#also the armorer for her part was like yeah i know i said she’s a cautionary tale but she’s so cute

[soloorganaas]

im sorry but its so funny to me that every single time we’ve seen bo katan she’s been assertive combative always physically moving she is in the driving pilot seat of her own life like that was inherent to her character across multiple seasons of three different shows

but then the minute she interacts with the armorer she’s stock still frozen in gay panic manages two word answers at best and follows her every instruction attempting to look petulant but is utterly powerless to stop herself

[lihhelsing]

Part 3

Eddie can barely react when Steve offers to pick him up at his house for their date night.

Eddie is a nervous wreck at this point as he's been with everything that's related to Steve (or related to not-Steve). 

Ever since he first matched with him, Eddie felt like he was living in a parallel world because there was no way in hell someone like him would ever swipe right on someone like Eddie. And yet. It really happened. 

Well, at first it didn't, but then Steve called and said all those nice things to Eddie and fuck if he wasn't easy when someone flattered him. 

But Eddie was also a paranoid shit, so he kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. For Steve to laugh at him and tell him it was just a prank. For him to ghost him - which maybe would be even worse. 

But Steve didn't and now he was waiting outside of his place in a fucking BMW? What the fuck was that? 

Steve looks good because he always does. They had been exchanging pictures of themselves as they talked and even when Steve was all sweaty and gross from a workout he still looked good. Eddie compensated with good angles and dork faces that Steve said time and time again were adorable. 

He insisted so much that he thought Eddie was cute that Eddie was almost believing him. He had also tried his hardest for their date, putting on some of his favorite clothes, a band t-shirt and ripped skinny jeans that made him look good. His hair was down because it felt like a good armor if he needed to hide from something. 

Steve doesn't even give him time to anything before he's smiling and saying 'you look so handsome,' and placing his hand on Eddie's thigh and fuck, he forgot how to breathe. 

"Thanks, you, uh, you look good, too," Eddie blabbers and Steve chuckles and it's adorable. He's adorable and Eddie is losing his shit. 

"Ready for our date?" Steve smiles and turns the car on, his hand heavy on Eddie's leg still. There's a part of Eddie that's sure he's the farthest thing from ready, but this is happening, no question. 

X

Somehow, Eddie tricks Steve into inviting him over after the movie is over. Steve said he wanted to take him to dinner, but he failed to mention dinner was actually eating popcorn and candy at a drive-in. 

Eddie had no notes. 

After the movie started, he managed to relax a bit. Steve seemed to feel it because he, too, relaxed and when they were done with their food, he offered his hand for Eddie to take. He felt giddy like a high-schooler and like Steve had, somehow, known Eddie never had the chance to do any of that in high school.

Despite his fancy car, Steve's apartment is more modest than Eddie expects it to be. He mentioned having a roommate who he's friends with, although he said he just met her over the internet and she hooked him up with the job. 

"So, is she like your best friend or something?" Eddie asks as Steve opens the car door for him as if he's a prince out of a fairy tale. 

"Oh, no. I mean, we're friends and we talk and I really like her company, but I don't think she likes me very much."

"Why not?"

Steve shrugs, but Eddie can tell it's a sore subject‌. Eddie gets it, though. For the little he knows Steve, he can already tell he cares a lot about people liking him or not. He also doesn't understand why someone wouldn't like Steve, but well, people are weird. 

"Is she out?" Eddie asks as they get in the elevator and Steve nods. 

"Yeah, she usually spends Friday nights at her girlfriend's place. That's why I normally get the Friday shift. I kind of hate being home alone and it's just a nice thing to do for her, I guess."

Eddie hums noncommittally. He's trying to piece Steve together, but it's hard because his looks and his posture sometimes say one thing and then he lets out this incredibly vulnerable information and it leaves Eddie confused. 

They walk in together and the place is small, but cute. There's an old couch and Steve tells him to sit down, saying he's getting them some drinks. Eddie doesn't want to drink, he wants to just grab Steve by the face and kiss him dumb. 

Steve doesn't take long and as he sits down, Eddie can't hold it anymore. He has no idea where all this bravado comes from, but he leans forward and pecks Steve on the mouth. Steve's eyes widen and Eddie is about to apologize when two hands cup his face and pull him forward. 

And then they are kissing. Really kissing. With tongue and little huffs that come out of Steve's mouth and Eddie feels like he's died. 

If he is, in fact, dead, then Eddie is going to make the best of it. He lets his hands move to Steve's waist and he pulls him in. He has no idea what he was trying to do, but Steve seems to be much more confident because he straddles Eddie's hips and then he's on top. 

"Fuck," Eddie says. He's completely out of breath and Steve feels so good like this. He grips his waist harder and Steve thinks it's a go-ahead for him to roll his hips down and Eddie sees stars. 

Steve kisses him like he's hungry for him, and it's a heady feeling. Eddie has kissed boys before, but no one that looked like Steve. No one that made his heart skip so many beats like he does. 

No one that seemed to want Eddie as much as Steve does right now. 

"Stevie," Eddie whispers. He's not even sure he managed to get the words out but Steve stops kissing his neck. His pupils are blown out and his mouth is red and swollen and Eddie did that. 

"Yeah?" Steve is out of breath, too. His chest rises and falls in quick intervals. 

"Can we slow down?" Eddie says when he catches his own breath. He's afraid of saying it because it makes him look pathetic, but he doesn't want to rush this. 

They've been talking for a month before they even went out, but Eddie still feels too raw and insecure and-

"Of course, baby," Steve interrupts Eddie's train of thought and he has a soft smile, but he doesn't move away. He's not repelled by Eddie. He leans in and kisses him softly on the mouth. 

The pet name wraps itself around Eddie's heart. He's desperate to believe all of this means more than just a casual hook up but he knows he can't. Not yet. 

"Oh, wait! I saved a video I wanted to show you," Steve says as if they weren't eating each other a few short seconds ago. Eddie chuckles. He likes it. He likes how Steve can just roll with whatever Eddie throws his way. 

"Yeah, let's see this video," Eddie smiles, takes a moment to just admire Steve, hair a complete mess thanks to him, face flushed a pretty shade of pink. He looks perfect and Eddie wants to keep him so bad. 

"Wait, can you call my phone? I don't know where I put it." 

Much to Eddie's disappointment, Steve gets out of his lap and pats his pockets, frowning. He starts moving around the house and Eddie fishes his phone, dialing Steve's number from his contact list. 

He watches as Steve disappears back inside the kitchen and listens as his phone starts to ring right beside him, on the couch. Eddie can't see it, so he pushes his hand at the edges and pulls out Steve's phone. 

They must've been making out pretty hard for the phone to go this deeper on the couch. Eddie chuckles and presses the red button at the same time Steve comes back into the living room. 

"Found it! I left it at the kitchen counter when I grabbed us water," Steve says, waving a phone he has in his hands. Eddie frowns at him and holds out the phone he found. 

"Me too."

It's Steve's turn to look confused. "What?"

Previous | Next

[bi-badass-geek]

Hades 1 vs Hades 2 Designs

● Hermes besides Hypnos was first character that made me think when i saw him oh some time has passed since Zag's escapes indeed, makes you feel that time skip. In this particular debate between those i'm really digging both but if needed to say which i prefer would go with second. I feel it should be said he sure rolls nicely with longer hair i would say darker outfit too but that's probably because pallet that's used for levels.

Ps. I saw post that mentioned how his ring is the same as ones Charon is wearing in first game and if it's a hint at something i'm here for it!

● Zeus for this god specifically there is discourse about how his pose is less dynamic and oh boy if i don't agree with that so much. In first game you see him and his look makes you think yeah this is the king of gods while in second game man is just there with posture i take often because i'm useless gay that don't know what to do with my hands and feels like they took all this might and put it into chiseling his nipples & abs into his golden chestplate. Not to mention the detail of missing the iconic bolt! Don't think it needs to be said but 100% would pick Hades 1 design out of those options.

● Poseidon the King of the Sea another example in my humble opinion where they went with flattening that dynamic looks exchanging it for man that just standing there chilling which is good for him but where first screams cool uncle second one goes uncle that wants retirement. I really like how we can see the trident now tho and need to point out his outfit sure got more print on it. When it comes down to pointing out which one is the winner in my eyes it would be 2020 one.

● Aphrodite if she wasn't the one that got thrown into drama because people double standards and hypocrisy. Design from first game and the pose straight up makes you think of love, lust, seduction all the things that are associated with said goddess. As for Hades 2 version i have no clue why it feels like this considering it's actually the opposite because we can see armor on her legs now but she feels less covered for me, do i find it negative or in any way problematic? Not one bit let the woman show off all her assets all day long! Really love the adds of her weapon and shield makes you immerse in the store of oh fights are happening around these parts. From seduction to i stand here at the ready kinda vibe and i'm really digging it.

Ps. Another post i read was about fact that her war paint i will call it (not 100% sure if that is it or just line for the giggles) is reference to Ares and considering her myth i really like that touch!

● Hypnos was the first OG i saw and was like man not only catching up on his sleep but also got such glow up i absolutely adore the design. Not to say he looked bad in Hades 1 but there it was like okay nice to Hades 2 like Damnnn and his lil helpers that keeps him up! Love the fact that of all things they made him be tucked into his cape like burrito.

Ps. I really do hope by the end of the game we get to wake him up so he can try out that nectar that we all leave there waiting.

● Chaos so many things to say and at the same time silence says it all. Seen people focusing on fact some out there call them he or how it's a downgrade from previous but don't even elaborate why they think that because everyone has right to have their own preference but at least put it into words instead of going trash next..there was also notion how they resemble Meg and while i see where people get that idea from for sure before reading that my mind didn't went there at all. I think both designs really work with someone who is primordial originator and how time goes so can their form. I find it very fascinating that they put old skeleton with new one and adore galaxy under suit makes me think of Nyx right away and how they're connected. Can totally see how between those two gamers got major stance that left reminds them more of male and right of female beings but at the end of the it chaos is chaos. Gotta take chair routine from Meg while they at it! The face on the shoulder surely throws me in loop tho fits? Sure. Does it disturb me in micro scale? Yes. About frames and poses don't have much to say cause both caption the essence of i mind my business everything unrelevant until i say so.

Ps. I know it's about physical aspect but let me say Chaos roasting Mel about how her brother is amusing one out of two Hades spawns is living rent free in my brain.

[thechekhov]

Chekhov Reads Dungeon Meshi: CH46

D....dark Laios?

I mean, you DID consent!

The fact that ghosts can pass through walls and take other things with them... it kind of elicits another type of organism. Like, what can pass through cell walls? What other parts of the body can just yoink stuff from one place and bring it to another?

Congrats! It's all just been a dream!

I'm sorry what the SHIT?!?!?

Well, I-- .... yeah, I GUESS.

Though it looks more like one of those carousel horses.

I think this is probably still inside the dungeon. Very... DEEP. Inside the dungeon.

What? WHAT?! These things are like regular animals down here???

Oh, I--hm. I see.

Ordered by WHOMST?

Is this just an entire society of (humans??? ghosts?) that lives here in the dungeon deep? Is there still a king under the mountain? Are the rumors of the king dying not true at all?

........or are these people and descendants of adventurers who came in but were never able to leave? And the fact that Senshi points out that none of them are old.... are they ageing?

Laios, Senshi n--...... welp. There they go.

Bless this man and his absolutely non sexual obsession with monsters. But.

Izutsumi, who is a human-level intellect beastkin (though she's low on wisdom and patience....) is being very.... beast-ly and soft here. She's being magically compelled, presumably, to chill the fuck out.

Which means all these monsters are also under the same effect? Isn't that a little fucked up? They're basically under a permanent drugged effect.

Also. Hm. 'short lifespan' is....relative. Short lifespan compared to what? Immortality?

Orcs know this place exists....?

These people planting things for fun means they're absolutely trapped here like spirits.

Keeping up appearances for. Whom.

These poor people have no new incomers to talk to, huh.

Oh, I uh---- ................ hm. THat's not at all what I was imagining either.

Fashion is cyclical after all I guess....

Mmmmm. Mmmm-hmmmMMM.

WHEEEEZXE

Knowing I've finally hit these two absolutely iconic panels... amazing.

......I guess it can only do so much to make her docile...... she still doesn't like Laios.

Why does he look familiar...?

....so Derghal had a son. And a grandson. So then why is there a bid for the throne...?

Laios. Laios, is milking the minotaur the ONLY thing you did? Or was there more to it? Laios.

It's interesting. That bartender said he was 600 when he started his now-400 year old ale. So. That means they're 1000 years old.

That means that they're about as long lived as elves? Haven't gone mad yet. But that's still a long time.

That's kinda worse, yeah, but a loss of the self is a type of death, in a way...? So....

The most throwback of all time.

Actually, I feel like that's been there for a while, although it didn't always look EXACTLY like a lion's head. I feel like the little living armor he keeps in there made it that design? But how would it do that on purpose?

this is what it looked like some chapters back. Yeah, it's been sculpting into a lion's mane for a while now.... Ohohohoh playing the long game are we? 👀

Ah, it's not a wolf. How tragic for you, Laios. It'll never work out.

Also, damn, those wings sure be lookin like Falin's very non-dragon wings. What a wild coincidence. I'm sure that doesn't mean anything. :)

laughing hysterically. This poor guy can't get a break. He's been running from responsibility and inheritance for his entire life and it still catches up and trips him purposefully.

There is definitely a certain amount of tragedy there, yeah. These people aren't asking Laios for help because it's easier. They're legitimately stuck in a nightmare scenario. Unless you're someone who can get pleasure from other avenues, living all that time without the basic needs will drive a person mad. Elves live just as long, presumably, but they're still able to eat, I assume.

I'm honestly more surprised they're all as sane as they are.

.......King of Forgor.

[val-of-the-north]

More observations for the trailer I am going insane!!!

I can't claim the original observation of this candle tree detail is mine, but it's from a Japanese Twitter user, here's a screenshot of the post and a link to it as well [x]

The rest of this observation IS mine though, so let's get to it:

With all the talk of cardinal sin, Messmer having a few parallels to Lucifer as pointed out by some friends of mine [x] I have to wonder if he is the cause of a speculated first burning of the Erdtree.

If this is the first time you have heard about this concept, I'll give a short summary. You know how Leyndell is covered in ash by the time we reach it in-game, and how that goes unexplained? We know for a fact that must be the Erdtree's ashes because after we claim the Rune of Death and the Erdtree burns even more, the capital is entombed in it.

We are also told that the Age of Plenty, an age in which the Erdtree gave physical blessings from its sacred sap, swiftly came to a close and the tree had to be changed to simply an object of faith...

So the theory claims that the reason why the Age of Plenty ended so swiftly was due to the Erdtree being set on fire. In theory spaces, the go-to culprit for this speculated action has often been the Gloam-Eyed Queen, with her connections to fire (Blackflame specifically) and Destined Death, but now there's the possibility that this was all Messmer's doing after all. Promotional material and dialogue seems to really denote his affinity for scorching and setting things ablaze.

This probably also means he is the inventor of that scary flame construct that according to Miyazaki as per this interview [x] was an old war machine, no doubt used during this "unsung battle".

Another important part of Messmer's design is the two snakes, which point us back to the Age of Plenty! Godfrey likely ruled during and directly after that time, and the arenas were likely built because of him. It had to be during Godfrey's rule because by the time Radagon became Elden Lord the practices of the colosseums had died down, as told to us by the Ritual Sword and Shield Talismans:

One of the more interesting aspects of the gladiatorial battles that once took place is the snake symbolism on the gladiators' armor.

So the snake was a symbol of a generic "traitor to the Erdtree", and it predated Rykard's blasphemy by an entire age at least... so what if it wasn't generic at all and it represented Messmer himself? He might have been the perpetrator of a betrayal so foul that Marika removed all traces of his existence from her empire's history, but kept the symbol of the snake as a spiteful reminder of him and all other subsequent traitors. After all, she does seem to have power over which one of her children gets remembered or not, and if not her, then the collective of the Golden Order:

Do note that we don't know when she said this. It could have been while she was still at the height of her rule or right before the Shattering. What we do know for a fact is that the soulless demigods inside the Walking Mausoleums have no known history to speak of, which is quite unlike Godwyn, one of the more accomplished members of the family. So yeah, being forgotten by history might be something the Golden Order does to those they deem unfit, so Messmer could be a likely candidate for such treatment... except instead of doing nothing noteworthy he did TOO much lol.

