#and i hope my fellow ginger knows i want his job

[4unnyr0se]

❥ librarian | chuuya nakahara

warnings: fem! reader, meet cute, chuuya is a flirt bc i said so, wined and dined, unprotected sex, multiple orgasms, bedroom sex, hickeys, making out, hair pulling, oral sex (f! receiving), fingering, rough sex, whiny chuuya, corruption kink(?), reader does not know how to dress to save her life, sugar daddy(?) chuuya, unironic lip biting, chuuya is one hell of a chef, dirty talk, reader reads smut, semi-proofread

MDNI | 18+ content

word court -> 4.7k

“Excuse me, could you keep your voice down, please? It’s a library…” was something that you said more often than you would like to admit. Sure, you only took the library job because of how insanely introverted you were, but that was neither here nor there. You thought that people would have more respect for a place that let you borrow as many books as you wanted, but nope. It was either filled with screaming children, teenagers kissing in the nonfiction section, or the elderly who didn’t know how to open their email accounts, bless them.

Other than the constant shushing (and the resulting glares you get from people you’ve shushed), the library job was nice. It was comforting, it had decent pay, and you got to keep some of the books that no one wanted to check out anymore. Hell, you even got hit on once or twice by freakishly tall men. Then again, all men were freakishly tall in your eyes. You fit the tiny librarian stereotype quite well, which your fellow librarians found to be adorable. 

Standing in the true crime section, your heeled feet stood on a step stool so you could better organize books about mafia activity in past decades. It wasn’t a very popular section by any means, mostly because the locals that frequented the library thought that true crime a was bit too niche. You didn’t mind really, it just meant that you got to be on the opposite side of the building and away from the screaming children. Often you wondered what it would be like to be a witness to a mafia hit, how the adrenaline pumping in your veins would make you feel. Lost in your train of thought, you neglected to notice that you were slowly slipping off of the step stool, the backings of your high heels teetering off the edge. It wasn’t a steep drop by any means but it would hurt pretty damn badly if you fell. 

Taking an ignorant step back, the back of your heel found nothing to land on. Yelping slightly, you spread your arms out and waved them back and forth in what was probably the world's weakest attempt at flying. “Oh shit-” you closed your eyes shut and braced for impact, hoping that you wouldn’t land on the sharp metal bookshelves behind you.

The impact never came. Instead, you felt a warm embrace of someone holding you. You opened up one eye carefully, your baby hairs covering your forehead. 

“Hey, you okay?” A deep and raspy voice snapped both of your eyes open, your gaze landing on a head of ginger hair. The man smirked at you and let you down, making sure you didn’t have any scratches by scanning your body up and down. Or maybe he was checking you out, who knows?

“Uh, yeah. I think I’ll be fine.” You nodded, dusting off your pants. No scuffs on the expensive fabric, thank God. “Thanks for making sure I didn’t hit my head, by the way. Not everyone would do that.”

The man crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, giving you a questioning look. “You must work with some real assholes then. In my line of work, ladies don’t get treated like crap. At least the ones who everyone respects.”

“Seriously? Damn, that seems like a really good job.” You smiled at him, tucking a lock of your hair behind your ear.

“Eh…it has some setbacks. I won’t get into it now, too much bullshit to unpack here.” He bit the inside of his cheek, holding out his hand for you to shake. It was gloved, he seemed like a gentleman. Or maybe he just really didn’t like getting dirt on his hands.

You smiled and eagerly took his hand, looking into his subtly blue eyes. They really complimented his ginger hair and pale complexion, hell, he even looked like the main character in a popular romance novel. 

“Chuuya Nakahara, at your service.” He smirked once more, letting go of your hand. He noticed that your hands were smaller than his own, in fact, you were actually smaller than he was. And that was rare, considering he was in close competition with most middle schoolers in the height category. “What’s your name? I wanna know the name of the women I saved from eating absolute shit.”

You giggled and told him your name, putting your hands in your pockets. Chuuya thought your giggle was sweet, like a song bird. It was a welcome sound in his life. After all, Chuuya was used to gunshots and screams instead of the giggling of a cute librarian with a name that fitted her oh so right. 

“You got a cute name, y’know. Hope you don’t mind me sayin’ that.” Chuuya placed his hands in his pockets as well, fiddling with the lintballs in the corners of the expensive fabric. 

The silent was quite awkward between the two of you. Chuuya, a secret mafia boss who’s experience with women was tainted with expensive red wine. And yourself, a librarian who was so introverted that the world could end and you’d jump for joy. 

And yet, something brought the two of you out of your own little worlds and into each others? Was it love, perhaps? Unlikely. Chuuya thought that love at first sight was for suckers, and you thought that love at first sight only existed in movies.

No, there was only unspoken desires between you both. Heart rates quickening, blushes forming on your faces. Chuuya’s mind was racing, his thoughts plagued by images of you. He just met you but god were you sexy. That fucking thrifted turtleneck sweater contrasted hard with your expensive designer jeans that were no doubt a Christmas gift from a wealthy relative. You had no idea how to dress and Chuuya thought that was the most precious thing. Were you really that innocent, locked away in your own little world? You probably had no idea that your sweater hugged the curves of your tits perfectly, that your pants showed off your thighs so expertly. God, it drove Chuuya wild.

What did your lips feel like, so plump and perfect? Where they untained, fresh as snow? Or were you just putting on an act, secretly a vixen behind that innocent and soft stare? Chuuya didn’t know, but he just had to find out. The redhead had only just met you but holy fuck, you were simply perfect. He had to get a taste, even if it was the last thing he did. 

“So what’s a pretty thing like you workin’ in a place like this? Do they pay you well or somethin’?” Chuuya asked, leaning against the metal shelving that held the American history collection.

You shook your head and sighed, placing a hand on your hip in frustration. “Unfortunately no, I could really use a raise.” You sighed, running a hand through your comically messy hair. “The only reason I can afford my apartment is that my parents left me quite a bit of money when I said I wanted to live on my own. I’m a lucky person, I guess.” You chuckled at the last bit, flashing Chuuya a smile that drove him crazy. He faked a cough to hide the obvious lump growing in his throat, a tinge of pink dusting his freckled face. 

“Yeah, you really are lucky.” He took a step foreward, placing his thumb on your chin, tilting your head up ever so slightly so his eyes met your own. “And you’re really fucking pretty.” He whispered, taking his hand off your chin. 

“O-oh, thank you.” You stammered, fidgeting with your fingers as you looked down at your feet. The Mary Jane’s you wore wree slightly scuffed, they always have been. It adds a bit of character, one could say. Chuuya smiled softly and adjusted his hat, taking a step back to give you space.

“Listen, I have work that I gotta get back to or else my boss will kill me. Can we meet up at your place after that. Y’know, only if ya want to. I’m no pusher.” He blushed at the last part, rubbing the back of his neck to avoid making direct eye contact with you. It was strange, Chuuya has always been smooth with the women he met in bars. So why were you making him so flustered? Maybe it was because unlike the girls he picked up before, you were innocent. Pure, like fresh snow. 

You were taken aback by his flirtations, though they weren’t unwelcome. You stopped fidgeting with your fingers for a moment, biting down on the plumpness of your lower lip.

“What, cat got your tongue or something?” Chuuya grinned, proud of himself for his little joke.

N-no, well not exactly.” You mumbled, sucking in a deep breath so you could look at the devilishly handsome man in front of you. “I’ve, God this is embarrassing, I haven’t been on a date since college.” Sighing, you stared at the bookshelf next to you. “It’s pathetic, I know. I get if you aren’t interested in me anymore.”

Chuuya frowned and took his hands out of his pockets, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t give a fuck if you’ve been on zero dates or a million of them. That doesn’t matter. I asked if you wanted me to come over so I can fuckin’ cook for you.”

“You can cook?”

“What kind of world are you living in? Of course I cook, what kind of man can’t cook?” Chuuya pinched his temple with his fingers, silently cursing all the worlds incompetent men that drove the standard to decency so low that it was practically in hell. “Sorry, didn’t mean to shout at ya. Old habits.”

“Don’t worry about it, I deal with screaming children all day. You’re fine.” You smile, taking out your phone. “Here, put your number in and I’ll give you my address.”

Chuuya shook his head, a bead of sweat dripping from his brow. “Actually, um, my phone is broken right now. How about you just write it down for me, dollface?” He couldn’t risk putting your information into his phone, what if Mori was going through it? He could deem you a security risk and then only God knows what would happen. Chuuya wouldn’t risk it, he had to make sure you were okay with his…business before he did anything too personal like give you his contact information. 

“Oh, sure. I guess giving you my number is too personal, sorry.” You awkwardly chuckled, leading him to the main library desk. You ripped off a sticky note from the pad and wrote down your address in pretty cursive letters. Chuuya smiled to himself as he saw your handwriting, it was the cutest fucking thing. You were absolutely a librarian, no doubt about it.

“So, see you at seven?” He asked, shoving the sticky note into his jacket pocket.

“Seven’s all right. What will you be making me?” You asked, beginning to type away at the library computer.

“It’s a surprise.” Chuuya winked at you, turning around and walking away. You blushed and resting your cheek on your hand. In your mind you were dancing in happiness, finally having landed a date. And such a good looking one at that. Who the hell cares if he’s short, he’s tall to you. Height doesn’t matter anyways.

Your shift ended and you practically skipped out of the library building, clutching onto the messenger bag that carried your erotic novels. The library didn’t carry anything erotic, you just disguisted the books with false covers about local history and lore. No one would be into that shit, so it was the perfect plan. The stories consisted of fantasy romances with sections that were so arousing that you couldn’t read it without thinking that you were committing some sort of sin. 

Stepping up the stairs to your apartment, you opened the door and shut it quickly as to not attract any unwanted pests. Mostly bugs, they’ve become a real problem. What would Chuuya think if he saw a bug in your apartment? Your mind was speeding, anxiety building up in your belly. This was your first date in a while, what if you fuck it up somehow? Or worse, what if it goes too well and he wanted to have his way with you. Chuuya was too handsome to refuse sure, but what about you? You couldn’t even remember the last time you had sex, let alone kissed somebody? Oh God, what if that turned him off and he never spoke to you again?

