#Lucky: You think I’d die? Nuh-uh.

[incorrect-finding-frankie]

Hey! hope you don't mind but I drew one of the quotes that I read and found funny.

Hope you like it!

I love it, thank you! Seeing drawing of quotes always makes me happy.

Lucky’s just a silly fella.

[uozlulu]

Black Clover chapter 330 reaction and spoilers

Curious if Adrammelech is going to eat that heart, feed it to someone, or use it in some other nefarious purpose like cloning or to keep the wege open via a spell or something. It’ll be fun to see what he decides to do.

I think it’s also very telling that Adrammelech just wanders off with the heart. It does kind of illustrate I might be right and since the wege are open, devils can just do what they want, which will eventually be the biggest problem once the aftermath of this immediate battle plays out.

We get a confession out of Charlotte finally and Yami is unconscious. But, also promising on that front because now that Charlotte’s admitted it maybe she can level up from being a repressed noble about things.

Love how the Black Bulls show up like the world’s most chaotic food delivery service.

Vanessa: Captain!!! I swear…! Come on! How many times do you almost have to die?!! Yami: Y’know, I figured I’d managed it that time. Nacht: That idiot was this close to taking me with him. Yami: Uh no. You almost died first. Nacht: That was you. Yami: Nuh-uh. You.

Love everything about this panel. From Yami and Nacht patching things back up to Grey, Vanessa, and Magna encircling Yami to Charmy and Yuno having a moment.

Charlotte’s back to her blushy self, but hey we made progress nonetheless. Have to say I’m a bit proud of her since I too am rather shy and grew up in an environment that discouraged me from saying how I really feel.

Yay! I’m excited for Nacht to join the fray. I’m hoping this means maybe we’ll get lucky and the next arc might be more Black Bulls centric especially since I don’t think we solved Henry’s curse yet.

I’m going to be honest, Black Clover time and time again reminds me of Sailor Moon frequently through page layouts and themes. The end to this chapter is no different, and I think that’s part of why I love Black Clover so much. Yeah it’d be interesting to explore what would happen if Yami died, but at the same time I’m really happy he’s going to survive (at least for now) and we’re maybe going to get to explore consequences of the ritual depending. I love that he’s gained a new weapon that Vangeance made him and I love that there’s so many places the story can still go from here. That said, I’m curious if this means the foreshadowing imagery of Yami dying was just a fake out or if it’s indicative of where the larger saga is going, because I’m still assuming much like how we technically had a Eye of the Midnight Sun, the Dark Triad is just a part one to a much larger saga. It’ll be interesting to see which way things go. It’ll also be interesting to see what they’re going to do about the wege especially since that probably involves the world beyond the shuffle kingdoms I would assume (and hope).

All that said, it does kind of bum me out that we never go to see what Sally’s group was up to and Vanessa never really had a shining moment like everyone else pretty much got (though Gordon and Henry’s was shared). I wonder if that means when the anime comes back we’ll see these missing pieces or if they’re yet to come as well. I’m also curious if we’re going to eventually catch up with Mars and Fana sooner than later since we saw Lotus a few chapters back too. So much to consider. So much to ponder.

[pies-writes-and-more]

A French Kiss

Word Count: 7, 947

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader

Warnings: No warnings! Just some super cute fluff :) 

A/N: Dedicating this work to the lovely @wxstedhexrt​​!!!! Ps. Destiny if you thought i wasn’t going to dedicate this fic to you, you’re crazy lol. Thank you so much for being such a cute part of my writing process😉😘

(Not my gfif, creds to the original creator!!)

Y/N held her phone tightly to her chest, eyes scanning the crowd. Too old. Too young. Eh, maybe? Not that one. Maybe that one? Shit no, has a girlfriend. Has kids. Ugh.

“You’re not actually going to do this are you?” Wanda asked, taking a sip from the iced coffee she had bought earlier. She watched as her friend nervously shifted her weight, staring at different men who were around them.

“Of course I am. I need to do this.” Y/N’s hands were shaking a little. Here she was, at an amazing photo opportunity in front of the Eiffel Tower, and she wasn’t even looking at it. She could only imagine how stupid she looked to everyone else.

Nat sighed from her spot on the ground. She had known this was going to take a while so she had laid out her rain jacket on the ground and sat down, absentmindedly scrolling through her phone. “Just pick someone. Anyone.”

“I can’t just pick, Natasha,” Y/N huffed, hands on her hips as she turned to look at her friend. “I need someone who is far better looking than Jake could ever dream to be. Not to mention I need to make sure he’s not married or with his family or with his girlfriend because I can’t imagine how awkward that would be-”

“What about him?” Wanda spoke up, nodding forward.

Y/N followed her gaze to a group of guys gathered around a nearby bench, laughing and smiling together. Y/N couldn’t be sure which guy Wanda was referring to but her eyes immediately fell on the blond guy who was writing? maybe sketching? into a small notebook. They were loud enough for Y/N to catch glimpses of their conversation, making a small smile pull at her lips.

“God this is going to take forever. Why didn’t you just take a photo?” The long dark-haired one whined, popping a snack into his mouth.

“The more you whine, the longer I’m going to take,” Y/N heard the blond say. She bit her lip, finally turning to Wanda and shaking her head.

“No way, he’s busy.” Y/N tried to seem casual, as if this wasn’t the first guy that she felt like she was drooling over. He had such a great physique, and that quiet concentrated look on her face made her swoon. What kind of guy like that would be single anyways?

“Oh come on, what you’re asking for takes like two seconds. Just go ask!” Wanda insisted but Y/N just made whining noises in response.

“God, no. I can’t do this. This is too embarrassing. Forget this. Forget Jake. Let’s just take a group photo and get this over with.” Y/N fumbled with her phone quickly, getting ready to just take a selfie with her girls.

“Nuh uh. I did not just get comfortable here on this foreign floor for you to chicken out of what you’ve been planning on doing the whole trip here.” Nat insisted, sighing but getting up anyways. Instead of posing for the selfie, she grabbed her things off the ground and then tightly wound her fingers around Y/N’s wrist, dragging her over to the group of guys.

“Hi there! I’m Wanda, this is Nat and Y/N!” Wanda spoke up to them first, having skipped along Nat and Y/N (who was still protesting and pulling at Nat’s strong grip).

The guys stared at the girls for a moment, all three of them sharing a look before looking back at them. “Hey there. I’m Sam. That’s Bucky and Steve,” the one guy grinned, nodding towards his friends. His smile was lined with amusement, obviously trying to not laugh at how distressed Y/N looked. “You being kidnapped or something?”

“Please, if they wanted to kidnap me, no one would’ve noticed.” Y/N huffed but gave him a sheepish smile.

“What can we do for you, ladies?” The long dark-haired one, whom Sam introduced as Bucky, asked. His smile was sort of cocky looking, very cheeky, Y/N noticed. She tried to look anywhere but at the blond, who seemed to be eyeing her.

Nat nudged Y/N forward, raising an eyebrow at her like she was saying Go ahead. “Um.” Y/N bit down on her lip, glancing back at the Eiffel Tower. Maybe she could lie. Maybe she could just ask them to take a picture of her and the girls and it would be over lickety-split.

“Y/N needs to be kissed.” Nat stated simply, noting the hesitation in her friend. The bluntness in her tone shocked everyone but Wanda who just snickered beside her.

“Nat!” Y/N whined, eyes going wide as she glared at her friend. “That’s not- that’s not the whole story! You… It sounds weird if you say it like that!”

“Well then, you tell them the story.” Nat shrugged. She placed her jacket back down on the ground, sitting back down and looking up at her friend, as if becoming part of the audience for the story she knew all too well.

Y/N sigh and closed her eyes for a moment, wishing she could just disappear. “Uh.” Her eyes opened and they immediately locked onto Steve’s beautiful blue eyes. God he was gorgeous. A guy like that would make Jake insanely jealous. “I got… I got dumped by my boyfriend a few weeks ago.” She started, immediately realizing how pitiful that sounded.

“Actually, you dumped him. He cheated on you.” Wanda interjected as she squeezed onto the bench beside Steve. She gave him a smile as he shifted to make room for her. “But continue.”

All of the guys gave her empathetic smiles, but stayed quiet as if to urge her to keep going. Y/N wished her life wasn’t as tragic as this story sounded.

“Fine. Jake cheated on me. With a girl he’d been friends with for a while. But that’s besides the point. Kinda. I mean it’s the whole point of why we’re here and asking but it’s still besides the point,” she rambled nervously. Wanda rolled her eyes and stretched out her leg, kicking the girl in her shin and making her yelp. “Hey!”

“Come on girl, get to the point. I’m sure these guys have other things they need to do today.” Wanda teased, making Nat snicker.

“No no, please continue. If it leads up to a kiss, I’d much rather hear the full story,” Bucky grinned, making Y/N’s face feel hot. He gave her a playful wink and Steve reached over to hit him over the head.

“Let her finish her story, Buck,” Steve glared, looking back at her with a small smile.

Y/N smiled back nervously, chewing on the inside of her cheek, “W-Well. I just… Paris was supposed to be the place that me and my ex were going to go. We always talked about it. So now that I’m here…” her voice drifted for a bit and she glanced back at the Tower once more.

“Ooooh.” Sam chuckled, his dark brown eyes sparkling as he put two and two together. “You’re looking to make that son of a bitch jealous. Find a cute guy to take a picture with in front of the Eiffel Tower, make him regret what he did to you, amiright?”

Y/N blushed further but nodded. He had hit the nail right on its head.

“Honestly, you probably could’ve just asked us to kiss you and we would’ve said yes,” Bucky laughed, clapping a hand onto the shoulder of the blond guy, who Y/N noticed seemed to have tucked his notebook away. “Except for Steve here. He’s a proper old school gentleman.”

“Buck,” Steve groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose slightly. “Can you go like five seconds without embarrassing me?”

“Normally? Yes. But when there’s cute girls involved, it’s hard.” Bucky chuckled and turned to Y/N, “Well sorry your ex was an asshole. But on the plus side, you’ve got your pick of us three. Any of us you’d prefer?”

Y/N wanted nothing more but to faint. Here she was, actually doing the thing she wanted to do, with insanely handsome men who actually wanted to help, but it was all too much. She was overwhelmed with anxiety, her heart was pumping so fast she wasn’t sure she could actually form a complete sentence. It would be mortifying to say that she was already falling for Steve, even though she literally just met him.

“Cool it, Bucky, you’re making the poor girl sweat,” Sam smacked Bucky’s arm, who just turned to smack him back. “Just let her breathe, sheesh.”

Y/N’s eyes flickered over to Steve, who also seemed to be blushing a little. She wasn’t sure why. Maybe he was just embarrassed over his friends? Y/N could relate to that.

“Actually, Y/N’s got a think for blonds!” Nat piped up, only looking up from her phone to smirk at her friend.

“Oh that’s rightttt. Especially when they’re artists. You were sketching a little earlier, weren’t you? Steve, was it?” Wanda asked, nudging Steve slightly. She wiggled her eyebrows at him making both Y/N and Steve squirm shyly.

That’s it. Y/N was surely going to die. She looked up to the sky momentarily, wondering if Zeus would smite her just to help a girl out.

“Ooooh well lucky for you, our blond artist is a hopeless romantic still looking for love,” Sam chuckled. “He’s the complete package, so please take him so we don’t have to.”

Steve shot him a glare, moving his gaze back to Y/N and giving her that same sweet empathetic smile. She felt her stomach flip a little, quickly staring at the floor instead. God, if she couldn’t even look at him without feeling butterflies, would she really be able to kiss him?

“Okay enough eye fucking, you two.” Nat spoke up casually. “Wanda, go take their photo before they end up having babies.”

“Nat!” Y/N was going to kill her for that later but Nat, Wanda, and Steve’s friends laughed it away. Steve blushed a little more, standing up and brushing off the eraser dust from his pants. Y/N couldn’t help but feel small next to him. Not because of his height, but he just had this aura. A strong, protective aura.

He took her hand gently and Y/N bit her lip at the feeling of his callouses. Her mind went to all sorts of places, wondering how such a gentle man had such a hard outer shell. “We really don’t have to. I don’t want you to feel like you have to do this. It’s a really stupid idea anyways, I don’t even know if he’ll see it.” She rambled nervously as the two of them walked to a good picture spot, Wanda and the others behind them.

“He’ll see it.” Steve stated firmly with a smile to her. “If I lost a girl like you, I’d be checking all your social media to see if you missed me too.”

Y/N’s cheeks flushed again, staring at the ground nervously, “Yeah well, I can’t be all that great if he found someone else while he was with me.”

Wanda positioned them in a spot with good lighting, Steve turning to face Y/N as Wanda got her camera ready, “You ever been to an art museum? And some asshole just blows right by a piece of art, acting like there isn’t emotions poured into it, like there isn’t something deeper in it? Sometimes art isn’t appreciated the way it should be. Just gotta find that one guy who’s going to be speechless every time he sees you.”

Y/N looked up at him with wide eyes. How did this man go from blushing, awkward, and quiet to smooth and flirty? She couldn’t help but giggle as she raised an eyebrow, “You always talk like this? Or is it just the influence of the City of Love?” She teased, feeling a sudden ease in talking to him. He felt so comfortable now, when it was just the two of them a little ways away from their playful friends.

“I dunno, doll. I’m in a city filled with some of the greatest pieces of art, and right now I’d much rather be here. Looking at you.” He teased back with a smirk. He saw her face glow a little more and he reached out to brush her hair from her eyes.

Although Y/N’s face felt hot, a cool breeze pushed past. She pulled her arms to her chest, rubbing her arms gently, “Are you just saying all these because you pity me?” She asked with a small smile. “I’m okay you know. About the whole… getting cheated on ex boyfriend thing.”

Steve watched her for a moment and stepped back a little to pull his blue sweater over his head. Y/N tried not to let her eyes stare but it was hard not to notice the muscles hiding under his white undershirt as he stripped. “Here. You must be cold.”

Y/N flushed a little, stammering out some sounds as he helped her ease the large sweater over her head.

“And no. I’m not lying about all this. You really are beautiful, Y/N,” he leaned forward, whispering it into her ear. “I’m sorry that jackass hurt you… but I can’t say I’m all that sorry that I’m standing here with the opportunity to kiss you.” Steve’s fingers found their way under her chin, tilting it up gently.

Y/N almost forgot what they were doing here. Her brain suddenly went, Jake who?She already felt like she was hyperventilating with Steve’s poetry-like words and chick-flick worthy speech. The moment Steve’s lips touched hers, her whole mind melted. His lips were soft and Y/N couldn’t help but smile at the comparison to his rough hands. All the love songs, the poems, the movies… they all talked about that one kiss and suddenly, they all made sense. After a moment, Steve pulled away slightly but Y/N quickly filled the gap, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and pulling him back.

When the fogginess of her mind disappeared and the two of them finally took a turn to breathe, their eyes locked momentarily. Y/N could’ve sworn she heard a “wow” escape from Steve’s lips.

Whoops and hollers from their friends were quickly becoming louder as the two of them returned to Earth from their makeout high.

“Damn Steve, you kiss all girls like that?” Wanda teased, having snapped numerous photos of the kiss, not to mention a ton of the cute interaction that happened before. She and Nat shared a laugh, knowing Y/N was going to love the cute picture of Steve stripping next to the picture of her standing in his sweater.

“What girls?” Sam snickered, him and Bucky high-fiving. “Steve’s a completely mess around most girls.”

Steve let out a groan as he shot a death glare to Sam. “Can you… I’m trying to be… ugh!” He huffed, flustered with both embarrassment and frustration, especially as he heard Y/N giggling next to him. Here he was, overwhelmed with endorphins from having kissed the prettiest girl he’s ever seen, and his friends can’t stop making him out to be an anxious nervous wreck. He was an anxious nervous wreck around girls but this girl didn’t have to know that!

The four friends laughed nearby as they all got to know each other a little more, teasing the slightly awkward ‘couple’ as they stood there, unsure of what to do now.

“Y-You don’t have a girlfriend or anything to get back to do you?” Y/N asked as she blinked at him, realizing she hadn’t even asked him before.

Steve shook his head quickly, cheeks turning pink as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Naw, I haven’t had much luck in the love department for a while.” He admitted, mentally slapping himself as the words left his lips. Why is he telling her this??? He had been so careful in choosing his words before, wanting to make the whole interaction feel as romantic as possible. After all, this girl deserved to be swooned.

Y/N couldn’t help but smile at how nervous he seemed. Before he kissed her, he was all smooth and suave, but he also seemed so soft and awkward.

Right now, Steve was looking like he was battling a war in his head. He shifted on his feet, watching her nervously, “Was… was it okay?” He blurted out, biting down on his lip as he watched her expression. “The kiss, I mean?”

Y/N wasn’t sure what to tell him. How could she put into words the way that his lips literally made her feel like she was floating? How could she tell this man, a man she would probably never see again, that he was like a drug and she was already addicted? Here he was, a stranger, and Y/N was falling in fucking love with him when she had only done this to get back at her stupid ex boyfriend?

“I-It was…” She hesitated, looking for a good word. “Perfect.” The word slipped from Y/N’s lips faster than she could comprehend it. The two of them shared another blush, an awkward silence falling on them.

“Hey Rogers, if you’re done fonduing, we gotta meet with Tony and Rhodey! Got that dinner reservation Tony’s been talking about!” Bucky yelled over. Steve’s heart fell a little and he looked over at Y/N, only to find the same slight downcast expression on her face.

“Thank you… for your help,” she smiled up at him. Steve tried to capture the image in his mine, the sight of her smile, gleaming in the sun behind them. This was the sight Steve wanted to die looking at.

“A-Anytime,” he quickly stammered, realizing that he was staring at her.

“Steve!” Bucky yelled again, glancing between his friend and the watch on his wrist. “If we’re late, Tony’s gonna kill us!”

Steve groaned a little, rolling his eyes at the sound of his best friend. “I should go.” He sighed, looking at her just once more. He leaned over and brushed her hair from her face, bending over to plant a gentle kiss on her cheek. “Have a great time in Paris, doll.” He murmured to her before rushing over to Bucky’s side.

The boys left, Sam and Bucky teasing him endlessly and loudly, drawing the attention of many people nearby. Y/N’s cheeks were still flushed as she slowly walked over to her friends, their grins as wide as their faces.

“Soooo. Steveeee.” Wanda sang with a giggle. “He’s much cuter than Jake.”

“He’s much cuter than any guy you’ve dated,” Nat corrected with a smirk. “You’re welcome. When you guys get married, I hope that you’ll thank me in your wedding vows.”

Y/N rolled her eyes with a smile, shaking her head. “I’m never going to see him again, you goose.”

Wanda and Nat’s wide eyes made Y/N feel like she had grown a second head. “W-What?” She frowned, feeling a little self-conscious with them looking at her.

“Um hello? You just shared the hottest kiss with a man in the most romantic spot in the world and you’re not planning on seeing him again?” Wanda asked, hands on her hips.

“How would I?” Y/N frowned slightly, giving a shrug.

Nat stared at her exasperatedly, “You didn’t give him your number?! What about your instagram? So he could be tagged in the photos?”

Y/N shrugged again, blushing now as she realized how much she now wanted to give him that info. “He didn’t ask for it,” she gave as an excuse, only worsening her slight pain. Her mind wondered for a moment about why... why hadn’t he asked for it?

“Wait, but you’re still wearing his sweater,” Wanda gaped, eyes wide.

Y/N’s eyes widened as she looked down to indeed find his blue sweater fitted on her body. “Shit!” She screeched, running towards the direction the boys had headed. Her eyes darted between groups, trying to find a sign of either one of the boys she had met. But she had no clue where they were headed, she didn’t even know what restaurant they were going to.

“Fuck...” she mumbled. A little piece of hope that had flickered in her heart died, realizing that she had lost her chance to connect with the one guy who made all the love songs make sense.

Y/N wore the sweater all night long, admittedly because she loved the smell of him on it. She could feel her heart grow a little, her chest tighten, her lips tingle, ever time she inhaled it again. God he smelled so good. But she also wore the sweater because she had hoped that whilst they were roaming around Paris’ nightlife, he would see her.

“Aw baby girl, chin up,” Wanda cooed gently, touching her arm as they got back to their hotel room. “Maybe you’ll see him again!”

“Where?” Y/N moped, sitting on her bed. “I had my chance and I totally messed it up.”

Nat and Wanda tried to stay positive for her but they all knew the chances of running into the boys again were slim. Y/N kicked herself mentally as she started getting dressed for bed for not at least asking him where he was from. Sure, he had an American accent but there was 50 states! What if he was Canadian? American and Canadian accents weren’t all that different were they? That means 50 states PLUS 13 provinces/territories in Canada… The thought pulled a sigh from Y/N’s lips. Even if she did manage to find him, there was no telling he’d actually want to see her again.

Y/N folded up the sweater gently, sighing as she pressed it flat into her suitcase. But as she did, her hand pushed against something harder than a bunch of fabric should be. Curious, Y/N reached into the large sweater pocket and pulled out a small notebook. Her eyes widened as she realized it was the booklet that Steve had been sketching in earlier.

Great, not only did I steal this man’s sweater, I stole his art too, Y/N thought to herself. She bit her lip as she sat down on the floor, carefully opening up the notebook, as if it might break if she were too harsh with it.

The first page made her laugh a little. It was Bucky and Sam, fast asleep on airport seats, both with their arms crossed and Sam’s mouth open a little. Y/N was surprised at just how much detail went into such a small drawing. No line was without purpose.

The next few pages looked like they were what Steve had seen out of the plane’s window, most of them having the wing in the centre and small clouds flickering around.

She thumbed through the drawings, loving each and every one of them more and more. Landscapes filled pages and Y/N felt herself get excited when she found something she recognized. It was like a little memory book of the places the boys had all gone together. She noticed two more figures in most of the drawings, figuring these were the other two that the boys were meeting up with when they left. Throughout all these drawings, at the bottom, there was Steve’s signature. In scribbled lines, she could make out S. G. Rogers. She let her thumb glide over for a moment, as if she was missing someone she knew well. She couldn’t help but laugh at herself, knowing she literally met him for not even an hour.

Y/N shook the thoughts from her head as she flipped to the next drawing. Her eyes blinked for a moment, taking in the beautiful sight of the Eiffel Tower that she had see earlier that day. He really was a talented artist, Y/N noted. Even in just sheer pencil, she could see details she probably missed in her momentary glimpses at the tourist site.

“What’s that?” Nat’s sudden voice made Y/N jump, realizing Nat had just come out of the bathroom.

“Uh Steve’s drawings… It was in the sweater.” Y/N explained shyly, handing over the book.

