#and also checks up on him every six months or so to gloat about how great his life is

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

Rewatching Volume 8 and there's a part of me that's sad we'll never get to see Tyrian's reaction to his goddess being punched in the tits by a teenager. Like Tyrian's always going "she's goddess who stands above us" worshipping the ground she walks on and then Yang just blows her up by placing bombs in her cleavage. There would've been some reaction.

Tyrian, ever slowly, starting to realize that Salem isn't the invincible force of nature he assumed she was and he might have picked the losing side here: Nope nope nope nope I am sunk costing this to the fucking end I said I was okay with dying in a violent explosion I can't back out now because there's a possibility I'll just end up sitting in jail after all of this.

[stahlop]

The Night We Met

Summary:

Ever since Emma and Neal started dating, his roommate, Killian, has always been a jerk. But now that Emma and Neal have broken up, will she see Killian in a different light? Especially when she finds out the truth about why he's always hated her?

Rated M

Also on A03

Happy belated birthday @mariakov81! I have finally finished your birthday fic. I hope you enjoy this college/enemies to lovers/miscommunication au.

Thank you @ultraluckycatnd for being my beta on this one.

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“Ruby, I’m tired, I really don’t want to go to this party,” Emma whined as Ruby walked through her door.

“Too bad,” Ruby trilled at her. “You promised. You’ve been working like a dog. And besides, maybe you’ll get yourself laid tonight.” She smiled her wolfish grin at her.

“Ruby, I don’t need to get laid. I’m perfectly fine!” Emma huffed and settled herself back down into the couch cushions.

“Emma,” Ruby said, sitting next to her on their overly plush couch. She threw back her red tinged, brown locks, and grabbed Emma’s hands from where she’d had her arms crossed over her chest in indignation. “You have not been with anyone since you and Neal broke up. Not even a one-night stand or a rebound to get over him. I know he hurt you..”

“He fucking cheated on me for half of our three year relationship, Ruby!” Emma said, pulling her hands back and willing the tears that pricked her eyes not to fall. She wasn’t going to get upset about fucking Neal again. “Thank goodness I always insisted on condoms even though I was on birth control. Who knows what kinds of diseases he could’ve picked up.” The memory of finding Neal with another woman in their bed was seared into her memory. The fact that he’d apparently been cheating on her with multiple women over the course of their relationship made her feel like the biggest failure on the planet. But Emma always got left, always, so she really shouldn’t have been too surprised.

“I know what you’re thinking, Emma Swan, and it’s not true. You did not deserve this.” Emma raised her eyes to look at her roommate. How the hell could she always read her mind? “I know you,” Ruby said as if she had, in fact, read her mind. “I’ve known you since we were 15 and Granny took you in off the streets, fed you, and never let you leave.” Emma smiled at the memory. As a 15-year-old foster kid runaway, Emma had tried to take some food from Ruby’s grandmother’s diner dumpsters, but had been caught by Granny herself. Emma had thought she would call the cops on her, as had been her experience, but instead, she called 15-year-old Ruby down from the apartment over the diner and together, they had made what Emma had constituted as a feast (really just grilled cheese, steamed broccoli, onion rings, a hot chocolate with whipped cream, and a piece of cherry pie for dessert). Emma had made to leave as they’d done their good deed for the day, but they insisted on Emma staying in their spare room (and with a stern warning from Granny that if anything were missing in the morning, she would hunt her down). And somehow, Emma had fought the urge to run, and eventually, Granny ended up getting permission to foster her, and she had never left. Now she and Ruby were finishing up their senior year of college and Emma did not need her foster sister to try and convince her to go to some end of the year college house party.

“Look, Neal was a raging douche. I’m just sorry he had to break your heart for you to see it. But it’s been six months, Emma. It’s time to end the wallowing and come out!” Ruby gave her a stern look and Emma knew she was done for. She could never say no to that look, and Ruby knew it.

“Fine!” Emma practically bolted off the couch. “But don’t expect me to have any fun,” she warned as she headed off to her bedroom to change.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Ruby said, waving her hand behind her as she went through the door of her own room.

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

Emma sighed a breath of relief as she sat down in the recently vacated spot on the couch. There was a couple making out on the other end of the couch, but as long as they didn’t invade her space, she wasn’t too worried about them. She’d been making the rounds with Ruby for the past hour and the heels that she’d picked out to wear were not being kind to her feet whatsoever.

She had just grabbed her phone out of her wristlet, flicked her blonde hair back behind her, and was just about to check the time when she heard his voice.

“Fancy seeing you here, Swan.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she knew more would be coming. “This doesn’t really seem like your scene,” the heavily accented, British voice continued on.

“And what exactly is my scene, Jones?” Emma didn’t even look up from her phone, just opened it up and started to scroll through Instagram so that she didn’t have to actually speak to him. She groaned when she felt the couch dip next to her. She glanced past him to where the couple had been making out just seconds ago, but it seemed as if they’d decided to take their activities to someplace more private.

“Aren’t you usually at bars or at Neal’s place?” Emma wasn’t sure if he was asking a genuine question, or if he just didn’t have a good zinger for her (which was pretty much his thing). But it was obvious from his answer that he didn’t know some important information.

“Neal and I broke up,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant and not like her heart was still breaking six months later. It wasn’t even Neal she was upset about, it was the being lied to and cheated on part that still got her upset. That she had put her heart out there and Neal had essentially stomped all over it, making her feel like that lost girl all over again. She looked over at him expecting to see an ���I told you so’ smirk on his face, but instead, he looked rather upset.

“I’m sorry, Swan,” he said, a solemn expression washing over his face. “I truly am. I know how happy you two were.” Emma almost burst out laughing. 

“Are you mocking me, Killian?” She wasn’t angry, just confused. “Because I seem to recall you not liking me at all when Neal and I were dating. Considering you were his roommate for most of the time we were together, I rarely ever saw you. And when I did you showed your disdain toward me pretty flagrantly.” Great. Now she was all riled up again. The last thing she needed tonight was to get into an argument with Killian Jones who had been the bane of her existence when she and Neal were together.

The expression on his face morphed from concern to pure anger after her little outburst. “I don’t even know why I try with you, Swan.” He pushed himself up off the couch and started to walk off before he stopped sharply, turned around, and came back over to her.

“I don’t know what I ever did for you to be so combative towards me, but now that you're not with Neal I don’t have to put up with it anymore. Go screw yourself!” Emma watched in shock as he stalked away from her and started up the stairs. The few people who were in the room with her all had looks of disbelief on their faces at the scene that had just transpired. Emma felt her whole body start to flush in embarrassment before she realized that she hadn’t done anything wrong.

Who the fuck does he think he is? she thought, her embarrassment now turning to anger. She and Killian had always had an antagonistic relationship. They had never gotten along. Well, technically, that wasn’t true. She’d actually met him before Neal as they’d had a class together sophomore year, but they’d only made small talk at that point. They’d flirted a bit and she’d thought he’d been interested, but then Neal had asked her out instead and Killian had made it clear that not only had he not been interested (what with the girlfriend Neal told her he had), but that he really didn’t like her at all. Every time she’d go over to their apartment, no matter what she said, he retorted back with some kind of insult or sarcastic comment. It had almost been a relief when he’d moved out a year and a half into her and Neal’s relationship.

“You try with me?” she asked incredulously, running after him up the stairs and trying not to knock over any of the, most likely, drunk people who were congregating there. Killian turned around toward her, his blue eyes flashing angrily at her. He looked like he was going to say something back to her, but then his whole body deflated with a resigned sigh that said ‘Great, I guess we’re doing this.’ And before Emma could even comprehend what was happening, he’d grabbed her arm and pulled her into an empty bedroom right off the stairs, locking the door behind them.

“Did you know?” she asked before he could get a word in. 

“Know what, Swan?” Killian asked as if this whole thing was an inconvenience for him, even though he was the one who dragged her into the room.

Emma let out an exasperated sigh. “That Neal was cheating on me?” Killian’s eyes went wide for a split second before he tried to cover it up with a look of disbelief, but that was enough for Emma to see that, yes, he indeed knew that Neal had been cheating on her.

“Wow,” Emma said, trying to blink back the tears that had started pricking her eyes, all the fight leaving her body. “I knew you hated me, but I never expected you to sit idly by while Neal cheated on me.” She sank down on the bed and proceeded to use the heel of her hand to try and stop the tears from actually falling. She glanced a look at Killian, expecting to see him gloating or a mirthful smile gracing his lips, but instead, he looked absolutely crestfallen.

“I had my suspicions,” he began, running his hands through his hair, making it stand straight up and yet still making him look devilishly handsome, not that Emma was noticing. Nope. She was too upset to notice how Killian looked. “I confronted Neal about it and he told me to mind my own business. That’s why I moved out. I may be a bit of a scoundrel, Swan, but it’s bad form to cheat.” He made a move to sit down next to her on the bed, pausing to silently ask permission before she nodded yes and the bed dipped next to her.

“Why didn’t you tell me you even suspected?” Emma asked. She was staring at the god awful bedspread they were sitting on. It looked like it was denim with rhinestones all over it. How could that be comfortable to sleep on? She felt the bed shake and saw Killian scratching behind his ear, a nervous tell she’d noticed over the years. She wondered why he was nervous talking to her right now.

“Honestly, Swan, I figured you wouldn’t believe me. I mean,” he paused for a moment as if he were going to reveal some big unspoken truth between them, “you did choose him over me. I didn’t want to come off as jealous and petty.” She nodded as if that made sense, but then realized it made no sense.

Jealous and petty? 

Chose Neal over him?

“What the hell are you talking about, Killian?” The sadness that she’d been feeling was replaced by utter confusion. 

Killian took a deep breath as if he couldn’t believe they were going to discuss this. “Look, I know you always felt a bit uncomfortable about me being Neal’s roommate, since you rejected me so grandly. I guess that’s why I was always so sarcastic toward you -”

“No, seriously, Killian,” she said, cutting him off, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. When did I reject you?” She’d turned to face him now. She was sure her face had the most puzzled expression on it since this conversation had taken a turn. Killian’s eyes searched hers as if looking for the prank she was playing on him, but when he couldn’t, he continued talking.

“That night in the bar. You rejected me and chose Neal,” he said matter-of-factly.

“I know I keep saying this, Jones, but what the hell are you talking about? I never even spoke to you the night Neal and I got together in the bar. How could I have rejected you?” God, had she drank more than she thought that this whole conversation with Killian made no sense whatsoever? Killian let out a huff of frustration.

“I was perfectly happy never to bring this up, since you never did, but I guess we’re finally going to have this out. That night. At the bar. I thought we were flirting. It seemed like we were flirting.”

They had been flirting. She’d been waiting for her friends at a table by herself when she’d noticed Killian Jones from her biology class sitting with Neal at a table across the room. They’d practically been eye fucking each other from their perspective tables when Neal had walked over to her table and surprised her by asking her out instead.

“You had a girlfriend!” Emma said, accusingly. And now she was back to being angry. She jumped up from the bed, intent on leaving the room. Why the hell did he feel the need to rehash all this from three years ago? She’d felt humiliated when Neal had told her Killian had a girlfriend. She must have completely imagined the flirting that she thought he’d been reciprocating. 

“What are you going on about, Swan?” he asked. Apparently it was Killian’s turn to be confused. He was wearing the most perplexed look on his face that Emma had ever seen.

“Your girlfriend, Mia, or Mina, or whatever. You were dating her when Neal and I started seeing each other, so you couldn’t have been flirting with me!” Emma was exhausted from this whole exchange. She knew she shouldn’t have let Ruby convince her to come out tonight. And here she was only, she checked the digital alarm clock sitting on the nightstand, one hour into the party and she was already fighting with Jones. And she wasn’t even sure what they were fighting about this time. Just that she felt like she was reliving one of the more embarrassing interactions she’d had with him.

Killian sat there looking shell shocked. “Milah?” he asked incredulously. Emma shrugged.  “Neal’s cousin? I never dated her. I met her at a party, once. The party you came to as Neal’s girlfriend for the first time. Whatever gave you the idea I was dating her?”

Emma furrowed her brow, trying to recall that night three years ago. “Neal told me you were,” she said slowly. Killian scrunched his face in a look of confusion. He headed back over to the bed and sat down. He looked like he was thinking about something and Emma started to feel like an intruder in the room. She was about to suggest she head back to the party when he patted the spot next to him.

“Come sit, Swan. I feel like we need to clear the air about a few things.” The solemn look on his face was enough for Emma to follow his instructions. After she’d settled herself on a patch of the bedspread that did not contain rhinestones trying to puncture her through her jeans, Killian began to speak. “Let me see if I have the order of events correct from that night in the bar. You and I were flirting.” Emma attempted to interrupt him by reminding him that she was flirting, but she’d obviously misinterpreted his intentions, but he put his pointer finger to her lips to stop her. “Sh Sh Shush. It’s storytime,” he said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. 

“So, you and I were flirting, or, at least, I was flirting. I was flirting with you in our bio class at school and I couldn’t believe my luck that you were sitting there at that all ages college bar flirting with me. But, I wasn’t as confident back then, so when Neal offered to be my wingman and kind of feel you out about your feelings for me, I jumped on the opportunity. I sat there watching the conversation from my table. I watched you smile at him and then look over at me and my heart practically soared out of my chest that you might be agreeing to pursue something with me. And then your face fell and you looked over at me again, but this time with a little more scorn in it, and then you and Neal just kept talking and talking, and the longer I sat there the more I felt like the biggest fool just sitting there. I could tell your affections had shifted. And then Neal came back over to me after you’d finished talking and told me how you’d really been flirting with him and that you’d agreed to go on a date with him, and better luck next time.” Killian hadn’t looked at her throughout the entire part of his story, probably afraid to see her reaction to it. Probably afraid that she would be mocking him in some way since that’s what their relationship had been since she’d been with Neal, and now she understood why.

“But, that’s not what happened,” Emma said with an anguished cry. Killian’s face snapped up toward hers so fast she thought he might have hurt something. “I was flirting with you. I’d been crushing on you so hard. And then you were in the bar. I wanted to come over and talk with you, but I didn’t want to lose the table I was saving for my friends. When Neal came over, I thought maybe you’d sent him instead. But then he told me that you hadn’t been flirting, that I must have misinterpreted. That you had been with your girlfriend, Milah, for a while now, and could I possibly consider getting to know him and go out on a date with him instead. And I felt like the biggest fool,” she said repeating his words back to him, “but Neal was cute and nice and I thought, why not. And then he brought me to that party and Milah was all over you and that just confirmed to me that everything I thought had been happening between us was just in my head, so I agreed to be Neal’s girlfriend that night.” A thought struck her and she gasped.

“That’s why you’ve been so mean to me? You thought I rejected you for Neal?” She felt horrible now, knowing the truth.

“Aye,” he said, scratching that area behind his ear again. “I admit, I didn’t deal with my feelings about being rejected that well. And the fact that you never said anything about it perturbed me too.”

“He played us both. He was supposed to be your friend and instead he screwed you for a girl.” Emma had thought she’d been pissed at Neal when she’d discovered he’d been cheating, but now she was angrier than she’d ever thought she could be. Neal was the worst of the worst. And to top it all off, he had stopped whatever could have potentially happened between her and Killian from happening.

“It was part of why I moved out. Besides suspecting him of cheating on the most glorious woman I’d ever laid eyes on, I just couldn’t see you two together anymore. It hurt too much.” He gave a shy smile which looked odd on his ruggish face.

“Ugh! Neal is the biggest asshole ever. What the hell did I ever see in him?” Emma asked.

“You see what you want to see when you’re in love,” Killian answered. Emma bit her lip, replaying everything she’d just learned. The last three years had been built on a lie. Neal was the biggest asshole to the tenth degree and Killian was sitting here looking at her as if she hung the moon.

Killian was looking like a man in love.

Emma had thought he was cute back in their freshman year when he’d still had lanky limbs that didn’t seem to fit his body and could barely grow facial hair. And now here he was sitting in front her, his body lean and muscular, beautiful scruff covering the lower half of his face, and a thatch of chest hair sitting exposed from where he’d unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt (something she always had complained to Neal about when she thought she hated him, but she’d really always wanted to run her fingers through it). She looked up into his eyes and noticed that they were practically black. Only a sliver of blue iris ringed the outside of the pupil. Emma could feel her heart starting to pound in her chest. She’d hated him until only mere minutes ago, hadn’t she? Until the revelation of Neal’s manipulation had come to light. Or had she simply been masking her feelings by engaging in his hateful banter? It only took a split second for her to decide what to do.

She grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt and hauled his lips to hers. If Killian seemed surprised by this turn of events, he didn’t show it all, as he immediately started kissing her back. His scruff on her chin felt delightful, his lips were soft on hers, and his hand had threaded its way into her hair and the slight pull felt amazing. She ran her hands through his hair and reveled at how soft it felt. She broke the kiss for a moment to get some air, their foreheads resting against each other, both of them panting.

“That was…” he began.

“Long overdue,” Emma finished before she went in for another kiss. But Killian stopped her before her lips could reach his. Her heart was pounding in her ears, but for a totally different reason than it was before. She couldn’t have possibly misread the situation again.

“You don’t want me anymore,” she stated softly, pulling away from him before she could embarrass herself any further. But he wouldn’t let her out of his grip.

“On the contrary, I want you very much.” Emma bit her lip and couldn’t stop the smile that overcame her lips. “I just…” he huffed, most likely trying to find the right words to say what he wanted without offending her. “We’ve spent the last three years believing we hated each other, and I just want to make sure this isn’t a one time thing, because I never hated you, Emma.” The sound of her name, and not Swan, did things to her that she never knew just a voice could do. She gently cupped his face in her hand and gave a chaste kiss to his cheek. 

“Killian, I fully intend for this to be more than a one time thing. So please, just kiss me again?” And with that, he surged forward and gave in to her request. 

This kiss was nothing like the last one. This one was full of want, passion, and love (yes, love; Emma may have still loathed him earlier tonight, but she would be the first to admit that there was a thin line between love and hate, and it had now been crossed).

Killian started peppering her jaw with kisses, finding a particular spot right before her ear which made her moan with pure lust. “Swan,” he growled into her ear, his breath making her whole body shiver, “you can’t even imagine how long I’ve wanted to hear you make those noises because of me.” He bit down on her ear lobe, soothing it with his tongue as she made another obscene noise that in all her time with Neal she’d never heard herself make. “Do you know what it does to a man when the object of his desire is getting off by someone else in the next room with thin walls? It was absolute torture.” He moved back down her jaw, kissing her lips again before moving to the other side. 

“In all honesty, you mostly heard me faking it,” Emma laughed. She honestly never knew it could feel this good and they were only kissing.

Killian pulled away from the ear he’d been sucking on and faced her with a troubled look. “Please tell me my former prick of a roommate gave you some orgasms during your tenure together?” Emma almost laughed at the level of concern on his face, but she knew he was being serious so she held it in. 

“I mean, he gave me some,” she shrugged. “But he was the only guy I’d ever been with, so I don’t really have a lot to compare him to.” Killian looked even more insulted at that statement. 

“Swan,” Killian said, grabbing her hands. “You are a goddess and I’ll show you how you should be worshipped properly.” He punctuated this statement with another bruising kiss. 

Emma sat slack jawed at his words. Never had anyone spoken to her like Killian did. Like she was worthy of being ‘worshipped’ as he’d put it. So she just nodded in agreement. 

“Emma --”

“Killian --”

They both gave a small laugh having spoken at the same time. 

“Emma, I just want you to know that no matter what happens tonight, I want to be whatever you want us to be. Whatever we become is as much up to you as it is to me.” So much more romantic than Neal’s ‘So I wanna if you wanna,’ Emma thought.

“Are you trying to make sure I’m okay with this, Killian? Because I am. I liked you back before Neal, and I thought I’d been wrong about you being this nice guy, but I still always had a thing for you, even when we were... mortal enemies.” More laughter emanated from them. “But I want this. I really want this.” She took her free hand and moved a piece of hair that was dangling over his eye away. “And I want to explore what could’ve been if He Who Shall Not Be Named hadn’t interfered for his own selfish reasons.” They both smiled at that. Emma could see his blue eyes twinkling. She thought he was going to kiss her again, but he let go of her hand and got up off the bed and motioned for her to do the same. Emma was confused until he began turning the bed down for them to get more comfortable.

“Oh, so now you’re a gentleman?” she asked jokingly.

“I’m always a gentleman,” he replied back. And then he grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a kiss. “But right now, I want to tear off this ridiculous comforter,” Killian ripped it off the bed revealing the normal looking sheets underneath, “so I can get you into that bed, tear off all your clothes, and hear you scream my name.” He growled into her ear as he tongued it. His voice went straight to her clit and she swore she might come from his voice alone. 

Killian moved her hair off her shoulder as his lips began their assault on it. Emma had never been so glad she’d chosen the off-the-shoulder top she was wearing for the party that night. She started to unbutton her blouse to move things along, but Killian swatted her hands away. 

“No, Swan. I will not have you ruining my fun by having you undress yourself. I intend to unwrap you myself. I’ve waited too long for this to be a quick fuck.” Emma shivered at his words. Never in a million years would she have thought Killian would have been a dirty talker. And she never realized that it would turn her on so much. 

His scruff was scratching her neck in the best way as his lips went back to her neck. Her hands went to the thatch of hair peeking out from the top of his shirt and Emma decided that if she wasn’t allowed to unbutton her top, she could certainly start unbuttoning his. The chest hair was something she’d always wanted to run her fingers through. With every button she opened, more and more hair was revealed. She ran her fingers through it as Killian moved back to her mouth. 

“Please, Killian,” she begged as she got to the last button on his shirt. He removed his arms from the sleeves while still keeping his lips on hers, although she could feel him smile as she begged. He continued to unbutton her blouse with his deft fingers and discarded her shirt onto the floor.

“Better?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow in the sexiest way she’d ever seen. 

“Not even close,” she panted. The black, strapless lace bra she was wearing felt too constricting, and as much as Killian had wanted to ‘unwrap’ her himself, she reached behind her back to unhook the offending material. The eyebrow raised again as he stepped back to see what she had done, but then his eyes widened when he saw what was underneath her bra.

“You’re absolutely stunning, Emma,” Killian whispered in awe and before she could say anything back, he started kissing her again. This time, Emma pulled him down onto the bed with her. They found a comfortable position with her on her back and him between her thighs. His lips seemed to be everywhere: lips, jaw, neck, collarbone. He was kissing a path down to her breasts and she was rubbing her jeans against the large bulge she could feel through his.

“Someone is impatient,” he smirked into the top of her breast before his teeth clamped down over her nipple.

“Fuck, Killian!” she said as he immediately laved his tongue over the now peaked nipple. The smirk returned.

“All in good time.” He moved over to the other nipple and repeated the same movements with his teeth and tongue. Emma had never felt these feelings before. Neal had barely done any foreplay, and Emma, having not been that experienced, just figured that was normal. Now she was mentally berating herself for missing out on this the past few years. But she needed to stop thinking about Neal when she had Killian’s mouth heading south. His tongue dipped into her navel and Emma swore she was going to come before he even got her jeans off. She never knew someone’s tongue could feel that erotic on her skin.

“Is this okay?” Killian asked as his fingers came up to the button on her jeans. Emma could only nod, her mouth not seeming to work. He popped the button and Emma lifted up her ass so Killian could slide her jeans and underwear down (just plain cotton which she was highly regretting right now; at least she’d had the forethought to shave before the party). He continued to kiss down her body as her jeans slid off, leaving her completely nude. For the first time that night, Emma began to feel self conscious about the position she was in. She and Killian had hated each other up until an hour ago, was it really prudent of her to sleep with him already? Maybe they should slow things down. She was just about to voice this when his tongue made contact with her clit and all rational thought went out the window.

“Oh, God!” she screamed and her hands involuntarily went to his lucious, brown locks and pulled him even closer.