Now I gotta wonder if Marika hated him more or less than her Omen babies. One could argue that locking them down in a sewer close to where she lives was done more as an obligation than any true resentment. She could have sent them to the Shadow Lands if she really wanted them gone and unaccessible, as that place seems filled with Crucible-related things...

I am not saying she was a good mother to them because she didn't kick them to the Shadow Lands, but perhaps she DID have some small affection for them that she really couldn't follow through with.

Of course, maybe she just couldn't banish them anymore after banishing Messmer for whatever reason (maybe she cut-off a connection to that realm?). However, the most likely possibility is that he WAS known like the many soulless demigods and that Mohg and Morgott predate him. It's just that while those two were born undesirable through no fault of their own and were thus only hidden away, he BECAME undesirable which was worse in Marika's eyes so he gets the extra banishment and the removal of all of his history... there are so many possibilities...

[dwyntwo]

Okay, so... as a collective fandom, we can agree that bullying Kaz is fun, yeah? There's just something about seeing the guy down at his lowest and then prodding him with a stick and going "Come on, do something."

But I'm going to stand in his corner for a bit in this post.

Something that never really sat right with me is the collective implication that Kaz isn't good enough for Inej (and never will be).

I'm totally with you: he didn't deserve Inej in the first book and maybe not even yet in the second because he didn't give her anything to work with. He didn't even visit her after she was stabbed, or show her how relieved he was when she recovered. And this is just the thing: he didn't deserve her because of his BEHAVIOUR, not because he's inherently less important or less valuable or less of a person than her.

However I've read so many post-CK fanfictions where Kaz has been working on himself, is openly communicating with her, basically kisses the ground she walks on, treats her as his equal and goes above and beyond to make her as comfortable as possible, and still everyone INCLUDING Inej (and Kaz) goes "I/she deserve/s so much better than me/him". And THAT implicates that the reason Kaz wasn't good enough for her was not his behaviour towards her, but the fact that he as a whole human being is just "not enough" and "less valuable" than her, and that viewpoint has always made me super uncomfortable, especially considering his trauma.

Now I know what you're going to say, and I absolutely agree: trauma never excuses abhorrent behaviour. But there's just something icky to me about looking at a traumatized person who has not only been making an EXTREME effort to overcome their issues, but also shown amazing results, and going "They don't deserve X", "They're less than X" etc. just because they haven't fully healed yet or might never fully heal. It gives "Traumatized people are damaged goods"-vibes, which is especially weird considering my next point: INEJ IS TRAUMATIZED TOO AND HER TRAUMA GETS IN THE WAY OF A GOOD AND LOVING RELATIONSHIP JUST AS MUCH AS HIS.

She literally admits to herself that she wears as much armor as Kaz does and was being kind of hypocritical when she told him to remove his. Inej is a flawed character (which somehow seems to be a controversial take in the fandom), and to put her on a pedestal because of how virtuous and "better" she is than Kaz takes all the nuance out of her. There are definitely some parts in the books where I felt like she was in the wrong or toeing the line, but the others never really call out her behaviour the way they do with Kaz, not even in their internal monologue, so we're left with this image of an Inej who can do no wrong and a Kaz who simply got lucky.

The fact that in aforementioned fanfictions (that I still absolutely adore btw) Inej too thinks he isn't good enough for her despite everything he does for her and for himself, and despite how far he's come also turns her acknowledgment of her own self worth into something ugly and vain in my eyes. She loves herself, but she also loves Kaz, so I don't think she, or any good partner, would look at her boyfriend who clearly already thinks very little of himself and go "Yep, this fucker isn't good enough".

So often people will look at a healthy happy couple and go "He/she could do so much better than her/him". Like that's a whole person you're putting in a competition of "Who's more worthy?" as if they were some object that is of better or worse quality.

I don't think I articulated this too well and there's a lot more to be said about this, but I hope you understand the gist of it. Post CK-Kaz who works on himself and openly communicates ABSOLUTELY deserves Inej, and I will ROT on this hill.

Now I've been nice to him for long enough I think *whacks him with a crow bar*

[matchamilkislover]

White Horse, 2. (a.a.)

pairing: knight!abby x princess!reader

cw: fantasy!au, fem!reader, a tiny bit of blood mentioned, eventual displays of fighting and violence bc it’s fantasy, kind of slow burn?, tension, reader has an attitude, tall af!abby bc size difference, royalty!au, mentions of arranged marriages, some mentions of au politics, abby in armor is a warning in itself

synopsis: you are the youngest princess of the royal family that rules over your kingdom, Aphrynia. now a young adult, you’ve come of age in a tense time, and your personal protection is of utmost importance — which is why the resignation of your previous personal knight means a rushed reassignment ceremony with little to no preface. That being said, why does the name of your new knight sound so familiar?

word count: 3.67k

a/n: this is a kinda slow and really dialogue-heavy chapter but i’m still giggling and kicking my feet, i am so excited for the rest of the story omllll (it’s my own story i have to write it myself but i’m also delulu)

you can read part 1 here!

⊹ ⋆｡˚ ————————— 𓆩♡𓆪 —————————⊹ ⋆｡˚

Clapping resounded in the large room, but you paid the sound no attention. Yours and Abby’s gazes were still locked on each other, like you were caught in a dance to see who would break away first. Finally, she gently kissed the top of your hand and released it, standing to tower over you with her tall, built form. The simple kiss on your hand made your heart speed up unexplainably, and you swallowed and quickly pulled it down to your side, burying your hands in the skirts of your gown. Abby’s gaze, however, was still locked on you, and you looked down and then around the room to avoid her gaze. What in the world was going on?

Realizing that everyone else in the room had moved on from the ceremony and started milling about, you too decided that it was time to go, clearing your throat before stepping out of place to find Nina. Abby opened her mouth and looked like she was about to reach out and say something to you, but was interrupted by members of the court starting to swarm and try to steal her attention. Thank god, you thought to yourself, dashing away before court members could swarm you, too.

A hand suddenly fell on your shoulder as your eyes searched the room for your lady’s maid, and you cursed in your head, turning to see which Lord or Lady (or worse, daughter or son) had gotten their claws into you. You would’ve breathed a sigh of relief when you saw that it was one of your own siblings if it wasn’t George.

“If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you’d just seen a ghost, little sister,” he teased, that shit-eating grin of his spreading across his face. You just rolled your eyes and turned to face him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, George,” you lied, brushing his hand off your shoulder and crossing your arms. He laughed.

“Oh sure. She’s the one you always attended lessons with, right? Yeah, she was fun,” he replied casually.

“If by fun you mean insufferable, then sure,” you retorted. “Please, you only liked her because she supported your shenanigans.”

He lifted his hands humorously. “Hey, you got me there. It’s nice to feel appreciated once in a while.” You sighed and started visually searching the room again, hangover still leaving you in a mood not quite fit for George’s lovely personality.

“I’m sure it is. But you’re a big boy, so if you could entertain yourself so I can get away from this lovely conversation, that would be great,” you finally huffed and quickly strode away, back on the hunt for Nina. Finding her meant finding breakfast and a nice rant session. And, you thought as your head throbbed again, a lot of water.

“There you are!” A familiar voice squealed as you moved about the cavernous room. You instantly smiled.

“Oh, Nora, thank goodness,” you squealed back as your eyes landed on your friend approaching just from your left. The two of you met with joining hands, squeezing comfortably.

“Are you alright? You looked entirely shocked to see Knight Anderson up there,” Nora inquired, her brows furrowing in concern. You sighed for what felt like the millionth time on this already exhausting day.

“I’m fine, I just didn’t really expect to see her, that’s all,” you replied, trying your best to brush off the way your heart pounded in your chest. You really wished it would stop that. Nora suppressed a knowing smile.

“She’s certainly changed a lot, hasn’t she,” Nora noted with waggling eyebrows.

“Nora,” you gasped, fighting the urge to smile with her. “You know good and well my opinion of her, so you can stop that now!” Though it felt genuine to you, your retort was unconvincing, and Nora simply rolled her eyes.

“Are you seriously still hung up on that? It’s been what, 8 years?”

“9,” you interrupted. “It’s been 9.” Nora rolled her eyes again.

“Close enough. If you want to hold a grudge, that’s fine by me, but I am going to enjoy this while I can,” she teased, sauntering away as you gasped again and feigned reaching out to hit her playfully as she walked away.

Finally, you spotted Nina waiting patiently for you near the edge of the room and let out a breath of relief. You approached her quickly, and her face lit up as you neared, feeling much less awkward when she was with you rather than being alone as a lady’s maid without her princess. You easily hooked your elbow with hers as you took a spot next to her, desperate to seem too occupied to socialize with anyone else.

“Can we please get out of here?” You begged through the clenched teeth of your plastered smile, nodding gracefully to people who passed you like nothing was wrong. Nina almost giggled.

“Yes of course, princess,” she replied, the two of you stepping forward and turning to the door.

“Why does everyone keep giggling at me?” You questioned, again through clenched teeth.

“Excuse me for my bluntness, but your reaction to Knight Anderson was quite entertaining,” she replied, still suppressing giggles.

“My reaction? What reaction?! I was under the impression my face was quite neutral, thank you!” You replied in a way that was almost offended.

“You just seemed quite surprised to see her, is all,” Nina explained gently. “I highly doubt someone who doesn’t know you well would have noticed, princess,” she reassured as the pair of you finally approached the large doors that would lead you out of this blasted throne room.

“It’s not my fault no one told me she of all people would be my new knight! You would be caught off-guard too if you were me!” You retorted, trying to keep your voice to a whisper despite your urge to raise it.

“All I’m saying, princess, is that-” Nina’s reply was cut off by a voice ringing out over the chatter of the crowd to you.

–

In terms of the aftermath of the ceremony for Abby, it was certainly a wave of attention — attention she didn’t want even one bit, especially when the only person she really wanted to talk to was you. Judging by your reaction, you certainly hadn’t been expecting to see her. Hell, she hadn’t been expecting to see you either until maybe 10 days ago. But it seemed like no one had bothered to inform you that she would be your new knight.

“Knight Anderson?” a voice asked, bringing Abby out of her thoughts and back to the many people surrounding her in the throne room.

“Hmm?” She replied, clearly having zoned out and not heard whatever the woman had said. She was quite a sight to take in, with gaudy clothing and a tight, pointed face. The woman smiled, but it looked more like a sneer.

“Oh, I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Lady Ulfrid, I’m new here as well. I was just wondering, Queen Arabella spoke quite highly of your accomplishments, and it must be so for you to be a personal knight for her youngest daughter. What might these so-called accomplishments be, I might ask?” Lady Ulfried sneer-smiled again, and this time, Abby couldn’t help but feel like Abby saw the expressions just as they were. She was questioning her.

Raising an eyebrow, Abby let a smirk dance on the corners of her mouth and adjusted her stance. “Well, I was top of my class in training, but that’s not the answer you’re looking for, is it? So what would you like to hear about? The battles I led in our recent land conflicts with Chryiont? Or the ones I led 2 years ago in Dungard? Or was it my successful takedown of the great Pirate Duke? You’ll need to be more specific, my lady,” Abby replied with a knowing smile, satisfied by the woman’s widening eyes.

“Oh, well, I- I just meant, um-, well,” Lady Ulfrid floundered, and it satisfied something a little sadistic within Abby. She was tired of being questioned because of her age, much less her gender, and it felt nice to make people who questioned her then question themselves instead.

“Don’t worry,” she replied, cutting off the woman and leaning down to her height. “I think I know exactly what you mean.” She smirked, and stood back to full height as Lady Ulfrid’s face reddened and she sped away from the knight, muttering something incoherent under her breath.

Turning to scan the rest of the room with her hands clasped behind her back, Abby suddenly realized that talking to Lady Ulfrid had made her lose sight of you. Last she saw, you were talking with one of your court friends — Nora, was it? — and now you had completely disappeared. Something about this felt oddly familiar. Right as she thought she caught a flash of your dress — god, that dress made you look something unearthly — another person tapped on her arm, and she nearly groaned before turning and seeing who it was.

“Long time no see, huh Anderson?” George asked with a sheepish grin, pulling her in for a one-handed hug. Abby grinned back and returned the hug gladly.

“Too long,” she replied easily. “But you know, I don’t think I can condone your shenanigans now,” she continued teasingly. George laughed with a wide, open mouth, patting Abby on the arm.

“Yeah, well, I’ll just have to figure out a way around you,” he replied jokingly.

Abby chuckled and shook her head. Suddenly remembering that she had been looking for you, she snapped to attention, scanning the room quickly. Finally, she spotted you nearing the exit with your lady’s maid, and she patted George on the arm as a farewell before starting after you.

“Princess!” She called, nearly jogging across the room and swiping between different huddles of people. “Princess!”

—

Your smile dropped when you heard Abby calling after you. Shit. While you stood there trying to accept that Abby Anderson would be constantly on your heel from now on, Abby caught up, slowing to stop and face you. You looked at her, expecting her to say something, but she just stared back.

And you both kept staring.

Looking at her felt like seeing a dear old friend and someone entirely foreign to you all at the same time. Like two winds hitting you from opposite directions, pushing the breath out of your lungs and filling them back up all in one motion. She was so different but so familiar, it made you want to both run away and never leave her presence all at once. You didn’t even realize you were staring, studying her like art in a museum, until Nina loudly cleared her throat beside you.

Whoops.

You came to a start and also cleared your throat awkwardly, nodding to Abby as a delayed greeting as you shared an uncomfortable look with Nina. “Well, uh…I, we…it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” You remarked awkwardly. This was already going terribly.

“It has,” Abby confirmed with a nod. You pursed your lips.

“Well, uh, I suppose we should get going, shouldn’t we, princess?” Nina asked timidly, looking at you with wide eyes.

“Oh, yes, of course,” you replied quickly, nodding and turning with Nina to return on course to your chambers.

You grimaced uncomfortably in Nina’s direction, and she returned the look apologetically. Abby looked like she had wanted to say something else, but instead bit her tongue and followed the two of you silently. The walk through the corridors was painfully quiet, you unconsciously straining to listen to the sound of Abby’s footsteps behind your own, hyper aware of her proximity to you. For someone who called her despicable the last time you had seen each other, you were certainly strangely invested in even the smallest movements of Abby Anderson.

Once you and Nina were safely inside your chambers, with Abby standing in place just outside your door, you flopped into a chair, rubbing your forehead. “This day has got to be some twisted sort of dream,” you moaned, slipping off your shoes one at a time. Nina simply suppressed a giggle and shushed you.

“These walls are not as thick as you wish them to be,” she reminded you in a hushed voice, perching in a chair adjacent to yours while she awaited your breakfast request. You pouted and sighed.

“I truly don’t understand why nobody told me she would be my new knight! I mean, she disappeared the day after we had our millionth argument 9 years ago, and now, out of the blue, she’s going to be right behind me 24/7? Guarding me? Protecting me like someone’s out for my blood? It’s just…fucking insane!” You whisper-yell, frustration bubbling over now that it was just you and Nina. Well, and Abby, waiting just outside the door.

Nina sighed, knowing that she should try to make you feel better, even though she couldn’t help but agree with how you felt. “The queen does what she does for a reason, I’m sure. With you being young and the whispers I hear from the other servants, I’m not surprised she wants a trusted eye on you,” she replies in a quiet voice. You take a deep breath and close your eyes, nodding.

“I know, I know. It’s just frustrating that not a single soul ever bothers to tell me anything. I mean, I would have really liked a warning that the girl I basically grew up with was not only returning to the palace as a knight, but my personal knight, and, to make matters worse, she looks like—” you gesture wildly to the door, “—that! How am I supposed to deal with that!?” you exclaim, your whisper lifting a little. Nina starts giggling uncontrollably, and after a minute you join her, if only because of the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.

“I think,” Nina says, taking a deep breath once her giggles finally subside, “that some breakfast and a lot of water might help make you feel better, hmm? Maybe a tonic from Dr. Anderson?” Nina offers kindly.

