#a little while ago i was talking to layla about how he taught himself to cook and he could *kind of* read but he'd still be grappling with

[stagehunt]

i'm still kind of figuring out a cohesive timeline for aven in my head and the hardest part is that ??? while i place him somewhere around 26, i really couldn't see him being any younger and this does mean that he either endured what he did before killing his master for a long time, or he became involved with the ipc at a really young age.

leaning more so towards the latter, and i haven't really settled on a specific age for when all of that takes place, but he's been there for many years now either way. and while topaz' character stories mention her being one of the youngest people to be given a title and become one of the stonehearts, i'd say that aven probably has been the youngest so far. i think people tend to overlook that fact that he was thrown straight into the deep end, with jade giving him the aventurine stone more or less straight away. that he ??? actually would have been so clueless about so many things for such a long time without any solid support, coming from a planet where the aeons weren't even recognised, where survival had to take priority over basic education, he encountered so many things that he simply had to piece together and teach himself, things that are kind of assumed common knowledge by everybody around him.

he powered through so much just by winging it and taking the time to look shit up for himself. and aven is so smart. he's a quick learner who catches on to trickier concepts very quickly, he's just been deprived of the opportunities to actually come to terms with some of the necessary basics in the first place and he has to do it by himself. it's just a side of him that nobody ever really got to see.

and while he does sometimes play into the role of the nonsensical dumb blond where it actually serves a purpose (i.e. in portraying himself as someone incompetent who underestimated sunday in 2.1), to make the assumption that he's an idiot? to treat him like one? intentionally undermining his intelligence is the worst way you could insult him.

[dawnwave16]

Not what I expected

9; 10(here); 11

Chapter 10

It was then that his phone rang, apparently, they would be hearing from Mrs Césaire much sooner then they had thought.

Hotch answered his phone and had found out that she was still at work, which happened to be down in the kitchens of the very hotel they were staying in. As she still had an hour on her shift but it was a slow night for her, Hotch offered to come down to the kitchens for them to be able to talk. She accepted so he headed down to join her. He knew he would need to have the team on a conference call, not only so Garcia could look up anything extra at will but so that the team could chip in with anything he forgot to mention. 

This turned out to be such a good idea that Marlena Césaire did the same except her call included her husband, Otis, and her oldest daughter Nora, whom he had met earlier. It turned out that neither of the Césaire's had known what their middle child had been doing and they had been paying Ayla to look after Ella and Etta. Hotch was quiet for a moment at that new before he asked the question that had been playing on his mind.

“Mrs Césaire, when the twins were talking in the bakery earlier they mentioned that sometimes Marinette had to look after all four of them. Now I know two of the four would be Ella and Etta but do you by any chance know who the other two would be?”

Marlena frowned in thought then answered, “The only two I can think of would be Manon Chamack and Chris Lahiffe. Marinette is Manon's go-to babysitter as she has been looking after Manon for years so that one is understandable, Chris, however, is Nino's little brother. I think we need to bring Nino's parents in on this conversation too.”

“Sure.” 

Hotch was quiet as Marlena added Lili Lahiffe to the conversation. Once Lili had answered Hotch and Marlena took turns explaining what they had discovered and eventually asked if she had known that Nino had been pushing his responsibility off onto Marinette for quite some time and more recently onto Lila Rossi.

It turned out while she had known about Marinette looking after Chris now and then, had even sent money to pay for her time, she hadn't known about Lila and was understandably furious. After all, she had never met Lila and Nino knew that Chris was not to be left with anyone she didn't know. Hotch was briefly worried about an Akuma but knew that there would be nothing he could do about it.

They spent the next half an hour trying to make sure they all had the same information until it was decided that Marlena and Lili would join the Bau at the Bakery the next day and see if Marinette had anything to add. The two women would talk to their youngest children before heading over as well.

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

1 PM arrived faster than anyone thought it would. Tom and Sabine's house was packed to bursting with so many people that were there, Marinette had been surprised by the addition of Marlena and Lili but had simply added extra cups to the tray and made sure that there were enough snacks set out for everyone. Sabine was closing the bakery and Tom was just finishing the rest of the cleanup that he needed to do then they would be joining everyone too. Marinette had decided to give Marlena the twins' recital outfits while they waited and had run-up to her room to fetch them. She soon came back down with two thin boxes in her hands, which she promptly handed to Marlena.

“What do you think of these?” She asked after prompting Marlena to open the boxes. “I know that they will be doing different routines this time and I had thought to ask them for their opinions on these the next time I looked after them but I haven't seen them in about two months now. Isn't the recital meant to be in three weeks?”

Marlena was shocked, “Are you sure you want the twin to wear these? They are so pretty! It seems such a waste for children so young.”

“Oh, I made their last ones too. Once they have outgrown them, they get given to the teachers for any kids that can't afford to get their own outfits made. I don't mind making them as the twins are always so happy with them. As I used to look at the twins at least once every two weeks, it was easy to get their measurements.”

Marlena and Lili exchanged a look then Lili decided she needed to speak up, “Marinette how often have you been looking after the kids for us? I know I only gave Nino money for you once a month but if you've been seeing the twins at least once every two weeks...” Lili's voice trailed off at the look of pure confusion on Marinette's face.

“What do you mean you gave Nino money for me? I've never been paid to look after Chris, Ella and Etta, only for Manon. Nadia is always very prompt with that but Ayla always asked me to look after the twins at the last second, occasionally she even just showed up with a 'Hi, something came up, gotta go, bye' sort of attitude. I always thought you knew when I had them though.” Marinette's voice was soft by the time she had finished speaking. She could see both women were breathing deeply trying to keep their tempers in check.

“Tell us everything,” Marlena requested. 

So Marinette did. She told them about the recitals she took the twins to, about all the times she'd looked after them only to have to pull an all-nighter to get all her homework done. She even told them about the number of times she had refused to look after the kids due to an Akuma attack happening, only to see the children after the attacks looking very unhappy.

“Ayla stopped asking me to look after them two months ago when I had to say I couldn't take them the one evening due to being extremely busy with a commission. She yelled at me, saying I was a bad friend for saying no, then left. I haven't looked after them since.” Marinette concluded.

Both women were stunned. Their children had been left in the care of someone else, without their knowledge or consent, they had been dragged into potentially dangerous situations at times and now they were being left with a total stranger. Lili wondered what had happened to the money that she had given Nino to pay Marinette. He didn't have anything new so he hadn't spent it on himself, she'd have to ask him she concluded.

“I thought I taught my children better than this,” Marlena said brokenly.

“If I may?” JJ spoke softly, “Their actions might not truly be their own. We can't say too much but I suspect that they may be being manipulated by someone. We are investigating it so try not to be too hard on yourselves about this. I know how responsible my son is for his age but even I don't know if he would have been able to avoid this person's manipulations.”

JJ's words made both women nod and they smiled thankfully at her. They then took their leave as they wanted to get back to their families. They did, however, agree not to say anything just to Ayla and Nino just yet.

Once they had left and the drinks and eats had been topped up, Hotch spoke.

“Now that we have that out the way I recommend that we make sure everyone in this room is on the same page so that we can plan our next move.”

The look on everyone's faces would have sent shivers down Nekane and Hawkmoth's spins. 

Just a quick note:

I tried looking for Nino's mother's name and couldn't find one, I also couldn't find any mention of his father so just pretend they are divorced for this AU.

If you are curious to know why I chose Nekane Layla Kelly as Lila's real name it's because Nekane means 'suffering', Layla means 'woman of the night' and Kelly means 'Intelligent and bright'. While I dislike Lila (which ironically also means “woman of the night”) I do think she has a brain and that she knows how to use it to get what she wants.

I also named her first target Aisha as it means 'one who is alive.'

I will be writing a marvel/ ladybug oneshot shortly, for those interested. :)

@northernbluetongue; @moonlightstar64; @wargraymon0709; @winter-gardenflower; @bee-wrecker; @starsshineandgivehope; @goggles-mcgee

[skippie89]

Secreting Shadows #2

Music for this chapter is:

Learn Me Right

By Birdy and Mumford & Sons

Raiden was pissed. He had spent the night chasing after that chestnut haired… freak! That was the only word he could think to call her. How she eluded him he had no clue. Every time he thought he was close to catching her, she would dance out of his grasp. She was good. Too good to just be a normal shadow that the guild picked up.

“What’s gotten you into a mood, little snake?”

He didn’t even bother to get annoyed at Layla’s name for him and simply continued to stare at nothing.

“…Alright. What did the new kid do?”

That got his attention and his eyes shot up to meet hers, “What?”

“Aithlyn. What did she do for you to be scowling this much?”

At his explanation at what happened last night, Layla could barely stand she was laughing that much, which caused his scowl to deepen.

“About time someone was able to keep up with you.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Oh, come off it, Rai. The only reason you’re in a huff is because you actually have to put some effort into it. Something you haven’t done in a long time.”

Not wanting to admit it Raiden simply huffed in response.

“If you want to look for her, she’s in the stone quarter right about now.”

“How would you know?”

“Because unlike you, I used what she said yesterday and did my research. No way did she only arrive a few days ago.”

“She didn’t, she arrived a few weeks ago.”

Layla look briefly startled but the grin slowly blossoming on her face showed how delighted she was, “Fuck… She’s good.”

 An hour later Raiden found himself hidden in the shadows of the Stone Quarter watching Aithlyn as she went about her business. He had initially been startled to see the differences from yesterday.

