#Polar 4 Door Counter Fridge

[aubreypurplee]

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[alvawiren]

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Commercial Refrigeration Shop All | Discover a wide range of top-quality commercial kitchen, and Polar 4 Door Counter Fridgecatering equipment at our website

[peasleelosinger]

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[jasonadamgilly]

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[xxkitty13]

Vampire AU pt.3

Vampire Law x Human Luffy

Law is in a dilemma :3

Previous -> Part 2 Next -> Part 4

Deep within the water approaches a large metallic machine. The famous yellow submarine, the Polar Tang, belonging to the Heart Pirates. The sub resurfaces as it nears the island. The airtight door swings open.

“We finally get to see Captain!” Bepo glimmers in excitement. The polar bear runs out the deck, setting his eyes on the vampire’s castle. “Hurry, I can’t wait to see him!”

“Calm down Bepo. What’s the rush?” Shachi says, entering the deck. Penguin who follows behind, sighs. “We’re almost there.”

It wasn’t long before the sub docked at the coastline. The weather is fairly warm, when they embarked, the island was full of snow.

“Okay you guys unload the cargo. We’re going to report to the captain,” Bepo says. Shachi and Penguin accompany the bear to the vampire’s castle. As they approach the large building, a strange patch on a wall catches their attention.

“Uhh, has it always looked that way?” Shachi questioned.

Penguin takes a closer look at the repair. “This seems new. I wonder what happened? Captain wouldn’t allow his home to be damaged like this.”

The trio shrugs it off and head inside the castle’s main gate. Once stepping foot inside the cold building, they call out for Law. “Captain! We have arrived!” Their voices echo throughout the lonely space, each letter of their spoken words bounce off the crumbling stones. The vibration eventually fades into silence.

Soon after, an odd noise is heard from beyond the main lobby. “Captain?”

No answer.

With no response, they proceed to follow the noise. As they walk closer to the kitchen, the sound of gnawing becomes increasingly loud. Strange they think. Arriving at the location of the weird sound, they stop outside the entryway. Penguin slowly peaks from the door frame, with Bepo and Shachi slowly leaning in. That’s when they come in contact with a particular fellow, stuffing his face in the refrigerator.

The trio makes eye contact with the stranger, who stops mid bite.

“Intruder!” Bepo screams.

The strange fellow happens to be the straw hat. Startled by the scream, Luffy drops the piece of meat he held.

“Ah, who are you guys?!”

“Who are we?! Who are you?!” Shachi points at him.

Bepo and Penguin go into attack mode, blocking the only exit out of the kitchen. Shachi grabs the nearest object he finds and flings a saucepan at the trespasser. Luffy doges it, capturing the pan in the process and throws it back at him. The pan flies straight at his face, knocking him to the ground. Penguin scrambles in the kitchen cabinets, throwing every utility he finds at Luffy. He counters the attack by swinging the empty fridge at the attackers. Bepo panics, moving away from the exit. Luffy takes the opportunity to run out.

“What’s all the commotion?”

Bepo cries out in joy, "Captain!”

Luffy immediately hides behind Law, who holds Kikoku out, ready to slash the blood out of its victims.

“Captain, behind you! We have an intruder!”

“Who?” He looks behind him to find the trespasser and sees no one but Luffy. The straw hat peaks from behind. “Torao they started attacking me,” he says pointing at them.

The vampire sighs, putting away his sword and wraps his arm around Luffy’s waist. “Listen up, this is Luffy, my mate. You three better not bother him,” his says sternly.

“MATE?!” they shout in disbelief.

“You mean as in crewmate, right?!” Shachi says, holding onto his throbbing face.

“No.”

"Then. . . he's-" Cutting Penguin's sentence, Luffy wraps his stretchy arms around Law's torso and climbs over his back, resting his face on the crook of his neck. "Torao says I belong to him. Is that how the mate thing works?" he asks, nibbling on his earlobe.

“WHAT?!” In utter shock, Law's subordinates only stare at the scene. The vampire grunts at the human's public display of affection. It embarrassed him.

“Luffy meet my crew: Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin.”

Luffy's eyes glimmer in awe, setting his gaze at the polar bear in front of him. “I didn’t know you’re a pirate Torao and there’s a bear, can I touch him?”

“I’m on a hiatus at the moment.”

“So, is he technically apart of us now?” Bepo asks, hesitantly stepping away from Luffy as he tries to pet him.

“Nope, I’m already a captain of my own crew," the straw hat chuckles, finding himself over the bear's shoulders.

Law is baffled by this. “You’re a captain? Why haven’t you mentioned it?” Ignoring Bepo’s pleas for help.

“Well, you never asked and to be fair you didn’t tell me either.” He shrugs.

“But where’s your crew?”

“Oh that. . . I got lost and drifted on this island. My crew is fine, they’ll find me in no time.”

Law doesn’t take this information lightly. What does this mean for their new relationship? Two captains, two crews, two ships, they would only drift apart. Even though he’s taking a break at piracy to relax on this island, will Luffy leave once his crew finds him? No, he won’t let him.

Shachi and Penguin burst out in laughter. "We don't believe it cap, how did you bag such a cutie?"

The vampire growls, "It's none of your business. Anyway, where is the rest of my crew?"

"Oh, they're unloading the submarine at this moment. We went ahead to report our arrival."

"A SUBMARINE?!" Luffy yells, tugging onto Bepo's fur. "Ow, don't pull on my fur,” he winces.

"Please take me to it! I want to see it!"

Law facepalms. "Bepo, take him to see the sub. He won't stop until he gets what he wants."

The bear had no other choice, but to take his captain's mate with him. "Yes, captain. Now Luffy, can you please stop tugging my hair. It hurts."

"Oh, I'm sorry." He jumps from his back and gives him a grin. "Now, let's go." He grabs Bepo's hand and drags him along. As Luffy runs out of the doors, Law calls for his subordinates.

“Listen you two, I have an important task for you and the rest of the crew.”

Shachi and Penguin gave each other puzzled looks. “What is it captain?”

“Eliminate any vessel that comes our way,” Law’s eyes bloody red.

The two men shiver at his demeanor. Would he really do something that rash? Whatever it is, he’s dead serious, no debating his order.

“Aye aye captain.”

.𖥔 ݁ ˖౨ৎ.𖥔 ݁ ˖-`♡´-.𖥔 ݁ ˖౨ৎ.𖥔

The rest of the Heart Pirates had the same reaction as the trio. No one could believe the loner of their captain could ever find love, no offense. It amused them, more so the energetic personality of the younger man. He is the exact opposite of Law. The straw hat is expressive, outgoing, and the life of the party. Luffy fits in right with them, another addition to annoy the vampire.

“Are you okay Torao?”

The crew have settled in their resting places, either in the castle or in the Polar Tang. Law has been awfully quiet, more than usual. He sat alone on a rock on the shore, staring into the ocean. Luffy sense a change in his mate’s aura and accompanies him. He snuggles against the vampire as they both watch the sun set.

“I’m fine.”

He maintains his gaze at the never-ending body of water, almost as if he’s searching for something. Luffy wonders what ponders his mind. “You seem off. Was it me?”

Law immediately snaps out of his trance and turns to face his mate. “Why do you say that?”

“I dunno. . . maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention to you today.”

He gently placed his hand on his cheek, rubbing his thumb against his soft rubbery skin. “No, it’s not that. You did nothing wrong mugiwara-ya.” The human’s eyes shimmer and he leans to his warm touch. “I’m glad that my crew accepts you.”

“They were all very nice to me. I had fun hanging out with them.”

“I’m happy to hear that. They would have faced my wrath if they didn’t,” his words soft but direct.

“Torao, it’s okay if they don’t. As long as you like me, that’s all that matters,” he grins.

The vampire gives him a soft smile before pecking his tempting lips. Luffy stares into his golden orbs, caught in the intimate touch, melting away at the caress of his hand. He wants more and leans in to touch the vampire’s lips. The kiss is gentle, sharing a meaningful moment with one another. Luffy can feel his skin rub against the large fangs, it didn’t bother him at all. He enjoyed the thrill of the possibility of being cut, as strange as it seems.

Law catches his bottom lip, nibbling on it softly, carefully avoiding stabbing it with his sharp teeth. The kiss deepens, feeling on each other with no care in the world. He holds him with all his might, thinking back on before. Luffy would eventually meet up with his own pirate crew. The thought of his mate leaving caused his heart to drop. A feeling he’s felt numerous times in his life and this time. . . it will not happen again.

He suddenly breaks the kiss, leaving the straw hat craving for more. “Say Luffy. . . you wouldn’t leave me, right?”

The human looks at him dumbfounded. Why would he bring a question like that up?

“Torao, of course I wouldn’t.”

That was all the confirmation Law needed. He can rest easy, for now.

“Do you want to continue this in bed?”

Luffy feels his skin flush. He nods his head, shyly looking at the ground. With two simple words, they both land on the soft cushion of his bed. Law immediately towers over him, attacking his lovely neck. He fights the urge to bite him, tonight he only wants to focus on loving him- no blood or sex, simply to show he enjoys his presence.

Law connects their lips once more, guiding his tongue inside his wet cavern. They indulge in an erotic kiss, feeling on each other’s tongues. Luffy hums, sucking on the vampire’s tongue and briefly let's go of it before pulling on his bottom lip. They stop for a moment, panting filling the dark room.

“Mugiwara-ya.”

“Hmm?” Luffy says in a daze.

“Join my crew.”

The human only laughs, but Law’s face turns to a scowl, only for a few seconds.

“I mean it Luffy.”

Luffy stops his laughter, opening his eyelids to view his lover. His smile turns upside down. He would never leave his position as captain, but now. . . he’s unable to give him an answer.

“Law, can we talk about this another time. . .” His eyes trail away.

The vampire expression changes as he sighs. Great, he ruined the moment. "Okay, just think about it."

He slumps on his side, facing away from Luffy. The human peaks over and thinks to himself. He's been with Law for a short time, their relationship moved fast, fully trusting each other since the bite mark. Luffy goes to touch the faded mark on his nape, it is not visible, but he feels it. He belongs to him; he remembers the words the vampire told him that day. Anger begins to rise inside of him, he would never let anyone control him. Is it the mark that's making him feel this way? There would only be one way to find out if he truly loves him. Once his crewmates find him, he will have to decide.

For now, Luffy tries not to dwell on it. He scoots closer to Law and places his head near his shoulder. Law looks back at his mate and swallows to clear his dry throat. He faces the younger man and embraces him. The couple drift into their slumber, questions and doubts continuing to fill their minds.

[woahajimes]

So i have come to the conclusion that Superheroes get tired, and superheroes get hungry, and I’m pretty sure they sometimes can’t fit a few bucks in their suits but they’re still hungry and tired so i came up with this headcanon that there’s a little confectioner’s store (convenience store?) that wasn’t doing all that great and business was low and they were thinking of having to close until one day. Until fucking BATMAN shows up with another at LEAST two dozen superheroes and they just...start browsing... and batman says “get what you’d like.”

and the shop owner is like wow are they not gonna fucking pay and then speedsters are putting in stuff on the counter and supers are flying to the top shelves and they’re ooh-ing and ahh-ing and the store owner just hears dialogue from here and there that sounds something like “Ooh what flavour is that?” “I think it’s blue” *smack* “No DUH” or “I kinda want these chips but i also want these” “Just get them both, Batman’s paying!” and then after like a solid twenty minutes they all run out in a single line and they’re all waiting outside and there’s like three bags’ worth of stuff and the store owner is trying frantically to check them all out and fucking Batman is just standing there patiently, and there’s a bunch of faces peering on the window, and that was that.

That was the moment that Batman and his bunch’a buddies saved a small business.

And they didn’t dare STOP. Thing was/is, it became a THING. Superheroes that happened to be in Gotham would just,,,, go grab a snack over there. And people were terrified, because it surely wasn’t only superheroes, but villains as well. We’re talking about a 3am sneak in of the riddler’s and a thumbs up to the owner, who just stared at them silently while the riddler grabs  like a polar pop.

Oh, and it’s a very RESPECTED (and feared) little store. Because nobody even dares to even TRY and steal something. Not even the riddler. Nope. Nobody.  Not even the bravest bravado of all Gotham. And it’s funny because nobody even GOES there. Just superheroes and villains. There might as well be a poster that says ‘no civilians allowed’ in big block letters because there has literally never been anyone besides the owner and their family that has even stepped FOOT in that store.

Not that it’s any bad for business. Batman tends to be over-generous sometimes, and some costumers even have an ACCOUNT. How that works it that they’ll just... pay in advance. One day, Nightwing came in around with a ziploc bag with $30, and asked if he could pay in advance of the visits he’d make until it ran out, and then so on and so forth until there were like at least 10 accounts with 100 dollars each.

And sometimes the batfamily (who are literally regulars) will come in (in like packs of at least 4) and sometimes they’re beat up, sometimes they’re just skipping inside, sometimes they’re being carried over somebody’s shoulder. And most interactions include:

Batman: what do you want?

Red robin: *reaches for monster drink*

Batman: *slaps his hand away*

Red Robin: *settles for gatorade*

*red hood opening a fridge and ‘cooling down’*

impulse: but i got that flavor last time!

superboy: but they don’t have ANY OTHERS

Spoiler: -and then i was like ‘yo wtf’ and she was like ‘i dunno bro looks like you could use some waffles’ and what’s THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN right? I mean is she flirting with me or something because damn i like her but at the same time i don’t but like-

store owner: 

red hood, at the door: you said you were getting CRACKERS, SPOILER. 

*random run-ins of superheroes waiting for the bathroom.*

[motleycrueroadie]

Along for the Ride (pt. 7)

Author’s Note: @sonyawongraven - thank you for reaching out and reminding me about this story. I hope that this update meets your expectations for my writing!

 Previous Chapters: One I Two I Three I Four I Five I Sixx 

When I was a kid, in the rare times that I would read, I had read briefly about a mythological Greek creature called a phoenix. From what I remember, a phoenix cyclically generates itself wherein it combusts and the new phoenix rises from the ashes. In some ways, my music career and myself as a person could be described as phoenix. Frank Feranna Jr. went up in flames and Nikki Sixx rose from the ashes. More recently, the inevitable downfall of London was catalyzed by yours truly in an anger driven resignation by fire and the unnamed band of misfits rose from the ashes. After watching Vince perform at that excuse of a “party”, I knew he was the front man we wanted for the band. However, the silence that came after that realisation was paralyzing and continued to constrict until Vince’s arrival. Despite the fact that we would have found another front man, I was doubtful that he would’ve lived up to the vision I created in my head once I saw Vince play, so I was grateful enough that he had finally shown. Now we had the basic outline of a band but needed a name and a reputation for that name. Of course, in building that name I would also be able to cash in on Janis’ promise to attend our first show. 