“Killian will do,” he said, smiling into her. “So wet for me, Swan.” He began licking her like a man possessed and Emma had never been this crazed from oral sex in her life. She was pretty much fucking his face and Killian seemed to be enjoying it. He sucked her clit between his lips and Emma knew she was so close. Killian took his pointer and middle fingers and slipped them into her wet heat, thrusting them back and forth until he finally found the spot that would make her come undone. “Come for me, Swan,” he growled in a commanding tone. He gave one final suck and her body exploded. 

Emma knew she was mumbling nonsensical words as Killian continued to lick and pump his fingers more slowly now, bringing her down from her high. Never in all her life, not by her own hand or any other boy’s (because that’s what they all were, boys) had she ever had an orgasm so strong. Emma was vaguely aware that Killian was now kissing back up her body: a small nip to her hip, his tongue licking a stripe up the side of her stomach, his teeth grazing the side of her breast. His hand was still in between her legs easing her down from her intense orgasm.

“Oh my fucking God, Killian!” she panted out, her heart still beating frantically in her chest.

“Sounds like you enjoyed that.” He smirked. That smirk always used to annoy her, but now it was the sexiest thing Emma had ever seen. She grabbed Killian by the hair and crashed her lips onto his. She could taste her essence on his lips and it was intoxicating. Emma never thought she would be turned on by that. She was learning a lot about herself tonight. Like the fact that she was completely nude and Killian was still half dressed.

“Lose the pants, Killian.” She’d found her way to the tip of his pointed ear. Another thing she’d always found annoying about him and now she found hot as fuck.

“As the lady wishes.” He stood up and began to unbutton his pants as Emma started stroking his chest hair. He was wearing a pair of black boxer briefs underneath that did nothing to hide his erection and for the first time, Emma realized that all the sexual innuendos he’d dropped over the years were not because he was compensating for something. He could really back up everything.

“Fuck, Killian!” Emma breathed out as he pulled his boxer briefs down to meet his pants that were at his knees. Emma knelt down to pull them off the rest of the way, Killian watching her intensely, and found herself eye to ….cock. He was so much bigger than Neal, and it was nicer looking, what with the manscaping he’d obviously done. Neal had just been a hairy mess. But Killian, well, Emma never thought she’d describe a man’s penis as beautiful, but that’s what this was. She gently brushed her thumb over the tip, a hiss emanating from Killian’s lips as he sat back on the bed. She wrapped her small hand around it and looked up at him. “Is this okay?” She echoed back his words from before, and just as she had, he nodded, too much in awe that this was actually happening.

Emma pumped him up and down slowly, her thumb grazing the tip each time. His shaft was velvety smooth under her touch. She was gearing herself up to lick him; it was not something she had particularly enjoyed doing for Neal. Killian must have sensed her hesitation because the next thing she knew, he was hauling her up into his lap. She immediately became wetter the moment his cock rubbed against her already damp folds.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, love.” He brushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear before kissing her again. “Besides, if you put your mouth on me, I’d probably finish there and I want to feel you around me.” Emma could feel her cheeks redden, but then started rubbing herself against him. The noise Killian made was probably the most amazing noise she’d ever heard and she doubled her efforts rubbing against him just to hear him make it again.

“One moment,” he said, maneuvering himself to grab his pants. He quickly pulled out his wallet and grabbed the foil-wrapped condom from inside, then deposited his wallet back in his pants before dropping them back on the floor. Emma was busy giving sloppy kisses along the column of his neck when she heard the foil rip, and she lifted up slightly so his cock stood in between them looking red and angry. Emma had never seen an erection look so hard. She plucked the condom from his hand and pulled it down herself (and honestly, she never thought putting a condom on could be so damn sexy).

“Ready, Swan?” he asked. Emma didn’t even give a verbal answer. She grabbed his cock, lifted herself over it, and slowly sank down on him, adjusting to his length and girth.

“Fuck!” she moaned when he was finally seated completely within her. Killian kissed her passionately, his tongue plunging into the depth of her mouth and tangling with hers. She tugged on his lower lip with her teeth, and she could swear she felt him get even harder inside her.

“You need to move, Swan,” he bit out. Emma lifted herself up, and slammed back down on him. God, she’d never felt so full in her life. She never wanted this feeling to end. She continued to fuck herself on him, her hands on his shoulders to lift herself up higher, his hands under her ass to do the same. She’d never fucked anyone like this before. Neal had always insisted on missionary style, which Emma was now realizing was probably the only way he could get off. This position felt fucking amazing and she was pissed at herself for never trying it before. But she needed something more.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” she screamed as his hand moved from her ass to in between them and made contact with her clit. That was exactly what she needed. He continued to rub it as hard as he could. It was too much, yet not enough. She was almost there.

“Let go, Emma. I promise I’ll catch you.” And that was all it took. Emma lifted up off him completely and had the most fucking intense orgasm she’d ever had in her life. Even more powerful than the one he’d brought her to before. Everything seemed to go black and then next thing she knew, Killian had turned them over so she was on her back and he thrust himself back inside her. 

Emma didn’t even get to contemplate how fast he’d changed their position when another orgasm rocked her due to the angle of his cock inside her and a well placed thumb on her already swollen clit. “Killian!” she screamed, her voice starting to feel hoarse from all the screaming she’d been doing. He rode her out until she finally felt him still and he grunted, emptying himself into the condom.

Killian collapsed on top of her. He was heavy, but Emma decided she didn’t really mind. She liked the way he felt. With Neal, she’d just wanted him off of her right away, mainly because he’d fall asleep almost instantaneously and then she’d be trapped beneath him. Almost as if he was reading her mind, Killian rolled off of her. Emma immediately missed the warmth of him, but he quickly took off the condom, wrapped it in some tissues from the box on the nightstand, and threw it away in the garbage can. Then he pulled her into him so their foreheads were touching, and Emma thought it was the sweetest thing anyone had done for her after sex. She kissed him, a short and sweet kiss, just to let him know that this wasn’t just sex. She hoped that it conveyed what she was too afraid to say. But then, she decided to say it anyway.

“Killian,” she began, “would you like to go out on a date...or something?” she mumbled, her confidence waning after she mentioned the word date.

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you out?” Killian teased as a wide smile graced his handsome face. She blushed. After everything they’d just done and she blushed when he teased her. She had it bad. “Yes, Emma, I would be honored to go out with you. But please let me plan the date,” he said earnestly. How could she resist when he had the puppy dog face going. She kissed him in agreement.

“And now, love,” he said hesitantly, “I think you and I should get out of this bed, considering it doesn’t belong to either of us. And who knows how many other people have used this bed for this exact same purpose.” That made Emma jump up almost immediately. God, she hoped whoever's house this was they washed the sheets before they’d made the bed.

They quickly got their clothes back on (and Emma didn’t even want to think about the mess her hair probably was), and Emma pulled her phone from the back pocket of her jeans that had been discarded, noticing there were a few text messages from Ruby.

“Shit! Ruby’s been trying to get a hold of me. She wanted to leave half an hour ago.” She frantically started texting Ruby to tell her where she was, but Killian took the phone from her hand and deleted the text.

“Tell her you’ve gone home with someone and you’ll see her in the morning.” Emma looked at him quizzically.

“Am I going home with someone?” Killian’s cheeks went red all the way to the tips of his elfin ears and his hand went to the back of his neck.

“Only if the lady would like to.”

Emma debated making him even more nervous, but couldn’t contain herself. “The lady would like to, Killian,” she said, giving a small smile. He took her hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing the knuckles and Emma thought she might melt on the spot. How could she have ever hated him? Oh right, her jerk ex. She quickly sent a text off to Ruby.

He unlocked the door and they stepped out into the, thankfully, empty hallway. They could still hear the party going on downstairs, and lots of moaning coming from the other rooms in the hall. They both gave each other slightly embarrassed grins.

“Come, love, let’s take this somewhere more private,” Killian said smugly; Emma nodded in agreement and they headed down the stairs… and ran smack into Neal.

He looked, if Emma was being honest, like crap. His hair was disheveled, and not in the way Killian’s was looking because of her pulling on it during sex, and there were bags under his eyes, like he hadn’t been sleeping. 

“Emma!” Neal said, his face lighting up. “Boy, am I ever glad to see you.”

“Can’t say the feeling’s mutual,” Emma snapped. The euphoria she had just experienced with Killian was quickly fading into revulsion. She gave Killian’s fingers a quick squeeze so he knew she was not going to let Neal ruin their night. He gave her a squeeze back in understanding.

“Oh, come on Ems, don’t be like that,” he said, flashing that grin that always used to make her weak in the knees. Now it just made her want to vomit. What the hell did she ever see in him? Had she really been that desperate to be loved? Neal reached out to grab her hand and Emma could see the confusion when he realized one hand was occupied, and then the look of realization when he finally noticed Killian standing beside her.

“What the hell is this?” Neal asked angrily, like he had any reason to be angry. “You making a move on my girl, man? I thought we were friends!” Emma actually burst out laughing at that remark. Both Neal and Killian looked at her bewildered.

“First off, Neal,” she said, giving him a fierce push against his chest, her laughter giving way to irritation, “I’m no longer your girl. I haven’t been your girl in six months. And,” she gave him another push, “you were cheating on me for half of our relationship, so I really haven’t been your girl in a long time.”

“Ems, I can explain…”

“No, you can’t explain, Neal. And even if you could, I don’t want to hear it. And as for Killian being your friend,” she gave a glance to Killian and gave him a huge smile before returning her look toward Neal, “friends don’t steal the girl their other friend is interested in and then lie to both of them about it for years.” Another push. Neal’s face went practically white. “Yeah, we figured some things out tonight about the night we met.” She scowled at him to let him know that she meant business.

“I..” But Emma was done with this.

“I don’t want to hear it, Neal.” And with that, she walked past Neal, her hand in Killian’s to really make her point that she was no longer his.

“Your loss, mate,” Killian said with a smirk and gave a salute as Emma pulled him along. They ran out the front door into the cool spring air. When they made it to Killian’s car (a Chevelle that Emma remembered he rebuilt himself) they stopped to catch their breath. Emma could feel Killian’s eyes on her, silently watching her to see her reaction. 

“Emma, I’d understand if we’ve moved too fast and you want to slow things down,” Killian said quickly. It’s as if he’s afraid that if he doesn’t say it fast enough, she’ll say something to end what has barely begun between them. Emma gets it. She walked over to him. He’s busily looking anywhere but at her, while scratching that spot behind his ear. It’s utterly adorable.

“Killian?” She’s standing directly in front of him and the surprise look on his face when he finally does look at her is priceless. “I don’t want this to be a one time thing. And I definitely don’t want to slow things down.” And with that declaration, she grabbed his face, pulled his lips to hers, and kissed him with everything she had in her. It took Killian a moment to catch up with her, his lips finally kissing hers back after a slight gasp of surprise into her mouth that made her smile, almost giggle even. 

They finally separated and got into Killian’s car, both of them quietly contemplating, with anticipation, what the future held for them as they drove silently back to his apartment.

 In the morning, Emma expected to feel the urge to run, to feel they moved too fast. But she doesn’t feel any of that. He pulled her in tight in his half asleep state, making her feel safe as she cuddled into his chest, and Emma wondered how she ever could have hated him the way she thought she did.

Tag List: (Let me know if you want to be added or removed)

@profdanglaisstuff @thisonesatellite @mariakov81 @hollyethecurious @winterbaby89 @jennjenn615 @kmomof4 @superchocovian @lfh1226-linda @ilovemesomekillianjones  @itsfabianadocarmo @xsajx  @qualitycoffeethings @snowbellewells @courtorderedcake @klynn-stormz @tiganasummertree @therooksshiningknight @teamhook @deckerstarblanche @onceratheart18 @the-darkdragonfly @wefoundloveunderthelight @earanemith

[tmntgirlie]

TMNT x Reader

How Donnie Asks You Out (kinda)

Donatello is very much the science-tech guy

However, when he’s not almost blowing shit up in his lab, he likes to relax with videogames

Especially MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role playing games)

He had a few that he liked to shuffle through- World of Warcraft, Elder Scrolls, Final Fantasy

Through these games, he was able to feel normal

Through these games, he didn’t have to feel like a secret mutant turtle living in the sewers of New York City

(We’re going to ignore that his username is always TurtleDon)

It’s really no surprise he met you on one of these games

He had been placed in a party of eight people for a few missions, and you just so happened to be in the party as well

He noticed that you had a bit of a lower level than him so, as usual, he decided to help you gain more levels

After all, what’s good for the individual player is good for the party, right?

Outside of the party missions, he met with your avatar to build skills

He of course had an entire gaming setup in his room, so he had his voice module on so he could talk to you easier

He was actually the one that encouraged you to get a gaming headset with a mic so you could communicate better

When he first heard your voice, he thought he was in love

You were so gentle, but witty at the same time

You told jokes at all the wrong/right moments to lighten the mood

But most of all, you were kind

Being a gamer, he had come across so many nasty people, men and women alike

Talking to you was like a breath of fresh air

At first, he kept his new gaming friend a secret from his brothers

It wasn’t long before the two of you had also exchanged numbers and began to text daily

That was when the brothers caught on to something

“Don, are you being distracted by something?”

Leonardo was always the most intuitive

“Just a gaming friend, it’s nothing really”

They badgered him about his female gaming friend, but he didn’t mind

He was just happy that he had you as a friend

The two of you began to text more frequently, almost every second of the day

He tried his best to keep his real life a secret, but he often spoke of his brothers and how they acted

You were very intrigued by his love of electronics and science

He offered to teach you everything he knew

You assured him that it would probably take the rest of your lives

He was certain that he didn’t mind

You sent him selfies from time to time, captioned with whatever was on your mind at the moment

It wasn’t until one particular selfie came that he realized something

“No way, Y/N. That’s the intersection of Columbus and 62nd in Manhatten by Lincoln Center. You didn’t tell me you lived here in New York!”

This realization that you were so close to him both excited him and made him want to throw up

Now that you knew how close the two of you were, you’d probably want to meet him

And he would have to decline

And he might lose you

“No way, that’s so cool! Such a big city, I’m not surprised we haven’t bumped into each other haha”

He breathed a sigh of relief, you hadn’t asked to meet him yet

It had only been two months since that first party mission where the two of you met

Did people even usually meet their online friends?

That began a conversation of your favorite places in New York

Donnie mostly only knew of takeout places, and mostly pizza places, but he knew of a few interesting museums and monuments as well

Mostly tourist attractions

It was another week before you finally asked to meet him in person

This boi left you on read for six hours

Even when you messaged him again, saying you were so sorry to ask such a thing of him and how you know it would probably be weird to meet in person after this long anyway

All the while, Donnie was having the most intense conversation with Leonardo about his girl issues

After all, Leo had a girl of his own now

Surely he understood how all women worked and would react to him being a mutant turtle

It wasn’t like he exactly hid it well

Hello, TurtleDon?

“I shouldn’t have let this go this far” Leonardo had told him. “You barely know this girl”

In all reality, he possibly knew more about you than his own brothers, as long as what you had told him about yourself was correct

And he had fact checked you

You were legit

“I just don’t know what to do. She’s my friend, Leo. I can’t just leave her hanging”

“You of all turtles should know what this could do to us”

Donnie quickly pointed to the picture of Leo’s girlfriend next to Leo’s bed

“Really? Come again, Leo?”

Leonardo finally gave in, and gave him official permission to go meet you

On one condition

It was nighttime, and the location would be secure

He finally got back to you with these conditions, not understanding how dangerous it must sound to a woman

You called him

“Excuse me, Don, but an alley at midnight? Do you know what you’re asking me to do?”

“It’s the best I can do, Y/N, but I can promise you that you’ll be safe”

It was 11:50 PM, and Donnie was pacing in the very alley he had asked you to meet him

Midnight

12:15

12:25

He was about to give up entirely when he turned around and saw you

You were so much more beautiful in person

He was so taken aback by seeing you that he didn’t even realize that you were seeing him as well

“... Donnie?”

“Y/N! I’m so sorry I couldn’t tell you before, I just figured- I thought-” Donnie shook his head. “I thought you wouldn’t meet me or believe me if I told you”

You were silent for multiple minutes, it seemed

“It is you. TurtleDon. Very original, don’t you think?”

You were taking this so much better than he had hoped

No running, no screaming

“What can I say? Certified genius right here”

You scoffed and punched him on the arm playfully

“It’s definitely you, Gloat”

His heart warmed with you using his favorite nickname that you yourself had given him

Yeah, this was okay

[cupcakemolotov]

Fall With You

I ended up pinch hitting for the exchange! It was fun, if slightly wild 48 hours to put this together. Written for the lovely @queencarolinemikaelson​. I’m really glad you enjoyed it since it ended up being a fluff fest of roommate co-hab. Also a big thank you to @bellemorte180​ for putting this graphic together!

I put the first but under a cut, bit under a cut, but the full story is almost 9K, so the link to the story is at the bottom. :)

Summary: When life throws her a curve ball in the form of her good looking, yet moody roommate, Caroline takes it in stride as best she can. Her living situation was a favor, after all, and rent is anything but cheap in NYC. Its the part where she actually starts to like him that she can't quiet figure out how to manage. Lust was one thing, but feelings? 

Warnings: Alternate Universe; Alternate; Universe - Human; Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates; Minor Character Death; not otp; Family Drama; Family Dynamics; Fluff and Humor; Domestic Fluff; Tooth-Rotting Fluff; Mild Smut; Human Caroline Forbes; Human Klaus Mikaelson; Living Room Picnics; Wine; Dates That Aren't Dates; They Could Really Get Their Shit Together Faster; but not really; Making Out; Some petting; NSFW just to be safe            

It was almost three am, her feet were killing her, and her key was stuck in her front door.

Seriously, what was with her luck today? The door had always been finicky, but until earlier this week the lock had been behaving itself. It’d gone from not wanting to turn properly to straight up mutiny in four days. It was an easy fix, unlike the door, but it also required a trip to the store and she just hadn’t had time. Amazon could have delivered the powdered graphite, but she was on a budget and believed in shopping local.

Her two year savings plan to finish her degree would not manifest itself if she bought things simply because they were convenient.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Caroline seriously considered just leaning up against the door jam and spending the night outside. It was early summer, and the air had cooled to a balmy sixty-five degrees, leaving the usually stifling hallway almost comfortable. If only she didn’t smell so heavily of beer. Shifting her weight, she winced as her shoes squelched, a reminder of the truly spectacular ending to her night. Her eight hour shift had almost doubled when the night shift manager had called in sick. Usually that wouldn’t have been a problem, but the only other person with keys was out of town leaving Caroline holding the bag to close.

She knew from experience that she had about an hour before she crashed, the rush from kicking out the lingering guests who had been clearly on an epic brawl crawl having mostly faded after the hour long subway ride home. Right then, the only thing keeping her upright was the fact that she was starving, her dinner had been rushed and only half eaten, and the knowledge that if she made it into her apartment she had the next two days off. Tomorrow she could sleep in, and if she was really lucky, her roommate’s night had gone well enough he could be coaxed into making pancakes.

Cheered by the thought, Caroline dug out her cell phone from the backpack she’d slung over her shoulder and checked it for a response. She hadn’t been sure if Klaus had beaten her home or if he was still out celebrating, but either way, he hadn’t bothered to respond yet. Her lips compressed into a thin line.

Usually, she could depend on Klaus to be awake when she finished a night shift, her roommates' hours were only reliable on how sporadic they were and depending on her schedule, hers weren’t much better. But with his big event tonight, she had no idea what he had decided to do. Honestly, would it kill the man to respond to her texts?

She’d expected him to ignore her rapidly typed apology and well wishes she’d sent in-between bites of food. Klaus wasn’t particularly good at handling sentiment of any kind and supremely anti-emoji, and she’d made a point to send several of them. She’d hoped it’d give him something to be annoyed about that wasn’t his evening plans. He needed to schmooze, and a scowl-y Klaus would not accomplish that at all.

He could be charming, when he wanted to be. She’d seen it. He just didn’t deploy full dimples unless he wanted something. Her reminders the night before that he needed to earn his half of the rent without getting carpal tunnel hadn't impressed him.

Too bad. She’d been right, and he’d known it.

He had mentioned a couple of his friends were trying to talk him into drinks afterwards, back when she had thought she might be able to join him. Usually, she would be thrilled that he was getting out and actually seeing people instead of trying to live off granola bars and tea. But right then she really wanted him to be home and grumpy so he could unlock the door. She wondered if texting Marcel with an S.O.S would be rude?

Things were a lot less complicated when she only liked Klaus for the rent he helped cover. Wanting him home, even just for a lock-related emergency wasn’t a thought she would have had even six months ago. Klaus was not what one would label as a comfortable roommate for most of the time. He was far too prickly for that, and he could be snarly in the mornings. Which fair, so could she, but the moodiness. Caroline hadn’t been one to spend much time around the art scene, either at Uni or in high school, but she’d spent the last year learning that there was a lot to be said about artistic temperaments, most of it unflattering.

She was fairly certain Klaus had been born a contrary grump, his winning personality had nothing to do with his chosen profession, she could certainly see how he’d been drawn to the lifestyle, talent aside. Most people immediately laughed off his acerbic tongue once they learned he was an artist, his behavior brushed aside as temperamental. His goods certainly helped his cause, and his accent added a layer of charm that otherwise might not have existed.

She was not so forgiving.

The first few months of their co-hab had not been easy. Klaus was messy, absent minded, and had ruined three of her towels with paint splatter before she’d blown her lid. The apartment was small enough that avoiding each other was nearly impossible, and her preferred kind of stress relief had to be timed for when she was alone, and so they’d been forced to deal with their annoyances. To Klaus’ credit, while he’d been snappish in return, he’d somehow managed to keep a lid on the worst of his temper.

They’d argued, multiple times, they were both stubborn and used to being right, but they’d eventually found some kind of middle ground. Snapping had softened into bickering, and Caroline had stopped nitpicking him about his notebooks being spread across the house and the incorrect way he rolled his toothpaste, and he stopped leaving towels on the floor and made a point to contain his absentminded mess to his room.

And then they started to talk, sometimes about work, sometimes about art, and she’d realized she kind of liked him as a person. She’d started dragging him to her group lunches on her days off, much to Rebekah’s despair, and they might have become something like friends. Except for the part where every so often, she’d look at him and something about the way he stood, the angle of his jaw or the line of his throat left her wanting to jump his bones.

It was really frustrating, when her existence didn’t even seem to phase him.

So she’d done her best to ignore whatever that little spark was between them when it flared up, and not upset the status quo. Because the past year had been better than she could have imagined. Before her mom had died, she would never have considered the life she found herself living now as a good one.

She’d just wrapped her third year at NYU, had exactly 24 hours of classes left before graduation, and had managed to wrangle her schedule so that her final semester would be a cake walk of classes. The cherry on top had been the kick ass internship she’d lined up for the summer. Her five year plan was perfectly on track, her excellent grades gave her a shot at graduating with honors, and she couldn’t wait to show her mom around New York City from the eyes of a local. She’d spent three years putting together a binder, collecting menus from her favorite places to eat and brochures from all the museums and the jam packed tourists locations to offer her mom some variety.

Then she’d gotten that phone call that had thrown everything into a tale spin.

Blowing out a breath, Caroline bounced on her toes and debated best her course of action. She could probably get her key out of the lock if she was very careful, though the past twenty minutes said her luck wasn’t great, Forbes women were nothing if not stubborn, but there was also a chance she would break the key off in the lock and she could already see the little smirk on Klaus’ face if she did. Her hand tightened on the strap of her backpack. He still hadn’t forgiven her for being far more comfortable with power tools than he was and her perfectly reasonable gloating probably hadn’t helped much, if she was honest.

She kind of didn’t regret it. Poking Klaus sizable ego was a favorite past time of hers, and he seemed to enjoy their back and forth as much as she did. Her mental tally had her up two points this month, and she wanted to keep her lead.

