#Sorry it looks like shit. its been Forever since i last drew these guys. pretty sure their designs will slowly change over time

[wtscallop]

one nothing wrong with me two nothing wrong with me three nothing wrong with me four nothing wrong w

[shinjukuspiritcommittee]

Top 20 2021

My Favorites (updated)

Hello my readers, it’s been a while since I just posted something not related to a headcanon and I am doing one right now. I just wanted to take a bit of a break to just get SOMETHING on here on my days off work. Plus I’m just trying to find my groove when it comes to writing again so hopefully this helps me just get back into the mood of making a post more often lol. I wanted to revisit this topic for a while just because we’ve had a lot more events and a lot more alts in the game were added. And I know for a fact LifeWonders reads these posts in some capacity because I have meme’d an AR into the game with my top picks from the last list I did for Christmas 2019. No I didn’t. I’m just joking around and I know LifeWonders doesn’t read this.

Anyways rather than just make up a list on the spot like last year I decided to use the Housamo Sortmaker (Link: https://club.housamo.xyz/sortmaker/ ) to try and make a list that’s more revealing to what I was thinking at the time. Since I talked about 20 characters ish last time I’m just gonna read from my 20th place to my 1st place spots and try to justify whatever I was thinking at the time. Anyways-

20: Marchosias and Susan: This one was a surprise for me if I’m being honest but I’m just gonna blame the fact on Shukou’s recent involvement with LifeWonders in the form of Live A Hero and how Ryekie and Mokdai live in my headspace rent free whenever I think about the characters in that game. Maybe we can see about getting some LAH headcanons since that’s a LifeWonders property too). So out of all the characters Shukou drew for Housamo why did I pick Marchosias? Easy, it’s been 4 years and this poor man has yet to receive a proper alt or any kind of skin for that matter and I think that it’s a crime. Sure he’s not my favorite but he’s definitely grown on me because he’s just a gentle dad kind of character and his design has grown on me over the years. I just hope he doesn’t get left behind since he has a lot of really interesting and potential things to look forward to in the future given how the main story has unfolded.

19: Shiva/Algernon: The helmet heads are together because DAI XT quickly became my favorite artist for Fire Emblem Heroes and I really just like their designs. DAI XT just knows how to draw robots, armor and muscles well. Also Chapter 11 with Shiva you can read into some interesting perspectives. I don’t want to spoil any of the untranslated content for anyone who’s waiting for the official english translation. But if you are curious Roureem has a blogspot where he posts summaries of the newly released events.

Link: https://housamosummaries.blogspot.com/

18: Cthugha: I love this goober so much. He’d constantly try to act super sentai just trying say good morning everyday. He may not be very bright but that just adds to his charm and honestly I enjoy how he always tries to play the hero in a lot of scenarios because it’s refreshing when they implement him after a bunch of heavy hitting story stuff. I’m not gonna spoil too much about it but I will say he’s more than welcome after everything Chapter 10 and 11 put the reader through.

17: Mineaki: I’ve made a post about him being one of my least favorites way back when I first started this blog and let me just say how times have changed and I’ve learned the value of not judging a book by it’s cover. I still think there’s something a bit off about Kowmei’s style for his characters, but Mineaki has definitely grown on me. He’s a caring instructor who does watch out for his students even if it’s not always in the most direct way possible. Not to get into too many spoilers he’s got a lot of intrigue around him as well and I am curious to see his role get expanded down the line.

16: Ded: Housamo is the reason I really like christmas. The Christmas stories despite following a similar structure to each other do tend to be my favorite stories. Ded himself is also just another good dad character. He’s also two guys for the price of one, so I mean… you know… you’ve got the forever ask your other dad situation. There wasn��t much thought put into this choice I just like santa as a concept because I think the outfits are cute, it’s always nice to get something for people you care about on Christmas and Ded is the perfect embodiment of both sides to Christmas.

15: Shinya: Everyone we need to manifest buff Shinya for 2021, this is not a drill. This is legitimate. We must make Taromati’s and my wish come true. To be more serious again he’s just a sweet and gentle character. He’s also drawn by my favorite Housamo artist. Their characters always just look so naturally good. I’m just surprised he hasn’t gotten much of an alt given he’s perfect material for Valentine’s day. He’s just a soft boy and I would love for him to be in more things because I just enjoy seeing him.

14: Jacob: I have to be honest Jacob is on here because every time I look at him he just gets more handsome to me. I wasn’t all that impressed with his introduction and we don’t know much about his background but I’ve just been drawn to him more and more. Maybe it’s just because he’s drawn by GomTang? I just like looking at him and I can’t help it. To speak a bit less crass he’s another gentleman kind of guy and those are always nice.

13: Shennong: Yeah I like the doc a lot. Firstly, I’m a huge sucker for big bulls and Shennong fits the bill. The white fur really adds to his appeal visually and the purple horns give off a bit of an unnatural appearance. Shen feels like someone who’s been touch starved and alone for a long time given how he acts as a character and when we actually hug him I just lost it. He always has others well being on his mind so he’s not afraid to jump in and help, or give a much needed lecture about when you need to take better care of yourself. He just comes across as very well balanced overall.

12: Heracles: I won’t lie- at first he didn’t interest me much. He looked incredibly plain when among the rest of the cast and he seemed like the typical “bait” character since the banner had Echo, Barguest, Gyumao and Snow. But after reading the translation for Valentine Time Slip I was taken aback at how much of a gentle giant he turned out to be and I just really liked his interactions with the others in that event. And honestly his special quest from that year was one of the more unique ones given the slower pace and more romantic vibe it had. After the event warmed my heart I did a complete 180 and I just knew I really liked him.

11. Yasuyori: Before I start praising him I feel I have to justify why he didn’t quite make top 10 and it will have some mild Chapter 10 spoilers. To be as vague as possible his resolution just didn’t vibe with me at the end of Chapter 10. Like it wasn’t a bad resolution and it was the right choice to make but in my opinion there really wasn’t a moment I felt was clear where he made a choice for himself. Everything just sort of happened around him and it felt like he didn’t really do much to improve his situation. To an extent I kind of see that being the idea given his origins and the story he’s based on and there is some semblance of him coming to terms with himself alongside his isolation being portrayed pretty well, but I just wasn’t satisfied with it as much as I would like to be. With that out of the way, oh my god I just want this boy to never stop smiling and I just want to give him hugs constantly please he just deserves to be happy!!! Yasuyori is a character who’s got a lot of baggage and he’s just trying to find ways to properly cope with his trauma and not repeat past mistakes and I just really like that idea. His role in Xmas 2020 (sorry I just forgot the name of that event, but its when he gets his alt) was a much better representation for his character in my eyes. I’m not gonna spoil anything like I keep saying but he isn’t one to disappoint in future appearances and I just hope this lovable lug keeps getting the support he deserves.

10: Hephaestus: A spicy way to start the latter half of the list. I just want to give this lad a hug and tell him he is worthy of love. But at the same time he is a little shit… and I love that. I can’t fully explain why I grow a paternal instinct in me seeing this grown man sob about his mother but I just do. I want to keep him safe and give him all the affection he wants. Though I am aware a lot of Hephaestus’s interest in his parental figure is… questionable. I am just gonna say I would accept his love for what it is and he just wants approval.

9. Shuten: I’ll be honest I have no proper reason for why I like Shuten so much. He’s just a cool and reliable guy. He just seems like a go with the flow kind of person most of the time and he’s a bit more direct than most of the characters which I always appreciate. Plus I have an unspoken bias for naop guys in Housamo.

8. Durga: While not number 1 on this list, I still really like Durga. She’s quirky but not to an annoying degree, she’s determined and definitely very confident in her own abilities. Her growing to be more sociable throughout her events is something I enjoy seeing because it really creates this sense of growth.

7. Kyuma: I get a lot of people don’t like Kowmei’s art but I really think we should look past it because Kyuma is one of the sweeter picks. He’s someone who just wants to prove himself for his own worth and not what David can provide, but David is part of him and it just creates the potential for a good arc. Plus this boy is unintentionally smooth and will just take your heart when possible. I honestly want to see Kyuma more in events because he’s honestly the jock that carries 3 of the 4 brain cells. He’s also the last one without an alt so I’m just hoping he gets one in 2021 because he really deserves one in my opinion. (Also fan art makes him really cute).

6. Tomte: Tomte is relatively new but honestly his event in 2019 really endeared me to him. I’m trying to be spoiler free because the best way to enjoy these stories is for yourselves but let me just say his arc in the event was really endearing to me and much more than I was expecting. His fan service is also incredibly hammy and I love it. Visually Tomte is one of my favorites, I love his multi colored hair and starlit pupils cuz it makes his otherwise more generic look have some flare. I knew I liked him out the box and when I read about him in the summaries and can’t wait to read the official translation for him. I was just very endeared.

5. Tetsuya: Tetsuya fucks. Moving on…

Jokes aside this one’s a bit simple. I have no shame in admitting I think he’s attractive and his whole resistance towards wanting a relationship is cute in a weird roundabout way. When he says no I just want it MORE. I just really like duo haired tsunderes.

4. Kengo: Kengo 3rd alt 2021. Please LifeWonders I need my favorite Summoner. He’s a bro and that’s what counts. Kengo has got your back, not afraid to rely on you, a very fun and dynamic guy. Sure he’s not that bright when it comes to making plans or any book smart, but there are times where he’s the best at being able to read the room or just understand what someone needs to hear even if it isn’t always what someone wants to hear. His bullheaded nature is actually one of his redeeming qualities because it’s nice to just not overcomplicate things and just understand what’s actually going on. Yes the early story didn’t do many favors for him but to me the events, especially the later ones, do much more work for his character. To me, at least.

3. Ashigara: Ashigara is best bear, and I will defend that stance in 2021. The main thing that draws me to Ashigara is that I can see a bit of myself in him. He gets very emotional when he gets left alone, he’s very loud when with his friends, has a tendency of speaking his mind- just someone who wears his heart on his sleeve. I also appreciate that in spite of the negative he isn’t someone who backs down when the going gets tough and in a few instances he’s able to hold his ground physically at least.

2. Wakan Tanka: Love at first sight. This ray of sunshine still persists as the number 1 husband, but number 2 character. Firstly I am a huge fan of the partial beast aesthetic. The buffalo ears and the horns  are absolutely adorable. Secondly he’s a perfect body type; he’s not too muscular but not exactly flabby. Third he is just so positive and I love that. He’s someone I admire and wanna hug.

1. Taurus Mask: The more things change the more they stay the same. I’m still a big Taurus Mask fan for all the same reasons as last time. I just… relate to this boy. He is an incredibly shy boy who uses his public persona for confidence. Maybe I’m reading too much into it but it’s like we’re soul bros!

So yeah, my tastes haven’t changed in a year and a half.

[jemej3m]

(mobster/cop au) what did the foxes think Andrews husband would be like before they met Neil? Did they had a bet?

this is…..not what you asked. i went off on a tangent lol, but i aint sorry.

(also i, for some reason, just cannot write good betting scenarios. might be because gambling addictions are p.serious. i know its all in good fun though! so im sorry i couldn’t include it)

*

Getting information about Andrew was like pulling teeth, and this was news to no one. Seeing as Kevin was - probably, maybe, most likely - Andrew’s closest friend at the precinct (other than Renee. And Wymack, possibly), Dan and Matt seemed to look to him after the discovery that Andrew had a husband when they’d all been trapped in that basement. 

“Why would I know anything?” Kevin objected, when they’d approached him. 

“Because Renee won’t give up his secrets and I know you’re as curious as we are,” Matt supplied. 

“Well, I know nothing that y’all don’t already know. Apparently he’s married to a guy. I once overheard him talking on the phone to a Neil. Assuming that Andrew has no social life - which is an easy assumption to make - his husband is Neil.”

“Ooh,” Dan said, wiggling her eyebrows conspiratorially. “Mr Neil Minyard. Anything else?”

Kevin just shrugged. “Nope. Andrew’s a wall. You’ll never get anything more than that.” 

*

Dan crouched down behind the car, breathing heavily. “Fucking hell,” she muttered, as another round of bullets sprayed out. She hated shootouts. At least Matt was safe at the precinct: she’d been doing a patrol with Andrew and Renee when they’d been radioed. 

“Good that it’s a dead area,” Renee insisted, forever a ray of sunshine and goodness. How she and Andrew got along was a conspiracy to be marveled at, but it worked. “We shouldn’t be dealing with any civilian casualties.”

“Hey, coppers!” came a voice. “Fuck off! This ain’t your problem!” More bullets. 

Dan rolled her eyes, then flinched as the car they were all crouched behind was fired at. Andrew grunted, a furrow between his brows. 

“We told you to fuck off - !” the same guy yelled, before he was most definitely shot, making a gurgling noise in lieu of words. 

“Andrew, south east,” Renee called. Andrew got up on his knee and aimed quick: he was one of the sharpest shooters on the squad. Dan heard a female scream “Shit!” as the shooting quietened. 

“Nice shot,” she told the detective. He just grunted. “Right, clear out. Let’s never sign up to patrol this section of town on a Friday night again.” 

“Agreed,” Renee mumbled, holding her gun close. 

It seemed that whoever Andrew had shot got away: a pool of blood without a body remained evident on the path. The other group had abandoned their loud-mouthed friend, who was still writhing on the tar as the ambulance arrived. He’d only been shot in the arm, and it hadn’t hit bone. He’d be fine. 

“Alright,” Dan told her two officers. “How about we sign off?” 

They both grunted in agreement. 

*

It was Tuesday morning, and Andrew’s desk was empty for a second day in a row. Dan folded her arms and stalked towards Wymack’s office to demand that the captain give Minyard a call, but he held up a broad palm as she entered the room.

“Andrew’s cited a family emergency.”

Dan narrowed her eyes. “Sure.”

Wymack simply arched a brow at her. “His husband was shot. If you want to cross-check for me and give him a call, be my guest, Wilds.”

Dan slowly retreated out of the captain’s office. She wasn’t suicidal enough to give Minyard a ring, not under those circumstances. Wymack’s word was definitely good enough. 

She went back to her desk as Matt sidled up beside her, pressing a kiss to her hair. 

“No PDA at work,” she complained. 

“Shift’s over,” Matt pointed out, grinning. She rolled her eyes. “What should we get for dinner?”

“Not sure…” Dan trailed off as she watched Renee packing her desk, checking her watch rapidly and hastily slinging her bag over her shoulder. She pattered over to the bullpen’s kitchen and drew out a casserole dish from the freezer, lifting the foil to check its contents. With the dish held against her hip, she checked the freezer closed and made her way to the elevator. 

“Whatcha got there, Renee?” Matt piped up, helping the dish out of Renee’s hands when she’d dropped her phone. It wasn’t often that Renee got flustered: she hastily picked up the mobile and tucked her hair behind her ears. Dan noticed she was wearing lip gloss. 

“Well, since Neil’s been - sick,” she started. 

“Shot,” Matt supplied. Dan glared at him: he shrugged. “What? I read Captain’s lips.”

Renee snorted, taking the dish back now that she was more organised. “I offered to make dinner, and Andrew prefers punctuality. I just hope that Neil likes it: I’ve never made this quiche before.” she worried, quietly. “Andrew said he hates vegetables but will put up with them when they’re hidden away. And hopefully Allison will eat eggs, and cheese.”

“Allison?” Dan inquired. 

“Neil’s best friend,” Renee said, still distracted as she looked for her car keys. “Oh, heavens, I’m so late.” 

“Go,” Dan insisted. Renee smiled gratefully. “Tell Andrew we say hello.” She nodded and jogged towards the exit.

“And tell Neil to get shot less!” Matt added, unhelpfully. “I won’t keep doing his paperwork!” 

Dan laughed and leaned into her husband’s shoulder. She looked up at him, her chin brushing the crook of his neck. “Do you think Andrew will ever let us meet him?”

“Not sure,” Matt said. “It would probably completely ruin his cred as a stoic asshole. He’s probably a massive sap at heart.”

Dan smiled into the collar of Matt’s shirt. “Never put Andrew Minyard and sap in the same sentence again, babe.” 

Matt just laughed and looped a hand around her waist. 

*

“So,” Matt said, leaning against the edge of Minyard’s table. “How was your week off?”

“Great,” Minyard said flatly. “Go away.”

Matt ignored him and sat in the victim’s chair, leaning his chin on his hand. “You know, I’m pretty sure you and your husband have been married longer than Dan and I have. Do you have any anniversary suggestions?”

“Get a divorce,” Minyard grunted, looking at his report.

Matt grinned. “Don’t be like that. What did you and Neil do last time?”

“Nothing,” Minyard mumbled. Matt noticed his cheeks going red and rose up his eyebrows. Minyard noticed his look and scowled. “It was our anniversary this week and he was bedridden. Quit looking at me like that, Boyd.” 

“A January wedding,” Matt cooed. “Did you take photos in the snow?” 

“I will castrate you.” 

“Cool,” Matt said, airily. “Well, happy anniversary, Andrew. Tell Neil we said hi.”

“I won’t,” Andrew insisted. “Get lost.” 

Matt snorted and did as he was told. He’d intended to say hi to Renee, but she was over at Dan’s desk, so he sauntered over with his thumbs hooked into his pockets. 

“Hey, Renee,” he said, grinning. His fellow detective and his sergeant raised their eyebrows at him. “I’ve been thinking,” 

“You should be working,” his wife reminded him. 

“Andrew just had his anniversary, right? But they couldn’t do anything because Neil’s been bedridden. We should all pitch in for a gift. Maybe a weekend away?”

“That’s a lovely idea, Matt,” Renee said, grinning. 

“How the hell did you get that information out of him?” Dan said, incredulous. 

“I’ll email you some ideas: you know the two of them, best.” Matt rubbed his hands together. 

“Preferably not New York, not somewhere warm, or somewhere with lots of people,” Renee advised. “Neil is apparently forever antagonistic and it drives Andrew up the wall.”

“Sexy up the wall or angry up the wall? I don’t think we should be encouraging strenuous activity when Neil’s been recovering from a bullet wound.” Renee just laughed, neither confirming nor denying Matt’s inquired. She bid both of them good day and went back to her desk, ignoring Minyard’s inquisitive looks. 

“Why are you doing this?” Dan murmured. 

Matt shrugged. “Dunno. I feel like he deserves it.” 

Dan smiled at him. “Alright.” 

*

Kevin, Renee, Matt and Dan were all sitting in the breakroom. Andrew stormed in, bright and cheery as ever. It was a blissful Tuesday morning, sleet pelting down and temperatures well below freezing: As Andrew tugged off his scarf, revealing a wind-pinked nose and a fair amount of love bites just above his collar, he chucked a tin onto the table. 

“Who’s idea was it?” Andrew accused. 

Kevin watched Matt grin, looking up at Andrew. They were almost the same height even with Matt sitting down. “How were the mountains?” 

“Very pleasant,” Andrew muttered, peeved. “Neil baked those as thanks. I hope he poisoned them. You’re all the worst.” After a moment, and a reprimanding glance from Renee, he mumbled out a quiet “Thank you.”  and just as quickly as he’d come in, he turned to leave. He must have caught his reflection in the window, because he hastily tugged the scarf back around his neck, cheeks turned pink. 

Kevin huffed, looking to his colleagues. “Are you satisfied enough, now? I, for one, now know way more about him than I ever wanted to.” 

The Boyd-Wildses opposite him just grinned. 

*

ehheeheewill i ever post the renison + wedding thing? hopefully yes - if i dont run out of steam first. almost 2/3s of the way through my rbb and its taking longer than i thought!!!! also moving out of state, so a lot is happening rn and if that means i neglect ur asks and prompts i am very sorry!!!! 

[minuteminx]

Revolutionary

Pairing: Preston Garvey/ Female Sole Survivor

Summary: In the aftermath of personal tragedies, Preston and Charlie both seek to make a difference in the Commonwealth and those around them. They could never anticipate the impact that they will have on eachother in the process.

Chapter Four: Sole Survivor

Chapter Summary:   Charlie tells Preston a long story. 

[First Chapter]

[Previous Chapter]

[AO3 Link]

“A bridge of silver wings stretches from the dead ashes of an unforgiving nightmare to the jeweled vision of a life started anew.”

― Aberjhani, Journey through the Power of the Rainbow: Quotations from a Life Made Out of Poetry

Sanctuary  Hills, October 2287

The trek out of Concord, and up the road to a place called Sanctuary Hills was largely silent and uneventful. Preston took point, and Charlie offered to hang back in case there were any straggling raiders who decided to follow. He wasn’t so sure that she was in any condition to watch the rear, but he wasn’t about to argue with the woman who’d just turned a deathclaw inside out. It was more than alarming to see the bloody massacre Charlie’s tangle with the deathclaw had caused up close and personal as they passed by. He was just glad she’d survived, and that he didn’t have to fight the damn thing.

On the way to their hopeful home, Sturges spotted a largely intact Red Rocket on the side of the road, stacked with old tires and filled with useless junk that Sturges would scrape up a use for. Jun and Marcy walked together in somber silence and Mama Murphy hobbled along in the back, arm looped through Charlie’s, whose open hand gripped a 10mm so tightly her knuckles turned white. She had a hell of a poker face, he’d give her that much.

Nearing the old neighborhood, a statue of a lone guardian stood tall, musket in hand, holding his centuries-old post at the bridge where the American Revolution began. It was almost like some weird omen, Preston thought, observing the Minuteman and then the bridge. Maybe Mama’s visions had some truth to them after all. He did not realize he’d mused out loud until Sturges’ hand clapped him on the back.

“I don’t know what the heck you’re talkin’ about boss, but I’m glad you’re happy.”

Preston laughed. “Thanks, man.”

Crossing Old North Bridge into their hopeful home seemed monumental, the group propelled forward by the potential of a place to finally rest. There were more than a handful of homes that still had enough structural integrity to be tidied and boarded up for use as shelters. It was bittersweet to see the remnants of picket fences, lawn furniture, and pink, plastic birds that dotted the landscape. Skeletons of old cars littered spots where garages might have been. Preston imagined what the area might have been like back before the war, pictured neighbors talking to one another from their yards, children playing together in the streets. It was a way of life he knew he’d never get to have.

Before long, Preston had done a sweep of the entire cul de sac, making sure there wasn’t anything dangerous lurking inside any buildings. All he found were several dead rad roaches and bloatflies, as well as a high-strung Mr. Handy robot that called itself Codsworth.  It kept attempting to scrub the rust off the paneling outside one of the homes, muttering something about making sure it was in “tip-top” shape for when its family returned. He wasn’t exactly sure what to do with the thing, so he just left it to clean aimlessly in hopes that it’d be someone else’s problem later.

“Hey boss,” Sturges called out to him, waving him overs to where the others had congregated near the mechanic’s makeshift workstation, lamplight flickering on their exhausted faces, “Check out what we found in one of the fridges.”

Preston walked over, catching a glimpse of the round face of Button Gwinnett on a cardboard case of Southie Stouts. “Damn, and here I thought we’d used up all our luck for the day.”

“I’d prefer Beantown,” Marcy said as she brought her bottle to her lips, and Preston caught the briefest flash of a grin wrinkling at the corners of her mouth.

“C’mon Marcy,” Jun interjected, nudging her shoulder, “You know that’s not true.”

“I’m a Gwinnett guy, but I’d probably drink anything wet with a kick right about now,” Preston said, grabbing one of the dark brown bottles and examining it more closely. It had been forever since he’d actually gotten to enjoy a drink, long before Qunicy, that was for sure. Just as he placed his hand on the cap to pop it off, there was a bump at the back of his legs. He startled and turned around to see Dogmeat peering up at him expectantly, whining and wagging his tail. Preston knelt down and gave him a scratch behind the ears. “You a Gwinnett guy, too, boy?”