Janis’ unwavering presence continued to bewilder me with each passing day. My internal pessimistic voice attempted to convince me that she was simply thrill seeking, sticking around because I was her polar opposite and it attracted her. The juxtaposition between us was especially highlighted at the pool party. If Janis had been separated from us, I would’ve had a hell of a time trying to pick her out of the crowd. However, I had to remind myself that Janis didn’t come looking for me. For all the time that I have been living in this building, she has been right above my head. She knew of my existence and never came knocking on my door, but she freely allowed me to walk straight into her life when I sought her out. So each day, these opposing views struggle to dominate my perception of her, attempting to maintain this enigma status to her. The thing was, I knew she wasn’t an enigma. She has never created a veil of illusion to who she is. When I asked her about her parents, she told me. I came to understand that Janis treated everyone like they were her friend but you only knew her if you had asked.

“Baby? Are you coming with me?” The whine in Vince’s girlfriend’s voice was undeniably the most annoying fucking thing I have had to endure this afternoon. She’d been here since we began at 4:30 and she made me want to bash my head against the fucking wall and leave my corpse for the roaches to eat. Glancing over to the microwave in the kitchen, the time read 8:15 which meant that Janis would be bringing down dinner in fifteen minutes. Apparently Tommy followed my glance at the clock,  I could literally watch the kid’s hamster in his brain pick up speed on the wheel as he realised the implications of the time. Tommy probably only understood the fact that he would be fed and not that this whiny bitch had not taken a liking to Janis earlier. 

“Dude you have to stay, JJ,” Don’t get this bitch started Tommy! 

“WE have things to talk about and we want you to stay for them Vince.” Mick was the one to interrupt, catching Tommy’s inability to remember details. Tommy looked over at me with his mouth still open, obviously confused as to why he had been interrupted so I met his look with a quick shake of my head to indicate for him to drop it. “That is, if you’re willing to leave Rock Candy?” We all looked at Vince expectantly, waiting for his answer. 

“Yeah of course man.” Almost instantly, a genuine smile broke out on my face, Tommy and Mick were donning similar smiles, the latter’s was more subtle in comparison. Sticking out my hand to Vince, he shook it firmly. The smile on my face only continued to grow as his girlfriend took the hint that he would not be joining her and left, slamming the door behind her. 

“What Tommy was about to say before I interrupted him was a reminder that Janis is going to be down in a few minutes with some dinner, but I figured that it was best if that were left unsaid in front of your lovely girl.” Looking over at Tommy, watching his hamster go into overdrive with Mick’s comment was amusing to say the least. Too bad I didn’t know how to play poker because Tommy would be so fucking easy to win against. There was a sudden and uncoordinated knocking at the door and Tommy jumped up from his seat to answer it. Opening the door revealed Janis with a dish in her hands,

“I’m a tad bit early but once I saw that beautiful car leave, I figured this place would be safe for me to enter.” Janis spoke as she crossed the living room to place the dish down on what little counter space there was available. Turning back to face us, she spoke directly to Vince “Your girl has natural guard dog tendencies, but judging by her perception of me as some threat, you” pointing her finger in a mock accusation, “must be the real dog.” Vince, by now sat on the couch, slouched his hips forward and stretched his arms out across the back of the couch.

“You,” Vince imitated her enunciation, “ walked in here wearing very little clothing, all giddy and excited. Can you blame her?” Janis looked quite shocked at this statement, and turned to look at me for support. I for one, knew she had no ill intentions, but knowing that it would get her flustered I shrugged my shoulders slightly to. My intentions of flustering her worked as her cheeks turned rosy and she began playing with the skin of her nails. 

“Holy fuck Janis.” Mick spoke with an air of exasperation at her, “They’re busting your balls. You didn’t come off as an adulterous whore looking to fuck this asshole.” She let out a breath that none of us noticed that she was holding in and I laughed at her frustration to which she began laughing as well while flipping Vince and I off. She looked back over at me, 

“Is it a safe assumption that you don’t have any cutlery or plates for us to eat off of?” She knew the answer to her own question, but had asked it anyways, a habit that annoyed me. The corner of her mouth twitched up in a smirk, and she moved her head in the direction of the door. 

“Someone come help me bring the rest down, and DO NOT,” she whipped around to catch Tommy about to reach under the tinfoil to pick at the dish, “touch the food with your bare hands that have not been washed since god knows when!” She strode over to him grabbing his arm, “In fact you can be the one to come and help me!” Since first meeting her in the diner, Tommy knew not to argue with Janis on the matters of etiquette and manners so he simply allowed himself to be dragged out of the apartment. Placing the bass gently into the stand, I walked into the excuse of a bedroom, which was in fact a mattress on the floor with blankets haphazardly strewn across it, to retrieve some papers for naming the band. As I emerged from the bedroom, Tommy and Janis re-entered carrying what appeared to be plates, cutlery, salad, and buns. 

“Why didn’t we just come up to your apartment? Considering the amount of stuff you’ve brought down, wouldn’t it have made more sense for us to come to you?” I asked her.

“Am I not allowed a change of scenery?” Shaking my head at her, she grinned knowing that once again she had answered my question with another question rather than just giving me an answer. “Anyways, I’ve made baked pasta and Caesar salad for you all.” Tommy of course had his plate ready and his ass back on the couch before she even finished the statement. Grabbing beers from the fridge, I placed them all on the table before glancing expectantly to Janis while holding one in my hand, she nodded back to me. Once we were all seated, I began alternating between eating and shuffling through the papers and notebooks in front of me trying to find what I was looking for. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Janis watching me. 

“So here’s my theory okay?” Speaking up suddenly, I had their attention, “Look, if we want to knock people on their asses then we’ve got to give them a show. The punks? They’re doing the minimalist thing, so let’s take this in the exact opposite direction…” Tommy and Vince were nodding in agreement with me, while Mick remained stoic and difficult to read. However, I was only looking towards Janis at this point, not because she was an integral part of the band that I needed approval from but because I was nervous. Being nervous at this point sounds stupid, but I have been thinking about this band long before these guys were sitting in this room with me. “I’m talking, I’m talking a stadium show in the clubs, man,” unconsciously my hands were talking with me as I grasped at ideas, “Like, like costumes and lights and…”

“Pyro and flames and shit! Explosions.” Tommy exclaimed. Janis glanced over at him and gave a light laugh as she turned back to me, but his enthusiasm only built confidence in me that at least he shared my vision. 

“Exactly! Exactly!” Becoming more focused, I reigned back in the conversation. “Look it’s a fucking war out there and the only way we win is by showing these kids something they’ve never seen before.” 

“So what do we call this thing?” Vince spoke, signaling that he was also on board. Flipping through the notebook pages, I continued “You know it’s all about being fucking larger than life.” Stopping on the page, I looked up to Vince and showed him the pentagram symbol and ‘XMASS’ name. 

“X-MASS?” He questioned. 

“On a scale of 1-10? I think it’s a 1.9.” Spoke Mick. The others gave snorts of laughter while I felt slightly defeated. 

“It’s a play on Christmas. You know? You can use all the Christ imagery and shit. It’ll piss people off and make people think!” My attempts to steer this conversation back into my direction did not appear to be going in my favour. “It’s got shock value.” 

“Yeah, I’m shocked at how much it blows.” Mick stated. Exasperated, I put the notebook down on the table. A business pitch gone astray, I had lost them. Janis glared at Mick before letting out a sigh, and picking up my notebook to flip through some of the pages.

“Not quite sure what religious trauma you went through but I’m sensing a theme here.” Setting the notebook back down on the table, she looked me dead in the eyes and spoke genuinely, “You don’t want to piss the wrong people off and the church are definitely people to steer clear of. Also you’re overestimating the intellectual capacity of the club goers Nikki. They don’t want to think.” She shrugged her shoulders, “They just want to get fucked out of their minds and listen to good music.” 

“Alright then assholes, you give it a shot, but fucking make it big.” Each of them grabbed a notebook off the table, save for Janis who continued eating her dinner while glancing at the clock in the kitchen. I followed her gaze to see it reading 9:00, looking back I caught her eye and she winked at me before looking down at what Tommy was writing. She smacked him on the chest with the back of her hand and he laughed as he turned the notebook around to face us. A crudely drawn dick with the words “The Fourskins” written on it was the best he could come up with. 

“Really Tommy?” I feigned annoyance while I laughed. 

“Yeah cause we’re going to fuck the audience in the face every night dude!”

“But can you see that shit on the marquee above the forum every night?” Again, I had unconsciously talked with my hands, splaying out across a fake marquee. 

“Yeah you’re right. I’m out.” Tommy tossed the notebook back onto the table as Janis gave him a whispered scolding for essentially wasting his breath but I knew she found it funny too. Mick seemed to be deep in thought, so I jutted out my chin at him and he turned the notebook around while speaking, 

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this.” The paper read Motley Crew. Janis chuckled lightly at this, looking around the group while I took the notebook from his hand to add a few tweaks to it.

“Don’t think I could have thought of a more encompassing word for you lot.” Janis and Mick exchanged a look and she held out her fist to him, he smirked and reached across the table where he sat to return the gesture to her. Turning the notebook back around to the group, it read Mötley Crüe. Despite losing their attention earlier, they all nodded in agreement to this name and the encouragement energized me.

Not long after our name had been decided upon, Janis (with the recruited help of Tommy yet again) packed up the leftovers and made her way back to the apartment. It had almost slipped my mind that it was a Monday night and she would be headed to work. She thanked us for letting her intrude on our band naming session, which I found to be amusing considering that she had been the one to feed us for free. Once Tommy had returned, the drinks were flowing and I was beginning to get a sense of who Vince was and I quite liked it. Over the past few weeks, I had been able to go out with Tommy and Mick. Tommy proved to be someone who I could raise hell with and although Mick wasn’t a complete buzzkill, he did not seem keen on joining in the festivities. He humoured us by dryly laughing at our antics but his heart never seemed to be quite into it. Although, maybe Janis could get him to loosen up a little bit. Mick seemed to tolerate her a bit more than he did Tommy and I for whatever reason. 

“So what’s with that Janis chick, Tommy mentioned her at the party more or less as cherry on top of the offer,” 

“Must not have been why you really came seeing as you showed up with a chick. Also please don’t bring her back here.” Hoping to steer him clear of the topic of Janis, I would rather not listen to him talk about her like I assumed he would. I loved pussy as much as the next person, but Janis wasn’t pussy.

Vince began listing reasons why he kept his girl around, among which was money, something none of us had a lot of. Fuck. If I had known she had access to cash, I would’ve been kissing her ass rather than been at her throat earlier. He briefly apologized for ghosting us on the offer but explained that he had eventually listened to the tape and liked it but also figured that he owed it Tommy to come for helping him out when he was in a tough spot in high school. If he didn’t feel in debt to Tommy, he probably wouldn’t be here. I couldn’t tell whether I should respect him or be annoyed. Doesn’t matter now cause he’s here. 

With enough beers in my system I was beginning to feel cramped in the cluttered and frankly gross apartment and felt I had enough of my company for the time being. It was a bit difficult to shake Tommy off but I told him to stay at the apartment with Vince and Mick so they didn’t feel they had to leave. The Whiskey-a-Go-Go was only down the street from the apartment building and didn’t take long to reach on foot. Staring up at the marquee, I knew that our name was going to look great up there and it was simply a matter of time. Turning the corner, I could see the fluorescent sign of my destination in the distance. Approaching the same window I had seen her in initially, Janis was not visible, but I could hear Jump in the Line by Harry Belafonte playing from the jukebox inside meaning that Janis had acquired some quarters. Opening the door, I reached up and stopped the bell from ringing to maintain a stealthy approach. This one looked quite similar to the one above Janis’ apartment door but newer. It clicked that she must have taken the old when it was replaced. Turning my head left and right I could see a pair of bent sun kissed legs on the ground peeking out from underneath a table with one converse clad shoe tapping along to the beat of the song. Approaching the table, making sure to keep to the side so that she wouldn’t be able to see me, I shifted uncomfortably when I saw that the skirt of her uniform was riding up on Janis’ thighs as she sat on the floor appearing to scrape gum off the bottom of the booth. 

“For someone scraping gum off tables, you look pretty happy.” She jumped slightly at the surprise of my voice and banged her head off the table, cursing and rubbing it while glaring up at me. Holding out my hand to her while laughing at her pain, she smacked it away with the straight edge scraper and made her way off the floor. 

“You want a JC?” She questioned, making her way over to the bar. 

“Of course.” Sliding into the booth, I made my way over to the jukebox that had stopped playing to slip a quarter in and chose a personal favourite. The opening guitar sequence to Dream On by Aerosmith rang throughout the diner and Janis nodded appreciatively as she approached with the JC which I gladly accepted and downed in two gulps. She smirked up at me in what I could only describe as a devilish grin. I smirked back down at her, “What?”

“Did my spit make your drink taste especially good?” The laugh that I loved to hear blended beautifully with the song. I was content being here, even if she had spit in my drink as payback for scaring her. For now, life is good, exceptionally so with Janis by my side. 

[melaninmarvelgirl62]

Overworked Part 2

Erik Killmonger x Reader

Word Count: 3k

Lightly Proofread. Please excuse any errors.

A/N: I’m sorry for how long this took to get out you guys. This is my first time writing Dadmonger and I’m a little nervous. I hope y’all enjoy it. As always please like, comment, and reblog.

9:48 a.m.

‘I should be up by now.’ Erik thought to himself. He sighed lowly and continued staring at the ceiling like he had been doing for the past hour. He should be sitting in his office prepping for the meeting he had at 10, but he isn't. He’s at home, in bed, lying comfortably next to his favorite person in the world. Now, in his defense, he really did try to go to work this morning. He had woken up late, a little after 8, which never happens. He's usually up well before 6, but this morning the sensors in his brain seemed to malfunction this morning. When he finally woke up he managed to, begrudgingly, pull himself out of bed to complete his morning routine. He emptied his bladder, brushed his teeth, and showered all in less than 20 minutes. He got dressed and made his way to his car, where he sat for about 15 minutes before going back into the house, trading his clothes for a pair of basketball shorts and crawling back into bed. So, yeah. He really did try but for some reason he just couldn’t do it. 

Well, maybe not just some reason. 

