#WHY DID THEY HAVE TO PUT HIM AND WANDERER SO CLOSE TOGETHER AHHHHH

[niicevibe]

there is so very little stopping me from trying to pull for childe rn

LIKE I'M GUARANTEED FOR KUNI STILL, I HAVEN'T PULLED FOR ANYONE IN DAYS. i think this game has turned me into a gambler, like deadbeat father, like daughter, hahahaha.

some come tell me why i shouldn't pull for him, please, give me reasons. i'm gonna crack.

[akaviri-dovah]

Do tell me all about your Mary Sue OC *rests chin on hands*

ahhhhh first of all I gotta say I'm so flattered that you followed me >w< I've been a fan of your art and writing for your while but that's another story for another day-

anyways about the character herself... I have A LOT to share, and the post editor doesn't like me so I apologise for taking so long on this, and thank you for your patience. I am going to start by saying that right from the start, before she even had a name, I thought her already dangerously close to being a mary sue due to her original purpose... shipping with one of my favourite canon characters.

this is Rumeranwen Malathelaere (or simply Rume), a 6'8 greatsword wielding high elf templar and my main character for ESO. though I haven't had much time to play the game I know enough to weave a story in my head about her, her love interest, and the forces threatening to tear them apart.

long ramble under the cut about her story, and all things about it I am worrying about making her a mary sue. spoilers abound. I'd like to hear opinions about this, also.

as is in the nature of all Elder Scrolls protagonists, it is in her hands that the fate of the world is placed. and not just once, either! though I plan to have multiple characters in my game and story, she is the one who takes the role of Vestige, completing the main quest as well as her alliance's questline, alongside the major DLC's.

Rume is a wonderful girl, for the most part: passionate, boisterous and energetic, righteous, and fearless (or at least claiming to be - there are some exceptions!). a true enjoyer of all the wonders Tamriel and its various peoples have to offer - see all the places, try all the food, pet all the creatures. but she is far from perfect: naive (especially after soul removal), stubborn, and a bit too impulsive for her own good, often learning things the hard way. not to mention that her engagement with other races puts her at odds with most of her fellow Altmer.

seems like quite a decent personality for the saviour of Tamriel, time and time again. but how did she get swept up into it all? why choose her (especially since she can put up quite the fight against any potential captors) to sacrifice and kick off the Planemeld, condemning her to an eternity of torment in Coldharbour?

simple, because she was the lover of Vanus Galerion. brought together by a certain Daedric Prince's playing matchmaker in an attempt to alleviate the Great Mage's troubled mind, and stayed that way for many years prior to the events of ESO. but sadly, it does not last, because Mannimarco (who in my and many others' interpretation is Vanus ex, who nevertheless wants him back) finds out and threatens them both. and so they separate for the time being, with Vanus going to confront Mannimarco alone and Rume left to wander Tamriel "as if she never knew him like she did" . but the Worm Cult's forces find her anyway, and proceed to capture her and drag her to Manni's lair, where he personally sacrifices her to Molag Bal.

but unlike so many others sacrificed in the same way, she returned to Nirn as if alive again due to her love for life itself being so deep and boundless, acting as an aedric force protecting her. but without a soul, she has no memory of her experiences from her previous mortal life. she does find Vanus again, much to his shock as he was given visions of her death. and especially since this Rume - though looking and sounding exactly the same as the Rume he knew and loved - does not recognise him at all.

things will get better for them, though. Rume will know him again, and realise her love for him even before she regains her soul. and their bond stays ever strong for the years to come - even though she travels far and wide, he is never far from her mind. and once her adventuring ends, and they retreat to a hidden estate to live out the rest of their lives in peace, she will be remembered by the people of all provinces for eras to come by myriad titles, with one of the most notable being "the Warrior Bride of the Great Mage."

if only it were so. for Mannimarco was not done with them yet, and was doubly furious for this perceived enemy of his to have escaped her fate, beat his ass, and stole his lover once again. and so came the fateful battle between Vanus's army of warriors and mages and Mannimarco's forces of death and darkness.

A thousand good and evil perished then, history confirms. Among, alas, Vanus Galerion, he who showed the way, It seemed once that Mannimarco had truly died that day.

from the book Mannimarco, King of Worms. this is canon.

Rumeranwen Malathelaere was among that thousand. sort of, but not quite. for she was a Vestige, and could not be truly killed, unlike her mortal lover who was then taken as an undead thrall by the King of Worms. but knowing this, Mannimarco sent his subordinates to the nearest wayshrine to capture her upon her resurrection, and imprisoned her in a pit at the bottom of a dungeon complex hidden beneath a lonely part of Tamriel untouched by man, mer, or beast, forced to die and come back to life over and over and over again with no way to escape nor anyone to rescue her. all written records of her were destroyed and word-of-mouth stories of her twisted into unrecognisability by the Worm Cult; by the tail end of the Third Era, nobody knew such a person had ever existed.

but rumour has it, that there is still someone who not only knows about her, but is searching for her, even after all this time. for immortals never forget their friends.

TLDR - "chosen one" oc who saves the world on multiple occasions, manages to defy fate due to "the power of love", nice for the most part but goes through awful undeserved things, has important canon character/in universe historical figure as love interest, is treated as a character who really existed in-universe

hope you enjoyed, nonetheless. and special credits go out to @titanwolfackerman for major inspiration and help in creating this story. please do check them out.

[howdoyousleep3]

Since I’m stuck at home this weekend (and can’t see the person that could maybe be my Valentine, it’s a whole thing 🤷‍♀️😬) because snowed all day today and tomorrow the wind chill is gonna be -35, I was wondering if any of your Daddies and their Boys were going to do something for Valentines Day? 💕

Ahhhhh Heather I’m so sorry your Maybe Valentines Day plans fell through. It’s supposed to be so fucking cold here over the next few days. Awful, I hate it, I can’t wait for Spring! I bet the boys and their Daddies definitely do something, hmmm let’s see...

Daddy Steve and Baby Bucky: These boys go all out. They love this day. And holy shit Valentines Day that falls on a weekend?? Lord have mercy, the quality time had. Steve can’t decide on the kinds of flowers to have delivered to Bucky on Friday while he’s at work, he just has all four delivered. Bucky FaceTimes him from the kitchen with watery eyes and squeaks because words are so hard, and all Steve can do is laugh and coo into the phone.

Bucky bakes some of Steve’s favorite oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, puts them in a pretty red tin, wraps a bow around it. Steve is so tickled about them he picks Bucky up off the floor with the force of his hug, sets him right on the counter and has them immediately share one between the two of them.

Steve cooks dinner for Bucky on Saturday, something Italian, has an appetizer of finger foods that he slowly feeds Bucky as he cooks, keeps his wine glass full of his favorite red wine. Poor Buck gets so wound up so quickly Steve almost feels bad for telling Bucky he needs to wait, purring into his ear that he needs to be a good boy and let Daddy cook for him, provide for him.

It’s awful hard to say no to Buck when he gives his Daddy those eyes, asks so sweetly in a soft little voice if he can at least suck Daddy off, but Steve sticks to his guns.

They barely make it through the dinner, Bucky slowly finding his way from the seat next to Steve to his Daddy’s lap, small bites of food and sips of wine becoming less and less frequent between kisses. Steve makes them eat their portions though, makes them enjoy and savor the food he worked so hard to cook for the two of them. By the time Steve slips Bucky his last bite of food, gives him a sip of wine to wash it down, Bucky is vibrating where he sits.

“Go get ready for Daddy while he cleans up a bit…”

Bucky has been ready, has been sitting through the evening with a pretty silver plug with a pink heart at the base nestled between his cheeks, has been squeezing around it wishing it was his Daddy all throughout dinner. He’s more than ready to get fucked through their mattress, doesn’t want to wait, strips himself of his clothes and presents face-down on the bed, wiggles as he waits for Steve.

“Oh, sugar…”

Daddy’s tone, arousal and surprise, pools at the base of Bucky’s neck like warm honey.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Daddy…”

Daddy James and Stevie Baby: Did you all know that James is one of the most romantic people Steve has ever met? Oh, because he most definitely is. James goes all out spoiling his boy on Valentines Day. Steve wakes up to gentle kisses on his cheeks, his eyelids, his lips, wakes up to a bedside table full of white roses. Steve touches them and marvels at how soft they are, thinking of the unmentioned parallels between said softness and his Daddy.

“Got a few surprises for you today. You wake up when you wanna and give me a call. How does that sound?”

It sounds marvelous. Steve takes his time waking up, falls back asleep after giving his Daddy a few indecently wet kisses as he leaves for work. He runs his fingers across his roses again, calls his Daddy from bed.

“I made an open appointment for you at that spa you like. Get what you’d like, the works. Grab some coffee on the way, yeah?”

Steve…floats to his appointment. He floats on this pillowy soft cloud of being blessedly spoiled and loved, on having a Daddy like James, a perfect Daddy. All throughout his massage, his facial, his waxing, he thinks about his Daddy and what it’s like being loved in such a way, how improved his life has been made with James in his life. He thinks about how grateful he is to have found someone who loves him in exactly the way he wants to be loved, who not only puts up with, but embraces how difficult Steve can be sometimes.

By the time he’s standing in the lobby, three hours later, he almost feels like he’s experienced something cathartic.

“Yeah? You sound relaxed. That’s nice, baby. They treat you good?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“Oh, listen to that. Ain’t that sweet. You ready for your next surprise?”

It’s shopping. Daddy gives him suggestions on a few shops, tells him he’s picked out a few things at each place that he might enjoy, but that he’s free to go anywhere he’d like. Steve almost wonders if he’ll need an escort, leaving this place and feeling free of all stress and cotton-candy-like, sent off to go buy things for himself. He goes to all of the places Daddy has things set aside for him, tries on all the articles of clothing: shirts, jeans, suits, jockstraps, panties.

He buys almost everything he tries on, adds in a few items for James himself, feels genuine arousal when all of the people who assist him tell him that his partner had already taken care of the bill. By the time he has four bags in each hand and is wandering into the elevator to Daddy’s office, he’s feeling sweet in the head and all over.

“Hey, doll,” Daddy purrs upon seeing him, his face lighting up in the same way that Steve is sure his own is brightening up as well. All Steve can whisper out is a coo of a, “Daddy…”, placing his bags on the couch, meeting James halfway and tipping his chin as Daddy reaches for it. Kissing Daddy makes the pleasure he is already feeling ratchet up, makes the sensation of arousal heavy in each of his limbs.

“Baby…sweetheart, what’sa matter?”

He can’t answer. How is he supposed to answer? His feelings are too large and he’s too far gone to step back and produce words. He responds with whines, with pitiful noises he presses into Daddy’s neck, his jaw, his lips. He’s more than grateful when thick arms hold him up, hold him close.

“Steve, are you okay? Good noises?” The worry in James’ voice tell him he needs to respond, needs to communicate with Daddy.

“So good. So good, Daddy.”

“Oh, pup. Sweet boy, c’mere…”

It isn’t how he expects to spend Valentine’s Day but it’s everything the two of them need. Steve wants to be close to his Daddy, wants to touch him and never let go. He spends the rest of Daddy’s workday at Daddy’s feet, cheek pressed against his thigh, hand in Steve’s hair. From time to time he gets pulled up into Daddy’s lap, gets showered in kisses and praise that prolong his time in that sweet sugary place. Daddy calls him a sweet boy, tells Steve he’s a sweet puppy, that Daddy loves him, that Daddy is so lucky.

Daddy almost has to carry him out of the office, zips up Steve’s jacket, hands him a few bags, gives him a kiss on his forehead.

“Why don’t we go home and you can show me all the pretty things you bought with Daddy’s money today, yeah? Maybe we can do something with that hard pretty prick’a yours…”

3DWD and Bucky Bunny: The Daddy loves his holidays and damn him if he’s not going to take full advantage of one dedicated to his bunny love.

Bucky loves chocolate. Steve gets him two boxes of chocolates, one milk and one dark, and also gets him a box of chocolate-covered strawberries. They’re sitting on the counter alongside flowers and balloons when Bucky traipses downstairs when he wakes up. Bucky’s giggles add ten years to Steve’s life, swear to god. But Steve’s reaction upon opening up Bucky’s present to him is even better, how excited he gets when he opens up the entire Fast and Furious DVD boxed set.

It’s the little things, isn’t it?

These two have more of a relaxed Valentine’s Day together. No doubt Steve wants to watch the Fast and Furious movies, all in order, “…obviously skipping Tokyo Drift. What even was that, Bun?”. Popcorn and chocolates and Bucky eating his strawberries, they spend the day making out and snuggling as they make their way through each of the movies.

They only stop to take a break so Daddy can start on dinner, which most definitely consists of steak, something from Steve’s butcher shop, something that is only the best. He takes his time with it, Bucky catching Steve talking to the meat in the kitchen, trying to verbally sweeten it up. He makes a feast for Bucky, complete with potatoes and brussel sprouts and asparagus and wine and that yummy little butter pat right over the steak.

Their bellies are full and their hearts are happy and their bodies are warm and they can’t help but get a little frisky at the dining room table, giggles and open-mouthed kisses and sighs.

“You tryin’ to give your Daddy dessert before dessert, bun?”

“Mmm, you got dessert planned, big man?”

Steve does indeed. He bundles Bucky up in a big blanket, one of Daddy’s hoodies, shuffles him outside to the fire pit. He gets a fire going easily, holds up a bag of marshmallows with child-like excitement that Bucky matches with a giggle and an applause.

“S’mores!”

They’re sticky and gooey and they eat half of their fill from each other’s hands and from messy kisses. Daddy thinks he can out-sweet Buck but there’s no way in hell he can compete with his bunny’s sweet tooth and he calls it at three.

“I love you,” Bucky whispers against his Daddy’s cheek where they lay snuggled under a blanket in front of the fire, underneath the stars. Steve rumbles, purrs, wraps his arms a tad tighter around Bucky as he breathes, “Love you too, Buck. Love you so much.”

With full bellies and happy hearts, it’s easy for these two to make it an early night. But don’t be fooled—they wake up early the next morning still feeling very much in love and ready to physically prove that.

Senator Rogers and Intern Bucky: The filth, lord the filth. Bucky is so worried in the days leading up to Valentines Day because he’s so uncertain as to what is acceptable and what isn’t for this day and for them. But then he gets a box delivered to his home Thursday while he’s on campus, comes home to find it on his bed. He opens it up, gasps when he sees what’s inside, picks up his phone.

“What is this? Did you…?”

“Well, that’s no way to talk to your Daddy when he’s just bought you a nice pair’a panties for Valentine’s Day, now is it?”

They’re silky and high-waisted and a breathtaking dark green shade that Bucky just knows will make him look delectable. He holds them in his hands, fabric slipping between his fingers, and gets so hard so fast he whimpers. These are no doubt ladies panties and Bucky is no doubt hot for it.

“Put ‘em on. Show Daddy what you look like in ‘em.”

And this is how Bucky spends Valentine’s Day weekend, riling up his Daddy with increasingly filthy pictures of him in the pair of panties Steve bought for him, ignoring a few calls to make his Daddy angry, giggling when he gets threatening texts in response. He riles his Daddy up so much so that Steve sends a car for Bucky to pick him up and take him to the Senator’s house on Sunday afternoon.

“Wear them, fuckin’ have them on under your jeans. Gonna stuff’em in your mouth as I have my way with you, gonna pull ‘em up and over your ass when’m done with it. You don’t even know, Buck…”

💕🥰 Eeee thank you for this Heather! I loved thinking about all of the Daddies. I hope you enjoy and I hope you’re having a sweet day, bb. 💕🥰

[aes-anime-asks]

for that bokuro thing

» how would their first date go?¿

where, when, + their first kiss maybe,,, yk, the sappy bs

💖 Oof this ended up being longer than I anticipated, I hope you like it! 💖

Kenma was sick of it. Kuroo had been prattling on about Bokuto incessantly in the weeks leading up to training camp for both years they had been in school together and even when Kenma was just a middle schooler. It was time to nudge things forward a bit.

“Kuroo, you’ve been running around in the tutorial for three years now. You need to get some huevos and level up.”

“Ugh…” Kuroo could feel Kenma’s unrelenting stare upon him. He never did beat around the bush.

“Kuroo. Look at this logically. You two are practically inseparable whenever you’re together. He gives you those weird chest bumps all the time. He tackles you when you aren’t looking. He’s practically spelling it out for you.”

“Kenma… he’s… you know... a strange person. He’s like that with everyone. I’m not even sure if he’d be into a guy.”

“Has he ever talked about a girl? Even once?”

“I mean, no.”

“Ha. So, the odds are in your favor. This might be your last chance before you graduate. If you aren’t going to make it weird, I’m going to make it weird for you.”

It was times like this when Kuroo reminded Kenma that he used to be even shyer than him. That behind his cocky bravado, there was a bashful, guarded heart. More than anything, he wanted him to be happy after high school. After he graduated, there would need to be more to life than just school and volleyball. Kenma knew that Kuroo would be fine financially, probably getting some high-paying job with big pharma, but he couldn’t help imagining him all alone in his tiny studio apartment every day: cooking a microwave dinner, watching some documentary, and falling asleep, day after day. After all he’d done for him in high school, Kenma wanted to do something in return. So, on his way home from school, he hopped a bus downtown and bought two tickets to the aquarium. He knew that if money had been put into it that Kuroo wouldn’t back out.

________________________________________________

Kuroo could feel the sweat making his jersey stick to his back. He could feel the endorphins of an exhausting day of training cursing through him like the cicada’s insistent song. The tangy smell of barbecue wafted up from the grill as the embers died down for the evening. He got one last plate and settled into the grass by the firepit next to Kenma and a bunch of the other guys. Everyone knew it was the 3rd years’ last day of the last training camp, and no one was in a hurry to leave. By the look of it, a game of truth or dare was already going strong, because sure enough, there was Kenma, holding a cicada right up to Hinata’s face.

“You don’t have to swallow. You just have to bite its head off. It’s really not that bad. There were thousands of years of famine where whole villages lived on nothing but bugs. You’re only paying tribute to your ancestors. It tastes kind of nutty.” Kenma chuckled.

Despite his look of disgust, Hinata squealed and bit the cicada.

“AHHHHH! ITS LEGS ARE STILL MOVING!!” Hinata turned over and gagged while Kenma doubled over in laughter. After he recovered, an out of breath Hinata turned to Kenma. “Truth or Dare?”

“Truth.”

“Lameee… Okay. What’s the most illegal thing you’ve ever done?”

Kenma started to explain how he pulled a fire alarm in fifth grade to get out of having to give a speech, but Kuroo’s head started pounding and he stopped listening as Hinata waved Bokuto over and he put two and two together. Were Hinata and Kenma conspiring against him? He shivered involuntarily and tried to steady his breathing. He knew exactly what was about to happen.

“Okay, Kuroo. Dare.” Kenma said. He could’ve sworn he saw Hinata giggle. He was definitely in on this.

“You need to give these to the most attractive person here.” He held out two tickets to the Shinagawa Aquarium.

The pounding started again. These kinds of nerves usually only happened to him when he was in a match and was torn about what to do next. The difference here was that he knew exactly what he needed to do. Kenma, always the perfect setter, had made sure conditions were ideal. Boy, was inter-high going to be awkward if what he was about to do next didn’t pan out. He still had an out. He could give the tickets to Kiyoko or Yachi. But he knew Kenma would never forgive him. He only hoped no one could see his face flush as he wordlessly shuffled over to Bokuto. He could have played it off as a joke, as he was sure Bokuto was going to, but he felt like he might pass out, so he smacked the tickets down on Bokuto’s thigh without making eye contact or saying a word.

“A man of good taste!” Bokuto announced in his goofy stadium announcer voice, ruffling Kuroo’s hair. Behind his façade, Kuroo could feel Bokuto’s huge eyes asking him a million questions. Questions he was not ready to answer. Not here anyway.

________________________________________________

“ned help. Calculis. Might fail. Come quick. Pls ”

Bokuto’s text had come as a horrendously spelled relief. It had been almost a week and a half since training camp. Kuroo had been obsessively checking his phone, sure that Bokuto had smushed up the tickets in his training bag and forgotten them. Or worse, used them to take some fangirl on a date. Despite Kuroo’s knack for academics, this was the first time Bokuto had directly asked for help.

Kuroo put a little extra gel in his hair, sniff checked himself, applied more deodorant, and ran out to catch the bus.

When he got to Bokuto’s place, Bokuto opened the door with sunglasses on and his keys in his hand. He did not appear to have even attempted any of his homework. It was a good thing Bokuto was talented at volleyball.

“I gave up!” Bokuto announced proudly, gesturing at the mound of papers on the ground. “But since you came all the way here, I didn’t want to waste your time. Still want to go to Shinagawa?”. The tickets weren’t crumpled. In fact, they were in perfect condition, like they had never even been in his pockets.

“Uhh... yeah.” God, Kuroo felt so awkward. He had spent so much time with Bokuto, but there had always been a net between them and a clear goal. Practice. Mess with kohai. Strategize. Eat. Now it was just the two of them wandering around. Was Bokuto fearless or oblivious? It was hard to tell. Kuroo listened as Bokuto rambled on and on about his futile attempt at calculus, and how he was worried about keeping his university scholarship if he failed, but despite the depressing topic, his tone was even more chipper than usual.

When they arrived at the aquarium, Bokuto’s eyes lit up like a little boy’s. “Kuroo? First, can we go pet the stingrays?”

Kuroo nodded and smiled just slightly as Bokuto tugged on his arm in the right direction. He listened as Bokuto pedantically explained the exact way to wiggle your fingers so that the stingrays would swim right up to you, and then precisely where you could touch them without getting close to their stinger. Bokuto’s incessant talking made it so that Kuroo’s own breathless joy didn’t lead to awkward pauses. Hours passed this way, Bokuto bursting with excitement and Kuroo riding his wave of enthusiasm.

There was one final corner of the aquarium Bokuto had been saving for last. The crowds had dispersed, and they were alone. This room was carpeted so that they could barely even hear their own footsteps in the dim lighting. They both were speechless. After a long day of crowds and Bokuto’s lengthy explanations, the silence in this room felt sacred. The only light came from the thousands of teal jellyfish floating in the indigo water.

Kuroo felt like he was standing on a ledge, like the jiggle of the diving board, as you hesitate before diving into the shockingly cold, but smooth water. He’d never been so attracted to someone before. He could listen to him for days and never get tired. Bokuto’s enthusiasm for life made him remember how it felt to be a kid, when everything was important when everything mattered. Now in the darkness, the green glow of the jellyfish playing off of Bokuto’s amber eyes, Kuroo knew he didn’t have a choice. He was jumping off. He whispered to him, not wanting to disrupt his wonder.

“Bokuto?”

Just as Bokuto turned toward him, before he could say anything, Kuroo leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He could feel his stomach doing somersaults, vertigo overtaking him as Bokuto grabbed him back, taking his head in both of his hands and kissing him back. Hard. He felt the gentlest slip of his tongue into his mouth, forgetting where he was, knowing that he would never be able to get enough of this, of the way he tasted, the way his arm felt pressed into his back, how soft his hair felt, all the parts of him he had wanted to touch for so long. Wanting and being wanted back. Slowly the feeling of needing to faint returned and he could feel Bokuto pulling him onto a bench, holding him tight against him. His breath was soft and gentle on his neck, teasing at another kiss, but waiting until Kuroo looked back up at him, ready.

“Tetsuro… why did you make me wait so long?” Bokuto panted between urgent kisses on Kuroo’s neck.

“I… I was scared.” Kuroo hadn’t realized that there were tears brimming at the corners of his eyes and a lump in his throat.

Kuroo suddenly became aware of Bokuto’s arms, firm and warm, the same arms he had been watching for three years, holding him. Those huge hands were so gentle, his fingers massaging circles into the back of Kuroo’s neck.

“Let’s not be scared anymore, okay? Promise me, Tetsuro?”

Unable to speak, he took Bokuto’s hand and kissed it, hoping that this kiss would mean more than any words could.

[phantom-curve]

49 or 50 for willex, and au of your choosing!

