#Thena tries to go after him but loses him in the crowd

[softquietsteadylove]

I have an idea for the lawyer au. Inspiration from Boston legal season 8 episode 9.

A girl, make her young like sprite, comes to Gil one day and asks if he is a lawyer and if he can help her. Gil thinking she is being a kid jokingly asks how much money she has and when she answers 10 bucks her father comes and wants to take her with her. But she holds onto Gil and says please help me, if I go back to Poland they’ll force me to marry a man in this country. in this moment he realizes it’s a serious matter and protects the girl. At the end of this case it’s a very depressing situation for him. Thena is there to gently lift him up

Im sure you’ll manage to do something with it

"Gil."

Gil didn't even pick his head up. He was all but sleeping in his mug of guinness. "Gil's not here."

Thena didn't let him get away with it. She did pat his shoulder with some sense of pity for him. "Come on, Gil. It's well past midnight and you have another court date tomorrow."

He groaned at even the mention of going into court again. He didn't know if he had it in him after his day today. "I'm not going back there."

Thena shuffled her purse on her shoulder and perched herself on the stool next to his. "You don't mean that."

"I do," he huffed, pushing the goblet away with distaste. All he could smell was the thick, sweet stench of it. "And I should have punched that judge in the face."

"It wouldn't have changed the ruling," she pointed out in a very Thena way. "Unless you want to be barred from practising law for a year, if not the rest of your life."

He shrugged. He wasn't sure how he felt about the law after today. He had always thought he was on the side of the good guys, as cliche as it sounded. Sure, the law was far from perfect, but he really thought he was doing some good with his job.

"You did everything you could for that girl, Gil."

He scoffed and rubbed his eyes. The dim lighting and loud music of the bar were making his vision blurry, and all he could taste in the back of his throat was cheap beer. "Is that what you call letting her get shipped back to Poland to get married to some old creep?"

She was a kid, no older than Sprite. It was a sickening 'case', no matter how sudden or pro bono it had been. She had even offered to pay with the only 10 dollars to her name, kept safe inside the birthday card it came in and everything. But none of it had done any good.

"We don't win every case, Gil."

"Well, you'd think this one would matter more!"

A few heads turned. He had been quietly sulking at the bar for hours, by this point, enough beers in that the bartender was beginning to eye him every time he asked for another.

Thena didn't even flinch.

Gil groaned again, scrubbing his face with his hands even though he'd been touching the bar that was cleaned only god knew when. He sighed, "I'm sorry."

But she understood his outburst, maybe even condoned it. "It's okay. I can't say I blame you for coming here and burying it under...how many is it now?"

More than he wanted to admit to. So, instead, he ruffled his hair and attempted to pull himself up in his seat with some dignity. "Doesn't matter. I'm pretty sure he's cut me off quietly anyway."

The bartender turned around, ears already burning and a towel slung over his shoulder. "Time to pay up, Boston Legal?"

"Very funny," Gil snarled at him. He knew it wasn't this guy's fault he'd had the worst day of his entire career, but that didn't mean he was in any mood for it. He slapped his hands over his jacket, his rumpled tie and then his suit pockets. "Shit."

"Oh come on, man, you're a lawyer, I know you've got-"

"It's okay, I'll pay it," Thena held her hand up, already reaching into her purse.

"Fuck," Gil cursed, hanging his head (as if he needed any more reason to be ashamed of himself tonight). He misjudged the distance, even knocking his forehead against the counter edge. Maybe it would be a little sobering, if he was lucky. "Thena, you don't have to-"

"It's okay," she assured him yet again, but she was still sounding more like 'work' Thena than the Thena had come to know and prefer.

Gil watched as the bartender took her card to close out his tab. He couldn't get any more pathetic anyway--what was a little more humiliation? "What are you doing here? Are the girls okay?"

Thena finally smiled at him, and it was the real Thena he saw, no matter how blurry. "They both asked to have sleepovers tonight. It's rare, but tomorrow is a half day at school, so I dropped them both off. When I asked how you were, the response wasn't all that clear, so I figured I would try here."

Gil made a face. He didn't remember talking with her. He felt around again for his phone, which he didn't so much pull out as clumsily drop it onto the bar. He blinked a few times, really trying to focus on reading his messages.

She had texted him, asking if he was doing okay and where he was. His response was a jumbled mess, but he unfortunately could make out something resembling him telling her that he was going to drown himself in beer and that she could join if she wanted.

He couldn't even remember reading, let alone responding to it. He really did need to be cut off for the night. He wasn't young and in college anymore--he would probably have a hell of a hangover tomorrow morning (afternoon).

Thena nodded as her card was handed back to her, Gil's debt settled. She turned back to him, "think you can walk?"

He grumbled. If he wasn't already, he would flush with guilt at the insinuation. "I'm not that bad, Thena, really."

She was kind to say nothing about him wobbling a little as he got up at first. But he made it to the door easily enough with her behind him. Maybe he did need a little hand on his back, but as soon as he was out in the cold night air it was at least a little better.

Thena pulled her jacket tighter around herself. She should have been at home, relaxing during her kid-free-evening. She could have been curled up reading or watching that funny ghost show she liked with a glass of wine or a mug of tea or something. Instead, she was picking up his drunk ass from a dive bar a block away from work.

"I'm sorry, Thena," he began apologizing, for the first time of many, he told himself. He owed her plenty more, and that was beyond his bar tab, which he would pay back with interest, too. "I just...that kid-"

He pushed his nose deeper into the soft material of her white turtleneck. The cotton or cashmere or whatever it was soaked up his tears. "She was just a kid."

Thena probably didn't consider herself a hugger, but she gave really nice ones. She was really gentle, and soft, and even if she was small boned, she still felt warm. Even in her boots, she was up on her toes just slightly to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling his face into her shoulder. "I know it's terrible. But you did everything you could, and we're just going to have to live with that."