The dog let out a stern bark that sounded like a correction, and then turned toward the house across the street before looking back at him. Following Dogmeat’s instruction, Preston glanced over at the house, where Charlie stood alone, frozen and staring vacantly inside as if she wanted to enter but couldn’t.  Without hesitation, he grabbed another bottle and headed toward her

He cleared his throat as he approached to make sure he didn’t startle her.  It was neither polite nor smart to spook a lady who was already pretty shaken up.  She darted her head toward him, scrubbing at her face as if he wouldn’t notice her tear-stained cheeks and swollen nose. He pretended not to, anyway, instead holding up the bottles in his hands and smiling. “Thought you could use a drink.”

She perked up at the sight of the drinks, tilting her head and squinting at the label. “Are those--? Oh wow.”

“Yeah,” Preston said, popping the cap off of one of the bottles and handing it to her, “Stouts are harder to come by than the other stuff.”

Charlie shook her head and examined the bottle, running her thumb up and down across the label. “No… it’s just.  I’m surprised there are still any left after you know--” she swallowed hard-- “the bombs.”

She sounded harrowed, as if the bombs had just fallen yesterday or something. Maybe she was just harrowed in general.  God knew she had every right to be.

“Me too,” Preston said, opening his own drink and taking a swig, lukewarm and bitter.  It hit the spot. “It’s kinda crazy, you know, what survived.

She took a sip, sad smile at the corners of her mouth. “Like the lawn flamingos? Such a testament to pre-war vanity.”

“Those damn birds,” Preston replied, nodding and laughing.  He’d never thought much about the lawn ornaments before, other than thinking they were ridiculous.

The air between them fell silent as Charlie stared down at her bottle, picking at the label with a polished thumbnail. She opened her mouth, as if to speak, but then closed it and sighed before glancing over at him. “Can I tell you something?  It’s going to sound really weird, but I’m going to lose my shit if I don’t talk to someone.”

“Is this that ‘long story’ you mentioned before?”

“Yeah.” Charlie walked toward the bright red door to the house in front of them, slightly ajar, knob and hinges specked with rust. She ran her hand along the wooden surface and took a deep breath.  “I used to live here.  In Sanctuary Hills.  In this house.”

“But,” Preston’s brows drew together, “That’s not possible.  This place hasn’t been settled since--”

“Before the bombs fell.” She spun back around to look at him, leaning back against the door frame. “I know.  That’s when I lived here.”

“Two-hundred and ten years ago?”

She nodded her head slowly. “2077.  I had the perfect life: a good career, the best husband, a beautiful baby boy, and a shiny new Mr. Handy unit that was much less neurotic than the one over there trying to clean the dirt off the ground.”

He blinked, attempting to figure out where he’d misheard the woman, because if he hadn’t then that would make her over two-hundred years old.  That couldn’t be possible, at least not without being a ghoul, although he wouldn’t mind if she could take Codsworth off his hands.  

Charlie frowned. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”

“No, no,” Preston stammered out quickly,  “I believe you, but… how?”

“That might be a better question for Vault-Tec,” she remarked, looking down at her suit, “My husband and I signed up for a  spot, just as a precaution.  Nobody thought the Chinese military would actually drop those nukes. Not sure if it was arrogance or complacency, but either way, it happened.  My family and I were rushed to Vault 111 to shelter.  That’s all it was supposed to be: A shelter .”

“I’m guessing it wasn’t just a shelter?”

“No.” She laughed bitterly.  “They herded us, like lab rats, into these cryogenic chambers, and locked us in there.  Last thing I remembered before waking up was my limbs going numb and my vision going dark.”

“Damn.” Preston was stuck somewhere between horror and amazement.  “Did anyone else make it out with you?”

“No.”  Her answer was abrupt, eyes welling up visibly and he immediately felt bad for asking. “When I woke up, there were these people in weird lab coats and a man with this scar--” She traced a line with her little finger, vertically from her eyebrow down to her cheek-- “He opened up my husband’s chamber and took my baby.  Nate fought, but… they shot him.  After that, I think everyone else’s life support failed.  A whole damn town, and I’m the only one who survived.”

“I’m… so sorry.”  He didn’t know what else to say.  He knew how it felt, to be a sole survivor of a terrible tragedy, but he couldn’t bring up Quincy, even if it was just to show her he understood.  “If there’s anything I can do, or that the Minutemen can do…”

“I think the Minutemen have their own problems at the moment, hmm?”  She smirked, eyes twinkling with humor despite the tears.

Preston looked around and chuckled in exasperation. “Well, considering that I’m the only one left, I’d say yes. We have so many problems.  That doesn’t change the fact that I owe you.”

Charlie tilted her head back and finished off the rest of her stout, then looked decisively at Preston.  “You’re not the only one.”

“Pardon?”

“I never thought I’d get to say this in my lifetime, outside the context of some weird historical play, but... I’m joining the Minutemen.” She tossed her bottle to the ground. “I don’t have any survival skills, I couldn’t shoot dead fish in a barrell, and I’m a bit traumatized, but I figure it’s still better than nothing.”

“Are you serious?”  Preston could barely contain his excitement.  He didn’t care if he had to spend months teaching her how to shoot or get by in the Commonwealth.  He’d been without help for so long now, he would be glad to not be alone.

“I know it’s hard to believe that anyone could be that bad of a shot, but--”

“No, Charlie,” he interrupted, “Are you serious about joining up?”

Charlie grinned, playfully. “Hell yeah.”

“That’s... well.  Let’s just say that’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time.”

If Preston were a hugger, and if he’d known her longer than a few hours, he would have embraced the woman.  Maybe it wasn’t just the jet.  Maybe Mama Murphy was right all along.

[forkanna]

[AO3] [WATTPAD]

NOTE: This chapter is even more NSFW than the previous, including actual sex. Reader discretion advised.

Stalemate. For ten full, agonising seconds, Rise and Ai were locked in place, staring into each other's eyes unblinking as their bodies remained flush with each other. Burning with an arousal neither was prepared to deal with.

"Morning," Rise finally managed to respond quietly.

"So… so this isn't- I wasn't trying… to… what is going on?"

"You rolled on top of me while you were asleep," she told her immediately — purely so she wouldn't spend any time worrying that she had done anything wrong. "And, um, your little friend decided to let me know she's already awake! S-so, um… so that's a thing I know now!"

"OhmyGOD," she blurted, starting to push upward against the futon beneath them. "Rise, I am so sorry, I can't believe-"

"Nnhhh!"

Well, that shut them both up. Knowing her cheeks were flaming pink, Rise turned to one side to stare off toward the door. At least Ai could only see half of her burning face this way.

"Rise?"

"I'm fine! It's all good, I… were you saying something before? About, like, being sorry… and getting up?"

"Wait." Ai shifted her hips again. This time, they both groaned, even though Rise's was higher-pitched. "W-wow, you're into this."

"I a-am not!" she squeaked.

"No, you are." But for once, Ai wasn't teasing her mercilessly about this. She just whispered, "I… could… keep going."

Rise glared up at her with a slight pout as she squirmed a little. "Don't- nnnhh -don't you dare! I… this situation isn't my fault, I was… I was trying to get out from under you!"

"Fine. Forget it then." Ai sighed and rolled onto her back. "You're free to go."

"Thanks." Rise sat up, taking a few breaths in relief. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't breathe, and… this is… I'd like to be married first, y'know?"

"Right. Because a couple of lesbians are about to get married. In this country? I doubt it."

A little "oh" fell from Rise's lips. That was a very good point; she had never heard of any same-sex couples having an official marriage under the law before. And sure, they could get married if Ai just went by what was on her birth certificate, but that presented its own downsides. "Well… that's just not fair."

"Yep. So unless you meant marrying somebody else besides me…"

"I didn't," she told her flatly, which surprised Ai into looking upward at her. "It's going to be you. I guess this just means we'll be… roomies forever? Or whatever that looks like."

Ai sighed and reached over to take up Rise's hand. "Listen to both of us, talking like this is going to last longer than the stories in the tabloids." But she was still rubbing that hand with her thumb tenderly. Words at odds with actions; that was a very Ebihara thing to do.

"They will if we try. So… I want to try, Ebi-chan. Really."

"Isn't that what we're doing n- WHOA! EXCUSE ME?!"

Rise's other hand came to a stop on that bulge beneath the sheet. "Um… yes?"

"Maybe you could ask before trying to perform the Tatsumaki with my secret joystick?!"

"The what?!"

Ai's look was so nonplussed. "How can you have never played Street Fighter? Where the fuck have you been for your entire- nevermind, nevermind — we are from a younger generation, not everybody's a retro gamer like me."

"Hey, just- just hold on before you get too sidetracked! I thought… didn't you want to…?"

"I don't know! But you could at least ask!"

"But it's all hard! I thought that meant you wanted it."

"Not necessarily," she sighed, though at least her anger was clearly abating. "I get why you would think that, and it did feel nice. I just don't know if I'm ready for all that yet."

Feeling thoroughly chagrined, Rise withdrew her hand entirely and whispered, "Wow, Ebi-chan, I'm really sorry. I just wanted to help, and to… to get closer to you, I never meant-"

"Tch." But Ai looked thoughtful, not irritated or hurt. "It's just… what if it's too soon? Or what if I like you doing that, and I get used to it, and then I don't want to go through with bottom surgery?"

"Well… so? If you like it and it feels good, what's the problem?"

"Tell that to Past Fatass Aihiko. Like, stuffing my face to the point of obesity felt good, too… in the moment. Then later I realized it wasn't the best thing for me. See also 'purging'."

Rise grimaced as she hugged her a little tighter, and she hugged back. "I get that. Not that I think this is the same thing, but maybe it is. I guess I can't know that one."

"Neither do I," she admitted quietly, accidentally grinding on her a little as they embraced. Rise tried to pretend she didn't notice. "Mmm… it is… pretty tempting."

"Do you do it for yourself? I heard guys normally do, and you used to be one…"

Ai squirmed, which only made it worse for both of them. "Well, um… I guess I have done it sometimes since I started transitioning. Not as often though; usually I just don't give a shit. But… it's been worse lately…"

"Really? In what way? Or I guess, why has it been worse?" Her girlfriend glanced up at her, then away. "Me? It's my fault?"

"No, not just you. Narukami before you happened, but… y-yeah. It's just really unpredictable; I don't get horny all the time but having people to be attracted to does make it a lot more likely."

"Mm. Makes sense, I guess." Rise tried to think of something encouraging to say, but she wasn't sure because the situation was so alien to her. Then she chanced a tiny smile. "Well, anytime it gets so out of hand you can't stand it… I'm here. Even though I don't know what I'm doing at all, I guess I could help you."

Ai smirked a little as she rolled her hips. "You just wanna hop on this dick. Little slut."

"H-hey!" she squeaked, even though it came out mostly as a gasp. That didn't help any argument against being a slut.

But she didn't have time to be angry for much longer. Ai's hips were still moving. It seemed that one provocative action, even though clearly intended to tease, had awakened something within her girlfriend that she was having trouble putting to bed. Their eyes met as they tried to suppress their desire — and they weren't doing very well. Too much tension had been building for too long.

"So… so you could keep going," Rise finally whispered — and even her whisper was shaky. "I heard what you said about… u-um, maybe not being ready? Which I totally get! Believe me! But I think I'm ready for this, e-even if this is all… you…"

Ai swallowed hard, finally looking truly distressed at their predicament. "It's weird… doing this… I mean, like… okay, you want me to be gross? It might even stop me from doing this if I gross both of us out."

"Go ahead," Rise giggled weakly.

"So… um…" Contrary to her words, she was still grinding on her with mounting purpose. "Like I said, I do jerk it sometimes. It's normal, everybody does it, but I… still feel weird about it, because of… my body. But more often than that, I'll wake up and I'm kinda… trying to do this to my bed. Like I'm having sex in a dream? Maybe? But I don't remember the dream most of the time — and a lot of the time in my dreams, I'm the one on the bottom, anyway…"

Everybody did it? Rise never had - not on purpose. A few times in the bath, or rubbing up against her teddy bear out of instinct. But that was beside the point. Licking her lips as she tried not to think about just how well Ai was hitting her in a place no one had stimulated before, she cleared her throat before saying, "On the bottom? Like… with anoth-" That was too close, but at least she tried to catch it. "With a boy?"

She could see the slight smirk of Ai recognising she tried. "Yeah. Like a boy pounding me in the pussy. Or the ass; sometimes my brain is nice and gives me what I really wish my body was like, sometimes it isn't nice. It… it usually depends on how I'm feeling that… mmhh, God I wish this didn't feel so good…"

But it did. Rise couldn't even pretend she wasn't getting off; she was on fire from nose to toes, the latter of which were clawing at the futon for purchase — trying to latch onto some kind of stability. This was too hot to be allowed.

"Is… is that…?"

"Huh?"

Ai visibly swallowed. "Are you wet?

"Wha- hey! You sh-shouldn't be asking things like that, it's so rude!"

"No, but I can feel it… through our…" She gulped and looked away. "Maybe we should stop. Like, I feel like I… I don't know, you didn't sign up for all this."

"You didn't, either, Ai-chan… I… I'm okay."

Ai drew back to look into her eyes again. "Really?"

Then they were kissing again. Both seemed to need it thanks to how fragile the discussion was making them feel. Partly because of how much they talked this out, partly because of their bodily movements below, but Rise knew she definitely was a lot less capable of pretending this was just 'friends hanging out really closely while they make it look good for the cameras' or whatever line she had fed herself in the past; this was love. It was sex. They were about to do what so many teenagers naturally do when they find themselves alone together. She almost found herself wishing that someone would come knocking at the door to interrupt them, give her an excuse to take a breather and decide if she was really ready, but…

But no. She was ready.

"Can…" Rise was having trouble due to breathing hard; they both were, considering their lips had been joined for a minute or so beforehand. "Can I see… again?"

Ai just blinked at her for a moment before she managed to hiss, "My dick? Why?!"

"I… I know you wish you didn't have one, but this is the first time I've really been this close. So…"

"God." She swallowed hard. "No, no, I get it. I don't even really mind because… it's you… so yeah, I guess that's completely fair to ask."

Rise backed off, and Ai sprawled back against the futon. That overlarge t-shirt was all rumpled and bunched up so that she could see the bulge in her panties directly, and she couldn't help swallowing as she noticed the glaringly obvious wet spot in the center. She didn't even want to check her own underwear now; it would just be horribly embarrassing. So instead, she tentatively started curling her fingers around the waistband.

"Whoa, just like that?" Ai burst out with a breathy little giggle. "I… don't get any flowers first?"

"No. But um, I'll buy you some later, if you want."

Not having expected that, Ai was so distracted that she only breathed, "Really? You would?" as her shaft was revealed to the air once again.

"Really, Ebi-chan. I… I wanna treat you right." She kept pulling, scooting backward as she dragged the garment past trim thighs and slightly-rising knees. "Like you keep trying to show me you're a girl, and I… I might be a girl, too, but I have to do some of the boyfriend things if we're gonna be a real couple. So flowers, right?"

"Well… yeah." The dazzling smile was so rare on Ai's face that she barely was aware of pulling the fabric down past her pedicured toes. "Thanks, Kujikawa. I can't believe Risette is legit sitting there, telling me she's gonna treat me like a girl deserves, it's… it's crazy."

"Yeah, for sure. I mean, the Risette?!" They both laughed as she crawled back up. And then…

There it was, right in front of her for the second time. She had been too weirded out by the whole experience then to form much of an opinion, but now… now she was starting to think it might even be cute. Weird as that was. She had always been intimidated by the idea of these things on men if she were truly honest with herself. Probably because of the stories of how some of them used those; rabid fans, subway perverts, stalkers and back-alley lurkers who would prey on innocent women. But Ai wasn't any of those things; she was a woman who didn't even want to own hers, much less had anything to prove.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Ai grumped.

"Don't tempt me." She glanced up and saw the priss queen's face was full of mixed feelings about that, so she cleared her throat and looked back down at the tapering shaft. "You're sure… you don't mind if I play with it? I can stop if you need me to."

"Okay. Like, uh… I don't need you to now but I'll let you know."

"Cool." So she kissed the shaft. It was warm and soft, as the memory lingering in her fingertip could attest; she actually thought it felt silky smooth, perfect. Like most of Ai Ebihara. The scent of arousal she had caught a hint of before was starting to fill her anew, and she breathed in deeply as she kissed again and again, changing spots on the underside. She moved lower…

"Wh-where are you going?"

Rise's head came up quickly. "I- I'm sorry, did I mess up?"

"No, no, like… I just thought you might have been… nevermind, it's dumb."

"No way! Whatever you're feeling isn't dumb, I… I was going for these." Her lips pressed gently into the sack below the main attraction, glancing up past it curiously. "Do you not want this played with?"

"Oooh… I don't really… go ahead. Like I said, I'll stop you if I panic and need to quit."

At least she had the green light, however tentative. Somehow, the loose skin covering those little spheres was even softer; she smiled a little when she felt some tiny hair tickle her lips. Considering the varying shapes and contours, she wasn't surprised Ai had missed a hair when taking care of her personal grooming.

"Ugh, shit!" Ai burst out, covering her face with her hand. "That's horrible — I already hate having a- and now there's a hair, and you're probably really grossed out."

"I like it," Rise giggled as she kissed her again. The shaft twitched a little above her. "Oooh… did you do that?"

"N-no… I just… your breath on me, and your kisses, it's like… makes it really ready to go."

Swallowing hard, she tried to ignore the amplified feelings that was shooting down into her own tingling sex. Ai was ready to go and she was pretty sure her own body was not far off. "Um, good, that's good. And I don't mind this little pube; she's my favourite. I'm calling her… Inmo-ko-chan."

Ai couldn't stifle a little "Pffft" as her cock wobbed a little from body movements. Rise tried not to pass out then and there. "You would say Pube Girl gets a cutesy nickname."

"I would if it's cute enough!" Then she kissed it again… before sliding her tongue over the two spheres in their protective enclosure.

That finally changed the game subtly. Neither of them seemed to be able to keep bantering once she had licked Ai down there; she couldn't quite keep doing it right away, but neither was it easy to recover. So she went back to kissing, her lips parted so she left more and more wet marks on that soft flesh. Gradually, she worked her way up the twitching shaft — and tasted a slightly salty tang when she got to the wrinkled skin just beneath the tip. Did she like that?

Yes. So much, in fact, that she immediately tried to press her tongue to the same area.

"Hmmhhh," Ai sighed as she weathered the treatment, muffling the noise with her hand. Rise kept going, sliding her tongue all the way around the head… drawing it between her lips tentatively. She had heard of this so she knew exactly what she was doing — in name, anyway. Ebihara was one of two humans in the world she would have done this for. Really, she didn't even feel like a slut as most men would have made her feel; she just felt like a girl trying to please her lover.

Lover. Wow, that was where they had wound up without ever meaning to do so. As the warm head of the shaft began to find its way deeper and deeper into her mouth, touching the back of her throat, a couple of tears leaked out when it hit her fully that she and Ai had gotten past every obstacle that seemed to crop up along the way: they were together-together, and that wasn't going to change. It was only going to get better as long as they worked at this, remained open to the possibilities.

"Y-you don't have to," Ai suddenly breathed. "I-if it's that hard… I'm sorry…"

Rise didn't even bother to pull off long enough to answer. She knew it was the crying; they would get past it. Now she was beginning to bob up and down on that slender cock, delighting in how the heated skin dragged past her lips and tongue, at the pungent, oddly-satisfying taste. Yes, she could definitely get used to this.

And clearly, Ai wasn't in disagreement. She had been able to mostly just twitch and suppress her reactions until she started moving; now that she was really going down on her, she was panting and letting out quiet squeaks, trying to keep from overreacting. Rise felt like she got about halfway down the shaft before her gag reflex tried to take over, so that was about as deep as she was going to get — not that it bothered Ai. Harder and harder, she slid up and down as she felt it pulsing more often, listening to those delightful moans she earned in return. This was definitely the hottest thing she had ever experienced — and she had been in close proximity to K-Pop and Visual Kei guys.

Ai had them all beat. Easy.

The last thing she wanted to think about was how wet she probably was. Even just shifting her legs the tiniest bit, she could tell it was getting bad. But she tried to remain focused on the task at hand. Experimentally, she tried humming while she was bobbing her head up and down on the-

"NNH! FUCK, RISE!"

Paydirt. Instant reaction, and one Ai had seemed not to want to slip out. Instead of backing down or stopping to ask if everything was alright, she started ramping up her actions. Just because she had thought they might do another something this magical morning didn't mean they had to; she wanted to hear Ai finish now. She wanted to be the one that made her feel that good.

A wish that was granted after only a few more seconds. The sensation of cream spurting into her throat was so unexpected that she felt herself gag a little, her head came to a stop — but now Ai was moving. It seemed she had at least grown that comfortable with what they were doing, so she managed to keep herself from coughing for a moment or two. Probably something to do with all her vocal training over the years. However, eventually she hit the point where she couldn't hold still anymore, and…

"Oh… oh no, wha- Rise, are you okay?!"

Rise nodded as she coughed up the climax into her open palm, shivering a little while supporting herself on her other arm. Then she took a few shaky breaths before gagging out, "F-fine!"

"You don't look fine! Shit, I killed you- this is it, I'm the horrible bitch who killed Risette with my stupid little dick, and now I'm gonna have to throw myself off a bridge! Great, fucking great!"

But by the end of that, they were both laughing a little — even if Rise's were half-coughs. She swallowed hard and managed, "Just… get me a tissue!"

Ai was back with a purse-sized pack in no time at all. They cleaned off her hand and dabbed at her mouth, then Rise started using another on Ai's softening length. She shivered and she paused in her motions.

"Is… this okay?"

"Um… I don't really know. It's weird. It almost feels nice, but I also feel like I should smack you away…" Her face was more apologetic than usual as she finally sighed and said, "What a fucking spaz I am. You sure your throat is okay? You didn't have to swallow it!"

"Y-yeah, well, um… I didn't know what else to do if I didn't," she admitted with a shy laugh. Ai shook her head and smiled a little more before pulling her into a tight hug. "Oh! Awww, what's up?"

"Nothing. I just… never had that. Anything like that, so now I'm all emo." She drew back after a second or two to peck at her lips and whisper, "That was amazing. I almost thought you must have done it before, man, you just drove me crazy but you told me you haven't, so…"

Rise shivered a little as she asked, "You, um… you don't care about kissing me? After I was…"

A slight pause. "Oh, on my dick? Dude, I'm still bi; I wouldn't say my own dick is something I wanted to taste but it's not like I'm all that averse."

"Really? You sure?"

"I promise, girl." Then she kissed her deep, as if purely to prove something to both of them.

And she did. Not just that she didn't mind her own aftertaste, but that this was far from over now that Ai got her rocks off. In fact, Rise felt like they had finally moved past the trial period for this relationship and into something real. And she was ready for way more, as soon as was humanly possible.

                                                       To Be Continued…

[peace-coast-island]

Diary of a Junebug

Down by the fishing hole

The guys from Airy are back for a fishing tourney and more musical fun times! Joining them are Franny and little Ellie May, both who are enjoying the camp very much. It's been forever since I've seen the two so it's been great catching up with them.

Ellie May's full of spirit, she's a lot like her dad and aunt. I'm surprised that she kinda remembered me a little from when I last visited Airy, which was maybe four or five years ago - not too long before I came to the camp so around that time period. She was probably around two as she was walking and talking by then.

Sam says that Ellie May couldn't wait to come to the camp so she's been marking down the days until the tourney on the calendar. It's no surprise that she's into the great outdoors like her parents. At home she would tag along with Sam, Buddy, and Storm on their fishing trips at Sawyer Lake right outside town. And like the guys, Ellie May has a knack for fishing.

Franny's a bit of an outlier as she's not an avid fisher, but she does like hanging out with the guys. Though it's more so she can keep an eye on them. Buddy and Storm have a way of attracting trouble while Ellie May has Sam wrapped around her finger so it's up to Franny to be a couple steps ahead when their antics drive them up a wall.

What I love about Franny is that on the outside she looks like the kind of person who's got her shit together - the sole braincell of the gang. Independent, intelligent, creative, badass - there's a reason why she's a force to be reckoned with. Though on the inside she's just as crazy and eccentric as the others - and that's why everyone looks up to her.

