#L.a. Guns imagine

[oweninadaydream]

𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐇 || 𝐂𝐇.𝟏

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 : Hangman is the certified ladies' man and everyone thinks they can read him like a book, but what neither the Dagger Squad nor anyone else can even begin to imagine is where the hell Jake has been going every Saturday night for the last few months…

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 : Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x male!character

𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 : mentions of alcohol, some making out but nothing too smutty, emotional distress lmao, age gap relationship (27-35), some religious trauma, self-deprecating thoughts, post Top Gun : Maverick, the Dagger squad is stationed together.

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 : 2k

𝐚/𝐧 : Gif by @tay-swifts , M/N (Male Name). Hello beautiful people!!! I'm so exited about posting this project I've been working on for a while. I just wanted to say that since it's my first time writing for Jake this might be a bit OC Jake but I do hope I got it right hehe. Enjoy the fic and stay tuned for the next parts!!! (Edit : part 2 posted!)

It was well after midnight when Jake arrived at the club’s entrance. The throbbing bass emanating from inside made the whole building shake, making his mind wonder what it would be like to live on top of such an obnoxiously loud place, contrasting with the quietness of the accommodations the Navy offered. The reflection of the neon sign reading  “Mon Ange” turned his natural olive-toned skin into a vivid dark azure that matched perfectly with the baby blue in his eyes. The smokers (all with stamps on their hands) were all gathered some feet away from the door to get back in after dragging a final puff from their cigarettes. The queue was not very long, mainly because everyone who was meant to be there had arrived way earlier than him. He reprimanded himself for getting there so late ; in less than two hours the nightclub would shut its doors and Jake would feel like he wasted four hours of his life for nothing. Well, his journey would not be in vain if he caught a glimpse of- 

“Jake”

This was L.A, a city 118 miles away from the Marine Corps Air Station located in Miramar, which is a two-hour long drive away from everything he knows. He had to remind himself of those facts to avoid spiraling  at the sound of his name in such a place; he hated how his body kept reacting to these kinds of situations, but not even a skilled lieutenant like himself could take the reins of these unnamed emotions that coursed through his entire being.

"What are you doing here by the door? I was worrying about you not showing up today, I was just about to send a search party. C'mon , let's grab a drink. Perhaps I can even convince you to dance this time" A wide playful smirk accompanied the flirty comment exquisitely and, even though Jake was more than used to these antics, his heart skipped a beat. Trying to compose himself, he answered while staring at the concrete floor. 

"I don't belong on that dance floor and y'know it, darlin' "

“Oh don’t say that, the 30s are the new 20s! … Even if you’re not planning to dance, you must’ve driven all the way over here for something, right?”

The damn question hit him like a truck. He could try to think of the right answer, but putting something into words made it terrifyingly real, and that was exactly what he'd been avoiding for months. The breeze made them both shiver, as the party outfits didn’t properly protect them from the chilly weather. 

“You're right” he muttered “Okay, lead the way. Make it worth the while, mh?" he teasingly replied. Even if what he was doing was definitely outside of his comfort zone, something about the constant banter between them calmed him.

"Don't you always have an amazing time with me? I thought that was why you only talk to me" a fake pout appeared on the face which Seresin couldn't help but to stare intensely in awe. Their hands intertwined and the pilot quickly melted into that comforting touch. His companion briefly exchanged some words with the bouncer and the doors opened for them. 

"Thankfully it was Joseph working tonight, I don't think Marcus would have let you in for free just like that" “I’m sure you would've charmed him into doing whatever you wanted anyway”

The thick air of the room embraced him as soon as the doors closed and the familiar feeling appeared in the pit of his stomach almost instantly; it seems like it was yesterday when he first stepped into the nightclub he now knows like the back of his hand, but in reality, that day was what it feels like ages ago. Still, the contradictions that manifested within him every time he returned persisted and only grew each day.

“I’ll go to the bar while you stay here and look pretty, okay? Same drink as always?”

It was because of moments like these that Hangman felt comfortable enough to let his guard down and be his usual extroverted self. Grabbing his wrist to stop him from going any further, he raised his voice so his words could be heard even though the music was top volume. “ Don’t you even dare to try to pay for those drinks, they’re on me.”

“Here it is, the Texan charm of Jake Seresin. I didn’t know you could apply those rules to this situation. Are you trying to imply I’m the girl in this whole affair? Shouldn't we at least draw lots for it?”

"Very funny, M/N'' the hostility that emanated from his rolling eyes made the other man realize his comment had affected Jake on a deeper level than intended. “Hey I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t hav- I know it’s  a touchy subject and I’m extremely sorry, please forgive me” the regret was visible in his expression and it also could be detected in the stuttering caused by the words rushing their way out of his mouth trying to obtain his forgiveness as fast as possible. Jake took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second. 

Hangman was no saint, he didn’t go to church every Sunday or tried to look for a good christian wife to have kids with like his father did in his day. He knew God was not exactly pleased with the way he was running his life but he used to think that when the time came, He would welcome him with open arms (after having apologized profusely, that is). But now that he had fallen for the most vile trick in the book, he couldn't trust that previous statement anymore. Lust was a capital sin, pretty serious if you asked any priest from the church the Seresin family attended back in Texas, but sodomy? Say goodbye to eternal salvation, son. If Jake was being honest, the promise of heaven or the threat of hell didn't scare him. It was the destruction of all the life lessons that made him act the way he acted,  of his purpose as a son, as a man. The thing that truly haunted him at night  was the thought of a deity (and his father)  designing him to be this flawless individual with a very clear life path , only to end up as a filthy, disgusting f-

“Hey, are you okay? Would you like me to leave you alone for a bit?”

The thought of M/N walking away while he sank deeper and deeper in the sea of guilt and fury frightened him. “Please don’t” he begged “everything’s fine, I promise. Let’s down a couple shots and , who knows, maybe I’ll be in the mood to dance for a bit” the last comment was a futile attempt to hide the everlasting agony that clouded his mind. M/N moved so they were a few inches away and raised his hand to caress his cheek. His next step consisted in resting his arms around his shoulders and starting kissing him delicately in the neck and in the whole face in general, in hopes to kiss the discomfort away. 

How could something so delicate and sweet be so dirty? Was it even dirty to begin with? What about the women he had dated? He was attracted to them but now he- Too many questions Jake was not willing to answer that night. He only wanted one thing, and he was about to claim it. 

After regaining control of himself, Jake put his right hand on the younger male’s back to guide him to the counter where people were piling up fighting to get the barman’s attention. Being as attractive and well-built as he was, he obtained the alcoholic beverages rather quickly. After the last drop of tequila had made its way down their throats, Hangman took control and led him onto the dance floor. His mind was only filled of the smell of M/N’s cologne mixed with his natural scent enhanced by their bodies crashing against each other while swaying to the 2000s pop remixes, his eyes fixed on his partner’s hypnotizing movements and his hands focused on feeling what they can reach, testing if they can go further in their journey through M/N’s body. Jake was simply standing close and moving according to the song's beat but in a subtle way, just like he would do at the locals he frequented with his coworkers ; manly enough to keep his dignity intact but provocative enough to awake that lustful hunger in the other person’s soul.

‘Mon Ange’ had finally closed down and the two men were still all over each other on the angelino streets. The tingle settling in his chest could only be compared with the adrenaline rush he had previously experienced on those wild nights spent in college, the farewell by the porch of the first girl he had taken on a date or the night out after his first deployment; if he closed his eyes he could swear he was 20 again, but reality made sure to remind him of those fifteen more years that had passed. 

M/N had this juvenile thing about him, Jake couldn’t guess confidently his age from afar and his curiosity was finally satiated after befriending him and asking him about it directly ; he was 27, even though he looked some years younger. His bold character combined with his kindness and humor made M/N resemble a butterfly flying around collecting the pollen from every flower in the garden and making it seem effortless. That was one of the many things that hooked Jake on him as if he were the most addicting drug out there, making him throw away his plan of not getting attached and limiting this experience with sporadic hookups that would end then and there, never with the same person twice. That was the problem, he appeared and started moving his hips to some song, making the whole room turn around him and ever since then (even if Jake was still in denial), he was a goner.

The next thing he knew, he was laying down on M/N’s bed, a king size mattress close to a very big window that allowed him to take in the beautiful sight of the sleeping city. He had only been to the apartment twice, but he had always  left before the sun had made its appearance in the sky, moved by remorse and skepticism. This time though, he had stayed the whole night that was filled with passionate sex and heart to heart conversations and finally some cuddling that lured him to rest for a while. Now he was wide awake, sitting against the headboard, resting his eyes on the sunrise and on the slumbering figure facing him. He looked so calm, so peaceful. In that moment, turning his gaze away, he tried to repress a sob that came with a single tear falling through his left cheek. 

M/N had always known he was queer, embracing his bisexuality in childhood. Jake had never had any problems with people who were not straight, even if the people around him growing up did, but everything was different when it came to himself. For fuck’s sake, he was closer to being 40 than from his teenage years, what was he doing? He could only paralyze at the idea of anyone seeing what he was doing. It was definitely too late for him. Risking his life everyday up in the sky felt like a minor burden compared to the endurance of the dilemmas he carried with him everywhere, just like Christ had carried the cross all the way to Calvary.

He could feel himself falling for the person right next to him, and that was the worst thing that had ever happened to Lieutenant Jacob Seresin. His calloused hand cupped M/N’s soft face, making the other man lean in closer in search of that delightful warmth. Jake’s lips burned in desperate need to say something out loud. His heart started palpitating at a dangerous speed, as he knew the thing trying to escape from his mind was a cruel thing to say and that he was a horrible being just by thinking that. It was no one’s fault and it had no solution, yet the idea popped up in his mind like an unwanted ad appearing on your phone. His chest ached at the possibility of M/N hearing the words, so he tried to whisper as quietly as it was humanly possible. 

“I wish you were a girl”

[tobbesdiscordkitten]

any fun facts you have about axl? or any anecdote about him or something, i need something to kick my feet and blush about !!!

Hey, anon!

Hmm, blushing and kicking your feet, eh? 😏 I've got a few fun facts for you. Perhaps some of these will be a turn on lol.

1. Axl's name is an anagram for oral sex.

2. While recording the moans for Rocket Queen, a former Geffen employee claimed that, before Adriana Smith, Axl had sex with 2-3 other girls but wasn't satisfied with the results. This might be a rumor btw. I find it to be hilarious tho, considering Axl is a perfectionist. I bet you, after having sex with the previous women, he knew how to fuck Adriana a certain way in order to make the right sounds come out of her mouth. I've also heard he went down on her orally in the booth 👀🔥

3. According to Axl’s assistant, Beta, one of the ways he tried halting the breakup with Stephanie Seymour and win her back was going over to "her house in a white suit, riding a horse, and carrying flowers." Furthermore, Axl would bring Stephanie breakfast in bed. He treated her like royalty, spoiling her, only to have her take it for granted later.

4. During the '90s, Axl's other assistant, Craig Duswalt, claimed in his memoir, Welcome To My Jungle, "Axl had a pet baby wallaby on a small portion of the tour. He named him Freddie [Mercury], after the late lead singer of Queen. Axl built a sling, to mimic the baby wallaby mother's pouch, and carried his pet wherever he went. He also fed Freddie with a little baby's bottle. It was quite awesome to watch - Axl Rose, acting like a dad."

5. Another event Duswalt recorded in his book was about him trying to kill a pesky moth at Axl's place. To help out Duswalt, Axl made him bat the moth into a corner. Then Axl grabbed a gun, repositioned himself on the floor, with a chair, and open fired, exterminating the moth.

6. Axl is a pretty hygienic guy who showers 3x a day. Maybe you and him could participate in some water sports 😉 Speaking of sports, his favorite one is sex. Psst, psst...his biggest turn ons are “imagination and aggressiveness."

7. Not only can Axl write romantic ballads, he also writes heart-warming letters. For example, most of the letters he wrote Erin always ended with "Your Axl." Не sometimes wrote down sexual innuendos for her to read.

8. His nipple piercing! Imagine sucking on his nipple, flicking the piercing with your tongue, and gently tugging on the metal between your teeth. The different noises he'd make would fill your ears like music. Maybe he'd ask you to tug harder, causing either a low whimper or a sharp growl to escape his throat 😩

9. Before leaving his hometown to go to L.A. in '82, Axl spray painted a message on a nearby wall - Kiss my ass, Lafayette. I'm out of here.

10. At the Cathouse, an intoxicated David Bowie tried flirting with Erin. She ran downstairs to tell Axl which prompted him to chase Bowie down the street, threatening to kill him. He didn't and the two later made up. Get yourself a man who will protect you like Axl Rose 🤌🏻

I hope you enjoyed!

[heartvshand]

On the Road Again

Summary:

Agatha is getting the band back together at the request of Billy Maximoff. But before they can hit the road, she and Rio have unfinished business to resolve.

Written for Agatha All Along (AAA) Week Day 2. Band AU.

---

On the Road Again

A reunion tour. Who would have thought?

The way she left, I figured we’d never be in the same room again, let alone on tour together. I stared at the email and let out a long exhale. It was from Agatha’s personal email address. And her personal phone number.

From: Agatha Harkness

To: Rio Vidal

Subject: Reunion Tour

Rio,

We’re doing a reunion tour. 10 shows, 10 cities, March through September.

Would love to have you join. Give me a call.

Agatha

It even read like her. I chewed my lip, unsure what to say. Did she really want to see me?

I cleared my throat. It had been ten years since we’d seen each other. Eleven years since the band had broken up.

I closed my eyes. I could see her, sitting in the coffee shop, tracing her finger along the lid of her cup. She was still sad about Nicky dying. She blamed me, despite the hard truth that sometimes, people die, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it.

Opening my eyes, I pulled up her contact card and called her. After all this time, I still loved her. I’d still do whatever she wanted. If she wanted to go on tour, then we’d go on tour.

“Rio.” Her voice was sharp. “I’m surprised you called.”

“Hi, Agatha.” I laughed, already on edge. “I got your email. You want to do a reunion tour?”

She grumbled something and then cleared her throat. “Management wants us to do it. They’ve got some new young gun in charge. He’s insisting we should capitalize on the surge of popularity we’re having with the kids.”

Nodding, I imagined her slightly irritated but triumphant expression. “I wondered if they’d do this. I’ve been hearing our old stuff on the radio a lot lately.”

Agatha scoffed. “They also want us to do a new album.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

“Yes. It’s some kid named Billy Maxipad. He’s an idiot.”

Rolling off the bed, I laughed. “Oh, come on, his name is not Maxipad.”

I could hear the smile in her voice when she finally replied. “Fine. It’s Maximoff. Maxipad is just my special little name for him.”

I flicked through the clothes in my closet, already planning what I’d pack and what I wouldn’t. What she’d like and what she wouldn’t. How many suitcases would I need?

“Rio?” Her voice was softer, like old times.

“Hm?” I was afraid to say too much and break the spell, afraid for her to harden again.

“When do you think you’ll be here?” Agatha Harkness sounded nervous.

I paused before answering, still afraid I’d scare her back into her shell if I spoke. I tried to figure out what the right answer would be. I ran my tongue over my teeth, feeling each one.

I cleared my throat. “I’ll pack and look at flights today. When do we hit the road?”

“First stop is March 28th—we’ll start in New York and hit some major cities along the way back to L.A.” Agatha’s voice was all business again. “We’ll start in L.A. for press, then we’ll take a plane to New York for the show, and then, the buses will take us from there.”

“Very cool.” I kicked myself for picking the wrong answer. “Do they have hotels for us already? In L.A. I mean?”

Agatha was quiet. “I was hoping you might want to stay with me. But yes, they have hotels booked.”

“I’d love to stay with you.” I wasn’t sure how to say the right thing. “I’ve missed you.”

She exhaled. “I’ve missed you, too.”

#

Landing at an airport outside of Los Angeles forty-eight hours later, Agatha picked me up without any fanfare.

We threw my luggage in the trunk of her SUV and then buckled into the front seats and for a moment, it felt like we were normal people who might still love each other instead of famous singers on the brink of a reunion tour with a deep scar spanning the distance between us.