He looked down to where your body curled into his. Your leg was thrown over his waist and your head was lodged between his side and his armpit. The positioning looked awkward and uncomfortable but the peaceful look on your face, paired with your soft snores told him otherwise. A small smile graced his face as he reached over and tugged gently at the silk scarf that had begun to slip backwards. Taking hold of your thigh he hoisted it slightly higher causing you to curl into him further.

“It’s you. You’re the reason.”,he whispered to your unconscious form, chuckling quietly when a crease formed in your brow, and you burrowed your face further into his side. He thought back to the conversation you two had the night before, remembering the defeated look on your face. He felt like an asshole, honestly. Mostly because he didn’t even realize that he’d been neglecting you and the kids the way he has. None of the work he does is great enough to potentially put the foundation of his family at risk. You and the kids were his world, without y’all none of the other stuff really mattered.

The vibrations of his phone atop his bedside table drew his attention away from you. He looked over to see his assistant’s name flash across his screen and groaned. Reluctantly, Erik untangled your limbs from his. Being careful as to not wake you, he rolled himself into sitting position on the edge of the bed, instantly missing the warmth of your body. He picked up his phone and headed into his closet. Tapping the green icon, he put it on speaker and sat it down in front of him.

“I’m not coming in today, Alicia.”,he stated plainly, dragging a hand over his face.

“Yeah, i figured. I already cancelled your 10 o’clock appointment I was calling to confirm rescheduling dates for it as well as your 3:00.”, she answered, without missing a beat.

A sigh of relief escaped Erik and he smiled to himself, grateful to have hired a competent assistant. The two of them talked for a bit, discussing how taking the weekend off would disturb the week ahead, and  rearranging his schedule to fit in the meetings he would miss. Afterward Erik thanked her, and bid her a good  weekend. Hanging up, he went back into the bedroom in hopes of wrapping you in his arms. His hopes were shattered when he arrived to an empty bed. Beyond the bathroom door the steady pitter-patter of water against the shower floor could be heard. He kissed his teeth. ‘There goes the rest of my blissful morning’. He fell back onto the bed, pout in full effect, before innocent babble sounded through the baby monitor.

He made his way down the hall and into the nursery, where he found his 6-month old son, Isaiah, in his crib playing with a small black panther. Isaiah’s big brown eyes found Erik’s quickly and toothless smile lit up his round face, he dropped his toy and reached up for Erik.

“Wassup, lil man?”,he asked, retrieving him from his crib. Isaiah responded enthusiastically, bouncing in his arms and giggling. Erik smiled, too engrossed in Isaiah to notice you leaning against the door jamb watching with a soft smile on your face.You walk into the room and stand behind him. Wrapping your arms around his torso, you press your lips to his back, before resting your cheek against his warm skin. “I think we got a visitor, lil man.”,Erik said and your smile widened. You step into his line of vision and he leans down to quickly brush his lips over yours, muttering a soft ‘good morning’ against them.

“Well this is a pleasant surprise.” ,you say and Erik chuckles. Your son sees you and reaches down for you with a small whine. You take him into your arms and pepper his face with kisses, causing his infectious laughter to fill the room. “Were you having fun with baba?, you ask Isaiah and he looks to Erik with a big smile, bouncing excitedly saying ‘baba’ and you and Erik chuckled softly.

Leaving the nursery, you make your way across the hall to your 4 year old daughter’s room. You peer into the room to find Kaia sleeping peacefully and ease the door shut. You gesture at your husband to do the same thing for your 5 year old, Elijah. He mirrors your actions, quietly closing the door behind him.

You head downstairs and into the kitchen with your son in tow and your husband close behind. Sitting Isaiah in his high chair, you stand at the island and begin cutting up a banana into large chunks and placing them in front of your son, who wastes no time mashing the fruit between his fingers, eating it, and babbling happily. You chuckle softly and grab a bottle of milk from the fridge, placing it in the bottle warmer, and waiting for the milk to heat. The warmer beeps and Erik watches as you pluck the bottle from the warmer, sitting it in front of Isaiah, after testing the liquid on your skin. He walks around from his seat at the island to stand behind you. He braced himself against the counter top with one hand while his arm found a place around your waist, hand venturing beneath your tank top in search of your warm skin. His hold on your waist loosened slightly as you turned to face him. You wrap your arms around his torso, your eyes peering up to meet his.

“Hi.” The word leaves your lips softly as you smile up at him knowingly.

“Hi” He replies, with a smile that matches your and he leans down to bring his lips to yours. The kiss was soft and unhurried, not unlike the thousands of others you’d shared, but it felt different. Like an unspoken promise of sorts. Your lips left his and you rested you head against his broad chest, appreciating the steadiness of his heartbeat beneath his scarred skin. Your nails scratch at the small of his back, gently, and his hold on your body tightened once more.

“No work today?” ,you asked and he breathed out a quiet ‘mnmm’ in response. Warmth spread through your body at the sound and you smiled. One of his hands slid up your back, and into your hair,  giving the ponytail of faux-locs on your head a light tug. You took the non verbal cue and your eyes met his once more.

“I want you to know that I heard everything you said last night.” his tone was light but serious as his dark brown eyes peered down into yours. You downcast your eyes, your lips ghosting his sternum before resting your chin there.

“I know you did.” ,you said eyes on him again. There was no doubt in your mind that Erik had taken your words seriously. “You being here this morning tells me that much, but for the record, had you gone into the office this morning I wouldn't have doubted that for a second.” He nodded at your words but didn’t say anything further. He simply cradled your head to his chest, fingers gliding against the nape of your neck. The two of you stayed like that until a sharp gasp drew your attention away from each other. Your daughter stood in the middle of the kitchen floor, purple bonnet askew, staring wide eyed at the two of you. Erik let go of you and crouched down low with his arms opened wide. Kaia took off running, small body hitting her father’s chest with a thump. Erik grunted at the impact and folded her into his arms. He showered her face in kisses and she giggled pushing him away.

“Baba, stop it!” she squealed, through a fit of laughter. He placed one last kiss on her dimpled cheek before relenting to her request.

“How’s my princess?” he asked, the brilliant smile on his face mirroring his daughters. Kaia wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, her cheek pressed against his.

“I’m hungry.” ,she answered, shifting her vision in search of you. She found you leaning against the kitchen island with a grin on your face. “Morning, Mommy!” You cross the short distance over to them and kiss her cheek.

 “Good morning, Peanut. What do you want for breakfast?”

“Cereal.”

You spin around, surprised, when another little voice answers instead. Elijah walks past you with tired eyes. He hugs his father’s legs a small ‘good morning’ leaving his mouth, before making his way to you and doing the same. Since the day he was born you swore he was the calmest kid in the world, the polar opposite of his baby sister, who possesses more energy than any four year old you’d ever seen. You bend down and press a kiss into the mess of coils on his head.

“Which cereal would you like?” you ask, heading towards the pantry to retrieve the Coco Puffs you already knew they’d want. A Saturday tradition in the Stevens household. You prepare two bowls sitting them on the table. Kaia detached herself from her father and goes with her brother to sit.

“Thank you, mommy.” their voices mirror in unison.

“You’re welcome, my loves.” You smile and kiss the tops of their heads. Stopping in front of Isaiah, you use the bib around his neck to wipe his face clean, he stops his babbling to give you a gummy smile. Erik joins the children at the table with his own large bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. You stand behind the island committing the moment to memory. It’s been about a month of Sundays since all of you had eaten breakfast together due to Erik’s recent work schedule. Grabbing a bowl, you rip a page out of Erik’s book and take a seat.

The rest of the day went on like that. Kaia and Elijah were glued to their father sides only breaking away for food or the bathroom. As the evening slowly shifted into the nighttime you all found yourselves in the backyard. Bellies full from the  dinner you’d eaten prior. You and Isaiah were sitting on the patio, watching, while the rest of your family splashed around in the pool. You smiled as you watched Erik send a large wave of water crashing down over their heads, thankful that wash day for Kaia was right around the corner. When Isaiah yawned and laid his head against your chest, eyelids fluttering closed tiredly, you checked the time on your phone. 8:49 p.m. You got your husband’s attention, silently telling him that it was time to go inside. You headed upstairs to put Isaiah to sleep. Hopefully for the night. He went down easily, unconsciously gripping the small stuffed panther cub you kept in his crib. 

You eased the door closed and went searching for Erik and the kids. You found them in the bathtub, laughing at something Erik was doing with the bath time toys. They had begged to opt out of nap time today and you could see the tiredness hidden behind their wide eyes.’They’ll sleep good tonight.’ You think to yourself with a small laugh. You walk over, pulling a random co-wash from your product stash and work it through your daughter’s hair, and rinsing it, before moisturizing it and braiding it into four neat cornrows. Erik drains the tub and you each hold out a towel for the children to step into. You take Kaia and Erik takes Elijah. You carry them to their respective rooms to dress them for bed. You tied up Kaia’s hair and tucked her in, placing a kiss on her forehead.

“Goodnight’”you whispered, but she didn’t respond, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. You and Erik passed each other in the hallway as you made your way to Elijah’s room and he made his to Kaia’s. Your son’s soft snores were the first thing you noticed when you entered his room. You tiptoed over to his resting form pressing your lips to his forehead before quietly exiting the room.  As you walked back to your bedroom you saw the nursery door open. You peeked in to see Erik standing over Isaiah whispering something in Xhosa. You smiled and continued on to the bedroom.

Once there you walked into the bathroom, and started the shower, shedding the leggings and tank top you’d been in all day. You wrapped your hair into a bun at the top of your head and stepped beneath the spray of the hot water, body relaxing instantly. Taking your loofah, you squeeze the brown sugar and honey scented shower gel into it and begin to scrub the days activities from your body.

“Mind if I join you?”, Erik appears, seemingly out of nowhere, scaring the shit out of you. The small squeak you let out makes him chuckle. He mutters out some form of an apology but there’s absolutely no remorse in his tone. You roll your eyes and smack his chest before returning to the task at hand. He steps fully into the shower behind you, pulling you back against his chest. You instantly relax into his body, the suds on you transferring onto him.. He groans, “I’m tired as fuck. I don’t get how you run after them kids all damn day.”He gets his arms around you securely and plants a trail of kisses across your shoulder and up the side of your neck.”You a good ass mama.”, he whispers in your ear. You smile softly and turn your head, tilting it up a bit as he captures your lips with his in a deep kiss. He guides you beneath the streams of water, careful not to wet your hair,and watches as the soapy water glides down your body. He pushes your back against the shower wall and covers your lips with his again. You sighed contently as his hands travel over your body, settling on your backside. He kneads the supple flesh, his lips leaving yours to nip down the length of your neck. A soft moan escapes you as he presses himself firmly against you, his thick member weighing heavily against your hip. He makes a move to lift you and you whimper in protest, pushing at his chest. You’ve always hated shower sex, which he knows, and he’s dropped you every single time you two tried it, so that was a hard no.  He pulled away from you, with an eyebrow quirked in question, bottom lip tucked between his teeth. 

You snort and roll your eyes, “I thought you were tired.”He laughs humorlessly, eyes low and drunk with lust, as they freely roamed your wet body. He offers no words as he moves towards you. Acting quickly, you dodge him and step out of the shower. He kisses his teeth,a menacing ‘stop playin’ wit me, ma’ falls from his lips causing a shiver to run down your spine. “I’m not, I promise. Finish your shower and come to bed.” You press your lips to his again, fingers purposefully brushing against his rigid arousal, drawing a low growl from his throat. You pull away smiling. You’ve really missed this.

“Naked.” The word makes you stop in your tracks as you made your way back to the bedroom. You turn to face him a soft ‘hmm?’ leaving you.He walked towards you, water dripping from his naked body, “Be naked when I get there. I mean that shit.” He emphasized the statement with a hard smack to your behind, your wet skin stinging in its wake.

You moaned and a slow smile appeared on your face, “Yes, Daddy,”. You take one of the fluffy white towels from the shelf in your bathroom and pat your body dry. Wrapping yourself in your long silk white robe, you make your way into the bedroom, picking up your vanilla and coconut scented body butter on your way out. You sit on the edge of the bed and smooth the product over your skin, thoroughly enjoying its sweet scent. Your body hummed with excitement as you waited for your husband to come out of the bathroom. You move to remove the robe from your body, your nipples hardening as they meet the cold air. Just as you’re about to drop the garment completely, you hear three little knocks at your door, followed by a soft ‘mommy’. The whine that left you was a little more than pathetic. A defeated sigh escaped you as you pulled the robe around you once more, securing it tightly. Behind the door stood Elijah, thumb in his mouth and his stuffed jaguar tucked beneath his arm.

“What’s wrong, chipmunk? Bad dream?” you asked softly, lowering yourself to  his eye level. He nods, laying his head on your shoulder. Enfolding him in your arms you stand up and walk over to the bed. You take a seat with him in your lap just as Erik steps out of the bathroom, thankfully, with a towel around his waist. He takes in the sight in front of him and laughs at the joke that is his sex life.

“18 days.”,he says,incredulously, to no one in particular, staring up at the ceiling. You laugh softly to keep from crying.

“18 days.”

Erik was going to make sure that the two of you didn’t make it to 19.

A/N: Have kids they said. It’ll be fun they said.Thanks for reading! One more part to go!!! 

@chaneajoyyy @fd-writes

[harryfreakinstyles2]

Torn (Part 3) H.S.

I roll over in bed forcing my eyes open. My head a dull ache as I look at the light shining through my curtains. I am assuming it is well past noon based on the amount of times I snoozed my alarm but I am too scared to look at my phone to check the time as the memories from last night come back to me. I climb out of bed and head for the kitchen leaving my phone on my nightstand.

I settle on a peanut butter sandwich after spending fifteen minutes going through the fridge then the cabinets then the fridge again. I really need to go grocery shopping this weekend. I wander into the living room finding a comfortable spot on the couch as I start scrolling through Netflix when I hear Julie's bedroom door open. She enters the living room looking better than I honestly expected her to. There is a huge smile plastered on her face as she takes a seat facing me on the opposite end of the couch. I know exactly where the conversation is going to go and as much as I want to know what is happening with her and Harry, I also don't.

"So how late did you end up getting back home last night?" I try to say as casually as possible avoiding the inevitable topic.

"Actually not that late. Harry wasn't feeling well so he left like thirty minutes after you did and then I came home soon after that." She says matching my casual tone.

Julie has always been this way. She likes to bring up a topic she wants to talk about but makes the other person ask her all the questions. She makes you pry the information out of her even though she wants to give it to you anyway. It always felt like a power move but I never cared and rarely noticed, until now I guess. I try not to read into her mention of Harry leaving early as I continue our conversation.

"So who is Harry exactly? And why have you never mentioned him to me before?" I question her playfully.

