#Its because i drew this one first and have had it queued for a while

[camelspit]

happy brant day babygirls

(separate images below the cut)

@skylilac @callas-pancake-tree @arson-anarchy-death @steal-nightmares-leave-dreams @abubble125 @purplesoup-lad-le @gay-otlc @thefoxysnake @keeper-of-the-lost-dadwin @oracle-cookies-deactivated114070 @kamikothe1and0lny @you-have-been-frizzled @presidentroarie @cowboypossume @even-if-in-another-time @that-glasses-dog @nyxpixels @katniss-elizabeth-chase @slozhnos @sofia-not-sophie @treehouse-arson @lemon-girl-in-devil-town @three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat @purpleunicycle @raeny-nights-and-faery-lights

[pucksnsticksnhockeyboys]

there for you

summary: your best friend Bowen can’t help but draw some connections between you and your favorite show. 

word count: 2k

warnings: heavy spoilers for New Girl. like, its basically the premise of the fic

note from the writer: here’s a link to a tweet with the scene im talking about in this fic, its from the episode “Oregon” (season 4 ep 16). shoutout to @bqstqnbruin​ for finding it for me

Bowen had long since stopped asking to come over before showing up on your doorstep. Usually, he��d send a ‘are you home?’ text to make sure you were around, before heading to your apartment for whatever reason he had in mind.

The latest text had come in twenty minutes ago, so you knew he was going to show up soon.

Like clockwork, you heard a knock on your front door and Bowen greeting your roommates before your bedroom door opened. He was grinning, wide as ever, and you opened your arms for a hug from your position laying in bed, under the covers and in the middle of a New Girl marathon.

“Scoot over.” Bowen grins, barely giving you enough time to react before dropping on top of you, arms wrapped around your middle and his head nuzzled into the crook of your neck. You paused the show, not wanting to miss anything despite being on your third rewatch.

You wondered if he could feel how fast your heart was beating. If he knew just how much his touch affected you, how many feelings you were harboring from him.

“What’s up?” You asked, pushing away any thoughts about your massive crush on your best friend as you tried to get to the bottom of why he showed up out of the blue. It wasn’t the first time he had done so, but he always had a reason.

“I wanted to see you. Practice was rough.” He mumbled in the crook of your neck. Your heart skipped a beat at his words, how they fell past his lips so easily. Those words made you think that maybe your feelings weren’t so one sided, that there was a chance for you to be even happier than you already were with your best friend.

“You’re going to make me blush.” You teased, downplaying the fact that he really did manage to fluster you. Bowen snorted, squeezing you tightly once more instead of responding to your comment. An easy moment of silence passed, one that wasn’t stifling or awkward and it reminded you once more just how much you enjoyed being around Bowen. Subconsciously, one of your hands threaded through his hair. “I like it when your hair is longer like this.”

Your words were punctuated by a tug on his roots and though he didn’t say anything, he hummed contentedly. You worried that maybe he’d be able to hear the hammering of your heart or he’d know that the smile on your face wasn’t because of your platonic love for him. You feared that he would know—know how much you loved him and know that you had been hiding your feelings for so long. But you couldn’t let yourself think too much about that, you couldn’t let yourself overthink and ruin one of your closest friendships, so you tactfully changed the subject.

“Are we napping or watching my show?” You asked, though you had a pretty good idea what his answer would be.

“Nap, please.” He mumbled, and you could never deny him, especially when he was acting so sleepy and adorable, so you agreed easily. You both shifted your positions slightly, you trying to find the comfiest spot and him climbing under the covers with you, but eventually you both melted into your mattress, Bowen’s head still buried in the crook of your neck.

Bowen tried to stay awake a little longer; to tell you about his morning and the practice he had just come from that had drained his energy completely. But before long, his words were slurring together and when he stopped mid sentence, you knew he had fallen asleep with his arms wrapped around you and your fingers carding through his hair.

You tried to stay up too, to relish in the feeling of being in his arms. But you knew that pretending like it meant something more than it did was only going to break your heart more, so soon after he dozed off you closed your eyes and followed suit.

You were the first one to wake up, a combinatin of Bowen’s weight on you becoming slightly uncomfortable and the need to use the bathroom, so you did your best to climb out from underneath him without waking him. You thought you had made it out clear, but the moment your feet hit the floor Bowen was stirring from behind you.

“Where are you going?” He mumbled, causing you to halt your movements. It was far from the first time you had heard his gravelly voice just after he woke up, but it never failed to make your heart race. You swore you could listen to him talk forever, which was a good thing, since he never seemed to be able to stop talking.  

“Bathroom. I’ll be right back.” You told him, finally standing to your feet. When you turned back around, Bowen was already watching you with tired eyes that made your heart clench. God, you were so gone for him.

You slipped out of the room without saying anything more, not trusting yourself to not blurt out just exactly how his smile made you feel. When you returned, he was sitting up against your headboard, your laptop open on his lap as he queued up the episode you had been watching before he arrived.

“New Girl again?” Bowen teased when he spotted you enter the room. You playfully rolled your eyes at him, climbing back into your spot beside him on the bed. You mirrored his position, though you dropped your head against his shoulder.

“It’s a good show. Plus, Jess and Nick’s relationship is my favorite.” You told him decidedly, like you had a dozen times before. The relationship between Jess and Nick truly was somehting you strived for—friends that were always in love with each other, no matter the problems that arised and even when they were broken up they did their best to keep the other happy.

“Fair enough.” He chuckled, shifting slightly so that his arm was around you and he could hold you closer to his side. “What episode are we on?”

“Oregon.” You started, knowing you’d have to catch him up on more than just the episode name. “Jess, Cece, and the guys go to Portland because Jess’ dad is getting married. Jess’ boyfriend, Ryan, was supposed to show up but since he lives in England he said it wouldn’t make sense for him to be there. So, Nick’s trying to make Jess feel better because he secretly loves her and I just need them to get back together.”

“Don’t they end up together though?” Bowen asks, trying to recall as much about the show as he could. It might not have been one of his personal favorites, but he knew you loved it, so that was enough for him to try and follow along.

“Yeah, but they aren’t right now.” You confirm. Before Bowen could ask anymore questions, you pressed play on your laptop and continued where you left off. Jess and the group had just arrived at her childhood home, only to find her mom ready to greet Ryan, who wasn’t there. The scene played on, with Nick telling Jess the hard truth that Ryan bailing wasn’t okay.

You could feel Bowen’s eyes on you as the scene changed to Nick comforting Jess in her room. Giggling at the Jordan Catalano joke, you tried your best to focus on the screen and not the piercing blue eyed gaze that seemed to be studying your face. And, like you always did when you got to this scene, you bit your lip to supress a grin as Nick delivered his next line.

“The only thing that matters is that the guy is there for you when you need him. Otherwise, you’re dating a wall.”

“Are you even paying attention, Bow? That’s like, my favorite line. What I wouldn’t give to have someone love me the way Nick loves Jess.” You sighed, settling further against Bowen as the episode continued on. He didn’t say anything in response, other than a quiet hum, but for the rest of the episode you could practically hear the gears turning inside his head as he turned his attention to the screen.

Netflix automatically continued on to the next episode, but as soon as the intro started Bowen’s hand shot out and paused the show. You looked at him curiously; the two of you usually got through at least a couple of episodes whenever you hung out like you were then.

“You know…” Bowen started, trailing off before he finished his thought. He wasn’t meeting your gaze, and it was clear that what he wanted to say was on the tip of his tongue so you stayed silent while he found his words. “I’m always there for you.”

You felt your heart stop beating and skip three beats all at once. You weren’t sure where he was going with his train of thought, but if you had to guess you would be getting your hopes up. Because there was absolutely no way that he felt the same for you that Nick does for Jess.

“Yeah, you are…” You breathed, trying to get him to meet your gaze but instead he stayed focused on your comforter pulled over both of your laps. The hand that wasn’t around your shoulders was toying with the fabric, and in a bid to calm him down enough to get him to say what he needed you slipped your hand into his. Bowen drew in a steadying breath and finally met your gaze, a dozen and one emotions swirling behind his eyes.

“I love you, you know.” He said firmly, like there was no question about it in the slightest and not the very words you had been dying to hear from him for years. You nodded, unable to form words but not wanting to leave him hanging.

You supposed you did know that he loved you. He showed it in his blatant affection and the frequent texts about how his life was going. He cared for you, there was no doubt about it, but you had never let yourself believe that he meant anything more than friendship. And now he was offereing everything you’d ever wanted on a silver platter.

“Bowen,” You started, but you couldn’t find the words to tell him just how much you loved him back. Instead, you moved the hand that wasn’t wrapped up in his to rest on Bowen’s jaw, turning his head just slightly so that you could press your lips to yours in a long awaited kiss that stole your breath.

Kissing Bowen felt so much better than what you imagined. The angle was a little odd and your neck was craned to face him, but you wouldn’t trade it for the world. You’d share a thousand more awkwardly positioned kisses if it meant you got to be with Bowen.

You were the first to pull away, but you didn’t move far, wide grins on both of your faces as you took in the events of the past few moments. Your friendship was definitely changed, and in place was a relationship that you had been hoping for.

“I love you, too.” You finally mumbled. You wanted to tell him how you had loved him from the moment you met, how he made you fall in love with him with each and every day, but for the moment all that mattered was he knew you loved him just the same as he loved you.

“I hope, or else this is going to be awkward.” He mumbled playfully, leaning in again to close the distance between the two of you. You couldn’t help but chuckle against him, your hand slipping from his jaw to curve around the back of his neck in order to deepen the kiss.

Bowen was the Nick to your Jess, and not a day went by that you weren’t greatful for him.

[impaladolan]

Capture - Grayson Dolan [3/-]

summary: everything has started to whirlwind around Y/N as she realizes what predicament she’s in, but is consoled by her captor.. her nameless captor..

warnings: smut & slight fluff :/

a/n: hey, this is part THREE of this little series! if you haven’t, check out part one and two before reading this, or you might be a little confused :) enjoy!

"Don't you make one fucking sound.."

To his hoarse words, your teeth instantly clamped shut around your bottom lip and you closed your eyes in anticipation. You expected to be ruthlessly grabbed and shoved into by his cock, but the slowness of your panties being pulled down your legs and the ever so soft touches of his long fingers against your inner thighs brought you a surprise. And suddenly, the world began spinning around you the moment you felt his thick, and warm tongue glide against your soaked folds. The pit of your stomach shuttered in the overwhelming pressure he had against your extremely sensitive nub, something you have been day-dreaming about ever since you first saw him.

He was slow— almost passionate with the way he moved his pleasureful tongue around your pussy, slurping your arousal like it was a glass of ice water on a hot day. Your hips slowly rolled against his mouth, unintentionally, and your head fell back against the soft mattress beneath you. Your hot breaths filled the absence of sound, as well as his lapping and frustrated groans from underneath you. It seemed purely magical when he creeped one of his thumbs to your bundle of nerves, swiftly rubbing it in small circles. It made your breath become caught within your throat and had your own fingers running through his heavenly soft hair. The way his gruff groans and grunts vibrated through your core and up your spine made it excruciatingly difficult to keep your sounds to yourself.

You had had it when his only free hand crept up through your gown and wrapped itself around your breast, caressing the tenderness and softness. When your hips began to buck a bit more violently and the small, quick intakes of breaths that had queued your soon dispatching, he stopped.

He lifted his head from you and licked his lips, flashing a grin your way. "Such a pretty girl, already fucked out and you've barely been touched." He chuckles as he turns back to his little pile of clothes on the floor, snatching them and leaving the room in a hurry.

You were infuriated.

So much so, that you led your own little hand down there and began to rub at yourself, trying to finish off whatever he had started before he could notice anything. You just circled your clit quickly until your high came, and went, before slipping into your comforting bedding, yet again regretting your day's decisions and falling into a deep and useless slumber.

-

When you first wake, you quickly notice the weakness between your legs, like it was missing something, but soon after you feel the stretching of your esophagus. And then you're hit with the reoccurrence of the night before. Again, you had let this unknown man take full control of you and liked it.

How disgusting were you? To enjoy something superbly disturbing? What would your mother think?

You shook your head to your own thoughts, sitting up against the pillows and reaching for the newly placed water bottle on the nightstand. You unscrewed the cap and chugged the liquid until there was no more to be gained from it. It at least soothes the aching you felt in your throat, but nothing could stunt the aching and needing pains that your pussy was currently throbbing with.

You didn't feel an ounce of drowsiness at the beginning of the day, like you had the days prior. You felt fully regenerated and well awake. Maybe now you'd be in touch with your morals and mature senses. It has become terribly boring in this room, staring at the walls and ceiling for what seems like hours doesn't help the fact. You would've gotten up and explored your confinement space, but you were terrified he'd make an appearance the moment you step on the ground.

You actually haven't seen him at all today.

You didn't really have a source of time, but by the way the sun was sat in the sky, you had gone a whole entire day without a thing to eat or drink, which angered you. He should at least have enough courtesy to provide meals for your famished self if he's gonna keep you hidden in this place for so long. But then again, you were forcefully kidnapped from a bench only days ago, and could be kept in much worst conditions than you are now. With that simple thought, a tear had formed, watering and blurring your eyesight. Without any consent from your own self, tear after tear began to trail down your frozen cheeks, staining them a darker red. You didn’t even realize you were crying until an explosion of hiccups began to sound from your mouth and send you into a sobbing mess. Your throat began to burn as well as your eyes and your stomach began to lurch within its self, while your head became pained with all the activity that’s happening. You grab one of the pillows laying behind you and squeeze it against you roughly, trying to soothe the discomfort and agony of your new coming realizations. The flow of your tears and whimpers only strengthened, like your body was combusting with the amount of held back frustration you had. The streams of tears began to pool at the bottom of your chin and roll down your neck in thick waves.

You weren’t too sure why you were crying, but it made you feel a little better.

Your sobbing hadn’t come to a stop when the door soundlessly opened and closed. You didn’t even hear him enter, let alone sit beside you. When his large and warm arms wrapped around your small, shuttering frame, you helplessly fell into them. You let go of the pillow and snuck your arms around his muscular torso, squeezing him tighter than you did the pillow as you uncontrollably cry in the crook of his neck. “Why? Why’d you trap me here?” You hardly whispered, but his heart sank deep in his chest the moment you acknowledged him.

He didn’t have an answer. He just swayed the two of you back and forth, easing you into a peaceful sleep that you truly didn’t want, or need. You weren’t awakened when he had easily lifted you up, and carried you away from your enclosed space, leading the two of you down the hallway until he was at the threshold of his own door. He didn’t need to think twice before quietly opening it and settling you on his much more comfortable bed, leaving the lights off and classical music on in the background. He understood your saddened questioning, but he just couldn’t do anything about it quite yet..

-

You awoke for what seemed like the fiftieth time in a place you didn’t recognize. Instead of the boring grey walls and the one gold-trimmed painting, you were surrounded by pristine white walls with a few different posters of musicians you didn’t really know, except Tame Impala. Your heart almost skipped a beat as your eyes scanned the poster that had tour dates and the songs from the 2015 Currents album.

What a coincidence?

You drew your eyes away from it and settled them on the man sitting in the chair in the corner. Again, your heart leaped out of your chest from slight terror. You hadn’t noticed him before, but he seemed harmlessly asleep. Though his presence slightly angered you, he really did look peaceful and almost cute, snoozing away in the little recliner. A smart person would’ve ran to the door and exited the house as quick as possible and make it to freedom, but your head really wasn’t in the right place for the moment. You just sat there, silently interrogating the nameless man snoring in the corner.

He hasn’t been anything but nice to you, except for the lack of food and water. You faintly remember him saying something about knowing you, but everything’s truly a fog and you can’t tell whether anything is a dream or real life, since you’ve been sleeping entirely too much. Hell, you can’t even recall how you were placed in this room, or why.

But you liked it a lot better than the original room you were in. It’s not freezing cold in this bedroom, it’s comfortably warm and soothing with some sort of autumn smelling candle. Even the few little Halloween decorations around the room, which are slightly early, made this place feel a lot more homely than it should. Because honestly, you shouldn’t be “enjoying” being kidnapped/stolen by some nameless hot guy.

Speaking of, what the hell is his name?

Suddenly, the so-called nameless man begins to shift in his seat, his eyes slowly opening and widening as they adjust to the small light surrounding him. The only light within the room was the window, which displayed the day’s dark overcast from the soon-coming rain. Once he’s familiar with his own room, his eyes land on yours, a sheepish smile covering his lips compared to your stern one. “Good morning, sweetheart.” He firstly says before stretching his arms above his head and letting in a deep yawn.

“Cut the shit, sweetheart. I want to know why I’m here and when I’m allowed to leave, now.” You mock with a darkened voice, just to get your serious point across. He exhaled a large breath and stands to his feet, shuffling over to his dresser, probably finding a shirt since he feels the need to be shirtless all the time..

“Listen, I want details. I’m tired of fucking waking up and falling asleep in a strangers home. So if you could politely drop me off at my own house within the next hour, I won’t press charges. Fair and simple.” You almost plead as he takes his time looking through the drawers of his dresser. His silence and slowness was beginning to get in your nerves. It’s a large pet peeve of yours when you aren’t directly answered.

“Love to, but can’t.” He just simply answers with that, throwing a white shirt over his head and fitting it upon the rest of his body. You internally groan to his statement, shifting your eyes to the doorknob that looked very much enticing. Your head began forming a plan b, if bribing him doesn’t go too well.

“Please..?” You surprised yourself with the stupidly seductive voice you used, something you do to get what you want with men, and it most generally works. “Maybe.” He shrugs, carelessly. He seemed so disinterested and distracted to care about any of the words you were uttering. He strides over to his connecting bathroom, slightly closing the door to piss and brush his teeth.

I guess we’re going straight to plan b, huh?

You hobble out of bed and quietly walk towards the door, successfully letting yourself out without notice. Holy shit. You sprint down the somewhat familiar hallway, around a corner and through the kitchen and what seems to be a living room, until you see a front door looking exit. You immediately scram towards it and unlock the handle and the two deadbolts, successfully pulling it open and letting the outside air smack you right in the face.

Freedom at last.

You run outside, not even caring to close the door, and sprint straight towards the tall fence, the eerie tree-covered surroundings offsetting you slightly. Nevertheless, you ran as fast as possible to the nearest fence sticking your foot in one of the holes to begin your climb. “Hey, get back here!” His low, demanding voice rang through your ears, but you didn’t stop there. You kept climbing, as fast as possible, nearing the top of the fence. You didn’t have the heart to look back and see where he was, you just kept climbing to what would hopefully be safety. The moment you make it to the top to swing your other leg over the fence—

You feel a hand attach to your bare foot..

(masterlist)

[bensboynton]

evening stroll b.h

summary: you and ben hardy take a lil stroll together and revel in each other’s company.

warnings: none besides cute relationship tings

word count: 961

a/n: hey guys. it’s been... a long time. i was going to log out of this account on my computer when i found this in my drafts. i thought i had queued it up before i took a break from writing, but apparently not. so i edited it very lazily and decided to post it :) i miss you all and i miss writing. if you do by some miracle see this, thank you for following me/reading my work/etc. i love you i hope you’re doing well. 

---

the TV was on in the background of your conversation with ben, a low mumble that sent sound waves into the air that settled gently in the space around you as you gazed at the blonde man across the kitchen. 

it was the middle of autumn in new york city; the leaves were the most spectacular colors of red and orange and yellow and the air smelt of pumpkins and apple cider. every breath you took while standing outside was crisp; it felt like the first bite of a bitter-sweet apple when you stepped out first thing in the morning. 

you were sitting on the counter, lazily spooning the vanilla ice cream into your mouth as you listened to ben talk. he was wearing that one mustard colored sweater you liked. you were positive he wore it on purpose just to make you smile a little bit. 

his hair was growing in longer now; he had finished filming 6 underground and got to stop shaving the sides of his blonde locks and they were fuller and curlier than ever. 

his low voice drifted across the island in the kitchen as you both talked about anything and everything. you were trying to catch up and remember what it’s like to live in each other’s presence after he recently arrived home from filming his most recent movie. 

the conversation with ben was easy; rather, your whole relationship with ben was easy. everything about him was simplistic and never complicated. you could talk and bicker for hours but also sit in silence for days. it was never awkward with ben, never uncomfortable or weird. 

you’ve never really believed in reincarnation but you’re almost postive in some past life you and ben had been soulmates, because how do two people manage to date and live together for as long as you have with absolutely no issues?

you’ve never had a real fight, never drifted or had to worry about if the spark was dying out. 

like you said. being with ben was simple. 

ben’s piercing eye contact and expectant expression drew you from your thoughts as he giggled at your lack of comprehension. 

“what? sorry i got distracted,” you mumbled, taking a sip of the decaf coffee that was beginning to get a little too cold and was losing its appeal. 

“i can tell,” he giggled, which made your heart flutter.

you hummed, pushing yourself off the counter and making your way over to the tall brit. you put your coffee mug down and made yourself at home in his arms which he had quickly wrapped around you. 

he smelt so authentically like ben that you couldn’t help the smile that made its way to your cheeks. he looked down at you and couldn’t help but smile as well. you just had that effect on him. 

you and ben slowly made your way over to the window, looking outside at the spectacular colored leaves on the trees and the remaining people rushing to get home in the cold. the sun was going to be setting in a few minutes. 

“let’s go for a walk,” you spoke suddenly, causing ben to raise his eyebrows. 

“at this hour?” he questioned amusedly, finishing up his cup of coffee. you nodded eagerly. you could see the gears turning in his brain as he pondered your offer. 

“alright. let’s grab our coats and hats then, it’s quite chilly out,” you nodded with agreement as you slipped on your fluffy winter coat and a beanie you stole from ben’s collection. 