While fishing, we got to talking about what's been going on in Airy. Ellie May's on the soccer team at school and taking piano lessons with a neighbor. Sam and Franny's dad is semi-retiring from the Airy Gazette, which is slowly phasing out newspapers to go completely online by next year. The community choir album is progressing while In Hopes and Dreams is a hit, prompting Storm to work on recording more music. Buddy's running the gas station/auto shop as usual. Franny is filling prescriptions and keeping up with current events. Sam's balancing town council and home life as well as dabbling as a songwriter.

Airy's one of those small towns that has adapted and changed over years while still retaining its heart. People like Franny, Sam, Ellie May, and Buddy are rooted firmly to their town, their families having been there for generations. Franny and Sam's grandpa, Andy Beryl, was a well known townfolk. He was the good samaritan, the kind of guy who takes the time to help others and actively worked to make the town a better place. There's a plaque in the courthouse dedicated to him in the office where he worked - it was brand new when I last visited.

We also got to talking about Andy Beryl a bit as it's been almost ten years since his passing. Imagine if he had lived a few more years he would've gotten to know Ellie May. Sam and Franny speak highly of him, talking about fond memories of him telling stories of the shenanigans he and his friends got up to in town. Among his friends included Buddy and Storm's grandpa, who was also known for getting into sticky situations that involved Andy stepping in to save the day.

Being part of the town council, Sam and Franny feel a sense of responsibility for the town. Since taking on the role of head council, Sam has kinda followed in his grandpa's footsteps - even mirroring his life in a way. Along with being the go-to person in town, Sam, like Andy, is also a single parent who's trying their best. The Beryls hold pride in their family name but at the same time avoid putting it up on a pedestal. After all, they're regular folks just like everyone else - something that seems to get muddled over the years but the message's clear enough. They have a legacy that they're proud of and want to keep it up, to make things even better for the next generation.

Speaking of generations, what's interesting about Airy is how different things were thirty years ago. During Andy's time, the town was mostly white - English, Irish, Scottish, German - most who have been living there for generations. Now most of the people in Airy are mixed, mainly white and Asian like the present company. Sam and Franny's father, Andy's son, married his college sweetheart, a Cambodian immigrant. As a result, Sam and Franny grew up with a mix of both cultures and know how to speak Khmer. It's fun seeing them bickering in their second language, because even if you don't understand what they're saying, at least you get what's going on.

(Also I'm lowkey jealous of how well they speak Khmer. I can barely hold a basic conversation, plus my pronunciation totally butchers the language. They say theirs isn't that great either but compared to mine, it's nothing. Sorry Mom, I'm trying but Khmer is hard.)

And as for Ellie May, her mom, Ellie, was born from Mexican immigrants. Ellie's parents visit often so Ellie May's picked up Spanish from them, making her trilingual. It seems early, but her grandparents want Ellie May to have a quinceañera, though before we know it, that day will come soon! It's good to see Ellie May proud of her heritages as well as showing off her impressive language skills!

Again, I find it interesting how much the demographic? culture? of Airy has shifted so much over the past 30-40 years, which is basically Sam, Franny, Buddy, and Storm's generation. Pretty much everyone around their age is born from a longtime Airy townfolk and an immigrant. I wonder how much more Airy will change with Ellie May's generation.

In between fishing sessions, we did a bunch of fun activities. Buddy was in his element at OK Motors tinkering with engines. He's a bit unconventional when it comes to fixing cars but he's got his ways. Storm messed around with engines too while looking for songwriting inspiration. He and Sam have written a couple songs over the past few weeks so they'll be dropping by the island in the near future to record. I'm happy that Storm's getting back into writing music, especially now that things are finally working out in his favor in terms of creative control.

Franny and Ellie May enjoy hiking and foraging, they've gathered a lot of berries so we're gonna be making something with them. We're debating on whether to make a pie or a bunch of little tarts - either one sounds good. Sam brought his guitar, prompting spontaneous jam sessions throughout the camp. Like Storm, he's been getting into music too, especially since discovering his talent as a lyricist. We've heard live performances of the new songs - Out of Reach, Dandelions, and Where the Ferns Grow - all which sounded fantastic. Hopefully there's more where that came from.

Since working on In Hopes and Dreams, Sam has also been seeing a counselor. With the song being about grief and loss and now that Ellie May's become more curious about her mom, Sam finally realized that he needed help. Talking about Ellie has been difficult but he knew that he can't keep avoiding it forever, especially for Ellie May's sake. I haven't known Ellie for long but her absence is felt, which I think says a lot about her.

While the others fished, Franny collected seashells and took a bunch of pics. Sam managed to catch a lot of doubles as well as a shark during the off hours. Despite almost getting yeeted in the middle of the ocean, he managed to drag the shark to shore - with our help, of course. Ellie May drew a cute sticker for him that says "I fought a shark and won!" with a funny doodle to go with it, which he stuck on his jacket for all to see. The two have such a sweet bond, it's fun seeing Sam carry Ellie May up on his shoulders as they laugh and run around the camp.

Earlier today we took a short hike along the thornberry trail behind the camp. That probably wasn't the best idea as the path's kinda narrow and we had to watch out for thorns. Sam had to go after Ellie May, who was running around, and both ended up stuck in a bramble bush. Thankfully their injuries are nothing serious, but they looked painful. As soon as they took off, Franny knew that something like that was gonna happen as both have a tendency to be too curious while easily distracted. It doesn't matter how grown up you are, the older sibling never stops being the caretaker for the younger one.

Just for the record, Ellie May was a lot braver than Sam - and she has more scrapes and bumps than him. Though for him, it's less the pain and more that the sight of blood puts him off. There's a reason why Franny followed their mom's footsteps to study medicine and he didn't.

Aside from that little mishap, everything else has been going well. Franny, Daisy Jane and Norma made fish pies that turned out great. They're basically like seafood chowders with a puff pastry layer on top. Stu and Buddy helped Reese and Cyrus build a gazebo that's ready to paint so that's what we're gonna do tomorrow. Storm, Candi, and Tipper hung out at Sunbust Island and harvested coconuts to make smoothies. Sam and Ellie May helped me run errands while sightseeing and stocking up on supplies. Just another fun and busy day at the camp!

In between those activities, we met up at the beach for another round of fishing. The tourney fish seem to gravitate towards the area near the cliff so we called that spot the fishing hole. It's a nice area to be situated in, kind of like our own little nook in the ocean.

[escargoon-sandwich]

marx attempts to ruin a chatfic - scrapped chapter

there is a reason why this isn’t going on ao3. simply put, i’m not satisfied with it.

11:50 pm

Zan Parthenon: @everyone

Zan Parthenon: HELP

Zan Parthenon: MARX JUST RAN BACK TO CAMP WITH A BUNCH OF THE SKULL GANG FOLLOWING HIM

Big D: I’m already on my way.

Zan Parthenon:  please tell me you’re bringing kirby

Gryll: AAAAAA

Gryll pressed their back to Zan’s, sucking their breath in. “Man, this sucks! Big time!” 

“Understatement of the year, my friend.” Zan stated flatly as she charged her drums. Gryll had managed to build up a small wall to hide behind, but the blocks they’d made crumbled easily - it wouldn’t hold off the Skull Gang forever. 

Something glittering hovered above their heads, and Gryll glanced up to see Marx barely clearing the wall. “Yo Zan! Mind lighting me up?”

“Sure. Just stand in front of me.” Zan ordered as she jumped up to the top.

“Oh come on, that’s gonna suck…” Marx whined.

“Think of it as payback for when you sprayed me with febreeze earlier.”

“Okay but you asked for that-”

“BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU WERE DRINKING KOOL-AID!”

“WHY WOULD I DRINK KOOL-AID OUT OF A FEBREEZE BOTTLE-”

The inane argument was interrupted by a particularly large skully barreling through the wall, showering Gryll in brick fragments. Gryll cried out and swung their broom forward, borrowing some techniques they’d seen some Broom Hatters do. The skully tumbled away, just in time for Marx to body slam it. “Hey, Gryll!” he shouted, twirling on his toetip. “Go find Dedede and Kirby!”

“I - okay!” Gryll hopped on their broom and booked it out of there, weaving through the trees. Beneath them, they felt the broom sort of sputter - which was to be expected. The enchantment was beginning to wear thin - they probably should have refreshed it before coming to the islands.

As the sound of battle faded behind them, Gryll bit their lip. They really, really wanted to help, but they were more of a hedgewitch - someone who did spells meant for everyday life, not for the battlefield. 

Whatever. Finding Kirby was helping too.

The broom fell suddenly, about five feet - it couldn’t last much longer. Gryll groaned, knowing they’d have to continue their search on foot. Quietly, they landed and leaned against a large tree, trying to listen to their surroundings…

Okay, there was the fight going on, and that kind of drowned things out. Oh, how Gryll longed to have nice big ears like Daroach, then maybe they would have better hearing! Above them, the branches rustled, and then something dropped on them - Oh, Lord.

They swung their broom wildly, batting at whatever had chomped down onto their face. They sucked in air, choking on the downright rancid breath, then filled their lungs again. “LET! GO!” they howled at the top of their lungs. “I’LL TASTE AWFUL, SO LET -”

Suddenly they were free, and they gasped for air. The thing was now howling in pain, and Gryll cautiously looked over to see something brown and furry mauling their attacker - a skull gang member. They’d been followed! “Shit…” they breathed. “I gotta find the others quick…”

“Wait!” The furry thing turned, and - oh lord, if that wasn’t the cutest thing Gryll had ever seen! Kirby was wearing some sort of animal costume - it was probably a copy ability! “Gryll, it’s me!”

“Yeah, I can see that now. Sorry, I thought you were like… some sort of raccoon…” they muttered. “Where’s Dedede?”

“Over here!” The king crashed through a bush and faceplanted in the dirt. He scrambled to his feet quickly, just in time for Escargoon to slam into his back, with Gooey close behind him. He stumbled forward, but caught himself before he could body-slam Kirby. “Okay. Okay, I’m good. Um.” He smiled sheepishly at Gryll. “Where’s the circus?”

“The circus? Oh, you mean Marx!” A crack of thunder roared through the forest, and Gryll pointed in that direction. “I’d say they’re over there.”

“Thanks.” Without missing a beat, Dedede charged forward. “Escargoon, you stay with Gryll!”

“But Sire -”

“No buts! I don’t want those freaks anywhere near you!” Dedede turned away and disappeared through the brush, and Kirby and Gooey soon vanished after him.

“No, wait!” Gryll cried, only to be drowned out by another crack of thunder. “... Damn. Okay.” They turned to Escargoon, who was tugging at his beard. “We can’t stay here. I don’t care what Dedede said, it’s not safe. There might be more of those guys around.”

“Are you kidding me? Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Escargoon growled, waving his arms in the air.

“I would have, but they ran off before I could - wait.” Gryll’s eyes narrowed as they heard more rustling in the branches above. “... Hey. Weird question. If you were surrounded by, say… five or six dudes who wanted you dead, how likely do you think you’d be able to survive?”

Escargoon was peering at the canopy now, quivering. “H-honestly? I’d give it like, a twenty percent chance?”

“Okay then. Let’s run.” 

----

12:39 AM

Kirby: you know i’m glad those guys don’t get stronger at midnight

Big D: @Marx did you find Gryll and Escargoon yet? Or DMK?

Marx: i found the first two and got a broom shaped bruise on my face

Kirby: ouch, did gryll get you? they hit pretty hard sometimes…

Marx: no it was escargoon lol

Marx: gryll got one of those tears to the face, so i think goonie grabbed the broom to defend himself

Big D: Shit, are they hurt?

Marx: nah, they’re in pretty good shape

Marx: gryll is now under a bunch of leaves, we made them a little blanket so they could stay worm

Marx: … i meant to say warm but you know

Marx: i guess that fits too? since they’re under some leaves

Marx: anyway dedede come get yo mans

Big D: I have absolutely no idea what that means, Marx.

Marx: oh, you know

Marx: ;dauhnjffff

Kirby: MARX????

Marx: You know that massive downed tree? We’re near that.

Kirby: yeah i do know it, but what happened?

Marx: A stupid clown nearly played a nasty prank.

Zan Parthenon: Who is this?

Marx: This is Escargoon. I grabbed Marx’s phone before he could do something dumb.

Zan Parthenon: He was going to send the winky face, wasn’t he?

Gryll: nooo, that’s our inside jooooke

Kirby: oh hey, welcome back gryll!

Gryll: right i need to debrief everyone, maybe in the morning? i need access to my dream journal even though this wasn’t really a dream it’s a good idea to write it down

Zan Parthenon: I got it, and I’ll bring it over.

Gryll: thanks

----

8:14 AM

Gryll: alright, i wrote down what i saw in the doc you guys have going for that sort of thing

Daddyroach: Alright, I’ll take a look.

Gryll: the good news is that i did find a good tree, finally, while i was writing everything down

Gryll: so i’ll be re-enchanting my broom and making a new one

Gryll: … actually, wait

Gryll: @Escargoon do you want to borrow one?

Big D: He’s still sleeping.

Gryll: oh, okay

Gryll: i’ll try later then

Big D: Any reason why you want to give him one?

Gryll: because last night, i lent him it

Gryll: well, he took it from me actually, and he was like, “if you want to get rid of a pest you sweep like THIS” and then did the windy thing

Big D: The windy thing?

Gryll: kirby knows the windy thing! the thing the broom hatters do

Big D: ooooh, i get it

Gryll: but he seemed to like it, he was cackling

Daddyroach: Okay so, uh.

Daddyroach: My dad got sacrificed to Necrodeus. 

Gryll: the guy who was PROBABLY your dad

Daddyroach: Most likely my dad.

Daddyroach: Considering that you said my mom confessed to being pregnant at the time.

Gryll: well no necrodouche kind of forced the confession out of her because he grabbed her and…

Gryll: uhm.

Gryll: he tried ripping you and your siblings out of her

Gryll: i think he wanted to eat you

Daddyroach: … thank god dedede’s dad was there.

Gryll: yeah

Kirby: we still haven’t found any sign of DMK anywhere…

Taranza: Come back to the hotel, Kirby. Ribbon, Adeleine and I are gonna go look next.

Kirby: okay

Borb: Do you need me there?

Big D: You know, not to sound rude, but I’d rather you be at the castle right now.

Big D: If we have a group of people back at the castle, it’s… something. 

Big D: In case something bad happens.

Borb: … I see.

B. Dee: I’ll do my best, your majesty!

Big D: Thank you.

Tiff: something happened

Big D: Tiff? Are you okay?

Tiff: no

Tiff: dmk came back here and took my mom

Tiff: she went out to the balcony and he grabbed her

Gryll: oh shit, oh SHIT

Daddyroach: This lines up too well.

Daddyroach:  I’m going to try to find her.

Tiff: she’s where you guys are?

Daddyroach: Yeah, and she’s in immediate danger.

---

Normally, Daroach would be happy to have a target that broadcast its location. When that target was a woman who was five months pregnant, though, things got intense.

Lady Like was kicking up one hell of a fuss, though, and it made tracking her down easy. "Yo! Marx!"

The jester crashed out of the canopy, faceplanting into a puddle. He coughed out some mud and grinned at Daroach. "I meant to do that."

"Sure you did. Now listen." Daroach pointed in the direction of the screaming. "Go up ahead for me, okay? We'll try a pincer attack."

"Oh, good idea!" Marx took to the air, then visually screeched to a halt. "Did you tell Kirby and Adeline too?"

"Yeah." Daroach readied the Triple Star, listening for the sounds of struggle. "We're close. Just a little farther…"

"Right. See ya!" Marx flew off, and Daroach zoned in on where he heard the fighting. He soon found himself in a small clearing, where he caught Dark Meta Knight getting a square kick to the face, delivered by one Lady Like.

Daroach couldn't help it. He laughed and clapped as he made his presence known. "Good job, idiot, you're getting your ass handed to you by a pregnant woman."

"A woman with a black belt," Lady Like corrected, pouting.

 Dark Meta whirled and drew his sword, brandishing it towards his poor victim. "Listen here, both of you!" he growled. "I don't have time for this horseshit, nor the patience." He was shaking slightly. "All I want is for one thing to go right for me!"

"Yeah, and I'd like some goddamn peace and quiet. But life isn't fair and we don't always get what we want." Daroach shrugged. "You'd think you'd have learned that by now."

"Bold words from a thief." Dark Meta hissed, prodding Lady Like's belly with the tip of his sword. "Now. I have a gift to deliver to my master, and I'm willing to rip it out of her if need be."

Daroach felt like his stomach was turning to ice, and he lowered the brim of his hat to hide his panic. "... Master, huh? You rebounded kinda fast, huh?" 

Dark Meta's wings twitched, as Daroach heard rustling in the nearby undergrowth. "What do you mean, rebound?"

"I'm just saying… you hopped on the Necrodeus train pretty damn quick." Out of the corner of his eye, Daroach saw Kirby peek out of some tall grass. He wished he had a way to signal to him to wait. "You got a thing for toxic men, don't you?"

Oooh, the sword tip was wavering now, and it was quickly pointed in Daroach's direction. "I hope you realize what you are implying."

"'Course I do." Daroach flicked the brim of his hat up and grinned. "You, my friend, are a slut."

Dark Meta Knight roared and flung himself towards Daroach, who gasped as he felt the serrated blade sink into his gut. Lady Like stumbled away from the two, and Daroach saw a waiting Adeline reach for her hand and drag her out of the area. “You do not get to impose that judgement on me!”

Daroach smirked, then coughed up blood. “Well. At least I set out what I meant to do here,” he muttered as he pressed the Triple Star against Dark Meta’s mask, and blasted him away. “Go and run back to your new sugar daddy!”

There, he fell to the ground, where he wrapped his cloak around himself as his opponent scanned the treeline. One of Daroach’s ears twitched as he heard Marx yelling hysterically - he must have found the two escapees. 

“Hmph. The child’s not worth getting in a fight with the jester over.” Dark Meta sheathed his sword and turned, leaving Daroach in the dirt. “My master will be back soon anyway.” With that, the sound of shattering glass filled the air as he teleported away, and Kirby darted out from the bushes. 

“Are you okay?” Kirby squealed, while pressing a few leaves into Daroach’s wound. Daroach yelled in pain, and Kirby almost looked a little sick. “Ooh, guess not…”

---

12:12 pm

Daddyroach: Alright, so maybe calling him a slut wasn’t the best idea.

Kirby: !!!! you’re up!!!

Tiff: is my mom okay?

Kirby: yeah!!! she kicked him a lot!!!

Adeleine: I’m pretty sure I saw some dents in that mask, your mom’s a straight-up badass. 

Adeleine: Are you okay though, dad?

Daddyroach: No.

Daddyroach: He got me bad, but Doc’s taking care of the stab wound.

Adeleine: i should have stayed?

Daddyroach: Absolutely not. You could have gotten stabbed.

Adeleine: … yeah, you’re right.

Gooey: tiiiiiiiiff

Gooey: yourmoooomisssniccccce

Marx: so uh daroach

Marx: why’d you call him a slut?

Tiff: what’s that word mean?

Marx: you’ll find out when you’re older.

Tiff: what if i want to know now, marx?

Marx: i’d have to say too bad because your mom would probably kill me

Tiff: oh it’s a swear word?

Marx: yeah lol

Escargoon: Speaking of your mom, Tiff…

Escargoon: Should I go talk to her?

Tiff: is there a reason why you think you shouldn’t?

Escargoon: We weren’t always on good terms.

Escargoon: Scratch that, we were never on good terms, up until I left.

Tiff: i think she knows you’re trying to change for the better

Tiff: i don’t think it’ll hurt to see her

Dedede: Can you like, keep her company while I’m out dealing with some shenanigans?

Dedede: There’s something going on to the north, and I’m going to go investigate.

Escargoon: I can do that.

----

Escargoon stared at the door handle way longer then he probably should have. One of the Waddle Dees that worked for the hotel was giving him a curious look. He knew the worst things Lady Like could do - he’d seen her beat the shit out of those guys who’d stalked her daughter. If she didn’t want to see him, well… he probably deserved whatever she dished out.

He finally decided to just knock. “Oh, who is it?” Lady Like’s voice rang out loud and clear, and Escargoon swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.

“It’s, um. It’s me.” There was a brief pause, and he added. “Can I come in?”

“Yes. Yes you may.” Oh boy, that response was rather terse...

Escargoon took a deep breath and entered the room. Technically, it was the one in his name, but with the… thing with Dedede, that was up in the air. Lady Like was here, now, nestled in a pile of pillows, one hand resting on her belly while the other one picked at a piece of bread. She looked like she’d been woken up in the middle of the night - in fact, she probably had been. “So! I’d ask you how things have been, but. Yeah.”

Like gave him a look so sour it could curdle milk. " I have had one of the worst mornings of my life. Are you certain you are happier here?"

"Huh?" Escargoon blinked in confusion. "Of course I am! Why, instead of getting hit all the time, I get hit on -" Lady Like had instantly raised an eyebrow. "Oops."

Well, her mood seemed to have improved. "Escargoon," she said with a conspiratorial smirk, "I have the inkling that you have a thing with the king!"

Escargoon felt his cheeks heat up, and he turned away. "What gave you that idea?" 

“Well…” Like tilted her head and winked. “I heard you were sleeping with him...”

“T-that was only last night!” he spluttered. “A-and it was platonic, okay. No shenanigans happened!”

“Yes, and I only married my husband platonically.”

“Look, he hasn’t even kissed me yet, okay?” Escargoon crossed his arms. “And I doubt it counts as a thing if he hasn’t even asked me out yet.”

“But there is a potential of a thing, yes?” Like smirked at him. “I’m sure your mother will be happy to know her little snail has a sweetie!”

“Oh, no, no, you are NOT telling her before I do!” He began to pace a bit. “Great, now I forgot what I even came here for in the first -”

Escargoon was interrupted by a wet “thump” on the balcony, and he jumped and whirled to face the sliding glass door, now plastered with Gooey’s face. He sighed in relief as he went to open it, but as Gooey rolled in, he realized that the little slimeball did not seem happy at all. “Hey little guy, what’s up?” Gooey wiggled around, a look of distress on his face. “Listen, Gooey, I know you’re upset, but you’re going to have to use your words, okay?”

Gooey paused for a moment, then opened his mouth and shouted one word. “FUCK!”

Lady Like gasped in horror. "Was this where Tiff learned that word?"

"Nah, that was probably Marx." After a look of confusion from Like, he continued. "Y'know, little jester guy, kicked Dedede in the junk?"

"Ah, him." She rose from the bed, smoothing her hand over her stomach. "Oh, my! Escargoon, look!"

"Huh?" A massive thundercloud was beginning to form on the horizon, but something was off. Mainly, it seemed like it was pouring out of the ocean. "That's not good..."

Gooey was beginning to buzz loudly. "Is he supposed to be doing that?" Lady Like asked, then cringed in disgust as Gooey spat out his phone. "Oh…"

Escargoon, however, noticed something else. Something that looked like a shockwave of sorts… and it was heading towards them, fast. He shoved Lady Like aside, away from the glass door, then grabbed Gooey and ducked into his shell.

[vivilove-jonsa]

Can I practice on you?

Thank you so much for the prompt, honey!  I drew some inspiration from your Finding My Voice series for this one and I hope you’ll like it :)

(Also, I need to work on WIPs so this will be my last of these for a bit but I’ll return to do more of the great dialogue prompts you guys have sent!)

***

“Can I practice on you?”

Her voice is delicate, testing.

“You talking to me?”

That came out very gruff. He didn’t mean for it to. Time on the inside has made him gruffer. He’s not the soft boy he once was but maybe he’s still a little soft when it comes to those he cares about.

She nervously clasps her hands together and looks ready to flee. He carefully circles his fingers around one of her wrists to keep her still a moment longer here in the kitchen.

“Sorry, Sansa. You mean the henna thing?” She nods. “Yeah, you can practice on me.”

“Thanks.”

