guide you as you surveyed the dance floor, noting the guests were in deep conversations instead of dancing. You realised that this was the time to be talking to other business owners and swapping cards.

You opened your clutch and picked out the dozen or so business cards you’d had made and showed them to Maxwell as soon as you reached the bar.

“Ah, you listened to me!” Maxwell exclaimed with a delighted grin, waving down a bartender, “what do you want?”

“A cocktail?” You weren’t sure what you could order in a museum but Maxwell understood and ordered you something you’d never heard of before.

“You’ll like it, it’s sweet,” he assured you and took one of your business cards to look over.

“Is it okay?” You asked, a tightness in your chest as you awaited his opinion. You didn’t want to look stupid in the face of the rich and powerful. 

“It’s nice, sophisticated and sleek, is that what you’re going for?”

You watched his finger trace the curvy triangle running from the top left corner of the card to the bottom right, a shiny pink against the matte black background. You nodded, certain it was exactly what you were going for. You had been a smart, capable and hard working lawyer and you wanted to bring that to your new role as a Career and Business Adviser. 

“I want to be taken seriously,” you took back the card and shuffled them into a neat pile on the bar top just as your drink was placed in front of you.

“And you will be, you can do this,” Maxwell winked and it sent a warmth throughout your body. 

When you were finished with your drink Maxwell directed you away from the bar and into the crowd. The nerves in every part of your body were on fire as you spoke to your first stranger, an older woman who owned a store in the middle of D.C. She spoke of the rising costs of renting her store and the trouble she was having attracting new customers.

You gave her advice that had her asking for your business card before you could even offer her one. 

Maxwell’s hand was a comforting presence on your back as he urged you towards different people he thought would be potential clients. Some people recognised him with a look of shock, some gave him a wide berth but most people nodded politely or didn’t give him the time of day. You were too busy concentrating on your job for the night to notice, but Maxwell was grateful that everything seemed to going smoothly for you. 

You were about to ask Maxwell if he wanted another drink when you spotted a tall, slender woman with long, wavy brunette hair on a mission to push through the crowd and reach Maxwell by any means necessary. You caught his eye, raising a questioning eyebrow but all he did was let out a long breath and face the woman who had a look of curiosity on her face. Her striking features, sharp jawline and pursed lips, set you on edge. You didn’t know whether she was going to slap Maxwell or have a very strongly worded conversation with him.

“Maxwell Lord,” she said, surprise in her tone and an accent you couldn’t place, but up close you thought she was the most beautiful woman you had ever seen. When she finally took notice of you she flashed you a friendly smile that made you weak at the knees. Who was this woman?

“Diana,” Maxwell greeted her nervously, urging you to his side and speaking your name to Diana who welcomed you with a genuine smile.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“I could ask you the same. I thought you never attended these events.” So Maxwell was hoping to avoid this Diana, you realised. There was a tension between them that you couldn’t figure out. Were they lovers once? Enemies? It was a weird atmosphere that left you confused and feeling like a third wheel. 

“I’ve been pushing myself out of my comfort zone recently,” Diana said with an air of mystery. You looked between the two of them, a frown etched onto your face. 

Maxwell glanced at you and realised how this must seem and quickly went about to explain the situation.

“Diana helped me to see the error of my ways,” Maxwell spoke slowly, hoping to give you the hint of what he was referring to. You realised he was talking about the day he made his wishes, and this woman was the one who helped prevent him from falling deeper into the dark. 

“Oh,” you gasped, nodding in understanding as Diana smiled shyly at the two of you.

“I simply reminded him of his humanity,” Diana seemed to relax once she caught onto the fact you knew exactly what they were talking about. She eyed you with interest, no doubt wondering how you and Maxwell came to be friends in the couple of months since the incident. You didn’t feel threatened under her gaze, instead it made you stand a little taller. You were proud at how far Maxwell had come since that day, he was almost unrecognisable from the mad oil tycoon everyone saw on their televisions and you hoped Diana could see that. 

You didn’t notice how Maxwell was staring at you, a warmth settling on his chest as he admired your bravery. You could have shied away from this event, refused to attend with him and he wouldn’t have blamed you in the slightest. You were strong in the way Maxwell would never be. You didn’t need help to stand back up on your feet after everything you’ve been through, you were unafraid to walk the world with a target on your back from being seen with him. He thinks you would still stand proud, head held high even if you knew Diana’s true character. 

Diana saw the look Maxwell was giving you and took it as her cue to leave. She didn’t need to keep an eye on this Maxwell Lord, not when you were there to keep him on the straight and narrow path of goodness and truth. Five minutes was all it took for Diana of Themyscira to see you were his saving grace. 

“I will leave you both to it,” Diana nodded to Maxwell and turned to leave but came to a stop just as quickly. You looked to see what she was doing and saw her wide eyes turn on Maxwell.

You weren’t sure what was going on but you knew it wasn’t good when Maxwell grabbed your hand and pulled you into his side roughly. You would have grumbled your objection but you saw the fear on his face as he frantically looked around the room.   

“What is it? What’s wrong Maxwell?” You urged him to answer you, but he didn’t need to because out of the corner of your eye you saw a man tripping towards you from the bar, clothes askew and holding an empty glass.

“You should be behind bars!” He pointed rudely at Maxwell who silently guided you to be completely shielded behind him. 

“Sir, I think you’ve had a few too many-“

“You ruined my life!” The man exclaimed. He was close enough that he would have shoved his meaty finger into Maxwell’s chest but quick as lightning Diana forced her body between the two men and had the stranger’s finger held tight in her fist.

“You don't want to do that,” Diana spoke quietly, but there was a threatening undertone to her words that shocked you. You moved to lean into Maxwell’s ear whilst Diana tried to talk the man down.

“Let’s leave,” you said softly, seeing the sadness in Maxwell’s eyes now you were closer to him. You attempted to smile, to let him know without words that you weren’t disappointed with how the night had gone. You probably would have left soon anyway, the rude man just accelerated things. 

Maxwell held your hand once again, it was becoming an ordinary occurrence between you two, and started to guide you through the crowd.

“Oi!” You heard the drunk man shout behind you but you hoped Maxwell would ignore him. “Your wishes destroyed my life, you bastard!”

Maxwell kept walking and you kept following. The crowds parted for the two of you but they only offered you pitying looks. It made your blood boil. They saw what had happened and instead of being angry at the drunk idiot causing a scene they were sad that you were caught up in it. Caught up with Maxwell. 

You didn’t want pity and you certainly didn’t want their judgements. You would be glad to never see any of them again.

When Maxwell pulled you outside it was dark, stars twinkling in the sky, the air cool and refreshing on your burning skin. Maxwell let go of you and strode over to the car he had rented for the night, knocking on the drivers side window to wake up the driver who startled awake. 

You slowly walked over, observing as Maxwell raked a hand through his hair and refused to look at you until you were standing in front of him.

“I can’t…You need to…” Maxwell sighed heavily and frustratingly kicked a pebble into the middle of the car park.

“I need to what?”

“You need to go. Far away from me, because people like him will always be around the corner.”

“You could say that about me.”

“Yes, but it didn’t happen to you tonight, it happened to me,” Maxwell jabbed his finger into his own chest as he frantically shucked off his jacket and loosened his bowtie until both pieces of fabric were hanging down the front of his shirt. 

You remained calm, understanding Maxwell’s words stemmed from his embarrassment at the situation and not because he actually wanted you to leave. 

“You want me to leave?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Your only friend?”

“I have no friends.”

“You do, you have me.”

Maxwell paused to take in your calm features, reminding himself of what he saw earlier tonight. Your strength, your inability to back down when the going gets tough. He couldn’t push you away if he really tried, he didn’t want to, and you knew that. 

He walked around to the back door of the car and opened it.

“Get in before you catch a cold,” Maxwell ordered half-heartedly and was relieved when you complied, scooting over the seats to leave space for him to join you. 

When the driver began to drive away you shuffled into the middle seat and laid your head on Maxwell’s shoulder, relaxing once he rested his head atop yours. 

Moments later you heard Maxwell sniffle and you carefully looked up to see tears filling his eyes and threatening to spill.

“Oh Maxwell,” you whispered, sitting up to wrap your arms around his shoulders, bringing his head into the crook of your neck.

“I have ruined everything.”

“No, you’re wrong. It will get better,” you ran a hand slowly through Maxwell’s hair as you reassured him, “you were very brave tonight, to go to a gala full of people who knew who you were.”

Maxwell hugged you around the waist, holding you tightly against him, the rise and fall of your chest against his, your fingers on his scalp and the smooth motion of the travelling car calming him down. 

“I’m scared for Alistair,” Maxwell croaked out against your neck.

“What do you mean?” 

“My disgrace will follow him around. He’ll always be the son of Maxwell Lord.”

Your heart broke for your friend, but what could you say? You couldn’t predict the future, you just had to stick around to show him he was wrong. 

Permanent tag list: @autumnleaves1991-blog @kaelyn-lobrutto24 @galactic-rhi @phoenixhalliwell @thewayofthemandalorian @computeringturtle @shikin83 @lesbianlena 

[goldgalaxytea-fanfics]

Meteor Shower

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: Gen

Fandom: Identity V

Relationship: Luca Balsa | Prisoner & Yidhra | Dream Witch, Yidhra | Dream Witch & Yidhra's Follower

Characters: Luca Balsa | Prisoner, Yidhra | Dream Witch, Yidhra's Followers (Identity V

Additional Tags: commission, Inspired by the Meteor Shower Event, meteor shower, Stargazing, Developing Friendships, Talking, Luca Balsa | Prisoner Has Memory Issues, Yidhra | Dream Witch is a scary lady™, Luca Balsa | Prisoner is a nerd

Words: 1,291

Summary:

Unlikely friends bond over the stars.

Notes:

This is a commission for my amazing gf!!!🥰 It was a lot of fun to write cuz it features me and my bb's favorite characters!!!🥺💖 

One could find almost anything in the manor if you looked hard enough. There were endless hallways and rooms, each hiding numerous secrets and long forgotten items. Luckily for Luca he had stumbled upon an unlocked storage room on the 3rd floor, the old dusty boxes nestled inside holding the exact treasure he was searching for.

A telescope!

It had a few dents here and there, and was covered in so much dust that simply looking at it sent him into a coughing fit, yet it still worked as if it were brand new. Gently dusting off his prize the young inventor made his way outside, the soft glow of the moon illuminating the otherwise dark grounds.

Luca explored the gardens, eyes pointed skyward as he searched for the best spot to view the meteor shower. None of the places close to the manor's exterior were great so the young man ventured farther out.

After a short walk the ground began to slope upwards. A grassy hill lay ahead, devoid of any trees on or nearby.

The perfect spot!

Luca excitedly rushed forward before quickly freezing in his tracks.

He was not alone...

Atop the raised earth sat a large woman, her skin an unnatural purple paired with long hair as dark as a raven. A blindfold covered her eyes, yet nothing obscured the long scaly snake tail that lay in place of where her legs should be. In her clawed hands she held up a small girl whose color pallet matched her own, allowing the young girl to get a good look at the falling meteors above.

Dream witch and one of her followers!

Luckily it seems like neither had noticed him, eyes focused on the sky above and paying no mind to the earth below. Luca turned to leave, feet silent as he crept away slowly. 

"Hello 'prisoner'." Yidhra greeted him, face still turned the opposite direction.

Oh no…

Yidhra was a force to be reckoned with in and out of matches. The eldritch god was known for her ruthlessness during games; almost  never going friendly during matches and showing no mercy to any of the survivors, regardless of if they were the first one found or the last. Around the manor the snake woman was hardly seen by the survivors, avoiding the humans at every chance and only interacting with the other hunters.

Facing the Dream Witch one on one never ends well...

"Ah- My apologies, ma'am." Luca hastily apologized. "I didn't know you were here. I'll leave you be." He turned on his heels, wanting to leave as soon as possible for fear of invoking the god's wrath.

"Calm down, little one." Yidhra spoke, lowering the small follower back down onto the grassy hill so she could properly face the 'prisoner'. "You may watch the stars with us."

The rational part of Luca's brain screamed absolutely not while the fried part reasoned he should. He meets the two sides midway, mentally listing off the pros and cons of each choice.

Pro: it's the best spot to view the meteor shower

Con: possibly getting murdered

Pro: hunters aren't allowed to harm survivors outside of matches

Con: she's a god and could definitely get away with breaking some rules.

Pro: it's the best spot to view the meteor shower

In Luca's scrambled mind the pros outweigh the cons, so in the end he decides to stay.

The inventor went about setting up his telescope, securing the legs and adjusting the lens. He worked as quietly as he could, not wanting to disturb the hunter a few feet away from him. Though Luca was not a quiet man - always mumbling to himself and letting any thoughts that came into his head spill from his mouth with no filter, his rambling often accompanied by metallic clanks from his constant tinkering - so staying silent was a difficult task. An uneasy tension ran thick between the three, Luca refusing to acknowledge it for fear of annoying the eldritch god. Though said deity sensed what was amiss and quickly grew tired of it.

"Out with it already, boy." Yidhra hissed. "We don't have all night."

Luca recoiled from his telescope, fearing the worst.

"Oh um I want to talk about the stars, they're really quite fascinating, but-" The man swallowed nervously. "I do not wish to disturb your peace."

"Go ahead, I do not mind."

When Luca showed no sign of opening his tightly sealed lips, she continued on.

"Come now, don't be shy." She smiled, flashing her sharp teeth. "I don't bite." A shrill sound that might have been a laugh rang out from her throat.

Luca awkwardly laughed along before clearing his throat. The inventor aimed the telescope to the sky, his good eye searching for stars and constellations through the glass. Whenever he found one he would list off the various names, stories and facts about them that he could remember. His words were a mess;  full of missing info and constant back tracking when he remembered what he forgot. As he spoke he risked a glance towards Yidhra, worried the hunter was annoyed by his jumbled rambling. Thankfully her expression was one of amusement, so Luca continued on with his incoherent spiel.

When the young man eventually ran out of new stars, silence reclaimed the night. Though it didn't last for long. A tug at his shirt pulled the man's gaze away from the telescope. Looking down he was face to face with the follower. What was normally a horrifying sight was now kind of cute. The small girl was smiling, eagerly pointing at the telescope.

"Oh you want to take a look?" Luca asked. The follower nodded. The brunette stepped aside, allowing her access to the telescope. Luca took a seat on the hill between the Dream Witch and her follower, head tilted back as he watched the meteors falling overhead. A peaceful silence befall the three of them, an unlikely trio simply enjoying the stars together.

It wasn't long till the quiet night was once again interrupted.

"I've roamed this earth since before life inhabited it." The snake woman reminisced, voice unusually soft. "Yet I never grew tired of watching the stars. It's one of the few constants I've had over the centuries. Their beauty is mesmerizing, even to a god."

Her words resolved any lingering tension, the wall between hunter and survivor finally collapsing. The two conversed freely, the hours flying by as they discussed whatever random topics presented themselves. Before they knew it the sky was changing colors, the rising sun illuminating the hill where they sat. The higher the sun rose the farther Luca's eyes closed. A long yawn escaped from the inventor before he finally succumbed to the sweet call of sleep, head cushioned by the soft grass.

"Silly mortal," Yidhra quietly laughed, careful not to disturb the slumbering survivor. "forgetting he requires rest."

The Dream Witch rose, ordering her follower to gently carry the sleeping man. Yidhra leads the way back to the manor, her follower close behind. Once inside she makes her way to Luca's room, using her claws to pry open his door. Her follower sets the inventor on his bed, Yidhra proceeding to tuck him under his blankets. Once the man was taken care of the hunter left, carefully closing the door and making her way to her own room.

As she slithers away her mind can't help but drift back to the 'prisoner'. 

None of the other survivors were nowhere near as interesting as him. She mused. He stood out amongst a sea of painfully boring mortals.

Yidhra decided right then and there that their first conversation wouldn't be their last. The Dream Witch would make sure of it.

Notes:

If anyone is interested, I've opened fanfic commissions to support my Identity V addiction! This post has info about it! ^-^

[anjanettexcordonia]

Lady Liberty

*Trigger Warnings* -NSFW, Fluff  Pairing: Riley x OC, Liam x MC, Liam x Riley Word Count:3,348 Excuse any grammatical errors or misspellings. My first attempt at fluff. Disclaimer: All characters belong to Pixelberry & some dialogue. 

Thank you to @texaskitten30 for pre-reading & helping me get through my writers block at the end! 

Summary: Riley turns Liam down for drinks after their initial meeting at her bar. They have a serendipitous meeting later that night. Will Liam find is way to Riley’s heart? 

Song Inspiration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMEOOgotuEs Love You Like The Movies- Anthem Lights

.

.

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“Sorry I’m late. Thank you for your patience, Miss?” 

“Uh, Riley”

“Charmed to make your acquaintance, Riley.”

“The pleasure is all mine. It’s nice to meet you. Now let me put your order in. Be right back!”

Later that evening, a little after the bar has closed, you’re finishing up when someone taps you on the shoulder…

“I think we are about ready to head out. I just wanted to thank you… and apologize. I know we kept you late, and my friends can be demanding.” 

“Demanding? Nothing I couldn’t handle.” 

“I got the feeling that you could take care of yourself. If you don’t have any other plans tonight, maybe I can make it up to you by buying you a drink. We’re about to go to a club.”

“Oh? Which one?”

“We were hoping you might have some advice about that. We’re not from around here.” 

“I recommend going to the hottest club in town Kismet.” 

“I would love to show you guys around but I’ve already made plans tonight. ” Riley replies. Liam looks down at his hands. “It was very nice to meet you Riley. I hope you have a wonderful night.” 

.

.

. 

After her shift is over, she quickly changes into her short emerald dress and walks out of the bar with her bag and phone in hand. Riley couldn’t wait to see Ezra, they had been dating for two years. And this was the night! Her life was about to change, she could feel it.

Ping. Riley pulls her phone out to check the text message she received.

Ezra: I’m sorry.

Riley: What’s wrong? What happened Ez? 

Riley waited for a response. Nothing. She pressed the call button. The number you have dialed is no longer in service. Please hang up and try your call again. End. 

Riley stood up and raced to hail a cab to her apartment. Riley burst through the door moments later. It’s dark and silent. “Ezra? Ezra where are you? EZRA?” She screams his name while she checks every room in the apartment. 

When she gets to the master bedroom, an envelope propped up against the pillows catches her eye.

Riley. 

She tears the envelope open and pulls out the handwritten letter.

“Riley, 

I’m sorry for what I’m about to tell you. I received a job offer in California. I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want to uproot your life in New York. I’ve always loved and always will. I know you were expecting a proposal and for that I’m truly sorry. I hope you find the person that deserves your whole heart. I’ll always carry a piece of you with me. 

I’ll always love you, 

Ezra” 

Riley sits on her bed, her legs threatening to give out beneath her. Riley crumbled the letter in her hand while she seethed with anger. She shot up off the bed and ran to his dresser drawer. She threw open the drawers with a force that pulled the drawer completely off its track and threw the drawer across the room. The drawer hit the wall and splintered into pieces. 

How could he do this? I would have gone with him. She wondered to herself. She was confused, hurt and angry. She had to get out of her apartment, their apartment. Riley grabbed her keys and marched out the door. She had no idea where she was going. 

An hour had gone by of Riley wandering around the busy streets of the city that never sleeps. She found herself in Battery Park. Exactly where she was supposed to meet Ezra. Where he was supposed to propose. She sat on an empty bench and stared at the beautiful symbol of freedom in front of her. The Statue of Liberty.

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” Riley whispered and the tears started. She put her head in her hands and let the tears flow, the more they flowed the harder she sobbed. 

“Are you okay, miss?” 

Riley snapped her head up at the smooth baritone voice. “Uh.. yeah sorry.. I..uh..” she wiped her face with the back of her hand. “Riley right? From the bar earlier tonight? It’s me, Liam, you were my waitress” 

“Oh yea, did you and your friends ever make it to Kismet?” 