“Yes, please, you’re a saint, Nina,” you reply, rubbing your forehead again as the throbbing pushes forward. “But, no tonic, actually, please—I can’t handle being embarrassed by asking Abby’s father for a hangover cure the first day she returns, I think I might keel over from sheer embarrassment,” you finish with a groan. Nina chuckles and nods, standing from her perch.

“Whatever you say, princess,” she says with a pat on your shoulder. “I’ll be back soon.” With that, she pushes the door open and exits the room, mumbling an awkward greeting to Abby that makes you cringe from sheer discomfort.

Sighing, you look around at the chaos that is your room after this morning’s rushed preparation activities, and decide that the least you can do even with this raging hangover is make your bed. You stand determinedly and approach the bed, pulling back layer after layer neatly to then arrange each one on top of the last. It’s a bit awkward with the shuffling of your dramatic skirt around the edge of the opulent bed frame, but you manage to make it work.

You’re tucking in the last corner of your many blankets when an unfamiliar knock on the door catches you off guard, and you get stuck pulling your hand out from beneath the mattress. You pull harder and harder, gritting your teeth and kicking yourself mentally for the ridiculousness of it all. Stupid fucking mattress, you groan mentally as you pull, why is this thing so goddamn heavy!? With one exceptionally strong pull, your hand rips free from its feather-filled prison, only for the momentum to send you falling backwards into a heavy sofa behind you, the collision making a crashing sound that mixes oh so wonderfully with the surprised shriek that leaves your mouth. You catch yourself just barely on an arm of the sofa, but have no time to process what just happened when Abby comes barging into the room, eyes wide as she searches for you.

Just perfect.

You both stare at each other like deer in headlights when your eyes meet, unsure of what to do. It’s Abby who breaks the silence first.

“Are you alright, princess?” She asks in a concerned tone, walking over to you gingerly. Her large form seems almost unnatural in your space, and it takes a moment for your eyes to adjust to the proportions.

“Um, yes, I’m fine, I just…fell,” you explain awkwardly, cheeks going pink. You stand straight and pull your hand off the sofa arm, hissing quietly when the friction stings on your pointer finger. Looking down to inspect it, you notice a long splinter shoved inside of the skin and grimace.

“You just fell?” Abby asks quizzically, raising an eyebrow as she eyes the splinter.

“Well, I, um— I got my hand stuck, and when I pulled it out, I guess I pulled too hard and just…fell…” Your voice trails off as you look from her to the bed and back to your hand, touching the splinter gingerly and hissing again.

Abby nods, humming in understanding. “I see…do you need help, um, with that?” She asked, gesturing to the splinter.

“Oh no, I’ve—I’ve got it,” you reply casually, trying to hide the clenching of your jaw when you gently pull on the slice of wood. Abby opens her mouth to ask if she can help again, but you're already setting your jaw and pulling the splinter firmly, gasping at the more intense stinging when it slips out of your skin. A large bead of blood immediately forms on the spot, hinting to a stream, and your face pales at the sight as you bite your lip and look away, eyes searching for a handkerchief.

Your breath quickens in panic as you search, just the thought of the blood now seeping out of your finger making your breath quicken and your heartbeat skyrocket. A warm hand on yours and the feeling of a handkerchief being dabbed on your finger pulls you out of your growing panic, and you look to see Abby ever so gently holding your hand in one of your own while the other dabs the blood from your finger with a handkerchief.

“I remember one time when we were 9, you fell and scraped your knee on the stone while we were running in the garden, and you were very nearly screaming,” Abby said suddenly as she looked at your finger. “I guess I was right to assume that fear hadn’t changed much,” she continued, chuckling. A breathy chuckle left your mouth in return, gaze still focused on her hands touching your own.

“I never did have the stomach for it, did I?” You responded quietly, a gentle smile dancing on your lips. “I guess some things never change.”

“Yes,” Abby agreed, “some things never really change, do they?” She spoke in nearly a whisper, eyes finally glancing up to meet yours. Your breath caught in your throat, heartbeat slowing as you gazed into the stormy blue of her eyes.

“I guess not,” you whispered.

The sudden rapt knocking of Nina’s small fist and her pushing the door into your room ripped both of you out of the trance you had been in, you grabbing the handkerchief and holding it to your finger while Abby’s hands dropped yours and she stood at attention. Her mouth opened like she was about to announce her arrival before she spotted the two of you standing unusually close, and her movement stopped, brows immediately furrowing in confusion.

“I— We—“ you started.

“She fell!” Abby nearly shouted, her expression unsure. “She fell and I heard the commotion, so I came in, and she, um, got a splinter,” she finished, gesturing toward your hand. You raised your handkerchief covered finger as proof, and Nina nodded slowly. You weren’t quite sure why you felt like you had been caught doing something wrong, but it certainly did, and you certainly weren’t sure how to feel about it.

Abby cleared her throat, and nodded to the still open door. “Well, um, I should…yeah,” she stuttered, nodding a goodbye to both of you before returning to her post outside of the door that she closed behind herself.

As soon as the latch clicked, Nina’s eyes were on you like a hawk, and you were retreating back to where you had been sitting with your face in your hands. “Did I seriously just see that?” She asked incredulously, bringing a tray of food over with her and setting it on a small table. You nodded, face still in your hands, but you were quickly coaxed out by the smell of the food.

“I was just trying to make my stupid bed, and my stupid hand got stuck under the stupid mattress, and I fell pulling it out and got a splinter on my finger, and then it started bleeding when I pulled it out, and…yeah. That’s about it,” you poured the words out quickly, immediately feasting and downing large gulps of water when you finished. Nina simply nodded knowingly and watched, nibbling on a piece of toast as you ate.

“Y’know, that didn’t seem very despicable to me,” she remarked after a few minutes of comfortable silence, a mischievous grin growing on her face.

“Ughhhhh,” you groaned, turning an annoyed glance at her. “Are you going to keep being like this? It was just an awkward situation,” you complained, shoving another piece of fruit in your mouth. Nina laughed and nodded.

“I’m sorry, princess, but it’s been just too easy,” she retorted, still laughing. You rolled your eyes, but inside, your heart still skipped a beat every once in a while, thinking about her calloused, warm hands encapsulating yours, and her deep eyes gazing into yours like nothing else existed in the world.

You seriously needed to distract yourself if you were going to survive this.

⊹ ⋆｡˚ ————————— 𓆩♡𓆪 —————————⊹ ⋆｡˚

taglist: @paqerings @katniiss @dummysimp011 @chocbaleine

[five-rivers]

Cracked Clay Cup Chapter 14

@greatbigolhampuckjustforme

“I do not believe you have amnesia,” said Ember.  “I do not believe you have amnesia.  How are you so freaking–”

Phantom beaned Ember in the face with a seat cushion.  It might have been soft, but Ember didn’t exactly check to make sure that no one put gum under them after concerts.  

“LESS TALKING MORE SINGING!” Technus shrieked electronically. “NANOBOT ATTACK!”

“No!” said Skulker.  “Not the freaking–”  

A swarm of robots descended from vents in the ceiling.  Toy robots.  Brightly colored, with rounded edges.  They had lasers.  Ones that stung.  

“Ouch!” said Phantom.  

“Augh!” squeaked Ember.  

“Goddamn–” shouted Skulker before being borne under the colorful swarm.  

“BEHOLD, MY ROBOT ARMY!”

Freaking Leeroy-Jenkins-looking–

Phantom shoved them to the sides of the room with a wave of ecto-energy. 

“Hey, speaking of that, do you know Vlad?”

“Speaking of what?” demanded Ember, pulling gum out of her hair.  She was going to kill him for that.  “Freaking robot armies?  Are you going to tell us that Plasmius has a robot army?”

“AND HE DIDN’T BUY IT FROM ME?”

“Of course he wouldn’t!  Ol’ Plaz is a loser but he knows about malware.”

“No, I mean, like, I learned that move from him,” said Phantom.  “And, like, it does seem like all of you guys know each other, yeah?  I’m the point of contact, probably, but still–”

“Actually, no,” said Ember.  “Skulker’s been working for Plasmius for ages.”  Skulker had also clawed his way out of the robots and was now sneaking up on Phantom rather effectively.  

Except, suddenly, it wasn’t so effective.  Phantom twisted, reached back, hooked his fingers under the edge of Skulker’s helmet and heaved.  Skulker’s head popped off cleanly before soaring across the auditorium.  

Phantom stared after it for a moment, then shrieked, loudly.  “His head!  Oh, gosh, his head.”

Okay, maybe the dipstick did have amnesia.  

“Oh my gosh, I didn’t mean to–  His head came off.  His head.  Is he– He’s already dead, is he–  I didn’t mean to hurt– to end–”  The main part of Skulker’s armor fell over with a clatter.  

“Oh my god,” said Ember, flying over to Skulker.  The actual Skulker.  In the pilot’s seat in the helmet.  Usually she wouldn’t do this, but Phantom looked like he was about to cry.  She picked him up and yanked him out of the helmet.  “This is Skulker.  He just likes to stomp around in a suit of armor, ‘cause he’s compensating for something.”

“Hey!” squealed Skulker.  

“It’s a mecha!” chimed in Technus, proudly.  “My own design!”

“That’s… actually pretty cool,” said Phantom.  “But I think– I think I need to– Go home.  And lie down or something.  Have a, um, a good one.  We’ll hang out later.  Or fight.  Yeah.”  He hit a button on his weird necklace pocketwatch and disappeared.  

“Well,” said Ember.  “That was anticlimactic.”

“Yeah.”

“Kind of was.”

“Wanna keep fighting?” she asked.  

“YES!”

[cybergrinding]

Routine Maintenance

You gently laid down on the table and unbuttoned the top of your uniform. It was time for your mistress to perform your routine maintenance, your heads-up display notifying you of recognized issues. It was all part of the job, and perhaps for any other doll engineer, would be as bland and clinical as working on any other machine. Your engineer, however, your mistress, was different. She reveled in getting to play with your wires and parts more than anyone else that's ever worked on you. You squirmed on the table just thinking about what she had in store for you today.

You heard her speak from across the room, she was still getting her tools ready. "Alright Eris, any problems you're currently having? Any parts need replaced?" She spoke casually to you, using the nickname she made for you rather than your proper designation, E-415. She may have been reprimanded had any of her higher-ups witnessed her casual conversation with you, let alone what her maintenance entailed.

"Sensors have recognized a bulging capacitor in section A, number 3 specifically. No other issues of note currently."

"Mm, I'll probably have to replace the whole section. You'll also want to keep notice of any other ones too, if one has reached its end of life, the others probably aren't far off. No issues with connecting to your weapons?" She walked over to the table, holding a screwdriver and a toolbox of common replacement parts. She was already wearing her anti-static wristband. Though your external armor was plenty capable of warding off damage to any of your interior circuitry, you would still be pushed to the limit so regularly that bits and pieces needed replaced frequently, necessitating every frontline combat doll have dedicated maintenance staff.

"None, all weapons were fully operational when last connected, high altitude thrusters functioning normally. All weapons disconnected without issue."

"Good, good. Sounds like this won't take too terribly long before we can get to your favorite part." She shot you a devilish grin, you could hear the fan on your back spinning faster to disperse the heat. Not giving you a moment to calm yourself, she took the screwdriver to your abdomen, removing each of the screws holding the steel plate in place. She then pulled the plate off, and set it aside.

“E-enabling hot-swapping mode, mistress.” Though most maintenance staff would set their combat dolls into a low power mode while swapping parts, mistress always preferred to keep you largely powered, doing the minimum to allow parts to be replaced over without causing you to blue-screen.

She took a small flashlight in her hand and shined it into your now open abdomen, looking for the faulty capacitor in question. “Yeah, I see it here, shouldn’t be too hard to replace.” She placed the flashlight in her mouth, and grabbed out the necessary parts. A portable desoldering tool in one hand and the new capacitors in the other, with a soldering iron to the side to set the new ones in place. She reached in with the desolderer, and began working to remove the faulty capacitor. “You know, used to be that I’d need to pull out this whole board to remove the capacitors, but nowadays you can keep your insides inside while I work” She continued giving casual conversation as she worked, hard to understand with the flashlight in her mouth.

Before you knew it, all four had been replaced. Ordinarily, that would’ve been it, your engineer would give you a quick look over and close you back up. Mistress had other plans, of course. “Okay, I think we’re ready for a bit of stress testing.” She removed the flashlight from her mouth and set it down. “Are you ready, machine?”

Machine, there was always something about the way she called you that, so formal, yet so sensual whenever she said it. Nothing else made being a doll feel so good in your mind. You eagerly nodded your head.

She gave an amused chuckle and continued. “Very well, how about we start with…” She reached her hand into your open abdomen, and unplugged a small 3 prong connector from its socket. The fan on your back quickly slowed down and came to a stop. “It’s always important to test for these things, right?”

“A-ah, yes mistress.” You could feel yourself begin to warm up, you still had more than enough airflow to keep yourself from overheating, though to have your wires played with still excited your mind, the disconnected fan prompted a warning on your heads-up display, which you quickly dismissed.

“Hm, How about we test your radar tracking next?” Before you could respond, she disconnected the cable to your camera, leaving you unable to see. Another warning popped up, another warning dismissed. Despite this, you were still able to track what your mistress was doing, no combat doll would be limited to visible light camera for tracking targets.

You tracked your mistress as she clambered onto the table with you, and sat herself on your hips. She leaned forward slightly, and suddenly your vision came flooding back, the connection being restored. Actually seeing her now, on top of you, overwhelmed your senses.

“I’m almost done here, there’s just one last little thing I’d like to test before I’m satisfied.” The playfulness in her voice excited you, until suddenly all feelings of bliss cut off. Another warning popped up, notifying that another cable had been disconnected. You looked up to your mistress, she was holding a small 4 pin connector in one hand, the one that controls all feelings of pleasure. In her other hand was a paper clip.

She unfurled the paper clip until it was just a bent piece of metal wire, and leaned in again moving the metal wire towards the pins the connector used to be plugged in at. “So, all I have to do here is touch this to the first and fourth pins inside you, and…” A jolt of pleasure surged through your body, stronger than you could have ever imagined. By bypassing any sort of control and monitoring system, and simply shorting the two pins, she could overload your mind from sheer ecstasy leaving you, the once fearsome aerial combat doll, little more than a quivering mess on her mistress’s table.

After a couple more taps from the metal wire, you couldn’t focus on anything anymore. You hardly even noticed when your mistress got off of you and began reconnecting everything she unplugged. It was only when you heard the cooling fan on your back spin up that you finally came to your senses.

You looked over to your mistress. She was screwing your abdominal plate back into place, a content smile rested on her face. At all other times, you were E-415, an Excelsior class combat doll. But here, in these few tender moments you had, you were Eris, a machine loved by your mistress.

-----

I really hope you enjoyed this little thing I wrote, its my first time putting anything like this out on Tumblr, and I really enjoyed writing it^^

[ms--lobotomy]

Let my gay (technically pan) little ass write my first f/f fic. Please. I want to kiss another woman (Edit: it ended up being gn/f so good news men/nonbinary people!)

Summary: You and Kesh spend a moment together before the next Blood Game.

Content Warnings: Putting a few headcanons on her because she was JUST introduced, also a bit short (I'm probably the only one bothered by this tbh)

Image Credit: @squishyowl

You always knew when she was going to attempt another Blood Game. You'd never tell a soul. It wasn't exactly like you could, having been evacuated to the lowest reaches of the planet. It was dimly lit; not much power was diverted to the room. It wasn't a cage, per se, but it was stifling enough that it may as well have been.

Her helmet was off, her war-torn, scarred face uncharacteristically soft when she looked at you. The light hit her, illuminating her face and her armor. Some scars cut deep enough for slight shadows to occur, and her long hair was tied back in a simple ponytail. After a moment of silence, she knelt before you, still the taller one.

She took your chin in her hand and leaned down, putting her lips on yours. Your face went warm before you melted into the kiss, your hands trailing over the ridges on her armor. You stayed like that for a few moments, taking each other in. She was the first to pull back, her hand trailing down to your waist.