“Dammit, snap out of it!” You slapped yourself across the face, hissing slightly at the pain. Putting yourself together, you strode over to your bedroom and pulled out a dress from way back in your closet. It was a decent length dress with spaghetti straps, your fanciest piece of clothing. The rest of your wardrobe consisted of sweatpants, tank tops with cartoon characters on it, the occasional designer jean, and several thrifted sweaters that had absolutely been worn by a grandfather. 

The dress slipped onto you no problem, like a glove. You didn’t bother wearing any tights or stockings, the dress covered your legs up nicely. You decided to just leave your hair as it was, draped nicely around your shoulders. Light makeup here and there, if you could count mascara and lipgloss as makeup.

Exiting your bedroom, your hands dropped to their sids as you sat down on your living room sofa. There wasn’t anything good on the TV, and reading an erotic novel before Chuuya got there would have probably ruined the mood for you. Was getting ready too early a mistake? Maybe.

Your eyes watched the clock, your pupils going in circles as the second hand made its rotation over and over again until it was about 6:55PM. A knock was heard at your door, snapping you out of the cycle of clock-looking. 

Squealing quietly, you speed-walked over to your door. Taking a deep breath in, you opened the door and there Chuuya stood, holding a bag of groceries in one hand and a singular red rose in the other. “Hey there pretty girl, mind if I come in?”

“O-of course, Chuuya. Uh, sorry.” You stammered, shutting the door as he let himself inside. Chuuya stood in the foyer of your apartment for a moment, quickly noticiny the hundreds of books the lined the shelves. “I don’t know why I’m so surprised doll, shoulda known you’re a huge nerd.” He chuckled, handing you the rose. His outfit was not too different from that afternoon, only the hat and the jacket were missing.

“Thank you, it’s really pretty.” You blushed, placing the rose in a nearby empty vase. “So, um, what are you making me tonight? I’m starving.” You led him into the kitchen, helping him set down the groceries on the counter.

“Kobe beef,” Chuuya said nonchalantly, looking around the kitchen. “Where are your knives? Don’t see em anywhere.”

“In that drawer right there- did you saya kobe beef?” You gasped, taking a step back. “B-but that’s really expensive! This is just a first date y’know, I would have accepted take out!” You stammered, not used to the treatment. Did he really just buy kobe beef for you? How much does he get paid?

“Yeah, what about it? You a vegetarian or something?” Chuuya raised an eyebrow, opening the beef from its luxurious packaging and placing it on the simple wooden cutting board. 

“No, it’s just that…well kobe is really expensive and this is a first date! It’s not even at the nice restaurant or anything, it’s my fucking house!” You whisper-yelled at him, walking foreward so your face was inches away from your own. Your shyness was replaced with anxiety, anxiety that you really had no excuse to have.

Chuuya smiled and patted you on the head, rubbing on your hair with his gloved hand. “Don’t worry about that princess, just have a seat and let me cook for you, yeah?” He assured you, gesturing to your kitchen table. “And besides, you’re dressed up like a five course meal, so shouldn’t you be treated to one?” He smirked, finishing up the chopping of the beef. He figured out how to work your stove pretty quickly, placing the beef in a pan with a little bit of truffle oil. The stove roared to life as the beef began to quickly sizzle, a wonderful aroma that smelled like luxury filled your apartment.

You blushed at Chuuya’s comment, sitting yourself down in the chair. You watched him cook, his brows furrowed in concentration.

The beef was done cooking after a bit, being carefully plated with an array of incredibly looking vegetables. Chuuya sat across from you and took your hand in his own, kissing the back of yours tenderly.

“Bon appetit, princess.” He grinned at you, his eyes hiding a lust that was so extreme Asmodeous himself was jealous. He observed how you ate the beef so carefully, so tenderly. You savored each and every bite, sighing occasionally as the flavors hit your tongue over and over again. Chuuya bit his lip as he watched you eat, barely touching his own dinner. You looked absoltuely succulent in front of him, oblivious to how you were making him feel. Chuuya wanted to shove everything off the table and fuck you right then and there, but he decided to be a gentlemen about it. Dine you, maybe wine you, and only touch your pretty body if you wanted him too. 

You finished your meal quickly, frowning to yourself at Chuuya’s full plate. “Are you not hungry or something?” You asked, ignoring the bits of beef resting at the corner of your mouth. 

“I’m hungry for…something else.” Chuuya smirked, grabbing your dirty plate and placing it in the sink. He stepped over to you and took your hand, hoisting you up from your chair. Carefully, his arm wrapped around your waist so he could pull you in closer to his own form, his fingers running up and down your hip bone. “If you know what I mean.”

You blushed and slowly nodded your head, noticing how his perfect blue eyes seemed to have fireballs igniting within the azure pools. “I…I do. I just…I haven’t had sex in a while. Kind of goes hand-in-hand with the whole dating thing.” You awkwardly laughed to yourself, hoping a joke would lighten the tension.

“I could change that for you dollface, if you want me to.” Chuuya purred, tilting your chin up to his lips were just hovering above yours. “Just say the word sweetheart, and I’ll make you see stars.” He whispered, his hot breath touching your trembling lips.

You thought for a moment, your mouth still agape at Chuuya’s boldness. “...okay.” You breathed against his lips, mere centimeters away.

With your consent, Chuuya crashed his lips against yours. With one hand clutching ont your waist, the other cupped your face quite gently. His kiss was rough and passionate, groaning into your mouth at the sensation that he had so long been craving.

Your hands flew to grab onto his hair, tugging at the longer part. Chuuya moaned slightly at the sensation, squeezing the fabric of your dress. He pulled himself away slowly, choosing to instead attack the delicate flesh of your neck. His lips found your sweetspot and sucked harshly, your lips producing the cutest little moans which only made his cock harder. A bright purple hickey formed in no time at all, definitely going to last a few days. 

“You wear turtlenecks, right? Shouldn’t be a fuckin’ problem then.” He growled against your neck, trialing molten kissed down until he reached your collarbone, playfully licking it.

“M-maybe we should go to the bedroom? Comfier.” You managed to squeak out, softly moaning as Chuuya continued to nip and kiss at your collarbone. He pulled away, grumbling at the loss of contact.

“Good idea dollface, smart.” He lifted you up bridal style, chuckling as you squealed. “You’re so fuckin’ adorable baby, y’know that?” He asked, kicking open the door to your bedroom. He practically threw you onto the bed and pounced, pinning your wrists above your head quickly. Chuuya slammed his lips against yours once more, shoving his tongue down your throat as your teeth clashed for dominance. 

Taking a break from the onslaught of tongue-on-tongue, Chuuya gently stroked your face with his still-gloved hand. “Fucking good mouth you got, sweetheart.” He purred, shifting himself so he was looking at your hips. “Now tell me,” His hand reached to his mouth, peeling off his gloves with his teeth. “Do you want my fingers or my tongue first, princess?”

You gulped nervously, your face feeling like it was going to explode at any moment from how fucking horny you were for this man. Your legs were practically shaking under him, how was it possible that one man could make you feel euphoria without fucking you?

“B-both, please…” You whispered, not daring to look into his aflamed blue eyes that burned for you. Your aroused pooled in your belly, just waiting to be taken care of.

Chuuya nodded approvingly, lifting your dress up to reveal your panties that were soaked in your arousal. “Fuckin’ dirty girl, so perfect for me.” He whispered, hastily removing your panties and tossing them into some corner of your bedroom. He shivered at the sight of your glistening core, admiring how otherworldly it looked in the dim lights of your bedroom.

“Shit,” Chuuya groaned, gathering some of your slick on his fingertips before carefully inserting his index and middle finger inside of your sobbing cunt. He wasted no time in curling his fingers inside of you, thrusting them back and forth swiftly.

“Oh fuck, oh my God!” You cried out, throwing your head back even further into the soft pillows beneath you. Your legs wanted so badly to wrap around his hand, trapping him there for a while. 

“That’s it baby, scream for me. Fuckin’ scream for me princess.” He growled, his lips sucking on your clit roughly. His tongue lapped and sucked at your desperate folds, fingers pumping in and out of you like he was in a competition. He could feel your walls sucking him in, knowing your orgasm was close. 

“Fucking cum for me baby, lemem hear those pretty moans of yours!” Chuuya demanded, eating you out like a starved man.

“Oh fuck, Chuuya!” You screamed out his name as your orgasm finally hit, the knot in your belly becoming undone too fast for your own liking. You wish that moment could last forever instead of mere moments. 

Gasping and panting, you propped yourself up by your elbows to be greeted with a chuckling Chuuya, licking off your cum with his expert tongue. “You taste so much better than anything I’ve ever fucking had before princess.” He spoke, his voice low and sultry.

Chuuya briefly got off the bed to take off his pants and boxers, gasping as the air of your bedroom hit his throbbing cock. He relished in your shocked expression, your mouth left hanging wide open at the sight of him.

“What, never seen a big dick before?” He chuckled, getting on top of you once more. He lifted your legs up so they rested on his shoulders, giving him the most perfect angle to fuck you seneless. 

“Not in a while, no.” You retorted, offering Chuuya a smirk of your own. That one simple movement of your facial muscle was all it took for him to align his cock with your entrance, slamming it inside of you.

“That was so fucking hot babe, do it again.” He demanded, pounding himself into your core without giving you any time to adjust to his length or girth. His hands gripped the undersides of your thighs, occasionally smacking the subble skin.

“Ngh, h-holy fuck! Chuuya, shit! So fucking big, oh my fucking God!” You cried out, your hands making desperate motions to grab onto anything. Chuuya bent down, pushing you into a mating press so he could better hold your hand.

“Shit, fucking scream my name babygirl. Fuck, you’re squeezing on to me so damn tight!” He groaned into your ear, his balls snapping against your ass over and over again. Your cheeks were flushed, mouth gaping open. All that left your lips were wanton moans and cries of pleasure as Chuuya’s cock hit your G-spot over and over again, the pleasure once again pooling in your belly.

“Shit! Shit, shit, shit, I’m close! Chuuya, fuck!” You screamed, slamming your lips upwards onto his own. He happily accepted the kiss, biting down onto your lower lip as he felt your cunt contract around his soaked cock.

“Fuck, can you hold out just a little longer baby? Wan’ cum with you, yeah?” He whined against your lips, furiously meeting his hips with your own as the scent of sex and longing filled the bedroom. 

