#WE GO ALL OR NOTHING BABY NO CHAPTER CUTS WE DIE LIKE AMBER

[greghatecrimes]

chapter three is gonna be at least 20 pages long when all’s said and done. 😵‍💫 for reference: chapter one was just over four. chapter two was seven and a half.

[ack3rlady]

The Universe Had His Back - Chapter 5

Sunrise

Summary: The aftermath of the breathtaking encounter between reader and Levi when true feelings are revealed

Chapters: Four | Five | Six

Master List

Warnings: Fem! Reader, Angst, Fluff, Modern AU, Reference to alcohol abuse, slight swearing.

Word Count: ~ 2.5k

Inspiration: Starry Night - Suho

Tags: @sooibian, @queenofcurse, @red-n-tall ; Anyone else who'd like to be tagged, please let me know!

You accepted Levi’s offer to drive you home, a decision you would come to regret the moment the car was in motion. The journey was quiet, with you mostly looking out of the window as he drove. Your greed for more time with him that you didn’t account for how dejected you would go on to feel once the adrenaline dried out. You hadn't exactly ended things with him on amicable terms. The ride home in his company just added salt to the unhealed wounds. Levi turned his head towards you several times like he wanted to say something, but didn't.

“How’s Luna?”, your words finally cut through the silence, voice low and shaky.

“She’s fine. Isabel stayed at home with her today.”, he responded, eyes focused on the road.

Then it was quiet again. It took all the strength to bottle up the multitude of emotions building up within you that were burning to be expressed. So, you decided to focus your attention on the row of lush green trees along the sidewalk, whirring past you.

Levi quelled his desire to lay his hand on yours more than once; intertwining your fingers snugly together while you ran soothing circles on the back of his palm - something he always did while driving with you by his side.

‘Old habits die hard’, he thought. Neither of you uttered a word again till your apartment building was around the corner. You sat glued to your seat, unmoving even after he parked.

“You know that you could just come see her, right? She asks about you every day.”, Levi’s gaze was still fixed on the car parked in front of his own, his voice barely audible.

You sighed, feeling ashamed for depriving your own baby of your presence.

“I’m not ready. What if I can't keep it together in front of her? I need to get better before she sees me.” you despaired, looking down at your feet, too afraid of the effect on Luna if she saw you like this.

“I’m going to be right there with you. And how do you expect to get any better if you deny yourself the exact person who is capable of making you feel so?”, Levi turned in his seat to face you, placing a firm hand on your shoulder.

He was right. Of course, Luna was the only one who could pull you out of this abyss. Why had you been running away from her this whole time?

“C-Can I come see her after work tomorrow?”, you squeaked.

“You don’t have to ask. We’ll both be waiting for you.”, he whispered moving his hand to rest on top of yours.

You finally mustered up the courage to look towards him. He wore the same smile on his face that you had been in love with for the last eight years; the exact one that always assured you that everything was going to be okay.

.

Reader’s POV

You entered your apartment and laid the shopping bags on the counter. Taking off your shoes, you placed them neatly on the rack by the door, taking a little step towards keeping the word you gave Miche this morning. It was late in the evening; the Sun having just set. You glanced around your gloomy apartment, at the dark shadows and how even the brightest colored paints and fabrics looked somber in the dusk’s dullness. The eeriness of the space was starting to eat at you when something shiny on the kitchen platform caught your eye. It was a bottle of whiskey, its amber liquid gleaming in the residual rays of light entering through the window.

The conflict in your head began as you started walking towards it absentmindedly. Was tonight going to be the same as the other wretched ones of the last two weeks? Faces of Luna, Levi, Miche and Nanaba flashed before our eyes as you inched towards the humble kitchenette. Finally at your destination, you picked up the bottle and stared at it, putting up a hard fight against the demons in your head.

You jumped when the door to your apartment suddenly slammed open, making the bottle almost slip out of your hands.

"Sweets!", A loud voice called out to you, the light from the window reflecting off the intruder’s glasses.

It was a moniker given to you by your dear friend based on "your profession and character" as they liked to call it. But the truth was, it was a part of the 'couple name' they had created for you and Levi called 'Short and Sweet', earning them a few punches from the holder of the other half of the title.

“Hange, you almost gave me a heart attack! What are you doing barging into my apartment like this?”, you grumbled.

“Well, your door was unlocked. So, how was your run in with Shorty? Tell me everyth... What the fuck is that?”, they began with excitement, but it dissipated as soon as they switched the lights on and spotted what you held in your hands.

You looked like a thief caught in the act. Guilty.

“It-It's nothing. I wasn’t drinking it.”, you stuttered, hastily putting it away.

“You mean you hadn't started drinking it yet?”

They were probably right. That’s how your evenings usually began these days. You tried your hardest to conquer the need for a drink, only to eventually give in and ending up passed out somewhere in your apartment.

Your train of thought was interrupted by a knock. Miche and Nanaba tiptoed inside through the still unlocked door with guilty smiles, as if ready to turn on their heels in case if you decided to chase after them.

“So? How did it go with Ackermann?”, they asked eagerly in unison.

“Wait. Was my day broadcasted in the news or something? How do you already know?”, your face had a giant question mark stamped on it.

“Who do you think brought it all together?”, Hange grinned, proudly wiggling their eyebrows.

You furrowed yours, and audibly gasped seconds later when it hit you. The sequence of events played before your eyes; how each person you had seen today and led to you meeting Levi. First Miche and Nanaba, then Suki. Your jaw slacked, and you gaped at each one of them in complete disbelief at what they had just pulled off.

Miche quietly slithered to position himself closely beside you and wrapped his arm around your shoulders – a little too tight. Well, you were contemplating introducing their jaws to your fist, so you guessed he was just being cautious.

“Who else knew of this?”, you hissed.

“Not Shorty, if that’s what you’re asking. I cooked up the idea. But it was Erwin who played commander and assigned roles! Everything from you and Levi having the same day off work, Suki and Furlan pestering you two into going with them, Nanaba and Miche forcing you out of here, Isabel staying home with Luna so that Levi could leave, and now us being here to witness the success of our little project, it was brought together by him. In fact, Erwin is checking in on Levi as we speak!”, Hange exclaimed triumphantly.

You felt stupid after finding out that you and Levi got played by practically everyone you knew. How were they this good at keeping it under wraps?

“Why did you do this?” You asked.

“Because you are both too stupid realize how crazy you are about each other and how this estrangement is paining you. So, we just decided to nudge you in the right direction. You’re welcome, by the way!”, Nanaba grinned.

“What are you even talking about? He’s the one who willingly ended what we had.”, you despaired.

The memories of the months preceding the divorce were fresh in your mind. Levi couldn’t stand being in the same room as you for more than a few minutes at a time, constantly falling out with you over something or the other. You remembered how much it hurt when he always seemed irritated by your sheer presence.

“Rubbish! You should know by now that Shorty is a complete moron with his feelings. Don’t you remember how long he stalled asking you out on a date all those years ago? And also, how I finally had to ask you for him? This is history repeating itself, silly!”, Hange chuckled, gently flicking your forehead

“Erwin and I see him every day, Sweets. We know how much he regrets letting you go. But he’s too much of a chicken to do anything about it. We’ve been badgering him to reconnect with you for a while now. But he was terrified of making a move. The dumbass is utterly in love with you. Precisely why Erwin and I decided to take matters in our own hands.”, they stated matter of factly.

The barrage of information caught you completely off guard. But you couldn’t help but dwell on one detail in particular -

“He’s still in love with me?”

.

Levi’s POV

Levi felt restless on the drive back home, aimlessly fidgeting with his seatbelt and rapidly tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. He was worried about you. Well, he always was, but more so because of what happened today. He suppressed the constant urges to turn his car around and return to you because he needed to get home to Luna and relieve Isabel of her baby-sitting duties.

He parked the car in the driveway and walked through the front door, momentarily freezing upon seeing a tall blonde man seated on the couch with Luna half asleep on his lap, immediately relaxing after recognizing who it was. He was reading her a story from one of the many books you had bought while Isabel was lounging on the loveseat beside them, her face glowing under the light from her phone screen. All three turned to Levi upon hearing the jingling of his keys.

“Papa!”, the little one was refreshed by the sight. She ran to greet her father by wiggling her way off the man’s lap and on to the floor and hugged is leg.

“Hi, moon beam! Erwin, what are you doing here?”, he asked as he gave Luna a kiss and then looked up at the man.

“I’m here to check in on you. How was your meeting with uh... ahem?”, Erwin cleared his throat instead of mentioning your name in the toddler’s presence.

“Check in on me? How do you know about that? What did you do?”, Levi’s temper audibly rose with each question.

“I’m going to tuck Luna into bed, and you are going to wait right here for my return. We need to have a little chat.” he glowered at the taller blonde before he could answer, ignoring the sheepish smile slapped across his little sister’s face.

Luna was out cold the moment her head rested on the pillow given how worn out she was after horsing around with Isabel all day. Additionally, story time with Erwin already had her feeling drowsy by the time Levi had returned home. Ten minutes and a few goodnight kisses later, he was sitting at the dining table with the two adults, sipping tea that Erwin had just brewed.

“When do you plan to start telling me what is going on? I could have had dinner during the wait.”, he jibed.

“I take it that Suki and Furlan were successful in bringing you two face-to-face?”, Erwin’s tone was casual, maintaining steady eye contact with his old friend.

He proceeded to explain in great detail, how he and Hange worked with both your close friends to hatch this plan.

“Can’t you two keep your eyebrows and shitty glasses out of my fucking business?”, Levi growled.

“Since you both can’t communicate like mature adults and figure things out for yourselves, we had to step in as catalysts. Hange is at her apartment right now, making sure she’s okay.”, Erwin kept his defense short.

Levi was at a loss of words. Sometimes he felt like he wasn’t worthy of his two friends. Hange and Erwin always went out of their way for him when he was hit with a challenging situation, and all he ever did was snivel about it.

“Fine. I’ll give you both credit where you deserve it. I had been wanting to see her myself. But I didn’t know what to say. She is coming over tomorrow to see Luna. So, thanks, I guess.”

Erwin knew that this was the closest thing to an apology and appreciation that he was going to get from Levi. So, he took it with a smile.

“Awesome!”, Isabel's scream cut through the calmness.

“And you.”, his fiery gaze landed on her at the far end of the table where she strategically seated herself away from the reach of her older brother in case if he was particularly irked. “I’m going to take care of Furlan later. But you too are hiding things from me now?”,

“Hey! I was just following Erwin's orders! And how could I say no to having my favorite person all to myself for an entire day?”, she reasoned, her face resembling a cartoon cat that Luna was fond of; Puss in Boots, was it?

“So, how did it go?”, Erwin intervened before Levi could scold her further.

Levi took a minute to gather his thoughts. Images of your face flashed before his eyes, making his tense posture relax significantly.

“I - I don’t even know how to describe it. I feel like for the first time in forever, I might sleep well tonight just because I met her. She looked so beautiful.”, his lips showed signs of the smallest smile as he ran his fingers along the rim of his teacup, gazing at the dark liquid contained within.

He quickly composed himself after realizing that he had in fact just said these words out loud and they were not just in his head, but it was too late. Isabel oohed with amusement and yelped after receiving a flying spoon to the head from him.

“It was also... a stark reminder of what an absolute piece of shit I have been to throw away everything we had. She’s in so much pain.”, his softened expression clearly revealed the despair behind his words.

“As are you, Levi. You made a grave mistake. Unfortunately, you're not the only one who is paying for it. But there is no use lamenting over the past, is there? What counts is what you plan to do now. Have you decided what you will say to her when she visits?”

Levi let out a long, suffering sigh. “I regretted what I did the moment I came back to an empty home from the court that day, Erwin. Seeing her today only reaffirmed how shitty my life is without her. I need to win her back. I’m afraid she’ll reject me after what I did to her. But - But she still needs to know that I -

I’m still in love with her.”

Chapters: Four | Five | Six

[afriendlyblackhottie]

Ransom Drysdale Must Die (Chapter 2)

Summary: Ransom Drysdale is a serial cheater. The only way to get him to pay for what he’s done is for him to die. Or at least be extremely humiliated. As long as you don’t fall for him.

Pairings: Eventual Ransom Drysdale x black!reader, Ransom Drysdale x Multiple OC’s

Warnings: Swearing. Eventual smut.

(Author’s Note: I was watching John Tucker must die and it made me think of my favorite sweater wearing murder daddy.)

Words: 3.4K

It was true that you didn’t really have much of a life in Boston. Having to move around a lot really affected your people skills. Not that you weren’t a nice person or at least you tried to be, but it became a little difficult to know how to talk to people when you grew up thinking that none of it would matter in a few months. 

Your mom had called you asking for you to visit which you hadn’t done since college. You weren’t even sure what state she was in now. Hell for all you know she’d given up completely and moved to a different country. Besides you didn’t really have the space to host someone. Not that your apartment was too tiny for company, but your mom didn’t pack lightly despite being a nomad. 

She’d talked to you as you drove to work. Telling you about another guy that she’d met that she was sure was the love of her life in whatever new place she was in. As much as you wished you could tell her to stop, all you could do was listen and mhm on occasion. 

The Ransom Drysdales of her life were going to keep doing what they do to her and whatever woman they could get their hands on. You just wished she’d make better choices so she didn’t get hurt.

You felt a little bit of relief as soon as you’d arrived at work. Talking to her always made your stomach turn now which you hated, but there didn’t seem like there was much you could do. You kind of understood. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life alone. Except since she’d jumped around so much she’d kind of made you want to.

You went through the employees entrance stopping at the breakroom to put your stuff away. “Hey,” Andy the assistant golf director greeted you. You didn’t really see him much, but he was always friendly when your paths would cross. He was a really handsome guy, super nice. 

You shoot him a small smile as you close your locker. “Hi,” you said. 

“So, did you hear? Harrington’s on a good one,” he said. “Something about the yoga studio that most of these women go to had to shut down.”

You raised an eyebrow. “What? Damn.”

“I know. Today has been something else.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Gonna have a lot of pissed off fitness gurus all over the place.”

“Just what I needed in my life.” You sighed. “Well, I better get in there before Harrington rips my head off.”

“Good luck,” he said. 

“You, too.” 

Just like Andy had warned you Harrington was on a good one. You walked into the clubhouse dining to see him chewing one of the other waitresses out, causing her to burst out into tears. You gritted your teeth because it was hard to watch. 

“Jesus Christ, what happened?” You whispered to Britt.

She shook her head. “Well, there was an emergency shut down at the Porter’s Studio which means they’re all coming here which would be fine, but Vida has to combine two classes into one each session.”

You raised an eyebrow. “What? What happened?”

“Apparently Ransom’s amazing good looks,” she started, exaggerating her tone, “made her swoon so hard that Lucy had a misstep on the stairs and she proceeded to totally eat shit.”

You gasped, covering your mouth. “No!”

“Oh, yes. I barely missed all the action.” She pouted in disappointment.

“Is she okay?”

“She’ll be fine, but Harrington had to send her home for the day.”

“Miss L/N, Miss Lin will you mind being useful and getting to your jobs,” he was now turning his fury to them. 

“Yes, Mr. Harrington,” the both of you said in unison, as you suppressed the urge to tell him to fuck off. 

“Actually, Miss L/N, I’ve already assigned you to help out Vida in the yoga studio,” he told you. Of course you’d end up dealing with it. Maybe it was a good thing he trusted you enough to move you between sections.

“Will do, Mr. Harrington,” you said.  

How Vida was still able to keep that zen exterior despite having to take on Lucy’s class and the women that normally went to the Porter’s studio. You weren’t sure if you believe the story about what happened to Lucy, but it was kind of funny to think about. At least she was okay.

You moved everything around on the refreshments table to make it look presentable. This was what he needed you to take care of. At least you’d get to sit all day. 

Vida laid on her mat needing a break before the next class arrived. Dealing with that many of these women at one time was draining. Even if on the outside she hadn’t broken a sweat.

“Ugh, I’m so jealous!” The squeaky voice of a woman said as she walked into the room. “He’s so hot!”

“Shhh, not so loud,” Chloe shushed her as they stopped at the table. “We’re supposed to be keeping it on the low. He doesn’t want his grandfather to find out while he’s redoing his will.” She grabbed a water bottle and a complimentary towel.

“Yeah, but c’mon, Ransom of all people,” she whispered this. “He’s so dreamy.”

Chloe bit her lip. “I know right. And, it’s so different because Jeffrey could never do the stuff we do. It’s insane.” She sighed wistfully.

Your eyes widened as you listened in on their conversation. Was it bad that you were making mental notes to tell Britt after. It’s kind of sad. Closest you’ve gotten to making a friend and you’d managed to bond over the scandalous shit rich people do. 

“You lucky ass bitch I swear.” Her friend laughed as they walked over towards the back of the class.

You weren’t going to lie. You were kind of curious as to what else they were saying as you tried to listen in. You were honestly so fascinated by this whole ordeal. 

Your attention on Chloe and her friend was cut short when Marissa walked in. You didn’t know this many of these girls took their yoga classes here. You scrunched up your face as she went to the last spot in the front of the class to unroll her mat. 

“I already told you, Baby. We can do it later tonight.” She twirled a piece of her hair around her finger as she stopped at your table, her Airpods in each ear. Chloe had come up beside her to grab another water bottle glaring at the other woman as did so. “I can wear one of those sets you like if you promise to do that thing I like.”

Your heart felt like it was going to beat out of your chest seeing them this close together. God you had so much to gossip about. 

Just as the two of them had went to sit down, Amber walked in with her two friends on each side. Holy shit. There really was no way for you to expect this. You know maybe it was a good thing you were always the first one Harrington moved in between sections.

Finally the class had started. You were only half paying attention as Vida had doing warm-ups. “Alright, ladies, give me a nice deep breath and then....” she breathed out dramatically, “exhale.”

This went on for a minute and to be honest listening to her soft commands were making you sleepy. Everyone was following her directions as she broke her own pose to walk around to help help someone who wasn’t stretching deep enough. 

As she had them grab the small yoga balls next. You loved yoga. Yoga was relaxing. You’d rather watch paint dry than watch other people do yoga and yet here you were. 

“Ow! What the fuck, Amber!” Chloe shrieked knocking the room out of the peaceful atmosphere. 

Your head snapped up to see what the hell had happened.  Amber shrugged a smile plastered across her face. “Sorry! It slipped!” She replied in a sickly sweet tone.

Chloe rubbed her cheek as her friend came over to look at it. “Are you okay?” The other woman asked.

Right as Chloe was nodding, another ball flew hitting in her face. This time a lot more deliberate making her losing her footing. When she stood up there was this fire in her eyes. “What the hell is your problem!” She yelled at her.

“You’re my problem. Trying to push up on my boyfriend, Bitch!” Not to be outdone, Amber got into the other woman’s face.

“I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about!”

Amber rolled her eyes. “Oh whatever, everyone knows you’re a fucking gold digging whore.”

Chloe’s jaw dropped before slapping the other woman’s face. Your hand went to your mouth. Wow you really really did have a lot to tell Britt.

Amber not to be outdone, retaliated by doing the same. Everyone watched from the sidelines with shocked expressions as things progressed. Marissa was the only one to come over trying to break it up.

Oh god.

“C’mon, guys! Really?” She stood between them. “Fighting over a man. It’s not worth it.”

“There’s nothing to fight about! Ransom is mine!” Amber pointed at herself.

You were pretty sure your heart was going to beat out of your chest now.

It was Marissa’s turn to react now except she kind of looked like she was malfunctioning as she blinked way too many times in one second. “What?” For a minute she kept her cool, clenching her jaw.

Then she grabbed a ball throwing it at Amber’s stomach. “What the fuck!” 

“I’m dating Ransom!”

Boom.

There it was.

Finally.

You stood up trying to get out of dodge as hell was unleashed. Chloe threw a water bottle hitting you in the back, making you fall as Vida also unsuccessfully tried to run.

The wind had been knocked out of you, but you could hear the three smacks that they’d given each other before getting up. They were fucking animals. How good is this guy’s dick for them to be acting like this.

Instead Vida tried to break it up like Marissa had done, but it didn’t really work as Marissa pushed the refreshments table into the four of you before tripping over one of the towels that had fallen and landed on your stomach. 

The three of them tried fighting on top of the two of you when you grabbed the whistle around Vida’s neck to blow into it. The harsh shriek penetrated the air, making them cover their ears. “He’s cheating on you and instead of taking it out on him, you’re beating the shit out of each other!” You yelled.

“Miss L/N!” Harrington walked in red in the face.

Oh shit.

--

You were going to have a giant water bottle shaped bruise tomorrow. Maybe you could write a thank you note to Chloe for that one. Or for all of the various bruises that were given to you by Marissa. At least, Amber hadn’t done any damage to anyone, but them.

You’d been told to clean up this mess as Vida was able to go nurse her wounds. Could you sue? Was that possible? Sue this club and the three of them. Cuz fuck this hurt.

Harrington had chewed you out pretty hard. Of course he’d come in at the right time which must have made him think you had something to do with it even if you’d just been caught in the crossfire. Maybe your mom had a point. It wasn’t all that bad to pack up and move from place to place. Except instead of doing it over men, you could have like a jobs theme or something.

You’d just lifted up the table that had flipped over during the scuffle when Andy came in with a whistle. “Damn. I heard it was bad, but nothing could have prepared me for this.” He looked around with his eyebrows raised. 

“Yeah, it was pretty great.” You sighed puffing out your cheeks.

“What the hell even happened?” He asked, cringing as he saw the cracked mirror that looked a moments away from shattering. 

“Chloe, Amber, and Marissa happened,” you replied, getting down to start gathering the bottles.

“Harrington must have been pissed.”

You laughed. “He was. His face was so red.”

“Did that little vein in his forehead pop out?” He asked with a smirk, raising his eyebrow.

You nodded. “Oh yeah. Looked like his head was going to explode.”

Andy laughed. “Damn. I would have paid to see that.”

“Yeah,” you shrugged, “well I would have paid to not get hit with a full water bottle.”

“No! They did that?”

You nodded. “Yup. I’m going to have one hell of a bruise tomorrow.”

He shook his head, but before he could say anything the three women were escorted into the room with a security guard. There arms crossed and somehow perfect. How the hell did they manage to fix themselves first.

“I better get back.” He half-smiled. “Try not to get caught up in any trouble.”

“I’ll try.”

Security had left for some fucking reason which caused the three to do the expected as they took a seat on their mats which had remained on the floor. You were pretty sure you were about to witness round two, planning an escape plan out of the room this time.

“So,” Amber broke the silence, “I talked to Ransom.” She smirked. “He said he felt bad for you because you’re clearly jealous that we have something special.” She put her hand over her heart. “Something that doesn’t need a label because it’s-”

“Our own unspoken bond,” Chloe cut her off with her eyes narrowed as she rattled off that part of Amber’s speech.

“And,” Marissa took over, “I just love how secure you are and it hurts to hear you question it.”

“Because you’re the only girl for me!” The three of them finished in unison.

The three different expressions on their face was interesting. Amber looked like she was ready to fight someone all over again, while Marissa looked like she was one wrong move from crying, and Chloe looked like she was ready to murder.

Amber clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “He really said the same shit to all of us.” She looked like she was in disbelief. Like she’d been punched in the gut. Or possibly hit in the back with a water bottle. Or maybe smacked in the stomach with a yoga ball.

Chloe huffed. “Okay, so what? He gives me the same lines he gives you guys and then hooks up with m-” she started in on a rant until Marissa cut her off.

She shook her head waving her hands to stop her from talking. “Wait, what? You hooked up with him in between that time?” Marissa asked with an eyebrow raised.

“It was in his car!”

Amber guffawed. “Like a fucking high schooler during homecoming?”

“As if that makes it better?” Marissa laughed sarcastically.

Chloe glared at the other women with her lips puckered. “We share an unspoken bond,” she retorted. “Besides weren’t you all oh yeah baby I’ll wear that set you like, like two hours ago?”

“Oh, I’m sorry that I have sex in a bed like a normal adult,” she argued back.

Amber coughed. “Boring.”

You didn’t mean for that snort to come out, but it did. Then their attention snapped to you. Three very intense eyes were on you. “Excuse you?” Amber challenged you, her head tilted to the side.

You cleared your throat as you picked up the balls. “Sorry.” 

“If you have something to say, say it,” she pressed. God she looked angry. Not that you could really blame her. If you were in her position you’d probably be ready to go off at any little thing. Of course you didn’t want her going off on you again.

You opened your mouth to say something before closing your mouth again and second guessing it. “You know what. No it’s none of my business,” you replied. You didn’t need to get mixed up in their drama again.

“Just say it,” this time it was Marissa who was trying to get it out of you. Chloe wasn’t saying anything, but you could tell she was daring for you to say something.

You licked your lips before groaning. “Okay, ummm,” you took a deep breath, “does he always call you pet names? You know. Baby, sweetheart, honey.” You rattled off. “Yeah it’s not out of affection.It’s so he doesn’t mix up your names. And, he’s all about that unspoken bond or something special, but never ever about a relationship.  And, then he'll make this whole arrangement feel like it's your idea so feel guilty that he cheated because this is something he really wanted.”

