#Italian: is okay with following friend's directions on where to go; also Italian: gets mad when destination is a tobacco station

[fazcinatingblog]

What if there's questions when I plane catch tomorrow like "have you had covid in the last 7 days?" What happens if you say yes? They descend on you with a big bit of cling wrap and wrap you all nice and tight and throw you in with the luggage???? Or they call your name on the loudspeaker before you board and you have to shamefully walk to the front desk and

[ssa-dg]

Walls are Built to be Knocked Down

Overview: this takes place in season 7 episode 2. You joined the BAU after the death of Emily and JJ’s departure. However when they both come back, everyone is shook up.

TW: mentions of drugs, murder, rape (it takes place in the episode). Adult themes

Relationship: Spencer Reid x (female) reader

Word count: 3352

Author’s note: so I have been wanting to write another short story about Spencer but couldn’t get myself to do it. Glad I got inspired by episode 2 of season 7. This is when Spencer is still mad at JJ about Emily. The unsub is the one who is neuro-divergent and is obsessed with his brother’s wife. If you have any suggestions on how to write a better Spencer Reid, I would love that. I struggle with writing an accurate Reid because he is supposed to be so smart and I’m the type of person who has been told she’s “dumb” so it’s an insecurity of mine. Give me advice if you have any just be nice. P.S. the formatting on this is so weird. I don’t have my laptop rn because it’s getting fixed and the mobile version of this app sucks lol

You and Spencer were never really good friends. You two were good coworkers and you always got along well, but it took Spencer a lot to let people behind his wall. So when you joined the team from the whit collar unit, after Emily’s death. You could tell everyone on your new team was grieving, and because you didn’t know them all that well you didn’t pry. Though slowly each member let things slide to you about their grieving. You didn’t expect that to happen but you weren’t surprised. You were always a reliable person, old friends would come out of nowhere just to talk to you about their problems, or random people in cabs, on the subway, etc. You just had that air about you, one that was dependable, nonjudgmental, and understanding. Your family called it your superpower.

So when Emily turned out to be alive and JJ and Hotch knew the whole time, the team was stunned. You didn’t fully comprehend the travesty of what they went through but you understood the pain and relief that accompanied them. Knowing they probably had 100 million different conflicting emotions swirling in them you suspected they’d be going through “it” the next months.

As JJ walked into the BAU with Prentiss talking about how she had passed all the qualifications to finally become a profiler, JJ saw Spencer come out of the elevator. “Hey, where have you been?” JJ asked him, “I wanted to do brunch this weekend”

“I had to deal with some stuff with my mom,” he flipped through the pages in a file to avoid eye contact with his friend, “have you seen Y/N?” he finished.

“Uh, she’s at her desk I think,” Spencer sped off to your desk. “He hates me,” JJ finished.

You sat at your desk looking over case files when Spencer came rushing up to you. “Hey, Y/N,” he greeted you and looked around.

“What’s up?” You asked expecting there to be a reason he came to your desk.

“Nothing just wanted to say hi,” he saw JJ and Prentiss go into the round table room.

“Well, hi,” you laughed and followed his gaze to your two co-workers. “Ahh, I see,” you said out loud.

His head looked down at you,” what do you mean ‘ahh, I see,’?” He was obviously annoyed by your statement.

You raised your hands up in surrender, “nothing, nothing. Shall we go?” You stood up and tilted your head towards the conference room. He nodded his head.

When you guys walked in and you went to sit in an open seat next to Morgan, Spencer lightly grabbed your elbow and pulled you the opposite way and had you sit between him Emily and JJ. You just looked at him knowing what he was doing. Although you gave him a glare to indicate you didn’t like being manhandled by him, you secretly enjoyed it. You were unsure why it did it but it created a feeling in you that you were not ready to associate with your coworker. He just gave you a bit of a ‘don’t-say-anything’ glare and looked back down at the file. You rolled your eyes and felt Prentiss looking at you. You shrugged your shoulders as if to say ‘I don’t know why he just did that’.

In walked Rossi and Garcia, “look master of all things Italian, I am having a Fellini festival at my house this weekend and I must serve the beautiful food of his country.” Garcia insisted.

“Maybe you should show a Disney movie and stick with burgers,” Rossi responded, still a bit offended by the pig substitute.

“You know, Rossi, you could always give Penelope a cooking lesson,” Derek suggested.

“I could help,” you spoke up from across the table. Everyone looked at you confused, “You all act like I’m not Italian. I used to go back there every summer to visit my extended family,” you rolled your eyes and defended yourself.

“Oh my gosh that would be amazing. That would be like- that would be like the iron chef meets the BAU,” Garcia looked back and forth between you and Rossi. You felt Spencer’s eyes on you and looked at him. His scrunched up eyebrows and set jaw told you that he didn’t know that about you or maybe he forgot. You just smiled at him, and tilted your head like it was nothing.

“And we could do it at your house,” Garcia looked over at Rossi.

“I don’t have a house. I have a mansion,” he laughed.

“All right let’s get started,” Hotch instructed.

Everytime JJ talked at the round table, Reid couldn’t even look at her. He kept his gaze down and you saw the muscle in his jaw bone tighten as he clenched his it. The victims were girls who all looked the same, helping a bit to narrow down the victimology. The dump sights also helped narrow down the geographical, although nothing was ever set in stone right off the bat. Everytime Spencer spoke you could tell there was hidden meaning beneath it all directed towards JJ.

On the jet you dug in deeper into the case. You started to notice Spencer stuck close to you, as if you were an extra layer of shielding from JJ. He sat next to you and when JJ spoke he’d either look down at the files in his hands or at your files in your hand. “Dave you and I will talk to the parents.Y/LN head over with us to the police station, and get us set up. Go over what they have and talk to the detectives. Morgan and Prentiss go to the disposal sites. JJ, you and Reid to the abduction sites,” Hotch ordered. JJ gave a soft smile to Spencer and you felt him tighten up next to you, and look away from her. Her smile faded into concern and annoyance and looked at you for help. You just shrugged unsure how to help.

Once you collected all the information on the crime board at the station you helped out Hotch and Rossi at the coroner's office. Then you got the call that there was a third victim. There he burned the woman’s tongue with sulfuric acid. As you, Rossi, JJ, and Reid looked over the body. The quips JJ and Reid were throwing at each other was escalating quickly.

“— instead of dealing with it. He’s acting out,” JJ looked up at Reid as she spoke about the unsub but also meant it for Reid. If looks could inflict pain, the look Reid responded to JJ with would have seriously injured her. Spencer walked off in anger. JJ looked around for help, or maybe back up. You looked at her giving her ‘I’ll take care of it’ look and went after Spencer.

Once you caught up to him and tried to talk to him he wasn’t having it. He quickly dived into perfecting the profile and ignored all conversation about anything else. He was reinforcing the walls he built around himself.

Now back at the station, you all delivered the profile to the police force. Spencer was still not looking at JJ.

Once the profile was delivered Spencer went into the room where the BAU was working out of, JJ following him.

“Spence. Look we gotta talk about this,” JJ insisted.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he responded.

“I get it, okay? You’re disappointed with the way we handled Emily,”

“Listen I have a lot going on alright,”

“You know what I think it is, you’re mad that Hotch and I were able to hold our micro-expressions at the hospital. And you weren’t able to detect our deception,” JJ finally getting angry and defending herself.

“You think it’s about my profiling skills? Jennifer, listen the only reason you were able to manage my perceptions is because I trusted you. I came to your house for ten weeks in a row crying over losing a friend,” the tears beginning to well in both of their eyes, “and not once did you have the decency to tell me the truth.”

“I couldn’t,”

“You couldn’t or you wouldn’t,”

“I couldn’t,” she shouted and defended herself.

“What if I started taking dilaudid again. Would you have let me?” he asked.

“You didn’t,” she answered, confused why he was asking.

“Yeah, but I thought about it,” he confessed, and hurt even more that she didn’t realize how low he actually was during that time.

“Spence,” she called out as he tried to walk away, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s too late, all right?” He walked away from her.

“Reid,” Emily called for him and looked back at JJ.

You followed Spencer out the door. You knew it was risky to seek him out right now but you couldn’t help yourself. You had to try and help him. You couldn’t explain the pull he had on you right now but you usually followed your instincts and they hadn’t let you down yet.

“Spencer, wait up,” you tried to catch up to his long strides.

“Are you here to tell me off, or ask me to apologize to JJ? Because if so, don’t waste your breath. I’m not going to,” he angrily twirled around to you, which made you stop yourself before running into him.

“I wasn’t — I wasn’t going to say that. I know why you’re mad. And I think the way your acting is justified, maybe a bit immature but it’s justified,” you answered.

Spencer looked confused at your response then angrily he said “why am I acting this way then? Why am I so justified?” He was testing you in some way. If you said the wrong thing he’d yell at you too, and he would build that wall around himself so high no one would ever be allowed in again. He was hurting and right now he felt like hurting others was the only way to feel like he was in control.

“You feel betrayed. You understand why Emily had to fake her death. You understand why no one on the team was allowed to know but you don’t understand why JJ was in on it and how she kept her cool. You don’t understand how she could watch your heart break over the loss of a loved one and stand there with the knowledge to save you from all your grieving. JJ is your best friend, you trust her and love her. And best friends are supposed to help take away the pain, and you feel betrayed and taken advantage of because of that,” you finished. You could tell by the look he gave you that the wall he was building was not prepared for you to hit it so hard it cracked. His face went from openness and feeling seen, to defensive and angry at you not giving him a reason to yell at you. “You want her to understand and feel the pain she caused you. which might be why you are acting out? But when the time comes you’ll forgive her because you know deep down what you need JJ and her friendship and eventually you’ll remember all she did for you. Right now you’re hurting, but the way you get rid of that pain isn’t about being mean or hurting her, you’ll need to remember your love for your friend. And find it in yourself if you can forgive her. Am I right?” You asked him, but you already knew the answer. He let out a sigh and looked down at you. He looked at you for the first time in all his time of knowing you. You understood what he was going through more so than his closest friend, and even more so than some of his teammates who had known him for years. How could he have overlooked you for so long. He quickly looked down at your lips and the tension between you two changed. The breathing between you two became heavy and noticeable. He turned quickly and stormed off.

Eventually you all caught the unsub and saved the young girl. This time on the plane though Spencer sat in the back. He spread his stuff across the table indicating he didn’t want anyone to sit there. You took the hint, and even though you had never been close to Spencer other than him using you today for an emotional defense, you felt a coldness being away from him. A coldness, you didn’t even want to know where it would lead you.

Emily walked back to him after a short time on the plane. You could tell what she was doing and thought it was a good idea. You looked at them and analysed their behaviors. You saw the shift in them as Emily laughed for a second and from the back of Spencer you saw him move in his seat to avoid the subject. Emily leaned in as she began to explain her side of what had happened. Spencer was still mad, but by the way his shoulders sloped he was more tired than angry.

You got dressed up in one of your favorite black dresses with knee high black boots and a fancy long coat. As you pulled into the parking lot, you were a bit self conscious about what you were about to do.

You walked up the steps, found the door you were looking for, and knocked lightly. You heard some shuffling around and then heard the door unlock.

“Hey,” you spoke softly as you took in Spencer standing before you. He quickly looked you up and down and smiled, “what are you doing here? I thought you were helping Rossi teach the others how to cook?” He asked.

“Well I was, but I thought my friend might need me more tonight,” you softly smiled at him. “I was wondering if you wanted to go get something to eat,” you shyly asked, “or if you have plans, we can do something another time,” You looked at his attire and enjoyed the blue sport coat he was wearing, along with the colorful shirt under it. His hair was brushed with a light amount of product in it. It was like he was ready to go out.

“No, I was actually going to go to Rossi’s,” he admitted and you knew what that meant for him. It was more than going to Rossi’s, it was actually forgiving JJ and Emily.

“Well, I can take us, if you want,” you offered as you jingled your keys in front of him.

He gave a soft laugh, and nodded his head as he grabbed his stuff from his apartment.

“I just need to stop somewhere real quick to pick something up,” you added.

When you showed up to Rossi’s you were obviously late. But the smile on everyone’s face as Spencer walked in the room was worth it. You walked behind them with your arms wrapped around Derek and let everyone take in Spencer. You quickly handed Rossi, the cannoli’s you made and brought for desert.

After everyone said hello and got to cheers their wine glasses, it was time to cook. Instead of you cooking, Rossi decided you needed to help supervise. As you reminded everyone what the texture of the pasta had to be, and how the pancetta should look like cooked, you felt yourself always catching Spencer’s eyes and smiling.

“What’s that about?” Emily asked from behind you.

You turned startled by her, “what do you mean?”

“You and Reid, you guys came together and now you won’t keep your eyes off of each other. So what’s going on?” She asked.

You shook your head, “nothing is going on. I just gave Spencer a ride,” you responded.

“Uh-huh,” Emily skeptically looked at you. You rolled your eyes at her. Once you knew Emily wasn’t looking you slipped a glance at Spencer again and saw him smiling and laughing at something Garcia said. You couldn’t help but smile at them.

“I should say thank you,” you heard JJ say behind you.

You turned and looked at him, “why?” You asked a bit confused.

“You brought Spencer here, and he’s talking to me again. I can’t help but think you had something to do with that,” she answered.

“I didn’t do anything. He came to that conclusion on his own,” you responded.

“Well, either way, thank you for being there for him. I know he has a hard time opening up and trusting people,” she whispered. You nodded your head unsure how to respond. Out of everyone on the team you knew JJ and Emily the least as they weren’t on the team when you joined and had just returned.

As the finishing touches were put on everyone’s pasta you took a seat at Rossi’s big dinner table. You were used to sitting next to Garcia and Rossi. You expected the same people to sit near you but Spencer was quick to steal the seat where Garcia usually sat. You looked up at the young doctor standing over you as he placed a bowl of pasta in front of you. His smile told you everything. The weight of his anger had lifted and he felt rejuvenated. You gave him an odd look as he placed his glass of wine in the spot next to you. He just gave you a goofy face back. You ignored it, but you couldn’t help the feeling bubbling in your chest as you over thought him picking the seat next to you instead of next to the others like JJ, Emily or Derek.

You felt bloated after your meal but it didn’t really matter to you because you felt loved. With your Italian heritage, eating and sharing moments like this is where you felt most loved. This was no exception. You loved this BAU family that you were a part of. As the night went on and moved from the dining table to outside in Rossi’s backyard. You crawled into a loveseat couch and Spencer followed and sat next to you. You pulled a blanket off the back of the seat and draped it across you both. Spencer smiled in gratefulness.

“Say Grazie to the wonderful Y/N, for making and bringing the cannoli,” he announced and brought out the delish Italian treat.

“Oh my gosh I love cannoli,” squealed Garcia. Each person grabbed one and a silence fell over the group as they ate their cannoli. You couldn’t help but snuggle into Spencer a bit as the night moved forward and the talking kept going.

Slowly people left. Hotch was one of the first to go as he had to get back to Jack, then Derek and Garcia, next was JJ and Emily, and you and Reid.

The drive back to Spencer’s was filled with music theory facts, as the two of you got on the subject because you played your favorite songs playlist. One by one you each played songs that mean something to you. You enjoyed hearing the songs that made Spencer Reid, Spencer. They were all over the spectrum of music from classical to pop to indie to folk. You two sat in the parking lot for about an hour before you felt yourself yawning often.

“I should go so you can get home,” Spencer noted sadly.

“Unfortunately, I think you’re right,” you agreed.

“Unfortunately?” His right eyebrow was raised flirtatiously.

You blushed, “yeah, I had a fun night with you.” You looked down in embarrassment.

Spencer moved to place his hand on yours. He hesitated for a second then covered your hand. “I had a fun night too,” he admitted. You looked up at him and smiled.

“Good, because I still owe you a dinner,” you added playfully.

Spencer pulled his lips in and bit them, then let them slide out into a soft smile. “I look forward to it,” he responded.

He waited at the apartment complex entrance for you to pull away.

The memory of tonight would be one you cherished for a long time.

[abbacchios-sunflower]

Welcome Aboard Part 2

The second half of my collab with @dongiovannaswife ! Thank you so much again Lena for doing this with me, I had sm fun! <3<3 ^o^

*****

“Sooo, what’s he like anyways? Your boss? Giorno you said his name was?”

 “Hmm? Oh, yeah, Giorno’s a fair guy, really smart, kinda scary to most people who meet him for the first time, but he’s one of my best friends, great guy,” Mista leaned back in his seat, arms folded, knees crossed as he looked to Marissa. “To be honest I don’t know why he needs bodyguards, his stand is probably the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.”

 “Hmm, I see,” she looked out the window as they drove on what felt to be forever. “He’s kind of mad I got involved, huh? Is he even going to like me? I’d rather not get shot in the head for walking in on mafia business, you know?”

 Bruno closed his laptop, tucking it away as they were going to be arriving soon, “Just like Mista said, he’s a very fair guy, we’ve known him for a long time now; he’s just very protective over his famiglia and doesn’t like civilians getting tied up in our business, doesn’t think it’s right. I’m sure he’ll be very welcoming when meeting you.”

 “Yeah; exactly! It’s not like it’s your fault you almost got sliced up by that dickwad we were chasing!” Narancia interjected.

 Fugo rolled his eyes, “Yes well, you didn’t have to be such a blabbermouth and tell her we were the mafia, Giorno has the biggest problem with you doing that if anything.” He looked across to Marissa as well, “he’ll probably ask questions about your stand, what your intentions are, you’ll be fine, try not to worry too much about it, all of us here got roped into the mafia at young ages and we did just fine,” the blond checked his phone.

 Well, yeah, of course it was easy to tell someone not too worry when this has been your norm for like, ten years. The newcomer folded her arms, stretching her legs out in the back seat of the car. “Alright I guess.” Maybe she was starting to regret the decision to come. When her parents had said to “branch out and meet new people'', but this probably wasn’t what they meant, oh well she was kind of stuck in the situation now, might as well see where this all goes. Worse case scenario she probably would just go back home.

 “Just be grateful you don’t have to do the lighter test to get your stand and we discontinued that kind of stuff; that was so nerve wracking, I thought I was a goner!!” Narancia rubbed his neck nervously.

 “Lighter test?”

 “It’s how things used to be done, though some of us already had our stands by the time we joined, you see,” Bruno had explained. “Mista and Abbacchio both had manifested their stands by the time I had found them, not everyone needs to pass the arrow’s test to get one. It’s a topic Giorno and his family are highly interested in actually.”

 “Oh?” Marissa looked to Abbacchio who was sitting in the front seat. In the few days she had known these five men; it was probably him that she knew least of. He was even more closed off and disgruntled than Fugo, barely speaking a word to her unless they were bickering about something.

 “Hey guys, maybe you shouldn’t be telling her everything about us, she’s still an outsider in case you forgot about that; I doubt Giorno would like you guys running your mouths more than you should, he’s already probably pissed,” the goth grumbled, looking back from the passenger’s seat.

 Bruno has a teasing smirk, leaning back, “And since when you were so interested in obeying what Giorno says? Hmm? I thought you liked being difficult with him.”

 “You’re just lucky he always trusts your judgment, Consigliere, or else he probably wouldn’t have even wanted to meet her,” Abbacchio sarcastically snapped back. Bruno had rolled his eyes.

 “You’re still just sore that I didn’t tell you about why I brought him into Passione in the first place all those years ago,” Bruno chuckled, “but that’s a story for another time, perhaps Giorno would like to tell you himself,” the leader pleasantly smiled. “Now, we’re almost there,” he regained Marissa’s attention. “I don’t care what you’ve heard from any of us, you’re going to refer to him just as Don Giovanna, okay?” she nodded stiffly. “I take it we can trust you to be respectful?”

 “Hmm? Oh yeah, of course!!” she straightened up in her seat; the anxiety was definitely setting in now. This was probably— definitely a mistake. How did she always get into weird and scary messes with people?

 *****

 The estate was huge, yeah; surely the Don of the mafia and his most trusted men stayed there. Mista was the one to open the door first and stroll on in, followed by the others. “We’re baaaaack!” He loudly announced. “Oh Trishy? Did ya miss us?!” He confidently smirked as footsteps approached.

 “I’ve been wondering when you would be back, I’m still bummed out I didn’t get to go…” a young woman with pink hair slowly came to a stop as she looked past the men, seeing the shorter woman with them. “Dio mio- when I said to bring me back a souvenir, I didn’t mean kidnap a local!” She folded her arms, narrowing her eyes at the gunslinger.

 “Relax, she just got caught up in our bullshit, she’s a stand user and Bucciarati was interested in her stand and thought Giogio would be too, said he wanted to meet her when we were on our way over!”

 “Speaking of that, I already finished the reports from this job, we burned down the warehouse, not a trace of the drugs left, same with Emiliano,” Fugo held up a small folder.

 The young woman’s face relaxed more as she exhaled, taking the file and extending a hand to the newcomer, “Trish Una, I know how it feels to get swept up into trouble by these assholes, they don’t bite though, I promise, well, maybe Abba will if you provoke him enough, but he’s a bit of a softy under the fangs,” she smirked when Abbacchio looked disgruntled by the use of the nickname and teasing in front of the other woman who was smirking back at him now.

 “Abba, huh?” she raised a dark eyebrow, smirking as well.

 “That’s just “Abbacchio” to you, brat,” he snapped back.

 Rolling her eyes, she ignored the threat and took Trish’s hand, “Marissa, but uh, you guys can just call me Mar, all my friends do, it’s easier in my opinion,” she tilted her head back and forth. “So are you, like, a stand user too?”

 “Got that right, most of us are,” Trish pulled her hand back, gesturing to follow her, “come on, they’re right this way! They’ve been expecting you!”

 “They?” Mar blinked.

 “Oh, of course, the Donna will be there too naturally, she’s a lovely lady, Giorno’s lucky to have her for sure. She’s very interested in you too; I’m sure you guys will be great friends if you’re to stay with us! Also, we better get you Italian lessons if that’s gonna happen, luckily a lot of us speak English pretty well too,” Trish stopped talking and turned to face a set of doors, knocking twice. “Don Giovanna, Bucciarati is back, Fugo already finished his reports.” She announced.

 “And is she with them?” A male voice came from behind the door.

 “Right next to me!” Trish replied.

 “Well, send her in then.”

 *****

 Trish Una turns to Mar, a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes directed on her way as she opens the door, holding it open for her. “Good luck.” She mouths right when Mar walks by her side, closing the door at her back.

 The office looks like a lawyer’s would; bookshelves around the room are filled with all kinds of books; from astrology to philosophy, biology, medicine, math. All the knowledge the human race had cultivated through centuries seemed to rest there, in a silent office where only the light of the window pooled in, illuminating it just in the right amount.

 “Please take a seat, would you like something to drink?” a feminine voice, soft and gentle, breaks the silence.

 Marissa’s head snaps towards the source of the sound.

 In the couch where the sunlight is gentler, a woman sits, a glass of liquor suspended between her fingers. Her short black dress hugs her figure in a comfortable way —and the dark purple cloak resting on her shoulders, huge and almost drowning her makes it clear the garment is not hers, both from its size and the cut.

 Her red lips curl upwards in a genuine kind smile when Marissa and her make eye contact.

Nodding her head, her curls move along her head, strangely giving her that aura of mysteriousness. “Don’t be shy.”

 “Sit down.” the male voice is there again, this time, coming from the desk. Just when Marissa looks on, a blond man stands up, all six foot six of him towering and blocking the sunlight from the window. As he moves on, his features and figure become clearer: short blond hair that reaches the nape of his neck, piercing green eyes and lips in a tight line, and a strong, imposing built. Hands inside the pockets of his burgundy suit —the black shirt underneath the suit jacket glistens with something underneath, a shape unknown to most —but to him, the rumble of the arrow lets him know this is a stand user standing before him.

 “We were told about the incident.” He starts, not expecting an answer from her until he rounds the couch, coming to sit down besides his wife and circling her shoulders with one arm as the other extends forward, signaling her. “And we wanted to talk about it.”

 Mar nods, quickly walking in and sitting down at the couch before the couple.

 Their glances feel like an ice cube and a flame at the same time but even then, she still finds the courage to look at them in the eyes before centering her attention in a spot above their heads, where her voice doesn’t quiver when she speaks.

 “I was the one who asked,” she starts, quickly correcting herself as her fingers fiddle with her clothes. “I wanted to know what it was —just a part, because the rest was obvious.”

 Giorno hums, “First things first, what’s your name?”

 Marissa gulps down, feeling the man’s gaze harden when her reply doesn’t come immediately; naturally, one would expect this question to be answered right there.

 “Marissa.”

 Giorno nods, curtly: all business. “Well then, nice to meet you. She’s my wife and the Donna of the famiglia —I suppose you already know who I am, don’t you?”

 Lena nods, raising her glass shortly —making the Don tone it down. “Please make yourself at home.”

 “Thank you, Don, Donna.”

 “Now,” Giorno doesn’t let silence settle in, “There is something we need to talk about first; we have a strong policy to not get civilians involved in our… Matters. You were a special case, and before we start, you’re totally free to choose and swear silence over this. If you do, you can go home right now, and you won’t talk about this —not the police, not your family, not your lover, no one at all. Is that what you want?”

 Marissa opens her mouth to reply when Lena raises a hand up, her palm open and exposed towards her —perhaps a blind body language sign.

 “Think about it. We won’t go anywhere.”

 And this time the rest is silence.

 As Marissa’s head spins with thoughts and questions, her eyes go back and forth between the couple and the literal library around them, the sound of birds chirping outside and the water in the fountain falling. The distant sound of male laughter and the following hush to it.

For fucks sake, she had come here without a purpose. It was all a mere impulse to go out and explore, find new things, meet people perhaps.

 But the Italian mafia was a whole other level of her mom’s phrase. It was crazy.

  “Listen,” she says, making the couple’s ears peek immediately as they look back from each other’s faces —their quiet conversation forgotten immediately. “If you’re trying to embed another question about my reason to be here I’m gonna be sincere with you, I don’t know what I want from this, but I’m not your enemy. Hell, I’m just a girl from a damn boring town.”

 Giorno nods, tilting his head to the side slightly. “That does answer one question, but not the other.”

Marissa sighs, “I want to stay.”

 “Why?” Lena shoots back, leaning forward to place her glass into the coffee table. The liquor left there is now ignored.

 “I don’t know.” Marissa repeats, trying to bite back her annoyance —she had already said it.

 Lena hums, a sweet smile making its way into her lips; the situation makes it feel like a venomous one. “Mar,” she stops for a second, giving her the time to correct her in case the nickname does not match her taste. “There is always a reason for everything; you want to stay, and there must be a reason for it. Everyone here has one.” She gestures around with one hand, recalling some of their most loyal men. “Loyalty, money, a lost cause, redemption, a golden heart. Everyone has a reason; and all of them are valid. As long as the interests match, then there is no way we won’t let you in.”

 Giorno’s gaze comes back from outside, a solution on the back of his mind. “Let’s do something; we will proceed with your test,” if he noticed Mar’s stiff shoulders at the word ‘test’ he played an excellent act when he didn’t react to her reaction. “And by the time we’re done, the last question will be your reason to be here.”

 “Sounds good,” Lena speaks up. “Shall we start, then?”

 Mar hums, gulping down.

 “What are your views on law and justice? Is it true or just another circus?” Giorno leans back, chest puffed out in pride.

 Mar huffs, almost rolling her eyes. Now that she has found her physical reactions don’t seem to have an effect on them, the will to be herself comes back slowly but surely. “Money. If you have the money, then there is no way you’ll put a foot in jail; no one will be able to find out about your actions, unless you want them to.”

 “And what if you don’t have the money and you are not the culprit but you find yourself in jail?”

 “Then… Someone who doesn’t want you out there got you there with their influences.”

 “I see,” Giorno nods, eyes falling into the window once again. Thoughtful. “What would you do to escape if you found yourself in that position?”

 “Let’s be real, any person who knows about this kind of business will be killed in no time: the news and the police will say they took their own lives. But we all know the government doesn’t want to be seen as a traitor to the people they swore justice and truth to. So they will kill them and make it seem like a suicide, they will pay and eliminate anyone who dares say otherwise,” Mar looks up, almost as if looking into the white celling will give her the answers. “The only way to escape is paying, as I said before, anyone will do whatever they can to grasp a few more bucks into their hands, even if that means letting go someone important under the lie of an escape.”

 Lena nods, a small smirk tugging at her lips. “But… Most people in the government are there because some of them have been put there by us.”

 Mar nods, humming along. “And that’s why you’ll probably never find yourselves there, because those men are working for you. They owe you one, that’s it.”

 Giorno turns to Mar, smirking slightly. “That’s right. Then, next question —Will you commit murder? Whatever your impulse is from these two; orders or will, never from liking —would you do it? And who would it be?”