"How long are you going to be gone, Cal?" you asked, grasping for her other hand.

She squeezed your hand at the mention of her name. You felt the armor dig into your much more malleable skin. Normally it was a slight irritant, but you knew that you were going to miss this feeling soon enough.

"Who knows?" she asked. "These things get longer every time, I swear. It's like they know I'm up to something every time I go down here." She ran her thumb up and down the little part of your hand that it could reach, and you gave her hand a little squeeze back.

You sighed. "Yeah..." you trailed off. You desperately wanted to say more, but you felt a lump growing in your throat. "I just... I guess I just wanted to say that I'm going to miss you. A lot."

You felt your face grow warm again as Calladayce let out a little laugh. "Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it." She took your hand and pressed it to her lips.

"But it was so long last time," you said, looking down and away from her.

You felt her hand trail off of your waist and turn your head back towards her. The gold-coated armor was warm against your cheek, softly pressing into you. You felt your heart flutter in your chest. You knew you weren't going to be alone in the bunker; there was a myriad of other people in there, mainly others on the planet close to Calladayce. But damn, you were going to miss her.

"Before you know it," she repeated. You melted into her hand, closing your eyes.

"And if you don't make it...?"

She laughed again. "I'll get Him this time, for sure."

She got up, towering above you. She ruffled your hair a little bit, running her hands through it before leaving it messier than she found it. She grabbed for her weapon by the door, a halberd-like polearm. You couldn't begin to understand how she could use it against a long-range weapon, but she was the superhuman and you weren't. She grabbed her helmet and put it on. Sometimes, you said it looked like a banana. You couldn't bring yourself to say so now.

You felt tears welling up in your eyes, despite everything. Right before she exited the door, you felt yourself opening your mouth.

"Go get Him, Cal."

[gothicknightz]

bloodline pt. 2 | ethan landry

notes: PART TWO TO BLOODLINES, A FAMILY LINES PREQUAL. PART ONE OF THE BLOODLINES HERE, AND FAMILY LINES PART TWO AND ONE HERE. SCREAM 6 SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT.

A beer was in (y/n)’s hands as she danced with Chad in the middle of the frat party, with the latter being dressed up as a cowboy and an angel, the two syncing to the beat of the music that was blaring in a section of the house.

As Tara arrived, a small smile formed on (y/n)’s lips as he watched Chad’s eyes follow her, unable to remove them, as they were stuck like glue.

“You should go get ‘em, partner.” She joked as Chad rolled his eyes and smiled.

“What? I’m serious! You two have been making eyes at each other all semester. When are you finally gonna make a move?”

“I should say the same for you and Ethan,” He retorted, as (y/n) choked on her beer, “He’s been eyeing you up like a whole snack. Should get him out of that shell.”

She gave Chad the finger as she glanced at Ethan, who gave her a small wave, “I’ll go talk to Ethan when you finally work up the courage to talk to little miss independent over there.”

“Fuck you.”

“You are welcome.” She laughed, before slapping her hand on his back, “I’m gonna get more beer. Be right back.”

Anika and Mindy were relaxing on a couch, beers in both hands, with Anika asking how it doesn’t bother Mindy that people dress up as Ghostface, who had attacked her and her friends a year prior.

“Being at a house party, after you and your friends almost got brutally murdered at a house party?”

“No,” Mindy readjusted herself in the couch seat, “I see it as being struck by lightning; the odds of it happening twice to the same person are extremely low.”

“Hm,” Anika hummed, “Guess I should stay close to you, then.” She said while putting her legs over Mindy’s.

On the other side, Tara stumbled over herself as she made her way to the keg, looking for more to drink she ran into Frankie, to who she introduced herself.

Frankie mentioned how there might be more beers in the kitchen, as the two went there together, to also find out that there was also no beer in the fridge, so, in the end, Frankie mentioned that there was a bottle of Fireball up in his room, and the two made their way together.

Anika saw the pair and didn’t like this idea, Tara reassured her she was fine and continued on her way before Frankie had the smart idea to drag Tara up the stairs, which didn’t sit well with Anika and Mindy, who decided to call her brother over.

Chad was over on the other side, with Ethan, attempting to hype him up as he was dressed in a handmade ‘knight in shining armor’ costume.

“Alright, alright, alright.” Chad paused, as he raised a shot glass, “Cheers to the dynamic duo; four-tenths tower, third floor, room three-one-five!” He exclaimed, before clinking his plastic shot glass with Ethan’s, who ended up spitting out his shot back into the cup.

“You gotta start making moves, man,” Chad said as he saw (y/n) beaming a big smile at the stranger she was partying with before glancing at the duo and giving a thumbs up.

“I’ve seen that look you give (y/n), Landry.” He chuckled, as his roommate seemed a bit flustered at the mention of her, “You’re not fooling anyone.”

A big smile was on Ethan’s face as he rolled his eyes, “What if she doesn’t like me back?”

“Dude.” Chad placed an arm on his friend’s shoulder, “Who wouldn’t like you, man?” He said, adjusting his costume, “You are a snack; practically an entire meal on your own!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! You’re Ethan Landry!”

A big grin was on Chad’s face as he called (y/n) over, “Hey, (y/n)!” Who turned around to look at the duo, for Chad to make a ‘come here’ motion as she smiled and rolled her eyes.

“What’s up, Meeks?”

Chad cleared his throat before placing an arm on Ethan’s shoulder, “I need you to vouch for my man Ethan here. This gentleman of a guy couldn’t keep his eyes off of you all night, and I would love to know your opinion of him.”

(y/n) rolled her eyes and smiled, “You really like playing matchmaker tonight, Chad.” She paused, picking up a nearby beer and taking a swig out of it, “He’s cute.” She sent a smile at Ethan before placing a hand on Chad’s shoulder, whispering an ‘I hate you’ to him before walking off.

“See?”

It was only a matter of seconds before Chad was called by his sister, and the rest of the events of the night unfolded, with Sam making an unwanted appearance by Tara, and the group leaving the party subsequently afterward.

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

(y/n) sat beside Tara on the couch as they and the rest of the gang were gathered around the television, watching the nightly news reporting on the identities of the two bodies found at a nearby apartment.

The bodies were identified as Jason Carvey and Greg Bruckner, who were two Blackmore students, with Jason being in a class with Tara, which the original Woodsboro survivors classified as technically hitting close to home.

As the sisters argued, Sam’s phone started ringing, to which everyone stopped what they were doing, and stared at the phone in anxious silence.

“Why did everyone just freak out when the phone rang?” Ethan had asked, unaware of the Carpenter and Meeks-Martin siblings’ past.

“You gotta keep up, man,” Anika noted before Quinn handed her phone over to Sam, saying that her dad wanted to talk to her; her I.D. was found at the scene of the crime, which meant she had to visit the Detective at the station.

As Sam made her way to the station, Tara followed her sister out of the apartment complex, which Sam was against. Tara proved a strong argument against her sister’s statement, so they continued to the station together.

As the sisters were walking to the station, they had gotten a call from Ghostface, who mentioned that they were going to pay for what they had done, and to watch their backs, in which Tara was subsequently attacked from behind by the masked killer himself.

The two were able to get away, but not without Ghostface following them into a bodega, where he attacked two guys in line, and shot the bodega owner with his own shotgun. 

Meanwhile, the sisters were crawling on their hands and knees on the far end of the bodega by the freezers, trying not to make a sound, and when they did, Sam had pushed a shelf over, knocking Ghostface down, abling the sisters to make a run for it as the cops showed up.

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

The following day, Mindy had gathered the gang, including Sam, to the courtyard of Blackmore, as she laid down and aired out the suspect list, going on about rules and regulations, as well as sequels and requels.

“Okay, nerds!” She clapped to get their attention, “As terrifying as this is, I’m glad I get a chance to redeem myself for not calling the killers last time.”

“The way I see it is that someone is out there to make a sequel, to the requel.”

Anika was confused, as she asked, “What’s a requel?”

“Anika,” Mindy paused, “You’re beautiful sweetie; let’s hold all questions until the end.”

Sam noted that Stab one took place in Woodsboro and that Stab two took place in college, to which Tara added that someone is trying to copy the movies. 

“That is a possibility; heroes now in college, check, suspicious new characters to round out the suspect list,” Mindy said as she pointed to Ethan, “And or body count,” As she nodded to Anika. 

Mindy goes on about how the group is not just in a sequel, but rather a franchise, and that there are certain rules to a franchise. 

She notes that the budgets and everything are bigger, and everything expected from the last film will not be reused in this current ‘requel’ and that no one is safe, which meant that even main and legacy characters could and would be killed off.

Ethan then questions everything; even the main characters, if he was part of the main friend group, and if he was going to die a virgin.

Mindy notes how that was a weird overshare, and continues to her suspect list.

“Ethan; the shy, dorky guy who no one suspects because he’s so shy and dorky.”

Ethan asks why he’s on the suspect list, about whether or not it was based randomly because he was Chad’s roommate, to which Mindy rebuttals that the roommate lottery can be juked. 

“Quinn; the slutty roommate,” She pauses, to give a chef’s kiss, “A horror movie classic.”

“Sex positive. But, thank you?”

She asks Quinn how she got to be Tara and Sam’s roommate, to which she responded about an anonymous ad, which Mindy stopped her as she implicated herself enough. 

“Now, to my dear roommate, (y/n). You have been as clean as a germophobe, but there’s no human without flaws. What are your intentions for this friend group and Blackmore in general?”

(y/n) leaned back in her seat on the bench, and shrugged, “We’re both movie buffs, Mindy. I enrolled in Blackmore after hearing about their film programs, and they roomed me with you because we have similar majors. The rest was on you.”

“A solid truth, but I guess we’ll find out in act three, huh?”

“Guess we will.”

Mindy finally turned to Anika, in which she mentioned the most major rules in a horror franchise; never trust the love interest.

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

(y/n) was on her way to Tara and Sam’s shared apartment, leaving her dorm hall as Mindy was already over with the Carpenter sisters. 

She was on the top floor, and when it got to the floor below, Ethan walked into the elevator, to which (y/n) played it off for the cameras with a confused smile and arched brow.

“What are you doing here, Landry?”

As soon as the door closed, Ethan instantly pushed (y/n) up against the elevator wall and kissed her passionately, to which she pushed him away subsequently after.

“Ethan,” She whispered as she scolded him, “What the hell are you doing? Do you want to get caught?”

“You don’t know how long I’ve waited to do that.” He admitted, getting close to her again, “Six months.” He mumbled, “Six months I’ve waited to do anything to you. Six months of staring at you from afar, having Chad beg me to make a move. Six months of playing it off seeing you with other guys.”

Ethan attempted to run a hand through his hair, with his fingers getting stuck in his own curls, “Fuck,” He muttered, “I can’t even see you in that pretty ring I got you.”

“Don’t worry.” She gave him a quick kiss before retreating to the other side of the elevator.

“It should be over soon.”

[katshelluvacritic]

Not sure if you've seen the finale of the show yet because I'd love to hear your thoughts on how absolutely useless Charlie was once again

I’ve pretty much all the eps for season 1 so you don’t have worry about the spoilers.

As for the ep, I’mma just immediately rip the bandaid off and say that I had to watch it again to remember what happened, yet my brain is still kinda processing it again so I’mma type this to the best of my ability and if I do miss some parts I do apologize.

To start off with one of the things I didn’t like that included Charlie (mostly a personal nitpick) was her “battle fit” (if you could even call it that)

I feel like it should be self explanatory but I’ll explain anyway; for one, the fact that Charlie wearing what I like to call “the evil star butterfly cosplay” just doesn’t make sense to me. Like even though I don’t like Vicky’s fit either, at least she’s wearing something that could cover her skin to lessen the risk of cuts and injuries.

Charlie however is not only wearing a dress but also HIGH HEELS, which realistically would prob have her dead from the spot because for one, you can’t run in heels and two, like I said before she’s at higher risk to be injured compared to Vicky.

Like I’m honestly shocked that she only got a few rips from her clothing and a few bruises, like I get she’s the princess of hell but damage is still damage.

Not only that since Charlie is a princess then, wouldn’t she have access to wear royal armor??? Assuming she did (because there’s gotta be a reason to where she got that shield from), why didn’t she just wear that???? I feel like it would’ve been the most logical thing to wear since after all, YOUR GOING TO WAR AGAINST DEMONS.

Also speaking of the shield, why does she only have a shield and nothing else? You would think that since she’s the princess of hell she’d have some sort of weaponry but no.

She just guards herself a shield while occasionally throwing up magical fireworks like if that’s gonna do anything. Like, I get all niffty did most of the time was stab already dead angels before she killed adam, but at least she actually tried to do some damage compared to Charlie.

And then Razzle and Dazzle.

Listen, I can understand her not being able to save sir pentious because she was trying to protect Vicky and a lot of stuff was going on but why did she summon them? Isn’t she the daughter of lucifer? Wouldn’t she have transforming powers or something to get up there

I mean we’re shown in this gif that he can transform into different animals as he so pleases and can EVEN GROW WINGS.

Wouldn’t Charlie technically have those abilities? And even if she doesn’t have those abilities, these fuckers have guns and cannons with them that could shoot/blast Adam down.

Also gotta love the fact Charlie just stays on the roof of the hotel and watches the Lucifer and Adam fight happen UNTIL ADAM RAY BEAMS THE HOTEL IN HALF, ONLY FOR HER TO BE SAVED BY LUCIFER was so dumb. Women do SOMETHING WHY WERE YOU JUST STANDING THERE????

then like the ending. Omg the ending…

“Omg guys I lost sir p and the hotel guys, I failed” PENDEJA. YOU DID JUST DICK ALL DURING THAT WAR OTHER THAN WAVE SOME SHIELD AROUND WITH SOME FIREWORKS. CRY HARDER. BOO HOO I GUESS.

And I just gotta say, I doesn’t entirely include Charlie but like these parts of the lyrics

What???? Tf you mean redemption may take a while???? We’re still going with that??? After the war against heaven you guys just had??? Did Charlie forget what happened in episode 6, where like there was some shit about heaven being a lie and this evil place???? Why are you guys still trying to redeem sinners when YOU Charlie, realized heaven is evil???

But don’t worry, they rebuild the hotel guys! They can live happy ever after right?

Even though like… let me check my notes…. Oh right! Angel is still stuck with valentino, husk’s soul is still taken away by alastor! Oh yeah, I guess viv forgot about that part I guess.

I know I’ve already said this to friends of mine but ngl this episode especially just reminded of this one page from sonichu where Chris and his chars execute a guy in an electric chair but make it viv’s characters and Adam/heaven.

But uh, yeah. I don’t like Charlie, I don’t like this episode, I don’t like this series. I don’t know anymore.

[justmeinadaze]

I Miss The Misery Final Part (Steve X You)

A/N: I responded to an ask recently about toxic Stevie and how with all of my toxic stories they will all most likely end positively because my personal story didn't. I mean it did in the sense that I got away from the toxic people but I know a lot of times we wish those people would change for the outcome we desperately want.

I Miss the Misery is very much based off a past relationship of mine and I so badly wanted what I write here. Unfortunately that didn't happen but I can give it to my characters here <3 while I continue to wait for my knight in shining metalhead and or pretty boy armor. Lol.

Warnings: A lot less Toxic Daddy Steve/ Sub Fem Reader, SMUT, he gentler with her here. I wanted to convey how he can be rough but he can also be soft, dirty talk abound, and of course after care. FLUFF, Steve makes a speech in the beginning about how much he loves her, ANGST, Jacob finally finds out what Y/N has been up to! She talks about her exes and how they hurt her (mentions of an ex that didn't stop when she said the safe word, no details mentioned), Steve and Y/N take about their relationship, Papa Harrington makes a cameo (always just a delight).

Word Count: 6296

Part 1/ Part 2

“Y/N phone. This is Steve Harrington…Ah, hello Jacob. How are you today?”

Your eyes widen as he pushes off the banister, presses the speaker button on the device, and slowly descends his stairs. 

“I’m, uh, I’m fine. Sir, why do you have Y/N’s phone?”

“Well, you see, I was having a rough night last night so I went to a bar and surprise, surprise, guess who showed up? She was kind enough to drive me home because I was completely wasted.”