Amber scoffed throwing her head back. “Oh my god! You’re dating Ransom, too.”

“No. He doesn’t mess around with the help,” Chloe said.

You raised your eyebrows. “Okay that was rude, but no. I’m not. I’ve just dealt with someone like him.”

Marissa pursed her lips, looking down at the ground now. “He does always make me feel guilty,” she reflected.

“I guess I feel like if a guy was making me feel like that, I’d-”

Amber cut you off, rolling her eyes. “Yeah you’d break up with him blah, blah, blah.”

Chloe scoffed. “As if he wouldn’t get a new girlfriend in like five seconds.”

“Which is why I wasn’t going to say that. If it were me dealing with a man like him, I’d get even.” You shrugged, finally picking up the last bottle of Evian which had rolled over to the other side of the room.

“Wait, who are you?” Chloe asked.

Before you could answer, Harrington had stomped back in right as the mirror shattered. The three women stood up screaming from the noise as you covered your mouth. Yeah wonderful timing.

“Y/N!” He yelled. “Get your shit and get out. You’re fired.”

You weren’t really shocked. At least your last day was memorable. Normally you would have went in there to clean things up. Except it didn’t feel worth it. You’d been caught up in enough fights for the day and al you wanted was to pop open a bottle of wine and drink until you puked.

The three of them only watched as you walked out. As if this wasn’t their fault. You could always get another job, but it still felt shitty. Unlike Amber and Marissa you didn’t have rich parents to fall back on. While Chloe also had her deceased husband’s fortune to get her through. Why were they even doing all of this over a man like Ransom. They could have anyone they wanted.

You hated job hunting. It was so stressful and annoying. You were surprised you’d even landed this gig. Maybe it wasn’t so bad, though. At least you wouldn’t have to deal with Harrington.

“I can’t believe he’s letting you go.” Britt shook her head.

“I know.” You sighed. “It wasn’t even my fault.”

She shrugged. “It’s not like you told Ransom to be a serial cheater.”

“Is it bad that I almost feel bad for them?” You didn’t want to. All of them could have left him today and find new boyfriends in an hour and yet no one deserved what Ransom was doing.

“Don’t forget to text me, okay? If you need anything I’m so there.”

You smiled softly. “Thank you.”

One of the security guards walked in ready to escort you out. The two of you rolled your eyes. “Alright, we’ll talk later. I need you to tell me everything.”

“I will.”

As you were walking out Ransom was talking to some girl at the front desk. You glared at him, not that he noticed. Not like he was paying attention anyway because apparently Ransom didn’t care about the help. 

Fuck that guy.

When you’d finally gotten to your apartment, you showered and changed just wanting to wash the day away. The soreness had started to settle into your muscles. 

You tried watching TV with your glass of wine in hand, but all that did was make you think about the impending doom of not having a job. So you found yourself doing what you normally did when things were shitty. 

You’d gotten lost in the soft blues so easily as your brush sweeped against the canvas. You weren’t really sure what you were going for, but at least you felt a little better.

As you took a step back to see what was missing there as a knock on the door. You groaned going to look through the peephole and your jaw dropped seeing Amber on the other side. 

[of-tatooine]

mercy. | chapter 10 - trust

a change of plans ensues.

Flames erupting from the creaks and crevices of the military tanks. Smell of rotting and burning flesh, mixed in with the nasty stench of plastic on fire, all covered under rising smoke. Screams of the quarantine zone inhabitants who just so happened to be passing through the checkpoint along the blind gunfire.

He had always been good at this. Good at fighting, good at planning out whatever attack tactic, whatever strategy was needed for the specific situation. After all, he had a lot of experience conducting little bits and pieces of errands Marlene gave him.

How many times had he done this type of operation, covertly in the quarantine zones like he had been nothing more than a shadow in the dark, yet cause that much commotion and escape unscathed? He should have been the one planning this entire thing out, should have been there with you as you ran into the back alleys with whatever strength was left in your legs after the bomb had went off, like your fucking life depended on it - because it did.

Maybe the bombing had been somewhat successful in terms of causing the desired havoc against the tyranny of the military, but it had definitely not gone down without a hitch. Men, innocent men who had dedicated their remaining lives to the cause of the Fireflies, were visibly injured from the impact of the blast and from the damnded soldiers shooting at them. Citizens belonging to the zone all terrorized, your doing adding one more item to the list of horrific things they had witnessed.

You were no killer. All those years of killing, surviving, hell, torturing just to hold your own, and yet you never thought you could get used to it. You only did what you had to do, killed who you had to kill since you had learned that if you did not, someone else would gladly put a bullet in you - every soul you took away only managed to decay your own, bit by bit. All you knew, all you were trained for your entire life was to heal and to save. Bombing innocent souls just to demonstrate the sheer effect your organization had in the veins of whatever legitimate society remained, just to bring back some sort of authority was not what you were cut to do.

"Careful, Joel!"

And he knew exactly who you were - a gentle soul pushed down a path leading to destruction and blood, just like everyone else in the world that the outbreak created. He knew your heart wanted to only help, to live and let live. He should have been there with you, maybe even instead of you, conducting the entire thing. He would know what to do, when it came down to the action and execution of killing for a cause. Exactly where to put the bomb so the military got the worst of the explosion, exactly how to position your own men to provide safety. To ensure they went back home, unharmed, yet having caused much wanted damage to your targets.

Thinking back, you could not help but wonder if he got that particular set of skills from his older brother.

"Keep pushin' through!"

And the heavily armored uniforms turned into dirty and almost torn clothes, large military-issued rifles turned into simpler nine milimeters yet the bullets whizzing over your head stayed the same as you stood in cover behind some metal crates, chest heaving from exertion, smoke lazily spiraling up from your revolver in the aftermath.

"Alright, think that's the last of 'em."

It had not been an hour since you were pushed into this excuse of a safe zone, only to be pinned roughly against the wall by the dark man who now stayed crouched just beside you, and to fight against incapable stragglers. With the adrenaline gradually fading away as you sneaked a peak from cover, it was a welcome observation to see the lamps you fought beneath were actually functioning - a rare sight on it's own. It made you think that maybe, just maybe Tommy had found a new safe haven after all, well, as safe as it could be in a rotten world - one that you were not so sure if you were welcome in, considering the sheer animosity you seemed to have with his older brother.

"Jesus, that was close," you heard yourself mutter under your breath as you forced yourself to stand up, grasping your recovering thigh and wincing only a little, hearing the man beside you do just about the same with the additional low huffs mixed in with heaves and the shuffling of flannel.

And there it was again, that guttural yeah emanating from his lips beneath the heavy breathing, a hand reaching up to his forehead to wipe the sweat off, amber eyes searching ever-so-vigilantly to double check the surroundings. With all of the new information pushed your way over the past hour and the surging levels of adrenaline after combat had clouded your senses, a hand resting against the metal railing as you would try and spot Tommy further down the stairs - yet it was impossible to miss that slight cough coming from Joel, his hand extending out a couple of revolver bullets to you, no doubt noticing the empty barrel you sported.

The blackened lead capsules were almost engulfed by how large his hand had been, outstretched to you, an unusual act of kindness coming from his end - one you did not expect after your most recent encounter with him, pressed against the wall with anger coating his features. A nod would express your thanks as your much smaller, thin fingers touched the calloused skin ever so slightly, clawing the bullets and loading them in one by one.

The man had seen you put bullets straight into the skulls of bandits just to protect Tommy's settlement, without further orders, mere minutes ago. He had seen you mercilessly kill men just to get a hold of a vehicle for his own sake, men of your own kin. The trusting glints in his own baby brother's eyes as he spotted you, even with that fucking Firefly pendant with your name on it dangling on your body.

"Who the hell are you?" came his gruff voice, making you look up into his genuinely troubled yet daunting eyes with a surprised expression in yours.

Before you could open your mouth, the overly-excited exclamations belonging to a certain little girl invaded the otherwise tense atmosphere, footsteps against the concrete running towards the both of you.

“Joel! Oh my God, they were coming in from every direction! Then Maria was like, ‘We gotta run!’ And then this guy blasts in - ”

“Slow down, slow down,” Joel said a bit out of breath, putting his hands gently on the shoulders of little Ellie, whose hands had been telling another story altogether yet with the same excitement that sparked in her eyes. “Are you hurt?”

Tucking the loaded gun back into your thigh, the girl caught your eye as she broke Joel’s curious gaze for a moment, her excitement dying out in slow ripples just like her adrenaline, to whom you sent out a little nod of silent, sheer encouragement. “No, I’m good.”

Satisfied enough with her answer, the focus would shift to your dear old friend and the blonde woman who had undoubtedly been the person to wear a ring just like Tommy’s as they hugged, making their way outside to have a talk, the makeshift trio you belonged in following suit to the damp open air. You had the powerful hunch that he was going to ask her about the supposed trip Joel had laid out for you to take, and your hunches had not proven you wrong till that day - deciding to hang back for your own good, your back rested against a rusty metal container, leaning to ease your muscles with the support.

Everything seemed to be happening in a blur, a violent and bloody haze as the world around you tore itself apart, piece by piece. Being saved by Joel, only to find yourself traveling with the pair. The Fireflies hot on your tail after all this time, finding Tommy again.

The mere prospect of traveling back to the lab where you had seen so many die, yet not many prosper. It haunted you to the core, brought back all the memories you tried to press down and subdue - the intensifying argument between Tommy and his supposed wife ringing in your ears.

It was a promise you did not know if you would be able to fulfill, after all that you had seen, going through immune patients like water - even if your loyalty did not lay at all times with Joel, it certainly laid with his younger brother. You knew you would follow him if he needed you to, meanwhile try to get to the bottom of everything and find out more about just what the fuck the Fireflies wanted from you. This world you roamed in had been without a sense of purpose ever since you stopped trying to treat people for the greater good and take a turn to killing, and accompanying the girl you had grown a certain responsibility towards, you hoped, would ease the pain in your heart aching to do some good.

As to how it would end for the subject you would transport, you had more than an inkling of an idea and it made your heart threaten to break into pieces, once again.

“Hey - what’s all that about?”

Eyes looking down to meet the gaze of your intruder, who had been the subject of your thoughts a lot more as of recently, it was like time had frozen right there and then. Unsure what to say, you would escape a side glance to Joel sitting not too far away on some crate, a hand over his beard - who just shook his head tiredly.

“It’s nothin’, Ellie. Don’t worry,” you sent her a small smile to assure her as much as you could, your own emotions at a war themselves. Smart girl, like you had reckoned, was not buying it.

“Does that have anything to do with me?”

That was when her father had obviously felt the need to intervene, his gruff and final tone piercing the air, leaving you staring at the girl’s green eyes with an equally troubled expression in yours.

“We’ll talk about it later.”

“Later…” Ellie would trail off, walking away from her position standing between both adults to what you presumed to be the stables, leaving you and Joel alone for the moment being. Seeing her innocent face change from overly excited to hurt, reminded you of times when you had been in her exact place. Thrown into the fittest man’s world with the pretense that she had been immune, you had absolutely no doubt that she was praised by those who knew of her alleged condition, told that she would be the sole savior of humanity.

That was what they all had been told, anyway.

That alone was too much to burden a little girl, even in the brutality of daily life. The kid only wanted some guidance, some sense of purpose. To try and serve to something, for her existance to mean something, anything. And there was only one way for that.

“I’ll take her to the base with Tommy,” the words flowed out of your mouth, resulting in Joel casting an incredulous glance at you, lights of relief twinkling in his olive orbs mixed in with worry. What kind of a father would he be, to not have worry? For that, you could never blame the man. It only baffled you why he had not chosen to take his daughter himself.

He nodded to you, his deep voice speaking words when you expected none at all. “It’s safer that way. Tommy seems to trust you, and she does too.” Much to your utter surprise, you found yourself wishing he admitted that he did trust you too, after all that you have been through together, yet you would take what you could get. He probably would not even let you get close to his daughter had it not been for Tommy to also accompany you during the proposed mission, after that last revelation he had about you.

Hiding your previous allegiance had not been something he could attach blame to, even after that outburst of his - he had been doing the exact sort of hiding for all these years.

“That he does,” you would mutter, earning a curious look from Joel right before a blonde head marched in front of him, her husband following in strides, exuding all sorts of anger with her finger pointed at his chest.

“You. If anything happens to him - this is all on you,” she spoke, poison dripping and stormed off right after - to which Joel only leaned down his head with his eyes cast, acknowledging her threats, not speaking a word. A rather unusual behavior compared to the man you had seen bash skulls minutes ago. As you watched the entire exchange with your arms crossed and mind made up, Tommy would send you an inquisitive look to which you only responded with an affirmative nod - you were in.

Then came his response, “We’ll take that girl of yours to the Fireflies.” Exchanging glances between the two brothers, you gave a meek nod to the older one as he muttered a thank you to Tommy. It was as if a weight lifted off of Joel’s flannel-covered, broad shoulders - only to be replaced by a much, much bigger burden.

“Wait,” your soft voice turning alarmed would echo, looking around the expanse of metal walls and fences suddenly, your thoughts shifting at the mention of the girl.

“Where is she?”

[stillebesat]

In These Tangled Webs (10/11)

Sanders Sides: Patton, Logan, Roman, Virgil Blurb: It should be easy admitting to your roommates that you’re not entirely human. Only in Logan’s case it’s not. Not when he discovers that Patton is afraid of Spiders. Fic Type: Hurt/Comfort Overall Warnings: Spiders, Arachnophobia, Death Talk, Minor Character Deaths, Slightly Detailed Descriptions of Deaths, Murders, Injuries, Swords, Imprisonment, Biting, Fangs, Venom, Extra Body Parts, Blood, Manipulation, Negative Self Talk

To Catch Up: Chapter 1  Chapter 2  Chapter 3  Chapter 4  Chapter 5  Chapter 6  Chapter 7  Chapter 8  Chapter 9  

“HUNT!” Roman half screeched before he slapped his hand over his mouth, the first to react. 

“I picked him out specially for you, my spiderling.”

Patton swallowed as he fought to keep his hands relaxed in Logan’s, desperately hoping that he couldn’t hear how his heart rate had sped up.

Hunting.

Hunting.

Hunting.

Despite already knowing about Lo’s connection to the...the Rouge Widow as Virgil had named her…hearing him confirm it...in that particular way was--was---

YOU WERE PREY. You could have DIED.

Keep you safe. 

Prey. 

“Hush. Hush. You won’t need your momma for much longer, dear one.” 

He had been prey, only surviving because Lo had decided to let him go, had decided to help him instead of killing him like his--his mother wanted him to. 

Virgil barely appeared to be breathing as he stood stock still, staring at Lo. “The Rouge Widow---is your mom?” He asked, voice deliberately quiet. 

The blood stained woman stalked through swings, searching for him. “You can’t hide from me forever child.”

Logan hunched his shoulders, his fangs vanishing from view as he nodded. “Yes.” 

“But---” Virgil ran both his hands through his hair. “That doesn’t--HOW?!” He shook his head moving to pace in a circle around them, tugging at the strings of his hoodie. “There were no signs at all--there weren’t even rumors that she had a kid! And you’re telling me---She’s been killing people for years, decades! And not once, NOT ONCE did anyone let slip she had a kid in tow. How--”

“She kept me hidden...separate from her--” Logan dropped his voice. “--killing sprees. And if anyone found me--They died. She’s very selective on who she trusts and when it came to me...barely a handful of people know of our connection and still live.” 

Patton swallowed. Did that handful of people now include the three of them? How hard must it have been on Logan? To never have anyone stick around. To only have his mother for company. No friends---how---Patton bit his lip. ”That sounds so lonely, Lo.” No wonder he’d been so withdrawn when they’d first met. If everyone who came in contact with him died...why would he try to get to know anyone?  

Logan shrugged, looking away. “I didn’t know better.” 

“Geez and I thought my childhood was bad.” Roman said, running a hand through his rain soaked hair. “But to grow up with---with--” 

“The worst murderous Human Black Widow on record to ever walk the planet?” Virgil supplied, fiddling with his sleeves as he too studied their friend.

“That’s one way to refer to her.” Logan mumbled, fidgeting under their combined stares. 

Roman clicked his tongue. “Yah, that---” He spread his arms wide. “That sucks, big time, Spock. How in the world are you not more messed up having her as a Mom?”  

“More...messed up?” Lo repeated, raising his eyebrows, rubbing his hand against his chest. “She’s probably killed more people than half the state of Wyoming and you wonder why I’m not more messed up?” 

“Well now I’m wondering how you’ve passed as more normal.” Virgil muttered as Roman blanched.

“Right? I mean…She was teaching you to--to hunt humans, Lomageddon! That’s not a normal Mommy thing to do-- Wait!” Ro pointed between the two of them. "Pat's still alive! Did you ever pass that particular gruesome lesson with someone else or--”

I’ll feast on the newcomers. No worries, Logan. Momma will eat too.” She said, two of her hands guiding the boy’s fangs to Patton’s exposed neck as faint voices and stomping sounded overhead. “Hurry now.” She encouraged, withdrawing. “It’s fast food today.”

Pwotect you.

A gentle tug and Logan stepped back, a wad of webbing held in his hands. “See. Safe. Hod still.” His little fingers easily tore away the remaining webs from Patton, freeing him in seconds. “No eat. No die. All safe. K?” 

Patton drew in a steadying breath and took a deliberate step closer, squeezing Lo’s hands as he did so. 

Trust Me.

I’m NOT scared. Not of you. 

“What does it matter?" Patton asked, half turning to the others. “He saved my life. Lo isn’t going to hurt us.” 

With how skittish Logan had been about telling them what he was, he hardly was acting like the suave charismatic Widow they’d been taught to look out for.

“But that doesn’t answer the question.” Virgil said gesturing to Logan as he continued circling them. “Sure a three year old may not kill the first time he’s given the chance, but you grew up with her, L. You were there. Indoctrinated in her ways! How many---how---are you---” He made a face. 

Logan slowly raised his eyes to meet Virge’s. “A Killer? Or was Murderer the word you were looking for?” 

A chill went down Patton’s spine as Roman took two steps back, eyes wide. 

Logan? A killer? No. NO WAY. NO. 

Virgil stopped, setting his jaw as he looked Logan squarely in the eyes. “Yes. How far did your apple fall from her tree?” 

Little Logan frowned up at the ring as it flashed light blue. “Not s’posed to glow no--” He paled, pitch black eyes going wide. “RUN!” He yelled, frantically shoving Patton outside and slamming the door in his face. “RUN! HOOMAN RUN! “RUAAAAAAAHH---” The scream cut off abruptly, followed by a sickening thud against the door. 

Keep you safe. 

No. Patton pressed his lips together, slightly shaking his head. Logan was good. He was nothing like his mom. He had to believe that otherwise wouldn’t the three of them be dead by now? They’d been living together for the past six months and Widows--

Widows kill within four. 

The pendant didn’t glow around Lo unless he was holding it. He wasn’t a threat. 

Right? 

Logan exhaled, his eyes growing dark behind his glasses as he pulled his hand free, crossing it over his chest. “You might as well be talking apples and oranges. She tried to make me just like her. But we’re…” He rubbed his chest, looking away. “Different.” 

Patton tilted his head, watching Logan’s hand over where the Widow mark hid. 

She pressed him close to the upside down red triangle on her chest. There, there.” She soothed. 

Red. Logan’s Mom’s mark had been plain red. But Logan’s was--

Black and Red. 

Patton narrowed his eyes, before quickly smoothing his expression before Lo could notice. That coloration wasn’t normal either. Widows only had red hourglasses like their spider counterparts. Was that the ‘difference’ Logan spoke of? Why was his mark--

“Tried?” Roman repeated.

Lo nodded, looking up. “I’m not a killer, Virgil.” He shifted his gaze to meet Roman’s worried eyes. “Roman.” He half turned to Patton. “Patton. Believe me, I’ve never taken a life--killed” He exhaled, shoulders slumping as stared at his feet. “But I did drink plenty of human blood and tissue. Just not---not recently...years really--since I uh--” He gave a half shrug. “Left.” 

“Left?” Patton whispered. But Logan was so young! He was Baby compared to the rest of them and he had said he hadn’t drunk---drunk... blood in years. Which if he only had it while he’d been with his Mom...when had he left her? Did it have something to do with their marks? Or just his refusal to--to kill? 

“So you’re not secretly sneaking out to get a fix?” Roman asked. “Stealing from blood banks? Preying on students studying late at night at the Library?

Logan’s mouth twitched, his fingers going white on his jacket. “No.” 

Virgil threw his hands up in the air, pacing again. “You don’t--You’re---L. I thought--we’ve all been taught that widows have to eat human flesh or blood to live and you’re telling me--”

“I no mamma. Bad tase you. ALL bad. BLEH.”

Logan was no monster. He wasn’t Mom. “He doesn’t because...well because humans don’t taste good to you...right, Lo?” Patton asked, glancing to him uncertainly.

A lot of things could have changed since first grade.  

Logan wrinkled his nose, making the exact same face he had made as a child. “Crofters No! It’s horrible. Like being forced to drink bitter moldy yogurt mixed with motor oil.” 

“OH EW!” Roman shuddered, waving his hands in front of his face as if to ward off a Dragon Witch. “Ew. Ew. EW! SPECS! I like yogurt. Don’t go putting that image in my head!” 

“I think you’re too late to save your tender taste buds, Princey.” Virgil remarked, scuffing the wet pavement with his shoe, attention still on Lo. “Strawberry yogurt will never taste the same.” 

“Stoooop!” Roman covered his ears, ducking his head. “I caaaaan’t heeeeear yooouuuu! Lalalala.”

A soft laugh left Logan’s lips, sounding like music to Patton’s ears as he lowered his hands, spreading them apologetically. “Sorry.” 

Patton relaxed at that laugh. Almost he could pretend that it was a normal conversation between them all. Almost.

Virgil huffed, rolling his eyes, even though a small smile played on his lips as well. “So we won’t be finding bags of blood anywhere? No severed heads or pickled entrails?” 

Lo smirked, amber eyes glimmering in the faint light. “I thought the Master of Halloween would already have all that in his room?” 

Roman snorted, pulling his hands away from his ears. “He got you there, Dr. Gloom. Out of all of us here...you are the one most into that sort of stuff, we’ve seen Sherlock’s room before remember? He’s hardly got anything morbid in there.” 

“You do know that Sherlock had--” 

“Ah ba da da! NO!” Roman quickly covered Virgil’s mouth. “I’m well aware how the character Sherlock lived, don’t ruin my moment!” 

“Either way.” Logan shifted on his feet, brushing the hourglass on his chest. “Now that you--know...I--I understand if you don’t want me to---to you know---” He gestured to the van, taking a step back away from it. “Come back to the apartment--” 

“Well, of course we don’t want you to come back ther--OW!” Roman jerked his hand away from Virgil’s mouth. “HEY!”

Logan recoiled, taking another step back, looking like a puppy that had just been kicked.

Virge spat onto the road. “That’s what you get for sticking your hand and mouth where they don’t belong, Princey” 

“I was just!” 

Patton grabbed Logan’s hand before he could take off, pulling him back to the van. He knew what Ro had been trying to say, but he really could have said it just a tiny bit better. “The place is still spider-proofed, Lo.” He said gently.

Logan couldn’t return home until they figured out how to unproof Patton’s spider proofing so that he would be safe. 

“Exactly.” Virgil said, pulling out his keys. “Until we get it---liveable again for you, L, there’s no way we’re letting you back in.” 

Logan stared at them, mouth dropping open. “You still want...to live with me?” He asked, slowly.

Roman rubbed the back of his hand, glaring at Virgil. “We did say we’re not going anywhere did we not?” 

“And you said you don’t drink blood, and aren’t a murderer soo---I don’t see why you can’t stay.” Virgil shrugged. “Besides, who’s going to help me with my Chemistry if you go?”

Roman snorted. “You mean badger with endless questions about being Spliced?” 

Virge stuck his tongue out. “Yes, that too. Whatever. Still doesn’t change that we still want you with us.”

“It’s just…” Logan looked between the three of them, squeezing Patton’s hand. “Hard to believe that you’re all taking this so well.”

So well? Logan had run away from them upon his first accidental revealing because they’d taken it ‘so well’. Patton could only hope that they--he could make it up to him. Revealing yourself as Spliced had to be a hard enough thing to do in the first place, and Lo had been forced to do so before he was ready. 

Thanks to me. 

Roman huffed, eyes going soft. “We’re not going to form a Gastonian Mob and come for your head, Lo. Despite how it looked with the swords…” He spread his hands. “I am on your side. We’re all on your side.” 

“Through thick and thin, webs and fangs, stupid finals and late night celebration parties.” Virgil said with a two fingered salute. Logan licked his lips, eyes holding a careful flickering hope. “But I’m...I’m Spliced. A Widow, and you’re all okay with that? Seriously? Knowing that--that my Mom--” 

“Isn’t you, Lo.” Patton interrupted firmly. The pendant proved that. 

Keep you safe. Pwomise. 