 Mar’s lips end up pressed together for a moment —her eyes go around the room until her sight falls outside; the sun is gone, hidden by grey clouds. Even the birds have gone silent. The only sound is the water fountain still working.

 Looking on, Mar stares into Giorno’s eyes, then into Lena’s, replying in a firm, concise tone. “Well, as far as the rich and powerful that get away with horrific crimes? Anyone who takes advantage of the weak? I don’t care about what happens to them and I’d gladly set them on fire without thinking twice if given the opportunity.”

 The couple before her don’t reply, turning to look at each other —right there, Mar can see the deep connection between them, as the simple glance into each other’s eyes proves to be enough to communicate; only a small smile from Lena and her nod, and Giorno turn to her again.

“That does actually match with our interests —you’ve got one point there.”

 Lena nods, speaking up. “Next question, Mar, and this one is my favorite; are we born good or evil? Do we turn evil, or perhaps good, as time goes by?”

 Mar nods to herself, replying shortly after —eyes going between them in a simple conversational gesture, out of nervousness or insecurity. Despite the topic, it already seems like everyone there is comfortable with each other’s presence. “As far as that whole debate, well, everyone has some kind of baggage; people are just people. You have to make the conscious decision every single day of what kind of person you want to be. People who come from bad homes either choose to rise above it and be ‘good’ or they’ll choose to use it as an excuse to hurt others because they were hurting. Regardless, yeah, at the end of the day, there’s always a choice that has to be made.” She shrugs her shoulders a little.

 Giorno nods, humming low. The sound spark’s Mar’s attention.

 But his last question is not expected.

 “Usually, we ask more, but you’ve surprised us —last question; what is your will, if you ever form part of the famiglia?”

 After a moment of hesitation, considering all the previous answers she had given, she looks back up, finally thinking she had a solid, cohesive answer to give. “To be honest I’ve been kicked around all my life, I was never taken seriously, I hated being ignored, and in turn I hate seeing others face injustice. I even considered a job in criminology at one point; my dad always thought I should have been a lawyer or went to work for some behavioral analysis unit, ya’know, FBI stuff,” she licks her bottom lip as she starts off. “But like I said earlier, it’s all corrupt at some level, the law, all the red tape and bullshit rules, that’s why I stopped trying to pursue the idea of becoming a profiler, it frustrated me to see people manipulating the system.”

 Letting a few beats go, she continued on, “That said, one might say I have a moral flexibility problem and I don’t like playing by rules that are designed to protect the corrupt, my ideals of justice aren’t really what the government is interested in. Sadly, for me, that means I’ve never really fit in anywhere, never had much of a plan after I realized I couldn’t stick with a job I had thought I wanted.” She looked down at her feet again, “That’s why, when I ran into your guys pursuing that drug dealer this week, I guess I figured it was a sign that maybe there could be a place for me, after all, it doesn’t seem like any of you had much success being on the side of government or law enforcement.”

 Folding her arms, she looked back at the Don of Passione, “I guess that’s why I want in; if you guys could find a place and purpose being here, why not me too?”

 Giorno’s eyes bore into Marissa’s, cold and empty of anything but plain green pools accentuated with yellow bits.

 The Donna leans back as a single chain enveloped in red energy emerges from her palm. It flicks, filling the room with the sound of clicking metal.

 Rising a hand up just when one of the chain’s links rests there, surrounded by a brighter tone of red, turning orange briefly just when another hand, humanoid and clearly not hers, but her stand’s, touches the object, producing a creak that echoes and bounces around the walls.

 And as soon as it came it’s gone; the sound, the stand’s arm and its glow, everything’s gone and now, in the Donna’s palm rests an insignia. She leans forward now, with Giorno’s eyes on both women as he watches the moment through proud and calm eyes.

 “Welcome, Marissa. Wear this and serve loyally for our cause, which is just.”

Giorno speaks up just when Marissa leans forward to take the insignia, “You will be assigned to an area with a Caporegime, and will work for them, understood?”

 Marissa nods, taking the insignia from Lena’s palm. “Understood, boss.” She looks down at the golden object —it’s not that heavy, but it does have a certain weight, taking in consideration it’s apparently made of pure gold; the arrow that crosses the small button has what seems to be an insect, whose form is palpable.

 “Please, wait outside; we’ll send someone to lead you into an apartment soon. And Mar?”

 Mar stands up, freezing and turning back to the Donna. “Yes, boss?”

 “I can assure you you’re part of this now, you’re not an outsider anymore.” 

 Mar nods, sighing in something she can’t say —turning around, she doesn’t fail to notice the sun back again, the birds flying out the mansion’s garden and the fountain still there, functioning as if nothing happened. Where a world keeps going, her world seems to stop; or maybe time passes slower, she couldn’t know what was it, but everything felt different the moment she closed the door at her back.

[michaelgrayyy]

One of us (8)

Michael Gray x Reader/ Peaky Blinders x Reader

Master list - https://michaelgrayyy.tumblr.com/masterlist

Aberama hangs out on the side of the car as we near our destination, the further into the countryside the more Michael seemed to sulk. You keep looking over at him feeling his eyes on you as you sit beside Bonnie facing him while Bonnie faces Polly. Polly gets out first followed by Bonnie, who turns to help you down and then you turn back to help Michael but decide against it seeing his expression. You step out onto the woodland floor looking around, it made you miss your cottage, you hoped you’d be able to get back there when this was over, whenever that was. 

“No! No, fucking way” you hear Michael complain from behind you and Polly meets your eyes, you stifle a giggle quickly covering your mouth and keeping your back to him. 

“You ever eaten Hedgehog Michael?” Aberama asks seeing his reaction and you can’t contain the giggle that leaves you. You look back at Michael who sends you a glare before carrying on.

“I’m getting back in this car” he states pulling a cigarette out to smoke 

“Michael, you’re number two on Luca Changretta’s hit list” she looks at me. “Well maybe three” she debates before carrying on. 

“Yeah and I’ll stay in a hotel, we’ll stay in a hotel right, y/n?” he says trying to get you to side with him but you just raise your hands showing him you aren’t getting involved.

“You stay in a hotel, I’ll know where you are, so will the people who take you there, so will the people who work in the hotel, and hotels don’t move around. They don’t even know where they’ll be tomorrow, they follow the Patrin and the crows.” Polly argues back to him, silencing him. He knows she's right he just hates to admit it. 

“And should anyone come for you, Michael, the Palmers and the Boswells will put up a fair fight” Aberama adds as Polly gets Michael medicine.

“Why are they talking as if you aren't coming with me, y/n?” he asks with a clenched jaw. Oh boy! 

“I’ve got unfinished business with the Italians”

“And I don’t?” he snaps back instantly pissing you off. 

“Right now, you don't.” you reply as Polly continues to go through his medicine looking between you both. 

“Your painkiller..” Polly says passing them to Bonnie.

“The healers up there, will heal you much quicker” 

“It's true, pretty sure I’d be dead without them healing me after getting me from Luca” I add trying to reassure him but Michael just looks over at you annoyed. 

“Fucking witches, the lot of them” Michael grumbles earning a chuckle of Aberama who shakes his head at him.

“Show some respect, Mr. Gray. They’ve agreed to welcome you on account of your blood” Bonnie replies to him, you shake you head at Michael as he glares back at Bonnie not responding. You walk away getting yourself in the carriage, with the help of the men at the steps, having heard enough of Michaels complaining. Soon Bonnie joins you and not long after Michael joins you as well, you blow a kiss to Polly as the door shuts and she smirks.

“Will you quit sulking. These people are risking their lives to protect you” you break the silence after so long having had enough of his moping. Bonnie looks over before quickly looking back out the window guessing this is heading for an argument. 

“Why are you coming with us if you aren’t staying?” he asks changing the subject.

“Because I thought you’d help you settle in, clearly that was poor judgment on my behalf.” you reply

“How are you going to get back to Small Heath?”

“Bonnie has a boxing match tonight, I’m going” you reply and Michael starts to work his jaw again so you turn the conversation to Bonnie. “You ready for your fight?” you call out to Bonnie who walks back over to sit down with you both.

“Sure am” he replies.

“Have you met Goliath yet?” he nods with a smirk. “Are you worth betting on?”

“Mr. Shelby seems to think so” he replies.

“Honestly, I can’t tell if Tommy is a genius or mad” you state. “But, I reckon you’re a good bet” 

It's not long till the cart is pulled up and Bonnie opens the door, telling you that you’ll need to start making a move back to Small Heath in an hour before he walks off to help the others set up their camp. This is only a temporary camp until they make it to their main base, a part of you felt a bit gutted you wouldn’t get to see it but you needed to get back. You turn round motioning for Michael to come with you as you step outside, he reluctantly follows you both walk over to a fallen tree. He sits down and you slowly lower yourself next to him closing your eyes as you do.

“Still bad isn't it?” he asks watching your movements. 

“I’ve had more fun” you respond. “Look, Michael I know you aren’t happy about this. But, please try and be nice to them, they are part of your heritage whether you like it or not and they are good people. This is better than you being shot again...we’ve already lost John” you plead with him and he softens ever so slightly before sighing.

“Alright, alright. I'll try, but I don’t like this.” he agrees mostly just trying to shut me up but I'll take it. “You and Gold’s son are awfully friendly” he tries to sound nonchalantly about it but fails miserably. 

“He did save my life by getting me away from Luca, that's a good way to become my friend in my book.” you reply with a shrug before looking at him as he looks ahead of him with a hard expression. “Are you jealous?” you ask with a  smirk. 

“It was just a question, y/n” he replies in a clipped tone and your smirk grows into a cocky smile.

“You are!” you exclaim with a little laugh.

“I’m just being cautious is all, not like you who just befriends anyone and everyone” he replies and your smile fades.

“Is there a reason you are trying to provoke an argument every-time you speak to me?” you question running out of patience with his mood. He doesn’t respond just pulls out a cigarette to smoke, he takes a drag before you reach over taking it from his lips and taking a drag yourself. You both let out a sigh as a peaceful quiet settles amongst you both.

“As much as I hate to admit it, I do miss the fresh air” he says breathing in and you laugh watching him puff on the cigarette.

“What were your family like?” you ask him and he pauses before realising you are talking about his adopted family. That’s how you pass the time until you need to leave, Michael tells you about climbing trees and playing games with his little brother, about the pies and cakes his mum would make and how he used to help his father around the house doing jobs like cutting logs and fixing up the sheds. You smile as he talks not seeing this side of him before, part of you wishes he never came back to Polly so he could still be there but then you remember the stories of him blowing up the village wishing well and the priest and you know he would have come sooner or later. 

Bonnie walks over to tell you its time to leave and you nod at him as he stands away so you can speak privately to Michael again, you lean over placing a kiss to him lips, you pull away looking him in the eyes with a serious glare. 

“You stay alive, alright” you tell him

“You too, no running at guns or getting kidnapped. Deal?” he replies and you roll your eyes with a smirk. 

“Deal” you agree as he kisses you quickly again before you get up off the tree walking over to join Bonnie. “Ready” you tell him as he nods.

“We’ve got a short walk until we get to where my father is picking us up, is that okay?” he asks looking at me apologetically. 

“That’s okay” you reply walking alongside him, feeling better for the fresh air. 

///////

Its a few hours later when you walk down the stairs wearing a emerald sparkling dress alongside, Polly, Linda and Lizzie ready for the big fight, Ada also joins as you go try find Finn in the crowd, you try to spot Tommy but he’s nowhere in sight. Looking back where the girls were you see they've also all moved, great, at least you know they’ll be in the toilet as you head that way. You walk in to see  Linda setting out a line beside Polly and Ada at the sinks, while Lizzie is across the other side. 

“Ah, good. Y/n, we’ve been looking for you, Lizzie’s got some news” Polly greets you as you walk in, Ada turns seeing you and smiles brightly at you before noticing your pained movements. 

“I’m pregnant” Lizzie announces.

“Oh, and who’s the father? Have you managed to narrow it down?” Linda comments before taking a line of snow at the same time you let out a little squeal walking over to Ada to give her a hug not being able to resist. She grins at you carefully hugging you back as she raises her eyebrows at you at Linda’s comment. 

“Yes. It's Tommy’s” Lizzie responds and you notice a glass of gin on the counter taking a swig.

“Congratulations. You’ve won the raffle at last” Linda remarks and you ignore her going over to give Lizzie a hug and kiss on the cheek. 

“Congratulations, Lizzie” you say sincerely as Linda rolls her eyes you just glare back at her. Lizzie, Linda and Polly head back in as you stay behind with Ada, she sits on the counter as she asks how you are not having seen you since you were taken by the Italians. 

“It makes you tougher” she says and you nod

“It’s the only thing it can do in this line of life” you reply as she agrees, you pull out a hip-flask of whisky passing it her after you take a swig. She fixes the rest of her make up before heading back out the door, you stay behind gathering yourself, just enjoying the peace and quiet before you have to go anywhere. Taking some of your painkillers alongside the whisky, walking outside ready to carry on watching the fight when you hear a gunshot followed by Tommy yelling in the hallway not far from you. You head off in the direction rushing not caring about the pain in your ribs, you round the corner seeing Polly up ahead being held by Tommy. He looks up noticing you and they both turn.

“What? what's going on?” you manage to say

“Arthurs dead. He’s dead” Tommy says coming over to you

“What no, he's not. Stop this” you say trying to shove past him “HE’S NOT” you yell out trying to hit out to get him away from you. He hold onto you until you stop fighting him, you push back from him walking back. He follows after you.

“Polly, go tell Linda” he shouts back rushing behind you as you run through the halls.  “We need to tell Finn” you call out to him before trying to weave your way through the crowd, its not use everyone is jumping around excited about the win in the ring, Tommy grabs onto you pulling you with him over to Finn. Finn smiles at you both patting Tommy on the back for his win, but Tommy grabs onto him pulling him close to whisper to him, you see his face drop as Tommy pushes him away towards Isiah. Tommy goes over to tell Lizzie before disappearing off again and you try get over to Charlie (old) in the ring beside Aberama and Bonnie but the crowd is too lively. Charlie see’s you struggling through the crowd and jumps out to come help you get through, he gets you to the side of the ring and you look over seeing Polly and Lizzie with a sobbing Linda.

“Arthur’s dead” you say to Charlie who looks at you in confusion before Tommy jumps up into the ring firing a gun in the air. He tells the crowd Arthur is dead before crouching down as he takes a breath, Charlie quickly rushes over up into the ring and you walk over to the girls, Lizzie stands up pulling you into a hug. 

///

The next few days pass by in a blur you find yourself permanently glued to the bar stool in the Garrison, joined mostly by Finn and Isiah. It’s not like your usual drinks where they’d try and pick up girls while you’d dodge the advances of men that didn't realise who you were, no this was just drinking with the intent of numbing it all. You don’t remember how but you some how end up sat in the family home beside a silent Tommy, Ada and Polly waiting for Michael’s arrival. You’re heart breaks even more when they tell you the plan, but you nod having guessed bits off it all along, but not wanting to believe it.You hear him walk in the door and see Polly walk over to greet him but you don’t move, just sat swirling the cup of Tea Ada made you. Micheal walks over to you squeezing your shoulder in comfort as he looks to Tommy. 

“Tommy, I’ve been trying to find the words” Michael says and you get up walking over to the drinks section.

“Don’t. Words don’t work” Polly cuts him off as you pour a glass of whisky. “Micheal we’re in a grave situation. But, Tommy has a plan. Instead of going to Australia you're going to go to New York.”

“Why?” he asks in shock

“Because the company has business to attend to in America” Ada responds, Michael looks over at you and then to Tommy, the only two not to speak to him yet. 

“Will I be coming back?”

“You’re train leaves in an hour Michael.” Tommy breaks the silence. “You made a choice. You knew I was going to be shot and you chose not to tell me” Michael looks over to Polly. 

“I chose my mum” he responds.

“When all this business is over, we’ll all be free to make our own choices” Polly says to him with tears in her eyes, you wipe away some of your own that have managed to slip.

“So is that it?” Michael asks looking at the back of Tommy. 

“You get the train to Liverpool then the SS Monroe. The boat sails tomorrow.” He passes him the tickets “Now you can go”. 

“Y/n?” he looks over at you and you bite your lip.

“Please just go” you plead wiping some more tears. “Please” you croak out and he closes his eyes in regret before turning to leave. 

[therainroguefanfiction]

☁ Drifting Away (Giotto) #08

📑 Table of Contents | ◂Previous

Author’s Note: Okay! I want to clear up a few things c: First off, this is the last chapter that my younger self wrote (I think I was like 16?). Now, in these past eight chapters, I’m sure you’ve come across things that seemed impossible for the time period, and I will do my best to stick to the year 1870 as best as I can from here on out! I hope you will go easy on me~

Rather than using google translate, I now have a wonderful friend willing to help me with the Italian translations (@kiralushia​) who also has this wonderful comic that you should definitely go check out! She has also been so supportive and is the main reason I want to finish this story!

I have decided to keep the flip cell phones for plot purposes and Salmon’s laptop (the story behind this is that they brought the technology from the future along with the necessary components in order to use them in the past). I hope you can overlook this plot hole for the sake of the story!

Finally, I want to state that I have NOT read the manga (yet). I wanted to get this final chapter posted first and now I am going to go and read the proper arc within the manga in order to learn more about the first generation so I can do them proper justice within this story. Thank you so much for reading!

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

☁ Cafe ✗ Guardian ✗ Confrontation ☁

You and Zakun had been walking for a good hour or so and, to be completely honest, you weren’t too sure he had a destination in mind. You were starting to think that he was just walking for the sake of it. After ten more minutes passed, you began to get annoyed.

“Oi! How the hell are we supposed to find this guy, anyway?”

“We search.” Another stoic response. Did this guy even have any emotion? Maybe he should have been the cloud guardian.

“Obviously, but we can’t just walk around blindly, ya know. You have to have some sort of plan or idea or something.”

“No.”

You facepalmed, sighing deeply as you begrudgingly followed after him. It seemed kind of hopeless, just walking around aimlessly. How would you even know if you had the right person? You were pretty sure that you didn’t have time to waste but, whenever you looked at Zakun, he looked totally relaxed. Then again, he’d probably be that way even if the world were about to end.

“Okay, how do we know we got the right guy? Just go around slipping the ring onto people’s fingers until we find one it doesn’t reject?”

He sent you a ‘get real’ look over his shoulder and you scowled. “When you first got the ring, it started resonating in sync with your own, giusto?”

You nodded.

“I knew you had gotten a hold of the ring because mine did the same. When you got close to me, they started resonating again, this time glowing brighter. The same thing will happen, only brighter than the first two times, when we get close to the bearer of the ring,” he paused, glancing over at you as you fell in step beside him. “It will act as a compass. The closer we get, the brighter it will become. The further we get, the less it will glow, until it eventually goes out, like now.” He motioned towards the ring on his finger.

You hummed thoughtfully, grabbing his hand and sliding the ring from his finger. You had seen the Gardiano rings before, but never actually paid attention to its detail. The shank of the ring was the body of a dragon, cloud gray in color and the same width as the Vongola rings. On top was the head of the dragon, the same color as the body. It’s mouth was open wide and inside was the Gardiano family’s crest. Its color was the respective multi-colored hue of the fire guardian and the eyes were the same color.

It truly was a badass looking ring.

Zakun slid the ring back on his finger without a word.

“What if they aren’t in Italy?”

“Then we have a problem.”

You stared at him blankly.

He returned the look. “Salmon says the probability of the barer being in Italy is seventy-five percent.”

“That still leaves a twenty-five percent chance that our guy is somewhere else in the world.”

“Are you always so negative?” He questioned, glancing at you.

“No,” you scowled. “I was just being honest.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly closed it and stopped walking. Digging into his jacket pocket, he produced a cell phone which he then flipped open and pressed to his ear. “Hello?… Not yet… Are you sure?… Fine.”

You raised an eyebrow as he snapped it shut. Honestly, you had never witnessed such a short phone call before.

“Rorian says we should split up,” he paused, holding out his hand. “Give me your phone.”

“Uh, sure,” you pulled the cell phone from your pocket and sat it in his open palm. His fingers pressed into the keys, entering his contact information into the device, along with a couple of the other members, just in case.

“We can cover more ground this way. If you find him, or get lost again, call me. Salmon will call you if I find him.” He turned in the opposite direction and started to walk away.

With a shrug, you continued on your way, your mind running wild with various thoughts. “If I were a missing fire guardian, where the hell would I be? Hmm.”

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

When the sun finally began to rise, you decided it was time to take a break. Fortunately, you came to that decision in front of a bookstore. Opening the door, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and pristine, new books filled your nostrils and it was such a wonderful combination. The bookstore was small, but offered quite a selection of books.

On the right side of the store, in the corner, was a small cafe where you could read and drink coffee or even have something sweet to snack on. The whole atmosphere was calm and quiet, the perfect place to relax. You knew that Zakun would probably be mad, but you were exhausted and needed a few minutes to rest and regain some of your energy. After all the searching you had done, surely a five minute break wouldn’t hurt.

You sighed as you fell into the wooden chair near the corner, arms folded on the small round table with your head on top. The cold wood felt nice against your skin and that, mixed with the sound of pages being turned and coffee being poured, lulled you to sleep. You hadn’t even realized how tired you felt, but it was no surprise since you had been walking since nearly four in the morning and it was now just after eight at night.

You slept soundly with no strange dreams or interruptions which was rare for you since finding yourself thrown into the past and your body was soaking it up.

At least until a burning against your lower chest and stomach jolted you from your peaceful nap. A small groan passed your lips as your eyes slid open. It took a few minutes to realize that your shirt was glowing – or rather, what was underneath it.

You blinked in surprise, pulling at the collar of your shirt so you could see the ring, which was glowing pretty brightly. Looking around, there were only four people around you.

The woman wiping off the counters. A dark-skinned male reading his newspaper. A pale-skinned man reading a Josh Grisham novel. And another male that had just walked in, briefcase in one hand and a newspaper tucked under his arm.

As he walked closer, the warmth and glow of the ring increased, almost to a painful degree and, by the time he took a seat at the table beside your own, it was almost unbearable. His hair was sandy brown and slightly spiky, but slicked back away from his forehead, and his eyes were a moonlight silver. On his forehead was a crescent moon shaped scar and he was dressed in a navy blue suit.

‘What should I do? I know Zakun said to call him… but what if he doesn’t make it in time?’ You stood up, hiding the glowing rings as best as you could, before approaching his table. He was scribbling away onto a thick pad of paper, which had been removed from his briefcase. “Excuse me?”

He glanced up at you, his expression nothing short of serious. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

The man’s slim brow rose and he glanced around the cafe, which was practically empty, before looking back at the paper and shrugging. Without a sound, you took a seat across from him, fiddling with your fingers that were flat on top of the black table. Now, what in the hell were you supposed to say?

‘Hey! Just thought I’d let you know that I’m part of the mafia and I need your help to save the first generation of my family! Oh yeah, I’m from the future, too! That should go over well,’ you glanced up at him.

His eyes were scanning the page, his hand flying across the page at a nearly inhuman pace. You wondered what he was writing, but you couldn’t understand the language.

“Mind if I ask you something?”

He glanced up at you, paused for a moment and nodded before returning to his work.

“Do you… believe that the mafia exists?”

His hand paused, the tip of the pen hovering above the page, but he didn’t look up at you this time. When he spoke, his voice was deep. “A foolish question.”

You scowled, clenching your fist against the table. ‘Be nice, Y/N. Remember that you need this guy, so just be nice.’ “You believe, then?”

“Italy is known for their mafioso.” His voice was monotone, not a single speck of emotion within. Damn, he might just be colder than Zakun.

“Right. So I guess it’s safe to tell you that I’m part of the mafia, then.”

The man’s hand froze and his eyes narrowed into a glare at you before he gathered up the papers and placed them back into his briefcase, standing up. “I don’t know what game you’re playing at, but I refuse to believe that a mere child is in the mafia. Do take your games elsewhere.”

You sat frozen in your chair, blinking a few times as the words sunk in. You then shot up from your chair and growled out, “I’m not a child!” but it didn’t matter, because the man was already gone. With a groan, you fell back into the chair. ‘Now what am I supposed to do? Rory-chan is so gonna kill me.’

“Mi scusi?”

You looked up to see the female worker from before. She smiled softly, placing an espresso in front of you. “Oh, uhh… thank you.”

Realizing that you spoke English, she switched to using it, a thick accent present but her words easily understandable. “No problem. You looked like you needed it,” she smiled brightly, tilting her head to the side and causing her blonde bangs to fall across her closed eyes. “So tell me, did you know that guy?”

“No,” you sighed, leaning back in the chair with your hand clasped loosely over the base of the drink. “I need to, though.”

“You’re not like a spia, how you say, a stalker are you?”

“No. I have better things to do than stalk some guy.” You rolled your eyes. “Especially not someone as rude as him!”

She giggled. “Alright then! I can give you some information on him. Though I don’t know much, I know a little.”

“And you’d tell me, just like that?” You quirked a brow at her. “What’s the catch?”

“No catch!” She smiled, nodding her head. “It seems kinda important that you get through to him, but I’m warning you, he’s a tough costumer!” She giggled again. “His name is Holland and he’s a twenty-three year old owner of some shop on the other side of town. He’s all business – never smiles, never laughs, never even shows any emotion unless it’s annoyance! He’s so stuffy!” She pouted, folding her arms over her chest as she took the seat he had previously occupied.

“What kind of shop is it?”

“Hmm, I believe it’s a book shop, but I am not certain.”

“Do you know the name? Or an address.”

“Un attimo,” she held up her finger before standing up and heading over to the counter, where she grabbed a thin strip of paper. She pulled the fountain pen from the ink bottle, gliding it across the page before returning it and heading back to you, setting the paper onto the paper. “Careful not to smear the ink.”

You glanced at the address written there and had no clue where the hell it was, but you could just ask someone on the street and hope they knew English. Shouldn’t be too hard, right?

“I’ve tried so many times to be nice to him,” she continued. “But he’s just so mean! He comes in here every morning around nine o’clock, reads a few pages from his paper, and then spends close to two hours scribbling away. I thought, maybe, since he comes in everyday, I’d try and be nice, but half the time, he does not even respond! Che maleducato, you know?”

“Y-Yeah…” No, you really didn’t know, but you cleared your throat, shifting in your seat. “So, everyday, then?”

She nodded again. “It was actually pretty surprising, though! Usually he just ignores everyone that talks to him or whatever, but he didn’t ignore you! He actually let you sit with him and he actually talked to you in that deep sexy voice of his, I can not believe it! Maybe it’s because you’re so young,” she put her finger to her bottom lip, which slightly jutted forward as she pouted. “But I’m young, too, you know?”

Again, no, you did not know, but you pretended you did. “Uhh, right… weird…” You dug into your pocket to pull out some money for the drink only to freeze as you came to a realization – you only had yen on you, and you were pretty sure that they didn’t accept that in Italy.

Sensing your rising distress, the girl crossed her legs and waved you off with a friendly smile. “Non preoccuparti, it is on the house. I’m Sandra, by the way, Sandra Moretti. I’m half-American and I struggled learning the language when I came here as a child, but do not worry, you will pick it up soon!”

Normally people didn’t give that much information to someone they just met, which worried you a bit, but you let it go. “Cool, thank you.”

“Sure thing! See you around~”

You chuckled nervously as you stood up, keeping your eyes on her as you headed for the door. As soon as your back hit the glass, you bolted from the store and down the street. Sure, she seemed nice enough, but you knew from experience that coming across people that friendly and willing to give away information to a complete stranger were usually pretty dangerous. Still, you got some useful information from her.

Just then, the phone started to buzz within your pocket and you fished it out, flipping it open without so much as second thought. You instantly came to regret this decision, having to pull the phone back in order to keep your hearing in tact.

“Why didn’t you call?!” came Rorian’s angered voice. You could hear three voices in the background, probably trying to calm him down. “Zakun called thirty minutes ago and said you found the first generation fire guardian!“

“Er, yeah… about that…” you cleared your throat, leaning back against the brick wall. Night had fallen, the streets barely lit up by the pale street lamps scattered too far apart from each other. It was silent in the city, something you weren’t used to. “I did find him… kind of.”

“‘Kind of’? What in the hell does that mean?“

“Calm down, Rorian!” cried a voice that I did not recognize.

“Give me the phone, will you?” Rorian’s cries faded into the background as Sylvian took over, his voice soft and warm. “Hello, Y/N sweetheart. Don’t mind Rory. He’s a bit moody tonight.“

“I told you not to call me that!” was Rorian’s muffled reply.

“I hear you found the first-generation guardian of fire. Is this correct?” Sylvian inquired. It sounded like he had left the room, because the background of the call suddenly became silent.

“Yeah, I’m sorry Syl. I should have called Zakun, but I didn’t want to risk him not getting there in time. I had ’em, too.” You sighed, closing your eyes and leaning your head back against the wall. If you weren’t mentally kicking yourself before, you certainly were now.