“Don’t stop, don’t fucking stop!” You cried into his ear, not sure how much longer you could stand to not fall into your orgasm.

He growled against your neck, his thrusts becoming staggered and desperate in a relentless tempo as Chuuya’s own orgasm approached him. “Shit, gonna fucking cum. Cum with me yeah, please fucking come with me!”

A silent scream left your lips as euphoria enveloped your body, wave after wave of ecstasy hitting you as your orgasm finally came. Your arousal squeezed and coated Chuuya’s cock, sending him over the edge.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, oh my God! Fuck…” He gapsed into your neck, his ministrations slowing down until they came to a complete stop. He collapsed onto you, lazily kissing your neck and the hickeys that covered it. 

You smiled, peeling the sweaty hairs away from your face as you embraced Chuuya in your arms. “That was…just like the books I read.” You chuckled, running your fingers through his mess of red hair. “Almost exactly like those books, actually.”

Chuuya looked up from your breast and raised an eyebrow, flipping you around so you were now embraced in his arms. “You read porn?”

You nodded, gesturing to your nightstand. “Yeah, I try to keep it a secret though. My coworkers would never let me live it down if they knew the truth.” You gave him a crooked smile, curling further into his chest. 

He nodded in understanding, kissing your forehead. “Well, we gotta do this again princess. Because that was…well it was fuckin’ amazing. Who knew the cute little librarian was so dirty?” He joked, poking your cheek teasingly.

“I literally just let you finish inside of me and you’re making jokes?”

“Hey, I’m allowed to be funny. I’m a fuckin’ sex god.”

You sighed and kissed his lips, feeling your eyes grow heavy with sleep. “Y’know, I don’t have work tomorrow if you wanted to stay the night…” You yawned, embracing the feeling of coziness and warmth.

Chuuya was a bit shocked by your words at first, smacking his lips together. He smiled down at you, ruffling up your nest of a hair that was no doubt caused by his body moving against yours for a good twenty minutes. “I’d really like that, princess.” He assured you, grabbing his phone from your nightstand to type something in. “Just lettin’ my boss know I’ll be late for my assignment tomorrow.”

“What if he gets mad at you?” You asked, your sleepy voice filled with just a pinch of concern. 

“Well, he can suck my dick for all I care. Although, I’d much rather have you do that.” He winked, throwing the covers above your sweaty forms. “So, are you going to get changed or are we sleeping in our date night clothes?”

“Mm, date night clothes. I don’t think I’ll be able to fucking walk after what you did to me.” You laughed, pulling Chuuya closer. You rested your head on his chest, feeling his heartbeat through the expensive shirt he wore. “Have sweet dreams, okay? And…pleae be here when I wake up tomorrow.” You whispered the last part before drifting off, the cutest little snore escaping from your parted lips.

Chuuya sighed and kissed the top of your head, admiring how innocent you looked in your slumber. “I promise beautiful, I’m not going anywhere.”

[kuni-is-daddy]

Thinking about Scara making us rub his cock with our pussy until we both cum

DOM! BOSS SCARAMOUCHE X FEMALE BODYGUARD READER.

100 followers special AHH OMFG TY.

PURE FILTH.

Juicy stuff: Grinding,Recording, at a desk :<, Yandere themes

Featuring: CHILDE, he's your bestie in the start :) had so much fun writing Childe in this KKLMK I LOVE HIM❤️❤️😩

1.2K WORDS.

amazing art credits! Scara masterlist Part 1 of Boss scara.

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT.

Stillness, Silence. The complete opposite of thunder. And that was his mother, The raiden shogun. God of thunder. Rumors spread around the elaborate 'Gakaden' company that once again her excellency has cancelled another meeting with her son. Its been 200 years since he's last seen her, heard her voice. Scaramouche was only able to rejoice in the sweet sent she left from each letter that was sent in her fluid handwriting.

"Y/n Y/n!" Childe said while tapping your shoulder. "Ah! Childe!! you scared me. Dont sneak up on me like that!" you nudged his shoulder in return. "Hah hah. sorry comrade~ anyway. Did you hear about scara?" you closed the book, bookmarking where you left off. "Yeah our Excellency is quite the busy woman. At least now i can catch up on my book" you smiled. "Why'd you ask? Is everything okay?" You gave a concerned look and the ginger then laughed at you. "Well the thing is.....IM GOING BACK HOME!!!" he took out a picture of teucer and the rest of his siblings. They we're wearing christmas sweaters while holding a 'welcome home' sign. "oh shit really!? your going back to snezhnaya? Thats great childe! how long are you going to be gone?" "hmm probably a month or two. Scara said we needed a break." Childe said "We? what do you mean by we?" You looked at him suprised. "Soo...You dont know gurly?" You gave a straight face. "No- I dont know GUrLy" "Scara is giving us a month off from work. He said something about wanting time to himself and-- I dont know the rest. To be honest, all i know is that we come back next month on the 30th." You scanned the room to see your fellow co-workers organizing their desks and holding boxes in their hands. "Seriously!? Thats great! That means i can go back home and-" Suddenly. The intercom rang with a short beep.

"If Y/N L/N Is still present in the building, Please report to Lord Scaramouche's Office Immediately!"

You tilted your head at the request. "Oooo did you get in trouble y/n??" "No? Or at least.. I hope not." You got up and placed your book back on your desk. Sighing at the sudden realization you we're gonna be by yourself without your 'best friend' for another month. "hey hey.. Cheer up okay? Its only a month and besides. WE CAN ALWAYS TEXT!!" childe waved his phone in your face, your sad expression then turning into a happy one. "HEY THERE GURLY-" "YOU LOOK WELL" "CARE TO EXCHANGE.." "NOTES?" The both of you giggled and then hugged eachother one final time. "Im gonna miss you so much ajax~" "of course, The one time you say my name its when im leaving-."

The intercom rang again. "Y/N... L/N.... REPORT TO LORD SCARAMOUCHE'S OFFICE IMMEDIATELY." now with a more nervous tone then ever. "God. Wonder whats going on over there they need me so bad." "Well..Ill be seeing you Comrade. Take care for me okay?" He gave you a kiss on the forehead, ending it off with you two doing your signature handshake as he walked out of the company.

While climbing the many floors you eventually made it to the 13th floor. Your master's office. You slowed down your stroll in the long cold dark hallway at the sound of pleads and yells. "P-PLEASE LORD SCARAMOUCHE.. I DONT KNOW WHERE SHE IS. I ASKED THROUGH THE WHOLE BUILDING TWICE, HAVE MERCY-" It sounded like the woman on the intercom. "Twice? I said bring her to my fucking office. Not call her, Not ASK around for her. Bring her. But you cant even do your goddam job." you put your hand against the doorknob, conflicting weather you should intervene or not. "Your nothing. Do you know that? Nobody special. I dont care about your family, Your kids, Or your life. Under me, Your just someone i hired for my mothers sake. Just a worker. Replaceable like the rest of the humans in here." You turned the doorknob, hoping to intervene in what sounded like the potential murder of your co-worker. She was being held by her throat, hovering over the balcony while scara held his signature katana in his other hand. "KUNI- STOP!" he turned his head immediately at the use of that name. The woman fell, gasping for air while recklessly running for her life out of the building.

"Hm. So you are here, Close the door." he dropped his blade in its stand and walked towards you. You closed the door, making sure it was locked and immediately turned your head. "Kuni? What the hell was that? Why did you try to KILL that woman??" He rubbed his hand along your shoulder. "Does it realllyyy matter baby? I can just hire a new one you know." he scoffed. "Kuni. Humans arent replaceable. You cant just KILL someone like that." "Mhm..Your right. Cant replace you and that sexy body of yours~" He grew closer to you, Placing your hand against his tie. "W-well..You wont have to worry about me. Or Ajax leaving..Anyway..Why did you call me in here- Master." He pulled away at your change in tone. If theirs one thing that drove kuni crazy about you, is how persistent you we're with work. Still managing to stay perfessional. He sat back behind his desk, Clicking his pen with a laid back expression. "Not in a good mood today pet, Was hoping you could change that f' me~" The balcony door was still open a bit behind him, the warm summer air breezed through the room. Making you tug at your own suit with how hot it started to feel, How intimidating he looked from across the room as you stood at the door. "O-okay..Where do you want me to go master? Do you want to go out to eat? I just have to get my case and-" he sighed and began unzipping his pants.

"Come here and ill show you~" You we're nervous at how intimate he sounded but reluctantly walked towards him. He looked you up and down, noticing how similar your outfit was to his. How your hips curved around the belt. "Want you to sit..Right here..." He rubbed his hands against his thighs, Motioning for you to sit. "B-but we shouldnt do it here- theirs people still working kuni-" He sucked his teeth at your remark. "You think i fucking care Pet? dont want to make master more mad do you?" "N..no..I dont." You closed the blinds to the balcony, remembering how you almost witnessed another womans murder infront of your eyes.. over you. You faced scara and blushed. Turning your head away while stripping each piece of clothing off of you until you wore nothing but lacey black lingerie. "God..You look so hot in those.." he groaned as you hovered over his cock. positioning your pussy right against it, "Grind on daddys cock. Fuck yes~" He threw his head back as your hands held onto the chair for stability.

"A-am i doing good for you master...?" he pressed his hands against your ass, slapping them as they made contact "AH~" "Hell yeah.. Your doing so good' want you wet for me." He shifted his hands towards your underwear, slowly making them shift down so he could see your clit. "K-kuni! what are you doing.." "Ugh~ turn your head back up- Wanna feel your clit rubbing against me" He pulled your underwear down, Repositioning you so your clit rubbed against his big length, Teasing you as your hole ached for him to be inside of you. "Master~ Your so big..hah..." "Yeah you like that pet? Like how good it feels against you?" Wet stains started to emerge on his pants as you grinded faster against him, Chasing the burning feeling he gave you. "K-kuni~ Feels so' good~ Please..fuck me.." you shifted your grip away from the chair, now tightly holding onto him instead. "Mmm dont think thats good enough love, Beg for it." Begging. Kuni always made you beg and scream for him, He loved hearing how desperate you we're for him to fill you up. To claim you as his. Watching as you cried in frustration when he'd pull out just when your about to cum. "K-KUNI~ PLEASE M' SO CLOSE" "Shit~ keep moaning like that, cum for daddy, cum for me. and ill fuck you. Fuck~ hah...bounce those tits for me. You look so fucking good~" he slowly pulled his phone out, Recording how your tongue stuck out for him and your tits bounced. How you looked like a dog in heat. "Fuck..Thats it y/n Dont stop, dont fucking stop." "AH~ K-KUNI M' GONNA CUM~ KUNI!!!!!!!!"