Unfortunately, things weren’t really going in her favor just then. Sighing, Caroline tucked her phone back into her bag and admitted defeat. She’d have to figure this one out herself. Either Klaus’ event had run long and he had actually taken her advice to schmooze people or he was home and had drunk enough that he was sleeping like the dead.

Either of those options would not help her now.

Her best bet now was to go and eat a giant piece of pie, drink her weight in caffeine, and trudge her way to the little mom and pop shop that sold a little of everything, including graphite, once it became a reasonable hour. She’d fix her lock and then crash for the following eight hours of hopefully uninterrupted sleep, and leave a very pointed sticky note on the coffee pot so Klaus knew not to disturb her.

Satisfied with the makings of her plan, she shifted her backpack to her other shoulder, mentally reviewing the pie menu, and paused when the elevator dinged from behind her. Sliding her teeth between her lip, Caroline turned and blew out a breath when she recognized the tumble of ruffled curls stepping into the hall. The hallway was dimly lit, so it took a moment for her brain to really understand what else she was seeing.

Klaus was wearing a tux.

Logically, she’d known he was going to be wearing one. His event that night had been important, his work had finally made it into a gallery tonight and it was a Big Deal. His first real show outside of the fancy art school he had attended, and he had spent months fretting over his work and brooding silently in his room as nothing met his incredibly exacting standards. Klaus had even brought home a couple of canvas to work in the questionable light of his bedroom instead of the small studio space he and five other artists pooled their money to share.

Much to her annoyance.

No amount of febreeze really removed the scent of acrylics and turpentine, and she’d been worried if she tried to burn her stash of scented candles something would catch on fire. She’d held her tongue though, because Klaus was never nervous. He was in fact annoyingly difficult to rattle even in the most ridiculous of situations, the man had absolutely no shame, and the way he’d almost jittered had been weird and kind of enduring. Since he’d seen her in numerous states of frantic and alarmed, it was nice for things to end up on a little more even ground for once. She’d done her best to force him to eat something that looked like actual food every so often, and tried to stay quiet when she knew he was working in his bedroom.

She’d even helped him pick out the tuxedo from the catalogue he’d brought home from the store he had planned to rent from. There was a fancy evening gown that she’d rented hanging in her closet that Caroline had planned to wear to go with him before work had made that impossible. But knowing all that, and actually seeing him in that tux were not nearly the same thing.

Caroline blinked rapidly. Her paint speckled roommate, with his surly attitude and annoying dimples, was wearing a tux. And he looked really, really good. He’d undone his tie so it hung loosely around his neck, and his jacket was loose and unbuttoned around his waist, his curls still somewhat tamed along his forehead. Something very much like arousal jolted through her as he looked up, the low light highlighting the scruff along his jaw and the length of his neck. For a moment, he just stared at her, as surprised as she and then his head tipped and his brow arched, lips tugging up at the corners.

“Waiting on me?”

The rest can be found here: A03

[emersonfreepress]

New Year's Eve 2000 @ the Emersons'

"Is he here? Have you seen him?!"

The laughter in Heidi's clique fades abruptly and the queen herself scowls at her brother for his interruption.

"Seen who?" Jessie asks in such a sweet tone Heidi's forced to wipe that sneer off her face. Good ol' Jess. Curt can always count on her to diffuse the H-bomb before it even gets going.

"Gabe." Curt does another cursory glance around the room and still doesn't see him. Then he checks his watch and groans. "It's like five minutes to midnight, where the hell is he??"

"I'm pretty sure he isn't coming," Madison says. She crosses her legs and looks up for a second in contemplation. "Is he even in town still?"

"What do you need him for?" Brooke whines with a pout and a subtle toss of blonde hair. "Come sit with us, the countdown's starting soon."

"Brooke," Curt starts. "You're beautiful."

Brooke quits pouting and preens under the unexpected compliment, batting her lashes with a small smile. "Curtis..."

"But I see you all the time."

She deflates just as quickly.

"Cortés said he would be here, he wouldn't just..."

The girls all stare at him. Madison fails to hold back a laugh.

"Oh." Madison covers her mouth slightly. "Sorry."

"He wouldn't just lie to you?" Heidi asks, voice dripping with sarcasm. Her eyes add, 'Are you stupid?'

Curt just groans again and walks away. He can't explain himself to them. Jessie might know what he's talking about but he's only got four minutes left to find Gabe and he's already got his answer: they haven't seen him.

Is it possible he really didn't show? Curt doesn't know how to feel about that. He's not an idiot, that was sort of what he expected. Gabe has skipped the holidays in Emerson for two years straight and it was pure dumb luck that Curt even spotted him at all downtown last weekend. He didn’t seem all that different, busy as ever somehow, but he'd at least had enough time for Curt to invite him to his parents' New Year's Eve bash and to give a polite yes.

Curt sighs. Maybe that was the sign. The politeness. Since when has Gabe ever been polite to him?

It's only ever hostile neutrality or whining with that guy...

Three minutes.

Curt is being stopped by a former classmate/future nobody or some family acquaintance every few seconds now. Even if Gabe is here, there's no way he's going to find him before the clock strikes twelve. Sighing forlornly, he decides to make his way back to Heidi and her friends. At least Brooke is reliable for a kiss.

- - -

"Oh!" Jessie beams and jumps up from her seat. "There you are!"

Gabe gives her half a genuine smile before settling into a more careful one for Heidi and the Madisons—um, Brooke and Madison. He should probably stop thinking of them like that.

"Hey, Jess." The two hug and Gabe shuts his eyes for a quick second as he gives her an affectionate squeeze. They part and he greets the other girls. Heidi shoots him a nod of acknowledgment and a raised glass while Madison gives him a short wave. And Brooke... crosses her arms and ignores him.

Okay...

"Curt's been looking for you," Heidi says, holding an empty champagne flute out to him before standing to grab their table's bottle of Dom. "Apparently you promised him you'd come."

"Ah, yeah. I wouldn't call it a promise, though. " Gabe almost passes on the champagne but Jessie's bright smile leads him to accept the glass and the alcohol that follows. "More like..."

"Placating a child?" Heidi asks, amused.

Both Gabe and Madison laugh at that.

"Sure, that."

"One minute, everyone!" someone shouts.

"Here we go..." Madison gets to her feet, nearly reaching Gabe's height in her heels.

Brooke jumps up, perplexed. "What, already? Who the heck am I supposed to kiss??"

"Aw, I'll give you a kiss, Bee."

Brooke's arms uncross just to rest on her hips alongside another pout. "That won't count, Mads."

Madison just laughs in response and teases Brooke some more. Meanwhile, the remaining empty hands around the room quickly fill with glasses while more and more people begin joining the countdown. Heidi makes sure their group's glasses are filled before swapping the bottle in her hand for a tumbler of whiskey and downing it. Gabe also notices her shoes are off and to the side—someone's had a long night.

Jessie lightly nudges him in the side with her elbow, breaking him from his observations.

"So are you leaving tomorrow, after all?" The soft smile on her face is hopeful so Gabe sighs, regretful to disappoint her.

"Yeah." He rubs the back of his neck. "I just... This town is..."

"'Stifling?'" They both wince a little, Jess in her attempt to keep a smile on despite her disappointment and Gabe at hearing his exact word quoted back at him.

"Right. It's not the people—"

Jess giggles and pats him on the arm. "Oh come on, Gabe. It's the people."

He rolls his eyes with a light laugh. "Okay, yeah. Even just being here right now..."

Jessie sighs. "Yeah, I know. It's always weird coming back just after a few months out of state. I can't imagine after two years."

Gabe nods, the thin glass stem in his hand suddenly feeling a little too brittle for how tense he is. How tense this environment makes him. He shrugs, though.

"Well, I'm glad I got to see you, at least."

"Ten seconds! Ten! Nine!"

Jessie hits him with the full brightness of her smile and one of her tiny bounces of joy.

"Yeah! Me, too."

- - -

Just as the entire party begins counting down from ten, Curt finally gains sight of his sister and her friends again. Brooke catches sight of him too and smiles, knowing exactly why he's returned. He smiles back at her for a second before he falters when he sees...

Ha! I knew he meant it!

He's never wrong about these things. Curt smirks hard and licks his lips, unable to keep from internally gloating. Gabe showing up at all is a victory in and of itself.

"Eight! Seven!"

Oh, wait. No, it's not. Curt speeds up his approach.

"Six! FIVE!"

It's only really a victory if he reaches him at midnight!

- - -

"I have a good feeling about 2001!" Gabe rolls his eyes, cynical as always, but Jessie cheerfully insists. "Just watch, this year is going to be perfect and—oh! Three! Two!"

Gabe refrains from counting but turns with everyone else to face the giant screen displaying the Times Square Ball Drop.

“ONE! Happy New Year!”

The room they’re in, and the rest of the house, erupts in raucous cheers, shouts, and champagne glasses chiming. Jessie nearly crushes Gabe with a giant hug as she shouts “Happy New Year!” and that manages to pull a real smile from him, even as they almost spill both of their drinks. They both laugh and clink glasses instead.

“Happy New Year, Jess.” He turns to the other girls, who are just toasting each other. “Happy New Year, Heidi. Madison.”

Heidi wears a polite smile and nods as she raises her glass to him and Madison enthusiastically clinks her glass against his with a breathless “Happy New Year!”

Gabe turns to Brooke, who’s turned away from him and is fluffing her hair. Should he bother? Eh... might as well. “Happy New Year, Br—”

- - -

Curt is vaguely aware of Brooke leaning into him as he walks up to Gabe, but his tunnel vision forces him to sidestep her with a smile. Everything’s fallen into place: it’s a bangin’ party, it’s midnight, Auld Lang Syne’s just started, and the belle of the ball has finally arrived. He doesn’t wait for the boy to finish whatever he was saying and just goes for it.

Gabe’s eyes widen just a bit before Curt plants a kiss fully on his mouth, placing one hand lightly at his lower back for support as he leans into him. Gabe lets out a stuttered breath and clasps at the lapels of Curt’s suit jacket to keep upright. That brings a cocky grin to Curt’s lips and he raises his other hand to brush his thumb along the bottom of Gabe’s jaw, just as lightly.

"Mm." Curt darts his tongue out to savor his old classmate for just a moment longer before finally drawing back. With a boyish smile and a slight bite to his own lip he says, "Happy New Year, Cortés."

Madison makes a strangled noise somewhere between a gasp and a shriek.

“God—DAMN it! I told you I needed my camera, Jessie!” The girl darts away in a flash of jet black hair and spilled champagne, presumably to go find it. Brooke has gone pale. Heidi rolls her eyes and takes a sip of her champagne.

Gabe is frozen, gobsmacked. After he starts to feel others’ eyes on them, though, his expression finally breaks into one of angered incredulity and he shoves Curt away from him.

"What is your fucking problem, Emerson?!" He wipes his mouth on his sleeve as his face breaks into a subtle yet violent blush. "Is—" Gabe’s expression clouds, the brief panic that was there gone in an instant. "Is that why you invited me?!"

Curt frowns, confused.

"Of course! I said I couldn’t wait to kiss you at midnight!”

Brooke, completely forgotten, makes an indignant sort of squawking sound.

Gabe's hands curl into fists and the look he throws him is venomous. "Curt."

“And I’ve said kissing you's on my bucket list?” Curt blinks, lost. “Like, a thousand times at this point, Gabe."

Gabe’s fists curl tighter and Jessie steps between them, her glass waved between the boys like a penalty flag and a deceptively natural smile plastered on.

“Oookay! Curt, I think you just startled Gabe. I’m positive he didn’t think you were being serious, right?”

“No, I fucking didn’t,” Gabe growls.

Curt has the gall to look even more confused.

“For six years?”

Gabe shuts his eyes, his anger in danger of rising faster than he’s able to suppress it.

“Jesus, Curt. Just apologize.” Heidi looks more annoyed than anything else. But at least Curt finally catches on to the huge party foul he’s committed.

“Sorry! Sorry, man. I thought you knew what I meant.” Curt is, for whatever it’s worth, blushing now, seeming actually embarrassed for once. When Gabe doesn’t reply, he raises his hands in a placating manner, then brings them together at his chin with a truly pleading look in his eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry. I’d take it back if I could, don’t be mad!”

Gabe rubs a hand over his face and lets out a long, hard sigh. Then his other hand rakes through his hair briefly as he looks away from the blond idiot.

“Fine. Fine.”

Curt sighs in relief.

Then, because it’s very important to him, he asks, “It was good, though, right?“

Heidi barks a laugh, flopping back down into her seat. Jessie winces and pleads, “Curt, no...” Brooke, of course, seethes and plops into her own chair, quietly downing the contents of her flute.

And even though the anger has dissipated, Gabe’s annoyance surges to new heights. But before he can even voice his disdain, Curt’s looking around the immediate area as if something’s just dawned on him.

“Oh, wait a minute.” Curt huffs, dissatisfied. “I’m the only one without champagne!”

[deathnotesecretexchange]

Title: Gift Exchange

From: @anakien

To: @user-null

Prompt: Mello & Near gift exchange without the other knowing

Word Count: ~3,800 words

A/N: Hi! I hope you enjoy this! :)

Mello will never admit it, but he's always liked Christmas.

He has fuzzy memories from being a kid, long before he was ever brought to Wammy's. On Christmas Eve, he attended church services with his mother. He remembers kneeling with her in the pews, clutching her rosary, and listening to her sing.

He can't picture her face anymore, but he remembers her there.

Christmas at Wammy's is different. Wammy's is always lighter, somehow. The place is decorated, all lights and trees and little ugly snowflake decorations up on the walls. Roger takes a carload to the nearest church for the Christmas Eve service, though Mello no longer goes. The chefs bake more, laying out plates of cookies and other spiced holiday desserts. And though all of the kids are too intelligent to truly believe in Santa, Watari's and L's Santa traps are kind of fun (though, as always, it's only a test for the successor path).

But Mello's favorite part of Christmas might be the gift exchange they do every year. Some of the older kids started it several years ago, X, Y, and Z, but every year the tradition continues.

This year, Linda begged and begged until the others let her organize the exchange. They pile into one of the empty classrooms after dinner, the others buzzing with excitement. Even Matt looks relatively excited, his GameBoy ever-present but sitting paused in his lap.

Even that little twit Near is around, sitting quietly in the corner. He meets Near's gaze and holds it for a moment. Near doesn't look happy really, but there's still something akin to excitement in his gaze.

Mello doesn't let that curb his good mood, his own excitement still bubbling in his belly. He turns away, back to Matt, and shoves him to go put their names in the hat.

Linda yells at everyone to settle down, hands on her hips. She trots around the room, waving the hat under everyone's nose.

Matt draws his slip first, and then Mello grabs his, under Linda's watchful eyes.

He leans back and peers at it. Linda, the slip reads. He snorts. Easy. All he has to do is get her art supplies.

He watches her flounce off to the next person, and Matt groans as soon as she's out of earshot.

"Damn. I wanted her," he says. He pushes his goggles up to the top of his head and sighs.

Mello smirks. He is no stranger to Matt's not-so-secret crush. He briefly flashes Matt his little slip of paper, and Matt's eyes grow wide.

"Switch with me."

Mello cackles. "No way. She's easy to buy for."

"Mello," Matt says pleadingly. He's practically begging, and Mello relishes in this newfound control. "Come on, man. Let's switch."

"What'll you give me?"

"A month's supply of chocolate."

"You were going to give me that anyway. That's my Christmas gift."

"Two months!"

"Six. And next time Roger gets on my ass, you cover for me."

Matt sighs and looks longingly over in Linda's direction. "Three months, but I'll do the Roger thing."

"Deal." Mello sticks out his hand, Matt shakes it, and they exchange slips.

Only that's when Mello realizes he never found out who exactly Matt had. He unfolds Matt's slip to see Near written in tiny letters.

"Hell no," he says immediately, trying to shove the slip back into Matt's hands.

Matt gives him wide eyes. "Come on, we shook on it."

Mello grits his teeth. He turns around, scouting for Near. Nowhere in sight; he must've left as soon as he got his paper.

"I hate that little sheep," he sneers.

Matt looks genuinely, legitimately disappointed, and Mello's resolve starts to falter.

"I'm a good fucking friend," Mello grumbles finally.

Matt's face lights up, and he slaps Mello on the shoulder, grinning.

They leave the room, and Mello fights the irritation that lingers.

------

One week before Christmas, Roger rounds up all the kids who want to physically buy their gifts to head to the closest department store.

He and Matt climb into one of the vans, followed in by Sura and Hermine. Both girls chatter away in the front row, smiling at Matt but ignoring Mello.

Mello scowls and looks out the other window. He can practically feel Matt's silent gloating, though he stays quiet as he pulls out his GameBoy.

"Got room for two more?" A new voice says. Mello turns, and Linda grins at them. Near stands next to her, looking as impassive as ever.

Matt lights up and immediately scrambles out of the back seat, making room for Linda.

"Come here," Sura says to Linda, beckoning her over. Linda gives Matt an apologetic smile and scoots into the middle row next to Hermine.

Near stands expectantly, looking up at Matt.

"We got room," Matt says to Near. Matt looks disappointed, but Near obviously doesn't care. Mello averts his eyes as both turn towards him, angling his body as close to the side as possible.

Mello stiffens as Near climbs in next to him. He remains still, holding his breath, even as Near straps in and ignores him. Matt climbs in next, sending Mello a silent expression that's a mix of amused and apologetic.

Near suddenly leans even more into Mello's space, digging into his pants pocket, and Mello chokes for a moment. Out Near pulls a small wooden toy and then moves back into his own space. He murmurs a small apology, obviously waiting on Mello to yell at him.

Instead, Mello could only focus on how warm he was, and on how soft his hair was against his cheek.

"Watch it," Mello mutters, but without any venom. It's also a beat too late, and Matt is staring at him with an eyebrow raised. He snorts on the other side of the van, trying belatedly to turn it into a cough. Mello glares over Near's head, feeling his cheeks heat in embarrassment.

Their staring match is interrupted as Roger climbs in the driver's seat, craning around to count them. He sighs, visibly exhausted, at seeing Near next to Mello.

"Mello, am I going to have to separate you two?"

One of the girls giggles, and Mello's cheeks flush even more.

"You don't have to worry about me," he says irritably. "Tell the sheep to stick to his seat."

"I'll be okay," Near says, not even looking up at Roger.

Roger sighs again, but turns around, cranks the engine, and they're on their way.

The girls chat amiably. Matt sticks to his GameBoy, occasionally leaning over to say something to Linda, and Near fiddles with his toy. Mello gets bored of ignoring everyone after about ten minutes and turns to watch Near.

He's playing with one of those wooden block puzzles, where the goal is to get one brightly red piece to slide neatly out of the entrance. He watches Near fiddle with it for longer than expected, until Near finally clears an open line and frees the piece.

Near huffs a little, pleased. Suddenly, he turns to Mello and holds the puzzle up. "Want to try?"

Mello cocks his head and reaches out to snag the toy. "I'm only doing this because I'm bored," he says, "not because I think your stupid toy is cool or anything."

Near jerks the puzzle back, but before Mello can say something angrily, he mixes up the pieces on the block, setting it up for Mello to have a fresh start. He holds it back towards Mello, who grabs it silently.

"It's more fun when it's a challenge," Near says simply.

Mello doesn't know what to say, so instead he turns his attention back down to the block and begins. Near stays quiet, simply watching.

It's kind of fun. Mello will never actually admit it, but it scratches the itch for challenge in his mind.

And damn, Near mixed the pieces up well.

He finishes the puzzle, sliding out the little red piece, just as the van pulls into the store parking lot. Grinning, he looks sideways at Near and holds up the piece.

"Got it," he says, radiating satisfaction.

The corners of Near's mouth tilt up, and he gently takes the piece and toy back from Mello. "On the ride back, you can attempt to complete it faster than me."

Mello snorts. His chest feels warm. "Yeah, right. I definitely beat that faster than you!"

Near's eyes are bright. "Perhaps with a little more practice."

Mello opens his mouth to shoot back another comment, but Near doesn't wait to hear it, already slipping out of the backseat and heading towards the store without looking back.

Mello sits for a moment, an odd feeling in his chest that only occurred when Near smiled at him. He brushes it off and climbs out after him. Matt, waiting just outside the van door, steadies his arm as he trips out.

"Well," Matt says, amused, "that was new."

"What?"

"Oh, you know. Just you sitting next to Near and not trying to kill him for once."

Mello scoffs. "Shut up."

"It's a Christmas miracle!"

Mello shoves him.

———

The store is ridiculously crowded. There's still another week left until Christmas, but people are already out in swarm.

He and Matt split up at the sight of the crowd of people. Mello heads straight back for the toy section, pushing and shoving his way through. Luckily, the puzzles aren't really picked over, and he picks out a 1,000 piece puzzle with some picturesque mountain landscape on it.

Well, that was easy.

Roger gave them an hour to shop. It's barely been fifteen minutes. Groaning, he trudges off in the direction of the craft aisle, in search of Matt.

Said friend is found squatting on the floor, looking between two identical green paints.

"I'm done," Mello says. "Come on."

Matt waves him off. "Go check out." He holds the tubes up towards the light. "I have to pick the best shade."

Mello rolls his eyes. "Those are literally the same color."

Matt shushes him and squints even more at the paint.

Mello huffs and turns to head out. As he leaves, the white paint catches his eye. Near's voice echoes in his head, "It's more fun when it's a challenge." He grabs a tube and heads to check out.

———

For the ride home, Near gets into the other van. Mello doesn't know why this actually bothers him.

———

Only a couple of days before Christmas, Mello actually gets started on Near's gift. It's painstaking - painting each piece white, front and back.

Matt ribs him a little about it and snags a picture of him sprawled out on his stomach on the floor, legs kicked up in the air and tongue peeking out. Mello threatens to break his camera, but Matt laughs and hides it away. Pretty soon, it's all forgotten as he has to get back to painting.

When he's finally finished, it looks pretty damn great, if he says so himself. He's never been one for puzzles, so he doesn't bother to put it together by himself. He somehow cons Matt into doing it with him, and when it's finished, both of them stare at it.

"I think Near'll like it," Matt says, stretching out the crick in his neck, "but you could never pay me to do that again."

"It needs something else," Mello says, squinting down at it.

Matt shrugs. "I think the white looks good."

Mello doesn't disagree, but it sticks in the back of his mind until he sees Linda the next day. She's an artist; she'll be a better judge of style than Matt, who wears that same ugly vest and goggles everyday.

He waves her over. "Come look at this for me."

She looks confused, but follows him back to his and Matt's room. He points out the puzzle.

"Oh! That looks good. For Near, right?"

"It needs something else," he says bluntly, "but I don't know what."

She hums. "What about his name? Or initial?"

Mello considers it. "Can we make it small? The white - he says he likes a challenge."

She looks at him, amused. "Oh, so you've talked to him some more?"

"Shut up. Can you sketch an N or not?"

She grins and grabs a pencil off of Matt's desk. In the top left corner, she draws the N, stylized in the same font that L does his.

"What about this? You can paint it," she says, leaning back on her feet when she's done. "I have black paint you can borrow to fill it in."

"Thanks." It was exactly what he had in mind. She drops the paint off and he spends the evening doing delicate, small strokes so each line is straight.

He leaves it out to dry. Even Matt grudgingly admits it looks better than before.

There's still a couple more days until Christmas, but Mello can't help but be excited, even though the gift is for Near of all people. He thinks about the weird way he felt the other day when Near smiled at him. It probably is just excitement for the idea, no big deal.

———

The gift exchange takes place on Christmas evening, after dinner. Mello's been antsy all day, but he only started to get a little nervous once the meal was over. He's pretty sure Near will like the puzzle. After all, it's practically custom-built for the little twit. Still, his stomach twists uncomfortably as he watches Near from across the dining hall.

