#also cam's hands are behind her back. felt like i had to specify it here

[roniikue]

i drew

hycrisik and camellia!! o woe..

they both belong to r.v. pine lol

update: redrew hycrisik so that its more accurate lol

[1000-niche-interests]

Lol what’s a title

AGHGHHGGHGHGHGHGH @taylortut gave me permission to write something for her AMAZING The Last Place on Earth series, so here’s a short sickfic about Kit Reed, aka tlpoe’s certified Cool Older Lady™

Disclaimer: I read just about every TLPOE story I could get my grimy slimy hands on (aka: found in the tag) to get context for this story and make it accurate, but I STILL don’t really know how the Last Place team’s jobs work, or if they even can be surveilled, but let’s just say that Lacey’s task in this story is very important and high risk or something. Idk, I don’t specify the details anyway! But sorry if I get anything wrong!

Also uhhhhhh does Roni and Kit’s daughter have a name? I feel like I don’t remember her having one so I just call her a bunch of nicknames when I reference her in this story. Hope that’s okay??? maybe?

---

“Kit. Kit. Kitty!”

Kit Reed dragged her eyes open to the tone of her wife shaking her, the sound of Roni’s alarm clock going off pulsing around her skull. The sunlight streaming in the window was too bright, the alarm clock was too loud, and even Roni’s hands on her shoulder made Kit flinch away uncomfortably, half asleep and half knowing that no, this probably wasn’t a good feeling to wake up to.

A better feeling, though, was Roni’s hand on her face, then her forehead, lingering there long enough that Kit probably should have been worried, but found herself too tired to actually think about it.

“Ah, now that explains it.” She heard Roni mutter, the alarm blissfully silent now as her wife’s hand pulled away. “You have a fever.”

Now that did get Kit thinking, because she suddenly remembered what day it was. Shit. This just wouldn't do at all.

“Can’t,” Kit said, sitting up even though it made the room tilt like a mockingly slow carnival ride. “Medina’s got that job today. I have to be there.” 

“Well, sorry honey, but you can’t control if you’re sick or not… and you are, most definitely, sick today.” Roni replied, a familiar furrow of concern settling between her brows as Kit pushed herself out of bed and made her way to the closet to get dressed. She heard her wife sigh from behind her, heard the bed creak as Roni got up, Kit pulling on a bra and a shirt without real choice of purpose.  Roni always got up half an hour later than her, which meant Medina was set to go in an hour, and with the drive to the office, Kit didn't have long to get ready if she wanted to make the time. 

“Hey, Kitty?” Roni called in, then appeared behind her as Kit combed back her hair with her fingers, suddenly unable to find the comb Roni always put here, specifically for her in the mornings. “Remember when we sent the kid to school with a cold because she had a test? And then they sent her home with a 101 degree fever?” 

Kit did remember. Their daughter had aced that test, too, and they’d kept her home for the rest of the week to recover. Roni even gave her ice cream for breakfast one day to make up for sending her to school. Kit had been glad she was okay, and felt bad they didn’t know she’d been that sick. Still, their daughter had gotten an A on the test, something she knew for a fact the kid was still proud of to this day; so was Kit.

“It’s not noble to push yourself to work when you’re sick. Not for Lacey, definitely not for you. You trained them, they’ve got this.” Roni said, still behind her, then pushing the familiar plastic comb into her hands. “And you especially shouldn’t go in sick enough that you can’t find the comb that’s in the same place I always put it…” Her wife was convincing, and Kit almost wanted to give in and go back to bed, but… Medina’s job was too important. Too dangerous. She needed a professional watching her back on the cams, and that’s what Kit was. She couldn’t, and wouldn’t, leave Lacey without that. God knew Medina got hurt enough on her own, she didn’t need another injury because Kit couldn’t do her job.

“I hear you, Roni.” Kit sighed, a low crackle of congestion ominous in her lungs as she did. “But I still need to go. Just for Medina’s job, then I’ll take the rest of the day off. Alright?” 

“And tomorrow.”

“...And tomorrow.” 

Roni nodded, stepping away. “Okay. I’ll drive you to work, alright? And back. You’re too dizzy to be behind the wheel.” Part of Kit wanted to object, there, but a dizzy spell cut her off as she turned her head wrong, and she relented. 

---

Three hours later, Lacey Medina was back at the Last Place successful, and even in one piece. She did, however, get the sense something wasn’t right as she entered. 

Kit hadn’t been in when she’d left, despite literally always arriving at the same time every day, before Lacey’s departure time for this assignment. It struck her as odd, but the oddest thing was that when she got back, Mrs. Reed, Roni, was there too, and Kit was somehow really pale and really flushed at the same time. Not to mention shivering, despite the sheen of sweat on her forehead as Roni sat her down, TJ hovering nervously nearby as Esther returned from the kitchen, a glass of ice water in hand.

“What’s going on?” Lacey asked, with Eve, who had been her ride back from the job, closing the door behind them. 

“Kit kinda took a page out of your book, Lacey,” TJ said, in a tone that indicated he was joking, but also quite worried. “Almost fainted.”

“It was not fainting,” Kit bit out, tone terse, but surprisingly lacking her usual bite as she took the glass of water offered to her by Esther. “I just… got dizzy. More dizzy then I was before.”

“And almost passed out, yes, that’s what fainting is, honey.” Mrs. Reed spoke softly to her wife, but just loud enough that everyone else could hear. It almost made Lacey feel like she was intruding. Then, a thought struck her.

“Wait, Kit, what are you doing here if you’re that sick?” She asked the very question Kit herself had asked Lacey many times. And despite Lacey knowing her own personal answers, she had no idea what Kit’s reasoning was. It wasn't like anything would fall apart if Kit took a sick day, and she knew that, even though they all knew she loathed admitting it.

“We already had arrangements on the job today,” Kit explained with a weak shrug, shivering and pulling her suit jacket tighter around her frame. “I just had to be here. In case.”

“Of?” Eve asked from behind Lacey, but guiltily, Lacey could already guess the answer.

“In case I got hurt. Or needed backup.” She said quietly, and Kit nodded.

“Whatever else you are, Medina, or what you’ve done, you’re a good kid.” Kit said, looking at Lacey with glassy, bloodshot eyes that made Lacey almost wonder if the older woman was delirious. “Can’t stand the thought of something happening to you because I wasn’t there. You’re my responsibility. All of you.” Kit gestured vaguely at everyone else, too, and Lacey got the point but she still felt bad about it. She’d technically dragged Kit into work like this because...

“Okay, now that Lacey’s back, I really have to get her home,” Mrs. Reed broke Lacey’s train of thought as she spoke, helping Kit to stand. “Fever reducer, tea and sleep for a couple days, I think… Hope you kids can manage the Place by yourself.” Mrs. Reed gave a knowing smile, and for just a beat Lacey’s guilt vanished.

Kit was their boss. Kit was good to her, even motherly at times (in all the good and bad ways). Kit did this for her, and if Mrs. Reed knew they could handle things, then so did Kit.

She had faith in them. And in that moment, Lacey even had faith in herself.

-

(Yes, the last “Place” is capitalized on purpose. I think I’m funny)

[sweetchup]

Not A Chance!!

Type: Shalnark x reader

Prompt: O’Inari’s Wisdom — On any day during this week, people of the ages of 19-30 years old will go through a walk in the woods carrying a clear ornament (Traditionally it used to be a Jar). The ornament is usually filled with the person’s favorite scent or perfume, Name and Phone number on paper slip, and their dream type of lover on a rose petal. When walking through the woods, the person allows the God/Goddess of the woods O’inari’s Imps to trick them into meeting their soulmate. It is a must to switch ornaments with that first person they see for it is said the imps won’t allow them to leave the forest unless they do so.

Author Note: I decided to try a different writing style with the kiss scene this time. Tell me what you guys think.

(Prompts/Rules) (Masterlist)

“Hey (y/n), Bisky, What’s this?” Gon asks. His voice was hardly heard over the many chattering of the NPCS and other players in the city as you looked at him. Gon first shows Bisky, who was closer to him, a baby blue flier that you couldn’t quite read from where you were standing. “Is it some sort of Greed Island event?”

“Wait a minute. Gon do you not know what O’inari’s wisdom is?” Bisky questions, shocked. Walking over closer and looking from behind Bisky, you realize that the Winter Holiday of O’inari’s Wisdom was indeed taking place on Greed island. You were slightly surprised for a second but it soon started to make sense the more you thought about it. It had started snowing on the island recently and if the game was parallel to the times in the real world then it should also be December in the game. So it just made sense that Holidays were also coded into the game to match the changing seasons.