“You aren’t your family, so I’m told.” Roman agreed, clapping Lo on the shoulder with a grin that didn’t quite meet his eyes. 

“And I mean...if you don’t mind us--”

“You mean you.” Roman interjected.

“Mind all of us.” Virgil shot him a look. “We can be your family.” He said, sharing a smile with Patton as he joined their little circle in the rain. 

Patton nodded with his own smile. There was no question there. “We promise. We’re not going anywhere.” Lo would be able to rely on them, trust them, be himself around them.

Logan drew in a slow breath, studying them each in turn before he gave a jerk of a nod, briefly touching Roman’s hand before moving to Virgil’s. “I would like that…a lot actually.” 

“Oh good!” Ro said, giving a huge exaggerated sigh of relief as he pulled away. “Now can we get in the van and to that hotel? I would like to get dry at some point.” He jerked his head to the car. “Pleeease, my hair is already looking as sad and dingy as Doom and Gloom over there.” 

“Oh please.” Virgil rolled his eyes. “With how much gel you put on your head, I doubt a geyser could flatten it...but I am with Sir Sparkles here. Getting dry sounds good to me too.” 

“Same.” Patton agreed fervently, taking initiative and ducking into the backseat of the van. The sooner he got out of these clothes and tossed them in the trash, the better. 

Logan huffed a laugh and nodded, hesitating only half a second before he too followed Patton into the back. “I’m not the one with the keys Virge. That’s all on you.” He said, pulling the door shut with a quick glance to Patton for reassurance as he settled in next to him

“Yah yah...I’m on it! Hold onto your fangs.” Virgil called darting around to the driver’s side.  

Roman half turned in his seat, making a show of feeling his teeth with his tongue. “Don’t have fangs to hold onto, Emo Nightmare, but I will cover your favorite hoodie in purple glitter if you don’t start this rust bucket soon.”

“Don’t you dare! I worked hard on that!” “Then get-a-drivin!” 

Lo shook a head, a small smile on his face as he relaxed back against the seat. “It’s like nothing’s changed.” He mumbled to Patton as the van chugged into life. 

Keep you safe. 

Patton leaned into him, resting his head on Logan’s shoulder. “Because nothing really has, Lo.” He said softly, winding their fingers together as Virgil pulled out of the lot. “You’re still you, and that’s all that matters.”

To Be Continued Epilogue

Taglist in Reblog

[ayma-nidiot]

“Don’t Speak Their Names” - Shrimpshipping fic Chapter 32

This chapter can be found here on AO3.

Chapter 32 - God-Shattering Star

“Oh, cry me a river, Rex!” Weevil glanced to the battle below; many of the Club members had already died. Joey, Mai, Yugi, Téa, Tristan, Atem, and Duke were the only fighters who hadn’t sustained any serious injuries against the massive Earthbound army. Even Phuckdis and William were riddled with gashes, yet refused to retreat with Dr. Balls. “So your allies still cling to life like a drowning man onto a rock. Cute. Not that it will do any of you any good!”

“Rex…” Mako crawled on the floor; luckily for him, Espa retreated from the battle before he got hurt at all. “Don’t listen to him! You’re… hah… You’re the only one who can… save us…”

“Mako, don’t…” It was just then that after recalling the fight with Nortius, Rex had an idea. “Wait a second, Amber.”

“Papa, what is it?”

“I want to try something out. Why don’t we try fusing, just like Mako did with Jinzo?”

“But we don’t even have Polymerization! Those who do either are incapacitated or otherwise occupied! And you can’t even fly… If you fell to your death just like Kaiba, and all because of a stupid and ill-timed experiment, I…”

“Argh, we’ll both die anyway if we do nothing!” Rex pumped his fists in the air. “Show a little bit more Raptor spirit, why don’t you?”

“Papa… Okay. I trust you.” So Amber spoke as she half-shifted, and Rex began a long freefall.

“You really are a blooming idiot, aren’t you?” Weevil would have laughed longer, but stopped when he saw Rex glow pink. “So you think you can- Huh?”

“What’s… What’s happening to my boy?” Ptera wondered as Spinos tended to her wounds.

“Don’t tell me…” Phuckdis began. “Rex is…”

Before Rex could fall very far, Amber had completely fused with him, and he grew angel’s wings that soon turned into Rabidragon’s wings. Even if only by a little bit, the gloomy weather began to dissipate, replaced by an enormous pink glow at the top of KaibaCorp Tower. 

“What is the meaning of this?” The shining presence of Rex - with his bow, fluffy white shirt, golden pants, and Rabidragon’s ears and tail - intimidated Weevil. “Just who do you think you are, that you can challenge me? Well, no matter! I’ll kill you right here, as I intended to do from the beginning! Take this!” 

“...” Rex didn’t say anything as he simply held his bow at his side, and grabbed the chain whip before it could hurt him.

“It’s… Impossible! Aaaah!” Weevil reeled backwards when Rex threw him. “How can a weak rabbit like you stand up to me? ”

“It’s because…” Phuckdis made his presence known. “Rex is the true God-Shattering Star.”

William bowed in reverence with his brother and the remaining members of the Club. “He is the light that will save us all.”

Espa could still see Weevil and Rex, even from his hospital room. “Is that you, Rex Raptor?”

Joey looked up at Rex’s true form with a hint of jealousy. “That’s more powerful than anything I could cook up with the Claw of Hermos. I suppose that runt isn’t as weak as I thought him to be.”

Rex finally opened his now-crimson eyes and began to speak in a distorted voice. “Weevil… No, Earthbound God Sanpedro. I will kill you, right here and now, and free my beloved Weevil Underwood from your clutches.”

“So now you want me to die? That’s rich! What a fool. Come on, boy, come try me!”

“Hey, let me help too!” When Joey rushed up to Rex, he could feel an invisible barrier push him backwards. 

“Joey, this is my fight alone. Why don’t you just take out the small fry and let a pro handle this?”

“Hahaha!” Despite the fact that there were still several hundred Earthbound soldiers left, Joey couldn’t help but laugh. “Even when he’s some almighty angel… god... thing, he’s still definitely that silly Rex Raptor. Well, my dude, consider my morale boosted! You heard the man, guys!”

“H-How dare you address the God-Shattering Star that way?” Phuckdis was clearly offended. 

“Aww, come on, lighten up! Or you can just, I don’t know, sit there and relax while us duelists take care of the bad guys.”

“Or I can just, you know, show you just how strong us shapeshifters are!” Upon hearing Joey’s words, Phuckdis felt his strength anew, as did his brother. “I cannot fly, but that doesn’t mean I cannot fight!”

“Headstrong and reckless like your ‘God-Shattering Star.’” Duke chuckled. “Well, then, you better do a good job proving how strong you are!”

“You’re a poet and didn’t even know it!” Tristan quipped.

“You see, Weevil?” Rex stared at the nearly-soulless shell of his boyfriend. “You picked the wrong side to fight for. You have no friends there.”

“‘Friends,’ huh…” Weevil stared absentmindedly at the fighting below, especially at Joey and Atem. The chain whip rattled in his hands as he shook in anger. “Must be sooooo nice to have them! It must feel soooooo nice to be able to get palsy-walsy with people who didn’t give a shit about you just four years ago!”

“Weeves?!”

“You… YOU FUCKERS WILL ALL PAY!” Weevil dove as fast as he could, with all the anger he could muster ready to fuel his strike upon Atem.

“You coward! Get back here!” Rex couldn’t dive anywhere near that quickly, but tried to keep up as fast as his unborn baby would allow him, holding onto her for dear life.

“Eh?” Joey noticed Weevil coming for him before anyone else did, and braced himself with the Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword. “Atem, look out!”

“Amulet Dragon, protect us!”

Weevil had originally planned to strike everyone in one blow with the chain whip. But being the deceptive little shit he was, he decided on a different mode of attack - bypassing all of the monsters and encasing his two most hated enemies in spider webs instead. “Ha! Syke!”

“Ggh!” Already, Joey was up to his neck in spider webs - yet for some strange reason, his sword arm remained free, as did the sword itself. The webs would not give way, no matter how hard or often he slashed at them.

“W-Weevil…” Atem could hardly talk, as the spider webs gripped his throat tightly. “I… I thought we were friends!”

“Me? Friends with you?! What a joke! Do you honestly expect me to believe a word of bullshit coming out of your mouth after the suffering you’ve caused me? Do you honestly think that after all you’ve done, I’d consider you a friend?” Weevil cackled as Atem writhed in pain. “If anything, you’re lower than the dirt underneath my feet!”

All the commotion awakened Heka. “F-Father… No! Dear gods, what’s happening to my father?”

“Boy! How does it feel to know that your father is no longer the King of Games?”

“Leave… him alone!” Heka flung a flimsy arm, releasing a ball of light that Weevil easily blocked. 

“Hmm… Nah, I think I’ll pass on that. In fact, I’d rather kill him before your very eyes!” Weevil approached Atem, with the intent to decapitate him with the chain whip. That was, until Rex blocked him in the nick of time, drawing Weevil’s attention away from his two captives. “Humph. It’s you again.”

“Damn right!” Rex’s smile faded when not long after he blocked the attack, his bow began to crumble. “Uh… Uh-oh…”

“Hah! Some ‘God-Shattering Star’ you turned out to be! Looks to me like you’re the one who’s shattered!” 

“Crud… I kind of need a weapon!” Rex picked up a sword from one of his fallen allies, but it was so weak that Weevil shattered it with his bare hands, grabbing Rex by the throat right after. “Ngh!”

“Before I kill you right here and now, tell me something, Rex. Why did you defend these guys?”

“B-Because… They’re… my… cough… cough…”

“They accepted you so easily, just because you play by the rules… Why is friendship such an easy thing for you, yet I could never make one friend? Why do Joey and Atem and literally everyone else in this fucking city love you and think I’M the worst duelist there ever was?”

“Don’t… Don’t I count, Weeves?” More than the iron grip of Weevil’s right hands, Weevil’s words hurt Rex. “And your own daughter? Have… cough… Have you already forgotten what we’ve all been through? We’re… willing to… forgive you… Just… Ugh!”

“Not another word out of you! The Earthbound Gods are the only friends I need now! Not you weaklings!” Ignoring the twinge of pain in his heart, Weevil lightly ran the chain whip over Rex’s left arm, barely enough to draw blood. “I’m going to fucking kill you!”

Weevil was so far gone into his own madness that Joey was certain he wouldn’t be able to hear him now. “Psst… Rex.”

“J-Joey?” Rex turned his head around, just enough to see Joey.

“You said… cough… that you needed a weapon, right?” Joey held up his sword arm. “Ya’ think this will be good enough?”

“That’s…!” Flashbacks of his Orichalcos duel flooded Rex’s mind. That’s the sword that sent my soul to the Great Leviathan! But if there’s no other choice, then…

“It’s now or never! Think fast!” Joey threw the Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword at Rex, hoping to the gods he’d catch it and put it to good use.

“If that sword can’t cut the spider webs, then what makes you think that Rex will somehow magically put it to good use?”

Rex felt the sword land in his right hand, and had a clever idea. “By doing… this. ”

“G-Gaaaaah!” Weevil howled in pain when Rex did the unthinkable - completely cutting off his right arms and thereby freeing Atem and Joey from their bonds. He stared at Rex wide-eyes. “You would dare hurt me? Aren’t you scared of losing the love of your life?”

“Yes, I am.” Rex pointed the sword at Weevil’s face. “But the thing I’m even more scared of? Seeing Weevil Underwood beat himself up and become a destructive monster where a man once was.”

“Ugh, you were always so talkative!” Weevil flew higher and dove at Rex like a peregrine falcon. Rex took to the air as well and parried this attack with the sword, but not without some recoil. “Just one of the many things I hate about you!”

“Hah!” Rex repelled Weevil with the sword, enough to put a slight dent in the chain whip. “Your psychological tricks aren’t going to work on me now, Weevil!” 

“But maybe a variety of attacks can!” Weevil shot spider webs from his left hands that stuck to Rex’s butt-length hair and part of his shirt.

“Tch…” Rex didn’t like the sensation of sticky things in his hair, but grinned and bore it for now. “Am I supposed to be scared by the fact that you’re still part-spider?”

Weevil smirked as he barraged Rex with the chain whip. “Oh, I still see the fear in your eyes, Rex Raptor. A fear that you will lose the father of that child you’re carrying.”

Weevil’s words reminded Rex of his more painful contractions that got ever closer - yet being the bold man and duelist he was, he paid them little heed.

“I’ll give you credit for one thing,” Weevil spoke while he beat his wings faster, deadlocked in battle, trying to crush Rex with the chain whip. “You’re quite the warrior. And you’ve changed since your Orichalcos duel with Joey. It appears that you’re not going to let something like mere words rile you up.”

“But I can tell my words are riling you up…” Rex whispered closed to Weevil’s ear, catching him off-guard, before stabbing him in the shoulder with the sword. 

“Ngh…” Finally in pain, Weevil could feel his strength dwindling.

“Weeves…” Rex stared at his boyfriend - and stabbed him in the left thigh - in sorrow. “You can’t honestly mean that you want this… any of this! Don’t you remember seeing your daughter for the first time on the ultrasound? A-And how I told you all those years ago that I want nobody but you? How fast our hearts were beating when we confessed our love?”

“You… dino brain! Ack!” Weevil could no longer repel Rex’s attack and fell a few feet downwards. “I thought I told you that you can’t sweet talk your way into killing an Earthbound God!”

“You called me ‘dino brain’ again…” Tears of joy pooled in Rex’s eyes. “I know you still love me… Once the Rex Raptor has his sights on you, you can’t get rid of him.”

“Actually, I can ,” spoke a voice that was clearly not Weevil’s.

“Is… Is that you, Watda?” Weevil’s real voice finally came out.

“It appears to me that you’re going to be useless now, Uru… So it looks like I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands.”

“No… No!” Weevil thrashed about in the air, confusing Rex. “Leave Rex and Amber alone!”

“Weeves, what’s going on?” Rex couldn’t hear Watda’s voice.

“Goodbye, you damned useless rabbit…”

Weevil couldn’t control the ball of dark energy coming out from his right hands. “Wait… Watda, stop!”

“Ah!” He wasn’t fully confident that he could block this evidently stronger attack, but Rex enveloped himself in his dragon’s wings. 

And Rex wouldn’t have to block the attack. For before Watda’s attack could hit him, Weevil managed to separate from Watda, taking the full brunt of the attack last minute.

“W-Weeves!” The strength in Rex’s eyes now gone, he watched in horror as his boyfriend froze in the air before beginning a rapid descent into Domino City’s concrete. “Oh my gods… No… You’re going to come back, just like you did last time… right?”

“Even an Earthbound God and the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon can’t survive a 1000-meter fall. You saw it yourself when Cusillu, Aslla Piscu, and Kaiba all died.”

“Shut… up…”

“Now what are you going to do, since your beloved Weevil Underwood lies dead?” Watda laughed as his shadows grew fiercer. “You’re nothing without him, you weak-ass monster. Nothing!”

“That’s… That’s not… Oh!” Before Rex could aim his sword at Watda, he suddenly felt amniotic fluid trickle down his legs. He shook so badly that he lost grip of the sword as it plummeted after Weevil.

“You’re in labour, hmm? Looks to me like you have two choices: one, continue to fight me and risk losing your baby; or two, going back to ground level to give birth. But with that second option, there might be a sliiiiight chance I’ll destroy the world. Either way, you lose! Hahahahaha!”

No, he won’t, spoke Amber’s voice.

“Ngh… Amber, you’re still there?”

I’ve been with you the whole time, Papa. You’ve got to finish this fast!

“But how do you expect me to do that? Especially since… your Daddy is…”

There is one way. Now that Daddy has been separated from Watda… Papa, I’ll give you all of my strength. Use it to finally banish this mongrel to hell, where he belongs! Amber de-fused from Rex. In fully shifted form, she engulfed Watda, leaving only the Earthbound God’s chest exposed. In the process, lights sprung from the ground as the bow regenerated in Rex’s hands.

“Ggh! Let go of me, you wench!” Watda struggled to no avail.

Before Rex could process what was going on, he coruscated like the northern lights, and he stretched out his new angel’s wings. His hair grew past his legs, and brown locks encircled his arms.

“Oh my…” With the Earthbound army now vanquished, Phuckdis could truly behold his people’s chief god.

“That’s my boy!” Ptera cheered. “Give that bastard what for!”

“Hehe!” Rex gave his mom a thumbs up. “One kick-ass arrow, coming right up!”

“What are you doing?” Watda could feel his time at an end.

“Watda!” Rex continued to growl as he pulled his bowstring back, and his body and weapon grew ever brighter. “Go back to the shadows! Hyaaaaaaaah!”

“It’s…” Watda could say little more as the glowing arrow impaled a giant hole in his chest. “It’s done… I’m… done… Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrgh!”

“Finally, something we can agree on.” Rex’s descent back to Earth started slowly, but upon reaching six feet above ground, he reverted forms and fell into Spinos’ arms.

“God-Shattering Star!” Phuckdis and the remaining Club members ran up to Rex.

“Is… Is that what I’m called? Heh, sounds pretty cool…” Rex would have rested if he didn’t wonder about Amber. “Wait a second, where’s Amber? Where is my daughter?”

“Rex!” Mokuba pointed to an approaching Joey, who carried a heavily mutilated Amber in his arms.

“Amber!” Rex got up from his prone position to hold Amber, whom Joey had gently lowered to the ground. “No! I… I thought we got him! I thought we defeated Watda together!”

“W-We did… But at a cost… What did you think I meant when I said ‘I’ll give you all of my strength?’”

“Amber…?” Rex couldn’t even hold Amber’s right hand anymore, as it began to fade into nothingness. “What’s happening? Please… This isn’t happening!”

“My… My granddaughter…” Ptera cried as Spinos and Tricera consoled her. Not a single eye was dry as Rex’s friends and allies watched the scene unfold. Even Espa and a newly-healed Mako could see what was going on.

“But… But we only got to duel once!” Joey got down and cried with Rex. “And you haven’t even dueled Espa yet! I thought you were going to win back his Serpent Night Dragon!”

“Joey… My friend…” Amber reached out her left hand to Joey. “I… I just wished I had… acknowledged you as such… earlier…”

“Amber! No, please don’t die!” Pretty much every body part Rex tried to grab at faded away, except for Amber’s head, shoulders, and left hand. 

“Die? No, I’m just about to be born…” Amber placed what was left of her left hand on Rex’s baby bump. “I can’t wait to see you again and forge our bonds anew.”

“Amber…?” Rex cried as Amber chuckled one last time before her future self was no more. “AMBER! NO! Oh… my gods… Sniff…”

“My love!” Heka, who had just fully healed, ran to Rex. He had only seen future Amber for a brief spell before she died. “Oh, no… My heart…”

“Heka, I’m so sorry…” Rex hugged his daughter’s boyfriend. “Not only for your mother’s death, but also for Amber’s…”

“Forget about me! You just lost your daughter!” Heka cried into Rex’s shoulder as Atem consoled him too.

“Amber… I… Aaaaargh!” Rex suddenly doubled over as the remainder of his amniotic fluid gushed out all at once.

“His water has already broken… Rex is going into labour!” Mokuba announced. “Someone call an ambulance!”

“It’s for real this time, guys!” Joey got up and dialed the campus emergency number. After that, he knelt down again, trying to calm Rex down in any way he could. “Rex, hang in there. We’re going to get you help!”

[midnightartemis]

~Chapter Five~

READ ME HERE

TW: Violence, Abuse, Drugs

He returned to the loft after debating with himself if he should go into the pawnshop and convince her to come with him. He had sat outside of the shop for twenty minutes, watching as a garbage can of a human being lumbered out the door and across the street to the rundown gas station. He wouldn’t be able to convince her anyway.

The loft was quiet when he got back. The projector had been turned off and the twins were supposedly cleaning up the wreckage of the night. Ben poured himself a cup of coffee as AP emerged from the back rooms through the hole in the wall with the medkit in his hands.

Ben spared it a side glance. “How is he?”

“Hungover and being a little bitch about his face.” AP set the kit down on the counter. “He’ll survive. How about you?”

“Not bothering me.” Ben shrugged. He hadn’t even looked in a mirror yet today. The cut burned every time he opened his mouth.

Ben took a sip of lukewarm coffee. AP stared him down. “Wanna tell me why the fuck Rey came out of your room with you?”

“I didn’t touch her.” Ben found AP’s gaze and held it. “I didn’t do anything that she said I couldn’t.”

AP narrowed his eyes.

“She had a nightmare and I woke her up and that was going to be it. I was going to sleep on the couch but she asked me to stay. So I did.”

AP said nothing.

“And then she was late to work so I gave her a ride. That’s it.” That’s it. Besides the lasting ghost of a memory of having her in his arms. He wasn’t sure if it was real. He hoped that she wasn’t lying about work. That she hadn’t woken up and freaked out and tried to run away.

“She never sleeps late.” That was the only thing AP said on the topic. It left Ben with more questions than answers. “We’ve got bigger problems now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I told you things weren’t the same, Ben.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “Will you quit it with the bullshit?”

Instead of replying, AP tossed the medkit on to the couch and grabbed his black backpack off the floor. From the front pocket, he pulled a small baggie filled with something blue inside. AP lobbed the baggie at Ben and he caught it, nearly sloshing his coffee over himself.

Inside the baggie was a small blue lump of crystals. To anyone else, it might have looked like rock candy.

“Why the fuck do you have spice on you?”

AP’s eyes drifted to the hole in the wall. “Kuruk made some deals with the new dealer in town. Feds came in a few months after you left. Took down the Hutts. Next thing we know, there’s dudes at the door. Called themselves the First Order. Run by some ginger dude named Hux. Kuruk made a deal to distribute to the Southside without a vote. Cardo and Vic got pissed and left. They were only at the party because they wanted to see Kuruk get his head bashed in.”

Ben gripped his mug so hard it threatened to crack. He set it down slowly to grip the edge of the counter and stare at the little baggie in front of him. “Did he tell you not to tell me?”

“Would it have changed anything if I had?”

No. Ben took a deep breath through his nose, trying to calm the raging anger beneath his skin. Kuruk had already paid.

You shouldn’t have stopped .

“Are you the one running it?”

“Yeah.”AP ran his fingers over his face. It took everything in Ben not to destroy the kitchen and beat the rest of the life out of Kuruk. Spice had taken everything AP had. “I pick it up from the dry cleaners on 16th St. About $2000 every week, but they’ve been sending more recently.”

“I’ll handle it.”

AP nodded, not pressing further. Ben had no clue how he was going to handle it, and AP knew it. He needed to know what Kuruk’s deals were. Who this Hux guy was. Most importantly, he needed to keep Rey far, far, far away from it. News of the change in leadership would have made its way to this Hux guy by now, or at least one of his lackeys. Someone would come knocking at the door soon. He just hoped it was later rather than sooner.

“I’ve got a few deliveries to make today. With the party and everything we’re almost out so someone needs to make a trip to Coruscant.”

Ben nodded. “I’ll go tomorrow. Give Kuruk some of the pineapple so he stops being a little bitch.”

“Will do, Supreme leader.” AP turned away with a little salute. Ben sighs. The trip back to Coruscant would keep his mind off of her. If just for a little bit.

When she didn’t show up to the park or the loft that night he tried not to let it bother him. Tried not to look too desperate. Tried to shrug it off when AP tells him that she shows up when she shows up and to not expect her.

He goes to Coruscant and comes back and doesn’t miss her.

He doesn’t.

She’s gone for nearly two weeks.

Just when he gives up hope on ever seeing her again, he spots her sitting on the lip of the bowl with a red and blue slushie in hand. She’s in a ripped black t-shirt and shorts and vans. Her hair is up in those three buns and she’s got dark aviators over her eyes. Ben forgets he’s on his board until his shins connect with a low rail and he goes crashing to the ground. There’s a distant howl of laughter and Ben pushes himself off the ground and tries to ignore the shooting pain in his leg. He glanced at Rey to see a smirk on her lips. She takes a long sip of her slushie and leans back to soak in the last of the sun.

He fought against the urge to run right over to her. His heart pounded with some foreign boyish joy. Ben dragged himself over to sit by AP and pick gravel out of the scrapes on his palms. His knuckles and face had scabbed over from the fight. Now there were just dark bruises and aching.

AP sighed. “Jesus fuck, man. Just go talk to her.”

“I don’t want to talk to her.”

“You’re a fucking shit liar, you know that?”

Ben rolled his eyes and tossed a bit of gravel away. “I don’t even know what to say to her.”

“I’m pretty sure it starts with ‘ hey what’s up’,” AP lowered his voice in a horrible imitation of Ben.

“And if she’s not interested?”

“Then she’ll fucking tell you. Jesus Christ. I’m not your fucking baby sitter and you’re not a middle school virgin anymore.” AP picked up his board and fell into the pit and out of the conversation. Ben glanced over at her.

She stayed as the sun sank lower into the sky and the park emptied out. She got up when they went to leave, walking closely with them through the streets. Ben found himself mute. Was this how it had been since he left? The group staying the same and Rey seamlessly blending in with it?