"I know." Thena did know--she had sat in for the final leg of his plea. She had witnessed his loss and she had been the one to restrain him from mouthing off to the judge presiding and possibly losing his license. "It's not fair."

"What are we doing?" he asked, even hiccuping faintly as he closed his arms around her as well. He was a mess, probably stank of beer, and he shouldn't have been here in the first place. But he melted into Thena's good graces, letting her absorb some of his misery for him. "What good is any of this if I couldn't protect her?"

"That wasn't your job today," Thena whispered to him, and it felt as if it was right next to his ear. "Your job was to argue for her in her place, and you did that. You fought with all you had. But the law wasn't on our side, today. And there will be more days like this."

He knew that. He'd had hard cases before, lost cases before. But never anything like this. He'd had his faith in the judicial system and the court system and the social work system waver before--it came with the job. But now he wasn't sure how he was ever supposed to go back to work again.

"You lost a case, and it's never easy. But what that girl's parents are enforcing is not your fault."

It sure fucking felt like it was. Gil could still remember the look on the kid's face as it sunk in that it really was over, that they had lost and that her parents had every right to drag her back with them. He had handed her back the card with her birthday money in it, unable to accept it after their defeat.

"Come on," Thena leaned back, putting a hand on his cheek, probably checking his eyes to see if he was sober enough to make it back to his car. If she even called him an uber and watched him slump himself into it, it would already be more than he deserved.

"Yeah," he cleared his throat, swallowing the lump in it. He looked around the parking lot, increasingly empty by this time on a work night. "I, uh, left my car back at work. It's probably where my wallet is, a-actually. I should-"

"We can get it tomorrow, Gil," she cooed in that melodic voice of hers. She insisted it was like cold, hard ice, but he thought it was gentle and elegant, like a curtain dancing in a window.

"I've gotta get home," he all but whimpered. What a wet blanket he was being, but whatever. He pulled out his phone again, attempting to find an uber she could toss him into and be rid of him.

"I know, come on," Thena pulled at his arm gently. And when he stumbled anyway she leaned closer, letting him rest his big, meaty shoulder against her little one. "I'll get you home."

He just stared. She looked really pretty in the streetlight glow, all blurry at the edges like it was a dream sequence in a movie. "You didn't have to come and get me."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Was I to leave you drowning in your beer?"

It would be a fitting end, at least. But he shrugged, leaning on her as little as he could afford as they made their way to her car. "You shouldn't have to deal with the aftermath of my shit."

But she shouldered him easily, getting him to the passenger door first and unlocking it with her fob. "We have the same job, Gil. Same job, same shit--I know what it's like to want to dive head first into a pool of cheap wine coolers and forget everything we've ever learned."

But she didn't, that was the difference. Because Thena had other obligations and responsibilities. And took them seriously, unlike how he had come over here without even his wallet somehow.

Gil leaned against the top of the car before letting her elbow him in. She was supporting him under his other arm, tucked into his side. He would rather be supporting her, like he had after she broke her arm. "Thanks, Thena--even if you're seeing me make a huge ass out of myself."

She gave him a really sweet smile as she separated herself from him at last, letting him get into the car seat. "Quite impossible."

She even closed the door for him, being a real gentleman to his drunk ass. Gil crossed his arms, tilting his head as he looked out her windshield. "I don't think that's true."

But she climbed into the driver's seat without a word, not wasting any time as she began backing out. "I've only picked you up a few times, but I believe I remember the way."

"You'll be fine," he murmured, still with a slight slur to his words. He would let her go and if he really had to correct her, he would. "Just look for a depressing bachelor complex and I'll be on the left."

Thena let out a laugh, which added at least some levity to the night.

She had a cute laugh. He looked at her again, although hopefully with her focused on the road she would just think he had a sore neck or something. "Y'know, maybe we should change firms."

"What makes you say that?"

He shrugged, his eyes getting fuzzy again. He was tired. "I mean, we're not allowed to do any pro bono work, which sucks. I know it's a small firm but come on."

"I do agree with you on that one," she muttered quietly. She could act all 'ice queen' if she wanted to, he knew she also had a soft spot for the kids they ended up working with.

"And the guys at the office," Gil made another face, but Thena was driving so she couldn't appreciate how funny it was. He made a noise to accompany it. "I don't like the way they look at you."

Thena didn't answer for a few minutes, probably trying to actually focus and navigate amidst his yapping. "I didn't think you noticed."

He blew a a raspberry, although with his dry lips it really sounded more like a wet fart. "Please, those pigs think they're being subtle when they look at you like--well, they're not, is what I'm getting at. And they wonder why I don't like them."

Thena let out a faint laugh again as she made a turn. She was driving a little slowly, but that was probably because she was afraid she would jerk him around too much and risk him hurling on her nice off-white interior. "I figured you were just too nice for their crass tastes in drinking buddies."

"Not disgusting enough, more like," Gil huffed again. He had to reel himself in and keep from divulging anything else. He didn't ever want to have to repeat to Thena the kind of language he'd heard them use to refer to her when they thought no one was listening.

And it didn't matter how many times he told them not to talk about her like that. All it ever did was get them convinced he was sleeping with her and beg him to tell them all about it.

"You would leave the firm just because of them?"

He slumped down further in his seat. He wasn't paying nearly enough attention to direct Thena if needed, but it was kind of nice just being in the car with her. Just them, a quiet drive, not even Sersi or Sprite or the loud, bouncy pop they liked to listen to between them.

Well, he did like some of the music they made him listen to.

"It wouldn't be just for that reason, there are more," he sufficed to say. But then he dragged himself up again and looked at her. "But I wouldn't leave without you."

Thena, driving, spared him a quick glance. She seemed surprised. "You wouldn't?"

"Of course not," he scoffed more lightly this time. Because that question was actually funny. "If anything, you're the reason I stayed past my probation period."

He wasn't supposed to tell her that. Well, he hadn't wanted to admit it to her, and certainly not like this. Whoops.

