#OS has left a bad taste in my mouth that’s for sure

[talktonytome]

I’m just gonna say, the difference in Lou and Oliver’s responses to this speak volumes.

[harveywritings92]

BNHA Vampire soulmate au: they feed off you for the first time.

They explain to you how blood tastes to them and enjoy a meal... 

Tw: Blood drinking, heavy petting

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Hawks: It's been a year you and Keigo seem to be together, you've been talking about moving in together anywho, You got a paper cut and Keigo who was crashing at your placed smelled it from your living room, he nearly gave you a heart attack when you turned around to see him standing behind you, his gold eyes had red tinge as he eyed your finger like a like man who hasn't eaten in a week. "Ey, there I thought you've already had enough to drink today?" you were referring to the black and red sports bottle he'd brought with him. "I did, It's just- You have no Idea how hard I've been holding back, your blood it does something to me..." Keigo husked eyes locked on the crimson nectar dripping down your hand he was salivating and swallowed hard. "My blood...does it smell good?" you asked timidly.

The blond snapped out of his trance. "Petal, you smell like ripe strawberries and chocolate to me..." Keigo has already told you how smoker's blood smells and taste to him, well you now you were curious about non-smokers, and asked if blood type also has an effect on the blood's flavor? the winged vamp was happy to answer! 

Smokers: Charcoal/moldy bread.

Drunks: depends on how drunk they are, it's somewhere between hard soda and hard wine or liquor.

Drug users: no idea, he says they smell like rotten eggs, and he's seen how loopy other vamps act after feeding on them and stays clear of them.

Sick/injured: He stays away from sick people but they smell like a cross between a hospital or a funeral home.

Virgins: sweet/tart like fruit-punch.

regular folks: like Sangria the fruitiness is still there but it's mixed with bitter wine . 

"Blood types don't really change up the flavors, but I've noticed type As have a spice to them, Bs start off sour, and type Os are pretty mellow." You hummed very intrigued at what you were hearing then, noticed Keigo was still eyeing your finger, like a starved animal, you looked down at the cut then back Keigo and noticed his wings were tense and he was clenching his jaw, after some thought you sighed you held your hand out to him. "Go head before your jaw breaks" His wings bristled. "I'm not some desperate leech y'know." he huffed you shrugged and went to went to put a band-aid on, but Keigo stopped you.

"Let's not be hasty here..."  He stammered out at you cocked a brow at him. "Yer really giving me mixed signals here." you huffed did he want your blood or not? " Um... Are you sure about this?" he said blush adoring his cheeks. "I'm just letting you suck my finger...Why are you acting like I just asked you to pop my cherry?" Keigo's face was as red as a cherry as you said this. "Because you essenually are..." He explained the big difference between mates and prey, on instinct he wouldn't give a crap about some rando he picked up off the street or whatever mystery pack the commission gives him, but you... 

You're his soulmate, his fated one... and right now your pretty much telling him to make you his! He's not gonna stop at your finger, once he's had a taste he's going for your neck! And once he bites you that's it, you have his mark forever, You paused absorbing what the blond male just told you...Well, he hardly leaves you alone already might as well go all in? "Do it." Hawks's eyes were red now. "Come" he hissed sitting across from you and gesturing to sit in his lap.

You complied and watched Keigo warily as he brought your finger to his mouth, immediately you felt a shock go through you the second Keigo's tongue started lapping at the cut, he moaned tasting your blood for the first time. He was right you tasted every bit as sweet as he thought you would...*more...more...* his monster groaned euphorically he felt the cut on your finger close from his saliva's healing properties.

Keigo's eyes drifted towards your neck, You gasp feeling his grip on your hand tighten before his free hand found it's way behind your head, you tensed seeing Keigo's fangs elongate but before he could pierce your neck he smelled your distress.

His rough hold on you suddenly slacked and his hands lowered to your hips his thumbs gently rubbed you sides as he left little kisses and nip along your jaw before you calmed down enough to trust Hawks wasn't gonna tear your throat out. "Just relax." he cooed kissing you neck a couple more times like a countdown. one...two... three! 

You tried not to scream as you felt his fangs pierce your neck, your fingers gripped his jacket as you felt yourself be drained... then like a switch had been slowly tuned the pain tuned into pleasure? moans started sneaking their out from your mouth which confused you, the blond vampire groaned in ecstasy at how rich your blood tasted with lust mixed in he buck his hips against you, after what seemed like hours Keigo's fangs finally retracted from your flesh and lap at the two holes he left on your neck, they sealed as you whimpered weakly Keigo just shushed and you. "It's alright kid, you did good" he cooed kissing your head as you started drifting out of consciousness.   

When you woke up your head was pounding like a bad hangover Keigo was cradling you in his lap looking relieved and sheepish, he explained he went a little overboard with his drinking and venom dosing and you got drunk on him and passed out! you must've looked panicked cos Keigo assured you were completely fine, the venom isn't lethal... (To you anyways, one of the benefits of being a vampire's soulmate.) Though you might be a bit feverish and cranky for the next couple days.  

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Dabi: You were on your period so yes Dabi's self restraint was breaking! you had no fucking idea what you blood was doing to him you smelled like a 5 star meal and all he could do was sit and drown in his own drool and watch you, like a hawk as you moaned and groaned about  cramps and ruining your pajama shorts when you woke up this morning! a low growl escaped the faux raven haired vamp when he saw you toss out a bag with said aforementioned shorts, it took every nerve in him not to run after the garbage truck like a starved dog! before something you said snapped him out of his trance. "hn...What ya say?" he looked at you drinking his third pack of cow's blood.

"I asked if my blood smells good and what does it taste like?"

"I wouldn't know haven't tasted yours yet..."

"Well, what about anyone else's?" 

"Why are you suddenly interested?"

You huffed "Sorry for wanting to know you..." and were about to tell him to forget it, when the the undead cremator spoke up. "Mocha mixed wit' something spicy like cinnamon or rum" he muttered not looking at you. Of course you cocked a brow now intrigued, now that that was out of the bag he might as well tell ya the rest. 

Smokers: burnt rubber/earwax (eh, everyone was a kid once, had to know what that gunky crap in your ear tasted like.)

Drunks: Depends on how much they've drank, it could between hard water to straight up red wine.

Drug users: the one time he fed on one he thought they were just a pothead, but in turned out they had ate a few shrooms which made them kinda taste like... orange juice and black liquorice?... Honestly he can't give a straight answer, as he was too busy trippin out on another plain of existence to remember.  

Sick/injured: doesn't feed off the sick, but they smell like a hospital or a morgue.

Virgins: like apples and honey

Regular folks: they taste like Apple cider. 

Animal blood: kinda tastes like artificial cherry cough syrup, and he hates it!

"Then why do you drink it?" you gulped seeing his cerulean eyes flash red for a brief second as he locked eyes with you. "Why?...*growl* your standing in front of me smelling like a walking buffet and you have to gall ask me why I drinking this crap?!" he snapped crushing the blood pack in his hand as you started backing away, you were nervous that only fueled Dabi's sadistic side you learned early that he enjoyed agitating you via flashing his fangs, popping behind you out of seemingly nowhere, and faking you out.

I.E. making it seem like he was gonna bite you then blow air in your ears before walking away laughing at your reaction, something about putting you on edge and having your adrenaline pumping through your veins adds more "spice" to your scent, it happens so often that Dabi started noticing arousal was mixing in with your fear, you bet your ass he started mocking you for getting off on him scaring you. 

Of course right now you weren't sure if he was seriously mad, or making fun of you again? He was not making fun of you again he was seriously pissed off, The nerve of you walking around asking him about useless crap, and offering him nothing in return! Dabi had you backed against a wall face buried in your shoulder you felt him sniffing you and flinched you felt him nipping along your neck, and like all the other times he's riled you he smelled that that little speck of arousal through the fear. 

He let out a low chuckle causing you to to become fed up, you though he was screwing with you again! "Goddamm-.hm!" You were cut off by sharp yelp as Dabi's fang suddenly pierced your neck! oh god it hurt! you whimpered tried shoving Dabi off! he groaned pushing your back against the wall, suddenly your body felt weird... you moaned it was hot and and everything felt sensitive...

You barely registered Dabi lifting your legs up you instinctively wrapped them around his hips, he let out a low purr and his demeanor became less angry and forceful, his shoulders relaxed as his hands gently rubbed your legs, after what seemed like hours Dabi finally pulled away from your neck lapping at the pin holes he left on, he checked on you only to find you passed out his eye had a rare tenderness to them as he eyed your flushed appearance. "Well aren't you high maintenance." he cooed his thumb caressing you chin before taking you to bed.   

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Bakugou: He didn't want say what you smelled like to him as it made him look soft, he finally cracks after more poking a prodding. "If I fucking do will you shut up and let me sleep?!" he hissed it was 8: 47 p.m. and he was tired which confused you, the sun was still out and you could hear kids playing in the streets outside. You heard a angry growl Katsuki's ears were pink. "S'mores...you smell like S'mores, happy?" he groaned when you started shaking him, no point in trying to sleep now that he's lit the fuse! He gave you the sum up of what blood tastes like to him.

Smokers: old news paper and figs.

Drug users: No clue stays clear of them, they smell like pickled eggs.

Drunks: Somewhere between hard water and flavored vodka.

Virgins: Why would you want to kno-... arhg! Coffee and vanilla!

Regular folks: Irish coffee and bitter mint.

Then you you started asking about blood types and what it was when he drank, Next thing you knew Katsuki let out this frustrated bellow! You yelped as he grabbed your wrists and pinned you under him. "You wanna know what it feels like?" you sheepishly mumbled a meek "yes" but the blonds red eyes narrowed. "Hah? say that again I couldn't hear ya?" he jeered trying to get you to use your voice, you repeated "Yes" again a bit more forceful as the ash blond unbuttoned the shirt he let you borrow exposing your neck to him. 

Katsuki frowned he could smell your reluctance, then grumbled in annoyance as he recalled Shitty-hair's advice ""Take it slow, be gentle..."" He took a deep breath and carefully buried his face in you neck, You flinched expecting him to clamp down, giving how much you annoyed him, but to your surprise; Katsuki instead opted to started leaving kisses along your jaw and collar bone.

You bit back a moan when he found you sweet spot and causing Katsuki to smirk if wasn't so hungry and tired right now, he might've taken this much farther, but the mouthwatering scent of your blood calling him was too much to pass up. "I'm gonna do it" he husked as you nodded and with that, Katsuki's fangs pierced your neck.

You gasped in pain felling them puncture your skin as Katsuki grasped your hand, the blond groaned in euphoria your blood tasted every bit as rich and sweet as he thought it would, he could smell your discomforted and on instinct inject a doses of his venom into your bloodstream in minutes your blood's flavor intensified with added lust, your tiny moans and whimpers were music to his hears, soon his instincts were warning him stop.

Katsuki's fangs retracted he lapped at the punctures he left on your neck, before pulling away to look at you and snorted you were a flushed out mess. "That sate your curiosity?" he huffed fixing your shirt you tried to say something but were too exhausted to say anything tangible, the ash blond chuckled and settled down next to you for the night.   

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[danniburgh]

Give you what you want (Javier Peña x f!reader x Horacio Carrillo)

Pairing: Javier Peña x f!reader x Horacio Carrillo

Summary: You’ve been crushing hard on Javier - and Colonel Carrillo. And when they both find out about it, they can’t help but indulge you.

Word count: +11.1k

Chapter warnings: mild angst, mentions of violence, divorce talk, discussion of polyamorous relationship. OT3 SMUT, oral (m and f receiving), fingering, double penetration, alcohol, a lot of cum lol

A/N: this is a collab between me, @maharani-radha-writes​ and @queenofthefaceless, okay, yes this is a repost (basically the blog in which this os was posted blocked me). originally posted on april 6th 2021

ao3 // Masterlist // ko-fi

comments and reblogs are eternally appreciated 💓

Carrillo slammed his face on the steering wheel of his car with a groan. He had just spent all day in court finalizing his divorce—which had been going on for months—and just as he had gotten home, he realized that he had forgotten his service pistol at the office. Something he was not allowed to bring in the courtroom.

Fuckers.

He had separation anxiety from it, so even though he had multiple spares in the house, he had one trusty weapon, and he wouldn’t be caught dead without it. He glanced at the clock, and saw that it was only eight o’clock, so it wasn’t too late for him to swing back to base and grab it. Shaking his head, he turned the ignition of his car back on and reversed out of his driveway to head back to the station.

When he got there, he used his keys to enter through the back doorway, not really wanting to have to greet the guards at the front. He was just… way too done with people that day. Although he and his by then ex-wife had separated amicably (or as amicably as it could get), the divorce had taken a huge toll on him. He and Juliana had separated about five months before, and he had spent that time sitting in lawyers’ conference rooms, arguing over this and that. He was ready to just give her everything and anything she wanted if it meant he could get that painful process over with.

Truth be told, Carrillo was lonely. He had been for a long time, even while he was still married to Juliana. They had been less of a married couple and more like roommates for the past year at least, and it was getting to them both. His job was tough and dangerous–Juliana didn’t understand a lot of it. To be fair, he kept most of it from her, but that got exhausting after a while. He longed to just...let go, and he couldn’t do that with her. And after a while, she had decided that staying married to him (and his job) was more trouble than it was worth. He couldn’t blame her, not one bit.

It didn’t matter any more. He had firmly closed that chapter of his life, and was ready to move on. He didn’t know what the future looked like for him, but the only thing that he was sure of was that Pablo Escobar would be dead. He would make sure of it–even if he died trying.

After finding his service pistol, which had been stuffed in a holster under his desk, Carrillo closed the door to his office, and proceeded to walk down the hallway to the back exit. But he stopped when he heard voices coming from the bullpen.

Odd.

He hadn’t seen anyone when he had come in. He turned slightly and strained his ears to try to see if he could discern who it was. Then he heard the distinct Southern American drawl of none other than Steve Murphy. The man had been pulling late nights in the office ever since his wife got up and left him.

“All right, kiddo, care to tell me what the fuck your problem is?”

Who–? Was “kiddo”? It certainly couldn’t be Peña. It was a Friday night, surely Peña was off….doing something (or someone) else.

“What’s my problem? What’s your problem, Murph?”

Oh, it was you. The lone female agent of the DEA. Carrillo had been quite wary of you when you had joined the team about a year before. He really wasn’t sure what, if anything, you would be bringing to the table. And he thought that having two DEA agents was two too many already. But over time, you had proven to be a strong, capable, and intelligent partner, and his respect for you had grown.

Bringing you to Colombia had been a good decision, on the part of your superiors.

Now that he had identified the two people still stuck in the base, he should have been satisfied and been on his way. But something about Steve’s tone of voice kept him rooted to the spot. He really, really shouldn’t have been eavesdropping, especially since he was sure that it was a conversation he was not meant to hear.

“You’re on edge. A lot more than usual,” Steve said, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, Steve. Just drop it,” you grumbled.

“Oh, so there is something?” Steve snarked, “Look, I normally would back off and leave you alone, but you’ve been highly distracted lately. And it’s affecting your work. I need to know what’s up or at least confirm that you’re going to get this resolved soon because we need your head in the game.”

Now that Steve mentioned it, Carrillo had noticed that you were...not yourself. And you hadn’t been for a while. But Carrillo was too caught up in his own drama to give it much of a thought.

“I’m sorry,” you sighed, “I’ll try not to be so scatterbrained. I’ll fix it, I promise.”

“Is this what I think it is? The thing you told Connie that I’m not supposed to know about?” Steve asked.

Carrillo knew he absolutely needed to leave. That was not a conversation he should be listening to. But he just could not help it.

“You’re going to have to be more specific, Steve. I’ve told Connie a lot of things,” you chuckled, nervously.

“I mean about–” there was a pause, presumably Steve looking around to check that nobody was there, “–your feelings. For, uh, ya know, Peña?”

Oh. That was news.

“And–uh–Carrillo I think?” Steve continued.

Wait...what?

Carrillo whipped his head around so fast that he winced as his neck twinged in protest. Since when...since when did you have feelings? For him? And Peña? What was happening? Someone needed to shoot him because that could not be real.

“Must you say it aloud?” you hissed.

“I’m sorry, kiddo, I don’t mean to embarrass you,” Steve apologized, “And normally I would mind my own fucking business, but this is getting out of hand. You really don’t think I notice the cows’ eyes you make at Peña when he’s not looking?”

“I don’t do that!” you denied, indignantly.

“Okay fine, maybe that’s a bit dramatic,” Steve conceded, “But the point still stands. You definitely need to get this fixed. Have you thought, oh I don’t know, telling Peña? Or even Carrillo?”

“Are you crazy?” you stammered, “Do you have any idea what that would do to my career? Not to mention that Carrillo is...fucking married?”

“Well, he’s divorced now,” Steve clarified, “And nobody has to know. It’s nobody else’s business but yours. I’m just saying, think about it ok? You deserve an outlet, just like everyone else.”

Carrillo decided that it was best to not stay and hear what you had to say to that. Instead, he hightailed it out of the base, as quickly as he could, trying to keep his footsteps light so as not to alert you and Steve to his presence. Once he was finally in the safety of his car, he put his head back onto the seat and let out a long breath, trying to figure out what he was going to do with that information. He couldn’t deny that the idea of you having feelings for him was incredibly flattering. You were a very guarded individual and quite hard to read sometimes–not so dissimilar to him. He would have never, in a million years, guessed that you would be interested in him, and that was mostly due to your closed off persona.

But to find out that you had feelings for both him and Peña? That was an interesting development. Carrillo didn’t know how to feel about that. But he can’t deny that it intrigued him...more than it should have. His mother would be completely mortified if she found out that he was entertaining this--whatever it was.

But his mother was not here. His wife was gone, and had taken the kids with her. It was just him, and his large house. And now, apparently, you and possibly Peña. Carrillo tilted his head contemplatively and started the ignition of his car.

Maybe...just maybe, there was something to this whole charade.

**Scene Break 1**

Steve was tired. Scratch that, he was exhausted. Not physically, but mentally.

Javier had been looking at you for far too long, and Steve could taste the yearning and the tension that lingered around the office when Peña looked at you. It was maddening, and Steve had no idea how Peña had managed this long without jumping you. After all, he never seemed to have a problem getting a woman’s attention and keeping it. So, why were you so different?

And the worst part of this whole circus is that you were so blissfully unaware of it. It made Steve’s mouth foam with rage.