“We did. Not my scene.” Liam shrugged. “Is everything alright Riley? I didn’t mean to disturb you but didn’t seem okay.” Fuck. Riley thought. “Yeah just a shitty night. What brings you to this view?” She asks, attempting to change the subject. Who is this stranger? And why does he care why someone is crying on a damn bench. “The statue was the one place I wanted to visit before we leave tomorrow but my friends weren’t interested.” Liam shrugged.  “This is where I was supposed to be tonight but things didn’t go as planned for me either. What do you say we go see her together?” Riley smiled. Oh fuck. What are you doing Riley? Ezra just left a few hours ago. There’s something about this stranger though. Riley pulls out her phone and makes a few phone calls to arrange a boat. Twice in one night. Not a coincidence Li. Fuck she’s gorgeous. I need to know why she was crying. Who did that to her? There’s something about her and I have to find out what it is. The boat reaches the dock and they board. “Wow this is nice” Liam was surprised by the elegance of the boat and the fully stocked bar in front of them. “I have connections,” Riley said, grabbing two champagne flutes and a chilled bottle of Dom Perignon. Liam took the bottle from her, popped the cork and filled both of their glasses. By the time they reached the statue they were on their second bottle of Dom. They were enjoying laughing together and forgetting all their troubles. They found solace in the company of strangers. But they weren’t strangers. Their souls knew each other. Maybe in another life. Riley thought. 

Lady Liberty drifted into view. “Wow,” Liam said in awe. “She’s gorgeous.” 

“That she is.” Riley said while she downed her glass of champagne. “I need something stronger. What do you say to some..umm..” she scans the bar “Johnnie Walker? Rocks?” 

“Neat please and yes thank you.” Liam said. He continued to stare up at the symbol. “Riley, what’s your dream?” 

“Dream? I don’t understand.” 

“We’re complete strangers in the city of dreams under the largest symbol of freedom in the world. You can’t be standing here without a dream. So tell me what’s your dream?” Liam turned to look at Riley. Riley could feel his crystal blue eyes seering into her like he was seeing her deepest darkest corners of herself. 

“My dream.. “We are asleep until we fall in love”. True love. A love I don’t think really exists.” Riley’s eyes were huge. She didn’t mean to say that. Way to go Riley! You idiot. Liam cupped her face in his hands and leaned towards her. So close she felt his breath against her lips. She couldn’t resist. She knew she should stop but she didn’t want to. She melted into his touch on her cheeks. “He stepped down, trying not to look too long at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking. ” Liam whispered before he pulled her into a passionate kiss. An instant electricity flowed through his veins. Riley pulled away from the kiss reluctantly. “Tolstoy” she smiled. “I should tell the captain to take us back.” 

“Oh uh yea” Liam slid his fingers through his hair. 

“We can’t use the cabin on this boat. We can go back to my place or your hotel.” Riley winked as she pressed an intercom button and informed the captain to take them back to shore. 

They decided to go back to Riley’s place. Liam didn’t want Drake, Maxwell or Tariq to disturb them. And he wanted to learn more about her. Hopefully he remembered in the morning. 

They made it hand in hand to Riley’s building. They rode the elevator to the penthouse and walked through the door. Riley lived in a spacious three bedroom modern penthouse. It had large windows all around overlooking the Hudson River and 10 foot ceilings. Riley must be well off Liam thought. Good to know. How does a waitress afford a place like this?

“This view is unparalleled Riley!” “Thanks” Riley kicks her shoes off and flops down on her Restoration Hardware Cloud Sofa. Liam turns around and sees her lying comfortably on the couch. “We have the same couch. Restoration Hardware? “Yep,” Riley laughed, “best twelves g’s I ever spent.” Liam laughed. He sat down and pulled her ankles in his lap. 

Liam glided his fingertips across her silky calves. Fuck it Riley thought. She sat up and pulled herself into his lap and kissed him so deep Liam felt dizzy. “Riley” he moaned into her lips “I don’t know what’s happening right now but I need to feel you. Every inch of you.” “Touch me Liam”  he ripped her dress right down the middle. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” They tore the rest of each other’s clothes off until they were completely bare. Liam kissed her neck to her collar bone. Riley let out a soft moan in his ear. Her nails digging into his muscular back. Liam picked her naked body up by the backs of her thighs and pushed her back into a large window. “I want the world to know I’ve been here, Riley, inside of you. You’re a masterpiece. His fingers went to her dripping core. “Mmm baby, so wet for me?” He slammed his fingers inside her and rubbed his thumb around her clit until he brought her to the brink of an orgasm. As soon as he felt her walls flutter she plunged himself inside of her. “Oh my God” Riley screamed as she came undone at his first thrust into her. “You’re so tight Riley. I could stay like this forever.” Riley pointed to her bedroom and told Liam to take them to her bed. Without ever pulling himself out of her, he walked them to her bed and laid them both down. He thrusted slowly reveling in the feel of her. “I’ve never felt anything like this, baby” Liam said as he bucked his hips into her. Her lips crashed into hers as they bucked their hips in rhythm together until they both met their release. “Liam… will you… will you.. hold me?” “I’ll never let go,” Riley smirked at his Titanic reference.

Liam laid back on the pillows with his arms wrapped tightly around Riley holding her against his chest. Liam pointed to the debris on the floor, “What happened over there? “Oh...I threw it against the wall. It’s a long story.” Riley got out of bed and grabbed her silk robe off the chair next to the bed. She tied the sash and walked out onto the balcony. She gripped the railing and took a deep breath. She had sobered up from their time at the Statue of Liberty. Liam walked out with the sheet wrapped around his waist. His arms snaking around her waist. He leaned his chin on her shoulder. 

“Liam…” Riley turned around looking into his blue eyes. “I’ve never felt like this. How I feel right now with you… I know Ezra just left. And I know how I should feel but I.. when we.. touch it’s like.. 

Liam leaned in and kissed her. His hands going under her thighs to lift her, not breaking the kiss at all. Riley pulled back. Her arms went around his neck. “Tonight I thought Ezra was going to propose. Instead I came home to a letter saying he left the country and wanted to move on. So two years wasted. That was tonight.” Liam kissed her and walked to the bed laying on top of her. “I’ll hold your hand while the ship goes down” Liam whispers in her ear. They got lost in each other again and she forgot about Ezra and he forgot about his future. 

They spent the entire night talking and getting lost in each other. He told her about his brother and the social season. About the pressure from his father now that he was the crown prince. She told him about the death of her parents and her aunt that raised her. She told him her parents had left her multiple trusts and real estate throughout the world. Liam felt a void he never knew existed being filled by her presence. 

Liam woke up forgetting where he was. He looked over and realized he was still in Riley’s penthouse. She was sound asleep with her head on his chest. 

“Riley..” Liam whispered. “Wake up beautiful” Riley stretched out and smacked Liam right in the face. She sat up stunned. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” Liam laughed. “Want to have breakfast with me before I have to leave?” Liam said. 

“Sure.” She replied. 

A short while later they walked into Liam’s suite at the hotel. Riley let out a whistle. “We should have stayed here last night” she laughed. Liam smirked. “Being a prince has its perks. This is one of them.”  Liam called down for room service and ordered a whole spread of belgian waffles, cinnamon rolls, bacon, fruit.. He ordered EVERYTHING. “So Riley tell me more about you.” “Like what?” “Everything start from the beginning.” “It’s not that interesting Liam.” “Room service”, the attendant yelled from outside the suite door. Liam opened the door and pulled the cart in. He tipped the attendant, “let’s eat and you can tell me everything about you.” 

“I was born and raised in Connecticut. My parents and my brother still live there. We’re close. My parents are both attorneys and my brother followed in their footsteps.” Riley said while chewing her waffle. Liam listened intently absorbing her every word like it was his last meal. “I went to law school at NYU but ended up with a Bachelor’s in English with emphasis in creative writing. Hence working at the bar.” She laughed. “And Ezra?” Liam asked sipping his orange juice. “I might need to add some champagne to that orange juice for this.. Better yet Vodka.” She rolled her eyes. “We met in my language and logistics class. We dated for a couple years. Nothing out of the ordinary I guess. He was supposed to propose but left for a new job. Whatever. Wasn’t meant to be.” She took a big swig of her mimosa. “Did you love him?” Liam asked. Riley just stared at him. “No one has ever asked me that before.” She pondered the answer to his question. “Before yesterday I would have said yes. But now since I’ve met you… It wasn’t love. It became robotic. Honestly I’m glad he left, because I wouldn’t have been the one to call it quits. I hope the best for him wherever he is.” She shrugged. “I wish I had done everything on Earth with you” she wanted to say. 

“What about you?” She asked him. “What about me, what do you want to know?” “Everything, start from the beginning.”

“Well I was born in Cordonia obviously. My Dad is King. My mom died when I was young. My step-mom Regina is kind but ya know.. She’s not my mom. My brother Leo abdicated. He found some girl and they’re traveling the world together. I’m glad he’s happy.” “Relationships?” She sat back in her chair, full from her breakfast. “I’ve never really had an actual serious relationship. I mean don’t get me wrong, there have been women, but no one that I wanted to have breakfast with the next morning.” He winked. “Because I’m going to be King I have to have a social season to pick who will be the next queen. It’s an old and stupid tradition. But Cordonia is nothing without her traditions.”

 “Social season, what's that?”

 “Basically it’s just going through the motions and pleasing the nobles and the citizens of the country. And then at the end, I'm expected to choose the woman best fitting to run the country.” He replied. 

She could tell he didn't want to talk about this very much. “What about you?” She asked. “No one really cares about me as a person, only as the future king. I am expected to just enter into a Cordonian marriage agreement. Which is basically, a mistress. It’s a shitty concept.” Riley didn't seem fazed at all by his admission. He raised his eyebrows quizzically. “You don’t seem to care..” 

“Not really, Liam, that came out wrong. I do care about you. Not about where you come from.” 

Care about me? Where did this beautiful woman come from? 

He stood from his sweet and pulled her into a deep kiss. “Liam.. I.. what is this?” 

“Swoon, I’ll catch you.” He said against her lips. “Come home with me.”

“To Cordonia?” “What about your social season?” 

“You can join, my friend Max will sponsor you.” “But.. another country? My family..”

“Riley.. I think I’d miss you even if we never met. Please come. My soul needs you.” 

What do you have to lose Riley? A whirlwind one night stand with a Cordonian Prince. I’ve never even heard of Cordonia. She made a mental note to Google it. Mom and Dad will be livid. They might cut off my trust fund. Fuck it. He might be worth it. The way he kisses me makes me feel like he is the only thing worth it. 

“Okay Liam, I’ll come.” “Riley.. One night with you changed my life. They say when you meet the love of your life, time stops, and that's true.” He whispered wrapping his arms tightly around her. “It’s the romantic quotes, isn’t it?” He laughed kissing her neck. “I want to formally introduce you to my friends, you remember them don’t you?” “Yea, I remember them. I wonder how they will react. One question though.. Love of your life?” 

“You want the moon Riley? Just say the word, and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. You changed my life. I can’t leave without you. I’ve been searching all my life for you and never even knew it.” 

'Cause suddenly, it hits me

As I watch you make believe

I want to make this your reality

And if you'll be my leading lady

Even though I may look crazy

I'll grab your hand, ask you to dance

In the middle of the street

Learn to sign, cheesy lines

Like "Baby, you complete me"And in case you forget

Where we've been and what we did

I'll write it all down, read it out loud

Again and again

“Come on, let’s go meet Drake, Max and Tariq. We have to introduce my future queen.” 

“I promise if you’ll let me, I’ll love you like the movies,” Riley said. “I’m the King of the world.” Liam replied. 

[kunderdogs]

Take A Chance V

Simon Dominic (AOMG) x Y/N (Reader) Genre: Romance / Angst Count: 3k+ Warnings: None Rating: Mature (suggestive, swearing) Summary: Who would’ve thought a one night stand with Simon D would turn into FWB? It only gets more complicated when you developed feelings, against your better judgement.

Chapter One. | Chapter Two. | Chapter Three. | Chapter Four. | Chapter Five. | Chapter Six. | Chapter Seven. |

Collapsing on your bed, you sighed at how cold it really was on the comforter. Cookie was only enough to sleep on her own but on rainy nights like this she would wonder into your room and cuddle you into the morning time. You felt that ache in your chest grow just a little bit.

She had only been gone not even twenty-four hours. They had touched down a few hours ago and had called to let you know that they made it home safely.

Nicky had come over to keep you company and she had dragged you to the salon so you two could get your nails done as a sort of pick me up. It did little to improve your mood but you were thankful to have such a thoughtful best friend.

You had texted Kiseok in the afternoon but hadn’t heard from him since yesterday. You didn’t think much of it, especially since he said he was ridiculously busy these past few days with the new track they were working on.

You didn’t know if it was a good idea to tell him you had bumped into Jay Park either. He’d be curious as to where and then you’d have to explain it was the airport and then it was likely to snowball into why you were there. You weren’t too sure you wanted to get into all of that when you two were just FWB at this point. You didn’t exactly want to lie either so it might be better to just leave it be. It was doubtful that Jay would go back and tell him since he didn’t even know who you were in the first place.

There wasn’t much for you to worry about.

Then why was your stomach in knots just thinking about it for some reason?

Nicky was in the bathroom, taking a shower since she had invited herself to sleep over tonight. Work tomorrow was going to drag on, you were sure of it. You sighed.

A few minutes later, Nicky emerged, steam chasing her out of the room. She was drying her hair with a towel as she eyed your prone form. “How about we go out to dinner, hm? We can go to Shima’s, my treat,” the blonde coaxed you.

Shima’s was one of your favorite steakhouses in all of Seoul at the moment and she was the one to introduce you to it. One of her dates a few months ago had taken here there and she had fallen in love with their shrimp, so naturally, you were forced to accompany her when she wanted to go again.

It didn’t take you long to agree and the two of you spent about fifteen minutes getting ready. Your sweater and shorts wasn’t going to cut it there so you tossed on a casual grey long-sleeved dress that cut at your thighs and grabbed your purse from the couch. Nicky came out a few seconds after you finished tying your heels in a grey skirt and pink sweater, giggling that you two matched perfectly.

You drove there in about twenty minutes and valeted the car. When you were seated, Nicole noticed you had glanced at your phone ten times in the span of five minutes.

She huffed, straight hair blowing with the air. “Waiting on Lover Boy to text you back?”

You would’ve glared if you weren’t already feeling down in the dumps since Cookie left. It would’ve been nice to spend the night with Kiseok to distract you from feeling sad but you understood he couldn’t always come at your beck and call.

Sighing, you left it sitting on the table to focus on your best friend. “He’s busy.”

Her blue eyes narrowed, “You look like a school girl pinning after the hot jock.”

When you didn’t reply, only roll your eyes at the horrible analogy and sip your water, Nicky pouted. “___, remember this is a FWB. You can’t catch feelings for him.”

Putting the glass down, you stuck your tongue out at her. Through the weeks, you had updated her without giving away too much details. She knew about the texts messages and the sweet things Kiseok would do for you. She knew all the times he had vented and let you vent to him, how many times he made you laugh until you had tears in your eyes or how many times you noticed how different his kisses were from the first time. She watched you develop feelings for this man, even though she tried to warn you against it.

Gesturing for the waiter, Nicky ordered a drink for herself, flashing her ID. When you gave her a look, she simply sat back and said, “Tell me when you realized you liked him.”

You paused and gulped without meaning to. It was so gradual that you couldn’t pin point a particular event or day. Mulling over your answer in your head, you had to turn away from her piercing stare.

Was it when he flashed you a smile when he greeted you? Was it when he was sleeping soundly next to you? Was it when he wrapped his entire body around yours and snuggled into you? The time he was tipsy and told you that the best sleep he’s gotten in years was when he was next to you? When he called you before you left for work and told you to bring a umbrella because the forecast said it was going to rain in the city your company building was? The gentle way he handled you after fucking you in the hallway of your home because he just couldn’t wait the two seconds it would’ve taken to get to the bedroom? How he made sure to ask how you were doing and actually cared when you said you had a bad day?

You weren’t sure. Probably somewhere in between all of that.

“I wasn’t just one particular thing. It was all of them.”

You didn’t know what reaction you were expecting, but it wasn’t the one Nicole gave you just now. Her blank face broke into a soft smile, eyes sparkling at you. “You’re in love.”

The water that was previously going down your throat threatened to come back up as you choked on what she said. The waiter came back at just that moment and handed Nicky her drink before asking if you were alright.

Waving the poor guy off, you nodded and glared at her smiling face. When he left, you made sure to kick her under the table. Her smile didn’t leave her face. “You can’t just say shit like that. I don’t...I don’t love him.”

Sipping her rum and coke, aqua eyes scanned you up and down. “You can lie to everyone else, even yourself, but not to me. I can read you like a book and this chapter is interesting as hell.”

Finally, you laughed at that and she smiled fondly at you. It felt good to hear that laugh again after days of sad eyes and frowns. Dinner went by well after that. You tried to steer the conversation away from Lover Boy but Nicky had a way of circling the conversation back. It was an easy task for her, since you kept checking your phone every minute. During dessert, she had even groaned and said to just call him already which you denied immediately.

Currently, you were waiting at the table for her to get back from the restroom when the waiter came by to bring back her credit card. You took it with a smile to the man, but noticed his attention was at the door. His jaw was hanging slightly and he looked star-stuck.

“Thank-...Oh my god, that’s Simon Dominic,” he whispered in an almost panic.

You felt your heart beat increase to an unhealthy speed. Without thinking much about it, you felt your head snap in the direction of the front door with a smile on your face. What a small world that he would be here the same night you were!

You felt your blood turn to ice in your veins when your eyes finally landed on him and the smile you had slipped.

That was indeed, Jung Kiseok, dressed handsomely in a dark button down and equally dark pants. He was as gorgeous as ever, hair pushed back messily from his face as he chatted the beautiful woman on his arm. She had her head thrown back in laughter at something he said, crimson red dress wrapped tightly like she was a damn Christmas present. Her hair tumbled down and he lifted a hand to push it from her face to behind her ear and you swear you felt the world spin at that moment. It wasn’t that long ago that he did the same gesture to you...

It wasn’t that long ago that he looked at you like that - like you were the most interesting piece of art he’d ever seen.

You hadn’t realized you were holding your breath until Nicky came up to the table, looking between you and the waiter. “What are y’all sta-...Oh my fucking God. That’s...”

Her voice, unsure and panicky, snapped you out of your trance. Quickly, you scrambled to collect your things, jaw clenching as the initial shock wore off and in it’s place - rage. You threw her card in your purse along with your phones and grabbed her hand. “Let’s get the hell out of here. Now.”

Hearing the shake in your normally confident voice, she was silent as you two made your way to the door. Thankfully, the hostess was just about to usher them to a table. You wouldn’t even have to cross paths with him.

Until the waitress was stopped by her other coworker who whispered something to her. They halted right in your path to the door. 

Nicky saw how your steps faltered and eventually came to a halt. “Come, let’s go this w-”

“___. Fancy seeing you here.”

‘Shit,’ She thought, feeling how your fingers trembled in her grip. Looking back up, Kiseok was staring you down with a hard look in his eyes.

Taking a deep breath, you put on a brave face and forced your eyes to match his intensity. He wasn’t expecting you to look at him like that, if the raised eyebrow was anything to go by.

“Kiseok. I didn’t know you had a girlfriend,” you replied, lips tight as they spread in a fake smile. 

The girl was none the wiser and smiled widely at you before tightening her grip on his arm. “I’m Yoo Nayoung. Are you two friends?”

Your eyes zeroed in on the contact but moved quickly back to his expressionless face. Something hot boiled in your chest when he hadn’t denied it. He made no move to correct her, instead, tilted his head and gave you a cold once over.

“I’m ___ -”

“We’re just acquaintances.”

Still oblivious to the tension around her, Nayoung nodded, “Either way, it’s nice to meet you.” She glanced down to your hand in Nicky’s and smiled. “Are you two also on a date? That is so cute.”

Bless her heart.

Nicky saw the opportunity to jump in and save you so she wasted no time. “Yes, but we were just heading out. Nice to meet you.”

She pulled on your arm lightly, but your eyes were still locked with Kiseok’s in a stare down. The thick tension could’ve suffocated you all until you finally felt the moisture building in the back of your eyes and brushed past them, stomping out of the steakhouse. Nicky followed quickly after you, but not before giving Kiseok the nastiest glare she could muster in two seconds.

Unbeknownst to you, Kiseok frowned as he watched you walk out. The pain in your eyes, behind the fury, made him lose his appetite almost as soon as he seen it. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

The drive home was silent and you would’ve teased Nicky since it was so unlike her to let a silence linger but you were in no mood.

Knuckles tight on the steering wheel, you were beginning to get a cramp. Letting a breath out that had your chest puffing, Nicky gave you a sad look before holding your free hand in hers to comfort you.