There was something off, though. He could feel it, see it, almost, if he watched close enough. A stiffness as she walked, like each step was a little bit painful. He cast a worried glance at AP and his grim but uncertain face said he saw it too.

They tumbled into the loft and Rey didn’t even complain when the twins took over the projector and started playing Mortal Kombat. Rey curled up on the end of the couch and took a joint from AP. Ben stood in the kitchen and mixed two drinks. One amber. One pink.

“Where’s Kuruk?”

It was the first thing she had said all night and it was directed at no one in particular.

AP shrugged. “Off pouting somewhere I guess.”

Rey nodded slowly and lit her joint. Ben watched as she took a long draw and exhaled slowly. No smoke rings. He picked up the glasses and brought them to her. She didn’t even look up at him.

“Trade?”

Rey took the pink drink from his hand and handed him the joint. Ben held it between his fingers but didn’t bring it to his lips. Something was wrong. AP shook his head– Leave it .

He couldn’t leave it. He couldn’t– Rey brought the drink to her lips and the light shifted enough to show five bruise marks on her wrist in the shape of fingers. They were mostly hidden by makeup.

“Rey, look at me.” Ben’s voice came out calmer than he thought it could. He hadn’t seen a clear view of her face all night. She’d been wearing those sunglasses earlier and hadn’t taken them off until it was nearly pitch blackout.

She didn’t lookup. “Are you going to smoke that or not? Cause I really don’t like wasting things.”

“Please. Look at me.”

She didn’t move and Ben dropped down to her eye level. She turned her head sharply.

“Just leave it. It’s nothing.”

“Who.” Who do I have to find? Who did this to you? Who do I have to kill?

“Ben,” AP warned but Ben ignored it.

Ben slowly raised his hand to touch her jawline. She stilled under his gentle touch but let him turn her back to face him. Shimmering tears filled her eyes as she looked at him. Underneath her makeup, he could see a fading black eye, a split lip, a cut across her cheek. Five more finger-shaped bruises around her neck.

“Who did this Rey?” The rest of the room fell away until he saw and heard nothing but her.

“Why the fuck do you care?” Rey spat. Ben pulled back his hand. “I’m nothing. I’m no one.”

“No, you’re not. Not to me.”

Rey laughed bitterly. Tears raced down her cheeks, washing away the makeup covering the bruises. “I was fifteen fucking minutes late. I was fifteen minutes late because I woke up in your bed and I didn’t want to leave.”

Ben stumbled back a step. She may as well have stabbed him in the gut. She was late because of him. This happened because of him. Ben felt the call of the dark thing inside of him and began running for it. He was halfway out the door when two tiny hands shoved him against the brick of the hallway.

“Just stop– Stop!” Rey stepped in front of him as he tried to stalk towards the exit. “You do not get to be pissed on my behalf. You do not get to go out and play hero or revenge or whatever fucked up thing you think of.

Yes. Yes, he did. Plutt was going to pay. Plutt would never see the light of day again. “Move.”

“No.”

“Move!”

“No! This is not a choice you get to make.”

“He touched you. He hit you. He deserves to die.”

“Don’t you think I know that? Don’t you think I haven’t thought up a million ways to kill the bastard myself? I don’t need your help. I don’t want your help. I don’t want to fucking talk to you behind a glass wall for the rest of my life.”

Rey’s hands fell on his heaving chest and thumping heart. The change was almost instantaneous in him. His hands unclenched. His heart slowed. His breathing evened. He kept his arms at his sides, not wanting to scare her.

“I’m not going back, Ben.”

“You’re not?” He choked on his words.

Rey shook her head. “No.”

Her eyes peered up at him through dark lashes. They dropped to his lips and lingered there for a long moment before brushing back up to his eyes. He slowly raised his hands, paying close attention to how she reacted as he pulled her closer with one hand and brushed his thumb over her lips with the other. She sighed into him. He dipped his head close enough that she could reach his lips if she wanted to.

“I won’t do anything you don’t want me to.” Ben breathed. A promise. A plea for her to meet him on her terms.

“I know.” Rey’s lips pressed against his.

She tasted sweet and a little salty. Her hands curled into fists in his shirt and Ben let her tug him down, pulling him deeper into the kiss. He carefully dragged his tongue across her lower lip, avoiding the still healing split.

“Fucking hell, get a room.”

Ben snapped away from her, his eyes zeroing in on a very grumpy, piss drunk Kuruk. The guy's face was still covered in cuts and bruises.

“Fuck off, Kuruk.”

Kuruk shot him the bird and stumbled into the loft. Rey watched him go before she looked back up at Ben, a smile on her lips. “Do you wanna go to McDonald’s with me?”

Ben chuckled. “Yeah, I’ll take you to McDonald's.”

“I’ll just get my money from the safe.”

“I can pay for you.”

Rey’s face fell. “You don’t have to pay for me. I have my own money.”

“I know- I- I just wanted to.” Please let me. Please just let me take care of you.

He watches her face drift from anger to confusion to an unsteady understanding. “Like a date?”

Ben grins. “Yeah, like a date.”

She still goes back into the loft and he follows after her, pulled along in her wake. Trudge and Ushar have already gone back to playing Mortal Kombat, if they weren’t even interrupted by him and Rey at all. There was a time when their oblivious nature had annoyed the hell out of him. Now, he envied them sometimes. AP was nowhere to be found.

His attentions turned back to Rey as she deftly spun the dial and opened up the safe. The safe had been leftover from the loft’s days as a factory. The space had originally been the main office space, which was why it was about the only finished apartment in the building. She fished out a single bill from the envelope labeled ‘R’. He knew what was in it. Knew that there was nearly five hundred dollars of unspent money in that envelope. Money to run. Escape. Start over. He hoped she never had to use it. He hoped he could let her see that.

Small steps.

He followed her out the door and down to the parking lot. Rey waited patiently at the passenger's side for him to slide in and open the door from the inside. He’d have to fix that, though if his dad hadn’t managed to fix it, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to either.

Rey slid into the passenger’s seat. Ben turned the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life. He shifted into reverse and backed up before shifting to first and pulling out of the lot onto the broken streets of Corellia’s southside.

She watched curiously as he shifted between gears and kept his eyes on the road. It was miles away from him racing to…

Anger flared through him again and he gripped the shift stick till his knuckles were white. It was taking everything for him to not do something. Something poked his side and Ben looked over at her.

“What?”

“Are you always this serious and grumpy?” Rey gave him a little teasing smile.

Ben didn’t reply. He had a reason to be grumpy. That reason faded to the back of his mind as Rey scooted across the bench seating until he had to rest her arm across her thigh to use the shifter. The feeling of her bare thigh against his forearm was enough to drive him crazy with thoughts of pulling those thighs around his waist. Of kissing down them and biting gently until she was begging him to touch her.

Ben hit the breaks as he almost missed a stop sign. His arm unconsciously whipped out across Rey’s chest to keep her from flying forward. The car died as he frantically tried to get back into the right gear. He took a deep breath and turned the car back on. “Put your seatbelt on.”

Rey huffed. “Okay, dad.”

Ben narrowed his eyes as he looked at her.

“I watch tv. I can make a fucking dad joke. Don’t look at me like that.”

Ben raised an eyebrow and went through the stop. That little smile still hadn’t left her lips. He could live with that. That was enough.

Rey fiddled with the radio until classic rock came pouring out. She tried to turn the tuner dial, which spun freely but the analog marker stayed stubbornly stuck on that channel. It had been broken since 1977.

She let it be as they pulled into the McDonald’s drive-through. This late at night there wasn’t much of a wait. Ben rolled down the manual window and glanced at Rey as the universal scent of McDonald’s filled the car. “What would you like?”

Rey’s stomach chose that moment to give an ear-splitting howl. She blushed sheepishly. “Just a cheeseburger.”

The cheapest, least filling meal on the menu. Ben frowned. “Do you like Big Macs?”

Rey shifts uncomfortably. “I can pay you back.”

“You don’t have to. I don’t want you to.”

Rey nods slowly. “I like Big Macs.”

Ben turned back to the speaker. “Hey, we’ll get two Big Mac meals. Large. Ah…”

“Dr. Pepper.” Rey supplies.

“Two Dr. Peppers. And I’ll have a chicken nugget happy meal, too. Mt. Dew.”

“That’s two Big Mac meals. A nugget happy meal. Two Dr. Peppers and a Mt. Dew. 19.55. Second window.”

Ben kept the window down as he pulled forward. Beside him, Rey hummed along happily to Def Leppard. Was this what life was supposed to feel like?

Ben paid and handed off the food and drinks to Rey. The only cup holder had been broken since before Ben had been born, so Rey held on to the two Dr. Peppers while he attempted to drive with the Mt. Dew and steering wheel in one hand. Rey stared hungrily at the giant bag of food beside her. Her stomach rumbled again.

“We’re almost there.” Ben turned off on a dirt side road that led up into the foothills over Corellia.

“If you’re going to murder me, at least let me eat first. It’s customary to give someone a last meal.”

Ben smirked as he wound up the familiar dirt road. “No murdering anyone tonight.”

Not tonight.

Ben turned the car into a small makeshift outlook. Beneath them, the lights of Corellia spread out across the low Californian hills.

Rey’s eyes went wide at the sight. “It’s beautiful.”

You’re beautiful. Ben thought as he watched her drink in the sight. He reached over the seat and grabbed a ratty old blanket from the back. “Come on.”

He grabbed the bag of food from her and got out of the car. Ben laid the blanket on the hood of the car and set the food down on top of it. Rey climbed onto the hood and he followed hoping the old hood would hold under his weight. Rey tore into the bag.

“Don’t touch my chickie nugs.”

Rey giggled as she pulled out the happy meal and handed it to him. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Ben broke into the box and had barely set up his nuggets and sauce before Rey had already gotten through most of her Big Mac. She groaned into it and fuck if that didn’t send his blood rushing.

She caught him staring and blushed against the dim light, pulling the burger away from her lips. “Sorry.”

How long had it been since her last meal? How long had that bastard been hurting her?

Ben pushed that rage away, saving it for the day he could let it consume him. “I don’t mind.”

“Do you bring all your dates here?”

Ben looked out over the lights of the city. “No. Just you.”

“Do you tell them that, too?” Bitterness cut through her words.

“No,” Ben said quietly over the sound of the breeze through dead grass and the hum of crickets. “You’re the first person I’ve ever brought up here.”

“Oh.” She took a long sip of her drink and looked out over the city with those lonely eyes. Why me? She didn’t want to ask.

“My dad used to bring me up here all the time and we’d eat McDonald’s and see how far we could throw rocks. It was stupid. But it’s about the only good memory I have of him.”

“Where’s he now?”

“He died. Aneurysm. Day after graduation. One day he was there and the next day he was gone.” Ben shrugged and leaned back across the windshield as he ate. He could watch her from here. Her baby hairs caught the distant light from the city forming a softly glowing halo against her skin.

“Have you ever heard of the Convent of St. Agnes?” Rey peered back to see him shake his head. She took a deep breath and focused on picking at her fries. “They were a group of British religious fanatics that came to America in the 1970s after their leader got into a bit of trouble with the British government. They set up shop in Jakku in the middle of the desert where no one would bother them. And people came to join them from all over. Mostly young women who got pregnant and had nowhere else to go. They believed that there was some sort of doomsday. And the leader, this dude named Palpatine, claimed to be the only one who could offer them redemption. Classic cult shit.”

Ben dared not move as Rey let her pieces fall into place.

“The feds raided it when I was maybe six and half the convent locked themselves in the church and killed themselves. I don’t remember much of it. Only that the nuns hated children. That we were the personification of the sins of our mothers.”

“Did your mom…”

Rey shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. They raised us communally. No one knew who their parents were. No one ever claimed me and they didn’t keep any records. That’s why I don’t know how old I am.”

Ben fought against the urge to reach out and pull her close. To offer whatever protection against the world he could for her. “That’s fucked up.”

Rey snorted. “Yeah, just a little bit.”

“Do you tell all the guys you date that?”

He could see her eyes roll and smirk even in the dim light. “No. Just you. I wasn’t aware we were dating.”

Ben shrugged. “We’re on a date. That means we are currently date- ing.”

“That’s not what that means.”

“Still. You didn’t have to tell me that.”

Rey finished off her fries. “Secret for a secret.”

“Sometimes I purposefully crop dust and blame it on Trudge.”

Rey choked as she took a sip of her drink. “Oh fuck! It went up my nose. Fuck. How does that even work? Trudge is never quiet when he farts.”

“I think it just confuses him.” Ben chuckled and pulled out his happy meal fries. He ate them all in about two bites. “Come on. Secret for a secret.”

Rey giggled and laid back against the windshield. Her eyes took in the bright half-moon and clear night sky. His eyes take in her. “I always chose Daisy in Mario Kart cause it’s my favorite flower. And her bike is one of the fastest in the game. And no one ever picks her.”

This isn't violence this is just a war in my head I give it time but it never seems to end I feel a fire in the back of my throat So let's get covered in flames and play some games with the smoke

- Smoke, PVRIS

[blackrosesfanfic]

Chapter 223

MiMi

I look up suddenly from Minnie in her cars eat. Cammie was running towards me screaming. I stand up keeping a stale face. She ignores me hugging me tight. I am super annoyed and I want her to fucking know. She pushes me and kneels down to Minnie picking her up. She starts kicking and acting like she was excited to see Cammie.

"And I hope you get shit on you." I say.

"I've been rolling in your shit for years. Who cares? Tell me your stupid problem."

She rolls her eyes. "We had to stay out here all this time waiting on you. Chris wouldn't even let us go into the house."

"Okay, so. Did I know that, MyAsia?"

"I don't care what you knew." I say snatching to baby bag up.

Trey comes up kissing Minnie while Cammie had her. She gets happy about his ass too. She just too friendly. Little water head baby. I walk towards the house. Like Chris does the fucking most when it comes to Cammie and Trey. He was telling Dee what he has done so far. And these bitches acting like Kings and Queens coming out here.

"Tremaine." Cammie yells.

"They had you out here in the heat?" Trey asks walking by me. "And then they did what? Say sike."

I stop walking. This nigga talking to my baby? I look back at Cammie. She was walking up towards the house with nothing in her arms.

"MyAsia!" Trey yells from the house. "Bring those milk things in here. My stanka hungry. Now!"

"Trey."

I turn all the way to the house. "Is that Gwen?"

"In the flesh." Cammie says walking by.

"Bitch say what." I whisper.

Cammie turns to me. "You talking to me now or you still bitching?"

I suck my teeth. "I flew all the way across the country for your ass."

"You sure you did it for me and not your own selfish reasons? What happened to Dee being a jerk and not moving you to Cali? You lying about that?"

"When do I ever lie?"

"When you look at Dee and say that you love only him." Cammie snaps.

Trey comes walking out of the house with Cammie's mother. Like are we for real doing this? Why is she even here? I give Cammie a look not knowing whether she looking at me or understand the look. She sucks her teeth then shrugs walking towards the fire.

"What time you got here, Bae?"

"To the house like 30 minutes ago."

Cammie kneels down in front of Chris. "Then why you acting like you been out here for hours, slut?"

Trey walks by pissed. "What you doing?"

"Aye!" Chris snaps dropping his phone on his lap. "Get off my shit."

"Christinacian." Cammie says pushing his chest back.

It looked crazy as hell from far away. It looked like she was really close to him kneeling down in front of him. But for real he was at least 4 feet away from her. I don't know why she is taking from him. I go back to walking into the house. I need to change Minnie into her pajamas. I pause in the sunroom thats right inside of the house. April had Minnie laid out on the floor sleep.

"What did you do to her?" I snap.

"You must have lost your damn mind." April says cutting her eyes at me. "Since when has it been a problem?"

I act like she talking to someone else. She rolls her eyes. Fucking sassy ass April. Don't nobody want to argue with that lady. She need to calm her ratchet ass down. I dig through Minnie's bag and hand April a more comfortable shirt. She takes it from me giving me a look.

"Okay, April." I say walking out.

"Chris has really done too fucking much." Trey says walking into the house.

April stands up from the floor with Minnie. "I'll be in my room where it's less noisy."

"Ma." Trey snaps.

"Neverson." April snaps back. "Annoying as shit."

Trey doesn't say nothing back to her. He walks over to me. I straighten the clothes in Minnie's bag back up. Trey comes up knocking the bag down and running straight into me. I look at him. He is gone. What the hell? He better be glad nothing fall out. I'm leaving it right there to.

"What was that?"

"Who me?" I ask turning to Dee.

He looks at me then he looks outside. "Why was he all up on you?"

I stare at him in shock. "Say what?"

"Don't give me that fucking  look like I'm stupid."

"Let me get this straight? You asking me why he was close to me as in there being something between us?"

"I'm asking why the fuck he was all up on you." Dee spazzes.

I look around for someone to witness this. "Why the hell would you even come at me with that shit? Wow."

"I'm asking you before I go kick his ass."

"Before you what?"

"Aight." He says turning around.

I gasp then run out of the house behind him. What the hell just happened? I'm so damn confused but this nigga straight spazzing. I wrap my arms around him. He being outrageous right now. I kiss his ear trying to calm him down.

"You taking it too far."

"I walk in the house and see him all up on you then he rushes off in the other direction. Fuck naw. He saw me and..."

"This is Trey we talking about." I say feeling disgusted from the thought of him trying to talk to me. "He has never come at me like."

Dee wasn't having it. "That you know of."

"I know if someone trying me." I rub his stomach. "Go ask him then. Just calm down first."

"Yeah." Dee says walking away.

I just wonder what he thought he saw. I mean Trey did run into me or push me or whatever he did. He didn't stay around for it to be registered as anything partly sexual. Not like he put his dick on me or touch my body. I would die inside if Trey ever tried anything with me. That's so fucking disrespectful to even think about yet alone say.

 Trey

I look around for Cammie. She really fucking avoiding me. I sigh sitting at the fire with Chris and Sevyn who was sitting in his lap. She was on her phone laughing. I sigh loudly but they ignore me.

"Yo." Dee says walking up.

"Aye." Chris says sitting up startling Sevyn. "Trey way Cammie went to Vegas. I'm trying to get people to talk about it."

I shrug. "Cause..."

Chris looks at Dee. "Aye, Dee you good?"

"On some honesty shit. I had a weak moment. Apparently I was neglecting my health and trying to fuck my life over."

"What does any of that mean?" Chris whispers.

I shrug. "Wanted to end everything. My marriage, my career, my life. Just wanted everything to stop."

Chris blows. "Nigga."

Everything was silent then Chris looks back at Dee.

"Aye, man you being weird." Chris snaps.

"Thinking." Dee says.

Chris looks at me then Dee. "I mean not no shit as deep as this nigga shit right?"

"My shit good." I say.

"Naw." Dee says then look at me. "Why you left out the room so fast just now?"

I frown. "What room?"

"The house." Dee says a bit on edge. "Where MiMi at?"

"Oh." I say narrowing my eyes at him. "I thought about who I was fucking with and I ran."

"Meaning?"

This nigga was sounding a bit pissed. I chuckle. Oh shit. I mean it's MiMi. I wasn't thinking about how close I got to her. Like Damn. I guess man. I wouldn't want nobody on my fucking wife. I look at Dee standing there trying to hold his composure. I shake my head.

"I slapped the bag down." I stand up. "To be more clear. I did this."

I walk up to him and reach around him then spin around like I was playing basketball bumping into him again. That's all I honestly did. I don't look at MiMi like that. Yeah she fine but that's like my wife's sister. I wouldn't do that to there friendship. I care too much about Cammie to take her best friend away. Plus Dee is my nigga. He work to hard to make his wife happy for me to fucking be me.

"Shit I am that type of nigga aren't I?"

"No." Sevyn snaps. "That's fucking insecure of you Devin. Out of all things. Like you think that fucking low. People are allowed to fucking change. The problem is you insecure men thinking you ready for real love. Is your wife not happy with you? Is there a reason for her to cheat? If not you projecting your male thoughts onto females like they think like you. The fucking women you have aren't the type of just cheat so look at yourself before you fucking a finger."

Chris leans forward getting in Sevyn's face. "Bae, you feeling some type of way?"

"Trey am I?"

"Huh?" I say sitting back down. "I'm good."

Sevyn stands up and walk away. "Yeah until you not near."

I look around. "Damn, everybody coming for me."

"So you really good?" Chris asks. "Aye, I was coming to talk to you the next day. I ain't know shit."

"I told you I'm good." I shrug.

Dee blows sitting down. "Aye, I really don't know if my wife happy. I'm always seeing what I want to see."

"I know my relationship stay on a cliff." Chris shrugs. "She puts up with me."

"My poor wife." I chuckle. "She pissed off at me. I tried to be selfless and I think it pissed her off."

Chris blows. "How can giving piss her off?"

"Should have... Aye I don't normally talk about sex with her to anyone."

"Who here would fuck your wife?" Chris says.

Dee chuckles. "All of us. The real question is who she would fuck."

"Bitch you can say you would fuck my wife but you get mad when..."

Dee interrupts me. "Proceed. You were selfless and what?"

Chris laughs. "Women make you insecure as hell."

"I think I pissed my wife off cause we didn't have sex." I say staring out at the water. I stand up. "Is that Cammie by the water?"

"Yeah, I think she on the phone." Chris shrugs.

"By the water? Everybody here. Who the fuck she gotta go out there to talk to?"

"Trey." Chris snaps sitting up. "My nigga didn't Amber just tell your ass to stop. Damn."

I ignore him. "Whatever."

"See this why niggas like us end up single and fucking random bitches."

"I ain't like you." Dee chuckles. "I only been with like 10 women my whole life."

Chris laughs. "Bitch shut the fuck up. You know you been with more..."

Dee interrupts him. "No fucking lie. Me and MiMi been together since I was a virgin."

"So you the only person she fucked? Then why the hell you worried?"

"Naw, we broke up once for like a year. While she was pregnant with JJ and after he was born. For about two years."

I walk away from them to go see who Cammie talking to on the phone. Why are you all the way out there?

[thirteen-beaxhes]

Delayed - Chapter 8: Realisations

Summary:  “All felt like they knew the others were far away, living ideal lives. They kept to their windows and phones for the ride, thinking about the others. They reminisced separately but prayed for the night to go by fast, to get to the places they needed to go. But the night hadn’t even begun yet.” High school ended 6 years ago, and with it, so did the friendship between Andi, Buffy, Cyrus, Jonah, TJ and Amber. But now their flight is delayed and they are stuck in a hotel together for the night. Not much can change in one night, though. Can it?