“Oooh more about Steve?” Wanda gasped, hopping over immediately. “Oh wow, he really is an artist huh?” She grinned, flipping through the pictures.

“So now you stole his artwork too huh?” Nat teased, making Y/N pout.

“Stop! Don’t say that! It wasn’t my fault!” Y/N huffed, hugging her knees to her chest. She couldn’t help but feel a little happy that she had his notebook and sweater. It would convince her that all of this actually had been real, and not a dream, like it was starting to feel like.

----------

Steve hadn’t even realized he was missing his sweater until after dinner. The group of guys had sat back in their chairs a little, sighing at what was a great meal when Steve noticed Bucky giving him a weird look. “What’s wrong? Got something on my face?” Steve asked, nudging his friend.

“No… something’s just different.” Bucky tilted his head slightly. His eyes squinted slightly, opening again slowly as he said, “Weren’t you wearing a sweater earlier?”

Steve’s eyes could’ve popped out of his head. He immediately stood up from the table, staring out the window in the direction that he had met Y/N and the other girls. He had only meant to give her the sweater for a moment, while they were taking pictures and talking. She seemed cold, how could he not? (His mother would’ve killed him if he hadn’t… not to mention he really liked seeing her in his clothes). How had he completely forgotten to get it back?

“I bet I know where it is,” Sam snickered as he watched the confusion on Steve’s face.

“Where?” Tony asked, looking between the three.

Rhodey rolled his eyes, “Tony, catch up. There was a girl. He kissed the girl-”

“-And being the ever so lovely gentleman we know and love Steve Rogers to be, he gave her his sweater,” Sam finished with a laugh, shaking his head. “Didn’t have your wallet in there did it? Any other important things?”

Steve shook his head, glad to feel the wallet-sized lump in his jeans pocket. “No… but my sketch book…”

“Not like you can’t just draw some more,” Rhodey shrugged and grinned up at him.

“Yeah but I was hoping to bring it all back and use it for my paintings,” Steve frowned tightly, looking at the boys who had met Y/N with him. “You don’t think she’s still around there do you?”

“Come on, Steve, it’s been hours! You can’t honestly think the girl waited around for you. Just give her a text or something.” Bucky’s amused smile on his face froze as he saw the blush appearing on Steve’s face. “…You did get her number or something didn’t you? I mean, that’s the most tongue-tied I’ve seen you with a girl in a long time!”

“Oh so there was tongue. Talk about a true French Kiss,” Tony snickered, making the other boys laugh and Steve feel like he could die.

“No, Tony, there was no tongue,” Steve rolled his eyes, sitting back down slowly crossing his arms over his chest. “I… I might’ve forgotten to ask for her number…” Steve muttered, knowing exactly what was coming.

“Steve!” Sam and Bucky both yelled, both swatting at his arms from either side of him.

“How could you forget?” Sam groaned, shaking his head. “Just like you to get all flustered over a girl, and have her get all flustered over you, just for you to completely forget to make sure she could get in contact with you!”

Steve looked up, his eyes suddenly beaming with hope instead of shame, “She was getting flustered over me?” He asked curiously, letting out a groan when both Sam and Bucky swatted at his arms again.

“Idiot,” Bucky shook his head devastatingly but he smiled anyways. He wanted to let Steve mope a little more, as a consequence for being an idiot, and then later, maybe he’d show him the pictures that he and Sam had taken of Steve and Y/N.

_______

Why Natasha and Wanda were dragging Y/N out on a Friday night, she had no clue. Normally, if they were going to go out on a Friday, it would be to a club. Not to some place that had a black tie dress code.

Y/N tugged on her dress slightly, feeling a bit uncomfortable all dressed up and not understanding where they were going. “Can someone please-” she started, but the two stern looks she got back from Nat and Wanda shut her up quick.

“If you ask one more time where we’re going, I’m going to knock you out. I really don’t want you to be unconscious when we get there, but don’t tempt me, Y/N,” Nat threatened with a playful smirk on her face. “Just be patient. You look fucking hot, you’ll love it.”

Y/N sighed and slunk back into the Uber seat, tapping her fingers on her knee. Here she was, hair perfectly set around her face, body fitted into a black evening gown, a touch of makeup done… she was picture perfect. But Y/N couldn’t figure out why. Wasn’t her birthday, wasn’t any sort of important date…

Y/N stared out the window as she tried to consider all the possibilities. This seemed to be the biggest event since their trip to Paris about a month ago. The small memory of Paris made her smile, thinking about all the fun the girls had had together, and of course… Steve. She hadn’t really thought about him for a while. She spent the days back home looking for a Steve Rogers online, but it was such a common name, she knew she was bound to never find him.

His sweater sat in her dresser, waiting for the day that maybe she would meet him again and he could take it back. But one month later and no such luck.

Nat and Wanda shared a look as they watched their best friend fade into her daydreaming state. They giggled together quietly, Wanda nudging her slightly. “You’re sure you’ve got the tickets?” She murmured softly and Nat nodded in response.

“Just have your camera ready. I want to capture the moment.” Nat reminded her and Wanda agreed, slipping her phone out of her small purse.

Y/N stared at the building the Uber driver pulled up to. The bright lights at the entrance made it look so regal, like it was some event that major celebrities were going to be attending. As the girls stepped out of the car, Y/N silently thanked both of them for not letting her come in the casual dress she had originally picked out for herself. Her eyes caught sight of the gorgeous evening and cocktail gowns that other women were wearing, the sleek and smooth looks of bowties and suits on the men.

Y/N almost forgot that they were here to attend whatever this was, standing completely frozen from where the car had once been.

“Come on!” Wanda laughed, grabbing her hand. “It’s an art show!”

Y/N blinked in surprise, looking at her friends with a confused look on her face. Neither one of them had really shown any interest in art before… so why were they here?

“Tickets ma’am?” The man at the front asked with a smile. Nat started to open her purse but the man held up his hand. “Oh! Sorry, I didn’t realize you had a muse with you. Go right in, ladies.”

The girls looked at him and then at each other. Not wanting to hold up the line that was growing behind them, they started to walk in and Y/N raised an eyebrow, “Muse?”

Nat shrugged, pushing the tickets back in her purse. “Well damn, if I had known, I wouldn’t have bought these super expensive tickets,” she muttered to herself, making Wanda laugh. “What do you think he meant?”

“Um hello, you guys were the ones that dragged me down here, how should I know?” Y/N looked around as the three of them stood in the front halls of the museum. She wasn’t quite sure where they were supposed to go so she started to walk, so she started to follow a few people in front of her.

The decorations were stunning. Everything was black and white, so the colours on the mediums shot off the walls. People were walking around with trays of small horderves and other trays of champagne glasses. The girls each grabbed a glass, smiling at each other as they clicked the glasses together and took a sip. As the three of them continued to walk around, Y/N could’ve sworn that people were whispering as they passed, gawking at them.

“Is it… a private show?” Y/N whispered harshly to her friends as she noticed someone sneak a photo of them.

Nat’s eyebrows furrowed, noting the commotion she and the girls seemed to be making, and she shook her head, “No, it was a public event.”

“Ma’am, do you think I could take your photo?” A man asked with a smile, holding up his camera and press pass. “I’m doing a story on the artwork.”

Y/N had to look around for a moment, making sure that he was actually talking to her. “Sorry, I’m not… I don’t have a connection to this artwork?” She stated confusedly, stepping away and further into the exhibits with the girls.

“What the hell was that about?” Wanda mumbled, glancing back to see the man looking equally as confused.

Most of the people seemed to be in the on main section of the museum, whispers and murmurs filling the room. As Y/N and the girls walked in to see what everyone else was looking at, they were greeted with flashes of light. People with cameras yelling questions at them about how they felt about the exhibition and if she liked the pieces.

“Sorry I- I have no clue what you’re talking about-” Y/N tried to tell them, holding her hands up to protect her eyes from the multitude of flashes.

“I think I know.” Y/N turned to look at what Wanda was talking about, her jaw dropping for a moment.

There. In the middle of the room. On a large canvas, was her face.

Y/N had to take a moment, staring at the painting as if she were going to wake up from a dream any moment now. “N-Nat, what is this?” She looked over to her friend who seemed just as confused as she was.

“I didn’t think… I only saw his name,” Nat explained, her eyes wandering around.

“Whose name?” Y/N asked exasperatedly, her chest feeling tight. This room was suddenly feeling very small as she looked around. Everything else was of a landscape, gorgeous paintings of green landscapes, orange sunsets, beautiful cafe atmospheres… but this one painting was of her.

“What’s your relationship with the artist, miss?” A woman asked, holding up a voice recorder to Y/N’s face.

“S-Sorry?”

“The artist, miss. S. G. Rogers, what’s it like knowing that after being mostly known for landscapes, and other art that never has a specific muse, his new most talked about piece is the one featuring you?” The woman asked again and Y/N felt her whole body freeze.

S. G. Rogers.

Y/N stammered out an apology, rushing over to the nearest corner where the press weren’t, needing to breathe. Nat and Wanda moved with her, shooting glares at the reporters, as if daring them to follow.

She tried to focus her breathing, feeling all too overwhelmed with everything that was happening. Reporters’ voices started raising again, yelling loud questions again and Y/N winced, thinking they were coming back for more. Her eyes moved to the direction of the flashes, the sounds of the reporters, only to find a blond man standing with his back to her. He seemed awkward in front of all of them, attempting to answer questions and pose for pictures, though he didn’t really seem to want any.

“Can we get a picture of you and your muse?” A reporter asked out and all the others quieted, eagerly nodding.

The man held up an apologetic hand, moving it to rub the back of his neck, “S-She and I… well she’s not here.” He explained and more murmurs arose from the crowd.

“Isn’t that her? Standing right there?” Another reported yelped, pointing in Y/N’s direction.

She felt like a deer in headlights, the way that everyone seemed to turn on her. The man turned and sure enough… there was S. G. Rogers.

“Steve.” Y/N felt her lips breathe out, her eyes locking to those baby blue eyes.

“Surprise,” came weakly from Nat’s lips, who suddenly appeared next to Y/N. “This definitely wasn’t how I planned on it going though,” Y/N heard her mumble.

Y/N felt her brain tear into pieces over the next few seconds as she tried to make a decision. Part of her wanted to run. Run out of the museum and into fresh air, maybe that would make it easier to breathe. But she couldn’t help but think about how embarrassing that would be, for her to run and probably trip over her long dress and heels. The other part of her wanted to jump him, feel that ripple of sensations down her spine again like the last time he kissed her. Another part of her was confused and wanted to demand answers from him. Answers about why he hadn’t asked for her number if he was going to just paint her anyways!

“My lovely reporters, if you could all just take a step back for a moment. I think the lady needs a moment to breathe. You all can be very overwhelming as I’m sure you know. But I’m certain that once she has a chance to catch her surprise, perhaps Mr. Rogers and his muse will be able to stand for a few pictures later. Please, help yourself to the champagne and the food, they’re delicious-” a man spoke up, holding up a few pieces of food in his hand and plopping them into his mouth. Y/N recognized him vaguely and her mind connected his face to the simple sketches that had been in Steve’s Paris notebook.

The crowd dispersed, some hanging around close enough, as if waiting for more action between the two.

“Y/N?” Steve and the girl had barely stopped staring at each other, but the distance between them was still far. Y/N noticed Bucky walking over, as if casually walking across the room. But as he got to just behind Steve, he pushed him forward, sending Steve into a fumbling mess towards Y/N.

“S-Sorry!” Steve yelped out as he tripped over his feet, bumping into her slightly. He shot a glare at Bucky over his shoulder as he tried to compose himself but his gaze softened as it resumed on her. “Y-You’re here! How… How did you...” His cheeks were burning red. “How’re you here? How’d you find me?” He finally managed out, his hand reaching forward for hers but stopped, as if he thought better of his actions and pulled it back.

“I think Nat can answer that!” Wanda grinned from behind Y/N. “Sorry, we definitely weren’t expecting for you to have painted her and set her right in the middle of your exhibit, we probably would’ve prepped her for it if we had known-”

“We definitely would’ve prepped her,” Nat interjected with a guilty smile. “Sorry, Y/N.”

Y/N couldn’t find her voice as she studied his face. He looked the same as he did a month ago, that gorgeous nervous smile, his blond hair perfectly shaping those stunning blue eyes. She could feel her heart pounding out of her chest and was almost certain she was going to sweat all her makeup off.

“My notebook,” Steve guessed after a moment, giving the girls a small smile. He turned to Y/N with an apologetic look, “I’m sorry, I should’ve… I should’ve asked for your number or something. My mom was so upset with me that I just kissed you and left,” he admitted with a chuckle.

“You… told your mom?” Y/N squeaked out, making his cheeks turn a redder shade.

“I-I mean, I didn’t… I wasn’t going to but Bucky just blurted it out and then my mom just wanted to know more and you know, Bucky, he just keeps talking and-” Steve swallowed hard, pressing his lips together tightly as if trying to shut himself up. He looked over at Nat desperately, begging for her to start talking so he didn’t have to.

“Yes the notebook,” Nat clarified for him, smirking. “You left Y/N so lovesick she carried it around with her for a few weeks-”

“Nat!” Y/N whined, looking at her impossibly. “Really? Now? You want to embarrass me now?”

Nat laughed and patted her friend’s head, “Sorry sorry. Anyways, we saw your signature and Wanda pointed out that if you were this good at sketching, you must’ve gotten your training from somewhere. So we went looking for an S. G. Rogers and sure enough, we found that you were a part of a New Upcoming Artists Exhibit and we thought it would be a cute way for you to meet back up again.”

Cute was definitely not the words that Y/N would describe it. She was panicking inside, overthinking every single detail of what had led up to this night. She had spent the last few weeks thinking that Steve probably hadn’t wanted to get to know her anyways, or else he would’ve asked for her number or something. But here he was, telling her he should’ve and… his main piece of his exhibit was a painting of her. How was she supposed to take this? She hadn’t seen any other paintings of girls… was she the only one? What was that supposed to mean?

Wanda reached out and nudged Y/N’s shoulder, “Well you two should talk. Nat, why don’t we go and look at the rest of the exhibits?”

“Sounds brilliant,” Nat grinned and the two linked arms, giving little waves to Y/N as they disappeared.

Steve and Y/N looked at each other, both obviously unsure of what they should say. Y/N let her eyes drift to the painting in question, unable to help the blush growing on her cheeks as she admired it. Steve had painted her standing there with a bright smile on her face, as if she was smiling at the person looking at the painting. You could see the bottom of the Eiffel Tower behind her and Y/N blushed, realizing that she had taken the main spot of the artwork, rather than the Eiffel Tower like in his sketch.

“I know it must seem so creepy-” Steve stammered out nervously, clearly kicking himself for having it up as the centre of his exhibit. “I just… it was one of the few artworks that really evoked something in me and I just couldn’t let it sit in my room gathering dust-”

“It’s gorgeous, Steve,” Y/N told him with a smile. She looked up at him and almost regretted it, seeing those blue eyes again. He was so handsome and it certainly wasn’t helping that he seemed to fill out his tux so well. “You made me look really pretty.”

“I was only painting what I see, doll,” Steve chuckled. “While Wanda and Nat were taking pictures of us on their phones, Bucky and Sam had snapped a couple from theirs. I’ve been staring at them nonstop,” he admitted sheepishly. “You were all I could think about when I got back.”

Y/N was almost positive she was dreaming. She had dreamed about Steve before, sure, and he was usually doing this whole confessing attraction thing, so this had to be a dream right? She moved her hand to her arm, pinching it gently and wincing. Her eyes looked back up at him and she bit down hard on her lip. Not a dream.

“By the way,” Steve started, taking one of her hands and holding her at an arm’s length, “You look… like a work of art.”

Y/N wondered if he knew her whole body was heating up as his eyes examined the way the dress hugged her body. “S-Stop staring,” she swatted at him quickly, blushing. “We’re here to look at your art, not me.”

“I’d much rather look at you,” Steve laughed but led her for a closer view of his centrepiece of art. Y/N got so entrapped looking at it, she almost forgot the lurking press. “I’m sorry about them, by the way,” Steve leaned in and murmured to her. “Tony’s a part of a really wealthy family and his family are really into art… they’ve been really supportive of me and my works so they thought some reporters would help get my name out there.”

Y/N smiled and nodded, guessing that it was Tony then who had made the announcement to save her and Steve from the insane reporters.

“Sir, if you don’t mind-” one of the reporters spoke up, holding up his camera. They all flocked in eagerly, waiting for Steve to give the ‘ok’.

Steve looked down at Y/N with a shy smile, “You got all dressed up, doll. I’d hate to have no photos of it.”

Y/N smiled and nodded slowly, deciding that tackling these people with Steve by her side was a lot easier than doing it on her own. Steve gave a nod to the reporters, stepping in closer to Y/N for the photos. He let his hand touch the back of her waist, as if worried he would cop a feel and she would be uncomfortable.

After a while of smiling and posing, Steve made a couple of jokes with her about wishing his art got phtoographed this often, his eyes still fixated on each camera. She laughed and couldn’t help but look up at him, her gaze trying to memorize every piece of his face. Her lips tingled slightly, as if reminding her of the reason they had met in the first place.

“Steve?” She whispered with a smile.

“Mm?” Steve’s blue eyes moved to meet hers, flashes still going around them.

“I think it might make my ex-boyfriend very jealous to know that I was a muse in an art exhibition.” Y/N stated with a smile, trying to press down the giggles bubbling in her throat.

Steve let out a laugh, making Y/N’s heart skip a beat or two, “Oh yeah? You’ll have to get some of those photos then.”

“We could make him more jealous though,” Y/N hinted at, her mind racing at her sudden surge of confidence.

Steve blinked at her, a little surprised at the suggestion, “You mean-”

“Will you kiss me, Steve?” she whispered, biting down on her lip slightly. “I promise I won’t run away with your sweater and art this time.”

Steve didn’t need to be asked again. He turned to face her, his one arm wrapping around her while his other hand reached up for her chin. Y/N felt the memory of their first meet flood back to her, “You better give me your number after this. Or my mom will have a field day,” he whispered into her lips before kissing her deeply.

Steve felt all of his worries and nerves sink into that kiss, only to be filled with a sense of belonging. He barely knew the girl but Steve hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since Paris. He was so in love with this girl, he couldn’t help but feel like Fate had put them in Paris at the same time for a reason. Kissing her again in the museum, at this moment, Steve was sure of that reason.

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

I hope you guys enjoy this!! It’s probably one of my absolute favourites fics that I’ve ever written!

Masterlist

[ruewrites]

We’re Blooming Together Chapter 1: It Started on the Playground

AO3

Ship: Solomon/Asmo

Word Count: 1735

Warnings:  None

Chapter 1-Chapter 2-Chapter 3-Chapter 4-Chapter 5-Chapter 6-Chapter 7-Chapter 8-Chapter 9-Chapter 10-Chapter 11-Chapter 12

“No! No no! I don’ wanna go home! I wanna stay with Solomon!”

Little Asmo’s face was red and blotchy as he tried to squirm out of Lucifer’s arms and back down to where Solomon was. The young boy was huddled close to his nanny, partially hidden behind their leg.  He had met Asmo next to the swings, far away from the other kids. Solomon had never been particularly good at socializing, much less making friends. Honestly if the child could have it his way, he’d stay inside all day with his nanny reading him stories. But they insisted that “A growing boy needed a little sunshine and some friends that could keep him company.”

Lucky for him, he didn’t need to be good at making friends when it came to Asmo. The boy had made a beeline to him almost immediately when his family came to the park. With Big brother Lucifer trying to keep an eye on all of them, it was easy to scurry away every now and again. Most of the time his attention would be on Mammon, who would get himself into some sort of trouble and almost give Lucifer a heart attack. Lucifer hated driving one of his brothers to the ER especially if it could have been avoided. Of course, learning wasn’t one of Mammon’s strong suits and usually he would end up in some sort of cast or sling every other month.

“Hi! I’m Asmodeus!” Asmo chirped, eyes trained on Solomon as the breeze pushed him gently on the swing. For a moment, Solomon stopped. He turned to look at his nanny on a park bench not too far away. They smiled at him and motioned for him to talk to the other child.  “Well? Doncha’ got a name? You can call me Asmo if you wanna, a lot of people do, but I really like my full name. Can you not talk? Beel ‘n  Belphie can’t talk yet but they’re little, but you’re not little like them. Can’t you talk?”

“I can talk,” Solomon muttered softly, fingers clenching against the chains of the swing. This boy talked a lot more than Solomon was used to. Silence  usually filled his days with the occasional hum of the TV in the background, and he was okay with that. This was unusual and uncomfortable. “And I have a name. My name’s Solomon.”

He looked down at the ground as he spoke, but that didn’t stop the other boy. “Solomon?” Asmo repeated, leaning over in a rather awkward position and tilting his head upwards to look the other in the eye. “I’ve never met anyone named Solomon before,” he said, face scrunching up a bit, in silent contemplation.”

“Sol-lo-mon-nuh. Solomon …. Solomon!” Asmo jumped back with a smile, startling Solomon just a bit, “I guess you’ll be the first Solomon to be my friend!”

“I guess.”

“You should be happy! You’re the only Solomon, and that means your special .”

Asmo grabbed at Solomon’s hand, almost pulling him off the swing, “You should play with me Solomon! I know how to play the best and funnest games! My brothers never wanna play with me because they’re boring or too little, but you won’t be like them!”

And so Solomon made his first friend. Of course, it wasn’t like he was a willing participant in the friendship, but Asmo never really gave Solomon time to speak. The boy spent most of his time telling him what to do or how to play his games right, and Solomon spent most of his time not really understanding what Asmo was talking about. Just when he thought he understood, Asmo was taking his hand and dragging him somewhere else. Slowly, Solomon grew accustomed to the way things were going between him and Asmodeus. He really seemed to love Solomon’s attention, clapping with delight every time Solomon followed along with one of his little games.

“Pick that flower for me,” Asmo said, pointing to a bright yellow dandelion on the playground’s edge.

“That’s not a flower, it’s a weed,” Solomon frowned. It looked like a flower sure, but dandelions were weeds. Not flowers.

“I don’t care. It’s pretty and looks like a flower, so just… Just pick me a flower!” Asmo huffed and crossed his arms, cheeks puffed up in a pout.

Solomon laughed and stood up, walking to the playground’s edge. Asmodeus wanted a flower… He looked around the area for a moment before his eyes rested on a patch of flowers growing on the other side of the fence row, just out of sight from where he and Asmodeus had been sitting. It’s petals were a bright yellow and the centers were pink. The edges looked frilled and reminded Solomon of the pie crusts his nanny would sometimes make. That was Asmodeus’ flower. After making sure no one was around to see him, Solomon reached through the iron bars and grabbed one, he heard the snap of the stem and quickly brought it back over to the other boy.