“Talk to me,” she began in a soft voice and you hated how it made tears spring in your eyes.

You shook your head and took another deep breath.

What was there to talk about? She had seen and heard exactly what you had. Kiseok out with his girlfriend or whatever that girl was to him, and him dismissing you as just an “acquaintance” when you knew damn well you were much more than that.

Your left hand tightened it’s grip. All those hundreds of texts, late night talks, laughing at rom-coms until 3AM, soft kisses...

It meant nothing.

Try as you might, you couldn’t stop the two tears that fell as you pulled up to a red light. Worried blue eyes scanned your face before she squeezed your hand in understanding.

There had never been a conversation of what exactly you two were but you had the impression that it was a Friends With Benefits type. It was only logical since you two had sex every time he came to see you. He crossed the thin line of lover and fuck buddy so many times it had your heart confused.

You cursed the organ to hell. How stupid did you have to be to fall head first into this when he had no emotional attachment to you? How fucking stupid did you have to be to have feelings when he only saw you as a booty call?

More tears spilled as you glared at the road in front of you.

Pretty fucking stupid.

When you parked in your apartments parking garage, you threw the gear into park too roughly to be considered normal. “There’s nothing to say.”

Nicky stared after you, choosing not to linger on the fact that your normally confident voice was shaking as much as your shoulders. She leaned over the center console and wrapped her arms around you.

The week crawled by as far as you were concerned. As you expected, there were no calls or texts from Kiseok. After Tuesday came and went, you went ahead and blocked his number anyway. Nicky had hyped you about your decision, claiming you didn’t need that kind of negative vibes around you. The only highlight to your bleak routine was getting to talk and see Cookie on FaceTime.

She was having a great time with her father and you couldn’t be happier for them to be bonding. She always made sure to tell you every little detail about her day and where she went and your ex would send over the pictures he took that day so you were updated. On Friday, they were going to a magic show so she just got done telling you all about it.

“I love you, baby,” you blew kisses to her as she stuck her tongue out but said it back either way.

“I love you too, mommy!”

You smiled as the beep indicated the end of the call and you dropped your phone on the couch next to you. Nicky and another one of your coworkers had been over briefly as they tried to persuade you to come out with them.

Usually Nicky would be very forceful (like the first time you seen Simon) but, knowing you still weren’t in high spirits, she let you go this time. With a promise to call you tomorrow, the two were off for a night on the town.

A small part of you regretted staying in. You were young still, yet you were watching reruns of The Office while eating Chinese take-out at eleven on a Friday night. That same part of you wanted to go out just to prove to Kiseok that you could pull your fair share of hoes.

The more you thought of it, the angrier it made you. But it had been like that all week.

First, you’d be watching a romance movie that you absolutely hated and crying into your sweater. Next, you’d be just numb then finally the anger came back. Heartbreak was a terrible cycle and you hated going through it again.

Did he think you couldn’t get hoes? Because he’s surely mistaken!

Cuddling into the blanket, you pushed away that thought. Going to the club meant that you’d have to get out of the warmth of your home and that was a hard no.

It wasn’t for another hour until you felt your phone vibrating on the cushion next to you. You had a feeling it would be Nicky telling you to come get her drunk ass so when you grabbed it and noticed it was a number you haven’t saved in your phone, you took a few long seconds to answer it. Usually, you wouldn’t answer an unknown number but your finger hovered over the green button.

You were listed on quite a few people’s emergency contact so not answering it wasn’t really a good idea either.

“Hello?” Reaching over, you paused the show as you tried to ignore how fast your heart was beating. To whatever God was listening to you, you prayed that it wasn’t a hospital telling you Nicky was there, or worse, your daughter.

There was a long silence in which you were sure the caller hung up and even glanced to see the call still active before you said, “Nicky? Are you drunk again?”

A deep, hauntingly familiar breath exhaled. Your tight hold on the device was close to crushing the poor thing. This wasn’t Nicole.

“___...I’m outside. Can I come in?” Kiseok’s gravely voice came through your phone.

[seduceme-lovestruck-thearcana]

The Girl in The Blue Dress

Chapter 13: The Castle

@megatraven time for Apollo and Rose againnn >:). Hopefully you like it. Not too much proofreading whoops so sorry if there’s something wrong-

Apollo was the way he always is when Rose dies.

Heartbroken.

He was sad and lonely and afraid. Every time she died he feared she would not come back, and one part of him hated himself for fearing that. He should want her to move on. But there’s a part inside of him that doesn’t want her to, that wants her to keep coming to be with him, to keep being selfish, and to maybe find a way to stop this and make her immortal. It all sounds impossible to himself, yet he still hopes that one day they can be together in peace. 

Because of that, he continued on like he always did. Go back to Earth and be among the humans and hopefully run into her. He always wonders how they run into each other. Maybe it’s a part of the curse? Maybe the Fates are on his side? Is it all just leading up to tragedy? He doesn’t know, but it gives him hope. And he’ll keep on hoping like Rose would.

When Rose died in the war, she was given a hero burial and her burial site is surrounded by flowers and gifts from the kids. It warms his heart when he visits it, but it also brings him sadness. However, he doesn’t let the sadness stop him. He stayed with Melody and comforted her until she passed, and he moved to another kingdom. It seemed peaceful and people were kind to each other. It was a kingdom Rose would love. He stayed here and found a job to help people. He was working with a seller who sold many kinds of items. Some things related to healing, clothing, minerals, trinkets, and other things. He was surprised that a man could have this much stuff in one shop. However, he enjoyed the job and would stay until he found her or stay until he felt the need to leave. Whichever came first.

However, one day the man came up to him and held a ticket in his hand. It looked like an invitation and, when he read it, it was. It was an invite to the castle for a celebration of allying with another kingdom. He never had been to the castle and was interested in it, and was going to ask the man if he could go, but the man was one step ahead of him. He laughed at Apollo and told him to go.

“I’m too old! You go and have fun!”

Apollo smiled a little sad like at the man. He was only 50 and Apollo’s not sure how long humans usually live. Especially with sickness and the murder that’s happening everywhere. The man even gave him a nice suit to wear and Apollo tried to decline since it seemed precious to the man, but he insisted. Apollo changed into it and he did look pretty nice. And when the night finally came, he went up to the castle and ended up on a path surrounded by a bunch of people. Many wore dresses of such high quality, some wore simple clothes, yet everyone looked so fancy. It was all beautiful to him, but something else caught his eye. This path was on the way into the castle and he saw a person sitting on the edge of one of the balconies. It was crowded by flowers, so he almost missed them, but he saw them and noticed that they’re wearing a black hood but he couldn’t see what else they were wearing. The person waved at him and he waved back. He didn’t know what to make of the person, so he ignored it and focused on the people around him.

Many had masks on and they were all creepy. “Maybe there is a reason I haven’t gone here,” Apollo whispered to himself. However, he didn’t whisper it low enough because a woman tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw her mask first. He saw a white mask that only covered the upper face area and it had orange designs on it. Foxes, orange and brown leaves, and other orange things related to nature were on the mask and it was really pretty. “They do wear weird masks, don’t they?” He could hear a laughing tone. “Yeah, it is pretty weird. But that’s to be expected since it’s my first time.” The woman let out a hum. “It’s your first time? That’s a surprise. Almost everyone has at least visited the castle once. It’s a little dangerous your first time.”

Apollo looked at her confused and she let out a quiet laugh. “Dear boy, this celebration may be a celebration to some, but to others? It’s a game.” The woman seemed angry when she finished her sentence and it only added to Apollos confusion. “A game? Like they meet together?” The woman let out another laugh, but this time it was sad like. “No, my dear. This game is deadly and dangerous. It’s always a risk coming to the castle when anything is held. It’d be a miracle if everyone made it out alive.” Apollo nodded and felt anxiety rise in his chest. Was that person dangerous? But he couldn’t think long because they ended up in the castle and were in an area where men were taking their coats. The woman had one and he was about to leave without her, but she tugged on his arm for him to stay. “Boy if you know what’s good for you you’ll stay with me.” Now his anxiety was real high. Was she going to hurt him? Hurt others? He didn’t know but did as she said and let her pull him to a set of stairs. They went up and were in front of two doors, but she only stood there with him. 

“Let me explain something, boy. Like I said before, this game is dangerous and deadly. You’re lucky if you make it out unscathed or even not knowing anything took place, so I’m going to teach you how to win,” the woman said with a sad yet angry tone. “Why help me?” Apollo asked with his anxiety resting in his stomach. “I lost someone to this game before, and I’m not going to let someone innocent die. At least not if I can help it,” the woman said with her voice choking up. Apollo felt the need to hug her or comfort her, but she put up her hand motioning for him to be silent. “No need for comfort. I’ve gotten past it. But the rules are simple. Don’t tell people your real name, don’t take off your mask for long, don’t get too friendly with many people here, and always watch your back.” The woman pulled out a mask that was black and offered it to him. He took the mask and put it on carefully. It only covered the upper half of his face, but his eyes were visible through the eye holes and it matched with his gold eyes.

“Okay. Thanks for the information,” he said with a smile. The woman smiled back and held out her hand. “My name is Jane,” she said with a sudden high and polite tone. Her normal voice wasn’t deep per say, but it wasn’t a high girly voice like it is now, but he smiled and shook her hand. “My name is Andy.” The woman nods at him and walks past him but when she’s at his side she leans in and whispers, “Good luck.” She then patted his shoulder and left to go join the party. He lets out a sigh when she’s gone and shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Boy this is gonna be rough.” After getting himself together and ready to face everything, he headed to the ballroom and stood at the top of the stairs leading to the dance floor. Most people were already drunk, some in the corner making out way too much, some about to start a fight, and some dancing peacefully. “This is certainly a weird crowd.” Another woman came up beside him suddenly and said, “Why yes it is. I’m assuming you’re new?” He looked over to the woman and this time she was wearing a purple mask and her blonde hair, and short, gold dress making her basically shine. Apollo stuttered for an answer, remembering not to reveal much about himself. “No, not really. It just always surprises me how insane some people are when the drinks come out.” The woman laughed at him and looked at the couples dancing. “Yes, some people become beasts when they lose their senses, it’s wild, but also fun,” she said with a wicked smile.

Apollo felt a little anxious around her suddenly but nodded in response. The woman was about to say something else but was interrupted when a waiter came by with drinks on a tray. “Would you like a beverage?” The woman smiled and grabbed two and gave one to Apollo. He watched her grab them and didn’t see her slip anything in them, so it has to be fine. They clink their glasses together and both take a sip. It goes down his throat like alcohol always does, but it tastes a little more fruity. “Well, I’ll see you around,” the woman said as she scurried off. Apollo sighed and now he’s worried he got poisoned. He’ll just have to find out and see.

After a few minutes of people walking up to him and speaking to him, a bell was rung and it was the signal of king and queen coming to the celebration. He heard one toll and watched as people went to a corner and were completely silent and some people run in the room. He stayed where he was and was almost alone and staring at the people and watching how they seemed anxious now that the rulers were coming, yet some seemed excited. He didn’t know how to feel, so he kept his face neutral.

However, he didn’t realize another woman was standing next to him and staring at the crowd as well. He only noticed her when she tapped him on the shoulder and smiled at him. “Hello, sir.” The woman was wearing a golden mask, had brown hair that went to her mid back and was curly, and she had a blue slit dress on that went to her ankles, it had a V shape on the front that went to her chest and showed off some cleavage, and everything seemed to shine in the lights. Out of his peripheral vision he saw many people looking at her, some with fear and some with interest. “H-Hello, ma’am,” he said in response. She must’ve been important if she got several peoples attention, so he tried to keep his cool.

“Why look so nervous? It’s just a celebration!” The woman was happy and smiled a smile that looked genuine, but was it real? “Yes it is just a celebration. The castle just gives me a little anxiety. Too many people,” he finished his words with a little laugh and she let out a giggle as well. “I understand that feeling. But it is my job to be here. It’s why I have this gold mask.” She tapped her mask that was just like his (only a different color). “What is your job?” Apollo’s curiosity got the best of him and he was excited to learn as much as he could about these people. This might be his last time coming here. The woman smiled and winked at him. “You’ll find out soon enough.” She stared at him and he had time to look at her eyes. They were a bright blue and look like the ocean and he found himself drowning in them. However, the woman sighed and ran her hands down her hair to make it look more presentable, even if it already was perfect.

“Well, I got to go, don’t want to keep the people waiting!” The woman walked away, her hips swaying and grabbing the attention of many men and women. She walked to a set of stairs and disappeared out of his vision, and several others followed her. The only thing that was strange was that they all had golden masks, and it was only them that did. His eyes scanned the room and noticed that everyone had every other color except gold or any yellow color. He stored that information in the back of his mind and just watched the crowd continue with their wild life as the bells continued to ring. When the third bell rung, the doors started to close and a man in a nice suit came out and stood in front of the king and queen thrones with a paper in his hand. He announced the king and queen and they walked out hand in hand. 

“Aw,” Apollo said. The king and queen seemed in their sixties and they were smiling at each other. He then remembered that it could be fake, but he liked to imagine they genuinely love each other, it made his heart happy. However, Apollo saw other people come out. There were thrones next to their thrones and he saw three men and three women come out. The men and women looked normal, but he caught sight of the woman he was talking to. She looked even more beautiful under the lights and seemed to shine next to the golden thrones. The men and women bowed to the king before they sat at their thrones, and they all appeared happy, and it seemed false. The only people that seemed truly happy were the woman he was talking to and a man that sat next to her. However, they immediately turned their attention back to the crowd of people suddenly all standing very closely to every side of the banisters above the dance floor. 

The King and Queen introduced themselves and everyone bowed in respect and everyone bowed when the people next to them were introduced, but Apollo went stiff when he heard a name being called out. The man was talking about one woman and he heard, “And the lovely and talented Miss Rose is present today. She will be the opening act tonight.” Opening act? What dance was this? Was this actually Rose? He didn’t have enough time with her to actually tell, so he decided to try and find her at the end of the night. Everyone clapped as Rose stood up and walked down the stairs to end up in front of the dance floor. She cleared her throat and looked at everyone and smiled. The smile was bright and she seemed excited to be here.

“Welcome ladies and gentlemen! How are you all doing tonight?” Everyone laughed or cheered at her and she put a finger on her lips. “Alright, alright, settle down my people. It is exciting isn’t it?” The people once again cheered and clapped loud and she shook her head with a smile, accepting that it was impossible to make them be truly quiet. “Well, I hope you’re all ready to have a lovely dance with your partners tonight.” Rose then cleared her throat as many people rushed down to the dance floor, holding hands with their partners. Everyone had smiles on their face and so did Rose. He wanted to join in but didn’t have a partner to dance with, and he really did not want to dance with a stranger, so he decided to just stand and watch as many people danced their heart out. However, it wasn’t silent because he soon heard Rose’s voice echo out into the ballroom. She was singing some classical song he didn’t know the name of, but it was mesmerizing. She hit the right high notes, made her voice low when it needed to be, held each word the right amount of time, and made everyone fall in love with her voice. He stared at her and couldn’t look away, and her eyes roamed the room and eventually met his. She smiled as she sang and winked at him, causing him to blush. He thanks the other Gods that no one else is around to see him. 

Rose sang 5 songs and many people began to grow tired, especially her. When she finished that last song, she looked up at the King and he nodded at her. He assumes it means that she’s done and that the celebration needs to come to a close. She cleared her throat loud enough for everyone to hear, even scaring a few people who weren’t paying attention. “Well, my people, it seems our night needs to come to a close! I hope you all had a good night and get home safe.” Rose bowed at everyone and went back up the stairs and left along with everyone else on the thrones. Apollo then decided to somehow find Rose and do something. He didn’t really think of a full plan, and he’ll figure out what to do once he meets her. That’s the Apollo way. He looks around the areas where everyone is and doesn’t see her anywhere, but he continues to look. He eventually ends up to where he met Jane and comes to those two doors. He wants to open them but when he tries to move, he finds himself suddenly falling to his knees. He feels like its hard to breathe, he suddenly begins to cough hard, and his vision is slowly going black. 

“Fuck, that woman poisoned me. But how?” His God voice starts slipping out due to his panic, and his mind is confused. He watched the woman grab the drinks, she didn’t slip anything in them, so how could she have poisoned him? He breaks out of his thoughts when he feels a hand on his shoulder. He looks over and sees the woman he was looking for: Rose.

“Are you okay, sir?!” He knows many people had shown fake concern and kindness, but she showed it with no hesitation. “I don’t know,” he managed to choke out. She nodded at him with determination and managed to pick him up with one arm slung over her shoulder and she holding him up. “Stay with me, sir, I’ll get you help!” He listened to her voice and tried to stay awake, but his eyes felt heavy and her voice was...so nice...and pretty to listen to... Despite his best effort to stay awake, his eyes closed and he slipped off in to the darkness. The next time he awoke, he felt hardwood beneath him and when he opened his eyes he saw the bright, blue sky. It was beautiful to him and he felt the cool wind blow against his face. Then he looked to his side and his heart jumped out of his chest. He saw a hooded figure, probably the same figure he saw at the castle the night before.

“Hello, sir!”

.

.

Hehe that’s all for now :)). I was going to make it longer but I think this is a nice cliffhanger >:). And sorry for literally all the terrible descriptions of everything. Describing things are so hard and HNNG!! Words are tough and I hope you like this chapter. I’m excited to write this timeline because oof there is developmennnttt. 

[breaniebree]

Chapter 229 Sneak Peek

This is for all of those who are gave me much needed love today to soothe my poor writer’s ego.  You’re the best and the reason I share what I write with the world and not just keep it for myself.  

Specifically, this one is for: @weasleycousin @liesadventure @casually-ananarchist-tomato @notthatchhavi @pommewom @imwhite1086-blog @emergencybitch @queen-owlhead @lasagnelady @carpenl @james7594 @dreaming-thoughtless @mennataha02 @rainycollectorlight-universe @runningtwiceasfast @thisismegz @bluestwitch @siriusblack15 and many, many, many more.

I love you! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

You are amazing!

Thank you for taking the time out of your days to read my little story!

And remember, reviews are what us fanfiction authors are paid in :D

Chapter 229 Hinny Excerpt...

The afternoon sun had come in while she was daydreaming as she and Harry were adding more hay into the stalls.  It was hot and humid and her shorts and vest were sticking to her.  Colt had said it was close to ninety degrees and she could feel the heat of the sun, so thankful for the sun protection charm that she’d used on herself.  Ginny snuck a look over at Harry.  They were behind the stables, working with the hay bales, the forest at their back and for the first time in what seemed like all summer — she was completely alone with him.  It was rare for them to find a moment alone.  Someone was always around between Colt, the ranch hands Calvin and Tucker, Flo, Sorcha, Misha, Zee… it was nice and confining at the same time.  She and Harry were never alone enough and she missed him, missed touching him.  Merlin, she wanted her hands on him, she thought.

He had pulled his shirt off in the heat of the afternoon sun and she couldn’t help but take a moment to just look at him.  His broad shoulders and lean muscles made him look more man than boy.  The glimmer of sweat on his skin looked oddly appealing and she had a sudden desire to run her hands over him, to taste the salt of his skin.  The small white scars on his back from the horntail glimmered in the sunlight.  His black hair, as messy as ever, stood on end in a careless fashion that suited him so well that one would think he’d styled it that way.  He wasn’t traditionally handsome, she supposed, but there was something distinctive about him.  

The sharp jawline, the black stubble that peppered his chin and neck showed that he hadn’t shaved in probably about a week; his adorable ears (and who knew ears were adorable, but his were)…  His skin tanned a lovely gold from the summer sun (he didn’t need to worry about a sun protection charm), the pale white lines of skin where his jeans dipped low, made her lick her lips, eager to look and see just how pale he was beneath the denim.  As he turned, she let her eyes wander down to the dark happy trail that disappeared beneath the waistline of his jeans.  Her brown eyes hungrily eyed the soft v-lines on either side of him.  When he stretched those arms out, bending to pick up the fresh bale of hay and she tilted her head to look at his arse.  He definitely had a bum made for those jeans, she thought with a smile.  Then those green eyes met hers and just like always, they punched through her like a bolt of lightning.  They were impossibly green, like almond-shaped emeralds, and so incredibly beautiful behind his round glasses.

It had always been his eyes that drew her in first.  The long, gorgeous lashes that any woman would kill for, outlining those perfect almond-shaped orbs.  The bright vivid green that changed from dark to almost hazel-green, depending on his mood.  And when those lips curved into a knowing smile, she only grinned back at him.