"Well," Thena began as they pulled into the parking lot of his building (unfortunately). Her voice really was like a lullaby. He had to wonder if he would even make it inside, at this rate. "If you decide to leave...then so will I."

[wannabeschyulersister]

timing

Request: hi, I was wondering if I could request a druig x reader! maybe the reader is an eternal and after reuniting the spark they had but always tried to hide revives and they try to figure this out while fighting the deviants and the whole celestial thing! y’know, flirty, fluffy, angsty<33

*SPOILERS OF THE ETERNALS AHEAD*

Gif is not mine. Credit to owner. 

Warnings: spoilers and a curse word 

A/N: I set this during the Amazon scene instead of the end scene since my last imagine was based on that one. Hope you still enjoy it! 

The calmness of the Amazon was extremely chilling to you. There were goosebumps forming on your body even though it was extremely humid out. Not only did the environment make you nervous, but also the fact that you were seeing a certain person for the first time in a very, very long time. 

Centuries and centuries had passed since the last time you’d laid eyes on Druig. 

You’d managed to spend time with the other Eternals every once in a while, but never could make your way to Druig. 

The “relationship” that you had with him confused you for the last few millennium. It was a “will they, won’t they” kinda thing. No one that you’d ever met since you stepped foot on Earth made you feel the way that Druig did. He made you feel so safe and secure. Like nothing could ever harm you when he was in your presence. 

Sometimes, you found yourself envying Sersi. She was able to move on from the shit show that was her relationship with Ikaris and found happiness with Dane. You didn’t think that was possible for you. 

It was clear to everyone else that there was a spark between you and Druig. It was in the way that you would both act around each other. There was always this nervousness that you felt around him. Your cheeks would heat up and you could hardly look him in the eyes when you spoke. 

Druig was normally so cool and collected around the other Eternals. His wit and sarcasm would take them by surprise. However, when he was around you, he turned into this bashful man. Sprite would tease him about it and he would always denied everything. 

There was one time in Babylon that you thought something could potentially happen. It was a night where you were all together for dinner. You sat on one side of the table while he was directly across from you. There were some sly looks between you both. You’d glance at him and quickly look away before he could see. You didn’t know he was doing the same thing. 

You went to bed that night wondering if it was all in your head. The feelings that you felt for him was so unlike anything you felt. You loved the other Eternals. You knew you were in love with Druig. 

The fear of rejection stopped you from ever trying to pursue something with him. 

Your feelings laid dormant until the very moment that you saw Druig step out those double doors. It was like no time had passed at all. The last time you had seen him was filled with chaos. The fighting outside. The fighting with the other Eternals. He had been so angry at Ajak at that time. Thena was worried about losing herself. 

He never told you goodbye. 

You were the first one that he looked at despite being near the back with Sprite. He could pick you out of a crowd so easily as if you were connected. 

After Sersi and Ikaris filled Druig in about everything that was going on, you slipped out of the room and went for a little walk. It was a little bit too overwhelming to be in the same room as him. All of the feelings that you had for him came swarming back once you saw him. You wondered if he felt anything at all. 

“Long time, no see.” His voice snapped you out of your thoughts. 

You turned and saw him approach you alone. The others were milling around trying to figure out the next move. There wasn’t much time left. You spent so much of you time on this planet. You’ve watched people live their lives, fall in love, be happy. You couldn’t just let it all come crashing down on the innocent. 

“It has been a really long time.” You agreed. 

Druig stood in front of you keeping a little distance, “It’s been far too long since we’ve seen each other. Longer than I would’ve liked.” 

“You never tried to come and find me.” 

“I knew you were okay. You’ve always been the type that didn’t need anyone to protect them. You’re a strong one.” Druig reached over and pinched your cheek a little like he use to always do. 

You slapped his hand away. That was something that you always did too. “I know I’m strong. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have tried to contact me or something. That’s what you do when-“ 

Druig took a step closer, urging you on, “When?” 

“When you care about someone.” 

Druig’s eyes seemed brighter in that moment if possible, “You think that I care about you?” 

“I thought you did at one point in time.” You looked away. Nerves were getting the best of you. 

“You’re right. I do care about you, (Y/n). I should’ve tried to find you but I didn’t think that you would want me to.” 

“Why would you think that?” 

“I heard that you’ve gone to visit the others all this time. Last I heard, you’ve been with Sprite and Sersi in London.” 

Druig was keeping tabs on you? As much as you wanted to be upset with him, you knew that you could’ve tried to come and see him as well. It was the fear of rejection that stopped you yet again. 

“Who told you that?” You wondered. 

“I have my sources.” He smirked and you couldn’t help but smile as well. That damn smirk sent your heart into a tizzy every time. 

“Well, your sources were right. I have been with Sprite and Sersi for a little while. Before all of this, I was planning on going out on my own.” 

Druig seemed surprised by this, “Is that so? I wonder if your heart would’ve led you here….to me.” 

“Maybe, maybe not.” 

He smiled a little at your playfulness, “I think it would’ve.” 

“My heart has made me question so much. I think most of all…. its questioned how its felt about you.” 

“How do you feel about me?” He asked you softly. 

“Druig, I’m in love with you. I’ve always have been.” You finally said the words that you’d been dying to say to him. 

“(Y/n), I-“ 

Before he could finish his sentence, you heard the screams of the others. Druig turned around and stood protectively in front of you. 

“Deviants!” Sprite shouted. There were too many of them. You didn’t know how they were able to keep finding the group. 

Ikaris had been carried off by one Deviant while Kingo fought another. You didn’t know where Thena and Gilgamesh where. It was pure and utter madness. 

A Deviant swooped down and tried to grab Druig. You were gifted with energy manipulation. Before the Deviant could take away the man that you loved, you hurled a golden orb at it. It screeched so loud that it stunned you for a moment. 

Druig fought the Deviant off as you harnessed more energy. One swipe of your hand and it was flown twenty feet away into an empty building. 

“Are you going to finish your sentence?” You breathed out. 