“Also happy second birthday!! Hope you have a wonderful day”

Thank you! This was an absolute joy to write so I hope you like reading it as much as I liked writing it! From the gimme a chance AU (which I guess now officially has spin-off lore about Willex) I give you Alex and Willie’s first date.

#49: holding onto the other’s shoulders for support & #50: putting a hand over the other’s mouth to shut them up 

When Willie had asked Alex if he wanted to go on a date to the art museum, Alex couldn’t help but picture something cute and romantic. The two of them wandering around bright, airy rooms with the sunshine streaming in, bathing them in an ethereal kind of glow. Long moments standing in front of different paintings, fingertips brushing as they exchanged meaningful side long glances with one another. Maybe they would even kiss. Alex had been nearly breathless with the thought. Which was why he said yes without hesitation.

Willie looked like an absolute dream when Alex first caught sight of him outside of the museum, his long hair fluttering in the breeze behind him under his helmet, the loose, slightly cropped t-shirt he wore rising up every now and then to reveal tantalizing glimpses at tanned skin and toned abs. He came to a graceful stop on his skateboard right in front of Alex, grinning from ear to ear as he raised his eyebrows up and down teasingly.

“Didn’t run ya over this time. This date is already going better than our first meeting.”

Alex couldn’t stop the slightly high-pitched embarrassed laugh that slipped through his lips. Willie’s cheeks stretched impossibly wider, and Alex felt his own cheeks warm.

“I didn’t really mind so much.”

Willie smirked like he thought Alex was lying, which, fair. Alex had been pissed when Willie had crashed into him, ready to absolutely lose it on whatever dumbass had knocked him down and then had the audacity to complain about his stupid fucking skateboard. But then Willie had been scrambling to apologize, his brown hair tumbling down from his helmet in a mesmerizing cascade, and Alex had forgotten about his injuries completely because he was entirely focused on remembering how to breathe and getting his brain to restart. And then Willie had asked him out and it became the best day of Alex’s life. So, in the end, he didn’t really mind.

“C’mon, I got us tickets already.”

Willie tucked his skateboard under one arm and held his other hand out like he was offering it to Alex. Which, he was, Alex realized after a long second. He felt the blush paint his cheeks again and rushed to pull his hand from his pocket so he could place it in Willie’s. Willie didn’t say anything, but Alex caught the way his lips curved a bit on the edges, like he was holding back a smile.

Willie, it turned out, had an extensive understanding of almost everything art related. He named off artists without having to read the little cards by their work and talked about different periods of art styles and the evolution of art as it related to history, explaining how the two were inextricably linked which wasn’t something Alex had ever really thought about before, but was fascinating, nonetheless. Alex let himself be led around, impressed and in complete awe as Willie pointed out his favorite pieces and waxed poetic about Jean-Michel Basquiat, who Alex had learned was his favorite artist. It was everything Alex had hoped for in a date, especially when Willie led him down a set of stairs and into a basement gallery that was practically deserted.

There were large abstract sculptures throughout the room, concrete benches spaced out along the wall. Willie walked over to one and sprawled out, Alex sitting down next to him in a bit more conservative manner.

“Man, I wish they had let me bring my board in. How dope would it be to skate through this place?”

He traced his fingers through the air like he was mentally mapping out exactly how he would maneuver around all the obstacles. Alex laughed.

“I’d be way too worried about running into a priceless piece of art and ruining it.”

Alex shuddered as he thought about how awful it would be to destroy someone’s artistic creation. He still remembered how heartbroken Luke had been their senior year of high school when their former bandmate Bobby had stolen his songs and sold them to a record label on a solo contract. The pain had been unbearable, and Alex hadn’t even been the one dealing with the brunt of the hurt. Something must have changed on his face because Willie leaned over to nudge him softly with his knee. Alex blinked, startled back into the present and looked into the warmest pair of brown eyes he’d ever seen.

“You’re wound a little tight, huh? Where’d you go just then?”

Usually, Alex didn’t really open up to people. He’d learned from a young age that emotions were best kept in a bottle locked in a safe shoved into the farthest reaches of his brain. Alex and Reggie had unpacked some of that throughout the years, slowly gaining his trust and teaching him that it was okay to express himself. But Alex never really let other people in like his boys. Except, there was something about Willie, some innate goodness in him, that made Alex feel safe and calm and like maybe it was okay to let him in, too.

So, he did. He talked about Bobby, and then that spiraled into talking about the band and his homophobic parents and their silent rejection that stung all the more because it was like they weren’t even mad, they just decided that he suddenly no longer existed. Willie didn’t interrupt or judge. And when Alex had finally exhausted himself and felt a little less bogged down by it all, Willie reached over and placed his hand on Alex’s knee, skin to skin through the hole in his jeans.

“That sucks, man. I’m glad you’ve got a better family with your friends now. Luke and Reggie, right? So, you all moved down here from San Fran together?”

Alex had mentioned that when they first met. It shouldn’t be a big deal, the fact that Willie remembered and had clearly actually been listening to the things Alex had said then and now, but he was so used to not being heard that it felt monumental. His lips curved into a small smile.

“Yeah. They’re my best friends. Luke swears someday our band will take off now that we’re in LA, but I’m just happy I get to be here with them, living in a house that doesn’t feel so unwelcoming all the time and whaling on some drums whenever I need to.”

“I’m happy you’re here, too.”

The way he said it, with a little smirk and some bouncy eyebrows, Alex knew Willie meant more than just being in LA. He meant here in this museum, with him. Suddenly, Willie jumped to his feet, holding both hands out towards Alex.

“I think I know something else that might help you loosen up. Wanna give it a try?”

Alex was pretty sure he was willing to give anything a try if Willie asked him to. He slipped his hands into Willie’s and only stumbled slightly when he was pulled to his feet. Willie let go so he could catch Alex by his shoulders, their faces so close Alex could count every one of his eyelashes. Time seemed to stand still for a moment, something crackling in the space between them. And then, Willie threw his head back and yelled.

Alex jumped about 10 feet in the air and immediately slapped a hand over Willie’s mouth, muffling the sound of the other boy’s voice. He whipped his head back and forth, thankful that there wasn’t another museum patron around or worse, a security guard.

“What the hell was that for?!” He whisper-yelled, feeling the need to compensate for Willie’s vocal volume by lowering his own.

Willie laughed, his lips moving under Alex’s palm. Alex let his hand drop, not wanting to think too long about Willie’s lips touching his skin.

“It’s stress release!”

Alex raised a judgmental brow.

“Yelling in a museum is stress release?”

“Yeah, man,” Willie was still laughing, his smile easy and eyes sparkling. “There’s something about letting everything out all at once, especially in a place where it feels like you shouldn’t. C’mon, you said you would give it a try.”

Alex glanced around the gallery again. They were alone, and he had said he would try it. He took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. Willie grinned and nodded encouragingly, so Alex inhaled again and tried to copy him.

“Ahhhhh!”

It was pretty pitiful in comparison. Willie doubled over with laughter for a moment, but when he straightened his smile was patient and kind.

“Nah, dude. You gotta mean it. Here, we can do it together.”

He stepped close, the tips of his shoes touching Alex’s, hands fisting into the shoulders of Alex’s favorite pink hoodie. He looked down at where Alex’s arms were dangling limply at his side and cocked his head, so Alex grabbed onto Willie’s shoulders as well. He felt Willie lean against him, letting Alex support some of his weight, and did the same. It weirdly felt almost like a hug, the way they were each clinging onto each other, trusting the other one to hold them up. Alex copied Willie when he sucked in a deep breath, but this time, instead of lifting his head towards the ceiling, Willie maintained eye contact. That same tension from earlier pulled taught between them. The moment built until all the sudden Alex felt a huge rush of emotion and opened his mouth at the exact same time as Willie, their voices overlapping and blending together in one loud, messy shout.

The resulting rush was incredible. Alex understood immediately what Willie had meant. He let out a laugh, absolutely delighted, and yelled again. Willie yelled back, and Alex felt like his head was spinning, drunk on adrenaline and release and Willie himself. He opened his mouth to yell again when he heard footsteps on the stairs. Willie glanced over his shoulder towards the doorway they had come through and then he grabbed Alex’s hand without hesitation, giggling as he pulled him through the room and out a second doorway at the back of the space before they could get caught. They raced up a different set of stairs, only slowing to a walk as they reentered the main level gallery space. Alex was breathless and giddy, the feeling of Willie’s hand in his making him feel brave and reckless. When they finally came to a stop in a hallway between the main gallery and a doorway to the outdoor sculpture park, he used their joined hands to pull Willie close.

“You are insane, and I cannot believe I let you talk me into that.”

His words were too soft to be a real admonishment. Willie leaned in, his hips brushing against Alex’s and the feeling was overwhelming. Without letting himself think about it, Alex reached up to move a few errant strands of hair out of Willie’s face, letting one hand rest against his jaw and bringing the other around his neck so he could tilt his face up. Willie’s eyes were shining, gaze dropping to Alex’s lips as the tip of his tongue peeked out to wet his own. It was all the invitation Alex needed.

He swooped down, Willie stretching on his toes to meet him halfway, arms sliding around his waist and pulling their bodies close. Alex’s mind went blissfully blank, focusing on nothing but the taste of cherry Chapstick on his tongue and the feeling of silky hair slipping through his fingers. Willie made a little noise in the back of his throat and Alex pulled back slightly, feeling shy and nervous. Their foreheads were still touching, breaths comingling in the tiny space between them. Willie leaned in to press a soft kiss against Alex’s cheek, leaving a burning mark behind as he moved so his lips grazed Alex’s ear.

“Totally worth it.”

He pulled away with a satisfied grin, dropping his heels as Alex felt himself blush from head to toe. Willie laced their fingers together and started to retrace their steps back towards the front of the museum, pulling a dazed Alex along in his wake.

“Wanna go grab some food? There’s a pretty good hotdog stand around the corner we could hit up.”

That broke Alex out of his spell.

“Ugh, no. Literally anything but hotdogs, please.”

He shivered, his stomach clenching like it still remembered the time Luke had convinced them they could totally trust the dude selling food out of the trunk of his car at next to a venue they were playing at. Willie laughed and quirked a brow.

“Sounds like you’ve got a story to tell, Hotdog. Let’s go.”

And Alex went, groaning the whole time about his new nickname but secretly loving the fact that Willie had given him one. Nicknames said familiarity, affection. Maybe by the end of their next date he could earn a different title: boyfriend.

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs, “Humans Are Stupid ft. A Jetpack.”

Does anyone here ever get the feeling like they don’t control what they write. I was going to write something else, and then this came out, so lol. I hope you like 

***

The No 1 truth about humans: They are stupid.

Krill was waiting in the docking bay watching as his new medical equipment was wheeled up the ramp. Sunny stood next to him holding a data pad and checking off the shipping manifest as it was wheeled on.

Conn floated a few feet away from them ribbons on his back billowing and churning slowly in the air currents.

He was currently occupied staring down at the screen of his handheld. Ever since the captain had gotten him that game, he hadn’t stopped playing. It was a nice break from his usual acerbic, nosy nature.

The  last line of medical equipment was being loaded up the ramp, when con looked up from his game.

He turned his head towards the interior doors.

“Prepare yourselves.” He signed 

“Prepare ourselves? For what.”

The question didn’t hang on the air for very long before the sounds of human exuberance reached them from down the hall.

Sunny shook her head and Krill sighed, and the three of them braced themselves as the commander rolled onto deck skidding to a stop and running towards the line of boxes, “Is it here! Did you get it!”

“Get what?” Sunny muttered 

He snatched the data pad from her hand scrolling through the checked boxes.

“Hey!” She exclaimed, “What are you-”

“Ah ha!”

He began laughing and giggling maniacally running over to a line of already checked boxes hopping up and down in place and rubbing his hands together.

The three aliens exchanged a glance.

Sunny sighed, “What did you do.”

The man waved a hand at her as one of the cargo workers opened a box for him, “What did I do? What did I do? I will tell you what I did. I just made this ship officially the most awesome ship in the fleet. “

“And how exactly did you do that?”

“I thought we were already the most awesome ship in the fleet?” 

The commander was seconds from squealing with delight as the man cracked open the crate and let the sides fall to the deck.

There were a few boxes in there, but the commander didn’t seem to care about most of them grabbing a single box from the pile and hauling it onto the floor where he could get a better look, “Gah, its heavy, that’s good.”

Krill frowned, “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

The commander continued to grin, “Nope, you're gonna hate it, and that’s how I know it’s going to be great.”

Krill sighed.

Sunny stepped forward as the man frantically ripped open the box, like a man possessed. 

The crate opened and the man was now laughing maniacally, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Krill and the others wandered over glancing down into the box.

Conn sighed, a sound he had programmed into his gloves.

Sunny tilted her head, “What is it.”

The human reached inside grabbed a thick, pamphlet with one hand and tossed it out of the way.

Krill was forced to duck to the side as the book when flying past his head and skidded across the floor.

He glanced over and saw the words.

JETPACK OPERATIONS MANUAL 

“NO! Oh no! no! No! No!.”

“Yes in every way!” The commander said tearing into the foam packaging that held the unit inside.

When he finally pulled it out, he grunted with its weight and sat back on the cold metal floor cradling it against his knees to get a better look, “Ah, just look at it! Look at it! Ahhhhh! Best day ever!”

“No, you send that right back to where it came from!” Krill was saying, “I have a hard enough time getting you to keep your feet on the ground. I will not let you do this stupid, reckless-”

Sunny picked the manual off the ground, “Adam Don’t you think you should read the instructions first.”

The human was standing now and had the jetpack propped on the side of a crate threading his arms through the upper harness.” What part of ‘I can fly anything’ don’t you get.”

“So you’ve flown one before?’

“No, but how hard can it be.”

Krill shook his head, “Commander you will not be flying that, not unless you have full body protection, and that means a HELMET as well.”

Sunny crossed her arms, “I have to agree with the doctor this time.”

He glanced over at them and wilted slightly, “Ok, Ok yes mom let me go get my knee and elbow pads.”

“Full body armor or no deal.”

He groaned but sighed, “Fine!” Whining under his breath the whole way out of the room

Sunny and Krill exchanged a loo, “Should we just hide it?”

Conn floated down to sit on one of the crates, “I kind of want to see him break his neck.”

Sunny glowered over at Conn but the freaky alien just grinned at her his large black eyes menacing against his milky white skin.

She flipped the manual open, “Someone at least better read this before he gets himself hurt.”

“You think hed care to know how it worked before he tries it.”

“Adam may love science fiction, but that doesn't make him a scientist. I’ve seen him struggle to put a pen back together after taking it apart. “Sunny muttered walking over to the jetpack to set it up before the commander came back.

She almost thought about just not setting it up He wouldn’t get off the ground without reading the manual, but he had been so excited that she hardly had the heart to ruin this for him.

He returned a good thirty minute later wearing a space suit helmet tucked under one arm.

“You know what, this was a good idea Krill.”

“It was, so you finally saw the logic of-”

“Because I just realized, if we paint this rig up, I can look like buzz lightyear. Think about it a little green purple and white and I can be a space ranger. It will be the most epic cosplay you have ever seen.

“You wasted company funds on a jetpack?” “Nope my money. However if I can find a reason to requisition some, you better bet that I will, Now hand it over.”

“Helmet first.” Krill said sternly.

The man rolled his eyes, “Ok fine.” 

He slid the helmet on and it locked into place, “So many possibilities guys! I could be Iron man! Or a mandalorian!”

Sunny crossed her lower set of arms over her chest while using the other two to read the manual, “I seem to recall that the first time Iron man tried to use his, he ended up slamming into a wall.”

The Commander folded the straps on the jetpack into their place, instead using a different mechanism to attach the jetpack to the back of the space suit.

A few of the marines walked into the room, along with doctor katie.

“Yo is that a jetpack!” Called one of the marines.

“You bet your ass it is.” He turned in a circle, do you guys like?”

“Damn!”

Someone whistled.

“Don’t encourage him.” Krill snarled.

The marines stepped back.

“Yeah yeah, whatever, ok let’s get this party started.” The commander marched towards the door, and the rest of the group struggled to keep up.

Dr Katie nervously fell into step beside Krill, “he’s going to get urt isn’t he.”

“Yeah…. Bring a stretcher and a C-collar would you.” He muttered

Dr. Katie nodded and ran off.

Commander Vir stepped out onto the ramp, “Ok…. now…. Uh…. how do I get it to work?”

Sunny raised an eyebrow form behind the manual, “So now you need my help. I am not entirely sure I want to tell you how to use it.”

“You don't tell me I will just look up a video.”

She sighed, “It should have connected when you attached it to your suit. You can choose to use the hand controls on your gloves. So first-”

“Oh, sweet.”

He pressed one of the glove controls, and there was a sharp clicking sound as the jet pack wings clicked open locking into place, “Oh HELL YEAH!”

“Adam calm down.”

“What does this button do?”

“Adam-”

There was a sharp whir and whine as the engine started up.

“Oh yeah!”

“Ok we are done. If you can’t slow down and listen to the instructions, than we are going to have to confiscate that.” Sunny reached forward intending to grab him, but he danced away.

“So If that was open, and that was start, than this must be up.” 

“ADAM!” 

Sunny lunged forward just as the human’s thumb triggered the throttle. She dived right past where he had been standing, and the human rocketed up into the air feet and arms flailing.

“Shit! Adam!”

“Katie, get the medical team down here now.”

The bright streak of light passed out of light that was the engine continued to steadily rocket upwards, and for a moment it seemed as if he would at least be fine. That was until he figured out the controls and suddenly started to spin and turn wildly his body thrown back and forth like a ragdoll.

“Shit, shit, shit.” 

Conn was laughing behind her

She turned on him, “Shut up and help.”

Conn waved a hand, “he’s fine. He’s having the time of his life.”

Sunny turned back to look up, watching as the bright spot turned arched upwards and began plummeting towards the ground.

He was growing bigger and bigger in their vision.

“Any second now.” Conn said 

Sunny’s eyes widened in horror.

“He’ll figure out how to pull up, any moment now.” They could see individual limbs again.

“Yep any moment now.”

The assembled humans began to scream, and at the last moment he flung himself sideways parallel to the ground. He shot past them, and for a second sunny thought she could hear screaming though the sound of the engine was a roar.

 He was heading straight towards a loading crane.

He was about to hit it when he threw himself sideways spinning in the air his wing almost clipping an armored vehicle.

He was thrown up and sideways his arms pinwheeling as he arched in a parabola over the landing field.

All the humans had stopped to stare upwards at the spectacle, a few had their phones out.

Sunny ran out trying to see where he had gone.

Dr. Katie rushed out onto the ramp with the medical team close behind, “What the ever loving fuck!” She exclaimed, “Why did you let him do that!”

“I didn’t think he would be that stupid!” Sunny yelled back

The bright white spot did another arch and then spun and then did a loop.

Conn floated forward, “He thinks he’s got the hang of it…. Though…. I have some serious questions about his ability to slow down….’

The group of them stared skyward as he continued to roll tumbled and do loops.

“I am going to kill him.” Sunny snarled

“If he doesnt kill himself.” Kril sighed.

Sunny glowered at him, “Because you seem so concerned.”

“Didn't you hear I am in a constant state of panic, like the hulk is with anger, but…. Lame.”

The little white dot arched towards the ground.

“Oh shit, here it comes.” Conn said covering his face -- not that it would help.

Sunny tired to look away watching as the light dimmed, slowed.

She glanced up watching as Commander Vir descended from the sky his hands held out awkwardly to either side like a tightrope walker one foot down and one foot slightly up.

He was about ten feet above the ground, when he cut the engine.

Sunny yelled in surprise, the rest of the group jumped forward.

He landed fine, at first, then he stumbled forward arms flailing, tripped and plowed face first into the concrete.

Sunny and the group ran forward to where he was lying on the pavement.

“Adam, Adam are you ok!”

It was then --to sunny’s great annoyance-- that she heard the human laughing.

He rolled over onto his side and pulled off his helmet, which had small scratches across the paint of the face. He was sweaty, red in the face, but grinning like an idiot, “Holy shit, did you see that, that was awesome.”

“You could have died!”

“Yeah yeah, sure whatever, but also did you SEE that!”

Sunny felt a surge of anger flare up in her chest, “THAT IS IT!” she reached over and slammed her finger against the release button for the jetpack.”

“Hey!”

It fell away, and she shoved it into the arms of a marine, “Hide this somewhere, or throw it away, I don’t care.” 

“Wait, Sunny, but I.” She grabbed him angrily by the hand and hauled him to his feet marching across the tarmac with him stumbling behind her. He turned back to look towards the jetpack pulling against her.

In frustration she turned bent down and tipped him over one shoulder pinning his legs with her two right arms.

“Sunny! Hey! What are you doing!”

“I am sick and tired of your shit, Adam.” She marched up the ramp as the rest of the humans looked on either bemused or amused.

“Seriously sunny!”

He tried to struggle, but she only adjusted his weight.

“You aren’t leaving your quarters for a week!”

“You’re grounding me!”

“Literally” She snarled.

“You aren’t my mother.”

“Oh yeah, but I can call her.”

His eyes narrowed, ‘You wouldn’t dare.”

“Don’t think I won’t.”

His face went pale, “look sunny, we can talk about this. You don't have to call her. Come on you know me. I knew exactly what I was doing. Remember. Pilot. I fly stuff all the time.”

“You almost died.”

“Almost being the key term.”

She snarled feet slamming against the deck and she pushed through the cargo bay and out the doors her anger heard for minutes after they were out of sight.

The rest of the humans had a good laugh over the whole thing, though Krill was not impressed, and neither was dr. Katie.

Humans were immensely stupid, stupid and reckless. They had no sense of self preservation, and some of them seemed hell bent on dying early though they never seemed to manage it. Unfortunately for Sunny, she had handed the jetpack to Ramirez, who definitely planned on buying one for himself, and, as Adam’s human friend, planned on keeping it for him until he returned.

Maybe taking it out for a spin while he was away.

Because humans are stupid like that. 

[just-a-poor-boy-queen]

Part 16 of Jimercury Kid series

Baba had always told Khaleel that listening in on other people’s conversations was “very rude,” and he should never do it. But this time, as far as the five-year-old was concerned, it really wasn’t his fault.

It all started when one of his toy trains broke while he was playing with it, so he wandered off to find his daddy to see if he could fix it. He heard Daddy’s voice coming from the kitchen, accompanied by Uncle Phoebe’s, but before he could reach over and turn the door handle, he heard Daddy say, ‘I’m telling you Phoebe, he can be such a little brat sometimes.’

Khaleel froze, his big blue-green eyes going wide as he heard the anger in his Daddy’s voice, and he immediately dropped his hand back to his side. He wasn’t entirely sure what a “brat” was, but from the way his daddy spoke, it wasn’t something good. And his daddy used the word “little” so he must have been talking about Khaleel. No one else in the house was little. Except maybe the cats.

‘I know, I know.’ Replied Uncle Phoebe. ‘Trust me, I’m aware of what a little shit he can be.’

Khaleel felt his cheeks burn. Again, he wasn’t exactly sure what a “shit” was, but he knew it was a naughty word that he was never allowed to say. And Uncle Phoebe had used the word “little” as well, so they were definitely talking about him.

‘He was pestering me all morning and now he’s in a mood.’ Daddy went on. ‘Honestly, I don’t know why I put up with it.’

The hands holding the toy train began to shake. Khaleel hadn’t meant to annoy his daddy that morning. He just wanted him to stop gardening so he would play with him. He was upset when Daddy said no and told him to go and play inside, but he hadn’t thought he was that cross with him.

‘I swear,’ Daddy went on, ‘the next time he acts up like that, I’m going to put him across my knee and give him a good spanking.’

Khaleel shook so hard, he almost dropped the train altogether. He knew exactly what a spanking was. He still remembered a few years back, when he had scared Daddy by grabbing his shears and Daddy had smacked him on his bottom as punishment. It hadn’t really hurt, but it was still scary, and Daddy had promised never to do it again.

But Daddy had lied.

Uncle Phoebe laughed loudly in response, ‘I’d pay to see that!’