As if knowing Mello's thinking about him, Near looks up and catches his gaze. Mello immediately looks down at his food. He forces himself to look away for the rest of dinner, though he can still feel Near's eyes on him every now and then.

Everyone meets back up in the living area fifteen minutes after dinner. It's enough time to go back and grab the gift. He'd wrapped it the day before, so all he has to do is pick it up and head back with Matt. Matt has Linda's gift tucked under one of his arms, and his GameBoy under the other.

There's already a crowd of people waiting and chatting loudly. Matt and Mello sit with some of the other guys. Mello keeps one eye on the door, waiting for Near to walk in. As more and more people file in, Near still doesn't show. He shifts, antsy.

"Dude, relax," Matt says. "He'll show."

"I'll be pissed if I put in all this work for nothing," Mello grumbles.

Matt rolls his eyes. "Sure. That'll be why you're upset."

Before Mello can spit something back, Near walks in, just as composed as ever. He holds a small brown box in his hands, a deck of cards resting on top.

Matt nudges him. "What did I say?"

"Shut up."

"Everyone, quiet!" Linda stands up, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Is anyone not here? I think everyone's here. We're about to get started! I'll read off the names. If you have that person, bring them their gift. Easy?"

The room buzzes, and she flaps a hand to get everyone to be quiet.

"Okay, first off... Ronan?"

There's not a whole lot of students, but the exchanges still seem to drag. Mello occasionally throws peeks towards Near, who doesn't even look like he's paying attention. Instead, he's building a tower with his cards.

Linda calls her own name at some point and looks ridiculously excited over her new paints. Matt practically glows all the way back to his seat, which only grows more intense as he opens Hermine's gift for him - some brand new game for his console.

"Near!"

Near looks up expectantly when his name is called. Mello slowly gets to his feet at Matt's prodding, feeling the eyes of every other kid in the room. He hears some of them whisper as he walks by - after all, his and Near's rivalry has always been the subject of much gossip.

"How did Mello get him-"

"Poor Near, I bet-"

Mello ignores them and comes to a stop in front of Near. He holds out the gift. "Here," he says, gruffly. "Merry Christmas."

Near looks up at him, wide-eyed for only a moment before he composes his expression into something more neutral. He takes the box and scoots away from his cards.

Mello cringes inwardly, looking down at his sloppy wrapping. Near doesn't seem to care, though. He just calmly unwraps the puzzle box, displaying the mountain landscape.

"Thank you, Mello," he says.

Mello swallows and gestures lamely. "Open it. It's uh, not the mountains."

Near tilts his head at that, but he does as Mello says and opens the box. The pieces are all mixed inside, but Near holds up one of the ones with the black initial on it.

Mello is well aware that everyone's eyes are still on him. He sweats a little. "It's an all-white puzzle. Except for your initial. I, uh, painted everything on it." He clears his throat. "You said it's more fun with a challenge."

Near's face is devoid of all emotion, but his eyes are bright. "Thank you."

That's as much recognition as he's going to get, so he nods and turns back around. As soon as his back is turned, he hears the telltale sound of all the pieces hitting the floor. When he gets back to his seat, Near is already hard at work on his puzzle.

Matt looks at him, smug. "Better than a baby puzzle, huh?"

"Shut up."

Near looks up and meets Mello's gaze. He smiles, softly. Mello lets one side of his mouth tilt up.

Linda calls the rest of the names. Mello waits impatiently for his own name to be called.

"And last but not least, Mello!"

Much to his surprise, Near is the one who stands up and walks over to him. Mello takes the box Near hands him and tears it open, no regard for the neat wrapping. Inside is a stack of chocolate bars, twelve in total. He lifts one up and flips it over to see that dark chocolate content is 82.5%.

"This is my favorite chocolate," he says, a little shocked. "How the hell did you know that? I never can find it in stores. L special orders it for me for my birthday."

Near looks satisfied and doesn't answer his question. "It would be a year's supply for anyone but you," he says dryly.

Mello smirks. Near walks back to his spot, and Mello immediately tears into the first bar. The room titters.

Linda stands back up. "I think we're done! Thanks for participating, everybody. See you next Christmas!"

The room gets loud again as people start to trickle out. One of the other guys leans over to poke at Mello, smirking and taunting him about how he and Near got each other's names.

"What, you think I planned that?" Mello scoffs. "Yeah, right."

Matt jabs at him with his foot, already plugging his new game into his GameBoy. Linda comes by to speak to Matt, and Mello ducks away because he really doesn't want to see Matt's sappy expressions. Instead, he drifts closer to Near, until he squats down beside him. Near doesn't look up from the puzzle.

"Did you know I had you?"

"No," Near says. "Nor did I suspect you knew I had you." He tries to snap a piece into place, but it doesn't fit. He grimaces slightly.

Mello preens.

"It took me four hours to put it together," Mello says. He conveniently leaves out the fact that Matt was helping him. "Beat me. I dare you."

"You don't want me to take my time, enjoy my present?" Near's voice is too innocent for Mello to believe him.

"Smartass. Sounds like something someone would say when they know they can't beat my time."

The corners of Near's mouth tilt up into a smile, though he still doesn't look up. "Merry Christmas, Mello."

Mello snaps off another piece of his chocolate. Damn, that's the good shit. "Near." With that, he turns and leaves him to it.

———

The next morning, Mello walks through the living area on the way to the dining hall. In the corner, in Near's spot, the puzzle lays finished. A piece of paper rests on top, and he bends down to pick it up.

Six hours. - N

Mello can't help it. He laughs. "Merry Christmas, Near. Guess I'm still better than you, after all."

———

A/N: I slightly changed up Near’s classic all-white puzzle for this fic. In the show, you see Near working on it in the episode where Roger tells them that L died. But it actually has an L on it, not an N! But I thought it would be cute to have Mello spend so much time working on it for him out of spite (though, it’s not spite, it’s more of a crush, even if he’s not aware of it yet). Either way, I hope you enjoyed this! :)

[rainbowglittr]

Love and Marriage - Chapter 8 (Mature - Minors DNI)

Description:

After a loss in the family uncovers a family secret, Jaleia and her husband Jesse are forced to balance one family crisis after another along with their budding careers and their plans to expand their family. Will the pressure to keep everyone else together ruin their own relationship? Can ruined relationships be fixed before it’s too late?

Chapter 8:

"I cannot believe you!" Jesse's voiced raged.

I jumped up I had been taking a nap on the couch, waiting for Jesse and Diana to come home. Ever since the Trevor J concert they had been going to the studio in NYC together, Diana was "interning" and learning things about the music industry.

It had been two weeks since we saw the doctor. Despite the setback, Jesse and I were still determined to have a baby. Maybe even more so after that. We went to see of genetics had anything to do with the miscarriage but everything and every test they did looked good. So we had hope. I tried not to stress over it and hyper focus on getting pregnant and Jesse was really good at helping me. While disappointed, we weren't giving up yet.

I had already made dinner, I was just waiting for them both to come home. They stayed late today because Jesse was working with SZA and they had a short timeline to get a couple demos done before she flew back to LA. I checked my phone it was 11pm.

"Hey-" I started to say, getting interrupted by Diana. She walked right past me to the stairs.

"I'm sixteen, what do you expect!" She yelled as she stood at the bottom of the stairs.

"I expect you not to be doing THAT! You were supposed to be professional! Professionals don't make out in the studio!" Jesse walked over to where she stood.

"So what? You're not my mom, you're not my dad! Who even cares? The only reason why I even wanted to go to that stupid studio was so I could see Hakeem!"

"So, is that what you've been doing this whole time?"

"Yup. We hung out every single day." She said gloating.

"Oh, I'm so fucking glad, cause that's the last time you'll be seeing him! You're not coming back and I'm telling mom what you've been up to!" He yelled. My heart started pounding along with my head as I watched them scream at each other. I didn't know what to do so I just stood there, frozen, watching the mess unfold.

"Well if you tell mom, than I'll tell mom about the time I walked in on you!"

"Little girl, this is MY house, I can fuck wherever I want. I don't care if you tell, I'm a grown ass man. It's done up for you."

"I hate you, you're the worst brother. Shaun's a way better brother than you."

"Then go fucking live with him and see how great he is!" Jesse yelled. Diana stomped up the stairs and slammed her door.

"I know you are not stomping and slamming doors in my house, Diana! Have you lost your damn mind?" He yelled up the stairs. She slammed the door again.

"MAKE ME!" She screamed from her room.

"CUT THAT SHIT OUT, DIANA! DON'T KEEP FUCKING PUSHING ME GODDAMMIT!!"

I hadn't moved from my spot by the door. It was silent for the moment. Jesse knows that I just have a weird thing about people yelling or arguing. It really freaks me out and makes me uncomfortable. I hate it. But it's only angry yelling. That's what really gets me. I hate when people yell at me when they're mad, I hate when angry people yell. It's just one of the many things that freak me out.

"Did you hear her? Where's the fuck is the Advil?" Jesse yelled, looking around the room, still hyped up. I don't think he ever noticed I was there. Eventually he noticed me still standing in the same spot. I guess I looked freaked out because he came over and hugged me.

I hugged him back, leaning my head on his chest. His heart was racing and he was breathing heavy.

"I'm sorry for yelling. I know you hate it." He said resting his chin on my head.

"What happened? Why are you so upset?"

"So we finish working with SZA, all the writers producers clear the studio, ready to go home. I tell Di to go back there and make sure everything has been backed up and clean, right? So tell me why when I come back her and some other intern are sucking their faces off on the couch in there! I told the boy to get put of my face and that I would talk to him tomorrow, and Di tried to yell at me! Me! I told her not to say another damn word until we got home."

"Wow, well what are you going to do?"

"I'm telling my mom. I'm not covering up for her. She's out of control."

"I think we might've been enabling her a bit."

"I'm done with that. I'm not even mad at her doing it, like I know she's sixteen, I know she's going to like boys, but really at my studio? Anyone could've walked in on them."

"I think you're a little mad that she was kissing a boy. You still think of her as your baby sister."

"Yeah. I just wanted her to love what I love, you know. Music, I thought she was really into it. And it was just for skinny ass boy."

"Aww, your big brother ego is hurt. I'm sorry. But she had to find what her own passion is, even if it's not yours."

He sighed, "I know." I put my arms around his neck.

"I made dinner if you're hungry."

"Not anymore," he muttered, kissing my forehead, "but I'll try some."

"Come on. " I said, leading him to the kitchen.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The next day we had dinner with Jesse's mom.

It could not have been worse.

After explaining the whole situation to Aiesha, watching her lose her shit about it, I was scared for Diana. Jesse tried to explain to Di, that it wasn't about the fact that she liked a boy it was more about her not being professional about. He also tried to explain that he felt used by her. As nice as he tried to be, IT DID NOT GO OVER WELL. Diana, did exactly as she told Jesse she would and told his mom about the time she walked in on us and I have truly never been more mortified. That was one dinner where no one ate their food.

I could literally feel Aiesha's hatred of me increase. The end result was Diana being grounded for a month, no electronics, and she would be volunteering at an animal shelter that one of her mom's friends worked at for the rest of the summer. It wasn't even going to be that bad but she just wouldn't shut up, she had to have the last word. But the final straw for me and for Aiesha was when she cursed Jesse out. What really pissed me off is that I could tell even though he didn't say anything that Di really hurt his feelings. Having known him since elementary school, I knew how close he was to his sister. She didn't want for nothing with him and this whole acting out thing had to stop.

After Diana was sent to her room for the remainder of the "dinner" Jesse and I had to be subjected to a loooonnnnggggg lecture from his mom about "living with a teenager " and her personal tips for having sex with kids in the house. Including some examples from when Jesse was a kid. It was as awful as it sounded. Jesse's mom decided that for at least one night, Diana was going to stay with her. So tonight was our first night alone in a few weeks.

"See you later mom!" Jesse said as they walked out the door. Diana was not currently not speaking to Jesse or apparently me at the moment. Once they left Jesse sat down on the couch closed his eyes. I walked behind him and started rubbing his shoulders.

"That was a lot." I said.

He sighed, "Yeah it was."

"How ya doin?"

"Tired." He said. I slid my hands down his chest. My lips were close to his ear as I said, "Well, come upstairs and I'll show you something that might wake you up."

"Oh really?"He said as I started to suck on his neck.

"Come on. I got something I wanna show you."

>>>>>>>>>>>

"When do you have the time to work out?" I said to Jesse as he put his arm around my waist.

"What?" He said, kissing my shoulder blades. He was the big spoon. Our naked bodies were still cooling down from our previous activities.

"You have a sexy ass six pack and I never see you work out."

"You leave earlier than me in the morning. After you get up, I work out. Since Diana's been here I haven't had much time. But sometime late at night. You never seen me?"

"Nah, at least I've never noticed. Jess?" He paused his gentle kisses.

"Do you think...do you think that, we'll ever have a baby?"

"Turn around, Love." He said. I turned into his chest. One of his hands cupped my face.

"Jaleia, I promise you, we will have a baby. I know it's hard but we gotta be patient. Okay?"

"But what if-"

"Aye! No buts, no what ifs. I'll step it up I promise we're going to have a daughter. Trust me, okay?"

"Kay," I said, he kissed my nose and then my lips. Our lips moved almost in sync until we had to stop to take a breath. I smiled at him.

"You made me sweat out my hair." I said as I cuddled up to him again.

"And you scratched the hell out of my back." He said gently tickling me.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I put my keys down on living room table. Two seconds later Jesse yelled from the kitchen, "Put your keys in right spot before you lose them." I jumped as my heart skipped a beat. I wasn't expecting him to be home yet. I rolled my eyes as I put my keys in the key holder by the door.

"Babe, you tryna give me a heart attack? I didn't know you were home." I said walking to the kitchen.

"I called and left a voicemail, Dr. Michaels."

"You know I don't check those!" He stopped stirring a pot of pasta for a second to give me a kiss.

"You know you should." He said.

"There's a lot of things I should do, but I don't. Anyway why you making such a huge thing of pasta?" I asked, finding some potato chips to munch on. Jesse turned toward me.

"You look radiant today, is that a new highlighter?"

"You look sexy as hell today, is that a new bullshit you're wearing? Why are you making so much pasta?"

"Cause my mother and sister will be here any minute?" His sister hadn't been with us for a couple of days. Did we use that time to shamelessly have mindblowing sex around the house? Hell yeah.

"Jess!" I said stomping my foot. "You have to tell me these things!"

"I'm sorry, it was last minute! But, have you noticed my mom has been nice to you lately? I think she's starting to like you."

"Saying that your mom has been nice to me lately is like saying, 'Isn't nice the shark only ate half your leg instead of both your legs.' She's been preoccupied."

"I love you." Jesse sang.

"Yeah, yeah." I said, still shoving chips in my mouth.

"You're not really mad are you? She's only here for Diana." He said as he grabbed plates from the cabinet.

"No, I'm not mad. I just expected one thing and I'm getting something else. "

"Okay?" Jesse said Sounding confused. The doorbell rang. Jesse looked at me from where he was plating the pasta.

"Could you?" He smiled at me. I glared back at him before walking to the door.

"I'll buy you something sparkly tomorrow!" He yelled as I approached the door.

"You better, you owe me!" I answered back. I opened the door and as usual, before I could say anything Aiesha walked right past me. I motioned for Diana to come in because unlike her mother she had manners. I closed my eyes for a second and prayed that I would have the strength not to slap that woman tonight. After collecting myself I joined everyone in the kitchen. We had a kitchen "table" that we could fold out from the wall, and everyone was seated around it.

I sat down next to Jesse and we said grace. We started eating and the silence soon became awkward.

Aiesha decided to speak first. "Now I know the way we left things wasn't good. But I think Diana would like to use this time to set some things right." She said. Diana hadn't said anything since walking through the door. She stopped staring at the floor and looked at Jesse.

"I'm sorry." She said.

"For what? Don't act like you don't know what to say now." Aiesha nudged her.

"I'm sorry for being awful to you. You didn't deserve that and I'm sorry I got mad at you." She said.

"I get that you're going through a lot right now Di, but don't forget, we're all just trying to help you. Just talk to us." Jesse said.

"Okay."

"Come here." Jesse said, holding his arms out. Diana walked over and hugged Jesse and immediately started crying.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, don't hate me!" She cried into his shoulder.

"Hey, hey, I don't hate you Di, I get it. You've been through a lot lately, we wll have. It's okay. I love you. Alright? Hey, I'm serious. I'll always be here for you." He said. She started sniffing and let him go.

"Go ahead and wash your face off." Aiesha said. Diana nodded and walked out the room.

"We've done a lot of talking over the past couple of days with her therapist and we are, we're trying to work through this. It's been really hard for her- for all of us but especially her, and I think that she's finally getting the help she needs. If you don't mind her staying with you again-just until I find a new place. That would be great because she gets really bad night terrors staying at home, she hasn't slept a full night since we she left here." Aiesha said. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"You know our doors are always open. Diana is welcome anytime. " I said. Jesse gave my hand a gentle squeeze under the table.

"Yeah, mom. Anytime. But are you okay? I worry about you." Jesse said, standing up and walking to her. I had to admit his mom looked stressed as hell. She just didn't have the same energy as usual. Her eyes had a tired look to them and she had bags under her eyes, clearly she hadn't been sleeping.

"I'm just tired. It's hard adjusting to this new normal. I miss your father, a lot. He was my world. I keep expecting to see him come home. And-" she started tearing up. I handed Jesse a tissue, and just sat there awkwardly. I didn't want to leave but at the same time I was so uncomfortable and I didn't think Aiesha would want me near her but at the same time, it's hard for me to see someone crying and not comfort them. But Jesse held his mom while she cried on him.

"We had so many plans, we were going to travel, we had so much to do. It's not fair. My baby is all tore up about it and I'm trying to help her and it's a lot. Jess, it's a lot. I wish this was just a horrible nightmare." She cried. Jesse mouthed to me

"Can you check on Diana?" I nodded and quietly slipped out the room.

I felt bad for everyone, I know Jesse was still processing losing his dad, and while the waves of sadness seemed to be gone for now, I know he missed him. I could see how this was tearing Diana apart. Jesse, Ciara, and Shaun were face timing the other day and talking about him. Their dad was the reason why Jesse and Shaun were on good terms again, because during our senior year of high school they stopped speaking to each other-for years.

But his mom shocked me. I was so used to seeing her be demanding, confident, and domineering that this shift to her being confused, and sad, blew my mind. Jesse's dad was such a huge pillar of their family, and that was clear while he was alive, but strikingly clearer in his death. I wanted to help so bad but I didn't know what to do.

When I found Diana she was sniffling on the toliet seat lid. The door was open but I knocked anyway. She looked up at me with her bloodshot, puffy eyes.

"Can we talk for a minute?" I asked.

"Sure." She said. I sat on the counter and faced her.

"You know your brother could never hate you. Never. He just wants the best for you, and I know that sounds stupid but it's true. He may seem like he's trying to be your dad but he is just trying to look out for you and lead you. If that makes sense. And your brother is really good at not showing it but he's hurting too and he talks to me a lot and as much as I want to I can't always relate to how he's feeling. But you being his sister probably feel a lot of what he's feeling right now. So maybe, if you feel up to it, you can talk to him sometimes. Just a suggestion."

"Thank you." She said.

"For what?" I asked.

"Not kicking me out of your house. And I'm sorry for being rude to you too. I really like staying here, I can't sleep at home. And you guys are really nice. It's like having another sister." She said. I aww'd inside my head.

"You're always welcome, and having you here is cool too because I get to be an older sister for once. You ready to go back?" I gave her a hug.

"Yeah." She said.

"Great cause I can't feel my butt!" I said as we walked out the bathroom.

>>>>>>>>>>>

Later that night me and Jesse laid in bed, I had my head in his lap as he sat up against the headboard. His mom had gone home, amd she was doing okay for now. Diana went to bed in her room in our house. It was quiet as I let Jesse twist my hair.

"You're going to have to get up at some point." He said.

"I know, but keep twisting until you get to that point." I said.

"You know my dad used to do my hair?" He said.

"Really?" I said. He nodded.

"Yeah until high school, if it wasn't going to be cut short, all the braids I had were him, well mostly him, my brother and sister sometimes did it and my mom always tried to but she couldn't do it like dad."

"That's cute."

"He's the reason Shaun and I talk. He did so much for us."

"He was an amazing man, Jess. But speaking of Shaun, you never told me that story, you told me bits and pieces but never how you made up."

"Its a long ass story."

"We ain't doing nothing. Tell me." I said. "Ow! that hair your pulling is attached to a head!" I grabbed the strands he had just pulled.

"Sorry, there was a kink."

"Storytime."

"Okay, damn girl. So remember in high school when Shaun used to beat the shit out of me."

"Yeah, but you hid it well."

"I hated going home, he would just get annoyed at some random shit and just beat the fuck out of me." Shaun and Jesse were both in pretty good shape, but Jesse was only 5'11 and Shaun was 6'2. Jesse was about 170 pounds, Shaun was about 220. Even in high school Shaun was bigger and heavier. He was also a weightlifter.

"We that summer I stopped fucking with him, two years later he had a heart attack. The reason he had been so crazy and aggressive was because he had been taking steroids to keep up bodybuilding with his frat boys. He almost ruined his heart. But the steroids had him losing his mind. I didn't go see him in the hospital that's how much I hated him. My dad decided after I refused to see him that our relationship needed to be fixed. Shaun recovered and was fine but he made us sit down and talk. Which being the manly men that we are didn't go well and we almost fought again. My dad stopped us because we were still afraid of him. Not gon lie." I laughed.

"Seriously?" I asked.

"I'm dead ass. He threatened to beat us. I wasn't get my ass beat by my father as a grown man."

"But-"

"No more questions! But the next time my dad made us talk he brought in someone we feared even more than him. My sister."

"Ciara? Are you kidding me?"

"She has a twisted mind, you have never been on the other side of it. She won't get you physically, she gets you mentally. " he said as I laughed.

"Go on Jess."

"Ask her! She's got an evil side! Anyway, they made us talk and Shaun actually apologized for using me as punching bag and all the other shit he did. He was using steroids and doing other drugs and it really fucked him up for a while. But I'll always love my brother, I think I just need to hear him say it. I think I just needed him to give a fuck about me, you know."

"You're such a softie."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are, you're a turtle. You have a hard outer shell but underneath all that is just squishy stuff. And it's one of the reasons I love you. I didn't know your brother was on drugs, though."

"Yeah for a little bit. My dad sent him to rehab. To my understanding he wasn't addicted or on anything hard but it was enough for my dad to send him to rehab. But he won't talk about it so I don't ask."

"You have been through a lot. "

"Yeah, it's been real. But I'm glad. It made me who I am."

"I love you."

"Love you too."

[tbhwhocaresanymore]

Nancy Drew 1x16

Oh my God you guys it has been so long since I have been able to watch a show that is so well written that has clearly been planned out from the beginning where the viewers have been able to theorize and have it pay off and Jesus Christ it is GLORIOUS. If I ever write for a show I would want to work with these writers on a show like this.

Before anything else let me start off gloating that I started calling Nancy as Lucy and Ryan’s daughter back around episode 9 or 10 and I am so fucking vindicated right now, I have been riding an otherwise unattainable high nonstop for the past three days. @kat--writes is this how you feel when you accurately predict things??? Because it feels AMAZING.

For the rest of the episode first can I just say how horribly tragic Lucy Sable is? Kudos to the writers because it was a stunning plot twist that I never saw coming but for some reason it’s almost worse than a murder to me? If for no other reason than how it has affected and will continue to affect everyone around her. Ryan who is now going to be even more guilt ridden about not getting to the ice cream parlor on time, Karen and Josh trying to avenge a murder that never even happened, Tiffany Hudson who died for nothing, Nancy who will be forever wondering if her mother slipped and fell or if she really did kill herself right after Nancy was born because if anything will give you an abandonment complex it’s that.