Druig laughed, “Is this the right time to have this conversation?” 

“It’s the perfect time. These fuckers are everywhere and the world is possibly ending. When else are we going to get to talk?” 

The same Deviant managed to get out of the wreckage of the building. You knew that you hadn’t killed it. 

Druig stood in front of you as it ran towards you both, “I love you with all of my heart and then some, love.” 

If it weren’t for the horrible timing, you would’ve kissed him. 

Stretching your hands out with your palms faced out, the gold swirled all around you and struck the Deviant in its chest. 

“So….. how long have you loved me?” You questioned. 

Druig shook his head playfully, “When all of this is over, we really have to have a discussion about your timing.” 

“This shouldn’t take me long.” You moved your hands up and the Deviant followed. It screeched in the air and tried to fight back. You were stronger. 

“I knew that I loved you that night at dinner in Babylon. You remember? You kept sneaking looks at me. You were so beautiful that night. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you.” Druig placed his hand on your shoulder. You looked away from the Deviant and into his eyes. 

“This would be a really bad time to kiss you, wouldn’t it?” Druig asked as he glanced down at your lips. 

“You never were one to care about timing.” 

Druig pressed his lips against yours so softly that it surprised you. He was so gentle when it came to you. You wondered how gentle he would be when it came to other situations. 

The Deviant must’ve felt forgotten because it let out an Earth shattering screech. Sadly, your kiss with Druig had to come to an end. 

“Just give me one moment.” You winked at him. Using your powers, you tore the Deviant in two. The body came crashing down to the rainforest floor. 

“That was so badass.” Druig blurted out. 

You looked at him, “I’ve been called that before a time or two.” 

Druig cupped your face between his hands and planted another kiss on you, “Now that I’ve kissed you, I don’t ever want to stop.” 

“I wouldn’t dare try to stop you.” 

Before Druig could do it again, Kingo came up to the both of you, “My documentary is going to have a long story! Karun, did you get all of that?!” 

“Yes, sir! It’s going to be beautiful!” Karun cheered. 

[angrylizardjacket]

the deadliest game // charlotte&lola

Summary: Motley Crue, Lola, Charlotte, Peach, and Eileen play Knife Monopoly. It goes about as well as you could expect.

A/N: BIG WARNING THERE’S SO MANY KNIVES. KNIVES, INJURY, MENTIONS OF BLOOD, CUTTING AND STABBING BUT NOT IN A SERIOUS WAY, JUST LIKE A FUN LITTLE STAB, BUT STILL THERE’S SERIOUS KNIFE PLAY. it’s not sexual but i still don’t think its sfw. @lemonadexmouth and @misscharlottelee i hope i did your girls at least a little bit proud haha. MC might be a bit oc, sorry!

----

When Charlotte hears the words Knife Monopoly leave Tommy’s mouth one unassuming Friday afternoon in the Motley House, she’s instantly sent back a whole five years, to the Bass family garage, and Athena, all of thirteen years old, screeching in triumph while Tommy, barely fifteen, swore a blue streak, amid begging Charlotte not to tell his dad. They’d ignored her warnings, her jousting with steak knives is not a better alternative to regular auctions, and as such, Tommy had underestimated his vicious and competitive little sister, and ended up with a knife half an inch deep in the heel of his palm. 

“You’re so fucking stupid,” Charlotte, sixteen, tells him.

“Get fucked!” Athena had crowed, knife still a little bloody as she raised it in triumph. 

“Language, ‘Thena,” Charlotte reminded her, searching amid Tommy’s various musical supplies for any sort of cloth to stem the bleeding.

“I just won Knife Monopoly I can do whatever I want!” Athena responded, looking a little bit crazy, brandishing her knife at Charlotte, who just regarded her with flat unamusement. 

“Go get me bandages,” she instructed the younger girl, cutting her off before she can even begin to protest, “or I’ll tell your mom it was your idea.”

“She won’t -”

“You stabbed Tommy!”

“It was his suggestion! It’s his fault he got stabbed!” But she complies anyways, and sulks the whole time. Tommy doesn’t play Knife Monopoly with his little sister after that, or around Charlotte either, though according to some of his friends at school, he hasn’t exactly quit the game cold turkey.

“Absolutely fucking not,” Charlotte calls from the bathroom where she’s helping dye the ends of Lola’s hair bright red, the moment the memory passes. It’s all over her hands, it already looks like blood; this all feels too familiar.

“Char-lee,” Tommy practically whines, and Charlotte steps out of the bathroom to scowl at him, even as Lola protests. 

“Okay but what is Knife Monopoly?” Nikki is far too intrigued for his own good -

“No.” Charlotte says, firmer this time, “it’s dumb as hell. And it always ends with Tommy getting stabbed.”

“Not always!” Tommy protests, “I’ve stabbed Vince a few times,” like that makes it any better.

“Sign me up!” Nikki’s eyes are always alight with some terrible and dangerous enthusiasm, and Charlotte regrets ever meeting him, and proceeds to, in great and embarrassing detail, retell the story of the first ever game of Knife Monopoly. Tommy looks like he’s bitten a lemon by the time she’s finished. Nikki is clearly not swayed.

“I got better at it,” Tommy actually pouts.

“I’d hope so; your sister was thirteen,” Nikki points out. Tommy’s expression, defying all expectations, gets even more bitter.

“She’s vicious,” he says in his own defense, “go get Vince, he’ll tell you I’m good at it.”

“What does being good at Knife Monopoly mean?” Lola finally steps into the conversation, hands also dyed a bright, eye-catching red to match the ends of her hair currently in a messy bun atop her head. Unfortunately, she seems onboard with the whole idea.

“It means Vince got stabbed a lot,” Charlotte fills in, and Tommy’s back to grinning and nodding.

“How about it, Lo?” He’s all enthusiasm, and Lola shrugs, which he takes as a yes. He then proceeds to ask each of them if they’re in, without waiting for an answer, and practically bolts into the spare room where Vince was desperately trying to sleep off a hangover. 