Her curly hair was unbound and settled around her features, she was clothed in a dress, and she was openly smiling at everyone. No wonder they didn’t realise it was her, she was not acting like a typical shadow. Try as he might, he couldn’t stop the smirk from forming on his face.

She was outside playing with the children during her “break”. It seemed like she was acting as an apothecary of sorts. From what he had seen, she had food available freely for the younglings in the area. Memories started appearing from the dark recesses of his mind, but he rapidly shook them away.

Raiden watched as a child slowly approached where he was hiding. The boy was looking around in confusion but was holding a bottle of sorts in his hand. Raiden stepped out to show himself, seeing if he could help the kid and was shocked to see a delighted smile form on the boy’s face once he was noticed.

“There you are!”

Raiden quirked an eyebrow, “You were looking for me…?”

“Yep! Miss Aithlyn said that a man with white hair was standing here and that he’d need this,” indicating to the bottle.

“… And why would I need the bottle?”

“She said that you’d be very tired from playing chase all night and might need a pick me up.”

Raiden laughed and looked in the direction of where he had last seen her. She was tending to an elderly woman but as if she could feel his eyes on her, she looked up at him and gave him a cheeky wink.

Damn… She is good.

 Aithlyn focused on her work for the remainder of the afternoon. She had accidentally visited with Erik that morning when she had wandered into the area that he lived within in the wood. It had been a while since she sat on lush grass and simply talked. She had learned a little more about him and his situation, but once again, knew that now was not the time to pry too deeply. It also helped that Erik was very nice to look at. Shirtless… Sweaty… Shaking her head she pulled herself away from those thoughts.

Wandering out of the woods led her to bump into Roux at the bridge leading back into town. It was hard not to smile around them and now that she knew that they had a weakness for baked goods Aithlyn had a feeling that she’d be putting her alchemy skills to use later in the kitchen.

After Raiden left cackling to himself, Aithlyn was glad she had mixed up an energiser. Poor guy had been chasing after her all night, she was quite impressed by the amount of times he had come close to catching her. It was most likely a shock for him to see her like this, most shadows tended to stay back and observe, thus garnering information that way. Aithlyn however learned very quickly that by involving herself with the city folk that not only did she gain their trust, so if something happened, they’d never believe evil rumours about her, but she was able to gather a lot of information swiftly. And her five weeks here had definitely not been wasted.

The sun was setting so Aithlyn decided that it was time to get ready, after all she did promise Roux that she would look less shadowy for the festival. Pulling out a short green dress, Aithlyn examined it. The skirt stopped mid-thigh and the sleeves flowed loosely to the elbows. Nodding in approval she placed it on the bed before pulling out a brown corset. It was her favourite one as it had secret compartments that held throwing knives. She may have to look less shadowy, but she never promised to be defenceless. Next thing was finding her brown leggings and favourite boots which stopped just short of her knees. Once she bathed, dressed and fixed her hair Aithlyn went looking for her forest green cloak and skipped out the door intending to find Roux.

 Aithlyn was internally seething as she glared at Azaril. The bastard had the nerve to order her to refill his drink. Cedric had stepped in, knowing that if he didn’t Azaril would give away information that should not be made public... Or she’d punch him. Aithlyn loved her cousin, but his immaturity still frustrated her at times, especially now which led her to question for the hundredth time why he had also been sent here.

Azaril was smirking at her from across the food table, and Aithlyn had to fight to stop her lips from twitching. It was Maja’s voice commenting on the baked tarts that turned her attention.

“They’re nice but they just settle in your stomach and I just can’t figure out which ingredients to use to stop that from happening.”

Aithlyn knew she was talking about the lemon pastries and chipped in, “It’s actually not the ingredients, you need to whisk the batter, trying to add as much air as possible. It makes them light and fluffy.”

Maja turned away from the noble she was talking to and quirked an eyebrow at Aithlyn. She had met the woman briefly last night but hadn’t yet formed an opinion about her.

“You seem to know a lot about this.”

Aithlyn shrugged, “my brother has a real sweet tooth and I found baking to be a lot like alchemy, so it just kind of came naturally.”

Maja surged forward and grabbed both of her hands in her own, “Me too!”

Maja’s face was flushed lightly in delight of this discovery but once she realised, she quickly corrected her behaviour and dropped Aithlyn’s hands causing the woman to lightly chuckle.

“It would seem you’re quite skilled in a few things, Aithlyn. Not many would know enough about alchemy to compare it to baking.”

“It was one of the few things my mother taught me.”

Maja narrowed her eyes as she looked at Aithlyn, “You’re very open for a…”

“Apothecary?” Aithlyn suggested with a grin on her lips.

Maja simply nodded. Aithlyn certainly wasn’t like any shadow she had met before. But then again, she had spent more time in Aithlyn’s company than most.

“It’s easier talking openly about most things without revealing information. Makes people a lot less suspicious. You know I bake and know alchemy that I learned from my mother, but then again don’t most daughters learn this from their mothers?”

Maja’s lips twitched, wanting to form a smile. This woman was smart. “Indeed-” she was about to say more but was cut off by another noble.

“Until next time my Lady.” Aithlyn curtsied.

Maja noticed how well she held herself and narrowed her eyes further, “Hmmm.”

Looking around Aithlyn noticed a woman leaning against a wall close by. The look on her face spoke volumes of how much she did not want to be there. Listing back the names and faces in her head Aithlyn realised that this was Livia the Knight Commander. Deciding that she obviously needed a friendly face who wasn’t afraid of her scowling one, Aithlyn plucked a drink from a roaming server and walked over to the woman.

“You look like you need one of these.”

Livia just scowled further at her.

“It’s not poison I swear,” taking a sip of the liquid, “see?” and held it back out to her.

Livia gingerly took the goblet in question and grunted her thanks. Aithlyn decided just to lean back against the wall beside her and watch the woman. Livia was conscious of being watched but decided to take a mouthful of the drink she was given.

“And now we’ve indirectly kissed!”

Livia’s eyes widened in shock as she spat out the liquid and coughed before turning towards the woman giggling beside her. Fixing her with a glare as a blush rose on her cheeks, she fought to decide what to say.

“Oh, come on! It was funny! You looked bored here all by yourself.” Livia’s eye twitched, “you’ve got to admit it has gotten more fun since I handed you that drink.”

“I’ll admit to no such thing.”

“But you’re not denying it either,” Aithlyn smirked.

 “Lucien… Lucien!” Maja didn’t even bother looking at them as she tugged on their clothing.

“Maja, I can hear you and tugging at my clothes will not make a difference.”

“Look!”

Lucien looked over in the direction that Maja was pointing and was genuinely surprised to see the normally stoic Knight Commander smirking at a very familiar shadow.

“It would seem that a little shadow has managed to get more than a glare from a certain someone.”

“Lucien, she’s smiling!” he quirked an eyebrow at her, “ok she’s not smiling, but she’s not glaring and is actually talking!”

“Yes, I can see that my dear.”

“Lucien, you don’t understand. She doesn’t do that!”

Lucien looked over at Maja and merely chuckled at the bewilderment clearly showing on her face.

“It is not surprising that this shadow has a silver tongue. She has easily caught the attention of many people here.”

“But Livia?!”

Deepening their chuckle, “isn’t this what you wanted when you asked her to accompany you? For her to interact with others?”

Maja sighed and looked at the glamoured demon beside her, “yes, but I didn’t actually think it would happen…”

 Aithlyn barely got a chance to speak to Roux before they were distracted by someone behind her. Laughing lightly to herself she turned only for her face to hit against a pretty chiselled chest. Looking up she realised that she had bumped into Lucien.

“Sorry about that.”

“No harm done my dear.”

Maja was also in their company and tipped her drink in her direction, lips upturned in a gentle smile, “I see you got along with Livia.”

“She’s enjoyable company.”

This elicited a chuckle from Lucien, “you’d have to get past the armour first,” and was nudged by Maja with a scowl on her face. She was about to say something but Aithlyn beat her to it.

“I don’t know, I’m pretty sure I got off a gauntlet, or a shoulder pad at least,” she smirked.

This drew a bigger chuckle from the pair in front of her. Lucien was the faster of the two to compose themselves though.

“So, is our mutual friend here? Or did you abandon him again?”

“Raiden? I don’t know, I haven’t seen him since earlier today.”

“From the grin on your face, I’m guessing you won the game?”

Maja turned to look quizzically at them, “game?”

“It would seem that this little shadow wanted to play chase last night and roped a snake into also playing.”

Aithlyn grumbled, “I’m not that little…”

Maja regarded her with astonished eyes, “Did he catch you?”

Aithlyn’s snort as she shook her head was all the answer Maja needed and caused her to laugh heartily, “oh, you’re one to watch out for!”

Grinning and wriggling her eyebrows, Aithlyn responded, “If you can catch me.”

Lucien was about to speak but quirked an eyebrow when they saw a child tugging at Aithlyn’s sleeve.

“Morenth! Is everything ok?”

“Yes, Lady Lyn!” the child smiled up at her, “Papa asked me to find you, he said he needed your help with something.”

Taking the child’s hand in her own as Aithlyn smiled down at her, before turning back to look at Maja and Lucien, “I believe that’s my cue to leave. Enjoy the rest of your evening!” waving slightly before walking off with the child.