When Asmo saw it, his pout completely vanished, “Oh….”

“See? That’s a lot better than a weed,” Solomon proclaimed, puffing out his chest a bit.

For the first time that day. Asmo was silent.

Then Lucifer came to collect Asmo, and it was more than obvious he didn’t want to leave.

“ Please Luci ,” he sniffled, “Just a few more minutes!” The commotion had quickly brought Solomon’s nanny over to see what all of the commotion was about. They were honestly surprised to see the young man with the rest of the kids. He couldn’t have been much older than seventeen.

“Asmodeus, it’ll get dark soon. The twins need to sleep and-”

“ Lucifer! I need to charge my phone! It’s gonna die soon!”

“Lucifer! Satan punched me!”

“Did not! Mammon’s just a wimp and a liar!”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“ Nu-uh !”

“ Uh-huh !”

“You’re just-!”

“ Enough! ” Lucifer groaned, rubbing his temples, “We need to go home now Asmodeus. No more few minutes. No say goodbye.”

“ Wait ,” the nanny spoke up, “Lucifer, perhaps, if it’s alright, we could schedule another playdate? Solomon here, well, I think he’d like to see Asmodeus again. Wouldn’t you Solomon?” Solomon looked up at Asmo for a brief moment, before turning to his nanny and nodding slowly.

They smiled and quickly pulled out their phone, “If you wouldn’t mind giving me your number, I can send you a text and we can set up another playdate.”

Lucifer looked down at Asmo’s big teary eyes, and at the perennial still clutched in his hands. There was really only one thing to do here. Besides, having some friends (who could potentially be good influences) would be good for Asmo.

*********

“Luci is my oldest brother, he looks after all of us, sometimes he’s a little mean, but he makes in up to us by cookies or sometimes he’ll read us extra bedtime stories. He’s gonna go to college and get a adult job so he can get us a big house. Mammon can be okay sometimes, but he also protects us from bullies Levi plays lots of games. He’s really good at them, sometimes he lets some of us sit in his lap and play too. Satan is really smart, he reads a lot, and sometimes he’ll let me listen. His books are are boring but don’t tell him that. Belphie and Beel just learned to walk not too long ago, but you can’t really talk to them.”

“What about your parents?”

Asmo had been going on and on about his family as he gently touched the petals of his newest flower. Solomon gave him one every time they met, even if Asmo forgot to ask him.

“Oh… They took Lily one day and never came back. She was our sister… So now we live with some guardians. They don’t really do much for us though,” Asmo murmured, holding the flower a little closer, “What about you? Where are your parents?”

“Never really been around. My nanny stays with me most of the time, but that’s it. Sometimes I think that they’ll go away and never come back.”

“That’s what mine did.”

They were both quiet for a moment, Asmo huddled close to Solomon, gently caressing the petals of the flower before him. He liked Solomon a lot… “Don’t leave me okay?” he sniffled, “Because I’ll cry if you do… I’d cry harder than I ever did before.”

“I won’t leave you. Not in a bajillion years.”

“Not even a hundred bajillion?”

“Not even then!”

Asmo giggled and wrapped his arms around Solomon. He knew he would keep his promise. He just knew it. Even if a hundred bajillion years passed, Solomon would still be with him. “Okay, in that case,” he tapped Solomon’s shoulder, “Tag! You’re it!” Before screaming and running out of the playground tunnel.

“Nuh uh! No fair! I’m gonna catch you Asmodeus!”

Lucifer watched from a little bit away. It was nice to see his brothers happy. They were kids (not that he wasn’t he just… Forgot from time to time, and besides his brothers needed to come first) they needed to have some fun.

“Isn’t it cute? They’re just little kindergarten boyfriends,” the Ash grinned as they sat down on a chair opposite from Lucifer. They handed him a cup of coffee and turned back towards the kids, “I haven’t ever seen Solomon like this before. He’s usually so reserved and quiet. He’s actually acting like a kid for once.”

“Usually people think Asmodeus is a little too much. I like seeing my brothers happy,” he said, sipping at the cup in his hands.

“If you ever want to, you know, do fun stuff, I don’t mind if you wanna drop them off. You’re young, that’s-”

“No, it’s fine. I can do it. I’ve done well so far and kept them safe, so I can keep doing it,” he said. There was an air of finality about his words. Lucifer’s mind wouldn’t be changed, “But, if Asmodeus wants to come over and spend time with Solomon, he most certainly can… Or if Solomon wants to come over.”

“Gotchu!” Solomon grinned, wrapping his arms tightly around Asmodeus as he giggled and squealed. He wasn’t going to let go, and he didn’t mind. They were going to be together forever.

[peterbishop]

48 for the fluffy asks!

048: “We accidentally got married in Vegas oops”

It was supposed to be an undercover assignment.

After much success with Jake’s mafia sting, the FBI reached out to Holt once more, asking him to send Detective Jake Peralta and one other detective of similar competence. The answer was easy: Amy Santiago.

Bags were packed and new aliases were given: Leo Adams, upcoming tech entrepreneur, and Marissa Cordova, a hotshot lawyer with cash to blow. They were to sit in on various poker and blackjack games, rubbing elbows with known drug lord, Carter Reichs, and hopefully come out with a few important arrests. It would take a week at most, and if anything, they would at least get access to free alcohol and big biddings.

Amy stares out the plane window. Brooklyn starts to become a speck, skyscrapers and city traffic blurring into a grey wash.

“Have you ever been to Las Vegas before?” Amy asks, turning to look at her partner.

“Once,” Jake says, focusing on the shitty action movie playing on the screen in front of him. “My mom and I went to surprise my dad.” He briefly sours. “I found him hooking up with one of the poker dealers.”

“Oh.” She never really knows what to say when Jake brings up his father.

“How about you?”

She shakes her head. “No, I never had much of an interest. I’m not that good at card games, and I’d rather keep my money than gamble it away.”

He snorts. “The FBI clearly picked the right person for this assignment.”

She rolls her eyes. “We’re not actually playing. We’re working—and I enjoy working.”

“Yes, you do.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“No, it’s just… hard to imagine you doing much else.”

Amy nearly objects, tell him that he knows her better than he lets on because they’re friends. She swears they’re friends. But since Teddy and Sophia, sometimes they find themselves in  limbo, and she, for perhaps the first time, doesn’t truly have an answer.

-

Amy throws her suitcase on her bed and starts pulling out her clothes, deciding which outfit she should wear for their first operation. Her typical pantsuit would endure too much ribbing from Jake and the red dress she threw in at the last minute is cut so short, she would need at least four shots in her before she ever considered it. Eventually, she decides on the white dress she has buried at the bottom. It’s classy and just enough revealing that she stands out.

She starts unbuttoning her shirt when suddenly, a door she presumed belonged to a closet opens and Jake steps through. She yelps, covering her chest with a pillow.

“Oh my god, Ames! Our rooms are connected!”

“Get out,” she hisses.

He stops, breaking into a grin. “Were you changing?”

“Yes! Because I’m doing my job!” Her eyes narrow. “Tell me you’re not staying dressed like that.”

He looks down at his outfit: old jeans and a worn (read: torn at the right armpit and fraying at the bottom) Die Hard shirt. “Uh duh, of course I will. I take undercover seriously.”

“Might be the only thing you do take seriously.”

“Now you’re catching on, Santiago.”

She shoos him away to finish putting on the dress and doing a quick touch up on her makeup. She tries to get back at Jake, bursting through their shared door in hopes of catching him in an embarrassing position. Instead, he’s readjusting his black bowtie.

“Wow, Ames,” he says with a laugh. “We look like the figurines on top of a wedding cake.”

“Oh god, please never say that again.”

He gives her a shit-eating grin. “No promises.”

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter. We need to get going,” she says. “Intel says this is around the time that Reichs starts playing. If we want to get in on the same game, we have to go now.”

“Okay, okay, sounds good.”

She smooths down her dress once more and pulls loose fingers through her hair before making her way to the door.

He brushes past her and she swears she hears him say, “You look beautiful.”

-

They’re five shots in before she knows it.

“I can’t believe,” she slurs, “he didn’t show up.”

“It’s only the first night, Ames,” he says, grinning lazily. “We still have five more days.”

“We’re like, the best detectives ever,” she says. “What if those other cops from”—she shudders—“Los Angeles end up catching him?”

“There’s no way. We’re detective geniuses detectives… super geniuses?” His eyes bug out. “I’m so drunk.”

“Me too.” She smiles. “They never should have left us an open tab. I hold my liquor better than anyone else.”

“Oh noooo, you don’t. You’re lucky we moved on from four drink Amy. I think you were about to bang that guy over there.” Jake points to a man at least twenty years her senior. She pales. “Now you’re just confident Amy.”

“Nuh-uh, I’m doing better than you. That’s a fact.”

“In your dreams. At least you’re a lot more fun this way.”

“What way?”

“Stupid drunk way.”

“Pssshhh, I’m always fun. Alllll-ways. You saw me dancing over there a half hour ago. I was killing it with my dance moves.”

“Killing it, yeah, yeah, that’s for sure,” he teases warmly.

She grabs his wrist, eyes blown wide. “Let’s do more shots.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Isn’t six drink Amy depressed Amy?”

“Maybe,” she says, then breaks into a smile. “Let’s do two shots each then.”

“What’s seven drink Amy?”

“I have no idea.”

-

Apparently, seven drink Amy is bridal Amy.

“What if we got married?” Her mouth forms an O.

And seven drink Jake is down for anything.

“Oh my god, we should.”

Amy stumbles down to one knee, proposing with a loose beer bottle cap. “Jake Peralta, will you marry me?”

He places his hands over his heart in pure elation. “Amy Santiago, I will marry you.”

She throws herself in his arms, messily clinging onto his abdomen. He grins into her hair and around them, patrons and gamblers burst into applause. Hazily, Amy thinks something is off, that they’re doing something they shouldn’t. But then, his mouth touches hers, tasting of expensive tequila and lime, and she forgets what sober Amy might think of this decision.

They start jogging, tripping and giggling and faces split open with grins, to a Las Vegas chapel, fingers intertwined and bickering over who will take whose last name.

-

Her head is pounding. Her mouth is dry and she can barely open her eyes and fuck, her head is pounding. Hangovers have never been kind to her and this morning is no different. In her sleep-addled daze, she spots her dress lying in the corner, quickly realizing she’s only wearing her bra and panties.

She moves her arm and hits something, warm and solid and… Jake. Jake who is shirtless and Jake who is fast asleep and Jake who is wearing a cheap wedding band.

She glances at her left hand where she’s adorning a matching ring.

“Jake! Oh my god, Jake,” she says hurriedly.

He barely stirs. “Huh?”

She starts shoving his side, poking and prodding his ribs. “Get up, get up, get up. We did something, oh my god, we made the biggest mistake ever, oh my god, Jake, wake up!”

He sleepily blinks at her. “Did we kill someone?”

“No—we got married,” she says as if it’s a worse crime.

He brings his left hand up in front of his eyes and frowns. “Hmm.”

“Hmm!? That’s all you have to say!? Hmm!?”

“In case you didn’t realize, Santiago.” He rubs at his temples. “I’m a bit hungover.”

“Well, I am too, asshole, but hangovers go away. Marriage is permanent.”

“We’ll just get a divorce. Now, let me go back to sleep.”

She punches him in the shoulder. “Jake.”

He glares at her, snaps: “What, Detective?”

Her eyes take in his naked chest, and she further pulls up the loose sheet covering her near-bare body. “Did we…?”

“No way,” he awkwardly clears his throat. “There’s no way. We would have remembered… wouldn’t we?”

“We were pretty wasted,” she slowly admits. “And if I went back to four drink Amy…”

“No, no, there’s no way,” he flails with his words. “I can barely remember us being able to stand on our own two feet at the end of the night.”

“You’re right, you’re right.” An awkward pause. “I guess we should get ready for the day.” She starts getting up before remembering her appearance and feverishly waves her hand at him. “Don’t look.”

“I promise I won’t.” He buries his face into his pillow.

Amy makes her way to the shower before briefly considering in horror, “Didn’t I say something about consummating—“

“We didn’t, Amy!”

-

When she steps out of the bathroom, wearing a pantsuit she hopes he’ll loathe, he isn’t in bed. Amid the ruffled sheets and thrown pillows, she finds her phone and turns it on.

And then, nearly yells.

She stares at her lock-screen. It is no longer a picture of a crossword puzzle; rather, it’s a picture of them standing at the altar, grinning at each other, Amy in her white dress and Jake in his black tux, and it looks so much like a legitimate wedding picture, she can’t breathe. It feels real, how he smiles at her and she holds his hand tightly and their lips are inching from touching.

They look happy; they look in love. And she almost starts to believe it, believe in this sham of a marriage built upon liquor and drunken laughter, before coming to her senses and blaming her idiosyncratic thoughts on her grueling hangover instead.

She quickly changes the picture.

-

They don’t talk more than they have to for the rest of the assignment. Jake doesn’t walk back through their connected door and Amy doesn’t touch an ounce more of alcohol. They get their arrests by day four and head out on the first flight they can the next morning. The sun is barely up, a golden hue on the muted black horizon, and Amy fights off exhaustion with cheap airplane coffee.

Jake sits beside her, slowly blinking and about to succumb to his weariness.

“Flight should never be this early,” he mumbles. It’s the first thing he’s said to her that doesn’t relate to work.

“It’s better than red-eyes.”

“Hmm, maybe,” he considers, his words soft and cottony. “But flying is cool at night. It’s like you’re in space.”

She quietly laughs. “That’s one way to put it.”

No answer. She thinks he’s fallen asleep. Instead—“We’ll have to figure this out when we land.”

“I know.”

“I never thought I’d divorce you, Santiago.”

“We’ll get an annulment. It’s different.”

“If you say so.”

Another pregnant pause. The plane starts to move down the runway like it’s chasing the falling moon.

“I guess,” he murmurs, his head falling to her shoulder. She freezes at their body contact. “I guess I thought if we got married, it would be the marriage that sticks.”

He nods off before she can reply.

-

Amy realizes she’s still wearing her ring. At first, she chalked it up to her cover, ignoring the harsh glint of cheap gold in the casino lights for what it actually meant and proclaiming it as being a trait of her character instead.

But now she’s home in Brooklyn and she’s still wearing her ring.

She thinks to call Jake—they landed hours ago and she can guess he’s been sleeping the whole day like she has. Except, she isn’t sure exactly what to say. You have a lawyer right because we both need lawyers for the annulment to go through or let’s give it a week and then deal with this or do we tell our friends? Did you tell Charles? I swear to god, Peralta, if you told Charles—

There’s a knock at her door.

She walks over and opens it, revealing Jake Peralta, her partner and friend and… husband.

“Hi,” he says. He almost sounds shy, looking near boyish in his NYPD hoodie and faded blue jeans.

“Hi.”

“Can I come in?”

Unsure: “Yes.”

He sits on her couch. She sits on the complete opposite end. They look at each other. Wait for the silence to break.

“Jake—“

“Amy—“

“You go—“

“No, you go—“

“Peralta—“

“Santiago—“

“I think—“

“I don’t want to—“

She holds her hand up. “You don’t want to what?”

He stares at his shoes.

“…Jake.”

He looks up at her, eyes dark and vast. “I don’t want to,” then, more quietly, “divorce you. And I know I sound crazy, but I can’t imagine divorcing you, Amy. I like you. I like you a lot. You’re my best friend and my partner and I know we don’t make sense on paper, but I think we could be something great. And okay, being married before we actually date isn’t a part of the plan I had for us—“

“You had a plan?”

“—but if it were to happen to any pair of people, I’m not surprised it happened to us. We’ve had a lot of crazy days and this week has been no different. Minus the wedding rings, of course,” he laughs.

Hesitantly, she asks, “You didn’t take yours off either?”

He shakes his head.

“This is crazy, Jake…” she says.

“But?”

“How did you know I was going to say ‘but?’”

He smiles, curved and brilliant. “Because I know you, Ames.”

“But… I really like you too,” she says, almost embarrassed by the capacity her heart already has for him. “It’s just… this makes no sense. This is so far out of our control. There is no binder on marrying your coworker before even going out on a date with him.”

“Then, how about you make that binder? And make a new plan for us?” he asks.

“You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”

“Of course, I do. I’m your husband.”

They both burst into laugher.

She rolls her eyes. “I think we should stick with the term boyfriend for now.”

His eyes slightly widen. “So, you do too? You want to give this a chance?”

She leans forward, gently kissing him. He lets out a noise of shock before kissing her back. It’s soft and tentative, until she presses harder and he presses back, equally ardent. They barely make it to her bedroom, eager and hands slipping under clothes. Amy has been with other men, namely Teddy, but it’s never been like this. So easy and known and real. Like they fit.

And when she wakes up the next day, she realizes his left arm is slung across her body, his hand resting over hers. Their wedding bands shine in the morning light together. It makes her smile.

[tempesrature]

Communication Degree

Pairing: Ride or Die | Ellie x Logan

Summary: Ellie has never been good with properly communicating her negative emotions. So Logan is there to help her out.

(A very loose continuation of the Dedicated Emotion: Logan Series but you really don’t need to read the series to understand this.)

Word Count: 2,059

Warnings: PG-13 (cursing) 

A/N: I’ve always character analyzed Ellie as the type to bottle up her feelings due to her dad being overprotective (people who grew up with overprotective parents and ended up being an emotional wreck because you’re scared to say anything bad to anyone but eventually learned that saying no and voicing your negative emotions is part of self-love and self-respect gang, rise up). 

~*~

Logan perches his legs on the coffee table as he leans back on the couch with one arm behind his head while he scrolls through his phone.

He’s currently reading up on some job postings that he’s interested in—car mechanic, car salesman, car…exhibitionist? (He’s pretty sure it’s some kind of sex thing)—and let’s the hum of normalcy settle into the space.

It’s been a three months or so since Ellie and Logan decided to move in together in a small apartment near Langston. Three months since he made the decision to live a life that will never take him away from the girl he loves ever again. Three months since he’s been borrowing money from Vaughn to help pay off the apartment bills—he winces at the last thought. Logan knows that getting a job with a record on his file isn’t going to be easy but so far it’s been almost impossible. Not that it’s going to discourage him. Logan is nothing if not tenacious and he’s confident that he’s going to find one soon. In fact, he already has some interviews lined up for the week.

But he really wishes he would land one soon. Other than paying Vaughn back, he wants to take Ellie out on dates other that just driving around the Devore, going to isolated cliff sides to watch the stars and hanging out in the park. Although she never complains (practically looks forward to them she would gush), he wants to do something nice for her. Maybe a surprise dinner date in a fancy restaurant or a trip further away in a cabin by a lake—something romantic and unexpected that will make her as happy as she makes him.

Logan sighs and exits the website he was scrolling through and opts to open his Pictagram account instead, feeling a little strange and happy at all the new comments and hearts he seems to be getting from his latest picture of Ellie sitting in the Devore in a pretty yellow dress. That’s the one thing Logan found extremely strange. When Ellie convinced him to make an account (so she could tag him memes, she reasoned) he was hesitant at first. The primary reason as to why he never bothered with social media in the first place was because he just can’t have his identity floating around in the internet when he was a wanted criminal. But now that he isn’t…he decided to give it a try and he’s been pleasantly surprised by how much he likes it. One of the best parts, he figured out later on, is the fact that he can scroll through years and years worth of Ellie’s life in her account which gives him the opportunity to ask questions and listen to stories of moments and memories he missed. That way, even if he wasn’t there, he’d have something to brag about his girlfriend to his future coworkers.

Logan hears the front door slam open and he quickly pulls his legs from the coffee table, trying to look innocent, as he turns to the direction of the door with a beaming smile. His smile falters for a moment when he sees the irritated and angry look on Ellie’s face as she throws her backpack on the couch beside him.

“Hey Trouble—” Ellie turns away from him, stalks to the bathroom, yanks it open and slams it shut behind her with a loud bang. “—maker…”

Logan frowns. That’s not good.

One thing that Logan learned about Ellie and living together in the past three months, blissful and happy as they were, is that there is a certain…science…to living with someone else. He’s always lived by himself, never having to take care or be mindful of anyone’s space other than his own, so the past three months have been a big adjustment for him. But Ellie has always been patient with him. Letting him make mistakes and helping him learn the intricacies of not pissing each other off every time one of them forgets to wash the dishes. So it’s definitely not good if she comes in the apartment and immediately ignores him in favor of locking herself in the bathroom. But he tries not to let it unnerve him as he pushes himself off of the couch and heads to the bathroom door.

He takes a deep breathe, leaning on the wall beside the door and tentatively knocks three times.

“Everything alright, trouble?”

He hears rustling and the toilet lid slamming down.

“Go away Logan. I’m angry right now.”

Logan’s heart picks up, his mind running through his memories to see if that anger was directed at him somehow (had he left his dirty laundry on the floor again?). Finding nothing, he decides to confront it head on. 

“Angry at me?”

A loud exasperated sigh. “No, not at you.”

Logan lets out a sigh of relief before he drops himself to the wooden floor and leans against the door. 

“Want to talk about it El?”

A sniff. “It’s stupid Logan. Just let me deal with it and I’ll be fine in an hour.”

Well. He isn’t going to do that if she’s crying behind the door. That’s one more thing that Logan learned about his girlfriend. Ellie likes to pick her battles. Which is admirable if she didn’t also end up bottling all of her frustration and anger until she explodes. Although Logan has never been the target of it (so far) he’s noticed in the past few months the little rituals she does to distract herself from her anger and annoyance. Such as suddenly wanting to clean their (already pretty clean) bedroom or start aggressively cooking scrambled eggs. With his least favorite being shutting him out completely.

Like right now.

When it first happened, Logan was totally at lost on how to deal with this new aspect of their relationship and just did whatever she asked from him—which was to let her “deal with it” on her own. But Logan hated the feeling of being so useless, that he couldn’t be there for her when she’s always been there for him. So with a little googling and a few anonymous questions on internet forums, he has now gained the necessary advice to be able to properly help her in times like this.

“You know El,” He starts, trying to tick off the mental list he created for this situation. “I really love you.”

A short pause, her voice heavy with confusion. “…I love you too Logan…?”

“Mm, I know,” He replies, a small smile tugging on his lips. “Because I love you and you love me, I’d really like to work together so we can figure out how to make you not angry anymore.”