And hearing Carson say what happened that night with Lucy (PHENOMENAL acting by the way, maybe best scene of the season so far) makes rewatching the earlier episodes, especially 7/8 where Nancy was accusing Carson of murdering Lucy so much more tragic. This girl who he and his wife clearly cared for and felt sympathy for, begging him with her last words to take care of her daughter, knowing he looked away for less than two seconds and probably spending weeks if not months if not years questioning if he’d just looked up a half a second sooner if maybe Lucy would still be alive. Seeing Lucy’s daughter, his daughter, accuse him of murdering Lucy had to be a gut punch and it gives his character so much more depth. I just hope this doesn't put too much of a strain on his relationship with Nancy because they have finally gotten to such a good place and as far as Carson is concerned Nancy is his daughter, and he wasn’t trying to lie to her about Lucy. All he was trying to do was respect Lucy’s dying wish and protect her from the Hudsons. I mean he was willing to go to prison for murder before admitting what happened on the bluffs that night, that should count for something.

Moving away from the Shakespearean levels of tragedy for a moment.

God I fucking KNEW Owen was shady I have known it since the beginning. Granted I do not have absolute confirmation yet BUT: him being in his car outside the Claw when he said he would be out of town, holding a piece of Lucy Sable’s skull? (As far as the skull goes though, loved that bit of Bess/George/Nick teamwork to casually hide it from the cops.) Creepy bastard, thy name is Owen. I have no idea how it will play out yet but I hope to God that it will. But also that is going to be a bit of a blow to Bess, finding out her cousin is whatever he is, and also Nancy who literally just had sex with him.

Speaking of.

Much as it pains me to admit, the writers are clearly taking several steps away from Nancy x Nick for the moment, probably to give Nick x George a fighting chance. Side question. Why is Nick sleeping on a couch when he has over four and a half million dollars? Like he could afford to build a house with that much money. But I digress. I think it will be good for George to have a love interest who is A her own age and B not married, especially someone who she already had a good friendship with. Maybe since Owen is a Confirmed Shady Motherfucker the writers will either keep Nancy single for awhile or pair her up with Ace because their chemistry is off the charts. And as long as we’re on the romance topic, Bess. BESS. My sweet queer daughter. Where are Lisbeth and Amaya? Last time we saw Lisbeth they admitted they were kind of falling in love and slept with each other, last (and first) time we saw Amaya I fell in love and she and Bess had more chemistry than a high school sophomore. GIVE ME MY ON SCREEN BESS ROMANCE DRAMA WRITERS. And am I the only one who finds it a little bit weird that Bess is apparently so good at other people’s relationships when she has never really had one before?

I’m going to take a quick minute to be sad about Nancy x Nick so if you don’t like that you can skip this paragraph. NED NICKERSON. How the FUCK can you be so totally fine with Nancy sleeping with Owen when you two are clearly soulmates and you never liked him anyway? After the inevitable Owen betrayal possibly one of two things will happen with Nancy. She will regress and start to push people (read: love interests) even further away than before, OR she will finally really start to open up to Nick and they will find their way back to each other. Admittedly the second one is unlikely since Nick and George literally just got together but you never know. Just as long as Nick doesn’t cheat on George with Nancy because those two are finally friends and are really good friends to boot, and also George deserves way better especially post Ryan Hudson affair debacle. Maybe she and Nancy can bond over having shady not good for them older boyfriends.

On the topic of Ryan being Nancy’s biological dad every time George complains about Nancy asking favors I want her response to be “you had sex with my dad” every time.

Now we will talk about the promo for the as of now untitled next episode and also what the rest of the season and possibly season 2 have planned.

In episode 17 Ryan will clearly be Going Through Some Stuff, and will also find out that Lucy was pregnant. Whether he realizes she had the baby or thinks it died with her remains to be determined, but that shot of Nancy with a busted lip and her hair cut off in a car being driven by Ryan makes me think maybe he snaps and kidnaps her? It’s a bit of a stretch but it would certainly be interesting. I think we’re also going to see more of the Aglaeca coming after Nancy for not paying the toll, because for a minute we can see Nancy sort of choking and putting her hand to her throat like she’s about to throw up again. Maybe it’s going to keep coming after Nancy until they finally let the Aglaeca have Owen, or maybe its going to try to kill Nancy as punishment for saving Owen. I don’t know but I can’t wait to find out.

For the rest of the season/next season there are a couple threads not related to Ryan finding out Nancy is his daughter. There’s the new detective but I’m not talking about him. Joshua Dude, Lucy’s brother. He is still out and about wherever he is, and does not know his sister killed herself. This will probably not exonerate Ryan in his mind as Ryan’s family is part of what drove Lucy to suicide. Maybe he will come back and decide to sort of take revenge on A the Hudsons or B the town of Horseshoe Bay as revenge for what they did to Lucy. (Sort of like the Black Hood from Riverdale but you know, well done.) There is also Everett Hudson. Last time I checked he had just been arrested for sinking the Bonny Scot and racketeering and insurance fraud and stuff, what the hell is he doing at a yacht club? I can only assume he got out on bail so maybe we will see Nancy (possibly together with Ryan) work to put him behind bars for good. Maybe Carson Drew will finally leverage some of that dirty laundry he has on the Hudsons, or better yet that Grecian urn thing Ryan has will finally be put to good use. And then in the future although there is zero proof of this I still want A for George to become clairvoyant/psychic like her mother and B for George and Bess to be cousins. I don’t think I’m asking for too much here.

Finally, because of how much of a staple character he is in the books I refuse to accept that Chief McGinnis is gone for good. My very being rebels against it. But before you scream at me about how different the show is from the books (those two or three of you who have read the books anyway) even if he were an original character I would want him to stay. He is a fantastic character, he was just starting to get depth, I adore his relationship with Ace and on top of everything else he’s good Native American representation.

I ALSO WANT VICTORIA TO COME BACK. I HAVE NOT SEEN HER SINCE 2019. WTF WRITERS. YOU CAN’T JUST MAKE ME FALL IN LOVE WITH A DYSFUNCTIONAL PSYCHIC ALCOHOLIC MOTHER LIKE THAT AND THEN ONLY PUT HER IN TWO EPISODES.

Dead Lucy should also continue to stick around, maybe she can teach Nancy how to hang from ceilings or they can bond over how much Everett Hudson Sucks. It’s just that Lucy spent all this time trying to show Nancy that she is her biological mother, and for her to move on after sticking around for 20 years right after Nancy learns the truth? It would be too - and I fully recognize I have used this word too many times but I am going to use it again - tragic.

The wait for April 8 is going to be an agony unlike any other but at least after it comes back there will only be six episodes left, and so it is very unlikely the show will go on another hiatus before the season is up. Let me know what you guys think will happen in season 2/the rest of season 1.

[gastricpierrot]

Title: Breathe fire into me 

Series: Promare

Pairing: GaloLio

Rating: T

Summary:

Lio might have a little crush on the cute barista from the boba shop he visited recently.

Only there's a catch: there's much more to Galo Thymos than what he seems.

Note: role reversal AU, boba barista Galo, archer main Lio 

Also on AO3

[Chapter 1]

Lio Fotia isn’t fearless by any means.  

After all, firefighting is a dangerous job. Fire burns. Fire consumes. Fires do not care. They're destructive, unpredictable. And in the case of Burnish flares, they’re alive.  

It takes courage to put out flames, it takes strategy. It takes many things Lio still doesn’t have and hasn’t learnt.  

It’s been about a year since Lio’s joined the FDPP, immediately assigned to the 3rd unit the moment he’d graduated from the Academy due to them being severely shorthanded at the time. He's braved through countless blazes since then, yet he still finds a slight tremor in his hands whenever he’s on the way to a scene. The sirens of the Rescue Mobile never seemed to stop sounding too loud, too piercing.  

Lio Fotia is afraid of fire. Afraid of what else they might take from him, because he knows they could never take enough.  

“Lio? Lio, are you listening?”  

He takes a sharp breath, pulled out of the lulling haze of siren wails by the Captain’s voice over the intercom. Don’t think. Don't let it register.  

“There’s people trapped in the fiftieth floor with flammable chemicals. Got it,” Lio affirms as he does a brief, habitual last-minute routine check on his Rescue Gear's controls. “I’ll get it over with quick.”

“Be careful,” he hears Ignis say, and he grits his teeth just in time before he’s launched into the air, shot out and up at a speed that sends his stomach plunging all the way down to his feet.  

Lio crashes through the windows of the building’s fiftieth floor, immediately surrounded by a hellscape of Burnish flames. They're hostile as always the moment they sense his presence, forming into massive serpents of purple and turquoise fire –honestly too beautiful to be so destructive—and diving towards him with obvious malice.  

Lio doesn’t have the time to deal with them; the fire could reach the chemicals and cause an explosion any moment. He freezes the serpents barely batting an eye, barreling his way towards where the projection on his Gear’s windshield indicates. He's not too far now. Sweat trickles down his jaw. Five minutes. Give him five minutes.  

He tears off the door of the room where the group of researchers have been taking shelter, not even sparing the breath to yell assurances before he’s ushering them into the rescue container. His pulse pounds in his ears as he waits for the last of them to climb on, fingers gripping his handles tight enough to burn against his palms.  

“Retrieval successful, Captain,” Lio says as he hoists the container up. “Proceeding to retreat.”

“Better hurry up, Lio,” Lucia warns just after Ignis acknowledges his update. “Things aren’t looking too good.”

Lio knows better than to jinx it by wondering what could be worse. He charges right back into the inferno, this time not bothering to even ward off the flame serpents. His Gear can withstand at least this much heat, he’s sure. There's no choice but for it to be so.  

He makes his escape not a second too soon, barely climbing ten floors down when the fiftieth finally erupts, sending entire building quaking violently and in palpable danger of collapsing altogether. Lio near loses his grip for a moment, thrown off balance by the shockwave and the ringing in his ears. He bites his lip hard to reel himself back, using the staticky, frantic voices of his teammates as an anchor.  

“I’m fine,” he assures into his communicator, though he’s yet to be able to properly hear his own voice again. “I’m coming down now.”

And by the universe’s mercy he does manage to eventually make the rest of the way down. He proceeds to transport the researchers a safe distance away where paramedics are on stand-by, hurrying back to the scene right after setting down the container. Lucia’s mentioning about picking up some unusual heat readings over the intercom, then as if on cue, Lio hears more explosions from the distance.  

Static. His other teammates frantically asking if everything’s alright. Ignis coming back online, his sentences choppy from interference.  

Then Lio hears what could only be described as the laughter of hooligans in the background.

Lio heaves an exhausted sigh. Of course they’d have to be there. Mad Burnish has a reputation for loving to gloat as much as they have one for setting random fires, after all. Lio really has his job cut out for him this time.  

“Lucia?” Lio waits until he gets a solid response from her before continuing, “Is Detroit good to go today?”  

“I haven’t had the time to finish fixing the bow’s mechanism,” Lucia says, her words peppered with the rapid clicks of her controls. “You’ll probably have ten shots, max.”

“Apart from that?” Lio arrives and assesses the situation. Mad Burnish are circling around the Rescue Mobiles on their bikes, hooting and jeering and generally making a ruckus and obstructing extinguishing efforts while outnumbering Lio’s teammates three to one. They’re too fast for Lucia to handle with the Mobile’s artillery and for Ignis to land effective shots with his gun. Varys, Remi and Aina are nowhere to be seen on ground; they’re still occupied with trying to control the fire above.  

“Shouldn’t have a problem,” Lucia affirms, and Lio’s cranking the lever to shift his Gear into Detroit mode.  

Mechanisms slide and click into place with flawless transition upon activation of the suit’s alternate form, shifting its center of gravity and losing redundant pieces as it takes a sleeker, lighter appearance more suitable for combat. Lio then reaches behind the back of his Gear, detaching the rod there which he then flips a switch to have it morph into the form of a large bow.  

Lio gets into position, and draws.  

It's stiffer than usual, he notices at once as the built-in arrows respond to his motion and take shape. Lucia’s estimates are rarely ever wrong; he’s going to need to make every shot here count.  

He takes aim, and releases the first arrow.  

It soars through the air and instantly encases a Mad Burnish member in a large bloom of ice upon contact. Lio’s notching the next one while the rest are still trying to process what’s happened, successfully freezing another in place before the finally spot him.  

Lio braces himself, seeing them exchanging signs to rally.

Then all at once, they’re charging straight towards him.  

Lio manages to pick off one more Burnish before he decides they’re getting too close. He presses another button and changes his grip on his bow, moving into another stance as his weapon shifts to next resemble a sword. He spends a second to analyze their positions and movements, then with a sharp breath, he rushes to engage them.

He enters a daze as he always does when close combat, letting his body and instincts take over as he maneuvers through and around his opponents. Slash, duck, parry. Lio’s received a number of questions and comments about the way he fights over his months on duty, but truthfully, he’s never really figured out how to respond to them. He just does what feels right, what feels the most effective.  

When he comes to this time, all six Mad Burnish members are encased in blocks of ice. Lio’s slightly out of breath as he checks his Gear’s condition out of habit, hoping he hadn’t accidentally overdone it again. There are some gashes on the armor plating, the usual singed spots from Burnish fire—but everything else seems good enough. His weapon is still holding up as well.  

Lio turns toward the blaze in the building; it seems that his teammates have also been making good progress with that. Ignis tells him good work, and Lio’s just about to take his hands off his controls to work the knots out of his shoulders when he feels an impact against his Gear.  

Whatever hit him detonates a split second after contact, sending him staggering sideways and almost toppling onto the pavement.

Lio grits his teeth, finding his footing again by almost the sheer force of will. Red warnings blink across his windshield, and Lio sprains to see a part of his suit’s left shoulder burnt and falling into pieces.  

And then flame serpents, even larger than those Lio had faced earlier, dive in out of seemingly nowhere to collect the frozen Burnish into their jaws. A series of slow claps follows, and Lio’s turning and notching an arrow the second he overcomes his surprise, gaze following the length of the flames until he reaches their source.  

Another Burnish seems to have just exited the building, waltzing out casually as his serpents retrieved his brethren. Lio squints, barely making out details from the distance between them, only seeing that he dons a ragged black vest unbuttoned, black pants, and the horned visor helmet signifying a Mad Burnish leader.  

Not again,  Lio nearly groans because Burning Rescue had just apprehended the previous leaders some months back and the stress and exhaustion from that alone had taken probably a few years off his lifespan.  

In contrast, the Burnish sure sounds like he’s having fun.  

“Whewwww, you sure made that seem easy!” he whistles, voice distorted by his helmet yet somehow carrying enough for Lio to hear him clearly. “But sorry, hotshot, looks like it’s time for us to—hey!”  

He's interrupted by a sudden bloom of ice near his feet. Lio clicks his tongue. His trajectory was just a little off—it must be the unusual stiffness of his bow that’s messing with him.

“At least let people finish talking!” the Burnish protests, to which Lio doesn’t even bother answering. He notches another arrow, pulling taut as he recalibrates him aim with the help of Lucia’s adjustments. This time, he will not miss.  

He doesn’t. It would’ve once again landed right on target, if only it wasn’t intercepted by a wall of fire, far hotter than what their ice are designed to handle. Lio barely has the chance to think when the Burnish bursts out from behind the flames riding a bike he manifested, cranking it to obnoxious levels of noise as he charges towards Lio.  

Lio prepares to intercept, prepares to be out-sped and still somehow deal with it because what else is he supposed to do —until the entire left arm of his Gear falls apart, and he flinches.  

The Burnish speed right past him in a blazing trail of fire, hollering victory cheers as he makes his escape.  

Lio fumes, immediately moving to give chase.  

“Lio, stop!”  

And he’s halted in his tracks upon a stern order from Ignis. Let them be, the fire has priority, he’s told in a tone leaving no room for arguments. And Lio knows the Captain’s right. He's getting too worked up, he's losing rationality. He clenches his fists, forces the roar of blood in his ears to subside.  

He glares toward the direction where Mad Burnish had disappeared to for just a moment more, then spitting a curse, he turns around and heads to help finish up their job for the day.  

xXx

“How’s that feeling?”  

Lio draws an arrow from his bow, trying to gauge the extent of improvement Lucia’s service had made on it. It feels much easier to use than the last time even in its down-sized mode; the string fiber more flexible, the overall weight of the bow more stable in his hands.  

“Like it’s new,” Lio marvels, eternally impressed by Lucia’s mechanical skills. Lucia smiles wryly and crosses her arms.  

“Good. You’re gonna have to be relying only on that for a while,” she says, then gesturing to Lio’s Gear behind her in the garage. “We won’t be able to do much with Detroit until the new parts arrive.”

“It’ll do,” Lio assures; his specialty has always been the bow and arrow from the start, anyway. “Thanks, Lucia.”

“Anytime,” Lucia says, slipping her goggles back over her eyes before turning to saunter off. “Now back to work!”

“Aina’s asked me to go with her to get some bubble tea later,” Lio calls after her, remembering at the nick of time. “What would you like?”

Lucia responds to just get her whatever, and knowing she’s now already too distracted to pay him attention any longer, Lio hurries off in search for Aina.  

It’s Aina’s idea to check out the new shop that’s recently opened just down the block from the station, thinking it could be a nice treat for the team after that hell of a fire they had to put out two days ago. The higher-ups had a lot to say about them failing to capture the new Mad Burnish boss as well, and while none of them has outwardly voiced their complaints about it, Lio knows everyone’s high-strung. Arsonist Burnish always pose more danger when they’re in groups; they become more daring, fearless. Even more so if they have a charismatic leader to head the way. It'll be the start of another manhunt for the new Boss.

Lio has never quite understood the point of Mad Burnish setting all those whimsical fires. They’re only giving the rest of the Burnish people a bad reputation, further feeding the stereotype that they are inherently dangerous just because they have the ability to control flames while the majority do not. Sure, perhaps setting things aflame does create a sense of unexplainable satisfaction, but is doing it at such a destructive scale really worth possibly endangering the rest of your people in the long run?  

“What did Lucia say she’d want?” Aina asks once Lio’s caught up to her and they’re setting out on their way to the shop. Lio shrugs as he trudges on, taking a moment to enjoy the mundane tranquility around him; the feel of the late morning sunlight on his skin, the sounds of traffic along the road. It’s not every day that he gets to talk casual strolls in the middle of a shift like this.  

“She says anything’s fine.” Lio tears his gaze away from the puppy going out on a walk with its owner just passing them to look at Aina while he speaks. “We could just get her one of their signatures?”

“Can’t go wrong with that, she likes anything as long as they’re sweet anyways,” Aina agrees with a little snicker. “What about you, Lio? Any preference in mind?”  

“I’m not really in the mood for anything too rich so maybe I'll just get some fruit tea,” Lio says, then halting in his steps at the sight that greets him. “That’s, uh, if we even get to order at all..?”

Aina follows his gaze towards the line of people spanning three shop lots from their targeted bubble tea place, and lets out a groan. Lio understands her disappointment; he was really looking forward to sipping on something cold and sweet and refreshing, too. Still, they should’ve expected this, the craze never really had signs of going away even after all this while. The place is probably also having some sort of opening promotion, so of course people would be scrambling to have a try for themselves over the weekend.

“Maybe we should just go to another place,” Aina suggests, already looking around to see what alternatives they have. Lio agrees, not quite wanting to return empty handed after all their anticipation. He fishes out his phone and does a quick search, knowing there’s sure to be some other shop nearby. They seem to be everywhere regardless of competition.  

He eventually finds one with decent reviews located just a little further down the street, past the first junction. Aina, with no better ideas in mind, easily goes along with it.  

So they make their way there, and to their relief, finds it with a more reasonable queue despite most of the tables inside being occupied. Lio goes over the menu with Aina as they get in line, trying to decide on what to get. Lio’s going for the peach tea, Aina’s getting the matcha latte, and since the rest of the team can’t really be bothered as long as it’s Aina’s treat, they’ll just get them each the signature brown sugar milk tea.  

Aina receives a call while they’re later waiting for their order to be prepared, and Lio soon finds himself scrolling through his phone alone while she leaves to answer it outside where it’s a little quieter. With just a couple of other customers with singular orders ahead of theirs, it doesn’t take long until Lio’s number is beeped through the prompter and he’s stepping out to collect the drinks.  

“Oh, you’re part of the FDPP?”  

Lio glances up at the crew member, not even sure if he’d actually been spoken to because it’s so unexpected. His attention is immediately drawn to the blue hair first, shaved on the sides and spiked in a way that’s almost comical yet strangely suiting the person it belongs to. Lio’s gaze then travels a little further down to see the staff’s face and um.  

Okay. He's kind of...  

Cute.

“I’m sorry?” Lio manages, just in case he really hadn’t heard right or something. Get it together, Lio Fotia.

“Your jacket,” the guy repeats with a vague indicative motion, eyes bright with curiosity, “you’re part of the FDPP?”

“Ah,” Lio’s suddenly a little too aware that he might’ve been staring and almost frantically averts his gaze. “Yeah, our HQ’s just down the block.”

Wait, did he really need to say that, though? Oof.  

“Cool, cool!” Then as Lio dares to risk one final glance at him, he sees him offering him an encouraging grin. “Thanks for all your hard work!”  

Lio can’t help but offer a slight smile in return, a little touched by the sudden appreciation. “Thank you.”

And as they’re on the way back to the station, Lio catches himself lowkey hoping that the drinks would taste good enough for him to have an excuse to return.  

[helbramstrauma-main]

Babysitting

Masterlist

Modern Era

Albert DaSilva x Reader

A mild inconvenience turned into a lifeline

Word Count: 1119

Every Saturday night Albert and I go to the movies and afterward go for a drive. It all just started to happen, and now it is routine. We don't even have to ask about it anymore, it is just what we do. We have gone for six months without breaking this tradition.

Unfortunately, my neighbor's babysitter called off last minute making me fill in. I can't just say no to the woman who just moved in. As John Mulaney said, I need everyone to like me all the time. The signature knock of Albert rings through the house, did I really forget to cancel. Before opening the door I check my phone, only to realize I didn't press send. Slowly opening the door I am greeted with a pair of strong arms immediately around my waist pulling me into him.

"I get to pick the movie today" Albert exclaims, he is overly excited. He can't make it easy to let him down, can he? Once Albert sees my awkward smile he knows something is up. "What's wrong?"

After six months of an unbreakable streak of date nights, it has to come to an end. "My neighbor's babysitter flaked, so now I am subbing in," I say quickly, but he was able to catch what I was saying.

Albert's frown is quickly turned into a smile as he comes up with a solution. "Why don't I help you," Albert suggests excitably, "I love kids, it will be fun!"

Knowing I lack the ability to turn down Albert, I agree. Fully knowing that I basically agreed to babysit another child, my expectations are low. The good news is, my neighbor will never ask me to babysit again.

Throwing a few things into my bag Albert and I begin our journey across the street.

Once we arrive my neighbor is in such a hurry, her instructions are like a hieroglyph. The only thing I got out of her wordy instructions were, help yourself to anything in the kitchen and have the kids in bed by nine. The one-child is Rosa and she is five and her brother Che is almost eight. As soon as she left all chaos broke loose.

At the sight of Albert, Rosa leaps on his side, nearly pushing him into the china cabinet.

Eventually, the kids worked up an appetite, leaving me to fend for myself in the kitchen. Albert said he would keep them distracted until I was done, but he was wrong. Oh so very wrong. I only had time to decide I was going to make spaghetti before I had a child tugging at my shirt.

"Can you play Monopoly?" Che asks.

I awkward maneuver around him until I reach the cabinet, "after you are done with dinner" I say. However that wasn't enough for him, Durning the entire process of me setting up the pasta he was tugging my shirt. Once the noodles were done cooking I begin to strain them, this is when Rosa decides to push me. It all happened in slow motion, my one hand lost its grip on the scolding pot causing it to push into my other hand's wrist. The burning sensation takes place immediately as I begin to yelp in pain. I drop the pot causing most of the pasta to end up in the drain. Looking at my wrist I can already see multiple red blisters start to form.