When he told Connie over the phone, the previous night, what you had said to him and how you had confessed to being attracted to both men, she actually convinced him to talk to Javi on your behalf. Because Connie knew you, and she knew you would just shut up about it, guard it as if you were a dragon with a treasure, never say a thing, and suffer in silence until your feelings went away. And if they didn’t. Too bad. Steve hadn’t wanted to get involved. After all, you were an adult, and Javier was an adult. You should be able to sort these things out yourself. But alas, that had not happened. And if Steve didn’t do something about it, it was going to get out of hand, quickly.

So when you got up from your desk and got out of the office, Steve walked to Javier and slammed his hand on a pile of files that Javier was almost hiding behind.

“Yes, Murphy, how can I help you?” Peña drawled, trying to keep his voice as even and unaffected as possible.

“Don’t give me that innocent bullshit, Peña,” Steve growled, “I’m so sick of you.”

“What could I have possibly done now?” Javier huffed, pulling a cigarette out of his pack and lighting it. He figured that if he played dumb, Steve would go away.

Alas.

“You, and her,” Steve said, emphasizing his point by jabbing his finger in the direction of the door you had just walked out of, “There’s something between the two of you. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.”

Javier decided not to answer that. Instead he just took a puff of his cigarette and stared at Steve, daring him to continue.

“I’m serious Peña, stop playing coy. This is starting to affect your working relationship, and I’m getting sick of it,” Steve grumbled, “Do something about it. Now.”

It took a few moments of silence, but Javier finally decided to concede to Steve. Truth was, Javier’s head was full of thoughts. Full of you. Truth be told, getting infatuated with you was just a matter of time.

You were just… frustratingly attractive, incredibly strong and so damn smart. A dangerous combination, you were almost perfect. And that, scared the shit out of him. It had been a long time since Javier felt like that; he didn’t like the vulnerability of it all, he didn’t like how it was way too apparent that whatever you did, for small that it was, affected him in some way. He didn’t like the fact that he wanted to be with you all the time, see you all the time, talk to you all the time. He wanted to protect you all the time even when he knew you could perfectly protect yourself. And he had been feeling like that for months.

Javier interpreted that as karma, getting so madly, deeply into you and getting absolutely nothing in return. Until Steve chimed in, nosy as ever, to speak about something that was clear as a water drop but he just kept denying from himself.

He replayed what Steve had told him while he puffed from his cigarette and for a split second, and let himself smile at the words of his partner.

Steve was right. He was aware of how much he had been missing and how affected his job seemed to be because of how much time he spent thinking about you. It was so unlike him, and it was very unprofessional. But he just couldn’t help it.

You and your strikingly beautiful being. You letting him hold you close. You, with your hands on him. You and how sweet your lips must taste. You and how your naked body must look in the dimmed lights of his bedroom. Fuck.

So he decided, after his partner all but scolded him about being too dumb to realize, that he was going to face you and just… make things happen.

Steve smiled to himself while looking down at a file when Javier stood up from his own desk and walked out of the office.

“Attaboy,” he mumbled to himself.

**Scene Break 2**

You weren’t sure what it was, but suddenly the air in that bullpen had become oppressive, and you just needed to get out. Well, frankly...you weren’t stupid. You knew what was causing you to feel this way. It was stupid Steve and his stupid way of being right all the time, how the fuck did he do that? At some point, you were going to have to tell Javier (and possibly Carrillo, as well) how you felt, but if you could put it off for longer, you were absolutely going to do so.

You sat on the concrete wall bordering the police base, observing quietly as the citizens of Medellín went about their day, getting lunch and catching up with their colleagues. There was a man selling arepas just a few feet from you, and the smell was amazing. But no matter how tantalizing the scent was, you just couldn’t bring yourself to eat. All you needed was some air. Yeah, that’s what you needed. You’d be fine after a few moments.

Unfortunately, your peace wasn’t to last long, and as you were soon to discover, your observational skills would need a check up because Colonel Horacio Carrillo himself had just plopped himself next to you, and you hadn’t even noticed. Carrillo, for his part, waited a few moments before clearing his throat, startling you from your thoughts, and successfully getting your attention.

Ah shit.

One of the exact men that you didn’t want to deal with right now was sitting right next to you.

Joy.

��Those arepas look fantastic,” he remarked in that lovely accent you really liked, “Do you want one?”

You shook your head.

“No thank you,” you mumbled, “I’m fine.”

Carrillo hummed.

“I’m sure we could find something else if you would prefer. There’s all kinds of food in Medellín,” he replied. But you refused again.

“No, really, I’m fine. I don’t want any food,” you said.

Carrillo tilted his head and clasped his hands together, leaning forward slightly. He gave a small, almost imperceptible smirk, and if you didn’t know him so well, you would have missed it.

“I see,” he observed, amusedly, “So, then, Agent. What do you want?”

You frowned, and furrowed your eyebrows. What...what was he doing?

“I–I don’t want anything,” you replied, completely flabbergasted.

“Hmmm,” Carrillo began, “I don’t believe you. I think you want something.”

You raised your eyebrows at that. You’d never known the Colonel to be so bold.

“I want Escobar dead,” you quipped, “Same as you, I suppose.”

“Ah yes, I certainly want that,” Carrillo agreed, “But I want something else. Something that I imagine might be the same as you.”

You scratched the back of your neck, nervously, not sure where this was going.

“All right, Colonel, I’ll bite. What is it that you want?” you questioned.

Carrillo adjusted his position on the wall, turning so that he was facing you squarely. He looked you straight in the eyes before taking a deep breath, as if he was working up the courage to say something.

“You.”

You felt the air leave your lungs, Carrillo’s face was a puzzle laid before you but before you could say something else, you heard a deep, timbered voice calling your name.

You reluctantly turned around and saw Peña walking up to the both of you, you felt Carrillo shift beside you and let out a sigh, as if he knew something like that would happen.

“I was looking for you,” Javier mumbled, almost as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear but you.

“So, you found me,” your voice was shaky after the Colonel’s admission, and you tried to control it “What?”

“Can we–uh–talk?” he said, and you looked back at Carrillo.

“Can it wait?” you pleaded.

“No,” Javier declared.

“I think I know what this is about,” Carrillo announced, and you frowned at him, asking with your eyes for him to elaborate. But he just stayed quiet, looking between you and Peña.

“What do you mean?” Javier huffed, “This is a private conversation that I need to have with her.”

“I think we all need to have this conversation,” Carrillo mumbled, looking at the ground for half a second before returning his gaze to you and Javier.

“What are you two on?” you asked, frantically, “I am so confused.”

Javier glanced at the Colonel, at the way he was all but shifting around like a nervous kid. He realized Carrillo moved like he was hiding something, like he had a secret he so wanted to confess.

“Do you know something?” Javier questioned him, furrowing his brow. The Colonel turned to study him and there was a small moment in which they said nothing, and their eyes just locked.

And there, Javier saw him, as he was. Colonel Horacio Carrillo was an honorable man, everyone knew that, but as he was honorable he was dark, and Javier had a small suspicion of what he knew and was badly hiding.

Javier felt himself smirk at the man and Carrillo smirked back, and Javi knew it. Because he never misses things like that. For him is like having a sixth sense, somehow enhanced by his career and his experience. He just knows. Javier had never been indifferent to men. After all, being honest with himself, he had a little crush on Steve before he saw the wedding band. And Carrillo was… just his type. He never thought he would have the chance to even get closer to the Colonel like that. In the end, the time was not right and he was quite sure Carrillo wasn’t like that.

Clearly, he had been mistaken.

“Okay you two, I’ve had enough,” you grumbled, “What is going on? I’m sick of these games.”

“This is not a game,” Carrillo said, finally looking at you, you felt your frown get deeper.

“Then what is it?” you demanded.

Javier shrugged and took one last look at Carrillo, as if to confirm his consent, and replied.

“An arrangement,” he deadpanned, “With both of us.”

“If you want it,” Carrillo added, quickly.

You shot up from the wall you were sitting on and turned to glare at both of them. Javier put his hands on his waist and leaned on a leg, and Carrillo stood up as well, clasped hands in front of him, just waiting for you to say something. Anything.

Javier glanced nervously at Carrillo from the corner of his eye, searching his face for any sign of hesitation. I hope this is gonna go how you were planning, Carrillo, he thought, Because if it doesn’t and she refuses to speak to me again after this...I swear to god–

“Where did you get this idea?” you blabbered, feeling the sting of nervousness and insecurity settling into your stomach. Along with something else in your lower belly you refused to acknowledge at all.

Javier sighed, and shook his head.

“Steve Murphy has a big mouth,” he murmured.

“Dios mío,” you exclaimed, “He told you both?”

“Well, he told me,” Javier said, running a hand through his hair, “I don’t know about our Colonel over here.”

Now it was Carrillo’s turn to look sheepish.

“No, he didn’t say anything to me,” Carrillo admitted, “I overheard the two of you talking the other day.”

“You eavesdropped on me?” you gasped, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Is nothing I say private?”

Carrillo at least had the grace to look ashamed.

“It was an accident,” he tried to assure you, “But–I don’t regret listening in. I haven’t stopped thinking about it. About you.”

You scrubbed your face with your hands, trying to figure out what you were going to do. It wasn’t that you were–unhappy–more so embarrassed. You’d been carrying this secret for a long time now, and to have it so out in the open made you feel more exposed than ever. And you hated the feeling.

“I’m gonna need a minute,” you said, “Can we talk about this later? I need some space.”

Without waiting for a response, you briskly walked away from the police base and in the direction of the city. You weren’t sure where you were going or when you were going to be back. All that you knew was that your privacy had been massively violated, and you needed some space to collect yourself. Alone. And perhaps when you had calmed down, you could think about Carrillo and Peña’s proposal, like a functioning adult. But right now, you were too embarrassed (and aroused, let’s be real), to think straight.

Javier turned aside to look at Carrillo when your figure had disappeared into the city.

“So,” Javier broke the not-so-awkward silence, “Are you okay with this?”

Carrillo huffed at the question and glanced at the agent, noticing in him things he hadn't noticed before.

“Are you?”

Javier felt his stomach drop at the Colonel’s question… interesting.

“I’m all in,” he replied, smirking at Carrillo.

“Yo también.”

**Scene Break 3**

It was later in the afternoon by the time you had calmed down enough to return to work. You couldn’t believe what had happened today. You absolutely wanted to smack Steve. What you had told him was in confidence, and he had broken that trust. But you couldn’t deny that you were happy with the result. The idea of having even just one of those two men was enough to get you going, but both?

Men like them?

The pool of arousal was already forming in between your legs.

You could not deny how much you had wanted this, and how much you had been dreaming about it. And for a very long time. For god’s sake, you had lost sleep over this shit. It made you feel dirty, filthy, unprofessional. But you just couldn’t help it. You’d done a decent enough job of keeping your feelings in check, but now the cat was out of the bag.

And not only did these two men know how you felt. Apparently, they felt the same way. And for some godforsaken reason, they wanted you.

Were you really going to say no to an opportunity like that? Were you truly that stupid? No matter how much you were angry with Steve.

Connie would lose her shit when you'd call her to tell her about her husband’s work.

You walked into the bullpen and saw the office door opened, the first thing you saw was Javier’s face buried inside a file, his posture rigid and his hands grasping at the folder as if it were a lifeline.

He looked up and his eyes went wide when he saw you walk in.

But then you saw Murphy, sitting like nothing had happened and you saw red. You rushed at him and without a word your hand flew and you smacked him on the back of the head.

“What the fuck?” he yelled, and you heard Javier laughing behind you.

“You asshole,” you hissed, “Exactly what made you think it was a good idea to tell him? I trusted you to keep your mouth shut.”

“Excuse me,” Steve groaned, rubbing the back of his head, “I did you a fucking favor. I got tired of hanging around with you two idiots, just looking at each other and not saying shit.”

“You should not have done that,” you growled, fixing him with what you hoped was your most intimidating glare.

“Perhaps not,” Steve shrugged, “But I don’t regret it.”

“Can I–say something?” Javier asked behind you.

“No. Shut up.” you hissed without looking back at him.

“You do something like this again, and I’ll kill you,” you threatened Steve before storming out of the base, and into the parking lot. You sat in the driver’s seat of your car and banged your head against the steering wheel. You had had every intention of finding Peña and Carrillo and taking them up on their offer, but now all feelings of boldness had been once again replaced by shame and embarrassment. No doubt you were the talk of the police base, what with your massive crush on two of your colleagues.

Although you knew it was irrational, you couldn’t help but feel as though Carrillo and Peña were making fun of you. You knew it was stupid. Both of them were grown-ass men. They wouldn’t be so immature. If they didn’t like you at all, they would have just left you alone. But you just couldn’t help the raging insecurity you were feeling. Perhaps if you had actually told both of them, directly, how you felt, rather than let Steve Murphy do the hard work, then maybe you wouldn’t be feeling this way.

But that was all water under the bridge now, you supposed.

Later that night, you were heating up a pitiful TV-dinner in your apartment, not feeling up to eating, but you needed something, when your phone rang. You froze with the fork halfway to your mouth. There were only a handful of people who had your landline number, and even then, only a few of those people would have the guts to actually call it. This wasn’t going to be a fun conversation.

Sighing, you trudged over to the phone and lifted the receiver to your ear.

“¿Sí?” you asked, quietly, and you heard the low voice of Colonel Carrillo on the other end.

“It’s me,” he said softly, “You left work rather abruptly. I called to see if you were fine.”

“As fine as I can be, given the circumstances,” you grumbled.

“I’m sorry that things transpired the way they did, truly,” Carrillo mumbled, sounding genuinely apologetic, “But I meant it when I said I don’t regret finding out.”

“Of course you wouldn’t,” you snarked, “You’re not the one whose colleague breached her trust.”

There was a pause before Carrillo spoke again.

“Do you regret it?”

Now it was your turn to pause, contemplating your words and how you would respond. You didn’t want to hurt him, but at the same time, you wanted to make it clear that you weren’t pleased with the means---even if the end was fantastic.

“I regret how this started,” you replied, slowly, not trusting yourself to say anything further.

Carrillo hummed over the line, contemplating your words.

“I can’t blame you for that,” he said, “But forget about Steve for a moment, please. Have you thought about it?”

You inhaled and held your breath for ten counts, trying to calm down your racing heart. You couldn’t deny that just the mere thought of being in the same room with these two men, especially in a non-platonic setting, was difficult for you.

“I think you know the answer to that, Colonel. You aren’t stupid,” you quipped, “Have you discussed this with Peña? I must admit, I am surprised at you both. This doesn’t seem like something either of you would be interested in.”

“We’ve discussed this, absolutely,” Carrillo said, recalling the deeper conversation he had with Peña earlier that day after you had slapped Steve, “I think we’ve both surprised ourselves, if I’m being honest. But if the attraction is there, it’s there. But I want you to know, there is no pressure. This only goes as far as you want it to go.”

You frowned at that.

“What do you mean?” you pressed.

“Querida,” he sighed, “What happens between the three of us–well–Peña and I know where we stand–it’s up to you now. If you don’t want this, then just say the word. We’ll pretend this conversation never happened.”

You took a shuddering breath and tried to respond as best as you can.

“I–”

“You don’t have to give me an answer now,” Carrillo interrupted gently, “Think about it. Make sure it’s what you want. Then you can let us know.”

“I–ok,” you stuttered, for lack of a better response.

“I should leave you to your evening. But think about it, and let me know what you decide ,” Carrillo said, “Have a good night, querida.”

“Sure, good night, Colonel,” you mumbled, hearing the click on the other end, indicating that Carrillo had hung up.

You passed the rest of the evening in relative silence, going about your mundane business with an extra air of heaviness. Slowly you could feel the embarrassment from the day give way to desire. As you lay by yourself in your bed, clutching at your pillow, you couldn’t help the acute sense of loneliness that you felt. After all, you hadn’t really had anyone before you came to Colombia, and your job here certainly killed whatever chance of having a relationship you might have had. It was why you had so easily fallen for both of your colleagues.

You were lonely. And they were lonely too. But it wasn’t just out of loneliness. You’d seen what Peña was like when he just wanted to have a warm body next to him. Just as it had taken courage for you to confess how you felt to Steve, it must have taken just as much strength for Carrillo and Peña to admit the same to you. This wasn’t going to be a one time thing–born out of isolation and tragedy–it would be something much more meaningful than that. You could feel it.

You glanced at the clock, seeing that it was just past midnight. Although you knew that Carrillo usually stayed up late, you didn’t want to bother him, so you dialed the number of the only other person who you knew would be up this late.

“Hello?” Javier Peña gruffed on the other end, clearly annoyed at having been woken up.

“Javier, it’s me,” you said, by way of greeting. You heard some rustling of bedsheets, no doubt Javier was fully awake now.

“Are you all right?” he asked, concern coloring his tone.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” you assured him, “I just–I’ve thought about your offer. Yours and Carrillo’s.”

You heard a sharp intake of breath over the phone.

“And what do you say, cariño?” he questioned, hope ringing in his voice.

You took a deep breath, steadying yourself.

“Yes. I’m saying yes.”

**Scene Break 4**

You sat inside Javier’s car, silently, as he drove the two of you through the streets of Medellín towards Carrillo’s address. It was a Friday–exactly a week from when Carrillo had overheard you talking to Steve, and you were completely floored at how your life had changed that fast. You didn’t regret anything though, not one bit.

You were nervous though. Having one of these men was enough to make you swoon, but both? You weren’t sure what was going to happen. All you knew is that it would be a fantastic night. You just hoped that you could keep up.

A hand on your knee brought you back to the present, and you glanced over to see that Javier was eyeing you out of the corner of his eye as he drove.

“Relax, cariño,” he ordered, “It’s just us.”

You laughed.

“I know, that’s what I’m worried about,” you said, jokingly. But Javier wasn’t having it.

“Why would that make you nervous?” he asked, turning to face you when you had stopped for a red light.

“You two are my friends and colleagues,” you stated, “I don’t–want to disappoint you. Especially since we will have to go back to work after the weekend.”

Javier shook his head and pressed down harder on the accelerator, hoping that if he got you to Carrillo’s place faster, you’d stop your fatalistic thoughts.

“None of that,” he grumbled, shutting down your line of thinking as quickly as he could, “What happens between us tonight stays between us. That’s it. No pressure or expectations. Just enjoy yourself, okay?”

You nodded, not quite trusting yourself to speak. And thankfully, you didn’t have to say anything because you and Javier finally pulled up in front of Carrillo’s house. It was a much larger property than you had expected, with a beautifully-kept lawn and a mango tree just at the front of the house. It was a stunning place to live, and the thought that Carrillo had been staying there alone, with nobody to share it with, for the past several months just left you heartbroken.