The radio started up when the car did. I turned it down just a little as she maneuvered out of the parking spot.

“Hi.” I unzipped my small, cross-body bag and pulled out a small, fake flower. “I got you this. It’s not real, so it won’t die or need water or anything. Very low maintenance.”

Agatha eyed me, then the fake flower. She laughed quietly, taking it. “Charming.”

With a shrug, I looked out the tinted window. “You like it.”

Palm trees and people zipped by us. I fidgeted with the button for rolling up and down the window but didn’t press it. We were quiet, letting the radio fill the space instead of conversation.

“I don’t know if you’ve been to this new place.” Agatha’s voice brought me back from staring out the window. We’d just turned into a gated neighborhood.

I looked over to her.

She pointed out the windshield. “The one at the end here, that’s mine.”

Looking to where she pointed, I nodded. “Cool. I think you’re right. I haven’t been here.”

Once we were inside her home and my suitcases were tucked away in the guest bedroom closest to her room, the canyon of a decade sat between us without music to fill the gaps. We stood in her kitchen, drinking water and searching for topics to talk about without talking about Nicky, our break up, or the band’s break up.

She finally let out a long, frustrated sigh. “Let’s just get it over with. Hash it out now before we meet up with everyone else, before we get on the road and fuck it all up out there in front of people.”

My shoulders fell; I nodded. I knew she was right, but I’d just arrived, and I had hoped for some sort of normalcy before diving into the hard shit.

After a long drink of water, I said, “All right, Agatha. Where do you want to start?”

She blew out a breath and shrugged. “I miss Nicky every day.”

Shutting my eyes, I nodded. “I do, too.”

“I’m sorry.” Her voice was a strangled whisper.

My eyes snapped open; words caught in my throat.

“I wanted to call you every single day. But. I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.” Her eyes were wet. She blinked several times, gaze dropping to the ground. She shook her head. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she looked back up.

Agatha was not someone to apologize. My heart raced; my head spun. I fumbled with the bar stool at the island I was leaning against.

Sliding into the chair, I gripped the marble countertop in front of me, focusing on the cool, smoothness of it instead of Agatha’s words and what they meant.

I failed to say anything before she continued.

“I know it’s not your fault.” Her words were shaky, and her wet eyes were boring into mine. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“And it wasn’t yours.” I licked my lips, gripping the counter, afraid to break eye contact.

“I don’t hate you.” Her voice cracked. The tears ran down her cheeks.

“I don’t hate you either.” I swallowed.

We watched each other.

Agatha’s phone buzzed. Our eyes moved to it and then back to each other.

“Are you seeing anyone?” She silenced her phone when it started buzzing with a phone call.

I shook my head; my heart raced.

She made her way around the island and closed the distance between us. I spun around on the stool and faced her; she stood in front of me. I hopped off the stool. She pulled me in for a hug.

My arms wrapped around her; I buried my face in her neck. Her hand cradled the back of my head. Tension left my body until the buzzing returned.

Her phone buzzed again. And again. And again. “Damn it, Billy.” She pulled away and walked back to her phone. “He’s extremely excited that you’re here early and staying with me.”

My eyes widened. “Oh?”

Agatha rolled her eyes and answered the phone. “What?”

There was chatter on the other end; she held up a hand and moved it in a way that mimed talking.

“Yep, she’s here.” She leaned against the counter and sighed. “No. We were in the middle of an extremely important conversation.”

Billy said something else I couldn’t hear.

She rolled her eyes and glanced at me. “Yes. Don’t lecture me. Bye.”

She hung up and walked back over to me.

“What did he want?” I glanced at her phone.

“Wanted to make sure you got here in one piece, that we hadn’t killed each other, you know, all that.” She waved the question away. “Listen, everyone else is arriving next week. Jen, Alice, Lilia. I don’t want to fight with you on the road. And, in general, I don’t want to be at odds with you.”

My chest tightened, realizing quickly what she was getting at. “They still don’t know what happened with Nicky.”

“No. They don’t.” She dropped her gaze to the floor.

Frowning, I watched her tap her fingers against her thigh. I exhaled. “You didn’t stay in touch with them, did you?”

She shook her head. “Nope. I did not.”

“Did they reach out about the rumors?” I chewed on my cheek. None of them had called me, but they’d always liked Agatha more.

She shrugged. “Yeah.”

We were quiet for a moment.

“He just got sick and died,” I said.

She nodded.

“Those headlines were all trash.” The tabloids flashed across my mind: ‘Agatha Harkness let her son overdose on heroin!’ ‘Was Agatha’s addiction the downfall of her own son?’

My frown deepened. “Agatha. You didn’t let them believe those things, did you?”

She shrugged again.

“Our son,” I said, clenching my jaw. “He did not die from an overdose, and you aren’t even addicted to drugs! He got sick and died, Agatha.”

“I know that!” Her eyes were hard when she looked at me. “But nobody else gets to know me. Or Nicky. The public doesn’t get to have him.”

I blinked several times. “Our bandmates weren’t the public. You could have told them the rumors weren’t true.”

“You and I were very private about Nicky and the cancer. I didn’t want anyone to know. I still don’t.” She took a sharp inhale and wiped her eyes.

“Not even our friends?” I paced in front of her.

“No, because you never know who they might tell. Everyone trusts someone with secrets,” she said.

I stopped and tilted my head. “Oh, come on. That’s a little paranoid.”

“Everyone has someone they tell secrets to. And one of those will leak it to the wrong person. I don’t want Nicky’s face everywhere all the time for the rest of my life paired with to see the headlines about him being so brave, or the articles about his cancer, all of it.” Her voice cracked; she buried her face in her hands. Her body shook with sobs.

I pulled her in, holding her. “Okay, that…I can understand.”

She held on to me, burying her face in my neck. I stroked her hair and took deep, even breaths. It felt good to hold her, to talk to someone about this.

She sniffed and wiped her eyes and untangled herself from my arms. When she spoke, she had a renewed frustration in her voice. “I’m so angry that you let me leave.”

My brow furrowed. “What was I supposed to do? Hold you hostage? Force you to stay and pretend to love me?”

She snarled. “You could have fought for me.”

“Agatha, do you remember that entire last year together? We quit the band, because I was fighting for you.” I clenched and unclenched my fists. “We stayed in that cottage in the middle of nowhere, where all I did was try to fix it. For an entire year!”

Her face, twisted up with anger, softened again. She crumpled in front of me, curling up, squatting, gripping her stomach. She took ragged breaths, and then the sobbing resumed.

I wasn’t sure if I should even try to touch her. I stayed put, waiting for her to switch gears, finding new resolve to be angry with me.

She sank on to the ground and held her fist against her chest. My heart hurt watching her. I couldn’t take it anymore.

I slowly approached her. Meeting her on the ground, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and held on to her again.

She looked up; our breathing mingled. I imagined her lips on mine and swallowed. Then, our lips were pressed together. She was kissing me, grabbing my face. I pulled her up and guided her to the couch, kissing, hands exploring whatever they could reach.

Her fingers threaded through my hair.

I slipped my hands up her shirt. I broke the kiss. “Is this okay?”

“Yes, now shut up and kiss me.” She pressed her body against mine.

My hands slid upward, dancing across the bottom of her bra.

She moaned softly. “Your hands are so soft.”

I smiled against her lips, kissing her then trailing kisses down her neck. “Mind if I start undressing you?”

“Only if I can do the same to you,” she said. Her hands slid out of my hair and found their way to my pants.

“Be my guest.” I laughed, lifting my hips so she could pull the pants down.

I unclipped her bra and pulled her shirt off. Once she was done removing my pants, she tossed her bra across the room, then she tossed my shirt and bra in the same direction. She hurriedly removed her own pants and then stood there, chest heaving. We stared at each other, taking in one another’s bodies. A decade had gone by since we’d seen each other naked. I bit my lip and pulled her to me.

#

“Here’s your shirt.” She tossed me my t-shirt.

“Here you go.” I walked up to her, with her bra in hand. “Turn around, I can help.”

She laughed and took the bra from me. “Stop it.”

“What?” I quirked up an eyebrow.

She shook her head. “You know what.”

I pretended to think about it for a moment before shaking my head. “Nope. I don’t know what.”

“Stop being so…cute.” She eyed me. “Unless you want to take this to the bed.”

“Considering we just lost about four hours to having sex on the couch, I’m guessing we don’t have another four hours to lose, so we probably should keep it in our pants.” I winked. “Maybe later?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we’ll see.”

I laughed before my smile slowly faded and reality sank back in. “Agatha. You know we should figure out...things, not just fuck it out.”

“I know.” She sighed. “I don’t want to think or talk about it yet.”

I suppressed a sigh, pressing my lips together tightly and forcing the air out of my nose in an even way. “Okay.”

She whipped around to face me. “Rio, what do you want?”

My eyes widened; I backed up, tilting my head. “I’m fine with talking about it later.”

She looked confused for a moment before her expression smoothed out. “Oh, no, I know. I meant…what do you want?”

She gestured between us. “What do you want this to be?”

I stared at her for a moment, weighing whether I wanted to be that vulnerable. I dropped my gaze to the ground then found the ceiling. Anywhere but her.

“Agatha, I want to be with you. I’ve wanted that the whole time. That hasn’t changed.” I kept my eyes focused on the window behind her, watching birds flitting by outside.

She exhaled and smoothed out her clothes. “I want that, too.”

I looked at her. “Really?”

“Yes.” Her voice was tight. “If you’d give me a chance.”

“Of course.” I reached for her hand. “Want to be my girlfriend?”

She rolled her eyes, but a smile played on her lips. “Yes.”

I leaned in and kissed her softly.

“If the ladies ask, please don’t tell them about Nicky.” Her voice was a strangled whisper. She looked at me with a desperation in her eyes. “Please.”

Shutting my eyes, I nodded. “As you wish, Agatha.”

Opening my eyes, I watched her try to give me a smile briefly before blinking several times and letting out a big exhale. She turned away from me.  “We’re meeting Billy for dinner. We should get ready.”

#

Sitting in the restaurant, Agatha fiddled with my hand; her eyes scanned for Billy.

I draped my arm around the back of her chair and leaned back a little.

She shifted in her seat.

“You nervous, sweetheart?” I raised an eyebrow.

“A bit, yeah. This wasn’t exactly what I’d had in mind as our first official night back together.” She ran her hand through her hair.

“Oh yeah? What did you have in mind?” I smirked and tilted my head.

“A quiet dinner, more sex. I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Not a business dinner.”

“We were always really good at mixing business with pleasure. Maybe we can have a business dinner and cap the night off with some more sex,” I said, nodding in the direction of the door. “Billy’s here.”

She looked from me to the front of the restaurant.

“Are we hiding this?” I motioned between us.

“No.” Agatha’s brow furrowed; she shook her head. “No, never.”

I nodded.

“I’d never hide you, Rio,” she said, softly.

I smiled before turning my attention to Billy, who was quickly approaching.

“Hey, Agatha! So good to meet you, Rio!” He leaned down for a hug, which I obliged.

“Same to you, Billy.” I wondered if he knew about Agatha’s special nickname for him or not. He took the seat across from us. “What have you two been up to with your first day reunited?”

Agatha cleared her throat and made a few faces. “Oh, um, you know. We talked everything out. We, yeah, we got back together.”

Billy eyed us, then looking at me, he said, “Is that so?”

“Can confirm.” I smiled. The image of Agatha coming undone with me between her legs filled my mind.

He clapped, smiling wide. “Wonderful! Congrats!”

With food in front of us, I took my hand from hers and focused on eating and whatever Billy had called us here to go over.

“Rio, I wanted to make sure the interview questions were all appropriate. Are there any topics you don’t want to be asked about?” Billy wiped his mouth.

“Nicky.” I took a sip of water. “My personal life in general. Stay focused on the music.”

He nodded, taking notes on his phone. “Okay. I’ll do my best. You know how reporters are.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah. They’ll get some weird answers if they ask me anything I don’t want to answer.”

Agatha snorted. “I’m sure the whole band will help deflect for each other.”

Billy pointed at her and nodded. “Yes. Definitely.”

I focused on the bite of food in my mouth. After swallowing, I took another drink. “How many interviews will there be before we hit the road?”

Billy rattled off a list of names I recognized as magazines, but I stopped listening after the third one.

“So. A lot.” I sighed, nodding. “Sounds about right.”

“It’ll be a variety of magazines, podcasts, online video channels,” he said, continuing.

Agatha and I exchanged a glance.

“That’s enough, Billy. We get it.” Agatha rolled her eyes and finished the last of her food.

“Everyone else arrives next week. For convenience, we want you two staying at the hotel with them. It’s going to make transport a lot easier. Do you want one room or two?” Billy took a long drink from his water, finishing it off.

We looked at each other. Agatha spoke first. “Two rooms with an adjoining door? Or one room? What do you think?”

“I’m comfortable with either. Let’s do one room since there’s a big chance that we’ll be sharing one most of the time anyway. Might as well save some money, right, Billy?” I looked from her to him and back at her.

“Love that thinking, Rio.” He nodded. “Agatha, one room for you two, then?”

She nodded, trying to hide a smile. “Yep, that works.”

Watching her hide that smile gave me a rush. I smiled at her and mouthed, “I love you,” to her while Billy kept asking his questions.

She winked.

We stared at each other, and I missed anything else Billy had to say.

#

Agatha fluttered around her home all morning, packing, unpacking, and repacking things and muttering to herself and sometimes to me about what she should and shouldn’t bring. I lazed on the bed, watching her. My bags were already good to go.

“Have you talked to Lilia, Jen, or Alice?” I practiced twirling the drumstick between my fingers. It fell and almost hit me in the face. I picked it up and tried again, trying to shake off the rust.

Agatha paused and stared at me, registering what I was doing. “We haven’t been rehearsing day in and day out. Oh my god, what were they thinking? We should have started practicing months ago.”

“We’re musicians. I’m sure it’s like riding a bike.” I thought about the familiar beats and rhythms and way to play our music. “It’s not like we all quit music after we broke up. We all have had our own careers.”

She nodded and went back to running around. “Right. Right. Of course. But we should still practice together.”

“And we will. I’m sure we’ll have time for that.” I yawned and dodged the drumstick as it almost fell on my face again. “You could call Billy and check.”

“Can you do that, please? I’m still packing.” Agatha wandered out of earshot.

I set the stick down on the bed and grabbed my phone off the bedside table. I tapped on Billy’s name and waited for him to answer.

He answered after two rings. “Rio? Is everything okay?”

“Hey, yeah. Agatha’s busy packing, but she wanted to make sure we’re going to have time to practice and play together before we perform on stage together, right?”

“Oh, yes. Practices will start as soon as everyone else arrives.” Billy paused abruptly, and I waited, giving him a chance to say whatever he was trying to before I hung up. He didn’t speak.

“Okay, cool. I guess that’s all. See you soon. Oh, also when do we need to be at the hotel?”

“A car is coming to pick you two up in two hours. Their flights should all be arriving soon, so they won’t be far behind you.”

I groped around with my free hand until my fingers wrapped around the drumstick. I tapped the stick against my thigh. “Cool. See you soon.”

“Agatha?” I rolled off the bed and headed into the hallway.

“Kitchen!”

I frowned. “What do you need in the kitchen?”

“I don’t know. I’m double checking.” She laughed and I heard a few loud noises and hurried to see if she needed help.

____

This was supposed to be a one shot. But there might be more later. I had to stop here for today, but I wanted to still post. Thank you for reading.

[katethetank]

Rating: 18+, minors gtfo Chapter Summary: Third date time! Eddie takes Steve out, they trauma dump and learn more about each other CW: Discussions of shitty parents, overdose/parent death, child abuse, parental neglect, alcoholism, cheating, coming out, slutty pasts - tell me if missed anything! Tags: Alternate Universe - modern setting, Rock Star Eddie, Counselor Steve, Eddie is gay, Steve is bi, slow burn, eventual smut Word Count:2,705

Chapter 6<<Masterlist>>Chapter 8

“You surprise me, Edward Munson.”