Albert enters the kitchen once he heard all of the commotions, once he sees my wrist he looks horrified. However, the events that occur after are comparable to a mother's reaction. He throws Rosa over his shoulder and he begins to fill a Ziploc with ice cubes. All while telling off Rosa, it is like his paternal instincts have kicked in. Once the ice hits my skin I feel a wash of instant relief, "why don't we just order pizza" I say, not wanting to get back in the kitchen. And although Albert is handling this better than me, I would never in a million years let him in the kitchen. The last time I made the mistake is when he lit the toaster on fire, to this day he refuses to tell me how he did it.

It appears the rest of the night will be going smoothly until Che reminds me about Monopoly. I am not an aggressive person, but Monopoly brings out the beast within. Every ounce of pent up anger is released while playing Monopoly. The only thing worse than Monopoly is MarioKart. I should not be allowed around kids when I play these games but here we are setting everything up. I volunteer to be a banker, mostly because I don't trust anyone, but also because I secretly enjoy it. The game is going smoothly and I am able to hold my tongue every time I land on another person's property.

I am about to pass go when the dice decide to betray me, Boardwalk, with the hotel of testing my self-control. Albert begins to laugh like a maniac and the kids join in.

"I know another way you could pay for this" Albert jokes in front to the children. I can tell that my face is bright red. I am in such a state of shock I can't do anything but hope the kids don't ask questions.

Unfortunately, I hear Rosa start, "how so?"

Not even attempting to cover Albert's dirty joke, I just avoid the question, "look at the time, it is time to get to bed" I say getting up.

"I got this, you clean up the board," Albert says picking up Rosa and pulling Che along to their rooms. To my surprise, he is back out before I finish putting away the game.

He gloats about how good he is with kids, but all I can think about is how I wouldn't have been able to get through the night without him.

"Now what do we do? I am new to this whole babysitting thing" I say.

A mischievous smirk appears on Albert's lips, "you never paid me" he says.

The kids are upstairs, there are a million reasons why we can't do this. One of which being Monopoly prostitution! "I'll pay you in cuddles, get over here," I say motioning to the couch.

Albert jumps on top of me before letting his arms give out just to deadweight me. Once he had his fun, he turns us on our sides so we are facing each other. His arms are wrapped around me and my head finds it's way to the nook of his neck. The next thing I know is, I was in my own bed but the same position.

[rimmers-swimming-certificate]

Red Dwarf fanfic - Comatose (6/?)

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

Lister was halfway through a movie when Kryten entered his quarters with an empty laundry basket tucked under one arm. His other hand clutched a full-looking teapot with steam rising slowly fro the spout. The mechanoid stopped completely still in the doorway and stared at Lister.

Lister, laying in his bunk, head propped up on one hand, smiled at him. “Alright, Kryten?”

Kryten didn’t reply. He remained where he was, staring at Lister as though transfixed.

Lister’s smile turned into a confused frown. He glanced behind him, checking there was nothing there that might have captured the mechanoid’s interest. Finding just the usual wall, he turned back. “Uh, Kryten?”

His hand moved self consciously to the large letter ‘H’ on his forehead. It was the only thing in the whole situation that was different, and it had taken him a while to get used to seeing it on Rimmer, so it stood to reason that the others would find it strange on him.

“Kryten, what’s going on? Is something wrong?”

Finally, Kryten blinked. “No sir. Stare mode cancel. I’m sorry, it’s just so good to have you back, Mr Lister. For the past six months, I’ve been trapped on the ship alone, with only Mr Rimmer and Mr Cat for company.”

Lister shrugged unsympathetically. “Yeah, been there,” he said.

Kryten walked busily across the room, placed the teapot on the table and the laundry basket on the floor next to it. “So, sir, I trust you’re well? How are you adjusting to your hologramatic status?

Lister gave the question serious consideration as he took a swig of his hologramatic lager. The drink was nothing like lager, not really. It wasn’t even like having a drink. There was no feeling of quenching his thirst, because he had no thirst to quench. The drink didn’t feel cold, but it didn’t feel warm either. It was somehow completely without temperature. There was no fizz either, and he was reasonably certain that the taste he was detecting was constructed entirely from his own memory and expectation of the flavour, rather than from the drink itself.

“Sir?” Kryten asked

Lister shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so. I mean, it’s…” he shrugged again, struggling to put it into words. “It’s not been very long,” he said. I’ve done nearly this long before, when me and Rimmer swapped bodies.”

Of course that had been different. There had been a time limit on that arrangement. They had agreed to swap for two weeks, although in fact it had lasted much less time. This was completely open ended; he had no idea how long it might last, or when it might be over.

Kryten nodded. “I imagine this is a little different to that, sir.”

“Well, yeah. For a start I’ve got you looking after my body instead of Rimmer, so that’s definitely better.”

“But sir, you’re in a coma.”

Lister nodded. “Even so. The whole thing’s not great though. I think it’d be easier to put up with if I knew how long it was going to be for.”

“Of course.” Kryten opened one of Lister’s clothes drawers as he spoke. “And I wish I could give you that information sir. I really do.”

He knew Kryten didn’t know. He took another sip of pointless lager, just for something to occupy his hands. Vaguely, he wondered whether Holly would be capable of simulating a pack of cigarettes for him.

“I’d forgotten what a pain in the arse it is to not be able to do anything for yourself. You want to pick something up? Nope, gotta ask the skutters to do it for you. Want to push that button? Too bad, ask the Cat. And this stuff?” He raised the can of holographic lager in the air. “It’s like vaguely beer flavoured nothingness. I don’t even know why I keep drinking it.”

He took one final swig, then tossed the half-empty can across the room in the direction of the bin. It spun through the air for a second, then disappeared just before it hit its target.

“I see,” said Kryten. “Sir, I don’t know whether you’re aware of this, but historically, new holograms were given a minimum six weeks of weekly therapy sessions by the Space Corps, as well as company mandated rehabilitation.”

Lister frowned. “Why?”

“Well, sir, it was found that holograms were prone to depression and bouts of existential crisis. Of course, much of that was linked to the knowledge that they -- the person that they were -- was dead. That is not the case for you, of course. Still, I would expect there to be a certain adjustment period. A significant portion of the rehabilitation involved learning ways of doing things without the ability to touch, as well as coping with the emotional impact of that.”

Now that Lister thought about it, that all made perfect sense. “I don’t suppose you have any of those therapy sessions built into your programming, do you?” he asked.

Kryten shook his head. “Me, sir? No, I’m afraid not. You might find some relevant literature in the ship’s databanks, but, as loathe as I am to say it, most likely the best person for you to speak to would be Mr. Rimmer.”

“I don’t think so,” Lister said, immediately.

“No. Honestly, even thinking that suggestion felt ridiculous,” Kryten admitted. “But unfortunately, he is the closest thing we have to an expert on the subject.”

“He’s also a complete smeg head,” Lister countered. Rimmer would probably love it if he went to him for help. After all, Lister hadn’t exactly gone out of his way to make things easy for Rimmer when he had first been switched on.

“Granted, sir,” Kryten agreed. “He did, however, visit you almost every day when you were in the medi-bay. He does appear to care. Although honestly I doubt he would make an effective therapist.”

No kidding. Literally anybody that had ever been born would make a better therapist. With the possible exception of Cat.

“Although, frankly, given the circumstances, it’s a miracle that Mr. Rimmer is still sane.”

Lister scoffed. “Kryten, Rimmer was never sane to begin with.” He had been teetering on the edge long before he had even died. Although, maybe that only proved Kryten’s point. “So how’d he do it then? How’d he manage to not go any crazier?”

Kryten appeared to think about the question as he reached into Lister’s drawer, pulled out a handful of neatly folded t-shirts, screwed them up, and dumped them in the laundry basket.

“I suppose the only way to be certain would be to ask him. I do have my own theories though. Perhaps Mr Rimmer’s personality, deficient though it is, is actually suited to being a hologram. I mean, he is stand-offish to the extreme and cowardly to the point where not being able to be touched, and therefore not be hurt, may actually be considered beneficial. Also, while admittedly I didn’t know him in life, I don’t imagine him to be the kind to be touchy-feely with his friends.”

“What friends?” Lister asked, then sighed. “I didn’t know any of this stuff.”

“No reason you should, sir.”

But there was. He had been bunking with a hologram for five years, and what had he done? Nothing useful, that was for sure. He had repeatedly told Rimmer to stop whinging about being dead; actually point blank told him that he wouldn’t touch things for him, because he’d seen what Rimmer liked to touch; and occasionally threatened to switch him off in favour of someone better.

Honestly, if Rimmer did want to gloat about Lister’s current situation, he would probably be justified.

From another cupboard, Kryten removed a packet of biscuits, took one out, crushed it between his hands and dropped the pile of crumbs into the laundry basket with the clothes.

Lister watched him, bemused. The mechanoid picked up the teapot he had brought into the room and tilted it, ready to pour the contents into the basket. “Kryten,” Lister asked. “What the smeg are you doing?”

Kryten looked from the basket of screwed up, crumb-covered clothes, to the teapot in his hand, and finally back to Lister. He appeared to consider the question carefully. “Laundry,” he said.

Lister frowned. “I’m no expert or anything, but even I know that’s not how you do laundry. Not unless we’ve landed in the backwards world again.”

“I...I...I…” Kryten opened and closed his mouth in a compulsive way that made Lister think he was about to have a serious malfunction.

“Kryten…”

“You just don’t understand what it’s been like, sir. You were unconscious, you didn’t need me to do your washing because you simply weren’t generating the same amount of mess that you usually did. Add to that, I only had half the number of dishes to wash, and absolutely no detritus to pick up after you, and I was quite literally going out of my head with boredom!”

Lister frowned. “So why didn’t you just find something else to do?”

“I didn’t want to do anything else! It was laundry day and I had nothing to launder, so I went into your quarters one day, emptied out your drawer and… well, it was such a relief to get back a bit of normality. Since then, I’ve been doing two loads a week.”

“Right,” Lister shook his head in bafflement. “But couldn’t you just do the Cat’s laundry instead?”

“He wouldn’t let me. He said he didn’t trust me with his suits.”

“Look, why don’t you just put those back, and watch the end of the film with me?” Lister suggested. “Or I can get Holly to rewind it to the start, I don’t mind watching it again.”

Kryten shook his head, still brandishing the teapot above the basket. “I can’t, sir. I need to get these clothes dirty so that I can get them nice and clean for you.”

Lister sighed. “Whatever makes you happy, I guess,” he said, but as he spoke he noticed a yellow t-shirt among the biscuit crumb-covered pile. His eyes widened in panic and he leapt down from the bunk to grab the basket out of Kryten’s hands.

He remembered at the last moment that he couldn’t. Instead, he waved a hand at the yellow t-shirt in the middle of the pile. “Hang on a minute, what’s that?”

“A pile of laundry, sir. We just discussed it, remember? Perhaps I need to do some additional tests to ensure you didn’t sustain brain damage in the accident.”

“No, what’s that,” Lister tried to clarify. He pointed at the yellow t-shirt again, knowing that he only owned two t-shirts of that particular colour and hoping that this one wasn’t the one he thought it was.

Kryten put down the teapot to free up his hand, then pulled the shirt out from the centre of the pile and held it up for Lister to see. “A t-shirt, sir.”

Lister looked at it, and his heart sank. “Smeg,” he said.

You could barely see the stain anymore. He moved his head a little closer and squinted. He could just about make out the mark where the blob of vindaloo had dripped from an overloaded piece of naan three million years ago, but it had faded almost to the point of disappearing.

“Kryten, how many times have you washed this t-shirt?” he asked.

The mechanoid looked at it, doing a quick calculation. “Between the beginning of your coma and now? Approximately twenty times.”

“You’ve nearly got the stain out,” Lister told him.

Kryten looked at it. “Which one, sir?”

“That one,” Lister pointed at a barely-there stain on the left side of the t-shirt. “There was a stain there from where I dropped curry on it. It was the first time Kochanski spoke to me, and I was so surprised I dropped curry and it made a stain in the shape of a heart. That was the first time I knew that we were meant to be together.” And now it was gone.

Kryten looked at the t-shirt again, a guilty look appearing on his face. “Oh sir, I’m sorry! I had no idea that stain had sentimental value. I didn’t rotate the wash, I just kept taking the clothing from the top of your drawer. If I’d dug down a little deeper, maybe this wouldn’t have happened! Although, frankly, I was a little afraid of what I might find in there.”

Lister sighed. “Forget it. Just, don’t wash that one anymore, okay? Leave it alone, it’s clean enough.”

The mechanoid put down the basket of ‘dirty’ washing, shook off the crumbs and carefully folded the yellow t-shirt and put it back in the drawer where he had found it, then picked up the remaining t-shirts and left quietly.

Lister watched him go, and sighed to himself, then turned to address the middle of the room. “Holly, give me another beer, will you?”

(next)

[iwhumpyou]

The Last Hero (Part 4)

Masterlist.  The Last Hero.

Part 3.

~#~#~#~#~#~

Lucien heads down the empty corridor, utterly at ease to anyone who cares to look, though there isn’t anyone here.  The whole floor has but a single occupant – one buried in plaster and gauze and connected to so many machines that if her breath hitches every doctor in the building will probably know within the second.  Counting the guards and the two nurses, there should be a total of ten people on the floor.  Lucien knows it’s now eleven.

He has work to do – being the newly elected mayor of a fracturing city is a mess Lucien is more than happy to dive into – and as many brownie points visiting ‘our poor, broken hero’ as he gets, it will not do the job for him.  But his men alerted him to an intruder in the hospital and Lucien needs to know how the parkour hoods are going to play this.  They might just be the last heroes in the city and Lucien cannot fight a war on two fronts.

They’ve bested him before. If he intends of keep control of the city – and the underworld, who are looking for the slightest of signs to fight again – he cannot have them dismantling his operations.  

Naya is obviously not a problem right now – Lucien will be surprised if she can do more than breathe unaided – but there has never been a record of how many parkour hoods there are. The number fluctuates somewhere between two and five – it’s a problem when they all dress alike.  Whoever they are, they are clearly very good at what they do and, as evidenced by the broken, bruised, bleeding girl in the room, they are willing to go to extreme lengths in defense of their cause.

He is sorry that he couldn’t find her parents, for more than one reason.  It would be an easy way to control Naya – not that he needs one right now – and whoever the others are.  It is also sad, that a girl who lost everything cannot even have her mother sit at her side and brush the hair out of her face.  It is also a loose end because her family was gone by the time he’d sent men and he has no idea who’s taken them and why.

To blackmail Naya – a useless plan at the moment, but they could be willing to wait.  And that would upset all of Lucien’s plans.  To torture Naya – wait until she was feeling better and then send her family back, in pieces.  More than a few people Lucien knows would be in favor of this plan and that would just make Lucien look like he has no control.  Or for plain, simple revenge – her family can already be buried in unmarked graves somewhere, which is honestly the best option at the moment. It leaves them out of the picture, a variable he no longer has to consider.

But he will consider the variables he has at the moment.  The rooms have an appalling lack of soundproofing – why he asked for the whole floor in the first place – and Lucien can easily take a position in front of the door, near the guards, and listen to the entire conversation.

“- so sorry, Naya.” It sounds like sobbing, another female’s voice.  “I wanted to go after you –”

“And that would’ve left us with two bodies in hospital beds,” Naya said softly, “Come on, Red, it’s okay.  I understand.”  Still using code names.  “Have you heard anything about my family?”

The other girl sniffles. “No, I’m sorry Naya, I tried calling them after he took your mask off, but it kept going to voicemail and then it didn’t ring at all.  I have no idea where they are.”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Naya says, definitely not sounding okay – her voice becomes a shade hoarser and her voice cracks.  “How long have I been here?”

“A week,” Red says miserably, “I’ve been hanging around the hospital waiting for someone to say you’ve woken up.  You weren’t awake the previous times I visited you.”  Lucien raises a silent eyebrow at his guards, who shuffle nervously – no one reported a visitor so far.

“Thank you,” Naya says quietly, “But you have to leave now.”

“Do you hear someone coming?” Red asks and Lucien stills.  

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Naya says, “You need to leave the city.”

Lucien waits, certain that it’s too good to be true.

“I’m not leaving you,” Red hisses, “How can you even think –”

“Red,” Naya says quietly, “Look at me.”  There is a long pause.  “I don’t have a future.”  Red makes some sort of wordless protest, but Naya cuts her off.  “It’s true, you know it.  I was unmasked shortly before being beaten to an inch of my life.  It’s going to take months for me to heal, if not years. I don’t have the money to pay for all this.  And even if I somehow walk out of here, where do I go – back to college?  Back to classes?  Get a job?  Everyone knows who I am.  Anyone who’s wanted revenge will start coming after me and I don’t have a high-tech mansion to hide in.  I can’t run for the rest of my life.  I won’t even have a very long life.  Red –”

“I’ll get you out,” the other girl cuts her off.

“What?”

“I’ll get you out,” Red repeats, “We’ll find a place for you – new documents, new name, maybe even some plastic surgery.  We can start over.  I can threaten James into giving us a bank account.  We can make it work.”

“Red,” Naya says after a pause, “I can’t even move right now.”

“I’ll get you out,” Red insists and Lucien can hear the tears in her voice, “There’s six guards on this floor.  I can take them all out.”  Lucien raises an eyebrow but his guards take a step back, wary.  “I can get you out of the hospital.”

“And there are no other guards in the hospital?” Naya asks quietly, “No one who will raise the alarm?”

There is a tense silence. “I can get you out of the hospital,” Red repeats, and her voice is higher.  We’ll get a taxi out of the city.  To the airport.”  Naya makes a wordless sound of protest but Red speaks over her.  “Train station.  Something.  I will get you out because I’m not leaving you behind!” 

Another long silence and he can hear Naya’s voice again, soft and hoarse, “And Lucien Medea?”

“What about him?” Red hisses.  Lucien smiles.  Naya’s response isn’t verbal but Red starts talking again.

“He’s been named mayor,” the disgust is evident in Red’s tone, “He arrived with his army just as the crowd was about to stone Chimera.  He took Chimera into custody, got you to a hospital and made a stupid speech about justice and fighting for your home and standing against evil.”  

It was a beautiful speech, years in the making.  Lucian scowls, aggrieved.

“Everyone was clamoring for him to do something and eventually the call went up for him to be appointed mayor.  I think some people were actually planning to drag the old mayor out of his office if he didn’t resign.  The measure was approved by the council a few hours later.  Medea Security Services became a militia to enforce the peace and you know the kind of toys they have.  No new villain attacks, nothing on the hospital, but Lucien’s little soldiers guard the whole building.  He visits you quite often – good for his public image, I bet, and a side bonus of some gloating.”

She is being very unfair. Lucien does genuinely feel sorry for Naya, though it would be difficult not to.

“His soldiers guard the whole building,” Naya repeats lightly, “I bet there’s one on every street corner.  Do you think we’ll find a taxi that’s willing to take us out of the city?”  Another silence.  “Any train station that won’t alert Lucian the moment we turn up?  An airplane that will let us board?”

“A disguise, then – there’s plenty of ways to hide you and I’m sure I can find someone selling fake ids –”

“I cannot move.”

A longer silence.  Lucien can hear hitched breaths and realizes they’re crying.  The sound is quiet. 

“After you heal. Promise me you’ll fight for that. After you heal, I’ll come, and we’ll get out of this city together.”  The words are hoarse and desperate.

Another pause.  “If you leave now,” Naya says, her voice cracking, “And promise me that you won’t come back if it’s too dangerous, I promise I’ll fight for that future.”

“I will,” Red says quietly. Lucien makes a mental note to check ticket bookings from tonight to leave in the next few days.

“Naya,” Red says and Lucien has to strain to hear.  “Naya, if you want…if you ever think…” she pauses for a long moment, “If you ever want it to end on your own terms…”

“Whatever happened to not giving up?” Naya says hoarsely.

“In a good, just world, it is easy to say the words,” Red replies, “When in the custody of psychopath who charmed his way into ruling the city, it becomes more difficult to follow. I will not judge – I can obtain anything you ask for.”

“Thank you, Red,” Naya says quietly, “You’re the best.”

“Not good enough,” is Red’s murmur, “Not good enough.”

~#~

Part 5.

[senseless-septic-shambles]

Miles to Go Before I Sleep - Chapter One

(Banner by the amazing @dinadinu )

Summary: Jackieboy Man has been missing for so long even he is losing hope of ever finding his way home. Henrik Schneeplestien is struggling to cope after the events that left Jack in a coma. Chase Brody is trying to piece his life together after it crumbled around him. Marvin is feeling separated from his family. Jameson Jackson is fighting his own demons. And Jack is sleeping through it all. Ev̡ęr͝ythi̸n͏g is go̡i͞ng̢ acc̕ord͏i̶ng ţo̕ ̡p͞la̡n͠.͞ ҉

Warnings: Implied torture

Beta Readers: @xtracheesy , @dinadinu and @a-septic-writer-of-art A/N: Alright lads here we go! It is on AO3, but given Tumblr’s latest hissy fit, the link will be in a master post or something accessible from my blog. I shall have to figure out the best way to get that to you! :) Also, a lot of you have probably read this chapter before, but it has been edited a fair bit since then!

Perhaps he had been cocky. Perhaps he had let his guard down. Perhaps someone had found his weakness. Whatever the case, Jackieboy Man found himself in a small cell, trapped. The cell was three paces along one wall, four along the other. Rectangular. A separate, much smaller room for relieving himself off one of the walls. He knew because there wasn’t much else to do but pace.

He tried to escape - of course he did. But somehow, his captors - masked men who were clearly working for a higher power - seemed to know his every weakness. They knew him far too well. Food was scarce, they kept him hungry - kept him desperate.     

And then he started visiting, about two months after his capture. The monster in the night. The creature in the dark. The glitch in the system. He taunted Jackie, he laughed and glitched and told him about his friends. He reminded the former superhero that he was weak. That he was unable to protect his friends. That he had failed.

“Yơu̸ ́w̨e͜re͢ e҉asy ́tơ ̧ca̛p̧t͟ur̵è ̧-̧ ͡e͞asy̕ ͢to ̴remov͜e҉, F͡a͜͏r ́t̶̵o̕o̸҉͟ ͞e̡a͞s̸̕͘y̵̸,” the glitch would say, giggling. “And͜ ͘I̸ ͡k҉íĺl̡e̷d him͢. I ҉sli͘t̶ h̀is thr̨oat – ͠he̛ wa̷s͟ ̡we̴a͡k͡. ̸W͘e͠ak̷ j͢us̸t͢ like ͢you͜.”

He would leave, leave Jackie in a deadly silence, a silence filled with thoughts and images of the things the creature had done to his friends filling his mind. He had failed them. He should have been there. This was all his fault.

The physical torture didn’t start until about six months after his capture. Until then, the monster had been content to laugh, to gloat, to watch the guilt cover Jackie’s face as he realised that his friends had been hurt and it was all his fault. But then he got bored.

Jackie wasn’t allowed to sleep for days at a time, kept awake despite his exhaustion. Food was kept from him, even water withheld for a time. That was only the beginning.

Jackie was used to pain – it was part of his job description as a superhero, after all. But this glitch seemed to know just how to make the pain unbearable, to leave him weeping and weak after each visit.

He lost track of time not long after. The pain often caused him to black out, and he didn’t know for how long. The food came more sporadically as well and he wondered if maybe that was part of the torture – to disorient him, to make him lose track of what day it was.

Pain was the only constant here, and he was beginning to lose hope he would ever be free.

Then, one day, things changed.

Doors clanging and the sound of footsteps jerked Jackie from a fitful sleep. He pressed himself against the wall, alert and scared – scared that it would be the glitch, scared that it wouldn’t be. Life had gone on so long without change he wasn’t sure if he wanted it.