ALL LINKS IN REBLOG

~~~~~~~~~

Buffy made the executive decision to order pizza for room service to bring down the emotional intensity of the room, a choice that was greatly celebrated by everyone. Amber had her arm permanently wrapped around Andi’s shoulder, holding her tight as Andi rested her head on her shoulder. Cyrus was still on the ground, but he had scooted closer to listen to Amber regaling tales of hilarious things that she had experienced as manager of a restaurant, intermittent laughter filling the room.

“I can’t believe he actually said that to you!” Andi exclaimed, and Amber laughed as Buffy shook her head in disbelief.

“I know. It’s obvious he had never met you because anyone who has knows not to mess with you,” Cyrus said teasingly, earning a shove in the shoulder.

“It’s just something you gotta deal with,” Amber said, shrugging. Andi smiled at her as she continued to rest her head on her shoulder.

“Not gonna lie Buffy,” Andi said, holding out her pizza slice. “But this was your best idea in all of history.”

“Even better than dipping baby taters in chocolate milkshake?” she asked with a laugh, and Cyrus’ eyes went wide.

“Oh hey now, let’s not get crazy,” Amber said, causing the four of them to burst out laughing loudly, probably annoying all the neighbouring rooms.

“Not to bring back an old topic,” Cyrus started after all the laughter died down, causing all of them to turn to him. “But one thing doesn’t make much sense.”

“What is it, Cy?” Buffy asked.

“Well, I found Andi sitting near a room door. Was it your room?”

Andi shook her head, lifting her head slightly. “No, it wasn’t. Mine is 321.”

“Then what were you doing there?” Cyrus asked, narrowing his eyes curiously.

Andi’s eyes widened slightly, but not so much that anyone immediately noticed. What could she say? If she told them the truth, who knew who would look worse: her or Jonah? No, they didn’t need to know. It would die with her.

“Uh, I was just walking out for some fresh air,” Andi lied nonchalantly, resting her head again. Cyrus nodded, clearly satisfied as he swiftly brought up another topic, one he and Buffy immediately engaged in. But Andi cut in between. “What were you doing up though, Cy?”

“Oh, uh,” Cyrus muttered, looking down. “You know, air, stargazing, I mean, just outside.”

All he got in response was the three girls staring at him, unimpressed by his terrible attempts at lying. Wow he could lie to a guy with ease about how he had a family engagement but he couldn’t lie to those three.

“Wow, I’m getting serious scary bi, pan, lesbian energy from the room,” Cyrus said, causing Amber to giggle slightly, breaking her stare. Buffy just raised an eyebrow.

“Just tell us the truth Cyrus,” she said, and Andi nodded, pursing her lips, and Cyrus just sighed in defeat.

“Okay, I really did go out to get some air, but then I saw someone head out to garden. And it turned out to be TJ.”

“Kippen?” Andi said, and Amber sat up, looking intensely at Cyrus.

“You spoke to him?” she asked, her voice quiet, and Cyrus nodded.

“For the second time today. Gotta say, second conversation more pleasant than the first,” he said, laughing to himself.

“How was it?” Buffy asked quietly, and Cyrus took a minute to think about it.

“Honestly, it felt good seeing him again. Things always felt incomplete before, and I finally got to actually say sorry to him,” Cyrus said, surprised at how true what he was saying was.

“Sorry for what?” Andi asked, and Cyrus looked up at her, lifting a shoulder.

“For being the one to not respond, that led to everything.”

Buffy nodded, and Andi leaned back slightly. But Amber was still looking at him curiously. “How was he?”

Cyrus furrowed his eyebrows, looking at Amber. “He was okay, I guess. His ex was texting him while we sat on the porch-swing thing. But anyway, it’s done now. We said everything that needed to be said, and we actually said goodbye, and I left. Last I remember, he said he wanted to sit for some more time. Things are finally over, and we’ll probably never see each other again, so there’s that.” After saying all that, Cyrus took a deep breath, the last part feeling much heavier than he thought it would, the finality dawning on him.

“Did you?” Amber asked softly, and Cyrus stared at her in confusion.

“Did I what?”

“Say everything that needed to be said.”

Cyrus narrowed his eyes, looking down at his hands. “Y-Yes, I did. I just said I did.”

“So you are finally gonna move on?” Buffy spoke up, looking at Cyrus curiously.

“That’s, that’s what’s obvious, isn’t it? I get closure, this ends and we both can move on,” Cyrus said, trying more to convince himself than to try and convince any of the girls. “That’s what needs to happen, so it ends.”

“You said that already,” Andi said quietly, and Cyrus whipped his head around.

“So then why doesn’t it feel like it?” he said loudly, causing Andi to flinch away, and Amber to tighten her grip around her shoulders. “Sorry, I, I didn’t mean to yell Andi.”

“It’s okay, Cy. It didn’t do anything, just surprised me is all,” Andi said sincerely, grabbing his hand. “What do you mean that it doesn’t feel like it?”

Cyrus sighed, leaning against the wall. “As I was walking away from him, I just couldn’t help but think about how it didn’t feel like an ending, even though we’ve said goodbye twice now. Maybe I’m just never gonna move on from TJ Kippen,” he muttered, and Amber sighed.

“Things haven’t ended Cy,” she said quietly, and he scoffed, looking up at her.

“And how is that?” he said sadly.

“Because you haven’t said everything,” she replied, smirking. “And I don’t think my brother has either.”

Cyrus sat up, letting Amber’s words sink in. Things were silent as all three girls stared at him making up his mind. Finally, Cyrus smiled to himself, pushing himself off the ground.

“What’s TJ’s room number, Amber?” Cyrus asked quickly, moving to the table to get his coat.

“457. Why?” she asked, her tone amused as she saw Cyrus run to the door, turning back.

“I figured out the ending.”

*

“Well, if nothing, that was a dramatic exit,” Andi said after Cyrus ran out of the room, earning a round of laughter from Buffy and Amber. She sighed, moving to get up from the bed. “Anyway, I should probably go back to my room and actually get some sleep.”

“Wait, what? No,” Buffy said, grabbing her shoulder. “You shouldn’t be alone after what happened.”

“Buffy, I swear I’m fine now,” Andi said, looking at her reassuringly, but Buffy shook her head, pushing herself off the bed.

“No, I won’t have it. You can stay here with Amber, I’ll go to your room.”

“Are you sure, Buff?” Amber asked, knitting her eyebrows together. “What about your luggage?”

“I’ll just carry my backpack, it has the stuff I need in the morning,” Buffy said, shouldering the bag and slipping on her shoes.

“Buffy, really, it’s okay,” Andi said, still protesting, but she knew it was a losing battle. Still, she pulled out the last card. “I don’t have anything to wear tomorrow.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, you can forego your biker aesthetic and just borrow Amber’s clothes, Mack,” Buffy said with a smirk as she rolled her eyes. She walked to the door and turned around, smiling at the two before walking out the door.

“Huh,” was all Andi said as the door closed behind her.

“Huh indeed,” Amber agreed, looking over to smile at her. “Well, looks like its just us now.”

“Yeah it is,” Andi said, turning to look at Amber. “What’s been up with you? Hope your life has been better than mine.”

Amber let out a short laugh, lying back on the bed, Andi joining beside her. “Only marginally. I don’t have much luck in the love department either. I just got out of a breakup.”

“Oh no Amber, are you okay?” she asked softly, turning over onto her side to look at her. Amber did the same, looking over at Andi warmly.

“Yeah, I am. I mean, it sucks, because I did really like her. But in the end, she broke my heart. So I wasn’t gonna care.”

Andi nodded, bumping her head against Amber’s, making the other girl blush. “Good for you. What was her name?”

Amber sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “Emily.”

“It’s a pretty name,” Andi said quietly, and Amber nodded. “What was she like?”

“Kind, sweet, bubbly, of course. Creative, really creative.”

“Oh really? How so?”

“Like, she was really good at crafts. Of any kind really.”

Andi sucked in a breath, feeling her heart rate pick up. “Oh?” she said quietly, hoping Amber didn’t find anything amiss.

Luckily, Amber didn’t pay attention to it. “She was amazing. But, I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.”

“That’s a shame,” Andi said, regaining her composure. “You’re so amazing Amber.”

“Thank you Bambi,” Amber said softly, reaching over to squeeze Andi’s hand.

Andi giggled slightly. “You haven’t called me that in forever.”

Amber just smiled at her, letting go of her hand. “Just felt right.”

They lay like that for a few moments, the only sounds being a car every few minutes, and their breathing. Eventually, Amber sighed, pushing herself up from the bed.

“We should probably sleep, flight and everything,” she said, and Andi nodded, surprised at how disappointed she felt when Amber moved over to the other bed. But she shook her head, borrowing Amber’s brush to brush through her hair, before she settled into bed, pulling the duvet up to her chin as she sank into the bed, surprised at the exhaustion haunting her.

Amber tied up her hair and crawled into bed, facing Andi as she lay down, pulling the duvet onto her. “Goodnight, Bambi.”

“Goodnight, Snorpion,” Andi said quietly, earning a soft giggle from Amber.

“Can’t believe you called me that,” she said, before reaching out and switching off the light.

Andi tried to shut her eyes, but try as she could, she couldn’t pull her eyes from the outline of Amber’s sleeping figure. What was happening?

No, she knew what was happening.

She couldn’t stop thinking about how Amber’s ex sounded so familiar. Andi how she felt her heart drop when Amber went to her own bed.

Andi just shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. She couldn’t deal with the unaddressed feelings she carried for Amber Kippen, not when they wouldn’t see each other ever again after that night.

~~~~~~~~

sorry this is so short next time will be longer!

@pixieangelprincess @luzawithoutu @terri-does-gods-work @sxshx-sxshx @tozbier @alittletooliteralleah @bambiandambi @xserenitynx @thedampjofangirl @purplefacey @andi-man @proteccthelemonboi

hmu if you wanna be tagged!

[luvneedsnosyt]

My Favorite Albums of 2020 So Far

Here is my list of my favorite albums half-way through 2020

You can find my list of my favorite albums of 2019 here And my list of my favorite EPs of 2019 here

My Monthly top albums lists from 2020: January, February, March, April, May

Keep in mind I didn’t include albums released after June 12th on this list

Honorable Mention:

Blanche - EMPIRE Genre: Indie Pop

Proof: Empire / Till We Collide

Caroline Rose - Superstar Genre: Synth-Pop

Proof: Nothing’s Impossible / Someone New

Deante’ Hitchcock - BETTER Genre: Hip Hop

Proof: I Remember / I Got Money Now (Feat. J.I.D.)

dvsn - A Muse In Her Feelings Genre: R&B / neo-Soul

Proof: Dangerous City (Feat. Ty Dolla $ign & Buju Banton) / A Muse

Grimes - Miss Anthropocene Genre: Synth Pop / Electronic

Proof: Violence (w/ i_o) / idoru // Bonus: We Appreciate Power (BloodPop Remix) Feat. HANA

Halsey - Manic Genre: alt-R&B / Pop

Proof: You should be sad / Without Me // Bonus: Marshmello & Halsey - Be Kind / You should be sad (Tiësto Remix) / Graveyard (Axwell Remix) / Without Me (ILLENIUM Remix)

Illenium - ASCEND (Remixes) Genre: Electronic / Dance

Proof: Good Things Fall Apart (3LAU Remix) w/ Jon Bellion / In Your Arms (Alan Walker Remix) w/ X Ambassadors

Jason Ross - 1000 Faces //   1000 Faces (Remixes) Genre: Electronic / Dance

Proof: One That Got Away (w/ Dabin & Dylan Matthew) / 1000 Faces (w/ Dia Frampton) //  Known You Before (Trivecta Remix) Feat. Emilie Brandt / Shelter (No Mana Remix) Feat. Melanie Fontana

KAYTRANADA - BUBBA Genre: alt-R&B / House

Proof: 10% (Feat. Kali Uchis) / Need It (Feat. Masego)

Lady Gaga - Chromatica Genre: Pop / Dance

Proof: Stupid Love / Replay

Låpsley - Through Water Genre: Indie Pop / Electronic

Proof: Ligne 3 / Womxn

Loote - heart eyes EP Genre: Indie Pop

Proof: This is How U Feel / All The Fucking Time // Bonus: teamwork., Loote & John K - Wasted Summer

Matoma - RYTME EP Genre: Electronic / House / Dance

Proof: Don’t Stop The Rhythm (Feat. Bryn Christopher) / Beside You (w/ Captain Cuts Feat. Georgia Ku) // Bonus: The Bender (The Him Remix) (w/ Brando) / Time To Go

Seven Lions - Find Another Way EP Genre: Electronic / Dance / Trance

Proof: Only Now (Feat. Tyler Graves) / Another Way (w/ April Bender) // Bonus: 3LAU - Tokyo (Seven Lions Remix) Feat. XIRA / Abaxis , Dimibo & Seven Lions - Half Of It

The Strokes - The New Abnormal Genre: Alternative / Rock

Proof: Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus / Not The Same Anymore

Tchami - Born Again / Buenos Aires EP Genre: Electronic / House / Dance

Proof: Buenos Aires / Proud (Feat. Daecolm) // Bonus: Proud (Steffan City Remix) Feat. Daecolm / Ghosts (Vowed Remix) Feat. Hana

We Are The City - RIP Genre: Rock / Alternative

Proof: Killer B-Side Music / Saint Peter

The List:

15. Alina Baraz - It Was Divine Genre: R&B / Soul

Proof: Morocco (Feat. 6LACK) / Endlessly / Off The Grid (Feat. Khalid) / More Than Enough

14. Harry Styles - Fine Line Genre: Alternative / Indie Pop

Proof: Watermelon Sugar / Adore You / Lights Up / Fine Line

13. Krewella - zer0 // zer0 (The Remixes Pt. 1) EP // zer0 (The Remixes Pt. 2) EP Genre: Electronic / Synth-Pop / Dance

Proof: Good On You (Feat. Nucleya) / Anxiety (Feat. Arrested Youth) / Ghost / Greenlights // Good On You (MOTi Remix) Feat. Nucleya / Greenlights (MADGRRL Remix) // Anxiety (Prince Fox Remix) Feat. Arrested Youth / Like We (BEAUZ Remix) Feat. Yung Baby & Alaya

12. iamnotshane - iamnotshane EP Genre: alt-R&B / Electronic

Proof: Afterlife / Security / Perfect / Right Now // Bonus: Afterlife (Michael Calfan Remix) / Perfect (Thomas Gold Remix) / Right Now (jackLNDN Remix)

11. Jack Garrett - Love, Death & Dancing Genre: R&B / Pop / Electronic

Proof: Time / Return Them To The One / Better / Circles

10. Charli XCX - how i’m feeling now Genre: Synth Pop / Dance

Proof: forever / enemy / i finally understand / anthems // Bonus: claws (Whethan Remix)

9. Buscabulla - Regresa Genre: Latin / Pop / Dance

Proof: Vàmono / El Aproeto / Mío / NTE

8. Purity Ring - WOMB Genre: Synth Pop

Proof: pink lightening / i like the devil / vehemence / stardew

7. Run The Jewels - RTJ4 Genre: Hip Hop

Proof: yankee and the brave (ep. 4) / JU$T (Feat. Pharrell WIlliams & Zach de la Rocha) / the ground below / a few words from the firing squad (radiation)

6. Shallou - Magical Thinking Genre: Electronic / Future Bass

Proof: Forget / Mutual Love (Feat. Zachary Knowles) / Older (Feat. Daya) / Good Together (Feat. Ashe) // Bonus: Older (Felix Cartel Remix) Feat. Daya / I Leave Again (w/ Petit Biscuit) / Jeremy Zucker & Chelsea Cutler - you were good to me (Shallou Remix)

5. The Weeknd - After Hours //  After Hours (Remixes) EP Genre: alt-R&B

Proof: Heartless / Blinding Lights / In Your Eyes / After Hours // Blinding Lights (Chromatics Remix) Feat. Johnny Jewel / After Hours (The Blaze Remix) // Bonus: Blinding Lights (Major Lazer Remix)

4. Jonah Mutono - GERG Genre: alt-R&B / Soul

Proof: Shoulders / If You Mean It / The Low / Circulation

3. Phantogram - Ceremony Genre: Synth-Pop

Proof: Dear God / In A Spiral / Pedestal / Let Me Down

2. Childish Gambino - 3.15.20 Genre: Hip Hop / alt-R&B

Proof: Alogrhythm / Time (Feat. Ariana Grande) / 19.10 / 42.26

1. Tame Impala - The Slow Rush Genre: Synth-Pop / Alternative

Proof: Borderline / Breathe Deeper / Lost in Yesterday / It Might Be Time // Bonus: It Might Be Time (Louis The Child Bootleg)

Others:

Good: A Boogie wit da Hoodie - Artist 2.0, AceMoMa - A New Dawn [HOA007], Ada Lea - woman, here EP, Adrian Younge & Ali Shaeed Muhammad - Jazz Is Dead 001, Active Child - In Another Life, Aesop Rock - Freedom Finger [Music from the Game], Agnes Obel - Myopia, Alec Benjamin - These Two Windows, Alexandra Savior - The Archer, Allan Kingdom - Iddtfm EP, Allan Rayman - Christian, Allie X - Cape God, ALMA - Have You Seen Her?, Amber Liu - Rogue Rogue EP, Amber Liu - X EP, Andy Shauf - The Neon Skyline, Anna Burch - If You’re Dreaming, Anna Calvi - Hunted EP, Ant Saunders - BUBBLE EP, April - New Conditions EP, Ari Lennox - Shea Butter Baby (Remix EP), Arin Ray - Phases II EP, Atmosphere - Whenever, Audrey Mika - 5 A.M. EP, AWOLNATION - Angel Miners & the Lightning Riders, Bad Bunny - LAS QUE NO IBAN A SALIR, Baril - One More Rush EP, Baths - Pop Music / False B-Sides II, Banoffee - Look at Us Now Dad, Beach Bunny - Honeymoon, Becca Stevens - Wonderbloom, Best Coast - Always Tomorrow, Big Gigantic - Free Your Mind, Bishop Nehru - Nehruvian Tuesdays: Vol, 1, Bombay Bicycle Club - Everything Else Has Gone Wrong, Bongeziwe Mabandla - iimini, Boniface - Boniface, BOSCO - Some Day This Will All Make Sense EP, Brandon Banks - STATIC EP, Brent Faiyaz - Fuck The World, Bring Me the Horizon - Music to Listen to~Dance to~Blaze to~Pray to~Feed to~Sleep to~Talk to~Grind to~Trip to~Breathe to~Help to~Hurt to~Scroll to~Roll to~Love to~Hate to~Learn Too~Plot to~Play to~Be to~Feel to~Breed to~Sweat to~Dream to~Hide to~Live to~Die to~Go To EP, Buddy & Kent Jamz - Janktape Vol. 1, Calvin Harris - Love Regenerator 1 EP, Calvin Harris - Love Regenerator 2 EP, Calvin Harris - Love Regenerator 3 EP, Calvin Harris & Eli Brown - Moving EP, Cam’ron - Purple Haze 2, Caribou - Suddenly, Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated Side B, Car Seat Headrest - Making a Door Less Open, Charlotte de Witte - Return to Nowhere EP, Chelsea Cutler - How To Be Human, Chloe x Halle - Ungodly Hour, Christian Paul - Christian Paul EP, Christine and the Queens - La vita nuova EP, Chromeo - Quarantine Casanova EP, Clap! Clap! - Liquid Portraits, Cleo Sol - Rose in the Dark, Conor Matthews - Balloons EP, D Smoke - Bad Habits, DaBaby - BLAME IT ON BABY, Daecolm - Figur£$, Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar, Day Wave - Crush EP, Delacey - Black Coffee, Delta Heavy - Only in Dreams (Remixes), Denzel Curry - UNLOCKED [Mixtape], Destroyer - How We Met, Diana Gordon - Wasted Youth, Dijon - How Do You Feel About Getting Married? EP, Diplo - Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley Chapter 1: Snake Oil, Dirty Projectors - Windows Open EP, Disclosure - Ecstasy EP, DJ BORING - Like Water EP, dj poolboi - it’s good to hear your voice, DJ Snake - Carte Blanche (Deluxe), Drake - Dark Lane Demo Tapes, DRAMA - Dance Without Me, Dreamville - Revenge of the Dreamers III : Director’s Cut, Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia, Dua Saleh - Rosetta EP, Duke Dumont - Duality, Ebenezer - Bad Romantic II EP, Echosmith - Lonely Generation, EDEN - no future, Ekali - A World Away, Elah Hale - Room 206 EP, Ellie Winter - Yeah, No. EP, Empress Of - I’m Your Empress Of, Eric Bellinger - Hor D’oeuvres, Ethan Gruska - En Garde, Everything Is Recorded - FRIDAY FOREVER, Example - Some Nights Last For Days, Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters, Flatbush Zombies - now, more than ever EP, flora cash - Baby, It’s Okay, Four Tet - Sixteen Oceans, Fractures - EP III, Fred again.. - Actual Life EP, Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist - Alfredo, Free Nationals - Free Nationals, Gabrielle Aplin - Dear Happy, Galantis - Church, Gengahr - Sanctuary, Georgia - Seeking Thrills, Gil Scott-Heron & Makaya McCraven - We’re New Again: A Reimagine by Makaya McCraven, Giveon - TAKE TIME, The Glitch Mob - Chemicals EP, GRiZ - bangers[5].zip EP, Grouplove - The Healer, GUM - Out In The World, Half Waif - The Caretaker, Hailee Steinfeld - Half Written Story EP, HAWA - the ONE, Hayley Kiyoko - I’m Too Sensitive For This Shit EP, Hayley Williams - Petals for Armor, Hayley Williams - Petals For Armor I EP, Hinds - The Prettiest Curse, HMLTD - West of Eden, Icarus - Unfold, Incubus - Trust Falls (Side B) EP, i_o - NRG 444 EP, Isaia Huron - Libbie, iyla - OTHER WAYS TO VENT, J Balvin - Colores, Jack Garrett - Love, Death & Dancing (Vol. 1) EP, Jack Garrett - Love, Death & Dancing (Vol. 2) EP,  JACKBOYS & Travis Scott - JACKBOYS EP, Jacob Latimore - C3, Jadakiss - Ignatius, Jade Novah - Stages, James Smith - An EP, Japan, Man - Cautious EP, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Reunions, Jauz - Dangerous Waters EP, Jay Electronica - A Written Testimony, Jeremy Zucker - love is not dying, Jessie Reyez - BEFORE LOVE CAME TO KILL US, Jhené Aiko - Chilombo, Jody Wisteernoff - Story of Light EP, JoJo - good to know, Joyner Lucas - ADHD, JOYRYDE - Brave, JP Saxe - Hold It Together EP, Justin Bieber - Changes, Kali Uchis - TO FEEL ALIVE EP, Kamaiyah - Got It Made, Kaskade - Redux 004 EP, Katie Gately - Loom, K CAMP - Kiss 5, Kehlani - It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, Kevin Ross - Audacity, Vol 1 EP, Kiana Ledé - KIKI, Kid Krow - Conan Gray, King Princess - Cheap Queen (Deluxe), Khushi - Strange Seasons, Khruangbin & Leon Bridges - Texas Sun EP, KIRBY - Sis. EP, K. Michelle - All Monsters Are Human, Knxwledge - 1998, Kodaline - One Day at a Time, Kygo - Golden Hour, Lane 8 - Brightest Lights, LA Priest - GENE, La Roux - Supervision, Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter, Lauren Auder - two caves in EP, Lauv - ~how i’m feeling~, Lil Wayne - Funeral, Little Dragon - New Me, Same Us, Little Simz - Drop 6 EP, LL Cool J - Authentic, Long Beach Dub Allstars - Long Beach Dub Allstars, Lonr. - Land of Nothing Real, LOONY - JOYRiDE EP, Loud Luxury - Nights Like This EP, Louis Tomlinson - Walls, Lucky Daye - Painted (Deluxe Edition), Luke James - to feel love/d, Lupe Fiasco - Chill Spotlight EP, Mac Miller - Circles, Mahalia - Isolation Tapes EP, MAITA - Best Wishes, Major Lazer - Soca Storm EP, Mala Rodriguez - MALA, Manatee Commune - Crescent Lake EP, Mason Maynard - Lookin’ At Me EP, Medasin - RIPPLS, Megan Thee Stallion - Suga, Mick Jenkins - The Circus EP, Midwife - Forever, Mija - Desert Trash, MILCK - Into Gold EP, Moaning - Uneasy Laughter, Model Man - Beta Songs EP, Moses Sumner - græ, Mourning [A] BLKstar - The Cycle, Mura Masa - R.Y.C., mxmtoon - dawn, Nada Surf - Never Not Together, Naeem - Startisha,  Nap Eyes - Snapshot of a Beginner, Nathaniel Rateliff - And It’s Still Alright, NNAMDÏ - BRAT, Noah Cyrus - THE END OF EVERYTHING EP, No Mana - Secret Level, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds - Blue Moon Rising EP, Norah Jones - Pick Me Up off the Floor, Ohmme - Fantasize Your Ghost, Oh Wonder - No One Else Can Wear The Crown, Okay Kaya - Watch This Liquid Pour Itself, Omar S - You Want, Orion Sun - Hold Space For Me, The Overcoats - The Fight, PARTYNEXTDOOR - PARTYMOBILE, Perfume Genius - Set My Heart on Fire Immediately, Pet Shop Boys - Hotspot, Photay - Waking Hours, Pictish Trail - Thumb World, POLIÇA - When We Stay Alive, Poppy - I Disagree, Poolside - Low Season, Porches - Ricky Music, Post Animal - Forward Motion Godyssey, The Professionals (Madlib & Oh No) - The Professionals, Princess Nokia - Everything Is Beautiful, Princess Nokia - Everything Sucks, Pure X - Pure X, RAC - BOY, Ratboys - Printer’s Devil, Raveena - Moonstone EP, Real Estate - The Main Thing, Recondite - Dwell, renforshort - teenage angst EP, Ric Wilson & Terrace Martin - They Call Me Disco EP, Rileyy Lanez - Beautiful Mistakes EP, Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA, Riz Ahmed - The Long Goodbye, RJD2 - The Fun Ones, Robinson - Watching You EP, Ro James - MANTIC, Royce da 5’9” - The Allegory, Roy Woods - Dem Times EP, rum.gold - aiMless EP, Russ - SHAKE THE SNOW GLOBE, Ryan Beatty - Dreaming of David, Sam Lee - Oh Wow, San Fermin - The Cormorant I & II, SAYGRACE - The Defining Moments of SAYGRACE: Girlhood, Fuckboys & Situationlists, Sea Wolf - Through A Dark Wood, Selena Gomez - Rare, Sérgio Mendez - In the Key of Joy, Shabazz Palaces - The Don of Diamond Dreams, Shakey Graves - Look Alive EP, Ship Wrek - Mirror Mirror EP, Shoffy - Flash, Shopping - All or Nothing, Sleepy Hallow - Sleepy Hallow Presents: Sleepy For President, Slowly Slowly - Race Car Blues, Smino - She Already Decided [Mixtape], Soccer Mommy - Color Theory, Son Little - Aloha, Sorry - 925, Spacey Jane - Sunlight, Spencer Brown - Stream of Consciousness, Steve Aoki - Neon Future IV, Steve Spacek - House, Stormzy - Heavy Is The Head, STRFKR - Future Past Life, Striking Matches - Night EP, Subtronics - Scream Saver EP, Surfaces - Horizons, $uicideboy$ - Stop Staring at the Shadows, Sweaton Klank - Good Days, Sweet Whirl - How Much Works, Swing Ting - 100 Dances, Tank - While You Wait EP, Tate McRae - all the things i never said EP, TOKiMONSTA - Oasis Nocturno, Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes - What Kinda Music, TOPS - I Feel Alive, TORRES - Silver Tongue, Tory Lanez - The New Toronto 3, TeaMarr - Before I Spill Myself, Tech N9ne - Enterfear, Tech N9ne - ENTERFEAR Level 2 EP, Tennis - Swimmer, Tiësto - The London Sessions, Tink - Hopeless Romantic, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Temple, The-Dream - SXTPA, Theophilus London - Bebay, Thundercat - It Is What It Is, Tokio Myers - BLACK DAWN EP , Tourist - Wild (Remixes) EP, Trivecta - Everyday EP, T.R.U. & 2 Chainz - No Face No Chase, Two Feet - Pink, Tycho - Simulcast, T3 - Mr. Fantastic EP, Various Artists - Bad Boys For Life Soundtrack, Various Artists - Birds is Pray: The Album, Various Artists - Ophelia Presents: Advent Volume 1, Various Artists - The Turning (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Varsity - Fine Forever, Vistas - Everything Changes in the End, Vundabar - Either Light, Vybz Kartel - To Tanesha, Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud, WENS - Lemoncholy EP, William Black - Pages (The Remixes), Wiz Khalifa - The Saga of Wiz Khalifa, Wolf Parade - Thin Mind, X Ambassador - Belong EP, xylø - The Ganglands of My Heart EP, Yaeji - WHAT WE DREW 우리가 그려왔던, Yellow Claw - Never Dies, Yo Gotti - Untrapped, Youngr - Memories, Yumi Zouma - Truth or Consequences, Yves Tumor - Heaven To a Tortured Mind, Zeds Dead - We Are Deadbeats (Vol. 4), Zsela - Ache of Victory EP, 070 Shake - Modus Vivendi, The 1975 - Notes On A Conditional Form, 5 Seconds of Summer - CALM

Meh: ARTHUR - Hair of the Dog, The Black Lips - Sing in a World That’s Falling Apart,  Bruno Major - To Let A Good Thing Die, Don Toliver - Heaven Or Hell, Eminem - Music To Be Murdered By, Frances Quinlan - Likewise, Future - High On Life, iann dior - I’m Gone, Jaunt - All In One, Jeezy - Twenty/20 Pyrex Vision EP, Lil Baby - My Turn, Lil Uzi Vert - Eternal Atake, Lil Uzi Vert - LUV vs. The World 2, Liquid Stranger - Ascension EP, Masiwei & Higher Brothers - Prince Charming, MHYSA - Navaeh, Nicolas Jaar - Cenizas, Rich The Kid - BOSS MAN, Social Club Misfits - MOOD // DOOM

[oswaldsirius]

Once in a Lifetime

Chapter Nine: First Date

Pairing: Leonardo/Arabella

Word Count: 2861

A/N: Another Friday, another update! Hope everyone survived that last event well!