Khaleel’s heart sank. He thought Uncle Phoebe loved him, that he might stick up for him. But even he wanted him to get a spanking. Tears welled up in the little boy’s eyes and he ran away from the kitchen door as fast as he could, upstairs to his bedroom where he hid under his duvet, trying to muffle his sobs.

He didn’t want a spanking. He had to be on his best behaviour from now on.

--

Freddie hadn’t heard a peep out of Khaleel all evening.

He arrived home from the studio just before dinnertime but wasn’t greeted by the excited five-year-old jumping into his arms like he usually was. He found Khaleel in his bedroom, playing quietly with his trains and when he asked the little boy if he was okay, the child simply nodded and continued playing without saying another word.

Freddie was worried but tried not to let it eat away at him. He had always been the more overprotective parent and Jim often had to reassure him that sometimes kids just did weird things, it wasn’t always something to be alarmed about. So, he allowed Khaleel to remain in his room until Phoebe called them all to dinner.

When Khaleel arrived at the table, he was as white as a ghost. He pulled out his chair carefully, as if terrified he’d knock it over and used his cutlery in slow motion, bringing it up to his mouth with great care that it didn’t fall off his fork.

‘Darling, are you alright?’ Freddie asked, finally cracking as he leaned across to feel his son’s forehead, ‘you don’t look well.’

Khaleel just nodded and went back to eating, glancing at Jim nervously every now and then.

Eventually, his parents fell into conversation, and he breathed a small sigh of relief as he finished his meal without making any mess. He had even eaten all his vegetables, even his carrots, which he hated. Daddy would definitely be happy about that. (1/2)

He reached over to pick up the glass of milk beside his plate, when Freddie suddenly said, ‘Khaleel?’ making him jump out of his skin. The glass slipped from his hands and toppled over onto the table, milk spilling everywhere.

‘Whoops!’ Jim cried, jumping up to grab the paper towels from the kitchen nearby.

Khaleel immediately burst into tears and jumped out of his chair, running to Jim, and wrapping his little arms around his father’s leg before he could leave the room. ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry Daddy! I didn’t mean to!’

Jim blinked in surprise at the child’s hysteria and, forgetting the paper towels, kneeled down to gently pull his son close. ‘Hey, hey, don’t worry. It was an accident, sweetheart. No point crying over spilt milk.’

He was trying to make him laugh but Khaleel just cried harder, throwing his arms around Jim’s neck. ‘Please don’t smack me, Daddy! I’m sorry I was naughty, I’m sorry!’

‘Kenny, what on earth are you talking about?’ Freddie got up from his chair, looking from his son to his husband, ‘what’s going on?’

‘I-I heard Daddy talking to Uncle Phoebe.’ Khaleel stammered between sobs, still clinging to Jim. ‘He s-said I was a little brat a-and he was g-going to spank me next time I’m naughty.’

Freddie looked aghast. He glared at Jim with fire in his eyes. ‘You said what?’

The colour drained from Jim’s face. He managed to prise the little boy from his bear hug and softly told him to go and wait in the lounge while he and Baba had a little chat. Khaleel continued to sob and beg, but once he was reassured that he wasn’t going to be punished he calmed down and allowed Phoebe to take him into the lounge to play with his toys. No sooner had the dining room door closed, Freddie erupted.

‘I can’t believe you, Jim Hutton!’ He thundered, not caring if the whole neighbourhood heard him. ‘How dare you – how dare you say such things about our son!’

‘Freddie.’ Jim said, unusually calm considering the situation. ‘It’s not what you think.’

‘Not what I think?! Our child overheard you talking about smacking him! Something you promised never to do again! How could you?!’

‘Freddie-’

‘No wonder he’s been so quiet today, he was terrified of being punished! I can’t believe you’ve been having such vile conversations behind my back, and to Phoebe of all people-!’

‘Freddie, I was talking about you!’

Freddie’s voice immediately cut off and he allowed his mouth to hang open a second, his hand still raised in a jabbing motion. The pair of them stared at each other, the only sound to be heard being that of Romeo and Lily faintly squabbling in the background.

Then Freddie started to laugh. Uncontrollable giggles that made him clutch his stomach and almost keel over, cackling until the tears pricked at his eyes. He could hear Jim laughing too and soon the pair of them were near hysterics, clutching each other as their bodies shook along with each chuckle, until Freddie took a deep breath and managed to pull himself together long enough to speak.

‘You were talking about me?’ He panted, wiping at his eyes.

Jim nodded, looking a little embarrassed. ‘I was still annoyed about that argument we had this morning – you know, when you were nagging me about forgetting to rake the leaves yesterday.’

Freddie pouted. ‘I was not nagging.’

‘I told Phoebe that I thought you were acting like a brat and if you behaved that way again, I’d put you over my knee.’ Jim’s face was flushed red, though he couldn’t help chuckling again. ‘Poor Kenny must have overheard us and thought I was talking about him.’

‘Oh dear.’ Freddie sighed, rubbing his tired eyes, exhausted from the sudden influx of emotions he had just experienced. ‘I’m sorry, darling. I shouldn’t have exploded at you like that before I got my facts straight.’

‘You were just being your usual, protective self.�� Jim replied, understanding as always. ‘Now the question is, how are we going to explain this to Khaleel?’

‘We’ll think of something.’ Freddie turned to start walking towards the dining room door. Before he left, he glanced back at Jim over his shoulder, sticking his backside out rather suggestively. ‘So, you plan to spank me, do you? Is that a threat, Mr Hutton?’

‘No, Mr Mercury.’ Jim replied, smirking. ‘That’s a promise.’ (2/2)

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

Ahhhhh another (sort of) spanking fic! I loved the banter at the end ahaha—I can imagine what they did after putting Kenny to sleep lmao.

Speaking of Kenny, oof, bless his little heart. You've displayed the simple reasoning of a child so well—his daddy used the word little, thus he must be the topic of conversation. Poor baby, being so afraid to break any rule.

Also lmao, Jim and Phoebe gossiping about Freddie is my new favourite thing.

I absolutely adored this part, anon! This was so sweet, and sensitive and funny and flirty—an entire package💙

(More drabbles by writer anon)

[withcolebrock]

Night Changes-Father’s Day

Summary: It’s Colby’s first father’s day as a father.

Night Changes Masterlist

Warnings: none? maybe swearing I don’t remember

Word Count: 1,926

Author’s Note: hi I think this is very cute hehe, I hope you guys like it!! The quality of the gif is so bad ahhhhh. Anyway this idea was given to my by my friend @curlyhairedbrock​ so thank you so much for messing with my feels with this idea 🥺This is my Gif!!

For the past seven months it had been the craziest and hardest time of their lives. They have been surviving on a maximum five hours of sleep per night. Colby and Y/N also have described it as the best months of their lives. Ever since they brought their little girl home, their life has never been the same.

Many relationships tend to struggle after having kids, but Y/N and Colby’s relationship had blossomed. They ended up getting closer, if that was even possible. During the past seven months, they also had a lot of help from their families and friends. Especially Sam and Katrina, they were over almost everyday just to see the baby.

Y/N climbed out of bed at the sudden sound of the crying baby on the monitor. She took a hold of the monitor, to try her best not to wake Colby. She turned off the sound quickly, she turned her head quickly taking a glance towards Colby. He laid on the bed with the comforter pulled under his chin as his head was squished into the pillow. She smiled softly to herself while opening the door quietly while she headed towards the nursery a few doors down. Taking in a long breath, she pushes the door open slowly.

“Good morning, Renni,” she spoke softly as she entered the room, Serenity still sitting up crying. “Oh, Love it’s okay,” she continued as she walked towards the crib. Y/N reached into the crib and picked the little girl. She cradled her in her arms and began rocking her softly. Serenity sobs slowly eased. Y/N walked towards the changing table and delicately laid her onto the top of it. She spent a few minutes changing her diaper and getting her dressed up for the day.

Y/N took a hold of the onesie with the words, ‘Daddy’s Little Girl,’ and smiled as she began putting it on her daughter. Today was Colby’s first official Father’s Day and Y/N wanted to spend the day making Colby feel special and making the whole day about him and Serenity. “Oh, Renni, look how beautiful,” she spoke softly as she lifted her daughter up from the changing table.

“Now, let’s make breakfast for daddy, yeah?” she bounced her softly in her arms as they exited the nursery. Serenity giggled softly as they began walking down towards the main living area. As they entered the kitchen, she put Serenity into a baby bouncer. She smiled towards her daughter as she walked towards the fridge taking out eggs, bacon, and pancake mix. She laid out all of the ingredients on the counter getting ready to prepare everything.

She began first by pouring oil into a pan and then she continued to lay a few pieces of bacon slowly onto the pan. She continued with the other pan with the scrambled eggs.

She continued to cook for fifteen minutes as she sang along to different songs, “I wanna stay up all night, and jump around until we see the sun…” she danced around as she laid out scrambled eggs onto the two plates. Serenity giggled as she played with the toys surrounding her in the bouncer and watched her mother.

The sound of footsteps coming from the hall shifted her attention away from the food. Colby walked out of the hall while rubbing his eye. She sighed, “Colby, you aren’t supposed to be awake yet,” she whined, flipping a pancake. He chuckled as he ran his fingers through his messy purple hair. He began walking towards Serenity sitting in the bouncer.

“Hi,” his voice went high as he lifted her up from the bouncer, “I know when my girls are awake,” he spoke as he poked Serenity on her belly looking at the onesie she was wearing. “Look at that, so cute,” he breathed while kissing her on the head. She giggled as she wrapped her little arm onto Colby’s chest. He took a hold of her hand. “And your food smells delicious,” he smiled as he leaned behind her. Turning around she beams up towards him. He gives her a quick peck on the lips as he walks around towards the kitchen barstool.

“Thanks, Baby. It’s almost done, just have to finish the pancakes,” she pressed her lips together as she poured the last of the pancake batter onto the pan. Glancing, she watches Colby lift up Serenity’s little fingers and play with them. She smiled to herself as she focused on the food. She finished the last pancake and turned off the stove, she placed a few pancakes on the two plates she pulled out. “Colbs, can you put her in her chair? I have to grab her food,”

He hummed as he stood up slowly, cradling the little girl. “I know, Renni, what you're about to eat is disgusting,” he explained, his tone higher than normal. Y/N rolled her eyes as she pulled out the premade mashed bananas. “Oh wait,” he spoke dramatically as he began buckling her in, “It’s bananas, that’s way better than the other gunk you ate yesterday.” he took the bib sitting on the tray and delicately wrapped it around her neck.

She placed the bowl beside her plate, next to Serenity’s high chair. Colby took the plates from the counter and carried them towards the dining table. “She liked it,” Y/N smirked as she sat beside Colby and Serenity. He chuckled while rolling his eyes, looking down towards Y/N. Her lips curled upwards softly as she admired his bright blue eyes. “Happy father’s day, my love,” she whispered. A wide smile grew to his features as his cheeks began to blush. She raised her hand to his cheek and pulled his head towards her. She pressed her lips against his softly before pulling away.

“Thank you,” he pursed his lips forward as he looked away briefly. She lifted up the spoon with a small amount of the bananas and brought it to Serenity’s lips. She ate it quickly. Colby and Y/N let out soft giggles as they watch their little girl eat. “It’s my first father’s day as a dad, how cool is that,” he smiled to himself as he watched his daughter continue to eat.

She rested her head onto his shoulder, “How does it feel, Bubby?”

“Weird, I can’t describe it,” he chuckled.

~~~

Colby leaned his body against the couch as he let out a dramatic sigh. Y/N walked back into the living room without Serenity as she sat down next to Colby. “Why did we have to put her down, it’s father’s day and I should be able to cuddle my daughter whenever I want to,”

“You know she needs to nap, Babe,” she sighed as she closed her eyes.

“She could nap right here,” he said, hitting his chest lightly. She opened her eyes briefly looking over to see him still pointing to his chest. She giggled, shutting her eyes again. He took in a long breath as he stood up from the couch. “I’m grabbing her,” he shrugged his shoulders while he started walking towards the nursery.

“No, Colby, she-” she tried to speak up but he was already down the hall. She covered her face in her hands as she choked out a laugh. She rubbed her eyes a few times before pulling her hands away from her face. She laid with her eyes closed, waiting for Colby to come back.

As he entered the nursery, Serenity laid still staring towards the ceiling blinking slower and slower. “Hi, Renni,” he whispered as he reached into the crib, delicately picking her up. “How’s my baby girl?” he cradled her in his arms as he slowly walked towards the rocking chair. He sat down slowly as he began rocking back and forth, while looking down over her little features. “Tired?” he asked as he watched her yawn.

He let out a soft laugh as his eyes scanned his little girl. “You know today is a pretty special day for me,” he spoke softly, his voice rasped as he spoke. “Well, for you too,” he chuckled, “You are the reason it’s special to me, you made this day special. Your mommy wanted to have this whole party thing with all of your aunts and uncles, but I told her this was more than enough. Just some time with you and your mommy, was all I needed,” he leaned his head against the back of the rocking chair, shutting his eyes.

~~~

She lifted her head up from the couch, rubbing her eyes softly. She picked up her phone checking the time, noticing it had been a few hours later. She rubbed her eyes a few more times before she stood up from the couch. Her eyes wandered the living room area searching for Colby. She began walking towards their bedroom when she stopped suddenly. Through the cracks of the door she sees Colby asleep with Serenity.

Quickly, she pulled out her phone and took a few pictures. She may post a few later, but she wanted a few keepsakes. She slowly pushed the door open, soft creaks echo pulling Colby from his sleep. He squints harshly before opening his eyes slowly. Y/N meets his sleepy gaze from across the room. “Hey,” his voice was hoarse as he lifted his free hand and wiped his eye.

She took little steps towards Colby and the rocking chair. “Comfy?” she questioned as she stood beside him. He tilted his head towards her and nodded with a small smile to his lips. She moves her hand across his upperback slowly and rests it onto his shoulder. She leans down looking over her sleeping daughter. “She’s been sleeping long?” she asked as she ran her fingers along his shoulder.

“Yeah, she was out as soon as we got in the chair,” he chuckled, “How long were we asleep?” he asked, wiping his hand over his face.

“A couple hours,” she breathed, leaning down pressing her lips to his cheek before walking in front of the rocking chair. She leaned down and glanced towards Colby before taking a hold of their little girl. He delicately handed her towards Y/N, and stood up from the rocking chair. Serenity started to fidget in Y/N’s arms and began to wail in tears. “I know honey, I’m sorry,” she rocked her slowly as she carried her over to the changing table.

Colby leaned his body against the wall as he watched his wife. “Serenity, you can go back to Daddy in a minute,” she sighed as she continued to change her diaper, Colby bows his head letting out a breathy laugh. A few minutes go by as Serenity continues to cry, Y/N trying her best to calm her while changing the diaper. Once the onesie was completely put on she lifted the crying little girl up and cradled her. “Bub,” she whispered as she walked closer to Colby.

Colby smiled widely as he gladly reached over for his daughter, as soon as she was in Colby’s arms her cries softened. Y/N rolled her eyes playfully as she laughed. Colby joined in as he ran his hand up and down Serenity’s back, “Daddy’s Girl, I guess,” Y/N sighed as she leaned up towards Colby, he smiled as he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers gently.

“As she should be,” he winked as he leaned down and pressed his lips against Y/N’s lips again.

[youraveragebtsstan]

A Namjin Fanfic: “Mono”

Genre: Fluff, Lime

Pairing: Namjoon x Jin (Namjin)

Word Count: 5.8k (5,889)

Summary: After a year of living in Monochromatic color, Namjoon reunites with his best friend Jin restoring everything as it should be. As unresolved tensions linger in the air, the rose-colored tints of their worlds begin to bleed together. But what happens when suppressed emotions bubble to the surface, forcing the two to pick up where they left off?

AO3 (Archive Of Our Own) Link: Click Here

—————–

With a crack of thunder in the distance, Namjoon suddenly became aware of the present. Stretching his neck above water, he gasped at fresh air, for the previous months of his life had done nothing but consume him, drowning him in memories of the past. 

Day in and day out, he relived them in his mind- recalling a man that meant so much, one word would never be enough to describe.

He was his safe haven.

The first, and sometimes only to know what thoughts truly plagued his mind; recalling a moment where pure adrenaline and just his words alone gave him all the strength he needed. After months of mental torment from a failing relationship, one fateful night resulted in Namjoon packing what little he could carry, leaving behind everything he could live without. Upon storming out of the apartment and exiting the building, it was the vision of Jin’s proud smile that allowed him to ignore his ex’s shouts of disbelief and step into the taxi along the curbside. It wasn’t until he sank into the backseat that Namjoon allowed himself to breathe. Pulling out his phone, he stared mindlessly into the light letting his finger do the thinking. There on-screen, laid a year’s worth of pain in the form of five simple words, ‘I did it, I left.’ It was then that Namjoon realized he was the first to know. Without fear or hesitation, he would always be the first.

He was his best friend.  

The only person never entitled enough to ridicule his decisions. Always understanding and never quick to judge, Jin was always by his side. Even when Namjoon faced the world alone, he was never truly unescorted. Recalling a time when only six boxes lined the living room wall of his empty condo, Jin was there to help carry the load. While embarking on a new journey, it was he who gave him a place to stay until he was able to find one of his own. Christening the home with laughter and the smell of local takeout, it was here where Namjoon felt solace- comfort in the realization he was the only one to truly show unconditional support. No matter the circumstances, he would always be the only.

He was his heartbreaker. 

A love that would always pain him to breathe as it sweetly passed through his lungs; recalling a time where his long-awaited bliss came crashing, falling to the floor around him. As he wrestled advantages and drawbacks in his mind, one true desire floated to the center of it all. But before the courage that followed could find its way to the surface, talks of a 166-mile void haunted Namjoon in the form of Jin’s voice. While an unsteady smile framed his face, Namjoon suffered in the feeling of heartache as the organ in his chest had never beat so clearly for one person’s smile in his life. It was at this moment he appointed him his love. No matter the outcome, he would always be his love.

He would always be his everything - and here he was.

Leaning against his condo door, with eyes tinted red- compliments of the wine lingering from an hour before. With his skin softly tanned- contrasting the dark rain stained clothes, Jin smiled with excitement. Namjoon laughed at the strange sense of humor the world had. It wasn’t until now, face to face with his daydreams, was he able to inhale.

The two wiped their feet on the welcome mat as they stepped through the door. Fearing the dark and unfamiliar space, Jin shuffled back toward the door. It wasn’t until he felt the wool of Namjoon’s coat scrape his fingertips, did he realize he had gripped onto his arm. Namjoon lowered his head as his smile widened. Blushing in the dark, he shook his head, quickly shaking off the embarrassment. Losing comfort for a brief moment, Jin stood still as Namjoon left his side, the wool once again scraping his nails. With the sound of a switch pressing against metal soon, the kitchen stove light revealed Namjoon silhouetted in its orange glow. 

And to think, Jin had just begun to breathe.

“Make yourself comfortable,” Namjoon said.

Leaving his jacket on a hook near the door, Jin felt his nerves slip away as he hung them to dry. He slipped off his shoes, lining them against the coarse mat with his toes, eventually making his way out of the kitchen and onto the living room carpet. Sitting in front of him was a couch, facing the wall to his left; and a small glass coffee table- housing a cooking magazine and a set of coasters- separated the two. Lining the left wall itself was a shelving unit only waist-high, allowing a tv, a few picture frames, and other small electronics to rest. Centered behind the couch sat a thin wooden console table, originally added to occupy the space accidentally provided more storage. In front of the console table, lining the wall to his right, housed a small office space, a place where Namjoon spent most of his downtime making music and working on his days away from the office. A modern office chair tucked perfectly underneath a glass table topped desk guarded with metal filing cabinets, plants, and a small trash can. Finally, behind it, all was the city. A prime view of Seoul on display hidden behind closed blinds.

“Oh wow, this place looks completely different.”

Jin wandered, eyes growing wider as his head turned. Suddenly he stopped. Placing his excitement on hold as he bent down pointing at a small picture frame next to the TV. Covering his mouth in embarrassment, Jin’s cheeks grew red.

“Oh no! Why is this out here in the open? This needs to be hidden.”

Panicking at the tone of Jin’s voice, Namjoon shuffled past the coffee table, huddling by his side. Picking up the small framed photo, he stared at the picture of two young boys nestled together. A younger version of himself stood on the right of the photo, barely managing his lanky limbs hidden behind an overgrown bowl cut; and standing to his left was a slightly older Jin, face framed by coke bottle glasses and newly discovered acne.

A smile crawled across his face.

Placing the frame down gently, Namjoon spoke with a soft assurance.

“I like this picture.”

“Of course you do,” said Jin as he rolled his eyes with a smirk.

Finding curiosity in the blinds that unevenly covered the window, Jin pulled on a small thin chain that hung along their edge. As he activated the pulley, the long panels separated from the center, revealing a blue-lit city as rain morphed the view.

“Ahhhhh,” he gasped standing motionless. “If I had a view like this, I would never close these blinds.”

Namjoon chuckled, now leaning back into the couch cushions as he watched him.

Stepping back, Jin inched his way to the couch plopping down in front of Namjoon never once taking his eyes off the window. He watched on as the raindrops decorated the glass in abstract brushes.

“This has to be one of the best views in Seoul… Even when it rains, it’s still beautiful.”

Lit only by the orange hue of the kitchen light, the cityscape provided very little brightness for the room. Though only casting a pale tint, no light was needed. Fitting like the final piece of the puzzle, the atmosphere was flawless; nothing needed to be said. Silence lingered between the two. 

“You don’t have a view like this?” asked Namjoon poking through the peace.

Jin turned to his left, raising an eyebrow in comical confusion.

“You’ve seen my apartment. A one-bedroom no bigger than the size of your kitchen, and you think that broom closet is going to have a view?”

Namjoon chuckled at the comparison.

Jin continued as he huffed in annoyance, “The closest thing to a view is an alleyway about ten feet wide.”

“Well, it is rent-free… Perks of being a peds surgeon at Chonnam National,” he added nudging Jim playfully.

He felt no shame from the bold brag, that fell from his lips. He rested further into the cushions, as his nervousness seemed to exist no longer.

Jin too sunk into the cushions but for a different reason. He sighed.

“ Former peds surgeon,” he quietly corrected.

With a shot to the heart, Namjoon sat up with a start. Eyes wide and mouth slightly gaped, he leaned forward bracing himself on his knees.

“You quit pediatrics?!”

“No,” inserted Jin, calm and relaxed as ever. “-Just Chonnam. I already put in my two months’ notice.”

Though Jin’s words of clarity were designed for comfort, Namjoon still felt uneasy. The words ‘pediatrics’ and ‘Jin’ always fit so perfectly together. From the moment the two met, pediatrics had always been the number one goal for Jin. Which is why when Jin called after passing all of his doctorate exams with flying colors, Namjoon was most elated. Despite being reassured Jin still intended to pursue his pediatrics career, having Chonnam out of the picture just didn’t seem right. Namjoon almost found it comical- casting it off as a practical joke, but the comedy soon faded to tragedy.

“Where are you transferring to?” he asked.

“Seoul National.”

“Seoul!?”

For a moment he thought he had misheard. For a moment he thought it was a mistake, but when staring a little longer at Jin’s eyes, Namjoon was granted confirmation. Namjoon’s eyes grew wide again. Suddenly, the fear that lingered turned into something different. Namjoon gave in as his heart fluttered him to the skies; he bared down the rosey grin that came with it, choosing the lesser of two evils.

Jin nodded in conformation.

“Yeah, I’ve been looking for an apartment for about 3 months now. I found one 20 minutes away from here about one month into the search, put in my notice a week later after I got the apartment.” 

Turning away from Namjoon, Jin continued his gaze out the window. He traced his chin with his finger as he continued, “Now the view’s nothing like this, but it’s still beautiful.” 

“So you left for the view ?”

Namjoon’s curiosity grew hungrier in the silence lasting longer than expected.

“Come on, what made you leave Chonnam? It was your dream job, especially for pediatrics. You had been applying there for so long.”