“You know Lucien, I think I might like her.”

The demon chuckled, “indeed, she does seem to elicit those kinds of feelings from people.”

“What kinds of feelings?”

Maja and Lucien turned in the direction of the new voice. Raiden was standing there in casual clothing. Lucien had to admit that the deep red open shirt looked good on him. It was rare to see him in public without his usual leather armour on.

“We were just speaking about how a new shadow is able to easily cause those around her to like them.”

“Yea, she seems to be a bit of a people person. Strange that.”

“Says the man who is rarely quiet,” Maja chuckled.

“I don’t know… I suppose I could be quiet… if gagged…” Raiden winked at her.

Maja rolled her eyes. Even in the short time she had spent in his company because of Lucien, she was used to his antics by now.

“Why are you here little snake?”

Maja couldn’t help the evil smirk that spread across her lips as she watched the assassin blush at Lucien’s question.

Coughing behind his hand to hide the blush, “Roux said Aithlyn was here.”

“You just missed her. It seems to be a new habit of yours.”

Raiden glared at Lucien, which only caused their smirk to grow.

Maja watched the staring match between the two from over the edge of her wine goblet before deciding to break the tension, “a child came and led her off towards where the townsfolk are playing music, saying something about needing her help.”

Raiden tilted his head at her to wink, a grin in place. “Thanks! Better go find her before she disappears again.”

Turning Raiden waded through the crowd to the area that music was being played at. It was in one of the open areas of the town as it allowed for people to dance if they wanted. He could hear the music before he saw the band playing, it wasn’t a song he had heard before, but the singer sounded great.

Imagine his surprise when he saw that it was Aithlyn singing. She stood on the makeshift stage next to those playing instruments with a look of delight on her face. Townsfolk were either clapping in time with the music or dancing in large circles. He felt as if he had walked into another town, the atmosphere was so different. He watched as people laughed and smiled, not to say that they didn’t do this on other days, but they seemed much more relaxed.

It was at that moment that Raiden looked back up at the stage and realised that Aithlyn was looking at him as she sang. She had a mischievous smile on her face as she winked at him, causing him to laugh and shake his head.

“We will be who we are, and they’ll heal our scars.”

His breath caught in his throat and his eyes snapped back to her. Aithlyn’s gaze still lingered on him before she slowly moved it back to the crowd. Raiden didn’t even realise he was blushing until he heard the man beside him chuckle giving him a knowing look.

At the end of the song the crown cheered as Aithlyn hopped down from the stage and sauntered over to where Raiden was waiting. His eyes appreciatively ran over the curves of her body and he smirked as he looked down at her cleavage. Her being much shorter than him made it easier to get glimpses.

“You’re rather subtle at blending in it seems.”

Aithlyn grinned up at him, “they’ll never see it coming.”

This elicited a chuckle, “Come on, Layla’s waiting.”

Aithlyn practically skipped over to the other woman hidden away in one of the side streets nearby. Raiden wasn’t surprised to see her stance relax as she spoke to the smaller woman, “you seem cheerful.”

Aithlyn’s features suddenly turned sombre and the quick switch startled Layla slightly, “sorry, I forgot you had to be completely serious… All the time… Like Raiden…”

“Hey!”

Layla sniggered at the exchange between the two of them.

“Anyway! We have to head to headquarters. Boss wants to meet our new recruit, here.”

Giving Raiden a quick once over, “You gonna change or what? Looking awfully casual there, Rai.”

Raiden presses his hands against the clothing covering his chest, “I don’t need armour, and I’m sure Aithlyn doesn’t either. Right?” He looks over and winks.

“Right… But I’m not the one with bounties on my head…”

Layla nods her head in agreement before stopping as if she remembered something, “Speaking of bounties, I’m taking the forest path. I’ve got a bounty to pick up along the way.”

Raiden sidles up against Aithlyn, “We’ll take the underground. It’s quicker.”

Aithlyn quirks an eyebrow as he makes the decision for her, “…I guess we’ll see you there…?”

 “Underground kingdom my ass…” Aithlyn thought to herself.

The smell of the sewer was causing Aithlyn’s nose to twitch. There were downsides to her heightened half elf senses, and this was definitely one of them. Raiden was walking ahead of her. He was still sulking from when she had teased him about not being able to catch her last night. Teasing him was fun and seeing his back in front of her gave her a great idea.

Raiden hadn’t even heard her run up behind him, so he startled when Aithlyn jumped on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. Unconsciously he hooked his hands under her knees and kept her tight to his body, while shooting a quizzical look at her over his shoulder. He could just make out the delight on her face.

“Don’t sulk-”

“Not sulking.”

Squeezing his waist with her thighs she continued as if he hadn’t interrupted her, “since I’m in such a generous mood today that even though you couldn’t catch me-” Raiden scoffed at her, “I’ll let you ask me one question.”

“One question?”

“Yes, and I’ll answer it honestly-”

Aithlyn didn’t even get to finish her sentence before Raiden had slipped his left hand across to grab her right leg and spin her so that her back was pressed against the wall as Raiden used his hips and eyes to pin her.

Gone was the man who enjoyed teasing and tormenting her. There was a seriousness on his face and a glint in his eye that made him look like the assassin he claimed to be. A shiver ran up her spine as he stared into her eyes, but not of fear, of anticipation.

“It can’t be a coincidence that at the same time there’s an assassination attempt on the royals, that three of your countrymen arrived in Novus. A knight, an ambassador and you.”

Raiden’s hands were still on her legs, holding her in place. Her hands were placed on his biceps to keep her steady. As he leaned closer, she could feel all his muscles coil and she sucked in her breath before biting her lip. His eyes briefly took in the movement and when he looked back up, his eyes were darker. Dangerous.

“Why are you here?”

“Well because you brought me this route and decided to pin me against a wall…”

The growl he gave in response caused her pulse to quicken. What on earth was wrong with her? She normally had a lot more control over herself, but her body was betraying her by responding so deliciously to him.

“I was asked to come here. A request was made and the one person I trust more than anything wanted me to be the one to answer it.”

Time went by, it could have been seconds, minutes, hours, with Raiden staring into her eyes. She could almost make out the cogs working in his brain, but his features gave away nothing.

“Alright, you pass.”

Aithlyn chuckled, “I pass?”

“Yes.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

Raiden smirked, “you’re very welcome.”

Although his normal grin was back in place, he didn’t move. If anything, Aithlyn had to try not to gasp as his thumbs subconsciously started tracing designs on her thighs. Seconds ticked by and Aithlyn watched as his eyes darkened further as he looked at her.

Aithlyn decided to break the silence, “So… is this your idea of a date then?” She really hoped that she didn’t sound as breathless as she felt.

Brightness came back into his eyes as he registered what she just said, laughing he smirked, “Believe me, if we were on a date you’d know.”

“True, you are far from subtle,” her lips grew into a mischievous grin, “but then again you still have me pinned against the wall,” and as if to emphasise her point she deviously rolled her hips.

She’d never admit it, but she enjoyed hearing his gasp and watching his cheeks darken. He loosened his grip slightly and slowly slid her down so she could place her feet on the floor but didn’t back away.

“Maybe if you ask nicely.”

“Raiden…” she slid her hand up and across the available skin of his chest before gripping his chin and tilting his face down a little, “I never ask.”

The spark in her eyes caused another growl to want to erupt from his throat. Instead he took a step back and held out his hand for her to take it with a smirk growing larger on his face, “Good to know.”

Aithlyn placed her hand in his and let him pull her along in the darkness. He held her tight and close enough that it seemed like he was worried that she’d disappear into the darkness. She actually felt flattered and was glad of the shadows as it hid the blush on her face. Not wanting him to know that he got to her, she decided to joke with him.

“So, on our date you won’t try to woo me with smelling or sidestepping shit?”

Looking back at her with a grin, “for you? Anything.” He couldn’t hold back the laugh as he watched her eyes widen and caught a brief glimpse of her mouth parting in a simple “Oh”.

They continued on the path for a few minutes more. Raiden suddenly stopped when he noticed shadows moving ahead and the slight sound only confirmed his thoughts. There was someone hiding up ahead. He didn’t even respond when Aithlyn bumped into his back.

“Raiden…?”

Turning, he backed her into the wall of a small tunnel opening nearby. He felt her body tense and looking down he could see she was looking in the direction of where he had previously noticed the assailant. Raiden couldn’t keep the smirk from his face.

“Stay here. Stay hidden and stay safe.”

Aithlyn frowned up at him, frustration clear and opened her mouth to speak but Raiden simply placed a finger on her lips.

“How else am I to show off on our non-date?”

Aithlyn simply rolled her eyes at him, but her features softened, “be careful.”

Raiden nodded as he stepped back and removed the daggers from where he had them hidden in his tunic before stealthily moving. In startling quick movements, he had the man pinned against the wall by his throat and had twisted his arm to cause enough pain that the man dropped his weapon and it landed in the running sewage water with a plop.

“Don’t you know assassins are meant to be silent…”

“Snake…”

Raiden barely had time to register a second assailant as he moved away from the attack. Not fast enough though as the blade sliced into his side causing him to grunt in pain. Punching the first man in the ribs he turned to the second, just in time to duck a weak attempt at slicing his throat. Springing up he sunk his own weapon in an upward swing through the man’s ribs. Removing it just as quick he felt the spray of blood as it hit his face and hair. Raiden couldn’t stop the grin appearing on his face as he heard the man’s lungs bubble and drown in his own blood.