Well. That was likely about to change tonight.

“You’re still sure, cariño?” Javier asked, taking your hand in his and staring at your knuckles, “If you’ve changed your mind, I can drive you back now. No questions asked.”

You shook your head.

“I’m completely sure, Javi. Don’t worry,” you assured him, and Javier nodded.

“Bueno,” he mumbled, “Let’s go.” And with that, the two of you walked up the path to Carrillo’s front door and rang the bell. Carrillo answered almost immediately, face relaxing at the sight of you.

“I hope you didn’t have too much trouble finding the place,” he greeted, stepping back to allow the two of you to enter his house.

“I have some wine if you would like,” Carrillo suggested, leading you and Javier into the kitchen after the two of you had kicked off your shoes.

Carrillo walked straight to the fridge and took out what appeared to be a pretty expensive brand of wine, but neither you nor Javier said anything in regards to it. Instead, you both sat down and exchanged a series of fugitive glances at each other.

You thought you needed the wine, the bitter, strong taste of alcohol to run through your veins in order to be able to process the moment in its entirety. But suddenly, as you glared at both Javier and Carrillo, there was no need for anything else. No liquid distraction to be drunk beforehand, no ridiculous and meaningless pleasantries or comfort words. You knew those men. You trusted them with your life every day when you went out there on the streets, and you trusted them just as much now. Their mere presence was sufficient to relax you and ease the tension, although you thought they would both agree that the tension was thicker than you could’ve imagined.

“I trust you both, and I care about you both, so damn much.”

It came out of the blue; you weren’t even sure you thought about it in your mind, and yet you said it nonetheless, standing up. Both of them seemed a little surprised by your impromptu confession, but patiently waited for your continuation, if there was any to begin with.

“What I mean is… why make this harder on ourselves? Why bother with small talk and awkward conversations when we can just… do it, enjoy the night?”

Javier was the first one who smirked. And of course he would, he was probably used to a lot of those moments, or similar ones, and had almost no issue baring it all, you thought. You swore, for a brief, almost too rushed moment, that you saw Carrillo hesitate with saying something and averting his eyes from both you and Javier, but you brushed it off. Instead, he looked tall and mighty at you, as his official position required, and smiled gallantly at you.

“You are the one in charge tonight,” he told you.

Simple, yet effective.

From the moment you heard that sentence, it did something to your ego. It gave you an unexpected boost of confidence, it sparked a desire, a flame so bright and hot you wouldn’t have believed it to be true in any other situation.

You took a few steps closer to Carrillo, all the while having Javier watch the scene unfold from the kitchen entrance. He stood up when you did, out of some long-forgotten courtesy that he didn’t used to care about anymore, and he just knew where it was all headed. He recognized the look in your eyes, the longing on your face. He knew what it meant, how much it must’ve consumed you, and he felt oddly enticed and captivated by it.

Just as swiftly as the night began, Carrillo’s hands rested on your waist while he kissed you. You wrapped your arms around his neck and he only brought you closer to him; his lips tasted surprisingly sweet, with just a faint tint of nicotine. Your chest was pressed against his, warm clothed skin found yours and you shivered against him. His hands gripped your waist as if saying farewell to them and he slid them up your body. You could feel Peña’s eyes fixed in your bodies, staring at the scene, and when the Colonel broke the kiss to nibble at your neck, you opened your eyes to see him next to you; half-lidded brown deep eyes, an opened bottle of wine in one hand and his lower lip in the other. Your skin was burning, and you had barely been touched.

You smiled at him when Carrillo took your jacket off, Peña smirked and took a sip of wine directly from the bottle, careless about any pleasantries.

Carrillo’s wet tongue latched softly at your pulse point and ripped a low moan out of you, you closed your eyes again when his hands gripped your ass over the fabric of your jeans.

“Colonel, please,” you muttered, sighing as you felt his large hands had fun with your flesh and grip it after hearing the way you called him.

“Words, querida” he just replied, putting some distance between your wet skin and his lips.

“More,” you bit your lip, Carrillo smirked at you and you noticed the way his eyes darkened with desire in front of you. He turned to look at Javier, who was still standing at the kitchen entrance, palming his erection over his jeans.

“Bring that,” Carrillo said, pointing at the bottle, then slid his hand from your ass to the small of your back and guided you towards the staircase.

Between your hazed eyes and the cloud of lust that had begun to invade your mind you looked around Carrillo’s space and wondered how a man like him could live in a place that big. You smiled to yourself when he put his hand on the small of your back and soon enough Peña caught up to you, you felt his ever so imposing presence behind you.

Carrillo opened the door to the bedroom and pushed you softly inside.

You didn’t even have time to take your surroundings in when you felt a pair of warm hands find your hips and a set of lips grazing at your earlobe. Your eyes closed by themselves and the sweet, strong smell of Javier’s cologne invaded your nostrils as he pulled your back flush against his chest.

“Sh–shit,” you let out, half a whisper, half a moan, when you felt Carrillo’s hands roam around your waist.

You were losing yourself between the touch of the two of them, you shivered when Carrillo cupped your breast as Javier nibbled at the skin of your neck, from behind, you tilted your head to the side to give him more room to do whatever–the–fuck he pleased with your neck.

“Mírate, chiquita,” Carrillo whispered, you felt his breath on your lips and when you re-opened your eyes you saw him inches away from your face “you’re already wrecked.”

You felt Javier chuckling against your flushed skin, and you bit your lower lip, bringing a hand to the Colonel’s nape to pull him closer and kiss him again.

One of Javier’s hands found itself under your shirt, his mouth was moving and his other hand pulled softly at your shirt over your shoulder to find more skin to lick and kiss. Carrillo found the hem of your shirt and broke the kiss to look at you, as if asking for permission and reassurance that you wanted what he wanted. Javier watched the silent exchange and smirked against the skin of your shoulder, he gave it a last brush of his mustache and a last kiss before you nodded to the Colonel and he helped you out of the garment.

Carrillo smiled to himself when he saw what you’ve been hiding under it, a black, only-lace bra that showed the shade of your nipples, you bit your lip again when you took in his disheveled figure, his notorious erection under his military green pants that made the pool between your legs grow.

“How are you this fucking beautiful?” Javier muttered behind you, his mouth leaving a trail of kisses behind your ear to your nape.

Your breath hitched when Carrillo kneeled in front of you and you felt your chest heaving with desire when his large fingers dextrely unbuttoned your jeans and his thumbs hooked on the hem. He looked at you again and you nodded for a second time. Javier looked over your shoulder at the Colonel slowly sliding your jeans off your hips then your legs and he left his hands roam around the now naked skin of your torso. Your hands landed on the back of his head, and he took the hint, attacking the skin of your neck once again.

Carrillo threw your jeans away once he helped you out of them and you moaned loudly when his lips grazed against your knee. One of your hands dropped to grab Carrillo’s head as his trail of kisses moved up, up, up until he reached the soft skin where your thigh and your hip joined. You were sure he could smell your arousal, you were sure he could feel it at that point and you didn’t care, for once you let yourself only feel and let all thought out of your mind while you felt two mouths, two men, take care of you.

There was no hesitation from Javier’s side as his fingers gently grazed up your spine, expertly unclasping your bra, taking in the image of the straps loosening on your smooth skin. He was damn near panting at the mere sight, but he had to remind himself that that was only the tip of the iceberg. The moans you were letting escape your mouth as Carrillo pressed gentle kisses on your inner thighs aided him in no way. He felt himself get harder and harder and fought off raging instincts to turn that moment into another one of his one-night stands.

Javier made sure he tasted your skin while he took the straps from both sides between his fingers and slid them off your shoulders, he felt you shivering under his hands and over Horacio’s mouth and you could feel the smirk on your skin, once the bra came off, Javier took your chin and moved your head to face him, he pressed his mouth on yours, his tongue hungry for your scent, invading your cavities and feeling your warmth rush through his body with the speed of light. Everything about your scent was intoxicating and consuming, and ever so addicting that he could barely find it in himself to stop.

But then his calloused hands found your breasts and oh–oh, shit.

That first squeeze, tantalizingly slow and powerful, took you out completely. You gasped, and you weren’t sure if it was Horacio’s warm breath in between your legs or Javier fondling your breasts, but you embraced the overwhelming effect both had on you. Javier squeezed again, and moved around to locate the sweet torture of his mouth onto your nipples, taking one in his mouth whilst his thumb moved over the other one, twisting it in between his fingers as he nibbled at your skin. His tongue left a glistening trail as he peppered kisses in between your breasts, moving up your sternum, collarbones and neck and focusing on one particular spot that seemed to drive you wild. So much so that you reached behind your back to grab a handful of his hair, pull him in closer however you could.

“Lay her down, Peña,” Carrillo cooed, and the man followed suit.

You saw the Colonel untuck his shirt and take it off while Javier kneeled on the bed and helped you lay down on it, the softness of the sheets embraced you and the coldness made you whimper softly.

It was a premiere for him to witness Javier Peña, of all people, being so submissive and attentive, but he had other matters to focus on at the moment. His mouth left your already glistening and plump lips to grab the bottle of wine, your eyes followed him as you felt Carrillo’s hands spread your legs open and kiss the inside of your legs again, Javier came back to the bed and kneeled next to you, his hand gripping the bottle and the other cupping your face, he smiled softly at you and took a sip from the bottle; you moaned when Carrillo’s hands worked to get you out of your lace panties and Javier leaned down to you, the hand that cupped your face moved to your chin and he opened your mouth with his thumb, letting the wine pour from his mouth to yours, the wine was warm and it tasted sweet, when you closed your mouth and swallowed, Javier’s thumb grazed your lips and you heard a hard pant next to you, you turned to see Carrillo’s lusted face, you gave him a soft smile and he all but threw himself to you, kissing your mound, you moaned again and Javier leaned back, bringing the chilled bottle closer to your body, letting the tip of it graze against your warm skin, between the cold sensation and Carrillo’s lips tasting you, you were about to scream, Javier looked at you, smirked and pour some of the wine all over your breasts and abdomen, immediately reaching down on your again to lick the liquid off. A bit of the wine had traveled down your abdomen to your lower belly and found its way into Carrillos mouth, the feeling of the cold wine and their tongues made you growl. You had two pairs of equally sinful and skilled lips teasing and licking deliciously well over your exposed skin, and you had half of mind to grab either one of them and get to business. You couldn’t recall the last time you felt so aroused, but it was all a masterful torture and all for a good time. If anyone else was allowed to have their downtime, why shouldn’t you?

It was somewhat futile to even attempt to please either one of the men in return; their own pleasure seemed to be revolving around yours and they were both doing such an incredible job out of it that you had a hard time trying to keep track of where did the waves of pleasure come from anymore. It was all one big tsunami of feelings, from overstimulation to lust and appreciation and love in some form.

Carrillo continued his ministrations while Javier licked the remains of the wine from your body, his tongue traveled to your sternum and he took a nipple on his mouth ever so briefly, then he stood up and quickly undressed, not bothering to be cool about it, he just threw his clothes to the floor while he looked at Horacio have the time of his life between your legs, you let out soft moans and whispers and while Javier took off his jeans he saw your hand grip Carrillo’s hair as your hips hatched against the Colonel’s face. You felt his tongue flicking your clit and he pushed a thick finger inside you, curling it around, building you up and throwing you off the cliff with the same force he had put you there. You came on his mouth with his name on yours.

As you laid on the bed, legs spread for Carrillo as he helped you ride off your orgasm, Javier kneeled back on the bed next to your face, his hand snaked its way around your neck, gently grabbing both sides and helping you take his erection in your mouth, which you were more than happy to do. You could tell he was somewhat tensed: he was doing his absolute best to control his motions and to keep it at a normal rhythm, but the more you involuntarily groaned as Carrillo began to glide his tongue across your slit once again, building up your second climax, the more Javier was slowly losing bits and pieces of himself. Within seconds, you could just tell you weren’t gonna last long, but neither would Javier as he picked up the face and jerked his hips forward more and more, thus obliging you to take more of him in. You couldn’t explain it, nor find any logic behind the action itself, but you swore you felt his release in Javier’s impatient thrusts and, sure enough, mere seconds later, he finally came, grunting as ropes of his seed dripped down your jaw.

Your moans returned when Carrillo added two fingers to his mouthy torture over your clit, and you felt like you could explode. Not long after that all-too familiar gut feeling, that almost persistent desire to burn, you came for a second time, eager to jerk your hips forward and meet as much as you could of Carrillo’s tongue, but this time, the man’s grip over your thighs was impossible to break. He held you in place ever so expertly and ate you out like you were his favorite five course meal, soaking up every ounce of juice that you provided him with.

You temporarily lost feeling in your arms as you tried to raise them to make at least Javier pay attention, but words also failed to leave your abused mouth.

“Que buena chica,” Carrillo said from somewhere down below. (What a good girl.)

Your brain didn’t register what he said properly. All you could feel was a fire so intense, so vivid, you nearly saw stars. And something told you that was only the beginning.

And you were proven right.

In the momentary lack of physical touch, you thought about the moment itself, having two of the strongest, most desirable men eager to please you–simultaneously, might you add–and the more you thought about it, the more it threw you off completely. Why? You weren’t really sure. Perhaps it was the idea in the back of your mind that you wouldn’t have thought yourself capable of that. Or them, really. The activity hadn’t been exactly on your to-do list over the past few years and yet now, you couldn’t have thought of a better way to figure out your feelings for them, and to spare time.

The freshly acquired ecstasy was not only enthralling, but efficient as well.

After your second orgasm at Horacio’s ministrations you saw him between your lusted, narrowed eyes, undress completely, Javier was next to you, trailing his fingers up and down your wet torso–wet with wine and his saliva, what a fucking thought– while the both of you saw Carrillo take the remains of his clothes off and took in his lean figure, Javier smirked when he saw him whole and thought to himself the things he would do to the man if he had the time.

Javier wrapped his arms around your waist and helped you roll over to the side to face him, licking his bottom lip in the process and made sure you watched as he did so. He had been eyeing you up and down the entire day, whether clothed or not, and every glance he threw you, ever so dark and desirable, filled with subtext and desire, made you weaker and weaker, just like Carrillo’s touches were.

You reached his face and took his lips in yours, his tongue slid inside your mouth and as he explored the insides and his hand grabbed fistfuls of your ass, you felt the bed shifting behind you, and another hand snaked from behind and found your breast, you were being pressed against and between two bodies and the wam of them was driving you insane, when Carrillo’s fingers played with your nipple you bucked your hips forward and you felt Javier’s erection graze at your lower belly. Javier moved his hand from your ass to your thigh and then he let it slide to your pussy, you bucked your hips backwards and you felt Carrillo’s erection graze at your ass.

“How are you still this wet, bonita?” Javier asked, while his fingers found themselves between your lips.

“Don’t you know the answer by now, Javi?” you muttered, feeling the way Carrillo’s mouth found your shoulders.

You glanced at him and Carrillo the same way Javier looked at you and you understood in an instant why he always preferred to be that way. It was enticing, addicting and sinful, just the way he was.

And by the looks of it, Colonel Horacio Carrillo was no saint either.

“How do you want this to go, chiquita?” Horacio asked behind you as you moved your leg up to allow Javier’s fingers to find a way inside you.

You sighed. Why was he asking you that question when you weren’t even sure something like this would happen? For a brief, brief second you wanted to hide, just grab your clothes and hide. But you found yourself sandwiched between the men that you most desired and you just couldn’t waste this opportunity for the life of you.

So you rummaged around your deepest, filthiest fantasies you’ve had when everything had just been a sinful dream, a product of your lascive thoughts giving into what you catalogued as your darkest secrets and desires and you found one you couldn’t stop think about after it had given you a stars–behind–the–eyes orgasm.

“I want both,” you muttered, feeling the way both men groaned at your sides, “both inside me, please.”

“You sure?” Javier asked, pulling out his fingers from your cunt and looking at the way they glistened, you nodded.

“Words, chiquita,” Horacio said and you turned to see him, he leaned down and stole a short, deep kiss.

“I’m a hundred percent sure,” you murmured against the Colonel’s lips.

“Let’s get you ready, then,” Javier whispered on your neck and you sighed when his fingers slid back into your slit, you closed your eyes when Horacio played your nipples around his fingers and then his hand roamed down your body, finding their way to your pussy.

“Déjame entrar,” Horacio said under his breath, Javier stopped moving his fingers inside you and you squeezed your eyes tighter when Carrillo slid two more fingers inside your cunt.

“Fu–fuck, fuck,” you gasped, Javier let open mouthed kisses around your face and the skin of your neck within reach while your walls tightened around their thick fingers.

“You okay?” Javier asked and you nodded a few times before your body relaxed and got used to the intrusion.

“Mo–move,” you pleaded, feeling Horacio’s mouth nibbling at your shoulder and your neck.

Javier and Horacio moved their fingers at the same time inside you, looking at each other as if marking a dancing pace. You didn’t know what to do with yourself as they moved in and out and curled their fingers in all directions inside you, making you moan and whimper and open up more for them as they somehow found an identical pace to torture you with.

“Eso, eso nena, lo estás haciendo muy bien,” Carrillo praised behind you, feeling the way your walls were giving into the attention and dilating around their fingers (That’s it baby, you’re doing great)

“Más,” you pleaded, rolling your hips against their hands “Más, más,”

They grinned at each other, Javier’s eyes landed on your face and took in the way your features quirked in pure pleasure. Their fingers moving at the same time, pacing in and out faster. Javier’s mouth landed on your shoulder and Carrillo only took in the lewd noise his and Javier’s fingers were making as they pulled in and out at a murdering pace.

“Oh, sh–shit,” you bit your lip and tried to hide your face inside the crook of Javier’s neck but Horacio pulled you away with his other hand.

“We wanna hear you, querida.” he whispered behind your ear, you shivered again at the feeling of his warm breath and then it became too much, their fingers were covered in your arousal as you spread your legs impossibly wider as your throat began growling and your hands landed on both of them, digging your nails on their flesh. Javier hissed against your shoulder and Carrillo bit the skin of your mouth, both of them throwing you together from the cliff and your body spasmed between them.

“Oh my god, oh shit, fuck!” you screamed between their bodies and they slowed their pace to help you ride down your climax “please, please, fuck me, please,” you let out, almost desperately, eager to feel the same with them inside you. They slid their fingers out of you and you shivered again.

Your body was already a mess, after three powerful orgasms you were panting for air, the only thing you wanted was them inside you, you wanted to feel every ridge and every vein of them, you wanted; you needed to cum around them both.