“Oh, so it’s a Holiday,” Gon says surprised once Bisky explains it to him, “We didn’t celebrate it on Whale Island. Maybe it’s because I was so young. But, at the very least, (y/n) will be able to celebrate it with us.”

“Huh?” You murmur confused. You never mentioned anything about doing it, “I’m not doing it. Actually, why would you think I would do it?”

“Well, you don’t have a boyfriend right? So you must have not done it yet. So you should do it! It will be fun!” Gon explains enthusiastically as Bisky nods in agreement. Of course, it was just straightforward thinking done by Gon, not thinking of other possible possibilities. Man, why exactly did Killua have to leave you to take the Hunter exam again?

“I actually have done the Holiday before,” You tell the two as you start to walk away, calling forth “book” as you do so. As you examine through your binder, you continued to explain what you meant to the younger boy, “I’ve actually done it many times. Sometimes doing a full week some years. Other times going to different locations from other cities or towns. But in all the years I’ve done, I never once heard nor bumped into anyone else in the forest. So I just gave up on th—”

Bisky suddenly cuts you off with a loud exaggerated gasp.

“Oh My~ Then that must mean you really do have a soulmate out there (y/n)! What powerful young love!!” Bisky states dreamily as sparkles and flowers seem to dance around her. All you can do is sigh at the older woman antics and continue on your way. Honestly, to you there was no way Soulmates could exist. Not a chance! There was just no science nor reason behind it. Nen could be explained. Monsters could be explained. But soulmates, not at all. It was just some made up myth with no hard facts.

As you make your way to the gate of Aiai, you feel Gon tug at your top to catch your attention.

“But, (y/n)?” You take your eyes away from your binder to look at Gon. “Do you think you could try? Perhaps one of the needed 99 slot cards is given at the event.”

“Oooo, good thinking Gon,” Bisky states looking at the flier and then looking at you. “With that possibility, I order you to do it then (y/n). Afterall, you are the only person who could do it out of us.”

You and Bisky stare at each other tensely for a little. Slightly challenging each other to step down until eventually you give up and finally look away. Even though you aren’t looking at her, you can hear Bisky doing a dance in success. “Fine then where do we go to take place in this event?”

“Apparently, you can get there by using an Accompany to Winterfell. We don’t even need to go there beforehand to use the accompany card.” As Bisky explains, you flip your binder and grab a spare accompany card. This is the last one from your binder so Gon and Bisky will have to start using their ones from now on. Well, Until you can get to Masadora to get some more.

“Okay then, let’s get this over with,” You state. Though for some reason you have an uneasy feeling in your stomach as you hold the card up. You wondered why, perhaps you felt nervous? But why would you? Greed Island was hardly crowded so this is the lowest chance of meeting someone during the Holiday. Maybe it was just the fact you haven’t done this tradition in a while. Yeah, that was probably just it, “Accompany on! To Winterfell!”

—.—.—.—.—

The crunching sound of snow is the only thing you hear as you walk through the forest. For what felt goes on for miles, all you have been seeing was snow covered pine trees. Not even birds or other sources of life have been spotted while you have been walking in this forest which was quite strange. How long have you been walking you wondered. It was hard to tell but you guessed maybe an hour or so?

Stopping next to a tree, you run your hand up it’s trunk somewhat tracing the engravement in it. You had already seen this before. It was like you have been going in circles, even though you have actually only been going straight. Was this some sort of test in the game? Maybe Gon was right about a specified slot card being here.

“Book!” In a poof, your binder opens up. Or, at least that's what you expect to happen. However, it doesn’t pop up. After calling the book a couple more times, you realize it was no use. It just doesn’t work. Was this some glitch in the game?

All of sudden, a rush of wind catches you off guard. It wasn’t just any breeze however, this gust of wind was similar to that of a giant icy blizzard. You cringe as the snow in the wind pricks and scratches at your skin. You needed to take cover from the harsh wind before you freeze to death.

Quickly, when you try to look around to find somewhere to take cover, something whips into your face, blinding you. As you struggle to pull it off of you, the wind suddenly comes to a complete stop. Weird, very weird. Finally getting it off of you and taking a good look at the item, you realize it was just an in-game scarf. Actually, you weren’t even sure it was an item from the game since it had a tag from the real world.

“Hey! That’s my sc—“ Turning around at the cheerful voice behind you, you see a familiar man a couple of feet away from you. You don’t understand why you recognize the man until he suddenly goes on guard and realization hits you. Wait a minute you remember that stance. He was a member of the Phantom Troupe wasn’t he? Shalnark, right? You quickly get on guard as well when he grabs an antenna from his pocket. An manipulator, huh? In a one on one fight like this, he has the clear advantage on you.

“Hey, I’m not here with the chain user,” You state, breaking the silence between you two. You weren’t usually someone to give up but avoiding a fight with him and going your separate ways is the best way to go in this situation. Afterall, the last thing you needed was to become his newest puppet. “I’m with the kids and all we are doing is playing the game by collecting cards.”

You wrap up Shalnark’s scarf and lightly toss it in front of his feet.

“I have no problems with you guys and I don’t want to fight you.” You continue as you start to walk backward, away from him. Hopefully, that woman, Pakunoda, told the other troupe members how you deteratarted Kurapika away from the option of placing a Nen dagger in her heart and helped spared their boss’ life.

It’s quiet and tense for a couple of minutes, not even the wind was blowing, before the blonde nods in agreement to your idea. You watch as he carefully picks up his scarf and then both of you two turn away from each other at the same time to walk away. Thankfully, counting on that woman seemed t—

All of sudden, after a couple of steps, the large gust of wind returns. You tried to fight against it and continue forward but it only seemed to grow stronger the more you tried. It grew so strong in fact that it lifted you right off your feet and threw you backward. You hoped to land on the soft snow but, of course with your luck, you hit something else very hard with a loud thump. Originally, you thought it was a tree that you hit but once you roll onto your side, you come to the realization that whatever you landed on doesn’t feel anything like tree bark.

“Ow! What was that…” Shooting up at the voice, You realize it was Shalnark that you had hit. You attempt to scurry away from him fast however, as soon as you get too far away, a gust of wind drags him back towards you. You pause as Shalnark lifts his head from being buried in the snow and looks at you confused.

“I-It’s some sort of error in the game. I swear. Maybe with the coding? Or—“ You blab out in a tangent trying to explain what was going on. Soon however, Shalnark sighs loudly, cutting you off.

“That’s a really stupid conclusion you cam up with. If you had once stop to look around you in this game, you would have realized this place, Greed Island, actually takes place in the real world. Specifically a straight shot east of York New.” Shalnark explains, somewhat sarcastically. All you do is roll your eyes. Of course you got stuck with the jackass of the troupe.

“Well then since this game isn’t actually a game, what do you think is going on, if you think you are oh so right?” You spat back at him. For some reason, you just couldn’t understand why he was being so rude in this situation, it was clearly neither of yours fault.

“Simple. This,” Shalnark states confidently as he takes the ornament from his pocket and lifts it up to you. You can’t help but laugh loudly at the idea, causing him to scowl at you.

“Y-You can’t be serious?! You and I? Soulmates!?”

“Of course! You do realize that in the myth it’s impossible for us to leave until we exchange our ornaments.” Shalnark explains, tossing his ornament at you. Clutching it in your hand, you quickly examine the ornament before scoffing.

“Yeah, not a chance,” You state as you toss his ornament back to him, causing Shalnark to sputter confused. “In no ways am I giving my personal information and phone number to the tech expert of the phantom troupe. That’s just plain stupid.”

You and Shalnark bicker on back and forth for a while until eventually he goes quiet and just glares at you. Honestly, in your opinion, it was better if he just chose to quit talking. He snaps his fingers catching you off guard, “Okay I have an idea! How about I try to convince you we are destine—”

“Soulmates?” You finish for him, slightly cringing.

“Yeah, that! And if I can convince you, then you can feel safe to give me your ornament so we can both leave.”

You ponder a little on the option he suggested. Honestly, you actually didn’t have much of any others option to begin with, “Fine. What do you got to convince me?”

“Well, first,” You watch closely as Shalnark grabs the Rose petal out from his ornament. Oh, you knew where this was going, that was actually a smart idea. Maybe this guy actually had some brain cells. “I’m going to read off my dream type of lover. I bet this will describes you.”

Reading off his petal to you, you listen carefully. As the more he goes on, you can’t deny that it did somewhat describe you, almost on the dime. As Shalnark shows the petal to you to prove he wasn’t making stuff up, You decide to grab your own petal. He seems to get excited that you finally understood what he was saying.