“you might want to bring some gloves, it’s getting colder as the sun sets darling,” ben advised. you were stubborn though, and shook your head. you’d be perfectly fine without them. 

you both promptly left your house, locking the door on the way out and you traveled down the steps and onto the sidewalk. the chilled air slapped you both in the face, your skin already reddening in it’s frigid hold. 

you walked in silence for awhile, admiring the halloween decorations that were set up in the yards and on the porches that you passed. you caught yourself admiring ben a lot, too. 

somehow, he never got tired of your spontaneous compulsions to go on walks in the very cold weather, or to go get chinese takeout at 2 in the morning. he never rolled his eyes or lost his patience. he just cared so much. it was hard for you to comprehend how he chooses to spend his life with you. 

as you continued walking and the sky turned from pinks and purple to black, your fingers were completely numb. your pride stopped you from saying anything to ben for awhile, but now you needed some type fo warmth. all you had to do was lift your hands and look at him with a pout before he was taking off his gloves and handing them to you. not one eye roll or sigh. just immediate action. 

maybe you were just extra emotional, but as he wrapped his arm around you while you slipped the already warm gloves on. you felt pin pricks in your fingertips as they warmed up and you felt them in your heart as well. 

you never quite understood the meaning of love. but this, whatever you felt when you were around ben, was most definitely love. sometimes it’s comforting one in their deepest darkest times of need, and sometimes it’s running out in the rain to stop them from getting on an airplane and leaving. 

but other times, it’s simply giving up your gloves on a cold autumn night just because the person you love needs them too. 

[downwiththeficness]

A Need So Great-Chapter 4

Summary: Eva Moore is assigned to work the last year of her contract with the DEA in Colombia. She just wants to get to the end of her tenure, but she keeps getting drawn further into a string of murders in the city. It isn’t long before she’s forced to face the ghosts of her past.

Word Count: ~3,700

Warnings: Canon typical Violence

A/N: For the purposes of this story, Carrillo isn’t married--or, if you like, divorced. A/B/O dynamics are prevalent, and they come with their own warning. The overall rating for this story is Explicit, although not every chapter will contain adult themes.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8.5, 9, 10, 10.5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

They’re sitting at the bar again. Rather, they are sitting at a table at the bar again.  It had been a hard day for almost everyone sitting there.  Javier, Steve, and Carrillo had managed to thwart a production route at the cost of three men. Connie had watched a young mother die in childbirth, the baby barely alive.  Eva had watched from the sidelines, feeling guilty that there wasn’t anything that she could do. So, she’d suggested a drink.  One drink had turned into two, then three.

At present, Connie was standing at the juke box, looking for a selection. Eva was watching her look through the offerings, wondering if she should switch to water so that she could drive home.

“I’m telling you,” Steve said, banging his hand on the table, a wide smile on his face, “He literally pissed himself when we busted in.  Tell him, Javi.”

Javier held up his hands, “I’m not in this argument, man.”

Rolling her eyes, Eva pointed a finger at Steve, “You’re telling me that some big bad--,” she looked at Carrillo, “What did he call them?”

“Sicario,” he prompted, bringing his glass to his mouth to hide the smirk.

“Thank you,” Eva said, waving her hand a little, “Peed himself because you put a gun on him.”

Steve leaned forward, “Yes, that is exactly what happened.”

“Bullshit!”

“I’m—hey, Connie, can you get us another round—I’m not lying!”

Eva shook her head, “No, nope. Didn’t happen like that. You got no witnesses to prove it.”

“Just because I don’t have a witness doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”

“You made the assertion, Murphy, you’ve got the burden of proof.”

“Fuck off.”

“You fuck off,” Eva shot back, “All you agents walk around like you’re hot fucking stuff because you got a badge and a gun and the support of the US government, tellin’ tall tales to make yourselves look like John Wayne. I swear to God, if I have to hear one more dick measuring contest on the break room I will literally puke.”

Connie came back to the table, a tray full of...not beer.  She set it down and Eva counted enough shots for each of them, a couple salt shakers, and some cut limes. Oh, shit.  

“We have to go to work tomorrow, Connie,” Eva censured gently, despite taking the glass from Connie’s outstretched hand.

Connie scoffed, “Like you’ve never had a hangover before.”

Eva noticed Carrillo hadn’t taken one of the glasses.  She leaned over, nudging him, “C’mon, you gotta do this, too.”  When he balked, she picked up one of the glasses and held it in front of him, “We’re all in this shit together, Horacio.”

He stared at her for a moment before pulling his lips between his teeth, a reflexive movement he sometimes did when he was thinking. She wiggled the glass, smiling when he relented. The salt shakers went around to everyone and Eva licked the back of her hand between her thumb and forefinger, tapping a bit out.

“What should we toast to?” Connie asked.

“We’re toasting?” Eva asked with a laugh, “I didn’t know you could toast over tequila shots.”

Connie leveled a baleful glare at her and Eva rolled her eyes, holding the glass towards the center of the table, “Its your toast, man.”

“To catching one of the bad guys,” Javier announced.

That was good enough for the group.  The glasses made a dull sound as they clinked them together. Eva licked the salt from her hand, threw back the shot, and stuck the lime in her mouth.  She hadn’t had tequila in a long while, but the movements were still buried in her muscle memory.  Salt, shot, lime. Glancing over, she caught Carrillo pulling the lime from his mouth, tongue catching juice that remained on his lips.  She dropped her gaze, feeling her neck heat an a way that had nothing to do with the alcohol. It was becoming more and more difficult to keep her eyes off him, let alone her hands.

To keep said hands busy, she threw the rind onto the tray with the empty glasses just as Connie shot up, both hands in the air.

“Another!”

Eva could feel her brows hit her hairline, “Steve, is she like this every time she drinks tequila?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” He lit a cigarette, a smirk appearing beneath his mustache.

She watched Connie head for the bar, “Is she gonna be okay?”

“Until she wakes up tomorrow,” he laughed.

“Cool, cool.”

The song on the juke box ended and ‘Careless Whisper’ queued up, the saxophone out of place and yet Eva couldn’t imagine that Connie would choose a different tune. She turned from the bar with a wide smile, shots completely forgotten.

“I love this song.  Stevie, come dance with me.”

And there they went, Connie dragging Steve to the dance floor which, surprisingly, had quite a few people on it.  Eva watched them go, laughing.  

“I can’t wait to tell her all about this later,” she said.

Javier snorted with contained laughter, “I should have brought a camera.  I’m getting another drink, you want anything.”

Eva and Carrillo both waved him off and he headed for the bar.  

“He’s right, we should have brought a camera,” Eva said as she gestured towards where Connie was spinning Steve, pulling him in for a dramatic dip.

“We can always get the security footage from the owner,” Carrillo suggested with half a smile.

She looked at him, not quite believing, “You think he’d give it to us?”

One of his brows lifted, “We’d have to pay him.”

“We could do that.” She thought about it for a minute, “Man, that would be comedy gold at the office Christmas party.”

Connie gave a little shimmy, hands on Steve’s shoulders as they swayed back and forth.  He was acting like he was annoyed by it, but Eva had been around him long enough to know that he was secretly enjoying every second of his wife happily dancing after a hard day’s work.

Leaning forward, Eva took up her discarded beer, eyes catching on the bar.  She leaned a little towards Horacio, gesturing with the bottle.

“Looks like Javier’s trying to close a deal.”

He was talking with a pretty girl with long, curly hair.  They were both smiling, she was touching his arm. Eva had heard some of his pick up lines, she wondered if he was actually using any of them. If so, he was sleeping alone tonight.

“He’s probably negotiating price.” When Eva looked to him in question, he shrugged, “She’s a sex worker.”

“No,” Eva gasped, looking the woman over to see how he could possibly know. “How can you tell?”

Horacio shrugged, “I see a lot of them in my line of work.”

“Oh?” Eva said with both brows raised.

He shot her a sarcastic look, “We arrest them from time to time.  Most of them are informants.”

“To you?”

He nodded.

“And you pay them?”

He made a noncommittal sound, but the little roll of his neck gave her all the confirmation she needed. She opened her mouth to say something and thought better of it, shutting her jaw with a click.

His eyes narrowed, “What was that?”

“Nothing,” Eva responded quickly, sipping to distract herself.

“No,” he held up a finger, moving into her space a bit, “You were going to say something and you stopped.  Why?”

She blinked, “It was an inside thought.”

His brows drew together in confusion. She felt her cheeks heat, embarrassed that she’d actually said ‘inside thought’ for the first time since she was a kid—a concept that her parents had taught her before she’d learned to filter out the sentences that should not be uttered.

“Ah,” she stalled a little bit, not quite believing that she was going to say this out loud, “An inside thought is when you think a thought that should absolutely not be said on the outside.  Like, ever.”

His head tilted to the side, “Tell me.”

“Oh, no,” she shook her head, “Absolutely not.  Were you listening? Its an inside thought, its supposed to stay inside.”

“How do you know its an inside thought?”

Eva hesitated, considering. She watched him figure out that he had an opening, his expression opening up just a little bit.

“Because people are usually insulted by inside thoughts,” she offered lamely.

“And you think I’ll be insulted by it? Or, Javi?”

She held her silence, pressing her lips together to keep from answering. He was a lot closer than was strictly necessary. Although the music was playing loudly, Eva felt herself zero in on him, focused on his every word and the shape of his mouth as he talked.

“So,” he continued, “We’ve established that you’ve had a thought that you don’t think is appropriate and you feel I would be insulted by it.”

Eva wondered if this was how people felt when he was interrogating them, somewhere between helplessly drawn in and desperate to change the subject.

She cocked her head to the side, “We’ve established nothing other than I had an inside thought and voice that they are typically insulting.”

“That’s a fine distinction,” he conceded turning a little in his chair to face her a bit more fully, “But, there’s only one way to really settle this. You have to tell me.”

Eva ran her thumb over her brow, dropping her eyes to the side and breathing deep, “I was going to say … that I was surprised you had to pay them.”

He paused, then, “Why is that?”

She was having a hard time breathing, but she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “Because, if it were me, I’d probably just tell you.”

Whatever he might have said after that was cut off by Connie sliding into her chair with a high pitched giggle. She was sweating a little, leaning hard into her husband with a wide smile. She looked happy.  Eva smiled at her, saluting with her beer.

“Nice moves, sweetie.”

“Ah, thank you! I bought, like, ten songs, so we’ll be getting back to it soon.”

As if on cue, the song changed and “We Built this City” started up. Eva shook her head, her attention snagging on Javier at the bar.  Another man had walked up and he was arguing with him, tongue rolling across the front of his teeth.  He looked pissed.

Carrillo noticed her attention straying and she felt him tense a little next to her. A few more guys had walked up.

“Aw, shit,” she said, already moving to stand as the fight broke out.

Glass shattered, and Eva circled around Carrillo to where Connie was sitting, pulling the woman with her over and down towards the bar.  She could hear voices screaming and the sound to flesh hitting flesh.  Without much care, she shoved Connie into the space between the bar and the wall, holding up a finger and leveling a determined look at her.

“You don’t move,” she said. “Not an inch.”

You say you don’t know me, or recognize my face.

A hand grabbed Eva’s ankle and she yelped as she was dragged out into the fray.  The man was average size and weight, but he had the jump on her.  He climbed over her body and had his hands around her throat before she could get her bearings.  Eva threw both hands out and into his shoulders, balancing his weight while she tucked her knees into her chest. Her hips shimmied and she was able to get her heels up. She kicked. Hard.

As hard and as fast as she could, Eva kicked him in the face until he let go of her neck.  And then, she grabbed his wrists to keep him there and kept kicking until there was so much blood that it looked like a mask of red had settled over him.  With a grunt, she shoved him to the side, wheezing and touching her neck gingerly.

Too many runaways eating up the night

Across the room, Javier was holding a guy down while Steve gave him a vicious kick.  Not far away Carrillo was dodging a punch, throwing a hard uppercut and catching the guy beneath the chin. His opponent’s head flew back with such force that Eva was kind of surprised that it was still connected.  He fell to the floor, unconscious.

Eva caught his eye and she gave a little wave, seeing his eyes flick to her right a little too late. A man wrapped both arms around her chest, caging her arms in.  Carrillo’s eyes narrowed and he was moving towards her. Eva yelled and swung both legs out in front of her to mid air.  The man struggled under the sudden weight of her body. Bend, snap, roll the shoulder. He fell over her arm to the floor, winded. She used the palm of her hand to hit at his exposed throat, satisfied when he choked.

And then he was right there with her, his scent sharp with the exertion, his hands carefully running over her arms to check for injury. Eva couldn’t help but to smile, a little dazed.

“You good?”

“Yeah,” she breathed, pushing the hair from her face. “Oh, fuck!”

One of the idiots had pulled a gun.  And, while she knew he was armed, Eva couldn’t stop the automatic response that kicked in.  She shoved Carrillo down behind an up ended table as the shots rang out. Curling over him, Eva covered her head, eyes squeezed shut.

We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll.

A few more shots and he was rolling her into the wood of the table, rising up on a knee and pulling his pistol. Eva plugged her fingers into her ears, feeling his body sway a bit with the recoil.

We just want to dance here. Someone stole the stage.

His hands slammed down on the floor as he ducked down. The table behind her scooted forward as a shot ricocheted into the far end, exposing him.

“Horacio,” she yelled, grabbing his polo shirt and pulling him back and into her chest.

The movement set him off balance and his full weight collapsed on her, pushing all the air out of her lungs. Another shot, another screech as the table moved.  Horacio pushed to his knees again, firing off another shot.  Eva looked around for something they could use that would be better cover. There was literally nothing.

Marconi played the mambo, listen to the radio.

And then she saw it, an unbroken bottle had rolled from somewhere in the bar, right next to a discarded bar towel.  Perfect.

“Cover me,” she yelled upwards, already crawling the few feet out to it.

Horacio cursed a blue streak, firing off a few rounds as she shuffled back to him, “The fuck are you doing?”

“Give me your lighter,” she demanded, opening the bottle and shoving the towel inside with two fingers.

To his credit, he hesitated only a fraction of a second before he was digging into the pocket of his khakis and handing her a silver Zippo.

“Thank you,” Eva said primly as she tipped the bottle over a bit to soak the towel.

We built this city. We built this city on rock and roll.

Getting to her knees, Eva looked at Horacio, who was eyeing both her and the bottle with a look a clear and unadulterated delight. She really, really liked when he smiled.

“Bottom’s up!”

And then she tossed it in the direction of the people shooting at them, smiling wide when it hit the mark. Fire burst forth, giving Javier and Steve enough of a distraction that they could get a clear shot.

Who rides the wrecking ball into our guitars?

Eva knelt on the floor, watching over the rim of the table as they went person by person, disarming the ones that were still alive. Eventually, Horacio stood up and she followed suit, moving to check on Connie.

She looked pissed, “I was having a good fucking time and these assholes…” She sighed deeply.

“I know,” Eva agreed, “Next time we do this at your place.  Less chance of gunfire there.”

“Tell me about it.”

We built this city.

It took an hour or two for the boys to clean up the mess, cuff a few people, and clear the scene. Eva sat with Connie at the bar, drinking coffee and watching them work.

“I saw what you did there with that guy,” Connie commented, leaning one elbow on the bar, “How did you learn all that...self defense stuff.”

Eva shrugged, “After my marriage ended I thought it would be good to learn a few things, just in case.”

Connie didn’t need to know that she’d learned it in case one of her husband’s family members decided to get vengeance.  

“Divorce?”

“Death,” Eva clarified.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, it was the best thing for everyone involved.”

Connie laughed a little, “Even your husband?”

“Especially my husband,” Eva confirmed with a smile. “Real asshole, let me tell you.”

Eyes following her husband across the room, Connie asked, “He cheat on you.”

“Worse,” Eva answered, her good mood evaporating.  

She closed her eyes and ran a hand over her face, working to right herself. She was saved by Javier approaching, a little saunter in his walk.

“The owner has agreed not to press charges for the fire setting.”

Scoffing, Eva snipped, “What’s a little fire to bullet holes?”

There were several lining the walls.  Almost every piece of furniture not nailed down to the floor was either overturned or broken entirely.  The table she’d been hiding behind with Horacio had splinters up and down it.  If she hadn’t thrown the bottle, the next round of bullets might have gotten through the wood to the other side.

“If anything, this’ll make this place more popular,” he said, tapping out a cigarette and lighting it.

Eva sighed, “Did you have to start the fight?”

He looked at her, “I didn’t start it.”

She rolled her eyes, “I’ve known you for like three months.  You started it.  I don’t know why, but you started it.”

Connie had the good grace to lift her brows and spin a little on her bar stool, sipping her coffee. Javier took a drag and shrugged.

“Right,” Eva said, hopping down. She waved to Connie, “See you at next week’s class.”

She grabbed her purse and headed for the exit, more tired than she cared to admit.  So tired, in fact, she didn’t notice that Carrillo had followed her out.

“Do you ever park closer to where you’re going?”

Eva jumped, hands coming up in front of her.  When she recognized him, she laughed a little, “Sorry, wasn’t paying attention. And, to answer your question: I like the longer walk.  Gives me time to, I don’t know, settle myself.”

He nodded, “Maybe consider parking a little closer when you know you’ll be staying after sundown. Might be safer.”

At this Eva shot him a bemused look, “I think you either shit canned or shot anyone who’d give me trouble.”

He put his hands in his pockets as he walked with her, “You’re the one who set them on fire.”

She gave him a deferential nod, rolling one shoulder, “You may have a point. But, I’d argue that my actions were justified, given that they were shooting at us. I mean, I haven’t been here long, but I’m pretty sure the cultural differences aren’t so dissimilar that—were I to be fired upon, I could be forgiven for returning fire.”

They’d reached her car, and she opened the driver’s door, throwing her purse in the passenger’s seat before turning to look at him. He was just… staring at her, hands in his pockets, looking mystified.

“What?”

He took a breath, “You took one look at that gun and threw me down to cover me.”

Eva paused, going over the memory a bit and agreeing with him, “Yeah, I did.”

“Don’t do that.”

“Don’t save your life?”

He stepped into her space, “You save yourself. Let me take care of me.”

“I make absolutely no promises, Carrillo.”

Slowly, to give her time to know what he was doing, he curled a finger beneath her chin, “You do that when you’re trying to deflect, use my last name.”

In the moment, she hated him a little.  It had taken years to develop her defense mechanisms so that she could function normally with people.  A joke here, a little sarcasm there. Just enough to keep them at a distance.  And, here he was, seeing through her bullshit.

“You are frustrating,” Eva said without any bite.

He smiled, “I’ve been told that.”

“Did they also tell you that you have the cutest little dimples when you smile?”

The laugh that followed was surprised and Eva was gratified to see that he was blushing. She curled a hand over the arm still holding onto her, fingers curling over his bicep.

“No, no one has told me that,” he said after he’d gathered himself.

She considered it, “That’s a shame.”

“Is it?”

They’d moved closer together. Eva could feel the heat from his body, the smell of him that she liked so much tinged with sweat and smoke.

She settled against the side of the car, “Damn shame.”

He ran the back of his fingers over her cheek, considering, “I’ll take your word for it.”

“See that you do.”

Horacio made a soft sound of assent, leaning down to press a soft, tentative kiss to her mouth. He pulled back, but not far, dipping down again for another soft kiss that was entirely too short. Eva’s every breath was filled with him, her skin alight. She leaned up, taking the kiss she wanted. Deeper, harder.

Hands gripping both her hips, he pushed her into the car, his weight preventing escape—not that she particularly wanted to move.  The feeling of being held almost immobile and kissed senseless was delicious in a way that made her toes curl.  She clung to him, inviting more kisses, more touches—just more.

He was the first to break away, breathing hard, “Get in the car.”

“What?”

He shook his head as if to clear it, “Get in the car before I drag you to my truck and take you home with me.”

She smirked, “You probably wouldn’t have to drag me.”

He leveled a serious look at her, “Car. In.”

“Sure thing, Big Guy,” she said, sliding into the seat. “See you at the office.”

[etherealwaifgoddess]

But Then Came You - Chpt.1

Summary: Loki tries to plan his next moves after being dropped off in a post Decimation New York City. Master list can be found HERE.

Content Warnings: A sassy reader not afraid to call Loki out on his bullshit

Word Count: 3.2k

Author’s Note: Hello lovelies! The first chapter is here! Woo. I know I said 6pm but I literally have no chill when it comes to this fic. There’s no long build up in this one, just straight to our main characters meeting. I hope you enjoy! Chapters will be posted daily. XOXO - Ash

Chapter One

New York is a shell of the bustling metropolis it once was. Loki wanders the half filled streets quietly planning his next move, still unsure of what to do. The Eluskans had been kind enough to drop him off on Earth since he had nowhere else to go. The fall of Asgard still weighed heavily on his mind, his home planet which thrived for millennia gone in a fiery apocalypse. He had been given a few thousand dollars of US currency and a change of clothes to help get him on his way. They really were the kindest people. Loki had to perpetually bite his tongue so as not to lash out at them for trying to help. It wasn’t their fault they didn’t understand what they had done in bringing him back. Their intentions were good but it doesn’t erase the dreams and memories that have haunted Loki since his resurrection. 

The city feels empty in the wake of The Decimation. It had taken Loki a full day of walking through the abandoned neighborhoods to fully understand what had occurred on Earth over the past few weeks. New York was doing what it did best though; the communities were rallying round each other, helping support those displaced by the loss of family and friends. 

The summer heat wears on Loki and he starts looking for somewhere he can cool off for a bit. He’s hesitant to use his seidr to relieve himself of the heat as it’s been spotty at best since he was brought back. The healers advised it would take some time to return to its former strength after all he’d been through. They had encouraged him to practice with it daily to help strengthen it, like one would do for a weakened muscle. Loki wants little to do with his seidr however. It was the reason they had found his body, the incessant little spark that refused to die, and had also led to his resurrection.

The cafe is empty except for the two baristas who are deep in conversation when Loki enters. He’s running on three days of no sleep and needs the small relief caffeine will bring. The icy blast of air conditioning is helping his fatigue as well and Loki hopes he will be able to linger with his drink for a while without disturbing anyone. 

“What can I get you?” The overly cheerful blonde barista asks him. Her name tag reads “Sunny” and Loki almost chuckles at how appropriate that is.

“Espresso, please. A quad shot.” Loki requests. 

“Anything else?”

“No, that will be all.”

“Name for the cup?”

“Loki” 

Your head snaps up at the name. It’s too rare to be anyone else. “Holy forking shirtballs you’re him! I mean, you’re… you.” You blurt out at an embarrassingly loud volume. 

Loki stares at you like you’ve sprouted six heads. “I beg your pardon?” His tone is almost offended, but mostly baffled by your outburst.

“Sorry, I binge-watched The Good Place on Netflix last weekend. And I didn’t mean to call you out like that, I just… know of you. Never expected to meet you face to face like this though.” 