He releases his hold on her as soon as she stands. There’s another moment of awkwardness before he realizes he’s meant to follow her. Down the hall and up the stairs and to her bedroom maybe. He’s not been in Sansa’s bedroom since they were kids. We’re not kids now.

Her mother’s eyes follow them as they go. He’s not her favorite. He never has been but, once upon a time, Jon Snow from next door had been alright with Mrs. Stark. That was before he took his little walk on the wild side somewhere between ten and twenty.

It’s been eighteen months up at State but he’s back again. Twenty-four years old and forever behind his peers in every way that matters. He’ll never catch up either because he’s an ex-con and he’ll be tarred by that brush for the rest of his life.

He’s trying though. He’ll never be Robb but he’s trying to be someone mothers don’t constantly watch with such wariness wherever he goes.

“Sorry,” she murmurs as they reach her room and she closes the door. “She hates my new hobby.”

 I think it’s me she hates.

He doesn’t say it. He only gives her a sympathetic nod. He can��t see Catelyn Stark liking tattoos of any sort all that much. She’d glared at his enough even before prison.  He’s gained a fair few since then.

She bids him to sit on her bed and gets down on her hands and knees in the floor beside him. He really needs to control the turn his thoughts take here. She’s Sansa and she’s exactly the sort of girl he’ll never have.

She tugs a box out from under the bed and places it on the bed next to him.

“So, this henna stuff…”

“It’s from plants and it’s not permanent body art. It’ll wash away in two-three weeks.”

“That’s fine.” He’s got plenty of ink that won’t wash off. He’ll never be really clean in lots of ways, he fears.

She wants to practice doing it, says she discovered it when she was down south and liked it. Her friends would do it do her but now she’s home and those friends are down there. She wants to be able to do it to herself but she needs a little practice. “Or maybe someone to do it with…”

There’s a hopeful lilt in her voice but he’d better be careful. ‘Someone to do it with’ is giving him all kinds of bad ideas.

Her eyes drop to his stomach and he can see her working herself up to something. “Could you…your arms are already pretty covered with tattoos and there’s hair, too. It’s easier if the skin is smooth…like on your back.”

“You want me to take off my shirt?”

She flushes scarlet but nods. “Would you mind terribly?”

“No, I don’t mind.”

He doesn’t. He’s been naked in front of more people than he cares to admit. There’s not much privacy inside after all. Of course, those were all men. And none of the women he’s been naked in front of have been girls like Sansa.

He tugs his tee over his head, grateful his deodorant seems to be holding up.

He catches her glancing his way and…oh, he didn’t expect that.

It’s only a flash but he’s sure of it. Sansa’s eyes had darkened and she’d licked her lips at the sight of his bare upper half. All that time he’d killed lifting weights in the yard served another purpose, it seems, more than just helping him avoid a beat down inside.

She clears her throat the next minute and asks him to lie down, all clipped and serious.

He wonders if all those pull-ups will make his back equally worthy of flashing sapphire eyes and a sultry lip lick.

He decides to make the most of this and sprawls out on her double bed with its downy duvet, a pretty buttery yellow, just like he’s been invited for a sleepover. Her pillowcase must be a billion thread-count or something, he’s never felt anything so soft. He groans appreciatively. This is the most action he’ll ever see in Sansa’s bed, no doubt.

“Comfy?” she asks, her voice quavering just a touch.

“Fuck, yeah.” He should mind his language but he kind of lost his filter inside.

He feels the bed dip as she climbs up on it. Her knees are by his waist. He wishes she’d straddle him this way. He’d like it even more if he could roll over before she did.

He’s got to stop thinking this kind of shit. She’s Sansa and Mrs. Stark, who hates his felonious ass, is right downstairs. She’d probably call 9-1-1 if he dared touch her precious daughter.

 She’s not a kid. We’re adults. Mrs. Stark can suck it.

At least, he’s face down. If he pitches a tent right now, it’ll be pointing straight down towards hell…where he just might belong.

She’s chatting about the henna tattoos and mixes some solution or something. He only hears half of what she’s saying because he’s trying to behave. He buries his face in her pillow and inhales.

Lemons and lavender. Her perfume.

Citrus and mint. Her shampoo.

Musk and sweat. Sansa.

She touches him just then and…fuck.

“Snowflakes or a sunburst?”

“Huh?”

“The pattern.”

“Oh. Either…both…whatever you want.”

“Okay.”

She starts to work and his skin feels taunt, stretched and alive with every touch of that brush or stick or whatever it is she’s using. He wonders if he’s broke out in gooseflesh yet. He feels like it. 

His gut clenches up with every touch but it’s pleasant.  The blood is pooling south of his belt buckle.  He’s got to behave with her.  She’s not just some girl at a bar looking for a good time.  She’s not somebody he can fuck and then walk away from once it’s done.  She’s Sansa, she’s everything he’ll never have because of his misspent youth.    

She works quietly, shifting here or there, positioning her body differently. He’d almost swear her tits are pressed against his jean-covered ass at one point. He can feel her breathing against the small of his back. It sounds a little labored.

She keeps working and it’s relaxing really, no pain like getting permanent ink…not that it bothers him at this point. He could lay here all day for her. His mind’s starting to drift again.

“Your skin is very smooth.”

He opens his eyes. He’d been near nodding off, acclimated to her touch at last and the bed’s softness and her scent all around him. He’d been ready to have a sweet dream. Maybe a hot, sweet and dirty dream.

“Thanks.” What the hell else did he say to that?

“I appreciate you letting me practice. It relaxes me.”

“Relaxes you?”

“Yeah. I…sometimes I get tense.”

He’s noticed that. She’s not the same since she came back from that fancy school down south. She’d left middle of her second year and come back home. She’s been different, on edge since her return three months ago. At first, he’d thought that was just how she was around him but it’s everybody. What happened down there?

But she seems to like him. She talks to him now whereas before they barely spoke. And, he’s still puzzling out how Sansa Stark, Little Miss Country Club, got into henna tattoos and apparently decided that she doesn’t mind inviting an ex-con to come lie on her bed.

“You were always artistic.“  She shakes her head but it’s true.  "If you enjoy doing these, maybe you could do it for money.”

“You think so?”

“Why not? Of course, these aren’t permanent so I don’t know what business is like for them.”

“Pretty good, I think.  And, I don’t want permanent ones. I like how these are with you for a bit and then you can wash them away and start anew. I like the transitional aspect of them, the becoming and then the leaving it behind.”

He turns his head enough to look up at her. “Transitional aspect, huh? That’s kind of profound, Sansa.”

Her lips twitch with amusement as her palm flattens along his lower back, right above his belt and over his kidney. “I’d like to do more of your back.” Two fingers slip under the waistband of his jeans and she gives a tug.

Their eyes are locked and he’s wondering what’s happening because something’s about to happen, something he’d never expected in a million years. “Okay. You should…maybe…”

“I’m going to lock the door…for privacy…in case Mother gets curious.”

He gulps and he’s fifteen again. “Oh-k-kay,” he stutters.

“When I’m done with you, would you care to practice on me?” she asks after the door is locked and there’s music playing.

He nods and she pulls her shirt over her head, revealing a lacy pink bra cradling what are likely the most perfect pair of tits in creation.  She quickly sweeps her waves of red hair up into a bun like she just wants it out of the way for when his fumbling fingers attempt to paint her gorgeous body with henna.  It’s not body art he’s interested in right now but he’ll try it for her.  

He’s pitched his tent here face down on her bed, on top of that yellow duvet and he licks his lips.  His dark grey eyes are growing darker without a doubt.

“You can’t lie on your back while it dries,” she warns him as he starts to roll over.

He grins and nods. “Oh…that’s fine. We’ll figure something out.”

Her answering grin is mischievous.  "Could you strip down to your boxers?  I want to go lower.”  

“Yeah.  You can practice whatever you like on me.”  

[kissygrayson]

LANDSLIDE: Chapter 2 - Happy Birthday Liam

… in which Y/N and Harry fall in love at university.

series masterlist

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“Are you ready?” Amy asked entering Y/N’s bedroom. Y/N was sat at her desk in front of the mirror. Her makeup was scattered across the desk and a thousand dresses and skirts lay on her floor. 

“The party started already” Amy said noticing her best friend wasn't dressed yet, still sat in her joggers and hoodie. Y/N sighed. 

“I have nothing to wear” 

“You literally have a million dresses right here!” Amy said bending down to grab the few dresses. 

“They're ugly” Y/N muttered, turning in her seat to face her best friend. 

Amy left the room leaving Y/N confused, then returning with a white crop top and and black denim skirt. 

“Wear this, please!” she pretty much begged. Y/N took the outfit then going to try it on in her bathroom. 

“Well?” Amy questioned “Do you like it or are we going to be another 90 years?” she laughed. 

She left the bathroom, a small smile on her face. She shuffled through the boots and shoes beside her bed then chucking on her black doc Martens. 

“Is that you done?”Amy asked with a huff. She felt like she’d been waiting forever. 

“Okay I'm done, can you stop complaining for a second?” Y/N laughed. 

The girls quickly put the essentials into their bags and left their flat. They passed their neighbour Mary on the way out, she usually sat on a seat outside her flat - for no reason really, other than wanting to see the drama that usually happened across the hall between the couple that lived in the opposite flat, Josh and Beth. 

“Hi girls, you both look nice!!” she smiled sweetly, warming her hands with the cup of tea in her hand. 

“Thank you Mary, anything exciting happen tonight?” Y/N asked with a laugh, gesturing to Josh and Beths side of the hall. 

Mary laughed “No not yet, soon though im sure. You guys going anywhere exciting?” 

Amy gave Y/N a look, telling her to hurry up. They where already an hour late. 

“Going to a birthday party, we should get going though. We spent too long getting dressed” Amy said smiling. Mary nodded watching as the girls got into the elevator and left the building.

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The girls finally found the building after searching for so long. They had walked up and down the same street for 20 minutes then realising the apartment was right in front of them. They entered the building hearing loud music, knowing exactly where the party was taking place. They walked up the stairs then coming to face with Liams apartment. A few people stood outside, some smoking, some just chatting and of course a few making out. 

“Shall we just go inside?” Y/N asked Amy. Amy nodded. 

The pair stepped inside a few hundred people cramped into Liams flat, most of them dancing to post Malone who was currently playing from the speakers. They stood awkwardly to the side, Y/N’s eyes searching the crowd to see if she could spot Harry or anyone else she knew. 

“Y/N!” Harrys voice called out as she finished her short search. A smile spread across her face, Harry making his way towards the two girls.

“You guys just got here?” he asked.

“Yeah, took us forever to find the place” Y/N laughed. “This is Amy” she said introducing the blonde to Harry. 

“Harry” he said with a smile in which Amy returned. 

“You girls want a drink?” he questioned. 

“Please” Amy groaned. Both girls then following the older boy to the kitchen where a thousand bottles of alcohol and snacks sat along with a few people. Harry handed both girls a bottle of beer then getting one for himself as they made small talk. 

“So, do you both take the same classes or?” Harry asked followed by a drink of beer. 

“No, Amy’s taking art” Y/N smiled. 

“Wait” Harry paused then shouting “Yo Zayn!” 

A boy around the same age as Harry entered the kitchen, a warm smile on his face and a red cup in his hand. Amy spun on her heel to look in the direction of him noticing he was in her classes. 

“Zayn, this is Amy, she's also taking art” Harry introduced the pair, Y/N shook her head giggling when she realised what Harry was up too. Harry gave her a silly smile telling her to be quiet. 

“Amy, I recognise you!!” Zayn said pulling the blonde into a hug. 

“Please tell me you haven't did the work yet for Monday” she said with wide eyes. The class was to draw something that inspired them, Amy was yet to find that thing, leaving her homework to last minute - as usual. 

“You haven't?” he questioned. Amy shook her head. 

“Follow me Amy” Zayn laughed. Amy looked back at Y/N shrugging her shoulders, Y/N whispering for her to go. 

“Look at you playing cupid” Y/N laughed once the pair left the kitchen. 

Harry smirked “Its what I do best” 

Before Y/N could say another word Harrys phone ringing interrupted the pair. 

“Ill be right back, stay here” he said while running off to answer it. 

Y/N stood awkwardly. She didn't really know many people at the University, never mind this party, so standing alone was her only option. She gave a small smile to the girl stood beside her who just drew her a dirty look back. Typical she mumbled to herself. 

“Have you seen Liam?” A female voice said interrupting her thoughts. 

Y/N looked to her left noticing a brunette that sat behind her in her Friday class. 

“Y/N?” she questioned also noticing the familiar face. 

“Sammie right?” she asked back then offering her a drink.

“Im okay, thank you though. Just looking for Liam, I swear that boy is always disappearing” She laughed.

Y/N smiled “I wouldn't know, you're the only person I know here other than Harry”

“Harry Styles?” Sammie asked taken a back. 

“Thats the one” Y/N smiled, slightly confused. 

“Be careful Bella” Sammie said. Careful? The boy seemed harmless. 

“What?” She asked eyebrows furrowed. 

“His ex girlfriend is a literal pyscho!” She laughed. “No but seriously, they broke up a few months ago and she's bat shit crazy. So please be careful” Sammie finished giving the girl a comforting smile. 

“We aren’t dating, just friends” Y/N awkwardly said. She wasn't sure what to feel anymore. “Thanks for looking out for me though. Do you know where the bathroom is?” she questioned. 

Sammie pointed down the hallway telling her it was the door to the left, then running of to find Liam. 

Y/N made her way along the hallway, passing a few people on her way to which she gave them a small smile. She turned left seeing two doors, opening the first one her eyebrows furrowed. This certainly wasn't the bathroom, she thought to herself. 

The walls where black, a few posters and photo frames scattered the walls. A laptop sat on the desk near the window, a TV and playstation beside it. She took notice of the white picture frame to her right sat on who she assumed was Liams chest of drawers. The picture was of 5 guys, one of them being Harry and another Zayn, the other she soon recognised was Niall and the two brunettes she didn't at all, surely one was Liam though. 

“Y/N?” She heard Harrys voice call from beside her. Harry exited the bathroom that joined to whoever bedroom she was standing in, a confused expression on his face. 

“You okay?” He asked. 

“Yeah sorry, I was looking for the bathroom. I should go” She hesitantly said. Harry took a step closer to her, shutting the bedroom door. 

“Do you really wanna go back out there?” He laughed taking a seat on the double bed. She shook her head with a laugh. 

“I kinda hate parties too” Harry said with a smirk. Y/N took a seat beside him. 

“Arent you supposed to be the bad boy, Styles?” She said returning the smirk. Harry chuckled at the girl, I guess she had heard the rumours. 

“I’m really not as bad as you think” he said. 

Y/N shook her head still smiling “Sure Harry. So why’d you hate parties?” She asked. 

“Sophie is always there, I try my best to avoid her” he laughed nervously, knowing Y/N had probably been warned about her by now. 

“Sophie? Your ex?” Y/N asked confused also worried. Harry seemed nervous now, so maybe Sammie was right in saying she was crazy. 

“Yeah, she's insane” Harry laughed. “But just ignore her” He quickly said making sure the younger girl wouldn't be scared and decide not to speak to him anymore. 

“You haven't dated since her?” Y/N asked curiously.

Harry shook his head laughing “Dated? More like I haven't had a proper conversation with a girl without her evil eyes staring at me”

Y/N eyes widened in shock. Maybe this was more serious than she thought. She’d never been in a proper relationship before, sure there where little things here and there, but shed never been commited to anyone, so she wasn't quite sure how Harry was feeling right now. All she knew was that this boy seemed nervous, scared even. 

“Cmon she can’t be that bad” Y/N giggled trying to lighten up the mood. Harry raised his eyebrows shaking his head. 

“Y/N you really have no idea” he laughed. 

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The pair sat in Liams room - she soon learned it was his room, for the next hour or so, getting to know more about each other. Y/N had learned that Harry had met most of the boys in high school, some of them shared classes with him and the others he played football with. He also hated the university library, calling it fate that she happened to be there the one day he was. She knew from that day in the library that he was soon to take over his fathers company, what she didn't realise was how big a deal that was. His father owned what seemed like a thousand hotels around the world much like her cousin Ollie, most of them in the US, some in Dubai, the UK and the list went on. They where some of the fanciest hotels in the world, only the best of the best could afford to stay the night there. Y/N was shocked. 

Harry soon learned that Y/N had moved from Italy to Oxford to do nursing school. Her mother passed when she was 2 leaving her father to raise her on her own in Brighton, soon she met her step mother when they then moved to Italy and was blessed with two half siblings, Issac and Oscar. They also realised they both adored Fleetwood Mac, Harry claiming he was good at singing then promising he’d sing for her one day - he rarely sang in front of anyone, she must have been special. 

Their meeting was cut short with Y/N’s phone ringing, Amy telling her to meet her outside. Realising that it was now 2am, she waved her goodbyes to Harry, him making sure she knew he’d see her again soon. 

“So what happened with Zayn?” Y/N smirked, hooking her arm in her best friends as they both walked back towards their flat. 

“I’ll tell you everything when we get home. Now you tell me what happened with Harry?” 

.

taglist: @vinylhazza @cryinabtharvey

[mssjynx]

Terrormoo "I don’t think you realise how good at massages you are but I never want you to stop touching me, whether it’s messing up my hair or fixing my collar. Your touch gives me goosebumps and I think I’m addicted." please!

alpha / beta / omega au

terrormoo drabble

20. I don’t think you realise how good at massages you are but I never want you to stop touching me, whether it’s messing up my hair or fixing my collar. Your touch gives me goosebumps and I think I’m addicted.

warning: nsfw

There was something about Brock's touch that drove Brian absolutely mad.

It didn't matter what type of touch; where or why or how. As long as he was touching Brian, the alpha was happy.

The two had been friends for three years, having met in college and dormed together. It was comfortable for them to move into an apartment together upon graduating, no care for the social tension between their second genders. Brian didn't care for the stupid social hierarchy and Brock was just happy to have the constant company with his friend.

For the entirety of their friendship, they'd been very physically comfortable with one another. Brian would mess up Brock's hair in the morning, Brock would fix his tie before he left for a meeting. Brian would hold the omega when stress got to him and when Brian was angry, stressed or tense for any reason; nothing calmed him down like Brock's thumbs kneaded the knots in his shoulders.

It was an unbelievable relief to come home after a shit day of work and have Brock getting his dinner ready while he showered, The second he'd finished his meal, Brock was leading him to the alpha's bedroom and climbing atop the mattress. Happily, Brian sat on the edge of the mattress and couldn't stop his delighted groan when Brock's fingers got to work on his back.

"A little harder, Brocky- Ohh, that's it." He didn't care for the gleeful moans slipping from his tongue as he praised his roommate's work and melted into his touch. Feeling the stress massaged out of his muscles was one of the best experiences he could ask for and the terribleness of his day seemed to melt out of his head.

"The carnival's gonna be back in town next month," Brock said, distracted with his task as he passed on the information. "I was thinking we should get the guys together so we can all go together."

A low, pleased sound escaped Brian's throat and he ducked his head to allow the fingers crawling up the back of his neck more space to massage. "That'd be great," he said. "We'll have to limit Craig's cotton-candy intake this year t'ough. We can't have a repeat of last time."

Brock's laugh was gentle and Brian leaned back as those hands drifted down his back, kneading knots and pushing pleased sighs and hums from Brian's lips. "Yeah, that's for sure," he mumbled.

As Brock's fingers drew back up to the tense shoulders, his thumb pressed into the muscle of Brian's shoulder and the alpha let out an exaggerated groan. "God, Brock, please marry me," the Irishman muttered, flexing his hands as he sunk into the enjoyment of the massage.

Brock only laughed and continued working.

It was ten minutes before Brian sighed, sagging forward and muttering appreciation as the omega crawled to his side and hopped to his feet. "What kind of ring do ye want? Diamonds? How many carats?" Brian's smile held each word, Brock rolling his eyes as he turned to leave the room. The alpha caught his hand, tugging him back. "I'm serious!" he whined, pulling Brock back to stand in front of him. Did he want Brock's company? Yes. Did he want his touch? Definitely.

He didn't want to let the omega leave him, drawing that magical hand up and pressing it to his cheek.

"You gotta give me massages forever," he whispered, loving the light that danced in his roommates eyes. "Until I'm ninety-t'ree, you gotta be massaging my old bones-"

"You're ridiculous," Brock laughed, shaking his head but not pulling his hand away from where it remained pressed to Brian's cheek. The alpha leaned into the touch, sighing exaggeratedly.

"I'm in love with your hands, you can't ever leave me." He opened his eyes, smile wide. A flash of something else in those happy brown eyes.

Brock leaned down and kissed him.

It was only for a second, Brian's blood freezing, before Brock was jumping back and ripping his hand away from Brian's face. Instead, he smacked them over his mouth. "I'm so sorry, I don't- I don't know why I did that! You- I didn't- We-"

Brian stared in shock, his mind lagging a few seconds behind before he realised what had happened. Brock had kissed him. Brock was embarrassed. Brock looked terrified.

The alpha stood, numb to his movements. Something unconscious controlled him as he crossed the space between them, hand reaching for Brock's hand again and pulling him close. And he kissed the omega in a way he'd always wanted to.

Brock responded instantly. His free hand grasped Brian’s shirt with a sense of desperation, Brian holding him close by the waist. The alpha was gentle as he nipped at Brock’s top lip, sliding his tongue along the seam of the omega’s lips. Brock melted against him. Brian supported his weight, stepping back until his knees hit the bed.

Without breaking their kiss, he pulled the omega back onto the mattress to sit atop his lap. His first dip of his tongue into Brock’s mouth was electrifying. Thighs either side of his hips clenched closer, no space between the men’s hips or chests. The finger’s between Brian’s released in favour of tangling in his hair.

Brock kissed like no other, needy but not rushed; shy but not scared. He gave his mouth to the alpha, suckling gently on the alpha’s tongue in greeting. His teeth were gentle when grazing the underside of that hungry tongue, not stopping its mission of exploration and claim.

Brian held him close and with just the slight shifting of the omega on his lap as he kissed and was kissed by the alpha, there was a heat forming between them. Every shift of Brock’s hips, every change of his balance, was like a match striking the side of the box. Whether he was aware of it or not he was beginning to have a huge effect on the alpha.

The alpha didn’t even notice his hands had shifted until Brock was rocking his hips back and forth, pushing down against Brian’s lap and back into the hands grasping his ass. The moan caught on his throat vibrated against Brock’s tongue and Brock released a whimper in response.

One hand slid up beneath Brock’s shirt, trailing up his spine as the other continued to knead the meat off his butt. The way he shuddered, the way he squirmed on Brian’s lap was like a form of torture.

“Brock,” the Irishman slurred, mumbling the words into his friend’s mouth. “Ye gotta stop movin’ like that.” He kissed the words individually against Brock’s bottom lip as the dazed omega squirmed. As soon as those words sunk into his distracted mind, the omega froze, spine straightening under Brian’s hand and going still where he sat on Brian’s lap.

“S- sorry, I didn’t mean- I’m a li-”

Brian kissed him, not needing apologies or excuses. When he drew back, he allowed himself a tender moment to admire the flush on the omega’s face, the plump pink lips, the wide dark eyes. “As much as ye make me want you, I- we shouldn’ rush t’is,” he told him, lifting his hand off Brock’s ass to card fingers through his hair. “You smell like ye want me but I want to make sure you do, not just yer hormones. I’ve- I’ve always wanted to kiss you. I don’t want you to regret-”

It was Brock to leaned in and pressed his red lips to the alpha’s cheek, smiling bashfully under the alpha’s glare. “I’ve been crushing on you since college, Brian,” he said, giggling at the look of surprise on his face. “I kissed you because I wanted to- I’ve- I always want to kiss you when you smile like that.”

The hand on his back rubbed reassuringly along his spine, helping the omega relax. Brian couldn’t tear his eyes away from the man. “Ye’re serious?” he whispered, hand falling to massage Brock’s thigh.

Those bright eyes sparkled. He nodded. “One hundred percent.”