“Knife Monopoly!” He announces at the top of his lungs, hanging off the doorframe. It’s like he’s fifteen again. Charlotte, whole body heavy with resignation, makes her way to the phone to call up Peach and Eileen. From the other room, the other three all hear Vince groan loudly.

“No rib stabbing,” is his only groggy stipulation, and Tommy literally cheers. 

Peach and Eileen show up within the hour, with a bemused Mick in tow, both women wearing near-identical disapproving scowls.

“We don’t have enough knives,” Nikki muses, looking at them, but Tommy’s acting as if their arrival means the end of the world.

“Charlie -” he tries again.

“Moral support, Thomas.” She doesn’t leave any room for argument, and then apologizes to both redheads. After a beat, the anger cracks away to resignation from Eileen, who Eileen opens her bag to reveal a swathe of gauze tape and a bottle of vodka, “just be glad I didn’t call your sister.” Charlotte adds for good measure, but Tommy just flips her off. 

Peach, on the other hand, realizing that the game hadn’t even started, turns from disapproving to excited.

“Wait, so I get to actually play this time?”

“Peach!” Eileen groans, but Tommy’s offering her a place in the game. She’d always had to help clean up the aftermath; it’s easy to be disapproving when bandaging your not-boyfriend’s sliced up bicep, it’s another to be able to get drunk and play for yourself.

Lola gets out of the shower drying her freshly dyed hair, only for the body count in the apartment to have almost doubled; she takes it in stride, and actually parrots Nikki’s concern about a lack of knives almost word for word. 

“If someone can drive me to my motel I can borrow some steak knives from the kitchen,” she offers, much to Charlotte and Eileen’s growing horror. Someone suggests making a night of it, of ordering pizza, getting booze, and collecting more knives before they start, and it seems almost everyone else is in agreement, even Mick, who, as Lola points out, would take any opportunity to stab the rest of the band, even a little bit.

“I hate them,” Eileen mutters to Charlotte, the two of them sharing vodka with Mick in the kitchen. Charlotte hums in agreement, watching as Nikki and Lola went to collect knives, while Vince and Peach went to pick up pizza and booze, which left Tommy to find the Monopoly board. 

“Fuckin’ teenagers, the lot of them,” Mick chimes in, but there’s something amused in his gaze, and Charlotte sighs deeply and tells him not to indulge them. He shrugs, as if he can’t help himself, as if the damage is already done, and it is.

There’s actual knife wounds in the board, holes of considerable size.

Charlotte doesn’t know why now, of all the time she’s known them, that she’s finally hit with the realization that her closest friends might be the absolute dumbest people she knows.

The premise of Knife Monopoly is simple; any and all disagreements are settled with a knife fight. Disagreements can range from establishing rules - yes, that early on; there’s been several times where he’s never even made a roll and the game is over - to disputes about rent, about whose turn it is, and most famously, substituting auctions for knife fights. Usually Tommy’s only played it with one opponent, so it’s elated to maybe not get stabbed for a few rounds. The knife fights aren’t serious, no-one’s allowed to go in for the kill or anything dramatic, and if someone quits, you have to respect that and stop going after them, but once they’re out, they’re not allowed to rejoin.

Peach and Vince get back first, loaded up with food for the whole pack, and Charlotte watches through narrowed eyes as Tommy pulls Vince to the side after he’s set down all the pizzas. They’re plotting something, judging by the conspiratorial whispering, and their suddenly shifty gazes.

“Charlie,” this time her name is a question when Tommy asks it, and Charlotte turns her full attention to him and the blonde crowded together in the corner of the room, “do you think Nikki and Lola...” he hesitated, “what do you think their pain tolerance is?” He decides on, none too subtly. Charlotte, when she considers his question, can’t help the way her lips twitch in amusement, understanding exactly what was happening.

“You’re both going to lose.”

“Ye of little faith,” Vince clicks his tongue, nose in the air, and Charlotte suppresses the sudden murderous intent that surges forth in her. Probably not the best situation to be feeling murderous in.

“You’re knife fighting Nikki and Lola,” Charlotte smirks instead, “you’re going to lose.”

Neither of them like that she kind of has a point.

The two in question finally get back, a canvas bag full of steak knives in tow, which are quickly passed out, and dinner and drinks are distributed and eaten as the rules are explain. Mick’s balancing the tip of his knife against his knee where he’s sitting in the armchair, a single finger keeping the utensil aloft, regarding them all like he’s wondering who he should go for first. In contrast, Tommy and Lola are already being absolute idiots, and trying to balance their knives on their noses, thankfully handle first.

Charlotte picks up her knife.

“I want it noted that this is a absolutely terrible idea,” she’s points the knife at Tommy, and he cheerily tells her ‘then quit’. She stays in the game to prove a point to him, and takes another shot.

They roll the little plastic dice to see who goes first, and when Nikki and Vince both roll a ten, instead of rolling again, they’re both already down to fight. Except that Nikki’s got this gleam in his eyes that can mean nothing good, and is holding his knife like he knows exactly what to do with it.

There’s a moment of jousting, of metal against metal, then plastic, then Nikki’s blade slips past too quick for Vince to catch, and there’s a cut on his bicep. Tommy calls out that the fight is over, and Nikki boos him, but Lola pulls him back.

“Calm down, Jason Voorhees,” she rolled her eyes, and pokes him with her own knife. Nikki, obligingly sat back, and devoured another slice of pizza as he rolled his first turn.

The first turn goes smoothly, probably too smoothly, though Charlotte wouldn’t lie that her heart was in her throat the whole time she was moving her piece. Any objection would be met with someone’s injury, as says the rules.

When Lola takes her second roll, these rules are exploited.

“No.” Nikki tells her as soon as she totals the numbers on the dice. Lola checks her math. Eight. Two fours.