“Oh, that’s nice of her. Is…Is she…did she just forget her phone in your car or house or something?”

“Please…please, Steve.”, you beg silently as you mouth the words to him. 

“One second, Jacob.” Placing the call on mute, his stern eyes lock with yours as he puts himself right in front of you, so close you can feel his heart beat against his shirtless chest. “Do you love him?”

“Of-Of course, I do.”

The corner of his lips pull up into a small smirk as he continues to stare you down. 

“Last chance, Y/N. We. Do. NOT. Lie. To. Each. Other. Now, tell me the truth or I do. Do you love him?”

As your eyes searched his, you weren’t sure if he could see all the memories that flashed through your own. Every heartache, pain, and decision that lead you here. You knew every choice you had made in the past when it came to men was wrong. Jacob was a good man but you were so unhappy with him. Not just him but your life together with him as a whole. With Steve, he made you feel alive and all the good memories you did have with him gave you warm feelings you clung to desperately when you cried yourself to sleep. 

He asked you to trust him but your history with him told you that you couldn’t. You were so terrified of getting your heart broken again that you were perfectly willing to spend the rest of your life being numb to everything else around you including love. 

Steve said if you were honest he wouldn’t tell your boyfriend the truth but could you admit the truth yourself?

“I do…very much…”

Blinking, he sighed as he nodded before tapping your phone again with his thumb. 

“Hey Jacob. Sorry about that. Yeah she did forget her phone.” You exhale a heavy sigh of relief as your eyes flutter closed. “Her mind tends to skip after she’s done fucking me.”

Tears fell down your cheek as your bottom lip began to tremble.

“Excuse me? I, uh, I don’t understand.”

“I see. Let me make it clearer for you here. About a month ago, Y/N came to my office begging me to fuck her like the whore she is. I don’t know how she is with you, Jake, but this little girl is a wild one. I just got done spanking her and her pussy was just dripping all over my lap. That’s ok though. She knows her Daddy doesn’t mind it a little bit messy. Right, baby girl?”

As he held the phone to your mouth, the silence on the other end killed you. 

“Y/N…are you there?”

“Yes.”

“Is what he’s saying true?”

“…Yes…”, you murmur as your voice cracks. “I’m so sorry.”

“Do…do you have feelings for him?”

Your eyes finally open as you glare up at Steve with fire illuminating behind them. 

“No. I fucking hate him.”

The silence is deafening until Jacob releases a long-winded sigh. 

“Liar. Jesus Christ, Y/N.”

“Yeah she does that but the truth of the matter is I love her, Jake. I fucked up a long time ago and let her slip away but I’m ready to make that up to her if she’ll let me. She’ll never have to want for anything ever again. I can lavish her in gifts and vacations I know she deserves after everything she’s been through. I can make love to her or fuck her like a slut if that’s what she wants or we can just lay there and I can hold her till she falls asleep. She looks so fucking beautiful in the morning and I wouldn’t mind waking up to her gorgeous face every day.”

“And I know our relationship was unhealthy when we were in high school. A lot of that was because of me being an idiot and taking her for granted. I was a stupid kid and I know sometimes the old Harrington comes out but I assure you, Jacob, I will do whatever I can to be the best man I can be for her because I know she deserves that to. More than anything she deserves to be happy.”

Steve’s eyes never left yours as he spoke while you tried to control the tears that kept falling. 

“Are you not happy, Y/N?”

“No.”

With that your phone disconnected and you ran out the front door without it.

##########

Steve sat at his desk with his head leaning against his palm as his thumb ran along your phone screen. He hadn’t heard from you in a couple of days and your boyfriend had called in that Monday morning telling his superior he was sick. Your device had been vibrating constantly with missed calls mostly from Jacob so he assumed you weren’t at your house.

What worried him were the text messages from your parents asking where you were and if you were safe. He desperately wanted to reply back to ease their minds but he didn’t know your password. 

Staring at the picture of you and Jacob smiling on your lock screen, he thought hard about what it could be or where you would go to hide. Huffing, he threw on his jacket and rode the elevator down to the parking garage so he could head home. While he was thinking of other possible methods of getting into your device, the doors opened and he was promptly met with a fist to his face. 

“OW! Jesus fucking Christ!”

“Where is she?!”, Jacob yells before hitting Steve again. 

“I have no idea! Would you stop fucking hitting me!”

“I should be doing worse after what you two did! Now where is she?!”

Holding up his hands in surrender, Steve leans against the wall as he finds his bearings.

“Look, I seriously have no clue where she is. If I did I would tell you but she left my house after that phone call and I haven’t seen her since. She left her phone here with me.”

Your boyfriend snatches it out of his hand, types something in, and scrolls through it searching for clues. 

“Wait, you know her password?”

“Of course I do. I’m her fucking boyfriend.”, he scoffs. “It’s always her parent’s anniversary. October 15, 2016.”

“That’s not their anniversary.”, Steve sighs as he rubs his eyes in frustration. “Did you really think her parents have only been married for 7 years? They’ve been together for over 30.”

“I-I-I didn’t think about it. I mean I trusted her… FUCK! What IS that date than?!”

Standing up straighter, the man prepares for another punch. 

“That’s the date her and I got together. Not together, together. Technically we were never a couple but…”

“What the fuck were you then?”

“I, personally, was a dumbass. I took her for granted constantly… broke her heart.”

“Hm. No wonder she flocked to you. She always wanted me to hurt her and I never understood it.”

“You still don’t.” Jacob turned on him angrily and Steve held up his hands again as he quickly tried to explain. “She doesn’t want you to hurt her exactly; she wants to be controlled and feel safe. When I met her she was a straight A student, worried about everything including her future. Her mind was always 10 steps ahead of her heart and it scared her. When we were together, she was able to let go and clear her head because she knew I was in control. She knew I would take care of her; in bed anyway. I was never really good at taking care of her emotionally like she wanted.”

Your boyfriend nodded as he absorbed what the man in front of him was saying.

“What about the punishments and ‘put me in my place’?”

“She’s kinky, Jake. Nothing wrong with that.”, Steve chuckles. “Speaking for myself, it makes me feel…alive. There’s a certain passion behind a relationship like that. She’s the only one I ever trusted truly being that way with but…I also knew at the time that I could take advantage of her kindness anyway I saw fit. That’s the problem and what she tried so hard to find in other partners after she left. A healthy version of a dominate man…truth is a lot of men don’t know how to do that. They think it’s all force and telling their partners what to do or how to be.”

“I never wanted to do that with her. I always liked who Y/N was from head to toe. I was just afraid to let myself go like that which is even more selfish than anything I ever did to her because even now I’m asking her to do that yet I could never do that for her. Jesus, I’m an asshole.”

“Yeah you are.”, Jacob sighs as he tosses Steve your phone. “There’s a Facebook message in there she sent to her mom saying she was safe and driving back to Hawkins. Good luck, Mr. Harrington.”

***

You exhaled heavily from your place on the bleachers in the Hawkins High Gymnasium. This is where your life changed. You always saw yourself as a good little girl who was meant to graduate with honors and go off to some fancy school. After you got your degree and started your career, you would meet the man of your dreams, have a beautiful big church wedding, and pop out a few kids. 

There was always something about Steve Harrington that intrigued you. He was always so cocky with everyone, constantly putting on a show for his peers but when he was alone or practicing he seemed so sad. After watching his dad berate him, you saw that same look and it broke your heart. So much so that you found the courage to comfort him that night after the game. 

As you laid there half naked on the bleachers, you expected him to leave and you would never hear from again but he surprised you when he lifted you up in his strong arms and carried you to the boy’s locker room. 

Silently, he placed you on the bench and turned on the shower making sure it was warm enough before coming back to get you. Reaching for your hand, he tried to pull you to your feet but you didn’t budge. A long sigh left his chest and your eyes squeezed tightly shut feeling like you were annoying him before he gradually sunk down on his heels and tilted his head to get a better look at your face. 

“Hey. Look at me.” When you finally did, you half expected to be met with a frustrated jock but instead found a soft smile. “There she is…such a pretty girl. Are you ok? Feeling a little small?”

When you nod, his fingers come up to brush some of your hair behind your ear. 

“That’s ok. That’s absolutely alright. Is it ok with you if we take a shower so I can clean you? Or if you don’t want me to stay, I can give you some space and wait in the gym so I can walk you to your car.”

Steve’s beautiful eyes watched as you rose to your feet and he guided you to the stalls, placing you under the warm water. 

“Do you want to be alone? Oh shit!”, he exclaimed when you practically tackled your arms around him, resting your cheek on his chest. His own limbs slowly descended around you as he placed his chin on your head. “It’s ok, baby girl. Daddy’s got you.”

After that moment, every time you thought about your future it had Steve by your side. You saw him cheering you on when you graduated and getting excited with you when you published your first book. You imagined his arms around you during your first dance at your wedding or him playing with your children while you had another bun in the oven. Every time you thought that future was close, he dashed them away by fucking other girls and making you feel like trash. 

The truth was you still envisioned that future. Every time you tried to picture your new significant others, Steve’s face took over. With Jacob, you could imagine yourself marrying him and having kids with him but you could also see yourself miserable and full of resentment. Jacob didn’t deserve that. 

“Of all the gin joints in all the world…”

You jumped at the sound of his soothing voice as your glassy eyes met Steve’s before quickly wiping away the tears that had fallen. His expensive shoes squeaked against the floor as he moved closer to you and took a seat on the same row you were on a few feet away. 

“I tried getting into your phone to see where you may be but I couldn’t figure out the password. I started getting worried because your parents were looking for you and I know how close you are to them. You’d never want them to panic.” Glancing at the court in front of him, he leans back on his elbows against the row behind him. 

“Your boyfriend came looking for you…gave me a good hit or two before telling me that you were headed back to Hawkins. I kept thinking, if I was Y/N, where would I go? I figured it might be the school but I didn’t know where. I’ve been walking around for 20 minutes.”, he laughs as he turns his head to face you. 

Your eyes were down cast as you stared at the floor. 

“What are you thinking, honey?”

“Don’t.”, you whisper as you finally look his way. “Don’t sit there pretending like you fucking care about me or my wellbeing. You ruined everything, Steve Harrington. Everything. I wish I had never fucking met you or tried to make you feel better after your dad cussed you out. I hate you.”

He nods as he listens to you speak, trying to hide the fact that your words and pain hurt him.

“Y/N, were you seriously just going to skate by pretending to be happy?”

“That doesn’t give you the right to do what you did!”

“And YOU have no right to waste Jacob’s time! Wouldn’t you want him to be with someone who actually loves him instead of pretending?”

Scoffing, you get to your feet and head towards the door but he quickly cuts you off, blocking you with his body. 

“Am I wrong?”

“No, but you should have let ME tell him!”

“You’ve had how long to do that?”

“Get the fuck out of my way, Harrington!”

“Or what, little girl, huh? What are you going to do?” As you raise your arm to slap his face, his hand promptly grabs your wrist spinning you around and holding you against his chest. “See this is what I was talking about. MY Y/N was always strong, confident, and sarcastic. She was submissive in the bedroom but in life she was a force to be reconned with. You, young lady, have transformed into this subservient ‘yes’ girl, perfectly content with taking the hits instead of fighting back.”

“That’s because I found someone who actually cares about me and loves me!”

“Does he love you or the idea of you? Because trust me baby, I know you and the woman I’ve seen this past month isn’t who you are.”

“Like you fucking know!”, you shouted as you pushed him and he let you go to face him. “You broke me, Steven! There were so many things I wanted to do! For a while you dragged me along and I kept dreaming of doing those things with you but you were too scared and pathetic! Treating me like garbage to bring me down so I’d stop BEGGING you to just claim me. That feeling NEVER LEFT, STEVE! That empty feeling of life…without you…Of needing you and having other men…”, you started to sob, silencing yourself as you tried to walk the other way. 

Again, he ran around to stop you, gripping your biceps to keep you in place. 

“Having other men what, baby girl? Tell me. Tell Daddy what happened.” You rolled your eyes as you tried to turn away from him but his grip only tightened. “No. No, Y/N. You need to feel it, honey. Tell me. Go there if you need to, I promise, I’ll be right here.”

You understood what he was saying and oddly enough you did believe him. That was one thing that Steve never faltered with. In the Daddy headspace whether it be sexual or just taking care of you in general, he was really good at making you feel like you were protected. Like he had all the answers and you could trust him. 

Right now, in this moment, you were so fragile and you felt the little girl trying to burst down the preverbal door, wanting to run into his arms. Hanging your head, you decided to take the leap and let go.

“Every man I met after you was rough. They screamed at me and called me names, telling me I was worthless. But then I would scream right back and would fight till we were having violent angry make up sex. They genuinely treated me like a whore.”, you cried. “A couple of them would leave me after they fucked me and not even bother with after care. I would sit in a bathtub alone…sobbing because…because I wanted you.”

“Baby…”, Steve cooed as his palms cupped your cheeks.

“My last boyfriend before Jacob was the worst. He always spoke to me with so much distain. We fought constantly physically and sexually. The last night we were together, he told me to call him Daddy. I told him no but he kept whining and commanding I say it. I told him no again and used the safe word but he didn’t stop… so I kicked him in the balls and left that night.”

“Who is this guy? Fuck it, who are all the guys? Because I’m going to fucking ruin their lives for hurting my baby girl.”, he growled making you laugh breathily as your own hands reached for his face. 

“I thought Jacob was enough. Being with a man like him was much better than all that. He was always gentle, always kind, always…passive. He IS a good man who deserves the world. He’s just not a good man for me. Steve, I love him, I really do…just not as much as I love you.”

Just like he had back then, he lifted you into his arms and you immediately circled your own arms and legs around him as he carried you out the door to his car.

***

“Who the fuck is that at this hour?!”, a man snarled as Steve closed the front door behind you. 

“It’s just me, dad. Continue fucking your secretary or whatever you were doing.”

Taking your hand, he heads for the stairs but wasn’t fast enough as his father rounded the corner. 

“Steven, the fuck? You’re supposed to be in Indianapolis—oh.”, he pauses when he sees you. 

“I know, Dad, but I had something important I needed to take care of first. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to be here. I thought you and mom were going on vacation.”

“I had to make sure everything is ready in New York before I trust you to fly up there and take over.” Rolling his eyes, Steve continues to try to lead you upstairs but once again his father stops him. “Steven, you know how I feel about you showing off to the…girls…you meet in bars.”

His father said “girls” but even you knew he meant something way more derogatory.

“You mean that thing I’ve never done? Yeah, dad, you caught me. I flew all the way down here to show some random woman YOUR house so I look good. Y/N isn’t just some girl and she’s been here many times before but I would imagine you don’t remember since you were never here during my high school years.”

“Get rid of the attitude, son.”, his dad growled.

“Or what? You’re going to ground me? Take away the company? Oh, maybe strip me of my inheritance?”, Steve responded in equal measure. “I don’t fucking care. All that matters to me right now is the girl I love is cold and hurting so I’m going to head upstairs and take care of her. Do whatever the fuck you want.”

Not waiting for a response, he lightly tugged you signaling for you to follow and guiding you towards his bathroom. After preparing you a bath, he helped you in before disappearing and returning with some towels and clothes for you to change into. Rolling up his sleeves, he sat on the floor opposite you so he could see your face even though his eyes remained downcast until you finally decided to speak. 

“I always hated the way he talked to you. When I would wake up in the morning in your bed sometimes you wouldn’t be there and I could hear him scolding you about stupid shit. I think one morning he was screaming about the way you made eggs.”, you softly laughed as he smiled. “I was just happy you even thought to make me anything.”

As he continued to stare forward, you reached out to touch a small bruise that was forming on the side of his face causing him to flinch and gently catch your hand. 

“Did I do that?”

“Uh, no. Jacob did. Blindsided me as I was heading to my car. Man doesn’t hit hard but…”, he chuckled. 

“Steve? What are you thinking about?”

Sighing, his eyes finally meet your own. 

“I’m thinking… about everything you went through…with your exes especially that last one. Y/N, honey…no. I shouldn’t say anything.”

“Talk to me, Daddy.”