Brian grinned. “Well we’ve gotta make up for a t’e last few years then, right?” he murmured, head tilting as he analysed the smile on those pretty lips. He slid his hand up Brock’s thigh, watching the blush on his cheeks darken.

“Yeah?” Brock breathed, hand warm against the side of Brian’s neck. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the alpha’s lips and Brian’s smile broadened.

“Yep,” he agreed, a slow nod. With his hand on Brock’s back, holding him in place, he made a swift and smooth movement of rolling Brock onto his back and slotting himself between the omega’s legs. “You just sit back an’ relax for me, m’kay Brocky?”

With a teasing grin, he dragged himself down the omega’s body, watching as his chest heaved with short, sharp breaths. His fingers curled in the bed sheets as Brian’s knees hit the carpet, fingertips catching beneath the waistband of Brock’s pants.

The omega watched his every motion, eyes wide, cheeks flushed. He didn’t seem able to look away as Brain slowly peeled his jeans down his legs, dragging his boxers with them. Those pretty creamy thighs made Brian’s mouth water and he tugged the clothing off of Brock’s ankles and threw it aside.

With a wolfish grin, he began his journey back up from his ankles to his knees to those spread thighs, placing kisses on the sensitive skin and squeezing the muscles beneath his fingers. Brock covered his face with his hands as Brian drew closer to his hips, his arousal full and swollen against his stomach.

“Relax, Brocky,” Brian repeated, hooking his hands beneath the omega’s knees and pulling him to the edge of the bed. With gentle fingers, he eased those legs apart so he could kneel between them, one hand sliding up to curl around the base of Brock’s cock. The hitched gasp that sounded from the omega didn’t deter him, sliding his thumb carefully up the underside of the shaft.

With patience and curiosity, he swiped the pad of his thumb beneath Brock’s head and grinned as the omega bit down a whimper, hand jumping to Brian’s shoulder as he let his head fall back. His thigh quivered under the Irishman’s hand and Brian ducked his head to press a line of gentle kisses up the inside of his leg, nipping at the flushed skin and soothing it with his tongue.

He didn’t stop when he got to Brock’s arousal, tongue lazily trailing up the side of his arousal as he locked eyes with his roommate. Peering up at him through long eyelashes, he enveloped the head with his mouth, tongue dragging over it and paying particular attention to the slit.

The hand on his shoulder skated up his neck to bury in the hair in the back of his head and Brock’s other one jumped to his mouth, teeth biting into the skin of his wrist. With a teasing pop! Brian pulled his mouth off and reached up to catch Brock’s wrist.

“I wanna hear you,” the alpha murmured, smiling sweetly at the omega before ducking his head and taking Brock into his mouth again. This time, he focused on pulling as much of the omega into his mouth as possible, flattening his tongue against the hot skin and sucking lavishly.

The breathless moan that Brock let out was more delicious than the precum on his tongue and Brian only continued, swallowing his arousal down and flinching as he felt him nudge the back of his throat. Fingers tugged on his hair, Brock’s eyes rolled back and tongue hanging out to drop whimper after moan after gasp as Brian doused him in pleasure. He rose up, catching only Brock’s head on his tongue, before sinking back down and hollowing his cheeks.

A high-pitched whimper. He felt the arousal twitch in his mouth and Brian mindlessly palmed himself through his pants as noise after delightful noise poured from Brock’s mouth. He bobbed his head, tongue moving as much as it could as he went and Brock’s hips started to rock up to meet his movements, nudging his arousal deeper with each thrust.

As the omega lost himself more and more in the pleasure, the Irishman sat back on his knees, fingers trailing up to grasp the omega’s butt and encourage him to move more. He allowed his lips and tongue to go slack, fingers pulling his head closer as Brock understood and began rocking his hips forward and fucking Brian’s mouth.

The thought of it was mind-blowing, Brian touching himself as Brock moaned and gasped, hips losing their control as they twitched and stuttered. With his own orgasm climbing up his spine, Brian shoved the omega’s hips down into the bed and swallowed him down as far as he could go.

He was ready for the hit when Brock came in his mouth, gagging slightly but keeping himself steady as Brock rocked his hips to ride through his orgasm. The moans that fell from Brock’s mouth decreased in their volume as he came down from the high he was in, Brian swallowing what he could before drawing back off the omega.

He licked his lips, grinning dazedly up at Brock who flushed at the dirty gesture. The omega was still breathing hard where he sat, Brian pulling himself up off his knees. “Brian, you-”

The alpha didn’t let him finish, catching him by his flushed cheek and leaning into to kiss him. The press of his tongue against Brock’s had the skin beneath his fingers burning in embarrassment. When Brian pulled back, he couldn’t help the sly: “Tastes good, doesn’ it?”

Brock smacked his chest, turning his head to which Brian just grinned and nuzzled his nose against his roommate’s jaw. “Wanna go for dinner tonight?” he asked, inhaling his sweet scent and pressing a kiss to Brock’s jaw.

“Okay,” the omega murmured, catching Brian in another kiss as the Irishman pulled him up onto his feet.

“C’mon, we’re having a shower,” he said, linking fingers with Brock before dragging him in the direction of the bathroom. He didn’t miss the flustered squawk from the omega, who followed with little reluctance.

“We?” he asked, voice unnaturally high as Brian threw him a teasing grin.

“Together,” he confirmed and pulled Brock through the door.

[laurazepamwrites]

The Chemicals between us ~Ch.5

With most of the base now empty with only a skeleton crew to run it there was plenty of accommodation to go around. Some of the younger women had decided on sharing a dormitory meant for new recruits whilst others had chosen singular personnel quarters. Some had even moved into less homely lodgings like Torbjorn, who had taken one of the empty garages near the workshop, or Angela who had neatly converted a spacious office next to medical into a comfortable bedroom. After much indecisiveness and downright ludacris demands from having the Commanding officers quarters to room service the Junkers had finally settled on taking a small disused storage warehouse, it even had two floors allowing Roadhog to have his own space in what felt like forever. It was dusty, the metal fixtures had spots of rust and it was far more industrial than cosy even though the old lady captain had graciously given him two beds. To him, it felt the closest to his farm he would ever get in a long while. It would do. Junkrat wasted no time in making himself a workstation even going as far as to unceremoniously flip his mattress and blankets on the floor along with what few possessions he had with him and after a few adjustments had used the metal bed frame as a makeshift tool holder to stand alongside the desk he had ‘borrowed’.

  It had kept him busy for a couple of hours in which time some team members had come to see them. Morrison had once again reminded the Junkers of rules and boundaries and consequences until Junkrat threatened to blow up his own eardrums if the old man kept going on about it, the Doctor came to check on his stitches and to return Roadhogs Hogdrogen despite her advise on his frequent usage, he politely waved her off as he clicked in the canister to his mask and taking in a deep drug infused breath, he was running low and finding more would be hard to come by in this country but he’d find a way, until then he had reluctantly agreed to use an oxygen tank at night time. As the evening drew in Roadhog was snoring loudly on his two single beds as Junkrat delicately worked on his prosthetics, a sudden knock on the metal door made him jump and drop the small screwdriver he was holding. ‘Fucks sake! Dont fucking like this Hog!’ He called down to a grumbling Roadhog who wheezed as he sat up. ‘S’pose we should get used to it..’ He muttered in reply, heaving himself up and heading for the door. He couldn't blame Junkrat for his anxiousness, he should probably talk to him about it later. He heard voices outside as he reached for the door handle which shushed as he pulled it open. His gaze dropped downward at the sight of a young man with dreads and two young women before him, their eyes widening at the huge man before them. ‘Yeah?’ Roadhog grunted at them. The young man squeaked and hastily nudged one of the girls forward, the young asian woman rolled her eyes and held her chin high looking right into the black glass eyes of his mask. ‘See guys? Told you he was big.’

‘Hana! Don't be rude!’ Said the remaining woman in a european accent. She was holding a toolbox and had oil on her clothes. Must be the Lindholm girl. ‘I’m sorry Mr Rutledge, Papa sent me to give these to Junkrat.’ She rattled the toolbox.

‘We’re calling him Jamie cos Junkrats a dumb name!’ Hana called loudly trying to get his attention from behind Roadhog, It worked as the tell tale sound of his peg leg could be heard coming down the flight of stairs. Junkrat pushed Roadhog out the way and made a face at his visitors, ‘What's this the welcome party or summit?’ He leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms.

‘Something like that, we brought you guys something to eat.’ Said Lucio, picking up some trays of food beside him.

‘Yep.’ Said Roadhog, reaching over and taking the trays, promptly returning inside and sitting down to eat. Junkrat glanced over the brunette girl, ‘You the angry hobbits kid? Bridgette? Baguette?’

‘Brigitte. You didn't call him that to his face did you?’

‘Yeah.’

She laughed out loud, ‘And you lived? Wow the last person to call him that had a hammer to the face. You got on his good side. Oh here take this.’ She handed the toolbox to Junkrat, he gave her a quizzical look as he opened it. Inside was a decent selection of different tools designed especially for prosthetic maintenance. ‘Papa works on his own too, Jesse and Genji go to Dr Zeigler since theirs are highly advanced, can I see yours?’

‘Er…?’

She didn't wait for an answer, grabbing his metal hand and holding it close to her eyes. ‘You made this?’ She asked, eyes wide. ‘Wow even down to the synthetic nerves but you need to fix the casing. There's plenty of scrap metal in the workshop and there's a small soldering kit in the tool box already.’

‘Yeah er..thanks?’ He dislodged his hand from her grip and flexed the metal digits now feeling slightly insecure.

Hana stepped forward, ‘Hey erm..thanks for not telling Commander Morrison I let you out, even though I technically didn't! But still..thanks Jamie.’

‘Sure, no worries.’ He shrugged.

‘Look man, I appreciate that this must suck being here for you, but y’know it's not bad here. Good people, sure plenty of different opinions but we’re a team. Your here now so why not make the best of it? We can help you out, and hey! It's great to have someone else our age to hang with!’ 

‘Our age? I’ll remind you i'm the youngest here.’

‘Youngest human.’ Corrected Brigitte

Hana brushed her off. ‘Pfft..details.’

Junkrat rubbed the back of his neck with his living hand, ‘Yeah er, may need time to adjust to all this...been a long while since i've been around people, and even then anyone of em could kill ya if they felt like it.’

‘So what was it like? Growing up in the Outback, what happened to you after the Omnium explosion?’ Asked Hana

Now he felt uncomfortable and wanted to back out of whatever this was, luckily for him Lucio had noticed and took Hana by the arm. ‘C’mon leave the guy alone, we don't need to know anything. Lets go.’ He looked to Junkrat and gave him a small understanding smile, he smiled back and nodded a thanks.

‘Come by the workshop tomorrow Jamie.’ Said Brigitte as she turned to follow Hana and Lucio. ‘We’ll fix your hand up and Papa can show you what we do. Night!’

‘Yeah..laters..?’ He hovered by the door and watched them leave, absentmindedly he began gnawing at his lip, wincing as he remembered the stitches there. He closed the door and looked at the toolbox tucked under his arm, he knew Roadhog was watching him.

‘You alright Rat?’ He said between mouthfuls of food.

At first he didn't indicate that he had heard him, he was still looking at the toolbox and seemingly lost in his thoughts.

‘Rat?’

‘Fine mate.’

Roadhog sighed then nodded to the chair next to him. ‘Sit down, eat something.’

‘Nah thanks i'm just gonna-’

‘No you’re not. You’re gonna sit and you’re gonna eat.’ 

‘Not hungry.’

‘Stop. I know what you are doing and you stop it right now. Sit the fuck down.’

Junkrat stared him down despite knowing he almost always lost this game. Roadhog grunted in satisfaction as he eventually stomped over to the table and slamming the toolbox on it before slouching on the chair and pouting. Roadhog pushed a tray towards him. ‘Eat.’ He said, continuing with his own meal. Finally Junkrat succumbed and pulled the tray closer and there was a moments silence before Roadhog decided to break it.

‘So..’ He said, ‘Jamie huh?’

‘Yeah..it's weird.’

‘Just be glad you didn't forget your own name after all these years.’

‘You’re one to talk..Mako.’

‘Hmph..’ The silence once again hung between as Roadhog decided the best way to ask after his partners current mental state.

‘So..you alright? Don't give me any of that ‘im fine’ bullshit’

Junkrat flashed him a grin. ‘I’m okay mate.’

‘Rat I swear to fucking God-’

‘What Hog? What? You wanna know im freaking out? That i feel totally out of control, that I now have a fuck load of people to figure out whether they’re gonna kill me or kill you, that I am totally out of place here and everyone's asking fucking questions about fucking everything and it's bringing up alotta fucking stuff which i don't fucking wanna think about and my arm which isn't even fucking there hurts so fucking much and all this shit is spinning round n round in my head and I just want it to shut the fuck up!’ He kicked the table in his emotional outburst which had threatened to spill over all day, Roadhog was waiting for it and simply sat quietly and listened as the younger Junker got it out of his system. Junkrat slumped lower in his chair, running his flesh hand over his face and through his hair, his anger subsiding and looking exhausted. ‘Its..It's too fucking much mate, need to feel control over something, need to blow something up!’

Roadhog felt this was a good time to step in before Junkrat worked himself up again. Reaching behind his head he unclasped his mask and set it on the table, his skin felt strange to the sudden exposure to the air. It was extremely rare for him to go maskless but the boy needed calming and he needed to understand that Roadhog was being genuine. ‘Rat, look at me.’ He didn't, once again testing the stitches in his lip and purposely looking away. Roadhog sighed. ‘Jamison?’ 

That got his attention and he finally looked at Roadhogs maskless face. ‘I’m sorry I got angry with you earlier. I know you were worried, but I don't think this place is bad. It's not like Junkertown, If i thought we were in immediate danger coming here then believe me, we would not be here. Now...you feel out of control? Yet you’ve negotiated a contract and made whatever this is work more to your favor. Yes, we are out of place but this is a thrown together vigilante group. I doubt you’re the only one feeling like that, personally I dont give a shit that I stick out. Now..those kids that came to see you, pretty sure they don't want to kill you. Looks to me they wanna be friends if you remember what those are, you could do with some actual social interaction so don't be a dick about it, even when they are curious. And you’re gonna get questions Jamison, so you set the boundaries on what you’re okay to talk about. No one needs to know about what happened to you growing up there, that's up to you. Now you can't go blowing shit up every time you get angry or upset so you need to find another outlet so maybe that girl and her Dad can help out with that..As for your arm I can't offer any advice. Its worse when you’re upset, when you’re tired and when you’re hungry. So take a breath, fucking eat and try and get some fucking sleep. In the morning take a shower, eat again then we take it from there alright?’

He still looked upset but less so and more settled, he flexed his metal hand and gave his friend a small smile. ‘Alright mate.’

Roadhog regarded him and after a moment's consideration reached out to ruffle Jamison's hair, thankful that he didn't flinch at the touch. Instead he grinned and playfully swatted his huge hand away, ‘Alright fuck off with that.’

Roadhog snorted and returned to his food, ‘Eat. Then get some sleep. Not gonna talk to you rest of the night, you've heard enough from me to last you a week.’

‘...Thanks Hog.’

Roadhog simple grunted in acknowledgment. 

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

The next morning a small beep beep sounded from the commanders private computer, Jack sat down in front of it and after a few clicks was present with a new message.

:Got some very angry people here so I must congratulate you on your success of finding the Junker. Please share if you find out what he has! No need to thank me of course. Also this may interest you..’

Jack waited and eventually another beep beep came from the computer, this time it was a file attachment.

:Enjoy! 

Jack did not bother to reply, instead opening the already encrypted file. It was a photo of a very wealthy looking Omnic who he instantly recognised as Maximillien and two men; one of them being Sanjay Korpal, one of the Viskar corporations most senior members..now what was he doing meeting one of Talons inner council? It wasn't the first time Viskar had popped up in all this, It was only yesterday that Ana had debriefed him on her mission to Iraq, learning of their desire to have a presence in Oasis where coincidently a key member of Talon and former Blackwatch agent Moira O’Deorain was based. ‘Getting to her would be near impossible.’ in that city, Jack thought to himself as he shut down the computer and Vishkar would need to make a more obvious move on their allegiances before sending anyone in, for now it was smoke and mirrors. Reinhardt have given him a more solid lead from his time spent in Latvia near the border of Russia, learning of a possible Talon shipment being sent to a supposedly disused military compound near a town called Bryansk south of Moscow. If it was indeed a Talon base with a cache of weapons he needed it destroyed. He went to the communicator on the wall and pushed a button, ‘Athena,’ He spoke into the speaker. ‘Call Captain Amari, Lieutenant Reinhardt and Agents Genji and Zarya to the briefing room please.’

‘At once Commander.’ The A.I replied.

Soon enough everyone was accounted for in the briefing room and Morrison began the meeting. ‘Athena bring up a map of Bryansk, Russia.’ A large map projected in the middle of the table. ‘Bryansk, a densely wooded city in western Russia. Mostly a center for steel and machinery manufacturing and if Reinhardts source is to be trusted a cache for Talon weapons. Athena, give a rundown on any empty military compounds or warehouses within a thirty mile radius of the city.’

‘Overwatch satellites are mostly shutdown however I will do what I can Commander,’ Athena replied.

They waited as the A.I scanned the area, slowly pinpointing buildings within the search radius, five of them showed in total. ‘That is all I can do for now Commander.’

Jack looked at each point on the map, assessing the most likely place for the compound, ‘Athena, zoom in on the point north west of Bryansk.’ The map zoomed in showing a building deep within the woodland, it was well away from any towns yet within 10 miles of the nearest main road. This had to be the place.

‘Zarya, welcome to your first mission. I want you and Genji to go to Bryansk, get a safe house and scan the area. If it's true what this place is we need to take control of it, seize the cache and destroy the compound.’

Zarya nodded, ‘I will gladly go, but must I go with the Cyborg?’

‘Oh please, none taken,’ retorted Genji

Morrison gave her a hard look. ‘I understand your mistrust of Omnics Zarya but Genji is Human. You agreed to be apart of this team and in doing so agreed to work with whomever I say. Are we clear on this?’

She looked between him and Genji with coldness in her eyes, ‘Fine. I agree.’ She reluctantly said.

‘Good. Ana, Reinhardt? Anything to add?’

‘My source tells me armoured trucks go through at least once a week, morning and evening. I suspect they have a lot of armed guards patrolling. Perhaps Zarya can gather more information in the city whilst Genji surveys the area?’ Suggested Reinhardt.

‘Just be careful Zarya, you are well aware you are popular in Russia, perhaps they can set up base in a smaller neighbouring town with less people. Questions may be asked if you go looking for information from the wrong people. Id recommend caution.’ Said Ana

‘This is not my first mission finding information..nor is my first mission working with someth...someone so..technologically advanced. It will be fine, I will deliver.’ Replied Zarya.

‘That's settled then, I’ll have Lena program the Orca for autopilot to a safe location, you should have no issues getting in or out. Once you get enough information we’ll send a second team out. Go prepare yourselves, you depart this evening.’ Said Morrison as he dismissed them.

‘Yes commander.’ They said in unison, giving eachother an uneasy look before leaving the room.

Jack sat back in his chair and sighed. ‘This is going to be hard work.’ 

‘Oh and what part would that be Jack? From my recollection this has always been hard work.’ Said Ana mildly.

‘Keeping everyone in line Amari, we have people here with very different opinions. There's going to be conflict.’

‘Those different opinions could be beneficial Commander,’ Offered Reinhardt. ‘It allows us to see things from new perspectives.’

‘Not when we have in fighting it doesn't, we all know that.’ Said Jack, standing up to leave. Ana and Reinhardt shared a look with each other. It was probably best to let that subject slide for now.

‘Just be glad no ones having sex Jack, now that would be difficult to deal with.’ Ana called after him, trying to lighten the mood. He said nothing and left the room.

‘Tsk..always the boy scout isn't he Reinhardt?’ She said to her friend.

‘Somethings never change Ana, for good or bad. At Least we are still here to guide the younger generation.’

She smiled warmly at him and squeezed his hand, she had missed her old friend.

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

As evening creeped across the watchpoint Mei glanced towards the Orca as it was being prepared for flight from the window of Winston's Laboratory and felt a pang of jealousy before returning to type away at a computer. She did not come here often, she still had not had a proper conversation with Winston since her heated phone call. He had tried, as had all the older members, asking her how she was and how she was coping and being oh so nice to her. Too nice, they couldn't hide their pity if they tried. They felt sorry for the poor little Climatologist asleep for a decade whilst her teammates and friends lay dead around her. She didn't want their pity, she hated it. She hated their smiles and concern, she hated how they danced around the subject, fearful of upsetting her. Why? When she was already so sad, so angry. It was her own fault she supposed. Wearing her mask that showed the world she was the same Mei all those years ago. Kind, polite and happy, optimistic and positive. That's what she showed to the world, did her friends look at her with pity in their eyes because they see through the front or was it all in her head?

She gave herself a little shake, jolting herself to stop from lingering on that dark cloud that constantly loomed in the back of her mind. She rested her head on her hand and continued watching the computer transfer data onto her small laptop. It wasn't her usual work on weather patterns or climate but she was desperate to feel useful here, so here she was alone in Winstons lab using his computer to transfer information on what needed repairing in the watchpoint from most urgent to least. Right down to the last service bot. She was so bored, but at least she could be alone after yet another rough night.. She heard the door open downstairs and she let out a small sigh, so much for avoiding conversation she thought as she began to pack up her belongings. ‘I'm done here Winston.’ She called, tucking the laptop under her arm and preparing to leave. ‘I'll send you the list later this..evening.’ She paused at the top of the stairs. It wasn't Winston who had come in.

‘Yeah if I see King Kong i'll pass on the message.’ Junkrat said casually, barely glancing at her as he tinkered with some lab equipment.

She narrowed her eyes at him,‘You are not supposed to be in here.’

‘Oh if i had a penny every time i've heard that.’ He laughed.

Mei began to walk down the stairs. ‘You know you can't be in here. We’ve all been informed of your ‘contract’.’ she mimed the quotations with her free hand. Junkrat ignored her, sitting on an office chair and using his metal peg to slowly spin himself around. He picked up a small random piece of apparatus on one of his turns and began playing with it, the hint of a smirk on his face.

Mei blinked at him, taken slightly aback at being ignored, she brushed a strand of hair from her face and put her hand on her hip. ‘I said-’

He spun to face her. ‘Yeah i heard ya, and it's a big place here, you can't blame a guy for getting lost.’

‘You are not allowed to enter the labs without supervision.’

‘You're here aren't ya?  He retorted, spinning around.

‘I..youre…’ She huffed in exasperation, the attitude on him! She had expected none less from this uncouth criminal Junker. ‘Nǐ zhège húndàn’ she muttered under her breath.

He swivelled in his chair to face her once again and grinned at her, ‘Aww c'mon Frosty...bet you know worse insults than that.’

she stared at him incredulously ‘You...speak Mandarin?’

‘Enough to get by and enough to know when someone's calling me a jerk or worse.’

At least she had the grace to blush but like hell was she going to apologise to him, instead she scowled hard. Junkrat faked a shudder, ‘Fuck..get cold just looking at ya.’

‘Look somewhere else then!’ She snapped back.

‘With pleasure!’ he retorted and he swung his chair again turning his back to her and going back to his exploring. Mei stood there with her mouth slightly open, she could not believe his attitude walking in like he owned the place, ignoring the contract which was his own idea and frankly not seeming to care to follow its rules. He was really beginning to bug her and in turn she was ruffling his feathers too. He disliked authority, and this Icy woman was talking to him like a school boy in trouble.

‘You need to leave now.’ She stated, pointing to the door.

Junkrat rolled his eyes, ‘Yeah i'm going, you're pretty boring.’

‘Erm..Excuse me?’

‘Its means-’

‘I know what it means!’ She snapped. ‘And i'm sorry i don't find wanton destruction and exploding things a good use of my time.’

‘You should try it Frosty..might warm ya up abit.’ He winked at her.