“How’s that, Chrissycakes?”

“Two dates with this guy and you didn’t even get in his pants. Your physical restraint amazes me.”

He flips her off via FaceTime. “I am capable of keeping my hands to myself, thank you”

“Your track record would prove otherwise.”

“Fair.”

It’s been about a week since date number two and he’s currently getting ready for number three as he catches up with his best friend. 

“It’s not like that though. This isn’t about a quick fuck for me. Or him either! I don’t know his whole story yet, but I get the vibe that he’s been let down a lot in the past. So, he’s being cautious. I totally get that, and I’m not gonna push for anything and risk hurting him.”

“That’s really sweet, babe. I have to ask though…what’s the end game here? Say you guys do get closer and you end up sleeping together. You don’t want to hurt him, but eventually your break is gonna be over and it’s back to work. Then what?”

Isn’t that the million dollar question? Eddie would be a big fat liar if said he hasn’t thought about it. It’s his biggest worry, actually. What happens when he has to go back to L.A.? Back to the studio, or on the road again? 

“I’m not sure…this is all pretty new still, you know? I don’t think I need to have those answers just yet, but the questions have definitely been on my mind. It’s not like I’m never in Indy - I come back to see Wayne when I’m able. I can make an effort to be here more if that’s something Steve would want.”

“Look at you, making grown up decisions!”

“Fuck off!”

“I’m serious! This is big, Ed. It sounds like - dare I say - you’re willing to commit to this guy.”

“Maybe I am, we’ll just have to wait and see! Now let me go so I can finish primping, I gotta leave soon.”

“Where are you taking him?”

“Well, we joked about how the third date is where you trauma dump, so I reserved a smash room for us. We’re gonna break shit and spill our guts. And if he still wants to stick around after learning what a broken man I am, then I’m gonna take him to a food truck festival.”

“That sounds super fun! He’s gonna love it!”

“I sure as hell hope so. Alright, I gotta go, love you!”

“Love you too! Wrap it before you tap it!”

Eddie cackles as he hangs up and gives himself a final check in the mirror. He told Steve it would be casual, so he’s got on some ripped black jeans, a studded belt, super soft faded Metallic shirt, an open red flannel, and his shit kicker boots. His hair is down and he used a little product to tame it. He nods in the mirror and gives himself the finger guns before he steps out of his room at Wayne’s house.

He makes his way out to the black SUV in the driveway. He figured it would be a good idea to temporarily lease something since he’s gonna be in town for a few months. Better than stealing Wayne’s truck all the time. He hops in, turns on some music and heads over to Steve’s.

When he arrives, he barely finishes knocking on the door before it flies open and his sunshine boy is standing on the other side with a big smile. “Hey Eds!”

Eddie’s gonna die, he looks so cute. Light wash jeans that are leaving very little to the imagination, a buttery yellow sweater, and worn black and white Chucks. “Hey sweetheart, you look adorable. C’mere.”

He pulls Steve in by the waist, tilts his chin up with a ringed finger and gives him a slow and gentle kiss. God, he’s missed those lips. 

Steve hums and runs his hands up Eddie’s arms. He breaks the kiss and lightly pushes Eddie back. “Oof, ok enough of that or we’re never gonna leave. C’mon, let’s go!” He locks up and they head to the car. Eddie opens the passenger door and bows. Steve fakes a courtesy and climbs in, both of them giggling like children. 

Eddie hops in and takes a minute to pair Steve’s phone with the car’s stereo. “Alright sweetheart, you’re the DJ tonight. Do your worst.”

“You’re gonna regret that,” Steve laughs. He taps around on his phone for a bit and then music starts to pour out of the speakers.

It takes Eddie all of 3 seconds to recognize what he’s hearing. “Is this Tears for fucking Fears?”

Steve cracks up and says, “I told you you’d regret it! You said I get to pick, so you only have yourself to blame!”

He’s absolutely right. Whatever playlist he’s picked is actually really fun, though. A lot of 80’s pop and new wave. They both know every song and sing along like it’s Car Karaoke, hands held over the center console.

“So, where are you taking me on this mystery date?”

Eddie grins and replies, “Just you wait, we’re almost there.” A few minutes later they pull up to a nondescript building. Eddie opens Steve’s door and leads him by the hand inside.

As soon as Steve registers where they are, his face lights up. “Oh my god, is this a smash room? I’ve always wanted to do this!”

“That it is, sweetheart. I pulled a few strings and got us the whole place to ourselves. Come on, let’s gear up.” Eddie greets the guy who’s running the place - turns out it’s Gareth’s cousin and he was happy to do him the favor. For a price of course. 

He leads them back to a concrete room and gives them the protective gear to slip on. They’re baggy jumpsuits, a white head sock thing that covers their hair and necks, work gloves, and heavy duty plastic shield to cover their faces. They look like idiots but it’s worth it to hear Steve’s laugh. The guy gives them the basic safety rundown. Eddie hands over his phone and has him take a picture for them before he leaves them to it.

“Alright Stevie, it’s trauma time! We’re gonna take turns dumping all that baggage, and then smash the shit out of something. They got a whole selection of tools over here for…well…smashing things. So pick your poison and let’s get started!”

He has no right looking as cute as he does in all this ridiculous gear. Steve peruses the options and hesitates before he selects a baseball bat. Not just any bat though. It’s a fucking nail bat and Eddie may have made a mistake choosing this activity because he’s definitely going to be pitching a tent in this atrocious jumpsuit as he watches Steve twirl the damn thing around.

He chooses a (much less cool) metal pipe and they step over the plastic bins filled with all kinds of glass items. Plates, bowls, mugs, vases, you name it. Eddie decides to break the ice as he grabs a vase from the pile and sets it in a metal filing cabinet in the middle of the room. He gestures to Steve to step back, then looks him in the eye and says, “I didn’t graduate from high school until I was 20.”

The vase explodes when he swings at it with the pipe. “Holy shit. That was fun!” He’s scared to look over at Steve, afraid that there will be a look of disgust and disappointment on his face. He forces himself to turn around and is met with kind eyes and a small smile.

Steve motions him aside and grabs a pint glass, setting it in the same spot. He looks at Eddie and says, “I’m dyslexic.” The nail bat decimates the glass. Eddie could cry.

He takes his turn placing a serving bowl upside down on the floor. “I grew up dirt poor in a trailer park.” Smash

Steve selects a coffee mug with geese on it. “I grew up as a trust fund kid, but I’d have given that all up for parents who actually loved me.” He tosses the mug in the air and swings. Smash

Eddie grabs a mug with a generic flower print. “I dealt drugs in high school to help Wayne pay the bills.” He launches the mug at the wall. Smash

Steve finds a dinner plate. “My parents left me alone for weeks at a time starting when I was 13. They’d leave me money to order pizza and pay the utilities, but never even called to check on me when they were gone.” He throws the plate on the floor. Smash

Eddie takes a wine glass and sets it on the filing cabinet. “My mom was an addict. She overdosed when I was 6.” Smash

Steve sets up another vase. “My mom will deny it till the day she dies, but she’s an alcoholic.” Smash

Eddie gets a teacup. “My dad is in prison for armed robbery, and like, 10 other charges that I don’t even remember anymore. Haven’t seen him since I was 12 when they took him away.” He lets the cup fall from his finger. Smash

Steve finds a soup bowl, sets it on the floor. “My dad has been having affairs for years. My mom would travel with him for business trips and shit to try to keep him from cheating but it never stopped him.” Smash

Eddie puts several shot glasses on the cabinet. “My dad caught me kissing another boy in the neighborhood before he got locked up. Beat me with his belt. Shaved my head. Said he wasn’t gonna have a fag for a son. I ran away and went straight to Wayne. Never looked back. That was my first kiss” SMASH

Steve sets up a serving dish. “When Will came out to his parents, they were so supportive. Like an idiot I thought my parents might be some fraction of that. I told them I was bi. My mom just ignored what I said and offered to set me up with a girl from the country club. My dad was furious. He gave me an ultimatum: take back what I said and live a ‘normal’ life, or get out of his house. I packed up that day and moved in with Joyce and Hop.” SMASH

Eddie grabs a mug from a truck stop diner or something. He hesitates for a moment before looking at Steve. “I’m gonna turn 30 this year and I’ve never been in a serious relationship. And I’ve never been in love.” He launches the mug at the floor. Smash

Steve hesitates as well before picking up a glass. “I look for love in everyone I sleep with and never find it.” He throws it at the wall. Smash

Eddie sets up a pint glass. “I’ve slept with more people than I can count and I don’t even know most of their names.” Smash

Steve finds another vase. “I’ve been a slut too.” Smash

They both laugh at that one. And suddenly the air seems lighter. They take turns just breaking stuff for fun. Lobbing things at each other and swingIng their weapons of choice. Steve making contact way more than Eddie. Fucking jocks.

Steve sets up an old lady candy dish on the cabinet and is quiet for a moment. He looks at Eddie. “I really like you. And I’m scared of getting hurt. Nobody ever chooses me, not for more than a night. I’ve been so happy this last month, getting to know you and connecting with you. But I’m afraid there’s an expiration date on whatever this is. I don’t know what your intentions are or where this could go. But I want to find out. I want to try.” Smash

Eddie has to fight back tears as he picks out a pitcher. “I really like you. More than I ever could have anticipated. It scares me too, you know? This feels like it could be something really big. I don’t know what the future holds either. My break ends in a few months, but I want to spend every moment I can with you. And whatever happens next, I want you to know that I’m in. I’m all in. I want to do whatever I can to make this work. If you’ll let me.” Smash

Steve grabs a glass. “Of course I’ll let you. But if it’s ok, I don’t still don’t want to rush anything.” Smash

Eddie takes a plate. “We’ll go as slow as you need honey.” Smash

They stare at each other and the tension in the air is palpable. Like magnets, they move towards each other, their weapons clattering to the floor, pulling off the shields on their faces and removing those god awful head socks. Their mouths collide in a hard and intense kiss. Steve throws his arms around Eddie’s shoulders. Eddie's hands cling to Steve’s back. Their lips part and tongues entangle. They’re groaning and panting into each other's mouths when they hear a knocking on the plexiglass partition on a nearby wall.

They break the kiss and look over to find Gareth’s cousin shaking his head and rolling his eyes. He taps the nonexistent watch on his wrist and they get the message. Time to wrap it up. 

They share bashful smiles and make their way out of the room. The jumpsuits are shed and Eddie makes sure to give this poor guy a tip for having to whiteness them making out. His phone is handed back - he forgot he didn’t even have it - and they head out to the next part of their date. They climb into his car and Steve sets up the next playlist. Eddie nods in approval as Nirvana pours out of the speakers. 

Steve sighs happily. “That was so therapeutic. Thank you. Seriously, I didn’t realize how much I needed to get all that out.” He takes Eddie’s hand in his and intertwines their fingers. “And I meant everything I said. I really want to try making this work.”

“Me too, Steve. God, I haven’t unloaded like that in a long time. I think Wayne and Chrissy are the only other people who know all of that. Welcome to the club, I guess.”

Steve chuckles and says, “I’m glad to be a part of it. So what’s next?”

“Are you hungry?”

“Oh my god, starving!” 

It’s fully dark out when they get to the food truck festival. Steve is an adorable little ball of energy as he drags Eddie from one truck to the next. They try sushi, brisket sandwiches, tacos, chili fries, everything they can get their hands on. And if they feed each other bites of food and kiss the taste out of each other’s mouths, well that’s for them to know and everyone else can mind their business. They walk off their full bellies at a nearby park, fingers linked, and share more lighthearted stories than their earlier topics.

Steve shivers in the crisp night breeze and Eddie decides it’s time to call it a night. They head back to the car and make their way back to Steve’s. The playlist chosen is really fucking chill. “What is this, Stevie?”

“Gregory Alan Isakov. Is it ok? I figured you usually like metal or whatever, but this is like…really good nighttime music.”

“No, it’s great! Totally not what I usually listen to, but it’s beautiful…you’re beautiful.” It’s too dark out to see the blush, but Eddie knows it’s there. They arrive at Steve’s and Eddie walks him to his door. “I had the best time tonight sweetheart.”

Steve bites his lip and his puppy eyes blink up at Eddie. “Me too, Eds…do you need to head home or?…Do you maybe wanna come in for a bit?”

He’s trying his best to not let his mind wander to what those implications could be. But he knows his boy isn’t going to rush into anything. “Yeah, I can stay for a little while.”

Steve smiles and turns to unlock the door. Eddie slowly breathes in deep. Restraint. He can show restraint.

Chapter 6<<Masterlist>>Chapter 8

*********************************************

I like comments! Taglist is open! I love you!

@annachronisme @mrsjellymunson @kozuuji

[x-manson-annotated]

X-Manson Annotated Chapter Three - Part 7 -  THE RAID

So, Ariel's arrival, Betsy's kidnapping, and The Raid all happened very close together.

Did Gabrielle mean to say the "Korean conflict" here? It's not listed among his accomplishments earlier in the story. But his resolution to the Vietnam War is mentioned.

*God Loves, Man Kills Reference. There's something real ironic about cult leader Charles fighting with a fundie with murderous intent.

**I'm not sure what Warren's thing in L.A is.

God Loves, Man Kills was released in 1982. So, we may be two years into the future, or here the events are still happening in 1980. I like to imagine most of God Loves, Man Kills still happens but nobody learns anything from it.

Vance needs to just shut the fuck up about The Avengers.

*another instance where the interviewer thinks Emma manipulated the students.

**Pricey trip in a cab, Doug.

Tarot is still a mutant in this AU. But there's no mention of her power. Does this mean that maybe instead of bringing to life figures from Tarot cards, she's a mild precog?

*What was left of the helicopter? Did someone destroy the helicopter?

**The Rolls pulls up with Xavier, Logan, Summers, and Grey

Everyone left at the house:

Piotr and Sean.

I have no doubt that either one could take out a helicopter on their own. But there is one factor that nobody has considered. Another person who could down a helicopter that isn't potentially being mind-controlled is Ororo. And nobody knew she was there.

*see there's a lingering after-effects of a storm blowing around, maybe Ororo's powers are less precise than in the comics.

*The armory is real and Xavier does have a room full of guns in the comics. My man's unhinged.

**The way that he's talking here with the door that opens onto a balcony reminds me of The Runaways where the group watches their parents in The Pride doing the human sacrifice. This predates that by several years, so they're probably both drawing on something from somewhere else.

I think this is the first mention of Cable.

Now our Nathan count stands at a possible 2.

This feels very comedic, definitely an "Oh Shit" moment.

Tear gas grenades. People crawling out of windows everywhere makes it feel like there are more people not identified by Doug or the documentary crew.

Marie-Ange Interruption Count: 1.

It's possible he was also forced to remember The Holocaust by either Xavier or Cable. Just like in the popular meme.

[bxlleville]

C.I in making

summary: you were on the streets before Lucy and Tim found you.

DO NOT REPOST OR TRANSLATE MY WORK

The time line and story is a little different from show so don't mind that.

My imagination's gone a little wild for this one so don't mind me LOL

this fic is happening through S04 ep1

word count: 12k

****************************************************

"police! stop what you're doing and put your hands in the air!"

"aw shit" you cursed under your breath. you placed your spray can into your backpack and zipped it up before placing your bag over your shoulder. you had been in this situation before, and you knew what you were going to do. you took your skateboard and skated the opposite direction of the police officers.

"control, 7 adam 19, we got a runner. purple hoodie blue jeans with a black backpack on a black skateboard, requesting back-up to our location" you heard one of the officers called out as the 2 officers started chasing you and you smirked, they were not going to catch you.

you skated faster and rounded the corner and was stopped by a different police car. how did they get here so fast? you used your feet to kick up your skateboard and caught it with your right arm before running towards the alleyway and you used your left arm to help you over the fence, you slipped a little but you continued running. Before you could use your skateboard to skate away, you felt someone push you to the ground and placed handcuffs around your wrists and made you stand up. you groaned in anger at yourself for slipping after jumping over the fence.

"you're under arrest for property damage. wanna tell me-" the woman officer pulled down your hoodie and her eyes widened as the other officer lowered the gun he was pointing and you saw that her name tag said "Chen".