Movement to his right caught his attention and he turned to see Aithlyn approach, dagger in hand. He knew she was going to attack the other man who was slowly dragging himself away, but he still wanted to show off. Shaking his head, he grinned at her and while maintaining eye contact, he removed a blade from his boot and threw it behind him. The thud and gurgle were all the indications he needed to know that the blade had hit his mark. Standing, he wiped off some of the blood from his face with the back of his hand.

“Are you alright?”

Aithlyn quirked her eyebrow, “Am I alright? Raiden, you’re bleeding to death!”

Raiden scoffed, but he couldn’t hide the wince as he walked over to her. Aithlyn caught him when he stumbled, and he wanted nothing more than to cling on to her.

“Come on, let me have a look at you.”

“We haven’t even gone on a date and already you want to get my shirt off!”

Raiden enjoyed watching her lips twitch as she tried to contain her smile.

“Well I have to compare you to Eric. He was very nice to look at this morning after all.”

“Hey!”

Using the distraction Aithlyn lifted his tunic and gently prodded at the wound eliciting a hiss. Raiden roughly pulled it back down when he noticed her eyes tracing over the other scars that littered his body.

“I’ve got it.”

“Raiden I’ve seen your scars, you most certainly don’t “got it,” if anything you look like a pin cushion.”

He laughed but the movement provoked his wound, “Ow.”

“You know, for someone who looks like a pin cushion, you should learn how to sew.”

Raiden laughed before lifting his hand and tracing the scar that ran across his cheek to his jaw, “I can sew just fine thanks.”

“I’d agree with you if I believed you were the one to sew that up.”

“You’re right, I’d never let anyone mess up this handsome mug,” and he felt pretty smug that he elicited a laugh from her.

Aithlyn ripped a sleeve from her dress and opened the pouch that she had tied to her hip. Opening a small vial, she poured the liquid on to the material and looked up into his face as her hand went to the bottom of his tunic. His eyes held a bit of suspicion as she lifted his tunic again.

“This is going to sting.”

Raiden opened his mouth to retort but all that came out was an angry hiss. His blood quickly turned the material dark. She pressed harder to stem the blood flow but for Raiden the pain turned into pleasure and he couldn’t stifle the groan that came from his mouth.

Aithlyn took a quick intake of breath as she looked at him. He knew his cheeks were flushed, and he had to bite his lip as Aithlyn gave an experimental little push.

“I’m sorry… Did that… hurt…?”

The next push was a little harder and he couldn’t contain the groan. He watched as her eyes darkened and she bit her bottom lip. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to tug it free with his own teeth. Placing his hand over hers he pushed a little harder and lifted his eyes from her lips to a darkening green pair of irises.

“That’s good.”

His thumb was on her wrist and he could feel her pulse quicken. If felt good to be able to elicit this type of response from her. Her eyes lowered once again to his lips and he couldn’t stop the snort of delight.

Startled eyes moved back up to his, “what?”

“You’re cute. If I haven’t said it before… You’re cute.”

Aithlyn smirked playfully, “That’s the blood loss talking.”

Shaking his head furiously, he started to respond “N-”

“What on Novus asshole happened?” Layla stormed angrily.

And just like that the bubble Aithlyn and Raiden had created was popped.

[90simaginesandfanfics]

Cradle Broken Glass - Chapter Fifty Seven

Eddie’s POV

Eddie trudged down the hallway after he got off the lift, bracing himself for the conversation he was about to have. He knew she was pissed. He knew she was hurt. And he knew that he had caused that. He couldn’t think of why he had revealed to her that he was the only reason she had gotten the job. He knew it would come back to bite him in the ass at some point but he didn’t think he would ever tell her, much less use it to spite her. The look on her face when he had said it made him feel unworthy of living, but it didn’t stop him, much like he couldn’t control himself when he made the comment about Phil the night before. He knew he was unbearable to be around, but he couldn’t stop himself from antagonising her. 

He knew it was all his fault. Layla was perfect, always had been from the minute he met her, but he knew this would happen. He was never going to be good enough for her, and he hated himself for proving why.

The only thing he could do now was to prove to her that this wasn’t who he was. He knew it would take some convincing, but he had to. He had to stop drinking. He knew it was too much since his face was constantly puffy and he knew he was putting on some weight. He couldn’t help but get defensive though whenever she mentioned it, because he didn’t want to admit that he had a problem. He just wanted to continue making music and being with Layla but he had proved that drinking and being productive didn’t coincide.

Eddie went to open the door to the room, only to find it locked. He frowned, not understanding why he couldn’t get in. He sighed when he realised she had probably locked him out. He knocked on the door, calling out her name. No response. He continued to do so, but no one opened the door, and he didn’t hear any movement either. He decided she must have left and gone somewhere, although he had no idea where or why, and then began the trip back to the lobby.

Eddie walked up the reception where an older woman sat, checking a young couple in. He was staring into space when he heard her call for the next person in line, and made his way to the desk.

“I’m in room 507 and I was wondering if there’s anyway to get another key? My girlfriend has the one we were given and I can’t get into the room.” He explained and then mentally sighed when the woman looked at him in confusion.

“I’m sorry sir, but I’m not permitted to hand out any keys unless you have any ID on you so I can check the room booking.” She clarified, and he groaned in frustration. His wallet with his ID was in the room. He was thinking about what to do when he was interrupted.

“Did you say room 507?” A voice asked and he turned to find another woman behind the reception desk looking at him.

“Yeah?” He replied and she waved him to walk over to her. He gave the woman he was talking to a small smile and made his way over.

“I’m assuming you can help me then.” He said and the woman gave him a soft smile, before reaching behind her and grabbing something off of a desk. She extended her hand and placed a key on the counter in front of him.

“Is this a spare?” He asked and she shook her head.

“No. The woman who’s sharing the room with you checked out about an hour ago and let me know to give the key to you when you needed to get in the room. She also asked me to give you this.” She said and then placed a folded up piece of paper next to the keys on the counter. He stared at both in confusion, before muttering a quick thank you and grabbing them, making his way back to the room.

He didn’t understand what was going on. She had checked out? He assumed she had gone somewhere to calm down after their altercation but he didn’t see the need for her to check out. He walked to their room in puzzlement, even though the punching feeling in his gut was telling him exactly what was going on. He opened the door to their room, not bothering to lock it behind him as he made his way and sat on the bed. Only then did he notice that her bags which had been on the floor when he had left were now gone. A bitter taste burned in his throat as he frantically ripped open the piece of paper he was holding and read its contents, his eyes stinging as he did.

Eddie,

I’ve decided that this is done, whatever it is that we have. I’m so grateful for you for what you have done for me. Being with you has given me the confidence I never had, and I am a completely different person to the scared little girl I was when we first met. But I’m not the only one that’s changed, and I can’t be with someone who makes me feel like I’m unimportant. I can’t be with someone who doesn’t make me feel happy, but unwanted instead. You will always be the man that taught me how to love, but this isn’t healthy and you know it. I hope you sort yourself out and find someone who makes you as happy as you made me, she’s a lucky girl whoever she is. Tell Kelly I quit, and tell the boys I’m sorry. It’s over.

Layla

Eddie could barely even feel the tears that rolled heavily down his cheeks as he threw the piece of paper on the ground. It was like he was watching himself, outside of his body. None of this felt real. He struggled to breathe as he grabbed the chair next to him and flung it at the wall, denting the plaster. He felt as if he had no control over his body as he smashed every ornament in the tacky hotel room to pieces, kicking the furniture and punching the walls.

The pain in his hands and legs drove him on, making him lash out harder. He wanted the pain, he deserved every bit of it. This was all his fault. What had he done? 

He continued to trash the room as he felt two sets of arms wrap around his body and try to settle him. He thrashed his body around, feeling constricted and wanting to be let loose from what was trapping him. The arms didn’t let up and held him against a wall as he finally broke down. Eddie’s body went limp while Jeff and Stone tried to hold him up and stop him from harming himself even more, concerned as they watched him cry and hold his head in his hands. They let go of him and Eddie sunk to the floor.

“What the fuck is wrong with you!? You’ve completely fucking torn the room apart, do you know how much this is going to fucking cost you piece of shit!!?” Stone yelled and Eddie cringed at his volume, just wanting to sink into a black hole and disappear. He heard Jeff sigh. The pair stood over him for a while, waiting for some sort of response or explanation from him. He swallowed the pit of despair in his throat down.

“She’s gone.” He squeaked out, even saying it out loud making him want to jump out of the window next to him. 

“What?” Stone said in confusion and Eddie moved his hands away from his head briefly to gesture to the piece of paper near Stone’s feet. 

“Layla’s left. She’s left me.” He repeated. He could hear Stone pick up the piece of paper and waited while he and Jeff slowly read the letter, the only thing running through his mind was what he had done? Because this was his fault. She was the only thing that seemed to hold him together and he had even messed that up. 

And now she was gone.

*****

Aww my poor bb Eddie. I mean he kind of deserved it, but writing his POV makes me sad cause we all love him and know that his love for Layla is monumental. What do you think about what happened? As always, love you all xxx

[spockuhurashipper]

“A Risk Worth Taking” - Chapter 9 - Voight/OC

Sorry it has taken so long for this chapter. Got stuck on it. Please let me know if you enjoy.