“Don’t worry about it, you simply followed your instincts and did what you believed was best.” He paused. “Did you get any information on him? What did he look like?“

“I talked to a girl that worked there. She said his name is Holland, twenty-three years old, and he owns a bookstore on the other side of town. I got the address. He also visits the same cafe every morning around nine.”

“Then we still have a chance. Good work, sweetheart.” His warm smile could be heard within his tone. “Do you remember how to get back to the hideout?“

“I think I can manage.” You responded, but the truth was that you probably couldn’t and would end up just wandering around aimlessly for a while. That was fine, though, because you figured the others would be pretty angry for letting Holland get away, even Sylvian, despite how calm he sounded on the phone.

“Alright. I’ll call Zakun and tell him to return, as well.“

The line went dead and you heaved a tired sigh, flipping the phone shut before sliding it back into your pocket. Back in your own era, you had often made mistakes because you were, in Reborn’s words, brash and reckless, acting before thinking – a lot like Gokudera, but much worse. You often screwed things up and got yourself hurt because of it, but Tsuna was never mad at you.

No matter how badly you screwed up, Tsuna always forgave you, even for your most stupid of moments. The others… not so much. Gokudera would always get pissed off at you for causing trouble for the Juudaime, despite the fact that he causes just as much trouble. Yamamoto usually just shrugged it off, and Reborn and Bianchi would often give you the silent treatment for a week.

You know how when parents get angry at their kids and the kids feel like shit because of it? Well, when someone you care about is disappointed in you, it makes you feel even lower than that, like the scum of the earth.

Now, you may not have known these guys long enough to be considered close with them, but they did feel kind of like family and you were also already feeling pretty low because you had betrayed one of the two people you swore you would never betray – Giotto.

‘And after he stuck up for me. And Asari and Knuckle… I wonder what’s going through their minds. Wait… I take that back. I don’t wanna know…’

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

Three hours later, you found yourself standing in the kitchen of the old abandoned house, staring at the knife. You had never actually tried this, but it should still work. Igniting the flame on your ring, you gripped the handle, letting it engulf the knife. Seconds later, a click was heard and the hole appeared on the fridge. You inserted the ring and the circle of flames appeared, the door swinging open.

You walked down the same dimly lit hallway, taking small, slow steps because you still weren’t looking forward to facing the others, but it had to be done. Better sooner than later, right?

You finally came to a stop in front of the door bearing the Gardiano Family’s crest. Taking a deep breath, you pushed the door open and slipped into the brightly lit room, a fairly large change from the almost pitch black hallways that led up to it. The hushed whispers of the group stopped as they all turned to look at you, a thick silence falling over the room.

You shifted from one foot to the other, refusing to meet anyone’s gaze as you attempted to swallow down your increasing nerves. ‘Man, this sucks. I feel like a kid about to be scolded.’

“So you have finally returned,” Rorian didn’t sound angry like he had earlier on the phone, but the annoyance was still quite present. Guess that’s better than seething rage, though.

“Did you get lost?” Salmon questioned, glancing up from his laptop.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I did.” You rubbed the back of your leg with your foot, forcing a smile. Your hesitation to return was not a fact that they needed to know – or maybe that was just your damned pride getting in the way.

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

▸Next

[bisexualsforprompto]

Teen Titans AU Part 12

This chapter is longer since I’ve taken longer to update! Today we’ll meet a certain redeemed blonde Bee miraculous holder. Maybe she’ll have a love interest 😉.

Gabriel Agreste had been working with Slade for a while. He knew who the traitor of the Titans was and he knew all the information given. He also knew that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was Ladybug, it was too risky to tell his son though. They needed Ladybug removed and if he knew his so-called ‘princess’ was Ladybug he might refuse to fight her or hesitate. In the end, Gabriel always knew what was best for his son and his grand plan. He chuckled to himself as he walked the streets of Jump City, until he finally made it to his destination. He was in need of a certain Italian girl’s assistance.

“Ah!!!! Guys they’re online! They’re online!” Jon screamed at the top of his lungs. “Coming!!!” Garfield yelled as he shoved a pancake into his mouth. The team assembled in the common room as Jon hit the accepted the video call. There on the screen was a smiling Marinette with hair in twin braids and a scowling Damian who seemed to be...holding Marinette’s hand?! Raven gave a sly smile as Gar grumbled and discretely passed her twenty dollars. “So when did that happen?” Raven asked in a monotone with a hint of a smirk on her face. Marinette blushed, “I-I guess technically yesterday.” Damian glared at Raven, but he had a nagging feeling once again, guilt. It was awful, he felt...bad for Jon, especially after telling him he didn’t want to date Marinette. He felt almost like he had lied to Marinette, what if she wanted to be with Jon but thought that he didn’t like her so Damian was her only option?! “Oh.” Jon coughed. “Anyway,” Marinette said oblivious to the situation, “We wanted to catch up with everyone. Maybe individually if that’s alright with you guys?” The team took the bait, “Of course! I need some Mari time!” Gar exclaimed doing some jazz hands, “And Damian time too of course.” Marinette giggled but then realized, Gar could be the mole. She sighed and knew when she found out who the traitor was, it would hurt like hell. Jamie shoved the computer away from the rest of the team. “Me first, I have something I want to run through you guys.” Marinette nodded kindly and Damian’s face held the same amount of brooding on it as before. Before the others could protest Jamie took the computer to his room.

“Sorry, this is really important and I think you’ll want to know.” He took a deep breath, “So I asked my scarab if searching for miraculouses could be done since you mentioned you’re missing some. You won’t believe where it found a bunch.” Damian raised an eyebrow, “Spit it out Reyes.” Jamie rolled his eyes, “Ok ok. A storage unit in slightly south of here. An hour out from Gotham and an hour out from Jump City. The scarab said that both the horse miraculous and butterfly are active. I didn’t know if that meant anything to you.” Marinette nodded though she was internally freaking out, she really hoped Gabriel hadn’t gotten out of prison. “Thanks Jamie. I’ll have to get them as soon as possible. This is extremely important. In the wrong hands the miracle box is the most dangerous weapon ever. Although if only two miraculouses are active that means Hawkmoth has only one other co-conspirator, I’m guessing Slade.” Marinette’s mind went at 100 miles a minute, she’d need to find the box as soon as possible.

Jamie nodded and smiled, he went back to the room to give the computer to someone else. Damian muted it, “You know we were supposed to stick to the plan.” Marinette nodded and squeezed her boyfriend’s hand, “I know Dami but it can’t be him if his scarab can track miraculouses. Chat Noir would already have mine.” Damian scowled and unmuted the computer.

Everyone else passed by easily, Damian and Marinette gave each of them a different location where they were ‘hiding’ the Ladybug miraculous. The plan was off without a hitch, all they had to do was wait, well wait and Damian had to talk to Jon. Marinette had gone downstairs to clear her head, she still couldn’t believe someone who she’d been living with betrayed her and the team. Jon got on the computer, he didn’t look too mad so Damian was slightly relieved. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Jon depanned. “I-I it just happened. I’m sorry, I really wanted to tell you.” Jon nodded and then sighed, “It’ll take awhile but I’ll get over Marinette. If anybody I’m glad she’s dating you. Besides,” he said cracking a smile, “I won the bet.” Damian stared at him confused. Jon laughed, “We’ve had this bet ever since I got to the tower. Betting on if you’d ever date anybody. Most people said no, but Raven and I said yes and we both are twenty bucks richer.” Damian scowled, “You bet on me?!” Jon cracked up and nodded. “Anyway, why did you talk to everybody individually. It was super weird.” Damian crossed his arms, “The Titans have a mole.”

Jon’s eyes widened, “W-what?! Since when? Who?! Are you sure?!” Damian rolled his eyes, “I don’t know when or who but I am sure. That’s what we’ve been trying to find out. Don’t make me regret telling you and don’t tip off the rest of the team!” Jon nodded still in a stupor. Marinette hopped back upstairs and into the room, she sat down next to her boyfriend and waved, “Hey Jon!” Jon smiled, “Hey Marinette, how's it going?” “Pretty good. Sorry I’ll have to cut this short, I realized it’s almost time for lunch. What do you want Damian?” Damian shook his head, “You know Alfred can go out for that.” Marinette shrugged, “I need to stretch my legs.” Damian nodded, he was slightly concerned, but he knew she needed this because she had been so stressed since the mole debacle. “I don’t want you running off alone in Gotham. I’m coming with you.” Marinette giggled, “Okay, I’d be fine if you didn’t come though.” Damian patted her on the shoulder, “I know Angel, but you can’t help me being paranoid.” Jon smiled, he had to admit they were a cute couple, “I’ll let you guys go then. Bye!” Marinette waved and Jon hung up. “Ready?” Marinette asked standing up. “Sure. Where’d you want to go?” Marinette tapped her chin, “Since you’re coming maybe we could go somewhere, you know for our first real date.” Damian blushed, “Any places in mind?” “Well you know the area better than me, but how about Gotham Diner? It’s near the fashion district.” Damian chuckled, “Sounds perfect Angel.”

Marinette grabbed her bags, they ended up going into stores before they ate and of course Marinette bought new fabrics. Damian insisted on paying but Marinette refused, he pouted and said he’d pay for lunch. Marinette giggled and agreed. As Marinette walked down the street, sunshine radiating off of her, Damian followed smiling a little to himself. Gothamites gawked as they saw the Ice Prince with his girlfriend, they were surprised he could smile, that he had a girlfriend and that he was back in Gotham. Some people snuck pictures. As Marinette walked, with Damian in tow a blonde girl with her hair cut in a short bob squealed and ran up to her. Damian was shocked and they Marinette and the blonde started talking excitedly in France, he almost didn’t catch it.

“Dupain-Cheng!” Squealed the blonde. “Chlo?” Marientte turned to see her ex-bully turned best friend. She thrust her into a hug and squeezed her. “Look Dupain-Cheng Im glad to see you too, but I do like breathing,” Chloe strained. Marinette released her, “Sorry it’s just that I haven’t seen you in so long. Wait, what are you doing in Gotham?” Chloé narrowed her eyes, “Could ask you the same question DC and who’s this?” She asked motioning to Damian. “That’s Damian,” Marinette exclaimed, “my boyfriend.” Although Marinette turned pink and rushed her statement a little Chloé screamed, “FIRST YOU’RE IN GOTHAM WITHOUT TELLING ME AND NOW YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND! THAT’S IT WE’RE CATCHING UP NOW!” Chloé grabbed Marinette by the arm and stormed off. Damian stood there in a stupor, his girlfriend was just sister-snatched before his eyes. Chloé whipped her head back, “You coming or not?!” Damian didn’t say anything, he knew from his family that you do not mess with strong willed women like Chloé, he followed obediently like a dog.

Chloé led them to a small café where she sat down at the closet empty table. She sat down and wasted no time, “Why are you in Gotham Dupain-Cheng?!” Marinette giggled, she’d always enjoyed Chloé’s...directness. “Damian took me here to meet his family?” Chloé narrowed her eyes, “You!” She pointed at Damian, “How long have you been dating Maribug?” Damian’s eyes widened, “What’d you call her?” Chloé hissed in Marinette’s face, “He doesn’t know?” Marinette sighed, “He does, and we’ve been dating since yesterday but we’ve known each other for months. Anyway, Damian this is Chloé otherwise known as Queen Bee, and Chloé this is Damian, he does have a name.” Chloé rolled her eyes, “Whatever. You do realize it’s stupid to go with some random guy to a different city right?!” Marinette nodded, “Damian’s not-“ “Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous. Stop going off with random dudes Maribug! And don’t tell them you’re identity!” Chloé flicked her in the head. “Um Chloé, I distinctly remember you telling everyone you’re Queen Bee.” Chloé rolled her eyes once again, “That’s different Dupain-Cheng, you know I can’t hide this fabulosity.” Chloé flipped her hair as Marientte giggled, “But you still shouldn’t tell random people that you’re Ladybug!” Damian decided to step in, “I’m not a random person.” “Excuse me?!” Chloé said, turning shooting daggers with her eyes. “I said I’m not a random person.” Damian repeated plainly. Marinette shrank down in her seat as Damian and Chloé continued their intense staring contest. “He’s a keeper Maribug.” Damian shook Chloé’s outstretched hand. “Chloé Bourgeois, daughter of Paris’s mayor and fashion designer Audrey Bourgeois.” Damian nodded, “Damian...Wayne.” Chloé sprung up from her chair, “You bagged a Wayne?! Yes Maribug, way to use what I taught you! He’s definitely a keeper!” Marinette started cracking up until Chloé saw a shadowy figure in the distance. “Don’t look now but I think a certain alley cat followed us. Why is he here anyway?!” Chloé scowled. “I recently joined a team, ever since then he’s been getting intel from one of them about my whereabouts.” Marinette sighed. “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! RIDICULOUS, UTTERLY RIDICULOUS! GET ME MY MIRACULOUS I’M GOING TO KILL THIS TEAMMATE AND THIS STUPID CAT!” Damian cracked a smile, finally something he could agree on. “Chloé, no killing. But I might be able to get your miraculous back. Once we deal with a certain black cat we can find the miracle box, Damian pull up the location Jamie said the box was.” Damian obliged and pulled up a map. “Got it, but what will we do about that idiot?” Damian asked while motioning to Chat. Chloé smirked deviously. “I’ve got a couple ideas.”

Taglist (you already know how this goes):

@Zebrabaker

@2sunchild2

@northernbluetongue

@violatiger8

@mochinek0

@beaversuenightly

@poshplumcot

@queen-of-the-trash-planet-tm

@heaven428

@worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry

@indecisive-mess-named-me

@captainmac6

@mandy984

@emjrabbitwolf

@synnesstra

@mjisntme

@i-have-no-cool-username-to-use

@shamefullove

@yokizu

[keanuvibe]

Bodyguard (John Wick x Reader) Pt. 4

A/N: Hi! sorry im awful at uploading lol. my personal life rn is on fire and i haven’t had all the time in the world to write, but managed to pull this chapter together so :) thats coolio. 

Words: 4.7k

Warnings: swears, violence, a lil fluff

“So, tell me everything.” June smirked, leaning over the table towards you. You had managed to meet the girls on time, only a few minutes past twelve- thirty. The three of you got seated shortly after, and ordered your cocktails; beginning the rounds of catching up you had to do. The restaurant is diner themed, set in the 1950’s. One wall of the building was a bar, fit with barstools, an ice cream machine, as well as a soda machine. There was even a section where you could order homemade candy. Little booths scattered the wall across from the bar, and tables separated the two. The floor was checkered design donning many muddy footprints and the walls were covered in old-timey photos of local streets. You and the girls sat at a booth, June and Dottie sitting across from you.

“Okay, get this,” You began, leaning in towards your friends, “Santino, you know, mio cugino pazzo. He’s mad at my father and is trying to kill me for it.”  ‘[My crazy cousin.]’ You finished and took another long sip of your cocktail. June and Dottie stared with their mouths agape. You calmly set down your drink and smiled shyly, eyes bouncing between the girls. You loved your friends, honestly. The three of you have been close since you were young teens. June and Dot also had connections to the Italian mafia, their fathers having run a section of both New York and New Jersey; although they aren't as intertwined as you. June is the oldest, one year older than yourself. She’s an old soul, that you know for sure. She wears dated clothes and uses dated household items; in fact, you can't recall June ever purchasing something new from the stores you and Dot go to. Hell, even her car is a 1978 AMC Pacer. Dottie is only a few months older than you, on the other hand. She is the spitting image of a pinup girl. She wears her hair in elegant waves and has bangs, she even wears button up dresses and has big hair bows for when shes feeling fancy. You can’t recall a time when she didn’t wear red lipstick nearly everyday.

“Should you even be outside?” Dottie whispered, leaning closer to your figure. Her New York accent was a little amplified by the drinks she’s had already. You shrugged as your answer, and June scoffed. 

“You, (Y/N), are unbelievable.” The waiter to walked up to your table, halting your conversation. The three of you blinked at the other, little grins holding back giggles ready to erupt. The waiter asked for your orders, then as soon as the young man had left, you jumped right back into it. 

“You guys should see my bodyguard.” You spoke, a smirk donning your face. Your mind wondered as to what he was up to right now. Maybe he's still sitting waiting for you to exit the bathroom, or, maybe he's already begun the witch hunt. 

“Ah, yes. John? As you've mentioned. Show us! the way you've described him- He sounds gorgeous.” Dottie eagerly bounced in her seat, urging you to show them a picture. You pulled out your phone, stomach dropping at the several messages that donned the lock screen; John’s contact name on each one. Witch hunt is it. 

12:47: Very funny. Where are you? 

12:59: Where are you. 

1:13: (Y/N). This isn’t a game.

1:21: I’m coming to find you. 

At least it took him almost an hour and a half to notice. You bit your cheek, looking up at June and Dottie. The two girls were engaged in conversation, talking about something or another. You cleared the notifications and unlocked your phone, hoping to god you got to finish your lunch before John caught up. You opened the camera roll and scrolled through until you found a picture of you and the bodyguard. Somehow, you'd gotten him to agree to a photo. He was bent over so his head was level with your own. Due to the lighting, the man was squinting, however the dark gaze caused a chill to form down your back. You cleared your throat and flipped your phone around to show the girls. Dottie stopped talking and immediately looked at the screen

“Oh my god.” She murmured, sitting back and putting her hand over her chest. “He’s so handsome.” June grabbed the phone from you to get a better look. 

“You have to fuck him.” The eldest commented with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. You let out a short laugh, snatching your phone back from the girls grasp. The two girls giggled at your embarrassment, Dot even took a coy sip from her drink. 

“Was that gray in his beard? How old is he?” Dottie asked, looking you in the eye and sipping on her own cocktail. 

“Don’t laugh, okay? He’s mid fifties.” A blush crawled across your cheeks as your words escaped your lips. June and Dottie blinked a couple times before Dot finally let out a snort. 

“Going geriatric, now? hm?” June spoke, raising her brow and taking a gulp of her drink. While Dottie laughed at June’s question, you glanced over their shoulders, witnessing two burly men sit down at a table across from yours. One of them made eye contact with you, glare evident in their gaze, before looking back to their buddy. You felt your skin crawl and cleared your throat, pushing the feeling away. June’s laughter brought you back, now looking between the two girls again. 

“Well, He- He really doesn't feel old. Not when we're together.” You shrugged, playing with the condensation on your drink. 

“I mean, you’re only twenty-six,” Dot spoke, her eyes glancing between you and June. “You’re young and hot. I don't see an issue.” Your eyes shot up to meet Dottie’s. She smiled at you, her dark brown eyes warming your core. 

“Who are we to judge,” June began, a laugh escaping her throat. “I slept with that old guy, remember? He was, like, almost sixty and I was drunk as hell.” You and Dottie laughed, remembering that night. It was June’s twenty-third birthday. You three went to the club to celebrate and the eldest of your group ended up getting too wasted on absinthe. Which resulted in her sleeping with Mitch Johnson, an old friend of your fathers. Small world. 

“And you,” June pointed to Dottie, “Are a homewrecker.” 

“He never said he was married.” Dottie responded, sticking her tongue out at the woman. The three of you chuckled amongst yourselves before a silence took over. Your eyes once again scanned the room, not being able to shake the eerie feeling those two men implanted. They still sat across the diner and occasionally their eyes would make contact with your own, causing a chill to run up your spine. You quietly flipped your phone over, checking for any more messages from John. The screen remained blank, setting panic to freely course through your veins. His previous message was sent fifteen minutes ago, which meant the man was probably on his way right now. Plus, your parents didn’t live far from Coopers. 

The men both stood up now, locking eyes with you. They then looked at the other, as though confirmation was in order, before beginning to walk in the direction that you and the girls sat. Anxiety courses firmly through your veins now, and you could feel your palms gather sweat. 

“Girls,” You murmured, gathering their attention. “There are two men walking in our direction now, and I’m pretty sure they are after me.” You kept your voice low, trying to pretend as though you are oblivious. June and Dottie became physically uncomfortable, now shifting in their seats and looking over their shoulders. You felt guilt cross your person, now realizing how serious the situation is. You put your two best friends in harm's way. I mean, It’s not like they’re completely useless; they have parents in the Mafia, they’re trained in combat and weaponry. However, the guilt still bothered you that it was your fault.

“How do we go about this?” Dot asked, reaching for her purse. Your eyes watched as the woman dug into her bag. The pop of a gun chamber sounded as she began to fill it with bullets. June tied her hair back and began to stretch her arms. You sometimes forget that June is trained extensively in Jiu Jitsu. You also looked back to the men who were still making their way to you, passing through the crowded dining room floor. 

“Should we leave the public space?” You murmured, “I don’t want civilian casualties.” 

“Yes.” June agreed, standing up. “Gather your things, quickly.” She added. The oldest tossed a fifty dollar bill onto the table to pay for the drinks and the food you didn’t get to eat. You led the way, pushing through the crowded dining room to the exit. You glanced back, seeing the men become more frustrated. You are aware of the other, knowing what little cat and mouse game was occurring. 

Your palms shoved the door open, the three of you stumbling over onto the sidewalk. You looked both ways before leading right. You didn’t know what to do, whether you should try to outrun them, or stick up and fight. Maybe if you kill them it’ll send a message to Santino. Though, he may not even care. As he’s got twenty more men to fill the space those two would leave. You made sure June and Dottie still followed, checking over your shoulder occasionally. The three of you pushed through the crowds of New York, your main destination being Dottie’s vehicle. Your eyes also kept a lookout for John. He probably tracked your phone, you knew he had the ability anyways. You’re just glad the little ploy worked for as long as it did. You turned right down an alleyway, taking a shortcut towards the parking garage that Dot’s car was in. June looked over her shoulder, alarm blaring through her veins as she spotted the men. 

“They’re still behind us.” She spoke, looking between you and Dottie. You took a deep breath, placing your hands on your hips. 

“Va al diavolo!” ‘[Go to hell!]’ You cursed, throwing your hands up. Dot quickly grabbed you by the arm, pulling you as she began to run to the end. June grunted as the three of you approached a dead end, meeting a chain link fence.

“Fanculo. Okay, you two climb over.” ‘[Fuck.]’ You spoke, gesturing to the fence that stood in front of you. Your eyes met those of your friends, all breathing heavily from the sprint. Echoed footsteps could be heard at the entrance of the alley. You glanced over your shoulder, seeing the silhouettes of the men headed in your direction.

“Go!” You spoke with a harshness towards your friends.

“Not without you!” Dottie raised her tone, hands on hips. You turned your head again, seeing them get closer.

“Dot, just go!” You finally yelled. The girls hesitated, however respected your wishes and quickly climbed the fence, hopping to the other side. They stood now, staring as the men approached, getting ready to jump back over if need be.

“Santino it ha Inviato?” ‘[Did Santino send you?]’ You asked the men, slowly walking towards them.

“Si.” ‘[Yes.]’ One responded, their faces finally becoming clear from the backlight. You looked at them, noting how they both looked like average Italian men. Dark hair, olive eyes, and warm skin. Their faces were covered in a few scars, and you noted how they both wore suits with visible holsters resting on their hips

“It ha mandato per uccidermi?” ‘[Did he send you to kill me?]’ You asked, the men now only ten feet away from you. The darkness of the alley sent a chill down your spine, and you glanced back at the girls to make sure they were alright. Dot had her hand in her purse, most likely gearing up for when shit turned sideways. June held a stoic look, almost a resting bitch face, staring down the two men. 

“Si.” The same one answered again. They now stood only five feet away, stopping in front of you. You felt the sweat drip down your forehead, the buggy summer heat beginning to take claim of your body. You took a deep breath, wondering where John was, and how now would be a good time for him to suddenly appear. The men cracked their knuckles, rolling their shoulders and looking at you with sinister smiles. 

“Di ‘a Santino: E un peccato che sia troppo codardo per uccidermi.” ‘[Tell Santino: It’s a shame he’s too much of a coward to kill me himself.]’ You spoke, remembering the moves that your bodyguard had taught you. You leapt forward, first knocking one of the men down by pushing in his kneecaps. You took the moment to quickly hit the next guy, however, he blocked your blow, sending you back a few feet. The second man took advantage of your hesitation and grabbed you, throwing you into one of the walls. You let out a yelp, feeling the brick scrape bare skin harshly. The first guy stood up, and threw a fist at you, however, you quickly dodged and used his own momentum to toss his body into the wall. 

You felt as the second lackey quickly punched your gut, causing you to double over in pain. June and Dottie stood yelling which you could hear through ringing ears. You recovered quickly, countering the second man with a swift kick to his shin. He groaned, but recovered and swung a fist at you. You managed to dodge the blow and delivered a hearty boot to his groin. He quickly dropped to the ground in pain and you grabbed the pistol from his holster, pulling the trigger and placing one bullet into his skull. The second man used this moment to grab your loose shirt, and throw you into the brick, scraping your skin once again. He lifted his foot and conveyed a kick to your gut, sending you to double over. He used his fist to hit the sides of your face, throwing your head back and forth. You could feel blood begin to drip down your face, the pain that each snap of your neck caused, you could hear June and Dot yelling but it was faint. Time felt slowed, your heartbeat was like a drum in your ear. Then, a gunshot. 

All movements stopped, followed by the thud of a body hitting the ground near your own. You slowly slid down, ignoring the burning chafe the brick left. Hot tears stung your eyes as you covered them with your hands, a harsh sob leaving your throat. Your body ached, your face burned, and blood was the only taste that donned your mouth. You heard the chain link rattle as somebody climbed over it, as well as a huff when they landed. A gentle hand placed itself on your shoulder, and you saw as they knelt down, due to the shadow.

“(Y/N).” John. A hoarse cry escaped your throat upon hearing your bodyguards gentle voice. He wasn’t angry, like you expected. Instead, his tone seemed more worried than anything. You managed to look up at the man from your hands, your eyes greeting the sight of his own.

“Oh my god, (Y/N)!” You heard Dottie yell as she approached your side. The two girls quickly examined your body, nearly shoving John out of the way. 

“I fucked up.” You didn’t even recognize your voice as you spoke— your throat burned. June dotted your bloody forehead with a napkin from Dot’s purse.

“We should get her back home.” Dottie murmured, looking up at John. The dark haired man nodded, agreeing with the woman. June moved out of the way so he could scoop you into his arms. You lay your head onto his chest, faintly hearing the sound of his heartbeat and breathing. The man carried you out of the alley with June and Dottie close behind. You felt the summer sun warm your face as you exited the cool shade of the alleyway. The fresh breeze brought your attention to the cuts on your face, feeling the coolness from the semi-dried blood. Dottie opened the vehicles door and John placed you in the passenger seat, buckling your body firmly in. The two girls hopped into the back, John promising they’d be returned to their car later this evening. You heard the rumble of the engine, and closed your eyes, feeling tiredness numb the pain that ravaged your figure.

——————

“How long have you been employed by the (Y/L/N)’s?” Dottie’s gentle voice quietly echoed throughout your bedroom. Mellow sun rays shone in through the window, casting a warm haze throughout the space. After the incident in the alleyway, John brought you, Dottie, and June back to your parents estate. However, after you all got back, John discovered they'd left on business to Rome for a few days. He carried your figure all the way from the car to your bed, carefully depositing you. Dot and June then got to work, bandaging your wounds, though after you seemed stable and well asleep, they backed off and let you get some rest. Now, John watched as Dottie cared for your sleeping figure. His heart couldn’t help but ache to see you so helpless laying there. Your face had been drained of some of its color, leaving it more pale and sickly. Your hair stuck to your skin, and a thin layer of sweat covered your body. Your bodyguard wanted so badly to climb into the bed with you, stroke your hair from your face, tend to your bandages, hold you, kiss you. 

“Month and a half.” John answered, looking over to the woman. She nodded at his answer, dotting your forehead with a wet washcloth. The woman sat next to your bed with a rag in hand, occasionally cleaning your skin of sweat and dried blood specs. June was asleep on the small couch you had in your bedroom next to one of the windows. John stood on the opposite side of the bed from Dottie, watching her every movement when it came to caring for you. Occasionally your body would stir, but you still hadn’t woken up since the car— four hours ago. 

“Are you liking it?” The vintage dressed woman asked, a smirk crossing her red lips. She cast her eyes between John and your sleeping figure, hinting as to what she was meaning. 

“I am.” He responded. Dottie noticed his softened gaze when he looked towards you. She glanced back down at your face, wiping your skin with the washcloth gently. Your brow bone contained a nasty laceration and your cheekbone held a nice bruise with a cut as well. There was also a gash on your bottom lip, and your left eye held a hefty black bruise. That man really got ahold of you. 

“They're a good family. I know Francesco means well,” Dot murmured, “Speaking of, have you let them know?” John watched as the woman stood up and walked to the bathroom retrieving a fresh bowl of water for your face. 