Her face felt hot. Why did her face feel hot? ‘You..gah! Hundan! Why are you even here? Overwatch isn't for people like you!

‘meaning..? He grinned slyly, leaning toward her.

She knew he was baiting her, but something in her made her want to argue with him. To get the last word. 'Overwatch is for heroes, for making a positive impact on the world...it's not for half crazed criminal arsonists!’ She responded with an edgy tone. He gave her a smug smirk and she caught a glimpse of a gold tooth. She expected him to react in anger, the fact he found this amusing made the exchange all the more infuriating.

‘You’re a criminal too frosty...everyone here is now, even the doctor. So, what kinda illegal activities does a girl like you do round here? 

‘I'm a scientist if you must know. I have a doctorate in Climatology.’

‘You have a what doing what now?’

She rolled her eyes. Of course he didn't know what that meant. ‘I study weather patterns and how it affects the Earth's climate.’ 

He stared at her a moment before barking out a laugh. ‘Oh right ok then. Very useful when the the bots wipe out half the population and you got terrorists kicking in your door. But hey, at least we'll know the forecast!’

Her eyes widened in anger and her nostrils flared, not that he seemed to notice and if he did he didn't seem to care. Silently she pointed to the door, he snickered as he stood up and stretched, much to her surprise he was a good deal taller than her. She watched him leave, keeping an icy glare on her face and tapping her foot with impatience. ‘Later Frosty.’ He called over his shoulder as the door shut behind him. Mei breathed heavily through her nose, her anger bubbling threatenly inside her. He had touched a nerve and patronized her, whether he meant to or not. ‘Ugh! Cào nǐ zǔzōng shíbā dài!’ She shouted after him.

She soon headed back to her room, throwing the laptop down on her bed and sitting down roughly next to it, Snowball woke from its charging station and went to greet her, making a confused noise as she failed to notice him. ‘Oh..sorry Snowball. I just met the biggest Jerk in the world that's all.’ She hugged her droid friend and decided not to let that Junker get to her. She picked up her laptop and sat down at the desk and began to work. Why was it so hard to concentrate? She kept going back to her meeting with Junkrat, why? He wasn't worth it, he was just trying to upset her. She shouldn't let that jerk get to her. So why where her fingers tapping in agitation? Why was she feeling prickly anger that simmered incessantly? Why did he make her feel like she was useless here? No stop it Mei, you have work to do..tap, tap, tap. Is this that important? No of course it is, this is helpful to our efforts. Tap, tap, tap. Athena could of done this in minutes..Tap, tap, tap..I'm helping, i'm helping..aren't I? Tap, tap, tap..Doesn't he know anything?! ‘UGH!!’ She slammed the laptop shut and stood up so abruptly snowball spun midair in surprise.

‘I’m not taking this from some stupid Junker!’ She shouted, storming out of the room.

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

 Roadhog was resting outside his new accommodation enjoying the cool evening breeze and the quiet, an empty canister of Hogdrogon next to him. Four left..getting low. His peace soon ended as he heard the familiar thud of a metal peg on the ground and only looked up when the sound stopped in front of him. He nodded to Junkrats metal hand. ‘Fixed it then?’

'Yeah, feels pretty good too. They even had paint!’ Junkrat replied happily, admiring his handy work.

Roadhog grunted, ‘’Can see that, got alot on you..’

Junkrat sat down next to him. ‘I had a shower! With difficulty mind you, gonna have to modify one with supports.. Maybe I can accuse them of being ableist?’

‘Don't be a dick, Rat...eaten?’

Junkrat rolled his eyes, 'Yeah.’

'Did you sleep?’

'I told you this morning I did.’

‘Still lying.’ Roadhog replied. He had heard him during the night struggling with a nightmare, thankfully it wasn't bad enough he'd have to shake him awake. He expected as much and he hoped they would calm down once he was more settled here, If the boy even knew what settled was.

‘Did you behave yourself?’

‘I was in the workshop most of the day!’

'I know..not what i asked though.’

‘Yes! Fuck!’

Roadhog looked up as something caught his eye, Junkrat didn't notice nor could he see past Roadhogs massive frame. He did look up at him however when he sighed in annoyance.

'What?’

‘Happen to piss anyone off?’

‘Don't think so, though the rusky looks like she wants to break me in half.’

‘Anyone besides her?’

He thought for a moment, ‘..No? Now im not so sure..’’

‘Well have a think cos a small chinese girl is marching over here with murder in her eyes.’

‘Wha..?’ He leaned forward to look past Roadhogs huge stomach to where he was pointing. Sure enough Mei was walking with intent towards them with a very sour look on her face.

Junkrat groaned and rubbed his hand over his face. ‘For fucks sake.’ He muttered. ‘Tell her i'm not here..’ He used Roadhogs arm to push himself up to stand.

‘Shes looking right at you.’

‘Then she can watch me leave then, not keen on that one mate.’

‘Too late.’ Muttered Roadhog as Mei stomped over to Junkrat and stood right in front of him, even with him slouching the difference in height was comical, not that this deterred her anger to whatever he had done.

‘You! You waltz in where you’re not supposed to be, insult me! Patronize me?! And think i’m just going to be ok with that? You are possible the most rude and obnoxious Jerk i've ever had the displeasure of meeting!’

‘You forgot witty, dashing, inventive and misunderstood.’

‘Why are you even here!’

‘Keep up, I was forced here. Don't have a go for making it worth me while Frosty.’ Mei glowered at him and her nostrils flared. Roadhog was now watching with interest making a wager with himself if this small woman had it in her to knock Junkrat out cold.

My.name.is.Mei, she said, gritting her teeth.

‘Jamison. But I'm gonna call you Frosty cos it suits ya.’

‘You certainly suit Junkrat!’

‘Yeah…? I'm not arguing that.’

‘Do you even know what you did? Do you even care?’

‘Oh for fucks sake woman, so I went into a lab and touched some stuff, had a lil spinny on a chair. Not like I fucking broke anything!’

‘You insulted my work!’

‘....I did?’

'You know damn well you did!’ She shouted, pointing in his face ‘ You don't know me! You don't know how much i've given to Overwatch, what i've lost. Sure maybe now my work is not priority but atleast im here trying to make a difference and working toward a better world! Not blowing it up!’

He casually tested a joint in one of his metal fingers with a disinterested look on his face before responding to her outburst, ‘...Ya done?’ He said, sounding bored. Roadhog was now watching with keen interest, certain his partner was about to be suckerpunched. From this small woman it would be hilarious. But to his disappointment she didnt. What she did next surprised even herself let alone Junkrat. She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down so that they were eye level and then spoke in a deadly, quiet voice.

'Mock my work again or make me feel inadequate and I will freeze you on the spot and impale you with an icicle between the eyes and into that messed up brain of yours.’ She glared at him for good effect before pushing him away and straightening up with an air of dignity, she quickly gave an anxious look toward Roadhog and walked away, both Junkers watching her leave until she disappeared from view.

‘Nicely done.’ Roadhog said sarcastically.

‘Fuck off, she came here looking for a fight. I didn't do nothing!’

‘Liar.’

‘Honestly, she does weather or some shite and made a joke. Not my fault she's sensitive!’

‘Well you obviously made an impression.’

‘Pfft! Like I give a shit what Frosty the big-titted snowman thinks.’ He slumped down once again, crossing his arms and sulking, he was quiet for a time processing what the hell had just happened. Soon enough his eyebrows raised and a roguish grin creeped across his face.

‘Hey Hog..?’

‘Hmm?’

‘She has got fucking big tits though ain't she mate!’

[as-write-as-rain]

Love Song

Pairing: Bassist!Bucky x Singer!Reader

Summary: Everyone in this band is your best friend, but you wish the bassist was a little more than that.

Warnings: PG Language. Lots of Fluff!

This is for @kentuckybarnes' 3k Writing Challenge! Here's your Rockstar!AU one-shot featuring Bucky w/ a Bass, I hope you enjoy it!! Here's my first attempt at fanfiction, and I've probably been overthinking it, but I'm fairly happy with the result. Please be kind!

You drew your coat tighter around yourself, hurrying across the quiet street. The streetlight illuminated the snow drifting through the air, giving a peaceful feeling to the night…but you barely even noticed. You were running late for practice, and you really weren’t in the mood to hear another lecture from Steve – not after the day you’d had. Work had been busy as hell, because someone had called in sick and you had to pick up the slack; then, when you’d finally clocked out and headed to class, you got your philosophy paper back with a big fat D at the top. All you wanted to do right now was hang out somewhere warm with your favorite people in the world and make some music. Luckily, you were finally on your way there now!

Everyone looked up as you (accidentally) slammed the door open to Steve’s apartment. Tossing them a “sorry!” cringe, you stomped your boots on the mat, trying to dislodge as much snow as you could. The last thing you needed was a bunch of puddles creating a real safety hazard in the middle of your jam session! Stuffing your hat and scarf into a pocket, you hung your coat from one of the hooks on the wall, and joined your friends in the living room.

“’Bout time you got here, girl – we were wondering where you were!” Sam’s voice, dripping in sarcasm, made it crystal clear how he felt about having had to wait for you, and the withering look you shot him in response only made him laugh. You’d been friends since third grade, and always liked to give each other a hard time. Carol was setting up her keyboard, but she tossed you one of her patented wry smiles, her twinkling eyes speaking volumes about what she thought of Sam’s antics. Thankfully, Steve was engrossed in a pile of papers and only glanced up briefly enough to give you a quick nod as you passed, before returning to his work.

You took a deep breath to mentally prepare yourself before turning towards the couch, where you had already spied Bucky out of the corner of your eye. He had one leg up on the edge of the couch where he was tuning his bass, but as you approached he looked up and smiled. You steadfastly ignored the way it made your heart squeeze, and just gave him a breezy smile in return, dropping your laptop bag onto the cushions with a little more force than you meant to.

He instinctively leaned a little closer to you, and, in a quiet voice, asked, “How’s it going?” You glanced over, appreciating the way he tried to keep the question just between the two of you, instead of involving the whole room in the conversation. His attention was focused on the tuning pegs, but when you didn’t answer right away he looked over at you, tossing his head slightly so his shoulder-length hair fell back from his grey-blue eyes.

You sighed. “It’s going.” His expression turned sympathetic, and, with a half-shrug, you elaborated, “Today was kinda shit, but now I’m here and ready to rock out with you guys.”

His eyes searched yours, trying to make sure you were really okay, and the kindness and concern you saw in them made you secretly weak. “Well, I’m always here for you, if you wanna talk about it later.”

“Thanks, Buck,” was all you trusted yourself to say, and, with a small smile, you busied yourself with pulling out your music while he finished tuning his instrument. After a few seconds you peeked back at him out of the corner of your eye. His hair had fallen back across his face, and what you could see of his expression was once again serious. His focus was back on his gleaming silver guitar with its single bright red star, and you let your gaze linger on his lips before dropping to admire the way his muscles flexed while tuning it. Had he been working out? You could have sworn they were even bigger than usual, and he’d never been scrawny to begin with.

Steve cleared his throat and you quickly looked up to where he was standing in the middle of the room. “Anytime you’re ready, Y/N.” Trying not to look guilty (did he catch you checking Bucky out? Or is he just annoyed that you were late?), you nodded and stepped over to the mic.

Closing your eyes, you took three deep breaths, releasing the stress of the day and the pressures of the world; leaving behind the Harried Barista, Stressed College Student, and Pining Best Friend parts of your personality in favor of fully embodying your Rock Goddess persona. Everything that happened before this moment, you let fall away; right now, there was only you and the music. When you opened your eyes again, you felt fierce and self-possessed, filled with a deadly calm and ready to sing your heart out.

Carol was already poised, hands on the keys, and Sam sat behind his drum set, both of them looking to Steve, who was holding his guitar and tapping his foot to set the rhythm for the first song. Bucky got into position and faced forward, eyes on you. This was always his favorite part, watching you come alive in front of the mic. He saw your eyes open and your whole posture change, and he smiled to himself. Now we can rock.

Steve started first, then Sam, Carol, and Bucky last of all. You guys knew this song forwards and backwards, so it was almost like a warm-up for you. You grabbed the mic and started out quiet, gradually getting louder as the song built. It was so familiar and so freeing that you were grinning by the time the song was over. A glance at the rest of your friends told you they felt the same way.

The five of you had been friends forever, and Future Captains grew naturally out of your shared love of music. It started out as a fun project, but soon you realized you sounded really good together. Eventually, you’d all gotten kind of serious about it, and everyone had come into their own: Steve (and sometimes Carol) provided additional vocals, Sam was a genius at publicity, and Bucky excelled at managing most of what went on behind the scenes. And of course, everyone had only gotten better and better at playing their respective instruments as time went on. You loved to sing -- but more than that, you adored performing as a band, all of you creating music collectively, because it felt like you were part of something bigger than you, like you were sharing a soul for a few minutes in time. Whenever you sang, you felt powerful and unstoppable, and life seemed to make sense again. So, you eagerly lost yourself in the music, surrendering all your worries and just letting the songs flow through you.

After a couple of hours, you’d gone through all your material, both the older songs and the newer stuff you were still fine-tuning. You chugged from your water bottle and beamed at your band mates, invigorated. Carol winked, Sam gave you two thumbs up, and Bucky’s grin seemed to mirror your own.

Steve was smiling too, and as he started wrapping up cords and putting away his red, white, and blue guitar, he praised, “Great job, guys, we sounded amazing. I think we’re going to blow everyone away at the gig next week.” More smiles all around before he continued, “I’m almost done with those new songs I’ve been working on; I should have them done by Thursday’s practice, so we’ll try them out then.”

“Ooh, I can’t wait!” Carol cooed in that dry tone that always sounded a little teasing. When Steve glanced over to see whether she was being sincere, she continued, “I mean it! You’re a really great songwriter, Steve. I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

Steve blushed and shrugged. “Well, thanks. But I’m not the only one! You guys are super talented too, and if any of you ever want to write a song, just let me know. I’m more than happy to share the songwriting responsibilities!” He looked around the room, holding everyone’s gaze for a few seconds, looking at Bucky last. Bucky studiously avoided eye contact, busying himself with putting his own guitar away.

The mic was the easiest item of all to put away, so after stowing it in its box you’d helped Sam dismantle his drum set and store the pieces safely in the corner. Addressing the room at large, you clapped your hands together and asked in a chipper tone, “Anybody up for a drink down at the bar? I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve had a hell of a day.”

Sam was first to jump at the chance, and Carol was happy to join in. With an apologetic look, Steve explained that he had an early test tomorrow that he really needed to study for. Bucky hesitated just a second. “I’d love to, but I have an essay I need to finish.” Seeing your disappointment, he scrambled to add, “It’s almost done, maybe I can finish it up quick and meet you guys?” The three of you nodded, and he quickly decided that the smile you gave him was worth whatever grade he would end up getting on his half-baked paper.

He watched you, Carol, and Sam grab your jackets and head out the door, and when you turned back with a little wave, he gave you a grin that looked a lot more confident than he felt. The door shut, and he turned away, only to see Steve sitting at the kitchen table, regarding him knowingly.

Frowning, he growled, “What?”

“Nothing.” Steve’s voice was annoyingly patronizing.

With a sigh, Bucky turned towards his room, intending to ignore Steve’s smugness and hurry to finish his paper, but he’d gotten only a few steps before he heard him speak again.

“You should just tell her how you feel, Buck. I’m pretty sure she likes you, too. You guys would make a great couple.”

Whirling around, Bucky scowled at his roommate. “What are you talking about?”

Steve sat back in his chair and just gave him his patented look. Bucky jutted out his chin and crossed his arms, determined to be just as stubborn. Steve broke first, giving a short huff of laughter and shaking his head with a smile. “You’re my best friend, Buck, and so is she. It’s clear you have feelings for Y/N, and I wish you would just come clean, instead of pining over her and acting so weird and defensive. You’d be good for each other.”

Bucky looked away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Steve sighed. “Okay. We don’t have to talk about it anymore if you don’t want to. I’ve got my test to study for anyway, and I know you’ve got to finish your paper.”

  A little over a half hour later, Bucky sat at his computer, reading over his paper one last time. It definitely wasn’t his best work, but it was pretty solid. He’d probably get a C; anything higher than that would require significantly more time and effort, and he wasn’t willing to spend any more of either at this point. His mind was already thinking ahead to seeing you at the bar, maybe find out what was bothering you – or at the very least, get to cheer you up and spend some time together. He loved just being in your presence, making you laugh or smile. You were like the sun to him, you seemed to warm his very soul; and he couldn’t get enough.

He quickly emailed his essay to his professor, grabbed his stuff, and headed for the living room. Steve must have heard his footsteps, because he stuck his head out of the kitchen, probably about to nag him again. “Hey, Buck –“

Bucky cut him off, calling out loudly, “Sorry, Steve – gotta run!” as he rushed out the door into the cold.

Steve sighed, looking down at the books his roommate had left in the kitchen. The clutter was really distracting him (probably because he might have been eager for any distraction at all from his studying, which was turning out to be very boring indeed), and he had hoped Bucky would take his stuff back into his room. “I guess I’ll just do it myself, then,” he mumbled to himself, picking up the stack. A page fluttered out of the notebook on the bottom of the pile. “Oops,” Steve bent to retrieve it, and then pulled up short. He’d expected it to be chemistry notes, but this was laid out like a poem, and the unexpected formatting caught his attention.

His eyes skimmed over the stanzas. “Aw, Buck….” The wheels in his head started turning.

  As soon as he opened the door to the bar, Bucky could hear one of his favorite sounds in the world: your laughter. The place was about as busy as you’d expect for a Tuesday, and it wasn’t hard to spy the three of you in a booth, laughing uproariously about whatever story Sam had just finished telling. He stopped at the counter to order a beer before heading your way. Carol spied him and waved animatedly, as though he hadn’t already seen you guys; you snorted at her antics and took another sip of your drink before giving him a quick hug hello.

Sam’s story seemed to remind Carol of something similar that had happened to her once, and soon the four of you were in stitches, imagining her incredibly serious Lit professor going to lean back against the desk like he always did – only to find that the desk wasn’t exactly where he thought it was…and ending up on his ass on the ground instead.

“Everybody laughed, even Dr. Snyder – and then he swept right back into discussing Camus again, as though nothing had happened. You would not have been able to handle it, Y/N!”

You put your hands on your hips, trying to look menacing, or at least offended. “What’s that supposed to mean??”

Sam shoved your shoulder, shaking his head and laughing. “Come on, don’t act like you don’t know what we’re talking about. You can never keep it together when something strikes you as funny – especially when everyone’s supposed to be super serious. Remember that assembly in high school where you couldn’t stop laughing and you ended up getting detention for it?”

You grimaced, facepalming when Bucky joined in the teasing, asking, “Which time??” The three of them laughed even harder, and you had to give it up and join them, even though you were blushing brightly. This is why you’d wanted to come to the bar, after all, to relax and just have some fun; and besides, you really couldn’t deny that they were absolutely right.

Once the laughter had died down, Carol stood up, announcing that she was going to request some songs on the Jukebox. Sam shouted after her, reminding her to put some Marvin Gaye in the rotation, and she rolled her eyes and waved a hand at him to signify that she was well aware of Sam Wilson’s Jukebox Rules. Satisfied, Sam sat back, taking a swig of beer and surveying the room.

“Hey, Buck, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but that blonde in the corner hasn’t taken her eyes off you since you got here.”

Bucky, who’d been about to nudge you and try to initiate conversation, was startled by the sudden change in topic, and froze. “What?”

Sam leaned in conspiratorially, a smirk on his face. “It’s your lucky day, man; looks like she’s heading this way. And her friend is cute!”

You barely had time to react before the two girls reached the table, and Sam was already hailing them with that swagger that you usually made you laugh, but somehow tonight was just getting on your nerves.

The girls giggled, and you swore you saw the blonde bat her eyelashes at Bucky. Who does that??

You grabbed your drink and hopped out of the booth, trying to appear chill despite the sinking feeling in your stomach. “I think I need another one of these,” you mumbled, even though nobody had asked.

The blonde had placed her hand on Bucky’s bicep, but his eyes stayed on you as you marched up to the bar and shone that million-watt smile on the bartender. Of course the guy started flirting immediately, who could resist you? Clenching his jaw, Bucky turned his attention back to his admirer, who was asking, “You know, you guys look familiar, have we met before?”

Sam preened. “You might have seen our band play around town, we’re the Future Captains?”

The girls squealed. “That’s what it is! You guys rock!!”

The blonde squeezed Bucky’s arm. “You’re the bassist, right? You’re incredible,” she breathed.

He smiled widely despite himself. “Thanks for the compliment, doll.”

“We’re playing at the House of Blues next Wednesday night, you girls should come check us out.” Sam really excelled at promoting the band, which Bucky was secretly grateful for, since it meant he didn’t have to hold up much of a conversation, and could continue watching you surreptitiously. The bartender was being extra friendly, and Bucky was trying really hard not to crush his beer bottle in his fist.

The conversation around him carried on without him even noticing, and he almost didn’t even hear Sam addressing him directly.

“Bucky, you coming, man?”

He focused back in on Sam’s face, searching his memory to see if he could remember the last thing someone had said. “Uh…”

Sam rolled his eyes. “To the party? That these lovely ladies have invited us to?” He gave him a very pointed look, clearly trying to telegraph something with his eyes. Whatever he was trying to say, it was definitely lost on Bucky.

“Uh, no, thanks. I’m gonna hang with Y/N, that was the whole point of coming here, after all – what kind of friend would I be if I abandoned her?”

Sam paused. “You’re right, bro, maybe I should stay too?”

Glancing around at the ladies waiting impatiently, and Sam’s conflicted expression, he made a quick decision. “Nah, you go. It’s totally your scene, and I’m sure she’ll understand. I just don’t want to leave her completely alone.”

Sam shrugged, standing and putting an arm around each of his new fans. “You’re right. She’s a big girl, she’ll get it. And it’s not like she can’t handle herself.” With a quick wave in your direction, and one at Carol (who was still close to the jukebox, seemingly deep in conversation with an admirer of her own), he donned his jacket and left.

Meanwhile, you were flattered by the bartender’s attention, and while it wasn’t really doing much to raise your spirits, it did ensure that you got a nice, strong drink. Besides, he was cute enough, and you knew from experience how hard a job in the service industry could be. So you played along with his small talk; it’s not like you were in a rush to get back to your friends and watch some strange girl fawn all over Bucky. But the bar soon got a bit of a rush, and when you snuck a glance back at the table, you were surprised to discover Bucky sitting all by himself, with neither strange girls nor Sam anywhere in sight. Grabbing your drink and sliding the bartender a generous tip, you made your way to Bucky.

He greeted you with a big smile, sliding over to let you into the booth. “Where’d Sam go?” you asked, searching the room one last time as you sat down.

“He went to a party with his new friends,” Bucky offered.

“You didn’t want to go?”

Your surprise was written all over your face, and Bucky shrugged, chuckling. “And leave my best girl behind? No way!”

You took a sip of your drink to disguise how flustered you felt. You were his best girl? What did that even mean?? You settled for playfully elbowing him in the ribs. “Well, thanks, Buck. I definitely appreciate it.”

The grateful smile on your face made his heart explode, and he was instantly glad for every decision he’d made tonight. He impulsively put his arm around your shoulder and pulled you in for a side hug.

You returned his hug with a happy sigh, and when he didn’t withdraw his arm after the hug was over, you snuggled in close to him. It almost felt like old times, before you had developed this pesky crush and were just as comfortable being affectionate with Bucky as with the rest of the group.

Speaking of, you spied Carol finally returning to the table, and grinned. “And where have you been?” you teased.

She rolled her eyes as she climbed back into the booth. “What can I say? Who am I to snub a fan?” The three of you laughed at her pretended cockiness, and you settled in to listen to her next hilarious story. Your heart felt lighter and happier than it had all day, and once again you gave thanks for having such awesome friends in your life.