Also, here is the dress I imagined Layla wearing in this chapter. https://www.memorandum.com/30-dresses-in-30-days/wedding-guest-black-tie/

Previous chapters are on my tumblr page and the whole story is at FF.Net (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13185182/1/A-Risk-Worth-Taking-Voight-OC)

Chapter 9

Layla was putting the finishing touches on her makeup when she heard a knock at her door the following Saturday night. Hank was right on time to pick her up for the mayor’s party.

“Just a second!” Layla called out, checking her lipstick in the mirror one more time while putting on her earrings and hurrying to get the door.

Hank stood on the other side, looking more handsome than ever. He was wearing a classic black suit, white shirt and black tie. The suit was tailored to perfection.

Before Layla could speak, Hank took a step inside and gestured to her dress.

“You look…”

Hank’s eyes took in the floor-length emerald green dress she was wearing. It complimented her auburn hair perfectly and the thin satin fell gracefully over her curves.

“...absolutely incredible.” He finished, lifting his eyes to meet hers.

Layla, feeling self-conscience, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“You think so? I feel a little out of my comfort zone.”

Hank stepped forward and kissed her softly. “Trust me, I’ll be the luckiest guy there tonight.”

Layla smiled up at him and then laughed.

“What?” Hank asked, confused by her expression.

Layla reached up and wiped her thumb across his lips. “You’ve got some lipstick...”

Hank nodded and watched her as she wiped it away for him. He couldn’t get over how beautiful she was.

“Okay, let me just grab my purse and we can go.” Layla told him.

As Hank watched her cut off the lights and grab her keys, he found himself wondering how he’d been lucky enough to meet this woman. She made him feel things he hadn’t felt in years. But most importantly, now that she was in his life, he felt a hope - a hope that helped him get out of bed every morning - something that had been becoming more and more difficult since Al’s death.

“Ready,” Layla told Hank and locked up her apartment before they headed downstairs to his SUV.

-----

When they pulled up to the event, Layla was surprised at the scale of the party. Men and women were pouring into the building in their finest clothes and jewelry. You could already hear jazz standards being played loudly inside.

Layla felt a little nervous about the night. Officially being Hank Voight’s date, she assumed there were probably a lot of people with opinions about that. Plus, she didn’t exactly fit in with the rich and influential crowd.

Hank came to stand beside her in front of the building after getting the valet ticket, and extended his arm to her.

“Ready?” He asked.

Hank smiled at her and just like that, all her nerves vanished. Wrapping her hands around his arm, she nodded and they went inside.

They immediately spotted the rest of the team at a large banquet table and went to join them.

As they approached the table, Antonio let out a whistle. “Wow. Layla, you look great.”

Hank pulled out her chair and Layla sat down.

“Yeah, you sure you’re here with the right guy?” Jay asked, sitting up and straightening his tie, as if he was volunteering for the job, a smirk on his lips.

Layla glanced over at Hank, who was busy grabbing them two glasses of champagne from the tray of a waiter walking past, and smiled.

“Absolutely.”

Jay nodded in defeat as Hank handed her a glass and sat down beside her.

“Okay,” Kevin said, leaning in towards the center of the table like he had a secret.

“Let me tell y'all what this fool did when we went to question Latoya the other day.” He nodded towards Adam.

“Kev, no. Come on, man.” Adam complained. Kevin was struggling to hold back his laughter.

Layla turned to Hank and asked, “Who’s Latoya?”

“She’s a hooker that Adam’s trying to turn into a C.I.” Hank told her, an amused expression on his face.

Layla raised an eyebrow and turned back to the story, interested to see where this was going.

As Kevin continued the story, Layla sat back in her chair and crossed her legs, taking a sip of champagne. When she did, the split in her dress fell to the side, exposing her well-toned upper thigh. Though the dress appeared to be conservative, this was the part that made it sexy. Or that’s what the boutique owner had told Layla, at least.

Layla felt a thrill of excitement when Hank leaned in, his lips almost touching her ear, and whispered, huskily, “Honey, you’re killing me.”

Layla watched as Hank lifted his gaze from her leg to her eyes. For a moment, it felt like they were the only two in the room. For a moment, Layla imagined his hand running up her thigh. Hank imagined more than that.

They were pulled back to the present when the table erupted into laughter, Adam’s face red as a beat.

“Look man, I didn’t know she had so many places she could hide the cash!” Adam said, putting his hands up in surrender.

The group enjoyed each other’s company for about half an hour before the mayor got on stage to officially welcome everyone and give a speech about his new gun control initiative.

After that, the party was in full swing. Hank, along with the rest of Intelligence, had been instructed to work the room by their deputy commissioner. The mayor wanted his campaign contributors to see how involved the Chicago PD was with his cause.

Over the next hour, Layla was introduced to so many people that they became a blur. A few seemed to genuinely be Hank’s friends, but the rest he simply talked to out of obligation.

Many couples who approached them to talk were Hank’s age. While the men talked, some of the wives would cast Layla judging looks. Hank, of course, noticed this early on and whispered in her ear, “Don’t worry about them.”

Layla smiled at him. “It doesn’t bother me,” she assured him, pressing herself closer to his side and rubbing her hand across his back.

As they continued their rounds, Layla spotted Kim across the room and they smiled at each other. The two women hadn’t had a chance lately to catch up so they had plans for brunch and pedicures the following day. Layla had also invited Trudy but she wasn’t sure yet if she was going to come.

When a man approached them and Hank hugged him fondly, Layla turned her attention back to him.

“Layla, this is Jamal Tyson.”

“Nice to meet you.” Layla smiled, shaking his hand.

“Jamal and I worked together when he was a rookie on the

cyber crimes unit,” Hank told Layla, smiling when her expression changed from bored to interested. “Now he’s running a Fortune 500 IT company.”

Jamal looked embarrassed. “Yeah, that seems like a lifetime ago doesn’t it?” Jamal asked Hank, who laughed and said, “You’re telling me.”

“Hank taught me a lot,” Jamal told Layla. “Helped me out of jam or two, if I recall.” The two men nodded at each other in recollection.

“So what do you do, Layla?” Jamal asked.

When Layla explained her role at the department, Jamal started asking her a million questions. Hank couldn’t follow most of it but he did enjoy the way Layla’s face lit up as they talked. He regretted that he hadn’t asked her more about her job earlier, and vowed to do so in the future.

“That’s amazing.” Jamal said. “Things sure have changed from when I was with the department.”

“Well look,” Jamal slipped his hand into his jacket pocket and handed Layla a business card, “if you ever want to see what’s available outside the department, please call me. I’m always looking for new talent.”

Then turning to Hank, Jamal said, “I never pictured you with a computer geek, Hank.”

Hank smiled and looked at Layla affectionately, “Things change, Jamal.”

Jamal smiled. “That they do. Listen, it was great to see you. Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

Hank agreed and the two men hugged.

“It was nice to meet you, Layla.” Jamal said, shaking her hand before he made his way across the room.

“I like him.” Layla said, turning to Hank now that they were alone.

Hank turned to her and smiled, an expression of contentment on his face.

“You’ve been incredible tonight.” He told her.

“Just don’t quiz me on anyone’s names cause I got nothing. Except Jamal.”

Hank nodded, amused.

Almost everyone was on the dance floor at this point, the night becoming more relaxed.

Layla thought it was strange when Hank checked his watch before asking, “Would you like to dance?”

She smiled at him suspiciously but took his hand, allowing him to lead her out onto the dancefloor. They ended up next to Antonio and Kim, who were laughing more than they were dancing.

Shortly after they stepped onto the dance floor, the recognizable opening rift of “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton poured out over the speaker system. The song was very different from what the DJ had been playing all night and many guests picked their heads up to look around.

Layla did too, confused, before her gaze landed on Hank’s face. He was smiling.

“Did you do this?” She asked, impressed.

Hank just shrugged and Layla felt her chest tighten with happiness. She couldn’t help the huge smile that spread across her face.

As they danced, Layla leaned in and whispered, “If you’re trying to get lucky tonight, Sergeant, your odds are looking really good.”

Hank raised his eyebrows in surprise and cleared his throat.

“What are you to whispering about?” Antonio asked, where he and Kim were still dancing a few feet away.

“Mind your own business, Dawson.” Hank told him.

When the song ended, Hank said, “I’m going to go to the bar and get us some real drinks. I’ll meet you back at the table in five.”

Before Hank could leave, Layla snaked her hand up his chest and pulled on his tie, bringing his face closer to hers. She kissed him once, smiled devilishly, then let him go.

Back at the table, Layla found herself alone. The rest of the team was still either on the dance floor or socializing.

Taking a moment to check her phone, Layla smiled when she saw a text from Cindy. It included a picture of a drawing from her niece, Annabelle. Cindy captioned it “A Portrait of Aunt Layla.”  It was just a bunch of squiggly crayon lines but it made Layla’s heart full.

Sensing someone approaching and, figuring it was Hank, Layla started talking before she looked up. “You have got to see this picture Annabelle drew, it is…”

Layla stopped once she looked up and realized it wasn’t Hank, but her boss, Jerry, who’d approached her.

“Oh. Jerry. Hi. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Hi Layla. Yeah, my cousin is an alderman who is pretty close with the mayor so…”

He said it with such ego that it made Layla want to roll her eyes. She resisted.

“So I see you’re here with Hank Voight.” Jerry stated. It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.” Layla said, wondering why it was any of his business.