“I called Francesco shortly after we arrived here.” The dark haired man spoke. He sat on the edge of the bed, leaning towards your figure. He brushed away a few strands of hair that had fallen in your face. His thumb caressed your cheek afterwords, carefully avoiding the wounds that donned your skin. He felt your body stir, and a quiet groan escape your lips as you started to wake up. Dot walked back into the room, noting Johns figure looming over your own. A little smirk crossed her lips as she set the bowl down on the nightstand. You peeked your eyes open for a second, wincing at the brightness of the room. 

“Good afternoon, sleepy.” Dottie smiled, sitting beside your figure again. “Careful.” She murmured, watching as you shifted to sit up a little better. You knew Dottie was next to you, but could feel the weight of somebody on your other side. A large hand quietly placed itself on the side of your arm and you looked to see who it belonged to.

“How do you feel?” John’s words were gently spoken. His fingers squeezed your arm slightly before he released. 

“M-my throat hurts.” Your voice came out scratchy and withered sounding. Dottie quickly placed a cool glass of water into your palms, hers then wrapping around yours before releasing entirely. You gave her the best smile you could manage, due to your cuts, before sipping the drink. John stood up from the bed and made a comment about going to grab pain medicine before he exited your bedroom. 

“I'm going to wake up June.” Dottie spoke, walking over to her sleeping position by the window. You blinked your eyes, feeling the pain from the cuts, and groaned silently. It was stupid of you to think you could take on both of them. Your training with John was going fine, you figured if you at least got one down… No matter, at least you were still alive. The footsteps of your two friends caught your attention as the girls returned to your side. June immediately began to gush over how happy she was you were awake and okay, hugging you tightly. 

“We thought you were a goner.” The girl whispered, worry still evident in her tone. You raised your brows but winced as the sting from the cut became overwhelming. 

“I'm glad John showed up when he did. Like a superhero. He stood there with his gun and you should've seen the animalistic look in his eye.” Dottie sighed dreamily, “You are one lucky girl.” 

“I know about your ‘no dating’ rule, however, I don't think you should let this one get away.” June commented quietly, brushing some hair from your face. Dot agreed, shaking her head vigorously. The three of you cut the conversation short as John's footsteps echoed closer. He entered the room quietly and padded over to the bed, handing you a bottle of painkillers. Your fingers brushed as the container was passed and you felt a longing for the touch to remain; however just as the warmth arrived, it left. 

——————

June and Dottie stayed over for another hour before leaving. They helped you change your clothes and settle in for the night before they left you in the capable hands of John. The two of you remained in your bedroom the rest of the evening. You went in and out of sleep a few times. One time, you woke to the man humming quietly while sitting in bed next to your figure. Another, he was checking your bandages and cleaning the sheen of sweat from your skin. Maybe what June said is right, you can’t let John get away. Nobody has cared for you like he has. But that begged the question, would he even want to be with you? You’re half his age and apart of a mafia family. Plus, you still don't know much about him; his past, his home life, etc. He is a mysterious being, quiet too. It only made you want to know more.

“John?” You murmured, gathering the strength to sit up. It was late evening now, just past eight. The summer sun had just set, leaving a gray tone to cover the space. 

“Yes?” He answered, turning to face you. He had been sitting at your desk, cleaning his gun. 

“Parlami di te.” ‘[Tell me about yourself.]’ The man responded to your request by putting down the parts in his hand. He then quietly cleaned his fingers of grime before standing up and padding over to you, but not sitting. 

“What would you like to know?” He murmured. You studied his face for a moment, taking in the features he donned. His normally combed hair was disheveled now and he had bags under his eyes. He wore a suit and shoes too, obviously still dressed for work. 

“Everything.” You replied, ignoring the throb of pain that coursed through your body. John nodded, then loosened the tie from his around neck. He shed off his suit jacket next, leaving him in a black button up and vest on top. You admired his figure in the darkening room. He stood tall, confident, maybe a little tired, but didn't let it show much. The man settled on the edge of your bed, by your feet. The room remained silent for a few moments; you not daring to speak, and John taking the time to gather his thoughts. 

“I was married.” John’s voice was so soft, you had to lean towards him to hear better. The man kept his gaze towards his hands, fidgeting with his fingers. 

“Was?” You asked, pushing aside the slight feeling of jealousy that rose. 

“She- she passed due to an illness years back.” The bodyguard paused.

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.” You let out quietly, as to not bother John’s story process. 

“I was retired and wanted to live my days as a widower, however I was dragged back into the business by an old friends’ idiot son.” The man sighed, pushing some fallen hair behind his ear. You caught a glimpse at how sad he appeared, and felt an urge to comfort him. Pain shot through your body as you scooted down the bed until you were close enough to John. You grabbed his hand and his fingers instinctively intertwined with your own, making you realize just how large his palms actually were. It felt right, his hand being wrapped with your own. 

“Ever since then, I haven't left the business again. I see no point. I can't seem to leave anyways, I keep getting dragged back in.” He sighed heavily and you began to rub your thumb along his hand, as your way of comforting him. He fell silent, but you didn't push anymore questions just yet. He was being open and raw, which was probably difficult for the man to do. If he wanted to tell his story, he would. You wanted to know more, obviously, about the kind of work he's done; his jobs, the people he’s met, and if he knew anyone in your family. You wanted to know why the man was so troubled, and why it seemed everybody is against him. 

“Will you stay with me tonight?” Your voice escaped softly, barely above a whisper. John's hand squeezed your own, before he finally made eye contact with you. His dark gaze caused a chill to slither down your spine.

“Yes.” He spoke softly, “I need to go change.” He gave your hand one last squeeze before removing it and standing up. You watched as his figure walked across your room and disappeared behind the door. It only took him about five minutes before he returned, ready for bed. Sure, it was barely nine, but you figured you could put on a movie. You drank in the sight of him, admiring his pajamas. Blue with plaid stripes, and a plain white t-shirt. You’ve never seen him in anything but a suit, nevermind the sweatsuit outfit from when you train. This is different than that, this is a side of John that doesn't say ‘Hey, i'm a killer!’ This side is domestic; make you coffee and toast in the morning domestic. 

“Would you like to watch a movie?” You then asked, watching him tidy up his mess from cleaning his gun, which he didn't finish. 

“Sure.” He responded, walking over and climbing onto the bed next to your figure. You turned on your TV, and picked a movie from a streaming service, before fully settling in. You scoot your body close enough to John’s that you were able to lay your head on his chest. The man wrapped his arm around your shoulder, pulling you even closer, but gently as to not cause you more pain. You listened to his heartbeat as it slowed to a resting rhythm, and then closed your eyes letting sleep overcome your senses.

--

Masterlist

[moviepower]

Why do people criticize Jojo Rabbit?

We'd say that this is uncharted territory for distributor Disney, but the company did previously give us their futures face. Hmm. I saw Jojo Rabbit in the best place I could for movies, in my opinion.

For this list, we're looking at why Tyco ITTS 2019 black comedy has proven. So polarizing for critics just to clarify the critical reception thus far has been mostly positive and even watch mojo gave the film a rave review following its TIFF premiere.

Nevertheless, we can definitely see why a movie like this. Wouldn't win audiences over everywhere. Hey Joe, Joe, my old friend. Hi adults. Number 10, the controversial premise. I don't think I can do this last. Of course you can simply by reading it synopsis, you can tell why Jojo rabbit has stirred up so much controversy.

In the midst of world war II, a young German boy named Joe Joe dreams of becoming a Nazi upon learning that his mother has been harboring a Jewish girl in the attic though, Jo Jo begins to reevaluate his outlook on life. I tell them you will be in big trouble throughout this coming of age journey. Our titular character is guided by his imaginary friend.

Is it worth to watch Jojo Rabbit full movie

Who just so happens to be a flamboyantly incompetent, Adolf Hitler, as inventive as the premises, it was guaranteed to ignite passionate feelings. Critics are unsurprisingly split as to whether the film's premise is inspired or irresponsible. I wish more of our young boys had your blind fanaticism. Okay.

Number nine, how it stacks up to other satires and this world is ruined for everyone and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way Jojo rabbit. Isn't the first film to satirize Hitler or Nazis 1940 twos to be, or not to be was criticized upon release for its farcical, spin of Nazi occupied Poland.

But today is viewed as a comedy classic. I know you're quite famous in London kernel. They call you concentration camp Earhart. Yes. Yes, we do the concentrating and the poles do the camping Hitler. Technically isn't the protagonist and the great dictator. It's obvious who Charlie Chaplin was parodying. We can learn more about actress playing mother Jojo on Wikipedia.

Arguably the most famous sendup of Nazi Germany is Mel Brooks. The producers. In which two con men put on an intentionally horrible musical entitled springtime for Hitler. Practically a love letter to this own run a week week. Are you kidding display? It's got the close on page four. Some critics are ready to place Jojo rabbit alongside these revolutionary respected comedy.

What do critics write in reviews about Jojo Rabbit?

Others, however, would claim that the film has more in common with the bridge sit-com Hile, honey I'm home, which was so misguided and tasteless that it only lasted one episode. Oh 10 night. You will make an schnitzel. What a joke. You must be real mad at me, honey. I'm a very, very bad Hitler. Number eight, what's going on in the real world right now?

Fuck man. The house, although world war II is in the past. The same, unfortunately can not be said about bigotry. Nowhere was this more apparent than at the 2017 unite the right rally in Charlottesville, which attracted several hate groups, including neo-Nazis. Since prejudice and discrimination remain prevalent in today's world.

It's obvious why various critics would object to a film that makes light of Nazi Germany. Nevertheless, satire can reflect modern times as well as history in ways that straightforward drama can't. Some might argue that now isn't the right time for a Nazi satire, but others would debate that society needs a movie like Jojo rabbit. A great story about the Irishman is here.

Now more than ever, you're not to nuts. Jojo, tenue kids likes dressing up in front of you. If somebody wants to be part of a club. Number seven, the humor, the best weekend ever.

Soundtrack in the highest level of production

Wow. Your enjoyment of Jojo rabbit will hinder on how hard you laugh. Or of course, if you laugh, the film didn't tickle. Roger Freedman. Funnybone who wrote in his showbiz four one, one review Jojo rabbit is actually borderline antisemitic offensive on many levels and not even funny. Sam Adams of slate couldn't have disagreed more proclaiming for Jojo rabbit comedy.

Isn't a means to minimize, but to analyze wise, to pry at the way, hateful ideologies can be embraced as a comfort and how beneath their promise to. Blame how the world really works is an understanding no more sophisticated than a child's it's time to buy some books. Since humor is subjective, we guess there isn't always going to be a clear line between what's offensively funny and what's just plain offensive.

Oh God. Number six. Jewish jokes. Did you know, Jews can Z to each other's mind. So tell us, you know, who saw one? They could look just like us of Tyco. ITT satire is clearly the Nazis. However, the director who's of Jewish and Maori heritage also pokes fun at Judaism. Hi, well, the real Jordan Rumi was horrified by the audience's reception at the screening he attended.

Writing, you have no idea how it is to be surrounded by thousands of people laughing at jokes, specifically directed at Jews. That being said, Rumi seemed to be in the minority of a group that found the film. Hilarious. As with Borat and South park, many would argue that the humor and Jojo rabbit isn't intended to mock the Jewish faith, but to criticize how ignorant and Semites are a cute number five, the life is beautiful comparison, right?

Jojo Rabbit's reaction to mom's death

Yeah. Critics have stocked a Jojo rabbit up against numerous other films. But life is beautiful. Seems to be the one that's invited the most comparisons this 1997, Italian dromedy also presented world war II through a lighthearted lens, centering on a Jewish man who uses humor and imagination to shield his son from the horrors of the Holocaust. It's interesting what they write about this movie on Amazon.

Well, the film won an Academy award for best foreign language film, and even got nominated for best picture. There were those who found the movies comedic tone, inappropriate. Over two decades later, we will continue to debate if the movie is a life affirming fable or a dated misfire. It's actually eerie how much these two films have in common, especially since both one TIFs peoples choice award.

That is the strongest thing in the world. Number four, is it shocking enough? I was your age. I had an imaginary friend come in so much stuff even before the first trailer dropped Jojo rabbit was being built up as one of 20 nineteens most controversial movies. Weirdly enough though, some critics have expressed disappointment that the film isn't more shocking.

Well, audiences have arguably gotten more sensitive with time. There are still patrons who crave comedy that pushes the envelope to its limits. It's time to burn some books. Brian Talarico of the Chicago sun times felt Jojo rabbit played it too safe. Writing the final scenes of Jojo rabbit are too easy for a film that needs to be dangerous and daring. 

Are the best scenes already included in the trailer?

Even if the film doesn't go all out with its edgy concept. Seeing Tyco, ITT dresses, Adolf Hitler will be more than enough to make a few jobs drop. What am I going to do? No idea. Going down the house in Glen Winston church one, negotiate number three. It's depiction of Nazis. The playlist Charles romesco took issue with the films, humanization of antisemites writing.

YTT concedes that a good percentage of Nazis really do hold hate in their heart. But maintains that at least some of them aren't you two seem to be getting on. Well, it doesn't seem like a bad cost. How much pain and suffering the Nazis caused many audiences will understandably struggle with this message.

However, if Ron Jones proved anything with his third wave social experiment in 1967, it's that even ordinary people can get swept up in the dangerous ideals of fascism. Likewise, Jojo rabbit poses, a challenging question. If we're not willing to acknowledge the bad and the good in people, how can we ever rid ourselves of prejudice?

Nothing makes sense anymore. Yeah, I know. It's definitely not a good time to be a Nazi. Number two it's message. And mother took me. She's kind me like a person, whatever your thoughts on Jojo rabbit, Tyco ITT clearly wanted to spread an anti hate message. YTT also claims that he started writing the screenplay before Nazis regained relevance in the media.

There's little doubt that why TTS intent was noble, whether or not the final product successfully gets his message across is where critics are split. A doubt of the a V club felt that making fun of Nazi Germany had been done before. Thus taking away from the movies, broader anti hate theme. Peter Howell begged to differ in his Toronto star review writing Taika YTT knocks it out of deer park with the meaningful lunacy of his anti hate satire, which is equal parts.

Adolf Hitler's thread in the movie

Mel Brooks, West Henderson, and  own whimsical brilliance growing up too fast. Ten-year-olds and the celebrating war and talking politics. Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified a better latest videos. You'll have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.

If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications. Number one it's depiction of Hitler. Well, they call me a scared rabbits. Okay. Let's address the giant rabbit in the room. Tyco YTT spends most of his screen time prancing around in a Nazi uniform and toothbrush mustache. If you want, you can read here about preparations for making a movie and other curiosities.

Without a doubt, YTT, didn't set out to deliver a serious or dignified portrayal of Hitler. Rather YTT aspired to make the fewer look as goofy and idiotic as possible. Oh, . Just painting Hitler as a wacky, even likable buffoon desensitized us to the atrocities. He committed though. Some may say yes while others may argue that it leaves audiences more informed and open-minded.

At the end of the day, everyone is going to have a different opinion of Jojo. Let them say whatever they want. People used to say a lot of nasty things about me. Oh, this guy's a lunatic. Oh, look at that psycho. He's going to get us all killed. Do you agree with our picks, check out this other recent clip from watch mojo and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.

[ourloveisforthelovely]

Always You 4

A/n: AU!Story.  This is a Gabriel AU reader insert…Gabriel is a writer and hopelessly in love with Cas’ little sister. After a failed relationship that ended badly in the past, Gabriel is just a shell of what he used to be. Now he has to work on being himself again to get the girl. (Cas in this story is hippie Cas) Slight smut in this chapter.  

Link to Chapter 3

Words: 1,976

Pairings: Gabriel x Reader

___________

After you stormed out the door Gabriel and Cas stood in an awkward silence. Cas finally looked to face Gabriel.

  “Are you gonna go after her?”

  Gabriel gave Cas a glare before turning and walking in the opposite direction. Cas remanding looking in the place where his best friend stood a moment longer before shrugging and going back to his and Dean’s room. He couldn’t be the one that fixed everything between Gabriel and yourself. The two of you would have to learn to fix your issues without him. 

  “I don’t know why I fool with either one of them.”

  He muttered shutting the door behind him.

  Meanwhile, Gabriel stormed into his bedroom also slamming the door before beginning to pace. Did the two of really just have this argument? Did you both really just break up over their stupid tempers getting the better of them? Gabriel yanked at his hair trying to piece together what happened.

  It was entirely his fault. That he got. He shouldn’t have let his stupid insecurities come between the two of you and rule over his common sense. You wasn’t going to go fuck that doctor. He knew that! If you had waited that long for Gabriel to make a move on you then you wouldn’t go throw it all away for some older man (some loaded arrogant older man). He had to give you some credit there. Gabriel couldn’t even remember the last time that you had gone on a date until the two of you had became a couple.

  “Fuck!”

    Gabriel growled angrily. He was just starting to feel like his real self again.  It had been a long time since he has felt that way too!! Gabriel didn’t know the last time that he has used that many pick up lines on someone the way he had you earlier that morning. Watching you blush bright red and having to make yourself pull away from him felt nice.

  There was also the matter of his and Sarah’s son. Gabriel still didn’t know how he felt about that. He had a child that he knew nothing about and hadn’t seen. This also meant that he would have to somehow deal with Sarah! That was the last thing that he wanted to be doing but it looked like he was going to have to find someway to be able to do so. 

  “Fuck me sideways I have got to do something!”

  Gabriel quickly got his keys and walked out the door. He was thankful that neither Cas nor Dean were in the living room. He didn’t want to deal with a mini Spanish Inquisition at the moment.

  Arriving at the hospital, Gabriel didn’t know what in the world he would say to you. Hopefully winging it would be okay. He didn’t even know where the hell you were going to be at. Here he stood in a huge hospital looking for a doctor. Rolling his eyes he noticed the ER receptionist desk a few feet away. That would be a good place to start!

  Walking up to the front desk in the emergency room the receptionist looked up from her computer grumpily.

  “Can I help you?”

  Gabriel looked around the room again before looking back to the woman.

    “I need to see Dr. Y/n Novak.”

  The receptionist looked down at her computer again.

  “The reason?”

  Gabriel frowned. The fuck was it this bitches business? Did she really want him to unload on her? Gabriel guessed that would be a big hell no. Trying to keep his temper down he smiled politely. Killing people with kindness was supposed to work better than being a complete ass right?

  “I’m her boyfriend. It’s an emergency so can you kind of hurry it up?”

  The receptionist looked slightly taken back but picked up her phone.

  “Hold on.”

  The woman turned moving to her phone dialing what Gabriel assumed was your number. Gabriel turned his back to the woman looking around the emergency room. He didn’t understand how you could do this job. After yours parents died in the awful car crash he never understood how you could look at sick or injured people the same way. Your parents deaths made Cas lose his serious grip on reality and live for the moment while it made you more driven. It was you that Gabriel had been worried about. Being a teenager and close to your parents should have affected you more than it did. Gabriel guessed in some ways you kept things bottled up where Cas just ripped up the book known as his life and went wild.

    When the double doors opened and you stepped out, Gabriel felt his mouth drop when he saw all the blood on your scrubs. You looked beyond shocked to see Gabriel standing there…shocked and hurt. Your eyes looked at him closely, clearly searching for what kind of emergency was happening. Gabriel hated that look in your eyes as you walked over.

  “What’s wrong?!! Is it Cas?! Is he alright?!”

  Gabriel nodded.

  “He’s fine. I need to talk to you.”

  You frowned. You clearly didn’t want to hear anything that he had to say at the moment. Sure, you knew that you would have to face him that night when you got home. Deep down you were hoping that he would be asleep when you rolled. You could flop down on the couch and sleep until the next afternoon. That should have been enough time for Gabriel to calm his ass down (and you too).

  “I’m kind of working Gabriel. What is the emergency?”

  Gabriel sighed as the receptionist made a loud “uh huh!” He gave the woman a cold glare.

  “All right I lied!! Sheesh nosy! Mind your own business will ya?”

  Gabriel gave the receptionist another cold glare before physically moving so that he didn’t have to look at the hateful little troll of a woman.

  “Y/n, I need to talk to you about earlier.”

    You sighed but was amused by his hot headed response. That was your normal Gabriel.

  “Want me to call security doctor?”

  The troll lady asked again. Gabriel looked back to her again with a sneer.

  “Don’t you have some papers to file or something?”

  You shook your head.

  “No. It’s fine. I have a few minutes. Come on Gabriel.”

  Gabriel followed you to the almost empty waiting room sitting down. You sat down across from Gabriel who leaned forward taking your hands in his.

  “Sugar I know you are mad. My attitude was awful at home. I didn’t mean anything I said. I’m sorry I said all that shit.”

  You leaned back but didn’t let your hands leave Gabriel’s grasp.

  “Then why did you say it?”

  Gabriel shrugged..

  “Why do we do anything we do when we are angry or in my case scared out of my ever loving mind? I was freaking out about everything that happened with Sarah. I freaked out when I realized that I am going to have to be sociable with her and with a kid that I know absurdity nothing about. I was…am afraid that it is going to affect us. I finally got what I wanted and now everything is falling apart. Y/n,you know I don’t do well with turmoil or drama.”

  You pressed your lips together watching his facial expressions carefully.

  “No, you don’t. You never have. Look Gabe, you know I hate Sarah. I think everyone in our house hates Sarah. If voodoo magic worked….she would be a dead woman. Cas already texted me and offered to pay some random Italian mob boss to make her mysteriously disappear. If that doesn’t tell you something I don’t know what will. Gabriel, I am not threatened by her anymore. Worried about how she is going to potentially treat you..yes. I am also concerned about this kid. What kind of lies has been spoon fed his whole life? Because you know as well as I do there has been a ton. The kid seemed fine enough to me earlier but that was just a physical exam. Mentally, I don’t know what is stewing up in there. What are we going to do,Gabe?”

  Both of you were quiet for a moment. Gabriel moved to sit in the chair beside you. He took extra care to not break the physical contact that he had with you.

  “Well,first things first, I am going to find me a lawyer. I guess that means I will be calling Michael tomorrow. I know that we agreed to see less of him but I think he will know what to do.”

  Emma nodded. You didn’t like the idea of facing Gabriel’s older brother but the man was one of the best lawyers in town. 

  “Definitely a good decision. I hope he isn’t offended that none of us have talked to him since Thanksgiving. I feel bad for poor Sam. He has to be an ass to work for but Michael knows his shit.”

  Gabriel sighed before focusing his attention back on you. You  looked exhausted as you rested your chin on your hand.

  “So what about us?”

  He finally asked. Gabriel was afraid to hear the answer to this. What if you told him to get lost? There was no way that he could handle that and stay sane! You looked in his direction again.

  “Gabriel, if you are concerned about me not wanting to be with you because of the kid than that  is the craziest thing that you could possibly think. If Sarah thinks I am going to step aside and let her destroy you again the bitch better be gearing up for a fight. Look I’m sorry about all the shit I said earlier.”

  Gabriel nodded.

  “Me too. You didn’t deserve any of that.”

  You smiled laying your head on his shoulder.

  “I can totally believe that especially since you came down here to talk to me.”

  Gabriel chuckled.

  “You know I hate hospitals. How much longer do you have to go before you can get out of here?”

  You looked down at your watch.

  “About 5 hours. I didn’t want to sign up for a full 12 hour go around. Gabriel, I don’t want you to worry about Dr. Jones. There is absolutely nothing there. I want you ...just you.”

  “I know. I trust you.”

  You stood up knowing that you needed to get back to work Gabriel quickly stood wrapping his arms around her waist.

  “Darlin, I I have to be crazy about you to be holding you all covered in someone’s blood.”

  You laughed and stood on your tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips.

  “Always the romantic.”

  Gabriel gave you an eyebrow wiggle and muzzled his face against yours.

  “I’m about to romance the pants off of you sugar. I’ll be up when you get home.”

  You smiled looking completely happy now. That was the smile that Gabriel needed to know that everything was okay. He intertwined his hand with yours before walking out of the small waiting room. Gabriel’s attention focused on the troll receptionist who was still looking at him.

  “That lady wasn’t hugged enough when she was little, huh?”

  You  put a hand over your mouth to stifle a giggle so that lady didn’t realize that Gabriel was talking about her.

  “It sure seems that way. I’ll see you soon.”

  Gabriel nodded, kissing you once more before walking out. You stood watching until he was clearly out of sight before turning and going back into the ER. Maybe the next few hours would go by quickly!

___________________

@brokencasbutt67-writer

@supernaturalways

@emiwrites3reads

@authoressskr

@marichromatic

@hankypranky

@wontlookaway

@fand0maniac

@fandom-trash-worth-it

@li0nh34rt

@tas898

@untoldshortsofthefandoms

@shadows-and-padlocked-hearts

@shitfaceddaniel

@killtherandomness

@deanwherescas

@sprnaturallover

@summer-novak

@shaylybaby2032

@mycuddlycorner

[stormtrprinstilettos]

Chameleon - Ch. 3, part 1

Summary: Reader (that's you!) moves to London, hoping to leave her past behind and find happiness. She makes friends with her new neighbors. (Guess who?) I can’t summarize the whole story because it’s going places I don’t even know. It’s like it has a mind of its own.

**Note: Have to split this chapter into two posts because I’ve apparently hit a limit. Or you can read the whole thing in one swoop at the AO3 link below**

A/N: [insert scream here] I battled hard with where I was going to send this story but I’ve made my decision and I can’t turn back now. I know, I know, there’s still no relationship established, but, trust me. Next chapter? *phew* You’ll get it. You’ll get it… We’ll be doing a time warp soon. Just go with the flow. I wasn’t going to post until Saturday, but if I don’t do this now, I’ll end up driving myself crazy.

Language and angst about, as usual, but you, Y/N – you’re a strong ass female… and no man is gonna bring you down!

Tagging @chocolatealmondmilkshake and thanking my beta tester & cheerleader @clogwearingspacepoodle (and everyone else who is actually reading this, too!)

Ch 1 | Ch 2 || AO3 link here

(Enjoy this gif of our main players that separates all of this dribble from the story because the formatting sucks balls and because Angry Brian is how I felt when Tumblr wouldn’t let me post the whole thing, or when I try to post from the Tumblr app.)

You insisted on paying for dinner since you felt like you owed them from rescuing you from madness your first night in London, but the guys didn't want you to. You assumed it was some macho pride thing, so you shoved a wad of money into Freddie's pocket and told him to pretend like he was paying if it made them feel better. You guided them to a small, quiet Italian restaurant you loved and walked in before any of them could stop you.

You were all seated in a circular booth, Brian to your left and Roger to your right. Freddie was quite amused by the unspoken, minor rivalry between Brian and Roger when it came to deciding who would get to sit next to you, so he made sure you ended up in between them, just to see if anything would happen, purely for his own entertainment. He knew what was going on in your head. You vented about it to him many times.

There’s Roger, who you knew you’d have fun with, and you knew without any doubt would help satisfy the need that you didn't even know was pent up inside until your little episode earlier in the day. But then there’s Brian. You know he would bring so much more to your world, but he was just so seemingly unattainable – which made him even more attractive to you.

You convinced yourself that it was nothing more than choosing between the sprint or the marathon. The only thing that you were absolutely certain of was that you had to tread carefully. You’d never been able to forgive yourself if you came in between friends. When you’d talk about this internal conundrum of yours with Freddie, all he would tell you was that it was your decision and that he couldn’t make up your mind for you. He knew who he would rather see you with, and you knew who as well, but it just wasn’t happening, for whatever reason.

You stayed quiet most of the dinner, listening to the three guys talk about the band mostly. You’d smile and laugh and nod along with their conversation, pretending to pay attention to most of it when your mind was preoccupied.

The most you spoke was to nag them about letting you hear them play, and they promised you’d be the first person to hear them as soon as they found their new bass player. You had heard Freddie sing many times. You were completely entranced by his voice and would often ask him to play a song on the piano and sing to you, to which he would happily oblige. You’d hear Brian sometimes singing and playing his guitar from the other side of the apartment wall but wouldn't dare let him know, given how he was easily embarrassed. He had absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about, but you didn't want to risk it.

Your group was interrupted by a tiny redhead who ventured over to the table. She was cute, lightly freckled with green eyes. "Hey, Roger," she screeched when she spoke. You find her voice incredibly annoying, and her personality is way too bubbly for your liking. You, Brian, and Freddie all turn to Roger who is looking quite shocked.

"Oh, hey… you. How are you?" He doesn't remember her name and is struggling to not let it show.

"Are you coming to The Troubadour tonight? A friend's band is playing. I'd love to see you again." She flirtatiously bats her eyes and smiles a flashy smile in his direction, completely ignoring the fact that he is sitting at a table, in the middle of dinner, with three other people. You don't know if you want to shoo the girl away or if you are enjoying watching Roger squirm.