“I was homesick I guess,” Jin confessed. “Plus, Chonnam was number eleven on Newsweek last year, Seoul National was number three. I was hired the same day I notified Chonnam, I quit after I found out of course.”

“How long ago did you apply for Seoul National?”

“About four, maybe five months ago,” Jin said with a nod.

“Well, congratulations,” said Namjoon with a smile.

Jin bowed playfully, “Thank-you. Oh! And you’re helping me move in a few weeks, just to let you know.”

Namjoon laughed at his advise.

“It’s only right considering I helped you,” Jin reiterated.

“I only had a few boxes when I first moved here, and you watched most of the time!”

A smack echoed through the room, as Jin’s hand playfully hit Namjoon’s shoulder, “It doesn’t matter, you’re still helping.”

“And it’s not like I’ll have a lot of things, most of the things I have now came with the Chonnam apartment, and with it, they’ll stay. Plus, I won’t be at home most of the time anyway, I’ll either be at the hospital or here enjoying the view from your couch,” he added with a raised brow.

Namjoon chuckled.

The mood of the room became overwhelming, pausing conversation. Succumbing to relaxation, Jin turned to face the window completely. Crossing his ankles over the arm of the couch, he wormed his way to the bottom, lazily resting his head on Namjoon’s lap. Jin tucked his hands into his sleeves as he swaddled himself. 

It was now that Namjoon allowed himself a moment of vulnerability. His breath fell calmly, as he stared out of the window. Sounds of the room flooded in; the hum of the heater acted as white noise, while the light rain played in the background. Raindrops slid down the window, swirling and blurring the sky’s paint. It was almost film worthy.

“I still can't believe you had these blinds closed,” stated Jin.

Matching the tone of the room, Namjoon’s voice poured out with a softness, “I never really had a reason to keep them open.”

Puzzled at the mystery that always has and always will be his best friend, Jin turned to face Namjoon. His hair rustled against Namjoon’s thigh as he looked up at the man.

“Do you have a reason yet?” Jin questioned.

Remaining focused on the view, Namjoon answered without thought, “Yeah, you'll be out there.”

Jin's shoulders shook as he chuckled at the comment.

“I've always been out there,” he said gesturing to the window.

Trailing his eyes away from the sky, Namjoon shook his head in disagreement.

“No, you’ve been in Gwangju, but now you’ll be here, out there in Seoul.”

Jin grew silent. 

Urged by the voice inside him, he too retracted from the view, only to have his eyes meet Namjoon’s fixated pair. Staring down at him softly, the gaze was all but intrusive. Coupled with honesty, Jin found a new wave of comfort wash over him. It was now he, who lost track of time. There was something so tranquil about the vulnerability in Namjoon’s eyes, he could get lost forever; wanted to get lost forever.

Involuntarily, Jin blinked pulling himself from the void. Soon he met with the realization of how many seconds had passed. Heat spread across his face, leaving a small tint of red in its place. Restlessness kicked in as his fingers found themselves clawing at the lining of his sweater’s hem. Blinking sporadically, Jin’s embarrassment began to show. Sparing him from more shame, Namjoon’s pupils faded away as he returned his gaze to the window. Feeling exposed and in need of reassurance, Jin glanced around in the dark before flowing suit.

Namjoon sighed as he continued, “I don’t really know. I guess Seoul felt empty; almost like it was missing something. After a while, I just stopped looking.”

“I felt the same way about Gwangju,” Jin said as his nerves settled. “I over exceeded my expectations, making it all feel underwhelming I suppose,” he admitted.

Namjoon agreed in a hum.

“Did you figure out what was missing?”Jin asked.

Namjoon looked down in confusion.

“Did you figure it out? You said Seoul was missing something, did you figure out what was missing?”

Namjoon huffed out a deep drag of air. He smirked at his hyung, always concerned and caring for others.

“I did,” he confessed. “I knew what was missing all along, actually. For a while, I avoided it; I tried ignoring the fact it was missing in the first place. But when that didn’t work, when I did find it, I realized some things just don’t want to be found, so I stopped. I stopped waiting and looking altogether.”

The words fell heavy on Jin’s shoulders. Already wrestling with self-inflicted guilt, Jin felt like toppling over at the sweetly crafted innuendos. For months he had been restless, fighting with a decision that weighed on his heart. And an evening of Namjoon’s fragileness added to the pressure, bursting him at the seams. Jin sat up slowly.

Namjoon blinked at the frown that crinkled Jin’s brow.

“Namjoon...I never- I never tried to…” Jin said sighing in between words as they struggled to find their way out.

“Jin,” Namjoon said softly.

“Namjoon, we- we need to talk about this.”

Namjoon’s heart began to race. He let out a quick sigh as he closed his eyes. 

He thought he had avoided it. After arriving at the restaurant fifteen minutes too early and finding Jin already waiting at the table for two; after the two-hour dinner and ten-minute walk home in the rain, Namjoon assumed everything was fine. Nothing had come up in conversation; no hesitant smiles or hollow periods of silence followed by scraping forks haunted their reunion. Everything had fallen into place; slipping into grooves so easily as it did before. So why now, after all this time did the glass finally shatter? Stained with cracks, everything crumbled around him. He assumed everything had been forgotten and for the first time tonight, Namjoon felt foolish.

“We’ve been avoiding this all night. We can’t act like- I can’t act like this never happened,” replied Jin.

Namjoon responded with silence.

Jin stammered as he spoke, “I- I don’t want you to think I was running or hiding, because I wasn’t running or hiding from anything, especially not you. I didn’t- I didn’t even know until you came to visit. If- if I had known, I wouldn't have-”

Namjoon interrupted, head tilted to the side with a slight squint in his eyes.

“-left?” he questioned softly.

Jin quickly shook his head in agreeance, “No, I wouldn’t have.”

The mood had shifted.

The once mellow skies morphed into a harsh, tense cloud that grew only in that very room. Yes, yes! Jin’s heart raced as he nodded wildly, swallowing the lump in his throat; Finally some clarity! But no, enough was enough. Namjoon grew exhausted from the games. Thinking he could pick and choose what to keep hidden in the dark when it came to Jin was ignorant. Allowing himself to be open with the truth had only gotten him more bruised. Reopening old wounds had nearly drained him of his pain- leaving only frustration. 

Standing from the couch in a rush his hands swung by his sides, clenching into fists resting by his hips. He glared at Jin, staring up, hopeful and wide-eyed. Growing slightly on edge, Namjoon’s voice rose in pitch as he spoke. He felt guilty even doing so.

“Come on Jin. You’re saying you wouldn’t have left Seoul if I told you how I felt sooner, not even for Chonnam?!”

“No, I wouldn’t,” said Jin trying to lower his own voice with no avail.

Namjoon huffed in a chuckle.

“Namjoon, you would have known that if you didn’t leave Gwangju early,” said Jin continuing with reason. “You left before I could give you an answer.”

“I left early because I didn’t want to ruin the weekend. I shouldn’t have said anything. You were having such a good time showing me around and I ruined it. I shouldn't have even-” 

“-Good time?!” Jin questioned.

His voice peaked at a screech. His eyes now vexed and body stiff, Jin stared at Namjoon in hurt and confusion. His heart continued to race.

“Namjoon I was 268 kilometers away from home and miserable. Gwangju was not a good time for me! Namjoon I had no friends, no family, no social life. I worked sixty hours a week and barely got any sleep. I was homesick! I missed Seoul, I missed my family, my friends, I missed you. That weekend you came to visit, I was only excited because you were there!”

And with that fell the guilt. The rant-like memoir bared all of Jin's burdens. Namjoon's face dropped in sorrow. Only a whisper could escape.

“Jin.”

“I didn’t handle it as well as I should have and Soju didn't help at all, I admit; but you telling me you loved me, made my day. Hell, it made that year worth living.”

Namjoon stayed quiet, the lump in his throat grew larger by the second. 

“Before I could give you a sober answer, the next morning you were already on a train back to Seoul.”

“I didn’t know… I- I just thought I messed up. I wanted to take it back and pretend I never said it. I thought it would make it easier if I just left… I never thought- I never knew you were unhappy,” said Namjoon as his voice cracked.

Jin replied softly, “I guess we both had a rough year.”

Namjoon didn’t know what to say. Now that everything was out in the open, what was there left to say? Nothing; everything. Namjoon could barely think; his mind flickering between blank space and crammed emotion. Feeling tears well in his eyes, he dared not to blink. Turning toward the kitchen he trailed his fingers along the countertop, tapping them as he cleared his throat. He crouched behind the counter, disappearing from view. As he fumbled with the grooves of the small cabinet doors, tears spilled over his lashes. Taking a moment he paused, letting the tears roll down his cheeks. Nodding to himself, he cleared his throat, this time with a little more subtlety. Wiping away the tears with his shirt, Namjoon cleared his vision, opening the cabinet door grabbing a single bottle of wine. 

Placing the bottle on the counter, he grabbed two glasses from a nearby rack housing various shot glasses and other ceramic cups. Tapping the faucet’s handle, he rinsed them; their glass clinked under the stream. Not caring to dry them off, he placed the warm glass on the counter filling them with the cool white wine. The bottle’s aluminum top creaked as it spun. As he sloppily filled each glass, the sounds of sniffles broke threw the splashes of the liquor. He ignored them just as Jin had done for him only moments before. Sliding on of the now half-filled glasses across the counter, he raised his own to his lips waiting. Standing in the glow of the kitchen light he waited, watching over its rim.

Jin’s shoulders raised as he sniffed. Eyes wide, he tucked his fingers in his sleeves as he wiped away the tears that capped their water lines. Once again the night sky became clear. 

Rubbing his arms out of restlessness, he sighed. 

Turning his back on the city, Jin walked toward the counter, careful to keep his head trained on the glass. He glanced up, noticing Namjoon’s stare drop from his position to the contents of his glass. Jin did the same. Slumping down onto his forearms, he raised the glass to his lips. Only after feeling the sting of its scent did he drink.

Namjoon spoke as he swallowed, “I couldn’t tell you to stay.”

Gaging the sound of his voice against the rain, he paused taking another sip.

“Telling you to stay, meant telling you to leave your dream for me. I wanted to… but I couldn’t.”

Tapping his nails on the glass, Jin swirled his wine with the shake of his wrist. Watching the wine wrap into a funnel, he pressed his lips together, raising his eyebrows in amusement.

“Do you remember when we spent the night on the living room floor in my old condo? It was about a month after you came to live with me and it stormed so bad it knocked the power out in the whole building.”

Namjoon chuckled, “You lit so many candles that night, you didn’t realize some of the wax melted down the counter and into-.”

“-Into the carpet, yes! And they never gave me back my deposit either,” interrupted Jin as he pushed off the counter with excitement.

“Yeah, I remember,” smiled Namjoon.

Taking another sip, Jin lowered himself to the counter again.

“Well, while you were scraping the wax out of the carpet, I realized my dream was worthless without you in it. I’ve always wanted to be a doctor- even before I met you, you know that- but having someone there for it all was important too. I didn’t just want to go to work, come home and do it all over again. I wanted someone I could come home to, and you being there made me realize that.”

The two locked eyes. Frozen, inches apart, they stared.

“I had just submitted my application for Chonnam and you had just moved in. I couldn’t tell you I was in love with you and then a few months later leave you, the timing wasn’t right,” said Jin as he shook his head.

“And besides, I definitely couldn’t ask you to move across the country to live with me even if I got hired, you had just started to enjoy Seoul again. You were smiling and laughing. You hadn’t looked that happy in a long time and I wasn’t going to be the reason you stopped; I couldn’t. But yeah… being in Gwangju by myself made me realize I didn’t just want someone to be there… I wanted you.”

Namjoon paused, tracing his finger inside the rim of his glass. Placing the glass down, he slumped further into the counter, fully resting on his forearms. He glanced up at Jin.

“And you figured this out while I was hacking your carpet to pieces?”

Jin laughed. Placing a hand over his mouth, he leaned his head back as his shoulders shook. Elated, to say the least, he almost felt the need to cry. He had not realized how long it had been since he heard Namjoon’s voice. The voice of a man not laced with frustration, secrecy or embarrassment, but filled with his usual hints of sarcastic curiosity.

A smirk appeared on Namjoon’s face.

“I guess I had known for a while, I just...I just didn’t know how to tell you,” Jin responded.

Namjon nodded allowing a few moments of silence.

“So where do we go from here? Do we jump right in, give us a chance or do we even try to begin with?”

“We can try. I mean, we already know how we feel. There’s no harm in that as long as we don’t force anything.”

As Jin put an end to his ramble, he noticed the space between the two had shortened. Namjoon’s face was now inches away; his tone, dark and raspy.

“So let everything happen… naturally?”

Jin could feel his breath on his nose. Searching for Namjoon’s eyes, Jin found them- hiding under their lids, as they set fire to his lips. He felt the urge to lick them, feeling them crack under the heat. His words choked out in a whisper as he swallowed.

“R-right, naturally,” said Jin as he trailed off.

But before he could lift out of the haze, Namjoon’s lips met his, a fire blazing between the two. Mind blanking on contact, Jin’s thoughts reverted to one-word syllables. Lead by a string of, ‘oh my god’ s and ‘wow ’s, his synapses began to fire again, flashing like fireworks on the Fourth. Trying to rein in the chaos, Jin focused on the first coherent thought that came to mind; his lips. 

Namjoon’s lips were rougher than he had imagined.

In his occasional daydreams, while his best friend went on rants about musicality, Jin had always noted his lips to be quite full and sultry; imagining they would be sweet to the taste, almost fragile. Or perhaps after waking up in the middle of the night, dragging himself into the shower, as his hands continued the fantasy, Jin recalled the dreams of Namjoon’s lips leaving wet delicate kisses on his neck, as they trailed over his collarbone, tracing the center of his stomach. 

But this, this was different.

This kiss was far more rigid than his dreams. Filled with a rush of reality, it was electrifying. Hungrily, the two kissed. Starting off quick as they explored, slowing to an agonizing crawl, giving Jin only but a moment to breathe before eventually regaining speed. It was more breathtaking than he could ever imagine. The insides of Jin’s mouth were painted with a mixture of wine and saliva. His lips now tender and raw, Jin whimpered in between gasps. Reaching for Jin’s face, Namjoon trailed his fingers over his jaw. Cupping his cheek, he caressed him, holding him closer. Feeling the effects of the evening’s wine, Namjoon buzzed with warmth. Jin’s breath hitched as Namjoon moaned. 

Wow, Jin thought as his eyes rolled under closed lids. He had imagined that too. 

Letting his mind ponder at the sounds Namjoon would let slip from his throat if he were to have just one night to let his hands explore like his wandering eyes. 

Jin’s head began to swim. He could feel the fire travel from his lips to his core, tickling his spine on the way down. Blood thumped against his eardrums, mimicking the steady pulse within his jeans. Jin scolded himself mentally, now was not the time to fantasize. There was no point, no need for imagination; this was real. 

This… could be real.

Jin marveled at the idea. This could be his routine- his morning, noon and night. He could finally have that ‘someone’ he had been looking for. That ‘someone’ to crawl into bed with after 24-hour shifts, or that ‘someone’ to lay on the floor with spending hours scraping wax out of carpet on long stormy nights. He could finally have that ‘someone’ he had been missing for over a year. 

Namjoon could be that one. 

It could finally be reality; his reality. A reality he so desperately longed for.

Bringing their tango of tongues to an end, Namjoon’s kiss grew gentler by the second, easing himself down from a high he had not realized he was on. Opening his eyes, Namjoon held Jin’s gaze. His hooded eyes were a faded pink and parted lips slightly swollen. Soon the humid fog in the air disappeared. Namjoon’s cheeks flushed as his dimpled smile widened. 

He dropped his head, “I’m sorry, that was definitely the opposite of not forcing it.”

Jin smiled as he withdrew from Namjoon’s touch. Letting adrenaline fade from his veins, he raised from the counter breathing fresh air once again. Careful not to stand completely, he too blushed, feeling waves of arousal rock as the storm passed.

He cleared his throat as he mocked Namjoon’s coyness, “Actually, that was far from forced. Almost as natural as you can get.”

Namjoon clenched his eyes shut. Dropping his face in his hands, he laughed.

“Ahhh, babo… Babo, babo. I shouldn't have done that.”

Staring into the distance, he raked his hands through his hair. Dragging them to his cheeks, he patted them softly.

“Why did I do that? Ahhhh, I feel red.”

Leaning back onto the counter, Jin reached for the bottle of wine discarded to the side.

“Maybe it was the wine. Here, have some more,” questioned Jin as he tipped out more liquor into Namjoon’s glass.

Namjoon groaned as he watched his glass be filled to the brim.

“Ahhhhh.”

Raising a brow at the man, Jin quickly refilled his own glass.

“I have nowhere to be tomorrow anyway.”

Walking around the counter, Jin grew closer to Namjoon, almost disregarding the chunk of marble between them. Propping himself on the counter, he swung his feet back and forth, careful not to hit his heels on its base. Taking a sip of the wine, he turned to his returning his attention to the window.

Namjoon looked on at the man that watched the rain. 

Chuckling at Jin’s fascination, Namjoon glanced out the windows into the night sky. Watching the city lights twinkle as rain smeared their shine, his cheeks no longer radiated with embarrassment. A blanket of content wrapped around him. Swaddling him in happiness and fulfillment, Namjoon welcomed the long-lost sensation. 

Finally, he understood why Jin found his lack of interest in the view so absurd. From the moment Jin entered his home, he had found everything he needed; everything he had missed all wrapped in one. It wasn’t until now, as Namjoon stared into the cosmic void, that he realized everything had aligned as it should. Colliding like the moon over the sun, Jin cast a shadow on his world whenever he was away. And oh, what a cold and long eclipse it had been. 

But now, his warmth had returned. What was once lost, was found; what seemed so far out of reach was now within his grasp. And even the most muted of grays seemed beautiful against the rain.

Glancing at the glass in front of him, Namjoon raised it to his lips, sipping with caution. As he placed the glass down, he walked along the edge of the counter eventually stopping in front of Jin- the older had not noticed. Still distracted by his muse, his stare on the view remained still. Only when he felt the subtle tug of his glass being pried from his hands did Jin turn away. Namjoon gently removed the glass from Jin’s lap placing it next to his own. Resting his hand along the side of Jin’s jeans he stared at the seams, trailing his fingertips across the thread. Gripping at the denim, Namjoon’s palm pressed into Jin’s thigh. Heat radiated across his skin like wildfire. With unspoken permission, Jin spread his knees apart, allowing Namjoon to grow closer. Trailing over Namjoon’s arms, he wrapped his arms around his neck. As his hands hung inches away from his shoulder blades, he marveled at their newly found confidence. 

Once again, Jin found himself helpless under their magnetic pull. Leaning in he paused, only inches away from the lips of the other. 

With a whisper, he confessed, “I love you too.”

Before the breath from Jin’s lungs had time to cool his dampened lips, Namjoon found himself melting into Jin’s kiss. Jin’s fingers ran through his hair, raking and rummaging his scalp as they shared a more genuine kiss. More delicate and patient in nature, this kiss allowed for more time. More time to explore; more time to feel the warmth of content rather than the fleeting sting of lust.

Rocking its way in between the rhythm of the kiss, Jin’s words echoed in the back of Namjoon’s mind. Carrying him to that day in Gwangju where the sun spent most of its time soaking he and Jin in its rays all afternoon. The day that started off as an adventure through the city eventually turning into a drunken night encouraged by one too many shots. The day that concluded with the confession of Namjoon’s true feelings; his first true ‘I love you’.

Though months had passed since the once regretful encounter and the unspoken tension had well over been resolved, Namjoon felt the butterflies in his stomach flutter to the surface. Once suppressed and often ignored, Namjoon could disregard his feelings no more. Rather it be more than a year ago, lying on the floor under a blanket of thunder, or now, resting on cold marble wrapped within his touch, knowing that Jin felt the same way made Namjoon feel complete. Pulling away from the kiss Namjoon rested his head against Jin’s. Lightly, he nuzzled his nose against the other as he caught his breath. Careful not to grow too far apart for fear if they did he wouldn’t be able to breathe without him. 

Here Namjoon remained, calmly reveling in a moment he had waited so long for. But in that moment, the wait itself no longer seemed to matter.

At that moment, the only thing he cared for, was him and his love; a love introduced and encouraged by rain and a view from a ten-story window.

At that moment, the only thing that mattered was the view and the rain itself; and oh how he hoped it would rain forever.

Completed On: Feb. 7th 2020

Written By: Carmen Feaster (YourAverageBTSStan)

Feel Free To Reblog- Just Give Credit

[scribeofmorpheus]

Mark of the Wolf Part 10

Catch up here!

Pairing: Derek Hale x Reader (Lastname: Markolf)

Words: 3800

Warnings: Violence (duh!), mentions of PTSD

A/N: This is long overdue and also a hefty chapter with me trying and failing to write action scenes. There are flashbacks (in italics) between scenes because this is quite the back and forth chapter. As well as some Japanese and Swedish dialogue! ENJOY! Also: Kaze is Japanese and is pronounced Kah-Zeh. Feedback is encouraged. Like and reblog :) Don’t be afraid to ask to be tagged!

Previously:

Derek watched you try your hardest to move to the beat, but he could tell you weren't in your element. No one should be sober in a night club. Watching you brought a cheeky smile to his face, he almost had the urge to laugh a little.

His phone chimed in his pocket. On the dance floor a few feet from you, he noticed Scott get the same message. Peter's text message read: "We're in position." A few seconds later Liam sent a message of his own: "They took the bait. They're heading your way!" Derek looked down at Scott and spoke just loud enough for his wolf hearing to pick up, "Guess its show time." Scott nodded in acknowledgement and made his way to the stairs leading up to the roof.

"We're all gonna die," Derek sighed to himself, bunching up his fists in anticipation for a fight.

Derek melted further into the crowd until it thinned out to nothing more than one or two people using the empty space to make out and be alone. He pushed through, a part of him feeling uneasy at having lost sight of you on the ground floor, but he had a role to play just as you did. He reached a door that led onto a structurally unsound balcony and pushed it open. On the floor was a bag full of equipment and specially crafted grenades. He picked up the bag and made for the stairs that led further up.

***

Liam ran as fast as his human legs would let him. He refused to change under the circumstances. He needed to keep his senses sharp, but more importantly, he needed to stay in control. His heart hammered against his ribcage vigorously. He could taste the metallic tang of his own blood from where Monroe struck him, rage bubbling to the surface. Rage he had to contain for the fight they'd undoubtedly face in the next few minutes.

When Liam reached the abandoned church they had chosen for their plan of attack, he was surprised to find it illuminated by flashing lights and loud music blaring out of unsound window structures.

His phone beeped, displaying a message from Peter. He was in position and soon Liam would be too.

In swift motions, Liam pulled his phone out, typed away a message and sent it out to the group chat before tossing the tracker Monroe slipped in his pocket into a crack on the side of the church. With his part handled, Liam made for the next rendezvous point.

***

Peter kept his distance from the warehouse where Monroe made her base of operations. He was far enough to avoid visual detection but close enough to eavesdrop on conversations. Peter would never grow tired of his werewolf advantages. He could hear the faint sounds of metal scratching on the untiled floor. It was irritating.

"Should we go after him?" He heard an unfamiliar voice say.

He smirked to himself when he caught wind of Monroe ushering her orders to the rest of her men, "Not yet. He'll lead us to Scot McCall and the rest of his pack. Only then do we kill him." And then after a pause: "Leave a few men to make sure our guest in the basement stays put."

Peter's smile grew wider. That's the confirmation he needed. And with most of Monroe's men leaving the compound and heading out after Liam, his half of the plan was shaping up to be a piece of cake.

Stiles peeked around the abandoned vehicle they used as cover and turned to say something but was caught off guard by Peter's devilish grin. "Jesus!" He said in freight.

"Shh!" Peter rebutted aggressively.

Stiles's eyes went wide and looked at him accusingly, "Don't 'Shhh' me. Next time don't grin like an idiot. I thought you were going to eat me for a second there."