“Hmm.” Jerry nodded, processing that. “So what is it you hope to gain by sleeping with the head of the Intelligence Unit? You want their ever-vacant IT spot? I think you have to be a cop for that but you never know… maybe you’re more talented than I imagine.” Jerry raised his eyebrows suggestively and looked her up and down, slowly.

Layla’s mouth fell open. For a moment, she couldn’t form words.

“Excuse me?” She asked.

“Well, I mean, I’ve asked you out a dozen times and you don’t want anything to do with me. I’m the one with connections.” Jerry gestured towards the mayor. “Voight is a dinosaur. So you must be after something.”

Layla stood up, getting angrier by the second and stepped closer to Jerry.

“I am not trying to sleep my way into anything. I like Hank.”

“Besides,” Layla said, looking Jerry up and down, “you never had a chance.”

At her words, Jerry looked like he’d been slapped and didn’t say anything for a moment. Layla’s heart was racing and she tried to still her shaking hands.

“Everything okay here?” Hank’s voice said as he approached them, coming to stand beside Layla. He had seen them from across the room and could tell something wasn’t right.

“Ah, here he is now. Hank Voight.” Jerry tried to regain his composure. “The man who got me kicked out of cyber crimes.”

Voight rolled his tongue and turned his head to one side. “Jerry. You not being able to keep it in your pants got you kicked off cyber crimes. I was just solving my case.”

Jerry nodded, clearly not agreeing with Hank’s version of the story.

Hank, tired of this prick, took a step forward, angling himself between Jerry and Layla.

“Jerry. Why don’t you walk away before this goes in a direction you’re not going to like.”

Jerry smirked, satisfied that he’d gotten a rise out of them both.

“Some things never change, Voight.” Then turning to Layla, he said, “See you Monday.”

As Jerry walked away, Layla let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

“What happened?” Hank asked her, concern clouding his expression. Layla put her hands on his arms and he could feel them shaking.

“He said I was trying to sleep my way into Intelligence’s IT spot or something like that. Then he…”

Hank started to turn and go after Jerry, her words starting a fire of rage in his chest. But before he could follow him, Layla grabbed his arm.

“Hank, please… Don’t.”

Hank hesitated, but when he looked back and saw the apprehension in Layla’s eyes, his anger deflated.

“He said if I wanted to get ahead I shouldn’t have turned him down because he’s the one with connections.”

Hank scoffed.

“Should I be worried?” Layla asked him, feeling very unsettled.

Hank’s face hardened, pissed that Jerry had her feeling this way.

“Look, I’ll take care of it…”

“No. Hank, I’ve only been at this job for two months. I really like it. Maybe I can just file a complaint with HR and he’ll step back.”

Hank didn’t think so but he could see she didn’t want his help.

“Okay. Maybe. But if he does anything,” Hank put his hands on her shoulders and tilted his head down to make direct eye contact with Layla, “and I mean anything out of the way, you call me ASAP, you understand?”

Layla bit her lip and nodded, hoping that never happened.

“You want to get out of here?” Hank asked, sensing that Layla was done with the whole party scene.

“Yes, please.”

-------

Hank drove back to Layla’s apartment. Like the first night they’d kissed, the ride was mostly silent, but this time there was a peaceful feeling between them. Hank held her hand on the console between them as he drove.

When they got there, Hank walked her to the door. He’d ditched his jacket and tie as soon as they’d left the party, unbuttoning the top few buttons of his dress shirt and partly rolling up his sleeves.

He hesitated when she unlocked the door and started to go in. It was after midnight and he figured she’d want to call it a night, especially after what happened with Jerry.

Layla turned back when she realized he didn’t follow her in and walked over to where he stood in the doorway.

She stood close to him for a second, just looking into his eyes before her hands made their way to his chest. “Aren’t you coming inside, Sargeant?”

The playfulness he loved about her was back.

Deciding to play into the role, since she seemed to like calling him Sargeant when she was feeling flirty, Hank said, “Is there a crime you need to report, m’am?”

Layla threw her head back and laughed as they made their way further into the living room, delighted that he was playing along.

“Yes.” She said, walking towards another room and looking back at him over her shoulder.

“It’s a crime that I’m still wearing this dress, don’t you think?”

She winked at him before entering the bedroom and leaving his sight.

Hank stood there for a minute, an impressed grin on his face, before following her into the bedroom.

That night, Hank and Layla made love for the first time.

What started out as playful seduction turned into something tender and beautiful. They both felt a piece of themselves return that had been missing for a long time.

For the first time since Jake’s death, Layla felt whole. She felt comforted. She felt loved.

Hank kissed her tenderly as she climaxed, muffling her cries with his lips as she rode the wave of pleasure. Her urgent cries turned into satisfied whispers as she said his name over and over, her hands roaming his back and his sides. Hank came soon after.

As he laid beside her catching his breath, Layla rolled onto her side and trailed her fingers across his chest. They laid in bed like that, trading gentle kisses and whispers, until Layla fell asleep in Hank’s arms.

---

to be continued

[empressofmankind]

Father - part 1/3: ‘Birder’

“My heart is happy, my mind is free. I had a father who talked to me.” - Schola Magister Hilda ca. M2

Fandom: Warhammer 40.000

Character/s: Magos Drusher, Interrogator Brooks, Inquisitor Genevieve Helve Allenbrisk, Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn, Lord-Inquisitor Tomàs de Torquemada-Coteaz (mentioned)

Location/s: Helter Fortress

Premises: An in-between chapter for the book ‘Magos’ which can be read between chapter 6 and 7. It functions as an introduction of the primary OCs Genevieve Allenbrisk and Cristine Brooks into the book setting. Third person but narrated from Drusher’s point of view.

Mood: Odd but not too odd, like the chapters around it. Drusher is still trying to find his footing amid this new crowd.

Warnings: N/A

How could Eisenhorn have known? The thought wouldn’t leave Drusher alone. Garofar and he had spoken but not that loud. Drusher certainly hadn’t mentioned his retirement. He wandered along the battlements of Helter fortress, towards the crumbling eastern watchtower. It was sunny but the wind came down the Karanines carrying the chill of winter. It had stopped raining, for the time being. He was glad for that, perhaps he would go out beyond the decrepit castle. He halted to look out across the forest sprawling below. From somewhere nearby sounded the chac-chac of Pica gershomi between the trees. Drusher smiled. Foul weather indeed. He squinted among the nearby foliage but could not spot the little fellow.

Drusher continued along the battlements and climbed the winding stone stairs of the watchtower. What else did they want from him? The Inquisitor had sent them all from the cold room after Drusher had shared his expertise. No one had bothered to give him any further instructions. He wondered what Eisenhorn was up to. Plotting his next move, no doubt. Drusher was all but certain that he’d been right in his guess: they had already identified one of the bodies. Someone important? One of their own? He suppressed a shudder at the thought of another Inquisitor present, dead or not. Unbidden, it brought an old Guard rhyme to mind:

‘One for trouble, Two for a plot. Three for an execution; Yours, more likely than not.’

Macks had taught it to him, years ago. They had been drinking and it had seemed funny then. Eisenhorn clearly knew more than he let on but how much more? And how much did he know about Drusher? More than Drusher liked. How had he known about his thoughts on retirement? Drusher tried to shake the intrusive thought as he reached the top of the watchtower. Its roof was gone and so was most of the wall facing Helter keep. He heaved himself up on the crumbled wall and leaned his back against its sloping, stony embrace. He could see across the neglected rear courtyard and onward towards the distant Karanines. It was an excellent spot to watch the seasonal birds. He was settling in and had taken out his notebook to remark upon the forest magpie he had heard when voices drifted up from below.

He couldn’t quite hear what they said but he recognised one of them: Eisenhorn’s flat baritone. The other belonged to a woman. She spoke with an accent he couldn’t place. Her vowels went unaspirated, her speech clear and fast. She strung her words with a melodic pitch and an r that rolled for days. He looked about the courtyard but didn’t spot them until he looked straight below. On the overgrown terrace at a cast iron table in the only strip of sunlight struggling past the cloud cover and fortress walls sat Eisenhorn, the woman across from him. She wore a high collared dress, or perhaps it was a coat, as dour in colour scheme as Eisenhorn’s attire. He couldn’t see her face for the tall, wide-brimmed hat she wore. They appeared to be enjoying lunch. Eisenhorn gestured with his fork as he spoke.

Drusher didn’t mean to listen in but found himself trying to understand what they said. Who could she be? Another retainer? Eisenhorn seemed to have brought with him quite the entourage. When she reached across the table to put her hand across his, Drusher snapped his gaze away. Of all the things he’d come here to spot, that most certainly wasn’t one of them.

“Why are you spying on mum.”

Drusher flinched at the intrusion. It wasn’t a question but a demand. Clear and to the point: a statement by someone used to having their enquiries answered. He turned around, towards where the voice had come from. In the window of the only remaining wall sat a young woman. She stared at him over the edge of a large, leather-bound tome. Had she been there already? She must have been, judging by the studying detritus around her: sheafs of parchment with crow-footed notes on them accompanied by several pens, styli and a quill; a battered iSlate with detachable cogitator pad between two clunky data-banks with tangled wires; and a half-eaten starch bar and a plastek drink container beside an empty Re-cyclic H2O bottle. She must have been here for hours.