“See something you like, Ginny?”

Ginny, knowing that she had been caught, only shrugged.  “I was just thinking that we should get more apples for the horses.”

Harry dropped the bale of hay to the ground and took a step towards her so quickly that she took an automatic step back.  “Oh, really?  That’s what you were thinking about?”  She swallowed when he stood in front of her, his hands resting on her waist.  “Apples?”

Ginny’s breath hitched when his head bent to kiss her and she let out a whimper when he stopped a breath away from her lips.  “Apples, yes.”

His grin was quick, those emeralds twinkling in amusement, and he pulled away.  “Sure, let’s go get some apples.”

He made to go; Ginny linked two fingers through the belt loops of his jeans and tugged him back towards her.  “Get back here and snog me, Harry Potter!”

Harry chuckled.  “Why? I thought that you weren’t checking me out?”

Ginny only stood on her toes and tugged his face to hers for a long deep kiss that made her moan against him.  “Prat.  You bloody well know I was checking you out.”

“I know no such thing,” he teased, kissing the tip of her nose.  “I’m a bit of a mess really, can’t imagine why you would be.”

Ginny ran her hands up his sweaty torso.  “A sexy mess.”

He chuckled and kissed her again.  Ginny melted into him, basking in the feel of his warm body pressed against hers.  Her fingers looped through his belt loops tighter, pulling him closer and his hands slid around her waist to grip her bum.  She stood on her toes and he lifted her, grinning against her mouth when she wrapped her legs around his waist.

“How is it that I have you all to myself this summer yet I can barely find a moment alone with you?”  he murmured, trailing his mouth over her jaw.

Ginny made an mmm sound as she pulled his lips back to hers.  She kissed him deeply before she kissed his cheeks, his nose, his chin.  “I love your grandparents.  They’re so much fun and so interesting and I love spending time with them — but — the lack of privacy around her is starting to feel the Burrow.”

Harry chuckled and kissed her again.  “You can say that again.  I want some time alone with you.  I miss our tower room.”

Ginny’s fingers let go of his belt loops as she slid down his body, back to her feet.  She trailed her fingers up his chest and then back down through his happy trail, across the brass button on his jeans, and then danced them down the zipper.  “Me too.”

[...]

“We should get some more apples for the horses though.  They like them,” Harry said.

He moved back to the door, bending to reach for his discarded tee shirt on the ground inside as a beautiful blonde stepped into the stables.  She had legs up to her ears and her blonde hair was shoulder length and framed her face in careless layers.  Ginny watched her eyes land on Harry’s arse, slowing moving up the length of his body, and all she could think was: Mine.  She made to step closer just as the blonde spoke.

“Should have known you’d get hotter.”

Harry grinned in surprise.  “Harley!”

The blonde laughed and launched herself into his arms, and the little squirm of jealousy in Ginny's gut surprised her.  She took another step closer again, eyes on how the blonde had plastered herself against Harry’s naked chest, and wondered if it would be going too far for her to grab her by the hair and pull her away from him.  

“God, you got tall too!  Cal and Tuck told me that you were back here and I just had to say hi!”

Harry grinned, his hands on her arms.  “You racing yet?”

“Next year,” she said with a grin.  “I have my own horse now.  His name is Davidson.  Get it?  Harley riding Davidson?”

Harry chuckled.  “That’s great!”  His eyes sought Ginny’s and he smiled at her.  “Harley, this is my girlfriend, Ginny.  Ginny, this is Harley Mills.”

Ginny stepped over to them, trying not to show that she was jealous.  The young woman before her was gorgeous: Long legs made for the denim she was in, slim build.  She could be a model.

“Hi,” she said, hoping her smile looked friendly.  She had a sudden desire to claim Harry as hers.

His arm came around her shoulders and she immediately put her hand on his flat stomach, her brown eyes on the blonde.

“Hi,” Harley said.  “It’s lovely to meet you.  Harry’s a great guy.  You’re lucky.”

“I know,” Ginny told her.

Harry linked his fingers with hers and warmth spread through her.  “It’s me that’s lucky.”

Harley smiled.  “Well, Tuck and I are actually dating now.  Been almost two months.  He’s a sweetie.  Maybe we can all go to Flo’s for a milkshake, catch up.”

“Yeah, that’d be great.”

Harley nodded, smiling at Harry again.  “Awesome.  Tomorrow at four?”

“Uh, sure,” Harry told her.

She grinned widely and then kissed Harry’s cheek before she waved goodbye, heading out of the stables.

Ginny looked up at Harry to try to see the expression on his face, but his lips dipped to hers, softly and tenderly, and she melted into him.  Her lashes fluttered open as she looked up at him.  “What was that for?”

“Just being here.  Do you mind grabbing a milkshake with Harley and Tucker tomorrow?  We can always cancel.”

“Do you want to go?”  Ginny asked, not entirely sure if she wanted to know the answer.

He shrugged.  “It would be nice to see her again and I think that I’d like to know more about what she’s been up to.”

Ginny stared at him a moment, unsure how she felt about his words.  “Well, a Weasley never turns down food.  Even if it involves eating with her boyfriend’s ex.”

Harry bent his head and kissed her softly.  “Are you jealous?”

“Of that model gorgeous woman out there?”  Ginny asked, lips twitching.  “No, never!”

[revolution-john]

Madam Dixon

by STEVE LAMBERT

What set the whole thing off was Sam Heintzman leaving a vase of long-stem roses on her front step. It was early still, around seven, and she heard something outside the front door. She peeked out the window and saw Sam waddling back towards his place across the street.  They were beautiful, the roses, and the ring in the middle of the vase were all open and singing, and the ones around the lip, for some reason, huddled in on themselves like little old ladies wrapped in shawls.  A tiny card taped to the vase read, “Let me know if you need anything.  My deepest sympathy.  –Sam.” She leaned in, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

Sam, who had been an engineer at the Cape, was recently retired.  His job had been something to do with making the tiles on the front of the space shuttles.  But now he alternated between working in his yard and sitting in a lawn chair in his driveway, drinking canned beer and admiring his landscaping while the sprinklers ran. He had almost no fingernails, and his fingers were nubby at the ends.  Nubbiness, she’d often thought, was his defining feature. On more than one occasion, she’d seen him pop a beer tab with his house key. She couldn’t imagine “needing” anything from him.

Rich and Sam hadn’t exactly been friends, but living so close to each other for so many years, they’d became steady acquaintances, treated each other in that excessively cordial way that people do who don’t know each other intimately; all those handshakes and nods and winks and courteous chuckles—affirming gestures, like two salesmen.  Plus they both spoke the dull Latin of lawn care.  She recalled how on late afternoons the two of them would walk slowly around their or Sam’s yard, each with a can of beer in hand, pointing at various imposters, pulling them up and naming them: tickseed, dollar weed, chick weed, etc., etc.  She didn’t know the language.  It was an easy way for them to be, but she saw the way Sam looked at her sometimes.  She thought Rich noticed, too, but he was not the jealous type.  Never was one to get territorial.  

              She didn’t really feel like visiting, but probably should, she thought, go thank him for the roses before it got too late.  For some reason, she thought about how hard she’d found it to be alone at night, especially not being a sound sleeper. That was the most pronounced absence she felt in the wake of Rich’s death—his not being there, next to her, when she lay in bed at night.  It was just her now when she’d wake up at two or three in the morning; her and the intermittent sounds of the night settled down around the house, gently crushing it into the dirt, like a child slowly pressing its soft, fat hand down on a toy it has decided is no longer fun to play with.

She glanced over at the vase of roses on the bar, where she’d put them, and decided to walk over to Sam’s and invite him for lunch.  Why not? She thought. It’s a neighborly gesture. It would be an imposition for me, to go to lunch, but it would probably mean a lot to him. Anyway, it’s the right thing to do.  

 He answered the door in his usual attire: plaid shorts, white V-neck and flip-flops—big grin on his round face.  “Madam Dixon,” he said in a voice like a retired boxer’s, and bowed, his rubber flip-flops squealing under the strain.  

“Sam,” she said, “the flowers are lovely.  Thank you for them—and the card.  It was very nice of you.” She didn’t mean to sound dismissive but thought maybe she had. She hoped he hadn’t noticed.

“Come in, come in,” he said, moving to the side, and she reluctantly stepped into the dark living room. She found herself wondering if was her first time inside his house. A couch hunkered to her immediate right, and a small hallway stretched out beyond it.  Light funneled in from the back of the house. Particles floated and swirled around in the rays of light like nebulae.

“Thank you,” she said.  No, I must have been in here before, she thought, but couldn’t think of a single time she had.

“Have a seat.” He pointed to the couch, and then touched a stout finger to his nose, as if nudging it into place.

“It’s rather dark in here, don’t you think, Sam.”

“I guess it is if you’re coming in from outside,” he said, and he opened the blinds. Light slanted in in thin layers. He winced a bit.

“How’s that, madam?”

“You don’t have to call me that, you know,” she said.  Now that Rich is gone, she thought, it seems silly somehow.  She had been “madam” to his “Colonel.”  

“Oh, it’s just for fun,” he said.  “Would you like something to drink?  A cold adult beverage, perhaps?  I have some Busch in the fridge.”

“No, thank you, Sam. I just stopped by—”

“I believe I’ll have one, if you don’t mind.”

While he was gone she noticed a very large framed photograph on the wall, opposite the couch, of a space shuttle blasting off of a launch pad.  She pointed it out when he returned with his beer.

“Oh, her.  She’s the Columbia. A real beautiful craft.  The first to go to space.…April twelve, nineteen eighty-one.” He clicked his tongue then sipped his beer.  She found it mildly irritating that he referred to it as “her,” but didn’t dwell on it because she realized something.

“Rich took me to that launch, Sam.  We were there, at the—what do you call it—where the bleachers are? Where everyone watches?”

“The Causeway?” He slightly tipped the beer can and slurped, like he was trying to be extra careful not to spill any.

“That’s it. The NASA Causeway.  That’s where we were. We’d been transferred to Patrick about, I don’t know, a month prior—from Barksdale, in Louisiana.  He was so excited about that—getting to see that first shuttle launch.”

She remembered: on the way to the Cape, Rich driving huddled up close to the steering wheel, pointing up at the sky, and her just sitting there listening. “Folks who’ve been to rocket launches say you can watch it the whole way up. You can see everything: the glint of sunlight on the metal, the tower of smoke, like a string of popcorn, like on a Christmas tree—everything.  Takes maybe an hour to disappear, to dissipate.  Course, this’ll be a little different.”  Neither of them knew exactly what a shuttle was, but he made it sound much more interesting than she would have found it all by herself. The car swerved a little under the strain of Rich’s excitement.

And it was something. And crowded with people—people with binoculars and telescopes and wearing sunglasses and wide-brimmed hats and men in shorts and Hawaiian-print shirts, open at the front.  One woman chased a little boy, who was about three, in circles.  She was short, but pretty, and had on a black one-piece bathing suit.  The little boy chuckled as his young mother chased after him, one hand keeping her sun hat on her head. And they all watched it lift off and go up and it all seemed so slow, but it wasn’t slow, it was fast, hundreds of miles per hour, but from where they stood everything was happening in slow motion, beautiful and vivid and big.

“It was a big deal, Madam. Very exciting.”  Sam walked closer to the photo, swigging as he moved, like a kid with a glass of milk. She half expected him to start blowing bubbles in his beer. “Who knows,” he said, “the guy or gal who took this picture might have been standing right next to you.” He looked away from the photo. “Barksdale,” he said, and scratched at the top of his blotchy bald head. “Seems like I’ve been there…”

She watched him and wait for more, but nothing followed.

“Sam,” she said, “I was wondering.  Do you have any lunch plans?” It seemed absurd the second she said it. Of course he didn’t. She imagined him opening a can of tuna and eating straight out of it with a fork.

“Oh, well,” he said.  He put the beer can down on the coffee table and scratched at his head again.  He moved closer to the wall with the photo of the shuttle on it. He put a hand on the wall, like he was bracing himself for a dizzy spell.

This can’t be happening, she thought.  He isn’t even attractive. He’s an old troll. I don’t like him a bit, to be honest. Drinking beer this early in the day.  She got a flush feeling and her face felt warm.  He thinks I’m a sad, pathetic old widow.

“I do, as a matter of fact, Marie.  I’m going out to the—” He looked at his watch.  “And won’t be back till—Maybe we can—”

“Oh, that’s fine,” she said.  She stood up, shook her head.  “Really. It’s fine.”  She thought she might start crying, which was completely out of the question.  This is not a rejection, she told herself. It’s just bad timing.

“Well,” he said, and he smoothed the palms of his hands across his shirt front.

“No need to explain, Sam.  It’s fine,” she said, smiling. She found that she was pressing on her hair with one hand. She made herself stop. “Rain check,” she added, without having thought about it beforehand.

“Yes!” he said, happy to have a word for the awkwardness he felt.  “Rain check, indeed, madam.”

 She watched from her living room window as Sam got into his burgundy Chrysler and pulled out and sped off down the road and out of sight.  Where is he going so fast? She thought.  She picked one of the roses from the center of the bouquet and smelled of it.  Its scent was so faint that she couldn’t think of a word to describe it.  He’d said he wouldn’t be back till late.

 She’d loved Rich, she often thought, because he made her feel like somebody. In the beginning, when they were dating, she’d felt unfamiliar to herself when she was with him. Later, after they were married, the wife of an Air Force officer, she felt confident and important. Initially, anyway. She loved him for that, for that gift he probably didn’t even consider a gift.  She loved it better than any jewelry or flowers or exotic getaway. It felt almost permanent, and it was real. But things always change. Things didn’t get better or worse—they just changed.  They were two people in a habituation together. She continued to love him, and she supposed he still loved her.  But towards the end it wasn’t a gift so much as an ill-fitting pair of jeans you can’t bring yourself to give away because you are sure you’ll fit back into them some day.

 She waited till dusk.  She put on dark clothes and her old running sneakers and grabbed the flashlight out of the catchall drawer in the kitchen. She preemptively took two Ibuprofen. If I have to do any climbing or crawling or anything I’ll be sore tomorrow, she thought. It was very quiet outside.  

She checked his side door, the one that goes into the garage, and it was unlocked, of course. No one locked up in their neighborhood. There was no need to. It smelled like gasoline and fertilizer in the garage, and the smell made her feel lightheaded.  She lifted the mat at the foot of the door that led from the garage into the house, but didn’t find a key. she shone the flashlight around until she saw a little metal hook on the wall, to the left of the door, with a ring of keys hanging on it. She tried five before she found the right one. Before she turned the key in the lock she took a moment to consider what Rich would think of this.  Presumably, she thought, he could be watching me at this very moment.  What do you think, Rich? she whispered. It gave her the creeps to hear her voice in the dark, stinky garage.  She heard something scurry and thought rat or possum and inserted the key and quickly entered the house.

In the yellow glow of the flashlight bulb the photograph looked mythic. She immediately had an urge to cry, standing there looking at it with what amounted to a spotlight on it.  For the first time in a month she was feeling the full weight of her grief. Before she knew it she was sitting on Sam’s couch looking up at the photograph, sobbing—like a proper widow, she thought.  What an odd place for mourning?  But the photo captured something, and not just the shuttle launch—that was secondary—but the color and feel of that day, that point in time.  The quality of light.  A small bit of her life, as it had been once, paused—a crystalized memory she’d forgotten she had.

She got up and walked over to the picture and put the flashlight right on it. Maybe if I look long enough I’ll find us, she thought, me and Rich, with our hands shielding the sun from our eyes, watching the shuttle climb up towards space.  Maybe I’ll find the petite young mother and her little boy. She looked and squinted and searched the photograph.  But she needed more time with it.  Most of the onlookers were blurry. It was too dark now. The shuttle, lifting off, and the dense exhaust, were the most vivid things. She stared so hard that things got distorted and she started to zone out. She imagined Sam ripping his nubby fingernails off and sticking them to the black nose of the spacecraft.  He ripped one off and stuck it on and went for another one.  Then he took a sip of beer. Disgusting old troll, she thought. Who drinks beer in the middle of the day, anyway?  

A few minutes passed and she pulled herself together. She sat and stared at the huge thing hanging there on the wall until a light from outside grew and intensified and she realized that it was the headlights from Sam’s car, shining in through the window as he pulled into the driveway.

She wasn’t sure what to do. She heard the car door slam. She turned off the flashlight and put it in her back pocket and carefully hoisted the photograph off the wall and crept, bent over, to the door that let out to the garage. From inside the garage, she heard the key in the front door, heard it turn and the door open. Sam sighed as he closed it. She slowly put the keys back on the hook by the door in the garage. She paused and heard an interior door, a bedroom door. She left the garage and stole quickly across the street, tip-toed home in the dark, the picture under her arm, like a cat burglar.  But what I’ve done doesn’t feel like stealing, she thought, as she sat the photograph against the wall in her bedroom. She took the flashlight out of her pocket and sat on the edge of her bed. It feels like something else. Feels like a resurrection.

()

Steve Lambert’s writing has appeared, or is forthcoming, in Saw Palm, Chiron Review, New Contrast (South Africa), The Pinch, Broad River Review, Longleaf Review, Emrys Journal, BULL Fiction, Into the Void, Cowboy Jamboree, Cortland Review, and many other places. In 2015 he won third place in Glimmer Train’s Very Short Fiction contest and in 2018 he won Emrys Journal’s Nancy Dew Taylor Poetry Prize. He is the recipient of four Pushcart Prize nominations and was a Rash Award in Fiction finalist. He is the author of the poetry collection Heat Seekers (CW Books, 2017), the chapbook In Eynsham (CW Books, 2020) and the fiction collection The Patron Saint of Birds (Cowboy Jamboree, 2020). His novel, Philisteens, will be out May 2021, and his second full-length poetry collection, The Shamble, will be out in October, both with Close to The Bone Publishing. He lives in Northeast Florida, with his wife and daughter, where he teaches part-time at the University of North Florida.  

[hiromisuzukimicrojournal]

The rain surrenders to the town, Al Capone is no longer there

…

✽

Sitting on the windowsill and occasionally looking at the terrace, Eliza takes needles and threads from the sewing box and makes ferns with felt. The plants made of non-woven fabric that has pressed fibers such as wool or animal fur. Making ferns as if the leaf veins gain the breath from water veins, she is waiting for something. Her husband is a man who is hiding whiskey behind books on a bookshelf, snuggling up to whole world’s despairs day and night, crying while seeing her off. Eliza is working at the supermarket every afternoon.

Al Capone, who was imprisoned in The Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, is said to have hidden rye whiskey in his cell. Alcatraz Island on San Francisco Bay was surrounded by the cold sea currents, the prisoners could not easily escape from prison. In the 1979 movie ‘Escape From Alcatraz’, Frank Morris acted by Clint Eastwood attempted a desperate jailbreak. Investigators said “they are dead,” but the prison chief found Morris’s chrysanthemum being washed ashore.

There was a pet shop on the roof of the supermarket. The children were teasing a squirrel monkey trapped in a cage with Chupa Chups’ sticks. The monkey was scared of the shout “Cute!”. Turned his back on the crowd, ate sunflower seeds with downcast eyes. The monkey wished he could dive into the downwind Tokyo Bay from wagon of the Ferris wheel on the roof. A cargo ship was swaying in the sunset on the waves. Suddenly, the machine gun fired. The monkey was frightened by the creeping killers. The squirrel monkey was very timid. He heard the footsteps of the gangster were approaching. No, it was the sound of the thunder storms hitting the concrete floor on the roof.

To escape from the sudden rain, a bachelor rushed into the main entrance just before the store closed. The man chose an assorted box of baked sweets as a gift for his mother living in a hometown and went to the service counter. Eliza worked at the gift section in the supermarket. “Would you like to choose a wrapping paper?” Eliza asked the bachelor. “No, especially no,” the man replied lazily. “Leave it to me,” she chose a few sheets of colourful Japanese paper and wrapped the box with beautiful gradation. “I like this kind of paper with the texture of plants. These are my personal goods. It’s a secret…,” she smiled embarrassedly. The bachelor invited Eliza to a supper after her work. She was surprised and hesitant for a while, but replied, “I can be with you for a little. My husband is waiting for me to come home.”

They met at a Chinese restaurant near the supermarket. Under the paper lantern, Eliza, who took off her uniform, looked like a young girl. She wore an old-fashioned flapper-style dress like Dorothy Parker. They ordered a dim sum set that would not fill their stomachs.