“The Good Place? Netflix?” Loki is still lost, now bordering on irritated. You speak in the hurried way he’s come to associate with youth, your gestures animated as you talk. If he can’t be served his drink here he’ll have to trudge along for who knows how long until he can find another cafe or, Norns forbid, a Starbucks. 

“It’s a show. And you know, Netflix. The streaming service?”

Loki stares blankly at you.

You’re certain your face is the same shade as a tomato as you continue to flounder for words around him. “Or I guess you probably don’t know. I’m sorry. You know that filter most people have between their brains and their mouths? I don’t have one of those. So I’m gonna go get your espresso and leave you alone now. Sorry, again, really.” You slink away to the espresso bar and start queuing up his shots, praying that the ground will just open up and swallow you whole so you don’t have to face Loki again. 

Sunny gives Loki a grin and a half shrug, “You’ll have to forgive Y/N. I wish I could say she’s not normally quite that awkward but she totally is. She means well, you just got her a little starstruck.” 

“Starstruck?” Loki raises an eyebrow at Sunny in disbelief. 

“Yeah, totally.” Sunny nods enthusiastically, “You’re a literal god. Who wouldn’t be?” 

“It’s not the reaction I get from most Midgardians.” He confesses. 

“Oh right, because of the whole ‘trying to take over New York’ thing.” 

Loki nods at her assumption.

“You don’t have to worry about that with us.” Sunny assures him, “Matter of fact, Y/N did a whole paper on it our first year at Columbia. I think she did it just to piss off our psych professor but it was some of her best work. She argued that it was proof anyone can be peer pressured into anything.”

“Peer pressure?!” Loki sputters incredulously. 

“Well, yeah. I mean, Y/N can explain it better, but basically she drew parallels between Thanos preying on your weaknesses, ie. your desire to rule somewhere, and getting you to do his dirty work for him, to a bully preying on a weaker kid’s insecurities and pressuring them into doing something bad.” 

Loki scowls over at your back, displeased to have a deeply traumatic event reduced to something so simplistic. “I don’t think it was quite that simple.” Loki grumbles. 

You hear his grumble, unable to ignore the conversation going on behind your back. “It kinda was though.” You mutter beneath your breath. Or at least, you meant for it to be under your breath. 

“I’m sorry, Y/N, was it?” Loki’s tone is bordering on venomous. “Please, come tell me how you know better about a part of my life than I do.” 

The blush that had started to recede flares up again and you force yourself to remain calm and steady as you finish pouring the espresso and turn to face Loki. You spent a whole semester working on that paper and stand by your conclusion. Like hell were you going down without a good fight. “I’m not saying I know your life better than you do.” You clarify, “But I do think the whole ‘Battle of New York’ business is a prime example of peer pressure.” 

Loki’s eyes widen, he’s surprised you’re standing by your preposterous notion even with him glaring daggers at you. “Do I look like an emotionally fragile child to you?” He demands.

“No, but that’s the point. It can happen to anyone. Maybe I’m wrong, but let’s get a few things straight first.” Your brain has gone into investigator mode and you’re in your element now. Loki waives a hand dismissively letting you continue, “Who sought out who? Did you go looking for Thanos or did he find you?”

“He found me.” Loki replies evenly.

“Before you met Thanos had you ever considered attacking New York?”

“No.” 

“Would you have tried attacking New York or any other place by yourself?”

“Well, no. But…”

“Nope. No buts, mister.” You ignore his scowl, you’re on a roll. Excitement is thrumming through your veins, his answers lining up just the way you want them to. “And how did Thanos convince you to try? Did he by chance remind you of all the awful things your adoptive family did to you? Hiding your heritage, denying you of your rightful throne?” 

“It was common knowledge.” 

“Mhmm. And he offered you a place to rule. You only had to help him with one simple, little thing. You knew your brother favored Earth, right?”

“He is overly fond of this planet, yes.”

“And Thanos probably hinted that you’d be ruling the place that was special to your brother. The brother that was given the throne that should have been yours.” 

“Thor and I have reconciled since…”

“But not six years ago you hadn’t.” You shot Loki a cocky grin, you had him right where you wanted him. “So let’s recap, shall we? A more powerful person reached out to you, reminded you of the alienation of those closest to you, played up your supposed right to rule, offered you a chance to do so, and get back at your brother in the process. He offered you everything you could possibly want and the means to get it. Despite the means being wrong and you knowing they were wrong. Sounds like a bully and peer pressure to me.” 

Loki scowled harder to suppress the smirk that was trying to upturn his lips. You had impressed him more in five minutes than anyone else had in five hundred years. “Insightful little Midgardian. I don’t agree with your theory but you clearly put a lot of thought behind it.” 

“I did, thanks. But how are you here? The news said you died in transit to Earth from Asgard. Not like you haven’t fake died before, but still. It seemed pretty legit this time.” 

“The news was correct, I did die. And now I’m here. Waiting on that espresso you’re holding.”

You look down at the steaming cup in your hand, “Oh, right. Sorry. Here you go.” You pass the drink to him and his surprisingly cold fingers brush faintly over yours making goose bumps prickle along your arm. “So, what are you doing here in New York? Other than getting a caffeine fix?” 

Loki takes a sip of his coffee, sighing softly in relief before replying. “I’m not sure yet.” 

You give him a half smile and a shrug, “Well, enjoy your drink.” 

“I will.” Loki nods and moves off to the table in the far corner by the window. 

You turn your back on Loki to face Sunny, eyes wide, your face splitting into a grin. You mouth oh my god to her dramatically and she stifles a giggle. Loki is only across the room and you’re not too keen on making a fool out of yourself again in front of him. Unsure of how long he plans to stay, you busy yourself cleaning the espresso machine to pass the time. You’ll have a lifetime of gossiping with Sunny once he leaves.

Loki sits quietly watching people pass while he drinks his espresso. The dark brew hits his system like a gut-punch and he can feel the drowsiness retreating a little. It’s enough to keep him going a bit longer and that’s all he can ask for at this point. He knows he will need to sleep at some point soon, god or not he’s still flesh and bone. Sunlight hits the curly golden brown hair of a woman across the street and images of his mother blossom in his mind unbidden. The ache in his chest threatens to double him over but he steels himself, clenching the cup in his hand as hard as he dares without crushing it. 

Your eyes keep wandering back to Loki who’s transfixed looking out the cafe window. You try to keep busy but it’s difficult with him so near by. You’d seen many pictures of him and learned so much while working on your paper; it’s no surprise he’s attractive but you had clearly underestimated how attractive he is in person. You notice the second Loki sees something upsetting, the way his eyes darken and his face takes on a haunted expression. You give up pretending you’re unaffected by his presence and head across the room, settling down in the chair opposite him at the table. “You okay?” You ask him softly.

Loki’s eyes remain staring outside and you wonder for a moment if he’d heard you. “I’m fine.” He says finally. 

“I doubt that.” 

Loki’s reply is a perturbed frown in your direction.

“Look, I don’t expect you to talk to me. But I’m guessing some shit went down or else you wouldn’t be sitting here sipping espresso and looking like you’re about to pass out.”

“Some shit indeed.” He bites out deprecatingly. 

“Do you at least have a place to stay?”

“I’ll find one easy enough.” 

“Not right now you won’t. It’s move in weekend for the colleges around here. Plus all the people displaced by The Decimation. There won’t be a free hotel room in the city until at least  next week.” 

Loki curses internally. He can’t just wander around aimlessly until he passes out somewhere like a homeless person. Showing up at SHIELD’s front door asking for a room isn’t an option either, he’s still persona non grata with the organization. He doesn’t think they’re still actively hunting for him though. Loki had been told Thor was unavailable when he’d tried to reach out the day he arrived on Earth and he didn’t push, mostly out of fear of rejection. He’s momentarily consumed with agony and anguish again, thinking of his brother and his current aimlessness in this changed world. This is what he had been brought back into, a painful, useless existence. 

You watch him struggling internally and you can’t just sit idly by. “If you need a place to crash, Sunny and I live a few blocks over with our friend Chelsi. We had another roommate but she graduated and we haven’t found a new one yet. You’d have a bed and a safe place to stay until you find somewhere else to go.” 

Loki looks at you then, meeting your eyes and it makes your breath catch in your throat. He makes a hum sound that isn’t a no and it spurs you on. “I know I’m a stranger but you probably don’t have many friends in the city and I really just want to help. Take your time deciding, we have books over there to be borrowed if you want to just hang out and read for a bit. My shift ends in two hours and….”

Loki cuts you off with a wave of his hand. “Stop talking for a minute, will you.” He knows he’s in a tough spot and you have managed to both intrigue and amuse him in the short time since he met you. It’s entirely possible you’re being genuine and want to help but you could also be an assassin. He can't be too careful and he has to be certain. Taking your hands in his, he stares into your eyes and lets his seidr flow through him into you. You feel a sight rush, like when you stand up too fast and your blood pressure drops, and you hold on tightly to his cold hands. Loki searches quickly through your memories and thoughts, digging deep down to the core of your being until he’s satisfied he’s seen enough. There are things buried deep he knows you probably won’t appreciate him seeing but he can be discreet. 

Loki holds on to your hands just a moment longer than he needs to, letting your memories wash over him. You at five, running around the playground with your friends and inviting a sad looking little blonde girl to join you. You at ten, laying outside in the dark with the same little blonde girl looking much happier as you study the stars. You and the girl, recognizable as Sunny now, at fifteen when your parents died and you move your things into the guest room next to hers. You at twenty, moving into your first real apartment off campus, excited and terrified all at once. Hundreds of other memories flutter by as well, blurring together to make up your lifetime. School days and old friends, boyfriends and a few bad breakups, vacations and quiet moments spent at home. Loki is soothed by the simple ordinary memories distracting him from his own past. Regretfully he pulls his hands back, breaking the spell of the moment. 

“What did you do?” You ask in a hushed tone. You aren’t angry, just curious.

Loki swallows hard, relieved you have forgiven his intrusion. “I had to be sure you weren’t a threat.”

“You could have just asked.” You point out. 

“And you could have lied.” 

“Touché. So, what did you find?”

“Nothing of concern. I’ll take that room you offered.” 

You’re pleased he’s agreed to come home with you, hoping that you might get to know him a little while he’s there. “Okay.” You agree, unable to hold back your excited smile. “I’ll text Chelsi and give her a heads up. Sunny heard us for sure but,” you raise your voice pointedly, “she’s too damn polite to admit she was listening while she pretends to wipe down a perfectly clean counter top!” 

Sunny laughs and throws the rag down. “Mi casa es su casa, Loki.” She calls back. 

“Thank you, Sunny.” Loki calls back with an indulgent smile. He can’t help but be slightly amused by the pair of you. You’re both so young, the cheery optimism of youth still clinging to you and it's a breath of fresh air to him. He doesn’t look much older than you but he’s pushing 1,500 and after all that he’s been through he feels every single year of his age. 

“Grab a book or play on your phone or whatever until my shift is over if you want. Alex will be in at five so we can head home.” You tell him as you stand up and head back to the barista bar with Sunny. 

Loki wanders over to the bookshelf and pulls down a copy of the first book that catches his eye. Settling into a padded, dark blue velvet chair by the bookshelf, Loki loses himself in the book. He almost doesn’t hear you coming hours later when you stop over with a steaming mug of something topped with foam and sprinkled with cinnamon. “I figured you probably shouldn’t risk more espresso, god or not.” you tell him. 

“What is this?” Loki asks, accepting the warm cup from you.

“Chai tea latte. I don’t know what you like but this felt like it might be a good fit.”

“And why is that?” Loki takes a sip and waits for you to speak before he passes judgement on the taste.

You feel your cheeks heating. You won’t dare tell him your thought process in choosing the drink. Spicy but sweet, complex, an acquired taste, just like the god sitting in front of you. You swallow past the lump of nerves in your throat, “Just a guess, I guess.” 

Loki doesn’t believe your simple answer for a minute but he doesn’t push. “Well you guessed correctly. It’s good.” Loki takes a longer sip, enjoying the rush of sugar across his tongue. He would never admit to something as undignified as having a sweet tooth, but he will admit to himself that he’s enjoying the drink more than anything else he’s had since arriving back on Earth. 

“I’m glad.” you say over your shoulder, walking away to help a new customer who just walked in. 

Loki hums in appreciation, letting himself have just a few more decadent sips before his self control kicks in and he sets the cup just slightly out of reach on the table next to him.

[imaginesbymk]

PINK + WHITE.

— CHAPTER FIVE ; TWO AWKWARD REUNIONS.

summary: teresa’s permanent resignation from the peaky blinders leads her to a whole new chapter of working in an art museum. but little did she know her best life would be butchered some time later when her former lover tommy shelby gives her no choice but to return to the peaky blinders after they make new enemies, with the leader, of all people, being the man teresa fell in love with one night after a wedding reception back in post world war; luca changretta.

pairing: luca changretta x OC x tommy shelby

tags in this chapter: swearing, smoking + drinking

[ chapter index / meet my oc / wattpad link ]

TOMMY flicked his cigarette on the ground, not that it wasn't a problem with it. The excess ash from the filter merged with coals from the factories and puddles from the rain the other night. Within weeks, Tommy was back in Small Heath and he blended in as if he had never left.

He walks in the Garrison, knowing he would see men inside drinking in the cloudy afternoon, but instead finds the pub empty except for Teresa, a woman who kept him at temporary ease and whom he once slept with after restless nights of recovering from the war, fixing herself a drink behind the counter.

She didn’t look up at him just yet, her pink lips perked up when she found her poison on one of the shelves. Same blonde hair, same attitude, same act of doing her own thing even if a man were to tell her to leave.

And to Tommy, well, he was glad to see her back, but not like this to start off such a reunion. "Who let you behind the counter?"

"I did."

"And Harry happened to be okay with that?"

"Harry went to use the men's room, but he is here, in spirit, and he approves." Teresa pours a bottle of whiskey into a glass.

"You drink nothing from my pub." He walks forward, pointing at her. "Not one drop."

"I won't be here for too long," Teresa says. "I went to visit John's grave and head over to Camden to pay Alfie Solomons. He was kind enough to help me stock gin for my guests."

"At...?"

She brings the glass to her lips. "The gallery."

Tommy stared at her after she ignored what he said about drinking his booze. Since when did Alfie negotiated in giving Teresa his alcohol? And even letting her know about his bakery? "I know why you're really here. Yet you want to walk freely around Britain knowing there's Americans scramming around this place to kill us all."

"Yes, because they would know who I am. I'm not a Peaky Blinder anymore, Tom. Not one thread of Shelby blood in me."

"These people can kill anyone who get in their way, no doubt."

"I was certain that you would tell them other people are to not be dragged into your mess." Teresa leaned over the counter when Tommy approached her closer.

"I have. But that doesn't matter anymore. Now that you're here, let's talk about what you could do for us."

"In return for?"

Tommy paused and stared up at her as he sat down in one of the chairs. "I'm paying you, Teresa. Unless it does no good for your benefit."

"It won't because I didn't come back here to help you. I told you I owe Mr. Solomons money, then I'm returning to Penarth. The gallery can't run on its own, y'know?" Teresa takes out her silver case from her handbag and places a cigarette in her mouth.

Still as the instinct to do so, Tommy took his lighter from his coat pocket and ignited the flame, lighting the end for Teresa to take a drag from. "I can understand why you left."

"Then why of all people would you want my help? Aberama Gold wasn't enough?" Teresa blew out smoke. The tobacco was going to leave a bitter aftertaste for her as she hasn't smoked in a while. 

"I'm already helping Aberama Gold in return. His son aspires in boxing, and there's a boxing match coming soon between him and Alfie's nephew." 

"Seriously, Tom. The stench of Small Heath is gonna make me lose my appetite."

"Am I to assume you don't want to help because you couldn't stand being here?"

"I would help if the circumstances were different," Teresa sipped her drink.

And yes, Tommy had to smoke another cigarette. And so he did. "We need you, Teresa."

"Never thought you'd say that again," Teresa chuckled and exited the counter to take the seat in front of him. "You don't need my help. What are the Italians gonna do with me?"

Other than throw the leader off guard, is someone who would last want to see a familiar old face? "You're a decoy, remember?" Tommy clears his throat while tapping ashes off the filter. "It worked every time. Who wouldn't mind negotiating with you?"

"I'm more than just a pretty face," Teresa comments.

"Your pretty face landed you a job as a gallery owner."

She scoffs. "And so did my full time studies on business and art history, you bloody twat." Sometimes, Teresa wished men like Tommy knew better than underestimating people, as well as misunderstanding them. Why else was John assassinated otherwise? Even Grace?

Tommy stared at his old lover. "Teresa, you are our last hope."

Teresa stared back. The pub was silent now that they could hear a pin drop on the floor. "Tommy, if you promise me nothing will happen, then tell me what needs to be done. And then I go back home. I'll do this for the sake of John." And she leaned back in her chair, queuing Tommy to explain her part. Teresa processed it and listened, feeling like she was back as a Blinder.

SHE balanced her footing on her heeled boots once stepping out of her chauffeur's car. Camden was indeed a town she has yet to visit more often. The first time, she was only halfway completed her first semester of college, and she raced to the docks in tears after her first heartbreak. Teresa looks back at that time and laughs about it, remembering that guy had such awful breath and he barely spoke about what she was into.

Alfie Solomons' bakery was kept in a bricked factory, and she would need to go out back in order for the guard at the door to let her in. But when she walked up the rusty steps, she didn't see the familiar man when she last came. In fact, nobody was even there to keep watch of the back entrance.

With a swift tug on the rusty metal, Teresa let herself in.

"Okay," Luca sighs, impatient and utterly exhausted. He was at a peak of his tolerance to Alfie Solomons as he had unnecessarily dragged on the deal involving cash and such requests out of one's mind. Alfie was always the kind of man to get under people's skin and make mockeries, even as to being too unpredictable and quick to think: if Luca hadn't agreed to it, none of his men would be allowed entry to the boxing ring under the watch of Alfie himself at the upcoming match. "Any other requests? Two hundred fucking barrels. We have a deal."

Alfie made an unsure face, shifting a bit in his seat.

"What's the matter? I said we have a deal."

"You just made a deal without negotiation, did ya?" Alfie pointed out. Luca shrugged and nodded, not even slightly remorseful about the unjust action. "Yeah, Tommy Shelby was right about you. Ir vilt hargenen undz ale men." And he made a tsk sound with his teeth, smirking up at the Italian. "You plan to kill us all," he translates.

Luca's voice lowered much more snake-like and sinister. Alfie wasn't wrong about that. He's almost never wrong about anything. "So what if I plan on doing that? Would you, Mr. Solomons, have what it takes to hand over your business to me?"

"That's like handing my child over to a grizzly bear using their paws to comfort them."

"It’s not like you don’t got paws, too.”

“Of a mother bear.”

“Then I suggest you don’t compare me to a wild animal, Mr. Solomons. I know I'm gonna make a great father one day," Luca points out. "Like I said, you really are a smart guy. But I can be just as smart as you."

Alfie made a sarcastic sound as if he was agreeing. "Smart enough to kill me, take my business, and enjoy nice victory over the busy tides where you reside. That fits you to a tee." Suddenly, like a dog, Alfie picked up on the sounds of shoes echoing from his bakery, growing closer and closer. He shifted his body to see who had the audacity to just invite themselves in. Luca did the same just as Matteo from behind drew his gun.

Alfie let out a tiny smile of relief when he was greeted with a familiar person, a person whom Luca was definitely familiar with, too. But he was not smiling. 

Teresa's clinking boots faded in the main floor until she finally appeared under the dim light. "Hope you don't mind me walking in. There was no one at the door to search me."

The match stick in Luca's mouth nearly fell out when his jaw dropped.

No fucking way.

+ ohhhhhhhhh shit. that's all i have to say.

[meangirlsx]

A Little Strange and Unusual

Pairing: Lydia Deetz x reader Word count: 2469 Warning(s): None Request: I have a spooky request!!! How about Lydia and female reader watching scary movies. Lydia has to comfort the reader because shes shaking a bit and admits she gets nightmares after watching scary movies.

——

“What do you want to watch first?” Lydia called to you from her living room.

You were in the kitchen popping popcorn. “Whatever you want!” you called back. And you meant it. At least, at the time.

When you returned to the living room, you expected to see your friend and crush sitting on the couch with the remote and a bowl of Halloween candy. You didn’t expect to see a horror movie queued up on the TV and a small stack of horror movies sitting in front of the TV, ready to be watched next.

“Lyds…” you said, setting the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table.

You had never been very good with scary movies. They usually gave you nightmares. You had been friends with Lydia for quite a while, now, but you hadn’t told her that, yet. You’d sort of hoped you wouldn’t have to. You were ecstatic when Lydia had invited you over for a Halloween movie night. You hadn’t anticipated the possibility of watching scary movies with her, though, you realized, you probably should have.

“It’s Halloween!” she said, grinning. “I know some of them are a little older, but they’re supposed to be classics. These are basically required watching, right?”

She had taken your cautious tone to mean you weren’t sure about some of the movies she had chosen, rather than a hesitation about scary movies in general. You found that kind of adorable.

You met her eyes and you thought your heart might melt. She looked so excited. Truly. Deeply. Excited. How could you say no to that? Spoiler alert: you couldn’t.

So you sat down beside her, pulled a blanket into your lap, and held your tongue.

You were pleased, to say the least, when Lydia scooted closer and reached over to spread your blanket over her lap, too. Maybe if you focused a little more on her, the movies wouldn’t be so scary. At least, that’s what you told yourself. It couldn’t be that hard to focus on her, right? She was basically always on your mind anyway.

That was mostly true. It was definitely easy to focus on her. You even found it easy to focus on hoping she might get a little affectionate to ease your fears. But she couldn’t do that if you didn’t show your fears, you realized. You tried to weigh the ideas in your head.

Show fear, feel vulnerable and a bit embarrassed, possibly get cuddles…

Don’t show fear, don’t feel vulnerable or embarrassed, probably don’t get cuddles…

A thought floated through the back of your mind that said, But you get nightmares either way if you don’t tell her you’re scared.

You did your best to quiet your mind and keep yourself still and silent as you watched jump scares and things you knew would haunt your dreams cross the screen.

You made it through the first movie with the help of some candy and a good amount of attention being placed on squirreling some buttery pieces of popcorn from the bowl.