"control, suspect in custody." he placed his walkie talkie on his belt and came over to Chen and you saw his name said "Bradford"

"you're a child." Chen stated and you rolled your eyes.

"way to state the obvious." you said out loud. Chen didn't say anything and took you and your skateboard and brought you to their car and put you in the back seat before both of them got into the car and drove off.

"do we really have to bring her to the station? I mean she's just a kid." Chen told Bradford.

"It won't be very serious. she didn't do any harm, but she still has to be checked. I'm sure she won't be there for long." Bradford reassured her.

"do you want to tell us why you were spray painting on the walls?" Chen asked you.

"what can I say? I love showing off my skills." you told her.

"does your parents know you are spray painting the walls?" Bradford asked and you looked out the window and didn't say anything. He looked at you through the rear view mirror before focusing on the road. Chen looked at you and saw the sadness in your eyes and thought something had happened to your parents and felt bad for you. the rest of the way was silent and you were grateful that the officers didn't press on about your parents.

once you reached the police station, the female officer brought you in and made you sit on the bench and uncuffed you before sitting opposite from you while the male officer stood next to her.

"let us do this properly this time, I'm Lucy and this is Tim. what's your name?" Lucy asked nicely.

"Tasha" you answer.

"Why were you spray paiting the walls. do you know it's illegal to spray paint the walls?" Lucy asked in a soft tone and you sighed.

"I don't have anywhere to paint so I just like painting wherever I can, which is the walls of L.A" you told them and Lucy nodded.

"you don't have any bad intentions so i'm sure you can get off with a warning. we'll be right back." Lucy and Tim were about to leave but you stopped them.

"Am I gonna get those back?" you asked, referring to your skateboard and backpack that were in Tim's hands.

"you'll get it back once we're done with it." Tim told you and they both left and you sat there, contemplating whether to run or to sit, but you might just get caught again and be put in jail so you decided it wasn't worth the risk and after 10 minutes, Lucy and Tim came back.

"we did a check and nothing seems to be wrong so you're off the hook. do you have anyone to call to pick you up?" Lucy asked as she and Tim led you to the front of the station.

"that's alright. I know my way home." you lied.

"well I can't let you go on your own so how about we drive you home." Lucy suggested.

"no that's ok! trust me, i've gone home alone multiple times, my parents are fine with it." you insisted, you weren't going to tell them you were living on the streets.

"alright fine but i'm giving you my number, promise me you'll call me to let me know you're home safe" Lucy told you and handed you a piece of paper.

"alright fine I promise." you lied and took the paper before taking your bag and skateboard from Tim and thanked them before going out of the station.

you place skateboard on the ground before putting your hoodie up and you place your hands into your pockets and skated off. Once you reached the alleyway you spend most of your night in, you got off your skateboard and picked up your skateboard. you were about to walk deeper into the alleyway when you heard police sirens behind you. you groaned and turned around to see Lucy and Tim coming out of their car.

"you live here? you were never going to call me were you?" Lucy asked.

"I was!" you told her and she raised an eyebrow and you sighed.

"I would if I had a phone ok?" You told her and her eyes softened.

"you don't have a phone but you have a laptop?" Tim asked.

"my laptop was a gift." you explained.

"how old are you?" Lucy asked.

"16" you simply answered.

"where are your parents?" Tim asked.

"dead." you said.

"how long have you been living on the streets?" Lucy asked.

"about a year." you told them.

"I'm sorry, must be hard living like this." Lucy told you.

"why do you care?" you asked in an irritated tone and Lucy sighed.

"how about this, you come with me to my place and take a nice shower and i'll give you a place to stay for today and tomorrow we can think of something for you ok?" Lucy said and Tim cleared his throat.

"oh right, I'm still on shift, what about after my shift, I'll come find you here." Lucy said and you were skeptical but you agreed. Lucy smiled at you and her and Tim went back into their car and drove off. you weren't really sure if she was really going to come back but you had hope so you went to the mat you sleep on every night and took a nap because you felt tired.

****************************************************

"hey, tasha, wake up" you felt someone shaking you and you groaned and sat up.

"I didn't think you would show up." you told Lucy and she smiled.

"my shift just ended. come on." Lucy gestured and she helped you get up and led you to her car.

"can I ask you something?" you asked her.

"shoot"

"why are you helping me? I'm just some random girl on the street. There are other's like me." you stated.

"It's just who I am, I helped another girl who is a year older than you, she was living on the streets too before I took her in. you can meet her later." Lucy smiled and you smiled back before leaning back on the passenger seat. you couldn't believe how nice Lucy was being so nice to you. This was the first time anyone was nice to you and you thought it wasn't normal.

Once Lucy parked the car, you got out and carried your backpack on one shoulder and held your skateboard in the other as she led you to her apartment.

"hey Lucy, you're back, can we do the interview-" The girl sitting on the sofa turned around which caused you to drop your skateboard on the ground in shock.

"Tamara?" you asked out loud.

"Tasha." she said at the same time.

"you 2 know each other?" Lucy asked.

"she's my sister." you said and Tamara looked at you with an apologetic look.

"this is the sister you were talking about?" Lucy asked Tamara.

"you left me. you left me with our cousins when you promised you wouldn't. you said you would come back but you didn't." you said with angry tears in your eyes as you looked around Lucy's apartment.

"and you hit the jackpot I see." you scoffed.

"Tasha, I-" Tamara started but you raised your hand and stopped her.

"save it, I can't do this. I'm out of here." you picked up your skateboard and left the apartment.

"We have to go after her." Lucy told Tamara and she nodded

"I'll talk to her." Tamara told her and left the apartment, she knew where you would be, it was your go to place whenever you were sad or angry. she climbed up the mountain that you and her used to climb when you were younger and saw you sitting at the edge of the cliff, watching the beautiful view in front of you. Tamara came up to you and sat beside you.

"I needed you, and you left." you said with tears.

"Tasha, I'm really sorry for leaving you. but I had the chance to leave that awful place. I know I should have take you with me but I thought it would be better for you to stay with our cousins because I didn't have money and couldn't take care of you myself." Tamra explained.

"It didn't matter, I would have come with you either ways and we cou have worked it out together." You told her.

"I see that now and I'm sorry. I can't rewrite the past but I promise to do whatever it takes to make it up to you." Tamara vowed.

"don't make promises you can't keep." you told her.

"Tasha look at me." she told you and you looked at her.

"I know I broke my promise before, but I love you, so much, you are the only family I have left and I will do whatever it takes to gain back your trust and I will make it up to you." She told you with determination in her eyes and you just burst into tears and hugged her and she hugged back tight with tears in her eyes. you missed your older sister so much and you still loved her, after all, she was your older sister. The 2 of you hugged each other for a few minutes before pulling away and staring at the view.

"I missed you." you told your sister.

"I missed you too." Tamara told you.

"you know my life wasn't all that good." Tamara told you and you looked at her, intriged with what she said.

"remember scott?" Tamara asked and you nodded. Scott was one of your cousins that you hadn't spoke to in a long time.

"well I lived with him and his girlfriend for awhile after I ran away from the place we lived. it wasn't the best experience but beggers can't be choosers right? And I after I found an apartment which I would move to, he was happy that I wasn't free loading off of him. But there were some complications and when I told scott I needed to stay with him longer, he went off on me and he wouldn't even let me get my stuff from his place. If Lucy never helped me i don't know what I would have done." Tamara explained to you.

"that sounds awful. I'm glad Lucy was there to help you." you smiled at Tamara and she smiled back. you two sat there in comfortable silence for awhile, soaking in the view.

"come on, let's go back, Lucy is worried about you." Tamara said and the both of you got up and went back to the apartment.

"from the looks of it, you guys are in good terms again. i'm glad." Lucy said with a smile as you and Tamara came into the apartment.

"do you guys want take out? we can get some for dinner." Lucy suggested and your eyes lit up.It's the first time in a long time you have had take out and you were excited.

"yes please! i'm starving." you groaned and Lucy laughed.

"alright pizza?" Lucy asked.

"yes!" Tamara and you both exclaimed and Lucy chuckled and she ordered the pizza.

"while the food is arriving, i got to work on something." Lucy announced.

"you guys didn't manage to find Angela?" Tamara asked and Lucy shook her head.

"find who?" you asked.

"a detective who was kidnapped by a mafia boss named La Fiera, we've been trying to find where she's holding Angela captive." Lucy explained.

"well I can help you if you'd like." you offered and Lucy raised an eyebrow.

"you know how to find out where La fiera is holding angela?" Lucy asked.

"yea sure" you shrugged.

"yea she can do it within a few minutes." Tamara backed you up. you placed your skateboard on the ground and took of your shoes and went over to the sofa as you removed your backpack and took out your laptop and removed the protective screen and it showed your real screen, filled with protected files of different types of information for different occasions. Lucy and Tamara were watching from your side. (idk if it's called a protective screen but the protective screen is used so that if your laptop is stolen or smt the people using the laptop will see that screen instead of the real screen which has all your stuff. honestly im just using my imagination so bare with me LOL)

"did you just put down a protective screen?" Lucy questioned and you just shrugged. you continued to type on your laptop and after a few minutes, you did it.

"here, La fiera is holding Angela at a compound outside Guatemala City." you showed her and Lucy the address and the live camera footage in Angela's room showing she's fine and that someone was in her room, guarding her.

"how did you do that?" Lucy asked jn disbelief

"well ever since I was a child my dad taught me a lot about hacking and coding and i have been hacking ever since." you explained and Lucy looked at you with disbelief.

"you know hacking is illegal right?" Lucy told you.

"well is it illegal if you are hacking for the right reasons?" you asked and Lucy scoffed.

"i got to let the other know." Lucy told you guys and stood up and started dialing her phone.

"good job sis, you just helped them get a back a dear friend." Tamara congratulated you and you smiled, proud if yourself. At that moment, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." you got up and went to the door and the delivery guy was at the door with the pizza. you thanked him and took the pizza and brought it in and placed it in the counter. Lucy put down the phone and looked at you and Tamara.

"they want me and Tasha to meet at Wesley's house. Tasha bring your laptop, Tamara you will okay right?" Tamara nodded and you took your laptop and placed it in your bag and followed Lucy to her car, you didn't know who wesley was but you just followed. Once you guys got to what you assumed was wesley's home, Lucy led you inside and you saw other people in the living room looking at you.

"this is the girl that found out where Angela was held?" a guy asked.

"yup this is Tasha, Tasha, these are the others, you've met Tim, and these are Nyla, Sargent Grey, Nolan and wesley." Lucy introduced everyone and you said hi.

"so could you tell us where La Fiera is holding Angela?" Sargent Grey asked.

"I can show you" you smiled and took out your laptop from your bag and a stuffed teddy bear fell out and you looked at everyone sheepishly before putting it back into your backpack and continued with what you were doing by connecting your laptop to the television and you showed everyone what you showed Lucy and Tamara.

"how did you manage to get a location when none of the officers were able to come close to it." Sargent grey asked.

"i'm just really good at hacking sir" you told him and he raised an eyebrow and everyone looked at you with a fixed expression and you gave a sheepish smile.

"she knows its illegal but now is not the time to talk about this." Lucy butt in and Sargent grey agreed.

"now that we know where Angela is being held, I am going to get her back, but i could use help." Wesley announced.

"i'm in" Tim said with no hesitation.

"me too" Nolan announced.

"we all are" Lucy said.

"I mean I can help too" you told them.

"hold on, the only people qualified to even think of doing this craziness is bradford and Harper. And there's no way im letting a 16 year old join this mission." Sargent grey told everyone and you grunted.

"are you saying we don't even try to save her?" Tim asked.

"of course not, but we can't just go running into hostile territory without a good damn plan. La Fiera is gonna have sicarios and half the police force protecting her, she'll know the second we step of the plane." Sargent Grey told him.

"so then we don't fly commercial." Nyla said.

"last time I checked, LAPD doesn't have an air force, and the DEA isn't gonna lend us theirs." Sargent grey informed everyone.

"well I might be able to help with that." you announced, making everyone turn to you.

"i know a guy named max, he works in the shadows at the defence department." you started.

"oh yes max! how do you know max?" Nolan asked.

"I have a lot of connections." you told him.

"ok who the hell are you?" Nyla asked and you just shrugged.

"who the hell is Max?" Sargent Grey asked and everyone looked at him.

"I'm listening." he said.

"Um, you remember that counterfeiting case a while back, that started with the murder of a transient?" Nolan asked.

"you mean the case where the killer came wandering up to you at the docks in long beach? Yeah I remember it" Sargent grey said.

"Yeah well you weren't fully "in the loop" for some aspects of that arrest" Nyla told him and he looked at her with a confused expression.

"like Tasha said, Max works in the shadows at the shadows at the Defense Department. His unit runs covert operations around the globe, they printed that counterfeit money to to fund them." Tim explained.

"and we let him walk with it in exchange for our killer." Nyla continued.

"he would have the resources to fly us under the radar, maybe even provide tactical support on the ground" Nolan said.

"and why would he do that?" Sargent Grey asked.

"oh I know he would" you told everyone and everyone stared at you.

"what? i told you I have connections." you said with a shrug.

"he owes me one, he will do it if I tell him to." you told everyone.

"and he doesn't want his sins put on blast." Lucy added.

"do you have a way to contact this guy?" Wesley asked.

"of course. I will help you guys, but i have a condition, I want in on this mission." you told everyone.

"like I said, there is no way I am letting a 16 year old in this mission, we don't know what might happen." Sargent Grey told you.

"with all due respect sargent, I'm more capable than you know." you told him and he raised an eyebrow and you sighed.

"come on, all of you, come at me." you told them and stood in a fighting position with 2 fists in front of you. everyone looked at you with a questionable look.

"you want us to fight you?" Tim asked.

"yes" you told them and they all stared at you.

"alright if you guys won't do it, I will" Nyla announced and ran and attacked you but you stopped her and twisted her wrist and kicked her legs, making her fall to the ground. Tim decided to come at you but you took his arm and did a back roll over and kicked him onto the ground. Everyone stared at what the hell you did while Tim and Nyla groaned and laid on the ground for a bit.

"she's got skills" Nyla groaned as you stood back up.

"ok what the hell is going on? who are you? we are not going anywhere until you tell us everything." Sargent Grey told you and you sighed.

"When I was younger, my dad would teach me self defence, he thought it would be good to be able to defend myself you know?" you explained to everyone as Tim and Nyla got up and you stared into spaced for a moment as memories of your training days flooded your mind. you shook your head to shake off the memories and looked back up.

"does Tamara know about this?" Lucy asked.

"she does now" you told her.

"alright fine, you can join this mission, but you are not doing anything dangerous, you will come with me and Chen to the station and work on a murder case we've been trying to solve. Nolan, you fold in with Bradford and Harper, start a mission plan." Sargent Grey told everyone and everyone nodded.

"Tasha can you contact Max?" Sargent Grey asked and you nodded. You went over to your laptop and typed a few things before looking up.

"He is asking where he should meet." you announced.

"text him the address to my house, we'll take it from there." Nolan said and you nodded your head and continued typing on your laptop.

"Nolan, come here" Sargent Grey instructed and Nolan looked confused but did what he was told and went over to Sargent Grey.

"Given everything that happened, it's easy to lose sight of what today signifies for you, the end of your time as a rookie. you accepted your punishment with grace and humility and i'm proud to say you are officially P2, congratulations." Sargent Grey said and shook Nolan's hand and everyone clapped for him and you decided to go along and clap too as Sargent Grey picked up his phone that was ringing.

Nolan went around hugging and shaking his friends' hands, and you sat there, happy for him for whatever he accomplished and that was when Sargent Grey got off the phone.

"The DNA came back, we have an ID on Jackson's killer." Sargent Grey announced and everyone's face fell.

"who's Jackson?" you asked.

"I'll tell you later." Lucy told you and you nodded.

"ok everyone needs to get some rest, we have a big day tomorrow." Sargent Grey announced and everyone nodded their head and dispersed. You packed your things and followed Lucy to her car and she drove off.