“What is taking you so long?” you opened your eyes, quite frustrated at the lack of attention to your bodies, but the sight that you took in was otherworldly.

Carrillo had his fingers, his covered–in–your–arousal fingers inside Javier’s mouth.

“Fuck,” you let out, dropping your head on the mattress, looking at the way Javier grabbed Horacio’s wrist to keep his hand on his mouth and lick them clean of you while Horacio’s deep gaze took Javier in with a smirk adorning his face.

Horacio pulled his fingers out with a soft pop and they both looked at you, panting and brushing a nipple with your fingers.

“Next time you’ll have to put on a show for me,” you teased.

“You’re ready?” Javier asked, leaning down to kiss your temple, you looked at Carrillo and smiled at him as he licked his fingers.

“Very,” you replied, softly, your voice was already hoarse because of the moaning and screaming they had pulled out of you, they got comfortable on each of your side and you took a deep breath when Horacio lifted your leg and hooked it on his hip.

Javier was the first one to tease your entrance with the dripping head of his cock, when you felt it sliding up and down your slit you gasped and as he pushed himself inside you you grabbed his arm and licked any part of his skin available for you.

“Oh my god,” you cried out softly.

Javier was having a hard time staying still when your walls were warm and wet around him, his hands roamed around your body as Carrillo lined himself with you and him as well and then he pushed.

“Holy fucking shit,” you had close your eyes at the feeling of Horacio making his way inside of you, you breathed and panted and tried so hard to relaxe but they were thicker than their fingers and your pussy was clenching already around them. Javier took your hand and you squeezed his as both of them bottomed up inside you.

Horacio put his hands over the entanglement of yours and Javi’s and the three of you gasped and panted until your body stopped squirming between them and your walls stopped closing themselves at the feeling of two thick cocks making their way inside.

Javier had to close his eyes as well when he felt how your cunt clenched him tight closer to Horacio and he felt himself throb inside you, when he opened his eyes he saw you, open mouthed gasps leaving your body as it got used to being that full, and then his eyes traveled to Horacio, that buried himself in the crook of your neck, he supposed he was feeling the same way as him, trapped in a oh–so–tight hole with him.

“Move, move, move,” you all but begged, the initial sting of being filled like that disappearing and being replaced with the darkest, deepest, hottest desire you had ever felt, “fu–fucking move already!”

Horacio smirked against the skin of your neck at your demand and moved slightly to look at Javier, who nodded once and then, murdering pleasure; Javier pulled out and as he was thrusting slowly back in, Horacio pulled out and moved in as Javier moved out and you gasped and the air in your lungs left you for the time being as your cunt was filled with the two men you wanted the most.

It was pleasure delivered in a delicious swing of two hips rocking back and forth, back and forth, back and forth into you, making you impossibly wetter, incredibly hornier, and way too lost in the haze to even care about anything else.

The way that they were fucking you was shameless, the noises were lewd and your moans invaded the room as soon as they picked up the pace and kept driving into you at the same pace but in different directions.

Four hands caressed your body, two sets of lips nibbled at your skin, two tongues tasted the salty sheet of sweat that had covered your body, two thick cocks used your body at their will, making you want to explode; it was an eager combination of feelings and sensations pulled out of the most sensual, lechery, degenerated dreams you could ever had.

“Harder, please, pleasepleaseplease,” you panted out, gripping any skin and limb your hands could find. Your hips started rolling and rolling and rolling with them as they thrusted and pounded inside you.

“Mierda,” Horacio gasped behind you, biting at your skin, making you whimper.

“You’re so fucking tight, so fu–fucking good, baby,” Javier cried out as your pussy clenched around them and you absentmindedly rolled your hips harder.

It was an entanglement of limbs and wet skin, mouths clashing against skin, hands gripping and grabbing available flesh, a swing of bodies and a symphony of licks, kisses, hums, gasps, pants, begs and praises.

“Shit, sh–shit,” you panted harder and clawed at Javier’s arm when you felt the well-familiar tug on your belly of an incoming orgasm, you hummed and moaned and you felt lips in your ear, licking and nibbling at your earlobe, “I’m so close, más,”

Javier gritted his teeth when you demanded more and angled his hips to pound inside harder, Horacio followed his lead, dropping his hand on Javier’s shoulder for leverage. Carrillo’s touch burned in Javier’s skin and he felt his body stiffen with the feeling of his second release.

“Por dios, querida, me estás matando.” Horacio cried out behind you, feeling as well his body falling from the cliff. (My god, you’re killing me)

Javier’s free hand slid through your wet, glistening skin and his finger circled your clit slowly, you screamed his name, your legs buckled and your entire body squirmed with the sea of sensations your body was feeling and flooding with.

“Cum inside me, please, please,” you panted again, feeling the way your legs started to shake as both of their thrust became erratic and Javier’s finger kept circling around your bundle of nerves you exploded around them, gushing out and soaking them as your orgasm made you scream both their names.

“Mierda, querida, mírate,” Horacio grunted before he gave into the lustfulness of it all and came inside you and around Javier.

Once Javi felt the warmness of Carrillo’s release and the way you soaked both of them and his hand, he locked his hips with yours and spilled himself inside as well, gasping out your name.

“Ohmyfuckinggod,” you let out as a sigh, feeling your legs tremble with the strength of your climax.

The three of you stayed like that, joined, for a while. As your bodies relaxed you finally opened your eyes and saw the way Horacio’s hand was resting on Javier’s shoulder, wrapping you as well between them. Both of them breathing heavily, eyes closed, recovering from whatever the hell you had done was called. You sighed and smiled to yourself. If it weren’t for the four orgasms you had and the way your cunt was throbbing after the abuse and dripping with their seed, you wouldn’t believe it was real at all.

“How was that, cariño?” Javier asked, grazing a hand up and down your arm.

“That was–magnificent,” you gushed, not sure how else to describe that positively euphoric experience, “I think–you two have worn me out.”

Horacio chuckled and moved your head to press a kiss to your forehead, and shifted to allow all three of you to lie somewhat comfortably under the covers. You whined when they pulled out of you, solely because at the loss of them, you felt empty.

“Rest now, querida, we’ll be here in the morning,” he whispered into your hair, and that was all the permission you needed.

“We should–” you brought a hand to your mouth to cover a massive yawn, “–do this again sometime.”

After that, it didn’t take long before you had succumbed to the tempting pull of sleep. Horacio sighed and glanced over your shoulder at Javier, who looked rather worn out himself. Tenderly, Horacio reached over and brushed aside a small strand of hair that had fallen in Javi’s face.

“So, same time next week, then?” Horacio asked, giving Javier a lazy smirk, which was returned in kind.

“Yeah,” Javier mumbled, turning over to drape his arm around your way and bury his face in your neck.

“Absolutely.”

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[malereader-inserts]

The Long and Winding Road

Fandom: Gotham Pairing: Oswald Cobblepot x Male!Reader Summary: To rationalise things out it requires you to be a perfectly sane adult. Well, that’s hard when Oswald is insane and you’re not sure if you could consider yourself as a respectable adult. Word Count: 2,171 Warning: Injury, blood, self-doubt, insecurities A/n: I just really love Oswald, my little penguin.

You should have known better to get in an argument with Oswald.

He was a stubborn little shit and he always had to be right, you grew up with him. You were his childhood friend, his best friend, his lover. You knew him all too well and yet you still argued with him. 

It was probably something stupid, you couldn’t remember, you had left the mansion in anger. You walked and walked into the city, not caring how the grey skies rumbled with grey clouds. The night was started to take over, street lights were switching on and here you were trying not to murder a man out of anger.

Ah, that’s what you were screaming about.

Oswald’s obsession with being King of Gotham, that you’ve barely even seen him. He wakes up in bed before you, missing breakfast and never joins you for dinner. You’re asleep by the time he comes to bed. It doesn’t feel like he wants you anymore.

You craved for him and you didn’t have the courage to tell him that.

You were busy trying to calm him down and not fester into anger during your argument as Oswald believes you were accusing him of cheating. Loneliness could do a lot to a man. You were busy arguing about hardly seeing him, so he accuses you of trying to sabotage his title as King.

You forget to tell him you feel unloved by him, you forgot how his hugs felt, how his finger trace drawing against your skin, you have forgotten how his kisses taste like. You’ve felt foreign when you stand by his side during meetings like you stick out.

You love him too much not to leave him.

You watch how his affection shifts to Nygma, you scoff and jest. You keep your mouth shut just to avoid any conflict with Oswald, but tonight you just snapped.

You leave the house to cool off, leaving Oswald to throw a tantrum as he would. You wander the streets of Gotham, you had no gun to defend yourself - you know Oswald has enemies, Oswald was public with you, at the moment of publicity he was proud to call you his, but now you weren’t sure. 

You did have a handy switchblade in your pocket, you weren’t a blind man to murder, you’ve done your bad deeds before - it’s to survive, you try to convince yourself. You should have taken a jacket before you left as the skies grumbled in dismay. 

You watch how Gothamites started to run for shelter, you stand in the rain slowly getting soaked. Your hair sticking to your face, as you pull to stand under some shelter for a bit. Your hands stuffed in your pockets, arms tight by your side, conserving heat. 

You considered calling for one of Oswald’s men to pick you up, but your stubbornness got the best of you. You get yourself food for the night, you were sure you weren’t going back to eat dinner with Oswald. You sat indoors with damp hair, eating.

As you look outside, you see a man watching you from across the street. You knew better to follow him after you finish your food. It’s been an hour and a half since you left the manor, you were cooled off by now and home sounded nice. You didn’t care if you would be sleeping on the couch, just warmth was inviting enough. 

You avoided the man that was watching you before getting sucker punch of your right cheek. Your instinct was to fight back, so that’s what you did. In the dark night of Friday night, you murdered three men that jumped you. Breathing heavily, you examined how your knuckles were dripping with blood, you feel your cheek and sense a cut that was bleeding. 

You felt winded, serves you right for getting kneed multiple times in the ribcage by three men. You turn around to leave before being met with the creepy man that was staring at you. He clasped his hand against your mouth and pins you to the wall.

A knife pressed against your stomach, your eyes widen as he stares at you with a wicked look. You squirm as you felt the knife cut you slowly, you feel the cold steel knife branding you, the cut was not deep but was long, then you felt the knife slowly impale where your liver was located. You try to thrash under his grip when he twists the knife.

“A message to your beloved,” He sneers into your ear as he releases the knife out of you before he slashes into your side, you let out a muffled scream, “Gotham will never be his.”

Just as he was about the make another strike on you, you dig out the switchblade out of your pocket and cut his throat. Gasping for air as you look down at your stained shirt. You lean your head back against the brick wall. You fish out for your phone as you scroll to contact the only person.

“Come on, Os,” You muttered as the rain tries to wash away the nasty red colour, “Pick up.”

The call stops ringing, you look at the phone and curse when you noticed that Oswald decided to ignore your call. Petty. You’d do the same, sighing as you push yourself off the wall. 

The first wound wasn’t bad, the long cut but was a nick really. The third strike into your body was again nothing you couldn’t handle. It was the second was the worst, he had twisted the knife at hand. Clutching it to stop the wound you tiredly make your way home.

Halfway home, the bleeding stop. You were cold and wet, hurt and your mind was swirling with Oswald. You were sure that this was the imminent end of your relationship.

Your hand hesitantly hovers over the doorknob before you lean down and twist it open. You cringe as it creaks open, you were hoping you could get to the kitchen without noise to tend to your cuts. Softly shutting the door, you blink yourself awake.

You walk down the rooms, on your way to the kitchen, but in the room across you could see Oswald in the study. He stood by the bookshelves, hands in his pockets. You make your way to the room, leaning against the doorway, his back patronising you - you want to have a conversation you want to look him in the eyes.

So, refusing to give you any attention was slowly ticking you off.

“So, you’ve decided to return,” Oswald spoke, refusing to turn to look at you, “Done being stubborn?”

“Seems like you’re the one being stubborn,” You retaliate, your back against the doorframe, leaning your head back as you look at your stained hands, “I called you, five times, you ignored me.”

“I’m aware,” He noticed you had paused, he wonders why you sound out of breath almost - you were sure you have a cracked a rib or few.

“Are we going to talk about this?” You asked as you turn your head to look at him, you could feel a cold coming. 

You felt pathetic, half stained red shirt and equally distressing colours on your hands, your hair was sticking in areas you didn’t know possible due to the rain. Everything seems so hot and you want to rationalise everything with your boyfriend, talk about bad timing.

“Are you going to be an adult about it?”

“Are you?”

Oswald scoffs, finally snapping to look over you with lips pursed, he was about to turn back before he halts. 

“(Y/n)-”

“I tried calling, you ignored me,” You hummed, meeting his eyes before your eyes flickering down, “I’m fine really.”

You blink, knitting your eyebrows together, almost your words were trying to reassure yourself more than it was to reassure Oswald. He spins on his heels as he strides towards you. His hands immediately finding them against you.

“It’s not bad,” You mumble as he guides you to sit down on the sofa.

“You’re putting pressure on yourself, my sweets,” Oswald coos, looking up from your abdomen, he sees your soft gazing eyes.

“You have pretty eyes,” You gush softly, Oswald’s cheeks redden as he lets a small noise of embarrassment, he looks down, “Very blue, much like the skies.”

“You’re delirious, love, just-” Oswald leaves you momentarily when he returns to the medkit, you smile fondly at him, your eyes flickering down to his limp food, again Oswald grows embarrassed.

“You were angry before,” You stated, watching his face as he lifts your shirt and cleans you up, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you change moods so quickly before.”

“Well, something more important holds my attention,” Oswald mutters, his hands were shaky, truth be told despite being angry with your words hours before, he was more afraid of losing you.

When you had slammed the door, Oswald had never felt so lonely. You have been therefore him ever since you met when you were little, you were the one protecting him from bullies at school, you were the one that told the boys at Mooney to back off away from him. Now, he’s the King of Gotham, nothing could touch him.

All he wanted was to protect you like you protected him over the years. It’s rare to have someone there by your side all your life, let alone fall in hopelessly in love with them. He’s failed as a lover to take care of you.

“I’m sorry,” You mumbled, “For what I said before, It’s just...”

There was a big sigh the escapes your lips as Oswald stops for a moment at cleaning your knuckles as he stares at you, you look at him, he sees the flicker of distraction.

“Do you love me?”

Anger boils in Oswald for a little while, were you really going to accuse him of cheating again? He will hear none of it if you do.

“I mean it, Os, do you? What happened to us, where have you been for the past few days? Weeks?”

“I’m not cheating on you,” Oswald hisses at you, tightening his grip on your wrist.

“I’m not saying you are,” Your voice is barely audible before you take a sharp intake and an equally sharp exhale, “I don’t think I’ve felt so unloved before, I’m not good enough for you. I’m confused because I want to leave you and spare myself from torment, but I love you too much to let you go.”

He lets go of your wrist, you considered breaking up with him, he should feel angry because no one walks away from him, but you seem so fragile that sadness washed over him. His emotions were his weakness.

“What do you mean?”

“When was the last time we enjoyed a lazy morning, Oswald? Or a movie marathon, like old times? When was the last time we were cooking each other’s favourite dish in the kitchen, our last date was three months ago,” You informed him, a slight slur to your tone as you lean your head back to stare at him, “Have I done something to offend you?”

“No!” Oswald exclaims, words sinking into his mind as he holds your hands in his, “Forgive me, my love, for ignoring us. I never intended to do that.”

He places a soft hand upon your cheek, he smiles to himself when he sees you move closer to his touch. Your hand holds his wrist that caresses your cheek.

“Let me make it up to you,” Oswald spoke, his bright blue eyes shining into your eyes, “This week, it is just us, no distraction, no Ed, no Butch, us. I need to remind you that I love you.”

Your lips curve upwards, a smile he misses staring at in the mornings. 

“You’d do that for me?”

“I’m not the best boyfriend or a best friend in general, but you are the only thing that matters to me. I can’t lose you, for the sake of my sanity and the sake of Gotham. I would be a moron to let you walk away from me.”

“Luckily, you’re my moron, one that I love with all my heart.”

Oswald should be offended by being called moron, but your lips against his stops his train of thoughts for a moment. A familiar heat, a spark ignited once again between you and him as Oswald melts at the familiarity. When parted, he looks at you, his eyes full of love - reserved for you.

“But for now, I want you to tell me what happens whilst we go upstairs and run you a bath, how does that sound?”

“Only if I get a cuddle in bed later.”

“Respectable bargain, I guess I could provide you with your request.”

The small flame was just about the diffuse out, but that one last look of hope, amusement and adoration just started a bonfire in the hearts for each other.

[jamlally]

Reindeer Games

This was written for the 25 days of Christmas Challenge that is hosted by  @panicfob .  The Day 15 Challenge prompt was Reindeer

Warnings: Fluff

Pairing: Tony Stark x OFC (Belle Porter), Loki

Summary: It can’t be Christmas without a Reindeer

The darkly handsome man that strode across the room had SHIELD Agents scrambling, had Nick Fury pilling a side arm that she hadn’t seen, and had Tony absolutely furious

“You think that I came here for this ….” The way he looked around was somewhat disdainful “party of yours.  You think too highly of yourself Stark, on Asguard this party would be put to shame.  A mere Childs entertainment, nothing more”. 

“Well don’t let me the one to stop you leaving” Tony was tense in a way Belle hadn’t seen before and looking around the room, it seemed that everyone else was as well.  It was he thought, understandable as where ever this man went trouble seemed to follow in his footsteps

“Ah the man out of time and his one armed friend.  I’’m afraid that I have no desire to stand too close you just now”. 

In just seconds Belle watched as Steve and Bucky tried to approach fro behind Loki, only to have the god of mischief simply disappear - the slight breeze by her shoulder gave her a moments pause before she pivoted slowly on her heel

“But this morsel is far more to my taste.  You even dressed her in my colors, a gift perhaps?”

“Move away NOW!” Tony’s voice left no room for debate “FRIDAY initiate lockdown”

Things were starting to spiral out of control but Belle didn’t move, there was something about the way the Asguardian looked at her that reminded her of a snake looking for dinner. He sotted there looking all pretty and relaxed, one elbow on the bar, but his eyes were fixed on her in such a way that she had the feeling that one wrong move and he would strike. Squaring her shoulders she gave the man a small tense smile

“I’m afraid that any matching in our outfits tonight is simply a coincidence, but seeing as you are here can I get you a drink Mr Odinson?”