A sniff then a whimper. “…But it’s really stupid…”

“Did you think it was stupid when I asked for your help on writing my resumé?”

“No…”

Logan smile widens when he hears the resolve in her voice weakening. “Exactly. There’s no such thing as ‘stupid’ between us, El. Even if you just want to talk about what’s making you angry. We don’t need a solution right now,” He pauses for a moment, his tone teasing and playful. “I’ll even let you drive the Devore if it makes you feel better.”

Logan grins at the soft and easy laughter that floats behind the door, momentarily thanking LostThrowaway43 for his brilliant advice of making small jokes to lighten the mood and make her laugh.

He hears the lock click open and he pushes his back away from the door. Ellie slowly opens the door and looks down at him gratefully, her eyes puffy with tears. Logan merely grins and pats the space beside him while she closes the door behind her and drops down to sit beside him. She leans her head on his shoulder and Logan easily fits his arm around her waist before she starts her outpour of emotions.

About how a certain professor has been a hardass and has been giving her a hard time, about how he constantly nitpicks on her work while the same mistake from her classmates get a pass and about how she wants to drop the class but can’t because it will leave a mark on her record.

And Logan listens to it all, only interjecting a few times to ask questions and affirming how much of an asshat the professor is. By the end of it, Logan can tell that Ellie looks a lot better and lighter. Sure, she’s still pissed at the professor (and he’s now pissed at the professor too) but he considers it as a win that he was able to coax her out of the bathroom and got her to talk.

Ellie sighs, the anger in her seeming to flow out in the past hour or so, as she fits her hand in his and gives it a grateful squeeze. “Thanks Logan. I actually feel a lot better now.”

Logan grins, turning to place a soft kiss on her head. “Glad to hear it trouble. What do you want to eat for dinner tonight?”

“Let’s go out,” She turns to him, a teasing smile on her lips. “You did say I could drive the Devore.”

Logan looks down at her with a grin as he raises an eyebrow. “Nuh uh. You just said you feel better now, the Devore was an if option. You can’t have it both, troublemaker.”

Ellie laughs before she takes his face into her hands and gives him a sweet and loving kiss. He responds easily, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her closer. Eventually, she breaks the kiss and swipes her thumb over his lips, taking away the pink lipstick stain she’s left, as she gazes into his loving and amused eyes with a teasing smile.

“Next time, I’m driving the Devore before I start word vomiting.”   

Logan pretends to groan as he shakes his head, his heart so full at the affection and gratitude directed at him.

“You’re lucky I love you.”

Ellie softens, her eyes misting when she nods. She knows that he’s teasing, all in an effort to make her feel better but she’s struck, once again, with the realization that he doesn’t even know how right he is. That yeah, she really is lucky. That if it was anyone else other than Logan on the other side of that door, she would’ve never even opened it.

She gives him a small peck on the lips before she untangles herself from his limbs and picks herself off of the floor. She offers him a hand and he easily fits his hand into hers before she pulls him up with a small huff.

Logan quickly dusts off his jeans before he intertwines his hand in hers and gently tugs her to the door. Their conversation easily, almost naturally, transitioning to light hearted topics about his job hunting and their plans for the weekend.

~*~

Logan perches his legs on the coffee table as he leans back on the couch with one arm behind his head while he scrolls through his phone at the memes his coworkers have tagged him in Pictagram. He snickers at a particularly funny one about how some costumers angrily demand high quality and expensive car parts but their budget can barely get them a meal at McDonald’s. He taps his phone twice, giving it a heart, before he hears the front door slam open.

He quickly pulls his legs from the coffee table, trying to look innocent, as he turns to the direction of the door with a beaming smile. His smile falters for a moment when he once again sees the irritated and angry look on Ellie’s face as she throws her backpack on the coffee table with a huff…and promptly takes a seat right next to him.

“I cannot believe the grade he gave me!” Ellie shouts, crossing her arms and leaning back on the couch with a scowl. “All because the PowerPoint was in a color that hurt his eyes?! Unbelievable!”

Logan secretly smiles, leaning forward to place his phone on the coffee table, before he angles his body towards her. He reaches out to tuck a stray hair behind her ear, his eyes lighting up with affection.

“Tell me all about it troublemaker.”

[headoverhiddles]

Little Pistol - Ron Tully x Reader [Smut]

Synopsis: You travel to Stockton for a conjugal visit with Tully. The two of you have been apart too long for formalities. 

Notes: This was a request! As per my usual disclaimer, I don’t condone Tully’s ideology, this is his character, minus that! 

Gif used belongs to stilinski-ortiz-dolan!

Tully had been on the boards for a visit for six months. There are a lot of things he can bribe the guards for, like rooms to talk business with his guys, private lines on the phone, and a general prison-wide acceptance that no one would fuck with him unless it really was the law. What he can't bribe anyone for though, is a wait bypass for a conjugal visit. His name is on the list like the rest of them, and even though he'd pay a pretty penny to see you monthly, it's just not something he can do.

Now, having waited quite a bit of time, Tully's "good behavior" had paid off. The next day was his visit with you, which would last a day.

"You seem happy," the guy behind him in the communal washrooms mentions. No one talks to Tully much, for fear of what he’d do to them if he wasn’t in the mood, but this guy was the prison idiot, and Tully didn’t mind his chatter now and then. The taller man is washing his face in the sink, shaving his growing facial hair a little and trimming his hair.

"I am."

The guy smirks. "Can I ask why?"

Tully drags the plastic razor down his chin, inspecting himself. He didn't want to shave it too close, since you always said you liked his stubble... liked the way it felt between your thighs. Tully's small smile grows a little, and he dunks the razor in water. It had cost him a couple fifties to be allowed to clean up a little with actually helpful instruments of hygiene this morning. 

"I'm seeing my girl tonight." He gestures to his things, and the guy goes over, finding a polaroid of you in a black bra and panties, posing on top of Tully's bike.

"Shit. With a body like that, what makes you think she's still your girl?" the guy chuckles. Tully doesn’t dignify the man with a look. 

"It’s not like that." He takes some scissors from his sleeve, trimming his black hair close to his temple. "I know she'd die for me. And I'd die protecting her." The guy's still staring at the polaroid of you when Tully's done his haircut. "Alright, put it the fuck down, or I'mma have you stabbed."

He takes the photo, and feels himself stir already. His eyes run over your perfect tits, down your legs, to the thin black fabric covering that pussy he knows so well. He sets the photo that he’d touched himself to many times by the mirror, and checks his reflection. He'd never really considered himself to be handsome, which is why he became powerful instead, but you seemed to think he was the sexiest man alive. He didn't mind that. 

"Lucky you get a visit," the guy mutters. 

"I almost didn't. See, you're not supposed to get visits from anyone outside of family. Technically, I haven't married (y/n) yet. But, I pulled some strings. 'S what I do."

"Mm. I don't have any girlfriends or anything. Last visit I got was my mom, back in '07. Got banned til the end of my sentence cause my mom tried to plant weed on me. Guess she likes the quiet around the house."

Tully, not really listening, grunts in response. He then does up another button on his blue shirt, and looks down at the picture again, really studying it. He remembers the way you screamed his name while he fucked you over that motorcycle. He takes it as a personal challenge to raise even more hell tonight. 

 ---

You sit in the diner in Stockton, California. You'd traveled up here with a few of the guys who work for your boyfriend, since they had to do some work anyway, smooth some shit out before Tully caught wind of it and had their heads. They knew to take good care of you, or they'd pay for that with their life too. You yourself are about to go see Tully, and you can't wait. It had been so long.

Dressed in a little white crop top, a short black skirt, and sunglasses, you're feeling your best. You know ever since he got the news he’d been scheduled for a conjugal, Tully's probably had tonight in mind day and night, and what you wear won't alter the fact that he's going to give you the best pounding you've ever taken. But you want to wow him too. He hasn't seen you for the better part of a year, after all, and to get a real good reaction out of him, you need the element of surprise. 

"Want another milkshake, hun?" a kind, older waitress with smile lines and grey hair asks. You smile back.

"Love one."

You tap your nails on the table, watching out the window at the people walking by in the heat. You're used to living in Southern California, since Tully's the shot caller and doesn't go out on rides, but he conducts business up here in the northern part of the state sometimes. Liaisons, stuff like that. The county jail he does his time in is unfortunately pretty far away from the reclusive home you two share in San Diego. Still, you keep busy and make do while he's gone, keep an eye on how things are run in his absence. It's what you have to do to stay sane.

"Don’t mean to bother you. But can I ask what your tattoos mean?" the waitress asks, sliding you another of your favorite flavor of milkshake.

You glance down at your knuckles, which have T U L L Y tattooed across them, a letter per finger.

"My man," you say wistfully.

"I'm sorry," she says quickly, noticing the sorrow in your eyes, "Did he pass away?"

"No," you smile, "He's just away right now, doing time."

"Shit, no kidding. My husband's been in for two years now, serving another five. Kills me every day."

You move your stuff to one side of the table. "Sit, if you want." The lady checks her watch, and sits across from you. "I hate it," you confess, "It's the worst. It's the life I chose to get involved in, but it's rough when it actually comes back to hit you at night, when you don't have their arms around you."

"I know just what you mean, hun. Probably shouldn't be saying this, but... my husband is an arms dealer, works in the gun trade. Under the table deals out in San Pedro, all that." 

"My Tully's a shot caller," you say, not elaborating any further on his gang or who he's affiliated with. This lady seems nice, but you're never sure who could be an undercover cop, or the wife of a rival gang member. 

"You're visiting him, then?" she asks.

"Yes. Tonight."

"Baby, you have the time of your life tonight, you hear me?"

"Oh, you know I will," you giggle, "When he hasn't seen me for a while, things get very physical."

"I can imagine." She winks. 

You hand her a Polaroid you've got in your leather jacket pocket; Tully's got the other one from this day. In this one, you're dressed in black panties and a black bra, and you're sitting on Tully's lap, straddling him. The photo shows the backside of you, showing off your backside, and Tully has got his face looking over your shoulder, glaring darkly as his fingers sink into the flesh of your ass. It's a photo of the two of you that never fails to turn you on, especially recalling how hard he fucked you over his bike after this picture was taken.  

You sigh, twirling the straw. "He's my ride or die... and I'm his forever girl."

--

Finally, it comes time for the guards to collect Tully. They know exactly what he's going to do to you, as they're the ones who have had to listen to Tully groan your name every morning and night whenever he gets the urge.

“This has been a long time coming,” one guard sighs. 

"Just don't make too much noise," the other guard pleads. Tully glances at him.

"I don't remember payin’ you off to tell me how to fuck my girlfriend."

The guy concedes, keeping his mouth shut. They let him into the room, far away from the others and the best money can buy (he at least had some sphere of influence in this department), and they go to close the door.

"She'll be in in a minute." Tully undoes the top three buttons of his shirt, and waits.

 ---

You get a pat down in the lobby of the conjugal area. They take out a gold switchblade and a couple of metal rings, leaving your pockets empty. Then you're ready to go in. The guards let you in, and you see Tully sitting on the bed. He looks up.

"Hey, baby."

"Hey," you grin. One of the guards steps in.

"24 hours, Tully. Make it count." He shuts the door after himself, locking it, and you look around. It's almost like a normal home-- there's a mini fridge, a bed, a TV, and a living area.

"I missed you," you say, and walk over to him. He accepts you into his lap, and you cup his face, pressing your lips to his.

"So did I," he murmurs against your lips. "You doing good? Looking after the boys, making sure they're doing their jobs?" You nod. "Good. They're a bunch of jokes when I'm not around."

"Well, now that nobody's around... am I correct in thinking you wouldn’t say no to a strip tease?" you ask, snapping the strap on your bra underneath your shirt.

"Yeah," he nods, sitting back on the couch. You slowly take your shirt up over your head, watching as his eyes fall down to admire your breasts.

"You like that?" you murmur, bunching your hair up a little as you slide your fingers downward. 

"Thought of me while you did that the last few months?"

"Nuh uh," you grin, "Trying to trick me? I know I can only cum when you tell me to."

"That's right," he smiles fondly, watching your hips swing back and forth. You finally rub the finger between your legs, and get on the edge of the bed, pulling your panties to one side. You hear the low hitch in Tully's breath, and you sink your fingers into yourself, loving the feel but craving the stretch of your boyfriend.

You dip your fingers in again, lips parting as you moan. "Gonna join in?"

"Right now I'm just going to sit here and watch, babygirl. Seeing you do it in person is a nice change. Your moans are fuckin’ beautiful, but a visual always helps." He gives one of his dark smirks, and sits there, watching. You feel the heat rise even more as his eyes travel, your skin heating up just knowing he’s appreciating the show you’re putting on. You let his name escape your lips with a sigh. "My beautiful little slutty girl," he murmurs, and unzips his pants as you watch in feverish arousal. He takes his cock out, and starts to pump it slowly in his hand while you watch, shoving your fingers deeper. Your eyes are trained on his fist, where it's jerking up and down. He lifts his chin.

"Look at that," he starts to stroke a little faster, "All you, baby." You flip over, not reaching enough depth in this position, and sit on your fingers, letting them disappear deeper into your pussy. Tully sits forward, intense gaze trained, unblinking, on where your hips are slamming down. "You're so fucking hot," he whispers.

"Yeah?" You ride your fingers harder, "You like that? You like that, baby?"

"S good, sweetheart." He moans, squeezing himself. "Fuckin' tease."

"Get over here and pound me then," you say, licking your lips obscenely. He finally stands, and grabs you by your hair. You groan as he drags you over to the bed, where he shoves you down onto the soon-to-be-destroyed mattress.

"You wanna feel daddy's cock?" he asks, and you crawl forward, stroking up the length of it. He lets you for a moment, reveling in the feeling of your hands on his dick again, but eventually urges you off again. He crawls onto the bed between your legs, and pushes your thighs far apart, exposing your soaking pussy to him.

"This is all mine," he whispers, "You know this cunt belongs to me." He hums. “I own a lotta things, and this here’s one of em.” 

"Yeah, daddy," you breathe, and he seals his lips over you, upper lip teasing your clit while his tongue dips in and out of you. Fuck. One thing among many that can be said about Tully, is he knows how to eat you out spectacularly.

"That's good, that's good," you start chanting, "Please... sir, please..."

He groans, and the vibrations make your clit throb. "Imma take good care of you, babygirl, don't you worry," he assures softly, eyes glowering up from between your legs, "Take good care of my girl. She deserves it. Deserves gettin’ fucked good too. Don't you?" 

"Yeah..." you whine. 

"You've been a real good girl, waiting for daddy. Only cumming when he's talking to you on the phone. You know the rules." 

"Daddy," you gasp, feeling your orgasm build, "I-I have a confession." Your voice sounds so small, and your tone is airy in your breathless state.

"Mmm? Tell me, sweetheart."

"You won't be mad?"

"That depends." He strokes soothing hands up your calves, and you shudder, flashes of his punishments running through your head.

"I was... in the jacuzzi with the girls the other night. I was thinking of you, and... thinking of what you'd do if you were there. I was wearing your favorite bikini. The one that's translucent, so you can see my nipples?" 

"Mmhmmm."

"And..." You wiggle your hips, chasing your release at the mercy of Tully's tongue. "And I... well, the jets just felt so good, I... mmm!"

"Tell daddy," he encourages with a growl.

"I let the pressure make me cum in my swimsuit, imagining it was you." You let out a moan as his tongue licks a stripe up from the base to the tip of your clit.

He hums. "It's okay. It’s okay. I understand. Some things just can't be helped. I know you tried." You exhale, uncomfortable waves of arousal washing over you. You wish he'd fill you up. "I'm proud of you, you know."  You look down at him again. "You're so brave. I'm in here, you're all alone. I wish I could be there for you, remind you every day why you'll always be mine."

"You are there for me. When you can be. You bribe the guards with your hard earned cash to get ten minutes on a call with me, to check in, make sure I’m alright. You're in here getting shit done, and I’m running things at home. It’s how we do it."

"Mmyeah. But I'd much rather be back in the game than calling the shots in here. In a perfect world, nothing would stand between us. Two of us against the world."

"Together as one," you smile, arching your back.

Tully shares your smile, as he presses soft kisses all the way up to just barely graze your cunt again. "Against all others." He nips at the dip in your hipbone. "Mm. Babygirl, when I'm out, I'mma do this... every night. That’s a motherfuckin’ promise."

You grind your hips toward his mouth, and he holds them down firmly against the mattress as he launches a proper maneuver on your clit, making you cum in seconds. You ride it out, hands fisting in his hair. He crawls over top of you, staring down at you like he's about to devour you. You don’t doubt that he is. 

You part your legs even more, and he picks them up, throwing them over his shoulder and holding your hips up. He guides himself to line up with your dripping cunt, and pushes into you easily with a low grunt, your first orgasm having slicked you up perfectly. Each following thrust is harder than the previous; Tully isn't wasting time. Already sensitive, you feel the second orgasm building. Desperate, you run your hand through your hair, getting it out of your face.

"I need it, fuck Tully, I need your cock!" you practically shout, and his grunts increase in volume as he dedicates all his energy to making sure he uses you properly. "Fill me up with your cum, daddy?" you ask innocently.

"Oh, you know I will."

"Fucking do it then."

"You’re a mouthy one, sweetheart," he moans, and he throws his head back, biting his bottom lip hard. “You test me.”

“You love it.” 

“I tolerate it... cuz I love you so fucking much... ohhff, shit...” 

“Look at me when you cum?” you gasp breathlessly. He obliges, jet black hair hanging and jolting with his tattooed body as he puts all his weight behind fucking you as deep as he can. He looks you in your eyes as your own eyelids droop in desire, and he gasps your name as you both reach your peaks together. 

You hum softly in contentment, and climb on top of his larger frame, laying on his chest. He puts an arm over you, body rising and falling with labored breath.

"What do you want to do now?" you tease. He looks down at you, brushing your matted hair aside affectionately. 

"We still got 23 hours left. You do the math."  

[sparklingichigo]

Ichigo's Identity

Previously in part 1

Lucifer: You fool! Her memory is not something you can toy with! She is not just a human! She has demon blood inside of her and THAT spell has a horrible effect on demons!

Solomon: What?!

Part 2

Solomon: She has demon blood? How? I thought she's just a human!

Lucifer: ... Do you promise not to tell anyone?

Solomon: [shrugs] It depends on what you tell me.

Lucifer: Solomon!

Solomon: [sigh] Fine, the cat's out of the bag anyway!

Lucifer: She has demon blood because somewhere in her descendant there's a demon, while I'm at it she's also Merlin's descendant.

Solomon: No way! You're the descendant of Emeryst?! That's so cool!

Lucifer and Barbatos instantly shushed him, causing the white-haired sorcerer to shut up. While they're at it, Barbatos has healed Ichigo, but for now, she's still unconscious since that's the effect of the spell that Barbatos did to her.

Solomon: But will she be okay now? Since Barbatos has healed her...

Lucifer: I don't know for sure, but she'll be back in a few days.

Because of what happened, Ichigo is now unconscious for three days despite actually being healthy. Of course, Beel, as her boyfriend is worried and begs Lucifer to let him in but Lucifer refuses, he told Beel that she must not be bothered but he keeps on begging. Maybe it is time to tell his little brother about what happened. As soon as he told Beel what just happened Beel is shocked.

Beel: Sh-she was a demon? This whole time?

Lucifer: Part, she's not fully a demon. Around 70% of her blood is human but the other 30% is a demon.

Beel: ...And Solomon tries on a spell only for humans?

Lucifer: Precisely, but that's because he doesn't know. She'll be back after a few days. She's already healed just sleeping.

Beel: Lucifer, please, can I come in there and accompany her?

Lucifer: .... [nods] That's alright, you can accompany her.

Reika: can I too?

Lucifer: [glares at Reika] No.

Reika: I'm her best friend! Why can't I be in there too?!

Lucifer: Because she's not stable! I'll let you in once she's conscious!

Reika: Yet Beel can? [scoffs]

Asmo: Fair enough, I mean Beel is her boyfriend...

Reika: I've always been there for her, what do you mean I'm not as important as Beel?!

Belphegor: Shut up! You guys are so loud! Does it even matter?! Let her rest! I'm sure she's calmer around my twin, shut your mouth!

Everyone looks upon Belphie's words. They never expect Belphie to snap that hard, but hey, it's his twin. Of course, he's protective over him. It's no surprise. Satan somehow agrees with this, logical he is correct.

Satan: Logically speaking, he's right. Ichigo feels more relax around Beel so I guess we should let her rest, let's just go.

Reika: ...Then where am I supposed to sleep?

Everyone went silent again at the question. She's right, where is she supposed to sleep if her room is used by Ichigo and no one is allowed to be in there.

Satan: She'll sleep in my room.

Mammon: You cra-

Satan: Oh I'll move to Asmo's room and she'll sleep there.

Asmo: Nuh-uh! That's a no-no! First of all, your room stinks and second of all, I don't share my room.

Belphegor: She can have my room, I'll be in my previous room.

Lucifer: Are you sure?

Belphegor: I sleep everywhere, my previous room won't be that different, besides I can look at the stars better.

Reika: Really? Will that be okay with you?

Belphegor: Don't make me repeat myself. I'll be going. [leaves the area]

Meanwhile, inside the room, there is Beel kneeling beside Ichigo who's unconscious. Despite her peaceful look, Beel is still worried about her. Sure, Lucifer and Barbatos have assured him that she's alright, her energy was just drained but sleeping for three days? That's a bit much for a human!

Beel: Hey, Sugar, I'm here. How's your sleep? Did you dream of cake? Macaroons perhaps? Yourself? [laughs slightly] Ah, I wish I have Belphie's dream reading abilities then I can know what you're dreaming about.

Beel: I hope you have a good rest, sugar. I promise that I'll be here for you when you're awake.

After saying that, Beel decides that he might as well stay in that room with another rejection from the eldest brother.

Lucifer: Didn't I tell you to let her rest?

Beel: I already promised her that I'd be there when she wakes up. Please let me stay, at least until she wakes up then I'll be out of that room.

Lucifer: ....Fine, as long as nothing bad happens.

Beel: Thanks a lot, Lucifer.

Lucifer: You're welcome, besides you're not one to ask for anything inconvenient besides food. So I can let this one slide.

As soon as Beel gets out he meets his twin outside. His twin surprisingly isn't asleep, instead, he looked so concerned.

Belphegor: Is she okay?

Beel: She's still resting as always. I think we both can see her since Lucifer leaves her to me.

Belphegor: [nods] I do want to see her.