When Lydia sat back down after putting in the next movie, you swore she was closer than she had been before. You didn’t want to focus so hard on your crush that you made it obvious, but focusing on the way your heart beat faster helped you focus less on the movie as it began to play.

You couldn’t help but notice that both of your bowls were on the coffee table, too. You tried not to let yourself get too hopeful, but it seemed like a safer distraction.

The second movie was definitely harder to watch than the first. About 10 minutes in, you found yourself clutching onto Lydia’s sleeve. You felt dread wash over you as she looked down at your hand on her arm, then back up at you. You were so worried she was going to judge you. But her eyes were gentle.

“Are you scared?” she asked. “We can watch something else.”

“No!” you said, gripping tighter. “I’ll be fine.”

She didn’t look convinced, and she looked concerned, too, but she gave you a light smile anyway. “Then let me help, at least.” And with that, she removed her arm from your hold and wrapped it around you.

You were pretty sure your brain shut down for a second, but you leaned into her.

It wasn’t long before you were really starting to get scared again. You buried your head in the crook of her neck at a particularly difficult moment to watch.

“Are you okay?” she asked softly. “We can stop. I really don’t mind.”

“Just tell me when it’s over,” you said.

Lydia held you tighter after that, wrapping her other arm around you, too.

Toward the end of the second movie, she pulled the blanket so it covered both of you more and pulled you in closer to her.

When the movie ended, you were glad it was over, a little disappointed it meant she was going to have to move away from you, but mostly terrified for what would be up next. You debated finding a way to ask Lydia for a change of genre, but she beat you to it.

“Why don’t we stop with the scary movies, now?” she said, carefully letting one arm fall from around you and rubbing your arm with the other.

You tilted your head and drew your eyebrows together at her, a little shocked.

She looked like she felt bad for whatever she was about to say, but she said it anyway. “You’re shaking.”

You hadn’t noticed at all, but you realized she was right. “How long have I been shaking?”

“Just a few minutes. I thought you were cold, but pulling up the blanket and trying to be closer to you didn’t seem to help. I’m so sorry, Y/N. I didn’t mean to watch movies that would scare you this much.”

You weren’t sure what to say.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked. Her voice was sincere and sorry, not judgemental in the least.

“You were so excited to watch these movies. I didn’t want to disappoint you or seem like a baby.”

Lydia reached out and took your hand. “I would never think that of you. And you could never disappoint me. Why don’t we watch some Disney Halloween movies or something?”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

She smiled. “They’re classics, too, right?” She stood and made her way over to another group of DVDs. “Besides, I don’t really care what we watch. I just wanted to spend the night with you.”

You were glad she had her back to you so she couldn’t see the way you blushed and smiled to yourself.

You both worked your way through the bowls of popcorn and candy as you watched Disney Halloween movies for the next few hours.

During Hocus Pocus, you moved to pull your legs up in front of you, but you tried to be careful not to pull the blanket off of Lydia.

She gave you a quick glance, then said, “You can…” But she cut herself off and instead placed her hands on your legs and gently stretched them over her lap. “Is that okay?”

You didn’t know what else to say other than, “Yeah.”

You both returned your attention to the movie. As you continued to watch, you noticed that, slowly, her hand made its way closer and closer to your leg until it was resting on your knee. Her other hand followed shortly after.

You were starting to get tired after you had watched a couple of lighter movies. You were pretty sure Lydia was feeling the same way. Your knees had drifted closer to her body and her hands felt heavier on your legs. They had even shifted so they were more hugging your knees closer to her than resting there.

“I guess I should get going before I fall asleep,” you said.

You felt Lydia’s fingers curl against your skin and her gaze met yours. “I’m really glad we got to do this.”

You smiled back at her. “Me, too. Thanks for inviting me over”

There was a long pause before you heard Lydia ask, “Am I moving?”

“No, but neither am I,” you said, laughing.

“You could spend the night. I mean, if you want. I could give you something to sleep in.”

“That would be...really nice. Thank you.”

Apparently your answer was enough to motivate Lydia to get up. She carefully picked up your legs and set them back down on the couch, then headed up the stairs. She returned a minute later with pajamas on and a pair in hand for you. Something about seeing her in her pajamas felt so personal, but you tried not to think about it as she handed you her other set. You thanked her again and went to change in the bathroom.

You examined yourself in the mirror wearing her clothes. They didn’t fit you exactly, the way they would fit her, but you loved the way they looked on you. You loved the way they felt. It felt like you had a piece of her with you, like it was a part of you, at least for the night.

When you came back, she had pulled out a huge pile of blankets and pillows and set them up on the floor in front of the couch.

You settled into the cozy little nest as she shut off the light, then settled in beside you. You had both been tired, but you ended up talking for nearly another hour. You didn’t remember the last time you had laughed so hard or enjoyed a conversation this much.

When you started to feel tired again, the scary movies you had watched earlier began to creep back into your mind.

Lydia noticed your sudden change in mood.

“Hey.” She placed her hand on your arm, prompting you to look at her. “Are you okay?”

You nodded. “I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”

She moved closer to you. “What is it?”

You sighed before answering, nervous to tell her because you didn’t want her to feel bad. “Scary movies. They sort of...get to me. Late at night, when I’m trying to sleep. And sometimes they give me nightmares.”

“Oh, Y/N!” You could see the apology in her face before she even offered one. “I’m sorry. I had no idea. I never would’ve made you watch those movies. I’m so sorry. I wanted tonight to be perfect. I never wanted to scare you.”

“I got to spend tonight with you. I’d say that’s pretty perfect.” The words left your mouth before you could really think about them, but the look on Lydia’s face made you grateful you didn’t have a chance to stop yourself.

Her mouth hung open and her eyes were wide. They were practically glistening. “Me, too,” she said after a minute. “But I still feel awful.”

“You didn’t know. I didn’t tell you. That’s not your fault.”

“Well...I know you’re not a huge fan of scary things. But I didn’t know the movies would scare you that much. I just thought that maybe if we watched scary movies...you’d want me to...sort of...protect you. It sounds stupid now.”

You felt your heart beat faster again. “It’s not stupid. I mean...I definitely wasn’t complaining.”

Lydia’s eyes lit up. “So...maybe we could have another movie night sometime? Minus the scary movies?”

“Absolutely. I would love to.” You smiled, and so did she. You couldn’t tell which of you was smiling more.

But suddenly her smile faded. “You still need to sleep, though. What can I do?”

You shook your head. “Nothing. I’ll be fine. I always am. Besides, I’m...a little distracted and worked up, now, anyway.”

She smiled again, realizing you meant because she had asked you out. “Wait. I have an idea. I think it will help, but it might kind of freak you out, first.”

“Okay…?”

“Maybe I shouldn’t. Maybe it’s a mistake.”

“Well, you’ve got me curious, now.”

With one final glance at you, she called into the air. “Barbara? Adam?”

You couldn’t believe your eyes as two adults appeared in the room, looking lighter than seemed humanly possible.

“I can answer questions tomorrow, but basically, these are my friends, Barbara and Adam. They’re ghosts. They used to live here before we did. They’re really nice and they always look out for me.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Barbara said.

“Are those Lydia’s pajamas?” Adam asked. Barbara elbowed him, and you and Lydia laughed.

“Maybe knowing a couple of paranormal beings are watching over us while we sleep will make you feel safer from anything your mind can create in a nightmare from one of the movies,” Lydia said. “And they’ll protect us. Nothing is going to happen, of course. But nothing would get passed them if it did.”

“Hold that thought,” Barbara said and vanished as quickly as they’d appeared. She reappeared a moment later, holding something up. “Try this, too.”

“A dreamcatcher?” you asked as you watched Barbara hang it on a nearby lamp.

“They really do work,” she said. “This should keep away any nightmares, for sure.”

“Thank you,” you said, looking around the room at all of them.

“And we’ll be right here if you need anything, okay?” Adam said.

You thanked them again, and so did Lydia. Adam and Barbara sat down on the couch and began to speak to each other quietly.

“Thank you,” Lydia said softly. “For being okay with this.”

You shrugged and rested back against your pillow. “It’s definitely shocking. And a little confusing. But I think it’s pretty cool that you can say you’re friends with ghosts.”

Lydia let out a sweet laugh. “Well, keep hanging around here and you will, too.” She paused, thinking, then said, “I have one more thought.”

“What’s that?” you asked.

“What about singing? I could sing to you. Would that help?”

Now that, you kind of wanted to see, you had to admit. “You don’t have to. You already got your friends and a dreamcatcher.”

“I want to.”

And she did. The song was slow and sweet. You thought her voice could be an angel’s. You let your eyes close and her voice fill your mind. You felt her hand in your hair after a moment. As you began to drift into sleep, you felt warm and content, which was never how you felt after a scary movie.

The last thing you felt before you fell asleep were Lydia’s lips on your forehead, then her arm around your waist and her body laying down next to yours. It wasn’t long before dreams took over, and you were pretty sure most of them were about her.

——

NOTE: I asked for suggestions for the song Lydia sings to the reader. I was going to choose one, but all of the replies I got were amazing and important and valid, so it’s totally up to you what she sings. I love the idea that it’s something her mom used to sing to her. I also love the suggestion that it’s a song that means something to them, like their song. And I love the suggestions of “When the Party’s Over” by Billie Eilish, “Everything Stays” from Adventure Time, “You Are My Sunshine” by Johnny Cash, “Sunshine of My Life” by Stevie Wonder (at least I think that’s what they meant), and singing “Day-O” softly and slowly. So those are the suggestions if you want to imagine one of those for yourself, or of course a song of your own choosing.

Tag list: @spooky-scary-lesbian (thank you for the request!!!), @mars-bars-stars, @reader-ships, @anxiousankylosaurus, @msmith74, @broadwaymusicaltrash, @you-thinks-wrong-romeo, @theatricalwriter, @be-more-heidi-hansen, @peachy-jolly, @g1ngersp1ce, @trumancheerleadermaui, @dancewyou, @spookabeth, @coral-cat-iris, @madameboxhead, @elaineygrace, @theolwebshooter, @ohsomightykeyboard

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[ladyfawkes]

New Dream/Angelic Dream - New Dream Appreciation Week - Day 4 | Hurt/Comfort

While I don’t have a specific Eugene/Rapunzel New Dream story, this one is still very New Dream-centric in its own way. Some may have seen it before but most have not. It’s very personal and dear to me and I kind of considered it appropriate, considering we’re coming upon a certain anniversary in just three days.....

“When Eugene called Rapunzel Sunshine, I felt that…”

Confession: I feel this each and every time Eugene says this. Especially since Sunshine is an actual nickname of mine. My heart skips a beat because….it’s what my fiancé used to call me. And I say “used to” because he passed away before we could get married. It’s high time I explained to everybody the reason why I glommed onto Tangled the Series for dear life…since I’ve been putting it off for the past 4 months. Got less than a week left til the series finale….. and this series came along right when I needed it.

When I began getting deeper into Tangled fandom, it wasn’t until around later October 2019. I was feeling a real hankering for more of Eugene Fitzherbert’s singing voice. Confession 2: Until Autumn 2019, I had NO IDEA that Zachary Levi had voiced Flynn Rider, both speaking AND singing!! At the time, the main thing that drew me to Flynn was his singing voice. I never forgot that. Like so many others, I fell in love with Tangled’s soundtrack and specially with “I See the Light” and “I’ve Got a Dream”, etc.

Confession 3: I’ve had a crush on Zachary Levi ever since the first episode of Chuck. Even though Chuck’s social and emotional insecurities are a rather enormously huge humorous part of the plot, the way Zac portrayed that anxiety and other types of raw emotions were real. He possesses a markedly rare ability to elicit laughter and tears within the same scene, and sometimes within the very same moment of a scene. While it’s an exceptional gift to exhibit that ability, it nearly always means that underneath it all, the reason why you can perceive this type of emotion so plainly from any given actor is because they’ve experienced those feelings on a personal level in their private lives. Nobody ever told me this, it’s something I learned through observation. It’s true of writers too…and composers. The best way to telegraph emotion through a given medium to someone else is often by having initially having experienced those emotions for yourself. It wouldn’t be until years after Chuck began that Zac would feel comfortable enough to share his mental health history with his fans…and we’d begin to learn just how deep he truly is.

With all of this in mind, I was perusing YouTube with the intent of finding more of “Flynn Rider’s singing voice” and imagine my shock & delight when a whole bunch of Tangled the Series and Tangled Before Ever After songs showed up in my search!!! Then I Looked up the fan wikia only to discover that it was none other than our dear Zachary Levi who had voiced Eugene Fitzherbert!!! I got positively thrilled and was already on Cloud Nine before I’d even begun watching it. Despite Disney’s, uh, thorny history with spinoffs, I couldn’t help but be excited as I learned most of the original cast had returned as well!!

I queued up Tangled Before Ever After and was instantly transported, instantly fell in love. I truly did not expect to be as drawn to Eugene as I was….in the film version, I wasn’t so sure about him….but I gravitated toward him immediately in the series. At first, I really didn’t know why. The feeling seemed familiar somehow and again….I didn’t know why. I couldn’t figure it out.

As I watched the first few episodes, I was constantly live-gushing (that’s akin to live-tweeting, only over Messenger instead) about the show with my friend Samara as I watched; Sammeh is also a Tangled superfan. I was continually talking about how it was the Disney’s best spinoff I had ever seen, how I was shocked that they cast SO MANY original cast members, original songwriters, etc. I can unequivocally state I haven’t loved an animated series this much in my life, even as a child. Then I was describing how much I could not get over the healthy, loving relationship portrayed between Eugene and Rapunzel. As I sat describing it, I suddenly said, “Oh my gosh. Sammeh…..”  And it caused me to freeze. Even though Sam had known my former fiancé just as long as we’d known each other, I didn’t know if Sam would think I was nuts for suggesting that certain aspects of Eugene’s personality reminded me of Anthony. After a long pause, I typed as much to her, “I don’t know if I should say this to you…..” yet I needn’t have worried, because Sam completed my thought for me: “You’re gonna say he’s like Anthony.” I was so surprised I said, “YES!!! How did you know I was gonna say that?!”

”Easy. Because I’ve seen it too.”

In spite of myself, I wept after she said that. So I wasn’t just imaging it. I’m getting teary-eyed now just thinking about it.

The love between Eugene and Rapunzel reminds me of the love I had with my Anthony. Anthony was not intimidated by my inner strength, we took turns rescuing each other, he was willing to listen to me talk for hours and hours and hours and I did the same with him, we took turns forever teasing one another, we couldn’t ever stay angry with each other, we always talked things out. He was forever encouraging my talents and dreams. We hung out with an unlikely, rag-tag group of friends. And especially the way Eugene caresses Rapunzel’s face, kisses her forehead….and spontaneously says _the most heart-melting romantic things….._that was just like my Anthony. And of course, he called me “The light in my life….My Sunshine.”

Now….while Anthony didn’t die while rescuing me from an enemy, his was a sacrifice of a different kind….for shortly before he passed, he was experiencing far too much mental strife….never once did he self-disclose this, though….and unfortunately, we didn’t learn until after the fact. It became apparent he felt his only way out was to take his own life.

Needless to say, I crawled into a very dark place after he died. I tried very hard not to….but over the prior 18 months I’d already lost so very much. I’d lost a job, loss of place to live, for months, I was being literally starved by my abusive-prior-ex-boyfriend ….I just shriveled up inside due to self-doubt, self-hatred, and I couldn’t speak about anything.

Even from 1800 miles away at the time, Anthony managed to be the one person to draw it all out of me. (I was estranged from most family at the time – with good reason) and I told him everything….and he listened to all of it, never interrupting, never judging, never being anything but his amazing self. Somehow, after two years of friendship and listening to one another, Anthony had fallen in love with me….even though all of the garbage I told him. To this day, I do not know what he saw in me. But something inside knew that if I could just strive to put good things surrounding that fateful date, its anniversary would lose its sting and I could heal and live the way Anthony would’ve wanted me to live. Although I’d described some of the lowlights, I’ve definitely had moments in my life that have filled me with much love and light.

I’ve been so very scared to type all of this out, put it all out there, for fear of being…..judged. Ridiculed. You know how the internet can be……naturally there’s a lot more to this story that I would like to share with you yet this has already become prohibitively lengthy.

The whole point is to say that it’s been nearly 14 long years since I last heard Anthony’s light sweet southern drawl. And through the magical medium of Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, this show effectively allowed me the heartwarming and bittersweet chance to feel a small part of his love within my life again. I don’t know quite how it happened….but happen it did….right when I needed it. Anthony and I were very flirty and silly and ridiculous as a couple, just the way you would expect two twitter-pated people to be….the way Eugene calls Rapunzel “Sunshine” and caresses her cheek….the way he looks at her ….with his heart is full of so much love that it touches his warm brown eyes….those things remind me most of Anthony. Hopefully you can see why it’s been so difficult to, ah, self-disclose this information about myself.

So…..thank you for that from the bottom of my heart, Disney, Chris Sonnenburg, Shane Prigmore, Tara Nicole Whitaker, Tom Caulfield, Stephen Sandoval, Zachary Levi, Mandy Moore, Eden Espinoza, James Iglehart, Jeremy Jordan, Kevin Kleisch, Alan Menken, Glenn Slater, Anna Lencioni, and anybody else whom I’ve missed…..

[ambssssssssss]

The Music Played, We Held Each Other Close

Juliantina one-shot featuring bartender!Juls and a whole bunch of dancing.

Inspired by ‘We Danced’ by Brad Paisley

Read on AO3

Admittedly, Juliana hadn’t been planning to work at a country themed bar near the heart of the university in Mexico City, but she didn’t mind the job all that much. The pay was great, much better than she had been making when she worked as a waitress on the other side of town, and she got to keep all her tips. Her boss loved her since Juliana didn’t drink, ever, but especially not when on the job. Making mixed drinks was fun once she got the hang of it and the regulars knew Juliana to be a dependable bartender who would make sure they got the right drink, and was always aware enough to warn the patrons about people having too much fun or getting a little too close for comfort. She was required to wear jeans and button up, which she usually wore unbuttoned, and cowboy boots. That wasn’t too far off from her normal attire, Juliana only needed to switch her converse boots and sometimes trade overshirts to a more ‘western’ look before coming in. Even the music they played had started to grow on her, and she sometimes found herself singing along to the red dirt country songs playing over the sound system. All in all, it wasn’t a bad job to have and with it, Juliana was that much closer to being able to pay her way through school.

That night, the bar was reasonably crowded. It was Friday night, bordering on Saturday morning, and the college were celebrating the weekend with some well-deserved relaxation time. The dance floor was lively, half drunk young adults stumbled through various line dances and two-steps in the rhythmic un-rhythm of friends having a great time together. Juliana surveyed the crowed from her spot behind the bar and hummed along to the music playing under the breath. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, or anything that would make her want to call security, Juliana pulled the white towel off her shoulder and wiped down the remnants of a few spilled drinks on the bar top before moving to serve the group that had just walked up. Six double shots of tequila later, the group of college girls walked away from the bar and onto the dancefloor. Juliana watched as they each found someone to dance with easily and started cleaning up the shot glasses.

“Excuse me,” Juliana turned at the sound of a male voice, throwing her towel over her shoulder and getting ready to make another drink. The man surprised her by declining a drink and holding up a sparkly, silver purse.

“That’s a lovely bag, but I don’t think it goes with your outfit.” Juliana joked and crossed her arms over her chest. The man laughed.

“Someone left this at one of the tables near the back. I think the group might have left already.” He explained. “You guys have a lost and found right?”

“Yeah,” Juliana took the bag and thanked the man for turning it in. He declined the free shot Juliana offered and simply wished her a good evening before stepping away from the bar. Juliana nodded at the man and then moved to put the apparently abandoned purse in the back, away from any would be thieves. That done, Juliana returned to the bar proper and continued to survey the crowd when not busy serving the patrons.

It was a few minutes later when Juliana noticed her. The woman was tall, wearing a skin tight black dress and silver high heels, and beautiful. She stood at the edge of the dancefloor, her head moving to the beat of the music but otherwise she remained still. It was her smile that Juliana noticed, bright and warm even from Juliana’s limited vantage point. That smile was directed towards the dancefloor and Juliana figured she must have been looking at someone she loved very much. There was a certain glow about it, and this woman, that made Juliana inexplicably happy. She wanted to go over and introduce herself to the woman, maybe ask her to dance, but then the woman was pulled onto the dancefloor by someone Juliana couldn’t see and the urge faded. Juliana shook her head to clear it from the sudden wave of disappointment that overcame her before getting back to work.

The night wore on and the crowd began to thin as the time for las call approached. The woman with the beautiful smile faded to the back of Juliana’s mind but she couldn’t quite let the image go completely. Finally, as Juliana finished wiping down the bar, security ushered the last few bar goers out and Juliana started going through the closing time routine. She and the other bartenders stored the drinks away and loaded the dishwasher in the kitchen while the owner and manager counted out the register. The cooks and waitresses were the first to leave, since the kitchen had the most workers it was always cleaned up just a little bit faster. The other bartenders headed out soon after until it was only Juliana and her boss.

“Head home Julio,” Juliana said once the cash register was closed and locked for the night. Julio looked at her with tired eyes. He’d had a busy week, Juliana, since his wife was out of town and he’d been wrangling their three kids on his own for the majority of the week. He had only been able to come in to work that night because his wife’s parents were watching the kids. “I’ll sweep up and lock the door behind me.”

“Remind me to give you a raise.” Julio said and grabbed his coat. Juliana laughed and wished her boss a good night. The door closed softly behind him and Juliana finished stacking the last chair on its corresponding table and then headed to the back to grab the broom. On the way back to the front, Juliana pressed play on the music queued up so she’d having something to listen to while she finished up.

Juliana swept behind the bar first and then moved to front of the building to work backwards from there. She was almost to the dancefloor, about half way across the room, when she heard the door opening. She nearly froze when she looked up and saw the woman with the beautiful smile standing just inside the doorway.

“Sorry, we’re closed,” Juliana called out after a moment that she hoped wasn’t as awkward as she felt it was.

“I know. I’m sorry to come in so late but I was here earlier and I think I left my purse.” The woman’s voice was musical, light, almost like she was trying to laugh at her own idiocy.

“I put one behind the bar earlier, I’ll go grab it.” Juliana gestured for the woman to move further into the room and propped the broom against the bar before heading to the back. She returned a few moments later to find the woman standing by the bar, one hand resting on the bar top in the space left between two of the bar stools that sat on the surface. “Is this it?”