"you know, you don't have to tell me anything, I saw how your eyes fell at the mention of Jackson's name. I shouldn't have asked." you told her.

"no that's ok, you should at least know a little of what is going on. Jackson was another friend of ours who were rookies with me and Nolan. but he was killed on the day Angela was taken." she told you and you could see the sadness in Lucy's eyes and you knew Jackson meant something to Lucy.

"I'm so sorry." you told her and she smiled sadly at you.

"now you tell me something." Lucy said and you raised an eyebrow.

"your father taught you self defence right? but there's gotta be more, you hid some details, i saw your face." Lucy said and you looked down and she saw your sad expression.

"oh you don't have to tell me anything if you're not comfortable." Licy told you but you shook your head.

"no it's ok, I was just thinking about my training days just now, during the times he trained me, he would push me to do my very best, we trained and trained until my legs gave way but he still pushed me to train some more and there were times I would train until I bled out." you explained and Lucy gave you a sorry expression.

"Is there a reason why he trained you so hard?" she asked.

"him teaching me how to hack and code wasn't just for fun, it was so that I could learn about what he does at work, and his line of work is very dangerous, he had enemies and knew that bad men would try and come for his family and he wanted to be prepared."

"and what about Tamara? how come she wasn't in on any of this?" Lucy asked.

"she was never the one who loved to hack and code like me, so my dad agreed never to let her in on any of this, she wasn't part of the family records so nobody knew she was family." you explained.

"and your mother is in on it too?" Lucy asked.

"yup, but after awhile, everything went south, my parents started taking drugs and then OD'd, I don't know why our parents took drugs but after our parents died, Tamara and my life changed so much. We went to children shelters and our family homes which was never permanent by the way and the rest you know" you told her and she sighed.

"I'm really sorry about all this, but now I'm sure your life will be so much better" she told you and you smiled at her.

"you cannot tell Tamara what I told you today, she doesn't know what our parents did for a living and what I had gone through during the trainings. She only knew our dad taught me those for fun" you told her.

"I promise, but I think you should know let her know that, she deserves to know that your parents aren't who they said they were." Lucy told you and you nodded, promising yourself you would tell Tamara when you were ready. The rest of the drive was silent and once you got to the apartment, Tamara was waiting on the sofa, watching television.

"how did it go?" Tamara asked.

"it went great, we identified Jackson's killer and we are planning a rescue mission to save Angela tomorrow." Lucy explained and you were grateful that she didn't mention that other thing that you told.

"I was waiting for you guys to come back so we can eat and watch a movie." Tamara smiled and you giggled happily and placed your bag on the ground before sitting beside her and Lucy sat beside you and Tamara put on the movie "Tangled" and you guys ate and watched the movie before falling asleep on the couch with you sleeping on Tamara while Lucy slept on you and the 3 of you snuggled together. (i'm imagining the scene and it is so cute oml)

****************************************************

The next day, the 3 of you woke up and got ready for the day. Tamara got ready for school while you and Lucy got ready to go to the station. Tamara lent you her clothes and you went to take a shower and changed into the clothes she lent you.

once you were done, you packed your backpack was about to leave with Lucy when Tamara stopped you. She came to you and hugged you.

"I cannot believe my baby sister is going on a rescue mission while i'm stuck in school." Tamara said as you guys pulled away.

"I will tell you all about it tonight." you smiled at her and she smiled back.

"just don't die ok? I just got you back J can't lose you again." Tamara told you.

"Don't worry, dad made me take defense classes remember. I'll be fine." you told her and she nodded and looked at Lucy.

"you too, don't die, and take care of my sister." Tamara told her and she nodded her head. You and Lucy left the apartment and started going over to the station.

"remind me to enroll you to Tamara's school once everything is settled." Lucy told you.

"what? no you don't have to. I'm smart enough not to go to school." you told her. you didn't want her to spend money on your school

"I don't need to, I want to. you deserve to live a normal life with Tamara." Lucy told you.

"are you always this nice? you're so willing to do anything for me and Tamara." you asked her.

"I told you, its just me, and it's fate that I found into you and Tamara." she told you and you smiled. You felt so touched someone is willing to do so much for you even though you just met.

Once you guys reached the station, Lucy helped you get a visitor pass and then she led you to the roll call room before she went over to change to her work clothes as the other officers started coming into the room so you went to the back and sat at an empty table.

"His name is Armando De Leon, 17 years old, Gang unit says he was jumped into malos Dorados 6 months ago. Murder weapon is outstanding and he's considered armed and dangerous. Shooting policy is the following, even if he's fleeing deadly force is authorized." A guy you didn't know explained as a picture of the guy came up. you recognised the face but didn't announce it.

"he already killed on of us." the guy started but Sargen Grey cut him off

"hold up sargent. we're not in the retribution business. This kid comes in handcuffs unless there's no other choice is that understood?" Sargent Grey announced and everyone said a "yes sir".

"good, an no solo riders today. everyone doubles up. Be safe out there." with that, officers stood up and headed out to do their jobs. You went over to Lucy who was talking to Sargent Grey.

"Look at him, he's just a child." Lucy told him

"no he's a killer, now let's go find him." Sargent Grey said and left.

"Lucy I need to telk you something." you told Lucy.

"yea what is it?" you look in the room to see that no one was in it before looking back at her.

"I know the killer." you told her and her eyes widened.

"what?"

"not really know him know him but I've seen him before. Remember how I told you my dad works for bad men?" you asked her and she nodded.

"when I say bad, I mean really bad, and my dad and I hacked into the system and it gave us a list of a lot of bad people and we met some of them before and worked for some of them before. which means I've worked for Lafiera as well." you explained.

"we have to tell Sargent Grey, you can help out with the mission." Lucy said and was about to leave but you stopped her.

"I know we have to but I'm really scared. all this might lead to me being in jail and I don't want that. I've put all that in the past and never continued working for those bad men. I can't go to jail, i have my whole life to live I just can't." you told her with a shaky breath and tears were forming in your eyes.

"hey hey hey, come here." Lucy said and pulled you in for a hug and you sobbed and hugged her back.

"I promise I will do everything I can to not let that happen. everything will be alright." Lucy soothed your back and you calmed down and pulled away and wiped your tears away.

"I promise everything will be fine." Lucy told you and you nodded your head before going over to take your bag before following Lucy as she led you to Sargent Grey's office and knocked the glass door before going in.

"may I help you with you guys with something?" Sargent grey asked as he stood up and crossed his arms.

"actually, we are here to help you." Lucy told him and he raised an eyebrow. Lucy gave you a nodded and you stepped forward.

"the guy who killed Jackson, I know him." you told him and he unfolded his arms.

"do I want to know how you know them?" he asked.

"you will know, but now is not the right time." Lucy voiced and he nodded.

"Tasha, you will come with us to arrest, if it goes south, you will talk to him and distract him so we can arrest him." Sargent Grey instructed and you slowly nodded. He expected you and Lucy to leave but you both stood where you were standing.

"is there anything else?" Sargent Grey asked. You looked at Lucy and she gave you an encouraging nod and you took a deep breath.

"I know Lafiera, I worked for her before." you spoke with a shaky breath. Sargent Grey crossed his arms again and took a deep breath.

"ok then, change of plans, you will meet Nolan, Tim and Nyla at Nolan's house and they will get you to meet with Wesley and you both will go to Lafiera. with you there, Lafiera will let her guard down a little bit knowing her former employee is there. I'll let Tim know you are going over. Chen, go get ready for the arrest." Sargent Grey instructed and Lucy looked at you and you nodded your head, telling her you would be okay. Lucy nodded her head and left the office. Sargent Grey called Tim to let him know you were coming and told him why then Sargent Grey led you out off his office.

"I'm really sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but I didn't think I would have to go back to my old life until now, I left it all behind you know? I'm going to Jail aren't I?" you asked him.

"we will talk about this later. for now I need you focused, one wrong move and you will end up dead." Sargent Grey told you and you nodded your head. He led you to the front of the station where an officer was waiting for you. the officer led you to a police car and you got in, hugging your backpack

Once you reached Nolan's house, you got out the car and thanked the driver as you sling your backpack over your shoulder and closed the door. you walked over to Nolan's place and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, Nolan came by and opened it.

"oh hey! come on in!" Nolan let you in and you went in and saw Tim, Nyla and Max. you waved at Max and he waved back.

"Heard from Grey Lafiera knows you so you're helping with the mission." Tim said.

"yes, you will know more after the mission is done, I promise." you told him as you place your backpack on the sofa the going to the kitchen counter and they continued going on with the mission.

"like I said, I can get you in and out, provide basic supplies on the ground but no personnel, and if you get caught, you're on your own" Max told them and Nolan looked at Nyla, who nodded her head and he looked at Tim who also nodded his head.

"alright next stop, guatemala" Nolan announced and everyone packed up for the road. you took your backpack and followed them.

****************************************************

Once you reached guatemala, the helicopter touched down and all of you exited the helicopter. Max led you all to 2 trucks that were parked up nearby.

"two unspeakable vehicles, full gas tanks. 4 ARs, five mags each." Max told all of you.

"we won't need them, if this turns into a shooting war, we lose ten times out if ten." Tim said to him.

"sure, but i'm gonna take mine" Nyla announced as she opened the car boot.

"In the bags, there's pistols, an RC ground drone, scrambled radios, flashlights, food, and water. you have 10 hours to get your woman and get her back here for exfil. we won't wait and we will not make more than one pickup is that clear?" Max asked and everyone nodded.

"happy hunting." Max said and turned to leave.

"alright the first thing we need to do is to plan on how to protect Tasha if anything happens." Nolan announced.

"you really won't be able to do that. we will be separated. don't worry, I know how protect myself. I will need a gun just incase." you told them.

"there is no way u're getting a gun." Nyla don't worry.

"don't worry, I know how to use a gun, my dad trained me. I won't use it unless absolutely necessary." you told her and she nodded her head before handing you a gun and a loaded magazine and you loaded the magazine into the gun and placed it in the secret pocket at the side of your backpack.

"alright, we're gonna set up an overlook, recon the compound while you go steal the blueprints from the architect, find us a way in." Tim told Nolan.

"wait a minute, what blueprints?" you asked.

"we need the blueprints of the compound so I can come up with a plan to rescue Angela, you and Wesley." Nolan explained to you.

"oh? I can get you the blueprints." you told them.

"and you didn't think to tell us?" Nyla asked.

"nobody asked." you shrugged and they all rolled their eyes as you took out your laptop from you bag

"wait you brought your laptop?" Tim asked.

"yes? I don't go anywhere without it. don't worry, it can't be tracked if that's what you're worried about." you told him and started typing on your laptop before a blueprint showed up on your screen.

"I got it, I'll send the blueprints to you." you told them and started typing on your laptop and sending it to the 3 of them.

"this puts us ahead of schedule. wesley's plane will be landing any minute. we need to get Tasha to the airport, stat." Nolan announced.

"I'll drop her off." Nyla told everyone.

"i'll let Wesley know you're on the way." Tim said as you took you stuff and followed her to the truck.

"look, I don't know much about you, and I don't trust you one bit. you are mysterious, mysterious isn't good. If you do anything to betray us which gets Angela or Wesley killed, I will not hesitate to comw for you myself, got it?" Nyla threatened.

"I assure you, I'm fully on your side. I would never do anything to harm you and your friends. I know you probably don't care about me and if anything happens you'll probably leave me to save your friends, and it's fine, but if everything goes smoothly and we make it out alive, I hope to gain your trust. Once the mission is over, I promise you'll know everything about me." you told her and her eyes softened as she stared at you for awhile before looking back on the road. Once both of you reached the airport, you thanked her and got off the truck and went into the airport where you saw Wesley coming out of arrival.

"Wesley!" you called out and went up to him. the 2 of you walked further out of the airport when 2 guards came up to both of you.

"hola senor" one of the guards said and Wesley said hi back. The 2 guards looked at you and nodded their head to acknowledge your presence and you nodded your head back.

"this way." the guard grabbed Wesley and pushed him against the pole.

"spread your legs." the guard demanded.

"take it easy" Wesley said as he did what he was told so the guards could pat him down. the other guard cane to you and you knew the protocol, you took your backpack and gave it to him and he looked into your bag to check for any weapons. you hoped he didn't find the gun and luckily for you, he didn't. he didn't pat you down of course because it's invasion of privacy. after he was done, he handed your backpack to you and you wore it.

"I'm here to talk to Sandra de la Cruz." Wesley told the guard.

"man guess what? she doesn't want to talk to you. so it looks like you flew a long way to meet death." he said the last part in spanish, yup you speak spanish, your dad made you learn all the languages in the world so that you can understand every conversation going on between him and the clients. and also so that he could talk to you in secret if needed.

"Pero ella hablará conmigo. (but she will talk to me)" you told the guards and they looked at you before grabbing you both and leading you both to the trucks. they drove you both up to the compound and once they reached, they brought you into the compound where you saw Lafiera pouring wine into her glass.

"Hola hermana, se suponía que estabas muerta. (hello sister, you were supposed to be dead)" Lafiera told you.

"Y sin embargo, aquí estoy. (and yet, here I am)" you said to her.

"Mis condolencias por el fallecimiento de tus padres. (my condolences on the passing of your parents)" she told you.

"gracias, Mis condolencias por tu hijo. (thank you, my condolences on your son)" you said and she nodded her head.

"¿Quieres un poco? (do you want some?)" she offered you some wine but you politely declined.

"¿Qué te trae aquí con el Sr. Evers? (what brings you doing here with Mr Evers?)" she asked you.

"Dijo que quería negociar contigo. (he said he wanted to negotiate with you.)" you told her and she did the same "hmm" face.

"you know I speak English, why'd you speak to me in spanish?" you asked

"it's nice to speak to a friend in my native language, I don't get to do that often" she said and you scoffed at the mention of "friend". she never cares for anyone but herself and her son diego. you missed diego, he wasn't the bad guy, he was like you, destined to follow your parents' footsteps. whenever your dad was discussing with Lafiera, you and diego would hang out and it would be so fun and you loved hanging out with him so much, he was the only one who understood you.

Lafiera turned to Wesley.

"Mr Evers, you surprise me, didn't think you were the type to die for love."

"I'm here to negotiate." Wesley told her.

"I've heard, your office is next to an aquarium supply store, what could you possibly have to offer me?" she asked.

"If you know about my office, then you know thag my family has money. a lot of money." he stated.

"I have more" Lafiera simply said.

"no doubt, but what you don't have is a U.S. senator in your pocket. One who is standing ready to insert language into the trade deal that's currently being negotiated with your country." Wesley explained.

"trade deal doesn't apply to what I sell." Lafiera simply said.

"no, but they do apply to the export companies you use to launder money to the U.S. Tariffs are killing you right now, I could cut them in half with one phone call." Wesley told her.

"If I let you walk away with Angela."

"and my baby" Wesley said and Lafiera stared at him with the "are you serious?" look

"come on Lafiera, you know what it's like to have a son, you loved him, you know what it's like to love someone so much. I know you miss him, I miss him too, but don't take that away from 2 innocent people who had nothing to do with Diego's death." you told her and that got her deep in thought before looking at Wesley.

"I'll make a few phone calls, ensure that you can deliver on what you promise." Lafiera said.

"then we'll have a deal?" Wesley asked with hope.

"Maybe." Lafiera said as she walked up to Wesley.

"or maybe I don't care about the money, and I feed you to my dogs" she said and Wesley looked defeated and you couldn't just stand there and do nothing.

"Lafiera, please, at least let him see Angela." you told her.

"Fine, guards, take them to Angela." Lafiera instructed and you sighed with relief and Wesley thanked you silently and you nodded your head. the guards brought you both to the room Angela was held and when you both got in, wesley rushed over to angela

"hey hey are you ok?" Wesley asked.

"what the hell are you doing here?" Angela asked as she went to hugged him.

"Negotiating for your release." Wesley told her.

"hey! hey! back it up! she's not yours anymore, no, she's mine okay? and you don't touch her unless I say you can." Abril threatened.