  Your spirits were high by the time the next rehearsal rolled around. The rest of the week had been pretty low-key at work, and you hadn’t had any big assignments or tests in any of your classes, which was a relief. You even talked Carol into heading to practice early, hoping to hang out with your bandmates a little longer.

You stopped by work to grab a round of coffees (or hot chocolates!) for everyone, and then headed to Steve’s. When you & Carol got there, they’d left the door unlocked for you, and you walked in to find them watching some ridiculous old 90s movie they found playing on cable. They greeted both of you with smiles and hugs (and excitement about the drinks!), and invited you to join them. After only the slightest hesitation, you opted to sit on the sofa next to Bucky, while Carol sank into one of the big plushy chairs facing the TV. Bucky grinned at you as you sat down, and you couldn’t help but notice he looked even better than usual today, in a blue shirt that really brought out the color of his eyes. He stretched his arm across the back of the couch, inviting you to snuggle up close to him as always, and you couldn’t resist doing so. He was so warm and safe, which was quite a welcome situation to be in after walking in the snow. So you curled up into his side and took a fortifying sip of your cocoa, letting yourself be warmed both inside and out.

The movie was over by the time Sam arrived, and the four of you had just been chatting about life, work, school, and upcoming gigs. Carol was draped sideways over the arms of the comfy chair, her hair hanging over one side and her legs dangling over the other; Steve sat on the floor with his back against the couch, fiddling with an old Rubik’s cube he’d found under the coffee table.

As Sam grabbed himself something to drink from the fridge, Steve checked the clock and realized it was time to get rehearsal started. Standing in front of you all still in the TV room, he adopted the tone you all recognized as Business Steve.

“Okay guys, I finished the songs I was working on, you ready to hear them?”

You all whooped in response, enthusiastic as ever to hear what Steve came up with. He was great with lyrics, but it was really his melodies and arrangements that always blew you away, personally. He had a real talent for that sort of thing, and you loved to encourage him.

Steve dragged over a music stand and his acoustic guitar, sitting down in the comfy chair that Carol had vacated to join you on the couch. Sam plopped himself into the other comfy chair, still nursing his drink. Steve played a few chords, and just as you thought he was about to sing, he stopped and coughed.

“Uh, Buck, you think you could help me with this?”

Bucky looked like he’d been caught passing notes in class. “Huh?”

“Wanna come up here and sing this for me?”

“Why?” Bucky said, blankly. You didn’t blame him for being confused; Steve usually debuted new songs by singing them himself, and this was the first time he’d ever asked someone else to do it instead.

“Because my asthma has been acting up, and I don’t think I can do it today.” Steve sounded like he was trying very hard to be patient, and you fought to keep yourself from snickering at how odd he was acting.

Bucky stood up, looking concerned. “Oh shit, man, I’m sorry. I hadn’t even noticed. Have you been wheezing or anything? Should we make a doctor’s appointment?”

Steve’s face was starting to turn red, and you grabbed onto Carol’s arm, biting your lip and avoiding eye contact with her, knowing it would make you crack up. She put her hand over yours and gave a sympathetic squeeze as Steve continued in a slightly strained voice. “I think I’ll be okay, Buck, but I just don’t want to exacerbate it by singing today. Can you just please come sing for me instead?”

Bucky obediently got up and crossed the room, taking the pages Steve handed him and looking them over. You were so busy struggling to control the laughter that was threatening to burst out of you, you didn’t even notice how Bucky suddenly got really still and tense. His eyes hardened, and darted over suspiciously to Steve, who was diligently focused on his guitar, apparently tuning it even though he’d been playing it just fine minutes before.

“What is this?” Bucky asked in a steely tone, very quietly so that only Steve could hear.

“It’s our new song,” Steve announced brightly to the room in general. “You ready to start, Buck?”

Bucky swallowed, glancing quickly at everyone, his eyes lingering just a second longer on you before going back to the music in his hands. There really was no way out of this, he had to just plow through and hope he made it to the other side. “Sure.” His voice was rough, and he cleared his throat and took a drink of water.

Steve smiled a wide, too-innocent smile, and started strumming again. After a few moments, Bucky began to sing.

I know every little thing about you And you know all about me too But not everything, I have a secret How have you not noticed yet?

You had always loved Bucky’s voice, gravelly and rich. But for whatever reason, he usually preferred to leave the vocal parts to Steve, so you didn’t get to hear him sing as often as you’d liked. Your earlier amusement already forgotten, you smiled, letting his warm voice wash over you while you listened to the lyrics and tried to imagine yourself singing this song in the future.

We've known each other since we were small Never dreamed that I would fall But every day I have to pretend Because you’re also my best friend

His voice, tremulous at first, had grown stronger as the song continued, but on this last line it cracked just a little. Then the rhythm changed, and it was clear the chorus was approaching.

You shine like the sun and I'm only a shadow The center of my world but you'll never know You're everything I've ever wanted I'm haunted

The song was beautiful, but, more than that, the lines were breaking your heart. They seemed to exactly describe how you felt about Bucky. But, how did Steve know? Was this some kind of joke? Had he figured out how you felt and was outing you to Bucky? Even as these panicked thoughts occurred to you, your rational mind had to point out Steve would never be that cruel. But as the verses started up again, you sat up a little straighter, trying to pay closer attention to what was really going on here.

When we're together, I have to hide Got to keep it all inside But deep within I'm falling apart Because I’m already losing my heart

The emotion in Bucky’s voice was raw, and you found yourself incredibly moved. And in that moment, your heart seemed to stop. Maybe this song wasn’t from your point of view at all. But did you dare to hope?

I don't know what to say So I hold my tongue another day What if you don't feel the same? I don't want anything to change

You shine like the sun and I'm only a shadow The center of my world but you'll never know You're everything I've ever wanted I'm haunted

The notes slowed down and time seemed to stretch out with them, as he sang the final coda.

I'd give everything just to have you be mine Worship you all of the time But I'm so afraid to cross that line

As the song ended and the last chords died out, a silence hung in the room, like the world was holding its breath. Your eyes were threatening to overflow with tears, but you didn’t move. Bucky stood still, not looking up; afraid to see your reaction. He felt like his heart had been laid bare, and he was terrified to see what came next.

You looked back and forth between him and Steve, desperately trying to figure out if what you hoped was happening was actually true. When you caught Steve’s eye, he was already looking directly at you. He raised a brow and ever so slightly tipped his head, nodding towards Bucky.

You felt frozen; you didn’t know what to do. Next to you, Carol cleared her throat, and suddenly you remembered there were other people in the room.

“Great song, I love it!” she crowed, her voice startlingly loud after such an extended quiet. “Um, Sam, I just remembered I have something I wanna show you. In the kitchen.” She practically leapt off the couch, and Sam followed her lead immediately.

Steve stood up too, mumbling something about having to wash some dishes, and scooted out of the room on their tail. You gave an amused exhalation at their lack of subtlety, but for the first time in your life the humor was tempered by a situation that needed your more immediate attention.

Bucky had yet to move from where he stood, though he was now staring after Steve with a somewhat incredulous look on his face. You took a deep breath and found your voice, though your heart was in your throat.

“Bucky?”

You were so quiet that you wondered if he’d even be able to hear, but he turned toward you, fingers fiddling with the music sheets. He kept his eyes downcast, still avoiding eye contact. “Y/N…”

You waited to see what he was going to say, but when he trailed off, you decided to speak again. “That song…that was amazing.”

The emotion in your voice was what tugged his eyes up to meet yours. “Yeah?” The ghost of a smile appeared around his lips, but his gaze was hopeful.

You smiled softly, taking a few steps closer to him. “Yeah.”

He flushed, glancing down at the page again. “Steve –“

You stopped abruptly, crossing your arms and raising an eyebrow. “Steve?” You questioned, in a disbelieving tone, though your eyes twinkled with amusement. “Is that who I should be talking to right now?”

Bucky chuckled, shaking his head. “He – he wrote the music, but…no, the words are mine.” He searched your face hesitantly, and he slowly crossed the last few steps between you.

You stared into his eyes for a few moments, feeling like you might drown in them. Finally, in a voice that was barely a whisper, “And?” When his eyebrows quirked in slight confusion, you added, “Did you mean it?”

At this, he smiled broadly, and his response was soft. “Every word.”

He carefully placed a hand on your hip, his gaze questioning. He was so close to you now, and you were on the precipice of everything you’d been dreaming of. Tossing the final vestiges of your caution to the wind, you wove your hand into his hair, pulling him the last few inches towards you, answering him with a kiss.

He responded eagerly, bringing his other hand up to gently cup your face. His lips were soft and tender, his kiss urgent and worshipful. He kissed you like you were the answer to everything he’d ever searched for, and for you it felt like the whole world clicked perfectly into place.

When you finally broke the kiss, it was with a happy sigh. Bucky affectionately nuzzled your nose with his own before resting his forehead gently against yours. “I’ve been wanting to do that forever.” The way he was looking at you was making your heart soar like a balloon.

You couldn’t help but smile giddily. “Me too.”

Sam’s voice from the kitchen broke through your shared reverie. “You lovebirds done yet? We doing any actual practicing today or what?”

You and Bucky couldn’t help but laugh.

[of-muppets-and-men]

The Truth

A Hummingbird thing I wrote for no reason.

It was far too perfect a day for what was about to transpire. The winter storms had finally subsided, letting the sun shine brightly on Patch for the first time in weeks.The blanket of fresh snow remained pristine upon the ground; as if no creature, big or small, wished to break its surface. The surrounding forest laid decorated by ice and frost, the gentle light turning it into a magnificent sight to behold. But even on such a beautiful day and warmed by a crackling hearth, the Xiao Long household remained uneasy.

Summer rose stood alone once again in her friend’s kitchen, solemnly staring out the window to picturesque wilderness. She held a fresh cup of hot cocoa in her off hand, patiently waiting for it to cool. As the minutes ticked by, Summer delicately caressed her ever growing baby bump; doling out a heavy breath with every stroke. It amazed her how much she had swelled since that passion fueled night 3 months ago. What amazed her even further what that Taiyang hadn’t noticed it yet. Guess they’re more benefits to wearing a cloak than meets the eye.

Everything about her pregnancy thus far had been surprisingly manageable. The morning sickness, the aches and pains, all child’s play by comparison to her life as a huntress. Hell, even Professor Port’s lectures had been much worse. No… it was the anticipation that fueled her dread. To finally come clean to Taiyang and tell him the truth. About Qrow… and how she was carrying his child.

The sudden creak of the front door opening drew her gaze away from the window. For a moment, she panicked thinking it was Tai, but was instantly relieved when Qrow stepped into the kitchen. The two shared a warm smile before Summer decided to break the silence.

“Want some cocoa?” she asked lovingly “Water’s still hot.”

“I’d love some” Qrow answered jovially. “Thanks, Smallfry.”

“No Problem Beanstalk.” Summer fired back.

Summer then began darting around the kitchen, fetching what she needed. Qrow took the opportunity to waltz on up and embrace her from behind. He wrapped his arms around her small frame, perching his chin on the top of her head. His hands found themselves nuzzling their baby to be. Summer was pleasantly surprised at how warm her man was, despite him being out in the cold no more than a few minutes ago. She beamed radiantly and let his warmth envelope her; stroking the length of his forearm.

She very much wished this moment could last forever, but knew the world wasn’t so kind. Summer let out a shaky breath and began to pull away. Puzzled, Qrow tugged on her arm.

“Hey, What’s wrong?” He coaxed preemptively.

“Tai’s gonna be back soon.” Summer said bluntly “We probably shouldn’t… at least not until after we tell him.”

The silence that followed seemed to fill the entire room. It was a day they hoped would never come, but Summer’s pregnancy had seen it rushed forward. Now they were mere moments before Tai walked through front door; mere moments before their lie came undone. Summer trembled at the thought. She rushed back into Qrow’s embrace and squeezed him tight, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I’m scared, Qrow. For the first time, I don’t know what to do.”

It was quite the role reversal indeed. Normally it was Qrow stressing over every little thing his semblance could entangle itself in, but now it was his fearless leader coming apart at the seams. The young man took his partner’s hands in his own and did something he never expected from himself: he acted as her emotional support.

“Shhhh, It’s gonna be okay. We’ve made through tough scrapes before. This is just another in a verrrry long list.”

“But he might never forgive us. And Yang, she still needs a mother, Qrow. He might never let us, might never let ME see her again.”

“Hey… Breathe a little. Sum, we owe him the truth, but that doesn’t mean he’s obligated to like it. Tai can push us away all he likes, but that doesn’t change the fact her still needs… well, you. Trust me, we’ll get through this, I promise.”

“That’s not super reassuring.” Summer joked snidely “Especially coming from you.”

“Hmph, Well I guess your optimism is starting to rub off on me.”

His endearing confidence was remarkable comforting to her. In the years being together, Qrow had seldom shown any of the sort. It was nice to know her constant encouragement was paying off. No more Cursed Qrow.

“Summer?! You home?” a voice called from the foyer, “Hello?”

The all too friendly voice made Summer’s heart nearly pop out of her chest. She instinctively reached or more like scrambled for Qrow’s hand. Her tiny hand clenched his as a shaky breath escaped her lungs. Her grip was tight, but Qrow didn’t mind. They two looked at each other one last time before they took the plunge. Their eyes said the same thing; This was it, no more lies. With one last deep breath, Summer found the resolve to speak.

“I’m in here, Tai!” she replied, letting go of Qrow’s hand.

The jovial young man practically pranced into the kitchen, wearing his trademark dopey grin across his face. It somehow managed to stretch even further when he laid eyes upon his best friend, whom he hadn’t seen in ages. Tai nearly tackled Qrow when his leaned in for their “bro-shake” then casually wrapped his arm around Summer.

“Jeez, man why didn’t you tell you coming back?” Tai inquired cheerfully “I would’ve bought beers.”

“It was a pretty sudden thing for me too. But Y’know how Oz is.” Qrow answered stalely, trying to ignore Tai’s arm draped over Summer’s shoulder. “Plus, I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Well considered me surprised. How long do you plan on staying?”

“A week or two depending. Oz hasn’t gotten back to me yet.”

“Well, you’re more than welcome to stay til he does.”

Each and every word Taiyang spoke felt like a gut punch. He had no idea how much he would regret saying that. Both Summer and Qrow shifted uncomfortably. Reading the situation, Tai grew more and more suspicious of his teammates. In his own unique way, he pointed it out like it was nothing.

“You guys alright? You’ve both been strangely quiet since I got back”

Shit. The one time Tai had to be observant they both thought. Qrow was about ready to conjure up another bullshit excuse, but before he could even open his mouth, Summer had pushed him aside. She shot him a look he’d seen too many times; a look he knew meant ‘let me handle this’. Summer’s fingers began to tremble so hard she clenched them til they went numb. Tai, still waiting on an answer, grew more confused as his friends continued to fumble over themselves.

“Tai.” Summer announced shakily, looking in her friend square in the eye. “I’m pregnant.”

The words echoed off the walls, through the corridors, and in and out of Taiyang’s ears. He just stood there like a stump, the shock sucking the air out of his lungs. Even Qrow wasn’t expecting her to so blunt; given her way of sugarcoating everything, almost literally. The two young men blankly stared at each other for moment, then turned their gaze towards a now sobbing Summer.

“But Sum… we’ve never even… how? … Who?” Taiyang mumbled, still attempting to find his voice.

“I’m sorry, Tai. It’s…”

“Mine.”

Taiyang’s shaky vision shifted towards his best friend. The young crow’s eyes could not do the same as he moved to stand by his lover. Only as he took her hand, did he find the resolve to return the favour. And what he saw would likely haunt him for the rest of his life. His upbeat best friend looked as if he’d been stabbed in the heart, his face drifting between rage and despair. Finally, Taiyang just snapped.

“You fucking piece of bandit shit!” Tai roared while charging at his supposed ‘best friend’. “I TRUSTED YOU!!!!!”

Qrow didn’t even move when Tai slugged him in the jaw. It was no more than he deserved, or at least so he thought. The punch sent Qrow halfway across the kitchen, smacking his head against the wall. The sound of him crashing in the wall reverberated throughout the entire first floor. Thank the Gods Yang was a deep sleeper. Qrow hadn’t bothered to engage his aura, so the impact stung him pretty bad. Everything had happened so quickly, Summer barely had time to react. Snapping back into reality, she rushed to her boyfriend’s side.

“What the shit Tai?! Gods Qrow, are you okay?” Summer said to him, frantically checking his face for bruises.

“Ah god Sum. SUM! Ease up, I’m fine.” Qrow complained, gently batting her hands away.

All the while Summer was tending to a reluctant Qrow, Taiyang fell silent once more. In the singular moment he saw them together, Tai began to understand why Summer never went all the way with him. Reaching into every memory he had with her, it was clear her heart had always belonged to someone else. He supposed the reason why it hurt so earnestly was because he never anticipated it to be his best friend. Now there was just one question left to ask.

“So… how long have you guys been… Well… Y’know.” Tai asked, defeated but curious nonetheless.

“Since Third Year.”

Slipping into an adjacent chair, Tai buried his head into his arms. This was too much. It was like losing Raven all over again. His mind raced, his heart beating out of his chest. He was angry, but couldn’t decide what over. That they’d lied? Kept this from him and Raven for YEARS. Or how they likely would’ve kept it if Summer hadn’t gotten pregnant. Watching him stew over their relationship was heartbreaking. Summer hadn’t stopped weeping the whole time; Qrow hadn’t looked his best friend in the face since the whole ordeal began.

Summer walked over to give a much needed hug, but Tai refused, not wanting to be anywhere near them. With a single word, he ushered his teammates away.

“Leave.”

Summer wanted to object but before she could, Qrow laid his hand on her shoulder.

“C’mon Sum, we should go.” He whispered into her ear “I think he needs to be alone for awhile…”

She hated it when Qrow made a point, but it was true. As much as she wanted comfort him, it wouldn’t do their strained friendship any favours. The pair made their way out the front door, gently shutting it behind them. Leaving Tai to his thoughts and anguish.

The couple walked to their favourite spot in the forest; an old and massive Weeping Willow they’d found after graduation. They often napped in it together, letting the wind set their troubles at ease. Boy, could they use that now. Summer clung to Qrow’s back as he climbed to their usual branch; her half-dried tears rubbing off on his cape. Being the gentleman he was, Qrow let Summer climb on first, then moved to situate himself between her and the trunk.

He rested his hands delicately over her baby bump, while she nuzzled her head into his chest. Summer wiped away the remainder of her tears and sighed loudly.

“Well… That was shit.”

“Hmph, you said it.”

“What? No witty response.”

“Nope. That was about as bad as I expected it to be. Just my luck, right?”

“Our luck.” She corrected.

They chuckled for a moment. It wasn’t often they joked about his semblance together. But back to the more pressing issue of Tai.

“So now what?” Summer asked tentatively.

“No clue.” He answered “I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I doubt he’ll stay mad at you but he might never talk to me again.”

Summer didn’t know if that comforted her or not. But things were already set in motion. Tai knew now, and she had every intention of keeping her baby, regardless of how he felt about it. As much as she cared for Tai, for Yang; she loved Qrow just as much, perhaps even more. Once again her boyfriend was right.

Only time would tell.

[ikesenhell]

Courage

GLITTER & GOLD, CHAPTER 5. You can find all other IkeSen works of mine here. NOTES: Mildly traumatizing content? Implied gore and suicide? It isn’t too bad I promise.  Thanks to all my readers who stopped in and @velociraptor-detective​ for always line editing.

They started the meeting with the usual things that were always discussed when it came to Waŋblí Hoȟpi; food, storage, transportation, the recreation of the rail lines, so on. Masamune didn't know why he’d been summoned until the tail end, when Ieyasu smacked down a tiny mechanical thing in front of him.

“Ieyasu,” Mitsunari squeaked, “I appreciate your fervor, but please be more careful with it, it did take a while for me to fix that--”

Ieyasu pointedly ignored him. “If you really want us to track down where your ghost ship goes, you have to do something stupid, apparently.”

Masamune poked at it. It looked almost exactly like a box, except with a small slot on the front, a little lense, and a few buttons. “What is this, pre-war tech?”

“Yes.” The blonde returned flatly, crossing his arms. “It is, and it took me forever to find the damn thing, so you’d better keep good track of it. It’s a Polaroid camera.”

“No shit. Huh.” Masamune picked it up and pretended to fumble it, catching the device a half second later and relishing the look of horror on Ieyasu and Mitsunari’s faces. Mitsuhide hid his face behind his jacket sleeve. “What do you want me to do with this?”

All eyes turned to Mitsunari.

“Well,” Mitsunari started, slower and less enthusiastic than usual, “You see, we did develop a map of possible patterns and pathways the ship takes. It appears to be pretty consistent, according to the reported sightings.”

Masamune seriously considered juggling the Polaroid and stayed himself. “Okay. What’s this got to do with the camera?”

“Further research is necessary. If we know where it is, then it would behove us to find out… well… what it is.”

It all clicked at last.

“You want me to photograph this thing.” Masamune paused. “Is that what’s going on?”

“Yes!” Mitsunari brightened up. “Preferably from as many angles as possible. The Uesugi-Takeda settlement is coming for talks, and they have an excellent mechanical engineer who I want to take a look at it--”

“That’s a hard no from me.” Masamune pushed the device into Ieyasu’s arms. “You want me to get near the mystery murder boat that happens to have a cult of devotees? Are you insane?”

“Told you,” Ieyasu muttered to the camera. It remained stubbornly mute on the subject.

“You asked us to locate it,” Mitsuhide pointed out reasonably. “And along the route, there’s a fair chance that you might find something of value. We are talking about kidnappings, after all. We did our part--”

“Your part involved being around a fucking table, not chasing down the goddamn--” Masamune sputtered for words. “Ghost scurvy ship!”

Nobunaga, who up until now had remained utterly silent behind his table, finally spoke up. “Would you rather we get someone who isn’t already on the cultists radar? I’m certain if I asked Hideyoshi nicely enough, he’d put himself in the line of fire.”

Masamune shook his head. “Don’t do that.”

“Maybe Mitsunari? He certainly seems game. Or perhaps your precious shopkeeper--”

That was enough. Masamune drew the machete and leveled it at the other man. “That’s not fucking funny.”

Nobunaga just shrugged. “I never implied it was.”

“Don’t--don’t ask her,” Masamune pleaded, lowering the weapon. “She’d do it, too.”

Silence. Mitsunari wilted. Masamune seriously considered blowing up on the spot. “You asked her anyway, didn't you?”

“Well, I asked her first,” Mitsunari confessed, pushing his fingers together. “Since she also seems so invested in this problem. She said she would, but wanted to have you with her…”

Fuck.

“Give me that,” Masamune snapped, snatching up the camera from Ieyasu’s arms. “Does it come with a goddamn harness, or should I just wave it at the death ship freehand?”

“It has a harness.”

“Give it to me.”

They handed it over without commentary. Steaming, Masamune stalked from the room.

---

She was already waiting by the motorcycle as he exited.

“They hassled you about it?”

“Sure did, Kitten.” He sighed raggedly, sweeping past her and into the house. She followed. “Are we really doing this?”

“Masamune. We went stalking around a corn field at night and nearly got shot by a bunch of shotgun-wielding yokels, and you laughed.”

What could he even say to that that wasn’t so close to the truth? He fetched a glass and wriggled it at her, an understood question of do you want something to drink? She shook her head. He puttered around the kitchen, moving Ieyasu’s seedling peppers out of the sink and onto the windowsill for sunlight, and tried to buy himself some time.

It wasn’t enough. He could practically smell the gunpowder. He could hear his father in the quiet echo of his pulse, in the empty space where his eye once was.

“How much did I tell you about how my dad went?” He asked at last.

She hesitated, opened her mouth, closed it, and finally allowed, “Not much. You weren’t really coherent, and then you just…”

“Took off,” he completed for her. “I know. I’m sorry.”

Silence. He paced around the table and ignored the glass of water he’d poured. “Dad saw the ship first, you know. He wasn’t really a superstitious guy, but he was getting up there and losing it a little. Grandad had dementia, so I think that was kind of starting to kick in, you know? He--he was always so strong. I can’t explain what happened. But the ship--the ship just punched the wind out of him somehow.”