“Yes,” her voice was relieved. “Gosh, I can’t believe I left it here. My sister’s always telling me I’m too airheaded. Thank you for keeping it…” the woman trailed off questioningly.

“Juliana.”

“Valentina.” The woman introduced herself and shook Juliana’s hand. She had yet to reach for the purse that Juliana still held in her left hand. “Seriosuly, thank you. My sister would have killed me if I’d lost another one.”

“It’s not a problem.” Juliana shrugged slightly. “I saw you by the dancefloor earlier, looked like you were having a good time.” Despite knowing she should simply hand the purse over and say goodbye to Valentina, Juliana wanted to keep their conversation going. Something about Valentina drew her in, Juliana wasn’t sure what it was but she didn’t want Valentina to leave yet.

“My brother told me and my sister that he’s planning to propose to his girlfriend soon. We came here to celebrate.” Valentina looked down at her dress. “I guess I didn’t get the memo about the theme.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Juliana returned Valentina’s chuckle. “You look much better than the cowboys that normally come in here.”

Juliana thought that the blush that rose on Valentina’s cheeks was nothing short of adorable.

“I’m sure those cowboys dance better than I can,” Valentina leaned further onto the bar. “That’s why I was by the dancefloor earlier and not on it. I’m afraid my brother was the only one to get a good sense of rhythm in my family.”

“I’m sure it can’t be that bad.” Juliana chuckled and slid one of the stools back so she and Valentina wouldn’t have it between them when Juliana leaned against the bar top as well.

“No seriously, two left feet doesn’t even begin to describe it.” Valentina laughed. Juliana thought Valentina’s smile was no less bright than it had been before, even with the lights turned low now.

“Prove it.” Juliana said suddenly, pushing off from the bar.

“What?” Valentina asked, surprised.

“Dance with me.” Juliana saw the clear hesitance in Valentina’s eyes and acted before she thought about. She grabbed Valentina’s purse and leant over the bar to set it on the counter behind it. “I’ll give you your purse back, after you dance with me. Just one song?”

Valentina looked at Juliana in consideration for a moment and just when Juliana was sure she was going to be turned down, Valentina smiled.

“Okay, but only for one song.”

“Promise.” Juliana held out her hand.

Valentina accepted the hand and let Juliana pull her towards the dancefloor just as a new song began to play. It was slow and steady, and completely different from the tempo of Juliana’s racing heart. She wondered if Valentina felt the same warmth that she did when their hands met. Taking a deep breath, Juliana felt suddenly nervous. Her bravado from before faded and she wondered if maybe she should have just given Valentina her purse and then let her go. Then, Valentina smiled at her again and Juliana found that she couldn’t regret anything that had lead her to having this chance to dance with Valentina.

Juliana took the lead, directing Valentina to place her hand on Juliana’s shoulder as Juliana herself gripped Valentina’s waist. They stood close together for a moment, a moment that felt warm and soft in the same way that sitting in front of a warm fire did on a cold night. Juliana lead Valentina through a simple two-step dance, guiding her back and then forward again. For someone who claimed to be a bad dancer, Valentina slipped into the rhythm of the steps easily and soon they were spinning around the empty dancefloor. Neither of them noticed when the song changed, they were too lost in the motion of their bodies moving together across the floor.

They stopped suddenly sometime later after the loud clang of the broom slipping from it’s perch against the bar reminded both of them that they were dancing in a closed bar when they both should have probably been in bed. Juliana cleared her throat as she stepped away from Valentina and over to the bar. Valentina followed her and finally took hold of her purse after Juliana had retrieved it from behind the bar again.

“You’re a great dancer.” Valentina said, almost shyly. She brushed a strand of long brown hair behind her ear, biting her lip slightly.

“You’re not so bad yourself.” Juliana remarked with a warm smile. “I’d love to dance with you again sometime.”

“How about next Saturday?” Valentina’s smile grew slightly, though she seemed slightly hesitant. “If you’re not working, that is.”

“Saturday is perfect.” Juliana fished her phone out of her pocket and handed it to Valentina. “I’ll call you and we can figure out the details later.”

Valentina took Juliana’s phone and added herself to Juliana’s contacts before sending herself a text message. Her phone beeped from within her purse and Valentina handed Juliana her phone back. “I’ll see you Saturday, then.”

“Can’t wait.” Juliana smiled and walked Valentina to the door. Before leaving, Valentina leaned over and kissed Juliana on the cheek and then ducked out the door before Juliana could respond. Smiling dumbly,  Juliana pulled the door closed and checked the new contact in her phone. Valentina had saved her name under ‘Val’ with a pink heart emoji next to it. Juliana’s smile grew, and that smile stayed in place long after she had finished closing up and made her way to her apartment, only fading slightly when Juliana closed her eyes to get some much needed sleep.

~

They went out dancing for their date, and spent most of the evening moving together in a sea of bodies on a moderately crowded dancefloor. The temp was faster than when they had danced after hours the week before, Juliana could feel the beat pounding in her chest but it was nothing compared to the way her heart raced when Valentina took her hand and asked if she wanted to get some air. Juliana agreed and soon they were settling their tab and walking out onto the near deserted street. Music poured from every direction in a mash up that made no sense but neither of them paid it any mind.

“I knew you’d be a better dancer than you gave yourself credit for.” Juliana said teasingly as she and Valentina walked around a nearby park, hand in hand.

“Maybe that’s just because I had such a great partner.” Valentina flirted back. She smiled as Juliana blushed slightly at the compliment. “I’ve a great time tonight.”

“I have, too.” Juliana agreed. They paused their walk, looking out over a pavilion where a band played for a small gathering of people. They stood close together and listened as the music changed, the tempo slowed and the people below them listening started to pair off. Juliana smiled over at Valentina. “How about one more dance?”

Valentina agreed with a smile and they turned to one another. This time, Valentina draped both arms across Juliana’s shoulders and held her close. Juliana curled her arms around Valentina’s waist in an embrace equal to Juliana’s and they danced slowly. Their foreheads rested together, they’d both opted for shorter heels so Valentina wasn’t towering over Juliana this time. Juliana could feel Valentina’s soft breath against her lips and it made her head spin. Valentina was so close, so warm, as she had been all night. The urge to close the distance between their lips was strong but Juliana held off for just a moment.

“Val,” Juliana said softly. Valentina hummed in response. “Can I kiss you?”

“Please do,” Valentina’s answer was just as soft, Juliana could hear the smile in her voice. The distance between their lips closed and then the only thing Juliana could think was that she should have done that last week.

Valentina’s lips were soft and she tasted faintly of strawberries from her chap stick. There was something else there too, a flavor that Juliana couldn’t name but knew was something beautiful and pure. Just like Valentina. They parted a few moments later, both smiling widely. Valentina curled one hand around Juliana’s neck and drew her in again. This kiss was longer, a little more exploratory, but no less soft. They were both breathing a little harder when they parted.

“Can I walk you home?” Valentina asked.

“Please do.” Juliana smiled as Valentina kissed her again. They started walking towards Juliana’s apartment when they parted, Valentina’s arm wrapped around Juliana’s shoulders. Juliana held Valentina’s waist and they talked softly as they walked, laughing together the whole way to Juliana’s apartment.

“Do you want to go out with me again sometime?” Valentina asked once they stood outside Juliana’s building. “Maybe dinner this time?”

“I’d love too.” Juliana leaned in and kissed Valentina softly. “Thank you for tonight. I can’t wait for our next date.”

“Same here,” Valentina smiled and claimed Juliana’s lips in one last kiss. “Goodnight, Juliana.”

“Goodnight, Val. Text me when you get home.” Juliana walked into her apartment complex, pausing to wave at Valentina once she was safely inside. Valentina waved back and then walked off to the corner of the street where she waited for a few minutes before a black SVU pulled over and her driver got out of the car to open the door for her.

Juliana waited until Valentina had let her know that she had gotten home safely before changing into her sleep clothes and crawling into bed. She fell asleep thinking about Valentina’s smile and dreamed of dancing with her until the sun came up.

~

One dinner date turned to two, then three, then four, then far too many for Juliana to count. Juliana fell in love with Valentina easily, despite the differences in their background. Valentina came from a wealthy family but that didn’t make her life any easier. She’d lost her mother at a young age and her father took to spoiling her as a way to help her cope with that loss. Her relationship with her sister was strenuous at times but Valentina always stuck up for her family. The only time she hadn’t was when she’d introduced Juliana to Eva, who had promptly decided that Juliana was nothing more than a gold-digger before Juliana had even finished saying hello. If Juliana hadn’t already been in love with Valentina by then, the impassioned speech Valentina had given would have tipped her over the cliff.

Her childhood was different from Valentina’s. Juliana had grown up dirt poor in a trailer park in San Antonio before her dad skipped town and she and her mom moved to Mexico to live with family. Juliana had worked for everything she owned, and Valentina fell in love with her determination and perseverance. She often swore that she’d never met anyone as strong as Juliana and Valentina loved her inner strength. Really, there wasn’t anything about Juliana that Valentina didn’t love.

Weeks turned to months and months turned to years as Valentina and Juliana grew together. Juliana was there when Valentina’s father remarried a lovely woman named Maria, and when Eva introduced the family to her girlfriend Lucia. (She and Val had traded glances at that and promptly burst into laughter as soon as Eva was out of the room.) Juliana watched Valentina graduate with a degree in journalism and begin working her way up the corporate ladder in her family’s company. Valentina was there when Juliana’s father showed up again out of the blue demanding money from his estranged wife and daughter. Valentina had fought off Chino’s advances with such fierce protectiveness and held Juliana so tightly when she cried, Juliana couldn’t help but fall even further for her. Valentina stood proudly in the crowd when Juliana finally graduated with her own degree in business, and spent one evening dancing the night away on the dancefloor of an empty bar that Juliana had earned enough money to start up. They were both there when Renata, Valentina’s sister in law, gave birth to a little boy and Juliana almost cried when she was introduced to the boy as his Auntie Juls.

In a way, it felt like no time had passed at all. Juliana knew that she had grown and changed as the years had passed, but every night still felt like that first time she danced with Valentina. Now, five years after that night, Juliana stood behind the counter at her own bar. The lighting was soft, the theme a modern black and silver with a few pops of color. Juliana, like her employees, was dressed in a black button up that was left unbuttoned to expose the white emblem of her business that stood out in the strategically placed black lights around the room, with dark wash jeans and black converse. In her front pocket, a small velvet pouch contained the most important purchase Juliana had made since she bought the building she was standing in.

The crowd moved to the beat of the music under Juliana’s watchful eye. It would start to thin out soon, most of the people dancing were regulars and knew that Juliana wouldn’t let them linger past last call for too long. There was still a steady stream of patrons requesting drinks, but not so much that Juliana felt she needed to jump in. She had full confidence in her servers and knew that one of the them would ask her for help if they needed it. She was glad they didn’t, since that meant she was able to see right when Valentina arrived. Juliana smiled as her girlfriend walked in the door, having changed out of her work clothes into a pair of jeans and a red t-shirt that Juliana was pretty sure was actually hers. Valentina spotted Juliana behind the bar and made her way over to her.

“Hey, mi amor,” Juliana greeted as Val approached, leaning over the bar top to steal a kiss. When she pulled back, Juliana slid a club soda over to Valentina who took it gratefully.

“Hey,” Valentina smiled, propping her chin on her hand. “Good night?”

“So far so good.” Juliana stole another kiss. “Should be wrapping up pretty soon. Alexa had to leave early so I’ll have to close up tonight.”

“I don’t mind waiting.” Valentina smiled and took a sip of her drink. Juliana watched her for a moment, smiling, until a voice called her to the other side of the bar. “Go, be the awesome boss you are.”

“Don’t have too much fun without me,” Juliana teased, trading the dirty towel on her shoulder for a clean one.

“Never.” Valentina promised and made a shooing motion with her hands. Juliana obeyed and got back to work.

The last few hours passed quickly enough, Juliana occasionally stopping by Val’s area of the bar to check on her. Last call came and the last few patrons staggered out, some drunkenly singing and others laughing at their off-key friends. Valentina helped stack the chairs on the tables so the staff could get home that much earlier and soon it was just her and Juliana in the building. Valentina finished wiping down the bar as Juliana closed and locked the cash register. They turned the barstools upside down and set them along the surface of the bar top together before Juliana went to retrieve the broom. Valentina smiled slightly when the music coming from the speakers changed from the upbeat pop song playing to a soft country song. She knew Juliana’s remaining fondness for country music annoyed her, but Valentina loved it. It reminded her of the night they met.

“I can’t believe it’s been almost five years since the night we met.” Valentina said conversationally as Juliana began to sweep the floor.

“Best five years of my life.” Juliana looked up and smiled at Valentina.

“You’re such a sap.” Valentina laughed lightly, watching fondly at Juliana moved around the bar.

“Yeah, but you love me.” Juliana propped the broom against the bar for a moment and moved closer to Valentina.

“I do, very much.” Valentina wrapped her arms around Juliana’s waist when she got close enough and pulled her in for a much longer, deeper kiss than the one they had shared when she arrived.

“I love you, too.” Juliana said once they parted. She squeezed Valentina’s waist once before turning around like she was reaching for the broom again. Instead, Juliana reached into her breast pocket and pulled out the velvet pouch, emptying it’s contents onto her hand. “I think I’ve loved you since that night. I remember when I saw you across the room. Your smile was the first thing I’d noticed. I remember wanting to see what made you smile like that, so bright and full. I’d have given anything to see that smile aimed at me.”

Juliana took a deep steadying breath and began to turn back to Valentina, still speaking conversationally.

“I’m pretty sure I stopped breathing for a second when you came back to get your purse. And when you agreed to dance with me. I knew right then, when it was just the two of us in that bar, I knew that I had found the perfect dance partner.” Juliana steeled her nerves and got down on one knee. Valentina’s eyes grew wide for a moment, and filled with tears as Juliana began to speak again. “I knew then that I would never want to dance with anyone else ever again. I fell in love with you that night, and I’ve fallen in love with you more and more each night since then. I never want to stop falling in love with you, Val. I never want to find another partner to dance with. You’re the best partner I could have asked for and so much more than I deserve. I love you, Valentina Carvajal, more than anything or anyone else in the world. Will you marry me?”

Tears fell from Valentina’s eyes and she held out a shaking hand. Juliana gently slipped the ring onto her finger. “Of course, I’ll marry you.” Valentina said joyously once she hand finally found her voice. Juliana released a triumphant sounding laugh and shot to her feet to wrap her arms around Valentina. “On one condition.”

“What’s that?” Juliana asked, threading their fingers together. Valentina’s smile was wide and brighter than Juliana had ever seen.

“Dance with me.”

Juliana leaned in and kissed Valentina before leading her to the empty dancefloor. They held each other close, more swaying than dancing to the soft music drifting around them. Valentina kissed every part of Juliana she could reach, laughing and smiling the whole time. They danced for hours, spinning and twirling across the floor together just as they had done that night so many years ago. They moved in perfect synch, with a practiced ease. Perfect partners, just as they had always been.

Valentina couldn’t wait to spend the rest of her life with Juliana, dancing together without a care in the world.

[sablelab]

Covert Operations - Chapter 62

DISCLAIMER: This is a modern AU crossover story with Outlander and La Femme Nikita. LFN and its characters do not belong to me nor do those from Outlander.

SYNOPSIS:   Karen and Claire spend the evening at The Triangle nightclub and she meets Andrew Ma, her boyfriend. Although he is a musician, the name of his band has Claire thinking that there may be more to him than meets the eye.

THANK YOU to all who are supporting my story. I am so very thankful that you are reading, liking or reblogging Covert Operations and I hope you are enjoying this new scenario for Jamie and Claire. Previous chapters can be found at … https://sablelab.tumblr.com/covertoperations

  CHAPTER 62

 “Hey Claire! We’re here,” Karen exclaimed enthusiastically as the two girls’ taxicab pulled up outside the hottest nightspot in town, The Triangle nightclub.  

Getting out of the cab, Claire took in her surroundings, and the club appeared to be a refurbished warehouse in a trendy area of Hong Kong. It was a sleek modern three storey building with a triangular shaped roof with steel beams intersected in the same shape jutting out under the roof line. A large neon sign graced the front of the building again in a triangular shape advertising the nightclub’s name which blinked on and off at intervals alluding to what the premises was used for.  It was very impressive and the glows from the muted ground lighting led the way to where two burley bouncers were standing vetoing those who wanted entrance to the establishment.

The two women excitedly made their way toward the club and joined the line of patient patrons cordoned off beside a succession of velvet ropes that stretched along the footpath. The vibe was already lively for those waiting to gain entry and Claire could only imagine that inside would be similar.  Several couples started hugging each other in excitement as the queue began to move forward happy that they were getting closer to the entrance.  There were beautiful young girls dressed in provocative mini dresses eager to enter and see what conquests the night would bring and then there were the male patrons who could be seen eyeing off the girls in line. Karen turned to Claire, rolled her eyes and smiled as they studied the dynamics of the people queued up.  Whenever a patron was let in through the double doors, they could hear the powerful beat of the dance music blaring from inside the nightclub. Laser lights were seen rapidly changing colours in the windows as well showing that there was one heck of a party going on inside.

As Karen and Claire edged closer to the front of the queue, it was obvious that The Triangle enforced a dress code to ensure that a certain type of clientele was in attendance at the venue.  All the hip young Hong Kong clubbers were dressed to impress as too were the two friends. The Triangle certainly was the place to be seen as was evidenced by people being turned away. They noticed the crestfallen looks of one couple banned for wearing sneakers and jeans who were denied entry to the club by the door bouncers.

“Are you excited?” Karen asked enthusiastically glancing at Claire.

“I am.  Thanks for asking me.”

“This is the trendiest new nightclub in town and although it’s only been opened a little while it’s busy every night.”

“How do you know all that Karen?”

She leaned in and smiled spiritedly, “Because my boyfriend is in the band playing tonight.”

“Ah. So that’s why where here? To hear your boyfriend’s band?  And here I thought this was just going to be a girls’ night out,” Claire laughed in response.

“Of course, that’s why Claire, but not the only reason,” she answered with a bemused grin on her face, “And it’s because … I really, really want you to meet him.”

“Well then, I hope they let us inside so that I can meet ...?”

“Andrew ... Andy Ma.”

“What does he do in the band?”

Karen gave Claire an enigmatic smile. “He plays the guitar and other things.”

“Sounds intriguing. Is he any good at these other things?”

“What?” Karen replied a little taken aback by her questions.

“Is he a good guitar player?” Claire clarified looking at her friend.

“I think he is, but I’ll let you be the judge of that once we are inside.”  

Since they had been standing in line, the queue had grown longer and stretched as far as the eye could see, nonetheless they gradually moved closer to the front of the line as they waited to enter.  Finally, it came to their turn.  When they approached the two muscular security bouncers at the main door who were screening those who they would let enter into the nightclub, the two women smiled broadly.

“Hello ... Jimmy.”

The very large, stoic man showed little emotion. “Hey Karen ... You here to see Andy again?”

“Yeah ... but this time it’s a surprise for my friend.”

The bouncer gave Claire the once over as he ran a handheld  metal detector over her body,  then did the same to Karen.

“Sorry ladies but I need to see some I.D.  Not you Karen but your friend here ... I will need to see your identification lady. Legal reasons you know.”

“Sure.”

“I need to see your phone too.”

“Why?” Claire requested for explanation.

“We have a strict no photo policy in order to protect the clubbing experience of our patrons.”

Rummaging in her purse she drew out her driver’s licence and her phone.  The bouncer gave the licence a perfunctory glance but he placed some tape over the smart phone camera lens before giving it back to her.

“Is that all?”

‘Yes, you are free to enter now.  Enjoy yourselves and Andy’s performance.”

“Thanks Jimmy:

“Come on Claire. Let's go in and have some fun."

“Yes let’s.” Claire replied as the two friends made their way inside The Triangle nightclub for an evening of revelry.

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Claire’s eyes had to adjust to the darkness after first entering the club and when they did, she slowly glanced around inside. The two girls stood on a platform overlooking the main area with a curved stairwell leading down to the main dance floor.  The interior of The Triangle was grand, opulent and so massive. It was very impressive and certainly was a trendy and upscale establishment with luxurious furnishings and expensive décor.  

It featured a sunken dance floor and upstairs there was a balcony with large banquette style booths to sit and chill in. There was another grand double staircase leading up to the balcony plus the one down to where people were dancing, awesome lights and mirror balls hung from a high ceiling, there was a photo booth, a DJ section and a large stage where a live band was playing.   Claire wondered if that was Karen’s boyfriend’s band, if so then they had the crowd in the palm of their hands.  There was also a long lit up bar that took up one whole wall and a smaller, more intimate bar on the balcony level.

Obviously, it was the place for celebrities, movie stars and the well-heeled to hang out.  What stood out too were the neon signs aligned on the walls and the large signage with The Triangle name emblazed in lights.  There were multiple levels for action and interaction, and Claire noticed that patrons were jiving to the music in the dimly lit interior. It appeared that Jonathon Randall had done his homework and The Triangle was a very lucrative nightclub for it was obvious that business was booming. It was very crowded tonight and clearly, he had a great investment that would more than likely bring in a considerable amount of revenue.

It was evident too, that The Triangle had a fast-paced, loud, and raucous atmosphere. The music was even louder than what they had heard whilst waiting outside and seemed to reverberate through Claire’s whole body.  The pulsing beat of the bass frequencies coming through the huge sound system almost felt like her spine was turned into a vibrator that shook her entire body. Making a quick summation of her surroundings, she noted several things that stood out. The blaring bass, amplified through the speakers from the guitarist on stage seemed to make the room shake as dancing bodies tangled together.  She also noticed that people had crowded the bar area as well where guys were buying a few drinks to muster up the courage to speak to a hot girl. If some of the patrons were taking drugs it was difficult to say given the emotional high and happy atmosphere that was evident as soon as they had walked in the door.

Karen too, looked around at those gathered, then she glanced at Claire exclaiming happily, “Electrifying isn’t?”

The music was loud, very loud and the two girls could hardly hear themselves speak.  “What?”

Laughing, she repeated her words a little louder this time, “I said it’s exciting.”