"If you don't shut up, I just might..." Peter threatened.

"Why'd they have to stick us together?" Stiles whined

Peter rolled his eyes and crouched closer to the warehouse, "You volunteered."

Stiles scampered after him, half tripping over a rock. When he secured his footing he said, "Yes, because I don't trust you. You always have an angle."

Peter looked down at Stiles unimpressed, "And even if I did, what was your grand plan to stop me?"

Stiles thought hard on his question and his face contorted in a thoughtful expression, but the only words out of his mouth were, "Ahhhhh, I'm still working on it."

"Come on," Peter sighed, using his strength to hoist Stiles through a window with one arm. Stiles, unprepared, made a freakishly feminine sound. Peter jumped in after him. "Here," he held out his phone, "Tell the rest of the team we're in position."

Peter took in his surroundings. The building was bare, except for a few crates of ammunition and possibly some technical equipment. There was a metal chair with rope next to it in the centre. Peter guessed that was where they had Liam tied up. When Stiles was done, he handed the phone back to Peter and asked: "What now?"

"Now, we look for the good druid."

"Right," Stiles said with purpose. He took a determined step forward, his foot crashing against an empty paint can. His eyes went wide giving Peter an 'Oops' shrug. Peter put his face in his hands and shook his head.

"Quietly."

"Right. Quietly."

***

As you swayed your body from side to side, you couldn't help but feel uneasy. Your mind kept racing through every aspect of the plan and how easily it could all fall apart. The music was loud and distracting, you were thankful for that. At the very least, you wouldn't have to strain yourself to keep mindful of any creak, footstep or distressing sounds. It meant that for now, you could try and lose yourself in the moment, among all the other alcohol-fuelled bodies grinding close to one another. Your mind wandered back to a memory from earlier.

You and Derek hoped out of the off-road vehicle you'd rented for the trip in Mexico. His eyes were shielded from the brutal sun by a pair of Ray-bans. You couldn't help but notice just how well they framed his face, making him look all the more mysterious -and sexy as hell. He walked to the edge of the road and stood there with his arms folded over his chest. You walked over to stand by his side.

"This the place?" You asked, taking in the underwhelming appearance of the destitute church.

"Yeah. It's perfect. Easily fortifiable. Many exits and there's an old tunnel system that was built under it. There's a dense treeline not too far south -if we still believe those hunters travel through trees." Derek shook his head, still finding a hint of absurdity in what he just said. "It should work for our purposes."

You unfolded your map and looked at your position -far from any towns to avoid an incident yet close to several abandoned buildings in case you needed a place to lay low, if things went bad. "And the locals?" you asked.

Derek's eyebrows furrowed beneath his glasses, "Should be empty. Most locals won’t come here."

You were about to ask him why, but he looked down at you and shrugged, "Local curse. Something about ghosts." was all he said.

"Is it real?"

"Don't know." He looked at you with a playful smile on his face, "But all I know is that this place should be good and empty tonight."

"And we just have to hope those hunters want me bad enough to cross borders for… If they even perceive travel the same way we do.”

How could any of you have known that a bunch of rebellious teenagers would choose to host a rave in the very same church you'd chosen to have your showdown?

After a few minutes of fumbling around, trying to seem like you were having a good time, a loud noise sounded throughout the age-old structure. It didn't help that the acoustics in the church were amazing either. Instinctively, you brought your hands to your ears and crouched lower -and apparently, so did everyone else. The DJ stopped playing his music and everyone looked to where the sound had come from with wide eyes and confused expressions.

By the double doors of the church, you saw a woman stand with legs far apart. A large party of men wearing patched-together tactical gear stood behind her. Her face stern and her eyes filled with cold distaste, she looked like a woman ready for war. When you noticed the shotgun in her hand letting off wisps of hot smoke, you knew instantly what the sound had been and who she was.

"Monroe," you whispered.

"Party's over," she said coolly. When no one moved, she cocked her shotgun and took a step forward. "I. Said. Party's over!"

As the crowd thinned out, you had a hard time keeping your ground. Everywhere around you, elbows, arms and legs kept bumping into you. You were just thankful there wasn’t a large enough crowd to cause a stampede. As you began to make your way to cover, Monroe spoke again and this time you were shocked to learn she was addressing you.

"Not you!" Monroe shouted. She nodded her head at one of her men and they took her order without the need for words. Two men walked over to you and grabbed your shoulders. Dragging you along towards their leader.

You wanted to ask what this was all about, why she chose to single you out of the crowd, but you figured such questions were irrelevant. Somehow, you always ended up at the centre of trouble.

"You look familiar…" She turned your chin from side to side with her long, calloused fingers. "Why is that?" She squinted her eyes at you.

You chose to stay quiet.

The church was all but empty now, except for you, Scott, Monroe and Derek -who seemed to have disappeared in all the excitement.

Behind you, two bodies hit the ground from the second-floor railing with a padded thud. "Let her go, Monroe!" Scott's voice spoke out, slightly muffled by his fangs. "It's me you want!"

"Scott McCall. The Alpha!" She bellowed rousingly. "All alone? Now, now, Scott..." Monroe let go of your face and walked towards the centre of the room, "You aren't planning something are you?"

"Against you and your men? You and I both know who has the numbers in that fight," Scott said bitterly.

"You're not wrong there. The werewolf population has hit staggering all-time lows recently. And as much as I'd love for me and my hunter's to take all the credit, it seems our efforts have inspired a few others to join in the hunt."

"You and your men aren't hunters. They have a code. You're just murderers who use fear and intimidation to brainwash people into becoming murderers too!" Scott was practically foaming at the mouth. You'd never seen him so filled with rage before. His eyes darted towards the church's entrance and then back to you, and finally onto Monroe. You could've sworn you saw his lips twitch into a secret smile for a second. You looked behind you and saw something whoosh past the entrance at inhuman speeds.

"Enough talk! Get down so we can end this once and for all!" Monroe ordered. Dropping her shotgun on the ground, one of her men jogged to her side and handed her two stun rods. She grabbed them eagerly and twirled them between her fingers gracefully. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for this fight!"

Scott's phone chimed. He looked down at the screen and his red eyes lit up with satisfaction. "Yes, you're right. Enough talk."

"Come on!" She shouted.

Scott jumped off the second-floor railing and landed two feet in front of Monroe, his teeth and claws fully transformed. He scratched at the wooden floor with predatory menace and roared, craning his neck to the roof, before charging Monroe. You tried to move, but the guards simply tightened their grip on your arm and shook you to stay in place. You gritted your teeth to keep from swearing.

Scott paired attack after attack and Monroe, who was somehow able to keep up with Scott's slashes and clawing advances, managed to parry and counter nearly every motion with skilled precision. You had never seen a human hold their own against an Alpha with such determination before. She truly was a force to reckon with. As they fought, you began to notice the wind grew more and more restless. Moisture clung to the air and you could almost smell rain.

Scott lured Monroe close by letting his defences down, she managed to strike him in the chest, but he had flung the baton away before she could stun him. Making haste as to not waste his new opening, Scott ducked, swivelled and wrapped his claws around Monroe's neck as they stood back to back. Then in an instant, he sent her hurdling with great momentum towards a series of pews. Her body flipped and landed on the ground hard. She struggled to sit up, a cloud of dust heaved into the air by a wet cough. Scott stalked towards her with caution.

"It's over Monroe."

She spat blood onto the floor and wiped her mouth, a grin giving way to the view of white enamel stained by dark blood. "Is it?"

She pulled out a baton from underneath her body and zapped him with a surge of lethal volts that sent his body curdling to the floor with a painful yelp. Monroe placed her knee on Scott's chest as she tased him again and again. The room filling with painful grunts and a sickening laugh.

You began to flash back to that night in the woods. Scott's face morphing into Alex's and then back again. His screams becoming Scott's grunts. Monroe's laugh turning more masculine, hollow. Her face transitioning between Alyster's and her own. You shook your head, unable to trust your mind at that moment. "Stop," you whispered. "Stop. Stop, STOP!"

Thunder rumbled and a flash of dry lightning filled the space, blinding and white. When everyone regained their stances and blinked the bright spots away, you noticed Scott looking at you with a strange expression on his face. Monroe too.

"Your eyes..." Monroe whispered.

Suddenly, the wind became angry and it felt as though the temperature had dropped by several degrees. The doors and windows began to swing violently against rusty hinges. The whole church sounded like it was creaking in protest. Out of every shadow and dark corner bodies wearing ancient armour began to advance. Their eyes were practically lifeless. A chill crept up your spine and you had the unexplainable urge to look behind you. Like something was beckoning you towards it, despite your body's protests in fear. You craned your neck and when you saw what it was… who it was, your mouth turned dry and your nose began to choke on non-existent smoke.

A paling man with long, thin red hair held out one single bony finger, his voice as coarse as shards of glass cutting through vocal cords, "Give us the girl." He said calmly. The device around his neck -the Oculus- began to glow its sickly green colour. Tendrils of bright green light began to flow outward, seeking you out. The closer the tendrils got, the greater the feeling of dread filled your gut. But what appeared to unnerve you the most, was that no one else noticed the green tendrils snaking closer and closer towards you.

"What is this?" Monroe asked with a shaky voice. She swivelled her head from side to side, her face filled with fear as she realised they were all surrounded.

One of her men got trigger happy and unloaded his clip into the chest of a mouthless creature. When all his bullets were lodged into its chest, it looked down at the destruction done to its chest with a displeased expression, it shook a single digit in dismay as black oozed out of its wounds and the next thing you knew, the man was on the floor, blood pouring out of his neck. A wrenching gurgling noise escaping his throat. The creature had been so fast, you never once saw him reach for a weapon.

Scott used Monroe's state of distraction to kick her in the stomach and crawl out from under her knee. She staggered back and held her hand out to one of her men. As one of her men tossed her a machine gun, Scott shouted, "Now!"

Out of nowhere, several smoke grenades cluttered around the feet of Monroe's soldiers and the Order's. The room filled with smoke that held a familiar tinge to it -sage. Then you saw a dark figure ghost around the two men who had held you, sending them flying back into the growing smoke. You noticed the tendrils disappear behind the curtain of growing smoke. You took out the bandana you had stashed in your back pocket and tied it around your nose. The figure stood with an intimidating presence between you and your enemies. A loud aggressive roar filled the room and familiar bright blue eyes looked at you with a soft reassurance.

"Derek?"

The obscured figure tilted its head slightly, its eyes growing softer at the mention of his name. It was Derek. Through the smoke, you could hear more gunshots and grunts. Knowing you couldn't see as well as him, Derek acting as your shield, began to inch backwards slowly, his claws opened wide at either of your sides. You followed his direction and allowed him to inch you backwards until you bumped against another person’s back. You jumped and quickly turned, relieved to be greeted by Scott's glowing eyes.

"Well, we did it. We got them here." You said wistfully.

"That was the easy part," Derek said.

"Easy for you to say," Scott rubbed his ribs where Monroe had tased him repeatedly.

"You survived didn't you?" Derek said.

"Regardless, let's just hope Liam and your contact follow through in time," you said.

"She will," was all Derek said in reply.

Even though his position was obscured by the mess of fighting bodies and thick smoke, you heard the familiar dark voice of Alyster issue his commands, "Astrid, bring me the girl. Kaze, deal with this smoke."

A light, feminine voice spoke out in Japanese, "Okonawa  remasu."

It is done

With those words, the wind began to pick up again as though it was under someone’s spell. It howled like an unwelcome spectre, taking old window shutters off their hinges and moving several pieces of derelict furniture with it. The smoke was beginning to clear and you could see an outline of a petite woman with short, jet black hair at the epicentre of where the strong winds were generated from. Her eyes not glowing, but almost shimmering a dull grey.

Scott shielded his eyes from the drying winds. He looked over at the woman and uttered: "Kitsune."

When the wind began to return to normal the whistling of an arrow whizzed towards you. Out of your peripheral, a small object blurred past you just as Derek used his body to move you close to the ground. He snapped up swiftly, bringing his hand to grasp something close to his face. With a crack, Derek snapped the arrow he had stopped close to his eye and it cluttered to the floor. He growled, bringing his claws to an attack position as Astrid -the archer- nocked another arrow from her vantage point two flights up. A wicked grin on her face showing just how much she was enjoying the chaos around her.

"Idag tar du ditt sista andetag, Varg!" Astrid said triumphantly.

Today you breathe your last breath, Wolf!

"Whatever you said, I can assure you, thing's aren't gonna go your way!" Derek warned, chucking a large piece of debris at her.

Astrid nimbly dodged his projectile and climbed one level down by vaulting off the second floor and catching the railing on the first floor. When she had her footing she nocked two arrows simultaneously, they had wedged themselves into two of Monroe's men who were about to flank from Derek's sides.

Derek looked shocked. "You're mine, Wolf!" Astrid said as she aimed a new arrow at Derek's chest.

As Derek dodged each arrow by a razor's edge, Scott set his sights on the non-threatening looking Kitsune who smiled pleasantly. Her eyes peacefully closed as though she were meditating in a Zen garden. Enclosing around her was a swarm of Monroe's men. Once in position, several of them raised their sights on her. Scott could do nothing but watch with curiosity.

Behind you, you felt the cold air of the green tendrils get close to your skin. When you looked down, you noticed one tendril was within an inch of your wrist. You gasped and yanked your arm away. Derek and Scott heard your gasp and turned to see if someone had broken through their protective circle, they hadn't. Puzzled they looked away and returned their attention to their opponents.  

The men surrounding the Kitsune fired off their weapons but were dismayed to realise their bullets had been swept up in a miniature tornado. The furniture and dust began to slowly move towards the spin force generated by the tornado until it stopped and reversed in direction. All the bullets trapped in the spinning air were now released back to the men who shot them out.

Hundreds of bullets swerved and curved around pillars and walls to embed themselves into Monroe's men. Scott and Derek instantly reached for you and both of them pushed your shoulders down as they ducked for cover too. Just then you felt your whole body go limp as a coldness took over your body. Your body was paralysed and all you could do was look down at your ankle where a green tendril had wrapped itself around you.

Time slowed, sound vanished and your vision was filled with nothing but the green smoke of the Oculus and the sight of a weary-looking Alyster. His eyes met yours with a chilling snap. His lips slowly, painfully, tugging towards his eyes to form an unnerving smile.

"Come with us, and all this chaos can end. Come with us and I'll tell you the truth," his words swarmed around your brain. It was then that you realised he was inside your head. You tried to shake him out, to scream for him to shut up, but you were motionless, voiceless and completely helpless. "Come with us and you will learn of your importance to the Order... And the fate of the world."

Chapter 11>>

Tags: @melissavercos @divisingstories @theflash-trash @mynamesalreadytaken @island-end @chipster-21 @helloscorpious  @marvelismyfantasy @anonymousfanfic @homra-the-red-clan @derangedangel @phonegalhelp @bowtiesandwhiskers @soldierwinterthe @alina-barnes @sumlariss @luckythepizzadog4444 @tlytxia @drunklili @iamabeautifulperson18 @gruffle1 @thechickvic @notawarriorjustyet

Broken Tags are crossed out!

[yellowsugarwords]

MORE ANGSTY CLOUIS where he’s with Clementine and AJ when she gets bit

COMBINED WITH:

can i please request headcanons for louis being best dad™️ to AJ? ❤️

AHHHHH let’s get sad

Louis wished he hadn’t listened to Clem when she told him to go up first.

“I’ll boost you up, you can help AJ, and then I’ll come up.”

He thought it was a good plan.

He was wrong.

She was injured.

He should have forced her to go up first.

“I wouldn’t be able to pull AJ up with a bad leg,” she would’ve said.

And she would’ve been right.

The two of them were up.

And Clementine stood on the lower ledge.

Hand out.

Louis and AJ clamouring unevenly to pull her up.

When it happened.

Teeth dug into her ankle.

And she wailed in pain.

And Louis’ heart stopped.

He gained all the strength he needed through his pain.

His worry.

And tugged her up without a second thought.

His breathing stopped.

His strength heightened.

“Clem?” He breathed.

Ears ringing.

Once she hit the top.

She groaned and flailed.

Squirming to sit up right.

Agonizing pain searing up through her leg.

Then, she sat up.

She met AJ’s gaze.

Then Louis’.

“Clem….?” Louis asked softly.

And Clem knew what he was really asking.

She peeled back her back.

Whimpering in pain.

And Louis put a hand on her back.

Rubbing smoothly.

Eyes trained to her ankle.

And there it was.

The indent of a lower jaw.

And Louis’ legs gave out beneath him.

And his knees crashed into the dirt.

AJ just stared.

Silent.

Horrified.

Tears welling in silent eyes.

Clementine said nothing.

Numb.

“No, no, no, no,” Louis wailed.

Tears clambering up in his eyes.

Rolling down his cheeks.

Not having the strength to wrangled a sob in his chest.

To fill his lungs with air.

His breathing was ragged and strained.

Forced.

“Clem?”

“It’s okay AJ,” Clem groaned.

And set a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s okay.”

Louis felt like he couldn’t breathe.

But looked up anyway.

To see them.

Clementine was looking at him.

A hand on AJ’s back.

While AJ stared at her bite.

Emotionless.

Louis stood, making his way to AJ.

Wrapping an arm around his shoulders for comfort.

Awed for AJ curled into him for a hug.

While Clementine leaned back.

And mourned.

Louis said nothing.

Only pat his back.

Louis carried Clem piggy-back style.

AJ walked at his side.

While Clem fainter from the pain.

And blood loss.

“Is she going to be okay?” AJ asked.

Louis gulped. “I’m going to make sure of it.”

They both knew it was a lie.

But they both knew he would try.

They found an old barn.

AJ said it was James’.

Louis didn’t care.

AJ plowed down any walkers in the way without a care.

Louis needed to lay her down.

He needed to see what he could do for her.

“Louis…?”

She began coming to.

And he laid her on the ground, and brushing away some of her hair.

“You’re okay Clem,” he said softly.

Rubbing at her cheek.

Listening as AJ slammed one of the doors shut.

“You’re gonna be okay.”

Louis pulled himself away.

Forcefully.

And slid AJ behind his legs as he took over.

Shoving walkers out of the way. And slamming the doors shut.

Every hit forced out another wail.

Or sob.

As he tugged AJ further back.

And AJ let him.

With all the doors closed, he turned around.

And held AJ’s shoulders.

“Are you okay?” He painted out.

AJ nodded numbly, with no emotion.

And hugged him.

And Louis held him

So tight.

Everything seemed more precious now.

And he rested his lips on the top of AJ’s head.

And closed his eyes.

And sat with him.

Just for a moment.

“What can we do for Clem?” AJ asked, pulling away.

And Louis frowned.

“We need to cut it off.”

And Louis gulped.

He couldn’t do that.

And he‘d never force AJ to do that.

“Guys,”

They dropped everything and ran to her side.

Louis taking a hand and squeezing.

Trying to force colour back into it.

“AJ,” she said, turning to him. “You know what we need to do.”

AJ frowned and looked away. “I never thought it would actually happen.”

“Neither did I.” She said, hushed.

Louis closed his eyes.

And let his tears fall.

His world was coming to an end.

That’s what this was.

Just when he thought he could be happy.

“I know,” AJ said.

Wandering to the edge of the barn.

And Louis stared after him.

Kissed Clem’s hand.

And heard her hum.

AJ came back with an axe.

“AJ no,” Clem begged, free hand extended.

AJ frowned.

“You can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“I’m a lost cause.”

“No you’re not,” Louis and AJ snapped together.

Clem sleepily blinked. “You know what you need to do.”

And AJ three his axe in anger.

And it clanked against the ground.

And, facing away, forced his face into his hands.

And sobbed.

Louis ran to him.

And gathered him in his arms before he could fall over.

And hushed him.

He tucked his face into his neck.

And brushed through his hair with his fingers.

And held him tighter when he shivered.

And shed a new tear when he felt AJ’s hands clamouring at the back of his jacket.

Clementine watched.

Thankful AJ would be cared for when she was gone.

“It’s okay little man,” Louis hushed.

Feeling his sobs pick up.

“You’re okay. It’s okay. I’m here.”

His fists tightened.

And Louis hugged him closer.

“I got you. You aren’t alone.”

He gave AJ a chance to simmer.

And he gently lifted him over to his sister.

But kept a hand on his arm.

While holding Clementine’s hand with his other.

“I can’t be saved, AJ.”

“You’re wrong.” He snapped.

And Louis agreed.

“You need to let me show you that I know what I’m doing.”

Clementine hesitated.

Blinking sleepily.

Turning to look at him draining more colour inner cheeks.

“AJ,”

He couldn’t stand to listen anymore.

And he stood and left.

And Louis knew what he was doing.

He hated it.

But he supported it.

It needed to be done.

They had no other options.

Louis watched him pick up the axe.

And they made eye contact.

And Louis nodded.

And the determination in the child’s stare grew.

“I’m not worth saving,” she coughed.

And Louis turned to her. “You are my everything, Clementine.” He said.

And she blinked.

Awed.

“You and AJ are my world. I can’t lose you.”

His grip on her hands tightened.

And she felt a warmth on her lips as he dipped into her own.

And she hummed.

Because she could feel something.

Other than pain.

“I will take any avenue to try and save you,” he hushed, brushing at her cheeks.

And she gave a faint smile.

And he swore he saw pink.

“Even if you think it’s a lost cause, we’re trying it.”

She hesitated.

And then nodded.

And Louis kissed her again.

Softer this time.

“I love you.” He said.

And Clementine squeezed his hands.

And smiled.

“I love you too.” She whispered.

And that was their goodbye.

Just in case.

And AJ swung.

And holding Clementine’s hand.

And listening to her screams as AJ hacked at it again and again.

Louis fainted with her.

Her pain was his pain.

And it was overwhelming.

And maybe when he woke up, she would be alive.

Then, maybe those screams would be worth it.

The ones drilled into his skull.

Ready to haunt him.

For forever.

[dcbbw]

Wine and Whiskey

This is a one-off request for Drake x MC/Riley. It my version of the conversation that takes place in Olivia’s wine cellar during the social season, where Drake and MC share a drink. This post is NSFW. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please excuse any typos and/or grammatical errors.

All characters belong to Pixelberry.

Song Inspiration: You Can Keep Your Hat On, Joe Crocker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfgwrdYUQ2A

Word Count: 2340

Tags: @gennesaret @cora-nova @carabeth @hopefulmoonobject @katedrakeohd @aworldoffandoms @lauradowning29

Drake X MC, Drake X Riley, Drake Walker

 Drake Walker waits in the Nervakis wine cellar. He had come across it during his wanderings through the stately mansion as he avoided the pomp and preparation of the formal dinner. Some dinner. Seated at the very back of the room, at a table that was invisible to all servers. If Brooks hadn’t of “fainted”, there would not have even been a bowl of lobster bisque to split three ways: Drake, Brooks, Hana.  Drake felt so bad for Hana…she did not deserve that treatment. Well, none of them did, but he was used to the commoner treatment. Brooks was used to being snubbed and short-changed by the noble ladies. Ladies. Hah. More like pure-bred bitches. The lot of them can go jump off a cliff, if I don’t push them over first. But Hana, she had done nothing except befriend Brooks, and for that, she was being banished to Social Season Siberia.

When he first came across the wine cellar, he ambled around, checking out the vintages of the wines, and was very impressed that Olivia had such exquisite taste in wine. He really had not given it another thought, until he saw Brooks was sitting in exile at the table with him. Hana who? The three of them were sitting at the table waiting for a meal that would never come, and he was telling Brooks and Hana about coming across it. Brooks cracked a joke about drinking at least a bottle of the wine as revenge, and next thing Drake knew, he was blurting out an invitation for Brooks to meet him later that evening in the wine cellar.

Now, he was sitting in the basement, drinking a shot of whiskey, waiting for a woman he could never have to come keep him company. Drake was not sure when or how it happened, but he was completely smitten with Brooks. Sure, she was pretty and smart, and tenacious to hold her own or die trying. She saw through the bullshit. Yet, there was so much more to her than that. Brooks had layers, and he wanted to expose and learn each one.  But she isn’t here for you. Your best friend can offer her an entire kingdom, and she is upstairs right now competing for his attention, his affections. Meanwhile, you are sitting here, with your dick in hand, and pie in the sky dreams.