Your juices squirted all over kuni's pants as he came at the same time as you. You looked up to notice him recording you and covered your face in embarassment. "Mmm... is my little slut embarassed? god look at the fucking mess you made." He let his phone fall down on the floor. Roughly grabbing you and placing you against the desk. "K-Kuni! Dont be so- MMM~" he tied his tie around your mouth. Throwing his clothes onto the floor and picking up his phone once again. "Shit...Cant get enough of you y/n~ love how this pussy is all mine~ are you mine pet?" you nodded your head with no hesitation.

"Fuck yes. Im gonna break you."

[weirdgenetic-fuckup]

your writing is incredible! do you mind writing something about dilf dave mustaine corrupting young female reader

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy my writing!

A/n: I got, like, halfway through writing this and then had a better idea on how I could've answered this request but I didn't want to rewrite it because I still liked the story so I hope you still like it just as much :3

Warnings: Smut, unprotected pnv, oral(male receiving), fingering(reader receiving), if you think I missed anything please let me know otherwise enjoy :3

The sunset strip. Many things come to mind at the sound of that title. Band startups, drinking and drugging, all things surrounding rock, punk, metal and all sorts of other kinds of music. This was the scene, and you were finally here.

After high school you skipped out on the gap year and went straight to getting higher degrees. After those years of extra gruelling homework you took your break, taking a well deserved time off before heading into the workforce.

This being your year of true freedom, a kind you probably won’t get close to again, you went to the one place you’ve always wanted to be. The sunset strip.

Now, you weren’t much of a party person. When all your friends were out at someone’s house you were at home studying, reading, a few jobs on and off. The whole crowded place was not something you wanted. But the sunset strip was where you wanted to be all that time. Even though it was way out of your comfort zone.

You looked through some of the clothes in a store you found called ‘Retail Slut’. The clothes were of all kinds and you were quite happy to be digging in all of it, unique smells and all.

In the back there was a small stand of records which you thought were pretty cool. While you were going through them a tall man with ginger hair came up to the table and seemed to be pretending to look around at the albums. You caught him glancing at you a few times and he eventually spoke up.

“I haven’t seen you around here before,” he said, “new to town?” He had this friendly presence to him. His smile was warm and he had the cutest glasses on. He wore this cute brown coat and light blue jeans. Fall incarnate. A fallen leaf on a frosty day.

“Just visiting, I grew up watching everything happen here and I’d never been.” You explained. The man nodded in understanding. You picked up an album with a hammer in a red and black frame titled ‘Kill ‘em All’. The ginger haired fellow took it from you and put it under another stack of albums further down the table.

“I’ve listened to some of their shit, you wouldn’t like it.” He stated, glaring down at the assortment of other records.

“How would you know what I’d like?” You asked, crossing your arms around your chest. The man looked up at you. He eyed you from head to toe, biting his lip as he did so.

“There’s a band playing just around the corner at a bar I like.” He walked around the table to stand in front of you. “Care to join me?” He asked, holding a hand out for you to take. You hesitated for a moment. You’ve never done anything like this before, running off with a stranger to some bar. Right into a party? No one ever would’ve taken you for the type, least of all yourself.

But this was the strip, and you came here to be free. So you took his hand and he led you out of the thrift store.

You walked down the streets hand in hand. You kept scanning around at everything happening, all the laughing, smiling faces. Rock posters everywhere, record stores, guitar shops. Everything you’ve dreamed of.

“I’m Dave, by the way.” The man said. You’d been trying to work up the courage to ask but the words kept fizzling out before they came out of your mouth. “In case you were wondering what name to call out tonight.” You thought about it for a moment, trying to think of a scenario where you’d need to call for him when it clicked as to what he was referring to. Your cheeks heated up and your gaze fell to the ground as you entered a dark club.

Dave threw an arm over your shoulder, keeping you close in the crowded area. Being so close to him you could smell his cologne. The stench of the club nearly covered it but you managed to focus on it. It helped keep you calm in this unfamiliar scene.

The ginger walked you through the club and sat down at the bar. He ordered you both ginger ale. “Unless, the lady wants something else?” He offered. You shook your head and the bartender walked off to make your drinks. “Not a drinker?” He asked, half leaning on the counter.

“I’m not even a partier.” You replied, almost exasperated. The bartender returned a few moments later with your drinks. You thanked them and reached for your purse. Dave gently pushed your hand away and handed the worker some cash.

“Pretty girls don’t buy drinks, doll.” He told you, taking a sip of his drink.

The two of you got to talking, having a few more non-alcoholic drinks and just chatting your time away. This was much more pleasant than the stories of parties you’ve heard all your life. This was nothing compared to the scene you’d come here expecting, but it was a much appreciated one.

Dave’s hand found its way to your knee, slowly moving higher and higher. You decided on a leather skirt and fishnets to go along with your red tube-top and thrifted leather jacket. His fingers were dipping under your skirt, just enough to have your stomach fluttering.

Finally, after hours of teasing you with his touch that was barely considered innocent, Dave leaned in to whisper in your ear. “Why don’t you come with me for a minute?” He held his hand out for you to take, and you did.

The ginger led you through the crowd and to the bathrooms. He tried to pull you into the mens room but you stopped. “I-I can’t go in there.” You said, glancing around to see if anyone was looking at you. They weren’t, all of them too preoccupied with the show on before them, all wasted and having their own fun.

“Come on.” Dave groaned with a smile. “It’ll be fun, I promise.” He urged, gently pulling you into the bathroom.

He got you on the counter, your legs wrapped around his waist, his hands on your hips. Your lips crashing against one anothers, tongues dancing together and exploring each other's mouths. Dave was pushing your skirt up, bunching it around your hips. You could feel him hardening as he would grind against you, short and harsh rotations of his hips.

Dave’s hands began to wander. He’d run the tips of his fingers over the inside of your thighs, sending shivers up your spine and knotting your gut. “Fuck, you’re so hot.” He mumbled against your lips when his thumb finally pushed against your panties. He pushed the thin piece of fabric to the side and slid a finger through your folds. That alone had your back arching in anticipation. “Fuck me, you’re so fucking wet.” He mused, starting to kiss down your neck. Nipping and sucking the tender flesh and leaving love bites. You screwed your eyes shut and your mouth fell open in soft sounds as Dave slid a finger into you.

He curled his finger against your gummy walls, pressing against that special spot inside you. Your eyes rolled back and you gripped his shoulders. “Such a sweet thing, huh? Never felt this before, have you?” He hummed as he pumped his long, thick fingers in and out of you. He started slow, letting you get used to this new sensation before he picked up the pace. The sound of skin slapping against wet skin rang through the small, tiled room along with your whimpers.

“Oh, fuck, please! Please, fuck, I c- I can’t.” You whined, tears threatening to spill down your cheeks. Dave then pulled his finger out of you, taking away any pleasure you had just been feeling. You stared at him with wide sad eyes and a pout. “Why would you do that..?” You asked, your voice shaky and weak. Dave looked at you with an apologetic, pitying look.

“Oh... Is my baby needy?” He brought his hand up to cup your cheek, gently caressing it. “All sad and pouty because she doesn’t get to cum yet?” He ran his fingers through your hair and gave you a kiss on the forehead. “Don’t worry, daddy’ll take care of you.” He pulled you off the counter, your knees buckled and you fell to your knees on the cold tile in front of him. You stared up at him with that same wide-eyed stare. “You just have to do something for me first, sweetheart.” Dave said as he unbuckled his belt.

His pants fell to the ground, leaving him in his boxers which had a prominent bulge from his cock. “Go on, doll, make daddy happy.” You were hesitant at first, gaze flickering between him and his eyes. You brought your hands up and dipped your fingers under the waistband of his boxer, gently tugging them down until they fell to his ankles with his pants.

Dave’s hard member hit you in the face after being brought out from its confines, traces of pre already sticking to your cheek. “I-I’ve never...” You trailed off, not sure whether it was because you were distracted by his dick or that you just didn’t want to finish the sentence.

Dave’s hand went to your face again, holding you by the chin to tilt your head up so you’d look him in the eye, though your gaze flickered to his lips a few times as well. “Don’t worry, I’ll guide you.” He mused, wiping the liquid from your cheek. You gave a weak nod and opened your mouth for him.

The ginger slowly guided his cock over your tongue, letting the weight lay on the muscle for a moment before he went further. His hand was still on your head, holding you in place for him. He was only about halfway in when he stopped, letting you get used to just that. “Watch your teeth now, doll, but give it a suck, would you?” He said in that same soft voice he’d been using with you all afternoon and now into the night.

You did as he told you to, your tongue traced the veins on the underside as you hollowed your cheeks for him. You pulled your head back a bit to pay more attention to his tip and he let you, for a moment. Before you knew it he was slamming his hips to meet your face, fucking deep into the back of your throat at a brutal pace. You gagged on him and the tears that had been pricking your eyes fell in streams down your red cheeks.

Your knees and throat hurt but Dave didn’t stay like this for long. He didn’t finish but he pulled himself out of your mouth and pulled you up off the floor. He pushed you up against the counter with your back facing him so you’d be looking into the mirror. The ginger stared down at your exposed ass, hands firmly planted on your hips as he spread you apart. His thumb pushed the fishnet and your panties aside so he could feel just how wet you were, all for him.

“Fucking gorgeous.” He hummed. “All pretty and mine.” He said, and with a quick tug he ripped your fishnets, then your thin underwear. He lined himself up with you and pushed in, bottoming out without giving you time to prepare yourself.

You stared at yourself in the mirror, drool slipping out of your puffy and bruised lips, tears rolling down your hot cheeks. You didn’t care, anything besides Dave’s cock stuffed deep inside you was beyond your comprehension right now. You loved the feeling of him, the way he hit every spot that had you seeing stars, the way he held you so close to his chest.