“Yes? Eight.” She answers slowly, with a frown. Tommy can already see where this is leading, and watches with wide eyes and baited breath. Nikki flips his knife, and points it at Lola.

“No.”

“How high are you?” Lola does not yet realise, it seems, and Nikki raises his eyebrows, claiming that that’s not the issue, “are you starting a fight because you’re bored?” Lola snickers, finally, and the way Nikki’s lips twitch at the corners betrays his intentions. There’s no way he would have started this over something so ridiculous with anyone else.

“I like this game,” Nikki turns to Tommy, and the moment his attention is pulled away, Lola lashes out with her knife, tearing his pants and leaving a thankfully shallow wound against his thigh. Nikki, surprised by the altercation, goes wide-eyed with shock, clutching his leg, mouth agape as he watches Lola smugly move her piece eight places forward.

“Yes, eight,” she says simply.

It was a dirty move, but Nikki’s expression turns to a disbelieving grin. Eileen hands over a roll of tissue paper. Everyone else is quiet, can’t quite believe what they’d just witnessed.

“Fucking knew you guys would be killer at this,” Tommy exclaims with a breathless grin, picking up the dice. Lola leans over and presses a sweet kiss to Nikki’s shoulder, and he, in turn, pets her head with the hand that’s not holding tissues to his fresh wound. 

Alcohol goes a long way to dulling the pain, but everyone now seems to be playing strategically; Eileen’s not playing, just watching with amusement, while her little sister uses Vince’s fondness against him. Peach gives him a doe-eyed pleading look, and when he starts to lower his weapon, she gives him a considerable cut by his collar. It’s not his first of the night, and after both the cut, and her underhanded tactics, he’s the first to bail out. Eileen takes him to the bathroom to be properly cleaned and bandaged, while Peach wears a smile so oddly reminiscent of thirteen-year-old Athena, triumphant. 

Mick appears to be biding his time, not challenging anyone, and no-one appears to want to challenge him, considering how unnerving he’s been acting for most of the game. Tommy and Charlotte end up challenging each other surprisingly often, and though he goes easy on her when he gets the upper hand, Charlotte still ends up with a collection of little wounds littering her skin; she can’t deny the adrenaline rush the arsenene game grants it’s players, maybe it’s why she hasn’t quit yet. 

Tommy’s holding his own against Lola and Nikki surprisingly well, and there’s no denying that the three of them are the worst off of the lot; Nikki and Lola challenge each other like it’s not a game involving knives, like it’s just a normal Friday, and Charlotte quietly thinks that there’s something deeply wrong with both of them. At least they go much easier on everyone else. 

“Alright, pay up, geezer, that’s four hundred you owe me,” Lola’s grin is all teeth when she turns to Mick, marking up the price for rent on her hotels, expecting him not to fight back. She’s been extorting him all game, and somehow he’s still playing. 

“I think you owe me four hundred,” Mick answers with a sharp little smile, sitting forward in the chair, finally holding his knife like a weapon. 

“Is that a challenge?” Lola should not be this excited at the prospect. Mick raises his eyebrows at her, holding out his hand.

“Unless you’re willing to just hand over that four hundred without a fight.” 

Lola’s on her feet in a flash, bouncing on the balls of her feet, ready and waiting for Mick to stand and face her. She’s passing her knife from hand to hand, far too eager, but Mick simply takes in her stance, and throws his knife at her, aiming for her arm, as to not hit anything too vital. There’s not enough force behind the throw to leave the knife actually in her, but it leaves a considerable gash in her shoulder.

“I quit,” Mick announces, while Lola marvels at the wound with what seems to border on excitement, “I already know I can’t win,” he shrugged easily. Lola and Tommy both boo at him.

“Drummer, you’re not gonna win when two of the five remaining players get off on shit like this,” Mick says bluntly, “and it’s not you or your cousin.” Vince crows with laughter, but doesn’t disagree. 

When Tommy looks to Lola, she’s glaring at Mick while Nikki dresses her wound. 

“I can try,” Tommy musters all his strength, only for Charlotte to cut him down.

“No you can’t,” she practically orders, “yes that’s a challenge,” and she reaches over and cuts his palm before he can even react. It’s a dirty, underhanded move, but technically it’s not against the rules. “This game is stupid and dangerous.”

“No fair!” Tommy frowns, plucking tissues out of the quickly depleting box.

“Is that a challenge?” Charlotte raises her eyebrows at him, and Tommy sulks, but finally quits, cradling his hand to his chest, and concedes defeat.

It’s a stalemate; Peach is relatively unscathed, Charlotte has collected a handful of scrapes, while Nikki and Lola look like they’ve rolled through broken glass and loved it. 

“You know what?” Peach announces, looking between Nikki and Lola, and Charlotte, like she’s interrupted a standoff, before anyone else rolls, “I don’t need to be stabbed anymore today, ‘specially not by you guys.” And she puts her knife down, raising her hands in surrender. 

And then there was three. 

Charlotte looks to the other two, leaning into each other and smiling in a way that was more than a little sinister, looking a little like a pair of serial killers sizing up their next victim. If it were anyone else looking at her like that, she’s pretty sure she’d be overwhelmingly intimidated, but the only thing Nikki and Lola do better than give off a ‘don’t fuck with me’ vibe to everyone else, is self destruct together. Which Charlotte is far too aware of to let it go unmentioned. 

“If I quit, will you two promise not to kill each other, and to never play this game again?” Charlotte asks, leveling her knife at the two of them. They share a look; Nikki shrugs.

“We do this shit for fun anyways,” Lola admitted, finally looking back at Charlotte, conceding, “we don’t need a game.” Vince groans like he’s just now realising the game was rigged from the start. Charlotte doesn’t really want to think about that too hard, instead focusing on the first half of her initial question.

“But if I quit -”

“We both win, we’re a team,” Lola snorted.

“You stabbed each other more than anyone else!” Eileen looks like she wants to hurl them both through the window, but is kind of afraid they’d enjoy it.