With that, the twins go to Ichigo's room and Belphegor watches upon the sleeping pink-haired girl. His dream reading senses are tingling since turns out Ichigo has past visions in her sleep. It's so complicated that even Belphie's head starts to hurt. He falls over, causing a loud thud.

Beel: Belphie! Are you okay?

Belphegor: I-I'm okay, I just feel her pain over this vision. Her dreams are about her past but neither of us can figure out who that is.

Beel: What?!

Belphegor: There are possibilities of her not being 100% healed because Solomon's spell is still there and it's hurting my head, like a lot!

Beel: We need to tell Lucifer or Solomon!

Belphegor: ...Solomon, tell Solomon. He's the one who puts the spell on her and he must take responsibility. If he ever hurt her we'll both go on a killing spree.

Beel: Belphie...

Belphegor: What? You want your girlfriend to die?!

Beel: [shakes his head] Killing isn't the answer.

Solomon: It isn't-

The twins: Gah! Where did you come from?!

Solomon: Oh I'm here to assess her. From what I heard my spell is still in her, I did find an antidote. So maybe she can drink this in hopes she'd heal. Hope there's nothing dangerous in that.

Beel nods and takes the antidote from Solomon's hands. He reads the sticker around it which states the ingredient, luckily it is safe for demons. With that Beel goes to her side and tries to make her consume that antidote but because of her closed mouth, it's not working.

Belphegor: There can only be one way...

Beel: ...

Solomon: Mouth to mouth...Yeah...I'll see you guys at school- [closes his portal]

Belphegor: I won't look! [turns around]

After Solomon leaving and Belphegor turning around, he finally gives the antidote from his mouth to hers. To be honest, that antidote tastes like sh*t! But that's what medicine is, they won't taste good. Suddenly Ichigo starts to twitch, Beel panics and so does Belphegor as soon as he turns around. Luckily Solomon appears again with his portal.

Solomon: Is it done?

Beel: She's twitching and starts sweating?! What's going on

Solomon: Hold on!

Solomon steps out of his portal and goes to Ichigo's side. He feels her hands starting to warm up. He also checks her eyes and sees that they're shining again, she's back. Suddenly the pink-haired girl starts to cough.

Ichigo: Jesus Christ! What did you just give me?!

Beel: Ichigo! You're alive!

Ichigo: I wasn't dead, to begin with?

Solomon: Bullsh*t! Your hands were so cold earlier!

Ichigo: How long was I asleep?

Belphegor: Around two or three days... [shrugs]

Ichigo: But why can't I remember anything [pouts]

Solomon: Ah, that's the point. Your memory is not something to be messed with. Sure you know your identity but I don't see a reason for you to see the past if you're happy now.

Belphegor: Yeah, I agree with this sus sorcerer. I don't think it's necessary to know your past if it's gonna hurt you.

Beel: But she still needs to rest right? Despite being alive?

Solomon: [scoffs] That goes without saying, big guy. Well, I'll be off now!

Solomon finally left the twins with Ichigo. The twins are very happy that Ichigo is back, they're both so happy that they shower Ichigo with hugs. But with their weight and height, it's not that easy for the pink-haired girl.

Ichigo: ...You two are heavy :(

Belphegor: That's what you get for getting sick!

Beel: Ah I'm sorry, did I squeeze you too tight?

Ichigo: I said you're heavy! [huffs]

Beel: I'm sorry, I can't help myself. I'm really happy that you're back!

Ichigo: So am I. Should we tell the others?

Belphegor: That's a whole drag! Why should they know?! Let us stay here for a few days!

Ichigo: I guess I can do that. You don't mind taking the couch right?

Belphegor: [shrugs] Eh, I sleep everywhere and I probably won't fit with you and Beel anyways.

Suddenly the door was busted open by Lucifer causing the twins and Ichigo to blink confusedly at the sight.

Lucifer: ...You're back!

Ichigo: I am...

Lucifer: Are you okay? Is there any pain?

Ichigo: I am, someone gave me this [gives Lucifer a small bottle of antidote]

Lucifer: Ah, Solomon was it?

Beel: [nods] Yes, he did.

Belphegor: Eventually your magic didn't work on her.

Lucifer: I told you only Beel can enter this room! Why are you here?!

Belphegor: I'm worried about her too okay! I can even sense that Barbatos's healing spells ain't working on her, you're welcome!

Lucifer: What?!

Belphegor: Turns out Solomon's antidote works better than that. I even see a couple of her memories. It's so much that it hurts my head!

Lucifer: I see... [nods] [gets out of the room]

Lucifer exits the room in confusion. How come that Barbatos's magic didn't work on her while Solomon's antidote works better? That's weird...

Meanwhile back in the castle, Diavolo is scolding/punishing Barbatos for harming his best friend's descendant.

Diavolo: What have you done?!

Barbatos: [Kneeling down] I tried to heal her, my Lord! I would not dare hurt her!

Diavolo: By using healing powers that are just as harmful to humans! Are you crazy?! Have you lost your mind, Barbatos?!

Barbatos: I apologize, My Lord. It was careless of me.

Diavolo: [sigh] You are lucky that Solomon came up with an antidote for it. Next time, if I see anyone harming her they'll be the first to go to that jail, do you understand?! I'll let this slide since you have good intentions.

Barbatos: [bows down deeply] Thank you for forgiving me, my Lord.

Diavolo: [nods] You are now dismissed.

[muthaz-rapapa]

Rewatch: Mahou Tsukai Precure Ep 3

Hey hey hey~!

I made it to Sunday with another MahoPre post again! Praise me, won’t you?

*bows extravagantly* ( -∀-)シ

ALSO, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO ALL YOU GREAT MOMMIES OUT THERE!! WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT YOU?!  (｡^▽^｡)/ ♡

Yaaaaa, you know the animation quality really went up when not only the new transformation sequence was top notch but the episode it debuted in was as well. Really! Everything was so sparkly and purdy~

Like Mirai and Mofu-chan’s excited faces, kyaaaaa~! xD

Ahem, so we start off with Mirai calling home and let’s just say she’s very lucky it was Grandma who picked up.

I don’t know how long Mirai’s been gone but judging by how Grandma’s first question is about Mirai’s search instead of asking where she is right now, maybe she hasn’t been gone too long to raise any alarms yet.

In any case, the beginning of the phone call was hilarious cuz though Grandma shares Mirai’s belief in witches and magic, I’m pretty sure she never expected for Mirai to be contacting her from another realm, much less hear that she’s become a witch herself.

She’s like “Huh? Wut?” xD;

And then there’s Mirai. Oh god, Mirai.

She really is the type to spill almost every detail out in a jumbled manner and gesture frantically on the other end of the line even though there’s no way her Grandma can actually see her, lol I do the same thing when I talk over the phone

Meanwhile, Headmaster and Riko are just standing awkwardly in the background, watching this girl play charades in front of a crystal ball.

(^ ∀ ^ ;;)

Anyways, despite all the rushed explanations, Mirai wants to attend class here and asks for permission.

Naturally, any normal parent/guardian would say “no” because first of all, what the heck is she going on about? Flying brooms? Magic World? WAT? Did you hit your head while playing or something?

I mean, even the most understanding person would just assume Mirai found a new friend at the playground who introduced her to some secret hangout or whatever and that Mirai just wants to stay out longer to have fun, that’s all.

But nuh-uh! Mirai’s really in the Magic World right now and she really wants to enroll in magic school for the rest of spring break!

Miraculously (and again, she is so lucky it was Grandma who picked up), she does get the okay.

Grandma actually believes Mirai will be alright with these strangers in some foreign place she’s never heard of. She’s never met them, there’s no address or even a phone number she can call to check up on Mirai. For all she knows, her granddaughter could’ve been tricked and kidnapped by some shady hoodlums.

But over the phone, it doesn’t seem that Mirai is any danger...and since she sounds so eager, well then, alright. Grandma chooses to trust Mirai.

Cue joyous, major squee-able hug! <D

But on a serious note, PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW THIS IN REAL LIFE, OKAY?!

(O_ O ;;)

It’s somewhat forgivable in an children’s anime where things are more idyllic and even Mirai’s situation is an exception among exceptions because of plox. 

But if your kid is asking to stay out in some vague location with people who don’t have your trust to look out for their well-being, then you get in your car or call the police or do whatever’s necessary to bring them home immediately!

...come to think of it, I wonder how Mirai’s parents reacted when Grandma told them the news. By the time Mirai got back home, they seemed pretty cool with it but Mirai should’ve at least called them every day (off-screen) to ensure she’s alright so that they didn’t have to worry a lot while she was away.

I dunno, please don’t mind me too much on this matter. I'm just very sensitive when it comes to the safety of children, that’s all. The news and living in the city scared me into being cautious.

Honestly, I wouldn’t mind becoming an Uber driver as long it’s a magic carpet I’m flying.

But I’m not sure what the insurance policy on that is like and it doesn’t look like there are seat belts either which is a tad bit concerning. Hmm...

Bouncy-wouncy flippy-floppy Mofurun~!

Look at this happy bear~! She’s having the time of her life!

Ugh, my heart~!!! x3333

I believe this is the first time Mirai’s had the chance to tell Riko something about herself and it’s quite nice that Riko was the one who (sorta) initiated the interest this time around.

We all know what Riko’s like. She’s not fond of people being too chummy with her because if they get to know her, they’ll learn how bad she is at magic as well. That’s why she’s always trying to maintain a distance. Trying not to interact with others too much and not volunteer too much info about herself so she can uphold an image she doesn’t really possess and protect where she’s most vulnerable. Tsundere defense mechanism in the works.

For her to reach out to Mirai, even if it’s only out of some courteous small talk and minimal curiosity, maybe it means she’s gradually becoming more comfortable. At least in Mirai’s company, there’s no need to have her guard up that high and she can talk to someone normally for once.

Mirai, on the other hand, is the honest type through and through and is thrilled to share anything about what she loves.

Her bright, sincere personality and close relationship with her grandma shows how well she was raised because no matter how wild or out of this world Mirai’s thoughts can get sometimes, those closest to her never ridiculed or made her think less of herself for that. That’s why she’s almost always able to face anything with open optimism. She’s free to be unapologetically herself because she has that kind of reassurance.

It’s a security that many people would die to have.

And Riko is one of those people.

Listening to Mirai talk warmly about her grandmother brings a slightly lonely expression to her face because Riko doesn’t have anyone like that. No one whom she can talk to about anything and everything, no one whom she can show her true self to without fear of being judged by them.

No one to call a real friend.

Well, guess what, Riko? Ya got right one in front of ya, dont’cha? Hahaha~!

She just doesn’t realize it yet.

Moving along, damn, the whole island is occupied by magic merchants and their shops!

Diagon Alley can’t even begin to compare!

Yep. If there’s any Precure universe I want to live in, it’s definitely this one! 8D

At the center of the giant square, of course there’s a statue and of course there’s a story to go along with it and of course, there’s an old man (by the name of Mr. Hook) just waiting to tell that story to whoever’s new in town.

Nevertheless, this story is a rather interesting one in respect to the Linkle Stone Ruby that’s set to appear later.

The Merchant Alley is where people gather to sell their trades and goods. It’s a place where they can share the work they’re proud of and passionate about.

And Ruby is the Linkle Stone of what? Passion.

So the Passion Flame was pretty much the Linkle Stone Ruby all along and it returned to remind the people of the magic they still have within themselves.

This slightly debunks the idea that the Linkle Stones will only appear when Precure do but it doesn’t change the fact that Ruby’s true form didn’t manifest until Mirai and Riko came to the Alley.

Anyways, on another note, isn’t it an extremely heartwarming thought that even though Mother Rapapa has been gone for centuries, her magic hasn’t disappeared and that it still extends itself to help people when they’re in need? Even now, Mother Rapapa still loves and wants to protect the world she defended with her very life which just goes to prove that the most ancient and most powerful magic of all is indeed, love.

Love never dying means magic never dying.

Aaaaahhhh~, that’s so beautiful! *sniff* <’D

Aww, but I wanted to hear about Pegasus Lane!

( •́ ∧ •̀ )

Ok, ok, maybe some other time.

At least we got Riko taking Mirai’s hand to lead her away instead. Me is a happy gurl~ <3

But then Mofurun says she smells something sweet and duh, it’s clearly Ruby sitting in the statue’s lamp but they don’t know that yet so they all assume it’s just the cotton candy from a street vendor near by.

Well, their reaction was adorbs anyway.

D’aww, omgawd, look at Mirai, trying to tug Riko in the direction of sweets and Riko having none of that. Kekekeke! xD

Ok, before we go in, I just want to say that I adore Francois and all the fabulousness he’s packaged with!

But more than that, I love how he’s always so kind to people who visit his shop, especially the girls. He’s always eager to give them the best fashion he can offer and since he learned his trade in the Mundane World, it’s probably safe to say he isn’t at all prejudiced against anyone from there either.

But also, also...!!

He knows how to recognize CUTE when he sees it!

Oh yea, Francois is my spirit animal.

Poor Mofurun, though. She looks so traumatized. xD;

My daughter is soooooo cute! Don’t you agree?

*pokes you in the back with ten needles* (*°∀°)

Man, if I could do magic......I would probably still go out to buy clothes instead of making them myself. It’s less about not having the talent to design and more about gathering the material that would be a pain for me. I’d rather leave that to the professionals.

That said, since it’s magic we’re talking about, I hope retail prices are a lot lower over there since production requires less manual labor. Or should it be magical labor?

Well, it takes less time if an outfit can be fitted and finished within the hour so that’s a plus at least.

Mmhmm. *nods appreciatively*

I wasn’t lying when I said this uniform is one of my (if not the) top favorite school uniform designs across all Precure seasons.

The colors, the plaid bows, and ugh, the HAT!!

...I wanna be a witch, too. TwT

Honestly, Francois is just one of the best recurring characters. Period.

He’s so thoughtful, going the extra mile even when he doesn’t really have to. He’s not in it for the famous name or money, he just wants to make sure his clients look good and feel good looking good.

What an artisan!

(Btw, Mofurun still uses the same pouch when Mirai grows up and I just find that so awesome because they’re continuing to treat a gift from Francois with such care~ <3)

I mean, fixing a loose button is a small task. Hardly worth mentioning but with Riko falling so often (*discontent Riko noises*), you’d think Francois would be exasperated about her always ruining her clothes.

Nope. 

He just goes and sews it back in place without charge, gently telling Riko in his own special way for her to be more careful.

Riko doesn’t miss the sentiment behind his words and really, you’d have to be blind to not see how all the people Riko knows really care about her.

More locals to meet and this one is Todd and he sells produce!

Not much to say about him other than he’s a nice dude, offering Mirai a sample of what a Frozen Clementine really tastes like.

lol, oh Riko, don’t take it so personally. These things happen. <D;

Also, that’s two strikes for Riko today. I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole town was aware of how clumsy she is.

At least, none of them are mean about it or deliberately poking fun at her. Riko’s just a little too sensitive is all.

Again, the shifts through Riko’s many faces when eating clementines are fun to watch.

It’s okay, Riko! You’ll get there eventually!

Wouldn’t put it past an eccentric, old man like him to do something like that.

I mean, I’m positive that the Headmaster’s character is partially inspired by Albus Dumbledore who also fits these kind of descriptions so yea...

YEA.

Meanwhile, I am living for the savageness that Cathy is unrepentantly laying on the Deputy Headmistress concerning her stickler-policy/no-outsider opinions.

Nothing against the Deputy Head since she does come around eventually but hell yea, Miss Sassy Crystal Ball! xD;

Next up is Gustav’s, where Mirai gets her own broom!

God, I love this broom so much. It’s simple but so charming!! Perfect for a young witch!

Nooooooo, Riko-chan~

That’s not what she meant! (^ ∀ ^ ;;)

Ooo, that’s three strikes now!

Riko really can’t catch a break, huh?

I wonder how many times everybody in town has heard this reply, lol

Y’know, these shopkeepers have known Riko since she was little so for them to comment on Mirai accompanying her today just further supports the idea that they’re always watching out for her however they can.

Riko’s an awkward kid who’s trying too hard to act and see through the eyes of an adult and that’s why she blunders so much.

But perhaps, if they were to point that out too directly, it’ll just make Riko feel more ashamed or make her more stubborn than she already is.

If that’s true, then I’d like to think they all agreed to just give Riko her space and let her grow into it in her own time. They’ll still support her every now and then (because she needs it) but they won’t overdo it to the point where she’ll notice and misunderstand it as an remark on her poor skills in magic.

Anyways, at least Gustav seems happy to see Riko’s finally got a friend to spend time with. As much as Riko’s unsure about calling Mirai her friend, no one’s going to deny that Riko not being alone anymore is a good thing for her, hehe~

They got to eat cotton candy, after all! YAY~!

Gotta say, this might just be the best way to eat cotton candy cuz it just levitates a little above your hand and you don’t have to worry about holding onto a stick and then the candy melting onto the stick and your hands getting messy cuz of that and whatnot.

Also, it really makes it look like you’re munchin’ on a cloud. Cute, right? :D

So far, Mirai is having a superb day. She got the whole magic user starter kit and it really feels like she’s become a witch now.

But as Riko says, it takes more than just looking the part to be a genuine practitioner of magic.

I wonder if she realizes how contradictory she sounds here because if she knew that all along, then that would label her search for the Emerald as hypocritical.

Though it’s possible she only realized this after coming back from her recent trip to the Mundane World empty-handed.

Still, there’s no doubt the Emerald’s profound and mythical qualities would be desired by many, including those who are efficient in magic. Nobody is really sure what it’s capable of but since it’s reputed to be the rarest and most powerful of the Linkle Stones, we can at least expect it to live up to its name in some way.

And when Riko overheard the Headmaster talking about it in his office, well, who can really blame her for shooting off to go find it then?

If anything, had she found it, Riko probably would’ve used the Emerald to figure out why her magic seldom worked out the way she wanted it to. Then from there, she’d do whatever she could in her own power to make herself a great witch.

...Maybe.

Mirai, however, is more impressed by how brave and aggressive Riko is on fulfilling her dream. 

In fact, she’s more amazed by Riko than the Emerald itself and doesn’t think her search for the Emerald sounds ridiculous at all.

To her, Riko is a hard worker and she should be acknowledged just for how much effort she puts into becoming a witch worthy of respect.

But when she asks what Riko means by stuff like “excellent” or “splendid”, even Riko’s not sure.

Of course, even if you have a good amount of magical prowess, that doesn’t automatically mean you’re a great magic user.

Rather, it should be how you use your magic that determines whether you are great or not.

I guess that’s why Riko suddenly turned that question back on Mirai. Because as of this moment, she’s only looking for ways to cast her spells without them backfiring on her. She hasn’t given much thought on what she can do with magic once she does have it in her hands.

Riko doesn’t have an answer yet. And because she doesn’t want to appear like she doesn’t, her walls go up again in an attempt to prevent anyone else from realizing how unsure she actually is inside.

But you know what?

Mirai’s not sure about her own dream either. 

She’s never thought of it before now and nothing really comes to mind just because she’s asked out of the blue like this. However, that doesn’t really bother her.

It’d be awesome if one day, she can find something to dedicate herself to like Riko does...but until then, there’s no need to rush or stress it. If she’s meant to find it, then she’ll find it eventually.

Having a dream should be a wonderful thing, after all. It’s not something you must have but something you want, something you choose to pursue. 

I believe that’s what makes Riko so special in Mirai’s eyes. Because despite all the doubts and hardships that come with it, Mirai can tell Riko truly cherishes her desire to become a fine witch some day. 

If she didn’t, Riko wouldn’t have needed to try so hard. But she did and is still trying because she really wants it. That is what earned her Mirai’s admiration.

Not sure if those feelings reached Riko but at least it seems that she knows Mirai respects and understands her to extent in that regard, which then draws out a smile from her as well.

Cuz c’mon, it’s just nice to talk these things out with a friend.

That’s right, they’re definitely friends now.

They’re laughing together and the atmosphere is very light and pleasant and happy.

Just look at Mofurun, the perfect mood indicator. If that’s not enough to show how well our girls are getting along, then I don’t know what is.

Ugh, unfortunately if there’s a good mood going on, a mood ruiner is never too far off.

This time it’s Sparda and she introduces herself by stealing Mirai’s Diamond pendant. *GASP* BAD! >:(

Demands are made for the Emerald’s location, Mirai loudly defies the villain again and villain decide to wreck things as a response. Yada yada yada, same old, same old.

Except with them missing one Diamond and unable to transform into Precure, they really can’t do anything to stop Sparda.

As the situation becomes grimmer, so does the anger start to build within Riko as she surveys the damage of the town.

We even get a mini-montage of a younger Riko (OMG ISN’T SHE THE SWEETEST LIL’ WITCH-IN-TRAINING?!?!? KYAAA~!!! xDD) on her first time visiting all the shops, essentially telling us how many important memories she’s made here and how much the people who helped her mean to her.

This finally, finally makes her blow her top.

How dare this cretin selfishly trample all over the innocent people trying to do their daily jobs peacefully! How dare this insect woman make a mess of their community, a place where everybody works so hard to support each other, without remorse!

That is absolutely unforgivable!!

...but at the same time, Riko releasing her anger is just what they needed. Her feelings are now fully synchronized with Mirai’s...

...which causes the Ruby to awaken and reveal its true form to them.

Hmm, this is really fascinating because we can interpret it to mean that passion, the idea that the Ruby represents, is linked to many emotions and not just a strong sense of love towards something. 

Or you can say even “negative” emotions like anger or sorrow can also be proof of a very strong love.

Considering that rage and passion are often symbolized through flames and fire imagery, I’d say that the connection between those two is really appropriate for these turn of events.

But moving along...

THE BIRTH OF RUBY STYLE~!!!

(⋈◍＞◡＜◍)。✧♡

I’ll go into my thoughts on this design another day but ahhh, I do so love this Form Change to death. Have a hard time deciding if this is my top favorite among the MahoPre forms.

As for the battle, well, sad to say this one wasn’t worth writing home about either. And I think the animation quality dropped a little around this part of the ep. Not sure why there’s a sudden inconsistency when there wasn’t that much “fighting” going on.

But again, I’m not here to write about the battle scenes (until maybe post-Felice debut), which are more or less the same anyway so I’d just be repeating myself if I were. I’m here for the chemistry between the girls, the character studies and so on.

Some key highlights, though, because I couldn’t ignore them:

Mofurun catching the Diamond back like one would catch a home run ball.

I’M SO PROUD OF YOU, MY BABY!!!!!

x3

This kick.

This kick is everything.

Miracle and Magical grabbing each other’s hands to help propel their feet at the Yokubaru.

And then the ice thawing immediately upon impact, a call out to the Frozen Clementines they always eat and further demonstration of symbolism of passion through fire because heat melts ice.