"He's no one really. I mean not yet. I met him a few weeks ago and we have hung out a few times when I have been out with friends." Julie responds like it's not important. But she forgets that I have known her since we were eight years old and I can read her from a mile away. It's important.

"Oh well, he seems nice." I say not very convincingly.

I know she was expecting more from me. A comment on how gorgeous he is or his British accent but she lets the topic go and we continue gossiping and laughing for a bit about last night and our drunk friends. But I feel uncomfortable around her like I did something wrong or I am hiding something. I keep telling myself I didn't really do anything wrong. But I feel guilty anyway.

I am slightly relieved that Julie and Harry barely know each other. But less relieved because of the smile on her face when she mentioned his name.

"Dang, what time is it? I really should go work on this essay for a bit." I lie to her so I have an excuse to leave the apartment for a few hours hoping it will help clear my head.

I leave Julie on the couch and rush into my room to change into a hoodie and a pair of yoga pants. Then I quickly throw my laptop, books, and phone into my backpack. I head back into the living room but the couch is empty. I make my way towards the kitchen and still no sight of her so I assume she went back to her room.

"Bye Jules! I'm headed to the coffee shop! I'll be back in a few hours! Call if you need anything!" I yell as I grab my keys off the counter and rush out the door before I hear a response.

There is almost no traffic out to my surprise since it is the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday and I make it to the coffee shop where I work in under ten minutes. I go inside happy when I notice my favorite table in the corner near the window is empty and drop my stuff. After ordering my usual iced coffee I sit back down at the table and start unloading my backpack. I reach for my phone and realize I haven't checked it all day. The screen lights up revealing a few unread messages one from Julie responding to my message from last night. And two from Harry.

Harry: "I'm sorry if I overstepped" he sent thirty minutes after his last message last night.

Harry: "Can I see you again?" He sent an hour ago.

I sigh closing my eyes after reading the messages. I wish I didn't feel guilty about being happy that he wants to see me again. I know he is not dating Julie after our talk this morning. But her smile when she talked about him this morning flashes in my head and I know she wishes they were. I sigh again knowing what I need to do even though it's the last thing I want to do.

Me: "That's not a good idea. I think it's best we stay away from each other."  I read the message again. It's short and to the point. Still wishing I could tell him I would love to see him again, I send the message.

I try to focus on the essay I am working on for next weeks assignment but I keep checking my phone and hoping for a response. Finally I feel my phone vibrate on the table and I pause for a minute scared to read the message.

Harry: "Why? Did I do something?"

I sigh aggravated at the situation and wishing things were different. I can't help myself as I quickly type out a response.

Me: "No, it is not you. Just trust me. It's complicated. It's easier to just leave it alone." I send before I think too much.

Harry: "What are you talking about? Can you just meet up with me and we can talk? I don't understand what the problem is."  he sends back automatically.

I can't help but wonder why he does not see the problem. He knows Julie is my best friend she said it last night. He honestly can not expect me to spend time with him when he has a thing with her.

Me: "I'm sorry Harry. I really don't want to create any problems." I send then set my phone back on the table.

I lean back in my chair and close my eyes realizing that hurt more than I thought it would. Why did he have to meet her first. Why do I feel this weird pull towards him of all people. He is nothing like my last boyfriend. Granted that was senior year of high school which is almost four years ago now but they are polar opposites. My mind flashes to Harry with his tattoos and black T-shirt and matching black skinny jeans. Despite his rough exterior all I can focus on was how warm his smile was and the way his green eyes are burned into my memory.

An hour passes and I haven't received a response. I look out the window and the clouds have moved in signaling a storm is sure to arrive soon. I have written exactly one paragraph and downed my entire iced coffee. Feeling defeated and pathetic I lay my head against the table and sigh while trying again to rid my mind of thoughts of him. Accepting the fact that I will not be getting much work done today I start packing up my things when in the corner of my eye I notice someone approaching my table. I look up, my blue eyes feeling like they are deceiving me as I take in his messy brown curls pushed back from his forehead and green eyes that have been stuck in my head for the last 24 hours. He looks effortlessly beautiful wearing the same tight black jeans from last night and a white Rolling Stones t shirt. I tug at my hoodie now very aware of how awful I must look. I glance at the tattoos covering his arm trying to make out each one now that I can see them in the light. I know I am staring but I can't get myself to look away.

"Hey," He says his deep voice breaking me out of my trance.

"What are you doing here?" Is all I can say in response as my eyes meet his.

"Julie told me you were here and coffee sounded good," He says casually shrugging his shoulders smiling at me while sitting down in the seat across from me.

His presence makes my pulse start to race and he is even more gorgeous than I remember as I stare at the dimple that forms when he smiles. I am trying to wrap my head around the fact that he is even here sitting across from me right now.

"You asked Julie where I was!?!?" I say finally in disbelief.

"No!" He laughs at my reaction. "She invited me over saying she was home alone because you left to come here to study."

"So you came here?" I question him confused at the idea that he would rather come here to see me than be at the apartment alone with Julie.

"Yes, I came here. Does that surprise you? I told you I wanted to talk." He says honestly, and I am even more confused than before. His humor is gone and he is eyeing me looking confused at my reaction.

"I just don't understand why you would come here instead of going to see Julie," I say while staring at my laced fingers resting on the table.

"Julie and I are not together. Never were. I made that clear to her last night. She didn't tell you?" He states leaning forward to draw my attention away from my fingers and back to him.

I can smell his cologne again the same as last night and my heart starts to race when I look up and his face is much too close to mine. My eyes trace the perfect outline of his lips as he speaks again.

"That's why you won't talk to me right? Because of Julie." He asks at just above a whisper like he is trying to lure me closer to him.

"She likes you. She won't admit it but I know she does. Just because you ended it, it doesn't change that. Which means I can't talk to you." I state sounding more confident than I am as his eyes stare directly into mine.

"But I don't want her like that. She knows that. So what is the problem with us getting to know each other?" He questions me and his playful tone from last night is back and a giant smirk is on his lips. His smirk makes me tingle but I am worried that with a face like his and his charming sarcasm he has a long line of girls falling a his feet.

"Because she had you first. She liked you first. You are hers in a way. I can't do that to her. It doesn't matter that you do not want her. She wants you, and she is my best friend. I can't," I say trying to keep my distance without much luck. There is something about him that makes me feel like I have known him forever. I am never this open with people especially people I just met but I can't help it with him.

"She doesn't own me, Allie. Besides she is your best friend that means she should want you to be happy. You want to get to know me as much as I want to get to know you I can feel it." He says with such confidence it terrifies me that he might be able to see right through me. I can't get myself to answer him because I am too afraid of what might slip out. He is still leaning towards me eyes searching mine. "She would understand right?" He says finally realizing I am not going to respond.

"Understand!?" I laugh ignoring his completely accurate observation of my sudden need to be near him. "You don't know Julie," I state.

Harry doesn't respond he just leans back in his chair with a somewhat confused and defeated look on his face. He is staring at his hands and playing with the rings on his fingers and I take the opportunity to memorize him sitting across from me with a slight crease in his forehead as he thinks. I fight the urge to ask him a million questions. I want to know everything about him. I hate the idea of never being able to speak to him again, of not being around him. I sigh louder than I intended to drawing Harry's attention back to me. He looks at me with a small smile like he just came up with the best idea.

"Well, we can be friends then at least right?" He says like it is an easy solution to the problem.

I can't help but smile back at his boyish charm. Even worse I can't resist agreeing when he is looking at me like that.

"Okay. Friends." I say knowing this is a bad idea but the idea of not knowing him is even worse.

[youtube-chatroom]

Happier-Chapter 6

Aaron had tears in his eyes. Wade was hugging him and rubbing his back trying to calm him down. Aaron stood up with tears in his eyes and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. He started to write a letter to Mark.

 Dear Mark,

I finally understand why you are upset with me and I understand why Bob beat me up. Please just know that a week after I moved, my father took my phone and ‘broke it’ or at least that’s what he told me. I now know he lied to me and used my phone to talk to you and hurt you. I had no idea he was doing this. The reason I’m back in town is because my mother and father got divorced and my mother wanted to move here. If you don’t believe me I’ll understand. If me being here upsets you to much than tell me and I’ll go back to England and live with my father.

Sincerely Aaron

Aaron folded the letter up and handed it to Wade.

“Please give this to Mark and don’t let Bob see it.”

“Okay I will.”

Aaron hugs Wade one more time.

“Are you going to be okay?”

“I’m not sure but please make sure Mark reads that.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Wade leaves and Evan comes in.

“Hey.”

“Hey”

“You going to be okay?”

“...I don’t know.”

Evan pats his back and says ,” It’ll be okay.”

Aaron checked the time and saw it was time for Not American Club.

“Evan we need to get to our club.”

Skip to club

“$4 coffee. Incredibly stupid”, Phil complained. “Someone actually came up and asked ‘Is that a British accent?’ Like can you seriously not tell”, Dan complained.

“Someone asked me “are you Irish?’ and we’ve known each other for three years!”, Nogla screamed.

“People keep accusing me and Nogla of being drunk or having alcohol simply because we’re Irish!”, Brian pouted.

Everyone was pouting, making jokes, and complaining. Aaron was happy again.

“Delirious said when he gets home he’s going to microwave tea.”, Aaron cringed.

Aaron watched Phil shutter and say ‘that’s horrible.”

“And another thing,” Dan raged, “Yes I’m British but that doesn’t mean all I drink is tea!”

“Yeah,” Evan cheered, “ And the canadian national anthem says nothing about polar bears, snow, or maple syrup!”

“Really? Are you sure”, asked a shocked Nogla.

Aaron lost it at that and was dying in laughter.

“YES I’M SURE!”

Everyone was laughing and having an amazing time. It made Aaron feel a lot happier then he has in a long time and he was sure he was going to love this club.

Evan was laughing so hard he had to grab onto Aaron to stop himself from falling out of his seat. Aaron looked at Evan and smiled. Yeah he was going to like it here.

Skip to end of the day

Aaron said his goodbyes to everyone and started heading home. He hadn’t got far out the door when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned around thinking it was Evan wanting something but was meet with something he hadn’t expected. Jack.

Aaron didn’t know what to say. He didn’t have a chance to get a good look at Jack during the fight so he was shocked to realize that the man who punched him square in the face was so short. ‘How did he even hit me’, Aaron asked himself.

Aaron expected rude comments or fight, what he didn’t expect was Jack asking, “ Are you okay.”

Aaron was shocked; he didn’t know what to say.

Jack sighed guiltily. “Look I’m sorry for punching you earlier. It’s just when I heard you were the one who who hurt Mark all those years ago, I kind of lost it I guess. I let my anger get the better of me and that’s not who I am.”

Aaron thought about it for a second and he realized if he had been in Jack’s place he would have done the exact same thing. “It’s okay. I did find out why it happened and if I was in your place I would probably have done the same thing.”

Jack shook his head but looked like he still had something to say.

“If you don’t mind me asking why did you say such rude things to Mark.”

Aaron lightly sighed.

“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Oh come on.”

“I mean it. You would think I was trying to hide the blame.”

“Just tell me.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I know what will happen, you won’t believe me, you’ll go and tell Bob, and what happened this morning will happen again! If I wanted to be beat everyday I would have stayed with my dad back in England!”

Aaron ran out of the school, leaving Jack staring after him. Aaron got home and found a note on the counter in the kitchen.

  Dear Aaron,

I have to work late tonight. There’s twenty dollars for pizza, there’s soda in the fridge, and if you made any friends today you should invite them over. Have fun.

Love Mom

‘To bad I forgot to get anyone’s numbers’, Aaron thought as he made himself a glass of soda. He decided he’d order the pizza later. He went and sat down on the couch and started watch some gaming videos on YouTube, when he got a text message.

Hey Aaron it’s Evan.

(authors note- I hope you are all like my story and I apologize for it being so short)

[haikyuu-imagines-and-others]

I really like this blog. I mean “SPIKE YOUR ASK HERE” is purrrrrrfec. Can I request domestic fluff with Bo? I really need a big hug from him 🙏🏼🙏🏼

Oya? Lol it’s not everyday that someone mentions our ask box title! The little things in life, I suppose lol Fluffy Domestic with BOKUTO?? The bae of all baes????? The beefy of all babes? Oh yes sir and or madam! Coming right up! Thanks for requesting! - Admin Satori

Bokuto Koutarou:

You were tired. So very tired. Mentally exhausted, as well as physically exhausted. Your work had you running all over the place for absolutely no resolute reason at any given time. And you were tired of it. There were multiple times throughout your day where you’d think about quitting, saying no to your boss’ bullshit, and walk out of the front office doors a free woman.

But you couldn’t.

It’s not that you didn’t want to or you were financially unable to quit your job, but you knew that awful days were only every now and then; sprinkled between the actual good days where your work was acknowledged and you were given the kudos you damn well deserved. Bad days like today only happened after a good string of good ones before, and will happen again after another good string occurs. Because that’s just how life works. You win some, you lose some, and you continue forward to see another day.

But that still didn’t change the fact that today sucked. It was awful, you felt like your skin was crawling with how uncomfortable you were, and you just wanted to go home and relax after a long day of corporate bullshit.

So that’s what you did. Once the clock ticked it’s last minute of your required time in the stale office, you drove home. Walking into your home, though, you realized your job wasn’t quite over for the day.

The house was a mess. Complete destruction all over the place. And you briefly wondered if you’d walked into the right house. But looking down, your house key fit in the lock…. So this must be your home. Slowly closing the door behind you, taking tentative steps further into the house in case you weren’t the only one around, you felt almost on edge - what if this was the work of a burglar? What if you’d been robbed? Oh no, what if they took all your and your husbands valuable keepsakes from either of your parents? With these anxious thoughts in mind, you walked further into the house, peaking around the corner into the kitchen to see someone very familiar.

“Babe! You’re home!” Bokuto smiled widely as he caught sight of your small frame in the doorway, “Aw, I didn’t have time to make the house pretty for you.” He pouted, crossing his arms and leaning back against the counter, “You should have told me you were on the way home.” 

“Koutarou…. W-What have you done with the house?” You asked incredulously, looking around at the mess. The couch covered in flour handprints, blankets strewn about the couch with pillows tossed carelessly on top, shreds of wrapping paper and cut ribbons littering the floor. In the kitchen, Bokuto’s face was marked with flour and what you could only assume was batter, his hair even had some of the mess in it, and the counter? Covered in broken egg shells, remnants of flour dust, and multiple used bowls and messy mixing utensils. “I-It’s a mess…” You reached up and rubbed your face, “Kou, why? Now I have to clean all this up.” You whined, feeling tears coming to your eyes. You just wanted to relax, to take a bath, eat something small, and crawl into bed. But now you had your child of a husband to worry about, his mess to clean up.