“I hate you both so much,” Charlotte sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose with her free hand. She deliberately sets down her knife, “I quit. Knife Monopoly is officially banned.”

[the-one-eighteen]

Wannabe

(read on ao3)

written for @catardmeowaystuff for the 2019 Buddie Discord Secret Santa! 

It’s been a weird day.

Eddie’s just going to put that out there. It has been a weird as hell day.

Nothing bad, really - the actual work day at the station had been slow. A few medical calls out, one kitchen fire, and a couple of ‘well, we thought it was an emergency…’ but nothing catastrophic.

Hell, a slow day like that? Probably why the idea to go out even got bounced around in the first place. They were all getting off roughly in the same time frame - Hen and Buck off in the first half of the day, the rest making it out that evening, and they hadn’t gone out as a team in a long time, so, after an easy day, why not?

And Eddie was fine with that. Going out for drinks sounded fantastic actually. Chris was with Pepa for the night, and if the choice was between an empty, quiet house, and a bit of fun for a couple of hours? Easy choice, no problem.

No, what was weird...was Buck.

As soon as they’d settled on where they were going for the night - some bar Eddie had only vaguely heard of - him and Hen had been whispering between the two of them whenever they got a free moment. They’d sent Chimney running, and just stared at Eddie whenever he got too close. Even Bobby had taken one look at them and just...walked away.

He wasn’t sure who was more relieved when those two finally left, something still going back and forth between them.

Now, there was that. There was also the fact that Buck had just been weird. For the last week. Period.

They’d always been...fine. Maybe a little too in each other’s space, sure - anyone with eyes could see that, and had taken the opportunity to point that out by now, thank you Hen. But that was just...them. It wasn’t weird that Buck spent as much time at Eddie’s place as at his own. Wasn’t odd that, given the chance, Eddie would rather spend his kid-free nights at Buck’s than in his own place. Hell, half the time he didn’t even need that excuse since Buck liked hanging out with Chris just as much as he liked hanging out with Eddie. More, probably, now that he thought about it.

Sure there were some...odd moments, here and there. Looks a little too heavy, hands on each other a little too long for a shove, a little too short for a grab, quiet moments stretched heavy and thin between them, smiles too small and sweet…

And Eddie had to stop himself and shake his head a little bit.

Sure, there’d been moments. But nothing...nothing concrete. Which...he kind of needed before he even entertained the idea of upsetting what they had. He’d never had a friend like Buck and like fuck was he going to cock that all up because he was maybe a little too invested in Buck’s smile. And that delighted, startled laugh he had, that was a little too sharp and off-beat to be anything but genuine. And those big, expressive eyes and fidgety hands that got everywhere. And his...well, his everything.

Right, stop. He shook his head again, with a light smack to his temple for good measure.

This week. This week had been weird. Buck had been...pulling away, almost. He didn’t crowd Eddie’s space on the couch up in the loft at the house anymore. Didn’t invite himself over without Eddie broaching the conversation first. Didn’t try and rough-house or tap his shoulder to get his attention, or...or...Well. He wasn’t there.

And it was weird.

And it took everything in him to not crowd Buck about it. Not to push. Not to ask...ask for their normal back. Because it wasn’t actually normal, was it?

So, that, plus whatever was going on with him and Hen today?

Yeah. Weird fucking day.

---

By the time they all make it to the bar - roughly an hour after everyone had gone their separate ways after their shift - Eddie realized why he knew the name, but didn’t actually know the place. A karaoke bar. The one Chim and Maddie were always talking about.

Wonderful.

But, hey, he was there to have fun. And, hell, as long as they had alcohol, he could deal with some ridiculous singing. As long as no one tried to drag him up there.

Buck and Hen were still doing their whole...scheming together thing. There really was no other description for it. But Buck had also gotten right in Eddie’s space as soon as he’d seen him, none of the week’s hesitation showing, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and clapping him on the chest to bring him in with a laugh when Eddie had been stuck outside staring at the sign in mild horror. So. He could deal.

There’s a round of drinks, and Chimney and Maddie are the first ones of the group to take the stage, with Karen and Hen cheering them on loudly from the group’s table. And, Eddie has to admit, those two make a pretty good pair up on stage. Both having too much fun to care about hitting every note right, yet both good enough singers that they’re not missing too many anyway, except when they break down to laugh at each other.

Buck’s sitting next to him, which is the only reason Eddie notices when Buck startles with a yelp, glaring at Hen, who’s still watching the stage. So they were back to the weird.

“Hey...everything okay, man?” Eddie asks, low enough to avoid most of the table overhearing, but loud enough to make it over the ending notes of Eye of the Tiger.

“Huh?” Buck looks over, blinking at him for a moment, before a wide smile splits his face. If Eddie didn’t know better, he’d say Buck was...nervous? “Oh, yeah, just kicked the bar.” He hesitates a moment then, eyeing Eddie with a suddenly intense look that Eddie can’t really...parse. Then, he’s turning to Hen, “Hey, Hen, come up with me for a sec.”

And they’re gone, heading over to the DJ.

And Eddie’s still just. So confused. About everything.

Athena, Bobby and Karen shooting him knowing looks is not helping, either.

Hen’s back a couple minutes later, looking proud of herself.

“You actually convinced him?” Athena asked, sounding both mildly surprised, and put out.

“Didn’t need to. ‘Thena, I barely said two words before he was off,” Hen says, grinning way too wide for Eddie’s comfort. That look generally involved money changing hands.

Sure enough, as soon as Buck took the stage and...something played its first two notes, Hen was holding out her hands, and he heard a handful of groans and a bit of shuffling while people tried to get at their wallets.

He wasn’t really paying attention at that point. Because by then, he’d actually placed the opening notes of the song. And Buck still looked nervous, standing up there in the light - his hands twitching and his smile lopsided, but still bright.

“Yo, I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want,” and he’s off, dancing along in his own little world and hitting every single note, about two octaves lower but otherwise perfectly.