“You know how I can be. Seeing you with Jacob sprung some jealousy in me but…” He heavily exhales as his beautiful brown eyes darken and his jaw tightens as he tilts his head staring into that void again in front of him. 

“Those men hurt you. You told him to stop and said the word yet he still tried to…” As his chest begins to rise and fall, you reach for his hand in an attempt to calm him. “It’s not just because you’re mine, you know. I want to fucking kill them for what they did but you never would have been in that position if I hadn’t of pushed you to leave. Y/N, I really am sorry. I do genuinely want to do better and be better man for you.”

Steve’s head hangs slightly as he continues. 

“We don’t have to start right away if you don’t trust me. I can go to New York and I can call you every night so we can talk about things. Or, maybe, you can still come with me but we can just hang out as friends and get to know each other again. Whatever you want, sweetheart. Even if you want me to just fuck off, I can do that to.”

“I’m ready to get out now.”, you whisper.

Nodding, he rises to his feet without saying a word and helps you out of the tub, drying you off before lifting you in his arms again and placing you on his bed. Kneeling beside you, you studied his face as he focused on his tasks. He still seemed so angry but you knew it wasn’t at you. 

The little girl inside of you started taking over again as your palm tenderly caressed his cheek till your thumb grazed his lips. Steve’s movements stilled as you touched him, his eyes closing as he sighed and placed his head in your lap. 

“I don’t want you to be sad, Daddy.”

His own warm hands lightly ran along the back of your calves as he softly turned so his lips could kiss your knee.

“I’m not sad, honey. I just hate knowing you went through so much pain and Daddy wasn’t there to protect you.”

Tilting your body, your forehead rested on his as his slightly heavy breathing fanned the skin on your face. 

“Will you protect me now?”

“Of course.”

A soft sigh escaped your chest as he trailed tender kisses along your body, opening your legs wider, and putting your pussy on display for him as his face made its way to the place you wanted him most. 

“Please…”

Steve didn’t hesitate as his tongue licked a long, slow path through you folds. Falling backwards onto his mattress, he devoured you, sucking and flicking your clit as your fingers tangled into his hair. 

“Fuck, baby. I’ll never get over how good you taste. So fucking sweet, just like you, pretty girl.”

Two of his fingers guide almost effortlessly into your core and your eyes roll shut as you grind your hips against his movements. 

“Good girl, honey. Daddy’s right here. Daddy’s got you. Cum for me, sweetheart.”

His tongue moves faster as his digits match his pace and your body trembles as the coil in your tummy snaps. You continue to twitch and moan as his tongue cleans you.

Rising to his feet, you watch with needy, glassy eyes as slowly removes his suit and tosses it to the floor. Your head falls against his lower belly causing him to let out a sexy groan as your own breathy moans hit his cock.

“N-No, baby. You don’t have to do that tonight. Daddy’s taking care of you.”

Taking him in one of your hands, you casually pump him as your own tongue darts out to lick his tip making him mewl as he licks his lips.

“But I like having your cock in my mouth. I love tasting you and feeling you in my throat.”

Practically growling at your words, his hands thread through your hair as you envelope him into your mouth and take him as far back as you can before repeating the process. 

“Shit. No one ever took my dick as well as you do, baby girl. G-Go ahead. Take what’s yours. It’s all yours, Y/N. I swear.” 

Finding a steady rhythm with your head, your palms roamed his legs, your nails dragging along his thighs as he grunted and whimpered at the feeling. Lifting your hair into a makeshift ponytail, Steve holds you firmly as he subtly thrusts his hips causing you to gag around him. 

“Good girl. Th-that’s my good girl. You look so beautiful like this. Come here, sweetheart.”

Lifting you under your arms, he places your head on his pillows as he takes hold of your legs and pushes them back, practically folding you in half with your pussy before him. Steve groans as his tongue tastes you again and he tilts back to spit into your cunt. 

“So fucking beautiful.”, he murmurs as he lines himself up with your entrance and gradually pushes himself into you.

“Oh my God.”

Closing your eyes, your head completely falls back as you allow him to take over. His thrusts are slow at first as his thumb circles your clit driving you crazy. 

“Please… move.”

“I am moving.”, he breathily chuckles, biting his lip to suppress the moan. “I’m sorry, baby. I just—fuck—I just like feeling you cling to me.”

“Daddy!”, you whine. 

Steve crawls up your body and leans down till his nose is just above your own.

“Look at me, Y/N.”, he commands in a firm tone that makes you listen. When your eyes lock with his they are just as lust blown as your own as he tries to maintain control. “Who knows how to take care of you?”

“You do, Daddy.”

“And who know what you need?”

“Y-You do. Please, Daddy. Harder.”

As the tip of his nose runs along yours, Steve thrusts his hips hard hitting just the right spot with incredibly accuracy and force that your arms promptly cling to him to keep you grounded. 

“Like that, baby girl? See?”, he coos as he continues slowly slamming into you at just the right angle. “Daddy knows. I know exactly what you needed. You know how I know?” His chest falls against you and you whimper loudly when his breath warms your ear. “Because I need it to, honey.”

Steve’s pace quickened but his intensity remained the same as you wrapped your limbs around him trying to pull him as close to your body as you could. 

“I need to feel your tight little pussy gripping me when I hit that spot that makes you—God damn it—that makes you fall apart. I need to hear those pretty moans and feel them against my skin.”

“Steve…”

Hearing you moan his name hit a feral button inside of him as he pumped into with purpose while the bed began to wiggle underneath you. 

“Fuck, Y/N. Cum, baby.”

Your body shuddered as the coil in your belly aggressively snapped and you screamed his name as your fingers dug into his shoulders. Steve soon followed, his grunts filling your ear as his rhythm faltered and you felt his release warm your insides. 

You both continued to pant as he slowly thrust his hips making sure all of his spend filled you up as you came down from your high. 

After tenderly kissing your forehead, he carefully pulled out of you and hurriedly disappeared out his bedroom. When you heard his father’s agitated tone, you hastily grabbed his button up shirt and covered yourself with it just as Steve came back with some items in his hands. 

“Everything’s ok, honey. My dad’s still here apparently. He told me he and my mom were going to the Bahamas this weekend. If I had known he was going to be here, I would have taken you to a hotel or back to your mom’s house.”, he sighs as he jumps back into bed and hands you a bottle of water.

“What did he say when you went downstairs?”

“He gave me shit again about bringing a girl to his house, saying that he could hear you moaning and screaming. I just shrugged and asked him if he was jealous.”

Unable to control it, you laughed so hard you spit the water you had been drinking back into the bottle making Steve laugh at the sight. As the two of you calmed down, he reached over and gently wiped away some of the liquid that had fallen down your chin. 

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen or heard you laugh like that; even before you left. Those last few months…I didn’t make things easy.”

“No, you didn’t.” He nods as he averts his eyes in shame. “When are you leaving for New York?”

“Oh, um, unless he changes it, the middle of next week. That way I can meet the team up there and get up to speed before everything kicks into gear that following Monday.” When he sneaks a glance your way, he notices you smirking at him. “What?”

“It’s nice hearing you talk like this. You never really got into anything in school. I mean, yeah, you did sports but you always talked about it like it was chore. Near the end of senior year, you had no idea what you wanted to do or be but it seems like you were meant for this.”

“It’s nice hearing someone say that. I worked hard to get here and even now my dad doesn’t appreciate it.” Taking the bottle from your hand, he quickly cleaned you and threw on a pair of boxers before crawling under the covers and bringing you to his side so he could play with your hair while your palm ran along his upper body.

“Steve?” He answered you with a gravelly hm. “I’ll come with you.”

His hand freezes for a moment before his fingers softly but firmly tugs on your hair, tilting your eyes to meet his. 

“Are you sure?” Steve chuckles under his breath when you nod, trying to hide how excited he genuinely is. “Ok, ok, um, I can rent you an apartment until you feel like you’re ready to take things—”

Placing two fingers on his lips, you interrupt him as you push up on your elbow to look down at him. 

“I have money, Steve. I can rent my own apartment and take care of myself—”

“Ok, whatever makes you comfortable, hon—”

“Would you let me finish!”, you giggle. “I was going to say that I can take care of myself…but I’m going to let go and trust that you can and will take care of me. Not just financially. I know you can do that but it’s taking a lot for me to trust you with everything else. I’d…I’d like to move in with you if that’s ok.”

“Of course, Y/N.”

“I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage or anything. I just—”

“No, hey, no Y/N. I don’t think that at all. I know you can handle yourself. It’s one of the many things I love about you. I promise, baby girl. You’re safe with me now.”

Caressing his cheek with your hand, you guide his lip to yours.

“I love you to.”

###############

6 Months Later

“Uh, Mr. Harrington. There’s an angry young lady down here asking for you.”

Steve chuckles through his teeth as he presses the intercom button to respond. 

“Is it an exceptionally beautiful young lady who most likely just rolled her eyes when I said that?”

“Yes, sir, it is. Should I send her up?”

After he approves, he throws the manila folders he had been sorting through haphazardly onto his desk as he sighed and ran his fingers frustratingly through his hair. 

“Steven Harrington!”

“Y/N Y/L/N.”

As his hands fall from his face, you round the corner of his desk and place yourself in his lap, wrapping his arms around you as you lean back against his chest. 

“Baby, it’s after 9 on a Friday.”

“I know but…come on. It’s the city that never sleeps!” 

Leaning your forehead into the nook between his neck and shoulder, he holds you tighter to him as he lets out a long sigh. 

“You’re over working yourself again, Daddy.”, you murmur. 

“I know. This is just a big deal and if I can expand my father’s company—”

“Your company. He gave it to you. You need to let go of his old ideals. There’s a reason he was only ever stationed in Hawkins.”

Steve grins softly down at you as he swivels his chair around to face the massive window he has overlooking the city in his top floor office.

“How did things go with your publisher today?”

“Not too bad. The launch date has been moved for the summer so we’ll see how that goes.” Nodding, he gently kissed your shoulder, along your neck, and up to your ear. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

“Yeah, baby girl? What have you been thinking?”

“I was just thinking about how much I miss you, Daddy. I even thought about being a bad girl to get your attention.”

“Hm? You need Daddy to make sure you don’t slip?”

You beam up at him as you nod your head, his equally sexy smile radiating you. 

“I can do that, honey. Come on. Let’s go home.”

You patiently wait as he sorts through some things before grabbing his jacket and taking your hand as you both head for the elevator. It had been so long since you felt this happy. Steve had come such a long way and true to his word did the work to be a better man for you. Even better, you both figured out how to utilize what you wanted sexually in the bedroom without resorting to toxic methods. 

For so long, you though something was wrong with you for wanting to be dominated but the truth was you had no idea how to vocalize what you needed let alone a man to work with you on enacting those needs. There were still times of course when you and Steve would genuinely fight and some of his old patterns would leak through triggering you to react how you used to but instead of ignoring each other for days on end or one of you leaving to do something you shouldn’t, you would talk it through before following it with that hot, passionate make up sex you both enjoyed. 

“Have you eaten yet?” Steve sighs in playful annoyance when you tell him no. “I don’t think the spankings are getting through, little one.”

“Yeah but it doesn’t hurt to keep trying.”, you tease, sticking out your tongue as he tries to control his smile.

“Alright, new plan. Let’s swing by that restaurant you love, pick up some food to bring home, and then after we can play.”

As you circle your arms around his waist, he grins down at you as he kisses the top of your head. 

“I love you, Steve Harrington.”

“I love you to, Y/N Y/L/N.”, he responded with zero hesitation making you giddy with happiness as you both stepped off the elevator.

###############

@daysinthephoenix @sophiejayne-illustrations713 @livosssblog @lofaewrites @xxbookdrunkdemigodxx @micheledawn1975 @samajoe @diffrent-spokes

[horrorslvts]

just my type | leo valdez part one

keywords : leo valdez, riordanverse, canon x oc

writer's note : uhh yall ate up the idea of a daughter of hermes oc x leo valdez so mommy will feed u my children... i present to you absolute chaos and comedic relief couple. enjoy.. ship is very inspired by 'just my type - the vamps'

the sound of metal hitting against metal reached the girl's ears, making her eyebrows stiffen a bit as she made her way onto the real crime scene; all those awful sounds came from argo II being made; and although silena de leon, daughter of hermes; beloved half-sister of luke castellan really respected the cause, the sound made her absolutely cringe.

the raven haired girl almost tripped over a few tools that had been abandoned in the middle of the way, making her cuss under her breath and look down at her sneakers to make sure they were not damaged by some stupid leftover hammer. with a little shake of the head silena finally approached the curly haired boy who was, apparently, putting some wooden planks on the side of the boat, and also spaced out enough to not realize she was making her way near. he stood on the third step of a high ladder. "hey bob the builder; don't you want to catch a break sometime?"

leo looked down at the -surprisingly- shorter girl, and flashed a little smile. he lifted his arm to wipe some dust away from his face and nose with his sleeve and shrugged a bit. "if you are asking me to-" he gently threw the hammer on his hand aside, letting it fall on some spare nails, and stepped down from the ladder he was on. "interrupted your sleep again? sorry, i'll make sure to delay an entire quest so you can get a few more hours of naps" leo said with a little chuckle and leaned with one arm on the boat, his hand running through his curls pushing them back making silena watch in awe.

now, silena and leo didn't know each other long. for what it's worth, silena met him and percy through annabeth who she has known forever; given that luke set them up to be friends when sil arrived at the camp for the first time; and they actually did. but gods, ever since meeting this dam son of hephaestus she had been losing her mind. whether it was the back and forth signs and jokes, or the absolute denial that either of them would ever see each other in any way above platonic; something made her heart skip a beat whenever she was close to the tanned boy, that's all she knew; should have seen her face when he first laughed at her spaniard accent; any other person would have taken a punch but he just got lucky with a push.

"yeah, that'd be so sweet of you!"

leo gave her a death stare with a chuckle, knowing damn well she wasn't anywhere near serious.

"so if it isn't that, why pay us a visit?"

silena slowly walked towards the rope ladder of the ship, tugging on it . "just curious to see how the ship is going. very good apparently." she pulled herself up the rope ladder which instantly caused a reaction by the other, making leo rush to bring her down in case she fell.

"whoa whoa you know that's not tied well yet right?!"

sil sat on one of the rope ladder's thin steps, only a couple feet above him and chuckled, swinging her feet to show her winged sneakers. "why do you always forget valdez?"

the curly haired sighed a bit. " if you get all tangled up in the ropes these aren't going to save you-." he looked at her from below with that signature troublemaking smile that brought an aching on her heart.

"i know, but you will."

the boy let his suspenders fall from each shoulder and climbed back up on his ladder, finally reaching her height and being almost face to face with the blue eyed girl; his breath was always cut short when the two were this close. it was funny how after so long of percy and annabeth being sappy now annabeth teased these two like her life depended on it.

"although you're not exactly knight in shining armor material.." silena reached to wipe his forehead from some mechanical oil. " more like greasy armor.."

"you know what's funny, sil?"

"hm?"

"your back is touching my fresh painted planks-."

sil finally realized why her shirt was sticking on her back for the past minute.

"VALDEZ-!"

[moonsgemini]

american heartbreak - ii

summary: a big win and one too many tequila sunrises could be just the right push to idiots in love needed, or could possibly create more self doubt.

warnings: cowboy!rafe x oc, fem reader, drinking, bull riding ?, vomit, cussing, mutual pining, ward being ward, excessive use of nicknames (sorry?), cowboy!rafe (yes it needs a warning)

wc: 4.8k

an: I know nothing about bull riding so please bare with me lmao I researched as best as I could. This took soooo long but I did it! I love where this series is going & I hope you guys do too. Next series to be updated is seeking arrangments <3

series master list - previous part

June looked herself over in her mirror brushing her hands over her dress. In her usual sundress and boots she let out a satisfied sigh and grabbed her big denim jacket. She was hoping to catch Rafe’s attention tonight, maybe he would want to spend time with her. Instead one of the girls he always ended up having hanging off his every word.

“James is here Juney!” Amber shouted from the bottom of the stairs. Her boyfriend was going to give the two a ride tonight.

“Coming!” She replied. She grabbed her bag and headed downstairs to meet the couple.