He turned his head as he heard light footsteps on the stairs, then smiled a little as Brooks came into view. She had a scowl on her face, which caused him to raise an eyebrow. “There you are, Brooks. I was beginning to think you didn’t have the guts to show up. You know, out after and curfew and all that.”

“Oh, please Drake….I have more than enough guts to keep up with you.” She flashed him a smile to take the sting out of her words.  “This has been one pissy evening. No food, Maxwell forgets to teach me the Cordonian Waltz, and then Liam kisses Olivia. In front of everybody.”

“Heh. Liv can be pretty insistent.”

”Doesn’t mean he had to respond. And then takes her outside.”

“Outside? Really?” Liam, what the hell are you doing?

“Yeah, really. Says he talked to her privately so as not to embarrass her. Whatever. He is waiting for me right now, you know.  In the east wing. Says he wants to show me the view from the hot tub.”

“Sounds like you have options. And maybe a decision to make.”

“I’m drinking. What’s on the menu, barkeep?” Drake grinned and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. For all of Olivia’s shitty ways, Lythikos may be the best stop yet on this social season tour. He had gotten to spend a lot of alone time with Brooks skiing and star gazing, and now….drinks and conversation. Enjoy it while you can.

“So what’ll you have? Pretentious, expensive wine or a real drink?” He held his flask of whiskey up.

“Pretentious and expensive, please.”

“That’s savage, Brooks.” Riley shrugged. Drake poured the drinks, and they clinked glasses. “Cheers.”

Riley took a deep swallow of the wine, and closed her eyes in bliss. “Ahhhhh. So velvety, so smooth. I see why nobles love their wines.” She looked over at Drake. “How are you holding up? I know how you feel about nobles and pageantry.”

Drake shook his head as his eyes held hers. “Okay, I guess. It just seems so pointless and wasteful.” Drake paused as he searched for words. “I know it seems as if I complain all the time when I really don’t have to do anything except show up to support Liam, but it isn’t a free ride by any means. My father gave his life protecting Constantine, and not two weeks later, the Court was ready to put me and my family on the street. Liam was the one who advocated for us, and promised us a home at the Palace for as long as we needed it. He’s the only noble worth a damn, the only reason I stay around.”  

“Oh, Drake.” Riley said softly, putting her hand on his arm.

Drake briefly looked at her hand, and continued. “So yeah, I see past the fake smiles, the false concern, and the glitter and glamour. These nobles don’t care about anyone but themselves, and your usefulness to them. They know nothing about the moments in between.”

“The moments in between?” There was confusion in Riley’s voice.

“They live in these huge ass mansions, but don’t bother to look at the architecture. They sit in fancy chairs, but don’t take the time to appreciate the craftsmanship. The time people took to create these things they collect like stamps. They don’t appreciate the flavors and vintages of the drinks they hold, just the cost. Not a one of them appreciates the art of an honest conversation, they just want to sway you to their ideas, their politics, and one-up each other. They are so busy acquiring, they don’t have time to appreciate the acquisitions.”

Riley nodded in understanding. “The moments in between. There haven’t been many so far. “

Drake looked at Brooks with relief and appreciation. She gets it. He had been a little afraid to bare his soul to her, but if anyone could slip through the cracks in the walls he had built over the years, it was her. She had been slipping in since the plane ride to Cordonia.

“Drake, what do you think of me?” Whoa. Where did that come from?

He poured them each another drink before answering. “I think my best friend is falling in love with you, so what I think of you is irrelevant. You’re here for him. He can offer you the literal world, and me…..I can’t come close to that.”

“Not an answer, Drake. And right now, you are offering me a moment in between. You are giving freely what Liam can only parcel out.”

Drake’s eyes darkened as he let out a deep breath. “I think you are amazing, and beautiful, and you make me want to let down all the walls and guards I have. I feel like I want to kiss you and either kill the dream or fuel the fantasies I have about you.” His eyes met hers over his glass. “Better?”

“It would be better if you kiss me.” Drake whipped his head to look at her. That’s the wine talking.

As if she could read his mind, Riley sat the wine glass on the table. “I’m not drunk Drake, but I am curious.”

Riley came over to Drake, her face mere inches from his. Don’t do it! DO NO DO THIS! Liam really, really, really likes this woman. This could hurt everybody. This will change things! DO NOT KISS HER!

“What the hell”, Drake growled. His mouth crashed onto hers, his hands holding her cheeks. His hands are rougher than Liam’s, Riley thought.  His tongue was demanding and insistent. Riley felt as if she were both floating and drowning from his kiss. She threw her arms around his neck, leaning further into the kiss.

Drake broke the kiss, breathing heavily as he stared into her eyes. “We’d better stop.”

“I don’t want to.” Her tone was both pleading and defiant.

“Liam…” Drake’s voice trailed off.

“I have never been with Liam, and he has nothing to do with this. This is between me and you, Walker.” She kissed him again. Urgently. Passionately. Well, hell.

Drake pulled her tightly to him, wrapping his strong arms around Brooks as his hands explored her back. Kissing her with the desperation of a drowning man trying to come up for air. His fingers fumbled with the zipper of her dress, but soon enough the dress fell to the floor with a soft whoosh. “Take me Drake.” With pleasure.

He undressed hurriedly, never breaking eye contact with Brooks. Riley’s eyes looked him over appreciatively, her eyes widening when she saw his manhood extending from his curly pubic hair. Long, thick, veiny.  Once he was naked, he scooped her up and carried her to the end of the table and sat her down. He leaned in to capture her in another kiss. His tongue was insistent, exploring her mouth. Riley’s hands ran through his hair as his hands unclasped her bra. Riley shrugged out of it. Drake’s calloused hands rubbed and played with her breasts as his kisses trailed down the side of her neck.

He went lower, grabbing an erect nipple in his mouth, gently biting it. Riley gasped. Drake pulled the nipple in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it. He took his hands to push her breasts together, and he pulled both nipples in his mouth, nibbling, licking, sucking. Riley pulled his head closer into her as her breathing became faster.

Drake felt the excitement in his cock, and with a groan, pulled himself away from her perfect breasts. He lifted his head, and let Riley pull him into another kiss as his hand roughly pushed her panties to one side. He inserted a finger inside of her, and almost lost it right then and there. She was so wet, so tight. He began to pump his finger in and out, while Riley thrust her hips against the table. He could feel her getting close, but he wanted to prolong the sensations. He wanted more of her before this all came to an end. He slowly removed his finger, and licked her juices off before putting it in his mouth to suck it clean.

“More, Drake…..I want more.”

He pushed her back on the table, helping her pull her panties off, while pushing her legs apart. His tongue darted out, licking her clit. She sucked in her breath at his touch. His tongue explored her slick folds as his finger began pumping in and out of her again. He ate her like he was starving man, and this was his first meal in days, and his last meal for months. He licked, lapped, sucked as Riley moaned and pulled him by his hair deeper into her center. I can’t hold out much longer.

Without a word, he pulled her from the table, and bent her over the bar stool. Placing his hands on her hips, he plunged his thick cock into her, and groaned. Oh Jesus. He could feel her walls pulsating around him. He pumped in and out of her furiously. He had always imagined being with Brooks being more soft and gentle, but he wanted her so badly. To know that she wanted him too had him wanting to take her quickly, in an almost primal way. It helped knowing Liam had not been with her. That he was the first, after a lifetime of being last.

Their bodies slapped together, Riley’s grunts a sexual duet with his growls. Until he felt her walls convulsing around his cock as she let out controlled yells. She’s a screamer.  He felt himself falling into an abyss of pure pleasure as he let out a yell of his own. He quickly removed his cock from her and released himself all over her asscheeks.

He collapsed on top of her back, wrapping his hands around her waist as they lay there in silence, panting and sweating. Once their breathing became normal again, he grabbed his white tee shirt to clean her up. He avoided her eyes as they dressed.

“Drake, where does this leave us?” I want to be with you forever and ever.

“Seems that is more your call, Brooks. You know I am here for you, but we both know who you are here for.” Riley’s face was unreadable as she considered his answer.

“Hey, we better get out of here. Early day tomorrow and all that.” Riley nodded. She helped him tidy up and leave the wine cellar as they found it, minus one bottle of wine.  He held her hand as he led her upstairs.

They stood in the hall after carefully closing the wine cellar door behind them, both unsure what to do. As they stood at the bottom of the staircase, they both saw the flickering light at the end of the east wing hall.

Liam’s waiting for her.

Drake looked down at Brooks."I can walk you to the east wing if you’d like.” Riley looked at the light for a moment too long, and back at Drake.

Extending her hand to him, she spoke. “Actually, I would like it if you escorted me to my room, please.”

[another-blog-bites-the-dust]

Lap of the gods

Summary: Two gods from different worlds prove that opposites really do attract

Warnings: tiny bit of angst, Roger and reader and finally getting CUTE 😭👏🏼

A/N: Ahhhhh I still can't thank you all enough for all the love for this fic! I hope you enjoy! 😁💖

Part 4.

——————

"Knock knock," Hermes chapped on your room door and it opened "Sorry to disturb."

You sighed, looking up at him briefly from your writing desk. "What is it? Did Roger arrive back alright?"

Hermes nodded with a hum and walked forward, Cerberus stirred awake to growl at the god before you commanded him to stop and go back to sleep. "He did. I was quite surprised though..." Hermes walked up to the flowers Persephone had sent and brushed his fingers over a few. "He's coming back tomorrow?"

You stopped writing, your eyes fixating on the wall in front of you before continuing on with your writing. "Yes." Was all you said and tried to ignore the messenger's teasing glare.

"Why?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"None of your business, Hermes." You sighed and faced him. "But I'll need you to carry out some favours for me."

Hermes rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest "I am a messenger not a slave!" He whined. You sighed and tossed him a gold coin. He was quick to catch it and put it away "I'm your slave."

You turned back to writing and scribbled down a list. "You'll have to go to earth or Mount Olympus for Persephone's food. He can't eat anything here, he'd be bound to the underworld if he did."

"He's staying for dinner?" Hermes raised a brow "Interesting..." he hummed. "May I ask why?"

You narrowed your eyes at the god and stood up pulling out an emerald and handing it over to him along with the note. "Stop asking questions and you'll get another one." You dismissed him. You glanced over to the white rose that was beside your bed, you sat down on the edge and picked it up, playing with the stem between your fingers.

You fell asleep clutching the flower and when you woke up there was a bouquet of white and yellow flowers by your bed. You sat upright quickly and found a slip of paper beside them. 'I asked Hermes to deliver these before I arrived today. You did say that the darkest of places will always have glimmer of light...I hope these flowers are a little ray of light for you- Persephone x' You rubbed your chest again, the tingling feeling turning into a flutter. You ignored it as you got ready, you were going to show Roger around the palace and have him stay for dinner. The god was starting to get to you...in a good way. No one had ever been this kind or charming towards you. You didn't even feel yourself lazily smiling as you changed and then pinned the white rose he gave you yesterday to your dress. Then it got you thinking that maybe even the darkest of souls could use a little light...light in the form of a god who made flowers bloom with a snap of his fingers.

"Hades?" You heard Hermes call you and you snapped out of your little trance.

"Yes?" You composed yourself and fixed your dress a little. "Is he here?" You asked, trying not to sound too excited. Hermes nodded and you tossed him a coin. "I'll call for you when you're needed." Hermes disappeared and you hastily made your way to your throne room. When you reached it, you bit down on your lip seeing Roger and Cerberus rolling and playing about on the floor. He had made another impressive effort for you- black trousers, a sheer black shirt, a leather jacket and a flower crown made from dark blooms. You stepped forward and Cerberus happily barked hearing you approach. Your hound jumped against you and you couldn't help but smile and giggle. Roger felt himself wanting to rip out his heart and give it to you right then and there hearing that beautiful sound and seeing that gorgeous smile. "Hello again, Roger." You didn't mind smiling in front of him as much as you initially did.

"H-hi," he dreamily sighed out.

"Thank you for the flowers...and for making such a wonderful effort, again!" You motioned to his outfit.

"I actually really like this," he looked at himself for a split second before looking back to you. "I hope you invite me here more often so I can keep dressing like this," he grinned and you cocked your head curiously. "I'm quite liking this," he pointed to the dark flowers that stood out in his golden hair. "I'm happy you aren't wearing your crown actually because I liked it so much," he pulled another one out from behind his back "I made you one too..." he held it out for you to take.

You looked at it and then at Roger. You kept your eyes locked with his as you kneeled slightly so he could put it on your head. He did, very carefully with wide eyes- that was a privilege. "Thank you," you stood back up. "I'll show you around the palace today since we never had the chance yesterday." He stayed by your side as you walked him through endless corridors and took him into the most elaborate rooms. "This is the library," you opened the doors and Roger looked around- his head looking up to the ceiling that was miles high.

"This is incredible! There's nothing like this up there!" He pointed upwards.

"That's because it's just me here down here," you admitted in a low tone and Roger felt his heart sink. "It's a very isolated life I live so I have to keep myself amused somehow," you sighed and picked up a book, grunting amusingly at what it was. "Wicca herbal spells," you showed Roger "Combining both our worlds..."

You passed him the book, he had a grin on his face and flicked through some of the pages. "This is really interesting! I never knew the things I grew could do this!" His purity and obliviousness made your chest tingle.

Your eyes flickered between the book and Roger. "It's yours," he looked up to you with a wide, thankful smile. You felt the corner of your mouth twitch upwards before you cleared your throat. "I'll uh...I'll show you the grand hall." You quickly walked forward and rubbed your chest again. Roger noticed.

"Are you alright?" He placed his soft hand on your arm and your head snapped to it and then to his face. You were amazed that he wasn't flinching at your searing hot touch. Instead his face was full of worry and concern- that just made the fluttery, tingling sensation even worse.

"Yes!" You nodded "Yes, I'm fine..." he pulled back. "But I appreciate your concern." Roger grinned and you both wandered through to the grand hall. "I don't use in here much...for obvious reasons- no one visits. Sometimes I'll just walk around in it with Cerberus or twirl and dance when I feel like it." You mentally kicked yourself telling him that.

"You dance?" Roger asked with his facial features quirking in amusement. You raised a brow at his hand when he held it out. "Care for a dance then?" You rolled your lips together and hesitantly took it. He pulled you close to him and you both held a lungful of air. Your hand rested on his shoulder while your other one held his. Roger slowly began moving on the spot and then placed his hand on your hip. His touch sent a chill through your hot body and you let out a sigh under your breath, wanting to be even closer to him than this. "I like dancing with you in a place like this," he admitted.

"Why do you like being here?" You quietly asked and Roger squeezed you a little tighter. "It really isn't your sort of place. Nothing grows here..."

He kept his eyes locked to yours as he slowed his movements. "I feel something growing..." he whispered.

Your eyes widened ever so slightly "You do...?" That fluttering sensation began to spread like a fire through your chest. It looked like he was about to lean in before you pulled back. "Dinner..." you swallowed hard. "It's...it's time for dinner..." you breathed out and sharply turned on your heel.

Roger bit down on his lip and then gently rubbed his chest before following you.

He felt it too.

•••

When you arrived to your dining room, Roger noticed the small table in the corner surrounded by candles and the flowers he had sent. It was very intimate. He walked ahead of you and pulled out your chair- you blinked at his chivalry. You sat down and bowed your head in thanks. "This is wonderful," he smiled at you.

"Oh it's nothing," you waved it off. "I sent Hermes to get you something from above because if you ate anything from here, you'd be bound to the underworld." You said and he looked up to you through his lashes.

"I don't see any issue with that..." he smirked, almost as if he was up for the challenge.

As much as Roger was kind and pure, he was rebellious and carefree. You admired that. You loved that.

You rubbed your chest again and squeezed your eyes shut, downing a large gulp of your pomegranate wine. You tried to drown the feeling in your chest...you tried to drown for your very clear feelings for Roger. Once you were both finished, he looked at you seriously.

"I'd like to show you something, Hades."

"Alright, what is-"

"It's on Earth," he admitted, cutting you off. You took a moment to consider going. "I understand if you don't want to-"

"Let's go." You stood up and Roger stumbled to his feet. He looked ecstatic- you liked knowing that it was you that put that look on his face. "Cerberus!" You called on your hound from hell and then transformed him in front of Roger's eyes.

"It's a shame they don't accept him as he is. He's beautiful!" He kneeled and cooed, petting the- now three- dogs. "It's horrible that they don't accept you both," he whispered and looked up to you with a sympathetic gaze. Your eyes fell to the floor before Roger took your hands. "I promise I won't keep you up there too long...I just really want to show you something."

You nodded before shutting your eyes and when you opened them you couldn't help but gasp at the field of thousands of coloured flowers that you were standing in the middle of. "You..." you blinked and felt your body freeze with shock "You did...this?"

Roger nodded biting down on his bottom lip "I did. What do you think?" Roger went wide eyed and instinctively reached his hands out when he saw you falling to your knees, your dress puffing out slightly. Cerberus was too busy chasing a butterflies to notice. Your mouth was gaping open- you had never been so speechless before. What he could do was incredible. Roger kneeled down beside you. "Hades?" He said in a worried tone, he tried to look in your eyes and guess how you were feeling but your eyes were taking in the different colours of tulips. "Y/N?" He gently placed his fingers on your jaw and guided your face to look at his so he could look into your eyes. He kept his hand there.

"It's beautiful."

Your two word whisper made him smile more widely than he ever had in all his life. "I'm glad you like it. I certainly think Cerberus does!" He laughed and you looked over to the three dogs running and jumping about with a smile on your face- it warmed your heart knowing that your hound was happy. "Your smile is far more beautiful than anything I could create..." Roger's breath hit against your face.

"That's not true..." your eyes flickered to his lips for a spit second. How could that statement be true? What you saw in front of you was far more beautiful than even beauty itself could comprehend.

You tentatively brushed your fingers over his cheek, he closed his eyes "Your touch burns..."

You quickly pulled your hand back, afraid you'd hurt him.

Roger grabbed onto your hand again and pressed it to his face forcefully "No!" He almost shouted before lowering his voice "I like it."

"Really?" You felt that tingling in your chest again, it ruined the moment as you pulled away to rub it.

Roger grabbed your hand before you could rub the spot and you sharply raised your brow at him and his bold actions. "It's okay. I feel it too." His words took you by surprise. He cupped your cheeks with his hands "My queen..."

You looked away and shook your head, Roger's hands were stuck floating in the air. "It's funny because I have been called many things by the gods and goddesses that live above me." Roger could hear the scornfulness in your voice. "I've been called the Devil, Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub...my own father even called me a monster. None have ever called me a queen- let alone their queen."

"That's because I see you how you're supposed to be seen!" Roger was practically crying out as he held your hands with his. "But they don't deserve you- not now, not ever!" You both jumped hearing a crow caw when it landed next to you. You and Roger both looked at it and you slowly slipped your hands from his grasp before quickly grabbing the crow, making it shriek. Roger raised both brows and stood up at the same time you did.

Your eyes were still on the bird, almost glaring at it. Roger glanced down to Cerberus who was starting to growl at the creature in your hands. "There's something so unnerving about holding a bird in your hands..." you nonchalantly mused, inspecting the bird that had more to it than met the eye. "So free," you hummed with a sinister smile and Roger felt a chill run down his spine at your evil tone. Just what were you up to? "But birds aren't free...they are chained to the sky." You tightly squeezed the disguised god out of the form he was possessing and he fell to the ground in front of you with a groan. "As is the god of the skies!" Roger's eyes went wide seeing Brian there. "What are you doing here?!" You hissed.

"Checking on you!" He snapped back "Both of you!" Cerberus barked in warning making Brian jump. Now that he was three dogs, Brian felt a little more intimidated.

"Anyway- I could say the same to you. What are you doing here?" Brian asked.

"What? I can't visit earth without screaming: 'Fear me you lords and lady preachers'?" You snapped. "I thought you would give me more credit than that, Zeus." You glared at your brother.

He sighed "Hermes was looking for you and when he couldn't find you in your domain he called for me to help because he was worried," Brian calmly spoke.

"Well," you flashed a fake grin at your brother "Now you've found me you can leave. We're going back to the underworld now anyway." Roger nervously looked away when he noticed Brian staring at him.

You went to walk away but Brian grabbed your wrist. "You are playing with hellfire being with Persephone, Y/N...." he lowly warned so the other god couldn't hear him.

"Do not talk to me about hellfire!" You yanked your arm out of his grip. "I have always had it in my bones and blood," you seethed between gritted teeth and quickly vanished with Roger and Cerberus back to your palace.

•••

Brian returned to Mount Olympus and stood with his head hung low in front of his father. "Was he with her?" His father asked in a booming voice.

"Yes..." Brian kept his eyes on the floor. John was beside him and he let out a disappointed sigh and softly shook his head.

"Then we proceed with the plan to keep them apart." Brian and John quickly lifted their heads and then shared a wary glance.

"And if that doesn't work?" John asked with a trembling voice, starting to fear the worst.

"Then you know what I'll do after that!" He screamed and the two gods flinched. "If she is as wise as she claims then it won't come to that!" Your father snapped.

Brian and John turned and left with disappointed looks in their faces. "I don't want him to do that to her..." John quietly murmured to his brother. "I couldn't allow that, Bri. I could never let him! Regardless of her being the way she is and him being our father."

Brian placed a hand on John's shoulder. "We can try our best to not let that happen. You've got to remember though, they're both stubborn and you know how powerful they can be. And Y/N," Brian deeply sighed "She'd stand by her cause- even if that means dying for it."

———————————

• Part three • Part five •

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[five-wow]

9.20 thoughts! this got very long, just as an fyi.

not even a minute in and some guys sold a teenage girl a gun. oh boy.

on the plus side: i remember which episode this is now! it’s the one with the gun that somehow has a connection to lots of five-0 members’ lives!

the banter between those two cops was really fun (and not as stilted as it sometimes is when a random Cop Or Security Duo shows up!) and then one of them got shot and something like that kind of HAD to happen but i’m still sad

OKAY so the first connection is that junior is friends with one of the guys who sold the gun and the guy shows up at HQ and i was like, oh no, but then he tells junior what he did!!! that’s so good!!! i’m weirdly proud of this very minor side character who did a very bad thing

DANNY. THERE’S DANNY. i technically knew he had to be in this episode somewhere because i’ve seen photographical evidence of it here on tumblr, but THERE HE IS. YAY. i mean, i love almost all of the main cast, but i think part of the reason why it took me a month to watch the previous episode was because danny wasn’t in it. it still just doesn’t feel right. it’s like there’s something missing. and here that something is!

junior and his buddy leave and steve and danny are alone in the office and steve said something case-related directly to danny and i’m weirdly excited about that, too!! my bars are literally so low.