“It is,” Claire replied leaning in and nearly shouting her answer at Karen’s ear.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Making their way down the staircase into the hub of the action, they were surrounded by bodies everywhere on the dance floor and the pounding rhythm of the music from the live band had the crowd pumping with excitement. The revellers seemed to be having the time of their lives as they either danced on the different levels of The Triangle to the pulsating live music, or stood listening to the band play on the stage and moshing with arms thrusting in the air and head-banging to their favourite songs of the five-man group.

You couldn’t really see the dance floor as it was wall to wall people bopping to the rhythm. The whole scene seemed so exciting and couples on the dance floor were engaged in all types of dancing rituals from the sexual mating of attraction to the uninhibited dance movements like no one was watching them. Beautiful women and handsome men were checking out each other no doubt canvassing for a sexual partner for later in the night, while others were trying to engage in conversation in some of the quiet areas set apart around the dance floor.

The atmosphere was electric.  Laser lights illuminated the dance floor, and light reflected off the large mirror covered disco balls hanging from the ceiling, danced across the walls.  Multicoloured strobe lighting, rigged to follow the music, blinked on and off while changing colours to the beat of the music.  The light shows only intensified the experience of the revellers, for those dancing looked like they were moving in slow motion. Moving light beams flashed from the stage and the smoke billowing from the smoke machine only complicated visibility.  However, there was just enough light for Claire to make out faces in the crowd and she adjusted her glasses to activate her surveillance of the patrons for Fergus’ benefit back at Section One. But as yet, she could not make out anyone of significance.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Karen and Claire cautiously made their way through the crowd and across the dance floor as best they could. They were jostled from time to time from those dancing but they managed to make headway through the crowd if they stayed on the periphery.   Karen lead the way, however, in the loud atmosphere it was nearly impossible to hear anything but the music and a few random snippets of shouted conversation from each other. Tapping Claire on the shoulder Karen pointed to some seating across the room.  “See that empty booth over there,” she practically shouted as her voice was drowned out in the noise.

“Yeah.”

“If we get separated … I’ll meet you there. Okay?”

Claire nodded that she had understood her instructions as she unobtrusively cast her eyes around the venue ever vigilant.  She also activated a camera hidden in her necklace, to provide Section One with a broader view of the interior of the club.  She surveyed the crowd for anyone that stood out as well as noting where the security guards were posted around the venue.  Glancing up to the balcony she noticed members of the security team watching inconspicuously over the clubbers below.  However, the two women unfortunately did get separated from each other in the crowd and Claire got swept up in the revelry taking place on the dance floor. She felt a hand reach out of nowhere from between the gyrating bodies, cop a feel of her derriere, and then vanish as quickly as it appeared.  If the move was intentional or accidental it still caused her to glance around to see if anyone looked suspicious.

Casing the crowd for any anomalies, Claire’s nose was assaulted by the familiar smell of alcohol, tobacco smoke, perfume and sweat from the dancers packed tightly together.  She continued to make her way through the crowded throng to the other side of the room, but another douche bag materialized out of thin air. Grabbing her hands, the man twirled her around the dance floor then held her flush to his chest while pressing Claire’s arms against the sides of her body.  Holding her tight, he started rubbing his crotch against her backside.  Unfazed, Claire merely dropped her weight down swiftly by mimicking a fast squat.  Then she shifted her hips to the side and using her open palm struck hard and fast to his groin area until he released his grip.  Lunging forward slightly, she quickly threw her elbow back to the man’s belly and he doubled over in pain.

He let go and grabbing his stomach cowered away, muttering under his breath, “Bitch!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Making it to the other side of the dance floor, Claire saw Karen waving to her and made her way over to where she was waiting.  As she sat down, Karen nodded towards where the band was playing on stage.

Leaning her head close to Claire’s so that she could hear her every word, she asked, “Do you see that tall, good looking guy singing and playing the guitar?”

“Which one? ... There are five of them Karen.”

The handsome one obviously.  The one with the long, dark hair and moustache. He’s the lead vocalist. Well? What do you think?” She asked inquisitively.

“Not my type but whatever floats your boat,” Claire replied laughing.

“Well I think he’s adorable.”

“That’s all that matters then.”

“I’m sure you’ll like him too, when you meet him.” While they waited for the band to finish their bracket, they watched the patrons having a great time until the band took a well-earned break.  However, the music didn’t stop, neither did the partying and dancing. There was a DJ booth located at the opposite end of the dance floor.  Some of the crowd took this chance to have a rest and get a drink while others filed over to where the nightclub’s resident Disc Jockey began to play a mix of songs of the most broadcasted tunes from the Top 40 as well as recorded dance and pop music through the powerful PA system.  The replacement band began setting up their instruments while Andy Ma’s band packed theirs away.

While the crowd was engaged with the DJ, the other guys in the band left the stage to meet up with several eager groupies hanging around trying to catch their attention, or girlfriends who were waiting for them. When Karen’s guy had finished placing his guitar on its stand, he came down the stairs to where she was waiting for him. Smiling she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Claire watched their intimate interaction as they kissed each other again.  Then with their arms around one another they headed in her direction.

“Claire ... this is my guy,” Karen gushed smiling up at her man then back at Claire. “Hi ... I’m Karen’s neighbour Claire.”  She smiled at the tall man thinking that they made a lovely couple. “I’m Andy. I’m the bass guitarist and lead singer.”

“So, it’s you who is responsible for that pulsating beat that had me thrumming to my bones.”

“Yep ... Guilty.” Andy replied placing his hands in the air then grinning at her.

“What’s the name of you band?”

“Dragon.”

The name made Claire do a double take, but she remained calm and said, “You’re bloody good by the way.”

“Thank you, Claire.”

She thought he was a little reticent with his answers and didn’t really look her in the eye as if he was quite shy and reserved, which was a little strange given that he was the bass guitarist and lead singer.  Usually they were more extroverted but perhaps that was just for show.  However, the name of his band gave her cause to reflect. Was there some connection there to the Rising Dragons or was it just symbolic of Chinese culture that the dragon was revered?  Either way, it was food for thought and made her look at Andy Ma in a whole new light. Did Karen know that he may be someone that was not really who he said he was?  She seemed to be besotted with him. She would hate to think that her friend had been duped by this guy, just because he was a rock star and good looking.

When he sat down Andy possessively placed his arm on the back of Karen’s chair and the looks that they were giving each other made Claire feel like a third wheel.  The two had eyes only for each other and so Claire made an excuse to give them some alone time.

“I’m going over to the bar to get a drink; can I get you guys anything?

Without taking their eyes off each other Andy said, “Thanks Claire. I’ll have a beer.”

“Me too,” Karen replied enamoured with her guy.

The message was received loud and clear that they wanted to be alone, so Claire got up to leave the booth. “Okay you two ... I’ll be back in a jiff.”            

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Once more she had to navigate her way through the gyrating bodies on the dance floor as she made her way to the bar. It was the fastest way across the room to the bar and this time she twirled around from time to time giving Fergus a clear view of the patrons at the nightclub. Her body moved to the rhythm of the music as more sweaty bodies brushed up against her.  Luckily, she didn’t come across the guy who had called her a bitch and she hoped that Fergus had a facial of him just in case he was a triad member.

“You getting this Claudel?” Claire whispered as she strolled over closer to the bar to order some drinks. “Yeah.” “Anything?” “No nothing yet. None of the faces that you’ve captured so far are recognizable in our system.” “Maybe Jonathon Randall’s not here tonight.” “Maybe.”

“Anything on the guy I decked?”

“Nothing showed up in our data files.  He’s an innocent.”

“Pity.”

When Claire finally arrived on the other side of the room, there were people four deep at the bar trying to hold out cash hoping that one of the bartenders noticed them and that they could order their drinks or cocktails. There were mostly men at the bar and a few attractive women were flirting with the single guys obviously enticing them to purchase more drinks and drive drink sales up. No wonder Jonathon Randall had good business acumen.  He certainly had the formula for making money.  Alcohol reduced inhibitions and it was the natural choice to boost a guy’s courage towards interactions with the fairer sex and judging by the four deep queues then this was a possibility.  They jostled each other to make their way back out from the throng of people at the bar without spilling the drinks they had paid for but sometimes with little success.

Claire, however, succeeded in returning to Karen and Andy without spilling a drop. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The DJ had finished his session and the dancers were now milling around on the dance floor or chatting at the tables on each level. Karen, Andy and Claire engaged in polite conversation in their booth as they waited for the backup band to begin their repertoire.   When the group finally belted out a rock tune, the throbbing beat of the music was so ear-splitting and pounding that they could barely hear themselves speak.

Leaning towards her friend, Claire shouted trying to be heard above the din.  “This rock music sure is deafening isn't it?” But she still wasn’t heard.

“What?  What did you say?” Karen asked. “Never mind.  It’s not important,” Claire replied giving her a wry smile.

However, Karen wasn’t paying much attention to her or the band, as all of her attention was focused on her boyfriend.   Andy Ma and her friend sat huddled together oblivious to everything and everyone but each other as he whispered sweet nothings in Karen’s ear.  

Sitting back in the booth, Claire unobtrusively scanned the room this way and that, to give Fergus another 180-degree view of the setting.  Many couples were still dancing while others were sitting with friends relaxing and having drinks. Out of the corner of her eye Claire noticed several young Chinese men acting a little suspiciously who may be a possible lead to Jonathon Randall but it seemed that nothing was forthcoming.

Taking a little sip of her drink of whisky, she immediately thought of Jamie.   This was his favourite drink and she could recall the way she loved to watch as he savoured the taste on his lips. That thought then turned to the taste of his lips on hers and Claire suddenly had a feeling of melancholy wash over her.  She missed him terribly and wished he was here now doing the things that Andy was doing to Karen. The sound of his voice as his warm breath caressed her ear was just a memory that she desperately wanted to repeat.  The lilt of his beautiful Scottish brogue when he’d contacted her on his return to Section yesterday was better than nothing, but she wanted him here with her.  She wanted him so very much that she hurt and she was a little jealous of the intimacy between her friend and her beau.  “Oh Jamie … I wish you were here,” the voice in her head repeated again and again until she had to forcibly give herself a little shake to bring her back to reality.

She needed an opportunity to nonchalantly broach the subject of the owner of The Triangle, Jonathon Randall.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Claire’s patience was rewarded when she finally found an opening when Andy Ma eventually turned away from his girlfriend and reached for his drink. He took a mouthful of his beer and looked over at Claire as she took another sip of her whisky.   Fortunately, there was a little lull in the music, so she took the chance to ask him a few innocuous questions and to find out a little more about him.

“Karen is always talking about what a great guy you are Andy and I can see why.”

“Thanks Claire.  I think she is wonderful too.”

“You’re a terrific musician too.   So, is this your first gig at the nightclub?”

“No, the band is the resident one now.  Jonathon Randall liked us so much that he offered us a permanent booking if we wanted it. We can still do a tour from time to time so it is a win-win for all the boys.”

“Is he the owner?”

“Yeah.”

“I was told at the bar, that the man who owns the nightclub is cute and … very good looking.”  

“Who? Jonathon Randall?  I don’t think I’d call him cute … good looking maybe … but girls might think that.”  He answered with a chuckle.

“Does he ever come here?” He took another swallow of his drink.  “Sometimes.” “Oh … Is he here tonight?” Claire inquired enthusiastically.

“No, he’s not ... He’s having a party next Saturday night, so, I guess he is off planning it tonight instead.” Claire leaned towards him as if she was to tell him something that shouldn’t be eavesdropped.  She lowered her voice.  “I’ve also heard that he’s rich ... very rich. Is that true?”

Andy smiled smugly as he sat back, “What do you think?”

“I think that he probably makes a packet from this nightclub. Karen said it is full every night.”

“Yeah ... you could say that! I guess he’s just a savvy business man.”

“I’d love to meet him.  I’m unemployed at the moment.  Perhaps he might give me a job.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Unfortunately, Andy Ma didn’t have a chance to reply as that little lull disappeared as the band once again began to crank up the volume of their latest rendition of an AC/DC rock and roll classic.  The infectious beat of Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap soon had the crowd jumping again and even Claire pumped her hands in the air along to the music.  Andy and Karen joined in the merriment too as the crowd went wild for the song and screamed along with the chorus with the lead singer.  Then when the lead guitarist did a solo riff the crowd went nuts.

The pulsating rock music continued for several more songs until the band finished their set and also took a well-earned break to make way for the return of Andy Ma’s band, Dragon.  Once the music stopped, there was excited chatter from those on the dance floor who had been listening to the previous band playing. Flushed patrons made their way to the bar for a much-needed drink, while others returned to where they were sitting for a breather before they would be back on the dance floor once more when Andy’s band returned to the stage to play.

Once the replacement musicians had finished their session, Andy got up ready to make his way back to the stage for his band’s next bracket.  

“Sorry girls ... gotta go.  We’re up next.”  

Karen was reluctant to let him go and grabbed hold of his arm.  She raised her face to his and Andy bent down and gave her a quick kiss and a hug.  Sadly, she released her hand but trailed her fingers down his arm until she clasped his hand.  Andy pulled away and Karen slowly let go little by little until she had no choice but to let him walk away, although she tried to savour each touch until the very last moment.

He was about to move away when Claire asked eagerly, “Do you think Karen and I could get an invite to his party next Saturday?” “It’s a private function ... but I’ll see what I can do.” Claire flashed him a megawatt grin. “Wow! Thanks ... that would be great.” “Enjoy the rest of the night girls ... See ya babe!” Then turning towards Claire said, “‘Bye Claire. Nice meeting you.”

“Same Andy, ... See ya on Saturday,” she added hopefully knowing that if he could pull off an invite then she would finally meet Jonathon Randall.

 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ to be continued

[reddieforakiss]

Icecream on Sundays

College Reddie// not established relationship// roommates// Rated M for intense make outs and sexual references// SPOILER ALERT FOR HEATHERS MOVIE

Richie Tozier and Eddie Kaspbrak have been living together for around a year now. In senior year they ended up deciding on the same college so they figured being each other’s room mate was better than being with a stranger.

// When Richie first brought the idea up to Eddie, they were in his room reading comic books. “Eds I think we should be room mates when we get to college”, Richie said out of no where, and Eddie threw him a confused look. Richie went on to reason, “I mean who knows what kind of weirdos could end up rooming with you otherwise?”. Eddie snorted and nudged his side into Richies side, “I know exactly the kind of weirdo that I’m gonna room with”, he looked in Richies eyes “you”. Richie smiled wide and wrapped his arm around Eddies shoulder, “Aw hell yes Eds! You aren’t gonna regret it”. Eddie turned red and laughed softly, smiling, “I feel like I already am”. //

As they moved in and began school, the two of them started in routines. Eddie always got to shower in the morning and Richie did at night. Eddie made both of them breakfast as long as Richie would do the dishes after. If either one of them left at night, they would leave notes for each tier saying where they went and when they would get back. On Saturday mornings they would always go grocery shopping, at the mini mart of course. And, every Sunday night, they would get snacks and watch a movie together.

This particular Sunday it was Eddies turn to pick the movie as Richie had picked it last time, choosing Transformers 2 much to Eddies distaste. He reasoned the special effects were what made it good and as Richie was a film major he “cared about that kind of thing”. This week Eddie decided to go for Heathers. The two were sitting on the couch, icecream bowls in their hands and Eddie was queuing it up on Netflix. “EuGh Eds we have seen that movie so many times”, Richie huffed out, honestly he didn’t mind though because both JD and Veronica were hot as fuck and made his bisexual brain do flips. “What! It’s a good movie with an important message”, Eddie shot back. Richie looked at him with raised eyebrows, “Mhm and I’m sure it doesn’t help that you think JD is”, Richie then wiggled his eyebrows, “SpiCy”. Eddie bumped his shoulder, “so what! I like bad boys okay!”. Richie snorted, “Eddie, he’s not a bad boy he’s a cold blooded murderer”, he then leaned in close to Eddies ear, “I mean, unless that’s what you’re also into, I can kill a man too ya know”. Richies whispered voice sent shivers down Eddies spine, god damnit. Richie had been doing shit like that all the time lately, always teasing him about them being together. And sure Eddie kind of enticed it with his own comments but sometimes it got too much for him to handle. Sometimes it made Eddie think, he might actually like Richie?? But now wasn’t the time for that, so Eddie shoved him away and shouted, “Ew, Gross!” And as usually Richie pretended to be dramatically wounded.

As the movie began to play, Eddie sang along to the introduction; “When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother, what will I be? Will I be pretty? Will I be rich?..”. Richie looked at him fondly when he did that, Eddie was cutest when he sang along to songs he liked because he would always get this bright look in his eyes. God what a beautiful boy. “How do you think they got Veronica buried under all that grass?”, Richie inquired with icecream in his mouth. “I don’t know Richie, I don’t think this movie is really going for realism”, Eddie looked back at him. He had peanut butter on his cheek, Richie always insisted putting peanut butter in his vanilla icecream, gross. But kinda cute too.......Shit.

Right around the time Heather Chandler screamed corn nuts, Richie had gotten bored. It was a good movie yes, but after you’ve seen it ten times in a year it starts to loose its charm. Richie looked over at Eddie, his face lit up by the bright screen amoungst the fading light from outside their window. Eddies eyelashes always looked long, but it was the most noticeable from his profile. God, those pretty lashes and that angel nose could kill a man. Richies eyes moved down to Eddies mouth and, fuck. Eddies lips were glossy with icecream residue, they were also puffy from the coldness of the treat. A small drop of melted icecream fell down from the corner of his mouth and Eddies tongue went to lick it up. Everything felt like slow motion. Shit that looks kind of like. God no Richie no not right now, Richie turned to face the screen again.

Right around the time Veronica had made the call to the football players, Eddie realized Richie kept looking at him. He’d look back, only to find Richies head snapping away back to the screen. What was he up to? But as it happened more often, Eddie could see from the corner of his eye that Richie was looking at his lips. Eddie took another spoonful of icecream and, Oh. That’s what Richie was looking at. Eddie looked down at the cold white treat in his hands, and there was quiet a lot left. Richie had gotten a whole pint each for both of them and while Richie finished his quickly, Eddie had barely made a dent. Eddie brought another spoonful up to his lips, this time slowly dragging the spoon out of his mouth. He could feel Richie shift on the couch. He felt like he was in control in a weird way, and in an even weirder way, it was kind of hot. Now Eddie upped his game, this time swirling his tongue around the spoon. The next spoonful he made sure to leave a good amount left on his lips so he could slide his tongue across them. And the next time, he “accidentally” dropped some on his shirt. Now Eddie was never one to make messes, but this time it was kind of fun. Eddie huffed to make himself seem frustrated and began to suck on the fabric where it had dripped. He mouthed at it and gave it small licks with his tongue. He could feel the intense heat of Richies stare burning into him. He liked to know he did in fact make Richie feel some kind of way and this thing was not one sided. And it was not one sided by a long shot.

Richie wouldn’t take it anymore and grabbed Eddies shoulder. “Eds”. Eddie looked back up at him, as innocent as could be, “yea rich?”. Richie stared him down intensely, searching for something. Eddie looked back, daring. “Can I have some of your Icecream?”.... what? That was not what Eddie was expecting at all. “Uh, sure Rich”, he went to grab the pint but Richie grabbed his sleeve again. “No”, Richie felt incoherent at this point, trying to fight through his lust, “Wan taste now”. Richie dove in for a kiss and Eddie shivered. It was intense and full force, no warning at all. Eddie melted into it, his eyes closing and letting out a soft moan as Richie licked into his mouth. Eddie wrapped his arms around Richie and moved them up and down. He wanted to feel every single inch of him. One of Richies hands snaked down the the waistband of Eddies shorts and slowly began to slide under. Richie grabbed his bare ass and kneeded it with his palm. Eddie moaned louder, allowing Richie access farther into his mouth. The kiss became even more passionate and Eddies entire body became red hot with burning desire. Richie pushed Eddie down into the couch, now having both hands on the smaller boys bare ass. Eddie grabbed at every part he could, his fingernails raked up and down Richies back, one hand making its way up to Richies neck to pull at the small hairs. Richie groaned and drew back for one second, “please do that again oh god please please please”, he blubbered out. Eddie got a handful of hair this time and pulled harder, Richie had to take his mouth of Eddies as his became breathless. “Fuck”, Eddie whispered “you’re so hot went you’re turned on”. Richie looked down at him again, “oh yea?”. He smiled into Eddies neck and began to kiss him hard. “Mmhm, yea”, Richie sucked at his Adam’s apple. “So”, Eddie was breathless, “h,happy you got that icecream”. Richie laughed into the crook of Eddies neck, “me too Eds”. “Mmm”, Eddie pushed Richie up and off him. Richie looked worried but Eddie came crashing down on top of him. Eddie mouthed at Richies neck, “Wan make you feel good too rich”. Richie breathed out, “holy fuck”. Eds bent down near Richies painfully hard crotch, Richie began to say something but Eddie interrupted, “no I’m not doin that, not tonight atleast”. Eddie kisses Richies hip bones instead and lifted up his shirt so he could see his exposed stomach in the light of the tv screen. Eddie looked down and raked his eyes across Richies body. He was so beautiful. Richie had always been lanky, his ribs slightly exposed from leaning back, and Eddie loved it. Richie got paranoid from Eddies silence. “Sorry im not much to look at”, Richie laughed out. Eddie looked up at him confused, “are you kidding me? God I could stare at this for days, take a picture and frame it even”. Richie awkwardly laughed, “okay whatever you say”. Eddie could hear the doubt in Richies voice and it aches. Eddie kissed Richies jaw and then neck. “Think you’re beautiful rich”, he laid his head on Richies chest, “always have”. “Ohoh yea?” Richie grinned down at him with a goofy smile. “Yea”, Eddie sighed softly and played with Richies chest hair. “Sorry, that was kind of a mood killer thing for me to say huh”, Richie laughed a little solemnly. “It’s alright”, Eddie held him tight, “that’s about as far as I wanted to go tonight anyways”, he smiled up at Richie.

Eddie laid on Richie as the rest of the movie played. Eddie loved the way the bare skin of Richies chest felt against his cheek. When the movie ended Richie whispered, “Hey Eds?”. Eddie looked up through sleepy eyes , “mhm?”. “Do this um”, Richies voice seemed a bit scared, “did this mean anything to you? Cuz it meant a lot to me and I just want to be on the same page because I’ve loved you for a while now and you are my everything and I just think you’re so magical ya know and”-. Eddie cut him off with a quick kiss. “This meant everything to me Rich”, he smiled at him softly. Richie looked at Eddie almost tearful, “Eddie kaspbrak, will you be my boyfriend?”.