"Oh, well, umm, you see..." He doesn’t know what to say. He’s still trying to remember her name.

You decide right then and there that squirmy Roger was entertaining. You always found it funny when the usually quick-witted guy was left speechless. So, you decide to play your own little game and ask the redhead, "what kind of band are they?"

It seems like she just realized there were more people in the room, and she skittishly answers, "rock and roll, of course. Roger wouldn't enjoy anything else. That's why I'm inviting him."

"We were going to head to The 606 after we finished here..." he hastily states before you cut him off.

"Oh, Roger, we can go there any time. How many chances will we get to hear your friend's band?" You pat him on the shoulder.

"Not my band. My friend's band," she snaps at you while rolling her eyes.

"That’s what I meant…” You try to explain, but she’s not even paying you attention. Her eyes are fixated on Roger. You look over at Freddie. He knows exactly what’s going on and shrugs with his hands letting you know he’s okay with going. You then look to Brian who had covered mouth to hide his smile as he nods that he’s also okay with going. Then you look at Roger, who has a look of absolute betrayal on his face. You put your right hand on his thigh, underneath the table so no one could see, and give him a gentle squeeze as you look him in the eye. "So, what do you think?"

He gulped, wondering why you’re doing this. "Whatever you want," he answers quietly.

You turn back to face the redhead. "What's your name, sweetie?"

Roger leans into your ear and begs you, “please, Y/N, don’t…” Freddie and Brian try not to make noise when they start to chuckle. You ignore them all.

"I'm Lyla. Nice to meet you....?"

"I’m Y/N. Nice to meet you, Lyla. Have you met these two?" pointing to Freddie and Brian.

"Oh, yes, I met them..."

Roger clears his throat and interrupts. "Yeah, she's met them. Lyla, we're going to finish our dinner and we'll see you later. Alright?"

“Would you like to sit with us, Lyla?” You wave your hand for everyone to scoot over to make room for her at the table. She happily takes a seat next to Brian, her face beaming as she stares at Roger. Freddie keeps looking around and fiddling with his napkin. Brian is doing his best to control his amusement, but failing miserably. You pat Roger on his thigh as you clear your throat.

“So, Lyla, how’s it you know these guys?”

“Well, I met Roger after one of their shows a while back…”

“She’s his biggest fan,” Brian says with a chuckle.

“Yeah, she thinks he’s just spectacular,” Freddie pipes up, clearly making a joke you aren’t keen to. .

“No, Fred,” Brian corrects him. “Impressive.” He and Freddie are obviously more amused by all of this than you are.

“Alright, alright, I think she gets it.” You look at Roger and he’s still squirming in his seat, silently pleading with you to stop. You, of course, cannot.

You look back to Lyla, who how has her chin resting in her hands, still looking at Roger. “I haven’t experienced Roger’s drumming. Is he really that good?” you ask her, quite suggestively, but she doesn’t pick up on the innuendo.

Roger grits his teeth and leans over to whisper in your ear. “What are you doing? Stop it.”

“Oh, yeah, he’s really good.”

Brian chokes on the water he’s trying to drink. “Impressive.”

“Spectacular,” Freddie chimes in.

“Hmm.” You look back at Roger. “Really. That good, huh?” You smirk and this time he smirks back.

“Roger?” Lyla tries to get his attention, completely oblivious to the looks the two of you are sharing. “So, you’re coming tonight?”

“Yeah, yeah…” he replies, never taking his eyes off of you.

Freddie throws his napkin on the table and takes the last sip of his wine. “We’re all done here?”

“I think we are,” you say, still smirking at Roger before you look back at everyone else. “Shall we pay the bill and go?” Everyone agrees.

As you are walking in a group to the next stop of the evening, Roger pulls you back behind the group.

“Impressive, huh? Spectacular?” You joke.

He leans down to talk to you so no one else will hear. “The last time I saw her it took me three days to get rid of her, Y/N.”

“Then I guess she’ll be easy for you to get.” You give him a wink and a nudge on his arm.

“Maybe I don’t want to get her,” he whispers in an aggressive tone.

“Calm down, tiger,” you chuckle. “You need to get someone or you’re going to hurt yourself.” You make sure he follows your eyes down to his crotch so he knows that you notice what’s going on under his pants. You leave him with a smirk, joining Freddie and Brian for the rest of the walk.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

"They have a good sound." Freddie nudged Brian as he pointed to the stage. "I wonder if they're serious about all of this, because if they are, they'll need better lyrics." He walked off with a laugh and headed to the bar.

It was the truth. The tunes had a descent vibe but the lyrics were absolutely terrible. Every line made you cringe. The guys seemed to be enjoying the sound and were either not paying attention to the lyrics, with the exception of Freddie, or they were more focused on the sounds and the beats coming through the speakers.

You lean over to Lyla to ask her more about the band. "Do these guys play much?"

"Not really. They just like having fun with it. Gives them something to do with their spare time." She chuckled. "It does help them get laid. Do you know how many girls will do anything to be with a guy in a band?" Lyla winked before she continued. "Especially if he's a drummer."

You give Lyla a blank smile as you watch her start move her body against Roger. "I have a feeling there's a lot of them," you mumble.

Roger didn't seem to mind the attention he was getting. Of course, the amount of alcohol he had consumed up to this point may have caused him to forget all about the annoyance he felt about Lyla earlier at dinner, and the moment the two of you shared earlier.

You quickly turn your attention over to Brian, not wanting to watch the public display going on between the two over to the other side. You watch his head bobbing to the beat, with his mind intently focused on what he was hearing. He must have felt you looking at him, because he looked down to you and a warm smile came across his face. "That bass player needs a better band," he told you, and it was like a lightbulb went on in his head.

"Roger! Come on!" He grabbed Roger by the arm and pulled him away. "We need to find Freddie!" As the two walked over to the bar and started chatting with their friend, Lyla leaned up against you, pouting.

"Is he going to come back?" The stench of whatever she was drinking almost knocked you for a loop.

Rolling your eyes, you give Lyla's head a pat. "Don't worry. You'll get him back." They better not leave me with this girl for the rest of the night, you mumble to yourself.

After the band's set was complete and most of the patrons had left, you were sitting on one of the torn and ratty sofas at the back of the room with Lyla. She was leaning on you, drunk rambling about Roger and how much she hoped he would take her home tonight. Becoming increasingly frustrated, you start staring down Brian and Freddie, hoping they’ll sense your annoyance and leave. They, along with Roger, were in a deep conversation with the band's bass player, and soon they all shook hands with him and turned around to see you and Lyla at the back of the room.

"Up you go. Roger's waiting for you." You didn't know if he really was, but she became his problem once he started handing her shots. You lift a beaming Lyla from the sofa and guide her in the proper direction. "Go on. He's right in front of you."

After seeing the two lovebirds, or whatever they were, reunited, you walk over to Freddie and Brian. "Oh, young love. Isn't it..."

"Disgusting. It's disgusting, Freddie," you pop back. "She's disgusting." The guys laugh hysterically. "Did you ever hear about the time she sucked his dick in the shower? With graphic details?" They cringe. "No? Well I have."

Freddie rubs on the top of your head. "Well what do you know. Princess here is a prude." You knock his arm away.

"No, I am NOT a prude, but if I want to know how it feels to deep throat, I'll do it myself to find out!" Brian took a hard gulp and Freddie howled with laughter.

"Hey, what's so funny? What am I missing out on?" Roger comes stumbling over with Lyla wrapped around the shoulders in his arm.

“Y/N was just telling us about de…” Freddie tried to answer."

"Fuck off, Freddie!" you snap. Brian is standing next to you with his hand grabbing the back of his neck. "Are we leaving or staying here until they kick us out?"

The group assembles to start the walk home as Freddie bids you all a goodbye. "I've got someone to go see. I'll see you all later." He leans over and whispers to you, "it's my friend from the college." He winks and kisses you on the cheek before walking away.

On the walk home, you and Brian walk behind Roger and Lyla, part in order to make sure they didn't fall on their asses, part in order to make sure the two of you could hold a conversation without the other two butting in.

The night air was giving you the chills, and Brian, noticing you started walking with your arms crossed, took off his jacket and draped it around your shoulders. "So, we'll be auditioning that bass player tomorrow afternoon," he tells you as he covers you with the jacket. "He seemed pretty excited. He's seen some of our shows and feels like he could fit right in."

"Oh yeah? That's great! He was really good up there tonight.” You start to bite the left corner of your bottom lip. Neither one of you know what to talk about. Usually your conversations flowed, but tonight it’s struggling for some reason. You don’t want to blurt out something stupid, so you try staying quiet to see if he would talk, but he doesn’t. You had never been at a loss for words with anyone before, but for some reason, he makes you… nervous.

“You know… I hear you playing sometimes." You cringed as the words left your mouth, because the last thing you wanted to to was embarrass him into even more silence.

Brian stutters, "You... you do?"

"Yeah, through the wall.” Jesus, you sound like a stalker, Y/N, you tell yourself. “I can't make out everything, but the things I do hear sound really good."

The smile on his face lets you know that he’s not embarrassed at all. If anything, he’s quite proud of himself. "I could always play you something when we get home… maybe… if you want me to."

"I'd really like that." You wrap your arm in his. You don’t know why you did that, but it felt nice, and he doesn't seem to mind.

After a few minutes, you look up at Brian and tease him, because he’s adorable when he gets embarrassed, and it happens so easily. "So, is this a date now? We had dinner together at a fancy restaurant. We had some drinks. You gave me your jacket and now you're walking me home," you joked. "Yeah, I think this is a date." He freed the hand that was attached to his free arm from his pocket and grabbed the back of his neck while an embarrassed smile came to his face. "Oh, silly, stop that. I'm just picking on you," you say to him as you tap him on his chest.

"Stop what?" he laughs, not realizing what he’s doing.

"You get embarrassed so easy. It's cute,” you say with a nervous giggle.

"I am not embarrassed." He tries to protest, but you know better.

"Yes, you are. You grab the back of your neck every time you get embarrassed."

"Oh, you mean like how you smile and bite the left corner of your bottom lip when you get embarrassed?"

You nudge him and he pretends to stumble. "Yeah, something like that.”

"Home at last!" Roger yells, snapping the two of you out of your haze. "Come on, girl," he commanded Lyla as he slapped her butt. She laughs loudly and runs up the steps.

Brian takes a deep breath as he watched Roger chasing after the redhead. "It's going to be a long, long night."

"Nah. Let's go get your guitar and come play me one of your songs." You jokingly slap Brian on his butt. "Come on, boy." You mimic Lyla's laugh and run up the steps and turn to look at Brian, who’s just standing there, shell-shocked. "Well?" You cross your arms and start tapping one of your feet. "Are you just going to stand there all night?" He shakes his head and laughs before following you.

[Keep going to Part 2]

[ecofinisher]

Movie Night

Movie Night

Ship(s): NathanielxLila

Background ships: AdrienxKagami, JulekaxRose

Oneshot is related to the Super Nathan series around the 4th part.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21012662

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13408780/1/Movie-Night

https://www.wattpad.com/794057412-movie-night-at-the-kurtzbergs-movie-night

In the afternoon Lila was inside the kitchen standing in front of the counter with a bowl in front of her and from the wall cupboard over her she opened the doors and looked at the various snacks and groceries she had stored in there and took out a red-colored bag filled with yellow chips, then she took another chips bag out, which was colored in beige and contained orange sweet potato chips.

“I wonder how the sweet potato ones taste” Lila said to herself opening the two bags, then she filled the bowl first with the natural potato chips, then noted, that the bowl was almost full and grabbed the bowl and placed it behind the small dinner table inside the kitchen, where a few other bowls, filled with nuts, cookies and salty snacks. Lila walked across the kitchen to the fridge and opened the counter beside it to take another plastic bowl out and took it with her back to the counter to fill it with the sweet potato chips, then she crumpled up both bags and she walked with them back to the same direction she went before to the fridge and next to the counter stood the herd and next to it was the sink, which was built inside the counter and in front of the counter it had a door with a drawn, laminated picture of a grey dog dressed in green wearing a backpack on its back and standing with his front paws over a recycling bin. From the backpack of the dog came out a clutch holding a paper cup in it, which was supposed to demonstrate, that he was throwing it into the trash bin.

Lila opened the door to throw the packages into the bag, that was tightened around the trash bin. Lila closed the door, then looked at the table to see all the various snacks she had prepared for the evening. This evening Lila had invited some of her close friends to see her first movie, where she has the main role as an actress.

“Great” Lila mumbled, then heard a burst of laughter coming out from the living room, making Lila smile amused as she recognized the voice of her daughter and her husband, which seemed to be having fun together.

A young girl with long, brown braided ponytail ran into the kitchen passing beside Lila hiding behind her while chuckling.

“Wow Nathalie, who made your hair look like this?” Lila asked looking astonished at the child, which smiled a little embarrassed at the mother’s comment. “You look beautiful”

“Thank you, mommy,” The brunette girl said, watching the mother pick the ponytail to take a look at it.

“Rose, that was definitely Rose, wasn’t it?” Lila asked making Nathalie shake her head.

“This time it was Juleka” Nathalie corrected, then in the kitchen entered her father, Nathaniel Kurtzberg gazing around the area, then widened his eyes as he saw his daughter hiding behind the mother, afterward the girl started to laugh.

“Got ya!” Nathaniel barked and entered into the kitchen running at the girl, which ran off Lila’s back to go around the table, while Nathaniel stopped beside Lila to watch where the daughter was. “You think you can escape me?” The redhead questioned watching the girl slowly move forward to the end of the table, followed by Nathaniel, which observed her steps to be closer to her. Lila wide her eyes at her daughter as a sign, therefore as Nathalie paid attention to the mother Lila rolled her eyes down and up, making Nathalie nod and smirk while looking at her father. Nathaniel grinned at the girl, then watched Nathalie run up at the end of the kitchen and Nathaniel ran beside Lila to head at his daughter. Afterward, Nathalie raced back at the exit of the kitchen, then Nathaniel went around the kitchen and ended up slipping on the floor, falling on his back causing Lila to giggle.

“If you wore your slippers this wouldn’t have happened,” Lila said walking up at her husband going down on her knees.

“It’s weird since I was used to always walk around in our first home in socks. Well there we didn't have tiles, we had India rubber,”

“I had expected you to be like Ivan or Luka wearing the shoes all day on the days we weren’t living together”

“I never took out my shoes, because you never asked at some point” Nathaniel mentioned earning a nod from the woman.

“I know also you never walked on dirt to have your shoes look like a mess,” The Italian woman said helping Nathaniel get up from the floor, then into the kitchen run his daughter towards the couple to hug her father.

“Daddy, can we draw Hunter and Heaven together?” Nathalie asked appearing in the kitchen with a kids magazine with a Cocker Spaniel and a Belgian Shepherd on the cover.

“Like that one on the fridge, we did last week?” Nathaniel asked earning a nod from the girl.

“Don’t you want to see with us the movie?” Lila asked the daughter, which shrugged her shoulder.

“Is it scary? Nathalie asked a little timid.

“No of course not honey.” Lila responded.

“It isn’t also a good idea to watch horror movies with your mother, because……”

“Nathy….” Lila hissed making Nathaniel snicker.

“I was just kidding babe. Your mother….also doesn’t like them” Nathaniel invented earning a nod from the daughter.

“Okay” Nathalie responded, then the doorbell rang calling Lila’s attention, which got up on her feet.

“That must be Kagami and Adrien” Lila mentioned and walked out of the kitchen leaving her husband back with her daughter.

“Daddy mommy always says you’re a bad liar and I know you were lying,” Nathalie said glancing up at her father, which sighed.

“We tell it you one day when you’re older….or when we’re not quite right in the head.

Lila walked in the corridor of the house at the entrance and opened the door to see her best friend Kagami gazing at Lila, which had opened the door while Adrien stood beside Kagami caressing her roundish belly.

“Wow, it’s growing so fast” Lila vowed looking down at Kagami’s baby bump.

“I feel like it was just yesterday, that Kagami’s belly was small and thin as usual,” The blonde said taking his hand off, then grabbed his wife on her hand.

“You had to see it before our cat lying over my belly all relaxed enjoying the little sounds he heard from the inner,” The blue-haired woman explained earning a nod from Lila.

“Aww”

“The sounds are really reassuring when you ever feel down and afterward decide to lie your ear on it” Adrien mentioned. “Last week I got mad at my cousin and chatted with Kagami about it, then I lied my head down on the bump, soon I felt better about it”

“That sounds great,” Lila said moving her head aside, then looked neutral nothing someone was missing. “Where is Elliot?” Lila asked curious.

“The first classes at the E.F.I.P. have a class trip together and are going to overnight at Créteil. The teacher assured us the students would call us all around the 8 am before they would head to bed,”

“Wow your boy is a little far away from home and at that age”

“It’s not really that far thought,” Adrien corrected. “And I think it won’t be a problem for him since Rouven is present too”

“At least he’s got a friend there” Lila mentioned earning a nod from the couple. “Come on you two, get in. Rose and Juleka are already here” Lila invited the couple stepping in making space for the couple, then Adrien guided his wife into the house of the Kurtzbergs, leaving Lila behind, which closed the door of the entrance.

In the living room, Lila sat on the couch next to Kagami, Adrien, Rose and Juleka a little tightly together. On the floor sat Nathalie, which looked at the opening of the videos, then felt someone pass her hand under her braid, making her turn her head back to see Rose.

“It looks very nice” Rose complimented earning a smile from the brunette, afterward Rose grabbed Nathalie from under her arms. “Come you can sit on my lap” Rose offered the little girl, that had let herself pick up from the woman, then sat on the legs of the woman and giggled as Rose had pecked the girl on the cheek.

“Look Nathalie there is your mother’s name” Adrien mentioned looking at the brunette, which rolled her eyes at the TV screen.

“Uhm L…..L..Lila….K...u…..kurtz….berg…….Lila Kurtzberg?” Nathalie read making Adrien nod.

“Exactly”

“And what does Star…...li….ng mean?” Nathalie asked the blonde man.

“Starring is another word to say, who plays the main role in the movie, which in this case is your mother”

Nathalie nodded, then looked at Kagami’s belly bump and gazed up at the woman, which was looking at the screen, afterward she gazed at the side as she noted the little girl observe her.

“Do you want to feel my tummy?” Kagami questioned the little girl with a smile, then Nathalie looked at the belly and shrugged her shoulders.

“Shall I pet it along with you?” Rose questioned smiling at the brunette girl, then Nathalie nodded a little timid and Rose grabbed Nathalie’s right hand with both of hers and opened it.

“You held your hand like this” Rose explained as Nathalie had her hand open flat, then Rose placed her own flat hand over hers and guided it slowly at Kagami’s belly. “Stroke it slowly Nathalie, maybe you might feel it kicking” Rose instructed the young girl which slowly passed her in circular moves around the belly bump, feeling more relieved about it afterward she looked up at Kagami, who smiled simper at the young girl, then Nathalie had stopped and Kagami placed her hand over the girl’s head.

“How did it feel?” Kagami questioned caressing the head, watching the child enjoying the attention.

“I think I felt it kick” Nathalie responded. “It kind of moved up and down a very little bit”

“That’s right Nathalie”

“Only two more months and our girl will see the light of the world for the first time,” Adrien said leaning his forehead on Kagami’s face, making her smile and sink her head down on him.

“Hurry up Nathaniel, the movie is starting” The Italian woman warned loud to her husband at the kitchen.

“Just a minute, pumpkin” Nathaniel responded. “The popcorn is nearly done”

After almost an hour all were entertained with watching the movie, except for Nathalie, which had fallen asleep on Juleka’s shoulder and the raven-haired woman had her hand placed behind the child’s back from caressing her.

“She’s a treasure” Juleka whispered at her girlfriend, who nodded in agreement.

On the TV screen appeared Lila in a dark gray dress standing in the middle of a crowd of dancing couples, which were all well dressed to the event. In the scene, there was a prom of a high school and Lila was watching a tall brown-haired guy talk with another guy in the scene, which stood together there with a blonde girl drinking a glass of punch.

Lila smiled amorously at the man, then approached the trio slowly and as she was close to them, the man noted her and smiled at him.

“Hey Jessy” The man greeted the brunette.

“Hey Brendon” The brunette greeted. “H….how you’re doing?”

“Good” Responded the man. “And you?”

“The same” The woman responded. The girl and the other man looked at each other, then looked both at Jessy and Brendon.

“Hey dude, we’re up there to get some food”

“Alright, I might join you later” Brendon responded watching the friends leave.

“Isn’t that Diego Wijk from Cross my heart?” Adrien asked looking at Lila.

“Yeah, it is him” Responded Lila.

“I saw him last week at the supermarket buying eggs” Nathaniel mentioned, which sat next to Lila over the lean of the couch. “I think he was alone there”

“He’s living at the moment with a few old classmates of him in a commune” Explained Lila. “He’s so far I know single”

“Okay,” Nathaniel answered.

“At the salon, several women talked a lot about him, how handsome he is, that he’s got a nice body and that he’s like the Swedish version of David Buckingham or something like that,” Rose mentioned. “Many seem to like this guy”

"Really?" Nathaniel asked surprised earning a nod from Rose and Juleka.

“Some girls at the wardrobe got jealous at me for having to kiss him in this movies” Lila explained making Nathaniel wide his eyes.

“You get to kiss him in the movie?” Nathaniel asked surprised.

“Look, look” Rose mentioned and Nathaniel looked at the TV screen, where the man had kissed Lila’s character on the cheek for short.

“Ah, I see it” Nathaniel responded a little relieved at the cheek his wife got in the movie.

“You’re really okay with that Nathy?” Lila questioned looking at her husband, which observed the fictional characters interact in the movie.

“Uh me….sure of course...I mean it’s just a movie, right?”

“Of course silly” Lila said pecking the husband on the cheeks. “Everything in the movie is played. Nothing there is true”

“I know, I know, it’s just weird I’m not used to it yet”

“Yeah it’s a little weird I know” Lila admitted earning a nod from the husband and looked at the TV screen back to see the continuation of the scene.

“This is probably a little unusual. Guys like me shouldn’t fall in love with a bookworm. We’re supposed to be the ones interested in cheerleaders and the popular girls, but….you’re different….you’re different from all these girls. You’re special” Brendan said making Jessy smile. “You’re also not that type of girl, that uses lots of makeup and wears dresses, skirts and all that...well besides now”

“Maybe I have a little confession to make to you too. I thought if I would dress up like that you would notice me and actually care about me”

“I have always seen you, Jessy. I….just thought you wouldn’t care about me because you would think I’m a jerk”

“No, you’re not. You’re very sweet” Jessy said caressing the man on the cheek. Jessy went on her tiptoes placing her hands behind Brendan’s head planting a kiss on his lips surprising him, afterward he closed his eyes and deepens the kiss enjoying it along with the brunette.

“Uh I’ve gotta go to the toilet, excuse me,” Nathaniel said getting up from the couch leaving the living room. Lila watched Nathaniel leave, then looked back at the screen again, where the characters were still kissing.

After less than a minute Nathaniel was back and sat down on the lean again to continue to watch the movie, now showing Jessy along with Brendan walking together out of the school chatting.

“Are there more of the sweet potato chips?” Asked Adrien Agreste looking at the Kurtzbergs.

“No that was the last one” Lila responded.

“I’m going to look, maybe there’s more. There could be still somewhere one I might have bought a time ago” Nathaniel told the blonde getting up from the couch walking back into the kitchen.

“Is Nathaniel okay?” Asked the blue-haired woman looking at her friend. “It’s the second time he left during a kiss scene of you?”

“I don’t know, maybe he is bothered about the scenes” Lila answered. “We didn’t even kiss that wild. That movie is for every audience to be seen”

“Maybe it’s just a coincidence” Adrien mentioned making Kagami shrug her shoulders.

Nathaniel appeared in the living room with a green-colored potato chip bag and held it in front of Adrien.

“I was wrong, those were cheese-flavored chips. They taste like the texmex ones”

“They will do it too” Adrien responded opening the bag then before he took it out he showed it to Kagami. “Do you want one?”

“I just take one, I shouldn’t eat too many chips” Kagami responded putting her hand inside the bag to take a chip out, then she placed it inside her mouth starting to chew on it.

“You’re alright Nathaniel?” Kagami asked making Nathaniel open his eyes in surprise.

“Me?” Asked Nathaniel shocked. “Yes, sure I am alright. Why are you asking?”

“It’s strange seeing you leave the room at the exact moment Lila kisses someone on TV”

“Oh that’s just a coincide….I know all this on TV is played to entertain people. Aren’t we all entertained?” Nathaniel asked a little anxious at Kagami being suspicious about his behavior.

“Yes….”Kagami responded neutral, then looked back at the screen and saw Adrien place his hand on her shoulder.

“He will be fine, don’t worry” Adrien promised earning a nod from the wife.

Nathaniel sat on the lean, then felt Lila place her hand over his hand and he looked down at his wife, which smiled at him afterward he smiled warmly at the wife then looked at the TV screen seeing Jessy and Brendan stay in front of an open bus door, where Jessy was about to enter. Before she did it, Jessy hugged the man again and both shared a long goodbye kiss, afterward, Nathaniel got up again and walked into the kitchen.

“I need to wash my hands. Excuse me” Nathaniel mentioned making Lila frown, which decided to get up from the couch and follow the husband into the kitchen seeing him open the water tap watching it run into the sink. Lila walked closer to the redhead and placed her hand over his shoulder causing him to jump aside, then he sighed in relief to find out it’s Lila Kurtzberg.

“Oh it’s just you” Nathaniel replied and looked along with Lila at the water running out of the tap.

“You’re not going to wash your hands?” Lila asked, then Nathaniel nodded and placed his hands under the water to wash them. “Are you alright Nathaniel?” The brunette asked watching the husband add soap to his hands and rub them together until it gets foamy.

“Yes, yes I am fine” Nathaniel responded, then Lila grabbed the kitchen towel and handed it out to the man, which took it to dry his hands.

“Thank you”

“Nathy, listen you don’t have to pretend you’re fine with my kissing scenes in the movies. I can feel they bother you in some way. You’re leaving every time they’re shown on screen”

“Sorry” Nathaniel apologized. “I don’t know, but when I see it, it makes me think of us. Like he’s a totally awesome guy compared to me.”

“Oh Nathy, I already told you everything there is fictive. In reality, Diego isn’t that type of guy, that he plays. He’s just a regular actor, that has been a little longer in show business than me. He’smight be a little arrogant, but he was nice to me and gave me advice during the filming,"

“I don’t know, the scenes are all so real. It really looks like you two have a thing for each other”

“If you see it that way, I guess we did a great job then,” Lila said watching Nathaniel sank his head, afterward she grabbed him on his hands gazing up at his turquoise-colored eyes. “Nathy, don’t be sad. I didn’t mean in that way. I just mean it, that it’s great that it looked so real to you as we worked together on the scenes”

“Well….it actually looked very realistic to me or I am just being silly”

“No, you’re not” The brunette denied. “You’re right….what about the rest of the movie?” Asked the Italian woman. “What did you think about my acting?”

“I feel like you have improved since your role at the foreign beauties series”

“You really think so?” Lila asked glowing at the man.

“You acted more humane in the movie. The series you were humane too, but it didn’t look as good as it looked in the movie” The redhead praised the female.

“Aww that’s sweet, thank you!” Lila raved hugging the husband.

“Maybe you will get the revelation of the year award in the golden globes, what do you think?”

“Nath, you’re exgagerating”

“Who knows, could happen” Nathaniel added. “Didn’t Luka get one there?”

“Yes he did, but he practiced so much. He deserved it”

“And so do you. You worked hard to become an actress. You made many background appearances, some secondary appearances and recently you had two main roles. This is a great reason to be chosen for the awards”

“You’re so sweet Nath” Admitted Lila giving him a peck on his nose.

“I was just telling the truth. You deserve it” Nathaniel stated earning a nod from Lila, which placed her arms around the husband hugging him.

“Will you join us for the rest of the movie?” Lila asked the husband. “There will only be a kissing scene of me near the end and if you want you can look away or kiss me or do anything else”

“Sure, this time I’ll be better. I promise”

“Good, but don’t forget you can always talk with me about it if something about the movies bothers you”

“Okay, but I try to behave myself. It’s your job after all” Nathaniel stated earning a nod from his wife and the two entered back into the living room and sat down next to Kagami, which was drinking a glass of orange juice, then bowed forward to place the glass back on the table and leaned herself back on the couch.

“Are you feeling better now?” Asked Kagami earning a nod from the redhead.

“Yeah, I should have talked with Lila before, but sometimes I don’t want to bother her with my problems, cause sometimes they’re kind of silly” Nathaniel explained the Japanese woman.

“I prefer to talk with Kagami about problems, even if they’re silly or not. It makes me feel better most of the times” Adrien told the friend.