After letting you adjust to him for a moment or two he wasted no time in setting a fast rhythm, thrusting into you without a care in the world. He groped your chest and bit your neck, leaving red and purple spots in his wake as his hips slammed against yours. You weren’t processing any sounds you were making but based on the expression you saw staring back at you you could imagine they were pretty loud, all lustful moans as Dave slid in and out of you, his head pressing right up against your cervix.

The knot came back full force when Dave started circling your clit and quickly burst. You screamed out for him, creaming around him. Your juices dripped down his cock, your ass and thighs getting coated as well while the liquids made their way to the floor which was already covered in a layer of other fun times. However, Dave didn’t stop. His thrusts were relentless as he kept bucking his cock into you.

“Fuck-fuck, so pretty, so pretty just for me, so tight around daddy’s cock.” Dave praised, landing a harsh smack on your ass, then another and then a third, each one drawing a yelp from you. Dave took your hair in his hand, bunching it into a makeshift ponytail so he could pull your head back to force you to look into the mirror. “Look at that, look at my little slut, all fucked out on daddy’s dick.” Your eyes were fluttering, you felt like you were on the verge of passing out but you managed to keep your standing.

Dave began losing his rhythm and just sloppily fucking into you, doing anything to reach his own high. The coil in your gut returned, this time you got to see how that looked on the outside. Dave behind you with his long, ginger hair sticking to his face and your shoulders from sweat. You watched the way your ass shook every time he rammed into you, you saw the small bulge in your stomach. Dave saw it at the same time and smiled a wicked grin.

“Look at that, all ready to have my babies, are you?” He teased. You let out a loud, sultry whine and Dave’s eyes rolled back as your walls squeezed him. “Oh, fuck~ Do that a few more times and you just might, dollface.” You continued to watch the bulge appear and disappear only to reappear right after over and over, bringing you over the edge once more.

Your body shook and your knees buckled. You clenched around Dave bringing him to his own release. Thick, white liquid shot into you and the ginger bent you over the counter, pressing down onto you as he kept bucking up into you.

He kept going a few more seconds before pulling away. He pulled out of you and watched his cum seep out of your hole. You looked back at him, then to the floor where the liquid fell. Dave saw the pout on your face, the one you hadn’t even realised was there, and pulled you into a hug. “Don’t worry, doll, I’ll get you good and pregnant next time.” He smiled, kissing your forehead. “I can bring you back home right now, would you like that, dollface?” You smiled back up at him and nodded, your eyes closing as you melted into his warm embrace.

[enm-enthusiast]

The Exhibitionists Club Ch. 1 - Jeremy Part 1

Before we get started, some things I’d like to say. First off, thank you everyone for all your support, it means a lot you’ve stuck with me this far!

Also, a shout out to my fellow ENM writers Suitedwestend and Gaystoryfull, check out their pages for more awesome content!

Now, this series will be revolving around a diverse cast of characters, all of whom I’ve already introduced but again we’ll be starting off in Jeremy’s POV and next chapter we’ll introduce Stephen. While this may disappoint some, I don’t intend for this first chapter to be as full and action-packed like most of my works. I want to slowly build up this series, and have the payoff to cause you all to have the effect of you all dropping your pants ;) Now, without further ado, let’s get into the first chapter of my new series, Blue River’s University: The Exhibitionists Club.

Character Description: Jeremy is a 6���2 ginger man, a little on the chubby side, with green eyes and facial hair on the sides of his face which is square-jawed. An english major at the university, Jeremy works as a part time gym cleaner on campus, where he gets to spot the half-naked, sweaty bodies of other adult males on campus. Jeremy is bisexual but has yet to be intimate with another man, and fantasizes constantly of finding himself a young stud he can turn into his submissive bitch…

Jeremy

I hated going to the gym, but not for reasons people might have expected. I didn’t stare at the regular gym goers' bodies with envy, nor did I hate the idea of exercise, no, my reasons were far more…lustful.

I hated getting to see their glistening, sweaty-bodies as they worked out, their sexy torsos exposed for all to see. It drove me mad to know that I could never get my hands on any of them, I knew they’d reject me in a heartbeat.

What a shame it was too, because almost every time that I had to visit the gym I spotted a cute guy or two I thought needed a good spanking. In fact,I had my eye on one in particular, starting one day when I spotted a young blonde who I just knew was a perv underneath his shy exterior. He had obviously been new, asking the people who worked at the gym all sorts of questions, but no matter what he refused to show any skin or take off his shirt.

Every time I went to the gym these days since then, I saw him there, working out. The last time he had managed to build himself up a little, but still, he refused to show off anything! My cock ached in my pants just imagining his tight little ass cheeks clenching as I slapped them till they were red and raw. I never got to stay long enough to see if he used the showers here, and it was never my job to clean them so our paths never crossed if he did…

Sure enough, even now as I walked into the doors of the gym building I could see him lifting weights off in the corner. My eyes were drawn to how his ass clung to his short blue shorts as he bent over with the weights. I was positively drooling at the sight, his butt was round and perfectly curved, making it look like two small, but thick bubbles were stuck to him at all times. 

“Uhhh, Jeremy? You alright?” I heard a voice say which snapped me out of my trance, tried to ignore the blood rushing to my cock, and turned back towards the head of the gym. Technically my boss, George was an older man in his early 40’s, but was in really good shape, in fact I wouldn’t mind if he didn’t want to get down and-

Stop it, you're working, I had to say to myself to keep my cock from getting even harder in my pants. “Yeah George, I just got distracted by some new equipment I hadn’t noticed before, seems it’s being put to good use” I said, hoping that would satisfy him.

“Ah, you noticed? We just got those new weights last week, some members have taken a liking to them” he said, pointing to the blonde stud with his chin. 

“Yeah, he sure seems enthusiastic…” I said, trying to keep my gaze away from his ass. 

“Stephen’s pretty shy, but he’s put in some commendable work here, and has come out of his shell a lot, but I keep having to stay open late because he insists on using the showers only until everyone else leaves” George said.

Fuck…he does use the showers here?! I thought to myself, my heart racing at the implications. I found out his name too…Stephen…such a cute name for a cute twink that I knew for almost certain was hiding something pervy underneath his shy exterior. I got so caught up in my own thoughts again I almost missed George’s next words which would change my life forever…

“In fact…that reminds me, I have a special job for you tonight, my usual cleaner for the showers called off tonight so I need you to stay a little later and finish cleaning up after Stephen’s done showering, that okay?” he said.

My cock throbbed in my pants as he finished speaking, and I had little time to gather my thoughts as I grinned widely and said “Oh don’t worry sir…I think that’ll suit me just fine” I said.

“Great! Just don’t spook poor Stephen while you're in there, he scares easily, gets so caught up he doesn’t notice anything going on around him” he said, smiling while shaking his head before walking away.

I turned back towards where Stephen had now put down the weights, sweat drenching his white tank top and briefly glanced in his direction, I gave him a knowing smile and a wink. I didn’t catch his full reaction but before he turned away I saw red in his cheeks. 

Damn, he’s cute!….I’d bend you over here and now if I could, but soon enough I’ll get to see everything you're hiding, I thought to myself as I walked away and started forming a plan inside my head.

(Four Hours Later)

“If this works…I might lose my job, but…I never really liked this job anyways” I said to myself out loud, my voice barely a whisper.

The gym was officially “closed” now, but the cleaning staff stayed behind and I was the last of them now, with everyone else finished. All that was left was for me to clean up the showers…

Less than an hour ago, I saw Stephen gathering up his things in his gym bag and once everyone else but me had left, I spotted him heading for the showers. I made sure he didn’t see me as I gathered up my cleaning supplies in a handheld basket and made my way towards the gym showers.

The lights had been mostly turned off, with only dim light in the hallways obscuring my vision slightly as I reached the door to the showers which was situated at the far east side of the gym. I held my ear to the door and sure enough I heard running water, grinning to myself and freely grabbing my cock through the fabric of my pants.

Luckily for me, not only was Stephen rather short-sighted but the gym shower door had a soft lock on it which meant that whenever it opened the lock always clicked softly, barely making any noise. I heard that the gym had it designed that way to ensure people could move in and out without making any loud noises that would disrupt people from showering.

Whatever the case, it was certainly helping me put the first steps of my plan into place as I opened the door with a soft click and slowly pushed it open and as quietly as I could, closed it behind me. I made sure the door was firmly closed before turning back around to see where Stephen was and what I saw made my jaw drop.

He was naked. Fully naked, out in the open with water running down his smooth, tan but completely hairless skin. Believing himself alone, he had taken the middle shower, which was closest to the door and lockers, yes, but it also meant anyone walking in would get an eyeful of your bare ass. I spotted more than a few bare asses that way when cleaning the showers during the day shift, some were quite nice, and all I wanted was to get my hands on them.

If I play things right, I’ll get my hands on those, I thought to myself, gazing right as Stephen’s bare ass cheeks. They seemed to shine under the water, and they jiggled in such a way as he moved around washing his body, that my cock was fully hard in my pants.

“Not yet” I said to myself. I gripped my basket tightly and managed to tear my gaze away from the amazing sight of Stephen’s naked body. As I walked further in, I noticed his gym bag on the benches right across from the open showers. Out of curiosity, I moved closer and looked briefly inside.

Holy fuck! I thought to myself as I spotted not just gym clothes…I saw very explicit gay porn magazines, and not just any porn…BDSM, leather porn. My cock throbbed as if in approval of Stephen’s rather kinky, and as I suspected, perverted tastes. 

I even saw what looked like a vibrator inside, which made me wonder to myself: why the fuck would he bring that in his gym bag…unless…he has it inside him while he works out?!

Regardless, it proved I was right in my assessment of Stephen, that beneath his shy boy exterior was a submissive kink-boy that was about to expand his horizons just a bit.

Just one look improved my chances for success dramatically, but first…I looked away from his gym bag and walked further in, five feet away from Stephen. I cleared my throat, loudly enough for him to pause and turn around slowly. Upon seeing me, he blushed a deep red, covering himself with his hands and yelled “What the fuck?! What are you doing here?” he said.

His blond hair was cut short, but it was wavy, and his dramatic motions just now made it flow across his head as if fluid despite that it was wet. The sight of it, along with his crimson-red blush, made my cock throb even harder though thankfully he didn’t notice…yet.