-

           “I can’t wear this!”

           “You’re wearing it.”

           “Carmella!”

           “You asked for my help, Arabella. This is my help.”

           She hadn’t expected this! Twisting in front of the mirror, she muttered, “This is too much for a first date.”

           “It really isn’t. You should see some of the things they wear in New York.”

           She had an idea from the pictures Carmella had sent her. Arabella sighed and knew there was no getting out of this. She’d been so excited when Leonardo had called-not texted-to ask her out to dinner. That excitement had turned to panic as she’d realised she had no idea what was appropriate. Turning to her sister for help, Carmella had immediately taken control of it and sent her an outfit.

           “It’s so much skin,” she muttered, staring at the deep vee of lace on her back that dipped past her waist. What little the lace did cover was pointless as it was sheer and barely cast shadows on her.

           “That’s the point, Belli. Yes, you’re showing skin but not what he’ll want. So make him mad with the want for more.”

           Arabella rolled her eyes. “Now you’re being ridiculous.”

           Carmella frowned at her from the computer screen. “If you don’t want him to want you, what do you want, Arabella? You gave him your only dance at your new beginning. If you don’t want him to want you then what are you doing with him?”

           She stopped, staring at her sister. What she wanted? What did she want? No one had really asked her that before and she hadn’t stopped to consider it. She’d been running on pure emotion the night of her new beginning, hers and the overflow of his. Talking with him these last two weeks had done nothing to dampen that high. If anything it had merely stoked it higher. “I don’t know,” she said softly. “Being with him just feels…right. Like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be. I just…want to be with him. I don’t care what we’re doing.”

           Her sister was still staring and it was impossible to miss the concern there.

           “Elle?” she asked curiously.

           “You’re definitely a Cavinato,” she murmured. “When we fall, it’s fast and hard and only for one.”

           Arabella blinked. Carmella loved someone? She’d never mentioned anything about that before! But she got the feeling she shouldn’t ask. If her sister had wanted her to know, she would have told her. “Do you really think he’ll like it?” she asked.

           That seemed to shake her sister out of her memories. Carmella smiled, saying, “Arabella, if the night doesn’t end with him pinning you to something, he’s not the one for you.”

           “That’s not-Why would you say that?!”

           “You want to be with him, yeah? Well, this will be the test to see if he wants you back.” Carmella paused. “Although,” she mused, “if he’s serious he might keep his hands to himself.”

           How did that sentence make her both happy and sad at the same time? “Well-”

           “That leaves the door open for you to make the first move!”

           And the mere idea of that thrilled her.

           “Look at you,” Carmella purred, grinning. “You’re a little liar, Belli! You want him to want you! You can’t wait to get your hands on him!”

           Arabella flushed, looking away, but she didn’t deny it. She’d thought about their walk every day since it had happened. How she had held his hand for the entire hour. It had been so natural to do it she hadn’t realised what she’d done. He hadn’t seemed to mind, he certainly hadn’t stopped her. Would he stop her if she wanted to touch a little more?

           “Aw, my baby Belli Bean with her first crush.”

           “Carmella, shut up!”

           Her sister started to laugh as a knock came at the door. Arabella ignored her to open it and regretted it as soon as she did when she saw Emil. “Hi,” she said.

           He looked her over before sighing. “Carmella, really?”

           “She looks good! And there’s no time for her to get something else!”

           Arabella gave him a weak smile as he rolled his eyes.

           “Say good night, Arabella,” he said. “The car’s ready.”

           Her heart fluttered. Already?

           “Belli.”

           She turned to the computer.

           Carmella smiled softly at her. “Have fun and enjoy yourself. It’s your first date. No matter what, enjoy it.”

           “Okay,” she said quietly.

           “We’ll talk later, yeah?” Her sister paused. “Tomorrow,” she added slyly.

           Arabella made a noise, but it was drown out by Emil’s sigh. She quickly grabbed her last few things before following him. He offered her his arm as they descended the stairs.

           “You have everything?” he asked.

           “Mmhmm and my phone’s fully charged.”

           Emil chuckled. “You can’t blame me, Arabella. Your safety is my responsibility and you’re my baby sister. It doesn’t matter how old you get; that will never change.”

           They reached the foyer as he said that and she stopped to look at him. “I’ll be careful, Emil,” she promised.

           He slipped her shawl around her shoulders and took them in his hands. Her lashes fluttered as he leaned in to kiss her forehead. “Enjoy yourself,” he said.

           “What?” she teased. “No curfew.”

           Emil chuckled. “No curfew. You’re an adult but I would like to have breakfast with you.”

           Her face heated at the implication. “Breakfast,” she muttered. “Right.”

           He laughed again and turned her toward the door. “Get going, Arabella.”

           She grumbled as she went out the door. Her siblings were terrible and enjoying this far too much. They loved her but were utterly terrible. She walked down the stairs and smiled at Louis as he held the car door open for her. “Thank you,” she murmured.

           “Have a good night, Mademoiselle.”

           As soon as she was settled in the back of the car, she closed her eyes and made herself breathe. It was just dinner. Dinner was easy. She could do dinner. Conversation. They’d had conversations aplenty over the last two weeks. They hadn’t run out of topics yet.

           Looking out the window, she watched the lights roll by as they drove. Her thoughts calmed as she did, everything in her settling. The date would be fine. She’d had no problems with him so far and it was just a formal setting. If it didn’t work out, they could have more walks in the park.

           She smiled at that thought, curling her hands together. Maybe she’d even get to hold his hand the entire time again.

           When the car finally stopped, she waited, her heart slowly picking up speed with excitement this time. She could feel him inside, his presence as strong as if he were standing beside her. So close! All she had to do was get inside and she’d be on her first date.

           “Mademoiselle.”

           Accepting the hand extended to her, Arabella stepped out of the car and tugged her shawl closer. This was it! She murmured her thanks and tried not to flush at the indulgent smile he gave her. All of them were enjoying this a little too much.

           She pushed the thought away as she approached the door and the doorman opened it. She shivered as warmth washed over her this time and glanced around curiously.

           Art hung on the walls, some old from painters she recognised while others were newer. Gentle murmurs filled the air from those waiting in the entrance and the dining room beyond. She felt what people were around her glance at her, their gazes sliding over her, but she felt the weight of one. He’d seen her. Even though she wanted to see him, she still looked around for a moment longer. One deep breath and she turned.

           He was impossible to miss, standing near the back in his dark suit. His golden gaze was burning across the room, focused only on her. The soft lights burnished his tawny skin and stole her breath away. She barely noticed the slim cut of his suit or the way his shirt seemed to shift as he walked, sometimes red, sometimes black; all she could see was the look on his face. Wanting, hungry, yearning…lusting.

           Thanks, Carmella, she thought as he reached her and she didn’t miss how his tongue darted across his lips. “Buonosera, Leonardo,” she murmured.

           “Buonosera, Arabella,” he breathed, taking her hand to kiss the back of it.

           As amber eyes flicked back up to her, she couldn’t help her slow smile. Carmella was right; she did want him to want her.

-

           Was it possible to die from wanting someone?

           Brushing his lips over her hand, Leonardo didn’t miss the satisfied smile that curled her lips and sealed his fate. It was the smile of a woman who knew she had her partner well and truly caught. And she did. He was wholly and completely hers.

           He’d felt her arrival, a burst of warmth on his skin, a sunrise with no sun. Only her. Seeing her was akin to standing next to the sun because her shawl did nothing to hide the cut of her dress or how it clung to her.

           “Have you been waiting long?” she asked as he straightened but kept her hand.

           “No.” Even if he had, he wouldn’t tell her, but he’d only arrived shortly before her. “Shall we?”

           Her smile softened as he tucked her hand in his arm. He didn’t miss how she stepped closer to him as well. The rational part of his mind told him it was because she was cold, her dress and shawl not suited for keeping out a chill. The other part of his mind that had missed her desperately came up with an entirely different story and wanted her closer still.

           Which meant he needed to get this date moving or he might do something he shouldn’t.

           The man at the desk looked up as they approached and smiled. “Ah, Monsieur de Vries, I see your guest is as prompt as you.”

           Leonardo smiled faintly. He’d only had a short conversation with Daniel, letting him know he was merely waiting for his lady’s arrival, but the man seemed pleasant enough and willing to help with whatever he needed. Was that why Emiliano had told him to ask for him?

           “Right this way, please” Daniel said.

           “Are you sure you haven’t been here long?” Arabella whispered as they moved into the restaurant.

           “Only long enough to say I was here.”

           He wasn’t sure she believed him, but she didn’t say anything as they went upstairs. They were shown to a private dining room that had a single table set before an open balcony. Soft lights cast softer shadows across the room and gave the entire setting an intimate feel. It was personal and romantic and perfect for having a first date.

           He gently shooed the man away and pulled out Arabella’s chair for her. He waited as she settled, partly for her and mostly for him as her shawl slipped and he saw the lace back of her dress. He was struck by the smooth expanse of skin he saw, but a memory pricked at him. She’d had scars the last time he’d seen this much of her, laced all down her spine and other places only he’d been privy to. But there was nothing but smooth skin now, marred by nothing, not even the sun.

           “Leonardo?”

           Her voice shook him out of his memories and he gave her a smile when he saw her peeking over her shoulder at him. Shrugging out of his coat, he hung it up before taking his seat across from her. “Thank you,” he said as he was passed a menu.

           Arabella hummed her thanks as well before falling quiet for a moment. “De Vries?” she asked curiously once they were alone.

           A pang shot through his heart. Maybe it hadn’t been the smartest name to use tonight, but it was the only one he had used in the last century. Everything he owned was in that name. Pushing past the new surge of memories, he smiled. “Can’t use my actual name.”

           She laughed softly. “No, of course not. But why ‘de Vries’? It’s a little odd for an Italian to have a Dutch name.”

           Not that odd, but what did he tell her? He was spared having to answer immediately as Daniel came back with a pair of glasses and bottle. Leonardo frowned faintly as he watched him pour, realising what it was.

           “Oh,” Arabella said softly, looking at the Blanc as it was set in front of her.

           Daniel glanced between the two of them before a faint smile crossed his face. “Monsieur Cavinato didn’t explain, did he?” he asked quietly.

           He’d had his suspicions given how Emiliano’s instructions had been. But actually having the confirmation? “You know what we are,” Leonardo said lowly even though that was obvious given the drink.

           “I do and select others who work here,” Daniel agreed. “We are paid quite well to maintain that secret and you can rest assured none of us will speak a word of your evening.”

           “Not even to Monsieur Cavinato.”

           The smile wasn’t so faint now. “We take great pride in having the Cavinatos as patrons to our establishment, but the rules are the rules and we don’t bend them for anyone.”

            That remained to be seen but Leonardo doubted Emiliano would send his sister anywhere that he didn’t trust. He watched as the second glass was set down with the Blanc before Daniel took his leave again.

           “Do you think he really won’t tell my brother?”

           “All we can do is take him at his word, cara mia. But,” Leonardo said, thinking about it, “anywhere that knows what we are, that works with us, knows the risks of betraying that trust.”

           She seemed to consider it before reaching for the Blanc. “You didn’t answer my question,” she said quietly, swirling it around the glass. “You can count it as my question of the day if you’d like.”

           A small chuckle left him. “No, you keep that one for now. The name…It belonged to someone important to me, someone who changed my life,” he said softly, honestly. “I took it to honour them, to remember them.”

           Arabella’s brow pinched faintly and she frowned. He watched as her gaze grew distant for a moment before clearing. “They must have been truly special for you to take their name,” she said, sipping the Blanc.

           Had his words triggered something in her? Some memory? Anything? “She was.”

           Her eyes darted up before away. “Oh.”

           Damn it, no. No, that wasn’t what he wanted. Even if she had meant the world to him, had been his world, that wasn’t for here, that wasn’t for now. Reaching across the table, he caught her hand, his thumb rubbing slowly across her knuckles. “It was a long time ago,” he said quietly.

           “But you use her name still.”

           He made himself smile but her tone hurt him. “Can’t call myself da Vinci and everything I own is in the de Vries name. Might get some odd looks and a call to the police if I use someone else’s credit card in this day and age.”

           A burst of laughter left her before she smothered it. “I’m sorry,” she said, giving him a weak smile.

           “For what?” he asked in confusion.

           “That wasn’t….” She made a face and waved her free hand. “Polite?”

           It was jealousy, is what it was. He knew that look well enough to recognize it now and it was entirely misplaced. If there hadn’t been so much on the line, he would have laughed at her getting jealous over herself. “You don’t have to be polite with me, cara mia. I’ve lived a long life. There’s countless things in it you couldn’t ever be aware of.” He paused, his head cocking as she squeezed his fingers slightly. “Arabella,” he said, waiting for her to look at him.

           It took a moment before she did and he didn’t miss the way her fingers trembled this time.

           “There is nothing you can do or say that will offend me,” he said quietly, holding her gaze. “That’s not something you have to worry about.”

           “You can’t know that,” she whispered.

           “I do know that.” Leonardo smiled. “You’re young and curious, cara mia. You want to learn and I have a history with many things to learn.”

           There was a look in her eyes that made his heart ache. He couldn’t put a name to it, wasn’t sure he’d ever seen it there before, but the clouds parted for a moment to let him see what she was feeling and it stirred too many things in him. “Promise?”

           How did she manage to do this to him? Bringing her hand to his lips, he pressed a soft kiss to the back of it. “I promise, Arabella.” And I promise to never give you doubt of my feelings again. He’d done that once and it had nearly ended in disaster for them both. Never again. Even if he couldn’t tell her the full truth, he wouldn’t hide his heart from her.

-

A/N 2: The dress in question~

[thelanguageoflovers]

A Study in Fate - Chapter 6

Lucy took a deep breath, leaning against the door of Emily’s car and closing her eyes. Cool air swirled around her, calming her heartbeat as she pulled her phone and earbuds out of her pocket. Sighing, she put them in her ears, subconsciously moving along to the song flooding through her earbuds.

When her hands stopped trembling a few moments later, she opened her eyes to find Buffy and Amber standing in front of her.

“There she is,” Amber said, smiling gently. Lucy nodded, gathering Amber into her arms in a warm hug. “You scared me, Luce.”

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled into Amber’s shoulder. “Where’s Teej?”

“Told him to take the other car home.”

“And Buffy’s here because…?” Lucy glanced over Amber’s shoulder, watching as Buffy’s eyes widened at the use of her first name. Lucy winked, smiling as Amber opened her mouth.

“She-”

“-Can speak for herself, I imagine?” Lucy teased, pulling away from the hug and looking to Buffy.

“I’m here to apologize,” Buffy supplied, stepping forward. “So, um, here goes. I’m...sorry. For everything. You’re here for what? 6 hours? And I was awful to you, and you didn't deserve that. At all. You’re more talented than I thought,” she admitted.

“That is how one apologizes, yes, good job,” Lucy chuckled, offering Buffy her hand. “I appreciate it.”

Buffy grinned, taking her hand and shaking it.

“...But I‘m still not joining the dance team,” Lucy said, grinning maliciously.

“Damn,” Buffy huffed.

“I’m just not a big ‘school dance team’ person. Cheerleading? Already in the works. Studio dance team? Already on it. But school dance teams? No thank you.”

“How the hell are you going to fit all that into your schedule? Maya told me you signed up for a 25 hour dance week,” Buffy said, eyebrows furrowed.

“Cheer is before school, with games on the weekends. I can make games after dance. And competition team will be during dance hours- I pulled some strings, and now it replaces strength and conditioning in Maya’s eyes. I guess that’s because it meets every day- also I now only have a 22 hour week- and I keep up with workouts. So anyway, I still get the key to the studio, and competitions will replace classes- shit. I forgot- I’ll be right back!”

With that, she was rushing back into the studio. They watched her go for a few moments before turning back to one another.

“Is she just...Permanently renouncing sleep?” Buffy asked, leaning against the car.

“She already has,” Amber said casually. “And yes, she’s always like this.”

“Hmm. Fair enough.” Buffy smiled as Lucy stepped back out of the studio. “What’d you do now?”

“Got Maya to let be choreograph the team’s numbers for the competition in two weeks,” Lucy said, smirking smugly.

“All of them?” Buffy asked.

“Mhm, why not?”

“That’s insane! How did Maya Beck let you do that? Her own son wasn’t even allowed to when he asked two seasons ago. Granted, Jonah Beck is awful. Should definitely just stick with his guitar. But he is her son. Like- the literal and actual continuation of her family. They’re not flesh and blood, but-”

“They’re family, we get it.” Lucy rolled her eyes in amusement as she and Amber slid into the car. “You getting in?”

“I- what?”

“Don’t you want a ride home?” Lucy asked, smiling like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“...Please don’t kill me,” Buffy mumbled, sliding into the backseat. “Jesus Christ, this thing is worth more than three times my mother’s entire pregnancy of American medical bills. And that woman needed an emergency C-section.”

“Interesting yardstick you’re using there,” Lucy chuckled, pulling out of the parking lot.

“Yeah, yeah. You still haven’t answered my question, though.”

“It’s like you said, Buffy.” Lucy briefly made eye contact with her in the rearview mirror. “I’m more talented than you might think.”

“...You are so fucking cocky, Kippen number 1,” Buffy said, gesturing for Lucy to take a right.

“So are Kippens 2-3,” Amber responded. “So what are you going to do for the competition?”

“I don’t know yet. But I do have a hell of an idea for a duo and one for a group routine. We don’t have nearly enough people for the group though, there are only seven girls including me. And no boys.”

“What are you gonna do?”

“...Probably some bullshit ‘7 Rings’ piece for the group. A duo to ‘Ghost of You’? That one’s gonna take a hell of a lot of work. Maybe a trio to ‘Hold On’-”

“Which one?” Amber interrupted.

“Extreme Music.”

“And you’ll be performing in all of these, I imagine?”

“Well, yeah. Maya said I’m probably best off taking the reins for a few competitions until I can get my girls in shape.

“Good. Anything else?”

“A solo. My solo.”

“Wait, are you going to-”

“Yup.” Lucy cut Amber off, hands tightening on the wheel.

“I thought you said you’d never perform that one again, no matter how much we liked it.”

“What? No! Not that one! That solo can rot, it’s awful. I mean ‘War of Hearts’.” Amber let out a low whistle, eyes wide.

“What’s ‘War of Hearts’?” Buffy asked from the back seat, leaning forward in interest. Amber waved her off, manicured acrylics dismissing her.

“Hang on. You’re going to pull out that solo on your first competition?”

“I don’t see why not.” Lucy shrugged.

“Because you almost died last time!”

“I did not ‘almost die’! I broke my leg and ankle, calm down. Plus, it’s never been performed in front of an audience, the choreo is done, and I only need one prop,” she bargained, rolling her eyes at Amber.

“A prop that almost paralyzed you last time!”

“I was not- okay I was almost paralyzed,” she conceded. “But it wasn’t the table’s fault! I just, uh, screwed up the fall. A little.”

“A little? Lucy, you had like three surgeries because they couldn’t figure out what the hell to do all at once!” Amber argued.

“What the hell is this routine?!” Buffy yelled. “It sounds like she has to like jump to her peril.”

“Not much better! She has to fucking fouetté off a table!”

“I do not fouetté off the table! I fouetté to the edge of the table and then fall off!” Lucy defended. She slowed to a stop at a red light, glancing at Buffy in the rearview mirror. “Very different experiences. Trust me, I’ve done both. Why are you so worried about this, anyway?” She drummed her fingers against the wheel, waiting for the light to turn.

“Lucy! You came back home a little banged up last time. But if you’d fallen a little further onto your neck? You wouldn’t have come home at all.”

Amber squeezed her eyes shut, pointing to the green light in front of them to distract from the fact that she was crying. Lucy sighed, waiting for the traffic in front of them to start through the light before she followed.

“Okay, I won’t-” Lucy was cut off by a flash of dark blue metal crossing her peripheral vision. Someone was about to run their light and kill them all. She’d always imagined she’d know what to do in this situation. Maybe she’d hit the breaks, maybe she’d turn out of the way. And yet somehow, she was on autopilot. She swerved to avoid the car, but it was too late. A loud shatter of glass signaled the car smashing into the passenger side of theirs.

Lucy paced back and forth in the hallway, phone pressed to her ear.

“Goddamnit TJ, pick up!” She nearly threw her phone across the hallway, but Buffy’s hand on her forearm stopped her. “Hey! You’re okay!”

“Just needed some stitches. Thank God I was sitting behind you, not Amber.”

“I am so sorry, Buffy. If I hadn’t offered you that ride…”

“If you hadn’t offered me that ride, maybe it would have been me and my mom in that accident. It wasn’t your fault, Lucy.”

“Is she on her way? Your mom?”

“Yeah, but it’s not her I’m worried about. Any word from TJ?” she asked, sitting down in a chair against the wall. Lucy sat down next to her, shaking her head and burying it in her hands.

“Nothing yet. I’m gonna try Aunt Em.” She put her phone to her ear, reciting the same word over and over. Please.

“Hello?”

“Emily? Oh thank God,” Lucy sighed. “Listen, is TJ with you? He’s not answering his phone.”

“No, he headed to the park to play some basketball, what’s going on?’

“I’ll explain later. Just get TJ and come to the hospital. Amber’s in a coma.”

“What?!”

“Just get down here!”

“On my way.” Lucy sighed, hanging up and running her hands through her hair.

“Em’s coming. She’s gotta run by the park to get TJ.”

“How many cars does that woman have?”

“How many billions was my family born into?” Lucy retorted.

“Do I want to know?”

“Nope,” she laughed, popping the ‘p’. “The Kippens are neither humble nor poor, though I wish we were the former.”

“You know, your lack of humility? It’s kind of your most signature characteristic in my mind to date. Care to change that?”

“...You do know that ‘to date’ is literally just one date to you, right? You met me this morning, Buffy.”

Buffy simply nodded in defeat, leaning back into her chair.

“...But, we are more complex than lack of humility,” she said.

“Alright, give me a rundown,” Buffy said, grinning. “I want the full out, ever present narrator in a teenage romcom description.”

And who was Lucy to say no to that?

“You ever seen Heathers?”

“...Yes? Do I want to know where this is going?”

“The Kippen triplets are kind of...that.” Lucy put on her best narrator voice, a dramatic expression on her face as she readied herself to speak about herself in the third person.