“It’s Laufeyson actually”

“Ah my apologies Mr Laufeyson.  So a drink?” Belle may not have met the man before but she had read all about him in the files they held.  The one thing she had been able to pull from the files was that he didn’t respond well to aggression 

“Hmm that may help pass the time, why don’t you choose something Miss…” He smiled showing slightly too many teeth 

“It’s Agent actually - Agent Porter” Belle looked over at the bar tender “Please get Mr Laufeyson a glass of the best Scotch we have”  She heard Tony scoff a little but didn’t turn around - her brain was very clear that you didn’t turn your back on the predator in the room 

“Oh how disappointing you’re an Agent.  I didn’t know that they came as pretty as you.  You really waste your time with these people.  Someone as pretty as you could happily wait on Kings in Asguards halls”

Belle let out a snort “I think that I will need to pass, as much fun as I am sure it is to wait on Kings I’d much rather spend my time telling Hero’s what to do”

Her response had Loki raising an eyebrow and she was fairy sure she heard Natasha snort.  

“Now” she slid the drink over that the bartender had pushed her way “As much as we appreciate the dramatic entrance care to share with the class why you’re here?”

Loki sipped at the drink before taking a larger swallow and gesturing for more “I need to speak with my brother, and for some god awful Eason that only he understands he will insist on coming here and socializing with you mortals”. The disdaining tone was back “He goes ff galavanting promising wonderful new things to celebrate the Yule but thus far he has shown us nothing! “

“You know we have phones you could just have called “ Tony snarked at the God as he wrapped his arm around Belle’s waist,  He wasn’t happy that she stood so close to the lunatic 

“We don’t have such a reliance on your frail human technology in our halls.  Thor should be with his people ensuring the we can have a fruitful spring, not galavanting around with all this sparkle.  I don’t even understand what the sparkle is, but it seems to get on everything “  his nose wrinkled and Belle gave a small giggle before resting her hand on Tony’s forearm

“The glitter can be a little frustrating but it does make things shine so beautifully and I think sometimes that we like it because in the dark of the winter, when everything is fallow we look for something to bring us light”

Loki snorted “There is much to be afraid of in the dark, but darkness comes no matter the season Agent Porter.  Tricking yourself into believing that the darkness isn’t there doesn’t keep bad things away” he was, she thought, sounding melancholy “You are all so far removed from how life was you forget that the cold is needed to allow the earth time to heal from all it gave over the rest of the year to sustain you, to fill your bellies and give fuel for your fires”

Belle watched as Loki peered into his glass lost in what ever thoughts he had.

“So you celebrate Yule on Asguard then?”

“What, oh yes, there are many grand parties and we give thanks for the good year we have had.  It os a very grand thing,  We celebrate the season of the land being fallow as it builds its energy.  Usually the King would lead the celebrations but he is” Loki gestured widely with is arms “No where to be found, and that is somewhat problematic”

“What’s the  matter, not man enough to manage without your brother” Fury was obviously pissed off but antagonizing a God seemed like a bad idea 

“Don’t show your lack of vision so readily Director” Loki’s tone was scathing “My brother took on the mantle of King and as such he has duties to perform.  I would more than happily taken on the role but it was not mine to have, that has been made more than clear. That is not actually of import.  The start of the Yule celebrations requires my brother to be there to symbolize the spark of life that comes after Yule when the land starts to come back to life.  He is the only one who can perform the task and yet he isn’t there and the people become restless”

“Forgive me Mr Laufeyson but why does Thor need to be there for that?  He is the god of Thunder…. Oh is it because the lightening is the spark?”

Loki laughed “Close but not quite.  Yes my brother is God of Thunder but that is not his only title - of course he doesn’t like to shout so much about the other one.  My dear brother is also a god of fertility and the strike he brings down brings with it the power for a bountiful year.”

Belle heard the snickers of the others and felt Tony smile his lips hidden against her neck

“Ah I understand.  It makes sense then that you would be brothers, two sides of the same coin”

“I am nothing like my brother Agent Porter”

“Maybe not identical but without the pair of you there wouldn’t be life.  You are the winters bite and he is the first flash of life”

The hairs on the back of her neck rose as Loki brought all of his attention to her.  His eyes were dark and calculating and it seemed that he was assessing her in a new light

“Release the woman Stark.  If I wanted to take her from you I would have done so already.  Agent Porter come and share a drink with me.  Stark see if you can find my brother” 

Belle turned and kissed Tony gently leaning in to speak softly in his ear “It’s fine Tony, I will stay here - you see if FRIDAY can track down Thor”

She moved to take the seat next to Loki “Can you please refill Mr Laufeyson’s glass and I’ll have a Peppermint White Russian, thank you” She turned to Loki “So tell me more about your Yule celebrations”

Loki flirted and laughed with Belle and Tony felt his frustration rise.  The Asguardian was a perennial pain in his ass and now here he was ruining his plans for the night.  

“Care to tell me what the hell is happening “ Fury glared through his one eye at Tony

“Well right now Im trying to track down a large muscled God so that he can take his pain in the ass younger brother home because it turns out the God of Thunder is also the god of babies, who knew, and to add to the joy he’s currently drinking my best scotch with my girl.  Merry fucking Christmas to me.  Now I am pretty sure you don’t know where Thor is, so why don’t you let me get on with my work while you make sure that your Agents don’t do something stupid that results in people getting hurt”

“Agent Porter isn’t cleared for dealing with threats of Loki’s level”

Tony rolled his eyes in annoyance “Yet here she is dealing with precisely that threat.  She deals with God’s, Super soldiers, Spy’s and  my ass on a daily basis.  Reindeer games doesn’t stand a chance now if we’re done …” Tony walked away “FRIDAY, have the Hawk keep an eye on Fury - I don’t want him causing issues “

Loki was actually a lot of fun to hang out with.  Belle made sure to keep the drink following for him, while nursing along her own.  The Asguardian was in the middle of telling her a story about  the time he had changed into a snake to scare his brother when another booming voice broke the tense peace.

“Brother! What brings you here?  Is all well at home?”

Loki rolled his eyes before leading closer to Belle “The man has never  been capable of entering a room without making a fuss”. 

Belle laughed, It was true you always knew when Thor was in a room 

“Things progress as planned, but our people grow nervous that their King is not present.  They fear that the Yule rights will not be completed”

“Ah brother they worry for no reason.  I have learnt many things while here.  I have skated on blades and have partaken in many of the festive activities.  My Lady Belle, I thank you for keeping my brother company” Thor reached out and lifted Belle’s hand to his mouth for a kiss

“Of course Thor is was my pleasure.  Mr Laufeyson, thank you for your company”. She nodded to the Gods as she stood. 

Loki rose to his feet, copying his brother and kissing the back of her hand “Agent Porter, it was a pleasure.  Perhaps we will talk again in the future”

“That seems unlikely Reindeer Games. Thor - if you could make sure your brother gets home safely.  Agent Porter and I have things to be getting with”. Tony took Belle’s hand and lead her away 

“Well that was an unexpected turn of events.  Tell me what did you spend nearly 2 hours talking to the God of mischief about?”

“I’d like to know the answer to that too” Fury broke in heading over to the couple 

“We spoke about the traditions on Asguard and Loki told me stories from when he and Thor grew up.  It was actually very entertaining, you know I think he was lonely”

“Lonely?” Fury scoffed at the idea

“Yes lonely.  He feels out of place and when his brother isn’t there I think as much as they don’t get on he misses him.  If he meant to cause trouble then he could have done so without any problem.  He didn’t through - he just wanted to talk and spend time with someone”

Tony looked back at the brothers who both seemed pleased to be with each other.  Maybe Belle was right.  He knew that at his lowest people would have called him an asshole and he would have deserved it, was Loki in the same boat.

“Well I suppose it wouldn’t be Christmas without reindeer, now you and I have a plan to enact my lady and I think you’ve had your drink so now we can move onto other things”

Belle laughed, head thrown back as Tony pulled her from the room.

[knightdale-secret]

Today I heard back from the administrator from the Historic Marker office. She sent me the following information regarding the cemetery that the archaeologists sent to her:

Lindsay discovered that our GIS was mislabeled and we do have a site file number for that cemetery (31WA1213). It is located about .34 mi directly from the old front drive of the plantation house. It's located in the wooded area immediately behind 1032 Delta River Way (near the community pool).

It looks like there were two surveys done (1995 and 2000), but there are no site plan maps, inventories, detailed photographs etc. They list about 30 rows of east-west oriented graves (~131 in total), most marked with fieldstones. There was also one broken inscribed marker of L. I. Hinton, who died August 31, 1825 at 46 years.

The national register coordinator for NC got back to me and said that the national register listing is just for the home and outbuildings, so the cemetery is not contributing.

Did I send you information on local markers yesterday? The archaeology program is nowhere near up and running, so that’s probably the only option right now.

Ansley Herring Wegner

Administrator, North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program

She had already provided me the information regarding local markers. I found it strange that no maps or photos were included with the surveys so I responded to her email asking if that was normal with surveys. She wasn’t sure so she included the archaeologists on the email so she could answer my question. Here is that message:

Most cemetery surveys, especially ones that predate 2010, don't have a site plan. We're often only given grid coordinates and photos (the latter of which were not included for this cemetery). For many cemeteries, like this one, it's impossible to concretely map its extents without GPR or excavations. This is because of the possibilities of unmarked or now-unmarked burials, or the area is heavily covered in brush. Other times, as was the case for these two surveys it seems, it is a much quicker visit than you may think- a couple of hours to confirm that it is a cemetery, before moving on to the next site on the list of a very big project.

Melissa A. Timo, M.A., R.P.A.

Office of State Archaeology

Historic Cemetery Specialist

So with that, my hopes for having a comprehensive map of the original cemetery were dashed. I did get a drop box folder from Keith Gibbs that included the first 15 minutes of the Moving Midway documentary about the plantation house move and a map of Widewaters subdivision with the cemetery clearly marked. That helps me some in that it at least it confirms its existence. Keith is going to try to upload the rest of the film or maybe just give it to me when we meet. That meeting will. Likely take place tomorrow so he can fill me in on all the details of what he knows in his and his groups attempts to have the cemetery marked. One of his cohorts responded on my facebook post wondering if we knew it was them that placed the markers on the graves. He said well they do now. We were very shneaky about it. I don’t know why anyone should have to be sneaky. It’s not like there’s a sign that says no trespassers allowed. It’s just there to be explored. I’m still itching my legs from the mosquitos that attacked me yesterday when I walked through it. The itching serves as a reminder that I need to keep scratching at this.

I was reading more of that article that I attached a link to yesterday, the one that helped me learn of the graveyard here and it said that there is another one near the Clay Hill plantation nearby and that there was evidence of Indian burial mounds near that one too. Try as I might I couldn’t locate it on google maps satellite view or find any information on how to get to it so I posted a question on Knightdale community’s page asking if anyone know how to find it. I’m assuming that site probably doesn’t have a marker either, but I’m not sure. Interestingly, near the Clay Hill Plantation, the original house burned down in 1923 and a good thing too since the KKK were holding clan meetings there, was a cemetery for some of the HInton family members. When they were getting ready to sell the land the family paid to have the remains moved from that cemetery to the Oakwood Cemetery. It kind of left a bad taste in my mouth that their graves got to be respectably moved to another location while the slaves graves just got built on top of. Many of those slaves probably still have descendants in the area as well, but they didn’t get thee same opportunity to know if their family were buried there because they just got thrown in the ground with a blank field stone marking the place where their bodies lay.

Some people say that history is called history for a reason and that people being angry now about things that happened in the past is unwarranted. Yeah sure, no one living has any slaves today, but that doesn’t erase the wrong doings of the past or the fact that black people are still feeling the affects of slavery to this day due to systemic racism that has kept them from thriving the way they should. Something that is fundamental to most people is knowing who their families are, knowing where they came from and about their descendants. Black people do not have that same luxury in this country. Many don’t know what part of Africa their descendants were taken from, they don’t know much about their relatives who were slaves and they probably don’t know where they were buried or, like in this instance, their descendants may have a swimming pool and houses built on top of their graves. But who can know for sure .the survey of the area couldn’t even determine exactly how many were buried here and there is hardly any way at all of knowing who they were because the records, if any were kept, are likely lost. Knowing our past and our history is a large part of knowing who we are. These people were robbed of their history. Some of the surnames they carry were the last names of their descendants masters and some were self proclaimed when they were freed, Washington was a popular surname that freed men chose because he was the first president of the country that they were forced to call their own and it was a way for them to maybe feel like they finally belonged here, freely. A way to take back ownership of their lives. There are black descendants of the Hinton family in the area still. They still carry the name of their ancestor’s long dead master/and or blood relative in some cases as it is known that the Hinton’s had children with their slaves.

I tried to find any information on who the HInton grave marker was for in the cemetery mentioned in the survey, but couldn’t find anything. The fact that they were the only one with a grave marker bearing a name, the Hinton name, made me believe this was a descendent of the Hinton family and since it was here in the slave cemetery, this person was likely a black descendent of the Hinton’s. They were kind enough to have a marker with their name on it, but they still were buried with the other slaves, descendent by blood or not. They were still just a slave in their eyes.

I read that the HIntons were described as kindly masters and even had a school for the slaves on the grounds near their home. Slaves were usually not allowed to receive an education so I felt that was odd, but then I thought about it a little more. Since the Hinton men had children with their slaves and treated them somewhat kindly from reports, the Hintons probably had relationships with their slave offspring and since those kids could not be sent to white schools obviously, they probably still felt as their kin that they should receive an education. I think that’s why the school was built, so the Hintons’ black sons and daughters could be educated, not just out of the goodness of their heart towards their slaves’ children. I could be wrong in my assumption, but it just feels right. I would need to do more research on that but who knows if any record of their motives was ever recorded.

I can’t explain how strange it is knowing that your living in the middle of something that always felt elsewhere. Slavery happened down there in Georgia, South Carolina, part os North Carolina in the country but not here where I’m at. Well, having to face that it happened right here where I’m sitting is a bit unnerving to say the least. The dark institution that was so ingratiated in this “civil” society seems unbelievable to have every happened, but it did. I read today about the treatment of slaves, which I’ve learned a lot about over the years anyway, but sometimes its nice to research more and hear first hand accounts of things. Everything I read attested to the fact that female slaves had it far worse than the men. They were expected to be sex slaves in addition to their forced labor duties and some of the wives of the masters were the most cruel to these girls. I read a Hinton slave’s account who was from the area and he spoke of one girl that was so badly treated and tortured by her mistress that she ran away and was never heard from again. She was burning her with hot iron. I learned that if a slave ran away that it was LAW that the master’s had to punish the runaway slave upon his return or they would be FINED. Such a brutal, barbaric system I can’t even understand. It makes me think how people in the past always demonized other races and called them uncivilized and animalistic. Funny how they never were able to look in the mirror at themselves. Nothing they did to the Africans or the Native Americans was civil.

Over the past few weeks, Catholic Churches in Canada have been burnt down because the graves of the children sent to the Catholic Institutions for Native American integration were discovered numbering in the hundreds and a few such schools. There are people now searching the grounds of these places to find all the hidden cemeteries. I’m sure there are many of these institutions that were in America that have the same situation. Carlisle, I’m looking at you! This is important. Remembering these people and respecting their burial sites is important.

I sent an email to the HOA assistant director and asked who I should contact regarding having a marker placed at the neglected slave cemetery behind the community pool. I’m eager to hear their response, haha. I wonder if they even know about it. I just want to know what I’m dealing with here.

We shall see.

[smolfangirl]

You should take it as a compliment and think about the consequence

I am super tired so here are the basics: The title is a little mix from Taylor Swift’s “Gorgeous”, the whole OS is not proofread and I want to thank @silveranchor for helping me figure the plot out and @huffletiika especially for Gastón’s opinion on Matteo’s appearance. Also, the basic idea comes from this post.

Matteo Balsano was mainly three things.

First, good-looking. The kind that filled Luna with rage and gave her the desire to melt into a puddle at his feet as soon as she set eyes on him. The kind with soft brown curls and chocolate eyes, along with a smile bright enough to count as a hazard. (Not for her eyes, but for her heart.)

Second, a snob. A true chico fresa. Damn, his attitude raised all flags, it crossed lines she never even knew existed. It made her lose her mind when he smirked at her, raised eyebrow and all, with this sophisticated audacity. Worse enough, he knew exactly she fought against windmills when she tried to ignore him or compete against this level of smugness.

But the worst? The worst thing was it also made him so much more attractive.

Lastly, and least, Matteo was not hers.

Luna had grown used to that. To the rush of blood and flustered cheeks and tight feelings in her chest. To the many, many daydreams involving him. She harvested these ideas as if they were precious seeds in her own little secret garden. These seeds never turned into anything, she knew that, they’d always died at the light of reality. Except for this one drunk night, but alcohol – no matter how sweet it tasted – killed plants, and this one dreamy plant was no difference.

Months after this incident, she stole a quick glance at him when he entered the room and turned away again. She chuckled at his comments and threw him off with a single sentence. In boring classes at university, she let her mind wander to a universe where he wanted her as much as she did. And it was enough to keep her happy.

Luna considered it a lucky coincidence that she saw him before training started. Running late, he hurried to his locker to put his skates on, hair slightly messy and breaths that came out as little pants. He barely noticed her. She, however, did. She noticed the glasses he threw into his backpack without a care, the way his hand ruffled through his curls in a rushed attempt to fix them and she noticed the stubbles on his cheeks, creating an illusion of shadows that hadn’t been there before.

It looked the hottest.

Her heart stopped for a moment. Then, the adrenaline pulsed through her veins like she went on a rollercoaster, but she forced herself to stay put until Matteo left again.

By the time she reached the rink, she felt stable enough to not swoon at his view.

“So”, Yam sat next to Luna on the bleachers, an expectant glimpse in her eyes that both confused and scared her. Training had been over long enough for the others to disappear, and Luna only wanted to send Matteo the song of their choreography like she’d promised.

“So what?”, she asked, attention still on the phone. The curiosity in Yam’s voice made her careful, and she’d learned the advantages of creating a quick distraction.

“How did you like Matteo’s beard?”

Luna huffed. “I wouldn’t call it a beard just because he didn’t shave for once.” Obviously, Yam refused to let this topic go yet. This girl showed a persistence that gave her songs their greatness and her designed outfits their beauty, but right now, it only gave Luna cold sweats. “I’ve seen the way you looked at him. Jim too, actually, I’m sure everyone saw it except for your chico fresa.”

“Well, he does look good with it”, Luna admitted, although it felt like the biggest understatement. Matteo didn’t look good, he looked gorgeous. As if he starred in a perfect romance movie, with a perfect girl and a perfect happy ending. Every time their eyes met during skating, Luna wished she was brave enough to lean forward and run his hand across his jaw, to explore the feeling the stubbles would give her.