Bokuto blinked a few times, his mood forgotten when he noticed your tears, his sharp eyes watching as a big fat tear broke free and streamed down your cheek. He felt something close to panic in his chest, and he rushed forward, forgetting his messy hands, and wiped the tear away, pulling you into his arms. One of his large hands rested against your cheek, holding your head to his chest while his other rested on your waist, “W-What’s wrong, _____? I-I’m sorry.. I didn’t realize I’d made such a mess.” He felt shame tug at his heart as he realized just what a big mess he’d made. You’d only been able to rest in his arms for a second before he pulled away and turned to the messy kitchen, hands on his hips as he looked around for the first thing to start cleaning up. “You don’t have to do anything, _____! Koutarou, your loving husband, will take care of everything!” He puffed out his chest, showing off his ‘manliness’ in a ‘heroic’ way. You gave him a small, tired smile, and he quickly moved to pull out a chair for you to sit in, giving you a front row seat to his super cleaning abilities. You sat down, thanking him quietly, as he went about cleaning up his mess. You covered your mouth with one of your hands as you felt your smile grow, not at how well he was doing his clean up - because he was missing a lot of things he needed to clean, but because he was humming the theme for ‘underdog’ as if it were his own theme song. You’d married a dork.

He cleaned off the eggshells from the counter, dumped all the dirty dishes into the sink, wiped down the counter 3-4 times, swept up whatever flour and eggs that had fallen to the floor, even used the easy swiffer to mop up afterwards. The whole time humming loudly, glancing at you now and then with the largest, cheesiest smile you’d ever seen him wear. He could sense you’d had a particularly terrible day, and he knew his messiness drove you crazy most days - it was his job as your husband to not have those two days coincide with each other. Ever. Bokuto quickly finished up cleaning the kitchen before rushing into the living room. Having never folded a blanket before in his life, he knew they had to be a square or rectangle shape and worked with that. You watched him from your seat, seeing him struggle, grumbling at the blanket to cooperate with him.

Finally, the house was semi-clean. You knew you’d have to go back over it, but it was clean enough now that you could deal with it until tomorrow. Bokuto bounded back into the kitchen and stood in front of you with his fists on his hips, his chest puffed out once again. You stared up at him with a small smile, “Why was there a mess in the first place?” You asked, making him deflate with a whine. He’d been looking for a compliment. You giggled and gave him two thumbs up, “Good job, baby. I’m so lucky to have an amazing husband, who loves me so much that he’d clean up his mess for me.” You teased, laughing softly when Bokuto whined a bit more.

“_______, you don’t always clean my messes.” Bokuto stuck his tongue out at you and you poked his stomach, making him jump in surprise. “Okay…. Yeah.. you do…” He pulled out the chair next to you and took a seat, taking your hands in his before bringing them up to his lips, “And I really appreciate you always looking out for me and helping me with my crazy mood swings…. I know I can be a handful.” He smiled sheepishly.

Your heart fluttered in your chest, feeling your pride swell just a little at the recognition of all you do for your husband. “Yes… You can be…” You admitted easily, squeezing his hands in yours to pull his wide golden eyes to meet yours, “But you’re my handful.” You smiled gently, “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.” You knew it was a cheesy line, and it’d been used in so many rom coms you’d lost count. But the words rang true. Bokuto was your handful, he was your husband, and you’d gladly take whatever mess he came with because… Because you love him. And you’d aways love him. You reached out a hand and cupped his face, your heart pounding in your chest as he leaned into your touch, turning his head just the slightest and kissing the inside of your wrist.

Bokuto smiled against your soft skin, his wide, golden eyes on you. Hearing you accept everything of him only made him love you more, and made him realize just how lucky he was to have you in his life. You who loved a clean, pristine life, had married a dorky, buffoon like him who couldn’t tell most days if he was feeling one emotion or the polar opposite. “You’re such a cheeseball.” He teased, and you rolled your eyes with a laugh, his favorite laugh.

“Yeah, yeah…. So why did you make such a big mess?” You looked around the kitchen, not seeing anything out of place anymore, but your eye did catch all the dirty dishes in the sink.

“Oh! Yeah! Almost forgot!” Bokuto suddenly jumped from his seat, gently placing your hand back in your lap before rushing to the other side of the counter, opening the fridge. You could hear him rummaging around, his large form taking up the entirety of the fridge you couldn’t see what he was getting exactly. You jumped slightly when you heard the sound of tin cans being knocked together in his haste before he was suddenly facing you on the other side of the counter and setting down what he’d been working on all afternoon.

A cake.

A simple, chocolate mille cake, with fresh cut strawberries sprinkled on top. Your eyes looked from the cake to see him use the tin can of whip cream, pressing on the nozzle for the white foam to nicely decorate the sides of the cake. And just as you were about to say something, he tilted his head back and squeezed some of the whip cream straight into his mouth, overfilling it before pulling the can away. He couldn’t resist. You’d married a childish dork.

Bokuto smiled widely at you as best he could without letting any of his precious whip cream leak from his mouth. He gulped down the whip cream, looking completely satisfied with himself before holding out his arms at his largest wingspan and gave you a proper wide smile, “Happy Anniversary, _____!”

You were in disbelief. Everything he’d done to the house now made sense. For you. He’d made a mess trying to make a cake for you. For your wedding anniversary. Tears brimmed in your eyes and this time it wasn’t from the exhaustion or being upset with him. This time these tears rivaled the tears you’d had on your wedding day. Happy, relief filled tears.

Bokuto noticed this and walked back around the counter, holding out his hands for you to take. And you took both of them, letting him pull you to your feet before you were wrapped in his arms. He laid his head on your shoulder and leaned it against yours, pressing a kiss to your ear softly, “Shhhh, don’t cry…. Why are you crying?” He asked quietly, rubbing your back soothingly and swaying in the middle of the kitchen with you.

“Because…” You started off, pulling away just enough to cup his face in your hands, your thumbs stroking his cheeks free of any of the leftover flour and dried up batter, “Because, Kou…. You make me fall in love with you every day… And I realize every single day how lucky, blessed I am to have you in my life.” You whispered, and he let out a small scoff before pressing his lips against yours softly.

“I’m the lucky one, ______.” Bokuto smiled against your lips, holding you closer in his warm embrace, “How did I manage to get an angel to agree to stand by my side for forever?” He pulled away from the kiss just enough to be able to look into your eyes properly. “I’ll just have to keep showing you every day, every single day, how much you mean to me, and how lucky, how blessed, how happy and joyful you make me feel. Every day.” He stroked his fingers through your hair, “No matter how messy I am, or what mood the day decides for me, you’ll never be in the dark about how much I love you.” Bokuto leaned his forehead against yours and closed his eyes, “I love you, ______.” He murmured quietly, and you couldn’t stop from leaning up and pressing your lips to his once more. You’d married an amazing man.

[tenterfieldvietthairestaurant]

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[gaysparklepires]

4. Nature

I was having a bad week.

I knew that essentially nothing had changed. Okay, so Victor had not given up, but had I ever dreamed for one moment that he had? His reappearance had only confirmed what I had already known. No reason for fresh panic.

In theory. Not panicking was easier said than done.

Graduation was only a few weeks away, the conflict of wanting to plan for college against knowing that I would probably have to go into hiding once I was out of Charlie’s house made me feel even more panicky. With my luck, the Volturi would come knocking the second I got my diploma, and Victor would be waiting for me in the audience. I felt like a walking target.

But no one would listen to me.

Carlisle had said, “There are seven of us, Beau. And with Alice on our side, I don’t think Victor’s going to catch us off guard. Try to spend as much time as you can with Charlie while you are able.”

Esme had said, “We’d never allow anything to happen to you, sweetheart. You know that. Please don’t be anxious.” And then she’d kissed my forehead.

Emmett had said, “I’m really glad Edward didn’t kill you, big guy. Everything’s so much more fun with you around.”

Royal had glared at him.

Alice had rolled her eyes and said, “I’m offended. You’re not honestly worried about this, are you?”

“If it’s no big deal, then why did Edward drag me to Florida?” I’d demanded.

“Haven’t you noticed yet, Beau, that Edward is just the teensiest bit prone to overreaction?”

Jasper had silently erased all the panic and tension in my body with his curious talent of controlling emotional atmospheres. I’d felt reassured, and let them talk me out of my desperate panic.

Of course, the calm had worn off as soon as Edward and I had walked out of the room.

So the consensus was that I was just supposed to forget that a deranged vampire was stalking me, intent on my death. Go about my business.

I did try. And surprisingly, there were other things almost as stressful to dwell on besides my status on the endangered species list…

Because Edward’s response had been the most frustrating of them all.

“You know I won’t let anything happen to you, Beau,” He’d said. “You have nothing to worry about.”

It was ridiculous for him to say, since he had been the one to force my hand to get me out of the state for the weekend. If there was nothing to worry about he wouldn’t have manipulated the situation or lied to me.

All in all, a very bad week. And today was the worst day in it.

It was always a bad day when Edward was away. Alice had foreseen nothing out of the  ordinary this weekend, and so I’d insisted that he take the opportunity to go hunting with his brothers. I knew how it bored him to hunt the easy, nearby prey.

“Go have fun,” I’d told him. “Bag a few mountain lions for me.”

I would never admit to him how hard it was for me when he was gone—how I felt exposed and unsafe. If he knew that, he would fret endlessly and would be afraid to ever leave me, even for the most necessary reasons. We had only just gotten to the point where he would leave me at all since he’d first returned from Italy. He would refuse to leave—out of guilt, mostly—until he couldn’t possibly stand it. His golden eyes had turned black and he’d suffered from his thirst more than it was already necessary that he suffer. So I had to be the responsible one and all but kicked him out the door whenever Emmett and Jasper wanted to go.

I think he could understand my reservations about him leaving, though. This morning there had been a note left on my pillow:

 I’ll be back so soon you won’t have time to miss me. Look after my heart—I’ve left it with you

 So now I had a big empty Saturday with nothing but my morning shift at Newton’s Olympic Outfitters to distract me. And, of course, the oh-so-comforting promise from Alice.

“I’m staying close to home to hunt. I’ll only be fifteen minutes away if you need me. I’ll keep an eye out for trouble.”

Translation: don’t try anything funny just because Edward is gone.

Alice was certainly just as capable of crippling my truck as Edward was.

Even though Alice’s presence was a comfort, I couldn’t help but be annoyed that I couldn’t go down to La Push and see Jacob.

I tried to look on the bright side. After work, I had plans to help Angela with her announcements, so that would be a distraction. And Charlie was in an excellent mood today—no doubt due to Edward’s absence—so I might as well enjoy that while it lasted. Alice would spend the night with me if I felt nervous enough to ask her to. And then tomorrow, Edward would be home. I would survive.

Not wanting to be ridiculously early for work, I ate my breakfast slowly, one Cheerio at a time. Then, after I’d washed the dishes, I arranged the magnets on the fridge into a perfect line. Maybe I was losing my mind a little.

The last two magnets—round black utilitarian pieces that were my favorites because they could hold ten sheets of paper to the fridge without breaking a sweat—did not want to cooperate with my fixation. Their polarities were reversed; every time I tried to line the last one up, the other jumped out of place.

For some reason—impending mania, perhaps—this really irritated me. Why couldn’t they just play nice? Stupid with stubbornness, I kept shoving them together as if I was expecting them to suddenly give up. I could have flipped one over, but that felt like losing. Finally, exasperated at myself more than the magnets, I pulled them from the fridge and held them together with two hands. It took a little effort—they were strong enough to put up a fight—but I forced them coexist side-by-side.

“See,” I said out loud—talking to inanimate objects, never a good sign—“That’s not so horrible, is it?”

I stood there like an idiot for a second, not quite able to admit that I wasn’t having any lasting effect against scientific principles. Then, with a sigh, I put the magnets back on the fridge, a foot apart.

“There’s no need to be so inflexible,” I muttered.

It was still too early, but I’d decided I’d better get out of the house before the inanimate objects started talking back.

When I got to Newton’s, Mike was methodically dry mopping the aisles while his mom arranged a new counter display. I caught them in the middle of an argument, unaware that I had arrived.

“But it’s the only time that Tyler can go,” Mike complained. “You said after graduation—“

“You’re just going to have to wait,” Mrs. Newton snapped. “You and Tyler can think of something else to do. You are not going to Seattle until the police stop whatever is going on there. I know Beth Crowley has told Tyler the same thing, so don’t act like I’m the bad guy—oh, good morning, Beau,” she said when she caught sight of me, brightening her tone quickly. “You’re early.”

Karen Newton was the last person I’d think to ask for help in an outdoor sports equipment store. Her perfectly highlighted blond hair was always smoothed into an elegant twist on the back of her neck, her fingernails were polished by professionals, as were her toenails—visible through the strappy high heels that didn’t resemble anything Newton’s offered on the long row of hiking boots.

“Light traffic,” I joked as I grabbed my hideous fluorescent orange vest out from under the counter. I was surprised that Mrs. Newton was as worked up about this Seattle thing as Charlie. I’d thought he was going to extremes.

“Well, er…” Mrs. Newton hesitated for a moment, playing uncomfortably with a stack of flyers she was arranging by the register.

I stopped with one arm in my vest. I knew that look.

When I’d let the Newton’s know that I wouldn’t be working here this summer—abandoning them in their busiest season, in effect—they’d started training Katie Marshall to take my place. They couldn’t really afford both of us on the payroll at the same time, so when it looked like a slow day…

“I was going to call,” Mrs. Newton continued. “I don’t think we’re expecting a ton of business today. Mike and I can probably handle things. I’m sorry you got up and drove out…”

On a normal day, I would be ecstatic with this turn of events. Today… not so much.

“Okay, no worries,” I said, trying to keep my voice light. What was I going to do now?

“That’s not fair, Mom,” Mike said. “If Beau wants to work—“

“No, it’s okay, Mrs. Newton. Really, Mike. I’ve got finals to study for and stuff…” I didn’t want to be a source of familial discord when they were already arguing.

“Thanks, Beau. Mike, you missed aisle four. Um, Beau, do you mind throwing these flyers in a dumpster on the way out? I told the girl who left them here that I’d put them on the counter, but I really don’t have the room.”

“Sure, no problem.” I put my vest away, and then tucked the flyers under my arm and headed out into the misty rain.