She said nothing. He stretched out his arms as if physical exercise would chase the ghosts away. It didn't. Talking faster--like that would hurt less!--Masamune continued. “And like, you know, it only gives you a week. That’s what the legend says. You’ve got a week. We didn't really tell anyone at the time, cause he was a silent type and I was not really that spooked, right? But it got to Dad. I think he thought if we could get through the week, it would all be okay. He started staying up real late and drinking coffee all the time, maybe some herbal stuff. I don’t know what all he did. He didn't want it to get me.”

“Right,” was all she murmured. “I remember that.”

He pushed on, trying to punch through the burning in his eyes. “I just watched him--I watched him dissolve. He turned from my dad into some fucking stranger in a matter of days. It ate him alive. At the end of it, he couldn’t have told me what was sane and what wasn’t. All he thought was that--he thought that taking me at his own hand was mercy. He thought it was cleaner. He thought--”

Could he even say it? Masamune buckled onto the floor and drew his knees up to his chest. How could he articulate being on the wrong side of a gun, when the man behind it was his father? How could he describe the madness and fear in his hero’s eyes? Losing his sight, losing the rest of his family, losing his home in one fell swoop--

“I always say,” he managed, ignoring the tears on his cheeks, “that the ship didn't take him, he took him. That’s a damn lie. The ship took him. The ship took him, and he just finished the job for it. And I’m fucking terrified that if those shitbags out there in the prairie don’t get you, the fear will.”

Wind rattled the house siding. He rubbed stubbornly at his face, willing himself to stop, willing her to stop looking at him. She didn't. Instead she rose and crept to his side, settling down in front of his knees.

“Ah, Kitten,” he forced, “I’m not looking too cool right now.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” she demurred, wiping his face with her fingertips. She smelled like lavender oils. “I wouldn’t say that at all.”

He lowered his face into her hand and shut his eye, letting the scent waft over him. Away went the lingering taste of gunpowder. Away went the vision of what little remained of his father. All that was left was her--her and the creaking floorboards and the soft rush of air outside. She danced the other hand through his hair and despite himself, he moaned soft appreciation.

“We’re going to stop it.” It wasn’t a statement, but a declaration. Her voice almost echoed in the space. “We’re going to do it. There won’t be anyone else taken by the fear--not you, not me, no one. No more.”

---

He donned his lucky gloves the next day and zipped his jacket up to the hilt. She was waiting for him outside the shop when he pulled up. Wordlessly, Masamune offered her the Polaroid.

“It has a strap,” he indicated. She raised a brow at him.

“It’s bright orange. I can see that.”

Shit. He’d sounded just like Hideyoshi then, hadn’t he? Covering for it, Masamune grinned. “Just thought I’d point it out before Ieyasu kills me. Ready?”

She exhaled and pulled back her braids. “As I can be. Move up.”

The sun was setting in the distance, a golden globe radiating across the plains. In his travels, he’d never seen a more beautiful sunset. Out in the east, the eerie fallout glow caused too much fog and polluted rain to really enjoy it. In the south, the land was too barren to risk being out during the daytime. But here? Oh, he relished having her clutch him tight as the wind whistled around them.

“We’re gonna follow around the trail they marked,” Masamune shouted back to her, “They said it shows up around nightfall. You ready?”

She just lifted her thumb in assent.

The grasses bent sideways, flaming orange in the sunlight. And then--

“Holy shit!” She shouted.

Masamune chanced a glance back in a mirror and his blood ran icy cold. There it was. Behind them and moving fast, the ghost ship sailed silently over the grasses.

“Hold on!” He commanded, kicking the engine into the next gear. “And get those photos!”

“On it!”

Not even the new muffler could stifle the roar of the motorcycle. The prairie transformed into a yellow blur, air deafening him. Even then the ship pulled alongside them. Its perfect mast soared overhead, no colors flying, just its sheer surface coloring the whole landscape green. The bare timber sides grew closer and closer as it edged toward the road.

This was it. This was the moment. If death awaited them, it came now. Masamune held his breath and tried to urge the motorcycle faster, but it wasn’t enough. The ghost merged and came level, holding steady mere inches from them.

It won’t hurt anyone else.

In a moment of insane bravery, Masamune thrust his hand out and plunged it into the side. It wasn’t cold or solid, but just--nothing. He waved his palm back and forth. Only air greeted his fingertips. He flapped his arm.

“What are you doing!?” She shouted.

“Fuck you, ghost boat!” He bellowed. “You ain’t shit!”

“You’re insane!” But her laughter was unmistakable. “I can’t get a good shot if you keep doing that--”

Courage flooded him like hot water. “Then try it like this!”

Without warning, Masamune veered sharply to the side, bringing the whole motorcycle inside the ship. She screamed and clutched at him. All he could do was laugh--laugh at the terror he’d held on to for years, laugh at the impassive thing that had taken so much from him--and let it out into the world they tore through. It didn't shift in its course. And at last--at last, when he was certain holding onto the speed would hurt the bike, he slowed and let it overtake them, sailing on. They puttered to a halt and watched it move into the distance.

“Oh my god!” She staggered off the bike, shaking her limbs. “Oh my god!”

Masamune leaped off the bike. “First things first; are you okay?”

“Y--I think so!” Her staccato laugh echoed all the fluttering in his stomach. “I can’t believe we just did that--I can’t believe you just did that--”

“It isn’t shit,” he affirmed, breathless with energy. “It can’t touch us. It isn’t going to ever again. You’re right.”

Oh god, when she smiled like that, it almost took all the breath he’d gathered back up and crushed it out of his lungs again. And she was so beautiful, with her braids cascading down her shoulders and her dark eyes crinkled in the twilight sun, all the stars that hadn’t yet started glowing reflected there, and--

“Come here,” he commanded.

She took one step forward. That was enough. He closed the distance between them and crushed her body against his, pressing a fierce kiss to her mouth. She gasped; he pulled back only a second before she tugged him back in by the jacket.

“Don’t you dare,” she hissed.

“Yes, ma’am,” he teased, and hitched her up under her thighs. She obligingly wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him back in, her mouth lighting-spark hot. Everything he had ever seen and done fell away. What else could compare to this? What else could compare to her?

He’d spent his life running, and he’d never managed to leave her behind.

“I think I love you,” he breathed against her. She just grinned.

“I know you do.”

[nevereatsoggywieners]

Party Princess // Sweet Pea x Reader (ft ex! Reggie)

Warnings: Swearing, underage drinking, partying, making out

Prompt: @sluttyforsweetpea : Hi! I’d like to make a request for a writing prompt if it’s not any trouble. Can you do no. 60 (If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were trying to seduce me.) with Sweet Pea.

Find the prompts here

Word count: 2,000

Reggie Mantle’s parties were known for being the loudest, wildest, and most regrettable in the whole town, of course, this never stopped anyone from attending. Tonight lived up to its legacy as you walked in and immediately felt the bass thump throughout your body and saw people making out in any dark corner they could find.

It didn’t take long for your wandering eyes eventually landed on Sweet Pea. He was a transfer from Southside High, and you had the pleasure of being the one to sure him and his friends around on their first day. That day, you walked into school, determined to show him, along with the others, that Riverdale was more than stuck up snobs who hated anyone that wasn’t like them. That was until he opened his mouth.

“We don’t need your pity, princess.” He said condescendingly, smirking at your extended hand after you had introduced yourself to him and two other transfers. The smaller Serpent with pink colored hair jabbed him in the ribs and shook your hand.

“I’m sorry about him, he gets angry when he hasn’t had his nap. I’m Toni.” She gave you a warm smile. You gave them the tour of the school, trying to resist going off on him as he teasingly asked you where the best make-out spots were. You were definitely less than excited when you saw that your schedules were nearly identical.

But that was a few weeks ago and since then you two had warmed up to each other, almost suspiciously so. He got on your nerves and always made jokes about you being privileged and pretentious, but also took it upon himself to make racy comments anytime you wore anything remotely revealing and brush his fingers on your thigh during class.

You were drawn out of your hormonal flashback as you heard Toni calling your name. You made your way over to Fangs, Toni, and Sweet Pea, maneuvering past the crowd of dancing bodies. You finally you reached the group, greeting them with a smile, but before could even open your mouth to say hi, Sweet Pea already something to say.

“Wow, didn’t know little miss perfect went to parties like this?” He teased, eyebrow raised as he sipped his drink. Normally you would have retorted that you weren’t perfect or point out that this was a Northside party, but something about the way the music and alcohol running through your body made you want to screw with him a little bit.

“Reg and I go way back, it’d basically be a sin if I didn’t show up.” You said nonchalantly, loving the confused looks on the Serpents’ faces. Sweet Pea, in particular, seemed the most surprised waving his hands to stop you, almost spilling his drink.

“Woah woah woah. You and Reggie were a thing?” He was leaned forward in anticipation, brows knitted together, lips slightly agape in disbelief. Something about the way he was letting his emotions show so plainly on his face a devilish smile dance its way onto yours.

“I never said that. ” You shrugged your shoulders. He wasn’t wrong, technically. You and Reggie had been on and off last year before deciding it was better to just end it. It wasn’t anything serious and you two remained friends with no hard feelings. “It was a casual fling like a million years ago.” You understated and felt arms snake around your shoulders.

“It was literally last year and I was your first.” You turned to see the topic of conversation, making kissy faces at you as he said the second part. You laughed and shrugged him off of you. “Hey, you need a drink.” He gestured to your almost empty cup.

“Whatever inflates your ego, Reg. And you’re right, I do.” You let him lead you to the kitchen, completely missing the pissed look on Pea’s face. You and Reggie chatted for a little before he left to play in a “life or death” match of beer pong with the rest of the basketball team.

You sat on the counter, watching everyone dance, directing a few green faces to the restrooms and scooting over to let people view the variety of drinks people had brought. Eventually, Toni walked up to you and hopped up onto the counter.

“You know, I think it’s really cool that you’re friends with your ex.” She said and gazed up at you to gauge your reaction. If you were slightly more sober you’d be able to tell she was sent over to gather information, but unfortunately, your vision remained a little blurry and the ground still wavered a touch under your feet.

You laughed and leaned your head on the cabinets above you. “I mean, I don’t even know if I’d consider him an ex, like we’ve been friends since forever and yeah we made out, had sex a few times but we weren’t ever official before we cut it off. I don’t even know why I’m telling you so much, I’m sorry.” You giggled into your cup, finished the rest of it and grabbed a water bottle.

“Wow, and you’re able to control your drinking, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone with such balance in their life!” The girl said dramatically, making you laugh. “Looks like your BFF is back. See you around.” She slugged your shoulder and walked back to her friends

You could tell by the look on Reg’s face that they had lost. And pretty badly, based on the way he nearly stumbled into the fridge on his way over to you. “Tough game?” You asked and handed him a water.

“The toughest!” He said, a little too loudly, slurring the words together as he opened the drink. “They were making them left and right and all the guys were like ‘Reggie! You got this!’ but honest Y/N… I didn’t and there was this hot girl there and she saw me miss like the easiest shots.” He said with immense excitement and emotion.

Reggie reminded you of a little kid when he was drunk, getting worked up over the littlest things. “Sounds terrible, bud.” You patted his back and he leaned his head on your shoulder. “You know how you’re like the bestest best friend, ex-girlfriend ever and would do anything for me?” he batted his lashes, trying to seem innocent.

You found your eyes wandering around, catching on Sweet Pea’s, the boy was staring at you from across the room, with a look you couldn’t decipher. Chills went down your spine as you thought about how long he was looking at you like that. “What do you want?” You said playfully bitter, shrugging your friend off your shoulder, suddenly hyper-aware of how affectionate you were being.

“Come dance with meeee.” He drew out the last word as he dragged you to your feet and to the living room being used as a dancefloor before you could even protest. He grabbed your hands and swung them back and forth, spun you, dipped you, practically did anything he could to convince you to move on your own.

The two of you danced and laughed together for what felt like ages before a bump and grind song came on. Your hips slowed to the beat, dancing without a care. Reggie put his hands on your hips, you smiled and watched him change his own rhythm to match the music. However, your time was short lived before you felt a hand on your shoulder.

You turned around to see Sweet Pea practically glaring down at you. “We need to talk.” He declared, dragging you off the dancefloor. You heard Reggie encouraging you to ‘get it’ from where you left him. You rolled your eyes at his suggestive comment and yanked your arm away from your captor. “What the hell is your problem, Pea?” You said in a hushed, but angry tone.

“Oh, my problem? What about your problem? You know he’s obviously trying to get in your pants, right?” The Serpent accused, crossing his arms over his puffed out chest. However, his demeanor changed from annoyed to mischievous before you could even blink, as he took steps forward. “Although, I’m sure you did know that, I saw you look at me right before you two started dancing. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to seduce me.”

You backed up, trying to get more space between you two, something about him made you not able to think straight. Probably his cologne. You decided as you back collided with the wall. You and Reggie using each other to make others jealous was definitely not unheard of, but there was no way you had been doing that just now.

“Oh my god, keep dreaming! You know nothing about Reggie and I’s friendship. Hell, you didn’t even know we were friends until, what? Three hours ago?” You snapped back, advancing forward until you were almost flush the boy’s chest. You didn’t realize how close you were until your hand brushed his when you tried to push him out of your way, which failed, of course.

“E-Either way it doesn’t matter, because it’s really none of your business.” You stated, your voice wavering. The look in his eyes changed, the glint that was there previous left and was filled was a newer darkness that made your knees weak.

Again, you felt yourself being whisked away, down a hall and to your left, to what you know was the bathroom. A small line of people shouted in protest was the door slammed and locked by Sweet Pea. “Let’s cut the shit, Princess. I’ve been flirting with you since I got to this stupid school and I can’t take it anymore so you need to tell me right here, right now if you and Reggie are boning.” He declared.

Your heart raced as you shook your head. Your mouth opened to formally answer his question but his serpent jacket was already on the floor and his mouth was already on yours before you could even get a syllable out. Your surprised moan got lost on his lips as you also began to instinctively shed layers.

His hands were immediately placed just under your shirt, resting on your hips, pulling you closer. Yours were more ravenous as they explored, tugged and ruined his hair. He tasted like mint and alcohol and smelled like gasoline and cologne and felt like heaven. You were so absorbed in his… everything when Toni busted in.

“I so called it!” Her excited voice caused you two to jump apart. “I knew the second you said you were friends with Reggie, there was no way Pea would be able to last another day without… this!” She gestured to your shirt askew and his hair sticking up in every direction. “Fangs owes me like twenty bucks now, so thanks, but, FP says he needs us at the Wyrm ASAP. So wrap it up and fix yourself.” She rambled before closing the door behind her.

Sweet Pea removed his hands from your body and took a step back to fully process everything that was happening. You? You just leaned against the counter and admired your work. Your lip gloss was smeared on his now swollen lips, his hair was a mess, and his cheeks were a few shades darker. You were certain you looked just as bad, if not worse.

He began to frantically grab his stuff, now nervous and panicked. “Wait, you’re really gonna leave, just like that?” You asked, a sting of pain in your heart.

“Oh baby, you’re insane if you think we’re not doing this again.” He said, kissing your lips with a smile before walking out the door.

AN: I wrote this while waiting for my illegally downloaded Spiderman to finish downloading onto my flashdrive so this is the work of a criminal but ANYWAY I honestly had to much fun writing Reggie omg sorry also this took so long for me to actually post omg sorry pt 2.

taglist: @hiighdeex3 @isaaclahys  @chaarrlieeeeee @lolabean1998 @miniwroetofreezymd

[freyaluciscaelum-blog]

Two Happy Peas in a Pod

Original Request:

“What about a prompto fluff where he's feeling super insecure/worthless and his s/o cheers him up by kissing his freckles/stretch marks and a tickle war” (This one did take a bit of a turn from the original request… but I still like how it turned out overall)

Type: One-Shot / Drabble Characters: Prompto Argentum, Reader Genre: Fluff, Romance Rating: PG Warnings: Mild language

Note: Originally posted from my AO3 account & my archive blog ( @freyawrites-archive ) on 02/01/2017.

Two weeks of camping. Two weeks without a shower. You were completely and utterly over it. As the sun crawled across the sky and started its descent, you literally got on your knees and begged the guys to go to a hotel instead of camping again. The Taelpar Rest Area was a half hour’s drive from your current location and you nearly threatened to walk there before Ignis finally gave in, agreeing to drive the group there.

You scrounged up every last gil you’d earned from side-hunts you’d done on your own and used it to get your own room. You knew you’d be in the shower for probably the next six hours and the guys would never get their own turns if you shared a room with them.

And while it wasn’t exactly six hours… You did end up spending a good hour under the hot water, letting it wash away two weeks worth of dirt, sweat, and grime that you’d accumulated.

“Never again,” you muttered under your breath as you turned off the water and stepped out into the bathroom. You quickly dried yourself before heading back to your room for a clean pair of clothes from your pack. You were surprised to find a pair and slipped them on before gathering your dirty belongings and made your way to the hotel’s little laundry room.

The sun had long since set, but the bright lights at the edge of the small rest area provided the comfort that people needed to feel comfortable wandering a bit outside in the early evening. You offered a few smiles to people who greeted you as you made your way down to the laundry room. You paused at the door, spotting a head of familiar blonde hair nearby. Before you could say anything, that blonde hair disappeared around a corner, moving around behind the hotel.

You raised an eyebrow but turned back to the laundry room first. You fished for a few gil coins and tossed them into the machine, throwing your clothes and some soap in, before starting up the machine and heading back out to seek out your favorite companion. You rounded the same corner he did and frowned when you didn’t find him. You were about to turn around when you caught sight of a ladder leading up.

Curiosity won you over and you climbed up it quickly. It wasn’t the cleanest, but it was cleaner than you had been about an hour ago. Once up top, you looked around and quickly spotted the man sitting down at the edge of the building overlooking the little plaza where people were gathered and talking together while enjoying the evening air.

You crossed over slowly and shifted to take a seat next to him. Though your intention had been to be quiet coming over, you thought it was odd he hadn’t noticed you yet.

“Penny for your thoughts, Sunshine?” you asked.

You were surprised he didn’t fall off the building from his dramatic reaction. He let out a surprised cry and nearly jumped up in the air as he turned to look at you. His eyes were wide and frantic before settling as he let out a deep breath.

“Shit, (Y/N). You’re like a freaking ninja,” he whined as he brought a hand up to his chest. His heart was probably racing a million miles per hour.

You laughed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I figured you would have at least seen me sit down or something.”

Prompto let out a nervous chuckle and looked back out at the people again. “Yeah, maybe normally…”

He trailed off and you frowned. It wasn’t like Prompto to be so quiet like this. Usually, he’d be talking your ear off. You reached a hand across to touch his forehead with the back of your hand.

“(Y/N)?”

“Not warm…” you said, dropping your hand. You frowned at him. “What’s wrong?”

He bit his lip. “W-why would you think something’s wrong?”

“Well, for one, you’re not trying to show me the millions of pictures you took today. You’re also all alone up here, and you had your head so far up in the clouds that I was pretty sure you were an airship.”

Prompto let out another nervous chuckle and looked down. “It’s… It’s nothing, really. I’m just being…” He paused and then sighed. “I don’t even know anymore…”

You scooted closer and shifted to lean your head against his shoulder. “Talk to me, Chocobo,” you said softly, using your special little nickname for him. This prompted a small smile from him, which you took as a move in the right direction.

“I dunno… I just get in these moods sometimes, I guess…” he started before sighing again.

“Well… do you know what triggers them?” you prompted.

He shrugged. “I guess… I dunno…” He paused for a moment and you were about to prompt him again when he shifted. You moved your head away as he moved to rest his hands behind him, leaning back on them, as he looked up at the sky.

“I just… I feel like I screw up a lot,” he started.

You frowned. “How so?”

He shrugged. “I dunno… I just… When we go out on hunts and stuff, I always feel like you guys would totally be fine without me. Noct’s can basically warp strike anything, and Gladio and Iggy are really good at follow up. And then you’re a mage, so you’re basically the most important person in the fight beside Noct… And then there’s me. I just… sorta feel like I’m there and I don’t really do a whole lot.”

You reached a hand out to gently touch his, your fingers teasing at his. He glanced at you, but you were looking down at his hand.

“That’s not true at all, honey,” you said softly. “In fact… if it weren’t for your constant presence and positivity, I think I’d probably have gone crazy by now.” You laughed.

“You’re just saying that.”

You looked up at him. “No, Prompto. I’m serious.” Using his name meant serious business. “I didn’t go to school with you guys, or even really know much about you guys before this whole journey… And you’re honestly the one who makes me feel most comfortable about being on this journey with you guys.”

“(Y/N)…”

You smiled up at him. “You have a purpose in this group, Chocobo. We all do. Noctis is our spoiled little prince. Gladio is the brawn. Ignis is the brains. And you and I are two happy peas in a pod.”

This finally earned you a small laugh from the blonde, which made you beam.

“There we go. A real laugh,” you said, shifting your fingers to gently squeeze his.

“You’re really good at making me laugh,” Prompto said, offering you a small smile.

“Is it my funny looking face?” you asked, bringing your hands up to tug on the corners of your mouth and make a funny face. This earned a rich laugh from Prompto, which led you to start laughing.

When he settled down from laughing, he shook his head. “Your face is far from funny looking, (Y/N),” he said. A warm smile settled on his lips, pink touching his freckled cheeks. “I’ve always thought you were really pretty, actually.”

It was your turn to blush this time. “O-oh yeah?”

“Y-yeah,” he replied.

You two sat there as blushing messes before you reached over to gently push him.

“Nuh-uh.”

He blinked at you before laughing. “Yeah huh!” he said, giving you a gentle shove back.

Which turned into a “Nuh-huh / Yeah huh” war that included shoving each other back and forth until Prompto started to lose his balance. While he didn’t fall off the building (thankfully), he did fall on his back. And as he fell, he grabbed you and pulled you with him. If he was going to meet his “end,” he was going to take you with him!

This led to you falling on his chest, your legs a tangled mess together, the tips of your noses touching. Both of you were beet red as you realized the position you were in, but neither of you were in any hurry to move or get up.

“H-hey, fancy meeting you here,” you managed to stutter out, trying to break the silence.

Prompto let out a nervous laugh, his hands coming up to gently touch your waist. Sparks flew up your spine at the mere touch and you swallowed. You shifted a bit and ended up with your legs on either side of his waist, chests flush together, faces mere inches apart.

From this distance, you could really see the intense blue of his eyes and you could count each freckle on his cheeks. Without even thinking, you leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against his cheekbone.

“(Y/N)…?” Prompto barely whispered, frozen beneath you.

“You’re perfect, you know that?” you said, your voice just as quiet and breathless.

“A-ahh… H-hardly…” the blonde stuttered out.

“Very,” you replied as you pressed another kiss along his cheekbones. “So, please… Whenever you think that you don’t belong… Just know that you belong with me. I need you here, Prompto… Right at my side.”

You felt his hands squeeze your waist tightly before he shifted his arms to wrap around you, hugging you tightly. He moved his face to press it against your shoulder and you could feel a bit of wetness against your neck.

“You’re seriously the best, (Y/N),” he whispered, his voice cracking.

“No, sweetie… You’re the best…” you whispered back, your hands coming up to gently comb through his hair.

You two laid on the roof together, tangled in each other’s embrace, for what felt like forever before you remembered you had wet laundry to move to the dryer.

Prompto helped you to your feet and you two descended back down the ladder to head for the laundry room. Before you could turn the corner, you reached a hand out to touch Prompto’s arm and pull him back. When he turned to look at you, you leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

“Want to stay in my room tonight?” you asked when you drew back, your lips inches from his.

Prompto’s eyes widened at first before he took a step back toward you. He reached a hand up to cup your jaw and leaned in to kiss you in earnest.

When he finished, he stepped back and winked at you. “I look forward to it,” he said, a grin curling on his lips.