“See I tol—“ Shalnark is cut off when you let out a loud laugh.

“Yeah no way. Mine is ‘Someone who is like the sun; always cheerful as well as mentally bright.’” You read off, chucking it back into the ornament.

“Hey! I’m pretty cheerful! And bright!” Shalnark states, finally flashing you a smile for the first time you’ve been with him.

“Ha, I doubt that.” You say, though you can’t help but feel your heart skip a beat at how handsome he looked with a smile on his face. Your eyes go wide and you mentally slap yourself. What in the world were you thinking just now? You were flustered over him?!, “N-Next! What’s your other ideas?!”

“Aw come on!”

After a couple of more attempts from Shalnark to prove you two are soulmates, as well as many more confused borderline bipolar back and forth feelings on your end, Shalnark has run out of ideas and you two sit in silence as he tries to come up with more.

“Is that all the ideas you have?” You ask him shivering slightly as you pull your jacket closer for warmth. Looking up towards the sky above the thick pine branches, you see that it had just started to get darker out, effectively making it ten times colder as well. It now dawns on you that at this rate with your progress, you two could possibly freeze to death out here if you couldn’t get to a warm shelter before night.

“Shalnark. Here I—“ You suddenly pause what you were saying as you turn to face the man, “what the hell do you think you are doing…?”

You looked confused at Shalnark, who had moved closer to sit next to you. You didn’t know what he was up to but you definitely still didn’t trust him. As you try to lift yourself up to move away, Shalnark quickly grabs your wrist to keep you put where you were. Oh hell no. You struggle against his grip, attempting to pry his fingers off of your wrist but while you are distracted he uses his other hand to grab your arm. Effectively trapping you.

You struggle against him a little more but it only causes him to push you backwards down into the snow, him slightly leaning over you. Now nervous about what Shalnark was possibly doing, you shout out to him, “H-hey! I’ll give you the ornament okay? I don’t want—“

You feel the rest of your words die in your throat as Shalnark leans his forehead against yours, causing him to get very close to your face as well. Biting the inside of your mouth, you close your eyes tightly as a way to try calming your pounding heart. You couldn’t tell if your heart was racing out of fear or possibly something else. Though, again, it wasn’t like you could think straight at this point on time to figure which one. Cutting off your thoughts, Shalnark lets out a boyish giggle and tells you, “For someone who says they hate me and doesn’t believe in soulmates, your face sure is feeling quite hot. It’s almost as if you are flustered by me.”

Quickly, most likely in an attempt to save your dignity, you turn your face away to him so his face could no longer touch yours. As you do so, your heart leaps out of your chest when you hear him let out a small aww in disappointment.

“H-hey! I said I’ll give you my ornament so let go of me!” You sputter out, trying and likely failing at keeping yourself composed. You know it’s hard for you to think logically in a situation like this but you would’ve thought you had enough common sense in you to not get flustered by a mass murder.

“Hmmmm… Nope” Shalnark answers, popping the “p” at the end. Surprised and bewildered, You whirl your head around back to look at him. He seemed to get a kick out of your reaction because he can’t help but laugh. “You are correct by the fact that all I wanted originally was to take the ornament and leave. But the more we went on, talking and bickering, I realized I wanted something else.”

“H-huh? What? I don’t have much of anything else.” You questioned. Was he talking about cards in the game? Gon carried all of the number slot cards so you didn’t have anything that was useful to Shalnark.

“Silly girl~ It’s simple.” Shalnark flashes you a smile as he boops your nose with each next word, “I. Want. You~”

As you give a weird expression in response to Shalnark flirting attempt, he looks at you confused as to why you looked like that before full on laughing, when what looked like steam started to flow from out of your head. He couldn’t believe he fried your brain with a silly pick up line. It wasn’t even a good one either.

“Adorable~” Shalnark whispers out so softly and quietly that you almost don’t hear it. You go to ask him to repeat what he said again, but stop when he leans down. He wasn’t—

You can only watch as he inches closer and closer to your face. You don’t get why you don’t stop him, you know you probably should. But you just couldn’t for some reason you didn’t quite understand.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Shalnark kisses you. Stealing your first kiss, a precious thing you could never be able to get back from him. Though you doubt you would even try if you were able to.

As his lips moved against yours, you had to admit they were surprisingly soft, not at all rough or chapped like what the very few romance books you’ve read over the years described. Though you had to admit those boorish books were right about one thing, kissing someone was a feeling you’ve never once experienced before in your life. Authors have described the experience in many different ways but as Shalnark pulls away from your lips only to dive it once. Twice. And so many more times that you’ve lost count, you realize yours wasn’t like the ones written down. It didn’t take your breath away, it wasn’t rough or deep, it wasn’t messy or desperate.

But, it was yours. A feverish kiss if you must find a word to describe it. A kiss that even while pushed down into the freezing cold snow, you felt you were burning up inside. So much so, that your brain seemed to melt and your muscles turned to jelly from an non existent heat.

Finally after a while, you two pull away from each other, still in a trance like state from what happened. It’s quiet, nothing is heard nor said between you two as you just stare at each other. You know it is now dark out. You know you should be trying to get back to Gon and Bisky before they worry. You know it would be in your best interests to try to get away as far as you can from the dangerous man before you. You know you shouldn’t be feeling such feelings for him, for it is too soon and he probably doesn’t even deserve to be able to experience a pleasant emotion like this one. You know all these things almost as if they are engraved in your heart.

But, even when knowing all these things, you can’t stop yourself from dragging Shalnark back in to give you another kiss.

[drabbles-of-writing]

Friends With Torment

AO3

Masterpost

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Camilia knew that going to Hexside would be far different than any regular school, boarding or not.

However, she had a sneaking suspicion that it would be a lot easier if she didn’t have Eda to constantly deal with.

,

It was nine o’ clock in the morning. As in, way too early for any shenanigans to happen.

And right on the dot, the bells screamed awake.

Normally, that would be the signal for students to move onto their next class.

Until the bells started belting out song lyrics.

“BUT SINCE YOU’VE BEEN CONNED,” The bells shrieked. “I CAN BREATHE FOR THE FIRST TIME!”

“Oh no,” Camilia groaned, standing up from her desk as the other students started looking around in confusion.

Still, she gathered up her things and grudgingly made her way to the door.

The hallway was swarmed with perplexed students. Camilia had only just stepped out of class before a familiar figure oh-so-casually slid up beside her.

“Huh, funny for the bells to ring like this,” Eda said innocently. “I wonder what could’ve happened to them?” She said, giving a smug smile.

“I EVEN FELL FOR THAT STUPID LOVE SONG,” The bells continued, far past what they’re usual screaming time was. “YEAH, YEAH, SINCE YOU BEEN CONNED,”

“Eda,” Camilia inhaled before turning to face the girl. “Why? Of all the things, why this?”

“Because I thought it would be funny and I’m currently obsessed with this song,” Eda replied with a shrug. “This is my way of getting out of that phase.”

“By torturing everyone else?” Camilia looked back up to the bells.

“GUESS YOU NEVER FELT THAT WAY. BUT SINCE YOU BEEN CONNED,”

“Yeah,” Eda said, her smile growing. 

“Are they supposed to go on this long?” Camilia asked, walking through the hallways and noticing students beginning to cover their ears.

“I thought I hexed them to only play it during normal ring times,” Eda admitted, inspecting a bell they passed. “I guess I forgot to specify how long they should be ringing for.”

“Are you telling me they’re going to do this all day?” Camilia gaped. “Eda!”

“YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE, YOU BLEW IT. OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND. SHUT YOUR MOUTH, I JUST CAN’T TAKE IT,”

“Oops,” Eda shrugged, completely unbothered. “Hey, if you want something else, I’d be happy to hex ‘em to play something different.” She offered.

“I’d rather you hex them to stop,” Camilia growled. “I’m never going to be able to work with this blaring all day.”

“Then today’s gonna suck for you,” Eda giggled. “If you want we could ditch and--”

“I’m not doing that, Eda.” Camilia said sharply.

“Eh, your choice, Cammy.” Eda said simply.

“At this point, I’m genuinely wondering why I put up with you.” Camilia growled.

“So am I, but I appreciate it.” Eda grinned. “How long do you think the school will put up with this until they start doing something?”

“Knowing Hexside? Five minutes to five hours.” Camilia answered honestly.

“I’m going five hours.”

,

It had been three hours.

Camilia, used to the noise at home, could usually somewhat tune out the music when she was in class.