"hey hey abril, it's ok. Lafiera let us in here." you told her and she glared at Wesley before stepping back.

"who are you?" Angela asked you.

"I'm Tasha, nice to meet you." You offered your hand and she took it and you guys shook hands.

"you were supposed to be dead." Abril said to you.

"I've been told" you answered and Abril looked at you. you, angela and wesley went to the sofa and sat down while Abril stood guard of you all. you didn't remove your backpack incase of anything, you can't trust anyone here. Suddenly, you heard a huge fireworks explosion and Abril went outside to take a look.

"that means there's a problem, we have to go to plan B." Wesley told you guys.

"what's plan B?" Angela asked. you also would like to know that.

"we have to get Lafiera to get us out of here." Wesley explained.

"how? she's not letting me leave until I have the baby." Angela told him.

"I can try to talk to Lafiera again." you offered.

"no, there's no time." Wesley said and looked at angela, telling her to trust him.

"hey! go get a doctor! she's feeling really lightheaded. she's had blood pressure issues during the pregnancy." wesley called out as you and he helped Angela up from the sofa.

"lay her on the bed." Abril instructed and you 2 did what you were told as she went out to get a doctor.

"hey, it's ok." Wesley told Angela as he took out a needle from his pocket.

"what the hell is that." angela asked.

"pitocin, enough to start contractions." Wesley told her and he was about to inject it into Angela but she stopped him.

"no no, it's early. we will lose the baby." angela told him and you could see the fear in her eyes.

"there has to be something else we can do, what about me? If i'm hurt she will have to take us to the hospital." you told him.

"if you get hurt she will not bring Angela, it has to be Angela." Wesley said and turned to her.

"I know you're scared, I am too, but this is the only way, Harper will be at the hospital with the drug to counter the effects. trust me ok, everything will be fine." Wesley told her and she stared at him for a moment before nodding her head and Wesley injected the pitocin into Angela.

After awhile, a lady came into the room and instructed both of you to bring Angela out as she called the hospital. Once the 3 of you were out of the compound, you could see Lafiera and some of her men waiting for you with 2 SUV vans waiting as well.

"what the hell did you do?!" Lafiera asked angrily as you and Wesley helped Angela to the van.

"nothing!" Wesley said and Angela stared at him before looking at you. Abril then came up to you and dragged you towards the other van as 2 other men dragged Wesley beside you. This whole time angela was shouting, calling out to wesley and telling them to stop while the 2 of you were forced into the other van. you were shouting and asking where abril was taking you but she ignored you as she shoved you in the van

"where are you taking us?" you asked worriedly.

"we were instructed to take both of you somewhere else and take away your life" Abril answered and your eyes widened in fear.

"wait why her? doesn't she work for Lafiera." Wesley voiced out.

"worked. past tense. she's now with you and Lafiera doesn't trust her anymore, she's now a liability and her life was instructed to be taken." Abril told him.

"she's just a teenager." Wesley said to her.

"it doesn't matter, she knows too much about us and it's a risk having her around." she said in annoyance and you turned to wesley.

"wesley." you called his name as tears started to formed in your eyes in fear.

"hey hey, it's ok." Wesley said as he pulled you in for a hug. he calmed you down by rubbing your back gently. you 2 didn't know each other that well and he still comforted you and you were grateful for it. once you calmed down, you could think clearly again.

"I have a gun in my bag. I can use it to kill Abril and the other guy when I get the chance." You whispered to him.

"no, when there's a chance you toss me the gun, got it?" he instructed and you nodded your head.

"hey, hey back it up, we're here." Abril said as you both pulled away. you were forced out of the van by Abril and Wesley by another guy. you both were forced to a spot with a lot of dirt and trees around.

"oh this is very dramatic." wesley called out, referring to the trees.

"life is sacred no? we should honour it when we take it no? plus, they use your bodies as fertilisers." Abril explained as she pushed you forward.

"alright this is enough." she stopped you and the guy stopped Wesley.

"where do you want it? in the face or the back of the head?" Abril asked.

"Neither." Wesley told her. suddenly, you all heard a noise and turned around to see an orange tractor driving on it's own. this gave you the chance to take out the gun from your side pocket.

"wesley!" you called out as you tossed him your gun and he caught it, pointing the gun towards abril.

"it's over Abril, surrender now." Wesley told her.

"you and what army? even if you shoot one of us, the other won't hesitate to kill you and the girl." abril told him.

"him and this army." you heard nolan's voice as he came out of hiding with a bat and hit the guy closest to him and started fighting him. Abril started shooting which gave Wesley the green light to start shooting too. you ran and dodged abril's bullets and tackled her to the ground and punch her face. she groaned and kicked your stomach and you groaned and fell beside her. she pointed her gun at you and was about to shoot you when Nolan tackled her and started fighting her.

You got up, a little blood dripping from your forehead. you saw the guy choking Wesley and you ran up and kicked the man's face and he fell back hard, fainting.

"good job." Wesley said as you helped him up. you guys heard something and looked up to see a helicopter flying past.

"come on, that's our ride." Nolan said and you started running towards the helicopter. Wesley handed the gun back to you and you placed it back in your bag when suddenly you heard gunshots and you looked back to see Abril trying to limp towards all of you and she started shooting at all of you.

you continued running towards the helicopter with Wesley and Nolan behind, dodging her bullets when one of her bullets tore a hole on your backpack, making the contents of your bag fall out. you stopped running and ran to get your stuff but wesley, who was running behing you, grabbed your arm.

"leave them, we have to get out of here!" he shouted and you nodded sadly before continuing to run towards the helicopter.

"ah." you grunted and your hand immediately went to the side of your stomach, when you looked at your hand you saw blood and you knew abril had successfully shot you. you ignored the pain and continued running towards the helicopter that was landing on the ground and Tim and Nyla came out and stood guard as the 3 of you got into the helicopter and Tim and Nyla got into the helicopter and closed the door as Max ordered the pilot to fly back home.

"this mission was a success, sort of." Nolan announced.

"and we have Tasha to thank. we couldn't have done it without her." Nyla told everyone and everyone smiled at you.

"thank you, but guys, I, I don't feel so good" you looked weakly at them and before you could say anything else you fainted from the blood loss. The last thing you saw was Tim catching you before you succumbed to the darkness.

****************************************************

you slowly opened your eyes and you looked around and you realised you were at the hospital. you also realised there was a tube in your nose. what the hell happened? you turned and saw Tamara with her head sleeping on your hospital bed and you smiled. you sat up, tired of lying down and Tamara stired awake and yawned.

"you're finally up, I'll let everyone know" she told you and started typing on her phone.

"how long was I asleep?" you asked.

"2 days." tamara told you and your eyes widened.

"what? how is that possible?! I was only shot once, it's not that bad." you told her.

"It was actually, by the time you came to the hospital, you lost a lot of blood and you had to go into surgery, you almost died in there, you had me worried." Tamara told you. That explains the tubes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think it would be so bad." you apologised. At that moment, Lucy, Tim, Nyla, Angela, Wesley, Nolan and Sargent Grey came into the room.

"wow, that's a lot of people in one room." you joked and everyone chuckled.

"I just wanted to personally come in here to see if you're ok, and to thank you for all your help, we couldn't have done it without you." Sargent Grey told you.

"it was no big deal." you told him.

"oh here's a thank you and get well soon gift" Nolan said and placed a bouquet of flowers on the table next to your bed and you thanked him.

"how are you feeling?" Lucy asked.

"Much better than when I was shot that's for sure." you told her and she smiled. you looked over at tim and he smiled and nodded at you and you did the same thing back.

"I'm just worried about the hospital bills." you spoke up, you knew it would be expensive and that you couldn't afford it.

"don't worry, it's covered by the city." Sargent Grey said and you relaxed. Just then, the nurse came in and stood at the end of the bed.

"you're awake, great. I checked your vitals and your stats that you healed properly, we just need you to stay for a few days before we can discharge you." she told you and you thanked her and she left.

"could you guys excuse us for a sec, I would like to talk to Tasha for a while." Nyla announced and everyone nodded and left.

"am I in trouble?" you joked and she chuckled.

"no, I'm here to apologise." nyla said and you raised and eyebrow.

"the way I treated you, like you were an outsider, I'm really sorry, I was an outsider of the group once and I should have know not to judge anyone before getting to know them." she told you and you smiled.

"thank you." you smiled and she smiled back.

"does this mean I gained your trust?" you said with a hopeful smile.

"you're getting there, once I know more about you, then we'll see" she said with a smile and you smiled back. but something was bothering you, you will have to tell everyone everything soon, but you decided it was a later problem and put it at the back of your mind. Nyla pat your shoulders before heading out of your room and Tim, Lucy and Tamara came in, with lucy putting her hands behind her back.

"so everyone had to go for work, but, Nolan gave me something before heading out." Lucy said and you were curious as to what she was talk about.

"he told me he was able to save one of your things." She said as brought the item from her back to the front and you recognised it as Mr snuggles and your smiled widened.

"oh my god mr snuggles!" you exclaimed and took it from Lucy and hugged your stuffed bear.

"thank you." you told her.

"I'm sorry your laptop couldn't be saved. I know it meant something to you." Lucy apologised.

"that's ok, it's high time I let go of that laptop anyways." you told her and she smiled.

"if everyone had to go to work, how come tim's here." you asked.

"well I'm Lucy's T.O so if she doesn't go to work, I don't either." Tim explained and you gave an "ohhh".

The next few days, you stayed in the hospital and the nurses came in regularly to check up on you. Tamara stayed with you in the hospital and you 2 would hang out, catching up on the time you had lost. Lucy and Tim would visit you everyday to see how you were doing, be it on shift or after shift, tim probably came because Lucy came, but you were glad he didn't restrict Lucy from coming to the hospital on shift hours. You had gotten the tubes out since the doctor gave the green light and said you didn't need them anymore.

Today was the 3rd day you were held in the hospital and Lucy and Tim were visiting you when the nurse came in

"you are all healed up and ready to be discharged, whenever you're ready, just go to the front desk and you can sign out." she told you and you thanked her and she left.

"I'm guessing we'll have to go to the station after this?" you asked Lucy and Tim.

"only if you're up for it." Lucy told you.

"I'll have to face it eventually so why not just get it over and done with." you told them and they nodded.

"wait why do you have to go to the station?" Tamara asked.

"can you give me a few moments with my sister first? I think she should hear this from me first." you told Tim and Lucy and they nodded before leaving the room. you turned to Tamara and she was looking at you expectantly.

"you know how I said dad taught me how to hack and code for fun? and that the self defence classes were also just for fun and that I wasn't hurt during my training?" you asked her and she nodded.

"well that was all a lie" you said and started explaining everything to her, not leaving a single detail out. By the time you were done, you saw tears in her eyes.

"I can't believe it, I thought all this time it was all for fun and now I find out it was life threatening? I am the older sister and I was supposed to protect you." Tamara said with tears in her eyes.

"you weren't into hacking and coding so I made dad promise to leave you out of this. It's ok Tamara, it's all in the past, but now I have to come clean to the LAPD and hope that I don't get my a*s kicked in jail." Tamara came and hugged you and you hugged back.

"you can't go to jail, you were just a kid and they can't blame you for it." Tamara said as she pulled away.

"let's just hope the LAPD thinks so too." you told her.

"come on, let's get this over with." you said and you got off the hospital bed and you and Tamara left the room.

"I'm ready." you told Tim and Lucy and they nodded.

The 4 of you went to the front desk and you signed out and the next stop was to the police station. Once you guys reached, you and Tamara got a visitor pass and Tim and Lucy led you to the interrogation room. you felt nervous being in the police station so you grabbed Tamara's hand for support.

"I think it's best if you wait in the observation room." Tim told Tamara when you reached the interrogation room and you gave Tamara once last squeeze before entering the room, where you saw Angela and Nyla sitting at the table, waiting for you. Lucy came in after and you were grateful for her presence.

"Tasha, glad you're here. please have a seat." Nyla said and you went and sat across from them.

"don't worry, we aren't here to interrogate you, you don't have to be nervous, we just want to assess you better." Angela said and you nodded your head.

"start from the beginning." Nyla told you.

(full story coming up)

"when I was young, I went into my father's room while he was working and saw that he was doing something on his laptop and I was curious so I went up to him and he told me about all what he was doing, I was invested and he decided to teach me all about coding and hacking and I fell in love with it and my dad decided to bring me into his work and from that day on, I worked with my dad and we worked for a lot of bad people like Lafiera, Elijah and so many more, we had a list of a lot of bad people and my dad would choose the baddest of the bad, helping them hack into the system about information of each other, the government and basically do whatever they ask us to do. he chooses the baddest of the bad because they pay more, and he would do anything for money.

He also trained me in self defence, knowing that his line of work is dangerous and that I could be kidnapped for ransom or just to get my dad to work for them. He would train me so hard, so that I make no mistakes and that I can defend myself in every situation every way possible, he trained me till I was tired but still continued to push me. there were times I even bled out but he still pushed me to be the best. I know it was for my safety but sometimes I wished he would let me rest for a while. Anyway, Tamara was never the hacking or coding person so I made my dad promise not to bring her in, we never told her about my dad's work and we left her out of the family records so that she could live a normal life and so that people never would come for her.

But as I grew older, I realised that what we were doing was wrong, but I had no way out of it, so after my parents died, I took the opportunity to leave it all behind by faking my death, I hacked into the system and pronounced myself dead so no one would come looking for me, and I kept my past life hidden from everyone, thinking I wouldn't need to talk about it anymore until now, so now you know the whole life story of Tasha Collins, the one I kept hidden anyway." you explained your whole life story. Angela and Nyla looked at each other before writting some stuff down on the paper they had and Lucy looked at you, proud of what you just did.

"thank you, Tasha, it was brave of you to talk about it after wanting to leave it all behind." Angela told you.

"not like I had a choice." you said under your breath.

"sure, but most people would run away from the police, knowing they might end up in jail, but you decided to face it and that was very brave." Nyla said and you smiled.

"we're done, you can wait outside and we'll get back to you." Angela said and you nodded and left the interrogation room where Lucy and Tamara were waiting for you. Lucy led you to the roll call room and you sat at a table, Tamara sitting next to you.

"wait here alright, I'll be with the others to discuss your case, don't worry, I'll make sure you won't end up in jail." Lucy promised and you smiled at her.

While waiting for the result of your case, you were really nervous, Tamara saw it and place a hand on yours and you smiled at her, grateful she was by your side. After what like forever (it was 30min), Sargent Grey and the others came in and you and Tamara stood up. He had the same look he has every day and he had his arm crossed. you thought it must be serious if all of them were in here and you became really nervous.

"your case was really hard, no matter how we look at it, you end up in Juvie." Sargent Grey told you and you look down, you already knew this would happen but you were hoping for a different outcome.

"but," he said and you looked up with hope in your eyes.

"if you don't want to end in Juvie, we have a different solution." Sargent Grey said to you.

"what do I have to do?" you asked.

"you become a C.I" he told you.

"you want me to become a confidential informant?"

"It's the only solution we could think of"

"it was actually Lucy's idea" Tim said and you looked at her with a smile.

"hey, I told you I would do anything so that you don't end up in jail." Lucy told you and you smiled gratefully at her.

"all you need to do is give us information on everything you know when we need it." Sargent Grey told you.

"It would mean you have to go back to hacking and coding, but for the right reasons this time." Angela told you.

"I know you wanted to leave that all behind so it's really your choice if you want to do it or not." Lucy told you.

"honestly it's really clear what I should do." you said and turned to Tamara for approval, you didn't want to do it without her support. She nodded her head and you looked back at Sargent grey.

"I'll do it." you told him and he smiled and unfolded his arms.

"I was hoping you would say that." he told you and nodded at Angela. she came up to you and handed you a brand new laptop and phone and your eyes lit up at the sight.

"a new phone and laptop to replace your old one." she smiled at you and you beamed at her.

"Thank you!!" you exclaimed and smiled happily.

"I added all our contacts in the phone, you can text us whenever you feel like it. i'm sure we'll being hearing more from you soon." Angela told you and you smiled.