Looks like this might’ve been the first time Riko was successful in using this type of magic. Too bad you can’t really eat it. But not that you’d really want to, lol

Then Ruby Passionale and another day saved.

Yay~

And now everybody’s witnessed the legend in the flesh!

lol, Miracle being polite to the crowd while Mofurun is trying to hide her face ("No pictures, please-mofu!”) and Magical is so close to freaking out cuz they gotta get outta here before their transformations become undone and their true identities are found out and ohhh, we don’t want to stick around to find out what that’s gonna be like......

...so they leave by leaping to the rooftops.

Classic.

Later that day, they go to pick up Mirai’s broom and aww, that’s so nice of Gustav to give her a cute ribbon as an extra service!

It comes in both her and Riko’s colors, too! How did he know?!?!?!? 8D

And he even gave one to Riko to match with Mirai!

Ugh, Gustav is so awesome. I want to buy him a steak dinner. 

I’ll buy dinner for any character in story who helps me ship my ship, hahaha! xD

Hehe, my lovely girls~

I love them soooo much. <3

Mmkay, I’m done for the day. I think I can manage to do one more post for next week. Then we’ll see what happens from there cuz I’ll be going back to work soon.

[queermil]

ortecho’s eight | rnm ocean’s 11 au

this is all @vlamito‘s fault. i’m posting it here cause i honestly don’t know if i have the brainpower to write a whole heist fic.

------------------

"Well, if it isn't Liz Ortecho." Maria's already pouring the shots of tequila as Liz approaches the bar. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"Yes, I'm sorry." Liz says as she slips onto one of the bar stools. "I don't call, I don't write…" she picks up one of the shots and they clink glasses before downing the alcohol. It's the middle of the day so there's no one else in the bar to judge them.

"Forget it," Maria waves a hand. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Liz shifts in her seat.

"Oh no. Nuh uh. I know that look." Maria points an accusing finger at her. "No. I'm out of the game."

"And you can stay out," Liz argues. "But I need a team and we both know you have the best contacts."

Maria shakes her head. "No. I will not enable you."

"It's for Rosa."

Maria immediately goes soft. "What?"

"She's in over her head with this rich guy; Bracken. I want to pay her debt and get her out of there." Liz gratefully takes the next shot that Maria pours her.

"Shit." Maria says. "You have a plan?"

"You know I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

A heavy sigh. "Tell me what you need."

"A hacker, obviously. I figured I'd ask--"

"Alex. Yeah, he's in town. He'll want to help out. Besides, he's the best."

"Exactly."

[ --- ]

Alex looks at the two of them from behind his desk. It’s clean and shiny and he has two large monitors that look to be running a program that neither Liz nor Maria recognise.

“You guys know I’m legit now, right?” He gestures to the desk, then to the suit and tie combo he’s wearing. “I don’t do this stuff anymore.”

Liz raises an eyebrow at him.

“I rarely do this stuff anymore.”

Maria throws him a pointed look.

Alex sighs and relents. “What’s the job? And don’t tell me it’s another casino. I’ll die if I have to hack casino security again.”

Liz and Maria look at each other, then back at him.

“You’ll laugh when she tells you,” Maria starts.

“Actually,” Liz cuts in. “I was thinking we’d raid your dad’s stash.”

Alex stares at her for a good long while, obviously trying to see if she’s being serious or not. She does her best to return an expression that says she is serious.

Whatever he finds, it makes him lean back in his chair. “What’s the prize?”

“If all goes to plan? I’m thinking twenty million.”

He frowns.

“Each.”

Both eyebrows go up.

“And,” Liz says, meeting his gaze unflinchingly. “You get to pick what we take from his collection.”

Finally, his lips curl into a smile. “Okay then. I’m listening.”

[ --- ]

"Who else?"

"Muscle. But someone who can blend into a crowd. Someone that won't immediately be noticed."

"What about Jenna Cameron? She's ex-military; can definitely handle herself, and we know how well a woman can be ignored. She’s also an ex-gymnast.”

"Perfect."

[---]

“I said I’d work for you, DeLuca. As a bodyguard.”

Jenna Cameron looks between the two women, completely unimpressed, then settles on Maria.

“This is working for me,” Maria argues. “Kind of. The pay is way better.”

“Yeah, I’d hope so,” Jenna says. “Since the job is way more illegal.”

“You said you were looking to do something a little bit different,” Maria tries to reason with her.

Jenna scoffs. “Yeah, like throwing drunk assholes out of your bar.”

“You can still do that,” Maria assures her. “With no hard feelings on our part.”

“But the money is going to be good,” Liz argues.

“Very good,” Maria adds.

Jenna narrows her eyes at the two of them. “How good?”

[---]

"I'll need an actor. Someone who's good at talking and can fit in with the high class crowd."

"Now, I know you know that's Isobel Evans."

"Ugh. You can't think of anyone else? For both our sakes?"

"She's the best, babe. And unfortunately, she comes hand in hand with Max."

"Ay dios mio. I guess it's lucky that I need a fence."

Maria laughs loudly. "You couldn't come up with a plan that didn't need one?"

"I could have. It wouldn't have been as good."

"So, the Evans twins."

"The Evans twins."

[---]

“Liz.”

Max breathes out her name like he’s been waiting ten years to say it when in reality, it’s been closer to two years since they’ve seen each other.

“Thought you’d retired, DeLuca,” is Isobel’s greeting to them both.

“Just a middle man,” Maria informs her, polite and distant. “I don’t suppose either of you are in the market for a heist?”

“With you running point?” Isobel asks with a pointed look at Liz.

“Yes.” Liz holds her gaze. It’s easier than having to look at Max. “You seemed happy with the last job we did together.”

“I was,” Isobel says sweetly. “Max was less than impressed.”

“Is,” Max hisses in protest.

“What’s the buy in?” Isobel asks, ignoring him.

“Nothing compared to the takeaway,” Liz replies. When Isobel raises one perfect eyebrow, she adds: “Twenty million.”

The twins turn and look at each other and communicate something in the freaky twin way Liz remembers them doing. When they look back at her and Maria, Max still looks a little nervous but Isobel looks determined.

“What do you need?” she asks.

[---]

"This plan sounds like it has an engineer shaped hole."

"Yeah, I'm thinking Guerin but don't he and Alex have history?"

"Oh, undoubtedly. Cosmic, I hear. Equally cosmic breakup."

"I don't want that to mess up the plan."

"They're both professionals. At least, Alex is. That boy can compartmentalise better than anyone I've ever met. They'll behave, if there's something in it for them."

"Oh, there's something in it for them."

[---]

“Yeah, I’ll do it.” Michael doesn’t look up from where he’s working on a busted old ute, elbow-deep in engine grease. “What’s the catch?”

“What do you mean?” Liz asks innocently.

“You wouldn’t have brought DeLuca along to convince me if there wasn’t a catch,” Michael says, turning something into place with a wrench. “So what’s the catch, Liz?”

Liz splays her hands out helplessly. “I need Alex as well.”

Michael pauses what he’s doing and laughs, a harsh and unhappy sound. “Of course you do.”

“She needs you both, Guerin,” Maria says. “You’re both the best at what you do. It’s unavoidable.”

“Oh yeah? And how did Alex feel about that?

(“No way. I won’t work with him. I can’t.”

“Alex, c’mon--”

“He’s infuriating, Maria! London proved that we can’t work together anymore. Not after --”

“That was just you two though,” Maria reasons. “This will be a whole crew. You’ll barely have to speak to him.”

“Barely is too much.”

“Please Alex,” Liz pleads with him. “Think of Rosa.”

“Think of the money,” Maria adds.

He groans and rubs a hand over his face. “Okay. For Rosa. And twenty million dollars.”

“Atta boy.”)

“He was totally on board,” Liz says. “Immediately.”

Michael finally looks up from the ute and fixes her with a glare that says he knows she’s lying. “Did he now?”

“You’re a professional, Guerin,” Maria argues. “Don’t let a little lover’s quarrel get in the way of twenty million.”

“I’ll do it,” Michael repeats, turning back to his work. Then he grumbles low, like he thinks they won’t hear: “Just to see the look on his stupid face.”

[---]

“So that’s…”

“Seven, including you.”

“Don’t include me.”

“Come on, Maria. How am I going to pull this off without my right-hand woman?”

“You wench, you knew I wouldn’t be able to resist. This had better be a damn good plan.”

“Would I come to you with a half-assed idea?”

“Paris. Three years ago.”

“Mierda, will you ever let that go?” Liz leans across the bar on her elbows. “Now listen, here’s my plan…”

[mlpdestinyverse]

“Summer Magic”

After an especially rough day of flight training with his mother Lightning Dust, Skychaser is thankful to have a little sister who knows just how to put a smile on his face.

Feat: Skychaser , Summer Rush 

Story and Description Under The Cut!

-Within a makeshift flight obstacle course fenced into a large backyard, Lightning Dust watches with sharp, analytical eyes as her young colt, Skychaser, streaks through the track. She stalks around the perimeter, not taking her eyes off the colt for a second-

Lightning Dust: UGH- -lifts the whistle hanging from her neck up and blows into it, creating a shrill sound- GO GO gO, SKYCHASER! YOU CALL THAT FLYING?! GET A MOVE ON!  

Skychaser: -despite the burning sensation in his wings, he does as he’s told and flaps them harder. Not too long later, to his complete and utter relief, he completes his last lap and skids to a stop at the starting line. His wings practically fall and drag on the ground as he bends over, wheezing for breath-

Lightning: -clicks her stopwatch, squinting at the time displayed on the screen. She frowns disapprovingly- Four seconds off. You’re slacking, boy.

Skychaser: -coughs, trying to even out his breathing- I-I-

Lightning: Do you think you’ll win at ANYTHING with a time like that? -pauses- Well, do you?!

Skychaser: N-no…

Lightning: -huffs and clears the stop watch- Then fly it again! The race is in three days, and if you expect to win gold again, you hafta make your time or do better!

Skychaser: -eyes widen- C-can I take a break? My wings hurt-

Lightning: Psh, you’ll be fine. It’s best to fly when your blood is pumping anyway. -Before Sky can argue, Lightning blows the piercing whistle, causing him to wince- GO, BOY!

-Though he struggles, Skychaser grunts and outstretches his aching wings with effort, forcing himself to take off. By now he’s memorized the track by heart, doing the appropriate spins around trees and zooming through cloud-hoops. Though he can feel the ache turning into a painful, almost numbing tightness in his back, he forces himself to focus on the obstacles ahead. That is, until he makes a particularly sharp turn. In that moment, the pain in his wing causes him to falter and lose balance. He tries to properly fix himself, especially as he spots the oncoming pole straight ahead. But just as he thinks he’s going to avoid it, the side of his foreleg manage to take a blow, forcing a pained cry out of him. With no way to regain control, Sky soon finds himself crashing into the ground with a roll-

Lightning Dust: (?!) SKY! -gallops over and quickly tries to make him sit up-

Skychaser: -grits his teeth. Not only is his foreleg now throbbing with immense pain, but the side of his body he had crashed upon aches too. He finds himself fighting back tears of pain. He especially yelps when Lightning grabs the foreleg he had hit, examining it- A-ah! -looking at his mother’s face, Sky realizes with an anxious pang in his chest that she seems more angry than concerned-

Lightning Dust: Damn it, Sky, THIS is what happens when you don’t watch what the hell you’re doing!

Skychaser: -bites his lip and pulls his foreleg away, holding it gingerly with his other hoof- I-I-Is it b-broken?

Lightning Dust: -scoffs- No. It’ll leave a bruise, and it'll hurt, but that's it. You’re not gonna die. -sighs heavily and stands up, nudging Sky towards the house- Go inside...we’ll do one last fly later.

Skychaser: (?!) B-but-

Lightning Dust: -shoots her son a hard stare- Sky.

Skychaser: …-miserably begins his trek to the back door. He dreads returning to training. At the same time, he finds himself actually thankful that this incident, with unfortunate irony, has finally allowed him his break. On his way to the stairs he passes the living room, where he finds his father lounging with a sports newspaper. A part of Sky almost hopes he won’t notice him-

Dumbbell: -glances up for a moment, and just as quickly furrows his eyebrows and puts his paper down- What happened to you? You look like you just crashed into a tree.

Skychaser: -ducks his head in embarrassment- Y-yeah...I kinda lost balance and hit a pole- -hisses quietly when he accidentally, subconsciously touched the bruising spot on his foreleg. He’s reminded more than ever how badly he wants to rest and get away from training for once in his life. At the very least, just for the rest of the day. Surely that was a reasonable thing to ask for- -stares at his dad hopefully. Desperately, even- D-dad? It really hurts. My leg and my wings. Can you...m-maybe talk to mom? She wants me to train more later, and I don’t- I don’t think I can...

Dumbbell: -to Sky’s dismay, his father lets out a short disbelieving laugh, raising an eyebrow- What? Stop talking like a little filly, Sky, you’ll walk it off. It’s not like you need the side of your leg to fly. -picks his paper back up, folding one half back- Your mom knows what she’s doing, just do what she says.

Skychaser: …-with silent hurt and anger mixing within his chest, he continues to limp the rest of the way to the stairs. One step at a time, Sky’s heavy, struggling hoofsteps can be heard, yet (not to his surprise) his father proceeds to go about his own business.-

‘Why did I think he’d get it...he never gets it. He doesn’t care what mom does.’

-Sky pushes into his room and doesn’t bother to climb into bed. He grabs his portable CD player, throws on his headphones, and collapses onto his carpet. He hits “play” and simply lays there, but as he does, the words of his parents play on repeat within his head, blocking out the music. “Slacking”. “Filly”. “Walk it off”. Try as he might, any weakness, any failure to meet expectations, deemed him deserving of their careless words. Of being put down. A new yet familiar ache hits him. This time, within his chest.-

‘They won’t listen… No one will listen…’

Skychaser: (!!) -nearly leaps up when he feels something warm nestle up beside him. Swiftly turning his head, he finds an equally as startled filly staring at him with large, wide blue eyes. He throws his headphones off- S-Summer? -shakes his head baffled- Wait, when did you get in here??

Summer Rush: -the younger filly stumbles to her hooves, embarrassed- Sorry! I thought you were sleepin’! I heard you go by my room and you weren’t saying anything, so…-paws at the floor with her hoof-

Skychaser: -relaxes, his gaze softening- It’s fine. I guess you wanted a nap buddy again?

Summer: -nods her head shyly, lifting her gaze. But when she does, her eyes fly open upon seeing Sky weakly push himself up with one leg, keeping weight off of the other one- Hey, what’s wrong with your leg?

Skychaser: (!) Ah…-tries to conceal the forming bruise with his wing- Your big bro messed up while flying. That’s all. -forces a smile- I’ll be okay.

Summer: -suddenly appears frantic- What?! Oh no! -moves to nudge his wing out of the way, determined to see the injury for herself-

Skychaser: -hesitates, but draws his wing back, revealing the spot that’s beginning to appear shades of purple and blue. The sight only causes his younger sister to appear more distressed, tears outright pricking at the corners of her eyes. This sends a guilty pang through his chest, so he quickly adds- Summer, really, it’s fine! It’s well…-glances away- ...not going to kill me. So don’t-

Summer: But it hurts, right?? It looks like it hurts really, really bad! That’s why you’re layin’ down and movin’ all weird!

Skychaser: Maybe, but-

Summer: -nose crinkles- Shush you! Stop trying to be cooler! -she pouts and motions for Sky to hold his leg out- Come on, gimme, this calls for some Summer magic!

Skychaser: -tilts his head, perplexed. But he does as he’s told. He watches as Summer squints her eyes and makes peculiar hoof-motions around his leg-

Summer: -singing quietly- Pain paaain, go away, come again another daaay… Skychaser wants to play, pain pain go awaaay… -sits back up straight, appearing satisfied with herself- There. See? I knew I could use that weird song one day!

Skychaser: ….-snrks, his wing quickly covering his mouth- S-Summer... sis, t-those aren’t the words...

Summer: ...waitwha.

Skychaser: -can’t stop himself, letting himself snicker- It’s ‘rain rain, go away’, silly. It’s a song to stop rain.

Summer: -stares blankly- Nuh-uh. -seeing Sky give an apologetic expression, as if he’s sorry for her learning the truth, her feathers ruffle from shock and embarrassment- WHAT?!

Skychaser: -laughs as Summer holds her own cheeks, near horrified- How in the world did you-

Summer: I DUNNO, T-THAT’S WHAT MY TEACHER SANG ONCE. I THINK. -holds head, as if her world had been turned upside-down- That explains...so much. Oh no…

Skychaser: -grins- I know what song I’m singing from now on-

Summer: HEY!

Skychaser: -laughs more at her grumpy pout. Perhaps he’s laughing harder than need be, but something about it feels good. Like it’s alleviating a pressure in his chest. He playfully taps the tip of Summer’s nose with a wing feather- I’m just teasin’, sis...but don’t expect me to let this go.

Summer: -looks like she wants to be mad, but can’t. She ends up cracking a smile, appearing shy again- Well, as long as you don’t think I’m lame...

Skychaser: -scoffs loudly, almost disbelievingly- How in Equestria could you think I’d EVER think that?

Summer: Well you’re...cool. -lays back down, pressed up against Sky’s side- You fly all AMAZING, and you win races and medals and mommy teaches you lots of cool stuff. -her eyes shine brightly- You’re so lucky...mommy says you’re gonna be a Wonderbolt when you’re all grown, and that’s too cool! And when I’m bigger, maybe mommy will teach me too, and we can be Wonderbolts together! That’d be so awesome...

-While Summer is blissfully lost in her own fantasy, Sky suppresses the desire to cringe. Lightning is so focused on him. Obsessed, even, into pouring all her effort into him...so there was little chance his mother would try to train Summer as well. He knows for his sister, that would be depressing news. After all, he never missed that starry eyed look in her eyes whenever she got to watch him fly. For a short moment, Sky almost wants to feel jealous; their parents go so much easier on her. Unlike him, she’s just their little filly. And oh how he wished for that himself. And yet, when he thought about it, he’d rather be the one on the receiving end of his mother’s sharp tongue. He couldn’t even bear to imagine his kid sister having to go through this pain-

Summer: -notices his silence- (?) Sky…? -frowns, and whispers- Does it hurt again...?

Skychaser: (!) -shakes head- No, I’m okay. I...think your pain-pain song really IS working its magic.

Summer: SKY , you meanie!!

Skychaser: -snickers, picking his headphones back up- Anyway...really, I’m fine. I’m just gonna...chill until mom calls me or something. You can take your nap if you want. I’ll keep it down.

Summer: (!) -her wide blue eyes shift to the headphones- Wait, can I listen too??

Skychaser: (??) I thought you were looking for a nap earlier?

Summer: But I never get to hear your CDs! Please?? -innocently blinks her large blue eyes at him-

Skychaser: -chuckles and playfully rolls his- Alright...but fair warning, you might not want a nap after hearing these beats.

-He unplugs his headphones and makes sure to lower the volume before clicking “play” again. Instantly an upbeat pop rock song drifts into the room. In immediate response, Summer cutely bops her head to the beat, staring straight ahead with wide glittering eyes that told him the tune is certainly resonating with her. Something about it fills him with warmth. Then again, his sister always has that effect. She often ended up unintentionally helping him push his worries aside, even for a short while.

With that, Sky exhales contentedly and lays his head down onto the carpet. If his leg wasn’t hurting, and if he didn’t have an audience, he would’ve loved moving about to this rhythm now that his mood has improved. He can feel it in his bones already, like the music is flowing through him and beckoning. But instead he opts to watch his little sister from the corner of his eye as she lightly moves her body and head side-to-side to the beat while laying beside him, her small wings opening and closing to match. He smiles. Just another reminder of how grateful he is, that a silly filly like her could simply enjoy his company, and his interests, and care for him all the same.-

Summer Rush and Skychaser had a sibling bond similar to Twilight and her big bro when they were young; they cared for one another, and never did they ever seriously fight. Summer admired her big brother immensely as a child, while Skychaser, the focus of his parent's expectations and judgement, found comfort in his little silly filly's warm presence and caring demeanor. The two were close, and Skychaser adored his sister more than anything when he was young. Too bad a single manipulative mom could one day tear that apart.

[mamabearcat]

The Importance of Ramen Ch.8

I think I lied when I said this was only gonna be ten chapters long. I just love writing them so much, I don’t want to let them go. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and if you need to get back to earlier chapters, they’re all here on my Master List, and also here on fanfiction.net where I go by Dasiy73.

Mama had hardly sat down on her own chair in the waiting room when Kagome’s name was called by an orderly approaching them with a wheelchair. 

“Your chariot awaits, Miss”, he smiled at Kagome. Inuyasha held her to him a bit tighter, his chin jutting out defiantly. He felt unsure of himself without the Tessaiga, and the smell of this place, illness and blood laced with pain and fear, made him want to run out the door and take Kagome with him. He took a deep breath, trying to keep a tight rein on his emotions. He figured they might not like swords in hospitals, but they’d like a rampaging red eyed demon even less. 

“Kagome don’t need a chariot”, he said gruffly. “I can carry her wherever she needs to go.” 

“I’m afraid it’s hospital policy sir.” 

“Inuyasha dear, I know you’re worried, I am too, but everyone here just wants to help Kagome. It’s just the way things are done. I’m sure we can come with her, isn’t that right?” 

The orderly nodded cheerfully. Rumbling his annoyance under his breath, Inuyasha carefully placed Kagome into the seat with wheels, thinking how ridiculous it was when she would probably be much more comfortable in his arms. He bit back an impulse to growl and pick her up again when she winced as her swollen thigh touched the cold hard metal of the arm rest. 

“Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” asked the cheerful orderly, and they were buzzed through a glass sliding door to the examination cubicles on the other side. The orderly led them to a curtained cubicle with an empty bed, and when he moved to assist Kagome out of the wheelchair, Inuyasha swooped forwards and picked her up himself with a defiant glint in his eye. An embarrassed Kagome swatted him on the shoulder with her good arm, and the smiling orderly disappeared with the wheel chair. An overly cheerful nurse appeared, asking Kagome questions and taking her temperature and measuring her heart rate. Then they were told to wait for the doctor. 

Inuyasha snorted, pacing around the bed in an irritated fashion. “This place is weird. Why do they have all these different people when one person would be enough? If I’d taken you straight to Kaede’s there wouldn’t have been half this fuss.” 

Mama turned a serious face towards Inuyasha. “I am very glad that you brought her back here. If left untreated, an infection like this can spread across the body and into the bloodstream; it is possible to die from something like this.” 