Her hand clenched around her phone. By the stars, she wanted to shout at him for daring to be so stunning. For stealing her heart and her mind and her sanity.

“Just good?”, Yam countered.

“Ugh, okay, Matteo’s too much to handle”, her hand only increased its grip on her screen, a little more and she’d get a cramp, but she rambled on, overwhelmed by the hurricane inside her. “If he keeps growing it, I think I’d have to fuck him, someone needs to stop him from being so… so pretty.”

Yam stared at her. Chin pushed back a bit, shoulders straight and eyes solely focused on Luna as if she had told her a disturbing secret. Then, her expression softened, and she leaned against Luna’s shoulder. “You’re in deep, huh?”

Luna sighed. “Too deep. He just talks to me and my brain fries. At least he told me he has to study for his final exam, so I won’t see him the next days. I have no idea how I’d survive this beard phase otherwise.”  

“Luna’s in loooove”, Yam teased, a laugh so loud on her lips that she immediately got shushed. “Shh! Don’t scream this around, okay? If you tell anyone…”

“He might hear it and end your suffering?”

“Oh boy, I will never tell you anything ever again.”

16:05

1 audio message from Chica delivery

“If he keeps growing it, I think I’d have to fuck him, someone needs to stop him –“

Message received 16:05

Message played 16:18

It was way into the evening. Luna finished her assignments, read some parts of her class lecture and now laid on her bed, bra off and leggings on. The day ran through her head, classes, lunch in the university cafeteria, training, stubbles. Stubbles.

Matteo. The song!

Pausing the movie on her laptop, Luna jumped up to grab her phone. No missed messages, which surprised her. Usually, if she forgot something, Matteo wouldn’t let her live. (This cockiness. No wonder he managed to mess with her so well, he was a natural.)

That’s when she saw the voice message.

16:05, that was after training. But she felt certain she hadn’t send it to him over her embarrassing meltdown in front of Yam.

Frowning, she pressed Play. A few seconds later, pure horror filled her whole body.

22:25

1 message from Chica delivery

This voice message was an accident, I’m really sorry, I have no idea how this happened

Message received 22:26

Message read 22:33

The idiot didn’t answer.

He read her apology, and half an hour later, he still made no attempt at replying. No ‘It’s okay, don’t worry’, no teasing. Not even teasing!

Just silence in which Luna discovered her personal hell.

With every second that passed without a reply, she found herself closer to the edge. The ground under her feet crumbled away and the painful realization hit her that soon she’d be falling, no safety net attached, no control.

At least she hadn’t said his name – Luna had checked the audio multiple times. Hearing these words out of her mouth shocked herself, she didn’t dare to imagine Matteo’s reaction to them. How bad did it have to be that he didn’t text her, not even to ask who she was talking about?

Oh no.

Matteo was as smart as he was pretty. It was simply a matter of time until he figured it out.

If he hadn’t already.

By now, their friendship probably already belonged to the past.

“Ah, I see your shaver is still missing. Or do you still have no time to use it?”

“Cut it, I need your opinion on something important.” Matteo walked into the apartment of his best friend, not giving a single damn about how rude he might sound. This was an emergency, had been for two days, and he almost failed his exam because of this.  

“Is it about this dead animal in your face? Or whatever it is”, Gastón grinned. Matteo settled on sending him an annoyed look before he let himself fall onto the couch. “Just kidding”, his best friend said, “It really suits you, you look even more handsome than usual.”

“Thank you.” It sounded hoarse, the lack of sleep took its toll after all, besides he wasn’t really interested in what anyone thought about his beard. Except for one person.

“Okay, why do you need my help?” Gastón sat down. Instead of explaining, Matteo decided to just play the voice message. He still searched for the right answer, and Luna hadn’t texted him either, maybe too embarrassed, maybe even over this little incident already. Anyway, it was easy to find the message.

“If he keeps growing it, I think I’d have to fuck him, someone needs to stop him –“

Despite all the times Matteo listened to Luna’s voice, to her words, they caused a shiver on his spine. He never heard her talk like this before. Never. Call him naïve, he never thought she’d be capable of talking like this. After all, she was sweet little Luna, his little ray of sunshine.

Over and over again he pondered over the meaning of this. His head felt worn out from studying and internally arguing whether she meant him or not, the sleep deprivation didn’t help either. He needed Gastón to reach a conclusion.

“Why again did you two only made out once?”, said boy asked as a hint of annoyance slipped into his tone. “Oh, right, because you are like lesbian sheep incapable of making a move.”

For a painfully long moment, Matteo wondered if he a) fell asleep and ended up in a weird dream that felt way too realistic or b) Gastón went nuts in the few days they hadn’t seen each other.

“What?”

“I’m saying, don’t be a lesbian sheep! Make a move!” (He settled on option B.)

Matteo stared at his phone, the chat with Luna still open. His mind flew back, to this afternoon. They hadn’t talked much, less even compared to how much time they usually spent in each other’s company. And with a sense of shame he admitted to himself that he never considered it an option for her to be into someone. Someone that wasn’t him.

He put his phone away. “What if she’s not talking about me? I mean, it could be just wishful thinking.”

Gastón frowned, his usual expression when he disagreed with Matteo, and this time, Matteo couldn’t blame him. For Gastón, this seemed to be crystal-clear, there was no room on the picture in his mind for a cloud of doubts. “Even if it is, one look at you like this and she will jump you.”

“Dude.”

“I’m just saying!”

She made peace with herself.

Matteo had an important exam, and the last one of this semester at that, of course he didn’t answer. He simply was too busy.

That’s what she told herself, and if doubt tore these excuses apart, she slowly accepted the inevitable death of her dignity.

It was early Saturday morning, she watched Netflix in her pajamas and with enough ice cream for breakfast to freeze her brain. It was a good morning - until someone rang at her door.

It wasn’t just someone. When she opened the door, she found Matteo himself in front of her. With a three-day beard.

She couldn’t help but stare.

“… Fuck.” Although she never meant to, the word slipped. Her cheeks heated up, and she condemned herself for not putting a bra on before opening, or at least a bathrobe. Compared to him, in perfectly fitting jeans and a light blue shirt, she felt too vulnerable, naked.

Matteo raised one eyebrow, his face the picture-perfect definition of smugness and his voice carrying his question in a mix of sweetness and confidence that made her shiver. “Fuck you or fuck me, which one is it, Luna?”

She stepped back, arms crossed in front of her chest. His eyes followed her movement and she really, really wished she would have gotten dressed. It got worse when the space between them decreased as he closed the door behind him and walked in, only stopping at what wasn’t even an arm length in front of her. (Not even half an arm length.)

“No – nothing”, she whispered.

Her brain went through a short-circuit pretty much the moment she saw him – the ice cream freeze gave her the rest – and she both admired and hated Matteo for keeping his cool at the same time she was about to lose all self-control and jump him.

“Are you sure?”, he wanted to know, “Because from what I heard, and I quote…” She interrupted him before a single word she said in that awful record could leave his mouth. “Come on, I told you it was an accident!” A sigh hushed past her lips, it sounded too heavy for someone as young and cheerful as Luna. “I knew you’d be a fresa about it, I knew it, you are just unbelievable and I didn’t even tell you I was talking about you –“

For the second time this week, she froze. Blinked. Looked away only to steal a glimpse at him.

He grinned.

She looked away again. Her face felt hot, she’d bet he could cook an egg on her forehead now if he was hungry. Matteo looked hungry, sort of.

But not for eggs. Or anything else to be found in a kitchen.

He leaned in. His breath tickled her skin, he glanced down at her lips and at the same time she met his eyes, her knees began trembling. Before she could fall, his arms secured her, holding her. Instantly, she wrapped her own arms around his neck, almost casually stroking his jawline in the process.

It felt better than she ever imagined.

Her back hit something hard, the door, but it didn’t matter, because Matteo’s lips hovered over hers, too close to back away anytime soon.

Luna closed her eyes.

She didn’t daydream about being more than just a friend to him anymore.

[comealongvael]

This route is like mood whiplash.

I just finished “Zen’s View”, which starts out with Zen talking about how he and Yoosung are drinking and Yoosung is trashed. And it’s kind of cute, all things considered; two friends, hanging out, and drinking.

Everything’s fine, until V shows up. Then it gets a little... sad, with me trying to be supportive of this sad mint haired man. And just when it seems like we might be getting somewhere, maybe, Yoosung shows up and shite just spirals out of control.

And while Yoosung is kind of a prick about V normally, adding in alcohol spirals him into douche bag territory. He just goes in for the kill, and canonically, at this point, we don’t know that Rika is still alive so... he’s harassing a grieving man over his dead girlfriend.

Like I get it, Yoosung is grieving too. He’s young and he has questions, and V isn’t really helping the situation. But it’s so disgusting on Yoosung’s part. And Zen’s. Because a friendly reminder, Zen is most likely sitting right next to Yoosung, or close enough to take the phone away from him at anytime. Which he does... after the damage is done.

Let’s look at this conversation. (a bit of punction and putting bubbles together because fuck that chat shite.)

Zen: Uh oh he’s here; hey he’s drunk too. I’m warning you. Yoosung: V, let me ask you something. Was Rika happy while she was dating you...? Kaz: Yoosung... please calm down. Yoosung: I can’t calm down!!! Zen: Hey; why would you ask something like that?;; thought I’m watching a drama;; I’m sure she was. I’m sure that’s why they were engaged; Yoosung: Answer me, V. Now that i’ve received this picture I think i desereve to assk question like this V: Yoosung, I... did the best I can for her. I believe I tried to make her happy with my own way.  Yoosung: I’m not asking if you did your best. Was she happy?! Answer me. I’m sure you’d knwo btter than anyone eelse. Zen: [... zen emoji] *Kaz: Yoosung... you should first do something about that alcohol in your blood... Zen: Hey Yoosung;; Did you chug all of that beer?;; Yoosung: That’s nott the poinnt here!!

*I chose this option because I was fucking annoyed with Yoosung.

Zen is seeing what is happening in chat, and probably see how worked up Yoosung had to be in person. I would have also figured that Zen would have taken the phone off of him at this point, instead of writing ridiculous things in the chat, but nooooo.

V: Yoosung... She was such a plentiful person. She experienced a plenty of emotions in addition to happiness as she was with me. But... was she happy during all the time she was with me...? I don’t know. Yes, there was a time when she was. But...there was also a time when she wasn’t. Yoosung: dotn change hte subjet!! Zen: Hey Yoosung; Yoosung: so was she heappy or notr? Yess or No?! Kaz: A human relationship isn’t something you can define as one or the other... Zen: That’s right; And romantic relationship is even trickier;; so just stop with your questions  and if you’re drunk just V: No, I’ll answer him. Perhaps she wasn’t happy... I can guarantee that there were moments when she was happy... but there were momens when she was having a hard time... and especially at the last moment she was not at all happy. Rika’s face I remember... was not a happy face. Yoosung: os she diiid have a problem before hse left us Zen: Man;;  Yoosung: so you admit it. so isn’t there a chance that she died because of you???

This situation has been escalating and nobody has been doing a damn thing about it. It blows my mind that Zen thought a pissed Yoosung wasn’t going to cause a mess is beyond me, but even still, he SAW what was being said long before that last bit was dropped. 

Never thought to take the phone away from Yoosung. Never thought to stop this before it got to this point. It’s only AFTER this, apparently this was where Zen drew the line, that he took Yoosung’s phone from him.

(Not that it matters, because he gets his phone back long enough for him to fucking call me after story mode.)

Zen then proceeds to apologise for Yoosung and say that he’s ‘too drunk so don’t mind him’. I’m sorry but what? It’s a little too late for us not to mind him, the damage is already done. And the most frustrating part is that we have the choice to either approve of Yoosung’s prick behaviour or compliment Zen for ‘taking great care of Yoosung’. 

Yeah. Great Job, Zen.

Then apparently ‘Yoosung’s basically strangling [Zen] saying that he’ll use [Zen’s] phone to chat’. So Zen leaves to handle that situation. Yoosung is terrifying when he’s drunk apparently, which is a weird contrast to the cute drunk from Seven’s route.

And then it’s just V and me in the chat, right? V apologises to ME because he can’t tell me things and I must be frustrated. The guy who was just belittled and told by a friend that there’s a chance that this thing with Rika is because of him. He’s apologising to me.

It’s so heartbreaking. Especially considering that V was injured trying to rescue me, and continues to put himself in danger to try to save someone he barely knows. And the dialogue for this ending bit is so sad.

THEN as if that wasn’t enough, Yoosung drunk calls me. And he’s sobbing and talking nonsense to me, ranting about everything, about how mean Rika and V were/are. Zen ends up strolling over to realise that Yoosung isn’t just sitting in a corner sobbing and talking to himself.

(Yeah, that’s canon, Zen thought Yoosung was crying and talking to himself, and just chilled on the other side of the room or something for a while.)

Yoosung gets aggressive again, asking Zen why he’s trying to keep us apart. It’s so uncomfortable. Yoosung drunk in this canon is so uncomfortable and leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth, and I’m kind of hoping that something was lost in translation. 

HOWEVER, hearing Zen ask Yoosung if he’s spilling his sincerity is hilarious, because Yoosung is not feeling the water Zen gave him.

Again, mood whiplash. And I’m not liking Yoosung in this route.

[radioromantic-moved]

All the rile up the f/o asks with Della? :33

AAA TY CICI! under a cut since this’ll get long i’m sure

1) what’s a Hot Take you have about your f/o? since i already went on about how della isn’t an inherently bad parent because she had more to catch up on than donald here’s another Take that i’ve brought up before: della isn’t “uwu dumb” because she’s sometimes impulsive and reckless. you can struggle with common sense and still be really smart. della’s an engineering genius, an ancient history buff, and, again, survived in space mostly unaided for ten. years. she’s kind of scatterbrained but she’s not stupid.

2) on what do you disagree with other fans of your f/o? we don’t NEED to know who the triplets’ biological father is. donald is their dad and has been doing a better job of it than whoever the biological father is. he’s obviously not a great person if della has never brought him up even once. the entire show is about found family and how you forge your own connections. shut up about their bio dad shut up shut up shut up (maybe i should have put this in the rant section instead gjsjgjsg)

3) did you used to ship your f/o with anyone before realizing you wanted to ship them with yourself? HAHA...nah not really...i knew going into ducktales that if i was gonna fall for anyone it would be a kickass spacefaring pilot mom so i sort of had my eyes on her from the beginning lol

4) do you feel like you have to defend your f/o all the time? y. yea...i don’t really get into ducktales fandom discourse all that much because it stresses me out but it feels like there’s always some surprise Bad Take just around the corner...an example was when i was reading a really cute don/daisy fic and the most recent chapter suddenly had della blow up at donald for no reason and demand sole custody of the kids, and the comments were full of people saying how they hated her. it just left a really bad taste in my mouth. of course there are sane and normal people who think della is cool or at least okay but there are always...those weirdos.

5) what’s the dumbest thing you’ve heard about your f/o, either on the internet or irl? already answered!

6) what are some tropes that fan art of your f/o tends to follow? i think they make her hair a little messier than it is in canon? which i like because it sort of gels with her personality. also a lot of people like drawing her in tshirts and tank tops which you don’t see her wearing in the show but i love when people draw her in them...she is just vibing.

7) did your f/o deserve better? already answered!

8) do you even like the source your f/o comes from or do you only watch it for them & nothing else? nah i LOVE ducktales...della may be my gf but every character in the show is my friend or kid or family. except for lunaris he can go fuck himself.

9) do you distance yourself from other fans of your f/o or their source? not usually! the majority of ducktales fans are pretty chill i think (though a lot of della fans ship deIIumbra which is a little ouch but i have the tag blocked so i don’t usually see stuff i don’t want to) so it’s cool to interact with them.

10) how did you feel when you realized “oh of course i had to like That Character”? I KINDA EXPECTED IT...like i said going into ducktales i knew if i was gonna fall for anyone it would definitely be della just based on what i knew of her personality. and when i first watched whatever happened to della duck it became very obvious that i was spot on. her introductory scene? chef’s kiss.

11) do you think it’s better to have a copious amount of content for your f/o, even with the risk of finding a lot of ship art, or better to have a lot less? as someone who has f/os both with a ton of content and with very little i can say that i definitely like having a lot of content...ship art does feel Bad usually (although there are a few canon ships that i enjoy like drakepad and twidash) but i have most of the main ship tags blocked and i also use xkit postblock to block stuff i don’t want to see. so usually browsing my f/os’ tags is a pretty clean experience!

12) aren’t you tired of being nice? this is an excuse to rant. while i did already answer this one here’s “i don’t give a shit about hdl’s bio dad: the reprise.” what do you GAIN from knowing he exists. why do you CARE. frank angones himself has all but confirmed he’ll never appear and/or is so unimportant that he’s not even worth mentioning. donald is the dad that huey, dewey and louie need and deserve and he does a better job of it than their bio dad ever could. stop talking about him in della’s tag stop asking frank about him stop assuming he’s fucking. gyro or launchpad (i’ve seen both!) not everything has to follow your beloved nuclear family structure. my thoughts on their original dad: della is a lesbian who thought she liked guys for a while, was in a relationship with one out of comphet, left him after realizing she was gay, didn’t realize she was pregnant. he’s out of their life give it a REST

[luccie-eclair]

Keeping Score (Renora Week: Dress Up)

“Stop moving.”

Ren sighed. If his eyes were open, they would have been rolling. A soft sponge coated in green foundation patted away at his once olive complexion. This had been going on for a good few minutes. He felt the skilled hands travel under his jaw, so he took it as his cue to open his, now green eyes. His best friend, partner, and girlfriend sat on his lap with her brows scrunched in intense focus.

Her face was patted to a light blue and she temporarily dyed her hair black with a white streak. A stitched scar ran at the bottom of her left eye and she wore black lipstick on her top lip with black contacts. Her costume consisted of a form-fitting, short navy blue lab coat that flared out under a black belt and reached her thighs, black leggings, and matching combat boots and gloves that sat next to her.

Nora had worked incredibly hard in between her classes and the occasional mission to create her costume. To create all of their costumes, actually. Ever since Jaune had gotten them all hooked on Kim Possible, they’d taken to binging it on team bonding nights rather than actually going out. Thus, their team costume for the Hallows Eve party materialized itself in a few weeks time. Pyrrha and Jaune’s costumes were relatively easy and the champion had makeup for herself and Jaune’s freckles. However, Nora never half assed anything and simply made her and Ren’s costumes from scratch. (She really should consider making a career out it. She certainly had the talent.) But that brings us to a female Drakken, or “Drakkene” as Nora called herself, meticulously covering “Hego” in green foundation and contour.