“Hey James,” She said and smiled at the dark haired man.

He nodded at her, “Hey June Summers.” James always said her full name for some reason. June never questioned it. Amber came out from the kitchen and grabbed James’ hand.

June followed behind them. She always felt like they were her parents when it was just the three of them, “We better hurry because June’s gotta help with the raffle tickets. Oh and she needs some time to stare at Rafe,” Amber smirked looking back at the girl who was locking the front door.

“Hey!” June scolded as she turned around quickly.

James laughed and said, “Don’t act like it’s a secret that you’re crazy for him.” He opened the truck door for his girlfriend before she climbed in.

June rolled her eyes opening her door, “I’m not crazy about him! I just have a small crush on him. Just like a school girl crush.”

“Oh please you’ve had a school girl crush on him since you were literally a school girl.” Amber laughed.

“Can we talk about something else please,” June said with a huff, no longer wanting to be ridiculed for her crush.

“You’re coming to Rooster’s right June?” James asked as he drove to the rodeo.

June shrugged, “Yeah I guess so. I don’t want to miss out on another night of Amber falling off the mechanical bull.”

Amber laughed at the memory, “I will be that damn bull one day,” she turned to James, “she’s also going because Rafe explicitly asked if she was going.”

“I’m gonna jump out of this truck right now.”

-

After they arrived James walked them over to where the riders were. He was going to meet Rafe to make sure everything was good to go before his first ride. There was still over an hour before it was supposed to start so June had some time to be with Amber before helping Mrs.Mayfield. She shivered lightly at the cool autumn breeze and also because of her nerves. She was nervous to see Rafe, he always made her a clammy mumbling mess.

Amber was walking with her going off about a girl they went to high school with’s pregnancy announcement. Amber always knew all the gossip and she always passed the information along. June laughed at something Amber said closing her eyes for a split second, but with her clumsiness she tripped over a rock. Her heart dropped as she felt herself go forward but she never hit the ground. A pair of arms held onto her waist firmly keeping her in place. She gasped and looked up at whose arms they were and of course it was Rafe. Her knight in shining armor.

“June bug gotta watch where you’re goin’,” Rafe gave her a lopsided smile as she regained her composure.

She felt hot all over as she stood up straight and took a small step back. Being too close to him was making her dizzy. She cleared her throat, “Well the rock should watch where it’s going.”

She cringed internally at her failed attempt to be witty. His smile turned into a full one as he chuckled, she was thinking that he either agreed she was cringey or maybe thought she was funny. Either way she still felt hot from embarrassment.

“Rafe and I have some prepping to do so we better get a move on,” James said as he walked over to Amber and gave her a hug and a kiss. June had almost forgotten that the couple was there. She watched with admiration, she liked Amber and James together. Mostly because he made her best friend the happiest she’d ever seen her.

While James and Amber were being lovey dovey Rafe had stepped to stand beside June. He leaned down and nudged her shoulder with his, “Am I seein you tonight? After?”

She looked over at him with a shy grin not wanting to show how on the inside she was screaming that he had asked her again about after the rodeo, “Only cause you’ve been askin so nicely.”

Rafe wanted to eat her up. She had no idea of the affect she had on him. He had always harbored a crush on her, ever since he was nine years old. His sister had met her when he was in fourth grade and they were in second grade. Sarah had dragged a girl behind her as she ran towards Rafe and their mom waiting in the pick up area of school. Once he laid eyes on her he couldn’t hear anything Sarah was saying. All he could do was stare at her pretty face.

June started coming over to Rafe’s house and his preteen brain couldn’t handle it. He swears that he stopped finding girls gross when he saw June for the first time. He always kept his distance from her because she was Sarah’s friend. Once he got to high school he had become somewhat of a Casanova since his bull riding career had begun to take off the girls started to pay more attention to him. June never really showed that she liked him as more than a friend so he started dating other girls. He was blind to the way her smile got weaker when she’d see him out with a girl. He couldn’t tell that she always held back tears whenever she’d go to their house and he’d be leaving with a bouquet of flowers in hand for his date that he was late to pick up because he was waiting to run into June to see her.

He always felt like she was too good for him. Too pure for someone like him. Of course he made flirtatious comments towards her and was always a gentleman. Helping her unload new flower pot shipments if he happened to walk in after a delivery. Rafe held doors open for her, always walked her to her car when she’d leave the Cameron house late. He wanted to at least show her that he was always there if she needed him.

June simply thought Rafe was an extreme gentleman and incredibly charming towards everyone in the way he was with her. She learned not to get her hopes up when she kept seeing him with a new girl every week. It was just how Rafe was, she wasn’t any different to him.

“I’m honored,” He smirked.

The couple had finished their goodbyes and walked up to them. Amber wrapped her arm around June’s shoulders, “Rafe your girl has to go help Mrs.Mayfield.”

“Make sure you’re watching when I’m out there,” Rafe pointed at June as him and James began to walk away. She nodded and gave him a small wave as he left. That incredibly charming smile never leaving his face.

“That boy is so smitten,” Amber laughed throwing her head back.

June rolled her eyes, “He’s like this with everyone.”

“Whatever you say honey,” Amber patted her back. They reached the booth where Mrs.Mayfield was setting up the tickets and the cash box.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite flower girls,” The older woman beamed at the girls. She was a sweet lady who everyone in town knew. She was in charge or everything. If there was a community event Martha Mayfield was most likely organizing it.

June hugged the woman, “Mrs.Mayfield you look as beautiful as ever.”

“You’re too good to me dear,” She turned towards the red head next to June, “Now Miss Amber I still do not see a ring on that finger.”

Amber sighed dramatically walking over to the woman, “Soon I hope, please talk some sense into that boy next time he delivers your eggs.”

“I always do honey,” She patted her cheek gently, “Now lets sell some tickets and make some money for the dance.” She clapped her hands and went behind the booth where June had started to help her.

-

Rafe sighed as he listened to his dad try and coach him. Ward was hard on Rafe, he always passed it on as him caring so much about his son. Rafe knew that his dad just wanted bigger trophies and bigger checks. He couldn’t hate the guy because he had given Rafe so much and pushed him hard to be the best. Frankly it worked and Rafe became the best.

It’s why now he was really getting a coaching lesson because tonight was either all or nothing. If Rafe got first place he’d move on to the semi finals. Of course he wanted to win the championship but making it to the semis of the southern eastern bull riding championship (SEBRC) would bring him a lot of attention. He’d be closer to going pro. Rafe was already being watched by a lot of sponsors and recruits but a win would prove just how good he is.

“Whatever you do Rafe do not let go,” Ward looked at him intensely, “And do not let your hand fall. You have to use everything in you son.”

“Dad I got this okay? Trust me I can do this,” He nodded his head, “I will do it.”

“Alright lets get out there it’s almost time.” Ward patted his son on the shoulder as he led him out of the stables where they had been talking.

They walked back over to where his team was watching the current rider. Rafe put his hands on James shoulders startling him.

“Holy shit dude,” He gasped.

“Lets get ready,” They walked over to the bull pen.

James looked over at his best friend, “is tonight the night?”

“What, the night I win?” Rafe smirked.

“No idiot, the night you finally ask her out or do something.”

He shrugged, “I’ve got something in mind.”

“Just don’t let those buckle bunnies near you of else she’s gonna keep thinkin you don’t see her that way.”

-

After all the raffle tickets had been sold June joined Amber and Sarah in the stands. They were sitting with Amber’s parents and a few of their other friends. June sat next to Sarah who was texting intently on her phone.

“Is it John B?” June asked her.

Sarah huffed, “Yeah he thinks he might not be able to drive here next weekend because his van keeps breaking down.”

“I’m sure he’ll figure something out,” She smiled.

“Last but certainly not least is the guy everyone has their eyes on, home town hero Rafe Cameron!” The announcer shouted over the speakers.

Everyone cheered and clapped for Rafe. June felt a pit of nervousness in her stomach. She always worried about him when he rode because anything could happen. She was confident in his abilities but bulls are unpredictable animals.

“This always feels like the longest ten seconds of my life,” Sarah muttered leaning forward in an anxious stance.

“He’ll be okay, he always is okay.” June reassured placing her hands over Sarah’s that had been picking at her cuticles anxiously. She didn’t just say it for her best friend but also for herself.

“He has to beat 6.76 seconds and get more than 88 points to move on,” Amber leaned forward telling the girls.

The blow horn sounded and they lifted the gates. Everything always happened in slow motion. The bull bucked and thrashed around as Rafe held on tight to the rope. His arm steady in the air never faltering. He needed to stay on for three more seconds and he’d most likely win. The clock ticked 6, 7, 8. Then Rafe was finally bucked off, he flew off of the large brown bull landing almost under its heavy hooves. Everyone held their breath as they waited for him to get up. He stood up grabbing his hat swinging it in the air and yelling with excitement as the crowd started cheering. He had stayed on for 8.96 seconds, the best score of the whole night.

June stood up along with everyone else clapping and cheering for the cowboy. Rafe looked out into the crowd with a big smile on his face trying to catch his breath. It was like he knew where she was because his eyes landed on her immediately. He couldn’t hear the crowd cheering anymore he could just see her as she smiled widely and clapped. He would ride a million bulls over and over again if it meant she’d be there cheering him on.

He walked back to his team who was patting him on the back. James came up to him and hugged him with a big smile, “Man you’re a monster, you’re in this fuckin thing. You’ve made it.”

“We’re in this thing. I couldn’t have done this without you man,” Rafe was grateful for his best friend who had become more like his brother. James placed a hand on Rafe’s head ruffling his hear out of endearment.

“Judges have their final scores in,” Ward said walking up to the two men. Ward never really congratulated his son on his achievements, all the more reason why he was grateful for James.

They climbed on the gates to watch the score board. Rafe placed his hat back on his head. He looked back over the the bleachers looking at June again. She was talking to Sarah her eyes going back and forth from the score board to her best friend. As long as she was here Rafe knew everything would be okay if he didn’t score as good as he wanted. Whenever he looked at her the trophies, money, and title’s didn’t matter.

“The judges have their final score for Rafe Cameron, and are we surprised? The 22 year old bull ride comes in with a score of 94!” The announcer says before the crowd goes wild, “Ladies and gentlemen we have our first place winner! Rafe Cameron is headed off to the semi finals!”

James whooped in excitement and wrapped his arm around Rafe. They climbed down from the fence as people came up to Rafe to congratulate him. The other winners were announced but Rafe didn’t care he was riding an unbelievable high.

The girls had practically ran down the bleachers to go find Rafe. Sarah was beyond excited for her brother, all of his hard work was paying off. Once they got to where the team was they saw them hand Rafe a bottle of champagne.

“Rafe! You did it!” Sarah shouted as she ran up to hug her brother, “Mom is so proud.” Rafe nodded his head feeling a bit emotional wishing his mom could be there to witness his success.

“Congrats Rafe,” Amber hugged him next.

“Couldn’t have done it without your man,” He said pulling away and pointing at James.

June wasn’t sure if she should hug him or not. She always got anxious in these situations, wishing she was like those girls that had confidence. Rafe looked over at her as she shyly watched him.

He knew her better than she knew herself so he walked up to her, “Guess you gotta come out now.” He smirked.

“I guess I do,” She shrugged, “Congratulations Rafe. You’re gonna do incredible things.”

Rafe’s heart burst at her words. He reached forward and hugged her. She immediately reciprocated wrapping her arms around him. They pulled away and looked at each other for a few seconds. Their friends around them never interrupting because they knew.

“Champagne anyone?” Rafe said turning to all of them. He shook the bottle before popping the cork and spraying it everywhere.

“Rafe!” Sarah laughed covering her face.

“To Roosters we go!” James said pointing up.

-

June and Sarah interlocked arms as they walked behind James and Amber. Rooster’s was packed as well as the other bars on main street. June sometimes worried that their flower shop a few blocks down would get damaged by a bunch of drunks but they’ve never had any actual problems. Rafe was coming by later after he took care of some things at the rodeo.

“Are you drinking tonight Junie?” Sarah nudged her.

She nodded her head, “I actually am. I just want to have some confidence tonight, not be in the background like always.”

“Tonight is going to be so fun. You’re never in the background babe,” Sarah reassured her as they walked through the bar doors.

It wasn’t too crowded yet as people were still leaving the rodeo. Someone was already riding the mechanical bull and country music was already blasting through the speakers. They went up to the bar where their favorite bartender Sam was.

“My favorite people!” He said wiping his hands on a towel, “What can I get you guys?”

“Jameson and coke for me and three tequila sunrises,” James said knowing the girl’s orders.

“What a gentleman James,” Sarah said.

“Hey first round is on me guys. Gotta treat the champions’ people right,” Sam winked at them.

“Sammy boy you’re too kind,” James said sliding him a twenty as a tip.

Once they got their drinks they found a couple unoccupied tables by the pool tables. They pushed them together before sitting down with their drinks. June’s leg anxiously bounced as she waited for Rafe. Her eyes moving around the room as she looked at everyone. She felt like there were too many pretty girls here for Rafe to even give her an ounce of his attention. The confidence she had was slowly diminishing as the seconds passed.

Her thoughts were interrupted by loud cheering, she looked behind her towards the door. Rafe had walked in changed into a white tee shirt and open flannel with a brown jacket. His riding boots traded out for his nicer ones, black hat still perched on his head. She felt light headed, the half of the tequila sunrise she had drank already getting to her. When his eyes met hers she looked away nervously trying to focus on anything else in the room. Her focus landed on all the women ogling him and sending him flirtatious smiles.

He walked up to the group standing beside June, “Started without me guys?”

“Get your drink so we can celebrate now,” James nodded his head towards the bar.

“June bug will you come with me?” Rafe asked turning towards the girl who had yet to make eye contact with him again.

She looked up her face getting hot, “Sure.”

They walked over to the bar and Sam immediately took Rafe’s order. June placed her hands on the bar her eyes looking anywhere but Rafe. The liquor bottles behind the bar were really fascinating.

“How did selling the raffle tickets go June bug?” Rafe asked trying to make conversation.

She turned to him trying to set her nerves aside, “It went well, definitely got some money for the community.”

“That’s good,” He smiled, “how’s the flower business going darlin?”

She laughed softly, “Uh it’s actually going really good. Even with the weather gettin colder sales are still good. We even have a huge wedding coming up that’s going to be beautiful and so great for business. They ordered tons of bouquets with the most amazing colors,” she rambled on about her work. June was very patient about flowers, she loved how something from the earth could make someone feel so happy, loved, cared about, and seen.

Sam brought over his drink telling him that it was on him. Rafe nodded his head at him before taking a sip, “You know I love when you talk flowers,” he smiled at her.

Her eyes widened slightly, “You do?”

He nodded, “Of course, your eyes light up and you’re just so passionate. It’s attractive sweetheart.”

June’s skin was going to melt off if she felt herself getting any hotter, “You’re too ki-“

“Rafe!” A high pitched voice interrupted. Both Rafe and June turned towards the noise.

“Oh hey Rachel,” Rafe said trying to be polite. Rachel was one of Rafe’s endeavors that he returned to a few times too many. Now she thought that her and Rafe could be something more when he never promised her anything.

“You were amazing tonight. You’re sooo talented,” She twirled her blonde hair paying no attention to June.

“Thanks, um this is June,” He nodded towards the girl he really wanted to be alone with.

The blonde turned her attention towards her a small furrow in her brows, “Oh hi, how do you two know each other.” Rafe knew that Rachel was trying to figure out if June was hooking up with him.

“I’m friends with Sarah so we kind of grew up together,” June said feeling a spark of jealousy in herself.

“Cute,” Rachel said tilting her head a teasing smile on her lips. She turned to Rafe again putting a hand on his arm, “Rafe come sit with us I’d love to congratulate you on your big win.”

Rafe didn’t really want to deal with Rachel and her friends at the moment. He had someone else he wanted to focus on. He turned to where June was and found her spot empty. He looked around the room and found her walking back to the table. He sighed, “Actually I’m gonna hangout with my friends tonight,” he tipped his hat at her and walked back over to where they were all sat.

Sarah glared at him, “Rachel again? Seriously?”

Rafe rolled his eyes as he sat next to June, “Actually no.”