“I thought you’d never ask”. And after a quick kiss, the two fell asleep.

[berniesrevolution]

Writing in an August 2018 issue of the London Review of Books, Susan Pederson listed centenaries “queued up like planes coming into Heathrow: 1914, the Easter Rising, the Battle of the Somme, the Balfour Declaration, the Bolshevik Revolution, not to mention the Armistice, the Treaty of Versailles, and the Spanish flu epidemic still circling overhead.” Another then still circling seems to have escaped her attention: the German Revolution of November 1918. Pederson is not alone in ignoring this centenary, which has not even received the subdued remembrance the Bolshevik October was accorded at this time of declining faith in the Leninist creed. There have been a few responses: notably, the invaluable digitization of their collection of revolutionary publications by the German National Library and a London conference in October on “Living the German Revolution, 1918–19.” But there is no outpouring of books and articles such as one might have expected on such an occasion.

Part of the reason, I am sure, is the equivocal nature of the event. While indubitably a major social upheaval, the republic it produced led in a decade and a half to the founding of the Third Reich. From a left-wing perspective, the revolution itself left a bad taste: it was the Social Democratic government installed by the popular uprising that paved the way for Hitler by massacring the revolutionaries to its left—those who had opposed the world war seconded by the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) and demanded the direct exercise of political and economic power by the working class. This was not just a matter of facilitating the murder of a few leaders by protofascists in tactical alliance with the Socialists, but involved the killing of tens of thousands of rebellious workers over years of civil conflict. It is not surprising that the “lessons” of such a period can seem unclear.

Of course, lessons from the past are generally useless, as changing realities render earlier patterns of activity irreproducible. If the Leninist party is dead for all practical purposes today, it’s not so much because lessons of the past have been learned as because the purpose that gave it a function—the push to transform a preindustrial population into a waged working class in underdeveloped countries lacking a business class capable of doing so—no longer exists. If social democracy cannot be revived today, even in the impoverished form of Bernie-ism, it’s because the ongoing stagnation of the global economy rules out the accelerated accumulation of capital and rising real wages that gave such movements meaning in the past.

On the other hand, there are historical moments that reveal structural truths about the social system that nonetheless have enduring significance, without imparting doctrinal “lessons.” The Paris Commune was certainly among the most irreproducible of events, shaped as it was by the particular history of the French working class in the nineteenth century. No one understood this better than Marx, with his focus on the historical specificity of social realities, yet the actions of the Parisian population in 1871 clarified for him the fundamental idea that the destruction of capitalism requires at once the abolition of “that class property which makes the labor of the many the wealth of the few” and “the destruction of the state power” by means of revocable workers’ delegates directly administering social affairs.

“Based in the actual position of the working class as producers of social goods, the councils were structured by workers’ relationship to each other as workers, taking over the capitalist organization of production for their own purposes.”

The German Revolution was another such revelatory moment. Prior to the First World War it had seemed axiomatic to revolutionaries that the key to the abolition of capitalism was the creation of socialist organizations. For some, these were to be small conspiratorial groups; for others, mass electoral parties and trade unions; for others still, syndicalist unions which would one day transform themselves into agencies of social power. By the time the war had showed the impotence of the parties and unions in opposing the mutual slaughter of European (and, eventually, American) workers, the waves of mass strikes that had developed in various European nations in the early 1900s, independently of or even against the will of the labor organizations, had suggested the idea of the working class itself, not carefully constructed organizations, as a basis for radical struggle. This idea found another example in the factory-based protests against the war that broke out in Germany from 1916 on, coordinated by a network of “revolutionary shop stewards” (revolutionäre Obleute) who by the end of the war numbered several thousand. In May 1916, for instance, the shop stewards called a general strike in Berlin to protest the arrest of the Spartacist (left socialist) Karl Liebknecht, which drew some 55,000 workers from forty factories for two days. Another strike a year later “brought out between 200,000 and 300,000 workers from hundreds of factories and workshops, with marches and demonstrations throughout [Berlin] and at workplaces. Trade union officials were shouted down or ignored.”

(Continue Reading)

[snaurus]

PROMPTS: gladnoctweek - kitty!noct (nyactis)

Pairings: Gladiolus Amicitia/Noctis Lucis Caelum Ratings: K+ Categories: Humor Warnings: Violence

Gladiolus isn’t feline well after the team’s latest scuffle with a Naga transforms Noctis into something nobody expects.

*Tap dances my way to doing this prompt all wrong for Day Five of @gladnoctweek* I also ended up doing the secondary prompt, but that response is queued for later today to keep from flooding the tags. 

Just some quick inspiration for this story: I think it’s kind of a popular opinion in fandom now, but credit to @demishock for sharing their headcanon with me about all of Gladio’s sneezing in-game being due to the big, beefy outdoorsman having (at least seasonal) allergies! They shared the observation with me first and I’ve since accepted it as truth, so I wanted to explore it here. 

My greatest heartfelt thanks also goes out to @glyphenthusiast for sharing all the laughter and comments on this story while editing it to the purrfection ya’ll see here today. <3

In her death throes the air was clouded by the Naga’s vestiges of magic. To Gladiolus' right, Prompto coughed and swatted the space in front of his nose. He only managed to spread the noxious-purple smoke around rather than disperse it.

Grabbing him by the arm, Gladiolus used the crook of his other limb to cover his mouth as he dragged Prompto to the edge of the Naga's circle of influence. Gladiolus didn't release him until they were safe from being cursed. Past his own hacking fit, Gladiolus managed to ask, "You okay?"

"Hnnng," Prompto said in response, bending at the waist. He sounded ready to hack up a lung or the contents of his stomach. Gladiolus patted him on the back. When Prompto didn't immediately drop dead he sought out their other companions.

"Roll call!" Gladiolus rasped.

Somewhere north of them, Ignis reported in. As the smoke finally cleared, Gladiolus saw him stumbling around, seemingly half-drunk. The lack of a certain prince's response had Gladiolus on alert. Ignoring his sore throat, he yelled, "Noct?"

Everyone sorted themselves out when they picked up on Noctis' absence, too. Shaking his head to re-orientate himself, Ignis turned in every direction; he checked high and low for any sign of their friend. Prompto cupped both hands around his mouth and called, "Croak if you can hear us, buddy!"

There came a reply, although it didn't originate from a human or an amphibian. A soft mewling echoed their frantic shouts. Gladiolus tore through the area as he tracked the origin of the noise, uncertain exactly where it was coming from. The Naga's body had yet to completely dissolve after its demise, so Gladiolus hefted her tail to permit Ignis and Prompto to search underneath.

"Gentle, gentle!" Ignis chided as Prompto coaxed a small, black bundle free of the wreckage. Gladiolus assumed it was a wad of gunk that had secreted from the daemon's remains, but no, when he dropped the Naga's body he saw how it took shape, even after Prompto wiped down the mound with the corner of his vest.

"Oh. Em. Gee!" Prompto swooned, cradling what turned out to be a fluffy and blue-eyed cat. "You've got to be kitten me, Noct! It is you, right?"

The cat yawned, evidence enough of who it was. During Prompto's cooing and awing, Ignis seemed perplexed while Gladiolus became apprehensive. The advisor leaned in, adjusting his glasses by the earpiece as he examined their miniaturized friend. "How curious. I'd noticed the variation in this particular foe, but who would have surmised that its repertoire would also be unique?"

"Right? But I'd rather a cat than a frog any day," Prompto said. Redirecting his attention to Gladiolus, who'd remained distanced from the group, he held Noctis toward the other man’s face. "What do you think, Gladio?"

Gladiolus balked at the sudden closeness. He opened his mouth to say something to the effect that he'd rather have Noctis sans sticky tongues, long tails, or any variations thereof. Except all that came out was a tremendous sneeze. At the onslaught Prompto clamped his eyes shut and stepped back, whereas Noctis had been in the direct line of the assault. Ears pressed flat against his skull, Noctis hissed and swatted a paw. He hit Gladiolus across the tip of his nose.

"Hey now!" Gladiolus said, clutching his face. His voice was muffled, although it became clear that it had nothing to do with the gesture, but how stuffed up his sinuses had become. "It's not my fault I'm allergic to His Royal Furriness!"

"Oh," Prompto said in acknowledgement. Then he did it again in realization. "Oh. Sorry, dude. I should have figured, what with your allergies and all…"

Prompto drew the cat back against his chest. Noctis must have felt constricted at the increased contact since he squirmed and yowled in protest, not so dissimilar to a motorcycle engine. To appease him, Prompto stroked under his chin. It wasn't clear if Noctis enjoyed the treatment; he might have been undecided himself because while he stopped his attempt at escape, Noctis kept making the noise deep in his throat.

Not that it was just Noctis' growls permuting the area. Gladiolus picked up on the disturbance, then Ignis. They inspected their surroundings, although it quickly became unnecessary. The daemons materialized smack dab in the middle of their group. One glowing, floating Bomb appeared, and another, and finally two more burst into existence at once.

Before Gladiolus could decide to summon his sword or his shield, an armful of pissed off fuzz and sharp fangs was shoved at him. He fumbled a moment, gathering Noctis by the scruff of his neck and holding him at arm's length. "Prompto, what— What am I supposed to do with him?"

"Come on, just for a sec? I need both hands free," he said, recalling his firearm and demonstrating his point by clutching the large gun. One hand was on the trigger and the other steadied the weapon. Gladiolus regarded Ignis for assistance, but the advisor was already fighting off some monsters with a dagger in each hand.

Cursing, Gladiolus transferred Noctis to his shoulder with gritted instructions to, “Hang on tight – no, not that tight, watch your claws!”

He settled on his shield, it flashing into place on his left arm. Gladiolus kept the other hand cupped over Noctis to keep him secured as he skirted the fight. It felt off not rushing in and designating himself as a threat, but Gladiolus refused to risk losing Noctis in the scuffle a second time. The potential for singed whiskers would be the least of their worries if that happened.

Fortunately, the others managed to distract the daemons well enough on their own. Once Prompto agitated a Bomb with an entire clip of ammo, Ignis unleashed an ice spell. What monsters he'd been chipping away at were disposed of in the same blizzard he generated to finish off Prompto's target. The last Bomb, sensing its impending demise, charged for the nearest victim to destroy with its deadly explosion.

Gladiolus was wide open. He tensed in anticipation. Instead of bracing to stop the monster, he side-stepped at the last possible moment. The daemon whizzed past him. Swinging around in the direction he'd turned, Gladiolus used his shield like a paddle to pummel the Bomb back the way it'd originated. It impaled itself on Ignis' spear, as he'd switched out his blades for distance, and ended the confrontation.

While Prompto cheered in victory, Gladiolus was busy trying to get Noctis to release his hold on him. The prince had slipped past his collar where Gladiolus couldn't reach him anymore; Noctis clung to the inside of his clothes. The back of Gladiolus' neck already itched something terrible and flushed with irritation.

Finally taking notice of Gladiolus' discomfort, Prompto asked, "Um, you all right there? Do you need some help—"

"Yes," he snapped, scrabbling at his back. "Get him off of me!"

"Okay, okay!" Prompto said, and approached him. He ducked as Gladiolus' flailing almost earned him an elbow to the eye. "Whoa, hold on!"

It took several attempts, but Prompto circled Gladiolus to nab him by the jacket. He shucked it up to reveal Noctis clinging to the underside of his shirt. For his trouble, Prompto earned a slash from Noctis’ claws when he went to retrieve him. He retracted his hand in time to keep from losing his fingers.

"Me-ouch! Noct, what's gotten into you?" Prompto asked.

"Leave him!" Ignis said, looking worriedly behind them. The sounds of more daemons spawning alerted them that another bout was imminent. "We have to find our camp or we'll never be rid of these fiends. Now hurry!"

"You're joking," Gladiolus seethed through his teeth (and maybe his watering eyes).

Ignis’ point became clear as an unnaturally large fist erupted out of the ground, signalling the arrival of an Iron Giant. Prompto tugged Gladiolus' shirt and jacket back down to secure Noctis in place. He pushed Gladiolus in the small of his back to urge him in the last direction they'd seen campfire smoke. "Come on, you heard him! Hup-two, hup-two, double time!"

They ran, Gladiolus resigned enough not to be told twice. The sooner they returned to camp, the sooner he could breathe easier. Literally.

Their group had been close to camp when they left the car at an abandoned parking lot. The desire for fresh red meat at dinner time had delayed them until nightfall. Their hunting had quickly turned them into the hunted as a Naga took advantage of them being outside the wards of their campsite.

Gladiolus covered that remaining distance in minutes.

He was the first one to see their refuge atop a small hill nestled by pine trees. As soon as he breached the glowing sigils, Gladiolus stripped. He ripped his jacket off completely and let it drop to his feet. His shirt came off next. Noctis still clung to the fabric, so Gladiolus wrapped him up in it like a burrito. The little shit had the audacity to purr at him for the gesture.

The other two of their group had lagged behind him during his mad dash to safety, but they caught up to him now. Prompto stumbled the last couple of steps, but whatever complaint he was going to voice morphed into laughter. Pointing, he said, "Oh man, look at your back!"

"What?" Gladiolus twisted around, trying to get a good look, but could only spot the etchings of his tattoo. "What is it? Better not be hives."

"No way, more like Noct used you as a scratching post. I can't believe this! The King's Shield, felled by a ten pound menace." Prompto gave him a hearty slap on the back, igniting the skin as he touched some of the aforementioned scratches. Gladiolus grunted, more out of annoyance than pain, as he barely registered the scrapes even after Prompto brought attention to the marks.

Ignis chuckled. "Noct certainly put you in your place, hm?"

"Yeah, yeah. Yuck it up you two." Sobering somewhat, Gladiolus offered Noctis to Ignis as he asked, "How long do you, uh, think he is going to be like this?"

"He should have reverted back by now," Ignis said, accepting the bundle. He examined Noctis, but no answers were forthcoming. "If Noct remains this way until morning, perhaps we should reach out to Dave. He or one of his hunters may have experienced something of this nature and can offer us insight."

"Right," Prompto agreed for all of them, then tiredly, "Bedtime? Not much else we can do."

Considering they'd been forced to abandon their food for the evening and their stores were depleted, dinner remained out of the question. There was a collective sigh as everyone came to the same conclusion. Sleeping was about all they could do.

"I'll keep watch tonight. No use for me being cooped up with the fur ball," Gladiolus volunteered, somewhat reluctantly. He didn’t mind the outdoors, but if given the choice he’d rather be within reach if Noctis needed him. In this form Noctis was next to defenseless. The prince wouldn’t be alone, however, so Gladiolus would have to settle for one evening.

He took a seat at the campfire while the others bid him goodnight and entered the tent. Hopefully the fresh air and some distance would alleviate his allergy symptoms. Gladiolus tilted his head back and massaged his temples, trying to ease the pressure.

It might have worked, too, if a couple hours later there wasn't something circling his legs. Gladiolus startled out of his doze and looked down to behold Noctis brushing against his ankles. Glancing in the direction of the tent, there didn't appear to be any activity coming from inside. Noctis must have snuck out from under Prompto's and Ignis' care without their noticing.

"Just gotta be contrary, don't you?" Gladiolus rumbled, still a little sleep addled. It'd figure that the one time Noctis was allowed a catnap, he wouldn't, just so he could annoy the one person most susceptible to him. He waggled his foot when Noctis sniffed and pawed at his bootlaces. The playing was a precursor to Noctis latching onto his leg and climbing into his lap like he owned the spot.

Despite his condition, Gladiolus gave Noctis a couple scritches along his back because damned if he wasn't a little cute like this. For Gladiolus' sacrifice, he earned a gentle headbutt to his chin. Noctis then used Gladiolus’ chest and shoulder like a springboard to continue upwards. Noctis attached himself to a tree at Gladiolus' back, clambering up to a branch that overhung their campsite.

"Don't think I'm coming up to get you if you get stuck," Gladiolus warned. He didn't know why he felt compelled to talk to Noctis in this form, but around his sniffling he did, anyway. It was unclear if the prince understood speech or that he was actually a person under all that black fur. The one time Gladiolus had been transformed by a Naga he didn't remember his time as a frog, but considering the alteration in forms maybe this was different, too.

Noctis peered down at him and gave a long, blank stare that ended in a slow blink. It struck Gladiolus as the same attention Noctis would have bestowed upon him regardless of being a feline or not. He wasn’t a talkative cat, either – same as his old human self. Maybe the prince did understand him like this.

"Heh. Suit yourself," Gladiolus said, managing to relax with Noctis in his sights, and let him be until the following day.

At the first signs of daylight, a surprised cry arose from inside the tent. There was a lot of shuffling, the material on the sides protruding as someone moved around. Ignis burst out the front, looking frenzied and unkempt as he looked around. Spotting Gladiolus standing nearby, holding a steaming cup of coffee, Ignis zeroed in on him.

"Gladio! I can't find Noct. Did you see him come this way?"

Wordlessly, Gladiolus motioned with his mug toward the spot Noctis had climbed earlier. Following his silent instruction, Ignis glanced up and found Noctis splayed across the tree branch. His face was squished into the bark and each limb splayed on either side, leaving the length of his body parallel to the wood.

Noctis was also distinctly human while lazing up there.

"How did he…how is he…? Hm." Ignis settled on covering the bottom portion of his face with a hand, pondering the sight.

"He changed back halfway through the night," Gladiolus explained, taking a sip from his coffee.

Somewhat delayed, Prompto exited the tent, having been woken up by Ignis' antics. His hair was in disarray and so were his clothes, but he stopped trying to correct his appearance as he spotted Gladiolus and Ignis staring at something. Flitting his gaze upwards, he watched Noctis for a drawn out beat. Prompto didn't even say anything as he tucked his hand into his pocket and gradually started to pull out his camera.

Ignis pushed the device away and said, "Don't you dare! We should be figuring out how to get him down from there, not taking pictures."

"Aw, come on…" Prompto whined, acting pained at being denied 'the shot of a lifetime'. Or so he claimed.

"Pft. I got this," Gladiolus said, handing Ignis his coffee to hold. Bewildered, Ignis couldn't do more than accept the drink and watch as Gladiolus did a couple stretches. He brought his right arm across his chest, holding it in place, and did the same to the opposite arm.

Then Gladiolus high-kicked the tree.

Hard.

Noctis listed to one side before tumbling off the tree branch and into Gladiolus' waiting arms. That wasn't enough to wake the prince, so Gladiolus gave him a light squeeze. Grumbling, Noctis peeked open an eye. The other opened up as both eyes went wide as he realized where, exactly, he was. "Huh…?"

"Good meow-ning, Noct," Prompto greeted.

"How are you faring?" Ignis asked straight-faced, for all appearances sincere until he added, "Perhaps you’re feeling a bit catty? Any lingering hissy fits?"

Bewildered, Noctis looked between the three of them, settling on Gladiolus as he mouthed 'what the fuck?' But oh, Gladiolus had his own form of payback planned. He’d had all night to contemplate the puns he was going to unleash on him, after all.

[silenceindetroit]

The Meaning of Silence - Part 5

“... Everyone's been so kind. It's been such a relief that I find it hard to really relax. I keep worrying that I need to be on guard in case something happens.”

“Can't say it's been so peaceful over here. We're making progress, but it's slow. It's good you made it out when you did—a lot of androids are still in limbo because no one knows how to start going about citizenships. Connor's been in back-and-forth custody with Cyberlife for months.”

“Seriously, still? There's nothing that can be done?”

“They've been fighting tooth and nail.”

“I can't imagine what that kind of stress is doing to him... how is he?”

Markus looked across the empty room to the window, a grey-green shirt in his hands. The darkness outside was aglow with an ambient light, reflected off the clouds. “I think he tries to seem like he's fine.” He pulled it over his head. “But it gets to him. There's a lot he doesn't talk about.” He smoothed out the front and began to tuck it into his jeans. “I worry about him, Kara.”

“I know. The only thing you can do is let him know you're there for him.”

He nodded before he remembered she couldn't see him. “We're going out tonight. He should be here in about five minutes.”

“I won't keep you too much longer, then.”

He walked over to the closet in the corner and scanned the hangers.“How's Alice?”

“She's doing well.” There was a pause. “I don't know if I've ever seen her this happy. She loves Luther to death. And some of the Jerrys come to visit when they can. Hang on, wait...” He heard a muffled sound in the background. “She wants to say hi.”

“Hi, Markus!” a higher voice echoed through his head, a hint more static-filled than Kara's.

He grinned as he pulled his black pea coat—the thin kind designed for fashion rather than warmth—from the closet and slid it onto his shoulders. “Hi, Alice. How's Canada treating you?”

“Good. I like Rose's family a lot. I drew a picture of you and Connor visiting us.”

“Yeah? I'd love to see it.”

“Kara, can you send it to him later?”

There was another pause as the muffled sound returned. “She went to the other room to go find it,” Kara told him.

“Not to change back to the previous subject too soon, but what about you? How are you doing?” He nearly forgot to grab the thin box, no bigger than a wallet, that lay on the desk.

“It's been... odd. To have people and androids I can call family to settle in with every night. I never realized how much it was something I needed.” She was quiet for a minute. “We love you, Markus. I love you. You're all part of our family, too. If you ever need anything don't be afraid to let us know. ”

His eyes softened. He slid the box into his pocket. “I love you all, too. I have to go, though. Connor just sent me a message that he's outside. I'll talk to you next week, same time?”

“Sure. Tell him we said hi.”

“I will.” There was a quiet click as the call died.

Markus made his way downstairs to the front door, with a pause in front of the hallway mirror, going through the checklist in his mind one last time. Everything was good to go.

He quickened his pace to the foyer and tried to look calm when he opened the door. It didn't last when Connor smiled at him, his outline flooded by the headlights of a car. He had on a leather jacket Markus hadn't seen him in before. “Hi,” he said.

“Hi.”

“You ready?”

“As I'll ever be.”

Markus stepped out to join him on the porch and locked the door behind himself. The headlights turned as the car started a slow circle, the passenger window rolled down, the driver leaning over.

Markus raised his hand in greeting. “Hey, Hank.”

“Have fun, you two. Be safe.” He pointed a finger at Markus. “Get him back before sunrise, yeah?”