“I’m working on the graphic design, so interested in a clerk who is particular about wrapping paper like you. Thank you for dating today.”

The bachelor made an excuse.

“I’m glad you invited me. I’m a middle-aged woman, in the edge of my life.”

Eliza laughed obediently.

“Once a week, I accompany my husband to church for his AA meetings. He doesn’t like going to church. He is not a Christian, and wondering which God he should make an oath to. While waiting for his meetings to end, I’m learning handicrafts at a women’s workshop at church.”

She talked ramblingly.

“I’m designing book covers, so I’m particular about paper. Paper is made of pulp. Pulp is a tree. Since ancient times, it has been said that God dwells in trees. Paper is sacred.”

As the man made a passionate speech, Eliza looked at him with vacant eyes and said, “Seems to be the story of Yggdrasill. The world tree in the Nordic myth.”

Yggdrasill shivers,

the ash, as it stands.

The old tree groans,

and the giant slips free. *[1]

Suddenly, they heard a rhythm of cha-cha-cha from the portable player. The upper bodies of the old couple sitting in the next began to dance on the horizon of the table, for the ballroom dance choreography. While laughing at the cheerful tune ‘La engañadora’ by Orquesta Amérca, “It’s getting late. Shall we go home?” the bachelor said and passed the bill to the waiter. The man slid the coaster that had been written his cell phone number towards Eliza.

The bachelor enters to a bar on the back alley. He notices that the tune in the Chinese restaurant is chasing him. The happy rhythm of ‘La en gañadora’ is coiling around him in the dim light. ‘La engañadora’ means the fraudster in Spanish. But it was translated in the US as “Anything Can Happen When You’re in Havana”.

In the dark corner of the pub at the wharf on a holiday,

a pint of Guinness, the jukebox, the released bustles are foaming.

The man in front of me,

into a glass of half pint that had been dried up,

added canned beer bought at the supermarket.

A pretty and well-behaved child next to me,

wrapping curly hair around her fingers  

staring at the souvenir shop

is tweeting the rain.

Rain.

Water the Queen’s well.

                  Rain.

Bored phonograph records

ran out of patience

and    turned    into

the music of

                 bubbles. *[2]

The rain surrenders to the town. The squirrel monkey that escaped from the cage of pet shop is wandering at night. He slipped through the gangster’s bullets and jumped into Tokyo Bay from the Ferris wheel. At the wharf, Al Capone’s favorite car, 1928 Cadillac V-8 Town Sedan and a million barrels of rye whiskey are preparing to be loaded onto the ship. Al Capone himself is no longer there. There is just a cigar end in the puddle. The chrysanthemum is looking up at the huge gantry crane. Silence surrounds the darkness. The old tree groans, and the giant slips free. This world is made of huge trees. People held in the dome of the world tree where the ground and underground, day and night are reversed are about to fall asleep. A spring springs at the root of the ash tree. The squirrel monkey is skipping from branch to branch freely and lightly, kissing the olive fruits.

The cell phone rang in the middle of the night.

The bachelor heard Eliza’s sobbing.

Behind her was her husband crying.

“My husband hit me on the cheek, but I feel sorry for him.”

Sitting on the windowsill, Eliza is waiting for something.

The fern that lives quietly beside the water veins under the shade of rocks.

✽

images: hiromi suzuki

…

*References:

[1] The Poetic Edda, Mythological Poems Volume II / Oxford University Press. Translated by Ursula Dronke, 1997.

[2] Queen’s Well in the Wicklow Mountains, Ms. cried – 77 poems by hiromi suzuki / Kisaragi publishing, 2013. Translated by hiromi suzuki, 2020.

…

✽  ✽  ✽

The rain surrenders to the town, Al Capone is no longer there

© short fiction by hiromi suzuki

published in 3:AM Magazine: Jan. 19th, 2021

…

via 3:AM Magazine

[cilldaracailin]

Don’t Stop Me Now

Hello my lovelys :). I am back with another part to this story. Don’t all come at me ok? It was all Taron and his idea! Thank again for all the love and comments!

7

“Keep a little fire burning; however small, however hidden.”

It had been a longer goodnight with Elton and David then Taron had wanted and his friends had kept them talking before Taron made his excuses and guided Robyn into the kitchen where he made her two slices of toast and filled a glass with water for her.

“Eat Robyn.” He insisted as he lifted the triangle slice of toast to her mouth. He grinned when she took a bite from the corner, taking the toast from his hand. “And drink.” He picked up the glass for her.

“Jesus you are worse than my mother.” She complained in-between chewing the toast and taking the glass from him. “And you need to introduce Kerrygold to Elton.”

Taron smiled as he took a seat at the table next to her with his own slice of buttered toast. “I will talk to him about getting some Irish butter into his fridge. So, you feeling better?”

“Right as rein.” She smiled, her grin growing as Taron’s eyebrows creased. “Much better. Thank you for my toast and water.”

“God it makes it sound like a scene from Oliver when you say it like that.”

She laughed with him. “Thank you for understanding about my case Taron. It might seem trivial but there are things in it I would like to have. Probably not the Robyn you are used to. Needing girly things.”

Taron opened his bow tie at the back and pulled it off. “I have noticed that you are a woman Robyn.”

“So, I have heard, a lot.” She answered. “Stella? And a certain V-neck top?”

“Shut up.” He threw his bow tie her way. “I have routed through your bathroom. I have seen things. I know how easy going you are and how you don’t need the so-called finer things in life apart from your air con and amazing shower but I know there is a girly girl in there somewhere. I have definitely seen her tonight.”

“I’ve been fancy fancy?” She questioned.

“Fancy fancy.”

“Sometimes it is nice to have a little luxury. Anyway, going back to getting my case, I think it makes more sense to get it now rather than wasting time we have tomorrow together.”

“True.” Agreed Taron as he took of the cummerbund from around his waist.

“Are you treating me to a show Egerton? Because, honestly, I will not object!” She asked grinning as he opened the top four buttons of his shirt, enjoying how Taron chuckled, taking his time as he opened the fourth gold button.

“I know I have to get dressed up but I bloody hate these things. I am glad to take some of the extra parts off. At least you have looked comfortable in your dress all evening.”

“It is actually quite comfortable to wear and I love it very very much. I might not take it off.”

“I am very much ok with that decision.” Agreed Taron as he finished off the last of his slice of toast. “It is one of my favourite looks of yours.”

To distract herself, Robyn used the silence, to take her hoop ear rings out, leaving them beside Taron’s gold cummerbund. “Maybe I will find another excuse to wear it someday.” She quietly said, looking at him from under her eyelashes.

Taron got off his chair and moved closer to her. He found himself biting his lip as she looked up to him and dipping his head, kissed her forehead. “I think this dress has been perfect and beautiful but I want to see that green one.”

Robyn laughed as he slipped his arm around her shoulders. “I have a green t-shirt I can wear instead tonight. So, lets go and get my case.”

“Ugh such a one-track mind.”

“Says the man who keeps talking about my V-neck shape dress.”

“A red-blooded man Robyn and this is where I mention the boundaries!” He added grinning, stepping back as she went to swot at him. “We have crossed many.” He stepped over to her again and kissed her head. “Right if we are going to get back here at some sort of a decent time, we should leave very soon. It’s already after twelve.”

“Yeah you are probably right.”

Taron took a step back. “Did you just tell me I was right? Robyn Quinn admitted someone else was right?”

“Ok we don’t need to linger on that.” She smiled. “We should head to the hotel.” Robyn stood up and started to walk away from Taron but he grabbed her hand and twirled her into him for a hug.

“I like this change in roles this weekend. I like looking after you. You need someone to look after you.”

“I have cwtch.”

“You need someone who is not stuffed and glittery and steals my corner.” Taron enjoyed the sound of her laughter and she may have laughed at his words but he believed in what he said. “Right my love, lets go. Elton told me he would ask Anthony to wait outside for us.”

The blacked-out car was waiting outside of the gates to Elton’s home and Taron opened the door for Robyn to let her in, while he walked around to take the seat behind the driver.

“It won’t take an hour Taron. Traffic will be light. Probably about forty minutes.” Explained Anthony from the front of the car as his passengers got comfortable in the back. Taron moved the arm rest that held the refreshments up so they could sit right beside each other in the back seat.

“That’s perfect Anthony.”

“Thank you so much for driving us.” Added Robyn.

“Always willing to help out any friend of Taron’s.”

As the car started to makes its journey to Holborn, Taron had thrown his arm around Robyn’s shoulders and she had nestled into him as he sat slightly sideways allowing Robyn to lean into him, her head just at his chin as she rested on his shoulder. They were only in the car for five minutes before Robyn was dozing against him, wearing his suit jacket, which she hadn’t taken off her yet, still feeling the chill from the very late-night air. Taron was happy to let Robyn lay against him as she slept, knowing she had been up very early and had a long three days at work.

“Will I turn the heat up?” Anthony asked as he looked in his rear-view mirror to see his female passenger asleep.

“No thank you Anthony. It’s perfect in here. Thank you very much.”

“Happy to help Taron.”

Although he had felt how cold Robyn had been while they stood outside on the balcony, now as she used his body as pillow, he could feel that she had finally warmed up, his jacket helping to keep her warm. He wrapped his right arm around her protectively, his hand slipping under his jacket, so he could lay it flat across her left waist, her arm resting just above his on her ribs. Robyn sat against him with her legs crossed and once again his eyes followed the skin of her exposed left leg, mentally reminding himself to thank Stella once again for helping him with the choice for dress they had picked for Robyn. Taron had seen Robyn in shorts and t-shirts and even in a towel but it was nothing compared to the outfit she now wore. Shaking his head a little, trying to rid himself of the thoughts running through his mind, reminding himself that they were friends, his eyes wandered from her legs up past the diamond belt that snuggly outlined her fabulous figure before he quickly darted his eyes over the top of the dress, the V-neck slightly deeper with the way she was laying against him. He was glad Robyn was asleep because she would definitely have felt how his heart started to race as she lay comfortably against him.

“Jesus Taron, stop it.” He scolded himself but he couldn’t help but gaze down again, his eyes closing as he took a deep calming breathe. The butterflies hadn’t left his stomach since had seen Robyn walk towards him and they were causing mayhem as were his emotions. He had to pinch himself a few times when he looked at her and remembered she had made every effort in every area possible to get to him, to be there for him and support him as he faced his first public appearance and she had made some effort. He realised it when he walked back with their drinks as she stood talking to Elton and David and she was laughing, joking and smiling, looking very much like she belonged with everyone around her. Her whole face lit up and Taron felt blessed to have such a wonderful woman and best friend in his life.

Opening his eyes, he took one more look down and sighed. “I love you.” He whispered into her hair and closing his eyes again, rested his cheek on her head. If Robyn could take a quick nap, he was going to take advantage of her warmth and have a quick snooze too.

He dozed in and out of sleep and gently shook Robyn awake when they had stopped outside the hotel she had got ready in.

“Come on sleepy head. This was your idea.”

Robyn stretched a little and opened her eyes. “I wasn’t asleep. I was just resting my eyes.”

“Hmm sure you were. Out for the count chicken.” He felt a little chill when she moved from his chest.

“Resting my eyes.” She repeated as she rolled her neck a little. “Or maybe catching a quick nap. You know you make a good pillow.” She said as Anthony opened the back door for them, the cold air rushing in, making them both shiver.

Robyn took Anthony’s hand as he helped her from the car, Taron shuffling out afterwards, standing close beside Robyn as they stood outside the front of the Premier Inn in Holborn.

“We will be as quick as we can.” Taron said as he closed the door of the car.

“Take you time. I will wait here for you both.”

“Right chicken, lead the way.”

Taron let Robyn take the lead, but he pulled open the door for her so she could enter the warmth of the hotel first.

“Good evening.” Robyn said to the man at the reception desk as he watched with interest as the two walked into the reception dressed extremely well.

“Good night.” The man called back.

Taron stood beside Robyn as they stood in front of the lift and she pushed the call button. “What do you think he is thinking?” He whispered to her.

“Honestly?” Robyn asked, watching as Taron nodded. “That you are getting some.”

Loud laughter filled the quiet reception as Taron couldn’t hold his chuckles in, his shoulders shaking, his hands going to his eyes. “Robyn, seriously?”

“Well you asked me what he was thinking and with the way we are dressed? That is definitely what he is thinking.”

“Do you trust me?” Asked Taron as he stood right up against her.

“Always.”

“Good.” Taron slipped his arm in behind his jacket that still kept Robyn’s shoulders warm and pulled her right into him in one fluid motion and bent his head to kiss her cheek before he dipped his head lower and kissed the side of her neck, Robyn moving her head a little giving him better access to her skin. His lips were soft and gentle and his stubble tickled her in all the right places.

The lifted dinged and the doors opened, making Taron lift his head but kept his arm tight around her waist and he walked her into the lift. He knew without a doubt that they were being watched very closely so once they turned around to face the open door, Taron placed his left hand on Robyn’s right cheek and without a second thought placed a kiss on her lips as the doors of the lift closed tight.

Once it was just them alone, Taron immediately moved away from her with his hands held up in front of him. “Don’t hit me.” He had expected to see that disapproving look on Robyn’s face but instead her lips bore a smirk.

“You, Taron Egerton, are very naughty and going to be in a shit load of trouble if he recognised you and I would never hit you. I might playfully slap you but never hit you.”

“So, am I getting some?” He asked laughing.

“I think you got enough. If you have left scratches on my neck, you are dead.”

Taron closed the gap between then and lifted her chin with two fingers of his left hand and ran the fingers of his right hand lightly across the skin of her neck he had just kissed. “Nothing.”

“You sure?”

“I promise. I am sorry for jumping right in there without warning and for the kisses.”

“I accept your apology but we will be having no more of that behaviour. Remember there are consequences for unwanted behaviour.”

“Do kisses count as unwanted behaviour?” He asked her as the lift stopped on the fifth floor.

Robyn didn’t answer him but walked out of the lift and made her way to her hotel room, routing for the key from her bag as she walked. When Taron asked her if she trusted him of course her answer was going to be yes without a doubt but she had no idea he was going to assault her neck with an influx of indulgent kisses that made her stomach drop, her heart race, her cheeks flush and the spark flare so hard she needed a fire hose to extinguish it. Taron had held her so tight against him and while his grip on her waist was firm, his kisses were smooth and gentle and Robyn nearly rolled her eyes with the tickly sensation that his facial hair left as his lips trailed her skin, even moving her head to give him more access to her neck. The kiss on her lips was not new but unexpected and more so than the affection, was the way Taron had pulled back immediately to make sure she wasn’t ready to absolutely murder him for taking such a risk with her. It was a respect Taron had for her that she valued above everything else and although he was had taken a huge gamble with his actions, his immediate reaction once the doors of the lift closed, made her love him even more and understand that he absolutely respected her just as much. However, her neck still burned delightfully where his lips had just been and it was spreading quickly down her body.

Taron had to hold his hand out to stop the doors of the lift from closing on him as he was stood frozen when Robyn walked away from him and didn’t answer his question. Stepping out into the corridor, Taron was a few meters behind her and he walked slowly along the carpeted floor his thoughts in a complete jumble. He thought he had worked through these emotions and pushed them aside but they were quickly resurfacing and starting to bubble over. He was sure he was in for a serious tongue lashing from his friend but instead she had chuckled at him and made a joke about the whole thing. He had taken a gigantic leap into a serious danger zone but when Robyn moved her head to give him more access to her neck, he ran with his choice and added extra kisses, inhaling the faint scent of her perfume. He was so thankful she hadn’t been angry at him but somewhat enjoyed his playfulness, ready to tease him about his actions. It made his heart soar that she absolutely trusted him but as he looked down to the purple carpet, he sighed. He was in serious trouble and getting deeper and deeper into a hole he was sure very soon he would not be able to dig himself out of. He thought back to the promise they had made to each other in Robyn’s kitchen where they would always be friends but the more time he physically spent with her, the more he was wondering if the risk of more than friends would be so bad.

“Earth to Taron?” He looked up at the sound of her voice. “You overthinking things?”

“No.”

“And try to sound more convincing.” Robyn stepped over and wrapped her arms around his waist, Taron’s going over her shoulders. “You know I am not upset with you right?”

“I know.”

“I really am not.”

“I know Robyn.” He hugged her close.

“It was very mischievous and I appreciated the need for a good show every now and again and it is good to practise your acting skills.”

Taron laughed. “My acting skills?”

“Sure.” She moved her hands from him. “I mean you haven’t worked in a while; you might have forgotten somethings.”

“Like how to act.”

“Yep so it’s good to get some practise in before next weekend.” Taron shook his head at her but found himself smiling. “And there it is.”

“There what is?”

“That smile.” Robyn held up her key. “Ready to enter the mess?”

“Sure.”

Robyn held the key up against the door handle and waited for the lock to open before she pushed the handle down and opened the door. Setting the key into the slot for the electricity, Robyn moved back and let Taron into the room.

“Wow Robyn.” He said as walked into her hotel room. “I don’t think we can be friends any more.”

“Can I defend myself first? You have seen my Florida case and my closet, so you know I can be messy” She asked as Taron picked up her blue dressing gown and moved it out of the way so he could sit down on the end of the bed. “I literally had just over an hour to get ready to come and meet you. Stuff got left in places.”

“Stuff?” Asked Taron as he held up her bra by the strap that was lying beside him.

Robyn casually pulled it from him along with her dressing gown. “Yeah stuff.”

Taron pulled a garment of clothing from under him and her laughed. “Seriously? You brought my shirt with you? Are you giving it back to me?”

Robyn turned and looked to him, reaching over to pull the Hawaiian patterned flower shirt from his hands. “Absolutely not. This was my payment for your snooping.”

“Then why do you have it with you?”

“I was wearing it.”

“Wearing it?”

“Yes, wearing it. I wore it to the training this morning because I felt a bit sad that I wasn’t going to get to see you. It was before Emma got me here.”

“You actually wear this?” He asked.

“Sure. I have worn it to work too. It’s a good shirt and you are not getting it back. It’s mine.” Robyn folded it carefully and placed it in her case.

“Did you bring cwtch?” He asked as she sat on the chair opposite him, taking his jacket off and throwing it his way. He caught it and draped it over his legs.

“Cwtch doesn’t have a passport or like airplanes.” She reminded him as she put her little star stud ear rings back in.

“Oh yeah I forgot about that.”

“You missing your sleep buddy?” Robyn asked as she put all her make-up and brushes that she had left strewn over the desk back into her make-up bag.

“Maybe.”

“He is house sitting for me.”

“He’s a good blue dinosaur.”

“Yes, he is.” Robyn opened the buckles on her shoes and sighed as she pulled them off. She threw them into her case which was open on the floor. “It won’t take me long Taron.”

“Take your time.” He answered watching as Robyn stood up and lifting the skirt of her dress so she wouldn’t trip, walked into the bathroom. He pulled out his phone out to look through photos he had taken during the night, smiling at the silly faces they had pulled together for many selfies, enjoying the full length one someone had taken of them. They made him smile and he thought back to when they stood together in front of her mirror in her bathroom. He had made a joke about walking the red carpet together that night but Robyn had always given him a firm no as an answer. He was flabbergasted at even with all her protesting, how easily it came to her, being in his world. Still smiling he slipped his phone back into trousers pocket.

Robyn collected her few toiletries from beside the sink, putting them in her wash bag double checking her reflection in the large mirror, smiling a little that she was still quite well put together and her lipstick had lasted the night through with only two extra applications when Taron wasn’t looking. She quickly ran her index finger under her eyes, to wipe some of the eyeliner that has spread the wrong way. She let her finger run down to her neck and stretched a little, checking in the mirror to see for herself if Taron’s sudden kisses had left a mark. They hadn’t left a visible one but his lips on her skin had left her with something else fizzing inside. After another glance in the mirror and with her skirt gathered in one hand, she strolled back into the bedroom, Taron still sitting on the bed patiently. Robyn quickly collected the rest of her things and dropped them in her case. She then sat on the bed beside Taron and pulled on her blue converse.

“I think this is my favourite look of yours yet.”

“What?” She asked.

“Converse and a fancy fancy dress. Only you can get away with that combination.”

She smiled. “And I am ready to go.”

“And you were quick.”

“I am getting good at the fast packing thing. I am hoping that someday I will actually get to enjoy packing a case.”

“You sure you have everything?” He asked. “Did you do a double sweep?”