Usually.

Now, Camilia was getting ready to snap. Nobody was allowed to go home early, and the hallways were unbearable. The constant shouting and complaining from the other students weren’t helping, either.

Eda noticed her discomfort during lunch.

“Song getting to you, too?” Eda teased, slipping into the seat beside Camilia.

“How can you stand this?” Camilia hissed, holding her head in her hands, barely able to eat.

“You know what I’m like. Is this really that surprising?” Eda raised a brow, taking a bit of something that looked like a blue carrot. 

“I’m honestly just glad Lilith is too busy being a teacher's pet to bother me about it.”

“This even isn’t that good of a song!” Camilia huffed. “I can name plenty of songs from my world that would be better than this.”

“SINCE YOU BEEN CONNED, SINCE YOU BEEN CONNED, SINCE YOU BEEN CONNED.”

Eda looked over Camilia, a wicked grin spreading across her face.

“Tell me one, then.” She said. “The offer still stands, I could put one on.”

Camilia wanted to argue, she really did. Tell Eda to knock it off and find a way to get the bells to stop. It was hard to concentrate in her healing glasses with the poorly-sung witches version of Since U Been Gone blaring.

Then an idea came to her.

“HERE’S THE THING, WE STARTED OUT AS FRIENDS,”

It was ridiculous, nonsensical, and far from her typical ‘keep your head down and do your work’ reputation Camilia had gotten for herself.

It was something Eda could never refuse.

“Well,” Camilia said slowly, pointedly refusing to look at Eda. “There is this one song…”

“I’m all ears,” Eda said, leaning closer with her ears pricking up, intrigued.

“YEAH, YEAH, SINCE YOU BEEN CONNED,”

“It’s a sort of joke in the human realm,” Camilia continued, noticing Eda's closeness and still not moving, inspecting her nails. “I don’t think anyone here would get it.”

“Aw, come on, Cam!” Eda whined, laying her head dramatically on the table, giving the human puppy-dog eyes. “I wanna know! What’s the harm in trying?”

Camila finally looked down at Eda over the rim of her glasses. She held the young witches gaze for a moment, feigning uncertainty.

“AND ALL YOU’D EVER HEAR ME SAY, IS HOW I PICTURED ME STEALING FROM YOU!”

Even if there was any, she knew she couldn’t say no to Eda when she looked so excited.

“Ever heard of the song Never Gonna Give You Up?”

,

And that’s how Camila found herself listening to the entire school be filled with Rick Astley’s voice, slumped against the locker doors, trying desperately not to attract attention with her laughing.

Eda was leaning on the lockers beside her, looking very proud of herself.

“Man, this guy has a lot of voice cracks,” She commented.

“I--” Camilia wheezed and covered her mouth to try and smother it, as kids were walking through the hallway and probably wondered what she found so funny about this situation.

“NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP, NEVER GONNA LET YOU DOWN, NEVER GONNA RUN AROUND AND DESERT YOU!”

“You hanging in there, Cam?” Eda teased.

“There, there was--” Camila snorted. “There was this kid who-who said he wanted to do this,” She said, gesturing to the bells. “But I never-” She choked back another laugh. “Imagined it happening.”

“Congratulations, it's a reality.” Eda smiled. “You’re right, I don’t get what this is, but you certainly seem to be enjoying it.”

“WE’VE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR SO LONG, YOUR HEART’S BEEN ACHING BUT YOU’RE TOO SHY TO SAY IT,”

“Way more than I should be,” Camila agreed, leaning sideways on the lockers so she was facing Eda, wiping at tears forming in her eyes from her laughing.

“I wonder if I could pin this on that human club,” Eda wondered aloud. “Considering this song doesn’t exist in the Isles.”

“INSIDE WE BOTH KNOW WHAT’S BEEN GOING ON,”

“Eda, Principal Bump could see a kid smash a window with his own chair and still find a way to blame you.” Camilia deadpanned, having to take a few brief pauses to stop from bursting out laughing again.

“Fair,” Eda shrugged. “But this was worth it.”

“WE KNOW THE GAME AND WE’RE GONNA PLAY IT,”

“For satisfaction?” Camila taunted.

“Yeah,” Eda nodded, her eyes looking over Camila for a second longer before turning away. “Something like that.”

“I JUST WANNA TELL YOU HOW I’M FEELING, GOTTA MAKE YOU UNDERSTAND!”

Camila chuckled and shook her head, watching the poor suffering students struggle on by.

“Don’t think I’ll be into all your schemes now, Clawthorne,” Camila warned. “This was a one time thing.”

“You said that the last three times,” Eda said, giving her a smirk.

“Yes, but I also rejected at least ten.” Camilia reminded her. “Someone has to be responsible here,”

“You're not responsible, that's Lilith.” Eda corrected. “You're just tired.”

“Is there really a difference?”

“Ms. Clawthorne.”

Both girls jumped and whirled around, facing the kitsune teacher, Mrs. Aka.

She did not look pleased.

“NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP, NEVER GONNA LET YOU DOWN,”

“I take it you have something to do with this?” She demanded, gesturing to the singing bells in the hallway.

“Pfft, you have no proof.” Eda crossed her arms and turned away.

Mrs. Aka only rolled her eyes before turning her head to Camilia, who was trying to quickly slip away from whatever trouble Eda was about to get into.

“Would you happen to be involved with this, as well?” Mrs. Aka asked the human. “You seemed to be having a fun time earlier.”

“O-oh, I was just,” Camilia frantically thought of an excuse. “See, I was just talking and--”

“NEVER GONNA TELL A LIE AND HURT YOU,”

“What, Cammy?” Eda pointed a disbelieving thumb at the girl. “Little miss perfect here couldn’t do a bad thing in her life.” She snarked.

Camilia was used to this. Used to Eda taking the falls. It happened between her and practically everyone, for some reason. She’d cause trouble, get other people roped in, and then take the blame for both of them.

Unless they were someone like the rich kids, then she wouldn’t even try.

“Um, well,” Camilia said. “I--”

“Well then, Ms. Clawthorne, I do hope you will come with me to Principal Bump’s office.” Mrs. Aka said sharply. “You have a lot of explaining to do!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Eda mumbled, getting off the lockers. 

“NEVER GONNA SAY GOODBYE, NEVER GONNA RUN AROUND AND DESERT YOU!”

“Wait,” Camilia spoke up, hurrying in front of the teacher as she began to leave. “I...I asked for this song,” Camilia said, looking down and rubbing her arm. “This new one. I asked for Eda to change it.”

“Did you now?” Mrs. Aka growled, not noticing the shocked face Eda was giving the human behind her. “Did you ask for that first song?”

“No, ma’am.” Camilia shook her head.

“I see,” Mrs. Aka said slowly. “Both of you, come with me.” She said sternly, turning and leading the two down the hallway.

Camilia looked up only to fall in behind the teacher, before going back to the walk of shame, already feeling worse and worse by the second.

Why, of all the things, would she admit to that? She’s the first human in Hexside, and she just admitted to aiding in a school-wide prank with the most notorious troublemaker! What did she gain from this, really? She’d never done it before.

Distantly, she was aware of the song starting over again.

“Hey,” Eda nudged her shoulder, snapping Camilia out of her thoughts. “You didn’t have to admit to that, you know.” She said quietly.

“Y-yeah, I know,” Camilia nodded. “I...I guess I felt bad.” She murmured.

“Aw, that’s lame,” Eda snorted, rolling her eyes. “I don’t need pity, I’ve done this plenty of times before.” She said, waving her hand.

“WE’RE NO STRANGERS TO LOVE, YOU KNOW THE RULES AND SO DO I!”

“But,” She added a moment after, giving Camilia a shy glance. “Thanks,”

Oh. 

That was why.

Camilia smiled back, softly chuckling.

“Don’t mention it. Or expect this to be a regular thing.” She teased.

“Wouldn’t expect any less from ya, Cam.”

[raidbossmadi]

People Like US Chapter 3

3. Into the Vault

Previous chapter: Here

“So what’s the plan Ty? Are we really gonna take her in as a janitor?” Troy asked as he snuffed out the butt of a blunt into the balcony’s ashtray. Tyreen hadn’t said much once they’d gotten back to the hotel and he was curious as to what she was thinking.

“Don’t you think that’s an insult to the maintenance crew. You know they’d take it as  the God-Queen thinks we aren’t doing good enough so she sent in a siren” Tyreen pitched her voice up as she did her impression of the maintenance staff. “Besides that’s a waste of a Siren. Imagine how much more influence we could get if we had another siren on our side, under our control. We could get her to do things the war meat can’t.”