“Uhhh, my job? The usual cleaner is off tonight so I got asked to do it instead, I didn’t think anybody else was left” I said, nonchalantly. I hated having to lie like this, but I knew it was the only option I had to calm him down.

In fact, he seemed to calm down quite a lot once I finished speaking, and, while still covering himself he even seemed apologetic. “Oh…I see, well I’m sorry I yelled at you, I thought George had told everyone but..I guess I should have asked, is it alright if you can wait to clean? I’m almost done here” he said, his voice nervous and clearly very embarrassed.

“It’s all right, no need to worry about it, but…it’s late and I need to get going as soon as possible…so how about this, I’m going to go clean the rest of the showers so that once you finish up I can clean up your area and we can both leave, how’s that sound?” I said.

He seemed to consider it, he darted his eyes away from me and after a moment he looked back up and said “A-alright, that seems fair, just please…don’t look” he said and his blush turned even redder. This boy doesn’t know how cute he is, it almost made me lose control and pin him to the ground while I sucked on his neck.

I didn’t let it show, thankfully as I gave him a smile and said “no problem” before turning around and walking to the far side of the showers. He seemed to still be wary, however, and waited a long while before he finally got back to showering, keeping an eye on me the whole time. 

I was true to my word, I didn’t look at him once and even finished up cleaning the showers which thankfully wasn’t too dirty today. It was nearly time to put the rest of my plan into action, but it hinged on Stephen at last diverting his gaze away from me.

I seemed to have calmed him down enough, because he at last had to look away as he lathered his hair up with soap. Now’s my chance I thought to myself as I stuck close to the lockers, stepping carefully towards his gym bag. Stephen didn’t hear as I made it to where his gym bag was, and carefully gathered up his clothes. 

I removed his wallet and his phone, and placed them back inside the bag, then I inspected his clothes. It seems Stephen had chosen to wear a jockstrap to the gym today, a purple and green one too! and had regular black boxer briefs to change into.

I gathered all of his clothes, including his shower towel, in a bundle, and hurried my way to the door, opening it with another soft click and had it open halfway before I stopped…

I turned back towards him, gazing as he rinsed the soap out of his hair which ran down his back and then his cheeks…I bit my lip as my cock started to harden once more. My original plan was to take off with all his clothes and make him run out of here naked but…those magazines changed things. 

Instead, I tossed his clothes out in the hallway which landed in a corner that I made sure to remember in my head as I closed the door behind me.

Keeping my eyes trained on him, I slowly walked back towards his gym bag. Stephen had finished rinsing off and was now making sure all of the soap was off of his body, which meant his shower was nearly over. That was when I made my move by grabbing one of his magazines, a picture of a nude, bound twink on the cover, a collar on his neck with a leash held by a muscle dom in leather.

Well…I may not be covered in leather, but I think I’ll do just fine, I thought to myself. I started flipping through the pages. Loudly. My attention was now solely on the magazine and I had to admit, some of the content was turning me on. My cock was almost fully hard again, and I purposefully used my free hand to rub my erection through my pants. 

I unbuttoned the top of my pants, and slightly unzipped them to allow my hand to slide its way inside and grab ahold of my aching boner. I moaned out loud now, and the sound of that, combined with me flipping the pages of the magazine, had finally caught his attention.

I withdrew my hand from my pants and made sure both hands were now holding the magazine and twisted my face to be one of surprise and shock as he turned around once more.

Stephen’s eyes widened in shock themselves, so much so he forgot to cover up and I got a look at what he was packing at long last. His cock was thin, but long even while soft it looked like he was four and a half inches. Once he noticed where my gaze was he blushed and quickly moved to cover himself, but before he did so I saw a hint of his cock enlarging. 

His blush stretched all across his face, including his ears when he recognized the magazine in my hands. “Dude, what the fuck are you looking in my gym bag for?!” he said, trying to sound angry and confident. The truth was that he was embarrassed that someone had not only seen, but was actively looking at his perverted jerk off materials.

“You left it out where practically anyone could see it, I was walking back and sure enough I saw-this” I said, pointing to the cover, and he turned his head away in shame.

“I gotta say though…you have nice taste” I said, pointing this time to the leather-bound muscle hunk that held the leash to the twink on the cover. Stephen froze, and he looked back up to see where I was pointing and his eyes both widened and something else too.

I saw a spark pass between them, and when I did I knew I had his attention. “Although leather has never really been my thing…I could make an exception…under the right circumstances” I said, giving him a knowing wink and a smile. 

I closed and set the magazine down on the bench and looked right at Stephen, and him at me, his mouth slightly open. Looking at his wet, naked body and his embarrassed state just turned me on so much, that when Stephen bit his lip my cock throbbed in my pants. This time, he noticed.

He looked back up at me, and he licked his lips, and I smiled in triumph as I knew I had him now. I made my move by slowly walking towards him, and he instinctively backed away, towards the wall. Never breaking eye contact, I continued my slow but steady pace towards him and he kept backing up until he hit the wall.

He looked at me nervously, and I reached up and turned the shower head away from us as I halted right in front of him, our bodies pressed close together. I put my hands on the wall on both sides of his head, and leaned in close to his ear.

“Has Stephen been a bad little boy?” I whispered. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him bite his lip and I felt something press against my crotch. I smiled as I knew exactly what it was.

I slowly lowered my hands, inching my way until they met his bare shoulders. He didn’t stop me, and he didn’t protest at the contact, in fact he seemed to encourage it. I rubbed his shoulders for a few moments as I repeated my question, but again I got no response.

I lost my patience as I growled in my throat and grabbed his arms, pinning them above his head. He gasped in surprise, but didn’t shout for me to stop as I at last looked down to see his fully hard cock dangling between his legs.

Fuck…I thought to myself as I stared at his six-inch cock, I wanted to desperately grab ahold of it, then milk him until he shot his load all over himself, but I had other plans first.

I looked back up to see Stephen’s cute, blushing face gazing back at me. I leaned into his ear once again and whispered “Stephen…you’ve been a naughty little boy, haven’t you?” I said.

“y-y ... .yes” he said.

I took that as my cue as I leaned down to his neck and started kissing it, slowly, before I started sucking on his bare, wet skin. “Mmmph!” he said out loud. As I did so, I started to grind my crotch against his, pressing his cock against my pants which only made him moan louder.

In between me sucking and kissing his neck, I said “I want to hear you say it, boy”.

He didn’t ask what I meant, he knew exactly the words I wanted to hear.

“I-I’ve been…a naughty little boy” he said.

With another primal growl in my throat, I suddenly let his arms go and this time I hooked my own underneath his thighs and pulled him up and pressed him against the wall. I positioned myself so that my crotch was pressed directly against his ass which I took the opportunity to squeeze and slap a few times.

“Mmmm, fuck yeah boy, this sweet ass of yours has been the highlight of my work day each time I walk in here, each day I imagined what I’d do to it if I ever got my hands on you” I said, the words spilling out of me as I grinded my crotch against his ass.

His face was contorted between complete and utter embarrassment and the pleasure of me dominating his little twink body with ease, and in response he said “I….I’ve noticed you around here too…and I’ve…thought of you doing exactly this” he said, his face turning crimson at the confession.

I smiled, and thrust my crotch against his ass which only made him whimper as his body language clearly communicated how much he was enjoying this. I noticed his cock was still hard, and with my right hand I reached out and firmly grasped it.

“Oh, fuck!” he said out loud. 

“Yes…that’s right little Stephen, moan for me” I said as I slowly jerked off his cock. With my left hand, I reached out and started playing with his balls which were low-hanging and, like most of his body, hairless.

His moans certainly became louder, as I slowly increased my pace of me jerking off his cock and balls, all the while my own boner throbbed in my pants, begging to be released and thrust inside his waiting asshole.

But that was going to have to wait for another day.

Instead, I continued my pace, and surely enough the stimulation was beginning to bring Stephen near the breaking point. I leaned in near his ear once more and said “Mmm, looks like you're having fun there little Stephen, you want me to make you cum?” I said.

“Fuck!....yes, please sir make me cum!” he said, his voice pleading and pathetic.

“Good boy” I said and started to jerk him off faster, determined to milk him of his cum. I moved my face towards his, and looked directly into his eyes, waiting to see if he would-

He kissed me. Before I knew it, he had his lips pressed against mine, and it awakened something in both of us, as his mouth opened, hungry for more as his arms tried to reach towards my shirt.

I momentarily stopped jerking his cock to slap his arms away before resuming. He looked at me confusingly, and I smiled back reassuringly but shook my head, and the look in my eyes said ‘not today’.

He looked disappointed, but didn’t complain as I knew he was nearing orgasm. I thrust my crotch faster and deeper, grinding my imprisoned cock against him as Stephen’s moans reached a crescendo and his body tightened.

“I-I’m gonna…” He didn’t finish but I broke away from his face as I pointed his cock upwards, toward him. His cock burst as he shot his load all over himself, I could practically feel his balls draining within my hand. His body relaxed as he came down from the high of finally shooting his load and I gently let him down back to the ground.

“Fuck…that was so intense…who are you anyways?” Stephen asked me when he could finally stand up without his knees wobbling.

“The name’s Jeremy, and I have a feeling this won’t be the last we see of each other” I said, winking at him while my cock, still hard in my pants, pressed against the fabric as if in response. I zipped and buttoned up my pants before turning around to walk away. 

As I reached the door of the showers, I turned back to see Stephen staring at me dumbfounded, like I was crazy to leave without getting off myself. As if in explanation, I smiled at him deviously and said “Trust me, I wanted to pound your ass like there was no tomorrow, but I thought we’d both enjoy you making your first nude walk home” I said, giving him one last wink and a smile before quickly exiting.

I saw his eyes widen and a blush reappear on his face, but I didn’t waste time as I quickly closed the door behind me, gathered up his bundled clothes in the corner and dashed away. I made my way to a hidden corner, where you wouldn’t be able to see me unless you passed right by but it was right by the janitor’s closet. So, I pulled out my phone while hearing a loud but muffled “FUCK!” coming from the showers.

I smiled to myself as I set my phone to record, then I simply waited to watch the magic happen.

End of Chapter 1.

Author’s Note: I hope you all enjoyed this first introductory chapter of my new series! Next up: Will Stephen manage to find some clothes as he escapes from the gym? Or will he really have to make a fully nude journey back to his dorm room? 