“You and Lila know each other very well. There’s no need to worry about it.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Next time I won’t forget to talk to Lila. I promise” Nathaniel said watching Lila lean her head on his arm making him smile and place his arm around her.

Adrien smiled at Nathaniel’s promise then gazed at Kagami, which mirrored his facial expression, then watched Adrien place his hand on the baby bump caressing it, then gave it a peck on it and lied his head over it embracing it, making Kagami smirk lovely at the blonde and place her hand over his back. The blue-haired woman looked aside at her best friend, which was looking at the screen, then moved her head to the side of Kagami rolling her eyes down at the belly, chuckling at the sight.

“Who had thought we would end up with such lovable dorks?” Lila asked her friend, which giggled at the comment of her friend, afterward both looked back at the TV screen, watching Lila’s character fall asleep with an amorous face of the most amazing night she has ever had.

The End

[dogshemp]

Bad Intentions

A/N Intro Leslie Mayfield had everything a seventeen-year-old girl could hope for. She was the most popular girl at school. All the girls wanted to be her friends, and all the boys wanted her. None of those boys mattered to her though because she had the best boyfriend she could ask for. It was also a plus that he had a hot ass car that everyone envied. Leslie's perfect man was none other than Billy Hargrove, not that anyone besides there closest friends knew that. They had to keep their relationship a secret from thereover baring parents. The two of them had been together for almost six months when the world came crashing down around them. The news came one surprising night at an Italian restaurant. As the two sat across from each other pretending like they were only school friends there parents told them they were getting married. That one day soon the two would be siblings. Their worlds came crashing down, and they responded to the news in different ways. Leslie became withdrawn and depressed. Her personality changed entirely from the girl next door with straight A's to a recluse who spent more time cutting class than in it and picked up a severe drinking habit. Billy, on the other hand, became angrier by the day. Having to see her everywhere but not being able to have her drove him mad. He became a player trying to find a girl who could make him forget her. It never worked neither did the drinking. AS time went on the two of them became whom they hated the most, their fathers. Chapter One

“I can't believe we have to move because Billy can't stay out of trouble. How is this fair he's not even real family? It's not right…” Max complained as the two of us packed up her room. “My god Max shut up, you have no idea what you're talking about.” I snapped at her. “Why are you even standing up for him. Billy is an asshole.” She responded. “Hey, don’t swear, mom would kill me if she thought I was letting you talk like that,” I told her. “But it’s the truth. Billy had always been a major jerk, but he has only gotten worse since we moved in together. It's like the longer his hair gets, the angrier he becomes.” She told me as she tossed a pair of jeans into a box. “Of course, he's angry. He didn’t want his dad remarrying like we didn’t want mom. At least we got to stay in our own home. His dad sold his childhood home, and he had to move in with us so of course, he's angry.” I reminded her as I grabbed a handful of her shit and tossed it into a box. “That doesn’t give him a right to be a jerk. Everyone at school hates him. He's a bully and a drunk. This is all his fault. If he didn’t beat Tomas nearly to death, we wouldn’t have to move. It’s the only reason we're moving, and you know it. So, Tomas’s parents wouldn’t press charges. They ran us out of town. Also, I don’t get why you're not pissed off. I mean Tomas was your boyfriend.” She said to me. “Tomas was not my boyfriend. We went on three dates because our parents were friends. That does not make us a couple.” I yelled. I didn’t mean to, but the topic was a sensitive one for me. I lost all control as my blood started to boil just thinking about Tomas. “God even you have changed. You would never have yelled at me before Billy, and his dad moved in.” She responded as she taped up her box. “Little red your mom wants you in the kitchen,” Billy said from the doorway. He was leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed causing all his muscles to flex under his tight short sleeve shirt that was almost all the way unbuttoned. His chest peaked threw the opening and it too all my strength to pull my eyes away from his chest and to his face that was looking back at me with his sexy ass smirk on his face. His eyes did not break contact with mine as Max walked out of the room. The second she did his eyes ran up my entire body licking his lips as they made their way back up to my face. He stepped into the room slowly moving his way towards me with his predatory gaze that would send most people running in the other direction. Once he was entirely through the door, he kicked it closed with his foot before closing the distance between us. “What do you want Billy?” I asked him as I crossed my arms as I looked up at him. He didn’t say anything at first, he just stood there his eyes flicking from my eyes to my lips and back again. “Did you come in here to tell me something or just to stare at me?” I asked him trying to get any response out of him. “Well can you blame me. The view is amazing.” He responded as he wrapped his hand around my waist and pulled me flush against him. I could not help but smile as I tried and failed to push him away. His grips on my waist tightened and would defiantly leave bruises. That’s the way he liked it always leaving his mark on me for everyone to see. He was always the possessive type, even before our parents got married. Even before he became so filled with anger and hate, before the drinking and drugs he always wanted every to know I was his — everyone except for our parents that is. My mom wouldn’t let me date. She was worried I would get knocked up by some looser and become a teen mother like she had. Billy never wanted me to come to his place. He didn’t want me around his dad. I didn’t understand why he had taken other girls home before me. It wasn’t until we all moved in together that I realized he was scared of his dad and didn’t want me around. He was trying to protect me. He would always pick me up a few doors down from my house, and we would park at the beach in his car. In secret like what we were doing was wrong. I often wondered if we were more open about our relationship if things would have turned out differently. If our parents would have started screwing if they knew their kids where. But we can't go back, and it is what it is. Our parents got married, and now we have to pretend like were one happy family. Like my little sister is not miserable. Like where not all scared of our abusive father figure. When he loses his temper, I can see how scared my mom gets, how she wants to intervene but never does. I sometimes wonder if he hits her too. He never laid a hand on my sister or me, not yet. “Billy, stop. Everyone home. What if someone walks in?” I pleaded with him as I forced myself to turn away from him and continue packing my sisters’ things. We were only separated for a second before he pulled me back to him. My ass was pressed against his rock-hard erection. “Seriously?” I teased him. “I can't control myself around you.” He said as he started to leave a trail of kisses down my neck, stopping at the curve where my shoulder met neck. He bit down hard causing a slight yelp to escape my lips. He reached up and put a hand over my mouth holding in my moan as he kissed over his bite mark that would be left there for days. I rubbed my ass up against him causing him to moan out and loosen his hand on my mouth. I pulled back slightly from him and bit down hard on his fingers. He pulled back and yelled out as he shook his hand as if he was trying to shake away the pain. “You bitch.” He snapped at me. “Keep your voice down,” I said as I walked over and took his hand in mine and kissed it better. “Now we're even,” I said as I pulled on my sweater to cover up the bite mark, he had left. “What am I going to do with you?” He said. “Nothing except leave me alone before father sees you in here,” I told him. “He’s not your father!” He snapped at me. “Yeah tell that to my mom.” I reminded him causing him to growl from anger literally. “Fuck this; I should just tell them the truth and let them deal with it.” He responded. “No, you can't do that.” I snapped at him as I reached out for his hand. I was so worried that in a fit of rage he would expose us that I could not hold back my voice. “What can’t he do!” His dad yelled as he pushed open the door so hard it slammed into the wall leaving a hole where the doorknob hit. “Nothing.” Billy quickly answered as we jumped apart. “Answer the question!” He yelled causing my mom to peek around the corner curious about what's happening. “What's going on dear?” She asked. “Mind your business!” He yelled at her. “What where the two of you doing in Max’s room with the door closed?” He yelled as he stormed over and slammed Billy into the wall. “Stop!” I yelled scared that he was going to hurt Billy again. “Shut up!” He yelled at me. “Don’t talk to her like that!” Billy yelled back at him. In response Billy got punched in the face so hard he fell to the ground. “Stop, he was just helping me carry some boxes!” I yelled out trying to talk some sense into him. “Is that what you were doing?” He yelled at Billy who did not answer as he tried to push himself up off the ground. “Then why was the door shut!” He asked. “I was just trying to help.” Billy lied causing his dad to kick him hard in the ribs. “Don’t lie to me boy. You think I don’t know you, don’t know the perverted thoughts that run through your head when you look at your sister!” He yelled as he kicked him again. “Stop!” I yelled as I ran in-between them. “Leslie no!” Mom yelled but did not move from where she stood. “Really he was just helping me move a heavy box. Please stop hurting him.” I begged through the tears I could no longer hold back. “No more closed doors, not in this house or the next!” He yelled before storming out of the room. Mom quickly and quietly followed after him. “Oh my god, Billy are you okay?” I asked as I tried to help him up, but he slapped my hand away. “Don’t fucking touch me!” He yelled as he forced himself up. He clutched onto his stomach, and I was worried that he might have a broken or cracked rib. “Billy let me help,” I begged as I tried to reach for him again. “I don’t need your help. This is your fault!” He yelled. “My fault, how?” I asked as I stepped back hurt by his words. “If you could just keep your goddam voice down.” He snapped as he got close staring down at me. His cheek was black and blue already, and his lip was busted open. I wanted to reach out and touch him, comfort him but he would not let me. “You don’t scare me, Billy. And I told you a hundred times we shouldn’t fool around in the house.” I reminded him. “You can try and blame this on me all you want, but I am the one who has tried to end this,” I told him as I pointed from me to him. “You’re the one who won't let it go.” I snapped at him. “Well consider it officially ended.” He said before storming out of the room. A few seconds later Max walked back into her room. “What was that all about?” She asked as she looked at the mess in her room. “None of your dam business!” I yelled as I stormed out of her room and into mine. I slammed the door behind me wanting to be left alone. I had been sitting on my bed for less than five seconds when the door was pushed open by Neil. “No more closed doors.” He told me. I just turned my back to him pretending he did not exist until he finally walked away leaving me to cry silently over how much my life had fallen to shit.

[geekygoddesss]

Story of Us

Part I: How we meet

This is such a bad idea.

“So, let me get this straight” I speak, sitting on the bed while my best friend stood in front of me, looking at me like I was stupid “you meet this guy on tinder-”

“He found me” She Interrupts, correcting what I just said.

“And he invited you for drinks? Just like that?” I finish my sentence, totally letting pass the fact that Abby is being totally annoying tonight and pushing me into this kind of dumb things that could go very wrong so easily.

“Us, it’s a double date, dumbass” She says with a smile, rolling her eyes while walking into the bathroom in a poor attempt of ignoring my attitude.

“It doesn't matter, are you out of your mind? He could be a rapist or something” I argue, following her into the bathroom.”I did not flew all the way from Georgia to get raped by some guy”

This was the kind of things that sometimes made me doubt a lot of things about Abby. One thing I knew for sure is that Abby was in no way stupid and second, she was also not the kind of person that would sign up on a dating app and just date whatever guy appeared in the picture. This situation was weird for me in a lot of ways, starting from the fact that I was almost entirely sure that there must be a reason on why she is trying to set me up with someone I don’t know while setting herself with a random guy at the same time. It was so creepy, Something was up with her and to be completely honest, I don’t even know if I want to know why.  

“He isn't a psycho” she says “plus, he has a friend and he's very single” her eyebrows go up and down, looking at me with a weird look through the mirror.

“How do you know?” I scoff, leaning in the door watching her brush her teeth “You said this guy is an actor? Like a TV one or whatever?” I say, almost just speaking to myself, this was just a crazy and not good idea, I can’t believe we’re even doing this “I don’t know about you but I smell bullshit”

‘I’m telling you, it isnt” she says with a mouth full of foam before rinsing it all off in one quick move “I don’t know, I actually have no idea what he's done, but why are you so surprised? This is LA, every 3 of 10 people does acting” she rolls her eyes, turning to look at me as she spoke “the others are instagram models and tourist”

I scoff, shaking my head at her statement “Then there's me” I say taking a step closer to her “I really don't feel comfortable with this” I mumble.

“It's going to be fun, I promise” she smiles putting her hands on my shoulder and moving me out of the way “from what we talked he seemed pretty fun”

“Huh” I nod, that did not convince me at all.

“And if you think about it, it's a very good and fresh way to start the weekend” she adds, jumping on her bed before yelling out loud “we’re getting laid!”

“Jesus Christ” I groan, this is probably why the neighbors hate us, not my fault at all, but I am sure it’s pretty self- explanatory. “Listen, I am not even sure If I am going to be able to go” I tell her as she jumps off the bed and checks herself out in the mirror, she’s pretty hyper right now. “I have a block” I excuse, even though I wasn’t lying at all.

“You always say that” she says, rolling her eyes.

“Well, I have it and I need it to go away” I say sitting down on the bed as she walked around the room. “Writer’s block is no joke”

“Well I’m helping you here!” Abby exclaims turning to look at me“What better way to get out of a block than making out with a guy you meet in one night?”

“I’m not making out with anyone” I laugh.

“We’ll see” she says, jumping on the bed, right beside me “It’s just one night, C’mon”

I look at her and she looks at me, I analyze all of my options. Maybe there is some kind of way where I can get out of this one and she would let me be, I would have the apartment to myself and I could overcome my block, but one thing was for sure, If that happened she would hate me for a while, she took dates very seriously and although this is the first time she has ever dragged me into a double date with her but I could see in her eyes she was really looking forward for this and it would be really shitty of me to just turn this down.

Do I really have any other option, anyways?.

“What can you tell me about him or his.. friend?” I say finally giving up, there was no way I could get out of this one.

She yells and claps with her hands in pure excitement “Well, they’re visiting so they won’t be staying long” she explains to me before smiling widely and saying  “They’re english”

My eyebrows raise “Oh la la” I joke in a french accent.

“Sono così emozionato” she answers in italian “Whatever, they are here for like a month or whatever and I just told them we would show them around” she smiles and shrugs. she gets up her spot and walks through the room again as if she was done

“That’s all you know?” I ask her, that did took me by surprise, I was hoping she knew at least a little more about this guy.  

“Pretty much” she says, reaching for her makeup bag “besides the fact that I’ve seen his picture and in my book he seems pretty hot for a white boy, so i’m down” She says shortly looking at me but still being to focused on her reflection in the mirror.

“That’s so…-nevermind” I say rolling my eyes. I was going to say something else, but I’d rather shut my mouth than having her fight me for a while “Can I see him?” I ask.

“No!” she laughs, shaking her head.

I chuckle “Oh, c’mon, so now it’s top secret?”

“More like a surprise” she wiggles her eyebrows  “It’s going to be so fun”

“It better be” I point at her and let my body fall on the bed “But if they turn out to be a pair of weirdos or a hot mess of a date, I’m making you pay for it”

“I don’t doubt that” she laughs and turns to look at me “Hurry, we have to be out that door soon” she says, now walking my way and looking at me more in detail “Are you wearing that?”

I look down at my outfit “What’s wrong with this?” I say, pointing down at one of my most fancy shirts and jeans I had on, I didn’t look like a freaking model, but I think I look decent enough.

“Oh honey, you need to learn so much” she laughs and grabs my hand, pulling me out of the bed.

This was already starting to feel like one long night.

                                                           ***

Two and a half hours later, the two of us are sitting at one of the countless tables at the bar, Abby really did a good choice on the place, it was very nice and subtle, not too loud, people weren’t trying to desperately get you drunk to start the night, just a nice place to have a first date in, she really knew what she was doing.  

“Are they here?” I ask her taking a sip of my soda as she looked around the place

“I don’t know, I don’t see them” She says shrugging not taking her eyes from her surroundings.

I shrug “Maybe we gave them wrong directions”

“Honestly, this is the only bar with the name 21 around the area, maybe they're just stuck in traffic” she says as another option of what could be the reason of why they are kind of late. However I don’t care too much how late they are, as long as they actually make it, this is LA, everyone was late for everything.

I stare at her for a long moment before coming to a very strong conclusion, I know understand the meaning of being the ugly friend. I really do. Not that I was completely ugly, but compared to her tonight, I was looking like I should have a little touch of femininity, which is something I had a lack of, most of the time. Her yellow blouse made the perfect contrast with her dark skin while her skinny jeans made her have some killer curves that would for sure make any man crazy for her. I was jealous, I wish I could look as good as her right now.

Her eyes light up when turning to the side, looking straight at the door of the bar, she waves her hand to someone and smiles widely, I guess that’s a good sign.

“Oh my gosh, they’re here, I see them” She says almost mumbling, turning to look at me “Play cool” she warns me, getting up from the table and basically making me do the same as her, as she makes me leave my drink down to stand up.

“I am” I say, standing up right beside her as she looks around, I recognize two guys in between the crowd, I don’t know any of them but they are probably the ones we are supposed to meet since they are clearly the only guys approaching us. “I’d like a heads up, though, who am I looking at?” I say, just making sure I didn’t eventually fuck up.

“Okay, so, blondie tall boy is your date and the brunette is mine” she explains quickly as she smiles at the two guys, who wave at us when they are getting closer and closer “Wave back” she instructs me, I do.

“he’s cute” I whisper to her as they are already too close to probably hear me if I speak normally.

“I know” she smiles to them before whispering “Gosh, I hope they’re not psychos”

She seems too happy to see both these guys here, the moment they reach our table she yells the name of her date and hugs him thigh, as the other guy welcomes me with a hug too, which is pretty much awkward, seeing that I don’t know this guy at all and he is already hugging me, adding the fact that he is quite attractive is somehow overwhelming to me.

“This is (Y/n), my best friend” she introduces me to the other guy as he approaches my way.

“Tom” He says with a lovely smiling and a welcoming hug. It felt weird, really weird. Not only because I just hugged two very attractive men, but also because there was something inside me telling me something about this night, something about tonight felt different, I don’t know what it was or how something could happen, but I could feel it inside of me.

“Harrison” Says the guy I just hugged, smiling towards me as he introduced himself for both of us. I guess he is my date for the night, I can’t say I am mad about it at all. “We didn’t take too long, did we?” he says, almost as an apology. Somehow, I almost seem surprised by the strong english accent coming out of him, I knew they are English, but the accent just seems to suit them perfectly. It was a nice add on.

“Oh no” Abby says waving it off, pretending like we haven’t been waiting here for more than thirty minutes. “We just got here, Sit down, please”  she smiles, walking to my side and sitting on the spot right beside mine, signaling me to sit beside her as the guys took the opposite sit.

“Oh, hold on” Said that Tom guy, before getting on his seat “can we pick some drinks for you, Ladies?” he says, waiting for our response as Harrison gets up too.  

“I’ve got you covered” Abby says, snapping her fingers in the air, in a matter of five seconds one of the many waitresses in the place comes to our table with a tray full of drinks and shots. great. Now, they’ll probably think we’re super rich and powerful or something, which is definitely not the case.

The boys sit back down on their spots and we all pick a drink up, ready to start up the night. Abby looks incredibly happy and before even trying a little bit of her own drink, she raises her cup and says in a cheery and a little bit of an exaggerated tone “For an amazing night”

I see the guys smiling at her and I laugh, this seemed a little bit dramatic in my opinion, but who cares? This was already starting to look like a great night and we might as well take a drink for it.

“Cheers” the rest of us say almost at the same time and all of our cups touch in one smooth move.

I drink, the taste was strong on my tongue but very sweet, I was loving it so much, I just hoped it didn’t make me drunk for the night. I was happy though, the night was still young but this somehow felt right. My best friend is here, we have two handsome gentlemen as our dates for the night, this was just too good to be truth and it felt right, I felt incredible, this is right.

                                                        ***

The night went on faster than expected, it wasn’t over, but it still felt like everything was happening a little too fast for my liking. One moment we were on the bar, laughing at twisted stories and drinking, having a great time and on the blink of an eye we were on the beach, walking right by the ocean and talking about everything and nothing, getting to know each other better and making this night last longer.

At this point, I was really starting to doubt on my ability to talk to a guy at all. Yes, my date was just too nice and sweet, but all of this time I have been just hearing and adding things to all of Abby’s stories, never telling my own or talking a little bit about my life, I was just there to listen to everyone and make some presence, which wasn’t wrong at all, I just would like my date to know I am a little more interesting than that.

However, In a matter of a second, this date took an interesting turn for everyone. We were passing right by the small line of stores placed right by the beach when Abby spotted down some kind of merch about her favourite show, apparently, Harrison was also a big fan, one way or another the conversation they both started was becoming bigger and a deeper than ever, to the point were before any of us could realise they were walking away from us and leaving me and Abby’s date all alone.

Neither of us saying a word while walking alone the sightly crowded street. A very awkward moment I was not ready for, I needed it to end now, before It could be any worse.

“So, actor” I say, being the first one to break the ice, catching his full attention in a second  “How’s it like? Does it freak you out to pretend to be someone else? How useful is it in the real world?” I ask, trying to not sound too annoying or repetitive when making that question. Sometimes I could be a little too specific when making my questions and that’s exactly what I did not want for now.

“Oh, That’s a great, great question” he says with a little smile, I was really hoping I was not making this awkward, I just really needed to start up a conversation. “Well, What can I say? I’ve been on this for a long time and I really love my job” He says “It’s very useful in real life, If you were wondering, you’d be surprised on how helpful it is in certain- situations” he says elaborating a little more “Not that I am using it right now-”

“Huh” I nod, interrupting him mid sentence with a chuckle, I could sense a little freak out on his voice and being completely honest, it was kind of funny. “Good answer”

“Good question” he says back, almost as a compliment.

“I am hoping to go to school soon for that actually” I say as a nice add on, finding it a great fact about me to put on the table  “People say I'm good at making questions”

“I see” He chuckles softly “Is that school here in LA?”

“No, it’s actually in London” I smile proudly. That was something I was very proud about, going to school there would be such a privilege for me, I was really hoping I could get in this school soon.

“That’s amazing” Tom says raising his eyebrows almost as if he was surprised  “It’s a beautiful place, you’re going to love it”

“So I’ve heard” I nod, blushing a little.

We fell into an awkward silence so easily. We walk and walk but none of us say anything at all, now I am almost completely sure that my skills with men are almost null. none existent. Zero.

Step it up, (Y/n), C’mon.

“On the scale of 1 to 100, How famous are you?” I randomly ask, making him look at me with a really strange look “Please feel free to be as precise as you can, I need to tell my mom about it”

“Your mom?” he laughs, His accent now sounding stronger than ever.

“Yeah, she kind of told me I needed to tell her about every celebrity I met here in LA or ever” I chuckle, while telling that little fact my mom always reminded me of “She’s probably a fan” I add “She knows like every human being that does some kind of entertainment, you’d be surprised”

“Hm ok” he says with a nervous chuckle “1 being not famous at all and 100 being a super famous celebrity, Like, the kind that barely are able to breathe because of -y’know - paparazzi and all that” he explains “I would say I am a solid 60” he says, being really confident with his answer.  

“oh, holy shit” I say, not expecting that answer at all “I might have to do my research about you, sir” I scoff “First name Tom, Last name?”

“Holland” he completes in a quick second.

“Alright” I nod with a smile “I might have seen you somewhere around”

He laughs, nodding “Yeah, maybe”

We keep walking in silence, Now being a lot less uncomfortable than a few seconds before. I can hear our friends in front of us, laughing at something we couldn’t hear and I smile, I was glad Abby is having fun, she seems really happy.

“I believe,Your date just ditched you for my date” Tom says, chuckling at his own comment.

“Oh” I say, just actually realizing that really happened, I am now date-less “Yeah, I guess”

He nods “They look happy, though” he mentions and indeed, they do, they look really happy “Good to know this little meeting is having it’s results”

I laugh “I mean, that’s what tinder is for, right?” I say shrugging “It’s making its magic on our friends”

“Yep” he chuckles “I guess” he says in a mumble “It’s kind of funny because It was my idea”

“Was it?” I act surprised, even when it was a very bad impression. “Can’t really say I am not surprise, why would someone like you use Tinder?” I ask with all honesty. I don’t really get why would any of this guys use the app when being that attractive and apparently famous. In my head that made no sense.

“I don’t know” He says with a small shrug “I like meeting new people, you know?” he says “but also, the fact that I’ve never had a real date in years is playing a big role right now”

“No way” I say with a frown as I stop in track "you can't be serious" "I am" he shrugs, stopping right beside me "not a single date in at least, two or three years" "Wow" I say in real surprise, now that was something odd to hear. I really don't get why someone like him doesn't get a date with anyone, I mean, he wasn't bad at all, in fact, he was really, really attractive. I do understand why Abby was so eager to come to this date, but now that she moved on to be with his friend instead of him, I am not even sure if I am a good replacement at all. I am not Abby or at least as attractive as Abby, but I will do my best to make him feel like I'm worth his time. I'll just be myself and whatever happens, happens. "Well, I am on the same boat as you are" I chuckle looking down "I've never really been on a real date before" I say shrugging "I have a special power to keep males away from me" I joke with a small chuckle “What’s your specialty?” “Probably being awkward” he laughs and shakes his head "It's ridiculous, you won't believe the amount of times I've turned normal situations into the weirdest thing ever" "No way, honestly, are you that awkward?" I say, really doubting if I should or should not believe him. "Again, you'd be surprised" he says with a chuckle.

Surprisingly from this point, the conversation went on pretty well. One way or another, we ended up walking along the end of the sidewalk in a good but slow motion until we reached the very end, both of us telling stories about our life and getting to know at least a snip of each other’s life before this came to an end, because somehow right now it was starting to feel like the climax of the night and I didn’t know how to feel about it yet.

I leaned against the wall behind me as Tom narrated one of his “best” stories to me, not that it wasn’t a good story, it was actually really good, but to be honest, he seemed to have such an interesting life, I kind of doubted this was really one of his best stories. It was too funny anyways.

"Once, I showed up on a costume party that was apparently not a costume party, I showed up wearing a Lycra suit and everyone thought I was crazy"  He says as he tries to top my last history with his. We’ve been having this competition for a while on who has the most embarrassing moment, I don’t know who is winning, but this is just too fun I could go on forever. "What?" I laughed shaking my head “No way” "The most awkward moment of my life" he says laughing with me, giving me more details about the story as I kept laughing. "Oh shoot" I say shaking my head while laughing "ok I guess I'll have to compete with that" I breath, trying to remember any of my many stories to top that one "the day I had my first kiss, burped right in front of the guy" I said and my cheeks instantly went red "not my fault, by the way" "How did that happen?" he says breaking into a laugh. "Well, i guess it'd be totally unnecessary to explain how a burp happens" I say rolling my eyes "but in my defense, Before that I had some Starbucks so That explains pretty much everything"

“Oh god” he says still laughing and shaking his head at the visual of that moment “I’m winning though”

“Are you?” I raise and eyebrow at his statement “Are you proud?” I ask.

he smiles at me and shrugs, I could see it in his eyes, he was proud of winning our dumb competition, that was something odd, but honestly, I was glad he won, at least I know he has handfuls of good stories to tell. "Guys" Abby’s voice calls for us, interrupting our little moment and stepping into our conversation just like so. We both turn to her waiting for what she has to say, she looks at us with a smile before making her little announcement "Uh, so, I think Harrison and I will be on our way back" "Oh, already?" I ask, pouting a little, it kind of felt a little soon to end the night, but there’s not much I could do about it "well, I guess we'll be right behind you" I say looking at Tom for a second, who just nods in response. “Is it my turn to call the uber?” I ask her but before I could say anything else she stops me. “Actually, I think we’ll take a long way” She says, throwing me this look that tells me pretty much everything. She wants alone time with him. “Oh, it’s okay, I’ll just- I’ll take an uber” I say nodding, totally understanding that my main goal right now is just to disappear for them to have some alone time I later on expected to hear about. “I’ll go with her” Tom says, stepping into my side “I’ll walk from there” he says to his friend, nodding at him that he will be just fine. “Good” Abby cheers, giving a little jump on her feet as she walks up to Tom and gives him a big hug “This was so much fun, thanks for coming” she says as she separates from the hug to then Hug me “I’ll see you later” she whispers on my ear “Good luck” “Yeah, yeah” I say chuckling and rolling my eyes as I hugged her back.

She walked back winking at me as she reached Harrison side, she grabbed his hand and pulled him on the sidewalk so they could start walking now.

“Bye mate” He waves to Tom as they walk away from us.

“Later” he says waving back to them.

Again, as we watch them walk away to the “long way”, we fall into a weird silence that surprisingly doesn't feel like an uncomfortable one at all. We turn to look at each other and smile awkwardly, basically reading each other’s mind, asking us what to do next since both of our friends just left without us. Maybe we would really walk me home, or maybe it was just an excuse and this is where we part ways. I hoped not, to be honest, I was having fun tonight.

“So” he says, starting off a new conversation “Let me be honest with you, I don’t think I want to take a cab”

I chuckle and nod in agreement “Me neither” I shrug as a quick response “Lucky us, I know a short cut, we don’t need to take a cab” I say with a smile.

“Really?” he says in fake surprise, I already told him I’ve been living here for at least six months, he knows I know a shortcut.