“Yeah, I can put a good spin on that. The twin gods in their infinite mercy take in a poor stray Siren. People oughta love it, plus like we haven’t brought someone into the inner circle since Iris and that was what...three years ago now, I’m sure she’d like a friend who's quieter than  Mouthpiece.”  Troy said pulling out his echophone to write a note to himself. “We’re really doing this then? Can’t take it back once we approach her, you know that Ty.”

“We’re really doing this, something about it just feels I dunno...right in a weird way.” Tyreen couldn’t put into words the almost magnetic feeling that drew her to the other siren and she supposed that it was a siren thing, one of the many for which there were no words to explain. She only hoped that what little siren power Troy possessed made him feel the same way.

Part of Tyreen also wondered if perhaps taking in Sloane could solve another issue of theirs, of course she knew Troy could take energy from her, he had been reliant on her for as long as she could remember but what if he could feed on another siren? That way she could get by without having to spread herself so thin looking for enough to leech to sustain them both. It was an interesting prospect that she was willing to experiment with.

“I’ll send word back to the ship, tell the circle what we’re planning. Better to have everyone prepared for a new family member.” Troy remarked closing the balcony door behind him as he reentered the hotel room, now that they had a solid plan it was time to get the preparations in full swing.

                                                            When the twins made their return to Sloane's house they found the other siren waiting for them in the front lawn, sat at her easel painting the tree tunnel they had emerged from. A vine pulled out of the house window a mug curled in its tendril as it came to her side and she plucked the cup from it.  

“And here I was worried the two of you were having second thoughts.” She remarked standing up from her seat as they approached. It was late afternoon and while the twins hadn’t specified when they’d be arriving to make their deal she had almost expected it to be early so that they could just get it out of the way.

“Such little faith, gods always  keep their word doll.” Troy said with a smirk before deferring to Tyreen.

“We’ve decided to agree to your terms Sloane, we will take you into our family and you will serve us in exchange for freedom from this planet. Provided of course that you take us to the Vault  and hand over the vault key.” Tyreen crossed her arms, she was short in stature but her voice and overall demeanor projected the will and intent of her title. Sloane had seen the streams she knew this woman was dangerous and not to be underestimated yet she felt no fear in cooperating with her.

“I assume you want to be taken to the vault key now then?” She asked as she checked the time, they could make it there before the forest got too dark but it would be nightfall by the time they made it to the vault itself.  “It’s a bit of a walk from here.”

“Lead the way.” Tyreen said the pair flanking Sloane on either side as they disappeared into the wilds of Eden-4. As they walked Sloane finally got a good look at Troy now that he wasn’t trying to physically intimidate her, she noted the red looping patterns on his left arm that crept up to under his left eye and the similarities they had to her and Tyreen’s siren markings, but male sirens weren’t possible were they?

“You’re a siren?” She asked her voice barely above a whisper as if she was afraid to make the accusation and be wrong.

Troy opened his mouth to answer but quickly looked over to Tyreen his expression twisting into a slight frown. Sloane was starting to see a pattern in which Troy seemed to not be allowed to voice specific details without some kind of permission from his sister.  

“Not a siren.” He said in a much more subdued tone than she had expected from him “Just a side effect of being born with one.”

Sloane could tell there was much more to that then he was letting on but it was obvious that she wouldn’t be getting more than that out of him at least not now. The twins put so much of themselves on display that the fact that they had secrets at all had seemed absurd up until this moment, granted as far as she knew this was still part of that display.  She decided she would ask no more questions out of a partial fear of asking the wrong one and Tyreen changing her mind about her usefulness.

They stopped as the path ended abruptly at the rocky base of a cliff, face of which was overgrown with vines and other vegetation. Before either twin could ask why they had stopped Sloane reached towards the cliff her siren markings flared with bright blue light as the vines peeled away to reveal  an intricate pattern of Eridian writing  that surrounded a small hole in the formation too clean to be natural.

“What’s it say Troy?” Tyreen asked as she gestured at the writing. He squinted at it his brow furrowed in concentration as he looked over the carvings.

“It’s a warning.” He stated. “About what would happen if the Vault was opened.  Open the Vault of the Aggressor and fire and destruction will follow; says the planet would be scoured to ash the likes of which no one  has seen before.”  

“Well that sure sounds inviting, but nothing we can’t handle.” Tyreen remarked, seeming totally unmoved by the threat of whatever danger lurked inside the Vault.

Sloane however was a little unnerved by the promises of the planet burning even if she did plan to leave it behind by the end of this. She still had her obligations to the Calypsos though so she stuck her hand into the carved hole in the rock, her fingers closing around the object hidden within. Despite it being surrounded by cold rock on all sides it radiated a perpetual warmth that confirmed it was what she was looking for.

“One vault key, just as you requested God-Queen.” She said presenting it to Tyreen. It was a perfect cube of stone with  smaller square channels cut into the sides, it was an unassuming thing considering what it opened.

Tyreen regarded the cube as if it were a precious gem. She took it from Sloane and turned it over in her gloved hand  holding it up in the fading light. “So is the vault far then?”

“No, it’s a brisk walk from here. Shall I take you there?” Sloane asked, hiding the brief hesitation in her voice. It was all so real now, she had only been out to the vault a few times before each to check for meddling. It was all becoming very real now, she never thought she would have to worry about the vault being opened and yet here she was leading the charge to open it.

The entrance to the vault was an unassuming thing, Sloane was pretty sure that was why no one who wasn’t directly looking for it had ever found it. It was a cave situated behind a large waterfall which, while  beautiful to look at, threatened to sweep away those who ventured to close. Luckily Sloane knew the way to approach and avoid any of the danger and the roar of the water was only a distant hum now that they were inside the cave.

Guardian constructs that usually would have rushed to challenge those stupid enough to dare try approaching the Vault were instead destroyed, bound to the ground and sides of cave by thick overgrown vines. Sloane had dispatched them in a fit of fear and desperation when she had first approached the vault years ago now but not before she had learned the hard way that they were dangerous. The vault arch stood in the center of the chamber that had stretched out before them.

“Get your cam-bot ready Troy, it’s showtime.” Tyreen said walking towards the arch with the vault key in hand.

Sloane watched the male twin reach over and press the shoulder of his cybernetic arm a cam-drone deploying from it. She was impressed with how clever a design choice that was as she watched the bot follow after Tyreen.  

“Alright Eden-4, let's see what you’ve been hiding for all these years.” Tyreen cooed as she stuck the stone cube into the pedestal before the archway.

The vault entrance shimmered into existence and no sooner had it opened when a large clawed forelimb shot out from the dimensional gap followed immediately after by a second limb. A large snake like head  joined the collection of body parts and as the rest of the creature emerged from the vault Sloane muttered the only word she felt properly described the creature standing before them.

“Dr-dragon, That’s a dragon!”  

Troy’s prosthetic arm grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her out of the way as a column of flame erupted from the  monster's mouth towards them.  

Tyreen however was ready and a crackling purple orb slammed into the monster’s  side drawing its attention away from them and toward her.

Sloane watched as Tyreen baited the monster around the chamber somehow always managing to slip away before claws or teeth could get close to her. It was like a dance and watching both of them put Sloane into a bit of a trance like state what was only broken when the monster, thrown into the wall  close to herself and Troy by the blast from the other siren. Yellow slitted eyes focused on the two and the monsters fanged mouth opened in anticipation.

Before the creature could strike however thick vines from the surrounding cave walls sprang to life as Sloane reached out with her powers and they coiled around the monsters neck dragging it back to the center of the room and tying it down to the floor. It was a struggle to hold the creature down, Sloane had never used her powers on anything this large before, she tended to be defensive with them. The creature of course was more powerful than anything she had encountered before.

Tyreen seemed to get the message and hurried over to the felled monster which shrieked and pulled against its bindings harder than before as Tyreen’s power, now brilliant red chains of energy hooked into it and drained the very life out of it, leaving only a stone and eridium husk.

“Annnd cut.” Tyreen called, the cam-bot  whizzed back to its master and slotted back into his arm. Sloane fell to her knees panting, she felt overextended and exhausted .

“Hey, You alright?” Troy asked, the concern caught her off guard as she figured they didn’t care about her well-being after all she was a means to an end to them and they had gotten what they wanted, as far as she knew they could easily leave her dead for being foolish enough to have trusted them at all.

“I’ll be fine, I just need to catch my breath.You...You’re bleeding. ” She responded, a glint of concern in her eyes in kind as she noticed blood trickling down Troy’s arm, it seemed he’d been grazed by a rock kicked up by the creature.