Find out next chapter, but until then, hope you enjoyed ;)

[i-did-not-mean-to]

FOTFICtember24 - Chapter 1

After a long absence, Kyra returns to the town of Lonely Mountain just in time for the autumn fair. Her "uncle" Bilbo is very secretive about it all, and she's excited to see what the night will bring.

My dears, you didn't think I'd skip the FOTFICS challenge, did you? As writing has been kind of hard lately, I've decided to indulge myself :D

Prompts: Library, festival, baking, tea, pie, autumn fair

Pairing: Ori x OC, OC & Bilbo, Kíli x Tauriel

Words: 1110

Warnings:Nothing

“I can smell that you’re baking,” Kyra laughed as she popped her head into the kitchen, making Bilbo nearly jump out of his skin.

“I thought you were gone already,” the one she called Uncle without being related to him in any discernible way huffed, trying to hide the glorious pie he’d just pulled out of the oven without much success. “The boys are already roaming about.”

Glancing at her watch, she made a face. Kyra, despite her best efforts, was notoriously scatterbrained and couldn’t, for the life of her, be on time.

“Do you have much work yet?” she asked, mindful not to encroach on Bilbo’s realm of flour and sugar.

“It’s manageable,” he replied diplomatically. “Once Thorin arrives, we’ll get more done!”

That assessment drew a more genuine grin from the young woman; it was common knowledge that, despite their exaggerated fights about minor details, Bilbo and Thorin loved spending time together.

Indeed, the younger generation had made long-standing bets on the exact moment the two curmudgeons would realise that they were actually in love with one another, but thus far, nobody had been able to claim the considerable pot.

“It’s been too long since I’ve gone to the fall fair,” Kyra sighed, fond memories of the golden autumns she’d once spent in her uncle’s care coming alive within her heart.

“You were busy,” Bilbo said soothingly. “That is not to say that we didn’t miss you—I’m sure we did, and your return to the fold is one of the reasons I’d politely beg you to remove yourself now. I have to get a move on—this festival has to be one of the best yet. In your honour.”

As if it had been convened thus, there was a resoundingly enthusiastic knock on the front door at that very moment.

“There they are—let’s hope they brought Thorin along,” Bilbo mumbled, wiping his hand on a towel he’d tucked into his belt. “No peeking, come away!” he added out of habit.

He knew Kyra so well that he didn’t have to look at her to know that she’d be sorely tempted to open every cupboard and drawer in search of the treats and surprises he’d been concocting in secret for the big finale of the fall fair.

“Oi, we were waiting for you,” Fíli exclaimed through the opening door. “What kept you so long?”

To Bilbo’s dismay, the boys’ tall, handsome uncle and shepherd was nowhere to be seen.

Grimacing in embarrassment, Kyra shrugged sheepishly. “I’m ready now,” she said hastily, pressed a quick kiss onto Bilbo’s heated cheek, and slipped out of the door.

“They’re just in a hurry because they want to corner Ori before he can slink home,” Tauriel informed her under her breath as they walked down the sleepy town’s beautifully decorated main street.

“Ori,” Kyra repeated pensively. She’d spent many a summer at Bilbo’s house, but then studies, first jobs, and unhappy relationships had kept her from visiting more than a few days here and there for entirely too long a time.

“Pretty ginger fellow,” Tauriel, who’d moved here to be closer to her boyfriend, confided with a wink. “He works at the library. As far as I can tell, he’s always been here, so I think you should know him.”

Vague recollections of a skinny boy with soft eyes came to Kyra’s mind, and—when her heartbeat accelerated—she reminded herself not to put the cart before the horse.

“Ah, I see you do remember,” Tauriel grinned.

Kyra blushed furiously—she was unused to having female friends who caught on to the minutest shifts in her demeanour and facial expressions. Men, she found, were much easier to deceive in those matters.

As they walked on in companionable silence, Kyra realised something else. “Are we abducting that man? If he wanted to come with us, wouldn’t he just join us of his own free will?”

Again, Tauriel merely smiled at her enigmatically. “He doesn’t know what’s good for him,” she said cheerily before adding in a whisper that she suspected that Ori was nervous because there would be another woman attending.

“Oh, but I don’t want to ruin his fun,” Kyra cried out, feeling wretched.

“Not at all,” Tauriel smiled. “In the name of friendship, I’m going to admit that we’re all hoping that he might come out of his shell a little bit…he does remember you, you know?”

Before Kyra could protest or flee, she was bodily shoved through the heavy double doors leading into the cool, calm interior of the deserted library.

Not a main attraction on the best of days, the building was entirely empty now as everybody was milling around outside to help or hinder the preparations for the main event, scheduled throughout the whole upcoming evening.

“Ori? Come on, mate! They have a rollercoaster on the square!” Kíli hollered, making his companions flinch as his voice echoed shockingly.

“No screaming in the library,” came a calm but determined reprimand from a dark corridor, and—a moment later—a vision of copper and gold stepped out of the shadows, holding a dainty porcelain teacup in his pale, long-fingered hands. “I brewed a new pot—care to join me?”

“No,” Kíli expostulated. “Blast your tea! Didn’t you hear what I said? There’s a rollercoaster, and Uncle made us promise that we’d come to the forest as soon as possible. He and Bilbo have apparently outdone themselves!”

Visibly undecided, Ori shifted from one foot to the other.

“Oh, yes, I remember,” Kyra whispered tenderly as she took in the nigh-ephemeral apparition before her—years ago, Ori had been her favourite among the ever-changing throng of the “friends of friends” she’d met during her stays at Bilbo’s.

Sweet-natured and soft-spoken, he’d promised to grow into a great beauty, and Kyra was delighted to learn that her instinctive assessment had been absolutely correct.

Now a man grown, Ori was gorgeous, and she willed her heart to quieten and her mind to keep working lest she say something silly.

“Kyra is back, and we want to show her a good time, so she won’t desert us for so long ever again,” Fíli added insidiously, apparently knowing exactly how to pressure his friend into complying with their wishes.

“Why would…I’m not sure that I make things better,” Ori muttered softly.

“Do you want her to go on the rollercoaster alone? Where’s your chivalry, man?” Kíli exclaimed, clutching his chest in mock disbelief.

With a shivering sigh, Ori set down his teacup on the counter of the library and nodded. “Go ahead. I’ll lock up and get ready. I’ll meet you by the food stalls.”

↳ Masterlist

@fellowshipofthefics here's the first chapter of my fic for September!

Lots of love from me! <3

-> Chapter 2

[talonslockau]

Fire and Ice - Chapter 34

Chapter 33 || Index || Chapter 35

The heat had become nearly unbearable as greenleaf continued. The sun was beating down relentlessly, making it all but necessary to stand in the shade to prevent overheating. It had been almost half a moon since it had rained; that, combined with the high temperature, made it seem as though nearly all the water in Thunderclan territory had dried up overnight.

It was too hot for nearly any cat to handle, and so the Clan had adjusted to mostly going out at night. Even patrols on the Shadowclan border had been cut during the day; there were reports that the Thunderpath was hot enough to burn a cat to death, so Bluestar had decided there was little point to defending it. If Brokenstar wanted to invade so badly he would have his warriors burn alive to do so, there was little reason to believe a few warriors would significantly deter him.

The daytime was mostly spent trying to stay cool in the shade; a few warriors had even taken to digging out shallow hollows for shade, but most of the time it was too hot to even do that. The apprentices, however, were not so lucky. They still had a single job to do, which was to bring cool, life-giving water to the queens, kits, and elders, who were more susceptible to the heat than the average cat.

This did mean that they were able to drink all that they wanted during each trip, but it had the downside of having to run through the heat, carrying dripping bundles of moss. Cinderpaw had had the bright idea of submerging herself in the river, but the resulting mess of fur had made her even hotter, so none of the others had tried it.

Firepaw and Ravenpaw had been tasked with the water bearing after sunhigh. The two padded into camp, their bundles still dripping, and departed to their respective areas; the nursery for Ravenpaw, and the elders' den for Firepaw. 

He carefully set his burden down on an empty nest, not wanting any of the precious liquid to spill down onto the dirt. "Who needs water?" He asked softly into the den, the shadows lighting up with eyes as he spoke.

"One-eye hasn't had any yet today." Halftail spoke from the end where he was sitting alone. "She should get first drink."

"Nonsense." One-eye's voice was raspy even as she turned the water down. "You're older, so you should-"

A screech rang out across camp, setting every cat's fur on end as memories of Shadowclan's attack danced through their minds. "Stay here." Firepaw ordered the elders, though he knew they would come if they very well pleased, before darting through the entrance.

The commotion came from the nursery, where a furious Frostfur faced off against Ravenpaw. "You're not setting paw in my nursery!" She spat at the black tom. "I don't care what you have. I won't let you harm my kits."

Firepaw padded across camp, his sense of urgency vanishing like water in the heat. At least no one was in danger; everything else was secondary to that. "What are you talking about, Frostfur?" Firepaw mewed soothingly. "Ravenpaw would never harm your kits."

Frostfur snorted angrily. "That's what he would have you believe!" She hissed at Firepaw, but her bright blue eyes didn't move from their focus on the oldest apprentice. "But I know better. You're not coming near Goldenflower, traitor."

Ravenpaw, for his part, was cowering beneath the white queen's fury, the mossball he had been carrying laying in the dust between them. Firepaw winced to see the life-giving water it held draining into the dust instead of going to the thirsty queens. "Come on, Frostfur. He's only bringing water for Goldenflower. Surely he can't do any harm with that." The ginger tom pleaded, pressing against his fellow apprentice in the hopes of slightly comforting him.

"What's going on?" He heard a commanding voice from behind him before Frostfur could answer, and turned to see that a small crowd had gathered around them. Bluestar was standing directly behind him, her own blue eyes blazing in the greenleaf sun. "Frostfur, surely you recognize these two Thunderclan apprentices?"

"I only see a Shadowclan traitor and a kittypet sympathizer!" Frostfur growled, her bristled tail lashing. "They might claim loyalty to Thunderclan, but I know where their true hearts lie!"

Firepaw bristled, ready to defend himself, but it was Bluestar that spoke first. "Don't be ridiculous, Frostfur. Ravenpaw and Firepaw have both been excellent apprentices for Thunderclan. Starclan themselves approve of these two."