His door was pulled open and he shrank back, heart thumping and the cuts and burns, fresh or otherwise, throbbed painfully. But it wasn’t the glitch – instead, a body was flung into the room and the door slammed shut again.

Jackie stayed still for a long time, waiting. Waiting for the glitch to return, for the motionless figure on the ground to move. The figure was dressed in a white coat, green hair a startling colour in the dullness of his cell. And he seemed familiar.

When nothing happened for a long time, Jackie slowly moved. He pushed himself up, crouching low and in a fighting stance – his muscle memory unable to forget the years of training he had gone through despite being stuck here for so long. He dropped down beside the other man and examined him.

It was Henrik. The good doctor – his friend. He wasn’t sure what to think. On the one hand, he was no longer alone. He could get news of what was actually happening with his friends. His fading memories of a life before the pain were true.

But at the same time, his friend was here with him. His friend was stuck in this hell. And Jackie would rather he be stuck here for the rest of his life than have any of his friends go through even a few days of what he had.

He crouched down beside Henrik, rolling him over and checking his pulse. He was alive – but didn’t seem to be in good condition. His throat was bruised,  his skin pale, his breaths shallow.

“Hen –” His voice was rough and caught in his throat – he had barely said anything for who knows how long. He had only been screaming. “Henrik?” he managed finally, the sound barely a whisper. The doctor shifted, muttering something in German under his breath. Jackie shook him gently.

            He suddenly shot up, shouting loudly. “Nein! Lass mich allein!” Jackie scrambled back, the sudden movement sending a shaft of fear rushing through him. The two men sat pressed against opposite walls, staring at each other.

            “Jackie?” Henrik asked after a moment of silence. “Is – is that you? Nein. It cannot be.”

            “Hey, Henrik,” Jackie rasped, trying to force his lips into a smile. It was more challenging than he had anticipated – there wasn’t much to smile about here and he’d forgotten what it felt like.

            “How are you alive?”

            “Honestly, I – I don’t know,” Jackie admitted, looking down. “He doesn’t want me dead, I guess.”

            Silence fell between them. Jackie wanted to ask questions, to ask if Jack was alright – if he was alive or if the glitch had actually killed him. If Chase and Stacy had sorted out their differences. If Marvin was any better at magic.

            Tears were pricking his eyes – how much had he missed while stuck in this dark hole? Did his friends even remember him?

            “Jackie?” Henrik asked, moving across the room. He sat down beside Jackie and laid a hand on the superhero’s shoulder. He flinched away, unused to gentle touches. “What has he done to you,” the doctor muttered.

            “I – I’m sorry,” Jackie said.

            “What for?” The question took Jackie by surprise – what for? For everything! It was all his fault. He had got his friends hurt. He was the reason Henrik was here. If he had been there to protect his friends. If he had fought against the glitch harder. If he had done something more. It was his fault.

            “I – it’s my fault,” he said softly. “I should have been stronger, should have resisted him more! I should have done something.” And he was crying, tears running silently down his face.

            “Of course it’s not your fault,” Henrik said. “He’s too powerful for even you to take on alone.” He shook his head, running a hand through his hair and rubbing his neck. “I still can’t believe you’re alive.”

            “How – how long has it been?” Jackie asked softly, ignoring the first part of Henrik’s comment. Of course it was his fault. Hadn’t the glitch made that clear enough?

            “Almost a year.”

            A year. Almost a year of this darkness, of this pain, of this hell. How much longer could he last?

            “What happened?” he asked, almost whispering the words. A lot could happen in a year – were all his friends still alive? Or had his weakness caused them pain as well?

“A... a lot,” Henrik said quietly. He ran a hand across his neck again and fell silent for a long moment. Jackie felt a moment of fear – was it really that bad?

“Chase… well… he and Stacy had a divorce. It – it was messy. He… well, I…” he trailed off, seeming hesitant to continue. Taking a breath, he finally spoke again. “I had to stitch up a hole in his head… Self - self-inflicted.”

Jackie lowered his eyes. He should have been there for his friend. He should have been there to support him, to help him through his time of need.

“Is he okay?” he asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

“Not really. But he’s alive.”

The silence fell again, and Jackie tried to word the question he had. Or bring up the courage to ask it.

“A – and… and Jack?” he said quietly. “He said he had…” he trailed off, not wanting to put into words what that monster had told him.

Henrik muttered under his breath in his mother language.

“That monster tried. Not long you vanished. We were all preoccupied, no one noticed what was happening until it was too late. He… nearly died.” The doctor closed his eyes, as if remembering what had happened. “I managed to save him but… that monster didn’t give up. And this time I – I…” he trailed off, looking down at his hands. Jackie noticed suddenly that they were shaking.

Had something happened to Jack? He should have been there. He should have been there to protect his friend, to keep him from harm. That was his job and he had failed it. He had failed.

“I – is he alright?” he asked quietly.

“I… I don’t know,” Henrik said, as if forcing the words out. “I couldn’t… I couldn’t save him… He was going to die and all I could do was put him into a medical coma. I don’t… I don’t know if it worked. Or if he’ll ever wake up. I – I should have done more!”

Silence fell again. Jackie wasn’t sure how to answer – obviously it wasn’t Henrik’s fault. It was Jackie’s – if he had been there… If he had done something more…

“What now?” Henrik asked. The words pulled Jackie back to reality, to the hard stones under him, to the pain still piercing through him. He closed his eyes, a shudder running through him. It would only be a matter of time before the glitch returned.

“We survive,” he said quietly.

“No,” Henrik said after a pause. “We escape.”

Jackie glanced up at him, shaking his head. He had thought like that, once. He had been cocky and brave, throwing himself at whatever the glitch sent his way, so sure that he would get out.

But a year had passed. Why would they have more of a chance now?

“He’s too powerful,” he said quietly. “We can’t escape. I’m sorry, Henrik. I should have done more. But you’re stuck here with me now.”

Henrik looked over at him, a deep sadness in his eyes. Jackie couldn’t meet his gaze – he looked far too similar to the glitch.

“Jackie,” he said gently. “We will get out. I promise, with two of us here we have more of a chance. We won’t be here for long.”

Jackie didn’t answer, just stared at the floor. He didn’t allow himself to hope, not here. Not after what he had been through. But maybe they could get out. Or at least survive for just a little longer.

~*~

            Eight months. Eight months of pain from their captor. (Anti, Henrik said, was his real name. But names had power and to give him one seemed to give him more. So they simply called him ‘the glitch’.) Eight months and Jackie could tell Henrik had almost lost hope. They sat together in one of the few moments the glitch gave them when he wasn’t tormenting the other. Back to back, pressed up against each other, wanting the security of the other’s presence.

            They were quiet, which wasn’t unusual. Talking wasn’t always needed, they shared the same pain, they understood each other without needing words. Eight months of being trapped in a cell brought you closer than you ever thought you could be.

            “What are we going to do?” Jackie asked softly. He often asked that, wanting to hear Henrik’s optimism. Wanting to think that maybe there was a chance for hope. But after eight months, Henrik’s optimism was lacking.

            “I don’t know,” he said softly, for the first time – usually he could think of some kind of plan. “I – I don’t know.”

            The words felt like a punch to Jackie’s gut. Henrik always had a plan, he was always the one giving Jackie hope, if only a little. To hear him so… broken hurt Jackie more than anything the glitch could do to him.

            “I think he’s distracted,” he said, after a long silence. “He’s planning something… either with us or with the community. I – I don’t know what but last time he was this distracted you showed up.”

            Henrik muttered a curse.

            “We have to stop him before he can get anyone else,” he said. Jackie agreed – the thought of another of his friends sharing this hellhole with him terrified him.

            “But what can we do?” he asked. “How can we stop him?”

            “We escape,” Henrik said finally. “If he’s distracted we can come up with a plan. We can slip past him while he’s focused on the community. We can do something.”

            “Do you have a plan?” Jackie asked, shifting to glance over his shoulder. Henrik shrugged.

            “Not yet…” he said slowly, which to Jackie said that he was coming up with a plan. He settled back down, leaning his aching body against his friend and closing his eyes.

            “We’ll do it, Jackie,” the doctor said quietly. Jackie didn’t answer, his body overcome by exhaustion. At least Henrik was sounding more hopeful. Maybe they would be able to escape.

            Their plan was put in place the next day. Using the long ago shattered frames of his glasses, Henrik had fashioned a lockpick. They hadn’t been able to use it, for fear of the glitch noticing, but with him distracted there was a chance. And, as Henrik had put it “What do we have to lose?” It was a last ditch effort, a final attempt for freedom. If it didn’t work, there was no hope.

            Fear and nervousness curled in Jackie’s chest as he watched Henrik slowly jiggle the lock. He sucked in a breath as the lock clicked and Henrik slowly pushed the door open. But he refused to get too excited – he had escaped from his cell before. The glitch always returned him.

            They stepped out together, watching each other’s backs. Slowly, they made their way through the damp halls of their prison, searching for a way out. Jackie’s heart was beating so fast – what if they did it? What if they did escape?

            He could go home.

            They rounded a corner and saw the stairs, rising up – high into freedom. The two men exchanged a look and began to make their way up, slowly, nervously, both fighting back the urge to break into a run.

            Jackie’s leg was aching, it still wasn’t healed from when the glitch had broken it about a week ago. He was beginning to breathe quickly, only after a few steps. Once he could have bounded up those stairs without even thinking about it – now they seemed endless.

            They reached the top of the steps and found themselves in another long hall – but this time Jackie could see light at the end of it. A soft breeze flew through the hall, causing goose bumps to pickle Jackie’s skin.

            “The end,” Henrik whispered beside him and the urge to run grew stronger in Jackie. They moved as quickly as they dared, hurrying down the hall. Jackie was nervous, his gut twisting and turning as he tried to push back the hope that was rising in him. They were so close.

            The exit came into view – it seemed to come out under what seemed like a bridge. Distant noises came from above – cars rushing past, people talking – normal life. Jackie had never made it this far.

            Henrik suddenly broke into a run and Jackie scrambled to follow him. If they could just get out, just get to some form of civilization they would be safe. The glitch wouldn’t dare follow them there. They were so close.

            Jackie’s heart was beating quickly as he ran, fighting the stabbing pain of his leg, fighting his exhaustion, pushing his body. Henrik burst out into the air and Jackie was about to follow him.

            With a sharp flash of pain, his leg buckled and he tumbled to the ground with a cry. Henrik turned back and an alarm blared through the underground complex. With a sickening thud, a barred door slammed into place between them.

            Jackie stumbled to his feet, lunging forward in a vain effort to escape. But it was too late.

            “No!” he cried, gripping the bars. He was so close. So close to freedom. So close to escaping. Henrik grabbed his hand from the other side, his eyes roving around the door.

            “We can open it,” he said, sounding panicked. Jackie nodded, searching for any sign of opening on his side. But a noise caught his attention, a noise that filled him with dread. A giggle, a high-pitched, insane giggle.

            The glitch was coming for him.

            They didn’t have time. The glitch would come for him, and then he would go after Henrik. They would be back to where they had begun and they would be punished.

            “Go!” he said suddenly, trying not to think about what that meant.

            “Nein! I am not leaving you, Jackie,” Henrik said, his face full of fear and alarm.

            “You have to go! Please, Henrik!” Jackie said, speaking quickly. “I’ll hold him off. Get out of here! Please!” Tears were starting to fall again – he was so close. So close to freedom, so close to leaving behind the pain and despair. So close and yet he wasn’t going to escape. “Please.”

            “I – I. No. No I’m not leaving you. Wir gehen zusammen. I can’t let you face him alone.”

            “I can’t get out!” Jackie shouted. Maybe he could bear it a little better if he knew Henrik wasn’t trapped with him. “Just go!”

            Henrik stepped back, eyes wide.

            “Jackie –”

            “GO!” the superhero shouted. With one last hesitation, Henrik turned and ran, stumbling over the uneven ground and vanishing from Jackie’s view. At the same time, something grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked his head back, bringing tears to his eyes and a gasp of pain.

            He was thrown to the ground, the glitch standing over him. Shakily, he tried to push himself up, tried to fight, but the glitch kicked at his broken leg and he screamed, pain flashing through his body.

            He gritted his teeth, remembering the look of despair Henrik had given him as he ran off. Remembering all the taunts and accusations the glitch had thrown at him. Remembering how he had been too weak last time – he couldn’t this time. He had to buy Henrik sometime.

            So, leaning heavily against the wall, he struggled to his feet. The glitch just smiled, moving in a way a human shouldn’t be able to.

            “W̴h̛at ̛d̨o ̵y͞ou ́t͠h̸ink͘ wi̕ll ̀ḩa͝ppen ̶t́o̴ you̶r̢ ͘fri͘en̴d,” he said mockingly. “I͘’v҉e le͝f̧t h҉im̨ a ̸g̕i͟f̛t̡ – ̷a̡ ̨troj҉a̧n͟ h͟ors̶e̶.” That horrible giggle filled the room as the glitch spun his knife, flickering in front of Jackie’s gaze.

            “You won’t win,” he panted. “They will defeat you.”

            “W͟i̛l͜l̶ ̕the̶y?” the glitch said. “T̀ḩey̕’r̕e ̕weak and ̀bli͢n҉d! All̛ of҉ ͝th͜em. ̷And ͞the͞y wi̷l̀l҉ a͝l҉l̷ d̶ie.”

            Jackie gritted his teeth and lunged, his fist in a ball. The glitch flickered, catching his hand. Jackie let out a scream of pain as his hand was bent backwards. He was forced to his knees, his vision flickering from the pain.

            The glitch kicked him again and he let out a gasp of air – sure his ribs had been broken. Then a cold metal was touched to his neck and he looked up to see the glitch, crouching at his level, his knife at Jackie’s throat

            “Y̶o͡u’r͞ę ͢ju̢st ̀my̧ t҉oy̴,” he giggled, and Jackie felt his blood run cold. Why did he ever think he could fight against this monster? Why did he ever try?

            But Henrik had escaped. Henrik was free. Henrik didn’t have to go through the pain and horror of the last eight months. Henrik was free.

            So he looked the glitch in the eye – not caring for the consequences.

            “Never,” he hissed and spat.

            The pain that came was expected. The glitch let out a hiss of anger and buried the knife into Jackie’s side. He slumped to the ground with a cry of pain, gripping the wound as pain shot through him. It wasn’t fatal – the glitch knew better than that. But it still hurt, blurred his vision, consumed his thoughts.

            He could do nothing but curl in a ball as the glitch continued to rain blows on him, kicks landing all over his body and pain becoming his whole world once again.

            But Henrik had escaped. Henrik was free. And Jackie could live at least a little longer with that knowledge.

Tag List (Let me know if you wanna be added!)

@watermelonsinmyattic @cute-anxious-kitten

[queenofalotofdifferentworlds]

Felix Felicis

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16396760

Six Months. It had taken Draco six months to finally get what Potter had stolen and should have been rightfully his.

The molten gold potion splashed merrily in the small cauldron. Drops of it leaped like goldfish over the surface and seemed quite contend doing so. It had taken him six months, but now Draco had his very own liquid luck. He was fairly certain that he had done everything right. If he hadn’t, he would be dead even if the potion-gone-wrong wouldn’t kill him.

The burning fear that had settled deep in his gut churned again, reminding him that his life was most likely lost whatever he did. The life of his mother…

Draco took a deep breath, steadying himself. He was a Malfoy. Even more, he wasn’t a disappointment. He wouldn’t fail where everyone else had, because it was no option.

“Is it done?” Myrtles voice drifted into the small booth he was hiding in. Not hiding as it would have been undignified to hide, but discreetly brewing one of the most potent potions in the world. One of the most difficult too, as he thought with satisfaction. No one else would have been able to brew such a potion in his less then desirable conditions.

Standing up, he smoothed out his crumpled clothes, trying very hard to ignore the fiend fire burning through his mind. If this didn’t work, nothing would. If this didn’t work… he should kill himself. He wouldn’t. He wouldn’t abandon his mother and leave her to the unforgiving hands of the dark lord, but… Death still seemed to be the desirable outcome.

“Uhhhh it’s pretty.” Myrtle who still ignored that she had to watch out for any girl wanting to use this bathroom, looked over his shoulder. Or to be more precise – stood in his shoulder. Draco had stopped months ago to tell her she shouldn’t touch him. She didn’t care either way. And if he would be honest – what he never would be, but if he could be – it wasn’t half bad. The ice cold of her ghost seemed to lessen the fire burning him up ever so slightly. That was something else he could never admit. And he hadn’t. He had stolen the ingredients he hadn’t been able to buy and hadn’t said a word to Severus. And he wouldn’t. His godfather might want to help him and he might have sworn an Unbreakable Oath but that didn’t mean anything. If his Aunt Bella had done that he knew she would happily kill herself to see the wishes of the Dark Lord fulfilled.

That was neither here nor there. Draco wouldn’t accept help, because if he did… This was his job. His responsibility. And he wouldn’t fail like Lucius. He wouldn’t fail in protecting his mother. He wouldn’t fail… would he? No, not with Felix on his side.

Draco had read up on the effects of the potion. He had read about the blissful certainty that any decision made under the influence was right. That nothing could go wrong. He had also read the warnings. The rules he didn’t care for but still wouldn’t break – but only because there were none he could break in his attempt to finally fix the vanishing cabinet.

Very carefully, Draco retrieved the pipette from his pocket. He would only allow himself three drops of the molten gold promising him life and safety. Three drops, so that he could take more before he would face the man – if you could call him that – who held his mother’s life in his snake like fingers.

Gingerly, he let the drops fall on his tongue. It tasted sweet – like the chocolates his mother had seed him and sour like a green apple, with a hint of Christmas spices. It also tasted a little bit bitter and sweet, as if the potion didn’t want to be used for evil. As if it didn’t want to help a soon-to-be-murderer.

Draco swallowed heavily, ignoring the screaming in his head like he did most days. The constant voices battling in his mind didn’t distract him anymore. Too many voices, too many screams. To many gurgled hopes and fears he could never express.

He had hoped it would stop with Felix. He waited for the potion to kick in. For the blissful certainty and the peace. It didn’t come. Had he messed it up? Had he messed up his last hope of saving his mother? His last hope of…

Tears stung his eyes, hot and treachery. He was facilitated. Relieve and dread flooded his system and took away his breath for just one second. However brilliant he was at occlumency, the Dark Lord would see this moment as clear as day the next time they met. He would die. And it wouldn’t be pretty. He would take his time, enjoy torturing him, and his mother.

Stepping away from his failure, Draco faced the agony the mirror showed him etched in his features. Hot tears rolled over his all but transparent skin. He let his head fall down, not being able to look any longer at the miserable coward in the looking glass. A sob wrecked through his body and he grabbed onto the sink so desperately as if it could safe him. But nothing could.

The almost inaudible sound of a closing door let him jump up and he glared at the mirror. Green eyes blinked at him and Draco froze in his movement. He would personally write a passage about Felix Felicis before either going to Azkaban for killing Saint Potter or dying horrendously by the hand of the Dark Lord. Felix didn’t support Death Eaters – or it hated him personally. In any case no one with immoral intentions should take this golden hell-brew.

They stared at each other for several heartbeats. Potter hadn’t moved a muscle since their eyes had met and Draco knew, if he wanted to overthrow him – kill him – he needed to move first. He didn’t. There was no strength in him left. There was no fight in him left. He wasn’t even sure if he could curse him and mean it. That had to be the cursed Felix Felicis, hamper his instincts – and wishes. Because he hated Potter. Saint Potter. The fucking Saviour of Mudbloods and…

Another tear spilled over, running down his cheek and dropping down from there. Draco closed his eyes, willing himself to die on the spot. This had to be already part of the torture the Dark Lord had forced on him after failing. There was no other way this could have happened. To be seen crying in a girls bathroom would have been the worst thing possible, but of course Felix had made it even worse.

“Just go, Potter. Tell the world what a fucking disaster I am.” He had tried for a sneer and scathing hatred. What he got was a strangled whimper. That was it, he needed to kill Potter, whether he wanted to or not. But that was the problem wasn’t it? He felt the sob creep up on him. He pressed his lips together trying to suppress the shudder, but it didn’t work of course. Nothing worked for him. Ever.

“Malfoy?” The voice behind him was hesitant, almost afraid.

Couldn’t he just bugger off? Or die? At least he could be hit with something on the head to lose the last of his few braincells or…

“Malfoy… Are you okay?”

“Do I fucking lookokay, Potter?” He hissed. Finally! Something not pitiable. It wasn’t much but he would take anything right now.

“No… I didn’t mean…” Potter stuttered. Showing off all of his limited intellect.

“I don’t care what you mean.” It sounded good, until his voice broke on the last word. “Fuck.” Draco decided this was as worse as it could get, but once, just once he would face his… well he didn’t fear Harry Potter. But he would face him none the less.

He turned, hopefully glaring at the Gryffindor idiot. He hadn’t brush away the tear streaks still lingering on his face.

Potter seemed startled. The bright green eyes darting to his face and avoiding his eyes before glancing at the floor. His normally arrogant posture was uncertain and Draco was very pleased to know that he was even in this situation more in check than Potter.

“Do you need anything?” Draco drawled, trying hard for the impeccable pureblood image, with tears and all.

Potter looked up at him and something flashed over his telling face, setting in a way Draco knew, he had made a decision.

“I think you need help.”

Taken aback, Draco stared at him. What the hell?

“I have watched you this year, as I’m sure you know.”

Draco did know. It had started on the Hogwarts Express when he had had the pleasure to take at least a part of his rage out on him. Instead of the satisfaction flashing through him as he supposed, there was nothing.

“Whatever it is Voldemort…” Harry stopped when he saw the full body shudder Draco couldn’t suppress, but continued fiercely after a minute. “Whatever it is he wants from you, we can help you.”

A wet laugh pressed itself through his lips, hurting his throat in the process. “You can’t.” He stopped. “Why would you? You hate me!” Draco’s voice grew louder, the pain still evident in it.

“I don’t hate you.” Potter was too calm. Too collected. Where was the stupid boy raising to his every bait?

“So you stalked me because you like to watch my arse?” Draco hissed and although his life was going down the drain fast – if the Dark Lord would see this, Draco couldn’t even imagine how long it would take for him to die – he didn’t miss the slight taint of red on the caramel skin.

“I know you are a Death Eater.”

Everything else was erased from Draco’s brain. Even the voices stopped. Potter knew.

“I know he has set you up for some task or another and we both know he wants you to fail.”

Draco’s mouth was as dry as one of Binns classes. When had Potter become so observant. He was a passable Quidditch player and not totally hopeless at DADA but aside from that? When had he…

“I’ll guess you are dead when you fail. And so will be your mother.”

A surge of electricity surged down Draco’s spine and he wanted to tell Potter to shut the fuck up. To get lost and hex him into his next miserable existence. But he was right. Of course, Harry Potter would get lucky – again! – even when Draco took the luck potion.

“And you are here to gloat? Please, go on. I can’t wait for you to…”

“Malfoy!” Potter looked at him obviously trying to stay calm. “I want to help you, damn it! I saw him! I know what…” Potter stopped. Breathing hard, his green eyes seemed to pierce right through Draco.

“I can help you. I will help you, if…”

“If?” Draco asked his voice as impassive as he felt.

“If you want me to.” Potter looked at him with that stupid expression of martyrium most people mistook for heroism. And Draco believed him. It was the Felix Felicis, he knew. Dissolving his brain while he stood here, staring at Potter who had extended his hand to him.

Draco didn’t answer. He looked at Potter standing before him, waiting patiently for his decision. He knew. Not everything. Not what Draco had done. What he was tasked with. But something in those horrible green eyes made him believe.

He stepped forward and took his hand.

Whatever happened now couldn’t be worse than what had already happened, could it? He glared at the smile forming on Potter’s face. He knew he glared, because he wasn’t smiling. Because he didn’t feel the burning churn in his gut settle down. And he certainly didn’t feel hopeful.