“Drop your jaw,” she commanded lightly. Ren hesitantly opened his mouth. He knew what was coming and they bickered over whether it was truly necessary to wear lipstick. Then his teammates sided against him. Then he lost… Point one for Nora. The cold, black solid brushed against his top lip and glided across, then again to fill in any light gaps. “Do not rub your lips together or so help me, Ren,” she warned. “But, you’re done!” She happily jumped off of his lap to put her gloves on and he did the same. He began to miss the pressure of her weight upon his lap.

Ren stood from his and Nora’s bed to inspect her handiwork. Despite stating that he didn’t mind temporarily dying his pink streak, Nora elected it to stay. It made his costume seem more suited for him, she’d said. Speaking of, the costume itself wasn’t skin tight which was a blessing. It took her hours to sew it in a way that he wasn’t restricted and his “goods” wouldn’t be seen. His boots and gloves were two different hues, black and green. She’d completed his look by styling his hair into gentle waves that morning. His girlfriend always did an amazing job on their costumes, but this one had to be his personal favorite despite the lipstick that he’d be more than happy to remove. 

“Ren,” Nora called from the hallway. “Quit checking yourself out so we can take pictures and party!”

~*~

Pictures actually took longer than they thought, especially when RWBY and SSSN and CVFY and Penny and Oscar all decided that they wanted pictures as well. It was quite the spectacle seeing eighteen hunters attempting to squeeze into a front facing scroll before giving up and asking for outside help. 

Eventually, after nearly an hour, the group had arrived when the event was in full swing. The ballroom was decked in dark colors with spider webs, blood, and Grimm corpses. Everyone dressed in either actual scary costumes or cosplaying as pop culture figures. RWBY toed the line and accomplished both at the same time. 

Ren had given his first dance to Nora, of course, before she quickly jumped off to dance with everyone else. He’d seen her give a dance to Jaune, Sun, and Neptune at some point, but mostly stuck to Pyrrha, Penny, and RWBY. Later, Sky Lark got brave enough to ask her to dance before he was shot down almost painfully. The dark haired man himself had danced with Pyrrha and most of RWBY (the leader herself felt too shy to even ask before he asked her onto the dance floor). However, he mostly stuck to the sidelines watching his girlfriend smile and dance with everyone. 

It was hypnotizing, he thought. The way she moved her hips and swung her hair every which way. Her dancing was both erratic and controlled in a way he couldn’t describe. Nora knew how to dance and how to move to any beat -the two of them often learned routines from their favorite Mpop groups together. But when she lacked any set guidelines and she was amongst trusted peers, she liked to hang back and go with the flow of whatever felt right. 

“How are you holding up,” the voice of his leader, Jaune took his attention away from his girlfriend who had gotten rather close to a zombified Goldilocks. The young man himself looked a little worse for wear. His hair even more disheveled than normal with a brown top lip marked on his jaw.

“I’m doing well. You seem like you could use a break, though,” Ren replied a smirk gracing his lips.

“Pyrrha has way too much energy. This is the first break I’ve gotten all night.”

“You should use this break to wipe off her lipstick.”

Panic set on Jaune’s face as he excused himself to the bathroom. Ren chuckled and turned back to Nora who now shuffled with Oscar, the latter seeming a tad awkward though still enjoying himself. She laughed and looked in his direction. Black contacts met green ones as she winked at him and turned back to their circle of friends. She said something before separating herself from the clump and skipping her way to Ren.

“Having a real group of friends is actually a little tiring,” she said as she got closer. “I almost wish it were just us again, but then who would I hang out with when you’re doing your meditating thing?”

Ren huffed out a small laugh and turned to get her a cup of punch, but took a small sip to make sure there was no alcohol. He couldn’t have her getting drunk. Once failing to taste anything out of ordinary, he handed her the cup. “I guess you’d have to sit and get bored waiting for me to finish.”

She scoffed. “I’d rather sit in class. At least there’s background noise.” She took a sip of the bright red drink, her tongue lightly poking out to nab a lost drop on her blue, bottom lip. The innocent move shouldn’t have affected him as much at it did, but there he was staring at her plump, black and blue lips. They quirked into a small smirk. “Ren, you’re not good at hiding your stares.”

He looked into her eyes. They dazzled despite her colored contacts. “Well, it took you years to figure out I was even staring in the first place, so I believe I am doing something right,” he gave her a coy smile as though he’d one-upped her in a game. Ren: 1, Nora: 1.

“Oh, but everyone else seemed to notice, so you clearly didn’t do as well as you think.” She gained the upper hand.

“And whom are you referring to?" 

Nora gave him an incredulous look and pulled out her scroll. Ren knew that he definitely lost this one. She scrolled through her gallery and began to show him various pictures of him staring at her when she was turned away. "This one was taken by Jaune.” She flicked her finger. “Pyrrha.” A flick. “Yang.” Flick. “Blake.” Flick. “Ruby.” Flick. “Sun.” Flick. “Coco.” Another one. “Os-” He pressed his lips to hers in an effort to gain the leas once more. He was still down by a point.

The female Drakken brought her gloved hands to the back of his neck and pulled at his waves until their lips parted. Bits of blue foundation stuck to his green bottom lip as green foundation stuck to her blue lip. She chuckled and leaned onto her tip toes to reach his ears. “What do you say we leave and turn our makeup teal,” she seductively whispered into his lobes before playfully nipping at them.

After that pick up line, Ren honestly couldn’t take her seriously. His chest rumbled as he laughed and clutched her closer to him. His head lazily fell into the crook of her neck as his laughter got a tad softer since it was muffled. “That was very bad, Nora,” he said once he got a little more control over himself. She definitely lost a point for that. They finally tied.

The blue woman whined and tried to push him away, but his kept a firm hold on her. “I was trying to be sexy,” she exclaimed before lightly swatting his chest. “Bully.” She pouted and crossed her arms. Gods, did he love this girl.

“You don’t have to try for me. I already think you’re the sexiest woman alive.” He kissed her pouted lips and watched as it melted away into a tiny smile. Yet another point for the young man. “Can I still take you up on that teal offer?”

She peered back at their friends, still having a ball before looking back. Something told him that they’d be doing a lot of one-upping for the next few hours.

A/N: God this took so long 😧 There’s bits of fluff. Lots of my headcanons at work here (sorry if Ren is a tad OOC, I tried). I totally think that Ren and Nora have little battles of one-upmanship before it dissolves into either laughs or kisses. Mostly playful fluff with implied NSFW after the ending. Jaune and Pyrrha are dressed as Kim and Ron. Ren and Nora are Drakkene and Hego. Ren’s costume is the same as Shego’s just for males (this is my way of getting out of drawing a trash illustration). The inspiration for Nora’s Drakkene costume came from my favorite Kpop group, Gfriend 😍😍😍, during their Fingertip era (link: https://www.gfsquad.com/forums/topic/2075-170306-starcast-gfriend-jacket-photoshoot-behind/). Dammit, every time I think of Hego, I think of He-man, then I start singing that dumbass song 😒😒😒. I need sleep.

[anotherererifanshippingcorner]

Actor AU - ereri week day #5

I’ll keep being late, but I really want to write OS with all the prompt for the ereri week. This is the Actor AU from yesterday -though, it’s already 3 in the morning here (so two days ago i’m an horrible person), and I’ll be out in less the four our for a two-days family trip with no pc, so I’ll try to work on the rest on paper. Now, I really need to sleep. (sorry, I don’t know where pining!Levi came from...)

Rating: General Audience

Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin

Pairing: Eren Jaeger/Levi Ackerman

Word count: 1913

Additional tags: Alternative Universe - Modern Setting, Actor AU, Pining!Levi, Actor!Levi, Help director!Eren

Summary: One Shot for ereri summer week 2017, Actor AU

He wasn’t pining. He knew what the word meant – to miss or long for, as his generous friend and manager Erd liked to remember him. He had anything he had always longed for -a house that fit a man’s basic needs, a family, even if not blood related, a healthy condition and the job career of his childhood’s dreams-, so Levi rarely lost his patience when the guy started reprimanding him about not giving himself the chance to be happy. What did that mean, anyway? He was happy. He really didn’t need anything and wasn’t interested in nothing more than what he already owned. It wasn’t out of arrogance, an accuse that needed to be addressed since just being a well-know, successful actor seemed to qualify him as the perfectly stereotyped windbag. Levi was genuinely okay with himself. He had his good points and bad parts, as anyone, nothing more. The door opened, cutting short his mental soliloquy. “Good morning, Mr. Ackerman!” There. The help-director who has been assigned to him. Closing after him, Eren Jaeger walked toward Levi with his long, tight-black-jeans-hugged legs, combat boots, and a mouth-watering fitting olive green button down. His hands were full of take away cups and a bag from Levi’s favorite bakery shop. God, that deserved more than a simple “thank you”. “How many times do I have to tell you to call me Levi, you deaf brat?” Okay. Something went wrong during the brain-to-mouth part of the communication. “But sir-“ “No. Every day the exact same thing before we even get things started. Are you trying to offend me?” How was he so much more talented in screwing up all his not-work-related conversation than movie script? He may have accidentally terrified the kid -his big, clear, magnetic eyes were wide with concern and confusion. “NO! I would never dream of-“ “Then call me by my name as I asked you. We have been working together for months, no need for all this formality.” The look in his eyes gentled a little, his features softening with relief and a sweeter hint of affection. “It’s just hard to get unused to formalities, s- Levi.” “Mmh.” He wasn’t smiling, not really. “We’ll just have to get you used to it.” He didn’t mention the fact that they had more or less one last week of filming left, and Eren didn’t, either. He handed out one of the cups and then hesitated, fiddling with the paper bag. “Here is your tea. I, uhm, I was walking past the place you told me about on the way here, the one with fresh bagels and those awesome donuts we ate when your brought them here? I thought they’d make the day start better, since the filming process is getting pretty intense, plus you seemed a lot stressed last week, so… yeah.” Eren gave him the bag and Levi didn’t know if he should gaze in wonder at that or the boy sitting in front of him on the couch. He chose to check on the item in his hands, breathing in. Levi smelled the chocolate-praline coated bagel before seeing or touching it. “Careful, Eren, you’re spoiling me. I may ask you to abandon the movie making road and become my slave.” And that wasn’t meant to sound as sexual harassment. “W-well, I wouldn’t mind this little deviation to become a routine for the days to come, if you’re up for it. Bagel really seems to lighten your mood!” You lighten my mood. He put a hand on his mouth to not let that kind of bullshit escape him. They already talked about boot-licking behavior and how much Levi hated that shit. They barely knew each other when Levi reprimanded him about it, and even then Eren seemed sincere when he admitted how much he admired Levi and his movies and how he wanted to work hard to make sure he wasn’t going to be a burden for any of them. Levi still saw the same determination, though Eren was much more mellow and friendlier than in those first days. He liked that attitude. Soon, they found a rhythm -practicing lines on mornings in Levi’s dressing room until it was time to film. The perfect routine, one he fought to maintain when the director wanted to change filming times due to a not so important reason -Pixis thought Levi wasn’t sleeping enough, that he was giving a hard time to his make up and hair styling team, but that was stupid, he just wanted to be there in time every morning to review his lines with the boy. He started eating, looking over at Eren as he pulled out of his bag the script from today’s scenes and summed up them for Levi. His voice demanded to be listened to, rich and enthusiastic while articulating every word and sentence, and Levi couldn’t do anything but what he was supposed to do. Chocolate hair were brushed off by a strong looking hand, so delicate between between those locks, and Levi followed it until it disappeared, focusing instead on Eren’s eyes. Worse. He sighed and told Eren to hand him the script so he could refresh the lines in his head before they started to work seriously.

***

“You’re being ridiculous.” “I’ve already heard that.” “Because you are! This is your ultimate chance! My God, Levi, you’ve been-“ “-pining on the help-director for moths! Why the two of you always talk about the same thing?! Don’t you get bored?” Erd turned around on the barstool and regarded Hanji, one out of two script’s co-writer, with a disapproving look. “You’re not helping, you know that?” “I can’t not-help something that isn’t even there, now, can I?” Levi shot her a dark look, sipping his drink with a frown. “Don’t you have lines to create instead of spitting bullshit here?” “We finished filming, honey!” “Don’t call me that.” “Aww, come on! Everyone knows, okay? Just go with the flow and see what happens! You two should talk and keep it slow, or meet up and fuck all day. But this sexual tension you’re emitting has to stop. It’s becoming hard staying around you. Literally” “Good.” She whined in annoyance. “Hanji is right. Stop pining after him and do something, dude!” He was not pining, for god sake- “Levi!” He shot around at Eren’s voice and located him walking over from the table where the crew was celebrating for the occasion. His smile was as big as theirs, only ten times brighter and cuter and his eyes where fucking shining under the bar’s faint lights. He wanted to run his hands on his cheeks and jaw and chin and caress those lips that kept forming his name and kiss him and see if they tasted as good as they were inviting- Fuck. He was definitely drunk -ish. “Why are the three of you here alone?! Well, you are three, so you’re not alone, but- you should come over!” Eren was cute when he drank too much. “You drank too much.” Right. No filter. Hanji held her laugh back, looking anywhere but at them, and Erd silently slipped away from the boot, siding her. “What are you talking about?! We are partying!” He threw his arms up, almost losing his balance in the action, and Levi shot forward, steadying the boy. “Stop, brat, you want to sprawl all over the floor or what?” “I want to get sprawled under you…” Eren threw his arms around his neck, this time, and Hanji couldn’t contain herself anymore -she burst out laughing, making meny heads turn around to regard them curiously. “Oh, wow. Okay, that’s our clue to leave!” Erd excused them with those word and dragged Hanji after him, while the woman kept crying out and shout thing like: “good luck with that, man!” He sighed, trying to keep Eren on his feet with his hands on the boy’s hips and ignoring what he said. “Stop saying shit. Come on, I’ll call you a taxi.” “Nooo. The party is not over, I came here to call you, not a taxi!” Levi was tired and drank and grumpy and he wanted to go home, but Eren stayed there, dead-weighing on Levi’s shoulders and muttering unintelligible shit in his ear. He sighed again, his heart was not jumping in his chest. “I’ll ride with you, okay? Let’s go, this is not a place for you in this state.” “But the others-“ “You look like you’re going to drop any moment.” “That’s not true! Stop treating me like a kid!” Eren struggled against him when Levi started to shove him out of the bar, not looking over at the table for even a second. “As you’re right now, you should be in bed.” “You could keep me company.” Levi moaned in displeasure. “You’re such a pain in the ass.” He leaned down and with a swift movement, he grabbed Eren’s leg for support, made pressure on his belly with his shoulder and lifted him up with a grunt, adjusting his weigh and keeping him still with his arm before walking over the door. “Put me down!” “As if.” “I can walk!” “It didn’t look like you wanted to.” “I’m going to spank you right now!” “Be my guest.” They left the bar, one more willing than the other, and Levi called for the taxi and moved closer to the edge of the sidewalk, were a bench was. He threw Eren there, minding he didn’t land too hard, and then sat down next to him. Eren almost instantly attached himself to Levi octopus style, making the actor wonder where he found so much agility when he seemed such a sluggish drunk. “Eren.” “Mmmmh.” “Move.” “I hno wanto.” Levi barely understood him. “I don’t care want you want, move.” He wasn’t agitated. He was perfectly calm. Eren didn’t move. “Eren.” “Mmmh.” “Eren-“ “You’r s’ comfy.” Levi freezed. Eren tightened his hold, nuzzling his face against the juncture of his shoulder and neck, making him shiver. Jesus fuckin- “I like your neck, it’s soft.” He spoke more clearly, taking a deep breath, then another. He was sniffing Levi. His heartrate was okay. It was all fucking good. Levi suddenly felt teeth against his neck and he barely held back a real moan, shocked at how quickly he had relaxed on that bench next to Eren. “Eren, we are drunk. Stop.” “Bt you wan me.” “What?” “I know. People talk. And I saw… when you thought I wasn’t lookin…” Levi swallowed, his throat so dry it hurt a little. And he was sweating, fucking gross! Eren’s words were sluggish, but understandably occasionally. He didn’t move his head and kept hugging him, as if he was afraid of letting him go. Levi just wanted to run. Or stay right where he was. “Why re you always s’ jumpy? I barely know what to do with myself when you… you re so… uh.” Levi’s arm found home on Eren’s bended shoulders, and the tension he felt in the boy’s voice seemed to leave his body, at least. “Not now, brat. We can- we can talk in the morning. Alright?” “You’ll be there?” “Uhm-“ “Stay on the couch. Or in my bed. Whatever.” “You seem awfully awake, right now.” “Not my fault.” Levi nuzzled him back a little, and the two of them waited the taxi. Erd was right -he was pining. But little did they know -Eren was pining too.

[tebbyclinic11]

Trader Joe’s Newest Products in 2018, Reviewed

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Trader Joe’s Newest Products in 2018, Reviewed

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Trader Joe’s has it all figured out. The new products, they just keep coming. We’re on a hare-brained mission to try every new product at TJ’s in 2018. Trying. A noble pursuit, a “good use of time,” “what is this, an ad?”, call it what you will. New this week—Valentines gummies, coconut clusters of fun, pretty good chicken sausage, and more.

Organic Oven Roasted Turkey Breast, $4.99These floppy shingles of roasted turkey are a lunch meat staple, though I’ve never tried to bind two pieces of paper with them. Instead, I roll them with sliced Swiss cheese and dip them in mustard like the grown adult person with an expired license I am. A subtle, roasted flavor elevates the turkey from its natural state of taste (soggy meat Kleenex) to a whisper of Thanksgiving leftovers. Good product. Reliable sandwich material. Real meat. Gluten-free. Protein. Precisely circular. Not salami.

Gummy Xs & Os, $2.99In time for Valentine’s Day, we have a big bag of gummies. The ”natural flavors” flavor reminds me of rosé–supposedly grapefruit, strawberry, and mixed berry—but they all blend together to me in the way you’re pretty sure gummy bears are different flavors for different colors but are they, really?? All I know is that the Xs taste better than Os. The big downside–sorry, gummy enthusiasts—is that the texture is too soft. Like that moment you’re making out with your Valentine and finally come to terms with the fact that he’s a body pillow named Ted. Gummies need a little bit of chew, some struggle, a reminder that it’s not gonna be easy all the time. A nice metaphor for love if you ask me.