"alright, everyone go home and rest up, tomorrow we got another case to solve." Sargent Grey told everyone and everyone nodded.

"wait a damn minute. the night is still young, party at my place!" Nolan announced and everyone smiled and you and Tamara left with Lucy.

Once you guys reached Nolan's place, everyone was reaching and Nolan went to his door and unlocked it and let everyone in. everyone went in and Nolan went to the fridge and took the drinks out and he ordered a lot of food. everyone were drinking and talking to each other, having fun, and you felt awkward because you don't know them well. Halfway through, Tamara pulled you aside.

"so, I have a surprise for you," Tamara told you and you raised an eyebrow.

"while you were on the mission and I was in school, I took the liberty to talk to my principal and applied for a scholarship, I told him about you and he agreed to let you sit for a test and when you pass, you can join my school!" Tamara exclaimed and your eyes widened with shock.

"oh my god Tamara, this is amazing, thank you!" you hugged her tight and she hugged you back with a smile. you smiled at the thought that Tamara had said "when" and not "if" and you were touched she thought you were going to pass.

"it's the least I can do." she said as you guys pulled away.

The rest of the night, you mingled around and got to know everyone better and you guys played some board games and charades. you never thought you would meet these people, it was all thanks to lucy you met them and you were so grateful to have bumped into her and you were grateful that you didn't have to live on the streets anymore.

your life became much easier after that mission, you worked for the LAPD whenever you were needed, putting your hacking skills to use. you also go to school every day, unless there was an emergency at work. You also hang out with Tamara a lot, and sometimes the other people you met. Tim and Lucy eventually got together and they were like adopted parents to you and Tamara. Tamara also got a new car and she brings you everywhere with it. your life couldn't be much better and you were finally happy.

[hydrangeawise]

Oof, El Cazador de la Bruja EP24 was rough.

More than anything, it was also tragic, and man. One thing after another though: I adore how protective Ricardo is of the girls. It was a relief to see that, while he was hired to watch over Nadie and Ellis, that contract was the extent of his interactions with Glasses Guy. I was worried for a bit that he was sort of spying on them for Glasses Guy, but thankfully that turned out not to be the case! (Did we basically start chanting for Ricardo to shoot Glasses Guy to pieces as soon as he pulled the gun on him? Yes.) It really bothers me how self-assured and confident Glasses Guy is, like he's not the most unhinged man. His interactions with Camera Guy made my skin crawl, like ungh! This whole thing about "I'm basically your god, I gave you everything and you will proceed the way I want you to" is seriously unsettling and upsetting to watch, it is no wonder that Camera Guy was unstable as fuck. (Honestly, that whole scene in the clouds or whatever with Glasses Guy eating and Camera Guy's new look? So creepy, so incredibly creepy!)

I enjoyed how Blue-eyes was reuinted with her ladies, and how they brought helpful information with them. I was worried that the passing man from the title would turn out to be Ricardo, basically the whole time (and: so many warm feeling for Nadie 'paying' Ricardo to stay safe and get back to them!). SO MUCH TERROR FOR WHEN LIRIO WENT WANDERING OFF IN SEARCH OF HIM THOUGH! I was already imagining horror scenes of Lirio getting caught up in the fight! The end was - well, like I said, kind of tragic. L.A. coming back to himself after seeing the little doll he made of Ellis' hair dissolve was something, and I don't know how to express it. After seeing the flashback on his first impressions of Ellis, it's almost outrageous how proud(?) Glasses Guy was being the one who gave L.A. the capacity to feel. Like, no, he didn't do shit actually. That was L.A.'s own all along. Lirio serving as a vision of Ellis during his last moments was a neat throwback to that one earlier episode where Ellis pretended to be the mafia boss' dead daughter before he died.

I do have some more thoughts on Blue-eyes's remark that Lirio also changed during her time of watching Nadie and Ellis, but first and foremost, I am once again SO WORRIED that Nadie cut off Blue-eyes like that and decided that they would go on without the others!! I mean, sounds familiar doesn't it? Sounds like what Ellis did when she hurt Nadie, doesn't it?? Especially with the preview of the coming episode!

[their80smichelle]

Hii! The Kiss members he played with are Bruce Kulick, Vinnie Vincent, Eric Singer, Gene Simmons and he also worked with Chris Holmes, Stevie Rachelle, Cherie Currie (plus her tour manager), Steve Summers, Tracii Guns, Steve Riley, Keri Kelli, Gilby Clarke so that's pretty cool!

I did cry for Aerosmith omg my friend saw them a few years ago and we cried together over them after the last concert we attended together 😭

The worst feeling actually, I missed Faster Pussycat and L.A. Guns playing in the next town because I got into them too late 🥲 same with Alice Cooper and Robin Zander in 2020 but that was organizational trouble

I got into European glam through Hanoi Rocks and the shows I've attended at this local rock bar without even knowing most of them before haha out of the ones I mentioned, Blind Channel and Lost Society are more on the alternative metal side, The 69 Eyes are goth rock, FM is AOR, H.E.A.T is hard rock, Shiraz Lane and Tuff are glam :) Other glam/hard rock/adjacent bands I enjoyed live are Crashdïet, King Zebra, Nasty Ratz, Hardcore Superstar, Shameless, Violet, Speed Stroke, The Royal Beggars, Sister, Bai Bang, Eclipse!

- 🎄

WHAAAAAT now I understand why you're jealous😭plsss all of this icons🙏🏼

You saw Aerosmith????? Omg 😭🤧 let's hope for Steven to heal and make some appearances sometimes so we can have a chance to see them again or for the first time 🥲

At least Alice Cooper is still touring :') let's say that I don't know Robin Zander, maybe you'll get another chance to see them🙌🏼

Hanoi Rocks is like the best way to get into glam and punk🙏🏼 I got into glam with first Mötley Crüe even if it’s more Hair Metal but yeah Poison, Cinderella did the job🛐 and then Hanoi Rocks

Imagine being like "Oh I love them ! Wait ! I already saw them !???"🤝🏼

I'll check for all these bands cause I need more divas and glam 🤸🏼‍♀️😩

[human-antithesis]

Ænema

Some say the end is near. Some say we'll see Armageddon soon. Certainly hope we will. I sure could use a vacation from this bullshit three-ring circus sideshow of freaks.

Here in this hopeless fucking hole we call L.A. The only way to fix it is to flush it all away. Any fucking time. Any fucking day. Learn to swim, see you down in Arizona Bay.

Fret for your figure And fret for your latte And fret for your lawsuit And fret for your hairpiece And fret for your Prozac And fret for your pilot And fret for your contract And fret for your car.

It's a bullshit three-ring circus sideshow of freaks.

Here in this hopeless fucking hole we call L.A. The only way to fix it is to flush it all away. Any fucking time. Any fucking day. Learn to swim, see you down in Arizona Bay.

Some say a comet will fall from the sky. Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves. Followed by fault lines that cannot sit still. Followed by millions of dumbfounded dip shits.

And some say the end is near. Some say we'll see Armageddon soon. Certainly hope we will I sure could use a vacation from this stupid shit, silly shit, stupid shit.

One great big festering neon distraction, I've a suggestion to keep you all occupied.

Learn to swim. Learn to swim. Learn to swim.

'Cause mom's gonna fix it all soon. Mom's comin' 'round to put it back the way it ought to be.

Learn to swim. [repeat]

Fuck L Ron Hubbard And fuck all his clones. Fuck all these gun-toting Hip gangster wannabes.

Learn to swim. [repeat]

Fuck retro anything. Fuck your tattoos. Fuck all you junkies And fuck your short memory.

Learn to swim. [repeat]

Fuck smiley glad-hands With hidden agendas. Fuck these dysfunctional Insecure actresses.

Learn to swim. [repeat]

'Cause I'm praying for rain I'm praying for tidal waves I wanna see the ground give way. I wanna watch it all go down.

Mom, please flush it all away. I wanna see it go right in and down. I wanna watch it go right in. Watch you flush it all away.

Time to bring it down again. Don't just call me pessimist. Try and read between the lines. And I can't imagine why you wouldn't welcome any change, my friend.

I wanna see it come down. Bring it down Suck it down. Flush it down.

[saberwitch]

Well, since nobody asked, here:

(cussin' under the cut)

Some say the end is near

Some say we'll see Elder Dragons soon

I certainly hope we will

I sure could use a vacation from this

bullshit

three-ring

circus sideshow of

freaks Here in this hopeless fucking hole we call L.A.

The only way to fix it is to flush it all away

Any fucking time, any fucking day

Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Gendarran Fields bay

Fret for your outfit and

Fret for your renown and

Fret for your bank space and

Fret for your waypoint and

Fret for your bloodstone and

Fret for your glider and

Fret for your downed state and

Fret for your skiff

It's a

bullshit

three-ring

circus sideshow of

freaks here in this hopeless fucking hole we call L.A.

The only way to fix it is to flush it all away

Any fucking time, any fucking day

Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Gendarran Fields bay

Some say a comet will fall from the sky

Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves

Followed by ley lines that cannot sit still

Followed by millions of dumbfounded dipshits

And some say the end is near

Some say we'll see Elder Dragons soon

I certainly hope we will

I sure could use a vacation from this

Stupid shit, silly shit, stupid shit

One great big festering Lion distraction

I've a suggestion to keep you all occupied

Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim

Scarlet's gonna fix it all soon

Scarlet's comin' 'round to put it back the way it ought to be

Learn to swim, learn to swim

Learn to swim, learn to swim

Learn to swim, learn to swim

Learn to swim, learn to swim

Fuck stupid Svanir and

Fuck all his Sons

Fuck all these gun-toting

Harbinger wannabes

Learn to swim, learn to swim

Learn to swim, learn to swim

Learn to swim, learn to swim

Learn to swim, learn to swim

Fuck the Charr legions

Fuck the Asura too

Fuck all Sylvari and

Fuck their short memories

Learn to swim, learn to swim

Learn to swim, learn to swim

Learn to swim, learn to swim

Learn to swim, learn to swim

Yeah, fuck all these Councils

With hidden agendas

Fuck these dysfunctional

insecure Lionguards

Learn to swim, learn to swim

Learn to swim, learn to swim

Learn to swim, learn to swim

Learn to swim, learn to swim

'Cause I'm praying for rain and

I'm praying for tidal waves

I wanna see the ground give way

I wanna watch it all go down

Scarlet, flush it all away

I wanna see it go right in and down

I wanna watch it go right in

Watch you flush it all away

Yeah, time to bring it down again

Yeah, don't just call me 'pessimist'

Try and read between the lines

I can't imagine why you wouldn't

Welcome any change, my friend

I wanna see it come down

Put it down

Suck it down

Flush it down

the Tool song "Aenema" but LA is Lion's Arch instead of Los Angeles and "Mom" is Scarlet

[thesmokingguns]

Bad Day, Worse Night

Word Count: 2051

Summary: You’re having a bad day and just want to come home and stay in bed all night but your boyfriend is on a mission to cheer you up and turn your bad day into a good night. But he doesn’t have the best of luck. 

A/N: I wasn’t going to post today after dropping a bunch of stuff yesterday but kind of like writing Kelly Nickels so I had to write this piece today. I know you’re all probably getting tired of this but I want to thank everyone for engaging in the posts. Let me know if there are any characters you prefer me writing for or if you want something more specific please feel free to request HERE. Thanks everyone!

Tag List: @thenobodies-inc​ , @littlemisscare-all​ , @that-80s-chick​ @ayablackwood

It’s not letting me tag the following people. Please check your settings on Tumblr, thank you!

@agroupiewhore , @ayablackwood

Part One: Bad Day

The door burst open with a crash so loud Kelly looked up from the couch where he was picking at his bass. When the door slammed shut with a louder slam, his eyebrow shot up. You stormed past him into the bedroom slamming another door making the beer he had on the table shake from the force. If he didn’t reach out it would have spilled all over the coffee table.

“Love, by slamming the doors are you trying to tell me something?” He called from the couch. Instead of a response he heard muffled screaming coming from the room. “Take that as a yes.” He muttered to himself as he moved to the bedroom, opening the door that was just slammed.

“Go away.” You mumbled into the pillow. Kelly sat down beside you on the bed, pushing your hair behind your ear. You were so mad about the day that you had at work and just needed to calm down.

It had been one of those days where if it could go wrong it had. Everyone had been screaming at you all day, from customers to the manager it seemed everyone had a bone to pick with you. It felt like you had gone through a boxing match with your emotions and you were holding on by a tiny string. A string that was frazzled, tired, and ready to break at the slightest provocation.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked, rubbing your back. You shifted, laying your head on his lap, his fingers working through your hair. His touch calming you down and make you take a mental step back from the ledge you were about to fall off of.

“I hate the world.” You muttered curling into him and sighing out a deep breath. You heard your boyfriend scoff at this.

“How can you hate the world when I am your world?” Kelly countered. The smile tugging at your lips let him know that he was on the right track to putting you in a good mood. “We can’t go about wallowing in misery. The first option is we go take a bath, drink whiskey, invite some people over and have a party or you can get dolled up and I’ll take you out so that you don’t retreat into yourself like a hermit.” You thought for a second about his offer. Not really wanting to be around anyone.

“I pick C. I stay here in my moody bubble and wallow in my self pity feeling sorry for myself.” You told him, kicking off your heels and reaching for the blanket so you could stay in bed all day. He stood up, letting your head fall to the place he was just sitting and a whiny sound came out of your mouth. “Kelly, come back and rub my hair. That was so nice.” You propped your head up on your hands, looking as he opened the closet door, flipping through some hangers.

“Here. Get dressed.” He threw you a dress that you recognized, it was one of his favorites, smirking as you hit your head against the mattress. “Hey, Y/N stop being dramatic.” You threw a pillow at him as he left wishing it was a lamp and could do more damage. You’d show him dramatic if he wanted to be like that.

Kelly had picked out a short silky dress for you that was skin tight and showed off all the parts of you that he liked to touch. Instead of giving him the satisfaction of being a little sleaze doll for him you pulled on a pair of combat boots and grabbed your leather jacket. You were going to be as comfortable as possible.

“I’m going to get so drunk you’re going to have to carry me home or bail me out of jail. It will be a fun game of which one happens first” You warned, watching the way that he smirked at you. His arm wrapped around your waist pulling you to him and planting a kiss on your lips. The feeling of his lips melting some of your anger.

“Will you get drunk enough to let me take you out to the alley?” He flirted his hand sliding down your curves to your bare thighs and back up trying to creep back up. You smacked his hand away shaking your head annoyed. He always had a one track mind.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Kels.” You shook your head taking a step away from him and trying on one of his hats that were hanging by the front door. Thinking of how he had mentioned the alley you thought of how to change his mind to staying in and letting you wallow, “You know, whenever you’re in a bad mood-“

“I’m a ray of fucking sunshine. I’m never in a bad mood.” He interrupted earning him a glare from you as he took the hat off your head and put it on his own head.

“Ray of fucking sunshine, my ass.” You snorted. But your mind was on how you wanted to stay home. Maybe order a pizza and eat it in the bathtub or eat it well crying on the couch watching a movie. Maybe you could convince him to stay home with you if you played your cards right and used his weakness against him..

Taking a step forward you ran a finger down his chest, making sure you kept eye contact and held his attention. You let your tongue slip out wetting your bottom lip, watching his eyes follow the simple motion. You let your arms slip around his neck pushing your body into his, loving how he couldn’t stop his hands from skimming your body.

“When you’re in a bad mood I always cheer you up by going down on my knees. Maybe you can return the favor?” You asked, batting your eyelashes. He definitely was reconsidering going out now. You could see the hesitation to move as he tried to process what you were saying to him.

“Giving me a blowjob will cheer you up?” He asked, tilting his head slightly. “Because if that’s the case we have plenty of time to-“ you threw up your hands shaking your head as you took a step away from him.

“Let’s just go.” You said moving to open the door. Kelly slid his arm around you, practically dragging you outside and into the fading sunshine. Part of you wondered if you should ask where you were going, the other part was just hoping there would be drinks. The sooner you left the sooner you could go home.