-----

This is my very first fanfic ever... So I’m quite nervous and would appreciate any comment you might want to give! 

Normally I write original fantasy and I just started posting my first book Throne: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16293821/chapters/38107559 or https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/164490347/write/642438433

So I thought, well you have stuck this one shot idea in your head for ages, just write it. This is the result.

@ensignanna @bisexualstorywriter @writer-or-whatever @fictional-artist @anti-socialfandomtrash 

[rike-with-love]

Be Mine (chapter 2)

Pairings: Okikagu

Rating: M for mature content, bad language, violence, angst

Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama or it's characters, Sorachi Hideaki does. I only own this story.

Author’s notes: I have a link to my fanfiction masterlist on my profile. Please check it out for more chapters and fics!

Chapter 2

Queen of the Kabuki district was having the best time of her life. She was lounging in her bunny patterned pyjamas. ”Gin-chan, bring me more food, my fuel is low,” Kagura ordered. ”You aren't even doing anything Kagura-chan, watching soap operas doesn't require fuel,” Gintoki said in a bored voice.

Gintoki walked in front of the tv with his pink ruffled apron (Kagura's choice obviously). ”Hey, I'm missing the best part, get out of the way you JUMP reading madao!” Kagura yelled while she was stuffing her last ten sukonbus into her mouth.

Gintoki shook his head and said: ”You know Kagura-chan, while you have grown up physically your manners have gone down the toilet just like Otae's cooking skills.” (Gintoki and Kagura both shivered a bit just by thinking about the dark matter Otae calls food).

Shinpachi entered the Yorozuya shop. ”Good morning Gin-san, Kagura-chan!” Shinpachi said with a cheerful smile, like always. ”Oh, it's the cleaning glasses, Gin-chan you can now give him your apron,” Kagura said with a cocky voice. ”Ah, yes, my queen's word is the law.” Gintoki bowed to Kagura and threw the apron at Shinpachi.

”I am not your cleaning ANYTHING!” Shinpachi said with his ”calm” straight man's voice and put on the apron. Shinpachi walked next to Gintoki and whispered: ”What is this queen thing you are doing?”

Gintoki threw his arm over Shinpachi and said: ”I made a bet with her, that she couldn't find every single one of my adult magazine hiding spots. I don't know how that bet even came up, but it did...I lost...and here's the result Pachi-boy.” Shinpachi's inner voice was screaming with panic. Gintoki was the one who taught him to hide his...you know. I need to hide them better, Shinpachi thought to calm his mind.

It was a rather slow day at the Yorozuya Gin-chan. Shinpachi had lost his temper only six times. Gintoki was reading the same JUMP for the 9th time. Sadaharu was taking a good long nap in the middle of his tiring naps.

Kagura had managed to change into her normal clothes. She was in their bathroom fixing her hair. She loved to tie her long vermillion hair into two ponytails. Kagura placed her black and gold hair ornaments on her hair and she was ready to go out for a walk. She most definitely wasn't polishing up for anyone else, but she remembered it was ”duel day”.

Kagura was looking at her reflection from the mirror with a slightly sad face. I look more like mommy now...I miss her so much. I miss papi too, I haven't seen him in two years. I wished that he would have at least visited six months ago when I turned 18. She thought.

”Kagura, get out of the bathroom, other people have business in there!” Gintoki shouted with a hint of desperation in his voice. Kagura took one last look at herself and shook her sadness away. She kicked the bathroom door open and ”accidentally” hit her earth dad with it. ”Don't rush a blooming lady when she is grooming herself!” Kagura grunted.

Kagura was about to take Sadaharu for a walk. ”Kagura-chan, bring us parfaits and toilet paper!” Gintoki muttered from the bathroom. Kagura rolled her eyes and hummed once as an answer. All of a sudden someone familiar was at the door. Kagura sensed who was there before any knocks were made. Gintoki exited the bathroom and was about to complain some more about the lack of toilet paper. Kagura rushed for the door and slid it wide open. ”Papi!”

There he was in flesh and blood, Umibouzu the greatest alien hunter of the galaxy. ”Hello, Kagura.” Umibouzu greeted his dear daughter. ”My my, you have grown so much since I last saw you!” Umibouzu gloated with happy daddy aura. Kagura ran into his arms and giggled with excitement. ”I missed you so much”! Kagura said.

Gintoki and Shinpachi came to greet the great Umibouzu (the one who promised to crush their family jewels if some scumbag made any moves on his sweet and innocent Kagura). ”Papi, what are you doing here?” Kagura inquired as she pulled her father inside the apartment. ”Let's sit down first, all of you,” Umibouzu said with a serious voice.

After everyone was seated Kagura was looking at her father with an adoring smile. ”So, still bald, eh?” Gintoki stated. Shinpachi elbowed Gintoki to his side. ”Yare yare, it was an icebreaker, calm your temples.” Gintoki nervous laughed.

Kagura was sitting next to her father and she was smiling. Umibouzu began to speak: ”I came to earth to see you Kagura, my now adult daughter. I need to tell you a story that took place when your mother was still alive.” Kagura's eyes began to sparkle, she loved to hear stories about her mother. It wasn't a happy story.

FLASHBACK

Umibouzu had finally found what he had been looking for this whole time, an Altana crystal for Kouka. There was a tiny problem. An infamous Yato named Orochi. He was almost as famous as Umibouzu himself. Orochi used to serve under the Yato king Housen. Orochi had his own ambitions so he deflected Housen. Orochi and his most loyal friends created a pirate group called Kuro Orochi.

Orochi had found one ultra-rare Altana crystal and was now selling it to the highest bidder. Umibouzu didn't have anything as exotic as many other bidders. He decided to be blunt about it: ”Orochi, tell me what you want, and I get it for you.”

Orochi was amused, he thought about it for a while, and then it came to him. ”Umibouzu, you have a pure blooded Yato daughter, don't you?” Orochi inquired. Umibouzu nodded. What about my sweet Kagura you sleazy man, Umibouzu thought.

”I want her as my bride when she turns 18 years old,” Orochi announced. Umibouzu was a bit shocked, but then he thought about it: He is strong and rich. He could watch over her when I can't. Also, he is a Yato, and my daughter could live as a proud alien hunter under Kuro Orochi's flag. Orochi can't be that bad of a man. Umibouzu was ready to make the trade, Kouka was getting weaker day by day and this crystal could heal her.

”I accept,” Umibouzu said. Orochi stood up from his chair and walked to Umibouzu. ”Great, thanks,” Orochi said. ”I hope you know that if you break your part of the deal, I'll destroy everything that is important to you, your family, your friends and your reputation. Are we clear O' great Umibouzu?” He added. Umibouzu took a deep breath. ”Crystal clear,” Umibouzu said and the two Yato warriors shook hands. Orochi handed the crystal to Umibouzu.

FLASHBACK ENDS

”So, Kagura you know how it went down when I came back with the crystal, Kamui attacked me, and your mother was already too weak,” Umibouzu concluded his story with a defeated voice. Shinpachi's jaw was rolling all over the floor. Gintoki's hair began to fall off as he scratched his head with speed like no other. Kagura was looking at his father. Her expression was very confused. ”Kagura?.” Umibouzu called her.

”I'm ENGAGED?! Or rather, I have been engaged to some lame old madao since I've been a child?!” Kagura yelled as she stood up. All three men were silent and just stared at her. ”How could you do this to me papi? You have no right to make up my life!” Kagura yelled even louder.

Before Kagura could continue, Umibouzu stood up and interrupted his daughter's understandable rant. ”Kagura, the deal has been made, there's nothing you or I can do about it!” He said. Kagura was looking straight into his father's eyes. She felt angry.

”I did it all for your mother. Do you understand that?” Umibouzu asked. His words made Kagura frown her brows and changed her anger to sadness. Umibouzu sighed and placed his hands on Kagura's shoulders. ”You look just like your beautiful mother,” Umibouzu said and hugged his daughter. Kagura teared up and hugged him back.

”I must go for now to handle some business, but I'll come back tomorrow and tell you more about Orochi and everything,” Umibouzu said while wiping Kagura's tears away. Kagura was looking down on her feet. Gintoki was collecting whatever was left of Shinpachi, but he kept his eyes on Kagura. ”Kagura, do you understand why I made the deal?” Umibouzu asked. Kagura lifted her head and nodded calmly.

Gintoki was surprised by Kagura's reaction and he thought: How is the tremendously rude and stubborn girl suddenly accepting her father's words. Umibouzu made his leave and left an interesting atmosphere behind him. Sadaharu walked to Kagura and pushed his wet nose against her cheek. Kagura just padded Sadaharu's head in return. ”I'm going out now, do not follow me. I'll kill anyone who does, got it?” Kagura said with a fake smile. Gintoki and reincarnated Glasses nodded in unison.

Kagura took off quickly but quietly. ”Look Gin-san, she forgot her parasol, what should we do?” Shinpachi asked. ”It's almost sunset, I'm sure she can manage without it for one evening,” Gintoki said. Neither Gintoki or Shinpachi didn't know how to address the matter they just learned. ”Let's go Pachi, we are out of toilet paper,” Gintoki said bluntly.

As the two men were walking outside in silence, Shinpachi couldn't take it anymore: ”Kagura is getting married! What are we going to do?” Gintoki silenced him with his hand and lead them into a nearby alley. ”What is wrong with you? We don't know all the details of this strange situation, so don't speak about it in public.” Gintoki hissed at Shinpachi.

Shinpachi sighed and said: ”I have to tell sis, she can help Kagura-chan in this situation. She and Kagura-chan are close friends after all.” ”Yeah, you might be onto something, Kagura-chan does lack in psychogorillawoman skills,” Gintoki said as he picked his nose. ”My ane-ue is not a gorilla woman...completely!” Shinpachi mumbled. Their conversation went on for a while. Then the infamous Captain Okita of the Shinsengumi interrupted them.

Kagura found herself wandering aimlessly around Edo. She needed to find a peaceful place to calm herself down. Kagura decided to go to her favourite place, the riverbank in Kabuchiko. That was a place she had nice memories with her earth family and friends (and a certain sadist).

Kagura sat down near the river and stared at the sky. What the actual fuck just happened...? Engaged? I can't be engaged, how the hell am I going to be the greatest alien hunter in the galaxy if have to get married? Dammit papi... Kagura thought as she hugged her knees.

Kagura pressed her forehead to her knees and thought about her mother: ”Mami...papi did this for you. I maybe understand that part. I just feel so...hurt, like I'm someone's property. I need to beat papi up real good as punishment, he has some more explaining to do, Kagura thought and lifted her head up. She liked the sunset.

Kagura felt a familiar presence. It's sadist...oh right, I forgot our duel day...I don't want to see him today... Kagura thought. He was calling her with some obnoxious names again. Kagura decided to ignore him completely, that was the way to deal with attention seeking little brats. She was calming herself down by pulling some grass from the ground.

After a while, he got under her skin and she tried to make him leave her alone. Suddenly Kagura found herself from the river. A very angry Kagura decided to kill the sadist, plain and simple. She got up from the river and shook herself dry. Kagura had forgotten her troubles for a moment and was now ready to battle with full force. Sougo always made her lose focus on anything other than him, it was truly infuriating.

The sadistic duo fought for a while. Why the hell is he staring at me with those piercing eyes of his? Kagura thought. When Sougo drew out his katana, Kagura hoped that she would have brought her umbrella. I need to beat him up and fast. She thought.

Kagura saw her opportunity to disarm Sougo. It was weirdly easy to do like his focus wasn't on the fight at all. She watched as Sougo fell into the river, ah sweet revenge. It sure felt good to see him drag himself up from the river. ”Damn you China, now my clothes are wet too,” Sougo shouted. Kagura had a facade smile of victory, she tried to hide the fact that something huge was bothering her.

Kagura's smile dropped a bit and her eyes widened. Sougo took off his wet jacket and now he was wearing his dark blue pants, a white, wet and now see-through shirt. Sougo had always been a fit man, but now as he had grown up...oh my. Kagura noticed his broad shoulders and sharp jawline. Sougo wiped his wet hair with one hand from blocking his sight, and somehow that made Kagura's throat dry up.

Kagura swallowed a dry lump as her eyes ran through Sougo's build. His abs and chest were visible through the wetness of his shirt. Sougo's words snapped Kagura of her deep thoughts. ”Now, will you tell me what's wrong? Or do I need to force it out of you?” Sougo asked with a serious look on his face. Kagura looked away and thought: How the hell he knows? That is so annoying...and sweet, but sadists aren't sweet. What the hell?

”Mumble mumble...that poor tree, you can be so careless sometimes...” Sougo said. Kagura didn't hear the beginning of his words, but she was already pissed off. Kagura let out a battle roar and charged at Sougo. As they exchanged blows, Kagura thought about their rivalry.

We have been rivals since I was 14 years old. He was always such an asshole, well...still is. As our interactions grew lesser over time, I felt kind of lonely, or maybe just hungry, I'm often hungry. I'm still glad that we have our weekly fights, it's not like they are the highlight of my week or anything but it's nice to beat that bastard up once in a while.

In the middle of a pushing contest, Kagura noticed Sougo staring straight into her eyes. ”What the hell are you staring sadist?” Kagura yelled. Then Sougo said something that baffled Kagura completely: ”I'm looking at your beautiful blue eyes, I could stare at them all day.” Kagura lost her strength and balance. Sougo was still pushing her so he lost his balance as well. Both of them fell onto the ground. Sougo fell on top of Kagura and lifted himself up to lean on his forearms.

Kagura was looking into Sougo's crimson eyes and she couldn't look away. Feeling him being so close to her made her heart flutter. Kagura's breathing was rapid, mostly on exhaustion and partly from him. Neither of them said anything. This is so weird, I would never let anyone this close to me, especially this bastard, so why does this feel so good? Kagura thought.

Sougo wasn't looking at her eyes anymore. Kagura gasped a bit as he leaned closer to her. Kagura was so overwhelmed by these feelings and the tension she had to closed her eyes. Kagura felt Sougo's intense breath hit her sensitive neck which made her let out an unintentional moan. Kagura felt Sougo tense up.

Kagura's mind was running wild: S-s-sadist...I can't move at all. You shouldn't put a pure young woman into these kinds of situations. I know I'm a beautiful and irresistible young single woman...single...oh dammit! Kagura's eyes popped open and there he was eyes closed inches away from her.

I'm sort of engaged, oh shitshitshit, what the hell am I going to do? I have to get away from him and fast, Kagura thought with slight panic. She kneed Sougo in the place Gin-chan had taught to her to kick if a man was too close to her. Sougo flew off Kagura with a painful grunt. Kagura jumped up and shouted: ”Don't ever do that again, you big stupid...asshat!

Sougo was left holding his crotch as Kagura sprinted away as fast as she could. That was so weird, and completely stupid sadist's fault, I didn't do anything, no-no dammit, Kagura thought as she ran. Alright, it's over now, I just need to get home and forget this ever happened. Kagura convinced to herself. Kagura thought that this occurrence would just blow over in time, but she kind of knew it wouldn't by the uncontrollable beating of her heart.

[immalittlepandybear]

Am I?

Soooooo, I’m actually posting some angst, OhmToonz angst. This story was inspired by the song FRIENDS by Anne-Marie and Marshmello and the ever beautiful writer @crimsonbluemoon

So, babe don’t read this!

Ring Ring Ring Ring!

Luke blindly reached over to his alarm clock and unplugged it. When the ringing continued, he opened his eyes and saw that it was his phone. Someone was calling him.

Luke sat up and answered the call, not even caring to look at the caller I.D. He already knew who it was, Ryan. Ry was the only one with his number.

“Yes, Ry?”

“Open up. I forgot my key.”

“Ugh. Fine.”

*click*

Luke dragged his sore body out of bed and down the stairs to their front door, him and Ryan are college roommates, but probably not for long. Ryan has gotten his degree and is in the process of moving to Chicago. He shipped everything of his there, now he just needs to get on the plane tomorrow.

Luke opened the door to a drenched Ryan.

“God Ry! You’re gonna freeze! Or get hit by lightning!” Luke scolded as Ryan rushed inside and grabbed his bunny blanket to cuddle up in. Luke decided to go and make the poor man some hot cocoa. He is lucky if he doesn’t get hypothermia.

Once Luke made the hot cocoa for Ryan, he grabbed the container and the mug and took it over to Ryan.

“Don’t forget this thing when you go. It’s just gonna rot in the cupboard if you’re not drinking it.”

“I still can’t believe you don’t like hot chocolate. You’re an alien I swear. Everyone *loves* hot chocolate.” Ryan grumbled as he nonchalantly grabbed the container and set it to the side. He had a more important problem right now anyway. He was finally going to confess his feelings for Luke.

“Umm, Luke? Can I tell you something?”

“Yeah, sure.” Luke has a feeling he knows what it is, but Ryan needs to get it off his chest. Ryan will need to move on because Luke is straight. And he has no plans on changing his sexuality anytime soon.

“I-I like you…Like, love you.” Ryan can’t believe he just did that! He finally said it! After all this time! He hid his face in his blanket and waited for Luke’s response, face as red as a tomato.

…

After a moment of silence, Ryan looked up in confusion. “Luke?”

“I know.” Luke walked away, back to the kitchen and stayed there.

“Wha-

“I *know* you like me, more than just a friend. You told me when you were drunk a couple of months ago. That’s why I got a girlfriend and ignored that next week. That’s why I brought chicks home every weekend after she broke up with me. I’ve been trying to prove to you.” Luke paced up and down the kitchen while Ryan just watched, bewildered.

“You knew? And you didn’t say anything? Why not? And to prove what?”

“TO PROVE THAT I’M STRAIGHT! AND THAT I CAN’T AND WON’T EVER LOOK AT YOU LIKE THAT! I tried to let you down gently! But this is ridiculous! You can’t take a hint, can you? I thought I made it obvious for you! DO I HAVE TO SPELL IT OUT!!?? WE. ARE. FRIENDS.” Luke stormed away and into his bedroom. “I’m going back to bed! I can’t believe you woke me up at two in the morning for this shit!”

Ryan didn’t know where it went wrong! He knew he should’ve just kept his stupid mouth shut. Why does he have to be so stupid?

Crying, Ryan grabbed his last suitcases and headed to the airport, there was no way he was going to spend the night there and face Luke in the morning. In his haste and crying state, Ryan forgot his bunny blanket and his hot cocoa container.

~~~*~~~

Luke heard the door slam and sighed. He knew that what he said was harsh. But he has been trying to subtly tell Ryan for a whole month! His girlfriend even found out that Ryan loved Luke and she broke up with him because of it. Ugh, now he feels horrible for what he said. He was just tired of it. He was really harsh though, Ryan didn’t do anything *wrong* so, he decided to apologize.

“I’ll apologize tomorrow, I’m dead tired right now.”  Luke decided that calling him will be best. He will call Ryan before his 6 a.m. flight to Chicago. He set his alarm and tried to sleep.

*Tried* but failed.

Luke ended up laying there for the rest of the night, questioning everything. His stupid mind suddenly recalled his days in high school when he had a questionable drunk night and woke up in someone else’s bed. All that would have been fine and the normal for Luke except, it was a guy’s bed. A dude named Craig. Luke remembers waking up to him naked, with his clothes tossed everywhere and Craig mumbling in his sleep how much his ass hurt and ‘Why did he have to be so big?’ Luke also remembers rushing to put his clothes on and leaving that apartment as fast as he could to get away from whatever the hell happened that night.

With the battle going on in his head, Luke knew he wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight. Maybe I can wake up Ryan and we can finally finish ou--, oh wait, Ryan isn’t here to play monopoly with him anymore. He isn’t here to throw the dice at Luke when he knows Luke is being a gloating asshole. He won’t be here anymore to try and make Luke drink hot cocoa anymore, always waving it under his nose to try and get him to drink it. He won’t be here to stumble around and break things in the morning. Or to silently rage when they play Mario Cart together. He won’t be here to get excited over going to Starbucks together, or to enjoy Luke’s cooking.

Luke brought a smile to his face as he remembers all the little weird noises Ryan would make when he was happy, or excited. He specifically remembers when Ryan actually beat Luke and got MVP in Rainbow Six Siege, Ryan jumped all over the couch yelling in excitement as Luke watched on in amusement until Ryan tumbled off and hit his head against the wall. “Worth it!” was what he said amidst the groans of pain and mumbles of cursing. But all of that can’t happen anymore because he fucked up. He fucked up reaaaaaal bad. He can’t imagine his life without him. God, why is Luke sooo stupid! Why did he have to yell at Ryan! The poor man opened up to him about his feelings and all Luke did was yell.

“Goddammit! Why did you have to do that Luke? All because you are fucking insecure and confused.” Luke punched the couch and flopped down on it.

“Fucking shit!” He cried out when his knee hit something metallic. He angrily got up and yanked a blanket off the couch to look. It was…the hot cocoa powder? Why would Ryan leave this? He loves this stuff. Luke also realized that the blanket still in his hands was Ryan’s. The bunny one. Why would Ryan leave this? It’s his favorite. He and Luke went to an animal sanctuary and they were selling blankets of the animals that they saved. Ryan ended up begging Luke to get him the gray bunny blanket, after a while, Luke agreed. But what he didn’t find out until later is that Ryan, the sneaky bastard, already bought Luke a fox one and he wanted them to match. Luke unknowingly pulled the blanket around him and took a deep breath. Hmm, smells of chocolate and coffee. He stopped himself. What was he doing? Smelling his blanket? What the fuck is wrong with him? He’s acting…like a…lovesick…person. But Luke’s straight? Right?  No. He doesn’t know what he is, but he sure isn’t straight, not anymore.

“I gotta call Ry!”

Luke flew off the couch and to his bedroom, where his phone was still plugged in. He didn’t even look at the time as he quickly scrolled through his contacts and called Ryan. Oh, how he hoped he would have come to his realization sooner.

~~~*~~~

Brock looked around the room with tired eyes. Right now, he and his team are stationed at the local police station to somehow make sense of this chaotic mess. An airplane was struck by lighting and the instruments stopped working, including the autopilot system. No one really knows what happened, and most of the bodies are scorched beyond recognition, so his team was tasked with trying to match I.D.s up with bodies and contacting their families.

*Ring Ring!*

“Whose ever it is, shut it off. We are busy right now.”

*Ring Ring!*

“I said--!” I turned around to the boys looking around and putting their phones down. They all looked confused until Agent Jon Dennis spoke up.

“I think it’s coming from the evidence box.” At that, everyone searched through the boxes with baited breath. They all hate this part. A loved one calling up to check if a person was ok and then finding out that they’re in fact dead.

“I found it!” Jon held up the phone which was still ringing.

“Answer it and put it on speaker phone,” I said as he answered it. We immediately heard a male voice.

“Oh, thank god I was able to get to you before you left for Chicago. I’m sorry about what I said! Please come home! I love you and I can’t believe I didn’t say it before and that I waited until the complete last moment to tell you that. And I feel like such an ass about earlier and I understand if you are still angry with me, but please come home. I’m so so sorry for what I said…Ryan? Are you there?” I looked around the room and saw that Brian had tears running down his cheeks, Marcel wasn’t moving, and Mini had a hand over his mouth and was silently sobbing as they all realized that this man had no idea.

No idea that the man he loved, Ryan, wasn’t coming back home, and that one fight had seemed to lead Ryan to get on that flight, only to die in a storm moments later.

“This is Agent Brock of the FBI. It’s very unfortunate to tell you this, but Mr. Wrecker died in a plane crash this morning around 6:45.” Even Brock had tears running out of his eyes at this point. They have told so many people today that their loved ones are dead. That they will never be coming back home to them. This last one seemed to break them completely as they heard the poor man fall apart at hearing the news and then hang up.

“Nonononononoo! That can’t be true! I just talked to him a couple of hours ago! Oh no! He died hating me! He…he…died”