“I, uh, wasn’t spying,” Drusher replied as he adjusted his glasses.

“Yes, you were,” she declared as she uncurled herself from her window seat. She was tall and ghastly thin, the ancient book clutched in her slender arms as she strode towards him. In her old, over-sized commissarial-style coat and pointed black hat, she looked more like a runaway scarecrow than a teenage girl.

“I hadn’t realised your mother and father were in the courtyard below,” Drusher clarified. The notion of Eisenhorn having a family seemed oddly bizarre to him. Cloistered by his job and dogged personality, Eisenhorn had seemed the type that would always be alone. Undoubtedly quasi-lamenting it while patting himself on the back for his sacrifice. Drusher looked at the young woman and tried to estimate her age. Her pale skin was smooth, her features without wrinkles and her hair a fiery red still. He thought she might be 19, or in her early 20’s? Perhaps of an age with the other bookworm, Audla. He wondered then if they might be sisters.

She leaned towards him from her great height, her expression as menacing as her posture. “My father is Lord Inquisitor Tomàs de Torquemada-Coteaz, deceased M41.382; 93 years, 72 days and 5 hours ago. The greater demon Tre Mor murdered him on Prima Fossa in the closing days of the St. Aquilina de la Coeur Serré Crusades. Inquisitor Eisenhorn is my stepfather. This was not my choice to make.”

They were all but nose-to-nose now. Well, Drusher thought. Definitely not in her early 20's then. That certainly explained a thing or two. Why did the name Coteaz sound familiar to him? Where had he heard it before? Or read, perhaps. He read a lot these days. “I wasn’t spying,” Drusher repeated. “I was merely curious as to whom Inquisitor Eisenhorn was speaking.”

“He is speaking to my mother, Inquisitor Genevieve Helve Allenbrisk,” she said and gave him a look that made him suspect she thought him quite dim.

“Yes, you told me.” Drusher frowned. She looked at him as if she were expecting some sort of a reaction. Wait, her mother was an Inquisitor as well? This was becoming entirely too many of them. Unbidden, the rhyme surfaced in his thoughts again. “I am sorry, your name is?”

“Brooks,” the girl said. “Inquisitor Allenbrisk is a Chief Investigator of the Ordo Hereticus, Svarteldari Chamber, and a Radical Seeker Prime - those charged with the finding and solving of heterodoxal crimes within the Holy Ordos of the Emperor’s Inquisition. She has brought the radical Lord Inquisitor Costogue before the tribunal of Terra Formosa and arrested the fugitive corrupt cardinal Ivanka of Frostheim.”

A bounty hunter. The lady Inquisitor was a bounty hunter. Drusher realised Brooks expected him to know the woman’s name and what these evidently highly noteworthy deeds encompassed. He didn’t, of course. And presently thought that if she was on a friendly footing with Eisenhorn, Drusher would rather stay well out of her way. Birds of a kind and feather, flock and fly together.

“You don’t have to be afraid, Magos.” Brooks smiled in what she no doubt thought was a reassuring manner. “Mum only puts bad people on the pyre.”

“What a relief.” Drusher adjusted his glasses. He wondered if ‘bad people’ was defined in the same manner as ‘classified’.

“Why are you here?” Brooks demanded. She’d straightened to her full height and stared down at him.

“What? To be outside, watch birds,” Drusher responded, confused.

“No, why have you come here,” she specified impatiently. “Here, to Helter fortress.”

“It very much wasn’t by choice, I’ll have you know,” Drusher said, his tone indignant. “They lifted me from my bed in the middle of the night and forced me to come.”

“I don’t understand,” Brooks objected.

“To be perfectly honest,” Drusher conceded. “Neither do I”.

“Mum may be an Heresiarchaeologist but she has studied under Layla Lan, Archmagos Paleobiologis Genetus Prime of Glovoda. She could have joined the Martian priesthood as an Adjutor Tertium to Archmagos Lan, but she didn’t wish to leave her duties to the Holy Ordos,” Brooks explained in excruciating detail.

Now, thát was a name Drusher knew. Archmagos Lan was well known among Magi Biologis across the Imperium. She had unravelled the mysteries of palaeogenetic data-retrieval from ancient biological material. Her work had made it possible to return long fallen Astartes to their chapters. It had also led to controversy, as there were those who wished to use it on the Emperor’s mortal remains. If it had been in his nature to kill, Drusher would have killed for even a lay adapt position at the Archmagos’ feet. Adjutor Tertium? The vast majority of their colleagues didn’t even make it past Adjutor Quintus. It was an immense honour and Allenbrisk had declined it to do… whatever it is the Inquisition does, exactly. Other than strike fear into the hearts of perfectly law-abiding Imperial citizens such as himself. Were all Inquisitors like her and Eisenhorn? He had no wish to find out.

“She has the expertise necessary to identify what happened to these bodies, and where, and rule out the action of mere bears,” Brooks continued, quite unperturbed. “And I could have synthesised all additional data if she hadn’t already possessed this knowledge.”

So that was why Eisenhorn hadn’t been surprised by Drusher’s analysis: it had corroborated findings Eisenhorn had already established with a colleague. Despite himself, Drusher found he wanted to meet her - Inquisitor or not - for he hadn’t realised until that very moment how much he’d missed conversing with someone of similar expertise. “Can I meet her?” The question was out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

Brooks gave him a long look as if she, personally, was the metric by which it was decided whom Allenbrisk would or would not have an audience with. “Certainly.”

She picked up her iSlate, cogitator pad and data-banks, packing them into a battered suitcase along with her notes, writing utensils and foodstuff. She packed the tome last, wrapping it in a piece of cloth before putting it on top of her belongings. The brown, hard leather exterior of the suitcase was decorated with stickers and several purity seals. After closing its many straps she wrapped an exaggeratedly thick chain around it with a large, old-fashioned key lock. The suitcase looked heavy.

“Do you want help with that?” Drusher offered.

“No,” Brooks replied as she heaved it onto her back by the shoulder straps. “This way.”

Drusher followed her down the watchtower’s stairs. They traversed the battlements to the other side and descended another flight of stairs into the wall corridor. They passed several doors before entering a study. The room had been cleaned but not restored. The carpet across the uneven stone floor was threadbare but fresh straw mats had been put down. The gilded frame of the landscape painting had been polished but the antique wooden desk remained cracked with age. Several tomes, parchment sheaves, a map, dividers and compass laid on its scuffed surface. A second chair had been pulled up beside the desk chair.  The fireplace was unlit and free of ash, but the upholstery of the couches in the lounge corner had faded beyond recognition. On the claw-footed coffee table stood two glasses - one with an elaborately slotted spoon on it - laid an ornate bolt pistol and a deck of queer, crystal cards.  

Brooks crossed the study towards the opened patio doors. Drusher could see the terrace and its occupants beyond. He was struck by how seamlessly the Inquisitors blend into their surroundings. In her high, tapered hat and fashionably cut redingote, Allenbrisk looked as if she had just returned from a morning horse riding in the countryside, to have lunch with Eisenhorn. Who himself looked as if he’d stepped out of one of the great hall’s state portraits, meticulously dressed in vest and cravat as he was. His Inquisitorial seal was pinned at his throat, by way of a tie-pin. Only then did Drusher notice she sported a similar device, fastened to the decorative band of her hat. It was different in design but he recognised the thrice barred I. Without those sigils Drusher would not have been able to pick them out of a crowd of Karanine gentry, which put the wary right back in him. When first meeting Eisenhorn, he’d thought you’d know the minute he - or any Inquisitor - entered the room. To Drusher’s disquiet, that didn’t appear to be the case.

“Inquisitor Allenbrisk, Magos Drusher wishes to speak with you,” Brooks announced as they stepped outside.

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[coleymari-blog]

Cyber Space is Always Sweeter : Chapter 12

Summary: Lucy is a down to Earth, studious, responsible runaway attending Magnolia College. Natsu is a rambunctious, intelligent, pyrophilic fraternity boy going to the same school.

They don’t exactly run in the same circles and they have one hell of a history. What happens when the names and facades disappear and all that’s left are words blinking on a screen? Modern day, College/Pen Pals AU. I’m sorry I suck at intros. Rated M for Language, Adult Situations, and future sexual situations. Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

The look in her eyes was absolutely priceless.

“Why exactly are we going to the roof?” Lucy interrogated, arms crossed over her chest while Natsu leaned casually against the padded elevator wall. He knew she’d be surprised, he just hoped that she didn’t kill him before they reached their destination. If she did, he only hoped she took him out before the ‘soothing’ music drove him absolutely insane.

“There’s a landing for the fire escape up there,” the TA explained, shifting the two bags higher onto his shoulder. Hers was surprisingly heavy and the straps from both bags were digging into his Trapezius. His statement was immediately met by resistance.

“You’ve got to be joking,” the blonde hissed. The elevator crawled to a stop and opened up to a small concrete antechamber with a steel door leading out to the roof. The surface was covered in rocks and bits of asphalt. It was vast and mostly empty, housing only a few industrial air conditioning units toward the back, Northeast ledge. There were a couple of floodlights positioned in opposing corners of the space providing just enough light to see. The fire escape was about ten yards from the elevator on the West side of the building between the Library and the academic building next door, though the former was a good five stories higher than the latter.