And for a long couple of moments, all Eddie can do is just...stare. But then Buck opens his eyes again - and when the hell had he closed them? Maybe on that spin? - and finds Eddie’s in the crowd.

“If you want my future, forget my past, if you wanna get with me, better make it fast. Now don’t go wasting my precious time, get your act together, we could be just fine…” Eddie’s not entirely sure what his own face is doing, but whatever it is, it breaks Buck out of his concentration, for just a moment, and Eddie’s damn near blinded by the goofy, way too bright grin he shoots him before getting back into it.

He vaguely feels Hen reaching over to clap his shoulder with a laugh. Only knows it’s Hen, because a second later, she’s leaning against his shoulder absolutely losing it. Whatever, she’s on a completely different plane of existence, as far as Eddie’s concerned. Right now, an actual plane could probably crash into the bar and he wouldn’t notice a damn thing, not with Buck looking at him like that - all his focus is boring into Eddie, and if it wasn’t for the lopsided smile that Buck can’t quite school completely, Eddie would be burning up on the spot for all the heat in Buck’s gaze.

“Oh, what do you think about that? Now you know how I feel.” What the everloving hell, Buck? “Say, you can handle my love, are you for real? I won’t be hasty, I’ll give you a try, if you really bug me then I’ll say goodbye,” Eddie would honestly like to see Buck try, after this.

“If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends,” and there goes Karen and Hen and...Chimney, hooting and hollering along, and if Eddie wasn’t so goddamned focused, he’d probably be blushing by now. “Make it last forever, friendship never ends. If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give - taking is too easy, but that’s the way it is.”

And only then does Buck break eye contact, and Eddie feels himself take in a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding as Buck twirls off into another spin and slide of a dance that is way too smooth and loose to not have been practiced.

Eddie takes those few moments to just breathe, and he’s glad he does because then Buck’s looking at him again, intense and just there. “If you wanna be my lover, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta, slam, slam, slam - make it last forever,”

And Eddie maybe loses some time there before the music finally starts winding down, ending with a Buck just about breathing into the microphone, “If you wanna be my lover…”

And then he’s done. And there’s clapping and hollering, and he’s pretty sure their table is the loudest of all, and all Eddie can do is just. Stare.

Stare as Buck breaks eye contact to actually register the rest of the room, his smile going bright and goofy, even as red stains his cheeks in the harsh spotlight. He gives an awkward little wave before jumping off the stage, and if Eddie’s heart wasn’t already going a mile a minute as it was, it probably would’ve skipped a beat.

He’s moving before he even really has a chance to think about it, completely ignoring the catcalls behind him, catching Buck before he can make it back to their table and dragging him out the door. Like hell was he going to do this - whatever this was - in front of his team. He loved them, but no.

Luckily for him, Buck just laughs when Eddie grabs his arm and lets himself be manhandled outside. He’s pretty sure Buck salutes back to the table, but he can’t be sure.

Once they’re outside, he whirls back on Buck. Feels his words die in his throat as he actually looks at Buck, leaning back against the wall, hands in his pockets, and looking so damn pleased with himself, he’s just about glowing, his eyes glittering and his smile lopsided and Eddie really, really just wants to kiss him, then and there.

But he has to ask. He has to, or he just might go insane.

“What the hell was...was that?” he asks, gesturing weakly back inside. He’s still not sure what his face is doing. Whatever it is, it has Buck laughing, dissolving into giggles as his arms wrap around his stomach.

And Eddie...Eddie can’t help it. He ends up laughing right along with him - helpless little giggles that steal his breath and bubble up inside him because he just can’t with Evan Buckley.

It takes them both a long couple of minutes to calm down, both of them sitting on the ground and leaning back against the wall and into each other’s shoulders by that point.

Eddie scrubs his hand down his face as he’s finally able to take in enough air that’s not immediately turned into hiccuping laughs. Buck takes a moment longer, his face pressed into Eddie’s shoulder and his own shaking slightly still.

Eddie knows his grin is stupid. Can’t really find it in him to care. “So...what was that?”

And Buck takes another moment, his face still buried in Eddie’s shirt, but Eddie can see the corner of a smile when he gets up the energy to answer, “What do you think it was?”

“Well it sounded like you were asking me out. But all of that… Why couldn’t you just ask?” Not that he didn’t like Buck’s approach. Hell no. That was fucking delightful. But after this whole week? Of Buck pulling away, and Eddie having to stop himself from straight up chasing after him? He kind of wanted to know.

“Mm…” Buck finally seems to have his breath back, and he shifts enough to get his chin on Eddie’s shoulder, looking at him with those big eyes, focused only on him, only a few inches away, and Eddie feels something in his chest clench hard. “Why couldn’t you?” h asks. And Eddie would be...offended? Annoyed? Maybe. Feels like he should be. But it’s...it’s an honest question.

“I was…” And Eddie pauses. Wants to look away - not really sure if he can take Buck looking at him like that, so close, while he says this. Realizes he can’t not, either. “I was scared…” he murmurs, and something softens in Buck’s look.

“You weren’t the only one. This seemed...fun. You know? A way to...to get over that. Make it goofy, make it silly, maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much if you said...no…” And that softness is melting into something wary and sour and Eddie can’t have that.

He’s moving before he’s thinking about it, closing the bare two inches between them to press a soft kiss to Buck’s lips. It’s little more than the bare press of skin to skin, but it’s sweet and soft, and Eddie wants to drown in that moment.

“Ha! Told you! Pay up!”

He startles back slightly, blinking at an equally confused Buck, before both of them turn to look at...Hen. Who isn’t even looking at them anymore, but back towards the door, where Chimney, Maddie and Karen are peeking out, looks ranging from disappointed to giddy. “And tell Bobby he owes me too!”

And Eddie looks back at Buck. Finds Buck already looking at him.

And all they can do is laugh, pressing their foreheads together and tuning out the world again as their shoulders shake together and their smiles can’t help but meet in the middle.