Inuyasha stopped his pacing, his ears drooping under the cap. “Yeah, that’s what Sango said”, he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “She said she’d seen people die from it and wanted me to bring her straight back. Miroku insisted too.” 

“Then they have my thanks. Should you go back through the well once we get home and let them know that you and Kagome arrived safely?” 

“Nah, they probably won’t be there yet. Kirara needs to take breaks when she’s carrying more than one person, and I’m not sure if they’d go over Mount Mitsumine like I did.” 

Inuyasha had rarely ever seen Mama surprised. Even the first time he had met her, when he’d burst into Kagome’s home, demanding she come straight back through the well, she hadn’t screamed about a demon in her house, but had immediately rubbed his fuzzy ears instead. He had to admit, that had thrown him a bit. But now, after he mentioned Mount Mitsumine, her jaw had dropped open, eyes wide in a silent expression of surprise. 

“But… that’s over one hundred kilometres away! You were carrying her on your back! Didn’t you say you left this morning?” 

Misunderstanding the reason for her surprise, Inuyasha apologised. “I’m sorry I didn’t get Kagome here faster. I just didn’t want to jostle her by going at my top speed. I didn’t want her leg hurt any worse than it already was.” 

He was totally unprepared for the hug that Mama suddenly launched at him, her arms clasped tight across his back. “Thank you”, she whispered. 

Even though Kagome still felt woozy and ill, she couldn’t help but giggle a little at the blush that escalated in Inuyasha’s cheeks. 

“It’s no big deal”, Inuyasha blustered. Both of them were smiling at him, and he felt an unaccountable desire to run away. Fighting the impulse, he plonked himself down on one of the hard plastic seats near Kagome’s bed, jamming his hands into his sleeves and tapping his foot impatiently on the cold linoleum floor. “How long have we gotta wait for this healer anyway?” 

Mama sighed, sadly well acquainted with how modern hospitals worked after her husband’s accident. “As long as it takes Inuyasha, as long as it takes.” 

xXxXxXx 

Inuyasha growled. The doctor had finally come, and he had been asked to wait outside the curtained cubicle. He could hear Kagome’s swallowed whimpers and smell the scent of infection as the doctor removed the bandage on her leg. He hated this place. He hated the way it smelt. He hated that everything was shiny. He hated that Kagome looked so small in the bed on wheels, face so pale her features almost disappeared into the starched white pillowcase, apart from the contrast of her dark eyes and blue-black curls. He hated that he felt so powerless. And he hated that Mama seemed to be wilting; her usual cheerful demeanour had been replaced with sadness, covered badly by a pasted-on smile. 

He heard a high-pitched yelp come from behind the curtain. The vibrating rumble in his chest increased. That was it, he didn’t care that Kagome and Mama had asked him to behave; Kagome needed him and there was no way he was staying out here any longer. He thrust his way belligerently through the curtain, just in time to see the doctor patting Kagome on the shoulder reassuringly. 

“I’m sorry if that hurt Miss Higurashi, but I needed to examine your injury carefully to decide if we needed to debride the infected tissue in the wound.” She removed her stained latex gloves, tossing them into a nearby bin. “You’re lucky. I think an intensive course of intravenous antibiotics should do the trick; you’ll probably be on your way home in three days.” 

“Three days! I can’t stay here for three days!” Kagome bit her lip, her eyes welling up. 

The doctor smiled at her. “Just think of it as a holiday from school. I’m sure your teachers won’t hold it against you when they’re informed of the seriousness of your injury. I’m happy to write a medical certificate excusing you from school for the next week.” 

“At least you’ll be home in time for Obon Kagome”, said Mama softly. 

Kagome turned her tear-filled eyes towards Inuyasha. What would he think? Here she was, slowing them down again. She hoped he wouldn’t be too angry. The gentle look in his amber eyes surprised her. 

“Hey, Kagome, don’t worry. Three days is nothin’ right? I’ll let our friends know you’re okay, and we’ll all be there to help you when we leave to… um, study. Yeah.” 

Kagome pouted, bottom lip trembling slightly. “I suppose I’ve got no choice, huh. Guess I’d better make the best of it.” She managed a small smile. “At least I’ll get breakfast in bed, right?” 

“That’s my girl”, smiled Inuyasha toothily, then felt the heat rising in his cheeks as soon as the words left his mouth, watching a matching blush struggling to rise in Kagome’s pale cheeks. He failed to see the small smile on Mama’s face, or the wink sent his way by the Doctor. 

“Well, I’ll go organise your admittance Miss Higurashi; someone will be along to take you to your room shortly; the pain medication I injected should be taking effect by now.” The doctor left them behind in the small curtained cubicle, bustling over to the patient admin desk in an efficient manner. 

“Maybe you should go back to Kaede’s Inuyasha”, said Kagome despondently. “It’s going to be very boring for you here. 

“Nuh uh”, grinned Inuyasha. “I’m stayin’ around to make sure you do what you’re told. You might be good at dishin’ medicine out, but don’t seem to be too good at takin’ it.” He looked towards Mama as an afterthought. “That’s okay ain’t it?” 

Mama smiled at him. “Souta will be delighted. And I’m sure I can find jobs for you to help with when you’re not visiting Kagome. Grandpa was talking about dusting in the storage shed again.” 

Inuyasha whined a little, then sighed. “Alright. But tell ‘im that he’s not allowed to try an’ purify me with those weak ass ofudas of his. It’s annoying.” 

Mama grinned. “I promise that he’ll behave. He does actually like you, you know.” 

Inuyasha snorted derisively. “Could a fooled me.” He glanced at Kagome, who was laying back against the pillow, her head drooping. “You ‘kay ‘Gome?” 

Kagome yawned. “Sleepy”, she muttered blearily. “Prob’ly the medicine…” Her eyes fluttered closed. 

The orderly arrived, ready to transfer Kagome to the ward. Mama and Inuyasha followed behind as the bed was wheeled down the maze of corridors to the room where Kagome would spend the next three days. 

xXxXxXx 

Inuyasha sneezed. The dust in the storage room was getting up his nose and into his eyes, but he only had two more boxes to carry back before he was released from duty. It was nearly visiting hours at the hospital, and he hoped that Kagome would be feeling better today. He grimaced. Yesterday had not been a fun visit. The doctor had warned them that Kagome would probably seem worse for a day while her body continued to fight the infection until the antibiotics gradually took effect, and he and Mama had sat silently next to her bed after Grandpa and Souta left, while she slipped in and out of a doze. 

After they’d left the hospital and gone back to the shrine, he’d slipped down the well and gone to Kaede’s to leave a message for the others. Kaede was most interested to hear how they were treating Kagome, but Inuyasha struggled to describe it, finally concluding exasperatedly that Kaede would just have to get Kagome to explain when she returned. 

He’d spent a grumpy evening back at the shrine, teasing Buyo the cat, and sitting morosely in the Goshinbuko after dinner. When everyone was asleep, he’d let himself into Kagome’s bedroom window, but her usually comforting scent didn’t make him feel any better, and he dozed fitfully, sitting up against her bedroom wall with the Tessaiga balanced on his shoulder. 

Breakfast this morning had cheered him up a little. Bacon always made him feel cheerful. He’d wondered aloud if bacon flavoured ramen was a possibility and was cheered even more when Mama said that she could make that happen for him, if he wanted. 

Souta had run off to school, and Inuyasha was stuck with Grandpa Higurashi while Mama tidied up indoors. Helping the old man with his ‘treasures’ was annoying, but at least he didn’t try to throw any ofudas at him this time. Irritating old bastard. He straightened up after carrying the last box into the storeroom, while Kagome’s grandfather fluttered around in the background, prattling on about how valuable his crap was, and how he was going to meet up with possible collectors at Obon in a few days. Keh! At least he was done now. He stomped back over to the house, to see when they could leave to go see Kagome. 

After Inuyasha washed most of the dust off, they drove the short way to the hospital. Souta had decided that the novelty of visiting his sister in hospital had worn off, especially when she wasn’t doing anything exciting, so had opted to go straight to a friend’s house after school. Grandpa was hosting visitors to the shrine that afternoon and said he might visit Kagome tomorrow. So it was just the two of them making their way through the maze of corridors, a baseball cap perched on top of Inuyasha’s fuzzy ears. 

When they first arrived, Kagome didn’t seem to have changed much. She was still asleep, although Inuyasha was happy that the smell of infection coming from the bandaged leg hidden under the white sheets was much harder to detect. She had been changed into a pale blue hospital gown and smelt like soap, so she must have washed. Her arm was still attached to the beepy machine that Kagome’s mother had called a ‘drip’; she had explained yesterday that this type of medicine worked better if it went straight into Kagome’s blood, rather than her stomach. Whatever. As long as it made Kagome better, he didn’t care how they did it. Ignoring Mama’s pointed look, he took off the annoying baseball cap and scratched. Stupid thing always made his ears feel sweaty. 

When Mama had left to go to the bathroom, he took a chance to hold Kagome’s hand for a moment. Trying to sleep last night in Kagome’s bedroom, being constantly exposed to her lingering fragrance but not being able to touch her or see her had made him feel lonely, even more lonely than when he was five hundred years away. 

He gently ran the pads of his fingers over the roughened callouses on the inside of her hand, built up over time from using her bow. Her hands were so much paler than his, her tapered fingers more delicate. His fingers traced the lines on her palm, softly pressing against the tender flesh on the heel of her hand; he drew circles on the blue lines patterning her wrist, feeling the pulse of her heart against his fingertips. He wove their fingers together, smiling a little at how their hands fit, at how comfortable and right it felt. 

“So, Inuyasha, how long have you been in love with my daughter?” 

Inuyasha froze, his eyes still directed to his and Kagome’s clasped hands. He had been so engrossed that he did not hear or see Mama return to her seat on the other side of Kagome. Fuck! He didn’t know what to do. What was he meant to say? ‘Maybe, probably, yes, I think so, please don’t hate me’ didn’t seem right, and probably wouldn’t be taken very well.  What if he was forbidden to see Kagome again? He knew he could easily overpower anyone and take her back to his time, but would Kagome choose him over her family? He didn’t want to make her choose. 

“Inuyasha?” 

Taking a deep breath, still holding Kagome’s hand to boost his courage, he looked up. Mama was smiling at him, her eyes warm. A small whine of relief escaped him before he could hold it back. 

“It’s very plain to me how much you care for my daughter, and that she cares very much for you in return”, said Mama gently. “I truly believe that my daughter’s destiny is intertwined with yours. Do you two have any plans for a future together, after your quest is completed?” 

Inuyasha made a small sound, somewhere between a whine and a growl. Dammit, why was he the one getting asked to answer these questions that he’d barely even dared to think about, especially with Kikyo still out there somewhere, while his wench slumbered away oblivious between them. 

“We haven’t… that is… I want to…”, he coughed, and then sighed. “It’s… complicated.” 

“Love is usually a lot less complicated than people think”, Mama smiled, a little sadly. “I’m sorry if my question made you feel uncomfortable Inuyasha. I’m not exactly feeling like myself at the moment. I haven’t been back to this hospital since my husband died, and being here, and worrying about Kagome has rattled me a little.” 

She turned her head and looked out the window, directing her gaze towards the heat haze reflecting off the tall buildings in the distance, her hands twisting in her lap. Even though she was older, and her hair was shorter, her distressed expression and clenched hands reminded Inuyasha so much of Kagome when she was sad that he had to say something. Knowing him it would probably be the wrong thing, but he would try. 

“I’m not very good at talking about feelings and crap like that”, began Inuyasha hesitantly, “but Kagome said once that I was a good listener when I wanted to be. I’ve got the ears for it, you see.” He waggled them a little bit for Mama’s benefit, guessing from the way that she’d grabbed them when they first met that she liked them almost as much as Kagome did. 

Mama chuckled, wiping away the single tear that had escaped and slid down her cheek. “That you do, Inuyasha. Tell me, has Kagome ever told you much about her father?” 

“Not very much. I think she was worried she’d make me feel bad, because I never met my father; he died before I was born.” 

Mama smiled sadly at him. “I see.” She looked down at the golden ring on her left hand. “I first met Kagome’s father through some other friends, at Obon. We all danced together; it was so much fun. He bought me shaved ice, and he looked so handsome in his indigo yukata. By the end of the evening, I was a little in love with him already. It was a shame I was already going out with someone else at the time.” 

“Going out?”, questioned Inuyasha. 

“Hmm, would the phrase ‘courting’ make more sense to you?” When Inuyasha nodded, she continued. 

“Yes, I was being courted by someone else, a much older man. At first, I thought I was very much in love with him; I was so grateful that he’d noticed me in the first place, that I didn’t pay much attention to the way he treated me. He told me I was pretty, but he never wanted to know what I thought, or how I felt; he expected me to change and fit in with what he wanted and needed.” She sighed, twisting the ring on her finger. 

“Then the older man moved away for work; we were still courting, but I didn’t see him as often, and I spent more time with my other friends, including Kagome’s father, Toshinori.” 

She smiled at Inuyasha. “Toshi was studying to be a kannushi, ready to take over the Higurashi Shrine from his father. He embraced life, and always looked for the best in people. He valued my opinions and feelings, did his best to make me laugh, and even though we argued sometimes, usually over very stupid things, when I was with him, I felt more alive and… more myself, than I did with anyone else. It was then that I realised that I could never spend my life with someone who didn’t want me as I truly was.” 

Mama chuckled. “I met with the other man and told him that I had decided I didn’t want to see him anymore. My mother was furious; it was a very good match, according to her, he was quite wealthy. But I had made up my mind. Two months later, I was married to Kagome’s father.” 

She grinned at Inuyasha. “It turned out, we’d both been hiding our feelings of love. I hid them because I felt a weird sense of loyalty to the first man who had asked me out – it didn’t seem fair to abandon him when he wasn’t there to defend himself, even though I knew I loved Kagome’s father. Toshinori had kept quiet about his feelings for me because he didn’t want to put me in the awkward position of having to choose between us. He respected my feelings and had decided he would never tell me how much he loved me.” 

Mama looked down at the golden ring again. “I was so angry with him when I found out. We had a huge argument under the Goshinboku, and then he asked me to marry him. Once we both knew how the other felt, there seemed to be very little point in waiting.” 

She sighed again, twisting the ring on her finger. “We had ten wonderful years together as husband and wife before he was killed. Kagome was nearly eight years old when he died; I was pregnant with Souta, so like you, he never got to meet his father. I still miss him, every day.” 

Inuyasha watched the tears gathering on her dark eyelashes, dripping down onto the fingers that twisted the golden ring. “Was… was it worth it?”, he asked softly. 

Mama looked up into the anxious golden eyes of the half-demon sitting across from her, still holding tightly to her daughter’s hand. Her heart clenched at the expressions of fear and hope warring in his expression, and she was reminded that even though Kagome had told him he had lived much longer than any human, he was comparatively still a young man around Kagome’s age, who had not had the love and support of a family like her daughter had. She smiled gently. 

“Was falling in love worth it? Yes, Inuyasha. If I could go back in time, knowing that I would only have ten years with Kagome’s father and of the heartbreak there was to come, I would still choose to be with him. I would still love him. I always will.” Her eyes shifted from Inuyasha’s to the pale face of her daughter, still sleeping. “Love is always worth it, in the end.” 

Suddenly Kagome snorted loudly in her sleep, causing Mama Higurashi to giggle through her tears, and Inuyasha to let out a bark of laughter. The sudden noise woke Kagome up. 

“Huh, what’d I miss?”, she asked blinking her eyes. 

Still giggling slightly, Mama smiled at her. “Nothing dear. Inuyasha and I were just chatting, getting to know each other better.” 

“Okay.” Kagome went to rub her eyes with both hands, then realised that one was clasped within Inuyasha’s. She blushed, and although she looked away from him towards her mother, she squeezed his hand a little and rubbed her thumb lightly across his. “Have you guys been here long?” 

“Actually, it’s time for me to go”, said Mama, kissing her daughter on her cheek. “Your dinner should be here any moment, and I need to go pick up Souta from his friend’s house. Inuyasha, you can make your own way back to the shrine, can’t you?” She pointed to the baseball cap sitting on the bed in front of him. “Just don’t forget to wear that.” 

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “Fine”, he sighed, “I’ll wear it.” 

Mama tweaked one of his ears playfully as she walked past. “Don’t be late for dinner, Inuyasha. I’m cooking steak.” She blew a kiss to Kagome as she walked out the door. 

“Ugh, I wish she hadn’t mentioned dinner”, sighed Kagome, rubbing her stomach fretfully. “The food here is nowhere as good as Mama’s cooking.” 

“Do you think they’ll let you come home tomorrow?” asked Inuyasha. 

“Why, do you miss me that much?”, teased Kagome, playfully pulling on one the silver locks of his hair with her other hand. “If you’re bored, you can go back and annoy the others, I’m sure they’d be back to Kaede’s by now.” 

“It’s not the same without you there”, said Inuyasha softly. He coughed, clearing his throat, sitting up straighter in his chair. “Kagome, can you explain to me what obon is? Your grandfather mentioned it this morning, and your mother did today too.” 

Kagome looked at him with a puzzled expression. “Um, sure.  It was originally a Buddhist festival, but everyone celebrates it now. It’s all about going back home to your family; you visit and clean your ancestors’ graves. You wear a summer yukata, and there’s always dancing at night, and carnival rides and games and lots of food. It’s actually lots of fun.” 

Inuyasha looked down at their clasped hands. “Kagome, if you’re feeling better…” He coughed and then started again. “Would you… if you’re feeling well enough that is, would you like to go to the festival with me?” Inuyasha said the last part of the sentence so quickly that it took Kagome a few moments to work out what he had said. 

“You’d like to take me to the festival?”, Kagome asked, wanting to make sure she’d heard correctly. 

“Forget it, it was a stupid idea”. He went to pull his hand out of Kagome’s but was stopped by her firm grip. 

“I would very much like to go to Obon with you Inuyasha. I will make sure I’m feeling well enough to go, because I really, really want to.” 

“You’ll go with me?” 

“Yes, I’ll go with you”, she smiled. 

Inuyasha smiled back at her. His heart was still beating too fast. He couldn’t believe she’d said yes. Crap, she’d said yes! He didn’t know the first thing about what people did at this thing. He was gonna embarrass her. What should he do now? He couldn’t ask Sango or Miroku, because he was pretty sure they didn’t have this festival in the past. And there was dancing. He’d never danced at a festival before. What if he was bad at it? What if he made a fool of himself in front of Kagome? Dammit. Wait, Mama had mentioned the dancing, so she should know how to do it right? 

Kagome was still smiling at him, when he leaned forward and placed a lightning fast kiss on her cheek. “Gotta go Kagome, see you tomorrow!” He snatched up the hat from the bed and launched himself out the door before Kagome could say a word. 

xXxXxXx 

Mama was wiping her hands on her apron after checking the rice when Inuyasha barrelled into the kitchen, knocking over a chair. 

“Wow Inuyasha”, Mama chuckled, “I know you liked the steak last time we had it, but this is… what’s wrong?” She took in the stricken look on his face, and his slumped posture as he picked up the chair and plonked himself down in it. 

“I asked Kagome to the Obon Festival”, Inuyasha whispered, staring wide-eyed at her. 

“Have you ever asked a girl to a festival before Inuyasha?” He shook his head vehemently. “Is this something you would like my help with?” He nodded frantically. “Okay, don’t worry, this isn’t a problem dear. I’m sure it will all turn out just fine.” He nearly bowled her over with a sudden hug, then let her go just as suddenly. She took in his suddenly puzzled expression. “Inuyasha?” 

“I don’t know what to call you”, he said quietly, a blush suddenly rising to his cheeks. 

She giggled, then seeing his expression, hid her smile behind her hand. “Well, what do you call me in your head when you think of me?” 

Inuyasha looked down at the table. “When I first met you, it was just, Kagome’s mother. Then after a while, it was Mama Higurashi. But these last few days, in my head I’ve been calling you”, he looked up into her face anxiously, “just… Mama”. 

Mama’s eyes filled with sudden tears. “Inuyasha, I don’t have a problem with you calling me Mama at all.”

[immcrtuos-a]

G I A N T . C H A R A C T E R . S U R V E Y

[ tagged by ]: @eloquated [ tagging ]: @eyerevived @dcmonblooded @remembcr and everyone else who wants to

G E N E R A L

[ name ]: Raphael Ortiz Santiago [ nicknames ]: Rafa (only by certain people he’s close to) [ birthday ]: June 19 [ birthplace ]: Zacatecas, Mexico [ age ]: 84 (looks like 19) [ eye color ]: Dark brown, almost black [ height ]: 1.75m / 5′7 feet [ weight ]: Fairly muscled [ nationality ]: Mexican [ astrological sign ]: Gemini [ location ]: Hotel Dumort [ siblings ]: four brothers and one sister, all deceased [ pets ]: None [ in the morning i’m ]: Sleeping [ all i need is ]: the Clan [ love is ]: Apparently, a good thing [ i’m afraid of ]: Loved ones dying [ i dream about ]: Not much, unless nightmares are counted too

H A V E . Y O U . E V E R ?

[ pictured your crush naked? ]: No? [ used someone? ]: Yes [ been used? ]: Yes [ been cheated on? ]: No [ considered cheating? ]: No [ been kissed? ]: Yes [ done something you regret? ]: Of course

F A V O R I T E

[ food? ]: Can’t eat anything anymore, so does it matter? [ fruit? ]: It used to be cherries [ candy? ]: I don’t have one [ color? ]: Red  [ number? ]: 3 [ animal? ]: Cats [ drink? ]: Blood, obviously [ soda? ]: I preferred coca cola [ book? ]: Macbeth or Julius Caesar [ room? ]: Bedroom [ movie? ]: I don’t have a favorite

D O . Y O U ?

[ have a boyfriend/girlfriend? ]: No [ like cleaning? ]: No [ have a tattoo? ]: No, though I admit they can be nice [ have any piercings? ]: No [ cheat on tests/homework? ]: I don’t remember, probably not [ drink/smoke? ]: Sometimes, with Magnus or Lily [ swear a lot? ]: Probably more than I should [ like watching sunrises or sunset? ]: I wish I could [ pray? ]: Of course  [ go to church? ]: Not anymore, although I used to go every week [ have secrets? ]: Naturally [ have a best friend? ]: Lily and Eliot (and Jack @eyerevived ) [ like your own handwriting? ]: Sure

A R E . Y O U ?