“Nah I have everything.”

“‘Cos we are not coming back here.”

“Anthony would drive me back if I asked him.

Taron grinned. “I know but I will actually be putting my foot down. We are not making this journey again so please check you have everything.”

Robyn stood up and lifting her dress again, made a show of opening every drawer and noisily put the toilet seat up and down in the bathroom and turning the water on and off while washing her hands. “Nope all clear.” She said grinning walking back out to him and sat beside him. “Have everything.”

“You are one of a kind Robyn Quinn.” Taron stood up and gave his jacket to her. “Please put it on. You will freeze outside and you packed away my shirt that you were wearing. Didn’t you bring a jacket or a jumper?”

“I am sure I have a jumper in the bag somewhere but who knows what I threw in last minute.”

“Well take this.” Taron held it out for her to put her arms through. “I don’t want you to get cold or sick.” Without questioning him Robyn stood beside him and put his suit jacket back on. “It goes well with your dress, matches and everything.” Taron took some steps away from her and picked up her suitcase, lifting the handle so it was ready to be wheeled. “No smart comments about wheeling it yourself either. I know you can do it by yourself but I have it.”

“I am saying nothing.” Robyn headed to the door, opened it and pulled out the card key, letting Taron out first. “We are going to have to pull out some of the same chemistry once we are back in reception Taron. We have literally been ten minutes in that room.” She said as they walked to the lift. “That guy will be wondering what the hell is going on or something else entirely.” She pushed the button for the lift.

“You could let your hair down a little, mess it up a bit.”

Robyn chuckled and stepped into the lift. “You could pull your shirt out from your trousers, open another button or two.”

“Or I could attack you with more kisses.” He suggested as he pushed the button for the ground floor again, leaning towards her.

“I think there has been enough of that.” Robyn laughing as she moved out of his reach and stepped into the lift, waiting for Taron to follow her and once he had, she pressed the G button on the key pad. “I really hope he doesn’t know who you are Taron. He figures it out and says something, we are screwed.”

“How about I just hold your hand then. Like you said we were only about ten minutes and we look pretty put together still.”

“Well that is true. We don’t look like we have been too naughty and bad.” He laughed.

The doors opened and they walked out of the lift together, Taron using his right hand to pull Robyn’s case behind him, his left slipping into her right. Heading for the reception, Robyn placed the card key on the counter. “Checking out.” She said. “Thanks so much.”

The man at reception gave her a sideways look but took the key. “Sure, no problem. Have a nice night.”

“Thanks, you too.”

Taron said nothing but kept a grip on her hand and only let go so he could open the door to let Robyn out first. Anthony greeted them at the door of the hotel and took the case from Taron.

“Thanks Anthony.” He said as he opened the door of the car for Robyn.

“I could get use to this star-studded treatment.” She grinned, pulling the material of her dress in so it wouldn’t get caught in the car door, Taron closing it with a grin once she was settled. He stepped around the back of the car, thanking Anthony again and got in the other side of the car.

“I was brought up with manners and I will use them around a beautiful lady.” He replied to her comment before he had closed the door.

Anthony was back in the car and had pulled away from the curb within seconds.

“Another quick trip back Taron.”

“Sure Anthony. Thanks again for doing this for us.”

“Like I said, anytime.”

Taron turned to Robyn. “Ready for another nap?” He asked.

“I am actually pretty awake.” She answered. “The packing has given me a little more energy.”

“Well can I request a cuddle then?”

“I will always agree to a cuddle.”

Taking up position, Taron tucked her into her chest and Robyn automatically placed her hand on his chest over her heart. “Still beating.”

“Still beating.” He repeated.

A long heavy sigh left his body and Robyn felt it. “You ok Taron? You’ve been pretty quiet since we arrived at the hotel.”

“I am good Robyn. A lot of excitement today and I think I have finally hit a low energy slump.”

“You sure? You have been a ball of energy all evening.”

“Like I said, low energy slump.”

“You know I can tell if you are lying to me.”

Taron laughed a little. “I know chicken.” He gave her a squeeze. “I definitely know that but I am perfect. This evening had been everything and more for me. Thank you for coming.”

Robyn smiled into his shirt. “You are very welcome. Thank you for inviting me.”

“It was actually Elton who invited you.” He corrected.

“Hmm.” She answered him. “Sure it was.” Closing her eyes, she snuggled a little more into him. Taron had always been so wonderfully comfortable and she loved hearing his heart beat in his chest. It was a truly beautiful sound to her. She felt him place his hand on hers over his heart and another long breathe filled his lungs. As much as Taron had enjoyed the evening, so had Robyn. His world hadn’t been as scary and daunting as she thought it was going to be and with Taron keeping ever so close to her, it made it ever so easy to engage with all of his friends and acquaintances. There was one little problem she found herself facing though.

Her skin was still on fire from his kisses and where before his hand in hers just felt warm and comforting, now it tingled and sparked with electricity.

[rosesupposes]

Ivy League

In which Race goes to dinner with Spot, his professor, and his asshole classmate and Spot ends up defending Race’s honor.

This is v v v self indulgent and probably doesn’t make much sense. Just know that Kelly Smaltzer is modern girlsie Smalls who just hasn’t gotten her nickname yet.

Read on AO3.

-

“Thanks so much for your help, Race. I was sure I was gonna fail this test.”

“No problem, Davey,” Race said, packing the empty containers from his lunch into his bag. Spot was on a meal prep kick and Race hadn’t been able to escape it. “After my midterm this morning, it actually reminded me that physics isn’t crazy.”

“Your Planetary Relations class right?” Davey started packing up his bag. 

“Yeah and then my Dance Comp one later. But Albert and I are having rehearsals beforehand and then we’ve got another rehearsal for a showcase.”

Davey looked confused, as he gathered up the trash from his lunch, along with the trash Jack and Crutchie had left when Race and Davey had started reviewing for Davey’s Physics I test. “I thought you and Spot had that dinner with his professor tonight?”

Race groaned and held up the garment bag he’d had to bring along with his backpack and dance bag. “We do. I’ve been lugging my pants and shirt around all day. I have to wear a tie, Davey. A tie.”

Davey rolled his eyes. “You’ll survive. Spot must really want to impress his professor if he’s risking making you wear a tie.”

“I resent that but it’s not untrue. And he does. She takes an intern every summer from her first year classes and he thinks it’s a really good sign that she invited him to this dinner. But she also invited that asshole classmate that Spot’s always complaining about. He’s bringing his girlfriend.” Race wrinkled his nose. 

“Oh, I see. That’s why your wearing the tie,” Davey said with the know it all tone that Race knew meant he was teasing.

“What?”

“You’re trying to out trophy wife the girlfriend.”

“Shut up and go take your physics test,” Race said, pushing Davey’s arm and then walking away from him. His phone chirped with a text from Davey not 30 seconds later. 

I’m adding 3 points to your pettiness score. You’re in the lead now.

-

His Dance Comp midterm went well, even if it ran over. He blamed Albert for drawing the last performance slot because he could have left early otherwise. His whole body ached, protesting the Pilates class from hell that he’d had before lunch and the three hours of rehearsal he’d had after. Going home and vegging out on the couch sounded infinitely better than going to Spot’s dinner. The food would be good, sure, and Spot’s professor was paying but he’d learned early on in Spot’s law school career that when people at law events found out he wasn’t also in law school, they tended to lose interest pretty quickly. He was usually relegated to the role of trophy boyfriend- which he could do and do well but it was kind of hard when he was this exhausted and coming right from a day of midterms. 

He tied his tie while he waited for his Uber and attempted to fix his hair using Snapchat as a mirror. Spot had mentioned that his asshole classmate’s girlfriend was apparently model pretty and Davey was right; Race was nothing if not petty. He was definitely going to be the better trophy wife tonight, even if he was exhausted and coming from four hours of dancing.

As soon as Race was in his Uber and had an ETA he trusted, he texted Spot.

mdtrm ran ovr b there 5 min l8 blame al

Okay

ur gonna wow her n then well get wine drunk w javid 2nite 2 celbr8

After texting Jack and Davey to make sure they could get wine drunk when Race and Spot got home, Race was happy to find his AirPods shoved into his wallet and he put them in so he could start reviewing the choreography for his upcoming Repertory midterm in his head. He got another text from Spot when he was about five minutes from the restaurant.

They're seating us now. Just ask for Taylor Caine.

k eta 4 min ur gonna kill it luv u

Race went right to the hostess when he entered the restaurant. She probably had a fancier title than hostess at a place like this but Race definitely didn't know the word, even if it was probably Italian. "Hi, I think my party's already been seated. I'm with Taylor Caine?"

The hostess gave him a once over, eyes catching on his poorly tied tie. "Of course, follow me, sir." She led Race through the main dining area and to another, smaller area where Race immediately picked out Spot and his group. He waved, hoping to catch Spot's eye and sure enough Spot saw him, his face brightening in a way that most people didn't recognize.

"Speak of the devil," he said, grinning as Race took the empty seat between Spot and who he assumed was asshole classmate's girlfriend. "This is my boyfriend, Antonio Higgins."

"Call me Tony, please," Race said, as if he ever used that name. "I'm so sorry I'm late, my dance midterm ran over."

The woman on the other side of Spot set her menu down and pushed her reading glasses on top of her head, offering her hand to Race, who took it. "No worries at all, we've only just ordered our drinks. I'm Taylor Caine."

"Oh the famous Professor Caine," Race crowed. "It's so great to meet you after all of Sean's stories."

"Only good ones I hope?"

"The best," Race agreed, grinning at Spot, who was getting the look he did when he was almost about to blush. Race decided to back off a little instead of laying it on so thick. "He loves your classes."

"Oh don't flatter her," the woman next to her said. The way she put her hand on Taylor's shoulder spoke of  years of easy familiarity and it made Race smile to think of having that with someone- with Spot- one day. "I'll never hear the end of it. I'm Dalia."

Race shook her hand and then turned to the man at her side- presumably Spot's classmate. Race offered his hand. The man took it, but not before staring at it disdainfully. He eventually deigned to introduce himself to Race, but not before Race reintroduced himself first. “Antonio Higgins.”

 "Joseph Huntington III. This is my fiancée, Kelly Smaltzer."

"Great to meet you." Race was sitting next to Kelly so he turned to her as well and offered his hand, which she shook. "That dress is absolutely beautiful. Vera Wang?"

Kelly's face lit up. She was very pretty and Race felt a little bitter. "Thank you, yes. How did you know?"

While the others discussed whatever it was lawyers discussed, Race told her about Jack’s internship at the fashion magazine and how they would obsess over spreads together for hours and they fell into an easy conversation about fashion magazines. Kelly, it turned out, was writing for the website of a competing fashion magazine but she quietly admitted to Race that she was hoping to break away from fluff pieces soon and then move to a magazine more like the one Jack worked at- one that was focused on fashion but strived for inclusivity and female empowerment. She had some interesting ideas and Race was slowly starting to like her. She and Jack would be a force to be reckoned with if put in the same room together. If they were relegated to conversation as trophy wives for the night, he didn’t think he would mind it.

Eventually the waiter appeared with drinks. Spot leaned into Race's space to tell him, "I ordered you a seltzer, babe."

Race kissed Spot on the cheek, taking his glass from the waiter. "Perfect, thanks." 

As the waiter took their orders, Race suddenly realized he hadn’t looked over the menu at all- a dangerous choice, since he could be pretty picky with his Italian food. He began reading over but he only got through two appetizers before Spot interrupted him, quietly pointing out two of the menu items. “There’s lasagna you’ll like and a pasta primavera, if you want something lighter.”

“You know me too well,” he said with a wink and Spot rolled his eyes. He thought he heard Joseph scoff but he ignored it.

Once they'd settled back into conversation after ordering, Race found himself the center of attention. "So, Tony," Taylor said as she put away her reading glasses. "Sean tells me you're also at Columbia?"

Race nodded. "I am. I'm still an undergrad though- only a junior. Sean's too smart for me; he graduated high school and undergrad early."

"Don't sell yourself short. You’re-" Spot started but was interrupted by Joseph.

"You're a dance major then?"

"Yes," Race said, taking a sip of his seltzer, "a dance major and-"

“And what do you plan to do with that?”

“Well, I’m not quite sure yet but I also-”

"At Yale, dance is folded into the Theater Studies major. It’s not a very popular major. Most students at Yale choose a more… useful path for undergrad. I majored in political science. Joseph continued, a not so subtle attempt at shifting the focus of conversation to himself..

"Oh, how interesting," Dalia said, sounding perfectly interested though Race didn’t miss the little annoyed look that crossed her face.

Joseph launched into what was probably meant to sound like a description of undergraduate life in New Haven but was actually just a thinly veiled list of his accomplishments. Race nodded politely at all the right points in Joseph’s resume but caught Spot tensing his body out of the corner of his eye. Hoping to head off Spot’s seething, Race grabbed his hand under the table and squeezed it once, shaking his head a little. He waited for Spot to nod back to him before turning to Kelly. God, Spot could be such a drama queen. And, coming from Race, who was now leading on the pettiness scoreboard in their apartment, that was saying a lot.

Race turned back to Kelly, hoping to hear more of her ideas for future articles. She seemed excited just to have the chance to talk about them and after listening to both Katherine and Sarah rant for hours on end, Race felt like he knew how to actually engage in the conversation as an ally without being a total jerk.

By the time their food came, it was clear to Race that Spot’s assessment of Joseph as a Grade A Asshole was correct. He attempted to make every conversation about him and his opinions. He kept making digs at Spot’s less than ideal childhood and cutting off his own fiancée to speak for her. He was sitting next to Dalia but spent the whole time clearly trying to impress Taylor. In his effort to engage with Taylor, he ended up essentially ignoring Dalia, Kelly, and Race, and only engaging with Spot because he had to. No one seemed overly impressed with his accomplishments or his attitude which helped restore Race’s faith in humanity a little but it did not make for a fun dinner table.

Race could tell Spot was getting closer and closer to going off. His jaw was tight and he kept clenching and unclenching his fists under the table. It was one of the things Race loved most about Spot- his righteous outrage in the face of someone treating others like shit- but now was not the time for an outburst. He kept one hand just above Spot’s knee, even while talking to Kelly, slowly rubbing circles right above his knee cap.

Taylor and Dalia were wonderful, trying to keep everyone involved in the conversation. It was when they asked Kelly about herself that Race really started to get annoyed with Joseph. He kept talking over her, even when she was asked a direct question, ascribing opinions to her that Race could tell from her face she didn’t really hold. He told their engagement story with a focus on how amazing his plan had been while barely mentioning Kelly. When he excused himself to use the bathroom shortly after that, Race made it a point to ask Kelly again about the articles she wanted to write for her magazine. Taylor and Dalia both listened intently to her ideas of what fashion magazines could- and should- be.

“Sorry,” she said after a few minutes, putting her hands back in her lap and blushing a little. “I just get really excited about this kind of stuff.”

“No, no,” Taylor said. “Don’t apologize, you have a lot of really intelligent ideas and you’re very good at expressing them.”

Kelly beamed. “Thank you. I don’t have much chance to talk about them, even at work.”

Dalia hummed thoughtfully and nodded. “I remember seeing some profiles on your magazine recently. I thought they mentioned how progressive it was.”

“In some ways, it is,” Kelly said thoughtfully. “But in a lot of ways it’s white feminism and it’s lip service. There are a few articles on intersectionality in relation to feminism that I was sure I would get to write if I pitched them but I’ve been shut down again and again. They only want the type of feminism that’s palatable to their investors and they refuse to push for anything more. And we need to push for more. Intersectionality is the most important part of feminism and if I can somehow provide visibility to trans women or women of color-”

“This again, honey?” Joseph said, grinning as he sat down. “Sorry about that. She gets overexcited sometimes.”

Kelly looked visibly upset but also a little like she was used to it. “I’m not overexcited, Joey. This is important.”

“I don’t know why you care so much. It doesn’t affect you.”

“It does and even if it didn’t, then it’s even more important for me to care.”

Race could see a real argument brewing and, while he wouldn’t mind Joseph making himself out to be even more of an asshole, Kelly didn’t deserve to be put down in the middle of a restaurant, by her fiancee, when she was right. Without even thinking about it, Race took a sip of his almost finished seltzer and then set down his glass towards the edge of the table, tipping it into his own lap. “Oh my god, I’m such a klutz.” He stood, giving Spot a significant look and hoping his boyfriend picked up his cue to change the subject. “Excuse me, I’ll just go clean myself up.”

Race pulled a waitress aside as he headed to the bathroom, telling her about the spill. He cleaned himself up quickly. Thankfully, the air dryer helped with his wet pants. By the time he returned to the table, everyone seemed calm, though Kelly was decidedly not looking at Joseph. Dalia was speaking when Race sat down again. “I can’t say much obviously but it’s very exciting to represent them, even just in the patent filings. I mean, I have a degree in physics so it’s fun to go back to my roots with all the intermediary work before their next spacecraft is ready. Oh, Tony, is everything all right?”

“All set,” he said, taking his seat. “Just a little seltzer. Sorry, did you say you were working on patents for a spacecraft? Is it the Kord Industries one?”

Dalia’s eyes brightened. “Yes, actually, do you know it?”

“I do,” Race said at the same time that Joseph snorted. Race ignored it but could feel Spot seething next to him and reflexively reached a hand down to grab his knee. Spot was not going to blow his shot at this internship over whatever he thought was Race’s honor; not if Race could help it.

“And how do you feel about them? Most people who know enough to recognize them from such a brief description have strong opinions.”

“Oh, he does,” Spot said, a lot calmer than Race would expect.

Race laughed. “I guess that’s fair. I-“

“What would a dance major know about spacecraft?” Joseph had said it quietly to Kelly, who did not look pleased with him. The comment was clearly meant just for her but he hadn’t said it quietly enough because the whole table had heard him loud and clear. 

“Joseph,” Kelly said, sounding scandalized. “Stop it.”

“It’s okay, Kelly,” Race said, forcing a smile onto his face, even though he was kind of exhausted from dealing with Joseph tonight.

“No, it’s not okay,” Spot interjected, standing in his seat and leaning over the table a little. “Antonio is double majoring in Dance and Astrophysics, which you would know if you hadn’t been interrupting him all night. He is the smartest and most passionate man I know. He has more talent in his pinky finger than you have in your entire body and will graduate with two very difficult degrees with no class overlap from an Ivy League school in 4 years. He’s already co-authored 2 papers as an undergrad and presented at 4 major conferences this year alone. And what have you done? Relied on daddy’s name for a degree and law school entry?”

“Spot,” Race hissed under his breath, tugging on Spot’s wrist. Both Joseph and Kelly were frozen on the other side of the table. “Sit down.”

“No, Racer. He’s been rude to everyone all night and he doesn’t get to insult your intelligence because one of your majors is dance and he couldn’t bother to listen to you and find out the other.”

Joseph seemed to have collected himself enough to lift an eyebrow, looking amused. “And you got in based on what? The scholarship for poor orphaned kids from Queens?”

“I’m from Brooklyn, asshole” Spot hissed and Race almost laughed. Leave it to Spot to bring up Brooklyn rather than his LSAT score of 179.

“I’m sorry but that is completely inappropriate language for a restaurant like this,” Joseph said still sounding amused. He looked to Dalia and Taylor, apparently aiming for conspiratorial. “I guess a place at Columbia is no guarantee for good breeding.” He turned back to Spot and Race, arms crossed as if he had won. “You should go now.”

“Actually, I think you should go, Joseph.” All eyes turned to Taylor who did not look happy at all. “Sean is right. You’ve been very rude tonight and I can’t say I blame him for lashing out. Kelly, darling, you’re welcome to stay. I’d love to hear more about your article ideas.”

Joseph’s absolutely shocked face would forever be one of Race’s favorite memories. He seemed frozen in his shock but Kelly jumped to action, standing and pulling Joseph up with her. “Thank you so much, Taylor, Dalia, but we’ll both be going. Sean, it was lovely to meet you. Tony, I’ll send you that article I was telling you about. Thank you all so much again. Have a lovely night.”

Kelly grabbed her coat and purse and pulled a shell shocked Joseph out behind her, without another word from him. Spot relaxed a little as he sat back down but Race saw the exact moment that he realized what had just happened.

“Professor, I am so sorry, that was completely inappropriate. We should go too-”

“Please don’t,” Taylor said. “You and Tony have been a delight tonight unlike Joseph. This is exactly why I do these dinners. You never know how a student behaves outside of class unless you meet them outside of class.”