The dumpster was around the side of Newton’s, next to where we employees were supposed to park. I shuffled along, kicking pebbles petulantly on my way. I was about to fling the stack of bright yellow papers into the trash when the heading printed in bold across the top caught my eyes. One word in particular seized my attention.

I clutched the papers in both hands as I stared at the picture beneath the caption. A lump rose in my throat.

 SAVE THE OLYMPIC WOLF

 Under the words, there was a detailed drawing of a wolf in front of a fir tree, it’s head thrown back in the act of baying at the moon. It was a disconcerting picture; something about the wolf’s plaintive posture made him look forlorn. Like he was howling in grief.

And then I was running to my truck, the flyers still locked in my grip.

Fifteen minutes—that’s all I had. But it should be long enough. It was only fifteen minutes to La Push, and surely I would cross the boundary line a few minutes before I hit the town.

My truck roared to life without any difficulty.

Alice couldn’t have seen me doing this, because I hadn’t been planning it. A snap decision, that was the key! And as long as I moved fast enough, I should be able to capitalize on it.

I’d thrown the damp flyers in my haste and they were scattered in a bright mess across the passenger seat—a hundred bolded captions, a hundred dark howling wolves outlined against the yellow background.

I barreled down the wet highway, turning the windshield wipers on high and ignoring the groan of the ancient engine. Fifty-five was the most I could coax out of my truck, and I prayed it would be enough.

I had no clue where the boundary line was, but I began to feel safer as I passed the first houses outside La Push. This must be beyond where Alice was allowed to follow.

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket, I didn’t need to look at the screen to tell me who was calling. I would call Alice back when I got to Angela’s this afternoon, I reasoned, so that she’d know I was fine. I didn’t feel like getting Alice worked up now. She didn’t need to be mad at me—Edward would be angry enough for two when he got back.

My truck was positively wheezing by the time it grated to a stop in front of the familiar faded red house.  The lump came back to my throat as I stared at the little place that had once been my refuge. It had been so long since I’d been here.

Before I could cut the engine, Jacob was standing in the door, his face blank with shock.

In the sudden silence when the truck-roar died, I heard him gasp.

“Beau?”

“Hey, Jake!”

“Beau!” he yelled back, and the smile I’d been waiting for stretched across his face like the sun breaking free of the clouds. His teeth gleamed bright against his russet skin. “I can’t believe it!”

He ran to the truck and I practically flung myself out of the cab, and then we were both jumping up and down like kids.

“How did you get here?”

“I snuck out!”

“Awesome!”

“Hey, Beau!” Billy had rolled himself into the doorway to see what all the commotion was about.

“Hey, Bil--!”

Just then my air choked off—Jacob grabbed me up into a bear hug and swung me around in a circle.

“Wow, it’s good to see you here!”

“Easy, Jake! Can’t… breath,” I laughed.

He chuckled and put me down.

“Welcome back, Beau,” he said, grinning. And the way he said the words made it sound like welcome home.

We started walking, too keyed up to sit still in the house. Jacob was practically bouncing as he moved, and I had to remind him a few times that my legs weren’t ten feet long.

As we walked, I felt myself settling into another version of myself, the self I had been with Jacob. A little younger, a little less responsible. Someone who might, on occasion, do something really stupid for no good reason.

Our exuberance lasted through the first few topics of conversation: how we were doing, what we were up to, how long I had, and what had brought me here. When I hesitantly told him about the wolf flyer, his bellowing laugh echoed back from the trees.

But then, as we ambled past the back of the store and shoved through the thick scrub that ringed the far edge of First Beach, we got to the hard parts. All too soon we had to talk about the reason behind our long separation, and I watched as the face of my friend hardened into the bitter mask that was already too familiar.

“So what’s the story, anyway?” Jacob asked me, kicking a piece of driftwood out of his way with too much force. It sailed over the sand and then clattered against the rocks. “I mean, since the last time we… well, before, you know…” He struggled for the words. He took a deep breath and tried again. “What I’m asking is… everything is just back to the way it was before he left? You forgave him for all of that?”

I took a deep breath. ���I didn’t just forgive him. Believe me, he’s been making up for it every day since he came back. I’m not giving out any free passes here.”

I wanted to skip past this part, the betrayals, the accusations, but I knew that we had to talk it through before we’d be able to move on to anything else.

Jacob’s face puckered up like he’d just licked a lemon. “I don’t think you should’ve even given him a chance.” He huffed. “I wish Sam had taken a picture when he found you that night last September. It would be exhibit A.”

“Nobody’s on trial.”

“Maybe somebody should be.”

“Not even you would blame him for leaving, if you knew the reason why.”

He glared at me a few seconds. “Okay,” he challenged. “Amaze me.”

His attitude was wearing on me; it hurt to have him upset with me. It reminded me of the bleak afternoon, long ago, when—under orders from Sam—he’d told me we couldn’t be friends. I took a second to compose myself.

“Edward left me last fall because he didn’t think I should be hanging out with vampires. He thought it would be better for me if he left.”

Jake did a double take. He had to scramble for a minute. Whatever he’d been planning to say, it clearly no longer applied. I was glad he didn’t know the catalyst behind Edward’s decision. I could only imagine what he’d think if he knew Jasper had tried to kill me.

“He came back, though, didn’t he?” Jacob muttered. “Too bad he can’t stick to a decision.”

“If you remember, I went and got him.”

Jacob stared at me for a moment, and then he backed off. His face relaxed, and his voice was calmer when he spoke.

“That’s true. So I never did get the story. What happened?”

I hesitated, biting my lip.

“Is it a secret?” He raised an eyebrow. “Are you not allowed to tell me?”

“No,” I replied. “It’s just a really long story.”

Jacob smiled, and held out his hand. I hesitated for only a second before I took his hand. He grinned wider and turned to lead me up the beach.

We immediately fell into our old rapport as we walked along. Jacob swung our arms playfully as we strolled and I couldn’t help but laugh. I was glad I wasn’t in a rush, after all, I was going to have to face Alice when I got home… and I was in no hurry to experience that.

Jacob led us to a huge, familiar piece of driftwood—an entire tree, roots and all, bleached white and beached deep in the sand; it was our tree, in a way.

Jacob sat down on the natural bench, and patted the space next to him.

“I don’t mind long stories. Is there any action?”

I laughed as I sat next to him. “There’s some action,” I allowed.

“It wouldn’t be real horror without any action.”

“Horror!” I scoffed. “You don’t know the half of it. Now, will you listen, or will you be interrupting me with rude comments about my friends?”

He pretended to lock his lips and then threw the invisible key over his shoulder. I tried not to smile, and failed.

“I’ll have to start with the stuff you were already there for,” I decided, working to organize the stories in my head before I began.

Jacob raised his hand.

“Go ahead.”

“That’s good,” he said. “I didn’t understand much that was going on at the time.”

“Yeah, well, it gets complicated, so pay attention. You know how Alice sees things?”

I took his slight scowl—the wolves weren’t thrilled that the legends of vampires possessing supernatural gifts were true—for a yes, and proceeded with the account of my race through Italy to rescue Edward.

I kept it as succinct as possible—leaving out anything that wasn’t essential. I tried to read Jacob’s reactions, but his face was enigmatic as I explained how Alice had seen Edward plan to kill himself when he’d heard that I was dead. Sometimes Jacob seemed so deep in though, I wasn’t sure if he was listening. He only interrupted me one time.

“The fortune-telling bloodsucker can’t see us?” he echoed, his face both fierce and gleeful. “Seriously? That’s excellent!”

I pursed my lips and raised my eyebrow, and we sat in silence, his face expectant as he waited for me to continue. I glared at him until he realized his mistake.

“Oops!” he said. “Sorry.” He locked his lips again.

His response was easier to read when I got to the part about the Volturi. His teeth clenched together, goose bumps rose on his arms, and his nostrils flared. I didn’t go into specifics, I just told him that Edward had talked us out of trouble, without revealing the promise we’d been forced to make, or the visit we were anticipating. Jacob didn’t need to have my nightmares.

“Now you know the whole story,” I concluded. “So it’s your turn to talk. What happened while I was with my mom this weekend?” I knew Jacob would give more details than Edward had. He wasn’t afraid of scaring me.

Jacob leaned forward, instantly animated. “So Embry and Quil and I were running patrol on Saturday night, just routine stuff, when out of nowhere—bam!” He threw his arms out, impersonating an explosion. “There it is—a fresh trail, not fifteen minutes old. Sam wanted us to wait for him, but I didn’t know you were gone, and I didn’t know if your bloodsuckers were keeping an eye on you or not. So we took off after the redhead at full speed, but he’d crossed the treaty line before we caught up. We spread out along the line, hoping he’d cross back over. It was frustrating, let me tell you.” He wagged his head and his hair—growing out from the short crop he’d adopted when he’d joined the pack—flopped into his eyes. “We ended up too far south. The Cullens chased him back to our side just a few miles north of us. Would have been the perfect ambush if we’d have known where to wait.”

He shook his head, grimacing now. “That’s when it got dicey. Sam and the others caught up to him before we did, but he was dancing right along the line, and the whole coven was right there on the other side. The big one, what’s-his-name—“

“Emmett.”

“Yeah, him. He made a lunge for him, but that redhead is fast! Emmett flew right behind him and almost rammed into Paul. So, Paul… well, you know Paul.”

“Yeah.”

“Lost his focus. Can’t say that I blame him—the big guy was right on top of him. Paul sprang—hey, don’t give me that look. The vampire was on our land.”

I tried to compose my face so that he would go on. My nails were digging into my palms with the stress of the story, even though I knew it had turned out fine.

“Anyway, Paul missed, and the big one got back on his side. But by then the, er, well the, uh, blond…” Jacob’s expression was a comical mix of disdain and unwilling admiration as he tried to come up with a word to describe Edward’s brother.

“Royal.”

“Him. Well, he got real territorial, so Sam and I fell back to get Paul’s flanks. Then their leader and the other blond mail—“

“Carlisle and Jasper.”

He gave me an exasperated look. “You know I don’t really care. Anyway, so Carlisle spoke to Sam, trying to calm things down. Then it was weird, because everyone got really calm really fast. It was that other one you told me about, messing with our heads. But even though we knew what he was doing, we couldn’t not be calm.”

“Yeah, I know how it feels.”

“Really annoying, that’s how it feels. Only you can’t be annoyed until afterwards.” He shook his head annoyed. “So Sam and the head vamp agreed that Victor was the priority, and we started after him again. Carlisle gave us the line, so that we could follow the scent properly, but then he hit the cliffs just north of Makah country, right where the line hugs the coast for a few miles. He took off into the water again. The big one and the calm one wanted permission to cross the line to go after him, but of course we said no.”

“Good. I mean, you were being stupid, but I’m glad. Emmett’s never cautious enough. He could have gotten hurt.”

Jacob snorted. “So did your vampire tell you we attacked for no reason and his totally innocent coven—“

“No,” I interrupted. “Edward told me the same story, just without quite as many details.”

“Huh,” Jacob said under his breath, and he bent over to pick up a rock from among the millions of pebbles at our feet. With a casual flick, he sent it flying a good hundred meters out into the bay. “Well, the redhead’ll be back, I guess. We’ll get another shot at him.”

I shuddered; of course he would be back. Would Edward really tell me next time? I wasn’t sure. I’d have to keep an eye on Alice, to look for the signs that the pattern was about to repeat…

Jacob didn’t seem to notice my reaction. He was staring across the waves with a thoughtful expression on his face, his broad lips pursed.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked after a long, quiet time.

“I’m thinking about what you told me. About when the fortune-teller saw you cliff jumping and thought you’d committed suicide, and how it all got out of control… Do you realize that if you had just waited for me like you were supposed to, then the bl—Alice wouldn’t have been able to see you jump? Nothing would have changed. We’d probably be in my garage right now, like any other Saturday. There wouldn’t be any vampires in Forks, and you and me…” he trailed off, deep in thought.

My heart thumped at the picture he painted. It probably would have been that way, so easy, so simple. Like breathing.

“Edward would have come back anyway.” I finally said.

“Are you sure about that?” He asked, his tone slightly belligerent.

“Being apart didn’t work out so well for him.”

He started to say something, something angry from his expression, but he stopped himself, took a breath, and began again.

“Did you know Sam is mad at you?”

“Me?” It took me a second. “Oh. I see. He thinks they would have stayed away if I wasn’t here.”

“No. That’s not it.”

“What is it then?”

Jacob leaned down to scoop up another rock. He turned it over and over in his fingers; his eyes were riveted on the black stone while he spoke in a low voice.

“When Sam saw… how you were at the beginning, when Billy told them how Charlie worried about you, and then when you started jumping off cliffs…”

I made a face. No one was ever going to let me forget that.

Jacob’s eyes flashed up to mine. “He thought you were the one person in the world with as much reason to hate the Cullens as he does. Sam feels sort of… betrayed that you would just let them back into your life like they never hurt you.”

I didn’t believe for a second that Sam was the only one who felt that way. And the anger in my voice now was for both of them.

“I didn’t just let them right back into my life, give me some credit. So you can tell Sam—“

“Look at that,” Jacob interrupted me, pointing to an eagle in the act of plummeting down toward the ocean from an incredible height. It checked itself at the last minute, only its talons breaking the surface of the waves, just for an instant. Then it flapped away, its wings straining against the load of the huge fish it had snagged.

“You see it everywhere,” Jacob said, his voice suddenly distant. “Nature taking its course—hunter and prey, the endless cycle of life and death.”

I didn’t understand the point of the nature lecture; I guessed that he was just trying to change the subject. But then he looked down at me with dark humor in his eyes.

“And yet, you don’t see the fish trying to plant a kiss on the eagle. You never see that.” He grinned a mocking grin.

I grinned back tightly, though the anger was rising. “Maybe the fish was trying,” I suggested. “It’s hard to tell what a fish is thinking. Eagles are good-looking birds, you know.”

“Is that what it comes down to?” His voice was abruptly sharper. “Good looks?”

“Don’t be stupid, Jacob.”

“Is it the money, then?” he persisted.

“That’s nice,” I muttered, getting up from the tree. “I’m flattered that you think so much of me.” I turned my back on him and paced away.

“Aw, don’t get mad.” He was right behind me; he gently caught my wrist and spun me around. “I’m serious! I’m trying to understand here, and I’m coming up blank.”

His eyebrows pushed together in frustration, and his eyes were black in their deep shadow.

“I just… I love him. Not because he’s beautiful or because he’s rich!” I spat the words at Jacob. “I’d much rather he weren’t either one. It would even out the gap between us just a little bit—because he’d still be the most loving and unselfish and brilliant and decent person I’ve ever met. Of course I love him. How hard is that to understand?”