June felt like maybe it was because of her that he didn’t hangout with her. Or maybe he just wanted to be with his friends. Either way she was glad that Rafe was sitting next to her.

-

After a lot of laughing and three more drinks June was definitely drunk. She had been laughing at something one of their friends, Stevie, had said when Rafe started to notice just how drunk she was. He had never seen her be so social and he liked it but he was also worried because he’d never seen her drink this much.

“James and I are gonna head out. We’ve got the farmer’s market tomorrow Junie,” Amber said placing a hand on her friends back.

“Oooo can you guys drop me off please?” Sarah asked with a slight slur.

Amber wrapped an arm around her shoulder, “well of course dear.”

June’s eyes widened at the mention of the market, “Oh nooo the farmer’s market, I forgot about that,” she put her head down on the table starting to regret that last shot she took with Sarah, “I’m gonna be so hungover.”

“Come on babe we’ll take you home,” Amber said patting her head.

She sat up and looked over at Rafe with a pout, “I don’t wanna go home yet.”

He gave her a small smile and brushed some hair out of her face, “I can take you home in a bit bug, I only had a couple beers.”

She smiled widely and quickly turned back to Amber, “Rafe is taking me home,” Her smile never faltering.

“Okay babes,” She laughed knowing her friend wanted more time with the guy she’s been in love with since they were 7, “Rafe please get her home safe.” She pointed at him with a stern look.

“Yes ma’am,” He said tipping his hat at her bidding the trio good bye.

The other guys that had been with them had joined a group of women at the dart boards working moved on them trying to teach them how to play. June looked around the room at all the people having fun and drinking. They all seemed so care free, like they did this all the time. She wished she could be this fun all the time, then maybe Rafe would like her.

“Rafey I wish I could be this fun all the time,” She pouted looking over at him.

Rafey. She hadn’t called him that since they were kids. He didn’t realized he missed hearing her saying it until his body felt tingly all over. It rolled so smoothly off her lips like only she could say it because she was the only one who made it sound good.

“Sweetheart you are fun all the time,” He reached forward and brushed her hair back again. Admiring her pretty face.

She leaned her head against his hand enjoying the warmth they brought, “mmm then why don’t you see me more.”

“I’d see you every day if I could bug. I’m gonna make more time for my girl,” He smiled lovingly at her. He really hoped she’d remember this tomorrow.

She looked at him with tears in her eyes a dopey smile on her lips. Before she could say anything she felt her stomach turn. The tequila was catching up to her now. June sat up straighter with wide eyes. That’s when she felt everything coming up. She slapped her hand over her mouth and as best as she could in her drunken state she ran out of the bar doors.

Rafe wasn’t far behind her as she turned the corner to puke on the side of the bar. The contents of her stomach spilling all over the dirt, some of it getting on her favorite pair of boots. Rafe stood behind her holding her hair up and patting her back. He made a mental note that three drinks was the cut off for you.

“Oh god this is so embarrassing,” She sniffled once she was done. She was a lot more sober now and definitely wishing she could get swallowed by the earth. Rafe Cameron just saw her puke her guts out. The guy she’s been in love with forever.

“No no it’s okay June,” He held her hands, “let’s get you home okay? You’ll feel a lot better once you’re in bed.”

She frowned as she walked with him to his truck, “You probably think I’m so gross.”

“I could never. You’re always an angel to me,” He opened the door for her and helped her in.

She had no words. June felt like she didn’t deserve Rafe, he was always so kind and never judged her. The world was lucky to have him. He jogged over to the drivers side and got in. The drive to June’s house was quiet except the rock music that was softly playing from the radio. It was a nice silence.

Once they arrived to June’s house Rafe opened the door for her. Holding her hand as she climbed down. He placed a hand on the small of her back leading her up the porch stairs to the front door. She pulled out her keys and unlocked the door.

She didn’t go inside yet she turned to Rafe looking down at the ground not really wanting to meet his eyes. She was still feeling ashamed from the parking lot fiasco, “Thank you for driving me home Rafe.”

“Anytime, you good to go up on your own?” He asked wanting to make sure she makes it up the stairs and into bed.

She nodded her head finally looking up at him, “I’m a bit sober now so I’m good. Thank you,” she gave him a shy smile. The liquid courage was definitely leaving her system.

“Call me if you need anything at anytime, okay? I’ll be there,” he reached for her hand giving it a small squeeze, “I’ll see you tomorrow June bug.” He leaned forward and pressed a small kiss to her cheek.

Her eyes widened in shock, maybe she was drunk? He pulled away and started walking down the porch steps. Once he got to the bottom he turned towards her with a small smirk, “I’m not leaving till you go in darlin.”

She cleared her throat and blinked a few times before turned the door knob, “Right uh good night Rafe.” She waved stepping into the house.

After locking the door behind her she leaned against it with a sigh. June listened as Rafe drove away already missing him. He was so sweet to her that night. She wanted to think it was because things were changing between them, what if he does see her in a different way.

As soon as those thoughts entered her mind they left. Who was she kidding? Rafe could have anyone why would he choose me? she thought to herself as she walked upstairs to her room. She decided that if this was just Rafe being kind then she’d savor it and enjoy it before he finds someone who actually interests him.

[ghouly-boiiiii]

My Name Is Cooper

Chapter 4 Not Much One For Spirits

(Lucy x Cooper Howard / The Ghoul)

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Tags: angst, fluff, romance, humor, banter, femdom, alcohol and drug use, eventual smut

In this chapter…

 “But I can tell ya… I remember that feelin’. Just like it was yesterday.”

“...What feeling?”

“That feelin’ that ‘cher feelin’ right now…” The Ghoul didn’t lift his eyes when he spoke, just kept them on the fire with a look of scorn on his face. “That feelin’ you get when you learn a truth you wish you hadn't… and your whole world… shatters.” He bit the inside of his cheek. “That… pit in yo stomach... You feel like you’re in bad dream... Like you're outside yourself… Just watchin’.”

Lucy felt the tears welling in her eyes begin to escape and roll down her cheeks, then looked away and said barely audibly, “...Yeah.”

He took a deep breath. “...Yeah…”

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 2,137

SPOILER WARNING: Contains all the spoilers

No trigger warnings except eventual sexy time with a zombie man.

The trio settled in a small, single unit near the exit. The kind that had the bedroom, kitchen and living room all in the same space. The Ghoul laid Dogmeat down on the bed, then made quick work of the junk scattered about, tossing it out the door so it wouldn’t be in their way. 

Lucy watched him a moment, then meandered up to the bed as well and pressed down on it a couple times, half expecting something to crawl out from underneath. When nothing did, she turned around and flopped down onto her back.

Dogmeat crawled up and sniffed her face happily. Lucy reached up a moment to scratch the dog's head, but was clearly distracted. As she laid there, staring at the familiar ceiling, she remembered laying in her own bed at home. About how safe and secure it used to make her feel... and how she would never be able to lay in that bed ever again.

In fact… she wondered if she’d ever truly feel safe ever again.

Lucy thought about Norm and Chet and Stephanie and all the people she left behind. She missed home so much. But she also felt a revulsion in the pit of her stomach at the thought of making herself part of that system again. 

Nothing could ever be the same now. She knew too much.

Then she thought about Max. Her knight in shining armor, and she smiled. She so regretted having to leave without him. If only he were here. Then she would feel safe. She just hoped he was okay. 

“Hey, Vaulty…. Wanna make yourself useful?”

Lucy frowned, then pushed herself up onto her elbows, silently cursing fate for having ended up with him in her company instead. “Excuse me? I just shoved my… whole arm up some… things ass for you, Sir… I think I’m pretty useful.” 

He smirked and snickered at her, then looked her up and down and nodded. “Yeah… you are.” 

She blinked, then narrowed her eyes at him as he turned away, not sure if he meant it or if he was being sarcastic. She didn’t really like the way he was looking at her either. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know how to make a fire, don’che?”

The former vault dweller blinked again. “Of course I know how to make a fire.” 

He tossed a metal bucket into the middle of the floor, along with some burnable materials.  “Well… get on it, Greenhorn.”

She stared at him a moment, then down at the pile of stuff he dropped. The Ghoul seemed a little irritable now. Although, so was she. Fighting that… centaur or whatever he called it… not fun. And her arm smelled like shit. 

Lucy crawled off the bed and got to work, piling the debris into the bucket and setting it ablaze. 

As she sat there with her arms resting on her knees, she let herself get lost in the warm glow of the flames. There was something just so memorizing about fire. Normally, you're not allowed to have fire in the vaults. But no one was going to tell them they were breaking the rules here. It was one of the few things she appreciated about being out in the wasteland. When it was safe to have a fire, anyway.

She was suddenly jolted from her thoughts when The Ghoul started coughing violently. Dogmeat, who kept licking her injured leg, rose her head and whined in concern. He glanced over at her, then grabbed a box of deviled eggs and stumbled up to the bed. “Hungry, girl?” The bounty hunter asked the dog under his breath as she licked her lips. He put the box down in front of her and gave her a pat on the back as she started to chow down. “There you go…” 

Lucy watched curiously, finding it odd to see him be so caring towards another living thing. He seemed so cold and cruel before. Like he only cared about himself. But she was starting to realize little by little that there was more to this monster of a man than she had initially believed. The way he talked so gently towards the pup, tenderly rubbed her behind the ears, and smiled at her with genuine joy seemed as out of character as Norm actually enjoying his job.

The Ghoul tromped over to the recliner next to the bed and fell back into it. “Ahhh…” Then turned to the items he had placed on the table beside him. 

He started coughing again and wheezing when he breathed, so of course the first thing he reached for was the inhaler. He fumbled to get a vial out of the box and into the dispenser before breathing it in deeply, pausing as he let the drug fill his bloodstream.

As Lucy watched him, thoughts filtered into her mind that hadn’t before, and her eyes started to well with tears.

The Ghoul grabbed a bottle of whiskey and unscrewed the top, eyeing her a moment. “...You alright?”

The former vault dweller looked up at him, a little surprised at the question, then back at the fire. “Oh… I was just… thinking about my mother.”

The bounty hunter eyed her a moment as he let out a breath, still wheezing slightly, “Uh huhh…” Then he took a drink from the bottle and clicked his tongue at the bitter burn. “Ahh… kck…” And held it towards Lucy.

She glanced at it briefly, then at him, then away. “Substances… aren’t a healthy way to deal with… stress.” 

“Ahh… suit yourself.” He said and took another drink.

Lucy blinked, then exhaled and turned towards him. “Give it to me.”

The Ghoul paused, then smirked and handed it over.

She took a drink and made a face, then her entire body shook after she swallowed before she handed it back to him. “Bleck…” 

He let out a light laugh. “Not much one for spirits, huh?” 

“That stuff is disgusting.”

He chuckled and downed another swig.

Lucy took a deep breath as she felt the warmth spread over her body, and tried to let it relax her a little bit. “...Why do you think… Muldaver… kept her alive like that? All this time?”

“Hmm…” The Ghoul considered her question. “Well, I couldn’t tell you for sure, sweetheart. What I do know is there’s usually only three reasons someone would wanna keep a feral ghoul around…” He looked over at her with a raised brow. “Either to torture it, study it, or…” He took a breath before he continued and looked back down, pulling his Winchester out of its holster. “Because they just can’t let go.”

Lucy glanced up at him, then furrowed her brow a little as her gaze drifted back down into the fire. “You think… Muldaver… loved my mother…?”

“That’s sure what I’d wanna believe if I were you, darlin’.” He said as he took a rag out of his pocket and started to wipe down the barrel.

She looked up and stared at him for a moment, then blinked slowly before her eyes fell again and she struggled to fight down the growing lump in her throat. “It… must be terrifying.” 

“...What’s that?”

“You know…” Her lip shook as she spoke. “Knowing you could… turn out like her…” 

The Ghoul looked up and just stared at her.

“...Sorry.” The young woman said softly as she shrunk a little where she sat. “I just… I can’t stop imagining what… it must have been like for her… What it… must be like… for you…” 

The old bounty hunter exhaled and laid back in his chair, looking down at the fire as well.

“But I don’t understand why… why she went feral.” Lucy said, furrowing her brow. “If she cared about her that much… you’d think someone like Muldaver would have the means to… keep a supply of those vials around… right?”

The Ghoul just sat there, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “Well… ain’t no way I can know for sure what happened to yo mama…” He thoughtfully ran his tongue over his bottom lip and exhaled again as he continued to clean his gun. “But I bet you anythang she never stopped thinkin’ about you… ‘til the very end.” 

The young woman blinked, then looked up at him, surprised by his apparent capacity for empathy. He wasn’t saying much anymore, but… what he was saying... It was almost like he was trying to… comfort her.

“Did you… ever have kids?”

The old bounty hunter paused a moment, then took a deep breath and tilted his head down a bit more, so she couldn’t see his eyes past his hat. He rolled his tongue in his mouth, then said, “...You should eat somethin’.” 

She blinked, then looked away. “I’m… not very hungry.”

“I know… But you gotta keep up your strength if you wanna make it to where yo daddy at. We still got a long way to go, Vaulty.”

The former vault dweller swallowed and shook her head. “...Please stop calling me that...” Her voice was quiet and shaky.

The Ghoul paused a moment and looked at her, although she didn’t look back. “Alright…” He said, nodding slightly. “Lucy.”

Lucy blinked, then looked up at the old bounty hunter, once again surprised at his response. Not only did it seem like he was trying - keyword: trying - to be supportive, but it was almost like he was starting to respect her. 

Silence fell over the room as he finished up, then put the gun back in its holster. The Ghoul laid back in his chair and stared into the fire, breathing deeply against the rattle in his chest. “You know… I’m not…” He finally said. “Very good at the whole… emotional support thang.” He rolled his tongue in his mouth again. “But I can tell ya… I remember that feelin’. Just like it was yesterday.”

“...What feeling?”

“That feelin’ that ‘cher feelin’ right now…” The Ghoul didn’t lift his eyes when he spoke, just kept them on the fire with a look of scorn on his face. “That feelin’ you get when you learn a truth you wish you hadn't… and your whole world… shatters.” He bit the inside of his cheek. “That… pit in yo stomach... You feel like you’re in a… bad dream. Like you're… outside yourself… Just watchin’.”

She felt the tears welling in her eyes begin to escape and roll down her cheeks, then looked away and said barely audibly, “...Yeah.”

He took a deep breath. “...Yeah…”

After a moment, Lucy looked up at The Ghoul and swallowed before looking back down. Even though it wasn’t much, she did appreciate his effort. And she needed to show it, no matter how much she didn’t care for the man. It’s what was proper. Also, positive reinforcement and all that. 

“Umm… thank you.” She said, looking up at him again. “For… for trying.”

He didn’t look up at her, just ran his tongue over his bottom lip again, as if his mind had wandered somewhere else too. “Uh huh…”

Then, as she stared at him, she picked up the distinct sound of dripping water. Her eyes moved towards it on their own, and her raging thirst finally broke through her inner turmoil like a floodgate.

The young woman stood up and quickly stepped over towards the source of the drip - the kitchen sink. She switched on her geiger counter and turned the knob. And as the water flowed and the counter barely clicked, a smile spread across her face. She quickly started drinking handfuls of water, one after another. 

Eventually, she stopped to catch her breath and informed her companion, “The water’s not irradiated…” She took one more drink, then turned the other knob, and was ecstatic to find the tap flowing with clean, warm water. “The hot water tanks are still working.” She looked over at The Ghoul with a grin. 

He just stared at her, as if he didn’t understand what the fuss was about. “That so...” 

“You know what that means, don’t you?” The young woman said excitedly as she approached him. 

“...What does that mean?” He said flatly, tilting his head up a bit. 

“It means we get a hot shower!” She flashed him an almost pained grin. 

“Alright…” The Ghoul didn’t seem to share Lucy’s excitement. “Well, you go on then… I’ll keep an eye on things…” 

Lucy balled her hands up and held them towards her chest for a moment before quickly making her way towards the bathroom.

As the old bounty hunter watched her move across the room, and his eyes lingered on the door she had disappeared into for a moment. Once he looked away, he tilted his head back against the chair, and let out a sigh.

To be continued...

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