“Yes, please stay,” Dalia said. “I’d like to hear Tony’s opinions on the Kord Industries spacecraft. The younger generation tends to have the most innovative thoughts on these things, in my experience. But first you’ll have to tell us where the nicknames Spot and Racer come from.”

Spot and Race grinned at each other. 

“Well, you see,” Spot started, turning back to the older women. “My brother likes to think he’s very good at giving people nicknames.”

[insfiringyou]

BTS - One Night Stand with Suga

Contains: Smut. Angst. Flirting. Fingering. Oral sex. Face riding. Vaginal Sex.

Set a year after his break up with our headcanon girlfriend, Jeong-sun, and around one month after the (straight) threesome with J-Hope and a stranger in England.] Yoongi has sex with an African-American woman he meets in a bar.

Find out all about our headcanon universe, plot and characters here. To read each member & their girlfriend’s headcanon universe fics in order, follow the links here: RM   /   Jin /   Suga /   J-Hope   /   Jimin   /   V   /   Jungkook & Our full masterlist can be found here

(Photo credit goes to VT cosmetics)

Rated content below the cut

The low hum of nondescript pop music drifting out of the speakers did not distract Yoongi from the leather-bound book in his hands. He flicked through the pages of the diary casually, occasionally stopping to pencil in a few key dates; Hoseok’s birthday in February, then a two week trip to Taiwan in March. The flicker of somebody taking off their jacket at the table behind him caught his eye and he locked eyes briefly with the tall, dark-skinned woman seated alone a couple of meters away. Being an early Tuesday afternoon, the small bar was almost deserted. Tucking her light blue denim jacket over the back of her stool, the woman smiled before climbing onto the seat, turning her gaze downwards. The rest of her attire was understated and formal; a cream coloured patterned blouse and plain black trousers covered her curvaceous body. She looked as though she had finished work early and had come straight from the office.

Yoongi turned back to the bar as the waiter came over and asked whether he wanted to order any more drinks. Glancing at the empty tumbler on the wooden surface which had held a double shot of whisky half an hour before, he shook his head. He had only stopped for an hour of peace and quiet to reflect on the schedule management had given him earlier, outlining the group’s plans for the next two months before their next break. The bar was a short walk from his apartment, in a side road off the bustling sidewalk of the main high street, and somewhere he had been frequenting more and more in the past six months whenever he wasn’t on tour. While he never stayed for more than a couple of drinks, it got him out of his silent apartment which had suddenly begun to feel too big for him. He had come to dread days off, when the afternoons and evenings seemed to drag on and on. 

He frowned at the page beneath his pale hand as something was placed beside him with a small tap on the wood. He looked up to find the waiter putting another glass of whisky down in front of him. Locking eyes, the older male smiled and nodded behind Yoongi. 

“She asked that I bring you this.” He said, making Yoongi spin around automatically to see who he was referring to. Once again, he met the gaze of the woman seated at the small, round table and pointed to the glass with a frown. She shrugged, a sweet grin pulling at her full, pecan coloured lips as she raised her own glass in the air, saluting him in a cheers. Out of the corner of his eye, Yoongi noted the waiter retreat discreetly into the store room, leaving them alone and, with a surprising lack of hesitation, drank the liquid in one, long gulp. It coated his throat like honey, warming his stomach pleasantly as he slid off his stool and walked over to her curiously, tucking the leather diary in his pocket.

“Are you sure it was for me?” He asked with a small, apprehensive smile.

She shrugged once again. “You looked lonely.” Her voice was warm and slightly accented, a hint of toying coquetry in the tone. He felt his stomach grow pleasantly warm at the sound; it had been a long time since anyone had flirted with him and even longer since he had flirted back.

“I was just thinking.” He explained simply, honestly. 

“Lost in thought?” Her lips tugged upwards playfully and he noted the dimples in her cheeks.

He paused. “You’re Korean is really good. Where are you from?” 

Smiling at the compliment, she tapped the table lightly, encouraging him to join her. He moved silently onto the stool. Up close, he could smell her fragrance; a mixture of jammed fruit and warm musk. 

“Boston.” She replied. 

Yoongi flashed a small, toothy grin. “The Red Sox are great.” He slipped into English without really thinking and her face lit up at the comment, making her dark eyes sparkle. 

“You speak English?” She asked. 

He shook his head but the smile remained. “Not very well.” Casting his eyes downwards, he switched back to his native language but she did not seem disappointed. 

Pressing on, she leaned forward slightly on her elbows. “Do you come here often?”

“Only when it’s quiet.” 

“Am I disturbing you?” She suddenly sounded a little apprehensive.

“No.” Yoongi looked up. “You’re quite refreshing.” 

There was the trace of a smile still on his lips and she tried to read whether he was being sarcastic in his tone of voice. She sensed no malice, but pressed on nonetheless. “Because I’m black?” She asked, raising one arched eyebrow. There was a moment of hesitation as he understood the implication of her words. She noticed his face flinch very slightly, as though taken aback by the accusation, but he covered it well for her sake and she felt herself relax. 

“Because you approached me first.” He explained honestly, speaking slowly. “How did you know I liked scotch?” He gestured over to the now empty bar, where the glass tumbler stood. 

She smiled automatically. “Just a feeling…” It was the truth. He had already finished his first drink by the time she had arrived twenty minutes before. There was a warm but slightly embarrassed pause between them before he spoke again.

“Do you teach English?” 

She nodded. “I try.” With a smile, this one less bashful, she ran a finger along the edge of her cocktail glass. The liquid inside smelled both zesty and bitter. “I work at the Yeoksam elementary school in the mornings.” 

He watched as she took a sip of her alcohol. “How are the kids?” He asked, his voice sounding simultaneously casual and interested. 

She smiled against the rim of the glass. “They always ask to touch my hair.”

Laughing gently, he allowed his eyes to briefly roam over her array of tight, off-black curls. They were beautiful, framing her dark, dewy skin like a fan, but he found his mind casting back to his own childhood, growing up in a homogeneous part of Daegu and found himself grimacing internally. “Do you mind?”

She shook her head, sending the ringlet spirals bouncing. “No. They’re just kids.” 

She finished the last dregs of her drink and Yoongi nodded towards the elegant shaped glass. “Do you want another drink?” 

She placed the tall flute on the table. “I’d love a gin and tonic.”

Placing his hands flat against the table for support, he moved from the high seat. “Hendricks or Bombay?” 

Grinning. “Hendricks.” 

He nodded once before heading to the bar which was now occupied by a few groups of suit-wearing men, clustered in groups of twos and three, clearly enjoying a late lunch break or an early break from work. He came back a few minutes later, clutching two glasses and a bottle. She poured her own tonic water into the glass of gin as he sipped his dark whisky. 

“Have you ever been to the UK?” He suddenly asked, looking up from his glass. 

She shook her head. “No, why?”

He shrugged casually. “If you like gin, there’s a lot of variety.” 

“When did you go?” She asked, inquiring. 

“A month ago.” 

“Did you meet the queen?” She smiled drily. 

He matched her tone, glancing at her cooly. “I’m not that important.” As he said it, it occurred to him for the first time that she hadn’t seemed to recognise him. At least, if she had, she was being very casual about it compared to most people he met. While he was often spotted when out with the group, he found that he could often slip under the radar when he was alone and dressed down. 

She flashed her teeth, breaking the indifferent tone of the conversation. “What’s your name?”

“Yoongi. You?”

“Michelle.” She smiled. “Are you going to have another?” Her gaze flickered to his finished drink before looking up.

“Are you?” He asked. His eyes were wide but his voice suggested he was giving her the authority to make the choice on his behalf. 

She shrugged. “I’m not at work tomorrow.” Sliding from her chair, she finished her drink in two sips. “We could pick something up on the way home.” 

He glanced at her, sensing the flirty tone in her voice and the implication of her words but wanting to be sure. After all, Korean was her second language. “Is that an invitation?” He asked. “Does it mean the same thing as in Korea?” 

She smiled, her expression full of mirth. “What does it mean in Korea?”

He shrugged offhandedly, deciding to be blunt in his explanation. “That we fuck.” 

Michelle pulled her denim jacket from the back of the chair and slid it back on over her high-necked blouse. Reaching over onto the spare chair, she picked up her handbag before turning back to Yoongi who, standing beside her, was a fraction shorter. He didn’t seem to notice or mind. “I might let you eat me out.” She smirked as they walked across the room. He laughed in reply, flashing his teeth and gums as he held the door open for her. 

***

They had decided, in the end, to go back to his place with it being closer. Stopping first at the small liquor store around the corner, she had insisted that he buy the cheapest beer, confirming his suspicions that she was clueless as to who he was. As he took them to the cash registers she tugged at his shirt sleeve. 

“How do I know you’re not a serial killer?” She quipped. 

He turned to her, a six pack of beer in his arms. “You don’t.” He thought for a moment. “We could get non-alcoholic beer if you’d prefer?”

Her lips turned upwards in a wide grin. “I’d rather take the chance.”

After entering his apartment, they headed straight for the sitting room and took their places next to each other on the two-person sofa, their covered knees touching.

“What do you do for a living?” Michelle asked curiously, snapping off the ring pull on her can of Stella Artois. 

“I produce music.” He answered simply, sipping at his own can.

“You must be successful.” She looked around the room, eyeing the sheepskin rug and large television. “You’re place is really nice.”

He shrugged noncommittally. “I do okay.”

“What were you doing in Europe?” She glanced at him as she sipped her beer and noticed a moment of hesitation as he spoke.

“Touring. What made you come to Korea?”

She smirked. “I like seafood.”

Laughing, he turned to face her fully, his expression warm. “Is that all?”

She sighed a little but otherwise remained dispassionate. “I had a Korean boyfriend. We broke up.”

Yoongi found himself thinking of Jeong-sun despite himself and felt something pang in his chest. It felt as though a low, minor chord had been struck on a piano. It had been a year, and he wondered idly when it would stop hurting to think of her. He shifted on the sofa, a little awkwardly and took a sip of beer. 

“You didn’t want to move back home?” He asked, feeling the unpleasant sensation in his torso begin to ebb away.

She shrugged and smiled. “I like it here.”

“That’s good.” He murmured, finishing the can and placing it down on the coffee table in front of them. There was a moment of silence, not entirely uncomfortable, between them, before she let out a small, breathy laugh.

“You’re not in any rush are you?” She smirked. 

He looked at her. “For what?”

“To fuck me.”

He grinned a little bashfully. “I didn’t know if you were being serious.” He admitted. He had been open to things either way. It was nice to be alone with a woman, after so much time. 

“I don’t say things I don’t mean.” She taunted, finishing her own drink. “Don’t you find me attractive?” Her long, mascara coated eyelashes battered a little. 

He shrugged at her first point. “I just wanted to get to know you first.” Realising she might take his body language to be in reply to her question, he pressed on. “You’re beautiful.” He finished, his voice casual, as though simply stating a fact. 

She couldn’t help but grin, her shoulders relaxing into her body. “So are you.”

There was another pause as he moved closer to her, a little tentatively, bridging the small gap between them. Moving his head to the side, finding the right angle, he pressed his lips, slightly open, against hers. She kissed him back, capturing his lower lip and sucking on it sensually. Her hands found his shoulders and held him still against her as he massaged  her lips over and over. Snaking his arms around her waist, he pulled her into him until their torsos touched. The kisses were slow and unhurried as they enjoyed each other and eventually, she pulled away from his lips. 

“You’re a good kisser.” She whispered, her breath warm against his face. 

The ghost of a smile touched his lips. “I like kissing you.” He admitted before moving back in, a little more forcefully. Her tongue touched his as they moved together; brushing and massaging him. Despite the increase in pressure, the pace remained leisurely; opening his eyes slightly, he captured her tongue between his lips and sucked it gently. She let out a whimper in reply and, when he let her go, she pressed her lips to his cheek softly. 

“So…” She murmured, her voice low. “Are you going to show me where the bedroom is?”

He nodded against her skin and got to his feet, pulling her up with him and leading her down the hall. He opened the door to a medium sized room, simply decorated with plain white walls. A few black and white art prints hung from the walls; the bed was made up in crisp, pale blue sheets. She didn’t question why he had clearly taken to her to the spare room; the space had a blank, un-lived in quality to it, and he didn’t comment on it. The truth was he hadn’t realised where he was heading until he already got there. Rationally, he might have dismissed the move as making more sense since he had not left his room that morning in the neatest of ways. But deep down, he knew that taking her to his own bed felt too intimate. The spare room was like a blank slate; it was the only room in the entire apartment which did not had any significant memories attached to it. 

They walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, their lips moving back together immediately as she brushed her hand over his clothed crotch, rubbing back and forth gently, working him up. Feeling him slowly growing stiff beneath her fingers, she smiled and squeezed the outline of his length lightly, delighting in the way his breath hitched in his throat. He remained silent as she slid off the duvet to crouch in front of him; collected as she unfastened his jeans and edged them down his slender hips. Nestling closer between his thighs, she massaged his covered cock a few times, admiring the stiff shape of the outline pressed against his tight boxer shorts, before tugging the waistband down to free him. 

He gazed at her submissively, as she moved closer and took him in her mouth, gliding her lips and wet tongue along him slowly, leisurely. He allowed her to work him, her mouth steadily growing a little quicker as she applied more pressure against his cock. Her hand grasped him steady and his lips popped open in a silent moan as she paused to trail her tongue gently along his testicles. He watched, passively, as she took him back into her mouth and pulled him in deep. His breathing grew increasingly breathy as she sucked him; her lips felt amazing around him and the moderate pace of her movement allowed him to feel and savour every sensation she caused with her cheeks, lips and tongue. 

“That feels good.” He whispered, his fingertips brushing the dark spirals of her hair lightly, holding it back from her cheeks. 

“Do you want me to go faster?” She asked, slipping him out with a pop and gazing up at him from between his thighs. 

“No.” He muttered and caressed her cheekbone gently. “I like it like this. Can you keep going?”

She nodded with a smile, pressing her lips against his tip before sinking back onto him. She kept her movement steady and worked him for another few minutes; savouring his quiet, throaty whimpers. Eventually, he reached forward and encouraged her to stop, touching the sides of her face gently and leaning forward to kiss her. His mouth opened against hers, not squeamish enough to care that he was tasting himself on her tongue. She moaned into his mouth as they stood up in unison and pulled each other closer. He eased his jeans and boxer shorts from his legs completely and pulled away to step out of the pool of fabric.

“Can you excuse me for a moment?” He murmured. 

She nodded. “Yeah.”

He left the room to walk down the narrow corridor to his own, meaning to get a condom. As he pushed open the wooden door, the fact that he had not invited her into this space once more crossed his mind, particularly as it would have been more convenient. He reached into the bottom draw of his bedside table and searched through the jumble of contents; phone charger wires tangled like strings of spaghetti and he pushed past them to get to the back. The small box of condoms had not yet been opened but he checked the use by date on the bottom regardless. They had been bought a long time ago with the purpose to be used with someone else. He shook the thought from his mind as he glanced into the open draw and fished out a pale blue bottle of lubricant, this one opened more recently to be used on himself when he masturbated. He didn’t think he would need it, but it wouldn’t hurt to offer. 

When he re-entered the spare room, the woman, Michelle, was unfastening the delicate gold chain which hung around her neck. She placed it on the empty bedside table and moved under her blouse to unclasp her bra, sliding the straps off under the cuffs of her shirt. He walked over to her and placed the pair of objects down on the table, beside the round medallion of her necklace. Her hands immediately moved to his shirt and unfastened the buttons as she kissed him. Easing the sleeves away from his body, she encouraged him onto the bed and crawled on top of him, her lips never leaving his as he ran his hands along her sides, under the sheer fabric of her blouse, to brush her ribcage before moving down to her trousers. He unclasped them easily and pulled away from her lips to glance at her body as he eased them down her thighs before moving to her plain, sensible underwear. She allowed him to remove both garments completely but protested as he grasped her hips and arse keenly and began to guide her lower body to his lips. Se let out a small, breathy laugh. 

“I know I said…” She paused, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed at her forwardness in the bar. She didn’t need to explain what she was talking about, she saw he understood. “But you don’t have to.”

He shook his head gently beneath her, the implication that it didn’t bother him obvious but, when she didn’t move, he gently tapped his lips with his fingers twice, his palm flat against his face, encouraging her to straddle his face. She couldn’t help but laugh at his eagerness, feeling her heart race in her chest. She wasn’t usually insecure about her body, despite the few extra pounds she was carrying, but the prospect of her straddling his face and him tasting her after only meeting a few hours before suddenly seemed imposing.

“Have you done it before?” She asked cautiously, shuffling forwards slowly; her bare crotch hovering over his stomach then chest. 

“Yes.” He replied in English without really thinking and grasped her hips, pulling her a little roughly the rest of the way until her pussy was resting against his lips. She gasped a little in surprise as his mouth opened against her without delay, coating the length of her slit in saliva as his tongue ran along her inner folds. Moaning, she grasped hold on the headboard to steady herself as his tongue probed into the tight opening of her cunt. His hands moved from her fleshy arse, under her blouse, to cup her bare breasts. She moaned, snapping her head back as his thumbs played with the hard nubs of her nipples. He continued to pleasure her as he eventually returned his hands to her waist and encouraged her to move against him, moving her back and forth across his lips and tongue; licking and sucking her clitoris with the perfect amount of pressure, with barely a pause for breath.

“Fuck. You’re really good at that.” She couldn’t help but moan loudly as his tongue returned to her cunt, circling the tight ring of smooth skin before dipping inside. 

She was soaking wet by the time he finally eased her away, sliding her blouse from her skin and flipping her gently onto her back. Pecking her lips, once, he moved back down between her parted thighs. Her pussy was slick against his tongue as he captured her clitoris between his plump lips, flicking it with his tongue before applying more pressure. Feeling breathless, she watched him; admiring the way his long eyelashes brushed his cheek as he closed his eyes, making him look dreamy and beautiful. She gasped loudly and his dark eyes snapped open, meeting her gaze across her naked body. Maintaining eye contact, he stuck out his tongue and licked a line along her entire labia, trailing upwards along her impeccably neat strip of dark pubic hair and over her stomach and chest until he reached her hard right nipple. He licked around the bud, circling her espresso coloured areola, before capturing the nipple in his open mouth. 

“I don’t think you’ll need the lube.” She quipped as he moved to the other nipple. He smiled against her skin as he let her go and kissed her on the lips once more, his teeth pressing against her gently. Pulling away, he sat on his knees and reached over to the box of condoms on the table. He removed the cellophane carefully, a little frown playing on his face as he initially struggled to the pull the little tab to open it, his bitten finger nails too short. Michelle watched him eagerly, her lips parted as she felt the pleasant trickle of her own juices from between her thighs. He succeeding in opening the box and pulled out a square wrapper. Automatically, she reached for the condom, slipping it from between his fingers and pulling it open. He allowed her to roll it down his length gently, being careful to check it was in place before she leaned back down and guided him to her. He pressed his body against hers and looped his arms beneath her parted thighs, holding her close as he pressed his tip to her opening. Reaching down, she held her slick folds open for him, gasping as he filled her. 

He started fairly slow, pushing his hips against hers and kissing her as they moaned in unison, but quickly found a comfortable pace. She captured his lower lip between her teeth and tugged it gently, watching as his eyes fluttered open to gaze over her face sensually.

“Does it feel good?” He asked after a few minutes, pulling away from her lips.

“Yes.” She gasped beneath him. “You can go harder.”

He nodded and nestled himself closer to her pelvis, pulling himself out of her almost all of the way before snapping back into her body. She swore under her breath in English and, the next time he felt her clench around him deliciously, he joined her in Korean. 

“Do you want to go on top?” He eventually asked, moaning against her lips. She had started to touch her clitoris delicately and he sensed she was finding it hard to reach her high in their current position.

“Yeah.” She murmured gratefully as he slipped out of her and they re-positioned themselves, him rolling onto his back. He grasped his erection, adjusting the condom slightly, as she aligned her hips against him and sank onto his cock. Propping himself up on his elbows, he watched her ride him with parted lips; his eyes occasionally flickering closed in pleasure. He knew she was close after a few minutes, the friction of her clit dragging deliciously against his crotch bringing her to her high. She gasped a string of curse words as she came; placing her palm flat against his bare chest to steady her trembling body as her orgasm rippled through her. 