[ obsessive? ]: About certain subjects, I suppose [ excited? ]: Not particularly [ bored? ]: At the moment, yes [ happy? ]: Not really [ missing someone? ]: Yes [ confused? ]: No [ tired? ]: No [ mad? ]: At certain people, yes [ sleepy? ]: No

D O . Y O U . E V E R ?

[ wait around just to talk to someone? ]: Sure [ write about those ‘special’ moments? ]: No, I don’t need a diary to remember [ wish you were a member of the opposite sex? ]: No

W H O . W A S . T H E . L A S T . P E R S O N . W H O ?

[ you talked to? ]: Lily and Eliot [ you hugged? ]: Magnus [ you kissed? ]: That’s unimportant [ sent you a letter? ]: The Los Angeles clan leader [ you sent a letter to? ]: The Los Angeles clan leader, in return [ you laughed with? ]: Eliot [ slept in your bed? ]: Myself [ you shared a drink with? ]: Lily or Eliot   [ you went to the movies with? ]: A group of the Clan, a few years ago [ yelled at you? ]: Camille [ you called? ]: Magnus [ you kicked? ]: A Shadowhunter [ you saw? ]: Lily

W H O . I S ?

[ the most handsome person you know? ]: Objectively, probably Magnus? Although, Isabelle Lightwood is also beautiful. [ the weirdest person you know? ]: Simon Lewis, without a doubt the most confusing person I currently know [ the funniest person you know? ]: Eliot [ the loudest person you know? ]: Loud in volume is Lily, loud in character is Magnus   [ the quietest person you know? ]: Aurélie, a clan member [ the sweetest person you know? ]: Johannes, another clan member [ the most serious person you know? ]: Every person from the Clave  [ your best friend? ]: Well, that used to be Ragnor [ the person you hate the most? ]: Valentine Morgenstern [ the person you see most? ]: Lily and Eliot [ your soul-mate? ]: Soul-mates don’t exist.  

W H A T . I S ?

[ the first thing you thought of when you woke up? ]: Everything that needed to be done tonight [ the song that best describes you? ]: I don’t know [ your best feature? ]: Physical or in general? [ your most treasured memory? ]: Any of the ones with my hermanos

I N . T H E . F U T U R E

[ what is the age you hope to get married? ]: I’m not going to be married [ number and names of kids? ]: I won’t have any  [ where do you see yourself at age twenty? ]: I’ve surpassed twenty by a few decennia now  [ describe your dream wedding? ]: I already said I won’t have one, so it doesn’t matter [ when and how do you want to die? ]: Preferably a long time from now and quickly [ what are your career plans? ]: Keep leading the clan [ some place you’d like to visit? ]: I would like to go back to Zacatecas.

L A S T . T I M E

[ last time you went out of state? ]: Clan business a few months ago [ last time you were outside? ]: Yesterday night [ last time you had a snowball fight? ]: Years ago [ last time you were listening to music? ]: A while ago

O T H E R

[ how many people would you say are good friends of yours? ]: Three [ what hurts the most, physical or emotional pain? ]: Emotional. [ have you felt this recently? ]: Yes [ what do you wear to bed? ]: Sweatpants and a t-shirt [ when’s the last time you slept with a stuffed animal? ]: As a child [ have you ever used a ouija board? ]: No [ how many rings before you pick up the phone? ]: As soon as I can find it

[thevaudevillescene]

Donna: I need to talk to you, Miss Generous. So I was going through the folder with all the folios the other day, and I saw you put Catherine’s name on both those events on Tuesday and left yourself off of them. You won’t get any of the gratuity.

Me: Yeah, I know.

Donna: Why?

Me: Because I’d had a good week and I knew my paycheck would be decent, and I knew Catherine needs the money more than I do.

Donna: Thank you. You know nobody else would EVER do that, and it really means a lot to me that you did. Thank you for looking out for her. You didn’t just do it because she’s my kid, did you?

Me: No, I did it because I love her and want to help her. I would’ve done it for anyone who needed it.

Donna: There’s literally nobody else like you that I’ve ever met in this industry. I mean that sincerely. I hope this business never takes these amazing qualities away from you.

[Half an hour later, Catherine is in the office]

Catherine: I have $21 in my bank account. I need money so bad.

Donna: You know what, Catherine. Let me fucking tell you something right now...

[I go to grab some papers off the printer in the front office and when I get back, Catherine comes over and hugs me]

Catherine: You bitch!

Donna: CATHERINE.

Catherine: You didn’t have to do that! I feel bad! Now I’m crying and shit.

Me: Don’t feel bad! Donna, why’d you tell her?!

Donna: So she’d understand how lucky she is to have you.

———

Catherine: You know what’s weird? The first time Sarah and I worked here, she was like, “I think Erin’s gay,” and I was like, “Nuh-uh, she’s not.” But she was right, obviously!

Me: That’s not weird. I’m actually really glad she could tell.

Catherine: Could you tell SHE was gay?

Me: I got the feeling she might be, but I thought it was wishful thinking because I just really wanted to meet another lesbian.

Catherine: What do you do if you’re not sure? Do you ask?

Me: No, I just hope they’ll say something first. They usually don’t, though, ‘cause they’re afraid of the same thing I am.

Catherine: Afraid of what?

Me: The other person not being gay, getting offended, and beating the shit out of us.

———

Catherine: Tyler’s a fucking nutcase. He’s my best friend but he’s a whacko. He doesn’t talk like a normal person, ever. He’s always like, “You, as well” and shit, like he’s so proper all the time.

Me: A few months ago, my sister had to come pick me up from here because my car was in the shop, but she got in an accident on her way here, she skidded on ice and hit a curb and fucked up her car. So Tyler gave us a ride home, and when he pulled into the driveway, he turned around to my sister and was like, “I’m truly very sorry this happened to you, but I hope the rest of your night goes well, and I also hope you have a wonderful birthday.”

Catherine: [Laughing] You do the BEST impression of him. I fucking die every time! You sound exactly like him, even the way you make your voice deeper and shit, it’s perfect.

Me: I feel bad, like I’m not trying to be mean, because he’s always completely genuine with everything he says, you know? But he’s so formal that it’s funny.

Catherine: I wish he’d drop the formalities and take me on a fucking date already.

Me: Catherine, you literally run away from him whenever he’s around. How’s he supposed to know you’re interested? He thinks you’re afraid of him.

Catherine: That’s because I am afraid of him! I still wanna hook up with him, though! Does he not get that?!

Me: I mean...probably not?

———

[I hear one of the bar-backs say something to Catherine almost out of my earshot, but I catch the word “fucked”]

Me: What’d he say to you?

Catherine: I was stacking the high chairs and he was like, “Good thing you don’t have one more or you’d be fucked,” ‘cause they were almost touching the ceiling.

Me: Oh, okay.

Catherine: Jeez Louise, mate. You got so protective for a second, you were like, “WHAT did he say?”

[angies-team]

92 Questions Tag!

TAGGED BY:  @hello-em75 (who is in every way awesome) 

last:

drink: A wierd grape juice fruit blend thingy. I don’t really know but it was good.

phone call: my mother

text message: ditto ^^^^

song you listened to: Two Feet- I feel like i’m drowning.

time you cried: This morning I was watching Stranger Things okay 

have you:

dated someone twice: neyooo

kissed someone and regretted it: yeah. Every night i put my younger brother to bed and regret giving him a kiss of the cheek when he makes some sort of annoying comment.

been cheated on: sorry that role goes to my tests.

lost someone special: yeah, family, I’ve had a few friends who have passed away for multiple different reasons, some more painful than others. Uhhh... I’ve lost a few fictional characters close to my heart.

been depressed: oh look it’s the title of my autobiography.

gotten drunk and thrown up: nopers

list three favorite colors:

blue

blue  aquamarine

also blue multiple other colours that are also cool

in the last year have you:

made new friends: I HAvE. I sweaarrr. I have friends! It’s hard to sit alone ever though, but I wouldn’t change things even if i had the chance.

fallen out of love: nah, my heart still belongs to my one true love, Hayden Christensen. 

laughed until i cried: did that yesterday, actually. 

found out someone was talking about you: probably, but i don’t remember.

found out who your friends are: Iii’mmm not exactly sure what this means but one of my friends did turn out to be Batman soooo...yeah. no i didn’t i’m kidding i swear

kissed someone on your facebook list: nope

general:

how many of your facebook friends do you know in real life: probably most if not all of them

do you have any pets: we have two turtles: Spock and Chopper. (Chopper is the biggest lil shit too it’s perfect)

do you want to change your name: i mean not really. If i were going to i’d just make my nickname my legal name since it’s what everyone calls me already anyway.

what did you do for your last birthday: Which was TODAY WUT. uhhh idk played a little BATTLEFRONT 2 (IT’S AMAZING GAH), 

what time do you wake up: well i should wake up by at least 7 to get to school on time but lately I've been sick and i’m always sleeping in and late for school. Usually ranges from 8-8:30 on schooldays and i have no idea for weekends. 

what were you doing at midnight last night: uh i was totally sleeping. I wasn’t watching stranger things at all. nope. nuh uh. not a chance.

name something you can’t wait for: The last JEDI. gah just give it to me now i’m already dead you can’t kill me any more.

when was the last time you saw your mom: today

what is one thing you wish you could change in your life: my math and Physics mark. that or get rid of my stupid concussion so i can do things again.

what are you listening to right now: 

have you ever talked to a person named tom: yeah, my late grandfather. There have probably been other Tom’s in my life but i can’t think of one off the top of my head. 

something that is getting on your nerves: MATH. and this guy who keeps following me around and WROTE ME A FRIKIN POEM nopenopenope abort.

most visited website: youtube honest

mole/s: i don’t think i have any?

mark/s: freckles (if that counts, but i have like five and they’re practically invisible when it’s not summer), the large scar that appeared on my cheek this week, cuts, scrapes and bruises here or there.

childhood dream: teacher *shudders* glad i gave that one a rest.

hair color: dirty-ish light blond sort of thing i have no clue what my hair is. My eyebrows are black though and no i haven’t ever dyed my hair, except for that one time this year i went as sabine for Halloween

long or short hair: short. my hair was halfway down my back in around March and i chopped it all off for star wars.

do you have a crush on someone: sort of? I mean i don’t think it really counts as a crush i just think this guy is kind of cute but he also looks IDENTICAL TO EZRA I KID YOU NOT i swear on my life it’s crazy. but yeah that’s kind of the only reason i’m sort of obsessed with him i guess? But yeah I honestly dont even know who he is and I’ve only talked to him like three times and two were like “oh hey sorry is someone sitting here?” “oh no. sorry i’ll move my bag because its on your chair.” so yeahh. fun stuff.

what do you like about yourself: ummmmm... things? I love that i can find beauty in music and the world in ways alot of people can’t and i feel lucky because of that. My artistic personality is realy what defines me other than my constant use of sarcasm and dry humor, as well as terrible jokes and combacks that aren’t even comebacks and it’s helped me become who i am and will be fore the rest of my life. i love that i can use not only pictures but song, as well as words to express myself and other things to the world. I’m also terrible with words when i’m speaking so being able to write down what i mean with the detail needed to paint the picture into your mind is great. i also make no sense. like all the time.

piercings: one simple hole in each ear is enough for me

blood type: I....don’t actually know.

nicknames: Angie, Ange, Angeasaurus, tangeriene, angerine, Rey (it’s a long story), Bob, Frank, Joe (i am being serious, actually) 

relationship status: single not like a pringle because pringles come on tins which hold alot more than a single pringle (heh) soooo what am i even sayig

zodiac: scorpio

pronouns: she/her

favorite tv show: ooohhh that’s an unfair question. 

right or left hand: right

surgery: i don’t think so?

hair dyed in different colour: oh look i just talked about this. uh yeah, but temporarily for halloween

sport: ice hockey, water polo, tennis, swimming, baseball, something else i’m 100 percent forgetting.

vacation: i legit just went somewhere and i kid you not i cannot remember where it was. my memory is actually really bad.

pair of trainers: either my white sneakers or, if it’s winter or fall i’m always wearing my boots.

more general:

eating: a lolipop :)

drinking: lemonade

i’m about to: draw something stupid (probably)

want: to just feel like I’ve made a difference. To be happy. 

get married: one day. but i’m like 17 so...

career: broke student(?)

hugs or kisses: hugssss

lips or eyes: eyes mostly, but both

shorter or taller: taller

older or younger: older

nice arms or nice stomachs: both is the way to gooo

sensitive or loud: really depends on the time, place, and people

hookup or relationship: relationship

troublemaker or hesitant: troublemaker

have you ever:

kissed a stranger: nopers

drank hard liquor: uh yeah. i accidentally downed my mom’s vodka when i was like 11 because i thought it was water. heh mistakes.

lost glasses/contacts: i’m using my mom’s glasses actually right now because i lost mine

turned someone down: all the time tbh. just the other day actually (in my defense he was stalking me and it was getting creppy)

sex on the first date: uh nooooooooooo

personal:

broken someone’s heart: yeah (i feel like a terrible person saying yeah, but the things this guy did to me to try and get me to like him back were ridiculous)

had your heart broken: everytime my favorite fictional characters die okay in all seriousness, nope. I’ve never really liked someone that way. except for that one time when i was 12 but that’s a story for another time

been arrested: nope

cried when someone died: yeah. my grandfather earlier this year, a friend of mine commited suicide last year, and another one just died this yeah in a hit and run accident. so. other than that... *glares at stoick*

fallen for a friend: not as of current date

do you believe in:

yourself: sometimes 

miracles: yeah.

love at first sight: nah. romeo and Julliet is a LIE. sort of.

santa claus: nope. (i blame my mother for not being more stealthy when i was 11)

kisses on the first date: i guess it would depend

other:

current best friend: doesn’t have tumblr and would rather i didn’t say his name.

eye color: blue (except when it’s really bright outside they turn almost white. it’s creepy)

favorite movie: The Empire Strikes Back

TAGGING: @twiggy242 @tarched @leffie-draws-fanart @jeditimelordinthetardis @fanwriter02 @fangirling1998 and anyone else who feels like doing this!

[afy2018]

Being in the Dark

Wynonna Earp; Wayhaught; SFW

“Nicole, come in here, please.” Nedley called from his office doorway.

“Yes, Sir.” The officer called back to him, turning her head from the paperwork she had been currently working on. She stood in the doorway, her boss sitting at his oak desk.

“Please, sit.” He began, waiting for her. “Now, it's come to my attention that you’ve been a little jumpy as of late. Now, I know that certain situations have occurred and you have every reason to react like that. But I need my officers to be sharp and react out of instinct and not fear.”

“Are you firing me, Sheriff?”

“No, no. You're one of my best. You're passionate about your job and ready to help, but I need to know that you're okay.”

“So?”

Nedely let out a sigh and pushed a paper across the desk. “I’ve signed you for the local psych.”

“I’m not crazy.” Nicole began, her brows furrowed in offense and confusion.

“And I know that. I just want to know that you’re okay, though. You need to talk this out.”

“So first you don't accept my report, then you sign me up for this?” She stated in a frustrated whisper, picking up the paper. “A shrink.”

“It's either that or paperwork.”

After a few seconds, she sighed and took the paper with her back to her desk. She began to sign them off when her cell began to ring. She jumped as it buzzed against the metal desk. She looked at the caller i.d. and picked it up.

“Look, Wave, now’s not the t-.” Nicole was cut short by Doc’s soft but urgent voice into the receiver.

“Now, listen here, little lady. Waverly’s gonna be in deep horse shit. Wynonna’s with Dolls, and they ain't pickin’ up they phones.”

“Where is she, what happened?”

“She ran into some miscreants.”

“Where?”

“Over at the blacksmith’s.”

“I’ll be there. Just go try to help her.”

“Yeah, I’m not in the position to do that. If I was, do you think I’d call you?”

“I guess not. I’ll be there.”

Nicole jumped up and left the department. She drove in her police car to the blacksmith's and parked outside the front lot. She drew her gun and walked warily onto the plot. Her feet ground into the gravel as she made her way to the building. A shadow tore across a window, making Nicole point her gun at it. She stopped and watched a while longer before continuing to the door. She knocked on the door and cleared her throat.

“Purgatory Police, open up.” After a moment of silence, she continued. “Waverly Earp? Wave, it's Nicole.”

After a moment, the door swung open, the short woman standing in the doorway with a scared look on her face. She drug Nicole in and closed the door instantly after.

“Are you okay?” Waverly asked holding Nicole’s arms.

“I should be asking you that. Doc called me up. What's wrong?”

“I came here to pay the traditional respects to the blacksmith’s soul and belongings, I mean, I got her killed, and well, when I came onto the plot, her workshop was a wreck. I came inside when I saw a shadow out there. I called up the others, but only Doc answered, and, well, he’s in no condition to be fighting.”

“Just, take a breath, Wave. It’ll be okay.” Nicole said calmly, walking to place her hands on the brunette’s shoulders. “Do you know them?”

“I don't know. I haven't gotten a good look at it yet.” She lied, planning how to get rid of the spirit.

“Why does all of the weird stuff happen to you, Earps?”

Waverly sighed and slurred out a response. “Well, I guess we're just lucky.”

“Doc said he’d arrive.”

“Really? I thought that he was at home.”

“Yeah, he called me through your phone.”

“Well yeah, obviously he’s… Busy with someone.”

“Oh.” Nicole said raising her eyebrows.

“No, not like that.” Waverly stated quickly before sighing. “Okay, can you find um… salt, any raw meat, an aerosol can, oh and a lighter.”

The officer cocked her head and went to go in search for the supplies. She went to the kitchen and found three cylinder containers of salt with two more bags lined up behind them. She grabbed one of the containers and walked to the freezer. She opened up the top and found sliced Cow meat. She cringed and closed it, exhaling the scent of frozen flesh. She coughed out the scent and walked away, going through a few drawers finding the most bizarre knick knacks. She found a sector of a drawer full of lighters and match boxes. She picked up a black lighter that had a decorated skull pressed into the metal. She put it into her breast pocket and walked back to the parlor room. Waverly ran down the stairs holding a can of hair spray. She hopped off of the last few steps and ran to Nicole. She was breathing heavily and placed the can on the table.

“Did you find anything?”

“Yeah, the salt and a lighter. Look, I know that you’re paranoid, but I doubt that salt will do much to stop an intruder.”

“You’d be surprised.” She muttered as she spread salt along the door ways and window sills.

“Waverly,” Nicole called as the shorter brunette raced around the house. “Wave.” Waverly came back to the parlor room, setting the salt container down. Nicole reached for her arm, tugging hard. “Waverly Earp, what is going on?”

“Look, I can’t explain it, not right now. I just need the raw meat. Where is it?”

“Wave, please, what’s wrong.” She asked in hushed tone.

“I’ll explain later.”

“What, like your sister promised? The promise that almost got me killed.”

“That’s not fair.”

“Sorry.” Nicole whispered, walking to the doorway and sighing. “What’s going on, Wave. I feel so out of the loop. A Doc Holiday impersonator comes to town, local rednecks are dying, you’re totally different. Curtis and Shorty die from bizarre circumstances. I want- no, need to know. Please, tell me.”

Waverly sighed and went to the freezer, pulling out the slabs of meat with a towel. She placed them at outside the front door and closed it behind her, meeting only the silence that filled the house. She walked over to the couch, pulling Nicole along with her and sat down. She smoothed out her skirt and cleared her throat. “Now that we’re safe, I need to know that you will not tell anyone, not your mom, dad, friends, or Nedley.”

“What about Wynonna or Dolls, they seem to know what you know.”

“Especially not them. Gosh, if they found out I told you, I’d be my head on the block.”

“Okay, our little secret.”

Waverly smiled and glanced into Nicole’s chocolate brown eyes. “Well, there are… certain people in this world, specifically here in Purgatory, that are unlike anyone else” She paused to gauge the other’s response. “We call them Revenants, others would call them demons… My family has been dealing with these monsters for generations, and we intend to because it’s our job.”

“Reve- what?”

“Revenants. Demons. They’re real and there’s one outside ready to kill.”

“I want to believe you, but it all sounds insane.”

“I know, it’s crazy, but you have to believe me. It’s the reason our ancestors have short lives, they kill so much, and we still own the gun of Wyatt. It kills them… Well subdues.” Nicole nodded and stood up, pacing around the room. What am I expected to do?”

“Umm… I-I don’t know. With all of my research, I don’t actually know what to do.”

“What usually happens with this?” Nicole asked, pointing out the window.

“Wynonna comes here with comes here with Peacemaker and shoots them, sending them back to hell.”

“Her and Dolls aren’t here. They can’t save us.”

“I don’t know what to do!” Waverly yelled at herself.

Nicole knelt before the younger Earp and placed her hands on the brunette’s thighs. She furrowed her brows for a second and smiled up at her. “It’ll be okay. The Blacksmith was like you, right? She might have something you can use. It can’t just be the gun.”

Waverly nodded and stood up, helping Nicole to her feet. She walked to a bookshelf in disarray and searched for something, anything, on demons. She sighed when she didn’t spot any and went to her memories.

“I think we need… something… Oh, wood, a spear-like piece of wood. Umm… okay, the incantation.”

Nicole went to break off a leg of an old stool. She tried ripping it off, then stood on the upside down stool and kicked the leg until it broke off and skidded across the ground. She picked it up, doubt casting a shadow over her as she thought twice about Waverly and glanced up at the younger woman. She walked over to her and handed her to piece of jagged wood.

“Thank you.” She said, taking it and beginning her incantation.

Nicole rested against the wall and watched as the woman she had a deep infatuation with almost insanely called to the gods above to enchant a stick. She looked at the ground and listened to her surroundings. The stick in Waverly’s hand began to glow red and shake. She smiled and began outside, locking the door behind herself. She barred it so Nicole would stay behind. The officer went straight to the window and watched as Waverly stood outside and yelled at the shadow. The Shadow came rushing at her out of nowhere. Nicole cried out Waverly’s name and went to try the barred door, banging on it. The Earp was full of fear and adrenaline, kissing the stick and smiling as she depended her life on it. She jumped up and stabbed the shadow with it. Waverly whooped in excitement as the fiend made it’s way back to Hell. She jumped and danced around, going back to unbar the door.

“Dude, did you see that?! It was coming at me like ‘Wham’, and I was like ‘Nuh-uh, not today.’ It was like a movie I stabbed it right in the head, or whatever and it went back to hell!” Waverly excitedly rushed. She had this great big smile on her face, the ‘If only Wynonna could see me’ look. “Are you okay? You don’t looked happy.”

Nicole just stared at the shorter woman and blinked a few times before pulling her into a kiss. She held Waverly’s face in her hands and pulled away slowly. “I thought I lost you.”

Waverly looked into Nicole’s eyes and smiled, “I’ll always be here.”