Part Two: Bad Night

It had been about two hours since you had been dragged out of your apartment after having a miserable day at work. Your head was throbbing and you were thinking about how you could be wrapped in blankets on the couch watching the VHS of Beetlejuice you had bought last week. Maybe be halfway through a pizza and on your second bottle of wine.

Instead you were at The Roxy, packed in the upstairs bar where people kept bumping into you and where you had lost Kelly at least a half hour before when he had gone to the bathroom. You had managed to get drunk but instead of bringing out the laughter and dancing that your boyfriend had been hoping it would bring out you were just getting more upset.

You slammed back another shot of whiskey, tapping two fingers on the bar to signal you needed another. If Kelly didn’t appear after the next shot you were going to go home. You felt like you were on the brink of tears. They were burning, ready to fall if you could just get back home. The overwhelming feeling of a bad day setting you on the path for the worst mood to break open.

“Hey beautiful, are you here alone?”

“Fuck off.” You didn’t even bother to look at the man who had slid into the free spot next to you. You were not in the mood to have strangers talk to you or flirt with you.

“Aw, why are you being rude to me? Bad night?” You slammed back the last shot. Time to go. Standing up, ignoring the man you felt the hand on your arm. You turned expecting to see Kelly but some stranger was holding onto you. It had been a bad day and now a bad night. You slammed your head forward headbutting the guy who had tried to talk to you at the bar. He broke contact with you, you could feel his blood drip onto you as you turned to walk out of the club, your body shaking in annoyance.

Bad day turns into a bad night, who saw that one coming? You lit a cigarette, sucking on the filter and sighing out a cloud of smoke. You just wanted to get home and into your bed, away from everyone. You were mad at Kelly for dragging you out and vanishing. You were mad about work. You were mad about that fucking weird guy grabbing you at the bar. You were mad that you were… crying.

The stream of tears coming out, burning as your mascara poured down your face.  Wiping furiously with the leather sleeve of your jacket, you depended on muscle memory to get you home. It was aggravating to be so upset and crying because of it. Pushing open the door to a dark apartment you headed straight into the bathroom, filling the claw foot tub with hot water. You needed to wash off this day and have a little bit of a fresh start.

Kelly threw the front door open, eyes wild as he looked around the apartment. A glow from the bathroom had him nearly sprinting across the apartment opening the door and freezing when he saw you. Your hair was pulled up, face a mess of mascara lines from tears and someone else’s blood, a bruise from where your head met a face, naked with an arm crossed over your breasts, the other arm resting in it and holding a cigarette.

“What the fuck?” Kelly rushed towards the tub. His hands checking you for any other injury, “Where are you bleeding from? Are you okay?” He was touching you everywhere but you were so numb, everything overwhelming you that it was like you were outside your body watching it happen. “Y/N? Y/N, please, say something.” Your eyes snapped up watching him, the concern for you swimming in his eyes.

“Who goes to the bathroom for a half hour?” The guilty look he gave you had you shaking your head, taking a drag of your cigarette, “Just leave me alone. It’s been a bad 24 hours.” You drew your legs up, resting your chin on your knees.

But leaving you alone was the last thing he planned on doing. Kelly was stripping, easing himself behind you in the tub. His arms wrapping around you and dragging you back against him. He grabbed a washcloth filling it in the water before starting to wipe the makeup and blood from your face. With each gentle movement of the washcloth you could feel your bad day starting to fade. The way Kelly rubbed your shoulders, kissing them after they were clean started to crack your anger.

“How are you, Love? Any better?” His hands tucking a strand of hair away from your face. His fingers feeling like they were soft kisses on your skin.

“I’m still a little grumpy.” You admitted.

“Well you’re always a little bit grumpy so that seems fine. As long as you’re back to your normal amount.” Sinking back against him, you felt thankful for him being here with you. This is exactly what you had needed.

“Hey Kelly, I love you.”

“I love you more. Sorry for doing coke in the bathroom.” You rolled your eyes at his confession snuggling into his arms. The way he was stroking you arms and laying kisses on the back of your neck made you aware it might have been a bad day but Kelly wasn’t going to let you go to bed in a bad mood.

[born-to-lose]

Can you do a first date headcanon with Kelly Nickels

Again a kinda short one, but I hope you like it!

Obviously, Kelly is the one to ask you out

For your first date, the two of you go to the cinema

He lets you choose the movie and while he'd preferably watch a comedy or action movie, he'll be fine with anything you pick

You share the snacks you bought (popcorn, nachos - whatever you like)

He'll casually have an arm around you throughout the movie, but won't try to get uncomfortably close

When you get ice cream afterwards, he lets you order first and then takes the same flavor as you

He definitely makes jokes about the ice cream dripping down your chin

While you continue eating, you walk around the city together, talking about random stuff

You make fun of some obscure things you see in store windows and sometimes even go inside and leave without buying anythin

In the end, he'll give you a motorbike ride home and immediately ask you for another date

[tobbesdiscordkitten]

there’s a rumor about axl where it’s said that he used to be a prostitute, to other men, what are your thoughts.

https://www.reddit.com/r/GunsNRoses/s/VF6JkDOc3l

If it’s true, I think it was devastating. It breaks my heart knowing he suffered through so much in his life. I do believe it might’ve been possible since Axl briefly mentioned he had a few bad experiences with gay men, he might’ve been alluding to his prostitution days, but he never went into great detail about it.

There’s not much concrete evidence to back up the prostitution claims either, but witnesses say Axl engaged in those activities to support himself in the early days. I’ll share some anecdotes down below for everybody.

In 2011, Mike Jagosz, who used to be in L.A. Guns with Axl around the same time, lashed out about him on the Proud2BeLoud blog:

“To tell you the Jesus Christ truth...William Bailey was only in the group for two fuckin’ weeks...He lived at my parent's house for over six months, sponging off us, and doing heroin. What a little fag*ot. Come to find out, he was a male-fag*ot prostitute at the time. He sold his asshole to gay men for money. But, he made 70 million. He was a real piece of work...”

It disturbs me to think about how Axl’s step-father prepped him up to get fucked by other men later in his life 😖 One thing I also want to mention is Axl used heroin to cope with his depressive symptoms. So, I don’t think he was a drug addict, like how Mike insinuates here, but I do think Axl was depressed from prostituting and needed a way, or a quick escape, to deal with everything around him. I can’t even imagine…

In 2000, anonymous message boards have reported other claims that Axl was an alleged prostitute.

Well, I sucked and fucked, or got sucked and fucked, by two musicians (different times). One has been open about working the streets when he first got here so I will mention his name - Axl Rose from Guns N’ Roses. He was hustling on Santa Monica boulevard. The other was just always horny, not really gay. I think I was in the right place at the right time back then. And that is really what it comes down to.

I really want to take everything with a grain of salt here, but something tells me this could’ve happened. You know how people accused Axl of being homophobic? Well, what if he was referring to the people during his prostitution days, and not every gay man? His experiences must’ve been so awful. I hate to think about it any further.

[you-can-call-me-wanda]

Protective & Pregnant

Pairing: Kelly Nickels x Reader (Requested)

Author’s Note: I’m really sorry if my writing has gotten worse and that it has been coming out so slowly. Please know that I’m really trying :)

“I got it babe.”

Kelly ran down the hall to meet you at the door of the recording studio. You had just taken a cab over to drop off a couple of things for Kelly and the boys.

“Kelly, it’s fine. It’s just one bag,” you said, shooing away Kelly’s hands from taking a hold of the bag you were carrying. In it were assorted items the band had requested you bring: new guitar strings, cigarettes, a forgotten pedal, and a surprising amount of snacks. 

Kelly ignored your protests though and grabbed the bag from your hands anyways. Taking it into his own hands, he began leading you through the door and down the corridor to the studio where the rest of L.A. Guns were.

“We’re upstairs,” he said motioning to the stairwell you were both approaching. “Are you good to take the stairs?”

“My god, Kelly,” you groaned, rolling your eyes. “I’m pregnant, not helpless.”

Kelly lifted his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, okay. I just worry y’know?”

You smiled up at him. You actually found it to be quite precious the way Kelly worried about and doted on you. He had been like this ever since you had first told him you were expecting. “I know,” you said. “Trust me, I know.”

Despite your teasing, Kelly still grasped at your arm as you made your way up the flight of stairs. You had already been holding the railing with your other hand, but Kelly must have felt you needed his help as well. You decided to just let him help you, knowing it was an action done entirely out of love and devotion to you and your baby.

“(Y/N)!”

You heard your name immediately after exiting the stairwell with Kelly. Phil was standing in the doorway of the first door in the hallway with a big grin on his face. 

“Hey Phil!” you greeted enthusiastically. You were close with all of the boys in L.A. Guns, but got along especially well with Phil. “How are you?” You approached him as Kelly entered the room and began a conversation with Steve and Tracii.

“I’m great! And you, oh my, you’ve gotten so big,” Phil gushed, embracing you in a hug before reaching down to place a gentle hand on your growing belly. “Christ, how far along are you now?”

“Seven months,” you replied, smiling fondly at the excitement in Phil’s eyes caused by your baby bump. All the boys had been so excited when you and Kelly had announced you were going to be parents. “Am I really that much bigger?” you asked. You had seen Phil only a couple of weeks ago.

“Well yeah,” Phil said. “But, um, in a good way! Not fat, just bigger.” Phil’s eyes grew wide. “Not that if you were getting fatter that would be a bad thing!”

“Um thanks?” you said, confused as to why Phil was acting so strangely.

“What I mean is you look good! What’s that word Kelly told us?” Phil paused to think of what he was trying to say. “Glowing! That’s it! You look glowing.”

“Kelly told you to say that?” you asked Phil, turning back to him.

Phil reached up to play with his hair, a small embarrassed smile on his lips. “Well, not exactly. But he did tell us to be extra nice to you when we saw you today.”

You squinted your eyes in confusion. “Why?” you asked, unsure as to why Kelly would say that to his friends.

“Oh well, I don’t know. He just said you were getting to be a little, hmm how should I say it, sensitive is all. I think he just didn’t want any of us upsetting you. You know how Mick and Steve’s jokes can get.” Phil explained, looking slightly like he had just accidentally let the cat out of the bag. “Kelly’s just looking out for you I think.”

You smiled. Being pregnant had made you a tad more emotional than usual.The other day you had cried over seeing your neighbor’s cat sitting out their porch, something completely ordinary. Your hormones were all out of wack and that made you a bit more inclined to react strongly or out of the ordinary to things. You found it extremely endearing and a little humorous that Kelly had instructed the boys to be on their best behavior for your benefit. 

“Speak of the devil,” Phil said as you felt an arm snake around your waist.

Kelly came up behind you and rubbed soothing circles on your side. “Were you talking about me?” he asked, eyebrows raised, looking between the two of you. 

“Only about how much I love you,” you replied, standing up on your tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek. 

Phil smiled at the two of you before silently excusing himself to go talk to Tracii. 

“What were you really talking about?” Kelly asked, suspicious of what you and Phil had been conversing about.

You only responded with your own question though. “Did you really tell the guys to be extra nice to me today?”

Kelly huffed out a laugh and you turned around to see a little color rise to his cheeks. He put a hand to the back of his neck.

“Um, well, kinda. I didn’t say it like that,” he explained. “I just suggested that they not be as crude as they typically would since you’ve been uh, well kinda, um,” he fumbled to find a word that wouldn’t seem offensive.

“Sensitive?” you supplied, thinking of what Phil had said.

“Yeah,” he said. “But I just meant it as a precaution that some of their typical teasing ways might not go over well with you right now.” He grinned and shook his head a little. “I didn’t mean that they had to walk on eggshells around you.”

You giggled a little. “Well Phil was definitely trying very hard not to offend me.”

“I’m sorry,” Kelly said. “I didn’t want you to know that I had said anything to them, but I should've known Phil wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut. Maybe I should’ve just left it alone. I know I’ve been too overprotective lately,” he sighed. “I’m just nervous is all, that something may happen to you or the baby. I know I’m being a lot.”

“Kelly,” you said, wrapping your arms around him in a small hug. Your protruding stomach made it hard to fully embrace him. “I’m not mad, baby. I think it’s really sweet how protective you’ve been.”

“You do?” he asked.

“Yes! I mean, sometimes it is a little unnecessary but how could I be mad at you for being so loving and supportive. You’re already such a good father for this baby.” You both looked lovingly down at your baby bump. “We’re so lucky to have you.”

“Hey lovers!” Mick yelled, interrupting you and Kelly’s private moment. “C’mon, we have shit to do!”

“Mick,” Phil hissed, elbowing Mick in the side, “(Y/N)’s pregnant remember? We can’t say stuff like that anymore.”

Kelly just shook his head while you laughed.

[80s-motel]

Dating Kelly Nickels would include...

Him spoiling you and buying you everything you can imagine

When you both knew that your relationship was getting serious, he dropped the big question: “Wanna adopt a puppy together?

Yeah, you obviously accepted. The puppy was really cute and playful, so Kelly got quickly attached to it. You loved to see them play in the dog park and the little animal always slept with you two.

He is a good puppy dad, ngl. The puppy also got attached to Kelly and it always waited for him to return home in the door.

The L.A. boys shipping you two in a hardcore way, specially Steve and Tracii

If something goes wrong with your relationship, Tracii is the first to find out. He also is like your love counselor and he turns out to be your best friend, so if you have any problems with Kelly, he will sue the fuck out of him.

Kelly having lots of nicknames for you, but he usually calls you “doll”

You calling him “duckling” since you heard him quacking

Nothing more, just him being a sweet cuddlebug whenever he can

Forehead kisses and soft peaks in your lips for literally anything

Him loving to pinch your cheeks until they become red

And you tickling his neck as your revenge

If you’re sad, he will go with you and do dumb faces until you smile

Then, he would hug you and squish your face and give you kisses

[mayybirds]

The thing about Ethan is that I can barely believe this man knows how to use a pistol, let alone all the other shit he pulls in RE7. RE8, fine, he's had some training and probably googled how to make ammo to assuage his PTSD-sourced paranoia just in case he ends up back in that sort of situation.

But RE7, this man looks like he's never held a gun in his life and it's not like he came prepared for a fight. Does he even know where the safety is? I know the US is a pretty gun-centric place but I don't think Ethan is the type of guy to be part of it. Maybe he went out to the shooting range with some buddies but... does Ethan look like the guy who has friends who go shooting for fun? This man is from California and works as a systems engineer.

Leon at least was a police rookie, he had training. Scientists working in high-security and high-risk fields of research, especially in the RE universe, they also probably know how to use a gun at least theoretically. I don't have to explain the soldiers or spies. Having family in the military can also explain at least a basic proficiency with firearms, or coming from an area where hunting was at least semi-common or your dad might keep a gun in a locked box for emergencies. But Ethan is so painfully average in a very specific middle-class suburban California way that I can't imagine him having any sort of weapons training, let alone the ability to use a grenade launcher. He went out to the middle of bumfuck Louisiana looking for his missing wife in a dress shirt and apparently he's worldy enough to know how to use a revolver? Mia had her secret identity as an evil scientist for the military industrial complex but where tf does Ethan's weapons background come from because I bet it's buckwild.

(Of course then you came in with your Raccoon City Survivor Ethan desperately trying to paper over the trauma with the illusion of normalcy even though the knowledge and habits remain just beneath the surface, which is fantastic. But still I wonder what the people at Capcom were thinking when they made Mr. Whitebread build explosives out of scraps in a shack)

Yeah when you get away from like…the kind of patchwork cover me and other fanfic writers do to excuse Ethan’s knowledge of weapons… Canon Ethan’s abilities with firearms get that much more ridiculous and hilarious. Like…I’m someone who plays survival horror games regularly but if you put me in front of a real gun I’d have very limited knowledge of how to use it. So how tf did Ethan know what he was doing.

It’s him being from Cali that’s really the icing on top for me. TtVtL Ethan is from around the L.A. area but canon Ethan in my head is from the greater San Fran area because…systems engineer in chinos. Tech people in San Fran do not fuckin have guns lol. Literally they could have made him from Texas like Mia and I’d have at least bought into it a little more because… Texas.