“Really?” Buffy asked. “Like- felony arson and all?”

“No,” Lucy laughed. “Like- they’re the Heathers. Chandler, Duke, and McNamara.”

“Then who’s who?”

“Well, there’s TJ, or Heather Duke in our case. Kind of seems like your classic white douchebag jock, but he’s actually a really sweet guy. He’s the baby of the triplets, but packs a hell of an angry punch. Don’t get in his way unless you absolutely have to. That goes for all three of them though; they’re a bit of a feisty trio.

“Um, then Amber, the middle triplet. And our Heather McNamara. She’s… A bit of a popular girl cliche. She and Lucy were co-captains of the cheer squad in New York. She, TJ, and Lucy are best friends, and together… They’re kind of a murderous group. Amber knows how to throw a punch pretty damn well for a rich girl with stiletto shaped acrylics- she’s just as good as TJ. Maybe better. If she wants something, she knows how to get it.”

“And that leaves…?” Buffy prompted.

“Heather Chandler. Lucy Kippen. In our case, one and the same. Lucy’s pretty much the head bitch of her life.”

“Fascinating,” Buffy said, propping her chin up on her hand. “Does that make you a mythic bitch?”

“Yeah alright, that’s over now,” Lucy said, reverting to her natural voice. “Listen, I’m just a normal person, Buffy.”

“You’re a Kippen.”

“Okay, I’m like… 70% a normal person.”

“Alright, but I’m only really concerned for your whole 100%?” Buffy said slowly.

“Alright fine. I’m a dancer. 100%.”

“One hell of a cop-out you’ve got there.”

“Ugh, fine! My favorite color is red, I get all A's in school, my favorite subject is math, my lucky number is 28, I am 6’1”, I weigh 127.8 pounds, my favorite animal is a cat. Anything I missed?”

“Hold up, you only weigh 128 pounds and you’re 6’1”? Alright, not my business. I know.”

“Good. Don’t criticize a ballerina’s weight, idiot,” she teased, knocking her shoulder into Buffy’s.

“I know, I realized it the second I said it,” Buffy apologized sheepishly.

“Don’t sweat it, Driscoll. It’s all good.”

“Have you met me? On the outside, totally good. But definitely gonna sweat it, Kippen. You will actually never hear the end of this apologetic tirade.”

“Please don’t bore me with that.”

“Ms. Kippen?” Lucy turned her attention to the doctor standing in front of her.

“Yes?”

“Your sister is still unconscious, but you’re welcome to see her now,” Dr. Lawrence said gingerly.

“Oh- thank you so much. Is- is she…?”

“We can’t be sure of anything right now, Ms. Kippen.”

“Okay, thank you. Um, Buffy, stay here and tell TJ and Emily where I am? Please?”

“I’m not going anywhere, Kippen. I’ll tell them.”

“Thank you,” Lucy whispered, turning to follow Dr. Lawrence.

She stepped into Amber’s room, breath catching in her throat. She’d never seen her sister like this; she was covered in bandages and stitched up cuts. Lucy pulled a chair up to Amber’s bedside, sitting down with a heavy sigh.

“Hey, Ambs. I don’t know if you can hear me, but, you know. I’m still going to talk to you. God, I’m so sorry. I don’t even know what to say, Amber. I’m supposed to have this eloquent speech about how you’ve changed me as a person and I miss you so much and please come back, but… I don’t know what there is to say. You’re my best friend, Ambs. TJ and I would be lost without you. But you already knew that. And I’m not- I’m not going to tell you to wake up. Because, if you have to go, Ambs, I get it. I’ll cry and scream and I’ll break down and probably resent you a little bit, but I’ll get it. If you need to go, I want you to know that I understand. However, I am definitely going to plead with you here a little bit. Please, please wake up, Amber. I can’t do all of this without you. TJ relies on us for fucking everything, and I rely on you two, too. There have been three of us since the very beginning, Amber. And there will be three of us until the end. So just- God, just wake up.”

“You think that works?” Lucy turned around to find TJ leaning against the doorframe.

“Teej,” she breathed, looping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug.

“How’s our girl?”

“She’s… Alive. Somehow.”

“She’s a fighter. Learned from the best, I guess.”

“Who?” Lucy asked, meeting TJ’s eyes.

“You, dumbass,” he teased. “You are by far the strongest person we know.”

“I’m strong and a dumbass?”

“You’re a multitasker. Hell of a good one, too.”

“Well, if a girl an be a strong dumbass, there’s nothing else to want!” Lucy said with a roll of her eyes and a shove of TJ’s shoulder.

“My point exactly. Listen, do you mind if I…?” he gestured to Amber. Lucy nodded, squeezing his forearm.

“I’ll go find Buffy. And maybe also a coffee. Want anything?”

“Um… I could really go for some chocolate.”

“On it,” Lucy promised. “Be back soon.”

As Lucy stepped out of the room, TJ sat down in the seat she left behind. She gently let the door click closed, turning down the hall toward the waiting room.

“How’s she doing?” Buffy immediately asked, standing up when Lucy stepped out of the hallway. “Um, this is my mom.”

“Ms. Driscoll,” Lucy said, extending a hand to the woman next to Buffy. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

“You too, Lucy. Please, call me Pat. How’s your sister?”

“She’s good. I guess. She’s alive. Comatose, but well and truly alive.”

“I’m so glad.”

“Lucy!” Emily exclaimed, rushing forward to hug Lucy tightly. “I’m so sorry, honey.”

“It was awful, Em,” Lucy sobbed into Emily’s chest. “And it’s all my fault.”

“Hey. This is not your fault, okay? You didn’t do anything wrong, kiddo.” Emily’s voice was measured and careful as she pulled back to squeeze Lucy’s hand. “In fact, you did everything right. You tried to avoid the accident, you were quick to call 911. Hell, you have Amber’s blood on your leotard because you kept her conscious until the EMT came. You’re basically a damn superhero, Lucy Eleanora Kippen.”

“Eleanora?” Buffy hissed, eyes wide.

“I didn’t choose it,” Lucy defended, glancing down at her outfit. “Holy shit. That’s actually Amber’s blood.”

“You didn’t notice?” Pat asked.

“Not really. I- I’ll change… at some point. But for now, I am on a coffee and chocolate run.”

“Coffee… and chocolate?” Buffy asked.

“Long story. Come with me?” Lucy asked quickly.

“Uh, sure?” Lucy tugged her down the hall without a second thought, only stopping when they found a coffee machine.

“What’s going on? You good?”

“Yep,” Lucy said, pulling Buffy forward and kissing her. Buffy’s hands tangled in her hair as she stood on her toes to reach Lucy’s lips. They pulled apart after a few moments, and Lucy nodded decisively.

“Uhh…” Buffy said slowly. “What was that about, exactly?”

“Thank you.” Lucy nodded again, as if confirming something, before disappearing back down the hallway.

“...Any time.”

[parabataisarah]

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 12

Masterlist here.

Reactions under the ‘Keep Reading’ cut.

- Lemme get this out of the way now… I’M ON A BOAT! I’M ON A BOAT! Sorry, I had the song stuck in my head lmao.

- Lmao, if that was me in real life, I would’ve fallen outta the boat and probably been eaten.

- I can tell a diamond choice is coming, but for the love of god, WHY IS THE CHOICE IF WE FIGHT OR RUN UP TO ME?!

- WE BE FIGHTING THE MONSTER!

- WHY IS THERE A BOMB ON THE BOAT? OR C4?????

- Damn, MC. Coming up with these ideas on the spot? Whoooooo girl!

- I know it’s a sea monster and all that, but if it has electricity coming off of it/from its mouth, wouldn’t it electrocute itself as well as everything in the water??

- “Don’t forget to floss, asshole.” That’s it, everyone can go home. Jake wins. 😂

- Ooof, hitting the water that hard is going to leave a m a r k on your back.

- So I’m correct in guessing that the invisible force holding us down in the water is from whatever the light was?

- Oh god, who do I swim to??

- I swam to Jake because I lost a point with him earlier last chapter, so I’m getting it back lmao… If I get the chance.

- Yeeee, I got the point back.

- I’m gonna kiss him… If I’m gonna die, or think I’m about to die, might as well, hey?

- ‘…knowing each other’s lips for the first and last time.’ STOP BREAKING MY HEART LIKE THIS!!

- I’m sorry, what? How?

- No, Jake, I am not a ventriloquist. Be cool if I was, but I’m not.

- Oh honey, I’m not shouting for help. I doubt it’d be our friends, so it’d be someone who lives (if there is anyone) on the island.

- Alright, pause for a second. (We’ve just found the shell and now being quiet bc of the person/people walking towards us.) I just wanted to pause real quick and say my thoughts on Jake and Sean.

Jake - He’s abrasive, snarky, rude, rough around the edges, a softie, sarcastic. He reminds me of myself in regards to his personality because that’s how I come across to most people (according to my irl friends) and that he keeps everyone away with a pole before they start to wriggle their way into his heart. I can totally understand why he’s doing that. He knows none of us, and has every right to be weary of us. I would be too.

Sean - Caring, wants to be a hero, leader, big heart, softie, likes things to go his way. I can see how and why he’s like he is. He’s father was a famous sportsman, so his family/father would push for him to follow in his footsteps and if he didn’t, the results wouldn’t be pretty (yelling, ashamed, and it would just escalate.)

They’re both great characters and there’s so much more to find out about them, and I can’t wait to do so. If I can be a thot, I might do that just until I figure out who I wanna be with? But I can’t do that to them. Arghhhh. Anyway, back to the regular programming.

- OKAY HELLO BLUE MAN, I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THE REST OF YOUR BLUE MAN GROUP IS, BUT I DO KNOW YOUR NAME! (I don’t know how to spell it, but I have seen pictures of you floating around)

- Also what the HECK is that mask??

- Oh! Hello, green lady!

- And what’s with her mask, too? Is it just a mask that they have, or is there any significance that I’m missing or am not going to know until later?

- Amber is highlighted green and there was an amber arrowhead in the crab so I’m assuming they made contact with it first and fought?

- Varyyn! THAT’S YOUR NAME!

- Okay, never mind, the smaller man who I thought was Varyyn isn’t, the taller, bigger man that came out is. Holy hell, you appear t a l l.

- *GASPS* HE WAS THE MAN WITH THE LION MASK ASDFGHJKL!!!

- Hey, Owl mask dude, back the heck off!

- The hell does ‘Dell ast portico’ mean?

- You’re finally learning Sean. “Never doubt MC.”

- Lmao, I dunno why I keep putting MC instead of her name… Probably bc I used my own name Sarah bc I’m not creative and I feel like y’all wouldn’t want me to say Sarah and want me to say MC.

- JAKE YOU’RE THE REAL RIDE OR DIE! “Say the word, MC.”

- Let’s give communication a try.

- Well at least it’s just a forehead touch, and nothing else.

- Jake, baby. Oooof. I can feel the love he has for MC (the need to protect her) and I just… I’m emotional, y’all.

- I have to agree, having some weird, unknown, possible alien(?) rooting around in your head doesn’t sound the best.

- So Sean is the Eagle? I’m the Mind-talker. And Jake is the Wolf? I feel like I’m missing something or I’ll find out the importance later.

- “Go lupus yourself, Papa Smurf.” I’M WHEEZING JESUS CHRIST JAKE 😂😂

- Never mind, I’m not the Mind-talker; well I am, but that’s not the sign? Animal? I am? I’m confused.

- “All men of the hydra”? Okay, a) What hydra? Are you referencing the sea monster from last chapter? And b) I ain’t a male MC, so like… Can I go? Go get help and then come back and whoop your asses?

- I love how Jake is all angry because he doesn’t understand what’s going on, but then Sean says he trusts MC and that just like… instantly calms him down??

- So, you’re telling me that if I don’t go with them that the volcano will erupt and destroy the whole world? Wacky 😂

- I was all for them going with the group, but then Craig bursts out with “GET AWAY FROM THEM!” and I’m not ashamed to admit I giggled and clapped my hands with a high whisper of his name.. Scratch that, I’m ashamed 😂

- I mean, the leader is cute, not gonna lie, but from what I’ve seen and heard (been keeping myself spoiler free) he ends up with Diego?

- Guys, I appreciate the rescue, because I know how it looks, but fuckin’ stOP AND LET ME SPEAK TO THE LEADER FOR A MINUTE. I MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET US OUT OF THIS!

- Bitch, I ain’t letting you take me anywhere if you don’t stop for a minute and let me speak.

- THEY WOULDN’T BE COMING AFTER US IF CRAIG, RAJ AND MICHELLE (as well meaning as it was) DIDN’T TRY TO RESCUE US!

- Oooof, I’m heated 😂

[writingfromkitchenator]

Blackfoot 2: Bloodlines

I finally decided to finish chapter 2!  I was in the mood to write some hobbit/lotr stuff and seeing as this was sitting there just waiting for more to happen (and we watched the movies again) I gave this another kick!  Hopefully I can get on some sort of track with it.

Chapter 2

Chapters: One

The original Blackfoot can be found here.

Little Thrain quickly proved he was going to be a handful.  As he got to the age to walk, he became nothing but a ball of energy, keeping both Selene and Thorin very occupied at times, but in truth, no one had seen them happier.

However, it was clear that he had a knack for escaping, which brought about a lot of worry more than once and Thorin and Selene both trying to explain it to him why it was a bad idea.

It always made Dis chuckle when Thorin complained about it.  "The way Mama used to tell it, you were just as much a handful."

Thorin would just grumble back.

What came as a real surprise, not long after Thrain's second birthday, who was starting to look more and more like Thorin, was when it was announced that Selene was pregnant again.

Selene was a lot sicker this time round, much to Thorin's worry, and it meant that more people had to be involved in helping out with Thrain, who suddenly only wanted his mother, but couldn't understand why he wasn't allowed to, although, he would get excited whenever someone mentioned a baby brother.

Thorn came along soon enough, much to the relief of Selene and Thorin, as it meant that Selene started to pick up again.  There was a lot of talk surrounding his birth though, as it very quickly became evident that Thorn had inherited Selene's silver eyes.

Thrain found Thorn more than amusing, taking every opportunity to try something new with his brother, meaning that Selene and Thorin had to keep an extra close eye on him, especially after several incidents, one of which Thorn ended up with a very bad hair cut.

The real shock came after Thorn had found his feet, the two of them almost never slowing down and reminding more than a few people of Fili and Kili when they were younger, although the two princes adamantly deny any sort of influence.

Thrain knew that Thorn wasn't as fast as him yet and could easily outrun him, which meant that he absolutely loved stirring Thorn up into chasing him.

Selene was laughing at them as they ran in circles around her at first, heading towards the hall to see Thorin, Thorn a little frustrated because he couldn't catch Thrain.

As Selene opened the door, Thrain bolts through, laughing, Thorn whining a little before following, calling after him.  Thorin looks up from the throne and smiles at the two boys running towards him, Selene calling out telling them to be careful.

Thrain just laughs though, speeding up as he let's Thorn catch up just a little bit.  "Nah ah Thorn!"

Just as Thrain was drawing close to Thorin, an unusual smell caught Selene's nose and her gaze snaps to Thrain, her eyes going wide, her feet moving before her wolf even tells her that she has to.

"Thorin!"

Thorin understood a split second later just as there was a startled yelp, Thrain tumbling as he shifts, suddenly startled and unable to get a grip on his four legs, continuing to slide right towards the edge due to his momentum.

"No!"

Thrain, with a frightened yelp, dropped over the edge, but luckily Thorin was there, just managing to grab him by the scruff of the neck, stopping him short.

An odd, tense silence filled the air as everyone stared, Thorin quickly pulling Thrain back over the edge and safely into his lap.  Now a brown furred pup, who looks up at Thorin with startled, scared, amber eyes.

Selene let out a shaky breath, Thorn secured in her arms, her and Thorin looking at each other.

They were quick to retreat to their room, Thrain shifting back on the way there and instantly full of questions, which Thorn echoed back to them.

Selene was pacing, clearly agitated, Thorin watching her, wanting to say something but not entirely sure what.

"We knew this could happen."  He finally said quietly, making her pause.  "And Thrain is of age that Beorn said that this could happen."

"I know," Selene said.  "But it does not make me feel any better."

"Selene," Thorin waits until she looks at him.  "This will be fine.  We were somewhat prepared for this, you can manage."

She let's out a shaky breath and gives a nervous laugh.  "Uh huh."

Thrain was staring at Selene with wide eyes.  "Can you turn too Mama?"

Selene crouches down in front of him brushing his hair back from his face and smiling at him.  "Yes Thrain, I can.  Would you like to see?"

He nods and Thorin picks Thorn up, keeping him close as Thrain watches Selene intently, who steps back, giving a nervous smile at Thorin, who nods encouragingly.

She lets herself shift, her black wolf quickly filling the space, shaking herself out before lowering herself to her stomach, laying down so as to gauge Thrain's and Thorn's reactions accordingly.

Thrain's eyes were wide and he goes to take a step forward, but nervously looks at Thorin, who smiles encouragingly at him, Selene giving a small whine, resting her head down too.

Thorn holds out his arms.  "Mama."

Selene's tail wags and this seems to be the final bit for Thrain, who moves forward and rests his hand on Selene's head, breaking quickly out into a smile and then laughter as Selene moves and kisses his face.

Thorn squirms in Thorin's arms.  "Mama!"

Thorin puts him down and he instantly hurries over to Selene's side, his hands burying into her fur as he hugs her.

Thorin can't help but smile, feeling Selene's happiness at the two boys not being scared of her wolf form, Thorn babbling excitedly, clearly the most eager about Selene's other form.

The next question became how they were going to train the boys, because Selene and Thorin both agreed that there was little doubt Thorn would eventually turn too.

Beorn was quick to offer his assistance, his own son happily in tow, even though he was still months off from reaching the turning age himself.

He taught Selene much, Thrain curiously watching on in between playing with Beorn's son, Bror, the two becoming fast friends.  When Thrain was allowed to come over and learn, he listened with rapt attention, taking in what he could.

"He's a quick learner."  Beorn said one day, watching the two children chase each other through the grass.  "He will be fine."

Selene let's out a sigh.  "I hope so."

He smiles at her.  "You worry too much Selene, you know what you are doing and know your wolf well.  He is eager to learn too, which is good."

She nods, but a silent question hangs in the air.

Beorn rests a hand on her shoulder.  "They are protected here Selene, out of reach of any forces that may wish them harm, and I know that, should you want them too, they will one day understand what has happened."

It almost felt too soon that Beorn and Bror had to leave, but him being there had given Selene the confidence she needed to help to start train Thrain, who relished the now extra time with his mother, Thorn often trying to tag along too, completely comfortable around them when they were wolves.

It took the dwarves of Erebor a while to get used to the idea that the direct heir to the throne was a skinchanger, even as Thrain just as eagerly continued his studies as well as controlling his wolf.  Thorin quickly put to rest any concerns raised with him, as well as any other members of the company, some even getting a little aggressive on the topic when it kept getting raised.

Then, just as Thorn was approaching his fifth birthday, everyone had a new distraction.

Selene took very ill.

No one had ever seen Thorin look so worried, even leaving the throne for days to Fili so that he could make sure that Selene was well looked after and keep Thrain and Thorn away.

Oin was soon to tell him that Selene was pregnant again.

Thorin wasn't too sure how to feel about this.  Over joyed at the news of another child or highly concerned as Selene's condition seemed to get worse day by day.

When Thorn turned, a much more uneventful event than Thrain's, there was much debate about what to do as Selene was in no condition to be helping him and Thrain was still learning himself.  It was Thrain though that suggested sending a raven to Beorn, which was quickly done.

His reply though, wasn't what Thorin wanted even as he understood, as Beorn's wife had not long given birth to their third child, meaning that he would not leave her side, but he was more than happy to help out the two princes should they wish to send them.  His message also included something for Selene and helping her through the sickness.

Selene had to convince Thorin to let the boys go, that the two of them would be better with Beorn than with her struggling to explain things while bedridden and, as much as she knew that he wanted to help, she knew that Thorin couldn't really fully understand.  She promised that it would hardly feel like any time at all before Thrain and Thorn would be back and she would be on her feet again.

Kili and Dwalin were the two that went with Thrain and Thorn and Thorin felt terrible, now worried about them and Selene.

Months passed and Selene spend more time sleeping than awake now, completely bedridden, her body weak.  Thorin was also rarely seen now, spending his days tending to Selene, no matter who told him otherwise, he wasn't going to leave her side.

Then the day came for Selene to give birth.  Instead of excitement though, there was an odd hush throughout Erebor, all concerned about Selene.  It was no secret of what would happen should she die.

Soon though, the news spread that all had seemed to have gone well, a girl this time, but there was no official announcement, at least not for a few days, causing much talk about what had happened.

Selene had slipped into a deep sleep after giving birth and had not yet woken up.

Thorin was very glad that others were there to help, because with Selene seeming to sit between life and death, he almost entirely shut down, hardly leaving her side and only occasionally recognising the cries of his daughter, who was yet to be named.

Kili and Dwalin returned with Thrain and Thorn at the news, the boys hurrying to their mothers side, only to be stopped by Dis, who did not wish for them to see either of their parents in this state.

It was a tough time in Erebor, uncertainty filling the air, Fili taking over teaching Thrain and Dwalin often training Thorn to keep him occupied.  Dis was looking after the baby girl for the time being, who, no matter how many times she asked Thorin, refused to name her until Selene awoke.

Finally, the boys managed to get into the room without Dis or Thorin around, sitting and talking to her for a few hours, both knowing that she was very sick and wanting to help in whatever way they could.

They'd never been in so much trouble with Thorin before, but his yelling at them seemed to to stir Selene.

"Thorin?"  Her voice had come so tired and weak that had they not shared their connection, Thorin wouldn't have heard it, all anger towards his boys disappearing as he hurried to her side, taking her hand, the boys joining him, both grinning as they saw their mother was finally awake.

"I'm sure our boys can't have done something that bad?"  She says through a faint smile, making Thorin laugh and kiss her hand, getting the boys to fetch Oin.

It took some time, but eventually Selene was strong enough to be able to start looking after her little girl again, who she was pleased to see shared the same blue eyes as Thorin.  Thorin, no longer trapped in fear of what was going to happen to Selene, stared at her in wonder.

"Anyone would think that you are enamoured."  Selene chuckles as she feeds her.

Thorin beams.  "There is something special about her, I can already tell.  If that is enamoured, then I will accept that."

Selene smiles.  "Just don't let Thrain and Thorn hear you say that, they might get jealous of her."

"Oh, I'm sure she'll grow up being able to handle herself."  Thorin joins Selene on the bed, placing an affectionate kiss on her cheek.  "Especially with you as her mother."

Selene scoffs. "You mean with you as an overprotective father."

Thorin blanches a little, but he doesn't drop his smile.  "We still need to name her."

Selene rests against him, still getting very tired these days but glad she was starting to feel better.  "I know you've been mulling a name over Thorin."

"That doesn't mean I can't ask what you want to name her too."

"I like Serena," She said, the babe now fast asleep wrapped in her arms.  "I think it suits her."

Thorin chuckles.  "Why did you ask if you already knew what I had chosen?"

"Because that's what we're meant to do."  She kisses him lightly.  "I am sure that there will be more than a few happy that a name has finally been chosen."

"Indeed, although, I think her brothers have gotten rather fond of calling her little wolf."  Thorin shakes his head.  "I wonder where they picked that up from."

"They probably heard it too much from Beorn."  She frowns.  "Is Thorn doing okay?"

Thorin nods.  "Of course, he is a Durin, he is made of sterner stuff than what he shows."

Selene is quiet for a long moment.  "He has the Alpha blood you know.  I could smell it as soon as he turned."

"He will be fine."

"I guess that's why he wasn't afraid or cautious of me when I first had to show them."  She said thoughtfully.  "I just hope-"

"Selene, my love, he will be fine."  Thorin said quietly, kissing her head and gently taking Serena off of her.  "Beorn has trained him well, from what I can tell, and I'm sure that you can show them both much once you are ready.  For now though, you need to rest, get yourself back on your feet so we can look after our new little one."

Selene sinks into the bed with a sigh, watching Thorin put Serena down.  "Our new little princess."

His back is still too her but she can tell he is smiling as he watches Serena sleep, his heart finally at ease.  "Princess Serena."  When he does look back after another moment, Selene is asleep, a smile on her lips, one he copies and quickly joins her, pulling her into his arms and letting himself rest too.

[scrivenerofmossflower]

Martin of Mossflower  Chapter 12

Word Count: ~2.4  read on ao3 Chapter Summary: Ferdy and Coggs are missing, and Mask infiltrates Kotir. 

First Chapter : : Previous Chapter  : : Next Chapter 

Unfortunately for the would-be questers, several of the elders sat near the fire, sipping warm cider and discussing theories and strategies, old times and new. Martin listened closely to the proposed methods of getting Mask into Kotir without arousing suspicion, but idea after idea was rejected as either too tenuous or dangerous. Finally, it was decided that Mask would slip into the ranks of a returning Kotir contingent, and if Tsarmina didn’t send one out within the next few days, that Skipper, Amber, and Vurg would provoke her with a sally upon the main gates.