Troy’s eyes widened in surprise as he followed her gaze, his metal hand coming up to cover the wound. “Ty, need a hand here!” He called over to his twin who was still staring at her kill with a look of satisfaction.

Tyreen sighed as she hurried back over to them. “Aye manito you need to be more careful, what would do without me.” She chastised taking his hand in hers, he gave a short ‘heh’ at her words but otherwise seemed unphased . Their siren markings flared  in response to contact and the wound on Troy’s arm closed, it would seem that perhaps his markings, whatever they were, were not as inert as Sloane had been led to believe hours before.

“You sure you’re alright? There’s plenty of Eridium around if you need a boost.” Tyreen asked her attention squarely on Sloane now that Troy had been patched up.  

Sloane picked herself off the ground and gave herself a once over. “No, no I’m fine really. I just well, wasn’t expecting to have to deal with something like that.”

“Yeah vault monsters are nasty business, it gets easier the more you deal with though!” Tyreen was oddly chipper about the prospects of fighting more of these monsters.

“Can’t wait you have a look through that footage, bet you I can make some killer edits Ty.” Troy too was very energetic now, both Calypsos seemingly buzzing with excitement.

“Right, thanks for your generous contributions Sloane. Troy and I will escort you back to your house, you can make sure you have everything you want and our crew will  come and grab you first thing in the morning.” Tyreen explained as they made their way out the vault cave back into the cool night air of Eden-4.

Sloane still couldn’t believe this was actually happening, it seemed so fantastic and out there that she was sure if she were to tell anyone else they wouldn’t believe her. After all, she felt she wasn’t anyone special outside of being one of six sirens which when compared to what she knew of the other sirens her powers weren’t even that impressive. Yet she had earned the company of the two most influential people this side of the six galaxies.

It felt like a dream as she stood at her front door the twins behind her seeing her off safely.

“See you tomorrow, welcome to the family.” Tyreen said as she turned to walk away Troy following after. Sloane watched them disappear down the tree tunnel again as she had the first time they’d come.

She walked into her house, the essentials of her life packed into two large suitcases ready to leave come morning. She took one last look from the doorway, knowing this would be the last time she ever walked back into this place as home.

[adismuse]

TAGGING ➝ Cameron Russo, Alex Taylor LOCATION ➝ Bar + Cam’s place TIME FRAME ➝ 7/8, evening/night WARNINGS ➝ a lil bit of making out but that’s literally it NOTES ➝ Alex and Cam go out for dinner and drinks. Alex thinks she’s gonna get some, Cam has a different idea.

ALEX TAYLOR

Alex smirked as they walked into the crowded bar - this is the part she was good at. Buying a girl a drink - or having a guy buy a drink for her, maybe she does stick to some form of gender norms - and flirting and eventually ending up in someone’s bed at the end of the night. Dinner was... different. She’d had people offer to buy her dinner (just because Alex only goes out for drinks and apparently some people want to go out on actual dates), but she’s always refused and offered a drink instead. Cameron was pretty hot (and fucking beautiful, but Alex doesn’t use those kinds of words), so she figured she’d let her buy her dinner if it meant getting a drink afterwards and ending up in Cameron’s bed. She led them to the bar, squeezing in between the people waiting for their drinks and finding a stool. “You can sit, if you want,” Alex leaned closer to the other girl’s ear so she could hear her and leaned against the bar. “What do you drink?”

CAMERON RUSSO

Cameron didn’t know how Alex would react to her asking her out, but she asked anyway, wanting to spend more time with her outside of their small conversations here and there at the gym. The girl quickly caught her attention - her attitude, the way she carried herself, and her short but meaningful contributions to their conversations - and her being a very attractive athlete was just a plus. After Cameron had interviewed her for a piece, she is an up and coming female athlete after all, she’s wanted to get to talk to her on a more personal level. And not to her surprise, dinner went great - Cameron liked talking to Alex (even though she did most of the talking) and she felt like Alex liked talking to her to, even if she didn’t say it. And now they were at the bar, Cameron was looking forward to getting to talk to her more, maybe with less of the dinner-date pressure. She took the stool Alex offered, facing the girl now above her. “I’ll do a vodka soda,” she smiled, raising her voice just a little to be heard over the people surrounding them. “What’s your drink of choice?” Cameron was interested to know even the littlest of details about Alex, since she hasn’t divulged much about herself in the conversations they’ve had so far.

ALEX TAYLOR

Alex nodded at the girl's answer, flagging down a bartender and ordering a vodka soda and a rum and coke for herself. It was crowded, so Alex used that as an excuse to maneuver herself a little bit between Cameron's knees. This was where she was most comfortable: the bar. Alex was very out of her element getting dinner with someone, but now she felt a little more confident - though she'd never admit to feeling less confident at dinner. She shrugged at Cam's question. "Rum and coke, probably." She really drank anything, though, as long as it wasn't a martini. "I like whiskey sours, too." The bar was also the place where she became more talkative (see: flirtatious), though a talkative Alex was probably still less talkative than a normal person. "What about you? Vodka soda?" She rested her hand on Cameron's knee, like she did with every girl she flirted with, though with this one it seemed different. Alex did it reflexively, almost as if she didn't even have to think about  it.

CAMERON RUSSO

Cameron nodded at the first half of her response. “Rum and cokes aren’t bad. Whiskey though...” she trailed off, scrunching up her face, half-joking, half-in actual disgust. Cameron couldn’t drink anything that rough going down. “Sometimes,” she shrugged. “Sometimes I go for something more fruity, a bay breeze or a sunrise, but vodka sodas aren’t bad. They’re more hydrating, and I think healthier, though that doesn’t really matter, it’s just good to be able to say.” Cameron noticed as Alex positioned herself closer to her. Being a table’s width away all night, it was a nice change to be closer to the girl now in front of her. As their drinks were brought over, Cameron passed Alex’s over and held her own in one hand. She looked up at Alex and tilted her glass slightly towards her, an offer to clink their glasses.

ALEX TAYLOR

"Whiskey is something I'd just drink at home," Alex shrugged. "When I go out, it's usually rum and coke." Being completely honest, Alex didn't feel weird sharing this kinda of surface-level information with the other girl. Usually, she hated giving any type of information away, but she had become accustomed to small talk when she was at the bar and knew she was going to leave with someone. For the most part, she had let Cameron do all the talking tonight, only responding with a few words here and there to appease the other girl and not seem like a total fucking weirdo. "Healthier than that fruity stuff, sure." Alex let out a small laugh, shaking her head a bit. When their drinks were brought to them, she was surprised when Cameron raised her glass, but she clinked them nonetheless before bringing hers to her lips. She wasn't one to sip, especially on her first drink, and she was still a little antsy from dinner, so she downed about half of hers right away. She kept her hand on Cameron's knee, subconsciously rubbing small circles with her thumb. Alex definitely was never one to be affectionate, but she knew others were and it was easier once she was drinking to show any small sign of affection so the other person knew they had her interest. "Thanks for dinner, by the way," she told her, struggling to find something else to say. Cameron had been the one talking all night, and Alex had become comfortable being silent in favor of listening to the other girl.

CAMERON RUSSO

"Whiskey's gross," Cameron teased her, scrunching her face once more. She liked joking around with Alex here and there while she was talking to her; any effort to get a smile out of the other girl.  Cameron herself smiled at hearing the small laugh come from Alex - a rare sound to her, but one she was happy to hear. "I just said healthier, you don't have to call me out by specifying what it's healthier than. Besides, fruit's healthy too." She playfully waved her hand. As their glasses clinked, Cameron softly cleared her throat. "To the pretty girl buying me a drink tonight, when she could definitely be out kicking someone's ass right now. I'm glad you're here instead." She gave Alex a smile and took a sip of her drink, knowing her limits. Being so small in stature, she knew it didn't take much until she'd start feeling the alcohol hit her, so she was in no rush to drink fast. "Of course. Thanks for drinks," she responded. "I'll always take the opportunity to talk to you for longer than the minute or two I get at the gym." She took notice to the small circles being traced on her knee and took the opportunity to show her the slightest affection in response. She brought her hand up to just briefly brush her thumb across the other girl's knuckles -  a small sign to show her own interest, but not too much as to overdo it. "I'd love to come to another fight again, too. Not that I ever had any doubt, but you're really good. And they're fun to watch."