Markus grinned. “No promises.” Hank's chuckle could be heard over the idling of the engine. “He's such... a dad,” he commented as they watched the car drive away. He turned back to Connor. “The jacket suits you.”

Connor looked down at himself and picked a piece of stray lint off his black t-shirt. “Hank told me to wear it.”

“Yeah?” Markus reached for Connor's hand and tucked them together into the back pocket of his jeans. He thought he saw Connor's back grow a little straighter, a faint whir coming from his direction. He flicked over a tab in his head. “Our ride is two minutes away.”

The car pulled up into the same spot Hank had been, its doors sliding open when it came to a stop. They walked up to the passenger's side. Markus glanced in. “Good, no driver.”

Connor raised an eyebrow. “Why g—” He didn't get to finish the question before he was cut off by Markus' mouth on his, quick and hard. It was over before he could register what had happened. He stared in surprise as the other android pulled away.

“That's why,” Markus said, a sly smile on his face. “Now come on, get in.”

The estimated ride time was twenty-three minutes. The main console screen asked them to close their doors before it set itself back in gear, kicking itself off down the driveway, towards the front gate. “How are you feeling about tonight?” Markus asked. “The first night of its kind where it's for both humans and androids.”

Connor's hands were pressed together in his lap. “I just don't want people recognizing us all night,” he admitted.

Markus leaned over and placed a hand on top of his thigh. “I know. But it'll be pretty dark inside, and it's going to be crowded, being a club and all. I think we'll be okay.” He raised an eyebrow. “Besides, we can always sneak away if we want.”

Connor raised an eyebrow back. “Is that a promise?” Markus grinned.

The drive was shorter than their time estimation had told them. The car slowed into a queued line down the street with five minutes to spare, offering to let them out or remain passengers to the front. “Let's just get off here,” Markus told him. “I got a hookup for us to go in through the back.”

Connor pulled at his door handle and climbed out, waiting on the sidewalk until Markus joined him. The thumping bass of the club's music was audible down the street. “How'd you manage that?” he asked as they began to walk towards it together. He glanced around at the people they passed. A few LED lights were among them.

“You have a way of being able to go about things when people know your name,” Markus replied. He reached for Connor's hand and clasped it tight.

They followed the line of people waiting down the block and slipped into the back alley. Connor followed as he was led to a barred door. He glanced up while Markus knocked; a pride flag billowed slightly in the breeze, strung up above their heads.

A tall android with buzzed hair stood on the other side of the door when it opened. “We've been expecting you, Markus. Welcome to the Lounge.” He stood aside, eyeing them as they stepped through the threshold. He gave a wink when he caught Connor staring. Connor snapped his gaze forward and stepped a little closer to Markus, fans whirring. A low chuckle came from behind him.

The music grew louder as they navigated their way to the main part of the club. Much louder. Connor turned down his auditory processors several notches.

We don't need to call it love, we just need a human touch

The strobe lights cast a neon haze over the room from far above, changing color every so many seconds. Humans and androids alike filled the floor. The middle of the room was the most tightly-packed, but the hoards pressed up against the bar nearly rivaled it. It's a big crowd, he commented to Markus in his head.

It's a big night, Markus replied. He looked around, trying to see through the crowds. Where do you want to go?

Connor scanned the room for a moment before pointing to a spot less populated, near the wall. Over there?

The song was changing by the time they reached it, the bass softening enough to hear the instrumental transition. Markus turned to him and pulled his hand out of Connor's hold, only to offer it forward again.

Connor, he said, will you dance with me? An echo of his own actions from the night in the rooftop garden.

Connor tried in vain to keep the smile from his face. He grabbed the other android's wrist in reply and tugged him close.

They let the remixed beat of the music carry their motions, the bodies around them a sea that moved to its own interpretations and rhythms. Connor had never danced this way before. Not that androids had reason to dance often. But this wasn't where you came to do it with reason or technical sense. This was where you danced to whatever you felt in the moment.

And he couldn't deny the certain something he was feeling as he watched Markus.

Faces in the crowd drifted towards them every so often from song to song; whether out of recognition or just plain interest, he couldn't tell. A few gazes lingered on Markus with a look he wasn't sure he liked; a few more on him. He took a step to close the space between them a little.

There's a guy that's had his eyes on you for the last ten minutes, Markus commented with a raised eyebrow, as if reading his thoughts.

Where?

Behind you, to your left. Connor's fans whirred when Markus put a hand on his waist almost possessively. He let his own hand reach up and clutch the back of Markus' neck as he stole a glance over his shoulder. Sure enough, there were eyes on him, watching not ten feet away. The stranger gave the two of them a suggestive look when their gazes met, before turning back around to his group of friends.

I don't think he was watching just me, Connor corrected. He saw Markus chuckle.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it. Happy Pride Night motherfuckers,” a deep, feminine voice interrupted over the speakers as the song ended. A roar rose around them. “Your friendly DJ here wanting to kindly remind you that song suggestions are open and can be submitted up at the bar. Please do not, I repeat do not come to the DJ table, we won't be able to fuckin' hear you cause y'all are crazy tonight.” The cheers surged again. “Look for my good friend Bernie over near the register in the corner, he'll help you out—” Connor was barely listening. Markus' hand was still on his waist, drawing him closer. “Tonight really is a wonderful night about celebrating coming together, as brothers and sisters, or whatever the hell you want to call it. We might not all bleed the same color, but I think we can all agree that we all deserve love, and we all deserve to be free to love whoever the fuck we want.” The club went wild. “Without further ado, y'all better be ready for some blasts from the past.” The beat kicked back up to full volume, eliciting shouts from those who recognized the chord progression.

Yeah I'd rather be a lover than a fighter, cause all my life I've been fighting

Connor pulled until their foreheads bumped together. Something had stirred deep inside of him at the DJ's words. He closed his eyes as the synthetic skin withdrew from Markus' left hand and he ran it up the back of Connor's neck, into his hair.

And I never had someone to call my own, I'm so used to sharing

The strobe lights above began to blink faster in sync to the buildup of the beat. Voices from across the floor swelled to sing along, the emphasis on waiting for the bass to drop building.

But I'm at one with the silence

I found peace in your violence

Can't tell me there's no point in trying

He dared to let his eyelids flutter open. Markus' gaze was half-lidded, staring down at his lips from where their foreheads connected. A pink strobe had cast its light over them, catching off the edges of his face, defining its details. He looked so terribly beautiful.

Connor couldn't help himself. He tugged at the collar of Markus' coat and pressed their mouths together gently.

I'm at one

And I've been silent for so long

The beat dropped hard, the energy of the club surging with it. Neither of them paid notice.

His processors were dizzy by the time the song reached its end. Markus pulled away from the slow kissing until their eyes could meet. I think I want to show you what my surprise is now, he said.

Electricity surged through Connor's circuits. Okay.

He let himself be led into the crowd, towards the back way they had come through when they'd arrived. The song playing melted into a new one, the bass slowing into a different tempo. “I need a drink, whiskey ain't my thing, but shit is all good.” His shoulders brushed against several people around them as they navigated the masses. He gripped Markus' hand a little tighter.

Markus took him to the back wall and down a hallway that led to a secondary bathroom. Connor's brow furrowed in confusion, until Markus turned to a different door on their right and swiped his hand over a panel below the doorknob. A red light blinked and turned green.

He let himself be pulled inside the empty room. The muted lights matched the hues of the ones on the main floor. But here there were wall-length couches lined around the room, with a round, backless cushion couch in the middle, big enough for half a dozen people to sit around the edge. The noise of the club grew muffled as Markus shut the door and locked it behind them.

“How'd you even get this?” he asked. He slid his jacket off and sat down on the backless couch.

“I told you, sometimes there's perks to people knowing your name.”

Connor glanced around again. “So, what's the surprise?”

Markus gave him a smile. “You'll see. Just be a little prepared.” He turned to the side and reached into his pocket, withdrawing the thin box he'd slipped in back at the house. Connor's eyes were on his hands, brow raised in curiosity. Markus slid the top off and reached two fingers inside. He withdrew... Connor wasn't sure what. It looked filmy, almost like silk, and in the shape of an oval with the middle missing. He blinked when Markus raised it to his lips and pressed down.

“I don't get it,” he said when the other android came over. The film blended in surprisingly well to the edges of his mouth. Connor wouldn't have even known it was there if not for the handful of shades darker that it made Markus' lips.

“You will,” Markus promised. “Tilt your head back.”

He did as he was asked. His heart jumped when Markus leaned over him, one hand on his thigh, the other on his shoulder, and planted a slow kiss against his neck.

His wiring almost sung at the contact, exploding, blooming with... it was some sort of a tingling... that felt, well, good.

...It felt good?

It felt good.

Connor yanked his head back on instinct, jamming his hand against Markus' neck to hold him away. “What the fuck!” he sputtered. He stared up with wide eyes. “What is that?”

Markus sat down beside him. “A new technology that's going to be put out on the market in a few months,” he explained. He ran a finger over his lips. “It's a netting that consists of micro magnets. They interact with android wiring in a way that mimics the human nervous system, by sending messages up here,” he tapped a finger against his temple, “that get translated as physical touch.”

Connor's mouth hung open.

“Pretty impressive, isn't it?”

“That's incredible. How...?”

“There's a lot of mathematic and scientific coding that went into it. I don't understand it all myself. But it's designed by androids, specifically for android use.”

Connor leaned forward and ran his thumb slowly over Markus' bottom lip. The tingling sensation returned, sending a delicious jolt up his arm. “How does it feel when you're wearing it?” he asked.

“A little odd. But there's a tab that can plug in so your brain writes it off when you're wearing it. In case it gets too intense after a while.” He lifted the box. “There's also ones that go over your hands.”

Connor shook his head in disbelief. “Only you, Markus.”

Markus' brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“It's like you're on a level miles above the rest of us.” Connor ran his thumb along the length of Markus' jaw, before tilting his chin with a finger and pressing their lips together. The effect was immediate, spreading across Connor's mouth, echoing up his cheek. It was like nothing he'd ever been able to comprehend before. It felt wonderful.

His gaze flickered down to the box. “You said there's ones for your hands?”

Markus smirked. “Eager, are we?”

“If someone's nice enough to give you a sample of a product, you ought to test it out, right?” he countered, his internal fans whirring.

Markus gave a solemn nod despite the teasing look in his eyes. “You're absolutely right.”

The fascination on his face was more than evident as Connor watched Markus take out the twin films from the box and set one carefully onto his hand, smoothing it over each finger with his opposite thumb until it clung like a second skin. A small tab sunk beneath the synthetic skin at the base of his wrist. “You know,” he said as he repeated the process on his other hand, “you promised me when I showed you my surprise you would share that song with me.”

Realization flickered across Connor's face. “I did.” He looked away in embarrassment when Markus raised his eyebrows expectantly. “Right now?”

The other android grinned. “That was the deal.”

“How am I supposed to interface with you during this?”

Markus tilted his head to the side. “You could use the speakers in here.”

“No,” Connor groaned. He leaned back on one hand, the other pressed to his eyes.

Markus let out a bark of laughter. “Why so flustered all of a sudden? It's just us.”

“I'm not flustered,” Connor protested. His core tensed when he felt for the first time in his life a finger draw a line over his shirt, from his stomach to his chest. His wires were all but singing when it stopped to trace the outline of his heart.

“Are you sure?”

His electric circuits hiccuped when Markus tugged at the bottom of his shirt. Connor dared to glance up; eyes were on his, drinking him in.

“You're so absolutely beautiful,” Markus murmured.

And then their lips met, his body leaning over Connor's, the hand that had been tugging at his shirt finding its way to the bare skin underneath.

It was the most unbearably wonderful sensation, to feel both Markus' lips on his own and his hand carressing Connor's stomach, fingers spread wide. His back straightened as Markus moved from his mouth to the nook just below his jaw, the feeling growing more intense.

Markus pulled away an inch. “Sorry, I forgot to warn you. Humans have specific places with more nerve endings scattered across their bodies. But for androids that means where there's more wiring—from the neck up—the more you'll feel it.” There was a pause. “You good?”

Connor latched his hand around the back of the other android's head. “More than good.” He nearly buckled as he felt Markus' mouth return, stretching into a smile against his neck.

God, he was feeling. It was such an insane thought.

He liked it.

A noise rose from the back of his throat when his collar bone was trailed over, and the hand on his stomach became two that found their way up and over his ribcage. “Markus,” he stammered, “slow down.”

“Sorry. You're just driving me crazy with those noises.”

“Bad crazy or good?”

“Good.” Markus spread his hands back down over Connor's sides, eliciting the sound from the back of his throat again. “Definitely good.”

Connor closed his eyes. His new senses were unbelievably heightened. He was almost giddy off the sensations his brain was registering.

There was a pause just as he felt a kiss making its way back up his neck. “Ah, shit.” Markus pushed himself up until they were face-to-face. Even in the dimmed light of the room, the hint of blue that colored Connor's face was evident. “That's our two-minute warning.”

Connor blinked. They couldn't have been in here more than ten minutes. “What...?”

“There's a party renting out this room at eleven.” He placed an apologetic kiss on Connor's cheek. “We have to head back out.”

“Right now...? I haven't even gotten to try them yet.”

Markus gave a crooked smile and ran his thumb over the cleft in Connor's chin. “It'll give you something to look forward to when we're back home.”

Connor grimaced back. “You're a tease,” he muttered as he turned to grab his jacket. A yelp of surprise escaped him when a finger prodded his hip. He whirled back around and gave Markus' shoulder a push. “Don't do it without warning.”

Markus laughed and stood. “Come on,” he said, offering his hands to help Connor up.

The group waiting for the room was already outside the door when they emerged, their hands clasped tightly as they navigated their way out to the club floor, the films placed back in their box and tucked in Markus' pocket. The DJ had stepped back from the remixes and started on the suggested songs list, intervening only for the transitions between each to be smooth. “Yeah if you change your mind you know where to find me, cause I don't save your reputation,” the song rang out from the speakers.

Do you want to go back to the spot we were before, or wander around a bit? Markus asked. When there was no response he slowed to look behind him. Connor?

Connor's eyes were frozen on another android several feet away, her gaze locked with his. Neither of them were relenting. Do you know her? Markus asked, but his question went unheard.

It was only when she gave Connor a solemn nod and turned back to the other android she was with—the same model as her, but her hair blue and long rather than cropped dirty blonde—that the spell was broken, and Connor blinked a handful of times.

Connor, Markus repeated.

What?

You alright? Who is that?

I'm fine. His focus lingered on them, watching them dance together, before he turned away and stepped back towards Markus. Just someone I met once.

They walked around until they found an open space on the floor to claim. Connor held tight to Markus' hand as he let himself be picked up by the beat of the new song coming on.

Baby don't make me spell it out for ya, all of the feelings that I've got for ya

Markus raised a playful eyebrow at him. “Can't be explained, but I can try for ya,” he mouthed along with the words to Connor. He grinned when it elicited a smile from the other android. “Yeah baby don't make me spell it out for ya.” Something whirred a little faster in his chest as he stared into the abyss of Connor's brown eyes. He had the sudden feeling he knew what his next painting was going to be of.

They made it almost another two songs before they began to drift together again. Connor pulled at his hand, draping his arms over Markus' shoulders when he was close enough. Markus hooked his index fingers through the two front belt loops of Connor's jeans. He closed his eyes and let his chin dip forward until their foreheads touched.

Hey, Connor said.

Yeah?

Thanks for bringing me out.

Markus' smile was gentle as he placed a kiss between Connor's eyes. Happy Pride Night.

[montydollcrew]

The Experience - Getting my Luka

As I said before, I will soon be the proud owner of DD Luka - tomorrow evening is when she should reach me. Before she arrives I thought I would write about how the actual experience went down as something separate from the event reports I like to do. After all, while I initially wasn’t going to get her for a while due to recently buying a new laptop, one of the main reasons I wanted to get Luka at Dolpa was because there’s a good chance that it will be my last Dolpa I can attend for a long time, and I thought it’d be a nice memory. There have been numerous different methods of doing the limited dolls at Dolpa over the years, and recently its changed slightly again. If the process interests you, read on.

First, we arrived at Tokyo Big Sight bright and early. There are two lines - the general line and the Sumika line. The people in the general line have immediate access to the event itself and the Dealer space, but the line for the Sumika store - the store for licensed Dollfie/Dollfie Dream items - is for people who wish to try for the limited dolls - like me. The Sumika store doesn’t open for everyone else until after everyone in the Sumika line has already gone through it, so you have to decide if you want to try for (but possibly fail) the limited dolls, or try for (and possibly miss out on) dealer items of limited quantity.

The Sumika line had us standing about five or six abreast. An amazing coincidence - the person I was standing next to turned out to be one of my twitter mutuals who has a custom Kaito! She was there with her friend who was super hyped for Luka, and she let me take a pic of her itabag. 

I wasnt too far from the head of the line, but at this point, the position doesn’t actually matter as it’s not first-come first-serve.

Around 9:30am, the staff distributed numbered tickets to all of us - but vertically, rather than in the horiziontal snaking order we were queued in. (Meaning, my number was 217, the person in front of me had 216 and behind me 218, but the my twitter mutual next to me, who was technically the person in front of me in terms of the order we lined up in, had 139. So yes, the numbers were in some kind of order and not randomly distributed which is where I believe this method differs from one of the old methods I read about on the DD forums in the lottery guide, where the queue order was determined by the random number you received alone(correct me if I’m wrong on this as that info is gone now). 

After everyone had their number, some Volks staff addressed us with a megaphone and told us that there were over 900 people in the Sumika line. (I cant remember the exact number, but it was a lot). Obviously, not all these people can get Luka - not even half of them I would guess (although many people in the line were aiming for the other limited dolls - the two new SDs Lucia and Mia, and the rerelease of DDs Sheryl and Ranka). The staff member then drew three numbers from a box - ping pong balls with numbers from 0-9 on them. The person with that number would be the head of the queue. I remember it very clearly - it was ticket number 885! 

This meant that the queue order would be first 885, then all the people behind them, and then the rest of the queue from the very beginning. (885-->900andwhatever, then 1--->884. A moment of silence for the person who got 884.) At this point I wasn’t sure if that was good news for me or not, and I started looking around to see other peoples reactions. Some were pretty pokerfaced and others had started smiling. I calculated in my head that, since I would be the number 217, with 216 people in front of me and the people from 285-900andwhatever, that put my position roughly in the early 300s. I had read from SakuraSylph on the DD forum that any line position under 400 was a sure thing, but I was too anxious to believe it, and didn’t want to get my hopes up just in case.

That wasn’t the only reason I was feeling a bit nervous - it was also because i was in line to get a doll I hadn’t seen in person before, which i’ve never done for any of my other DDs. (I had been hoping thered be a display Luka in Akihabara before the event but there wasnt). Even though I knew that almost every single DD ever released looks better in person than the official photos, and I already liked Luka’s official photos, I still had a nagging feeling that I might not like her when I saw her. And then finally the line was moving into the venue through a back door near where the Sumika store was (a different point of entry to the people in the regular line), and the first thing we saw was the dolls in cases, letting us get a really good look at them as we went past, and I saw her.

And that was the moment I decided I definitely wanted her, but I still had no idea if I was even getting her today at this point. The Sumika store was still up ahead - first we approached a counter with one Volks Staff member at it.  On the counter were pictures of the limited dolls with numbers. There was no sold out sticker on any of them yet. When the guy asked me what doll I wanted, I was so nervous and so elated that I pretty much blurted MEGURINELUKA like a dumbass. When he asked for my numbered ticket, I accidentally thrust the ticket from Doll Show the previous day at him instead. I really hope I wasnt the only one that got like that, but I didn’t really care, because the next thing I knew I had this in my hand:

and then went back to stand in the queue still waiting to get into the Sumika store, and all I could do was stare at it. And then I thought ‘oh...I did get her’, and immediately messaged everybody who wanted to know. I didn’t know this at the time, but I found out later looking through tweets and time stamps exactly how close I was to missing out. According to those time stamps there were no more Lukas available not that long after I’d gotten my purchase ticket. I also found out just today that two people from the Fukuoka doll group I am in had also tried their luck and failed. So it was definitely a close call, and I feel even luckier about it.

The wait for the store was pretty long, but I didn’t care - I was holding that ticket so tightly because I was scared that I would drop it or something. I didn’t even want to put it in my pocket in case it fell out. But even though I didnt even have her yet, it felt very special. The Sumika store was even playing my favourite Luka song (Dreamin’ ChuChu by emon) so it felt extra special (and was also a relief, because although the song was only audible around the Sumika store area, the rest of the event space has the...extremely questionable playlist thats at every Dolpa, and needless to say I still have Dancing Queen stuck in my head)

Once I finally was able to go into the Sumika store I went right through it - I didnt even want to look at the other new items because I can get them from the Fukuoka store later anyway, and I’d rather save my money for the dealer stuff. At the cash register I paid for Luka, was instructed to come to the designated area to pick her up after 12, and then went off into the event hall to enjoy the event.

Some time after 12 I went to that designated area with my receipt. The staff member went out the back and came back with a huge box, and I’m thinking ‘oh shit! That’s my one!’ As I took the box another staff member took a photo, explaining that they were taking photos of ‘the moment the owner receives the new doll’. I have no idea what they do with these but he did at least tell me they dont put them online without permission. 

Just like the other vocaloids, Luka’s box is huge...honestly annoyingly so. I don’t really know how I’d get her on my flight home without either paying extra or unboxing her now/throwing the box away (or maybe folding it up). Since I wanted to unbox her at home I decide I wouldn’t open her and would mail her back to my apartment. Luckily Dollpa has a booth just for this with various boxes of all sizes (including one big enough to fit four doll boxes in...) As I was going to be busy with a few things and didnt want distractions, I made the delivery request field be the night of Thursday 10th.... tomorrow after work, now. 

It was pretty hard to resist the urge to just have a quick peek at her but quickly boxed her up and sent her off.

Many other people at the event were not so patient, and so after 12 there were quite a few Lukas around the event space. Some people had even already put her in different outfits and wigs. I might show some of those when I do a report post.

Anyway, that was my experience - I dont know if it was interesting to anyone other than me, but it was my first time experiencing getting a DD in this way. Among other things such as getting to hang out with some friends from the forum, it certainly made it a Dollpa to remember.