Still, the later it grew, the fewer excuses Martin and Gonff could offer to linger in the grand hall, and they retired to the dormitories, thwarted. Sometime tomorrow, the hall would surely be deserted, and they could tackle the crest then.

Breakfast came first, and with it a fretful Goody Stickle. Usually adept in combating her children’s messier impulses, Spike and Posy managed to mix cream, cider, and hotroot into their porridge before Spike upset his and she caught them at it.

Gonff and Martin grabbed two towels and helped her mop it up. “Thank ye, dears,” she said, tutting at Spike and Posy. “You two scamps, though, what were ye thinkin’, hotroot in porridge?”

“Mr. Skipper does it!” Posy protested.

“Mr. Mask, too!”

“Aye, and they’re both otters,” Gonff said, and flicked the towel so that it snapped at them. They giggled. “And otters eat so hot because they get so cold, spendin’ all their time in the water. You two ain’t otters, and you’ll just set your mouths on fire for nothin’.”

Goody nodded sagely, glancing around her as she did so. “Listen to your brother, you two.”

“I haven’t seen Ferdy and Coggs this morning,” Martin said, finally putting a guess to the source of her distraction.

“Nay, neither ‘ave I,” Goody admitted, and huffed a sigh, looking from one to the other. “They ain’t slept in their beds last night.” Her paws worried at her apron. Posy and Spike took bites of the remains of the doctored porridge and both went for the water jug, eyes streaming. “Asides from that, there’s two oatfarls, a good wedge o’ cheese and some of my best blackcurrant cordial missin’ from the larder.”

Gonff grinned. “That’s a full breakfast an’ no mistake. I’m sure they’re curled up asleep in some corner, Goody-Mum. They’ll wake up with stomach aches.”

“They’ll go bang one of these days,” Martin said with a laugh. “Maybe they’re off playing soldiers. We’ll help you look. Have you let Bella and my mum know? They can help organize a search party, if it gets to that.”

“Don’t go a-botherin’ your old ‘ead, m’dear,” Ben said, pouring two good sized bowls of milk for Spike and Posy, who were still trying to recover from their first taste of hotroot. “Those two are like good button mushrooms, they always turn up at a good meal,” he finished, chuckling.

Gonff slung an arm around Martin’s shoulders, saluting with his free paw. “We’ll start looking around outside. They’ll turn up before too long, don’t worry.”

Goody nodded along with him, though her clear worry didn’t abate. “I hope you two are right,” she said, paws knotting and unknotting her apron strings until they got stuck. “Oh, Ben, get up and go ‘elp, won’t you? I won’t be happy until I see their mucky little snouts again.” Untangling her paws, she went off to ask Bella for help.

Soon, dozens of creatures were abroad in Mossflower, all searching for the pair of wayward hedgehogs. Squirrels swung through the canopy, eyes on the ground below them, otters combed the stream banks, moles trundled through last autumn’s loam. Rowanoak and Bella remained behind in case Ferdy and Coggs made their way back to Brockhall, while Chibb and Ballaw (hares being natural runners) worked to keep each search party abreast of developments.

Fates and fortunes willing, they’d find the pair none the worse for wear.

As it turned out, Kotir soldiers had found Ferdy and Coggs first.

Startled awake in the early morning when Cludd’s patrol collapsed their tent, the brothers were trussed to a spear and slung between two soldiers before they were even awake enough to tell up from down. Terror gagged their mouths and stilled their limbs as effectively as the ropes they’d been bound in.

The next few hours were the most harrowing in their young lives. Upside down and slung from spears, the two brothers endured the march to Kotir, knowing they were in more trouble than they’d ever been in before—indeed, more than they could imagine. Questions and fearful surmises whirled through both young heads.

Ferdy wondered if his parents knew they were missing yet. Surely they did. Surely they’d send search parties. Coggs was more concerned with whether the Corim would organize a rescue, and trying not to imagine how upset Mum and Dad were. If they were crying, or if they were out in the woods, looking too.

By the time they were hauled into Tsarmina’s personal chambers, each had come to the decision to show no fear, so that the other wouldn’t be afraid. They lay huddled together on the floor, pain shooting through their bound paws. Above them, the wildcat sat in her carved wooden chair, and watched imperiously as Ashleg cut the ropes and the filthy gags. They didn’t move or even whimper as the circulation was restored to swollen limbs.

Cludd used his spearpoint to prod Ferdy, who squirmed away from it. “Huh, they look fit enough, m’lady. What ‘ave you got to say for yerselves, eh?”

Coggs rolled over so he was snout-to-snout with his brother, and said, “Don’t breathe a word, matey. We’ll be brave like Martin and Gonff. Brave and silent.”

Fortunata kicked out at the prisoners and immediately regretted it, having forgotten about a hedgehog’s spines. Young as they were, Ferdy and Cogg’s both were hard and sharp, and she cursed as she nursed her footpaw. “Benighted, blasted—ooh, that hurt—”

Cludd stamped the butt of his spear against the floor, ignoring the vixen. “Silence, prisoners! Don’t you know you’re in the presence of Tsarmina, Queen of the Thousand Eyes?”

Heartened by Fortunata’s painful mistake, Ferdy curled his lip in defiance and spoke out boldly. “She’s no queen of ours! We’re woodlanders!”

The rest of the “interrogation” went about as well. Tsarmina tried to use their exhaustion and hunger against them, bribing the pair with food and rest, but made no progress. She was left with two sleeping baby hedgehogs on the floor, a ruined apple she’d embedded her claws in (in lieu of embedding them in said baby hedgehogs and losing a source of information), and absolutely nothing to show for it.

“I don’t see why you don’t just string them up and let them have a taste of your claws, m’lady,” Cludd said, prodding them again with the butt of his spear. “That’d soon get them to talk.”

“You would think that, idiot,” Tsarmina hissed at him. “They’re woodlanders, yes, but they’re only babes. They’d die too quickly for torture to be effective.” She glared hatefully at the pair, arms around each other and snoring softly. “Still, there are two of them. I may try that if things don’t change soon… Hmph. Later. Take them away. We’ll leave them in the cells for the day and see if they’re not a bit more talkative tonight,” she ordered, flicking her paw in dismissal. “Now go—I need to think.”

The sun was approaching its zenith when the woodlanders regrouped in Brockhall. Grim-faced, Gonff tossed a blanket and an empty cordial jar upon the center table. “We found that in a clearing ‘bout halfway ‘tween here and Kotir. Tracks all over the place, and it stank of weasel and ferret. Big party, I’d say.”

“Is there any other news?” Bella asked, though she didn’t sound very hopeful.

“I sent Chibb to Kotir,” Sayna said quietly. “I’d hoped I was worrying for nothing, but he heard Tsarmina interrogating Ferdy and Coggs. They’re unharmed for the moment, but they’re certainly captured.”

Murmurs of consternation rippled through the gathered creatures. “Mates, it doesn’t bear thinkin’ about, those two pore little ‘uns in the vermins’ brig!” Skipper burst out, slamming his paw into the mantel.

Columbine slipped her paw into Gonff’s. “What’ll we tell Ben and Goody?” she asked.

Gonff squeezed her paw in reassurance. “Tell ‘em we’ll rescue them straightaway! That’s what we’ll tell ‘em!” he declared, loudly enough for everyone to hear.

There was a roar of approval.

Bella had to shout to be heard, and a badger’s shout is very hard to ignore. “Please, Gonff! Be sensible!” Eventually, the hall settled again. “Yes, the Corim will mount a rescue operation,” she said, glancing at the other leaders and receiving nods of agreement. “But we must plan carefully so that more prisoners aren’t taken, and more lives lost. We must not run off and do anything reckless in the meantime.” She glanced at Martin.

“I haven’t done anything!” he protested.

“Yet.” Quiet laughter greeted Vurg’s dry comment, and even Bella was smiling in spite of the serious nature of the meeting. He continued on, looking at Bella. “All well and good to say we’ll rescue Ferdy’n’Coggs, an’ I’m all for it. But don’t forget, we need to get this spy business started, too.”

“Mask, brother?” Skipper asked.

Mask saluted with an almost lazy wave of the paw. “I’ve got one or two thoughts, Skip. I’m planning to slip in tonight—no, won’t say how, it’s safer that way for all of you. I’ll see which way the wind blows and figure out a way to get word back t’you through Chibb.”

Sayna nodded. “Having a contact on the inside would certainly help with any future escape attempt.”

“Then it’s settled,” Bella said, putting a paw down on the table firmly. “Mask will infiltrate tonight, and we can hope for some word—when?”

“Tomorrow night at the latest,” Mask promised. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I ought to get ready.”

“Mask, sah,” Ballaw said, hurrying after him. “Not to tell you how to do th’ job, but the Players and I… Well, we’ve come up with a little somethin’.”

Mask shrugged, and gave the hare a quick grin. “Why not? I’ll take a listen.”

They walked out of the room with heads bent, talking to each other. Bella looked at Rowanoak and raised both eyebrows, demanding an explanation.

She just smiled. “Don’t worry, Bella,” she said, looking rather pleased. “It’s a good idea and won’t impede Mask’s mission at all. Just a little extra, to keep the cat on her toes.”

Amber grinned. “Well, I can’t object to that.”

Bella shook her head. “Neither can I, as long as no one gets hurt from it.” She rose and began to shuffle to the door. “Sayna, come with me. We’ll have to break the news to Goody and Ben eventually, and it’ll be easier on them if it’s us.”

Of all the assignments given in the army, guard duty was the worst. Stuck on a wall all night, nothing to look forward to, staring out into the trees, and doing nothing but waiting for somebeast else to come up and take your place… If you were paired with a mate, it wasn’t so bad, sure, but if not, then it was practically the road to Hellgates.

Skinnose and Mangeface were not mates. They’d also been given a double shift by Cludd for starting a fight in the mess, and so were stuck on the wall top over the main gate, together, for the entire night. The only thing weasel and ferret shared was the righteous indignation of the unjust punishment though, typically, this did exactly nothing to reconcile them.

“Huh, it’s probably gonna rain,” Skinnose muttered under his breath, shifting from one foot to the other. “Cold, an’ wet, an’ hungry—if you hadn’t started that fight, we’d both be inside and warm right now.”

“I started it?” Mangeface growled, taking his eyes away from the treeline to glare at him. “Don’t talk stupid, yore the one who kicked me leg. I was just defendin’ meself.”

“Me? Talk stupid? You tripped me!”

“I never—”

Glaring at each other, paws clenched around their spears and ready for all the world to thwack the other with them, Skinnose and Mangeface were only distracted by a call from below.

“Oi! Lunk ‘eads! Open the gate!”

Startled, both peered down over the wall top. While they’d been bickering, neither had noticed a figure leaving the underbrush. It looked like one of their lot, though his armor was scratched and dirty and in general he looked as if he’d been dragged through a thorn bush backwards.

“Whaddya want?” Skinnose called down.

“What d’I want?” he demanded, waving both arms irritably. “I want to get by the fire and warm up, idiot, and get some decent food in me for starters! Whaddya think I want, a gilded invitation?!”

“You heard ‘im,” Mangeface said, prodding Skinnose with the butt of his spear. “Go down and open the gate.”

“Why do I have to? You go down, I’m not movin’—”

The weasel below danced in place in frustration. “I’ve been sneakin’ about that maze of trees since last night, an’ if one o’ you doesn’t get that gate open right now, I’ll tell the queen you were sleepin’ at your posts when I came back!”

That got them both moving, and within a moments the small door next to the main gate was creaking open, the battered weasel limping inside, muttering under his breath as he went.

“Thorns an’ roots an’ that blasted eagle t’boot—I tell ye, mates, if I could pack it in an’ get out o’ here, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Not worth it, ’s just not worth it.”

“Huh, got that right,” Skinnose whined. “An’ us rank takin’ the blame when the captain does somethin’ stupid? ’S not fair!”

“All of Cludd’s lot got a half extra ration for dinner,” Mangefur grumbled. “Just for bringin’ in two spinebrats.”

“Cludd actually did somethin’ right?” the weasel scoffed. “Makes me wish I’d managed t’stick with his patrol, instead of slidin’ down a stinkin’ ditch.” He rubbed his narrow stomach. “Thanks, y’two.” He shuffled off towards the main door as the pair of guards returned to their post on top of the wall.

Boredom broken by occasional bickering settled back in before much long, and Skinnose and Mangeface soon forgot the minor diversion. It never occurred to them that they’d never seen the weasel they’d just let into the fortress—or that the weasel might not be a weasel at all.

Mask had made his first move into Kotir.

First Chapter : : Previous Chapter  : : Next Chapter 

[bob-giovanni]

Title: Long Lost

Main Characters: Simon/OFC (other characters will be mentioned a lot but none will have much of a backstory besides these two.)

Chapter: Seven (Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three) (Part Four) (Part Five) (Part Six)

POV: Third Person

Warnings: Cursing, Violence

Summary: Alexandria and the Saviors are at war. Amber and Simon may suffer a devastating loss.

When Maggie and Amber finally arrived at the hidden truck they were sweaty and out of breath. They had to run over a mile fighting walkers along the way to get to the truck. Carl wasn’t too far behind. As Amber climbed into the driver’s side of the truck, she turned to Carl as he was about to climb onto the top of the truck. “Where’s Gabriel? He’s supposed to be your back up?” Carl shook his head. “I didn’t know. I didn’t see him. He knows where we are though.” Amber nodded. “You gonna be ok up there, kiddo?” Carl looked over at Amber as she grinned. “C’mon, we gotta have a little bit of fun in these trying times.” “Amber, shut up and get in the fucking truck.” Amber gasped. “Language. I’m telling your father.” Amber laughed as she climbed into the truck and shut and locked the doors. Maggie was staring at her. “How could you possibly be laughing at a time like this?” Maggie asked angrily. “Chill out. I’m just trying to lighten the weight of this situation.” Maggie huffed and crossed her arms over her protruding belly. “Everything is going to be fine, Maggie. Rick has this handled.” As she finished her sentence, Amber could hear gunfire in the distance. Now she wasn’t so sure if everything was going to be ok.

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Simon was practically shaking as he entered Alexandria behind Negan. He did a quick scan of the group near the gate and didn’t see Amber. He looked to Rick and made eye contact with him to see if he could give him some kind of sign. Rick gave Simon a slight nod and Simon felt a wave of relief. He knew that Rick was letting him know that Amber was safe. He hadn’t even been paying attention to what Negan was saying. “Aww c’mon, Rick! That’s how you’re gonna welcome you’re old pal, Negan? By getting all your cronies to point guns in my face when I just came here to ask you a simple fucking question?” Rick laughed. “A simple question? Nothing is simple with you Negan.” Negan grinned. “You see right through me, Rick. Like I’m the invisible fucking man.” Negan let out a hearty laugh. “Alright, you got me. Now let’s get down to business, shit head. Listen very fucking closely. Because we need to trust each other, Rick. I’m gonna ask you a question. I already know that answer to the question. But I need to hear your answer so I know if I can trust you. Now…did Simon lie to me so he could spend the night with his lady? Because Simon tells me that just isn’t true.” Rick contemplated things for a minute before answering. “Well…Simon is telling you the truth. The truck was out of commission. I saw with my own two eyes. If he spent the night with anyone…that’s news to me.”

Negan laughed and slapped Simon on the back. “You hear that, Simon?! Now Rick is lying right to my face! Because I know for a fucking fact that Simon was here with his woman. Amber, right? Well I am excited to meet her. I have never met an unattractive Amber. So…where the fuck is the little lady?” Simon started to panic. He knew that Amber was safe but he didn’t know where she was exactly. He hoped that she wasn’t simply hiding in an empty house. Rick shook his head. “We don’t know anyone named Amber. There’s no one in this community by that name. I’m sorry, Negan. But you’re simply wrong.” Negan smirked. “Arat! Get your ass up here.” Arat pushed her way through a group of Saviors and stood next to Negan. “Where is this girl?” Negan asked. Arat scanned the crowd and shook her head. “She’s not here.” Negan nodded. “Find her.”

Rick quickly looked around at his people before pulling the hammer back on his pistol. “NOW!” He yelled as he fired a shot, hitting Negan in the arm. Suddenly the Saviors started firing and the Alexandrians returned in kind. Simon ducked behind a truck for a second before Arat found him. She ran up to him and put her gun to his head. “Where the fuck is she, Simon?!” She demanded. “Far away from here.” Arat punched Simon in the jaw before grabbing him by the  collar of his shirt. She signaled two other Saviors and they ducked out the front gate. “Why don’t we go find her. She couldn’t have gotten far.” Simon scoffed. “I’m not going to help you find her.” Arat held her gun to his head once more. “If you don’t, I’m going to find her, kill her, and make you watch before I kill you too.” Simon narrowed his eyes as Arat dragged him into the wooded area around Alexandria.

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Amber had her gun in her hand. She hadn’t put it down or relaxed her hand. She’d been holding it, ready to fire at a moment’s notice. Maggie reached over and gently placed a hand on Amber’s shoulder. “Hey, I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier.” Amber shook her head as she looked over to Maggie. “Please. I’m sorry. You were right. This is a serious matter.” Maggie smiled softly as her eyes teared up. “Let’s just agree to disagree. I don’t wanna die with us mad at each other. ” Amber moved closer to Maggie. “Hey…no talking like that. We’re not going to die today. Not for a long ass time. We are gonna be little old ladies sitting on our porch, drinking lemonade, crocheting blankets, and complaining about how our kids don’t visit us anymore.” Maggie laughed a bit and shook her head as she placed a hand on her belly. “Those damn kids.” Amber grinned. “That’s more like it.” After a moment Amber asked Maggie. “Have you thought of any names?” Maggie smiled and nodded. “Beth if it’s a girl and Glenn, Jr. if it’s a boy.” Amber smiled. “That’s beautiful.” “Thank you. How about you? Have you thought of any names?” Amber nodded. “Well I haven’t talked to Simon about it yet but I was thinking Rose for a girl and Murphy for a boy.” Maggie smiled. “Oh wow I love those names! You’re going to be such a great mom.” Amber smiled and moved in so she could pull Maggie into a hug.

Their embrace was cut short when Carl suddenly slid down the windshield, coming to rest in a kneel on the hood of the truck. He looked in the window at Amber and Maggie and put his finger over his lips to tell them to be quiet before pointing to the right of the truck. Maggie and Amber quickly got their guns ready. After what seemed like an eternity Amber heard leaves and twigs cracking under the weight of someone’s footsteps as they approached the truck. The mystery person suddenly spoke. “Amber?” Amber let out a breath and reached for the door handle when she recognized the voice to be Simon’s. Maggie quickly reached over and grabbed Amber’s wrist. “Wait. What if it’s a trap?” She whispered. “Simon won’t let anything happen to me. And I won’t let anything happen to him. As soon as I get out slide over here and lock the door. Don’t wait for me. If you have to get yourself and Carl out of here.” Without another word Amber opened the door of the truck and hopped out before looking over at Simon. She could see that he had a bruise forming on his jaw.

Simon just stared at her for a second, relieved that he now knew for sure that she was safe. “Are you hurt?” Simon asked. Amber shook her head. “Are you?” “No.” Simon knew he had to let Amber know that he wasn’t alone but he wasn’t sure where Arat or the other Saviors had snuck off to. As he started to walk toward her Arat snuck up behind Amber and wrapped an arm around her neck before putting a gun to her head. “Gotcha.” She whispered in Amber’s ear. Amber shook her head and groaned. “You stupid bitch.” Arat pushed the gun harder against Amber’s head. “Oh yeah? Call me a bitch again and see what happens, cunt.” Amber clenched her fists and started trying to formulate a plan in her head to get out of this. Simon put his hands up in protest. “Arat, no! Look…we can work this out, ok? You can take me back to Negan as a prisoner. Just don’t hurt her, ok? Please.” Arat laughed as she cocked the gun she was holding to Amber’s head. “Are you fucking kidding me, Simon? Negan is gonna make me his second in command after I kill you and bring this little bitch back to him.”

Suddenly Arat pointed the gun at Simon. “Say goodbye to your wife.” Arat growled. Simon locked eyes with Amber. “I’m sorry.” He said softly “NO!” Amber screamed and covered her eyes as she hear a deafening pop. She heard a thud behind her and turned to see Arat had collapsed on the ground with a gunshot wound to her head. Amber turned more and saw Maggie pointing her gun out the window of the truck. She had shot Arat. “Thank you.” Amber turned to look at Simon but he wasn’t there. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked around. “Simon?” Then she heard a moan and a cough. Simon was laying on the ground on his back. Amber ran to him and kneeled beside him. Arat had gotten off a shot before she was killed and the bullet had struck Simon in the neck. His neck and shoulder were covered in blood as he coughed and gurgled. Amber had tears streaming down her cheeks. “Oh god! HELP! Carl! Maggie! Please! Oh god please help us!” Just then the two other Saviors that had travelled into the woods with Arat and Simon appeared from behind a tree. “Hold it right there, bitch!” One of them yelled. Amber quickly grabbed Simon’s gun from his belt and shot the Saviors in the head before they had a chance to make another move.

Carl hopped off the hood of the truck and ran over to Amber. He quickly pulled his flannel shirt off and ripped off the sleeve. “Here, hold this against the wound.” Amber’s hands were quickly covered in blood. “Hang on, baby. You’re gonna be ok. Ok? Stay with me.” Maggie made her way over as fast as she could. “Amber is there anything in the truck we can carry him with?” Amber nodded. “Here, keep pressure on the wound.” Maggie quickly took Amber’s spot as she ran to the truck and grabbed the sleeping back she had slept in while she was living in the truck. She ran back over and Carl helped her get Simon inside so they could carry him back to Alexandria. Amber took Simon’s face in her hands. “We’re gonna get you back to the infirmary ok? Denise is gonna take care of you. Just stay with me!” Simon used all of his strength to lift his hand and press it against Amber’s face for a second, leaving bloody fingerprints on her cheek. He opened his mouth to try and speak before passing out, his body going limp.

“Carl we need to get him back now!” Amber took the front of the sleeping back while Carl grabbed the bottom and they ran. Maggie kept up as best she could, holding the torn piece of Carl’s shirt against the wound on Simon’s neck. As they got closer to the gate Amber noticed that the gunfire had stopped. She wasn’t sure if that was good or bad but she didn’t care. She just hoped that Denise was alive and could save Simon. They slowed down as they got to the gate and all three of them drew their weapons as they turned into the entrance of Alexandria. One of the trucks that the Saviors had arrived in was gone. The other two vehicles had flat tires. Carl saw Rick to his right. “Dad! We need help!” Rick ran over and took over for Carl. “Carl, go get Denise. She’s in the armory. Go! NOW!” Carl took off as Rick helped Amber and Maggie get Simon to the infirmary.

“What happened?” Rick asked as they get Simon onto a bed. “That woman…she shot him. Maggie killed her.” Was all Amber could manage. She was covered in blood and sweat. A minute later Denise came running in. She took a second to assess Simon’s wound before rattling off a list. “Rick I need gauze, sutures, a scalpel, rubbing alcohol, and some sedatives. Amber, what blood type is he?” Denise asked as Rick ran to the supply room to grab what Denise needed. Amber was in a daze and didn’t hear Denise’s question. “Amber! What blood type is Simon?!” “Umm…A positive.” Rick returned with the items and placed them on a tray for Denise. “Does he need blood? I’m A positive too.” Rick said. “I’m O negative, universal donor. Take as much as you need.” Amber said before sitting down in a chair next to Simon. Tara came running in the infirmary a moment later and Denise started talking her through how to draw blood from Amber and hook up the line to get the blood into Simon.

Amber was completely out of it. She didn’t feel anything. Not Tara wrapping a belt around her arm, sticking the needle into her vein, or her pulling the needle out. She slowly looked over and watched as Denise was yelling at the people around her to get her things. “The bullet is still in him. I need to get it out. Carl! Get me…” Amber stopped paying attention after that. She was physically picked up by Rick and moved to sit on the empty bed across from the chair. She watched as Rick rolled up his sleeve so Tara could get blood from him. Amber was slowly looking around the room. Everything was moving in slow motion. She could see Denise using forceps to stretch the hole in Simon’s neck and used another pair to get the bullet. As she got the bullet out blood started to squirt from his neck. “He’s losing too much blood!” Denise yelled as she used the stethoscope to listen to Simon’s heartbeat. “He’s coding!” She said as she jumped onto the bed and and started doing CPR. “Maggie, get me a tube and a mask. I need to intubate!” Maggie hurried into the supply room to find what Denise needed. “I’m losing him! Hurry!” Amber saw could see Simon’s lips turning blue as his arms fell limply off the bed. “Maggie hurry!” Denise yelled as she continued CPR. Suddenly everything went black as Amber passed out and fell off the bed.

Thanks for bearing with me while I’ve been so busy in between trying to write this chapter. I hope ya’ll like this newest installment!

Tags: @see-you-then-winchester @clinicalkayla @isayweallgetdrunk @mwesterfeld1985 @simons-thirst-squad