ALEX TAYLOR

As Cameron talked, Alex listened intently, despite maybe looking pretty apathetic towards anyone and anything. Although Alex really didn't talk much, Cam just... kept talking, and Alex would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy it. Not that she'd ever admit that to anyone--or even herself. The taller girl nodded, but quirked her head just the slightest bit in confusion at Cameron saying she wanted to talk to her for longer than at the gym. She shrugged it off quickly, and kept taking sips of her drink as Cam continued. The touch of the girl's thumb against her knuckles was soothing, and it sent a wave of calm over Alex that she hadn't quite expected. It made her freeze for just a millisecond--nothing noticeable--before she leaned back on the bar and ordered a shot for herself. Clearly, she needed more alcohol to ease her nerves, although she wasn't exactly sure where they were coming from. "They are fun to watch," Alex nodded in agreement, thinking about all the fights she had watched once she finally got into the sport. Cam saying she wanted to come to another fight surprised her once more, but she kept her face stoic. She knew after they fucked and Alex ditched the girl during the night, Cameron wouldn't be so keen on coming back to another one of her fights. But still, with her drink finished and a shot down, and Alex starting to feel a little warm inside, she appeased the girl. "Sure, I fight a few times a week and train the rest of the time. So just let me know."

CAMERON RUSSO

Cameron raised her eyebrows, taking another sip of her drink while watching Alex take a shot by herself. She was intrigued, seeing how fast the girl was downing her alcohol, even though she seemed more comfortable as they walked into the bar than she did at dinner. Cameron hasn't minded carrying the conversation all night, nor did she even take it as a bad sign, she was just more of a talker than Alex was. She knew that if she truly didn't want to go out with Cameron, she easily would've just turned down her offer, so the fact that she came meant something to her. "Do you still get to watch them, or are you too busy fighting and training for your own?" Cameron hasn't asked too many questions tonight, she's mostly stuck to talking since she's gotten the sense that that's easier, but she's been genuinely interested in learning more about Alex since they've met. Every once in awhile, she'll ask her something, even if it's not too deep, and just learning small little details about Alex tends to make her smile every time. She took a few more sips of her drink, not wanting to fall too far behind in case Alex didn't want to stay too much longer. "I definitely will. It's admirable how hard you work, honestly. I mean, I've known you work hard because you're constantly in the gym, but it's pretty amazing how much you put into it. I like your passion, " she smiled, then finished off her drink.

ALEX TAYLOR

"I used to, when my trainer still fought in them," Alex responded, positioning her body so she was further in between the girl's legs. "I don't so much now unless it's someone I'm not sure I can beat." Alex was a pretty confident fighter--which often times got her into some pretty shitty situations--but she knew she wasn't the best of the best. Sometimes, fighters will come along that she wants to study and learn their habits in the ring, so she'll go sit in the back and watch a few of their fights. It's a trick her trainer taught her, and one that she has become slightly obsessed about it. "Especially when someone I know someone fights dirty, I go watch to see if I can pick them up before they get into my ring," she used the term 'my ring' as if it was only hers, which it wasn't, and she probably sounded cocky calling it that, but she didn't care. If it was someone else's ring, she wouldn't have the stats she does right now. Alex felt the alcohol a little more now, so she let a small smile tug at the corners of her lips. No one trying to get into bed with her had gone that deep with a compliment. No one had ever complimented her passion besides other fighters. "Thank you," she responded sincerely, tilting her head a little to look at Cameron. She didn't really know what else to say, mostly because she was shit at taking compliments and a little because Cameron was just so pretty. "Did you want another drink or do you wanna get outta here?"

CAMERON RUSSO

Cameron nodded along to what Alex was saying, always a good active listener, and happy she was sharing with her. She smiled as the girl in front of her, practically having her legs wrapped around her at this point, continued. “Your ring.” It was almost a proud smile - not that Cameron had any claim to Alex, but she liked the girl’s confidence. Watching her fight, and honestly even just seeing how hard she trains, she knew she had reason to be confident. “I like that.” She brought her hand back up to Alex’s, tracing her thumb along the inside of her wrist, and looked up at the girl. The two had certainly never been this close before, but Cameron was far from complaining. She wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol bringing the girl closer to her, but she liked the closeness nonetheless. “We can go if you want to. I know I’ve kept you out pretty long already.” Cameron was in no rush to end her time with Alex, but given her ”do you wanna get outta here”, she was assuming leaving here wouldn’t be the end of their night. The particular words she used gave Cameron pause to where exactly Alex thought the rest of their night was heading, but she didn’t put too much thought into it. “Are you ready to go?”

ALEX TAYLOR

Alex was definitely feeling the alcohol now, which is why she was a little more affectionate than she was any other time. She still kept it together, though, and just watched Cameron trace circles on the inside of her wrist. Alex would never—could never—admit how much she liked the other girl’s touch. It was so simple, yet it steadied and calmed her. “We don’t have to.” Alex shrugged, bringing her hand up to run through her fingers through her hair. Usually, Alex would be fine taking her time (unless the person who she figured she’d be sleeping with at the end of the night was particularly annoying), but they had gone to dinner before this, so Alex figured it was an acceptable amount of time and she figured that Cameron would think so as well. “Kinda.” She hummed. “It’s great here and all, but being alone with you sounds—” Alex clicked her tongue, her eyes flicking down to Cam’s lips. “—way better.”

CAMERON RUSSO

Cameron raised her eyebrows at Alex's comment, surprised at how forward the other girl was being. She could brush it off as the alcohol hitting her now, but she had a feeling that wasn't the only factor. This confidence is the most comfortable she's seen Alex all night, especially in comparison to how clearly out of her element the girl was at dinner, so Cameron figured it safe to assume this was more in Alex's comfort zone. Still, she wasn't going to turn down more time with her and she'd be lying if she said her eyes hadn't ever landed (and lingered) on the taller girl's lips as well. "Let's go then," she gave Alex a smile, already getting her phone out to get them a ride. "Mine or yours?" She knew the way their conversation sounded, but Cameron was never one for just hookups, and even if she was, she was hoping for more with Alex. That wasn't what she was looking for when she asked Alex out, even if she was unsure if Alex knew that yet.

ALEX TAYLOR

Alex moved from between the other girl’s legs so she could get up from the stool. “Yours,” she replied easily, knowing that there wasn’t a chance in hell she would be bringing Cameron back to her apartment. She never brought anyone back—it ruined Alex’s escape plan and let whoever it was stay as long as they wanted. Typically, affection was a completely foreign concept to the taller girl, but she could at least do what she figured girls liked when she had some alcohol in her. So, once Cameron ordered the Uber, Alex let her hand slip down to the small of the girl’s back to gently guide her out of the bar. Most people would just grab their date’s hand, but that is a lot more affection than Alex knows how to give and this wasn’t a typical date—just a hook up. Once they were outside, the Uber arrived relatively quickly and Alex opened the door for Cameron, letting her slide in first.

CAMERON RUSSO

It wasn't surprising to Cameron that Alex chose to go to her place, and luckily, it wasn't a long ride to get there. After a few short exchanges with their driver, and with Alex in between, they were already out front of her apartment. She slid out first and waited for Alex, this time closing the door for her, before leading her to her door. "You look really pretty tonight, by the way." Now that Cameron was on her feet, she could feel just a slight buzz from her drink earlier (not that being sober would stop her from complimenting Alex). "I know I keep sticking with the 'pretty girl' thing, but you really look nice tonight. Not that you don't always look great at the gym, but. I like seeing you out tonight, you're pretty." She smiled at her for a moment before pulling out her keys to let them inside. After a second of fumbling, Cameron opened the door, letting Alex go first.

ALEX TAYLOR

Alex was sure she froze when Cameron called her pretty. That wasn't a word hook-ups use, nor a word Alex has ever really been called. It made her hesitate in her steps as her mouth opened and struggled to find a reply. She shrugged it off, though, because Cameron had been referring to her this entire time as 'a pretty girl,' so it had to mean nothing. That's just how Cameron flirted, apparently. "You look hot, too," she settled on saying. Alex was very, very aware that she wasn't completely on her A-game tonight, but she knew it must have been the dinner that threw her off and settled her out of her element very early on in the night. Once they were finally inside, Alex let Cameron close the door before the taller girl closed the distance between them, settling her hands on Cameron's hips. "I've wanted to be alone with you all night." Her words were soft as she leaned in closer so her lips grazed the shell of the other girl's ear. Then, Alex did what she's been (pretty desperately) wanting to do all night and pressed her lips softly against Cameron's.