“Are you okay?” He asked as her breathing slowed. He brushed her sensitive clitoris gently, delicately, with two fingers.

“More than okay.” She smiled, gasping. “Are you close?”

“Not long, I promise.” He gasped as he felt her cunt clench around him; her drawn out climax squeezing him. “Are you okay to keep going?”

She nodded. “As long as you need.” She licked her lips as she began to grind her hips once more, a little more clumsily in her exhaustion. A glimmer of sweat stood out on her upper lip and forehead. It didn’t take him long to follow. Grasping her hips tightly, he let out a beautiful, gaspy moan as he rocked her body against him, his eyes snapping shut momentarily as he felt his release. 

She waited until he had stilled beneath her before he rolled off him gently. His eyes flickered open at the loss of contact and he blinked a few times, reaching for the condom. She touched him delicately. 

“Let me get that…” She murmured, slipping the thin piece of latex from him carefully before knotting it off and dropping it into the small bin by the side of the bed. She leaned forward and kissed his chest as he pulled her into him, their breaths equally strained and heavy. She felt herself begin to doze against his warm, comforting skin and had to force herself to open her eyes. 

“Do you want me to go?” She asked, not really knowing how long they had been cuddling like this.

“Stay…” He murmured against her dark hair, his lips pressed against her firmly.

***

The apartment was pleasant and warm in the morning. He had switched on the radiators at some point in the night and grabbed the spare blanket from the closet. They showered separately in the morning; with him showing her how to work the taps in the bathroom.

“I don’t know how you take it.” He muttered as she entered the kitchen, fully dressed. They had slept in until gone ten o’clock and, now, the bright, midday sunlight streamed in through the windows. 

“Two sugars.” She glanced at the mug of coffee he had made her, resting on the marble counter. 

“Do you have any plans for your day off?” He asked, handing her the cup and taking a sip of his own. 

“I’m going to Incheon to meet some friends.” She blew on the liquid, cooling it down. “How about you?”

“Nothing special.” He placed his mug on the counter top. “Do you need a ride there?”

She shook her head. “No, I have train tickets booked.”

“What time does it leave?” He asked. 

“About two hours.”

“I can take you to your apartment.” He offered. 

She smiled pleasantly. “That would be nice, thanks.”

He hesitated. “Can I take your number?”

“Yeah.” She replied immediately but, as they exchanged devices to input their numbers, a moment of silent realisation seemed to pass between them and Yoongi understood that, while she would reply to his texts if he messaged her, they would not meet again. He wasn’t sure whether he was saddened by the prospect. While she was sweet and beautiful and funny, and the sex had been beyond good, he wasn’t sure whether he was ready to seriously date again. He knew he should be; a year was a long time to some, but the thought made him sad nonetheless. 

The journey back to her apartment took an extra ten minutes longer than anticipated. There was unexpected roadworks along two of the major streets, but they had left with plenty of time to spare. He glanced at his Rolex as he tucked his black Hyundai against the curb. 

“I hope you enjoy Incheon.” He said as she unbuckled her belt. 

“Thanks.” Smiling, she leaned forward, meeting his soft lips. He kissed her a couple of times, his open mouth gentle against her, before they pulled away in unison.

“Goodbye.” She said as she opened the car door and stepped out into the street. He watched her enter the block of apartments, making sure she was safely inside before he pulled away from the sidewalk and re-joined the traffic. Making a last minute decision, he took a left turn instead of a right, wanting to avoid the noisy, clinking sound of drilling from the road workers. He turned down a couple of narrow side streets before pulling back onto a wider road. He drove for a mile before he realised, consciously, where he was. Just in time, he took a quick glance to his left and watched as a couple of store fronts rushed by. The one in the centre boasted a cross-shaped neon sign above the canopy and he wondered, vaguely, whether Jeong-sun was currently at work. He quickly turned his gaze back to the road, refusing to allow himself to linger on the thought. 

***

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[artificialqueens]

don't play the fool now (multi) - chapter two - lily2

adore isn’t too interested in attending the famous and ever-so popular: club katya however, she bumps into someone who leaves a lasting impression. meanwhile, shea breaks the most basic rules of her job and katya definitely cares for her sister more than she should.

— ✧*。

Adore stood, locking arm’s with Scarlet and Courtney who were on both of her sides, both of them completely dolled up and wearing their finest and cutest sequin dresses, the new employee stuck out like a sore thumb with her long hair down, a short and black v-neck dress and of course some fishnets and bright red lipstick— she didn’t want to be polished, it was a casino and a club after all, as if someone could get through a sentence or even speak to her about her possibly questionable style choices as they sat, gambling their life away and utterly wasted.

“Well I don’t see the others but we are a bit early.” The Australian speaking up and brushing her hair back gently, not wanting to ruin the shape before she heard a whistle and saw the rest of the girls from their unit walk up, Adore clearly the odd one out as even Yvie decided to dress in whatever she could find that wasn’t too casual. “Let’s do the damn thing ladies.” Aja spoke over the gaggle of girls who all interlocked hands, it almost looked like a cult; an extremely attractive and undercover (but not really) cult. 

First Scarlet and Courtney walked through, waving to the suspecting and familar bartenders and staff who greeted them oh-so-sweetly as expected from two glamorous regulars though Adore couldn’t help but notice the security’s eyes follow her before she turned the corner, clinging a bit to her two new teammates, not due to fear however, Azusa was far more tramuatic and terrifying as a thought than this entire casino: it was more the feeling of being so unaware, everything was bright and the lights a bit dim, people of every kind wanting the same two things: money and alcohol, music blasting as Yvie and Tatianna moved as they walked, feeling themselves to the song. 

“Obviously we aren’t gonna stick together forever so do we want to have a time and place to meet?” Scarlet raising her hand to stop the other seven girls from walking past her, raising a good concern. “The fact you think we will be sober enough to even remember.” Yvie cackled, amused that Scarlet really, truly believed picking a place in the middle of the night, at a casino was a good option for the unit of girls, trying to run away from the stress of their jobs and welcome Adore (in possibly the worst fashion possible) as they gambled and drank the night away, atleast that was what Yvie was planning to do with her time.

“It’s a genuine question, I’m sorry I don’t actually get wasted every time I go out somewhere and besides we’re not on the job, not like I have radios to talk with you guys!“ 

Tatianna held her phone up and nervously gave a smile to the two already beginning to start the usual bickering session, “But we all do have phones and I’m sure some of us will stick together, if anyone goes wrong let’s do that me and Brook Lynn are the ones to call, I know she doesn’t drink too often anhway and I’m pretty responsible so we’ll be the good parents today.” The Canadian shrugged, utterly and completely okay with that little suggestion, “That’s fine by me, I know I’m always the type to get bored and be on my phone anyway." 

"Why did you come then?” Yvie asked, gripping her arm, “Because someone has to be the responsible one like Tatianna said and I don’t trust any of the rest of you to be at Club Katya, we saw how that saga turned out for you and for Aja last time.” Adore wasn’t exactly sure what story that was about but judging by Aja’s cheeks beginning to glow red and Yvie’s stammer, she assumed it wasn’t the most pleasant situation or maybe it was the fucking funniest thing ever, she had yet to find out and maybe she never would.

“You’re coming with me!” Scarlet winked at Adore, speaking up over the rest of them and dragging her along with Courtney, the two of them giddy as can be, they seemed to legitmately enjoy the aesthetic and double life, not like anyone would ask what job they had and if they didn’t they certainly wouldn’t answer a private investigator or detective, what a damn downer.

“The first night of your job and you’re gonna spend it with us gambling, wonderful!” The chipper tone from Courtney’s voice enough to speak volumes of how this night was about to go, she was either going to earn a fuck ton of money or die on the balcony roof and both seemed like acceptable, viable options at this stage of the game.

“Let’s get our money ladies!" 

*.✧

Bianca, Shea and Jinkx gathered in the car, all dressed about as nice they ever would going to Club Katya though Bianca always attempted to atleast look decent, wanting to make a lasting impression and also show off her clothing, it was a win-win! Shea’s fingers tapped the window of the car she she stared blankly, the window of the black Tesla dimmed, Jinkx claiming it was for protection— not wanting others to make any assumptions but Shea knew it really came down to what was probably a sponsorship and the fact that Jinkx could barely drive if the sun was glaring, she probably got tired of wearing glasses in the car, claiming always it made her look older than Bianca.

"You’re really hilarious for someone who can’t even stay awake doing a simple task, why do you think I only give you the exciting shit? It’s not because I love you, it’s because I know you won’t fucking sleep and pass out on the concrete.” The Auburn haired woman had to laugh, gently clutching Bianca’s arm, Jinkx knew the mutual love and respect they had shared for over two decades was enough to make her atleast go a bit easy on the Seattle native, she twirled her own auburn hair around her fingertips before giving a blank stare at Shea, who turned and met her eyes.

Jinkx wasn’t exactly sure what to think of Shea just yet, she had been very promising and apparently Bob’s word of her was so generous and so incredible that Bianca already trusted her with Katya: Manila had been scared after only meeting her at Bianca’s own living space, though she had a few, once a few boys and drugs got involved so to see someone as new as Shea being trusted to handle the dirt and task to come was definitely terrifying and impressive enough.

“You nervous?” Bianca asked, crossing her legs as Shea’s eyes darted away from Jinkx, her hands interlocking with themselves as she shut her eyes, running a hand through her hair. “A little, but nothing I can’t handle, I’m here to show I’m ready for the job.” For someone who had only joined five months ago she was definitely a shining beacon of what the future was in store atleast that was how Bob put it and Bianca would definitely trust her word.

“Well, don’t stress yourself out before we’ve gotten there.” Was the only piece of truth Bianca could offer before she turned away from Shea who only gave a polite nod, wishing deeply she had just been sent with Aquaria and Violet instead, she had heard a lot about the infamous Katya Zamolodchikova.

Katya Zamolodchikova who had been in prison for drug abuse, Katya who had escaped Russia due to her family and the growing and rampant terror of government, Katya who now was a mogul in the Eastern United States for her line of casinos, clubs and whatever downtrodden thing she could possibly imagine, living on her own and hanging around at her own established area’s, staying hush and quiet about any business or disappearance of men or women who had messed with the wrong people. 

All she had to do was laugh or smile and she had anyone who was willing around her finger, her thick and curly long blonde hair covering almost all her beautifully and consistently painted face, wearing lots of lace and lingerie on her downtime and spending her growing fortune on beauty products, animal charities, her new projects and sometimes saving a stack or two for Bianca who had helped her break into the business and gave her a place when she was just a bedridden, ill immigrant, lost in New York City and barley able to communicate in proper English.

“I miss Katya!” Jinkx pouted, smiling at the thought of seeing her fellow Eastern European at her own club, she knew the meeting was for business but nothing a pack of cigarettes couldn’t do for sweet and dear Katya, Bianca had already figured out every mark and weakness she had and she really would be a difficult character to crack if it wasn’t for the fact she is the reason the bitch could even communicate in English. “I don’t.” Bianca laughed, hitting Jinkx before coughing and handling herself up again realizing Shea was still in the car and she had to keep up that “leader” and “supreme boss” act up. 

✧*。

The three exited the car, Bianca giving her driver direct and clear instructions when and where to come before he was on his way off, she walked in the middle of Shea and Jinkx, the latter auburn haired woman adjusting her dress and making sure it hit the floor in just the right light before she shook a bit to ease her own personal stress and begun walking closely to Bianca, Shea following in pursuit, knowing better than to open her mouth and ask questions. 

Music blasting, lights dimmed, flashing and bright colors everywhere, alcohol splattered on the floor everywhere they seemed to look and the constant image of people grinding or kissing or attempting to dance: this was definitely Katya’s club and her own doing.

Bianca’s heels hit the tile of the hallway right next to club, her two girls following, many knew this as the gateway from the Club to the Casino or vise versa but the hallway also housed dressing rooms for any kind of entertainment that showed up, Katya took after these rooms like her own and had even converted one into her personal space, knowing her entire life was work and the occasional times she went home and didn’t have to ring down ten shots of vodka. 

A smattering knock from Jinkx, credit to her, had the Russian cursing before she opened the door and her dull and otherwise threatening expression changed into a soft smile, her eyes raising in surprise as her lashes fluttered, shrieking then which made Shea almost collapse into the pavement in surprise, still grasping the door handle she quickly pulled the three of them in and locked the door— Bianca impressed with how well decorated and insulted the room was. 

The Russian quickly grabbing Bianca in her arms and laughing wholeheartedly, the two giggling and rowdy like two high schoolers, “красивая женщина!” She cooed in Russian to her dearest and nearest friend before taking Jinkx and planting a kiss on both of her cheeks as she reciprocated the favor, “красивое платье.” Jinkx flushing and waving her off, knowing more than enough Russian to realize she called her dress beautiful, “Спасибо!” The half-Ukranian replied with a soft glow across her face, Katya wearing nothing but a gorgeous red, feathered sheer robe with a thick black bra and spandex.

“Looking like a whore as usual.” Bianca teased as Shea stood a bit awkwardly, not exactly knowing how and when to introduce herself to the not-so-mysterious Russian mogul. “Oh yes!” Jinkx clapped noticing Shea, “Katya, this is Shea, she works for us and is a very good and promising employee." 

They shook hands though Katya was never into the formality, she’d rather kiss someone on the cheek than shake their hand and hope the other person didn’t have a strong grip. "Any friend of Bianca is of course a friend of mine, I trust you are new? I have yet to see or hear of you around.” Her sniffing was absolutely correct, Bianca explaining she was of Bob’s finding and is very dedicated to her line of work and extremely intelligent. “Likes leather to boot.” The comment from the blonde referring to her skin-tight leather emsmeble, “I like it!” She slapped Shea’s shoulders and flashed that endearing and famous Katya smile.

“Thank you, it’s a pleasure." 

The four of them sat before Katya stood again, pouring four glasses of genuine Russian vodka she had gotten yesterday from her deliveries, "Just some taste of the motherland!” Handing a glass to the other three they cheered and took down the shot, Katya giving herself another sip straight from the bottle just for fun.

“So of course there is some business to speak of, we love you but we have a task to finish.” Bianca spoke first, Katya leaning in her chair and staring curiously, “Well yes, it’s what you must do, please tell me more.” Bianca opened her mouth before giving a signal for Jinkx and Shea to leave, an unusual turn of events they both gave eachother a disheartened look before they stood and went out the door, Bianca scooting closer to Katya, “I want them out because this goes back to you." 

"To me? Has my family finally caught up to me and the Russian government wants the money I stole back?" 

"Not exactly but I fear it has something to possibly do with your sister." 

Katya’s face bleached itself white, her breathing a bit slower but her heart racing almost three times as fast, her greatest and only fear in life wasn’t being killed, death, nothing like that; it was her sister being in harm and somehow poking herself at the underground and what was there, Sasha had majored in forensics and political science last Katya had heard, their brief and discreet conversation during their mother’s funeral at St. Petersburg more than enough of an indication that Sasha would absolutely become some kind of hero, politician or worse— detective.

"Bianca you swore to me she would never, ever get hurt or wind up in your cases.” The tone in her voice nothing but pure anger and disappointment, Bianca quickly grabbed her hands and shook her head, “And I’m keeping that promise, I’m a cold hearted bitch but jesus christ, you know I would never do that shit.”

The Russian breathed a much needed sigh of relief before letting go of her hands, “So what, I’m guessing she is a detective now? My worst fear.” Bianca could only nod and see Katya’s eyes flash with nothing but utter fear and worry, she knew that meant her sister was safe but at a distance— they weren’t going to just dismiss her and go easy if she tried to harass and meddle in what she didn’t need to even if she was Katya’s sister but: the promise would always be kept, Katya was absolutely sacred and her sister was untouched territory, that’s how it would stay.

“She is but from our files it shows she really hasn’t broken out on us specifically, she is doing the easy work, not the dirty work, anyone can take someone to court for a single count of murder and analyze the results." 

"So what about her is so important then?" 

Bianca snuck a file folder covered in sticky notes, throwing it to Katya for her to open and investigate herself.

"We need you to help us out and pull some strings." 

✧*。

Shea had decided to take the chance as she walked herself over the casino, knowing Bianca was someone who would take her sweet, sweet time if she was talking business and things with Katya: Jinkx insisting on just staying by the club and getting alcohol. Giving herself a grand tour, Shea gagged at the sheer amount of wealth and power and beauty the casino showed off, clearly Katya was intent on showing every penny she had put into her business and buildings, it showed from the outside to the inside.

Alcohol was the only thing really on her mind and she wanted to overpay for a speciality cocktail to atleast make herself feel a bit fancy and important, not wanting to be in the club lights and blasting music, the Casino had music but was definitely not loud and not obnxious party and dance music, it was a nice welcome in the moment.

Her eyes immediately caught eye of a stranger, short haired, curly blonde and tall who was leaning against the bar and speaking to someone next to her who had long, thick and black hair. The blonde’s soft gaze almost instantly gravitating Shea towards her, she prayed that she wasn’t married and this wouldn’t be awkward fast, she simply wanted a drink and the opportunity to buy her one. 

"Excuse me.” Shea spoke up, gently tapping the blonde on her shoulder, she turned in the barstool and her eyes met with Shea’s and the two completely melted, Sasha incomprehensibly silent before Adore nudged her a bit, smirking seeing her new co-worker and fellow friend so caught in midst of the gaze. 

“Oh I’m sorry, that was so rude.” The Russian speaking up once Adore gently shook her out of it, the two smiling at eachother as Sasha leaned on the bar counter, telling that the mysterious and new girl clearly was struggling to speak, “I…" 

Shea put her hands around her own waist and gave a glistening grin and wink, sliding in-between her and her friend, Adore raising her hands a bit frustrated that she might already turn into the third wheel. "I was wondering if I could buy you a drink." 

"I would be very glad if you did." 

Thank god, Shea begun to calm a bit, pulling out an 100$ bill and sliding it to the bar tender who quickly took it and waited for whatever drinks they wanted to purchase, "I just want straight vodka.” She must’ve been Eastern European judging by her choice in alcohol, it wasn’t sterotypical, it was just what she had come to understand from Jinkx and barely meeting Katya twenty minutes ago. Not to mention the not too obvious but still noticable punch of an accent

“Gin and tonic.” She instructed while still staring at Sasha, entranced, she was already breaking ten rules in the non-existent handbook of being in the mafia but not like Bianca was even wondering where she was, if she was she would’ve called anyway. “I’m Sasha.” She giggled, Shea taking her hand and giving a small wink in reply, “Shea." 

Adore didn’t know whether to throw up and just leave, let her be or see where this went but she decided on the usual, giving Sasha a discreet tap of the shoulder, a nod from her and she was off on her on.

Ten minutes of aimless strolling had showed that Scarlet and Courtney were both gambling as if they had any good amount of money to lose so freely, flying by the hem of their dresses. But they genuinely seemed to be loving their lives and the game they were playing.

"Oh shit!” She yelped, feeling herself fall into someone as she stared backwards, not paying attention to whatever was in front of her, an entire bag dropped but she more focused on helping out the poor person she had knocked down.

“Jesus Christ!” Yelled the other, distinctly female voice, before Adore gently took her hands and helped her up, making sure she didn’t trip on her heels before they both begun to speak, quickly letting go of their hands. 

Bianca couldn’t help but glance at her, she was gorgeous. She would usually rip someone in fishnets to pieces and destroy them on sight but damn she looked good and everything fit her to a t, clearly she had her own eye for fashion, her dark eyes and dark hair only helping her to blend in with the dark wall of the casino, “I’m sorry, I really didn’t watch where I was going—" 

"I know, I know, I got that.” Bianca dusted herself off and only hoped her heels didn’t suffer any damages, they were expensive and a gift from Raja which meant she either bought them or stole them but either way, same attachment to the perfectly snug white heels. Adore snapped back, “I’m sorry?" 

"Listen don’t worry about it, really, thank you for your help.” Bianca raced off as fast as a normal person could look trying to run in heels across a casino at night but Adore blinked, finally shying her eyes away from the woman. 

She was beautiful. 

Black hair, styled very nicely to add onto the overall package, white heels, a tulle skirt and either handsewen or what Adore assumed was designer for a sequined top that matched and coordinated so well with her entire outfit, she was either the most important person in the world and Adore was oblivious or she was just someone’s arm candy for the night who needed to make themselves into a beauty queen for the occasion.

Adore didn’t believe too badly in many things but she would definitely pray and hope that somehow, somehow she could find that same girl again, someday