“This one is special, though” I smile, adding some mystery to my voice. “I don’t think you’re ready”

“Am I not?” He raises an eyebrow in surprise “Wow”

“Yeah” I shrug “You clearly aren’t, but, I’ll make an exception” I say, grabbing his hand and walking to the opposite side where our friends left “Just because you’re famous”

He laughs and leads his free hand to his chest “I am so honored”

“Oh, you should be” I say shooting him a smile “Because I am about to enlighten your night”

                                                          ***

“How do you feel?” I ask as we step into the front door of my building.

I held a little cup in my hand with Ice cream inside and I balance it out in a single hand as I tried to find my keys so we could get In for a little while before he had to leave. This has been great, I don’t think I have ever had such a great conversation with someone until tonight, we talked, we laughed and before we could notice we were in front my favourite Ice cream shop in the world, that happened to be just a block before my building, I always will feel grateful for that.

“I don’t think I am” he says as he takes another taste of his ice cream “This is such a game changer, Who the hell thought about making Rum with caramel cake? this is amazing” he says with true excitement as we enter the building.

“I know right?”  I chuckle, taking a bite of my ice cream “It’s my favorite place ever, we don’t have those in Atlanta”

“Well, that sucks because this is amazing” he says chuckling, still with a mouth full of Ice cream.

We take the stairs up and we talk as we reach my floor, which happens to be about six floors up. He seems happy and I appreciate it, I had a feeling he would like this little extra I just added to this night and I am glad my feeling didn’t fail me.

“How long have you lived in LA, again?” he asks as we walk down the hallway.

I sigh and think about my answer, it was kind of difficult to remember for some reason “Six months, maybe seven” I shrug “I won’t stay here for a while, Abby is the one living here, I just make her some company”

He nods “That’s nice of you” he says “So you’re moving to London?”

I laugh as we get to my door and I stop right in front of it “Nothing is really 100% sure, yet, I’m still waiting for my acceptance”

“Right” He nods, and we stop talking.

He looks around the hallway, almost as he was checking everything out, but on the other side, I am just putting my ear against the door, just making a quick check to make sure that there are not any disturbing noises inside that warn me to not come in, but thank god, I don’t think Abby is home yet, so I guess I have a couple of hours for myself.

“You know what? You’re kind of cool” He says out of the blue, really taking me by surprise. I turn around and even when he kind of took me by surprise, I am really trying to not look like an idiot “You are kind of cool too” I say with a sincere smile. “Maybe we should- you know- keep in touch” He says with a bit of nervousness in his voice  “just saying, You showed me around tonight, maybe I could do the same for you while you’re at London, it’d be better than asking a stranger to do it, right?” he chuckles “I mean, we’re already strangers but you know what I mean” “Are you asking me for my number?” I raise an eyebrow and smile to him a little. I could feel he was nervous, maybe a smile would remind him to take a breath and calm down. “Yeah, basically” he nods awkwardly.

I smile and nod softly. He hands me his phone over to me and I write my own contact name on his list, I make sure to put every number in the right place, just to avoid any possible accident that could happen.

When I hand him his phone back, he smiles widely to me. I know, I am glad that we are keeping contact in a way.

“Want to come in?” I offer, while I put my key through the lock.

“Oh, no, thank you, I have a thing tomorrow, I should probably go” “Thanks for the ice cream though”

“You paid” I chuckle.

“You found it” he says back

I smile and laughs softly, letting out very old school “Touche” before opening up the door.

When I step inside just a little, I already can see him from the corner of my eyes, turning around to walk away, looking down at his phone that still had my contact showing on the screen, full display. “Tom” I call his name, he turns around in my direction. “Yeah?” he says with a soft smile. “I had fun tonight” I smile at him, letting my body hide behind my door. “I did too” he says with a small nod as he took steps back “I’ll text you later” “Good night” I wave my hand at him as I watch him walk away.

“Bye” He says winking an eye at me and disappearing on the stairs right around the corner.

For some reason, it takes me some time to get myself moving from the front door to my actual room. It’s weird how everything started with being a really random double date to coming over and meet a guy who would connect so well with me. Whatever this was, it was weird and I had no idea how this was supposed to work from now on.

Maybe it was not going to end in something, by any means, but maybe it would. However, something inside of me told me this time something was up and I had no idea what, whatever it is, I just hoped it is good.

I jump on my bed and close my eyes, after a while of walking around the city I was already starting to feel a little tired of it. My eyelids were already feeling heavy from the moment my head touched the pillow and without caring one single bit what I was wearing, I went ahead and tugged myself in bed, ready to call it a night.

The moment I close my eyes is when I feel my phone buzzing. It had to be a text from Abby, but surprisingly, it wasn’t.

Just checking it :) I’m omw to the hotel, hope it’s not a fake number

You bet I am, tinder boy

Good to know :)

So how well do you know the city? Hope you don’t mind showing me around  

Call me when you’re free :)

Now, I definitely had a feeling this was going to be unique.

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Rest of the Weekend Warrior’s 2020 Top 25… and His Terrible 12 Movies!

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll notice that my Top 10 has already appeared over at Below the Line, and you can either go there and read those first or start with the movies that fell just outside my top 10, including a few movies you might not have heard about.

Back at the very beginning of 2020, I made a private resolution that I would watch more screeners. This is because I had become quite legendary for publicists sending me screeners and me just not getting the time to watch them with all the running around I was doing to screenings. I will never make a resolution like that ever again. (In fact, if my 2021 resolution was to have more sex, I only really need to do it once.)

This year, I wrote (no joke) slightly under 300 reviews, which may be more than I wrote in the three years prior. Part of this was having extra time from not travelling around the city trying to get to screenings, but also, once I decided to transition my weekly box office column into a review column, I decided that I was gonna watch and review as many movies as I possibly could this year. I’m sure there are others who do this all the time, but man, I don’t know how you do it. There were days where I got so burnt out at staring at my laptop for 15 hours every day that I just had to stop.

Still, when you’re watching 300 movies in a single year, any movie that can get into my annual Top 25 (or even get an Honorable Mention) should feel somewhat honored.

Anyway, onto the second 15 movies in my Top 25 (click on the title for a link to each of my reviews!):

11. Herself (Amazon Prime Video) – One of my more recent viewings is this film directed by Phyllida Lloyd  (Mamma Mia!) and starring British actress Clare Dunne (who also co-wrote the script) as a mother of two young girls who got out of an abusive marriage with a man who still shares custody with her daughters. She wants to give her girls a place to live so she decides to build her own house on a plot of land given to her as a gift. It’s such a simple premise but Lloyd and Dunne have made a wonderful not-too-heavy drama that still slams you with its raw emotions.

12. Jungleland (IFC Films) – I really enjoyed Max Winkler’s earlier movie Ceremony, but this underground boxing drama about two brothers (Jack O’Connell, Charlie Hunnam) was also a solid crime-drama that follows them on a road trip to deliver a mob boss’ mistress (Jessica Barden) back to him on their way to a big match. Winker really outdid himself in terms of the storytelling and somehow managed to avoid most of the normal boxing movie cliches while allowing this to stand up to some of the greats.

13. Palm Springs (NEON/Hulu) – One of the first of this year’s Sundance movies that really connected with me, Max Barbakow’s sci-fi comedy starred Andy Samberg as a guy stuck at a horrible wedding who ends up in a Groundhog’s Day situation with the wonderful Christin Milioti was so much fun. Adding to the madness was JK Simmons as a guy who seems to be out to get Samberg’s character for reasons we don’t learn until much later. Such a brilliant and hilarious movie with so much great re-watch value.

14. Soul (Disney•Pixar) – The latest from the animation studio that seemingly can’t do wrong – but that depends on who you ask – follows jazz pianist Joe (voiced by Jamie Foxx) who dies and ends up “The Great Beyond” desperate to get back to earth having just gotten his big break. Helping him (sort of) is a soul voiced by Tina Fey, and things don’t go quite as Joe helped. Co-written and co-directed by Kemp Powers, the film goes in a different direction from Docter’s last animated film, Inside Out, but still retaining some of the same metaphysical fabric that made that Oscar-winning animated film connect with adults just as much as with kids.

15. Mangrove (Amazon Prime Video) – The debate on whether Steve McQueen’s latest “Small Axe Anthology”  should be deemed a TV series or five separate movies continues to rage as Amazon decides to save the movie for the Emmies. At  two hours long, Mangrove is the closest of the series to being a  great stand-alone film, and frankly, I thought it was better than McQueen’s Oscar-winning film, 12 Years a Slave. This told the true story of restaurant owner, Frank Crichlow (Shaun Parkes), and how he’s persecuted by the racist local police in the late ‘60s, but when he teams with a local Black Panther activist (Black Panther’s Letitia Wright), a protest march turns into a tense court trial for a number of people involved in it.

16. I Will Make You Mine (Gravitas Ventures) – Actor Lynn Chen’s directorial debut was actually the third movie in a trilogy of indie films centered around musician/songwriter Goh Nakamura, who appeared in all three films. I watched this the first time thought it was just okay. When I realized it was part of a series of films, and I went back and watched the other two movies, I was completely blown away by what Chen did within this finale. With movies, you generally only have a limited time to explore its characters, but like Richard Linklater’s “Before” movies, this movie helped to really create depth in the characters by revisiting them. I was kind of shocked that I hadn’t seen the other movies – few critics have – and though only 18 other critics reviewed this one, the film is still 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, which should tell you how good it is.

17. Sylvie’s Love (Amazon Prime Video) – Tessa Thompson and Nnamdi Asomugha starred in Eugene Ashe’s 50s-60s-set romantic drama about an early television producer and a jazz musician, following their relationship after a summer fling that ends with him leaving for Paris. Separated for years, she remarries and raise the child from her former lover, but then they reconnect and… well, you’ll have to watch it for yourself. It’s on Prime Video right now, so if you’re a subscriber, you have no reason not to. (And Erik Davis of Fandango had a great idea… watch this as a double feature with McQueen’s Lovers Rock from “Small Axe Anthology”!)

18. The Traitor (Sony Pictures Classics) – Last year’s Italian section for the Oscar International Film was a fantastic The Godfather-like crime-thriller, this one starring Pierfrancesco Favino as Tomassso Buscetta, a Palermo-based Casa Nostra family member responsible for the heroin trade in the ‘80s who flees to Brazil. It’s an amazing story showing that filmmaker Marco Bellochio did his research to create a movie that didn’t really get the critical love or attention it deserved.

19. Weathering With You (GKids) – And here is Japan’s selection for the Oscar International Film, a rare Anime film, this one by Your Name director Makoto Shinkai, this one more about a fantasy-romance about a young man who meets a young woman who can control the rain, which they turn into a lucrative business. I didn’t love it quite as much as Your Name, which was a truly inventive turn on the “body-switching” movie, but this also had some of the same characterizations that make Shinkai’s work so terrific, so it was impossible not to enjoy how it translated into his latest feature.

20. Lingua Franca (ARRAY Releasing/Netflix) – Trans filmmaker Isabel Sandoval’s film was released in the same weekend as another movie with a trans lead, Flavio Alves’ The Garden Left Behind. While they were both good, Sandoval wrote, directed and starred in her movie which was about her character Olivia having a romance with a guy surrounded by transphobic bros. Olivia is also trying to get her green card, and the immigrant aspect of the film really added a lot to what seemed like a deeply personal film.

21. The Outpost (Screen Media Films) – I’ve been a fan of Rod Lurie’s work for almost as long as I’ve been writing reviews. In fact, one of my very FIRST movie reviews was for his movie The Last Castle in 2001. I’ve also been fortunate to call him friend. I’ve watched Rod transition into quite a skilled television director, but I been waiting over ten years for him to make a movie as good as his amazing political thriller, Nothing but the Truth. Working from Jake Tapper’s non-fiction novel, Lurie created a full-on and unapologetic war movie as good as Peter Berg’s Lone Survivor, Blackhawk Down or any other modern war film… but also a film as personal as any others released this year.

22. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix) – Aaron Sorkin’s second film as a director stepped things up, WAY up, as he decided to take on one of the more noted events that signified the famed “Summer of Love” of 1969, as a number of peaceful protesters were tried by the federal government for “inciting a riot.” The amazing cast included Eddie Redmayne, Sacha  Baron Cohen, Yahya Abdul-Mateen 2, Michal Keaton, Mark Rylance, Frank Langella, Jeremy Strong and many more. It was an abundance of acting riches and when you have such a fine wordsmith in screenwriter/playwright Sorkin, it’s hard to go wrong. The thing is that by the time I saw this, I had already seen Steve McQueen’s Mangrove, which in my opinion is a far superior version of a similar story from the same time period.

23. Words on Bathroom Walls (LD Entertainment/Roadside Attractions) – A movie I didn’t expect much from but totally fell in love with was this romantic drama starring Charlie Plummer as Adam Petrozelli, a young man sent to a Catholic School where he hopes to keep his schizophrenia a secret from his new classmates. The film co-starred Taylor Russell from Waves as Adam’s friend and love interest, who also gets worried about Adam’s erratic behavior whenever he goes off his meds. Adam’s condition was shown by the personalities he interacts with, played by Anna Sophia Robb, Devon Bostick and Lobo Sebastian, but the movie also stars the great Molly Parker as Adam’s mother and Walton Goggins as her live-in boyfriend. All of this adds up to a great coming-of-age film from Thor Freudenthal that also became one of the first couple movies since March to test out theatrical waters months after the pandemic shutdown.

24. Sputnik (IFC Midnight) – An amazing Russian sci-fi thriller from Egor Abramenko (remember that name!) that’s likely to be compared to Alien  but adds so much more depth by taking place in communist Russia during the ‘80s. It stars Pyotr Fyodorov as a cosmonaut who brought something back with him from space and Oksana Akinshina as the psychologist who has to figure what is happening. It starts quite, reminding you of the original Russian film Solaris, but by the end, it gets pretty insane. More than anything, it finds a way of doing something original within an overused sci-fi trope.

25. Parallel (Vertical Entertainment)  - Similarly, I had pretty low expectations for Isaac Ezban’s sci-fi/horror film about a group of Silicon Valley friends who discover a mirror that allows them to travel to and from alternate versions of their own dimension, which they use for criminal activities. Soon, some of them have gotten out of control with the power and money that this access gives them, but like Palm Springs, it’s a great take on another overused sci-fi trope that’s done so beautifully. (Warning: There have been a LOT of movies with this title in the last five years. Make sure you choose the right one!)

Honorary Mentions: The Prom (Netflix), Kindred (IFC Midnight), On the Rocks (A24/Apple TV+), Yellow Rose(Sony), Misbehaviour (Shout! Factory), Premature (IFC Films), Spontaneous (Paramount), The Climb (Sony Pictures Classics)

Oh, and as a reminder, here’s my top 10, this time with links to my reviews where applicable:

10. One Night in Miami.. (Amazon Prime Video) 9. Pieces of a Woman (Netflix) 8. Sound of Metal (Amazon Prime Video) 7. Mulan (Disney+) 6. Synchronic (Well GO USA) (Tied with Disney+’s Hamilton) 5. Nomadland (Searchlight Studios) 4. News of the World (Universal) 3. Minari (A24) 2. Corpus Christi 1. Promising Young Woman (Focus Features)

And some MORE DOCS I liked that didn’t make my Top 12 over at Below the Line:

13. Robin’s Wish (Vertical) 14. PJ Harvey: A Dog Called Money 15. 76 Days (MTV Documentaries) 16. Rebuilding Paradise (NatGeo) 17. The Fight (Magnolia) 18. Collective (Magnolia) 19. Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story (Shout! Studios) 20. We Are Freestyle Love Supreme (Hulu) 21. My Name is Pedro (Sweet 180) 22. Crock of Gold: A Night with Shane MacGowan (Magnolia) 23. You Cannot Kill David Arquette (Super) 24. Feels Good Man 25. Suzi Q (Utopia Distribution)

The Terrible 12 of 2020!:

And it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for -- and the reason I guess most people are reading this -- so I apologize for making all five of you read through all the great movies and docs of 2020 before getting to the juicy stuff. Let’s get to it!

12. Superintelligence (HBO Max) – There was a time when I loved Melissa McCarthy – years before Bridesmaids – but her success after that film and her decision to keep making movies with husband/director Ben Falcone has only led to a few halfway decent comedies. (I didn’t think The Boss was that bad, but that’s cause it co-starred Kristen Bell.) So imagine if you’re one of the first big studio comedies to be dumped to Warner Media’s new streaming service, HBO Max, and that was almost SIX MONTHS BEFORE COVID HIT! How bad could a movie be to have that little support and confidence from the studio? Well, I found out that very thing, as I sat through this horrible movie that had McCarthy play another one of her usual “everywomen,” this one who encounters an Artificial Intelligence, voiced by James Corben, who has achieved sentience. Trying to learn what it is to be human, the AI starts giving McCarthy’s character everything she wants, including a relationship an old workmate, played by Bobby Canavale. The movie wasn’t very funny but it also branched into a rom-com plot that just didn’t suit either McCarthy or Canavale, so yes, quite an epic fail.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: “'Superintelligence' is not a term I'd use for whoever greenlit this piece of crap.”

11. Hubie Halloween (Netflix) – I don’t think that Hubie Halloween was anywhere near Adam Sandler’s worst movies ever, and probably not even his worst for Netflix – although there have been some VERY bad ones. The problem is that any opportunity Sandler was given in this movie to show he can deliver something other than “more of the same” had him instead resorting to the physical humor that appealed to his fanbase. And yet, it wasn’t even the worst movie to come out that week it debuted on the streamer. (See below.)

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: “A perfectly fine Netflix movie, not something I’d ever want to have to sit in a movie theater watching with others.”

10. Max Cloud – This sci-fi-action-comedy didn’t have a terrible premise – I mean, I enjoyed it in all three Jumanji movies --  but it was marred by being such a monumentally badly made movie that stars one of the one actors in the business, namely Scott Adkins. Set in 1990, Adkins plays the title character in a video game, in which a teen girl finds herself transported as a character. If you wondered what a Jumanji movie would look like in the hands of a completely incompetent cast and crew, well, here you go.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: “Pretty awful, a bad faux video game movie that should have had its plug pulled.”

9. The Stand-In (Saban Films) – Not to be outdone by her frequent co-star Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore threw out all of the love she’s garnered from previous movies and her new talk show by playing dual roles of a raunchy comedy star best known for her pratfalls (so kind of a cross between Sandler and Melissa McCarthy?). Barrymore also played her nearly identical stand-in who didn’t get as much acclaim but gets to stand in for her famous lookalike when the latter goes on a bender and ends up hiding in her mansion for five years. Not sure why Barrymore thought this would be a good way to put her back on the movie screen, but yikes… one of her character’s big gimmicks is falling face first into a pile of horse shit – not funny and just plain gross.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: “Guarantees Barrymore a double-dose Razzie nomination.”

8. The War with Grandpa (101 Studios) – For whatever reason, I decided not to review this Weinstein Co. cast-off family comedy starring Robert De Niro and Uma Thurman. Maybe that’s because I hated the movie so much I could barely get through it, and with a Friday review embargo, I just decided not to waste any more time thinking about it. So why didn’t it end up lower, you ask? I have no effin’ idea.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: N/A

7. Pearl – There have been some bad young adult romances over the past few years, and while I don’t think Bobby Roth’s is actually based on any existing book, it might as well have been, because it was very, very bad. It stars Larsen Thompson as a 15-year-old piano prodigy who is sent to live with her unemployed film director uncle, played by Anthony LaPaglia, who was so super-creepy in that role. I don’t remember much else, since I deliberately scrubbed my memory of this movie’s existence.  Little did I realize that I’d be watching an even WORSE version of this movie a few months later.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: “LaPaglia is way too good an actor, who deserves better than this.”

6. Black Water: Abyss – Another movie I watched late in the week and just didn’t have time or bother to review. Honestly, I remember very little about this. I think it involves crocodiles? Who knows, who cares? Not me or anyone else I expect. Everything about this movie was pretty bad.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: N/A

5. The Turning (Universal) – Probably the biggest studio movie to wind up on this list, and possibly the only reason I didn’t review this was because I interviewed the director, Floria Sigismondi (The Runaways), who is generally a pretty awesome artist. But I love the original source material on which this is based and seeing how much better Netflix’s The Horror of Bly Manor was a few months later just made me a little sore that a movie starring the great Mackenzie Davis with Finn Wolfhard and Brooklyn Prince could end up with one of the lamest endings of a horror movie in recent memory.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: N/A

4. Butt Boy (Epic Pictures) – Tyler Cornack’s comedy-slash-thriller was my worst movie of the year for many, many months until the three movies below it reared their ugly heads. Still, this one is pretty ugly as it stars Conack himself as Chip Gutchel, a man who becomes obsessed after a proctology exam so that things just keep vanishing up his own asshole. Yeah, I think my RT quote is fairly apt.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: “I wouldn't recommend this to my worst enemy.”

3. Buddy Games (Saban Films/Paramount) – The fact that Josh Duhamel’s directorial debut came out the same week as Superintelligence yet ended up lower on this list is fairly telling. It involves Duhamel and a group of his friends taking part in ridiculous competitions for money, and shows what happens when these friends reunite five years later to throw another Buddy Game. It was just very low-brow and disgusting and a not particularly funny take on the Jackass movies. There was scene that almost made me stop watching.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: “To call Buddy Games moronic, idiotic or even asinine, would be an insult to morons, idiots or asses, who are also likely the movie's target audience.“

2. Sno Babies (Better Noise Films) – This poorly-conceived “Afterschool Special” that follows a high school senior named Kristen (Katie Kelly) and her ever-growing drug addiction was almost like a young adult version of Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream if just about everything about the movie was bad from the writing to the acting to just really horrible images that no one would want to watch or be put through. If the film just followed Kelly’s character, maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad, but it’s a narrative that follows a bunch of characters including a couple wanting to have a baby… and when Kristen becomes pregnant due to her being on drugs, well, you can probably guess where it’s going. The only movie this year that had me literally yelling at my laptop like a lunatic.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: “The people who made this movie should never be allowed to make another movie again.”

1. Dead Reckoning (Shout! Studios) – Scott Adkins makes his second appearance in the Terrible 12 with a movie in which he plays an Albanian terrorist. In fact, when I first heard about this movie and the fact it was directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, the cinematographer/director behind Romeo is Bleeding and lots of trashy action flickers from the Aughts, it made me expect something in that vein. Instead, this is another young adult drama set in Nantucket with K.J. Apa from Riverdale playing Adkins’ brother who falls for a local teen lush, played by India Eisley, who proceeds to chug alcohol in every scene. Oh, her parents were killed in a terrorist act… coincidence? I think not. Eventually, we learn that Adkins’ character is planning a terrorist act by blowing up a boat on the 4th of July, and that’s maybe an hour or more into the movie. And yeah, there’s a number of action scenes awkwardly shoehorned into the story as well… Adkins’ fight with a nurse trying to help him was particularly hilarious. But the fact that the movie is being sold as “a thriller inspired by the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013” just makes the whole thing even more awkward and insulting. This one ends up in the “What on earth were they thinking, whoever financed this movie?” box.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: “The only way to have any fun watching this disaster is to play a drinking game where you take a drink every time Eisley's character takes a drink.”

That’s it for this year…. Happy New Year and on to 2021!

[your-brother-crutchie]

Spot Conlon for Prom Queen

Race decides that he wants to run for prom King and Queen so, because it would make his boyfriend happy, Spot throws himself into it, ‘Tommy Bracco for Prom ‘Queen’ 2013,’ style.

It was almost the end of Race’s senior year and he was completely ready to graduate and leave high school behind him. There was no risk of having to leave his boyfriend behind for university because Race wasn’t planning on going anywhere and there was no point asking if Spot was going elsewhere. Would Spot Conlon ever move away from Brooklyn?

Although everyone knew the two boys were dating, and had done long before they’d technically 'come out,’ no one ever saw them doing anything even remotely couple-y. Spot Conlon, self-proclaimed king of Brooklyn, had far too much pride to be seen holding his boyfriend. Race didn’t mind. It wasn’t like Spot was ashamed of him, he just knew that Spot had a lot of difficulty with letting people in. Letting the others kids at school see the tender way he let his fingertips skim over Race’s cheek behind closed doors was just a little too intimate for him.

It was lunchtime and the halls were empty, everyone spending the summer afternoon on the field with their friends. In a rare moment of trust, Spot had allowed his arm to hang limply around Race’s hip and was tolerating his sandy curls tickling his neck.

When Race turned to glance at the lockers to his left, he caught sight of a poster for prom King and Queen, advertising one of the school’s most well-known couples. Although he knew Spot would hate it, Race was immediately set on his decision.

“So, Scotty, I have an idea.” Pausing gently in his tracks, Race steered Spot to the left, ever so slightly, to the wall beside the poster.

Spot smirked slightly as he followed Race eagerly, obviously thinking that this was leading to the rest of lunch spent kissing in the empty classroom beside them, and pressed him against the wall gingerly, “An idea? That’s dangerous.” Rolling his eyes as his boyfriend’s mind immediately ran to something physical, Race nodded and peered over his shoulder to make sure that they were alone.“

He gently passed his thumb under Spot’s eye when he saw that the hall truly was deserted, “Very funny.” Race shot Spot a pained smile before allowing his face to settle again and going back to focusing his attention on his thumb’s path on his boyfriend’s face, “I was thinking, we could go for prom King and Queen?”

It seemed that Spot was unable to hold back his laughter as Race pouted, directing his eyes to his shoes instead, “I hate to break it to you, Tonio, but you can’t exactly run for prom Queen.”

Race simply smiled, happy for the use of his real name before deciding to go along with his day without fighting back. He swept Spot along beside him, taking his boyfriend’s arm and placing it back around his waist.

If anyone knew Race, they’d know that he was planning something. Therefore, it was no surprise that Spot was staring at him, “I know. That’s why you’re going to.”

For a long moment, there was silence.

For a long moment, Spot stood stock still, his arm retracted and hanging limply at his side.

“What?”

Turns out, Race was not joking.

Spot was stood in the middle of the hallway the next day, seemingly bemused that the steady stream of kids were avoiding both the king of Brooklyn and his partner. He stood with his arms folded as he watched his tiny boyfriend struggle to attach the large poster to the wall on his own, not that his 'tiny’ boyfriend was any 'tinier’ than he was.

Turning to look at Spot once he had given up on the top corner, Race gave an exasperated sigh as Spot tilted his head at him, turning instead to where Jack stood beside him, “A little help from you instead, perhaps?”

Race’s exasperation only grew as Jack simply dropped his hands into his pockets and walked away, probably to find Crutchie but also probably because he loved being fucking annoying. He turned back to his poster as he saw Morris Delancey coming down the hallway with his girlfriend, discussing their own running plans.

Unsurprisingly, as soon as Spot heard that there was a possibility of losing to a Delancey, Race felt his hand taking the tape from him to fasten it to the wall.

From then on, Race really started to see a change in Spot. Suddenly, this was a competition and he really bloody wanted to win. If anyone asked why he cared so much, Spot would say it was all about beating Morris but Race and the newsies all knew that it was also partly because Spot was absolutely and completely whipped to a point where he would literally do anything to make Race happy. Spot would have caved and helped him anyway.

Spot truly threw himself into the competition, getting Specs and Albert to help by flanking him at all times and the other newsies to hand out badges and flyers. He might have even pressured Katherine into putting it in the school newspaper, despite it probably going against all of the rules.

None of the teachers really knew how to approach the subject, deciding to just leave it instead, as no boy had ever run for prom Queen so seriously before and they hadn’t expected Spot Conlon to be the first.

Race was truly speechless.

This was a completely different Spot and, although he’d been trying to get him to open up for years, he wasn’t sure if he really liked this change.

Prom night came around pretty quickly.

Race had spent hours in stores to find them the perfect matching suits and they had taken pictures outside of Spot’s front door with his mother. Unsurprisingly, Race’s mother had wanted nothing to do with his prom date and his father didn’t even know that he was gay. The only reason that his mother hadn’t told her husband was that she knew he could kill her son for it. She may not want him to be 'queer’ but she, at least, would rather him alive.

When they got to the prom, they had spent a wonderful five minutes standing nonchalantly in the corner before Race had gone to find them drinks and came back to find that Spot was nowhere to be seen. Race had put up with it for a grand total of two minutes before he became annoyed that his boyfriend had ditched him on prom night. He was surrounded by his couple friends, Jack and Crutchie, Katherine and Sarah, and all Race wanted to do was dance with his absentee boyfriend.

Eventually, Crutchie was able to tear himself away from Jack long enough to make his way to the stage with Davey. Albert lowered the music as Davey tapped at the microphone, wincing at the high-pitched squealing and the groans from the other students.

As heads of the student council, Crutchie and Davey had been tasked with announcing the winners so Race knew that he was going to want his boyfriend next to him pretty damn soon.

Spot was still nowhere to be seen.