“It’s impossible to understand.”

“Please, enlighten me, then, Jacob.” I let the sarcasm flow thick. “What is a valid reason for someone to love someone else? Since apparently I’m doing it wrong.”

“I think the best place to start would be to look within your own species. That usually works.”

“Well, that just sucks!” I snapped. “I guess I’m stuck with Mike Newton after all.”

Jacob flinched back and bit his lip. I could see that my words had hurt him, but I was too mad and hurt to feel bad about that yet. He dropped my wrist and folded his arms across his chest, turning from me to glare toward the ocean.

“I’m human,” he muttered, his voice almost inaudible.

“You’re not as human as Mike,” I continued, still hurt. “Do you still think that’s the most important consideration?”

“It’s not the same thing.” Jacob didn’t look away from the gray waves. “I didn’t choose this.”

I laughed once in disbelief. “Do you think Edward did? He didn’t know what was happening to him any more than you did. He didn’t exactly sign up for this.”

Jacob was shaking his back and forth with a small, quick movement.

“But Jacob, how can you judge them? Being a werewolf and all.” I huffed.

“It’s not the same,” Jacob repeated, glowering at me.

“I don’t see why not. You could be a bit more understanding about the Cullens. You have no idea how truly good they are—to the core, Jacob.”

He frowned more deeply. “They shouldn’t exist. Their existence goes against nature.”

I stared at him for a long moment with one eyebrow raised incredulously. It was a while before he noticed.

“What?”

“Speaking of unnatural…,” I hinted.

“Beau,” he said, his voice slow and different. Aged. I realized that he sounded suddenly older than me—like a parent or a teacher. “What I am was born in me. It’s part of who I am, who my family is, who we all are as a tribe—it’s the reason why we’re still here.

“Besides that”—he looked down at me, his black eyes unreadable—“I am still human.”

He picked up my hand and pressed it to his fever-warm chest. Through his t-shirt, I could feel the steady beating of his heart under my palm.

“Normal humans can’t throw motorcycles around the way you can.”

He smiled a faint, half-smile. “Normal humans run away from monsters, Beau. And I never claimed to be normal. Just human.”

Staying angry with Jacob was too much work. I started to smile as I gently rubbed his chest.

“You look plenty human to me,” I allowed. “At the moment.”

“I feel human.” He stared past me, his face far away. His lower lip trembled, and he bit down on it hard.

“Oh, Jake,” I whispered, reaching for his hand.

This was why I was here. This was why I could take whatever reception waited for me when I got back. Because, underneath all the anger and the sarcasm, Jacob was in pain. Right now, it was very clear in his eyes. I didn’t know how to help him, but I knew I had to try. It was more than that I owed him. It was because his pain hurt me, too. Jacob had become a part of me, and there was no changing that now.

[topimagines]

Until The End- Josh Dun

Request- Could you do like a Josh Dun x Reader where they get into a really big fight and Reader runs off and like he gets scared bc he knows she's struggled with self harm and lots of fluff at the end thanks (also I am very new so I'm sorry if this doesn't come off great) 

“Josh when will you be home, I’m starting to get concerned. Please call me.” you left your 4th voicemail for your boyfriend. He said he would be home 3 hours ago and now it was 2 in the morning and he wasn’t answering his phone. You had text and called him and his friends multiple times to see if they were okay, but nobody responded.

You were growing very tired, but you were too nervous to sleep, so you settled on the couch. Soon enough sleep won and took over your body, only to be awoken by knocking at the door. You got up and went to the door and looked through the peephole to see Josh. You quickly opened the door and he stumbled inside.

“Where were you?” you asked closing the door as he made his way through the apartment, holding himself up with the wall.

“Hey earth to Josh. Are you ignoring me?” you asked when he didn’t answer.

He glared at you as he now stood in the kitchen leaning against the counter.

You stood on the other side waiting for him to respond.

“Why the hell do you want to know?” he asked barely able to get the words out.

“Because I’m your girlfriend and you said you would be home,” you looked at the time on the clock and saw that it was 4 in the morning. “5 hours ago.”

“Well I was out. Calm down and stop being such a bitch.” he said moving to the fridge and grabbing a beer.

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough for one night?” you said going to grab the beer from him, but he held it out of your reach.

“Don’t you think you could mind your own fucking business. Damn you’re such a bitch sometimes.” he said sternly, taking a big gulp from the beer.

You stood there in shock before coming back at him.

“Don’t you fucking dare call me a bitch. You fucking asshole, you had me worried all night of where you were and you come home and call me a bitch. Fuck you Josh.” you almost yell.

Josh slams the bottle down on the counter, causing it to break and he moves closer to you. You could smell the alcohol and it make your stomach turn.

“I’ll call you what I want. You don’t do fucking shit for me and I give you everything. I go out once and you get jealous. Yeah that’s what it is, you’re fucking jealous.” he said pressing his body against yours. You were pinned in between him and the counter. Josh slipped one of his hands to your hip and the other to the waistband of your pajama shorts.

“You’re a fucking whore, and could stand the fact that I wasn’t here to fuck you, isn’t it.” he said close to your face and you turned to get out of the way of the awful alcohol smell on his breath.

“Josh please back up.” you said now feeling weak from the harsh words he was using. It reminded you of the 4 years of torture you had to go through in high school. Always being called awful names and told to kill yourself. When he pushed you harder against the counter it reminded you of the years of abuse from your father. You were never afraid to yell or fight back and you sure as hell weren’t now.

“Josh I said get the fuck back.” you shouted pushing him back with all your might.

He stumbled backwards and grabbed the counter on the other side of the kitchen for support.

“You fucking bitch. No wonder your father hit you as a child and those kids were so mean to you. You deserved it all and I hope you fucking suffered.” he said sternly before turning to the sink and puking.

You couldn’t let him see you break, you had to get out of there before the tears that threatened to fall from your eyes actually fell. You ran to the front door and as you shut it you could hear him calling after you, but you kept walking.

You didn’t grab keys to your car, nor the apartment so you only had the option of walking. You didn’t grab anything and now you were cold and alone on a bench in a nearby park.

You sat there for a while just trying to let the previous events settle in. Josh was what you thought to be a kind person, but he wasn’t tonight. He knew you had a rough past and it led you to self harm as a teen. He knew you didn’t like talking about it and he knew if he brought it up you were most likely to relapse. He had always respected that and never brought it up, he was just there for you when you were down. 

Well 3 years of dating Josh and he said all those things has led you to this place you were in now.

Is was now 3 in the afternoon and you were staring out at the ocean. You stood on top of a railing on a not well known pier. Nobody was here today and you have never felt so alone. All day you dwelt on what Josh had said. He was right, maybe you did deserve all the abuse and bullying. Maybe you needed to leave everyone alone and just disappear, just end the misery you put the people around you through.

You watched the waves crash on the sharp rocks below you. Nobody would survive that fall and you were ready. Nobody loved you. Nobody ever did. Your mom died when you were little which caused your dad to spiral into drug and alcohol and he mentally and physically abused you. The kids you went to school with hated you and your only friend was one you had in college. He was your best friend and was always there for you, until last night. Josh was your best friend and the best boyfriend, until last night.

Were you really about to do this? Although you thought it was your only option, there was a small voice in the back of your head that was saying ‘don’t do it’. Or was that a voice of someone else?

“Y/N, please no.” a cry came from behind you. You looked back to see Josh crying coming cautiously towards you.

A tear fell from your eye without you even noticing. Josh reached you and softly took your hand. You let him take you down from the rail and he hugged you tighter than humanly possibly. You heard him crying and you felt his hand softly in your hair. This was the Josh you knew, he was being kind, gentle, and loving. This was the polar opposite of the drunken Josh from last night. This was the Josh you fell in love with

“Y/N, I’m so sorry. Please believe me, I know I really fucked up.” he said.

That wasn’t him last night and you knew it was the alcohol talking. As much as you wanted to hate him, you couldn’t. But that doesn’t mean you still were hurt by is actions and words last night. Somehow his presence made all the suicidal thoughts go away, now they were just thoughts of last night and how much he hurt you.

“Josh, how could you say all those things to me?” you asked pulling yourself out of his tight grasp and he just looked at you with complete guilt.

“Babe, I’m so sorry for whatever I said. I honestly don’t even remember, but please know I will never do it again. I don’t know what I was thinking not texting you that I would be home late. I don’t even remember getting home last night. I regret everything. You mean everything to me and I can’t lose you Y/N. I love you beyond belief and I would do anything for you.” he said and you knew he was pissed at himself for the night before.

“I just never knew you were capable of hurting me like that. Josh you were telling me I deserved all the abuse from my father and the bullying in high school. You had me pinned against the counter calling me a whore, trying to get in my pants.” you paused for a moment and took a breath. “You made me have flashbacks to when my father would beat me so bad I couldn’t go to school for the next few days.” you choked out.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean any of that and I want you to know I would never hurt you in my right state of mind. I never drink like that and I will never again.” he said pulling you back into that tight grasp. “Please Y/N I want to be there for you because I love you so much. So much that today was the day I was actually supposed to do this.” he said pulling a ring out of his pocket. “I fucked that up and I don’t want this day to be in your memory. It will wait, just as I will wait for you. I understand if you want to break up, but what you were thinking up there on that railing is not a choice. You’ve made it through hell and back and you deserve so much better than me babe.” you stayed in his arms listening to his words. You wanted to be mad, but his words always had there ways of making you feel at home and happy.

“I don’t think there is better than you Josh. You love me for me and that’s all I could ever ask for, someone to love me.” you finally broke down falling into his chest.

He rubbed your back soothingly and whispered into your ear how much he loved you. You finally calmed down and you kissed Josh.

“Let’s go home?” he questioned but put a hand out for you to join him.

You nodded your head and he lead you to the car. Once at home he got you cleaned up and into some new comfy clothes. He knew you hadn’t eaten or drank all day so he made you some food and had you eat in bed, also knowing you haven’t sleep in about 24 hours.

“Thank you Josh.” you said handing him your empty dishes and getting comfortable in the bed.

“It’s nothing my love. Get some sleep, you need it. I love you” he said kissing you and getting up to leave.

“Wait, don’t leave.” you said and he smiled back at you.

He set the dirty dishes down and climbed in bed next to you.

“I’ll never leave you Y/N. I’ll love you till the end.”

[ecotone99]

[SF] The Gilded Cage (Part 1)

“This thing is tearing itself apart. We need to bail!” Both the man’s arms were dripping with sweat and muscles bulging at the strain of the steering mechanism. The cockpit around him shook violently. Alarms were going off in a cacophony of light and sound.

“Not yet! We are getting through this time. I can feel it!” The radio crackled hard as the voice came across.

“Damn it Sam! This thing is not getting through. We will be lucky to eject safely at this point. I’ve lost all but forward sensors.” The man frantically flipped switches on an overhead panel.

“For all I know the entire rear section has been ripped off!”

The radio crackles loudly but no words came out. There was another burst of static.

“..too much. Everything is still attached. Just keep this rig pointed up. We are doing it, Joe! We are…”

The explosion knocks Joe unconscious. The ship rips itself into half a dozen pieces. They fall back to Earth in a rain of white-hot metal.

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

“Hey Joe, you used to be a pilot, right?” The man was young and wore an ill-fitting flight suit. He fidgeted with the collar as he spoke.

“Yeah, once upon a time. I don’t have any tips for you. These new ships are nothing like the rigs I flew.” Joe shifted in his lounger. A motor could be heard as his metal arm moved.

“I...I heard you almost got through the Net.” The man’s eyes darted down, afraid to look directly at Joe. Joe stood up and went to the window. He leaned forward on the sill and the motor in his metal arm let out a strained sound.

“I tried. My partner and I tried more times than any sane person would have.” He sighed heavily and shifted his weight to his flesh and blood arm.

“The last attempt cost Sam her life and my arm. It was the last time I piloted a ship.” Joe turned towards the man with a furrowed brow.

“If you think you can get through, you can’t! You’ll get yourself killed or maimed if you are lucky.” Joe raised his metal arm and pulled the sleeve back to expose more of it.

“Just be happy shuttling people and cargo to and from the moon, forget about the stars.” Joe sat down in a chair by the window and stared out blankly.

“Uncle Joe I…I just..I don’t know. I want to get out there! I want to see things no one else has.” He continued to stare at his feet as he spoke.

“Then sign up for a deep-sea colony!” Joe turned towards the man.

“Most of the world is covered in oceans and we have explored very little of it. The stars are a pipe dream! Humans had the chance and we blew it. We thumbed our noses at the intergalactic powers that be and got punished for it. No human is going to leave this rock for a long time. If you want to live to be an old man forget about space. Find somebody that makes you happy and settle down. Damn it, Scott why are you asking about this shit anyway? I thought you settled with that shipping company out of Beijing?” Joe stared at his nephew intently.

“I did but my friend, Murasaki, she is an engineer for VG. They have a new design. She...she said they need more pilots. The new ships are specifically designed to breach the Net. They have polarized hulls and ..” Joe stamped his right foot angrily. The floor shook hard and Scott jumped a little.

“I’ve heard it all before! New designs and technology that are made to break the Net. Not one damned soul has ever gotten out. Polarized hulls or not, nothing gets through and nothing will! If you want to throw your life away go ahead but you won’t get my consent. If your Aunt Sam was still alive she would tell you the same. She gave her life trying to get off this planet and for what? To meet aliens that decided humans weren’t wanted in the galaxy? You think if we break through all of a sudden we will be welcomed?” Joe stood looking at his nephew sternly.

“How the hell am I supposed to know that Uncle Joe? I just want to fly! I want to burn my engines for more than a few seconds at a time. I want to be an astronaut, not just another shuttle pilot!” Scott found his nerve and now stared his Uncle in the eye.

“They put that thing up before I was even born! I have never known what it’s like to really be free! Even if they just push me right back into this cage at least I can say I got out!” Scott's newfound nerve faded quickly and he locked eyes on his feet again.

“That’s a whole lot of maybe and not a lot of facts. Look, I was there. I was a kid but I was there! My father, your grandfather, was an astronaut. He worked for NASA, back before they absorbed the FAA and became a bunch of regulatory bureaucrats.” Joe rubbed the point the metal arm attached to flesh with his left hand.

“Let’s go out onto the balcony and sit down. I guess it’s time I tell you the whole thing. Grab the beer from the fridge would you?” Joe proceeded to the glass doors leading to the balcony while Scott collected beer from the small fridge under the kitchen counter.

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

“Ok Joe, are you ready for blast-off? 1..2..3..4!” A young Joe yells with excitement as he is tossed into the air.