BABY STEVE. baby steve is watching inspector gadget, oh my gosh, aw.

i love how doris is supposed to be there and she picks up the phone and tells mini steve to turn down the tv, but we never see any part of her except a hand and some hair because they didn’t hire the actress for this episode. so subtle.

i am... so conflicted about this scene. on the one hand, mini steve is super cute. on the other, we’re probably supposed to like young john here and think he’s a Good Dad but i just... kind of low key hate everything he does. he looks annoyed when doris tells him the call is for him, like she’s bugging him somehow after being the one who picked up the phone in the first place, and the whole “i have to go to work. take care of your mom while i’m gone, okay?” that he says to steve is so bad, omfg. steve is what, five? i know the “man of the house” thing is very common in media but it’s! so! stupid! doris is a grown woman and steve is a tiny little boy - doris has to (and can!) take care of steve, not the other way around, god. /rant

oh! we do get a full body shot of doris but it’s blurry doris! and she’s SUPER PREGNANT which makes the fact that john let her get up to answer the phone in the first place kind of bad too, actually, oh boy.

doris: “john, if something was wrong you’d tell me, right?” john: “i’m not gonna lie to you, i don’t know. just lock the door behind me, i’ll try to call you as soon as i get this straightened out.” OMG WHAT. okay a) this is hilarious knowing as we do that doris was actually a highly trained cia agent/assassin and probably way more skilled than john and outranks him by far, fjdkfd, and b) i’ll give john a little credit for being somewhat honest and not just going with “no, everything’s totally fine, don’t worry”, but the answer he does give is almost worse because it’s so incredibly vague, holy shit. he says “i’m not gonna lie to you” and he doesn’t, but he also doesn’t tell doris who called or what they said or why he’s suddenly leaving for work in the middle of the night or why he thinks she needs to lock the door.

i’m only six minutes in at this point. i’m talking too much oh gosh

WAIT WAIT WAIT. john is offering himself up as a hostage, alone and unarmed and without backup, and THAT’s the “oh, i don’t know if there’s something wrong honey” situation he was leaving for? john. the fuck. now the “i’m not gonna lie” was definitely a lie after all.

the guy with the gun: “you’re such a good boy, john.” i respectfully disagree, my man.

the guy with the gun apparently killed his business partner and john arrested him (of course) and he and john have a talk about it where the guy is like “i shouldn’t have gone to prison!” and john is like “you got off lightly!” and it’s okay but. john is so smug about it and i hate that. he’s probably supposed to look bad ass and cool but i just. i just really dislike it. it’s this macho man thing and i’m not into it at all.

guy with gun, talking about his son: “you made sure he grew up without a father.” this, um, kind of made me laugh, because apparently that’s one of john’s specialties - for this guy’s kid by sending him (probably deservedly) to prison, sure, but later also his own kids by sending them away, fdjfkd. wow.

ooohhhh the gun guy said “steve, right?” and the frame kind of flipped to present day steve and that was very cool! i loved that.

2010 danny! and he’s talking to grace on the phone!!! already love it.

i also love that they gave him a baseball cap, presumably to hide the kind of obvious difference in hair that nine years brought.

danny kind of snubs the local food and it’s very 2010!him, but oh danny. it’s not the poor shop owner’s fault that your ex dragged you there against your will.

oh BOY. the shop gets robbed and the owner shot (which was expected, of course, when a main character wanders in there at night), and then danny asks the random woman shopping there to keep pressure on the owner’s wound until the ambulance gets there (which... he hasn’t called, and he also hasn’t told her to call for one, so that, uh, might take a long, long while) and then he takes the shop owner’s shotgun and RUNS AFTER THE SHOOTER. which is very heroic of him but also makes every single complaint he has in season 1 about steve’s daredevil approach to law enforcement VERY IRONIC.

oh, danny loses the guy and NOW he calls it in, fjdkfkd.

jerry is doing some smart tracking thing on the computer and it’s pretty regular h50 stuff but there’s an email adress on the screen that’s literally “gunlover[bunch of numbers]” and i’m screaming oh gosh

they already found the girl! but her dad is understandably not that jazzed about letting his daughter be investigated for murder. but good job on tracking her down so quickly!

2015 tani at a party!!! aww.

ohhh gosh koa is target shooting with the gun, which probably means he’s going to end up getting framed for something, oh no.

oh boy, tani has the same concerns so she confronts her boyfriend about it but she also knows her boyfriend’s in a gang and then the police comes knocking at his door about a murder, so that’s not going to end well.

ooh, 2015 tani was a police informant! and she’s talking to a pretty cool female detective and i appreciate that, even though you’d have to squint to count this scene as passing the bechdell test because almost every sentence references tani’s boyfriend, the boyfriend’s gang or tani’s brother.

steve and danny are interrogating a suspect together!! i might be completely wrong, but i feel like we haven’t seen that in a while.

suspect: “i don’t know if either of you guys are married, but even if it goes south, you can’t shut down some of those feelings, you know? like the ones that go right down into the core.” HMMM. INTERESTING. the camera is literally on danny’s face for a good portion of this, gosh.

they close their main case and i thought for a moment there was going to be some big twist because the episode isn’t near over yet, but instead they realize that this gun was used for a whole bunch of other crimes. it’s a “community gun”! i love that term, wow. how nice and cooperative of them all, sharing this one piece between them.

danny recognizes his case from the ones on the screen!!! and he tells the rest of them that he went to get a bite to eat on his first night in hawaii and that the store was robbed, and i’m kind of glad that at least the team seems to recognize that this is extraordinarily bad luck, ha.

also, steve barely reacts to danny’s story, so i’m taking that to mean that he definitely already knows it. which would make total sense! this seems like the kind of thing danny would rant about at some point during one of his “why i hate hawaii” tirades in season 1, but still, i like that. they know each other.

fjdkfjdk i LOVE how the whole team is standing there and piecing together the fact that they have connections to a ridiculous number of the crimes committed with this one gun, and jerry keeps commenting about how freaky it all is. this is so much fun, awww.

young john gets shot but of course he was wearing a vest, because he can’t die yet, because he needs to save that for a moment much later when he’s scarred his kids more and when he can die horribly on the phone with his son.

OKAY BUT “d. lukela”!!!! i’ve been watching the john bits very sceptically at this point but THIS I DID NOT SEE COMING and i ADORE IT.

john: “listen, duke, i’m not gonna lie to you man...” WHY do you keep saying that john, omfg. at least this time you’re telling the truth about not lying, i suppose. 50% not lying about not lying isn’t much, but it’s a start.

steve!! remembers!! that night!! and it’s because he was six and really scared because he knew something was wrong oh nooo

danny and tani talking in the car is super nice!!! and danny gets to drive the camaro for once which, wow, that’s pretty shocking

ahhhhh, the only thing this danny+car scene was missing was steve and then he CALLS. very good.

i just. listen. i just love danny. the way he keeps butting into the tense conversation between tani and this guy she used to know who she put in prison? it’s both hilarious and secretly very kind, because it’s making the moment so much more bearable for tani.

danny and tani find the guy from the convenience store robbery and he just turns around and puts his hands on his back to be cuffed when they ask him to! he doesn’t pull out a gun from somewhere or even try to run away! holy shit!

duke and steve are in california rounding off steve’s dad’s case and of course they get shot at before even knocking on the door and then the suspect runs for it, too. maybe it’s just steve. maybe their work would be a lot easier if steve’s presence didn’t magically make all the suspects shoot and run.

and the gun gets put away in a box in evidence storage, closing the case(s). aww. that’s a nice end.

okay, so, as much as i complain about john mcgarrett, i did really enjoy this episode very much! it was a really fun idea to have this gun travel around the island and use it to show little parts of characters’ backstories and i liked the execution of it too, plus the pacing was good and it had some funny moments and it had (very importantly) danny in it. and tani’s background!!! i think that was the one that surprised me most, because danny being a good cop with bad luck and steve having a not-so-great dad are a bit of a given at this point (though i still enjoyed seeing that, too!), but we knew precious little about tani’s life before five-0, and apparently there’s a huge story there. knowing what this episode showed us, i kind of want her to have a conversation with kamekona at some point - they both had a youth where they (almost) went the wrong direction, and they both got out of that in part for the sake of their brothers, and then they both ended up in the five-ohana somehow, which is probably not a place they ever saw themselves. i don’t know, i just love the idea of this unexpected friendship/understanding between two characters who don’t seem to have a lot in common at first glance.

also, more general comment: the funny thing is, until i watched this episode i hadn’t realized how much i missed this silly show and its silly characters over the past month. i totally did that not-watching-it thing to myself (not even intentionally, but still) and clearly it was more of a mistake than i realized because oh my god it felt good to see them all on my screen again, gosh. :D

[grecoisms]

title: to deserve a spring (3/3) pairing: Kakashi Hatake / Sakura Haruno rating: M summary: “

Still for @ninjas-in-love and @neonanything. THANK YOU FOR EVERY REBLOG AND LIKES AHHHHH!

Let us go forth together to the spring: Love must be this, if it be anything.

xxii.

Kakashi awakes to the sound of his regrets in a form of a headache the size of Konoha, the smell of tea and eggs, and Sakura's voice. He dares not open his eyes yet, so instead, he opens his mouth.

"Yo" he wants to say, but it comes out as "Ugh". The tongue in his mouth feels dry and heavy, as if he had swallowed sand. 

It is when he sits up that he realizes he has been sleeping on the floor, fully clothed, using the carpet as a blanket. 

The left rim of his vision is a blur, a window on rainy days, with the slight difference of feeling like it is on fire. The dead skin beneath his scar is pulsing.

There is a stench in the air.

"Good morning." greets Sakura, whom he still cannot see. Not even a patch of pink. 

"Where are you?" he asks, and touches his own face, alarmed. 

"Your mask is on" the voice says, and finally, Sakura's face glide into his world, from behind him. The cup of tea she places on his old, white table is steaming, the eggs are scrambled. "You smell like distillery and dogpiss."

"My aesthetic." he groans. She laughs, but not unkindly. 

"Want me to carry you to the table?"

"I think I completely razed my reputation as it is, so why not."

As she helps him up, he notices that Sakura has her flak jacket on, and that her equipment await her next to the door.

"Is this how you usually deal with hospital bureaucracy?" Standing up is especially hard now. The room is a vertigo, but her grip on his arm is gentle steel. 

Her eyes follow his. She makes a brushing movement, as if trying to cast aside the question.

"I have Saturdays off. Besides, "and her voice is a little too light now. "One of the med nins in Neji's team has fallen ill. Shikamaru asked me to step in. Just this once. I told Tsunade and she consented."

The table and chair are finally in his reach, but he refuses to sit down now. And while Sakura is still holding his right hand, his left grabs the back the chair.

"Neji and Shikamaru are ANBU."

Sakura licks her lips. 

"Yes." her voice is soft.

The realization dawns.

"No." Kakashi says. Suddenly, the room is too bright and sharp, just when the sharingan is alive. Fear makes him alert.

"They asked me nicely."

"Refuse it nicely, then." he knows he is being stubborn and childish. He has not felt this stupid since he left Naruto follow Sasuke and then he decided on acting like a hermit.

Sakura puts her hands on her hips.  

"I can decide for good what I really want. ANBU is not the end of the world."

"ANBU is death." 

"ANBU is a choice and has the potential of protecting people too." Her eyes are darker now, a shade of dark forest. "You have served in it for years and became wiser for it."

Kakashi wants to say, ANBU was an escape for me. He wants to say, you can take a shinobi out of ANBU, but you cannot take ANBU out of that person anymore.

He does not wish this fate for Sakura. But he wants her to make her own choices. 

"The hospital is safer space." he says then, factual and cold.  "I think ANBU a mistake."

"I am not Rin." she says then, suddenly. Her hands are not on her hips anymore, but palms open and against her sides. 

Kakashi goes very still.

The clock on the wall sets a rhythm to the silence. From this close, Kakashi can see that Sakura has some freckles, even though it is winter. She is not angry but sad, rather, and that makes the stubborness in him melt. Sakura is climbing through his fences, he realizes. 

"I know" he says, but the tone of it does not ring quite sincere. " I just -"

He does not know how to finish so instead he sits down and buries his head in his hands. 

Her voice is impossibly calm and very kind.

"It was not your choice or responsibility then. And it is not now. Rin knew what she was doing. And I know what I am doing."

Looking up, Kakashi smiles. But this time, the look in his eyes is bitter, the smile is an old facade, the one that reminds her of olden times. She hated that smile then and resents it still. It is a construction meant to deceive.

"She had known and she died nevertheless." 

"Her. Decision." She is adamant. He blinks. 

"Is this only about the mission?"

She does not miss a beat with the answer.

"Are you ready for another conversation?" 

Checkmate.

He does not answer, so she puts on her heavy shinobi boots, collects her gears and before she slips out of the door says,

"See you."

"Be safe" he mumbles, but she is already gone.

xxiii.

First snow falls the next day.

For most part of the week, he vacillates between taking up an S-mission himself or simply lie down and wait for eternal rest to claim him.

Instead, he scrubs the floor six times and washes all of his clothes and sharpens and polishes all his weapons, gives them names and puts them away in alphabetical order. He cleans the windows. He waxes every wooden material. He performs rituals to forbid his mind from wandering and wondering where Sakura is.

Winter has its difficulties, so he takes his team on patrols. He takes them mountain climbing, which means while they freeze their ass off, his students clean the icicles off of the Hokages' noses. Umma is careful - Doctor Haruno is not in town and she would not let another medic nin near her.

Snow reminds Kakashi of their very first mission together, when Naruto and Sasuke and Sakura had to face what being a shinobi really means. 

Shinobi, said Zabuza before he died, arms limp and useless against his sides. Use or be used. You are no ninjas until you awoke and slept with the smell of blood. Shinobi is not a shadow. It is a weapon. 

The memory sends a chill down his spine. 

"Sensei!" Tassun shouts, way above him. "Can't we use some jutsu? Please?"

Kakashi forbids it. He also forbids himself to compare Tassun to Obito. Even though he is prides himself to be a rational man, he is above all a nostalgic men, draped in melancholy.

Rule twenty-five.

Never show your tears. 

But Zabuza was not a melancholic man and still, he wept when Haku died. Naruto was - is - like that, but his tears are a way of giving in. Gives all things their due tears. His tears are invert in nature.

Sakura's tears are efficient: she is an emotional being and knows the worth of that. Her tears are public for a reason. She could easily remember and  recite the rules while crying for Sasuke when she believed him dead. It did not faze her. Thus her greatest power lies in knowing this compassion is no weakness. 

Shedding tears as a lesson.

Kakashi has not cried since they buried Minato, and swore he never would. He used to believe that was something to take pride in - something that makes one mature. He does not remember seeing Sasuke shed a tear either and how much respect he felt for him. Now he looks at Sasuke, all hollow; and regards himself, preserving sanity with total denial (hiding after all, is denial. He is a coward but not a liar) and wonders how could he ever think what they done has been venerable.

He thinks; Sakura must be smiling now, with snow in her hair. 

He also wonders whether Sakura smiles with the knowledeg about the unmitigated power she possesses, topping them all in her wake.

xxiv.

News comes on Friday.

The smell of hot chocolate is everywhere, because Umma has spilled half of its content on her vest and the other half on Kakashi's. Then her student stops and points at the opposite direction they are heading.

"Look, it is the crabby man." And truly, Neji is standing at the corner of Konoha's main street with Hinata accompanying him. He seems okay, apart from wearing the ugliest coat in the history of Konoha and the ugliest frown too. 

Hinata spots them, and waves. She has her a coat similar to Neji's, but the snow washes out her features.

Kakashi has to get to the lake, but wants - needs - to know about the mission and especially about Sakura's wellbeing.

They are standing far away. 

Kakashi might have a premature stroke. 

"Umma," he says. "Can you ask crabby man about Sakura? I will run to the lake and bring Koshi back, then we will get lunch."

"Okay." she grimaces. "But we eat at Dango's."

xxiv.

No lunch on Friday.  And no drink for that matter. Not now or ever.

Because instead of Umma waiting for them and Sakura standing there with her all-teeth smile and snow in her hair saying, Are you getting senile in your old age, Hatake? See, here I am. Safe and sound; it is Neji and Hinata and Tsunade who wait for him. 

Kakashi cannot read Tsunade's face, and Neji's frown is absolute and deep, but it is Hinata who makes him freeze. She is the one wearing true grief. She is pale, she, who always blushes. Paleness means sorrow for Hinata and Kakashi's heart sinks, his mind empties. 

Koshi whistles at the sight of the three leaders.

"Go home now, Koshi." he says. The boy looks up at him and he does not joke the order away. He does not even look back as he runs home. 

Neji and Hinata lock eyes as Kakashi reaches them. Tsunade looks up at him and this nearness allows Kakashi to see that Tsunade is livid, her eyes have that legendary flame she has cradled since a very young age. Her passion is a heritage of blood. 

Kakashi hides his hands behind his back to hide the fact he is shivering, trembling.

"Is she dead?" he asks, slowly. He looks at Tsunade but it is Neji who answers, truthful and cruel.

"We don't know."

xxv.

It happens like this. Sakura Haruno and Shikamaru Nara with the leadership of Neji Hyuuga complete their S-ranked mission in a perfect three-day tempo, in relative ease. Aim of the mission is to secure a perimeter around Kusa and the border of the Land of the Grass so to ensure the safety of an Iwa convoy. There are no complications, the convoy sends hawk they arrived to their destination in peace and by Captain Hyuuga's orders they are to return home. 

However, before leaving, Shikamaru Nara and Sakura Haruno visit Kusa in hopes of obtaining some aliment and some information. This is a tradition among shinobi. When time, make sure to use it wisely. Information is weapon in war, the knife of knowledge wounds deeper than any sword. Neji approves, so he lets them mingle among the villagers.

There is no food, and only one rumour, dominant in the city. Two men, two legendary shinobis, are said to have been spotted around the ruins of Kezuma, a former satellite hideout not so far from Eika's base. One is said to be the lost Uchiha heir. The other one is the fox demon of Konoha. They have been said to be disguised as beggars.

It happens like this: a decision needs to be made. To have a second, greater mission without backup or not to have, not to pry, not to try. 

Shikamaru Nara votes to have. Neji Hyuuga votes to have. Sakura Haruno votes to have. 

Their chakras are full, power and energy not spent. Captain Hyuuga sends a coded telegram home to his cousin, Hinata Hyuuga, who, after transcribing, runs to the Godaime at once with the news. Tsunade Senju does not write anything, because Neji Hyuuga has written: Already on route. No contact.

It is Wednesday dawn when they set out for the ruins, hope in their hearts. For Naruto Uzumaki has this power over them all. Neji thinks of his actions, Shikamaru his eyes, Sakura his words. 

They are close. And find them they do. 

It happens like this: The two lost ninjas are fleeting from Iwa. Naruto is unconscious, Sasuke is half dragging, half holding him when the three of them find them. Uchiha mistakes them for foes and manages to wound Captain Hyuuga on both legs, when finally Uchiha recognizes Sakura Haruno and ceases his attack.

The medic ninja then insists on healing both Hyuuga and Uzumaki. Uchiha informs them that he is being hunted down by the Explosion Corps and they have no time. Sakura Haruno begins the healing process despite Uchiha's argument and Neji Hyuuga asks Shikamaru Nara to strategize the fastest escape plan he can come up with. Nara insists on a defensive stance until Uzumaki and the Captain is down. Uchiha and Hyuuga agree.

No sooner Nara draws up a plan where they move onto a higher ground - Kezuma used to be three watchtowers of which one remained intact - the assailants arrive. Twenty-five against five. Naruto is almost healed, but unconscious. Hyuuga cannot get up properly. Shikamaru, Uchiha and Haruno fight for a while and the two of them manage to decimate the opponents. Nara then picks up Captain Hyuuga who orders them to retreat at once. Hyuuga tells Uchiha specifically to get Uzumaki and Haruno both. 

Haruno screams for them to remain together. Just as Hyuuga and Nara disappear in the bushes, backup arrives. Haruno begins to attack them once again and Uchiha Sasuke makes the choice of using Haruno as bait. According to him, he has had to choose, and he choose Naruto Uzumaki, leaving Haruno on the battlefield, leaving to fate and chance and her own wit to survive.

And the four men - one unconscious, one healed, one fuming, one cursed - return to Konoha without the healer.

xxvi.

Much to Kakashi's dismay, almost all of the villagers are out on the streets, enveloping the main street as Naruto Uzumaki - limping and pale - accompanies Sasuke Uchiha - shackled and back bent - to the shinobi headquarters where judgement awaits him and the mission they completely fucked up. Some villagers spit on the road, some cheer, others are silent as the cenotaph Kakashi has forgotten to visit for a fortnight now. 

Within the council, that acts both as judge and jury, are such people as Tsunade (because she is the Hokage and head of this village), Neji (Captain and Commander of said ANBU mission), Shikamaru (a witness), Hinata (head of the greatest clan presently thriving in Konoha), and Kakashi (former sensei and theoretically unbiased outsider).    

The room is cold in temperature and color. Behind the table the council is seated, Shizune is attempting to strike a fire with matches, but her hands seem to tremble too much and so any chance for some warmth must be postponed. Self-inflicted exile and revenge has done no good to Sasuke's complexion. There is a sunken demeanor, a broken angle on his face that transformed him effectively unsightly. Naruto does not live his side. They are both standing.

The first part of the hearing is about Sasuke's tour around the world in order to kill Itachi and overrule the Shinobi countries. Sasuke gives one-word answers. Naruto tries to defend him by quoting Orochimaru and Karin and Sakura and basically half Konoha from the times Sasuke was still a genin prodigy. By the time Tsunade and Naruto finish arguing whether Sasuke Uchiha truly committed treason, it is already two in the afternoon. They started the hearings early morning. 

Now comes the hardest part. The events of the last mission. 

"Captain Hyuuga informed me that the ANBU team found you close to the Kezuma ruins." says the Godaime. "Is that correct?"

Sasuke looks at Neji. Clears his throat.

"We were around five miles from the watchtowers."

"Did you hide within the ruins prior to the meeting?"

"Yes.”

"For how much time?"

"Two weeks."

"For what reasons?"

It is a milisecond, but Naruto and Sasuke exchange a look that makes everyone rather uncomfortable. Shinobis at this caliber can read each other easily. 

Tsunade wants none of it.

"Were you injured?"

"We wanted to rest. Naruto had found me in the very West regions of Tsuchi. After convincing me to return, we have been on the road for more than a month."

"Were you resting or hiding, Uchiha?" Tsunade's voice is now sharp.

Sasuke jaws clench and Naruto puts his hand on the shoulder of his friend.

"We knew I was being followed. We tried to outmaneuver them with no success. I killed some of them, but seems like their resources exceeded my calculations."

Shikamaru Nara mutters something. Sounds like "No fucking shit".

Naruto cuts in.

"We guessed an open confrontation would finish it. But I got injured and knew we had to reach Konoha at once."

To everyone's surprise, Hinata raises her hand, demanding the right to query. Her eyes, though milky, have a sharp tip.

"Sasuke" her voice is not timid. "Why did you attack my cousin?"

Neji, next to her, crosses his arms.

"We almost got killed a minute before" Sasuke seems downright bored. "I was sure he was enemy too."

"Sharingan." says Hinata simply. Sasuke reddens. 

A beat of silence. 

"You are going blind" continues Hinata gently. "Don't you?"

Neji's glare competes with Tsunade's.

"It is not relevant." Sasuke says simply. 

"You irresponsible, selfish fuck." This is Shikamaru, voice pleasant despite the profanity. "You endangered all of our lives by giving us orders while we were trying to save your life."

"We were wasting time."

"We tried to fix the damage you have done. What else we could do with two teammate on the ground, one you put there?"

"I told Sakura - "

Neji prevents Sasuke from finishing. 

"Sakura did not follow your orders."

It is useless for Naruto to keep his hands on him, because Sasuke tears himself from his clutch.

"She followed no one's. I told her we cannot waste time and yet she made her choice and started to heal you on the spot."

"Are you saying it is Sakura's fault she got captured?" it is the first time Kakashi speaks up, voice quiet.

Sasuke looks haughty. 

"I am saying she put her energy in the wrong place at the wrong time."

He stands up. Sasuke is stronger than him, stockier even in his weakened state, but Kakashi is taller by almost an inch, all wire and sinew. He moves around the table elegantly, straight like a knife. Faces Uchiha, whom he taught as a mentor and loved as a father a long time ago. 

"Is that why you left her behind?" his voice is still very soft, not showing the horrible fury he feels. 

Sasuke stares at him, expression plain.

"Sakura is just a medic nin."

There was a time when thirteen year old Sasuke, angry and hurt and tied to a tree, spit at him, saying; What if I killed the people most important to you? Wouldn’t you care? Kakashi smiled then and answered. Impossible. Everyone I cared about had already died. 

And Kakashi Hatake has killed many people in his life, but he has never wanted to kill anyone more clearly than Sasuke Uchiha at that very moment, that cold winter afternoon, in that Konoha council room full of people. Wonders if Sasuke even suspects the possibility of fulfilling an old promise.

And there must be something the way he looks at the boy, the way his voice sounds, because Sasuke is taking a step back and Naruto steps in front of Sasuke. Behind him, each member of the council stand as a precaution.