Admittedly, Race didn’t want to be the clingy boyfriend but he was a little upset that this could be his big moment and he was standing there on his own. His mother had always dreamed wanted him to grow up to become prom King.

“We know that this next part is very important to some of you. Therefore, we are deliberately going to make this painful as possible for you … And Prom King is … ” Davey took his sweet time in opening the envelope and allowed a comfortable smile as his eyes fell on Race, “Antonio Higgins!” Race knew that Davey wasn’t trying to make him uncomfortable with his real name, it was a school event, but he still squirmed, especially at his surname.

He stepped up onto the stage with a tight smile, accepting his crown with a bow and waving to the peasants as he scanned the crowd for Spot from his better vantage point.

Spot was still nowhere to be seen.

Race stood beside Davey, having accepted the friendly hand on his shoulder as Crutchie limped forwards to announce prom Queen. He didn’t want to bring it up but his friend hadn’t been walking so good recently and even the crutch didn’t seem to help the pain anymore.

“Now for the main event!” Holding the envelope up so that the crinkle of paper was caught on the microphone, Crutchie giggled before grasping at his crutch tighter when he lost his balance slightly. He breathed out shakily, looking down to where Jack stood at the front of the audience and mouthing an, 'I’m okay.’

Part of Race wanted to throw up at how sweet they were, part of him wanted to be the cute couple that everyone was cooing at.

“Your Prom Queen is … ” Crutchie pulled the piece of paper from his golden envelope and laughed gently, causing Race’s breath to hitch as the boy flipped the sheet to the crowd and announced, “Spot Conlon!” School event or not, Crutchie, the literal ray of sunshine, or not, Spot would kill anyone other than Race who tried to use his real name.

As if on cue, Race looked up to see the doors bursting open and Spot being carried in. Somehow, he had managed to blackmail the Delancey brothers into carrying him in on their shoulders. Race couldn’t hold his laughter back as the Delanceys begrudgingly took Spot to the stage, where he could collect his tiara, before depositing him in the middle of the dance floor.

For a few seconds, there was some intense eye contact between Spot and Race. The Italian boy was completely in disbelief. He was still slightly mad that he’d been left alone, even for this masterpiece, but most of him couldn’t help but applaud himself on the marvellous job he’d done on finding a suit that looked fucking perfect on Spot. He didn’t want to let Spot win but he was fighting every instinct in his body just by standing so far away from him.

Albert was yet to bring the music back up and there was silence in the sports hall as every pair of eyes was on them. Not once had Spot ever done anything remotely sweet. They could understand it when it was Race campaigning for prom King but seeing Spot standing in the middle of the empty dance floor, crooked tiara in his black hair, was something they’d never anticipated- much less Race.

After a pregnant silence, Spot held his hand out silently and suddenly Race lost it. He went running and leaped from the stage, stumbling into his boyfriend’s arms until his arms were around his neck and he was attached like a limpet.

As soon as Race hit Spot, Albert started the slow song and the couple easily settled into a relaxed swaying. Obviously, Spot was still checking that the people around them weren’t staring or judging but, for the most part, he was happy to hold his liquid boyfriend together.

For the rest of the night, Race and Spot danced insanely close together, with Spot’s arms around Race’s waist and Race’s head buried calmly into Spot’s neck. This was fine for the most part but eventually became a little too much, in an it’s-fine-on-the-slow-songs-but-the-teachers-had-to-intervene-when-they-started-grinding kind of way.

Every student around them was shocked because THE Spot Conlon was being a sappy little shit. He kept at least one hand on Race at all times and whispered constant compliments into his ear. He kissed him whenever possible, regardless of the people around them.

Even Race was shocked when he heard a gentle, “I love you,” ghosting over the shell of his ear. Spot couldn’t even say that easily when they were alone and in the dark, let alone in a loud room full of almost every kid they’d ever shared a class with for the last fourteen years.

“I love you, Antonio, and I don’t even care how much of a prat I look right now because you’re happy and that’s all that matters to me. I know that I don’t say this a lot but, seriously, I really fucking love you, Antonio.”

Race couldn’t help but furrow his eyebrows as he rested his forehead against Spot’s, smiling slightly in his confusion, “Hey, Scotty, you feeling alright?” It wasn’t that Race didn’t know that what Spot had said was true, he knew that Spot loved him, it was just that Spot was never normally so affectionate unless he was ill.

Pulling away slightly before pressing another borderline inappropriate kiss to his mouth, Spot nodded, muttering that he was, “absolutely fine,” before going back to prising Race’s lips open with his own.

“Just promise me you’ll go back to normal tomorrow. I’ve kind of missed my boyfriend.”

The next morning, as if it was actually a surprise to anyone who knew him, Spot called in sick with a horrible flu.

[miobambiino]

‘Pass Me By’

A bit like a 'five time plus one time' fic, wherein Tony surprises Steve unintentionally, except its four times, and there isn't a 'plus one time he didn't' bit, so, not really.

Tony was kind of an unpredictable guy.

Well, ‘kind of’ was an understatement. He was also, as Rhodey put it, really fucking weird.

When Steve first met the man, he was fooled by the charismatic demeanour he threw over all of their eyes; but after living with the guy for a few months and seeing his guard slowly lower down, he let his quirks show.

So as unpredictable as the guy was, they had come to be able to predict that he would do unexpected things.

The Captain didn’t expect, however, for Tony to march past a swarm of SHIELD agents, shoulder between Sam and Clint, and punch him square in the face.

“What the fuck, Cap?!”

Steve stood stock still, blinking a few times and noting that his upper lip was now wet. Bringing his hand up he dabbed away the blood trickling from his nose.

“Mister Stark,” came Fury’s steady voice as he parted between the agents, making a quick gesture with his hand to dismiss them from the room.

“You!” Tony accused, jabbing a finger towards Fury, who remained patient, “You said he was killed-!”

“It was necessary, only myself, agent Romanoff and Barnes could know Captain Rogers’ status. We were tracing a serial killer,” he addressed the whole team now, who – Nat and Bucky – who were in various stages of shock, relief, and anger.

“The only way Cap could get close enough is if the guy thought he was dead,” Bucky tried to explain.

“That makes no sense,” Bruce cut in, clearly frustrated but keeping a lid on it – unlike Tony, who was wide-eyed and practically seething, “why did he need to think Steve was dead, why not tell us?”

Fury exchanged a look between Barnes, when Natasha piped up.

“Because the killer was focused on us,” she explained, “A super-enhanced being, and a psychopath… he wanted us to suffer. Remember the first real lead we got, it was right after he made Bruce hulk out,”

“He gets off on causing us emotional distress basically,” Bucky supplied, shrugging at the exasperated look from Steve. The soldier cast a look at Tony, who was breathing heavily through his nose.

“Essentially, yes,” Nat agreed, “so naturally, when he shot Steve-”

“Wait, that wasn’t part of this…this bullshit-lie, you were shot-?!”

Steve held out his palm towards Tony, as if trying to soothe a wild animal, “Hey, it barely clipped me, but-”

“The psycho assumed he got him, so we rolled with it, staged the fake private-funeral, and the guy came out of hiding – he gets cocky when he gets the outcome he wants from us,”

“Ah,” Wanda said, much calmer than the others – she never read any of their thought without asking, she had enough control, but that didn’t stop her getting a feel for their emotions. Bucky hadn’t even been upset when he broke the news to them. She must have sensed it wasn’t quite the case, but she never mentioned it. “So that’s why you were ‘holding off’ telling the media, because you didn’t want to have to go through the press,”

“Exactly,” Bucky huffed, “didn’t wanna deal with that shit,”

“Did you not trust us to know?” Thor asked, his normal jubilant tone subdued. Steve deflated, and looked at the faces of his team.

Wanda was the least shaken by the ordeal, but the tight purse of her lips indicated her displeasure at putting her friends, her family, through such pain. Sam had accepted Steve back with open arms, forgiving him instantly. Clint understood the need to do what they did, but the tension in his shoulders read that he wasn’t happy about it. Thor had gripped him in a bear-hug, but seemed put-out by the fact they were left in the dark about Steve’s ‘murder’. Bruce was mad, felt hurt, but was focusing most of his efforts on calming Tony down, as was Rhodey.

Tony, aside from decking the guy, was shaking with anger; eyes glossed over and knuckles white.

“The guy needed to see us – the team – genuinely hurt, to believe it,” Nat said gently, “otherwise he’d never of bought it, never would have poked his head up from the sand and gave us the chance we needed – a killer would still be on the streets if we didn’t… another body could have been on our hands,”

That seemed to ease the stiffness from the others, and they came forward to check their leader over, Thor pulling him into a much warmer embrace, followed by Sam, Clint, and Bruce.

Wanda hung back with Tony, casting a concerned look at the dishevelled brunette, who didn’t look too comforted.

Later, Tony sat cross-legged on the conference table, staring out at the sky-line from the Helicarrier. The room was empty save the genius, who decided to skip out on the debriefings. No one had tried to stop him. He stayed in the room, sat in the dark, not bothering to turn on the lights. He wanted to look out at the stars.

“Thought I’d find you here,”

Tony bristled at the new voice, shifting in his spot.

Steve sighed, stepping further into the room until he was leant against the table, Tony pointedly not looking at him.

“Everyone else seems to have forgiven me now,” Steve sighed, twiddling his fingers together, casting a cautious look at the other man.

Tony wet his lips, and cleared the lump in his throat with a small cough before speaking.

“You… you let me think you were dead, Steve, I…”

“I know, Tony, and I’m sorry, but-”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Tony spoke barely above a whisper, and Steve’s heart clenched painfully.

“I wanted to, Tony, God… I wanted you to know so badly but…”

“But what?” Tony snapped, causing Steve to flinch inwardly.

“They, they said it needed to be genuine-”

“But why not tell me, Steve, just… God, I sound so fucking selfish but, why, why couldn’t you tell me-?”

“Because! Because… they,” he rubbed a hand over his face, flustered, before sighing in defeat. “Because they said you’d give the most genuine and… and satisfying reaction… for the killer. That way, he was more likely to come out to gloat… and then we’d have a shot at getting the guy, which we did-!”

Tony had gone stock still, eyes wide and sad.

“You, uh… you know?” he asked incredulously, though his voice was quiet.

Steve knew the way Tony felt about him. Hell, Natasha and Fury knew too; Steve had only found that out when the director himself insisted Tony not know the truth, since they were bound to get a reaction from him Nabokov – the killer – wanted.

Nabokov had been an agent inside of SHIELD, had access to security footage from every facility, including any places the team chose to grieve. SHIELD had let him watch, lured him out of the shadows just to gloat.

It was because they knew how Tony felt that it was such a shock when he ploughed a fist into the Captain’s nose.

It tore Steve apart to do this to his friend, his best friend. But it was necessary.

Steve wasn’t quite ready to admit to himself that Tony’s laugh sent butterflies fluttering through his stomach, blossoming warmth into his bones. God, he was such a coward. Letting Tony think that… that he didn’t feel the same damn way. But he just wasn’t ready.

“Yeah,” Steve said, voice raw and painful, “I know, Tony,”

With that, Tony nodded curtly, slid off the table, and left.

Steve let him, self-loathing oozing into his gut as he let the man he loved cared for walk away.

A month later, and Tony and Steve were back to talking as usual. Sometimes Tony joked about his feelings for Steve, brushed them off as nothing more than physical attraction. Really, its an appreciation for the science behind the serum, not the meat-head piloting it, he’d said, cackling like a madman at Steve’s mock-offended expression.

They both knew it wasn’t true, and they both decidedly didn’t mention it.

“What the hell does agitare mean?” Clint asked, squinting at the cook-book lead out in front of him. It was written in Italian, which Clint claimed was the only way to cook authentic Italian food.

Problem was he didn’t know any Italian that wasn’t written on the menu of an Italian restaurant, limiting his knowledge to types of pasta, cheese, and tomatoes.

“It means stir, dumbass,”

“Hey! I’m trying to learn, don’t be so fuckin’ condescending,” Clint chastised, pointing a wooden spoon in Tony’s direction accusingly, flicking the engineer with tomato juice.

“I mean,” the brunette replied, locking his tablet and directing his attention to the archer, who was clad in a children’s chef hat and apron, making him look twice as ridiculous as usual. “Why don’t you just get me to read it for you, instead of asking me every other second what words mean?”

Clint considered him for a moment, before nodding.

“Okay, you’re up.”

He tossed the book over to Tony, ignoring the frustrated grunt from Bruce as the book landed in the middle of his notes, scattering them across the island in the middle of the kitchen where most of the team currently sat.

Steve walked in, towel slung over his shoulders from the quick shower he took after his session in the gym with Nat and Sam, rubbing it absently against the back of his head where his wet hair dripped onto the back of his white t-shirt.

“What’s the second row say?” Clint asked, stirring the pot in front of him.

“Schiacciare l’aglio e il basilico in una pasta e aggiungere alle cipolle,”

“In English, asshole,”

Tony grinned devilishly, before reading out the instructions to Clint.

Steve watched Tony carefully, trying not to seem too awed by the other man speaking beautifully in flawless Italian. Steve had known Maria was Italian, but he hadn’t been aware that much had passed on to Tony. He supposed he should have seen it; his dark, full hair, his tanned complexion, the way spoke with his hands so passionately, the way his body moved so fluidly, seductively, making Steve’s mouth dry and his palms sweaty…

Okay, so maybe not all of that was down to Tony being half Italian, and more to do with the restless thumping Steve’s heart did when he locked eyed with the brunette.

Still not ready to confront that.

“How long you been able to speak Italian anyway, man?” Clint ventured, peeling cloves of garlic and crushing them under the blade of a knife.

“Real question is how long have I been able to speak English, birdbrain,”

That earned a few raised eyebrows, and Nat’s attention from where she sat between Bruce and now Steve.

“Italian is your mother-tongue?” She asked curiously, setting her mug of green tea down on the surface.

“Yeah – well, I was speaking English pretty soon after I begun to speak Italian, but when I was born my Mom, she wanted privacy, so we stayed with her family in Italy most of the year,” he shrugged, reading off the next line of the book to Clint, who threw a thumbs-up back at him. “They all spoke it, so guess I just picked it up first,”

Steve had been living under the same roof as the other man for some time now, and in all of his unpredictable quirks and mannerisms, he still found himself being surprised by the genius in ways he had not before even considered.

“What’s Italian for ‘I need to go get some garlic bread’?” Clint asked plainly.

“Devo andare a prendere un po 'di pane di aglio,” Tony said automatically, not looking up from the page of scribbles Bruce had slid over to him. Not to check for any mistakes, no, just to admire it, as Bruce said.

“Excellent,” Nat said without missing a beat, “Get a few, and some cheesy garlic bread while you’re at it,”

Tony huffed irritably, though it lacked any real heat, as Clint chucked to himself.

Tony got up, making sure to push his stool under the table with as much huffing as possible. He stopped in the doorway, and Steve looked up from his sketchbook, noting the expectant look from the brunette.

“You’re coming with me,”

“I am?”

Tony scoffed, rolling his eyes and beckoning Steve over again. “Obviously,”

“It’s really not that obvious,” The blonde sighed, though he was already following Tony out of the kitchen.

They got to the store nearly twenty minutes after they’d originally set off, which didn’t seem that odd, unless you considered the fact the store they most frequently used was a five-minute walk away from the tower.

They’d taken a complete detour, instead of going the most direct way, Tony had lead them down a bunch of side streets, just to end up at the end of the road the store sat on, rather than just walk down said road to get there.

Steve didn’t really mention it – drawing up the conclusion that Tony had thought better they keep to side streets to avoid too much attention. Yet, when they were in the store, Tony made to move to pull up the hood of his jacket or keep his head down; in fact, he even knelt down and spoke to a few kids shopping with their parents, discretely paying for their groceries just to ease some of the tension the parents seemed to carry in their shoulders.

Money wasn’t a problem for Tony, but that didn’t mean he didn’t understand the problems it made for other people, so, he did things like that fairly often, though always under the radar.

When they left the store, Steve started to turn right, to head down the main street this time round rather than waste a quarter of an hour trailing through dingy alleyways. Steve stopped, however, when he didn’t see Tony walking beside him.

Turning around, Tony was stood awkwardly, body tilted to the left, as if willing Steve to choose the long way round again.

“Tony, what are you doing?” Steve asked slowly, eyes flicking around the street for any signs of danger.

Tony tried to feign nonchalance, rubbing his hand through his messy hair – it was starting to curl at the nape of his neck, Steve noted absently.

“Just, I don’t know… side streets are more…” Tony waved a hand round, as if trying to will an excuse to himself, “…picturesque?”

Steve snorted, before walking up the mainstreet, despite Tony’s unusual behaviour.

Like Steve had said and thought many times before, Tony was weird guy, so it really didn’t send any red lights flashing off in his mind.

Begrudgingly, Tony followed after him.

A way down the street Steve noted Tony almost cringe – almost flinch – by his side.

“What the-”

Before he could even finish his sentence, Steve had turned to look at whatever Tony was staring at, and he felt realisation wash over him.

Tony eyed him, a stern expression over his face, willing Steve to keep his mouth shut.

Steve’s eyes glistened, and his lip wavered, trying to push down a smile.

“Don’t,”

“Oh, my God,”

“I said don’t, asshole-!”

“You’re scared of them, aren’t you?”

“No!”

Steve was doubling over now, full belly-laughs rippling through him, as he wheezed around laughter. He swore he even felt tears prick the corners of his eyes, and was earning a fair share of bemused looks from onlookers making their way down the street.

“Shut up, Steve-!” Tony grit out, though he had an air of nervousness around him, smothering most of his frustration.

“Clowns? Really,” Steve threw his head back laughing, clapping Tony on the shoulder, sending a jolt through the other man.

Tony couldn’t help but crack a smile, but the unease from the performers outside a large toy-store remained settled.

A group of performers – of perhaps six or so clowns – were taking pictures with families, promoting some new product Steve guessed. There wasn’t even anything particularly creepy about any of them, all jolly smiles and silly tricks.

Yet the invincible Iron Man had gone wildly out of his way just so he didn’t have to walk past them.

Oh God, Steve didn’t think he’d ever laughed this hard.

“You’re such a dick, Rogers!”

“Clowns, Tony, Clowns – look! That kid just pushed one over-!”

As proof to his claim, a little girl had nudged one of the clowns, who fell backwards dramatically, knocking into another clown, who knocked into another and so on.

And here was Tony, practically petrified by them.

“What sane person likes clowns, Steve? Clowns – imagine waking up in the middle of the night and seeing that-!”

“You’re ridiculous,” Steve wheezed, trying to pull himself together, but he couldn’t wipe off the amused smile from his face if he tried. “Look, just, wander over there – I’ll be there, don’t worry – and just, try not to freak out, its just people in costumes, I mean, c’mon, shellhead-”

“Fine, fine!” the brunette grumbled, begrudgingly following Steve over the edge of a small crowd watching the antics of the group.

Steve wished he could say he was a good friend to Tony when they wandered over. Though he didn’t think any force on Earth would have stopped him practically collapsing in fits of laughter when a clown came up from beside them, honking a horn playfully, and the prompt shriek Tony let out from the top of his lungs, clawing at Steve’s arm.

Laughing so hard it hurt, Steve tried to keep up with Tony, who was walking as fast as possible without it being called running away back towards the safety of their tower.

It had been a rough couple of days.

Infiltrating a Hyrda research base never was a picnic, especially since unlike some of their other foes – namely AIM, Hydra seemed to actually learn from their mistakes.

They took a hit, got shaken up, and were currently tucked into a tiny outpost waiting for the rescue crew. Rain drummed against the old window frames of the building which poke out between a few trees in the middle of nowhere, branches swaying and tapping against the flat rooftop, sheets of water cascading down the walls outside.

Steve had lit a fire, knowing they’d be there for a good while longer because of the storm messing up tracking technology, even my SHIELD’s standard. It was a pretty nasty storm after all. The team crowded round the small furnace, faces illuminated in the warm glow, despite feeling cold and bitter on the inside.

They’d barely scraped out of this one. Tensions were high, and the fight had left most of them feeling haunted by their own memories; none of them mentioned how similar it was to when Wanda put them under her spell. Besides, judging by the way she tucked herself into the corner, she was being eaten up by enough guilt already.

Natasha hadn’t made one comment since the battle finished, absorbed completely in her own thoughts.

Clint tried to approach her, but sighed and slumped back when he was clearly getting nowhere with her here. She didn’t feel safe; she wanted – she needed – to go home.

“She normally likes to listen to songs n’stuff,” Bucky had told Steve, Sam, and Rhodey, who were all rubbing their hands in front of the fire.

“She not responding at all?” Sam asked warily, eyeing his friend from where he sat next to Tony.

“Give her time,” was all Clint said, before going back to idly fiddling with his arrow-heads.

Bruce, Vision and Thor hadn’t come with them this time – it hadn’t seemed necessary at the time. They were almost relieved, though, that the Hulk hadn’t come into contact with the empath like they all had.

Steve watched over Nat with concern written all over his face, before noting a silent exchange between Rhodey and Tony at the corner of his eye.

Rhodey seemed to be urging Tony, who was violently shaking his head in a negative motion. Between his hands, Steve noted Rhodes had picked up the guitar that had been mounted on the wall of the bunker above the stove, tightening the strings.

“C’mon, man,” he heard the Colonel murmur, “for her, yeah?”

Tony seemed to consider this, before his shoulders sagged in defeat.

After a few moments, the pair had shuffled closer to Nat, who made no indication she even knew they were there.

And that’s when Rhodey began to play.

It was a familiar tune, Steve noted, simple and repetitive, yet all the while timeless. Though the guitar wasn’t exactly in the best of shapes, Rhodes played beautifully, his worn fingertips strumming softly against the strings, evoking a tender rendition of the song.

Nat’s body seemed to have gone slightly looser, the vice-like grip she had round her own knees reducing by the slightest amount.

Tony breathed, shifted in his spot next to Natasha, and began to sing. The other’s around them perked up, surprised smiles playing on their faces as the brunette sung, accompanied by the gentle strums of the guitar.

“She's got a smile it seems to me Reminds me of childhood memories Where everything Was as fresh as the bright blue sky,”

Tony’s voice was faintly feminine, yet rather striking. Without even needed to belt it out, the sound of his voice sent a wave of impact through the room. Steve stared, awed, completely unaware that Nat was starting to come out of her shell, eyes trained on Rhodey’s fingers running down the strings.

“Now and then when I see her face She takes me away to that special place And if I'd stare too long I'd probably break down and cry,”

Clint started to hum along – not being the greatest of singers, but good enough to hold a steady tune. Sam started to bob his head, murmuring the words softly.

“Oh, oh, oh Sweet child o' mine Oh, oh, oh, oh Sweet love of mine,”

Steve vaguely picked up on Wanda and Bucky chiming in for the chorus, but Tony… God, he could barely breathe at the sound of the man’s voice; a soothing blanket that fell over the room, sending warmth bubbling up his insides and prickles of cold along his spine.

“She's got eyes of the bluest skies As if they thought of rain I hate to look into those eyes And see an ounce of pain Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place Where as a child I'd hide And pray for the thunder And the rain To quietly pass me by”

Natasha was looking up now, smiling. Then, gingerly, she sang along with Tony, who held her hand as she looked gratefully on at Rhodey. The man didn’t look up from his playing, but his lips quirked upwards; he knew. They sung together:

“Oh, oh, oh Sweet child o' mine Oh, oh, oh, oh Sweet love of mine,”

“You know,” Steve said, arms folded across his broad chest currently stretching out a grey workout shirt, chin tipped downwards, “for a guy who’s been in the war and fights aliens and…” he sighed, cautioning a look at Tony, who was sat on the kitchen worktop.

The brunette was picking slices of pizza from the discarded takeout box from their meal since getting back home in one piece; the others were in various states of passed-out in the living room, save for himself and Steve.

“For a guy like me, who’s done the things I’ve done, I can be such a damn coward.”

Tony blinked, started by the sudden turn in conversation.

Moments ago, it had been just playful banter – nothing too complex or witty, they were all too tired for that.

“Wha-? Cap… you feeling alright? Helmet not squeezing your brain too much?”

“No, Tony,” Steve huffed around a smile, “I mean, I haven’t been totally honest with you,”

Tony’s expression went blank, an air of hurt flashing over his features, before Steve backtracked.

“Not – uh, not like that, God… I just mean, I’ve been too afraid to admit to you that I…” he trailed off, suddenly finding his mouth going dry and hands becoming clammy. “So, uh, you like me, right–? Wait, shit, that makes me sound like such a jerk, shit, sorry-”

Steve fumbled for the right words, already seemingly offending Tony twice already. Fuck, he was so shit at this.

“What I mean, is that, when I…when I knew how you felt – about me – I was scared because-”

“Me liking you scared you-?” Tony asked, eyebrows raised and playful attitude completely lost.

“No! Well, in a way – but not bad!” Steve tried, running a hand through his hair in frustration, looking helplessly at Tony who seemed to only be getting more offended by this rather patchwork ‘confession’.

“So, what? You knew I liked you and, and pretended not to know because it freaked you out – but then you were okay using it as some kind of bait-?!” Tony was growing hostile now, walls coming up to mask any hurt he was feeling.

“You know, Rogers, if this is some backward-ass way of apologising, just drop it, okay? We were fine! Why did you have to bring it up, like I’m not fucking embarrassed about it? Get over yourself, Jesus, I’m over you-!”

“Wait – you’re over me?”

Steve was quiet now, the previous bubbling excitement and nerves tangled together dissipating, replaced with a cold wash of dread.

That seemed to give Tony some pause. The genius’ eyes were glassed over, wide and vulnerable. And Steve knew Tony was trying to pull the wool over his eyes.

“Yes,” Tony said after a while, voice shaken and nit sounding too convinced.

“You really mean that?” Steve tried again, edging closer to Tony, cornering him on the kitchen surface.

Tony’s eyes darted to the door, but then Steve was right there, face inches away from his own, and staring him down, looking for any trace of a lie. Steve was stood between Tony’s legs now, which hung motionless over the edge of the counter. His neck was tilted back slightly, looking up to meet the Captain’s startlingly blue eyes, which flicked over the genius’ face, taking it all in.

Tony felt a huff of air from Steve brush over him, disturbing a lock of dark hair which fell over his eyes. Steve’s hand came up to the side of his face, brushing the hair away, but stayed hovering over his cheek.

Tony swallowed hard, before replying hoarsely.

“No,”

Steve pulled Tony’s face towards his own, pressing their lips together harshly. The Captain ran his hands down Tony’s body, trailing from his cheeks to his hips, using them to pull the other man flush up against him; Tony moaned, running his hands over the expanse of Steve’s shoulders, letting the larger man push him back against the surface, climbing over him and deepening the kiss.

Tony wrapped his legs around Steve’s waist, flicking his tongue over the man’s bottom lip, feeling heat pool in his belly and his insides go gooey.

After a few moments, Steve wound his arms under Tony, hauling them both up and marching out of the kitchen.

“The elevator is that way-” Tony breathed around kisses, pointing to the opposite direction in which they were headed.

“Too far,” Steve practically growled, hoisting Tony up with one arm under his ass and the other opening the door to a small study space they rarely used.

Inside it was dark, filled with a few bookshelves, but namely a large sofa some of them occasionally used to read on.

Steve pulled the door almost shut, pushing Tony back against it closing it all the way, hands roaming over the smaller man’s body.

“FRIDAY, do – fuck, Steve – do your thing,”

Wordlessly, FRIDAY ensured the door was locked and turned the lights up a fraction, just enough to see – which Tony was hugely thankful for, since after Steve set him down on the sofa, he pulled his shift off to reveal his naked torso.

The super-soldier crawled up Tony’s body, gripping him by the hips and rolling down, enticing a moan from the smaller man. Steve’s face was flushed red, his brow furrowed as Tony mouthed at his neck.

Steve suddenly stopped, pupil’s blown wide with lust, yet unease settled behind them.

“Wait, Tony,”

“What, no, no, no… why are you stopping?”

“Tony,” Steve urged, smiling despite himself, before sighing. “I like you, I have feelings for-”

“Steve – I know,” the other man smiled, “I mean, knowing you, I’d be a little concerned if you didn’t,”

Steve suddenly became acutely aware that they were both extremely naked, wrapped up in each other’s bodies – and at some point had asked FRIDAY to turn on the fireplace (looking back, it may have been a bit over-kill on the romance).

“Right, uh, I wasn’t quite sure if you caught the memo,” Steve said, awkwardly scratching at the back of his neck.

Tony looked up at him through his lashes, half of his face illuminated by the low ebb of the fireplace opposite them. He was beautiful – this close Steve noted the freckles dotted over the bridge of his nose, the strands of grey hairs growing from his temples, each individual lash that framed his dark eyes.

“I got it, Steve,” he smiled, before pulling Steve back down to meet his lips.

Hope you enjoy! Prompts for avengers fics are still open ~