Electric Buzz Coffee Cups, $5.49I drink coffee the old-fashioned way—by pouring off-boiling water into a filter directly in my mouth—so I enlisted a guest reviewer for these TJ branded K-cups that are supposedly EXTRA CAFFEINATED! “It’s no special cup of mud,” texted my friend Keith, a man who puts plastic cups in a machine expecting roasted bean juice to come out. BA’s Alex Delany described these coffee pods like he does beer, ridiculously: “It tastes like someone walked across your tongue with brand new dad sneakers on. Rubber soles.” Did he really need to offend all of dadkind like that? Probably yes.

Organic Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage, $5.99Like many chicken sausages, it tastes like chicken sausage. Throw in some garlic powder and basil particles and poof, Italian. Out of the package, they have a slimy smooth, bouncy hot dog texture because the casing has been removed. I don’t get how this works, but I‘ll try anything once. A sweet, kind cashier with a striking resemblance to my Uncle Manny (RIP) said he loves to make sausage and peppers with them, so that’s what I did. I mean, we’re practically family. The sausages are smaller side, more the size of Ball Park Franks, and crisp up in the pan as intended. Two people in my household ate the entire package of five links, dipping each bite in mustard and trying to find something more meaningful to say about something as mundane as chicken sausage. Notes of peppercorn tingle the tastebuds. Solidly Not Bad.

Coconut Sesame Seed Clusters, $1.99These are little shards that aren’t quite granola and yet aren’t anything else. Purgatory snacks! They’re crunchy pieces of toasted coconut covered in sesame seeds, sealed together with coconut sugar and tapioca syrup. Okay so they’re candy. Serving suggestions include: casually eating out of a hollowed coconut shell, on ice cream, but more likely, by the handful until you read the nutrition facts and realize the bag is empty but hey, at least they’re gluten-free? If this isn’t impulse purchase material, I don’t know what is.

Previously

The Week of January 22

Churro Bites, $2.49The only thing these churro bites share in common with hot-off-the-oil churros is a coating of cinnamon sugar. Other than that, these crunchy nuggets are their own category of cookie-chip. They have a near-velvet outer texture, the combination of shiny hardened butter and sandy sugar, like when you dropped a doughnut hole at the beach but ate it anyway, because seagulls. (Because you’re a monster). Sort of like giant Corn Pops, rolled cinnamon sugar. I won’t even begin to describe what they visually resemble (😺 💩). The cashier at TJ’s looked at the nutritional details and then slowly raised her eyes to mine. Me: “These are not good for you.” Her: “Then why are you buying two?”

Gluten Free Oat Cranberry Flaxseed Cookies, $2.99As a general life principle, you should never trust a cookie with more than three names. These gluten-free-oat-cranberry-flaxseed-cookies seem to think that they can trick us into believing they’re some kind of health food but we know, ohhhh we KNOW. These are cookies. With plenty of butter and sugar. Because of that, I have some great news: They taste like cookies! Like a very good grocery store oatmeal raisin cookie, with a surprisingly soft and chewy texture (I see you, molasses and rice flour.) They crumble a little, but then again who doesn’t in this current political climate? Still not sure what a flaxseed is, but I’m already starting to see definition in my abs.

Thai Green Curry Simmer Sauce, $1.99This so-called simmer sauce is the pale minty green of my grandmother’s bathroom walls, with much more flavor (and a lot less lead!). Even though a simple green curry is easy to make, at this price, it costs the same as just the can of coconut milk, and there’s Kaffir lime peel in here. It’s fragrant with lemongrass and ginger, and super creamy, a little sweet—overall, delicious. You cook some protein or veg, add the sauce, serve over noodles/rice. What does this sauce have in common with a certain presidential marriage? There’s absolutely no heat. BYO-chile if you need to spice it up.

Tahini, Pepita & Apricot Slaw Kit, $3.99Inside one plastic bag you get four more little plastic bags! It’s like a Russian nesting salad of environmental doom. Or something. The slaw is a combination of veggies from the aisle-land of misfit produce. Spiky broccoli stems. Faded carrots the color of construction cones abandoned by the highway. The curly split ends from a kale haircut. Cabbage. Unfortunately the dressing, a sweet honey tahini (try this one!), which is pretty good, can’t mask the musty taste of the veg. The pepita and apricot sprinkles are a nice idea, but like hoping the 14 throw pillows on your couch hide all of the cat hair, they can only do so much.

Previously

The Week of January 8

Photo by Chelsie Craig

Frosted Sugar Cookies, $2.99Trader Joe’s imitation of Lofthouse’s iconic packaged cookies is the best thing they’ve brought to the new year. The freakishly smooth, delightfully underbaked sugar cookie is topped with frosting and randomly distributed purple-pink sprinkles. Whoever was in charge of sprinkles appears to have sneezed them out, some gather along the edges, holding on for dear frosting life.

But they really did it. It’s mythic, and it dissolves into dust the second it touches your saliva. The minute you bite into it, you forget it was ever there. And it’s everything you’ve missed since the last time you had one, stoned at 10 p.m. in Kroger with your middle school friends who’ve all had babies on Facebook by now. It’s a cookie that will send you back in time, in memory, in a sugar-induced nostalgia nap.

Photo by Chelsie Craig

Cocoa Almond Cashew Beverage, $2.29Who doesn’t love a beverage? AKA the FDA-approved term for milks that aren’t milk. Remember milk? Pause to pour out some beverage in the memory of milk. Those days are over.

This incredibly silky not-milk is chocolaty and sweet, with a vaguely nutty aftertaste, like a burp after too many bar peanuts. The creamy texture, thanks to the beautiful food science that is locust bean gum and other emulsifiers, ends on a near slimy note, reminiscent of the inside of the cardboard chocolate milk carton. It would be nice in a banana smoothie, heated as faux cocoa, mixed into iced coffee, or given as a bribe to children who have never known the cult of cow.

Photo by Chelsie Craig

Italian Marinara Sauce with Barolo Wine, $3.49Have you ever spooned straight marinara sauce into your mouth? It’s acidic and sweet, smooth save for the little toenails of tomato skin here and there. The saltiness left my chapped lips burning and tingling, like I’d exfoliated them with French fries. The addition of Barolo seems to say, “I know wines other than red,” while the black-and-gold Deco packaging suggests a Gatsby-themed party at the Olive Garden. It tasted like pretty good pizza sauce. Sign me up.

Organic Fruit and Seed Granola, $3.69These little clusters of organic seeds, held together by plasticky tasting tapioca syrup, are nuggets of health. I think. No pesky oats here, just seed bombs that I imagine are only slightly larger than what well-fed pigeons expel. The sharp and crunchy texture is appealing to parents who bring healthy snacks to the movies. They’re also the perfect snack for mindful eaters, as you will mindfully spend every bite doing tongue yoga to get chia seeds out of your molar fillings from the 90s. There are surprise bites of sweetened dried cranberries that will make you exclaim, “SUGAR, for MEEEE?” Somehow you will eat the whole bag.

Stay tuned for more, next week.

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[carlito55]

Forever - A Dawsey OS

Here is the first part of a little One Shot I've written (next and final part tomorrow) I hope y'all enjoy! ____________ It was cold outside. Not the usual type of cold. The cold that surrounded you, that sunk deep into your bones and made a shiver role up your spine. A cold that told you that no matter what you did, something bad was going to happen, even though there was no way you could tell what it would be and when it would happen. This cold told Matt Casey something - today was going to mark an important event in his life, for better or worse and he wasn't quite sure if he was ready for it. Walking down the stairs of the apartment he shared with his wife, he swiftly headed towards his old battered truck. Looking at the name that was written on the side and taking a minute to admire the name he saw, he remembered the day he decided to start his little construction business. The one he used as an excuse to leave the outside world and clear his head as he smashed defenceless iron nails into the hard wood of the object he was building. Although he didn't get out to the jobs he had as often as he wanted because of the paperwork he took home and spending time with the woman he loved, sometimes some time to himself was what he needed and the memories they provided him with brought a smile to his face. Starting the truck and waiting for the engine to warm up a little, he pressed the button on the dashboard that instantly filled the silence. Pushing the truck into drive, Matt let the voice of the news correspondant fill the air around him as he looked over to the passenger seat and mourned the fact he was still driving to work alone. As part of her annual schedule, Gabby had been taken in as an instructor at the Paramedic's academy over at the main CFD building in the heart of the city. She loved the feeling of being in the field, but even Matt knew that it was good for her to shift life down a gear, work the usual nine to five shift for a bit, and see what it was like to work a closer to normal job. Although he hated every minute he spent without her at his side, he loved the fact that she was proud of passing on her extensive knowledge to the upcoming paramedics that would one day be the life and strength of the city. Knowing the feeling she was having about teaching the new recruits, because he had been given the pleasure of doing the job himself, he let the happiness of knowing she was safe in a warm building rather than out in the dangerous cold streets of Chicago warm him on this cold day. Pulling up to the firehouse, Matt pulled the gear shift back and rolled the car into 'park'. Listening to the old engine tick over for a second he savoured the last few moments of warmth before leaning over to the foot well of the interior and grabbing his tatty old brown duffel bag. Taking a deep breath as he mustered up the courage to take a step outside, Matt pushed the door open with his shoulder and slid out of the door as fast as he could. The cold was around him now, seeping into every pour of his body and as he fumbled with the keys to lock the door, his CFD fleece was not putting up to the bitterness of the weather. Throwing the strap of his bag over his shoulder, Matt surged forward, checking the road was clear as he ran towards the firehouse in a dead sprint in desperation to get out of the chilling wind. The exertion of movement heated his central body mass but his extremities were still suffering. Matt pulled the door open and threw his bag down on the apparatus floor as he vigorously rubbed his hands together to gain back some of the feeling he'd lost. "Holy crap!" he said to himself as he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. "Cold enough for you?" Kelly Severide asked as he moved swiftly over to him, the morning paper tucked lightly under his arm. Lifting his head from his hands Matt looked up and pulled a face. "I think i just saw a penguin - crying." "Aww grow a pair, you big softy!" Kelly chuckled as he hit Matt on the arm with the paper that was now in his hand. "Ever since you and Gabby-" "If you're gunna make a joke about me and Gabby one more time, i swear to God Kelly I'll-" "Woah, whoa slow down there pretty boy. The day has just started. I don't want to have to fight you as early as this." Severide said with a laugh, the sarcasm in his voice making Matt look at him with a glare before it softened into one of his trademark side smiles. "You know what I'm like when i don't get to speak to her before work." Matt replied as he grabbed the bag at his feet and began for the common room, throwing his head to one side to gesture that he wanted Kelly to follow him. "She not want you to wake her up so she could say goodbye as you left?" Kelly asked swinging the paper hand casually by his side, the other rested gently in his pocket. Matt rounded the corner and Kelly followed him as he smiled at Capp, who was passing with a cup of coffee to hand to his lieutenant. When he was out the way, Kelly took one look at it and decided that Matt was in more need of it at that moment than anyone. "Here, take this." Kelly prompted with a smile. Matt looked from the coffee cup to his friend and smiled, "are you sure Capp won't be offended if i take it?" a boyish grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I'm sure Capp's little heart will get over it one day." Kelly laughed as he handed it over and watched Matt take a large mouthful. "Still the shittiest thing i have ever tasted," both men chuckled as they continued down the hallway. "Gabby did say she wanted me to wake her up but i couldn't do it. She had a rough last shift and she's been super busy with Diego and Eva staying with us because Antonio caught this big case and Laura being on holiday - she just deserved a break you know, so i let her sleep in." Kelly leaned against one of the lockers as he watched his friend turn in his password and throw his bag into his locker before he slammed it shut and returned the padlock to its rightful place. "You're too good to her, you know that?" Matt shook his head, a distant look on his face. "I wish you were right Kelly, i really do but I'm not. There is always gunna be a guy better suited to her out there, she just hasn't met him yet." "Hey!" Kelly exclaimed grabbing Matt by the shoulders and pulling him to face him. "You are the guy she's always been in love with-" "but-" "no buts Matt, it's the truth." He sat down on the bench, his hand guiding his friend to take the seat beside him. "I know it was hard for you last shift, loosing that kid okay? I know it was hard for her too but you can't take your feelings out in the way that will ultimately make you sadder than you need to be. You both did everything you could to save that little boy and we all know that - stop beating yourself up about it. Now, what does Boden always jam into out idiotic little minds?" Matt finally laughed telling Kelly he was making some headway. "Kelly, come on I'm not - " "What does he say?" Kelly prompted again, another smile growing on his face. Matt finally gave in, "New shift. New tale to tell." "There's a good boy." Kelly chuckled as he rose to his feet, taking the now empty cup of coffee out of Matt's hand and placing it on top of one of the lockers. "You're gunna be okay, both of you - you hear me?" Matt found his feet and stood up before nodding and finally letting his blue eyes meet with Kelly's. "Thanks bud." "You know i always got your back." Severide smiled before he turned and began the walk towards his office. Suddenly, the air was filled with the familiar Klaxon and the voice of a dispatch worker from main filled the air. "Truck 81, Squad 3 - request for unknown call at headquarters. That's Truck 81 and Squad 3 for an unknown call at headquarters." "It's half ten in the morning, they have the smoke box on fire already?" Casey joked as they ran to the trucks. The ride over was nothing short of normal. The odd amount of chatter filling the air as Casey sat in silence and let the voices of his men chatting and laughing calm his nerves. A call that was unknown was a usual prospect on the job that they did, you couldn't always know everything about every situation you went to, and they all accepted that. Rolling the truck to a controlled stop, as always, Cruz shoved the truck into park as Matt used his shoulder to barge open the door. Already with his SCBA tank on his back like a rucksack and his mask dancing around to his side, Matt strode over to the large group of people huddled out on the sidewalk - CFD patches lighting up the area of uniformed darkness. Clearing his throat, Casey took the opportunity to stand on a hip high wall so he was visible to everyone that was on site. "Okay, Hi - Hello? - Can everyone listen up please!" Everyone turned around to face him, a sea of eyes now resting upon his body. "We need everyone to back up out the way so my company and i can get through with equipment. I would appreciate if you gave them the room they needed, and-" "Lieutenant!" Came a voice. Casey wasn't sure where it had come from but he knew instantly who it was, his heart warming at the sight as the students parted for the little woman to get by. "Although it may be lovely for us all to see a natural born leader like yourself standing on this poor excuse of a wall," a little giggle went around the huddle of people. "there is an immediate need of a firefighter in room 6b." The smirk on Gabby's face and the unurgency she was talking with was making it hard for Matt to keep a straight and professional stance - he could tell his cheeks were heating up the closer she got to him. Clearing his throat once again, Matt took a deep breath and called over to his men. "You all know where that is, go take some silver bullets and I'll meet you inside."
"Uh huh." a few of them said with a cheeky smile as they headed for the building. Herrmann held back and let a boyish grin out at his lieutenant - the eye contact he was holding with his boss making the other members of the team giggle as they shook their heads and carried on their order. "And what will you be doing out here then?" Casey smiled, his arms being brought out to the sides so it looked like he was on a cross. "Crowd control." Herrmann began to follow the rest of his company to the building, an extinguisher lightly in his hand. He looked over his shoulder and said something loudly so he knew his boss could hear him. "I'm sure it's only Gabby that'll gain the supervision of our ever so fearless leader-" "Hey!" Casey called as Herrmann disappeared through the doorway. Looking down at Gabby, who was now at his feet and offering her hand, he took it and hoped down to be standing next to her. "Hey, you okay?" She smiled at him, the way her eyes scanned him as it was the first time she had seen him since the previous day, checking that everything was okay. The smile she was getting from him told her that he was in fact okay and happier than she had seen him in a while. "Everything okay?" she asked as she swiped her hand back and forth in front of his eyes to try and wake him from his daydream. Suddenly aware that he had drifted off into a part of his brain that he would happily have stayed in, Matt blinked and looked around and thankfully saw that the rest of the academy students were either chatting with one another or looking at their phones. Turning his attention back to his wife he took her all in. "Looking good as ever in your shirt." Giggling at the fact he was trying to be smooth that he had been caught in a day dream, Gabby rolled her eyes. "I don't even get a 'hello' or a 'how are you this morning?' huh?" Smiling at the fact she was flirting with him, Casey chuckled. "Okay, look I'm sorry. Let me try again?" She laughed and nodded as he turned around, stayed there for a second and turned back to face her. "Oh, Gabby hi! I didn't see you there. How are you this fine morning?" Gabby gigged shoving his shoulder as she turned to see the rest of 81 coming out of the building. "You're lucky that you're cute Mr Casey, you really are." "I'm cute am I, aww look at you Mrs Casey getting a little soft, is she?" "Matt, shut up!" She laughed as she looked over her shoulder and saw the rest of her class filing back into the building. "Now, kiss your girl so we can both go back to our jobs." "I don't see an Ambo anywhere – " Grabbing the collar of his turnout jacket she pulled him towards her, their lips touching for a moment before Gabby pulled away leaving Matt pulling a kissy face at her. "You need to grow up, you and Kelly are a pair of children." She giggled as she shoved him in the direction of the truck and headed for the main building. Watching her go, Matt saw her laugh to herself before she shouted over her shoulder: "I married a child!" After laughing to himself, Matt instantly felt alone. Like a little piece of him was taken away as she left him. Although he knew he would see her soon after she had finished work, he still wanted to be with her, the brief encounter with her not being enough to satisfy his current feelings. After losing the kid the shift before they head a long talk about the future. What they hoped for and what they wanted to do, but starting a family was the one thing that had stuck in his mind. They spent hours talking about their family and what life would be not just having to look after one another but a child of their own. That gave him hope in that moment of sadness. Before he could come to grips with his feelings, the sound of the truck's horn came blasting through the air, ripping every molecule of his feelings from his current state of attention. Turning around, he saw the truck shaking as the men inside tried to hide their hysteria as they watched their lieutenant have a moment to himself. Matt closed his eyes and let a thankful smile spread across his face before staring towards the rest of the goons he worked with. He was thankful for them being there, being there to make him feel happy even though he knew he wanted to just sit in a dark room and be grumpy with everything that was wrong in the world. He was thankful that they were there to cheer him up even when they didn't know he was sad. Finally reaching the door, Matt grabbed the handle and swung himself up into his rightful spot at the helm of 81. Through the laugher, which now Matt was joining in on, Cruz looked at him and said, "feel ready to join us Lieu?" Casey nodded his head as he rolled his eyes. The truck surged into motion and again they were back on the road heading for home.