Natsu was the first one to exit into the gravelly exterior, the heavy door screeching in refusal, but was followed dutifully by Lucy though her body language read ‘furious’. Could he really blame her? He’d lied to her and was probably forcing her out of her comfort zone. Didn’t that make him no better than the Queen Bitch herself? Part of him began to resent his decision but that changed when he watched her face light up underneath the stars glowing overhead.

It was almost as if he was staring at a completely different Lucy.

The freshman’s shoulders dropped as she raised her chocolate eyes to the sky above them. He looked closer and realized her lips were moving silently. What was she muttering to herself? Gods she was a weirdo but it surprisingly suited her. Natsu allowed himself to watch her for just a few moments longer before breaking the mounting tension.

“Something you want to share with the class?” he teased, dropping their bags beside the fire escape platform. He didn’t close the space between them, wanting to respect her space. Plus, if she really was crazy and actually talking to herself, he’d rather maintain some distance.

Lucy’s eyes snapped over to him as if she’d forgotten he was even there. “O-oh, sorry,” she sputtered. Even in the dim lighting Natsu could see the blushing of her cheeks and neck. “I just haven’t been able to see stars like this since I left home.” She dropped her gaze to the ground, almost like she was embarrassed. “I was just naming the different stars and constellations I can see.”

The grad student couldn’t help but grin. “No need to be sorry,” he replied genuinely, jumping up onto the ledge and sitting down with his legs dangling over the side. That earned him the cutest gasp from Lucy. Her mood changed swiftly into that of a Mama Bear, chastising him for being so reckless. Natsu couldn’t lie, he kind of relished in the fact that he cared about whether he fell of the side of a building or not. He ignored the fact that she might just be a decent human being. “Any good ones?”

Walking slowly, gaze still locked on the heavens, Lucy made her way to the same wall and leaned against it, her arms draped across the concrete. He could sense she was nervous so he stayed quiet until she gathered the courage to speak again. “That’s Eridanus,” came a soft but knowing voice. “The Heavenly River.” Shifting over a few feet to the right, she named another constellation. “That one is Horologium.”

Natsu was looking up at the night sky, entranced by the knowledge Lucy possessed. It reminded him of how he was in Chemistry. “Are you an Astronomy major or something?” he asked, genuinely curious as he kicked his feet haphazardly.

Her sights fell again to the concrete barrier preventing them from taking a header off the roof. She sighed softly before answering, her tone slightly more melancholic than it was previously. “Nope, Teaching actually. While it’d be nice to stare at the stars all day, I’m afraid the Math portion of the job would interfere too much. My mom used to teach me different star patterns and charts as a kid.” Natsu couldn’t argue with her, she did struggle a bit when it came to the more difficult Mathematical practices. He had always been lucky that numbers came so easily to him, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case with everyone. Allowing himself one last glance at her, he couldn’t help but hurt slightly at the wonder in her eyes as she stared toward the heavens. Maybe after tutoring her, she’d be good enough in Math to where she could change her major. It was a long shot, but something inside him wanted to at least try. For her.

Shaking his head abruptly, Natsu brought his legs up onto the ledge and stood on top of it, looking down at Lucy with a boyish grin. He jumped down and brushed off his jeans, her yelling breaking through the silence instantaneously,  before making his way to the fire escape. Stepping up into the rusted, metal cage, the grad student grabbed the bags, threw them over the railing, extended his calloused hand to his student and motioned toward the steps in front of him. “Ready to go?”

Natsu had to be certifiably insane.

There was no other option. A fire escape? On the roof?! The guy had to be crazy. The entire ride on the elevator Lucy had been expecting some sort of explanation, a plan, anything really. All she knew was that some older man she barely knew was abducting her and running off to the only place she couldn’t escape him. Master Scorpio and Capricorn had always warned her of such ‘advances’ but the little siren in her head was going off...yet.

However, once they stepped off onto the rock-ribbed surface, Lucy couldn’t help but be amazed. Over head there were hundreds of stars, all of differing brightness and size. It was the first time she’d been able to see so many since leaving her family estate. The light pollution from the city usually prevented her from seeing them from her tiny dormitory window. She immediately started naming them, just as her mother had taught her so many years ago. It was almost like she’d been thrust back to a time where she still had her best friend and protector by her side. It was Layla that had imparted so much knowledge about the celestial sciences, and it made Lucy feel like her mother were above her, watching down from the heavens.

Natsu’s voice, once again, abruptly dragged her from her dreamland. “Something you want to share with the class?” he questioned, his voice light and playful. Sighing, she dropper her gaze. Shit. How could she have forgotten he was there? He probably thought she was bonkers, staring up at stars like an idiot. Lucy could feel the flushing of her skin rise as she spoke.

“O-oh, Sorry,” she murmured. “I just haven’t been able to see stars like this since I left home.” She could feel his sights on her and she quickly looked toward the floor. “I was naming the stars and constellations I can see.”

What further surprised the freshman was the fact that Natsu didn’t mock her. He simply asked her for more information about something she was obviously passionate about. Sure he’d almost KILLED himself in the process, causing her to freak out on him just a bit, but at least he’d stayed on the ledge. Joining him (still on the ‘ground’ mind you), she ultimately decided to acquiesce to his request and pointed out a couple of her personal favorites. “That’s Eridanus, the Heavenly River,” she explained, her eyes immediately trying to find one she knew was close by. When she found it, she pulled his attention over a few feet. “That one is Horologium.”

Glancing over, Lucy let herself take in the sight of Natsu in that moment. His head tilted up toward the night sky, his eyes tracing over the grouping of constellations she’d revealed. For the first time in years, it was as if someone was actually interested in what she had to say and it made her feel... special. She watched somewhat longingly as his jaw tensed, his rose-tinted hair ruffling in the light breeze. His question, though asked with no hint of malintent still made her somewhat sad.

Of course she wanted to major in Astronomy. However, as they were both coming to find, she wasn’t exactly gifted with numbers. Plotting trajectories, calculating gravitational pulls, all of that required advanced mathematics, something Lucy knew in her heart of hearts that she could never accomplish. “Nope, Teaching actually,” she answered, her voice tinged with a woeful tone. “While it’d be nice to stare at the stars all day, I’m afraid the Math portion of the job would interfere too much. My mom used to teach me different star patterns and charts as a kid.”

Unfortunately, Lucy didn’t get a chance dawdle on her wistfulness much longer. Before she knew it, Natsu was jumping down from the ledge and making his way over to the fire escape.  She followed him begrudgingly. What else was she supposed to do? Stay in the library overnight? If the rickety fire escape was the only way out, even with Natsu’s help, she’d have to go for it. Looking over the apparatus didn’t make the situation any better. Clearly it had been installed with the original building because it was incredibly narrow and rusted over in various spots.

Lucy shrieked when she grabbed onto Natsu hand. He immediately pulled her up and over the ledge onto the metal caging, using his own body to support her. Her right hand was still in his but her left gripped onto the railing for dear life, the left side of her body pressing against his chest. “It’s okay,” he cooed, his voice low and cautious, “I’ve got you. Don’t worry.” Without a shred of space between them, the freshman girl’s temperature skyrocketed, because of both her incessant blushing and the waves of heat that rolled off of the man beside her. Luckily for her, it was Natsu who broke the silence.

“Hold on tight okay?” The teacher’s assistant instructed, his voice now similar to when he was actually teaching. “I’m going to go first, that way if you fall or something, I can catch you. Okay?”

Lucy nodded and slowly followed Natsu down the zigzagging metal staircases, both of them making quick work of the fire escape. Upon reaching the final platform, he asked her to stop and bent down to release the ladder that separated them from their freedom. Unfortunately, without the proper maintenance, it got stuck, leaving a few feet of clearance between the final rung and the alley.

Judging the gap, Natsu grinned wildly. “I can totally make that,” he boasted playfully, looking her over. “What do you think, Loony?”

Lucy huffed and assessed the situation for herself. It was a bigger drop for her than it was for Natsu, but the pinket spoke up again as if he’d read her mind.

“What about I go first, and then I can grab you and help you down?” he offered. While part of the runaway heiress absolutely hated the idea, part of her was excited at the opportunity for Natsu to be close to her again. She found herself nodding in agreement without thinking about it.

The blonde watched at he descended the ladder, reaching the end in no time flat. She stared in awe (and other more primitive emotions) as he let his body free hang on the last two rungs, holding himself up only by his incredibly defined arms. He only had about a foot to clear before his instructor’s voice was dragging her from her lustful daydreaming and beckoning to her to start her own descent. While she wasn’t nearly as fast as Natsu, Lucy was surprised at how easy it was for her to make her way down the rusted-over ladder. The worst part was how painful it was when the rust bit into her palms.

Arriving at the last rung, Natsu shouted up to her. “Go ahead and drop! I’ll catch you!” Without thinking twice, Lucy closed her eyes and released the ladder, free falling for only a second before she felt those same muscular arms wrap around her, slowly lowering her feet to the ground. Firmly planted, she looked up and found emerald orbs looking back at her. Her heart soon felt like it was going to escape her chest, racing wildly as she pulled away.

“T-thank you for helping me. I can take it from here,” she stammered, reaching out to take back her bag. “My dorm isn’t that far.”  Unsurprisingly she was met with a grin and resistance.

“What kind of gentleman would I be if I just let you wander around campus alone at night?” he asked with a chuckle, shifting the bags again so they sat higher on his shoulder. Grinning wickedly he gestured back toward the residence halls. “Lead the way, Loony.”