CAMERON RUSSO

Cameron gave Alex a knowing smile; she was gathering more and more that Alex wasn’t sure how to take her compliments and that she wasn’t too keen of giving compliments of her own. She didn’t mind or take any offense to it - Cameron was a fairly confident person, but she understood that not everyone was, and even from their interactions before tonight, she sort of already got that feeling from Alex anyway. As Alex closed the distance between them and she felt her hands on her hips, Cameron slowly wrapped her own arms around the taller girl’s neck. She held back a shiver as she heard Alex’s voice so close to her ear and she got a small “Me too” out in response. Of course she’s enjoyed talking to her all night, but she was also looking forward to doing more than just talking to her, and she could feel the anticipation of being so close to her in her chest. When she felt Alex’s lips on hers, she automatically brought one hand up to softly cup the girl’s face, as she pressed into Alex. Cameron’s thumb brushed along her cheek as her lips moved softly and slowly - meaningfully - against Alex’s, enjoying finally being this close to her.

ALEX TAYLOR

Alex almost flinched at the gentle touch to her face, being completely caught off guard for the hundredth time tonight. No one had ever been that gentle with her--usually, her hook-ups cupped her face aggressively and passionately as they made their way to the bedroom. But Cameron's thumb was brushing against her cheek and Alex could have melted right then and there. What the fuck? was the only thought going through her head. The touch made  her uncomfortable - solely because she wasn't used to it - so Alex tried to speed up the process a bit, tried to gain a bit more control of the situation. The girl moved her hands under Cameron's shirt, feeling the soft skin of her back and stroking her fingers along her spine as her tongue swiped against Cameron's bottom lip. After a few seconds of heated kissing, Alex pulled back, breathless and, quite honestly, surprised at how much she loved kissing the smaller girl. Her hands on the girl's hips slowly backed her up to the couch, where she gently pushed Cameron down in between heated kisses. Alex climbed on top of the smaller girl, her fingers easily making their way underneath Cameron's shirt to dance right underneath her bra line.

CAMERON RUSSO

Cameron was surprised but delighted at the sudden change of pace. She loved the feeling of Alex’s hands on her - her skin hot under the paths her fingers traced across her body. Cameron’s hand slid down from Alex’s cheek, her fingers resting on the back of her neck. She deepened her kisses to match the other girl’s as she felt herself being backed up into the couch. As Alex climbed on top of her, Cameron’s one hand made her way to Alex’s hip while the other grazed her chin, guiding her back in to kiss her again. Cameron was finding herself getting breathless, but loved every second Alex’s lips were pressed against hers or the spark she felt when Alex’s tongue grazed her bottom lip. She’d snag the girl’s lip between her teeth briefly, smiling into the kisses when she’d get a reaction. She didn’t know that this date would lead to her being under Alex in a heated make out session, but she was far from complaining.

ALEX TAYLOR

Alex had to actively bite back a groan when she felt a nip at her bottom lip, but a small, barely-there whimper still made its way into Cameron's mouth. She hoped the other girl didn't notice, because Alex never made any noises in bed unless it was faked and the noise that just tumbled from her lips was very much real. It made Alex even more uncomfortable, because what the fuck was this girl doing to her - with the soft touches and the compliments and Alex actually feeling things. Yeah, fuck no. Alex's hands immediately made their way to the hem of Cameron's shirt, lifting it up a little and starting to work on actually getting it off. But, since Alex wasn't a complete asshole and did understand consent in bed was very important, she pulled back from the kiss. "Is this cool?" She tugged on the shirt a bit to let Cameron know exactly what she meant.

CAMERON RUSSO

Cameron felt Alex’s hands pulling at her shirt and thought that maybe it was time to slow this down. While she didn’t want to  stop kissing Alex, she was getting the feeling that she might have the wrong idea of the meaning of tonight. She was getting hints all night that Alex might’ve been brushing off what was happening the rate at which things were happening at her apartment seemed to further confirm her suspicions. She paused for a moment trying to figure out how to approach it, her head still rushing from the passion of the moment. “You know this isn’t why I asked you out, right?” She paused, giving her a small smile. “Not that I don’t love this, but. This wasn’t a ploy to sleep with you.” She didn’t want Alex carrying around the wrong idea in her head, she meant more to Cameron than just one night of fun.

ALEX TAYLOR

Alex froze when the other girl wasn't reacting as... positively towards her advances. Her hands immediately moved from their position and instead, she held herself up by pressing one of her hands into the cushion of the couch. "Uh," her eyebrows pulled together in complete confusion, not understanding what else this could be besides a way to sleep with her. "... what?" Her voice sounded smaller than usual, her confusion and frustration with herself at not understanding the situation getting the best of her. She sat up, trying to not make it seem like her ego had been completely punched in the face. "But like, dinner?" It wasn't a very descriptive question, but it's all Alex could manage, trying to piece together the events of the night. "And drinks? You wanted to go out."

CAMERON RUSSO

Cameron nodded, listening along to the girl’s obvious confusion and knowing she’d have to break it down for her. “Yes, I wanted to go out with you.” She looked at Alex’s hand pressed into the cushion and she brought her own hand over, brushing over the other girl’s knuckles with her thumb once again. “I wanted to go out with you and spend time with you because I thought we’d have a good night together. I think you’re an interesting person and I think you’re pretty and I like kissing you and, again, I’m definitely not saying no to this,” she gestured towards the both of them, “but I don’t want you to think that I asked you out just to get you here. I asked you out for you, not for sex.” Cameron stopped there, hoping her explanation had made sense to the other girl. She tried to explain it in a way that didn’t come across from a rejection, because she was far from rejecting her. She also obviously thought there was more to Alex than interesting and pretty, but she kept it short; it was clear that Alex wasn’t accustomed to this and she didn’t want to scare her off by throwing too much at her. Regardless of Alex’s confusion though, she knew the girl was at least a little bit into her as well, even if she didn’t quite know how this worked.

ALEX TAYLOR

Alex had to stop herself from clenching her jaw when the girl’s fingers brushed against her knuckles once more, annoyed that the touch was still soothing to her even as she felt her confusion clouding her brain. She listened carefully to Cameron’s explanation, her face never moving from the confused expression it held. Despite Cameron explaining it quite eloquently, Alex still felt frustration bubbling up in her chest. She doesn’t date. Sure, she’s been asked out for dinner before, but she usually declines in favor of drinks instead and... she wasn’t quite sure what happened with Cam. Her mind replayed the events of the night, piecing it together slowly but surely. Alex sat up a little more, moving her hand from Cameron’s touch and running it through her hair. “Okay,” she said slowly. She was a little irritated, honestly, but that was just because she was so confused about how they got to this point. She would never admit that she somehow let it get to this point because maybe, just maybe she was into Cameron. She had convinced herself the girl was just really hot (which she was) and it would be a good fuck. “I’ll... go then?” Her words came out as a question as she stood up from the couch. Now, she was very uncomfortable, because she didn’t do dates unless it ended with sex - and it was clear this girl wanted to have sex with her, but was going to draw it out. Because everyone always wanted just sex from her, and she was completely okay with that. “Thanks for dinner.”

CAMERON RUSSO

Cameron watched as Alex's face maintained its confused expression. She couldn't help but think it was cute, even with the current situation - she found it endearing. She understood now just how much Alex wasn't understanding the meaning of them going out tonight and how she truly thought it was all just to get in her pants. She let the girl pull her hand out from under hers; Cameron didn't want to make her any more uncomfortable than she clearly already was. While she didn't want their night to end, especially with Alex seemingly upset and obviously uncomfortable, she was going to respect whatever the girl's wishes were. "You don't have to, but if that's what you want to do, you can, of course." She stood alongside Alex, in case she decided to leave. Cameron was a fairly confident person, so even if Alex was unsure right now and decided to leave, she knew the two had a good night. Even if just from the small signals Alex was (probably unknowingly) giving her, she knew they got along well and they both seemed to be into each other. "Thanks for drinks," she replied, "I had a really good time with you tonight."

ALEX TAYLOR

Alex awkwardly shifted her weight between her feet as she scratched the back of her head. If she thought she was out of her element at dinner, she was absolutely out of her element right now. She’s great at leaving after sex, but leaving when no sex has occurred and it was apparently just some fucking date night? Her confusion was just constantly rising, but she felt this scratching at her chest telling her to stay—that she wanted to stay. Honestly, that just freaked her out more and she found herself moving towards the door. “Yeah, of course. Yep.” Alex nodded. “See ya.” She gave a small, awkward wave as she quickly slipped out the door and shut it behind her. Alex took a second and leaned against it, taking a long breath in and blowing it out to try and control her growing frustration. What the fuck just happened?