His voice sounds foreign to him, heavy and dead. 

Impossible, impossible. Old - technically young -  Kakashi would just smile.

"Get him out of here."

xxvii.

After Naruto pushes Sasuke out, Hinata and Shikamaru leave as well - she touches his back, he nods, both an act of sympathy - and Tsunade, Neji and him remain.

"Rescue mission." he says the moment the door closes. 

Neji is looking out the window, on the main square where snow locks the cobblestones deep under dead weight. Tsunade has her head cradled in her hands and sends Shizune for some alcohol before she answers.

"Kakashi" her voice is cautious, warning him to not strain this too much.

"The more we wait the less chance we have." It is a fact. He looks at Neji who still avoids his gaze. Tsunade also refuses to look up. 

"I know this. But Sasuke is right and Sakura is a medic nin and one of the brightest in the village. She is a survivor."

"She might be seriously injured, if not dead."

"If she is half the woman I know - and she is, believe me - she will claw and crawl her way out of anything. I taught her well."

"Then let me volunteer for an individual mission. "His voice now has an impatient tinge in it. "Let me have that at lea-"

"ENOUGH." bellows Tsunade and slams both her hands on the table that creaks under her anger. "Do you think I do not care because I did not kill Uchiha Sasuke outright? That it is a weakness or cruelty or disloyalty that I had not opened his guts with my bare hands the moment he stepped into Konoha again? That I was not aware that he is alive through abandoning her and this has not affected me? Because I do not make a public display of my own doubts and fears of what will happen to my most promising heir? Do you think I am made of stone? That I do not fear for Sakura's life and sanity as wholly as you?"

She crosses the space between them. Neji and Kakashi freeze in terror.

"Let me tell you something, Hatake." She just points at his chest, not even touching, but accusing him in all her physicality. "Sasuke abandoned her first. Then Naruto. Then you. You abandoned her too. Remember that? Because I do. She came to me, because she had no mentor left, even though you lived in the same. Fucking. Village." She is unrelenting, not even taking a breath. "Two streets across. And you decided to fuck it all, because there is no worth in helping a girl like Sakura, right? She came to me because you did not find time and energy for her. Not between an Uchiha boy and an Uzumaki prodigy."

She is taking a deep breath now, Tsunade. Then she deflates. Looks exhausted and truly fifty years old.

"Truth is - " she is not even looking at him now. "I think all the guilt you feel fuels this anger excellently against Uchiha. Rotten, the both of you. Worthless."

She turns away from him. Kakashi's legs are stone. He looks at a point, way above all of their heads. In the corner of his eyes, Neji is looking at his boots now, tactful and silent.

Shizune returns and Tsunade does not even need the glass, she gulps the liquor straight from the sake bottle. She still has her back to the both of them when she opens her mouth again.

"I already sent an ambassador to Iwa. They will talk to the Corps and we can have an agreement. This is my hope." 

She wipes her mouth and finally turns to them. Him.

"You should congratulate me on my levelheadedness, Kakashi. I knew I would not be able to count on you now."

Her eyes are full of pity.

xxviii.

A box arrives four days later. It is addressed to Sasuke Uchiha. The box contains the head of the Konoha envoy. Iwa claims they do not have anyone named Haruno among their prisoners.

A week after the assembly, Sakura's smell is fading from his flat, the plant is withering in the corner. Kakashi sharpens his knives. Shines his shoes. Washes his uniform until his arm goes numb and his fingers weazen under the water. Washes himself carefully, with care. 

Nothing is as satisfying as a clean kill.

xxix.

Just as Kakashi is checking the content of his bag, there are several footsteps on the stairs, small and swift. The children. 

Umma's voice is hysterical.

"Sensei" she might have wanted to knock, but Koshi and Tassun simply fall through the whole door, bringing its hinges with them. 

"Please" he says, wanting to say, not now. "The mission is in two hours." But he is taken aback. All of them are crying. 

"What" he says, voice thick. All three of them. 

"Sak- Sakura" Tassun says. 

Kakashi does not need another word. He jumps through the sad remnants of his door, slides down the stairs in an inhuman speed and runs, flies like a man losing the last of his wits. 

Hinata is the first one who he bumps into. She does not say anything, just points to the quarters on the right, Tsunade's home. Where people go to live or die.

He sees him, Rock Lee, at the door. 

Someone is screaming. 

It is him.

"Is she alive?" he asks, shouts, screams.

xxx.

"I was at my post when I saw her" Lee's voice is wavering, even now. They have been waiting for Tsunade to come out from the room where she is treating her, Sakura, with the outmost care. "Just a figure, slanting, in the distance. Like a shadow in the snow. Then her hair gave her away, under all that red. I ran to her as fast as I could and she was so relieved upon seeing me."

"Did she say something?" 

His heart is beating so loudly it might deafen the corridor. He is trying to contain himself, but finds that he has lost this ability when it comes to Sakura some time ago. 

Rock Lee shakes his head. 

"She tried to clean the blood off her. She was covered in it." he waits a bit, in shock. "Wouldn't let go of her kunai." 

The door opens and Tsunade steps out of the room.

Now, Kakashi Hatake has not cried since Minato was buried. Rule twenty-five. Shinobi, the shadow, the weapon. Impossible, impossible.

But upon hearing that Sakura Haruno lives, he excuses himself, wanders into the room where Sakura sleeps now. Her hair spills like a halo around her battered face an there are scars on her neck. Her knuckles are bloody and raw. But she is here now, alive and safe and in peace. So Kakashi simply falls down on his knees, puts his head onto the bed, very close to her fully bandaged right hand, and begins to weep like a child.

xxxi.

It is at dawn she wakes. Her hand jerks a bit and he is there, sliding to the floor from his seat. 

"Kakashi" she states, in the semi-darkness, voice raspy. Her right hand flies into what feels like an abysmal space between them. He catches it very tenderly.

"Are you in pain?"

Sakura's eyes open up and focus. He wonders whether she has a fever. Her eyes are very bright though the light is scarce. 

"Just very thirsty." A confession. 

Turns out even with her hands healed she cannot really use them. But maybe because she is Sakura and he is Kakashi, they manage. She tilts her head and lets him pour the water into her mouth. Her palms and her wrists have fresh bandages. She must have literally beat her way out of Kezuma. 

It takes a nod of her head for him to know that she had enough. Kakashi wants to let her sleep, but she does not let his hand go and as the sun rises, they look into each other's eyes; seeing the unseen; a different chain of confession.

"I am sorry for doubting you." he says finally. Softly. That is all he wishes for her now and wished for her since a long time.  

"You were afraid" Sakura says. One of her molar teeth on the left is missing. A proof of her tenacity. She is made of sterner stuff than him, because he wants to cry again.

"Terrified."

Nothing in Kakashi's life turned out how he used to imagine it - fate or taken roads denied him in a way that he gave up trying to predict the course of his life altogether - but when Sakura leans to kiss his cheeks, the surprise feels like a blessing, and not a curse.

The angle is awkard. It does not matter.

"But here I am" and she smiles then, all-teeth, pearlwhite. The sensation of her goes straight into his head. He feels light and carefree and he is still terrified of the very notion of rushing this - whatever - they have.  

He cannot say anything grandiose. He cannot, for the life of him, begin to unravel and murmur what he feels for her. But Sakura does not need grandiose, because when he tries to mutter and fails, she touches his cheeks, lightly and carefully.

He kisses the top of her head, because even in sitting he is slightly taller than her. Sakura looks up, expectant and smiling, like she did in Suna months ago, back when Kakashi has realized he wanted her. 

Her smile is not teasing, it is welcoming and patient. He wonders if she can hear his heartbeat as her palms move from his jaw to his chest, just above his heart, below and between the collarbones. He wonders if he feels his heart beating its cage at the sight of her face. 

And it seems Sakura might hear and know now, because she leans in again, and brushes his chin with the tip of her nose, careful. 

"Hey" she whispers, breathes. There is no other sound then, except their heartbeat, and he feels like fainting, the way she looks at him now. "I know. I know."

He places hands on her own, fingers grazing fingers and he leads her hands to the hem, the edge of his mask. Sakura stares, mesmerizes. Kakashi feels his mouth going dry, his own tongue heavy with something called desire as they peel off this shield, this hideaway he has kept up for years. It is the most intimate act either of them has ever witnessed or done.

The unveiling reveals a long, slightly bent nose, a wide mouth with some crooked teeth. All dimples, as he smiles and his scar dances with this movement, his whole face a dazzling, wondrous movement. Just at the left fold of his chin there is a beauty spot. He has some stubbles and he smells clean, clear, all too human and beautiful. He is beautiful.

Aaaand, she just said this out loud.

"Two of us then" he laughs. Sakura laughs too, a heavenly sound, and he feels so weak as she draws him in the bed with her, bringing his body onto her own. 

He envelopes her altogether.

"You are also bad influence."

"Am I now?" Another laugh from Sakura, but it feels breathless now, something that makes him greedy and a little too desperate for more. He feels possessive and reverent at the same time. Thinks it selfish.

"Am I hurting you?"

She shakes her head and turns their position, so Kakashi is under her now, the world upside down. It has never felt so right. 

And maybe because he is Kakashi and she is Sakura, and although they are both automatic at killing, they are slow and unsure at lovemaking, so they take their time to memorize this moment at the beginning of the day.

She kisses the patch of discolored skin at his jaw and he sighs while his fingers travels at her hips, his palms spreading around the curve of her belly. She tastes a bit like blood and medication and  almonds  - her kisses are intense, too much teeth and tongue, but it is so Sakura-like that it makes both of his eyes flutter at the sensation. He is already hard but this is no surprise either.

She has that intention and attention that makes him unravel and when he slips one long finger past the elastic of her underwear, the warmth and the wet he finds there makes them both moan. 

There is a confidence with which he meets her eyes and they converse nonverbally - do you want this, do you want me, do you want me now, gods, yesyesyes - and the way she inhales now is a sure signal that she enjoys how he slips another two fingers inside her. His black pants whisper and rustle in the silence just as she slips them from his waist. The white hospital shirt is two times larger than her size - it is easy to slide it a bit down so he can kiss her breasts.

He wants to smile - maybe crack a joke - but his mouth is full and her blunt nails cut onto his scalp and the pain and the pleasure merge like electricity. 

They take their time positioning - Kakashi asks, Sakura responds; they are open and shameless communicators after all - and her thighs are strong and sure when they are wrapped around his hips; a feeling so natural it is almost scary. And just as her legs are strong, so are her hands as she leads him to her entrance. She sinks, falls, gives in, and then he is inside of her; hot and content. His fingers find her waist and spine and he groans with pleasure. 

She swears. Or maybe it is him. 

The material of his shirt tousle when she clenches it by starting to move. She must like the way the wool touches and rubs at the skin of her breasts, he thinks, and is mesmerized how her hair chooses to dance across her temple and around her neck. He thinks of deities and says her name. 

They are in no hurry. Sakura is rocking back and forth like a mantra, like a prayer and he wants to brand this image, the image of her altar-like body into his eyes and brain as she bears her weight and her pleasure down on him. 

"Maybe you are tiring after all." he breathes. Her eyes are closed, lids heavy with passion. She sticks her tongue out as an answer. 

"Not my fault" she whispers, opens her eyes. Then arches her hips in a way that his whole body goes stiff and he almost comes then and there. 

He sits up in retaliation, and embraces her closely and carefully, so that there is not an inch separating them. It is a support of a kind, this framing of her body; she is magnificent in her unwinding. 

It could be him deciphering her, but Kakashi has seen through Sakura a long time ago just as she solved him a decade ago, not as a riddle, but as a poem, all loveliness, good deeds.

Some of the pink tint from her cheek travels downwards; toward her belly and in-between her thighs. She is getting close and when she fastens the pace, there is a pressure at the base of his back presaging his own orgasm. Her thrusts are haphazardous now, no true angles, but this incidental pain, yet again, comes with a jarring-searing like pleasure that makes him see double. 

Kakashi thinks, pull out, but Sakura clenches around him, arms around his neck, strong and decisive and he is hit with her pleasure, this unrelenting phenomenon, that makes him come and he empties himself in her. It is a trading of treasure; a purge, a cleansing, a confession. Pleasure comes in loud waves, white-hot thunders, the salt-sweat feels sweet in the valley of her breasts when he opens his mouth to taste her skin for what he fears will be the last time. He is a cynic, above all. Even in the greatest pleasures.

She is resting her head on his a bit after and he touches the damp fistful of magenta hair at the base of her neck, the one he always dreamt of before. The bed is very small, but he decides to roll himself all up around her afterwards. Sakura is the first to talk. She is braver than him, always.

"You better not think I did this in a fit of feverish instinct." She sounds sleepy and content. Peaceful. She is drawing tiny circles on his wrist. 

"Do you not care about Tsunade killing me in the morning?" he also feels in peace. Either way, Sakura will make a choice and he is either going to endure life as it is or be the happiest he has been for a long while. She shots him a look. The sun is up now, burning it is wake. The snow outside will melt in a week.

"She knows it would bother me a bit. Tsunade holds my interests close to her heart."

"Ah, a bit. So I have a chance after all."

"Chance?"

"To survive."

Sakura laughs. Kakashi remains serious and lowers his voice. He has to be brave too, now.

"But living might be better."

Sakura stops laughing. Her expression displays sudden shyness, as if he told her what she wanted to hear. He feels shy too, like an adolescent. In a certain way, in this case, in love, he feels lacking and sheepish.

Then Sakura, whom he has respected for years and loved for a while and may marry soon, looks up and says;

"What are the chances of living together?"

He kisses her knuckles that saved many lives, including his, and fought and conquered even more, again, including his, all victorious.

Answers lightly, all dimples:

"I would say the chances are great."

[inklingleesquidly]

Janine’s Jammers in SCHOOL NIGHT

Lee and his Squad perform a daring life-or-death raid on their school in the dead of night… to find Pix’s missing USB drive.

@getinkedkid     

@plasmidsandtonics

@grandtheft-autotune

Word count: 2,017

  Seaside Hill High was a school that prided itself on poise and punctuality with its students, faculty, and even the facility. The doors opened at 5:00 a.m. and they closed at 8:00 p.m. sharp every school day. Between closing and opening nobody could get into the building even if they wanted to—but one squad of squids found a way.

       “It’s just over here; the shutter on this window is broken so we can slip on in.”

Sure enough, one lone window on the ground floor was cracked askew while the others were shut tight. Changing into their squid forms, the four friends slipped their way between the broken shutter and the mesh screen that guarded against intruding insects. First was Pix Inkkin, then Ty Tentam, followed by Saulma Squidtierrez, and finally Lee Squidly.

Retaking their Inkling forms, Saulma looked back at Lee and said, “Miho what gives, you were supposed to wear dark colors.” The whole group was dressed in dark blues and other colored clothes that would camouflage them in the darkness of night, but Lee still wore a pink shirt.

In response, he indicated, “It is dark; see its rosewood instead of shrimp pink!” Saulma simply shook her head at hearing that, not wanting to think anymore about it.

Pix, stressed, and hurried, said, “Well, we got in and nobody saw us, so let’s get going already.”

“What are you kids doing here?”

A voice came from seemingly out of nowhere, causing Pix, Lee, and Saulma to screech and jolt into the air. They spontaneously changed into their squid forms and dropped into Ty’s arms. He was startled but not as badly as his companions.

The voice came from a crayfish janitor, whom they hadn’t noticed was in the room, pushing along an industrial floor buffer.

“It’s afterhours, you kids should be at home sleeping,” the janitor reminded, adjusting his snapback cap.

Pix pushed herself forward in Ty’s arms, pleading, “We know but I left a USB drive here with a really important project in it that’s due tomorrow and I completely forgot I left it here and need to finish!” Her voice moved so fast, panicking that they were found out so soon. She begged and pleaded, “Please, please, please, just lemme get my drive! I promise we’ll leave right after, just please!”

The maintenance man merely gave a shrug of disinterest; “I don’t really care,” he revealed, “I don’t get paid enough to. As long as you kids don’t make a mess, do what you want.” With that he unplugged his equipment and left the room to clean elsewhere.

Alone and effectively safe, the four took their Inkling forms and wandered the deathly quiet halls of their school with only sparse emergency lights illuminating the corridors and rooms. “This is so bizarre,” Lee whispered.

Ty agreed, “Yeah, I’m not used to this place being so quiet.”

Pix added, “No teachers, no other kids–.”

“—Just us, nobody else,” Saulma finished.

Silence fell between them, not a word was said but they all had the same idea.

“I’M USING THE SCHOOL’S WI-FI TO LOOK UP SQUIDTUBE VIDEOS,” Pix shouted, sitting in a random classroom, searching up a game play video on her phone.

“I’M SLIDING DOWN THE STAIR BANISTER,” Saulma yelled, gliding down the metal handrail of a staircase.

“I’M GOING IN THE GIRL’S BATHROOM,” Ty exclaimed, slipping inside the washroom forbidden to boys.

Meanwhile Lee was strolling up and down the hallway, swinging his arms with a devious grin on his face.

Curious about what he was doing, Saulma approached, asking, “Miho, what are you doing?”

Pix arrived as he answered, “I’m walking down the hall—on the left side instead of the right.” It wasn’t really a rule as much as it was a courtesy to keep good traffic flow by having everyone walk to their right.

Knowing this, Pix and Saulma turned to each other in disbelief. They turned back to him and Pix wondered, “Is there anything else you want to do?”

“Yeah,” Lee gasped in excitement.

“I’m using the computer room—and I didn’t sign the time sheet,” Lee said, typing at a console in a room full of computers.

“I’m getting candy,” Lee said; purchasing a chocolate bar from a vending machine. He opened the wrapper and took a big bite, “And I’m eating it outside of the cafeteria!”

“Koff koff,” he pretended to cough onto his hand, then touched a door handle, “I coughed, and I’m putting my germs on things!” He smiled triumphantly but then seemed to regret what he did. He took a bottle of anti-bacterial spray he kept in his cargo pocket and sprayed the handle.

He had been followed by Pix and Saulma the entire time, both of whom said nothing but still gave him incredulous glares. Pix commented, “Boy Lee, you’re living on the edge.” She shook her head and reminded, “We’ve wasted too much time, where’s Ty; we gotta go get my drive.”

The final member of their squad walked out of the open door of the girl’s bathroom, declaring, “I’m here.” With his hands in his pockets, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “That really wasn’t as big a’ deal as I thought it would be—but I didn’t know you guys could buy cigars in there.”

“What,” the three all said together.

Skeptical, Pix disappeared inside to investigate. Meanwhile, Lee asked, “Are you serious?”

Ty wasn’t so sure but he explained, “Yeah, there’s like, a vending machine in there.”

Immediately after, Pix returned, and she glared at Ty; “Those are tampons,” she explained.

This was a shock to Lee and Ty, who both gulped, “Wait, really?”

“Yeah,” Pix grumbled; not able to believe that both of them were unaware that the girl’s bathrooms had dispensers for sanitary products. They couldn’t believe their own ignorance either; both having lived in female dominated households their whole lives. They looked down at their feet in shame.

In response Saulma mumbled, “Stupid boys.”

“What are you kids doing?”

A voice managed to seemingly sneak up on them again in the dark, vacant corridor.

Everyone was mildly startled but Lee was so jumpy that he jolted into the air, only to land on his backside as nobody thought to catch him. “Aiyee—oww,” he screamed.

They realized it was the same janitor they had met before. Pix sighed, “Ohh, it’s you; well we haven’t gotten anything dirty so you know.”

“That’s great,” the janitor said, “But I don’t care about that now, my shift as janitor as over.” He began to disrobe right before them; unzipping his maintenance worker’s jumpsuit and removing his cap to reveal a uniform underneath marked SECURITY. “Now starts my shift as the late night watchman.”

Ty wondered, “Wha—does our school got budget cuts or somethin’, why d’you gotta take two jobs?”

The janitor and security guard answered, “I wanted both, this watchman job has dental, and you kids are in big trouble for trespassing!” He raised his voice, threateningly pointing at the four teens. He took a step toward them and they all stepped back, “You’re all gonna come quietly,” he imposed.

“Run,” Pix shouted, causing everyone to scatter, except for Lee, who remained on the floor.

Lee asked in confusion, “Where?”

“Anywhere,” his friends all answered as they scattered in different directions.

He was still unsure until the security guard tried to grab him but quickly thinking, Lee shifted into his squid form and wiggled away.

The Jammers ran like their lives depended on it; they ran into different classrooms. They popped in and out of different classrooms, seemingly going out of random doors as they outran the guard.

“I’m gonna get you dang kids,” the guard shouted, shaking his fist as he dashed past an art display encouraging academic study groups. He disappeared down the hallway, leaving to go to another area of the school—leaving the group of friends to descend from their hiding place. They detached from the wall mounted board in their squid forms, and retook their Inkling shapes when they hit the floor.

Pix sighed in relief, “Looks like the coast is clear, come on guys, let’s go.” She patted the board where she saw a purple, lime green, and light green squid stuck to it.

“We’re right next to you, Pix-y,” a voice from behind called to her. It made her flinch in embarrassment at the realization that she had been talking to the wall decorations.

Afterward, they entered into a classroom, finding out from Pix, “This is where I had my last class, the drive has gotta be in here.”

It was the chemistry room; they noticed right away before beginning their search the rows of sinks, cabinets full of lab equipment, and industrial washing stations at the back of the room. They searched all over; in desks, underneath desks, even places it couldn’t possibly be like drawers, in cabinets, and even in the teacher’s desk. As they seemed to search in vain, Lee shivered as his eyes shifted to and fro. “This place sure is different at night, kinda different, kinda creep–.”

KLUNK

He bumped into something due to the deviation in his attention, and the piece of furniture fell on him. It felt so strange, and even stranger was he looked up to see a face of some kind looking directly at him. “AHH, AHHH, AHHHH, AHHHHH,” he repeatedly screamed, squirming about on the ground with the mysterious thing directly on top of him.

Hearing him and partially wanting him to stop screaming, his friends rushed to his aid.

Pix pleaded, “Lee, Lee calm down already you’re fine!”

Ty effortlessly plucked the weightless Lee off the ground while Saulma peeled off the offending inanimate object. “It’s okay, Miho,” she declared, “It’s just a plastic skeleton.”

It was in fact a skeleton, but that was befuddling to Lee who bewailed, “Wha- wha’, but why, none of us have bones like that; some of us don’t even have bones!”

While he was whining with incredulity, Ty noticed something, “Hey Bro, you got something on your nose.”

There was in fact a piece of plastic stuck on the center of his face.

Lee took it and mentioned, “I think it fell out of the mouth, it–.”

Pix quickly snatched it from his grasp and gasped, “There it is! My drive,” she held it up to the light, recognizing it was hers due to a stenciled flower design she drew on it in soda colored ink.

“What was it doing in there, Chica,” Saulma voiced the confusion shared by the rest of the group.

A groan escaped from Pix’s throat as she grumbled, “Mmm—because Mr. Spinel likes to hide things people leave in his room.”

With the memory drive finally in their possession they exited the school, the mission accomplished. Pix held up her prize with a look of relaxed elation, “We did it, I can finally finish my project before school starts!”

Unknown to her though, her friends lagged behind. Lee yawned as he said, “That’s great Pix-y, you have a whole— 4 hours to do it before the first bell.”

“What,” she replied, looking back to see her squad were haggard with tiredness. Lee looked like he was about to topple over as his eyes kept closing, Ty was hunched over, and Saulma had the most exhausted look dulling her face.

Saulma wondered, “Chica, why’d you call us to do this a 3 a.m? And what did you need us for anyway?”

Before Pix could answer, Ty exclaimed, “We get out at 3 and the school doesn’t close until 8; you didn’t notice it was gone all that time?”

Pix stuttered, feebly about to explain herself when Lee added, “Who even uses USB drivers anymore, I mean, the school even gives us all a free Cloud storage, couldn’t you put it there?” She had nothing to say in her defense after that; she just fell backward into her squid form in shame, listening as Lee finished, “This was not a very well thought out plan.”