“One more Daddy, one more!” He yells as his father catches him.

“You have already had three more and I have to get going or I can forget about blasting off.” The boy is set on the ground where he immediately wraps himself around his father’s left leg in a maneuver resembling more of an octopus than a child. The man proceeds to walk across the living room with the child attached.

“Charles, I’m pretty sure you are going to have to remove that to drive.” Madeline, Joe’s mother, walks over and hugs him with one arm and rubs Joe on the head with her free hand.

“True, but how do I pry it off without losing my leg? It is pretty firmly attached.” He reaches down and tugs on Joe’s arm. Joe just grips tighter and giggles furiously.

“I know how to handle this!” Madeline begins to tickle Joe and he falls to the floor laughing.

“OK, OK, I give up!” Joe yells. His mother stops tickling him and helps him stand.

“Bye Dad. If you meet aliens tell them I said Hello.” Joe hugs his father.

“I will, now you be good while I’m gone. I am going to be back in just a week and a half.”

“Ok”, is Joe’s only reply and he goes to sit on the couch to play with two small spaceships already there.

“Thanks.” Charles gives Madeline a kiss and proceeds to the front door. As he is collecting his keys from the bowl next to the door. ”I should be back in just a week and a couple of days, maybe sooner. We are only testing the new engine.”

Dana walks over and embraces him.

“Just tell me you are going to do your best to come home.” She stares into her husband’s eyes deeply.

“Madeline Abigail Edwards, I promise, I will do my best to come home safe and sound.”

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

“Three weeks! We have been stuck out here for three weeks! If we don’t get those new engines running again we will never get home. Our standard rockets don’t even have enough fuel to get us halfway back. If they did it would take a year or more and we don’t have enough food and water, not to mention oxygen. What are we going to do Charlie? I’m starting to panic. I just don’t see how this ends well for us.” The man has lost almost all color in his face and his hands are shaking as he speaks.

“Keep it together John. Now is not the time to lose it. You see any combat before becoming an astronaut?” Charles continues to work as he speaks. A large panel has been removed from the wall and he is floating in the empty space while working with a tool that resembles a large soldering iron.

“I was in a few dogfights. Why?” The man is floating aimlessly about the compartment as he clutches a toolbox.

“You ever have that moment that you knew your number was up? Pliers, please.” Charles reaches out while continuing the work with his other hand. John reaches into the toolbox and hands Charles the pliers.

“Yea, I’ve been in some spots I thought I was done. This is different though. Those were just moments they lasted seconds. This is..this is something else.” John stared at the toolbox in his hands lost in thought.

Charles stopped working and moved so he could see John.

“I don’t think it is. Sure we have more time to think about it but the outcome will be the same if we do the same thing. Keep our heads and remember our training. John? John, are you listening to me?” John was still staring at the toolbox.

“Sorry Charlie.” John looked up at Charles. “I heard you. I just want to go home.”

“Good for you that is exactly where I intend to take us. Help me get this panel back on. Then we are going home.” John looked at Charles with surprise.

“How? You couldn’t have fixed things from here, not entirely. How are we going home?” John let go of the toolbox and stared at Charles.

“Work then talk. I have been out here long enough and we have a long way to go.” The two reattached the panel and headed to the cockpit.

“You remember those odd radio signals we got four days ago?” Charles was strapped in the pilot's seat and was surveying instruments as he spoke to John.

“The ones we determined were noise.” John was strapped into the other chair in the cockpit but was only watching Charles.

“We were wrong. They are transmissions from intelligent alien life. One that must have interstellar flight capability. I kept track of the signal and its moving. It must be a ship!” Charles was now looking at Joe.

“Except the signal is garbage. There is no pattern, no language. It’s just noise.” John was obviously agitated.

“No there is a pattern and I found it. I think it’s navigational information. I calculated its path. I got the antimatter engines running but temperature regulation is shot. They can only get us a short distance before they explode. It is nowhere near far enough to get us home, but they can get us to that alien ship. I plan on dropping us into its flight path and asking for help.” Charles was searching Joe’s face for any sign of acceptance of his plan.

“I thought I was panicking. I thought I was panicking!” John begins to laugh as he speaks. “And here you are with your mind completely blown! You have lost it, Charlie! You plan on blowing us up in hopes that nice aliens rescue us first. Aliens that we have no proof actually exist and even if they do, no way to communicate with. This is crazy! We should figure something else out that takes us home not further away!” Joe throws his arms into the air and stares at the stars.

“I’m not crazy. This is our best chance. None of the engines will get us home together or alone. We don’t have enough oxygen, food, or water to survive a lot longer. We are too far out to ask Earth for help and even if we could how would they get to us? We have the only engine on Earth capable of getting this far. We can try to figure something else out but we will die before we can. I say we take a chance cause at least we have one this way. I promised Maddie I would do my best to get home safe and sound and I have to try. You have Carlos and the kids waiting on you. Let’s do this so we can both see our families again. Help me, John. I can’t do it without you.” A look of desperation hung on Charles’ face.

John spoke softly and looked at the picture of his family stuck between bolts on his instrument panel. “ok, Charlie. I’ll go along with it. I don’t have any other ideas and you’re right. We are dead if we wait much longer, so we might as well try your insane plan. I’ll help, but I know it’s nuts. It just beats dying of asphyxia.”

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

“It has been 2 years since the intrepid astronauts Major Charles Robert Edwards and Captain John Davis-Hernandez made contact with the Korm. Since then the Earth has learned of over a half-dozen alien species all working together in an intergalactic government known as the Galactic Alliance. A government that Earth will soon be a part of opening up the universe to all of us. We now go to Katie McDonough to get the reactions of..” Joe turns the tv off and drops the remote back on the couch. He shoves his books into his backpack and heads for his father.

“Daaad, come on I don’t wanna be late.” Joe paces in front of his father’s home office.

“Just a minute I’m still on the phone” Charles goes back to his conversation.

“This is bigger than just the United States. We have to stop thinking about our borders as if they matter anymore. We are negotiating for our planet, not our country! We need their help right now. We have only managed to build one ship with an antimatter drive and they have fleets. They have accurate star charts for navigation, a sensor network that covers huge portions of the galaxy, antimatter manufacturing methods that make ours look like child’s play, the list is almost endless! We need them, not assurances of border security!” Charles' knuckles are ghost white as his grip on the phone tightened.

“NO, I don’t think YOU understand what is at stake here! If this goes wrong we could get cut off from space! All this effort to travel to the stars and meet other life will have been wasted. Billions of dollars for nothing! We will be passing up on the technology that could transform our world for God’s sake and you are quibbling over an imaginary line in the DIRT! I will be there soon!” Charles slammed the phone down and went to meet his son who was still pacing at the office door.

“Dad...Are we really going to get cut off from space?” Joe looked at his father with fear.

“Not if I have anything to say about it. And don’t worry, you are still going to meet an alien today.” Charles tousled Joe’s hair on their way out. He gave his son a winning smile but could not hide the dread in the back of his mind.

The ride was quiet. Charles was going over the argument he was about to make in his head. Joe could tell when his father was deep in thought and just played with his phone.

Once at the newly established NASA Interplanetary Communications Hub they were greeted by an army of reporters. All rapidly taking pictures and yelling questions. Security came out and cleared a path for the car to enter the gates.

“Wow, is it like this everyday Dad?” Joe was watching the crowd of reporters with awe.

“Unfortunately yes. They all want a quote or a picture of an alien...or me.” Charles navigated the busy parking lot quickly and pulled into the space marked “Maj. Charles Edwards, All others will be towed. This means YOU!” The last line was written in black permanent marker.

“That’s cause you are the intrepid astronaut Major Charles Robert Edwards.” Joe did his best impersonation of a news announcer he could and looked at his father with a proud grin on his face.

“Hey, enough of that, but thanks kiddo. You ready to meet someone from another world?” Joe’s enthusiasm exploded as he yelled an incoherent answer and burst from the car. Charles allowed him to run ahead to the doors as he gathered his belongings. Joe ran inside as soon as his father was close to the door of the large building. Joe lead the way to the conference room with Charles following close behind. Both giving a quick hello to the multitudes of people buzzing around the building as they passed.

Joe started to burst through the conference room doors but held back and waited for his father. A moment later Charles was there and they walked in together. The conference room itself was quite large and could easily seat thirty people or more although only 5 stood at the other end of the room.

“Hi Charlie, Joe, glad you two could make it.” Retired-Captain John Davis-Hernandez waved to the two as they entered.

“Uncle John, Uncle Carlos!”, blurted Joe as he ran towards them at full speed. Charles waved and smiled broadly as he walked towards the group. Joe beat his father and gave John and his husband Carlos a hug.

“I see they managed to drag you away from that cottage of yours and you even brought your husband along. Carlos, it has been too long.” Charles reached out to shake Carlos’s hand but was pulled in for a hug.

“We know each other far too well for a handshake, my friend! And I will have you know I am here in my official capacity as a Special Envoy of the United Nations.” Charles hugged Carlos back.

“And you still embarrass me. We are at work Carlos.” Charles grinned as he chastised him then turned and shook the hands of the others gathered.

Joe realized one of the men greeting his father was not a man at all. He was one of the Prehka. A thin alien species that closely resembled humans. The beings limbs were slightly longer than human proportions. The alien’s fingers were even longer and had two more joints than human fingers. Joe was fascinated by the ruby-red eyes that seemed to barely blink. He then noticed a small figure seated in the corner of the room behind everyone. Whoever it was, they wore a hoodie with a NASA logo. The hood was pulled down far enough to hide their face completely. After all the adults finished greeting each other Charles turned to Joe.

“Son, would you like to meet Ambassador Corna-tlok Ra Gurano of the Prehka?” Charles stood to one side as he motioned Joe forward.

“I..I am very..I mean I am happy to meet you and welcome to Earth!” Joe held out his quivering hand to the Ambassador. The Ambassador smiled broadly a bigger smile than any human could and shook his hand. Joe watched as his hand disappeared under the long fingers that wrapped almost twice around it.

“It is a pleasure to meet you too. Your father has told me what a fine young man you are. I am very pleased you could be here today.” The Ambassador then turned to the small figure in the hoodie. He said something in the Prekah language and the figure stood up and walked over.

“This is my daughter Corna-tlok Meh Maila Norda.” The alien girl pulled the hood down to reveal strikingly bright purple hair.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. You may call me Maila.” She reached out to shake Joe’s hand.

“WOW, your hair is very purple!” Joe’s cheeks went bright red. “I mean....I like it. Purple is one of my favorite colors. Your-hair-is-really-pretty.” Joe’s entire face blushed brightly and he immediately turned his gaze to the toes of his shoes. Malia pulled her hand back and began to blush as well. Seeing the embarrassment the Ambassador placed a hand on the shoulder of each child and leaned closer to them.

“I thought you two should play while the rest of us talk. I am afraid otherwise you will both be very bored. These things are not even exciting for me and it is my job. Maila, why don’t you teach Joe how to play Ro-kish. You have it with you, don’t you?” Maila nodded and pulled a small electronic device from the pocket on the front of the hoodie.

“Excellent you two can use the other end of the table!” The ambassador motioned to the other side of the room. Joe looked to his father for direction.

“Go ahead, Joe. You wanted to meet someone from another world and now you get to and learn a new game too. Have fun kiddo.” Charles rubbed Joe’s head as he turned to go to the other end of the table with Maila.

The Ambassador turned his attention to the adults gathered. His large smile now replaced with a look of disappointment.

“I want you all to know that things are not well. I came here to try and salvage something. I am very fearful that all this is for naught.” Gurano stood motionless waiting for a response.

“Ambassador Corna-tlok, I know things don’t look good but please give us a chance. I know we can make this work.” Charles' voice exuded confidence but his eyes showed signs of doubt.

“I truly hope you are correct. Quite frankly, this would be a huge blemish on my record. I have negotiated the successful integration of two species into the Alliance. To lose one over the supposed security of one small land mass is unthinkable. I fear, if we do not resolve this soon it will go to tribunal. That is a lengthy process and the outcome is rarely a good one for anyone involved.” Gurano turned towards the only man in military uniform. He was an Army officer with four stars on his shoulder.

“I ask all the powers of the universe that the conversation we have today goes better than our last encounter, General Duvas. I have no interest in a heated argument. I am here to negotiate your planet’s future. I have no ill will to you or your people. I will not tolerate another emotional tirade. I am not willing to discuss anything that is not directly related to the negotiations. I hope you fully understand.” Gurano stood a little taller as he addressed the General.

“Ambassador, I’m just an old war dog and I never intended to insult or upset you. I know this is for the planet but my duty is to the people of the United States. I have to be sure they are protected from outs..” The fifth man interjected, he was short and balding in a rumpled black suit.

“P-P-Perhaps we should all sit and start at the top.” The General looked at the man with quiet disdain and nodded in agreement.

The six took seats on their end of the room. The Ambassador sat to one side while the five men sat on the other. Gurano then pulled a small black egg-shaped device from his pocket and set it on the table.

“Once I activate this device we will be able to hear each other but no one outside our immediate vicinity will be able to hear us. I believe you all have seen this or similar devices in use during our negotiations?” There were a number of nods and yeses from the human side of the table.

“Children, you will not be able to hear us for some time but we are watching.” The Ambassador then looked at Charles to see if he had anything to add.

“You two have fun.” Charles then nodded to the Ambassador who pressed the top of the device. For a split second white noise was heard then nothing but perfect silence. The men blinked hard and looked around the room.

“Those things are convenient but the silence they make is damn unnerving.” The General looked around the room again and adjusted his tie.

“One grows accustomed to it. If things go well you will grow used to it too. This and many other technologies will become available to the Earth.” The Ambassador surveyed the group but always kept an eye on the General.

“Now, would one of you tell me why your children are here?” The General’s glare darted between Charles and the Ambassador.

“Because General I fear that this may be the last opportunity for my daughter to meet humans. She has been quite intrigued by your race. Due to the delicate nature of the negotiations, I had left her on our ship. Since things have degraded so far, I decided to take the opportunity to indulge her. When I learned Major Edwards’ youngest son had a similar interest I suggested he bring him today so they could meet. Look at them General two children of different species from different worlds. They have grown up in vastly different cultures yet they sit together, gleefully playing a game. That is what is at stake here sir. Our children's future.”

​

Tune in next time for the exciting conclusion. Same bat time same bat channel!

Full disclosure, next time will most likely not be a conclusion but still more to come.

Relatively, new writer and this is my biggest story to date. No idea where this is going but enjoying the ride so far. Hopefully, I am not the only one that finds this interesting.

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