The angry queen huffed dismissively. "Of course they do." She spared a brief glance to Bluestar before fixing her gaze back on Ravenpaw, like she was afraid even that moment would be enough for the terrified tom to slip past her. "They've just pretended to be good apprentices to fool you. Not me, though. I know the truth." She hissed, her voice low, as though afraid someone unwanted might overhear them. "I'm not letting them near our kits. Not as long as I still draw breath."

"Frostfur, please." It was a different voice - Dappleshine, one of the other longtime queens. "Goldenflower and Speckleflight need this water. Surely you can make an exception, just this once?"

He could tell the answer by the way Frostfur's face rankled before she even spoke. "And give them a chance to hurt our kits? Absolutely not."

The rest of the Clan seemed shocked at her words, and Firepaw himself didn't know what to say. He had heard rumors of her wrath before, but this was beyond anything he could have imagined. He opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't summon any words to challenge her in this moment.

"I'll get it." A lithe gray form darted between the two opposing sides to grab the mossball off the ground, and he realized gratefully it was Pepperpaw. "I'm safe, right?" She asked Frostfur soothingly.

The nursery guardian eyed her warily, as though she too were some sort of Shadowclan spy. Finally, she nodded and allowed just enough space for the spotted molly to squeeze through. "Fine. But no one else."

Pepperpaw dipped her head in acknowledgement and padded past, not even glancing at the other two apprentices. The ginger tom understood why, but it still hurt to feel so ignored. With the drama dealt with, the crowd dispersed, leaving only the two apprentices, Bluestar, and Dappleshine for Frostfur to stare down.

Bluestar finally sighed and lowered her tail from its challenging stance. "I understand the heat is affecting everyone, Frostfur, but you can't just accuse two hardworking apprentices of being disloyal to the Clan with no proof." She admonished the queen wearily. "I hope this won't happen again."

Frostfur snorted again. "Oh, but there is proof. He tried to poison your deputy in front of you." She whipped around and disappeared into the nursery, her ears closed to any argument the others may have given.

Firepaw sighed in both disbelief and relief. "I don't know what that was all about." He commented to Ravenpaw beside him, only to realize the dark apprentice wasn't by his side. Whirling around, he was just in time to see a white tail-tip disappearing into the bramble tunnel out of camp.

"I don't either." Dappleshine admitted. "I'm sorry, Bluestar. Frostfur's been a bit paranoid, with the rumors about Shadowclan going around, but I didn't think she'd go so far as to lash out at Ravenpaw. I'll try to talk with her later."

The leader nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Dappleshine. I'm sure you'll sort this out." With that, she turned and returned to her lounging spot by Whitestorm and Lionheart, not even sparing a glance to Firepaw. He wilted, unable to help but feel impossibly small in the moment. Even Dappleshine ignored him, choosing instead to follow the other queen into the nursery, leaving him standing alone.

Firepaw's heart ached as he glanced towards the entrance. The scene from just moments ago replayed in his mind, the sheer rage in Frostfur's eyes as she spoke and the seeming lack of sympathy from everyone else. Just as he was about to return to his duties, a bolt of realization arced through him. The words she'd spat at them: he'd heard them before, talking about the very same skinny black tom that had just fled.

"That's what he would have you believe." He mumbled under his breath as his eyes fixed on Longtail, who was cleaning Mousefur's ears. Beside him were Tigerclaw and Dustleap, who were talking about something he couldn't hear from here. As he watched, the larger tom looked up to see Firepaw watched him, his amber eyes shining bright in the darkness.

He looked away quickly, recalling what Ravenpaw had said about his father. Tigerclaw would ensure that the dark tom would be driven out of the Clan if Firepaw didn't do something. But what could he do in the face of an entire Clan?

[blot-squisher]

Kinda curiouso - what's the breakdown on Slashers that voted to let Marcus live Vs voted to kill him Vs abstained?

Wow, sorry I took so long answering this! I kept meaning to type this up on my computer and got distracted.

Voted to let him live: 11

Danny, obviously

Pyramid Head, because he didn't go to all that trouble to find and fuck him just to see him die like a week later

Amanda, got the full story from Danny and decided Marcus sounded like an interesting person

Evan, he really just wanted to piss off Michael and doing the opposite of whatever it is he wants is just a sure fire way to do it... also he may or may not have already decided he liked the bratty ginger and reeaaallly didn't want to see him dead...

Thomas, isn't about to sit back and see his knew friend die! Marcus was nice to him! And he didn't even scream the first time he saw him!

Caleb, isn't about to vote to kill someone who was just dragged bleeding and terrified into the Realm without knowing why first. Danny did a good job arguing for the vet's character, and the old cowboy got curious.

Max, just followed Caleb's lead because he didn't care enough to pay attention to what was being discussed.

Sally, just wanted to disagree with Herman

Philip, he's not really a bad guy, he's just been dealt some really shitty cards. He's not going to vote to kill the adorable surprising guest that's just been dragged to the Realm unless he does something to endanger them. Also Pyramid Head scares the crap out of him.

Samara, likes to play with new people, although Rin and Sadako try to keep her away from anyone new. She wants to get to know the new play thing...

Carmina, much like Philip, she's really not a bad person at heart. She abhorred playing the Entity's game and has yet to kill since escaping. She didn't even need to be convinced to vote in his favor.

Voted to kill him: 6

Michael, mistakenly believed he'd either hurt, or planned to hurt Thomas. The idea that Ghostface was stupid enough to allow it or possibly even have facilitated it only made him angrier and less willing to listen to Danny's side of the story.

Kenneth, just really likes hurting people. Especially innocent people. Especially-

Blight, was hoping if they won the kill vote he'd get to use him as a test subject. They may be trapped in this hellhole of a Realm now, but that doesn't mean he can't continue his research!

Herman, was jealous and more than a little offended that his fellow Slashers were going to a vet of all things for medical care. No. No, his feelings are not hurt! Not in the slightest...

Charlotte & Victor, argued longer about whether or not they got one vote or two. Once it was decided they'd only get one no matter how they voted, they threw a fit and decided on kill.

Rin, immediately voted kill. Doesn't care. Doesn't need a reason. Kill.

Didn't vote/Didn't get a vote: 14

Freddy, abstained actually. Why? He's a shit stirrer and it wasn't clear who was going to win yet.

Anna, wasn't present. Unknown to the others, she was being held captive but the Collector. (would have voted to kill him)

Adiris, was out looking for Anna. (would have voted to let him live)

Dredge, there's still a debate among the Entity's Slashers whether or not he's sapient enough to get a vote (he is, would have voted kill at the time... he wanted to eat the body.)

Sadako, the whole thing made her uncomfortable and she abstained. Still got mad at Samara for her live vote though.

Kazan, no one knows where the hell he is! They haven't seen him in almost twenty years! (Would have voted live, just to fuck with Danny. He knows Ghostface is scared of him and bullies him for fun.)

Demogorgon, doesn't get a vote. Less intelligent than Dredge, but still way to fucking smart for an animal.

Ji-Woon, wasn't present. (would have voted kill just to listen to him scream)

Wesker, wasn't invited. Didn't find out about it until much later. (would have abstained just to see how it would play out, plan course from there)

Nemesis, wasn't invited, wouldn't have been allowed to vote even though he's smart enough to do so (Wesker knows this, but doesn't care. Nem would have voted kill in hopes of getting to do it himself. He doesn't get out much)

Pinhead, wasn't present, no one wants him there anyway!

Lisa, wasn't there. She's chilling in the Florida everglades and doesn't want to be disturbed. (Would have abstained so she could go back to chilling with her pet gator)

Legion, was trapped in the Lament Configuration thanks Frank (Would have only gotten one vote, but they would have voted for live if only to keep Susie from never shutting up about what could have been with the cute twitchy ginger and aw why is he running away from me?)

Jason, wasn't there and no one was about to leave the show to go get him. (would have voted to let him live, much to Michael's unending ire. What, he likes red heads!)

I think that's everyone? If I missed anyone let me know, and I'll make a react for them <3

[thedevilinmybrain]

Oli can't remember a time when Louis Tomlinson wasn't an integral part of his life. It's as if Louis has always been there, like he fit into his place and it was as natural as breathing, like a limb. Louis has that way about him, an uncanny ability to draw people in, to make you feel safe and at home. He's the sun and everyone else is just a part of the orbit, circling and circling, blinded but never once considering closing their eyes. Once you have Louis' favor, once you're one of his, you never want to lose it.

It feels good to know you have Louis' attention.

Oli can still remember primary school, how all the other lads would rush around, try to make Louis notice them, be his best mate. Stan always came close, always a good contender, and Calvin too. But only Oli was chosen to sit by Louis at every snack, on the reading carpet, often in the corner for time outs. It was Oli who listened to Louis sing in the car, in his room, working up the nerve to try out for the drama club. It was Oli who helped him memorize lines. The lads might have known about every crush, every sloppy make out in the back of a theater, about the girls who would stare and whisper from across the lunchroom. But it was Oli, on a cold September night laying on the floor next to Louis in his room, that had heard Louis ask about kissing boys.

They had grown up together, had bled together on the same cobblestone streets, rubbed grass stains from the same footie pitch into their knees. Oli was there for every birth of a sibling, for every long day at school, for every sleepover and movie night and mischief. He had been the one to watch Louis punch the first bully to ever pull on Oli's ears and hiss 'ginger minger‘ at him.

It was more than just in each other's pockets. They were brothers. No secrets between them. Made plans to be lads for the rest of their lives.

Then Louis went to an audition in London and he never came home.

[thebookreader12345]

Not Gone Yet

Pairing: Connor Rhodes x reader

Summary: Connor’s supposed to be taking a job at the Mayo Clinic, but when Y/N finds him back at work next shift, she questions why he didn’t leave

Requested: Yes, by anonymous

Warnings: slight swearing, mention of injuries

Word Count: 1,556 Words

It all started the day Connor and I first met. 

Flashback

I was waiting for the next patient to come through the ambulance bay doors. There had been a huge train accident, and dozens of people were being sent our way. All of the doctors had been given people to work on, and now it was just me. Just then, a gurney barreled through the double doors, and on top of my patient was a young, handsome looking man.

“28-year-old male with crush injuries, a severed artery, and massive blood loss,” the man informed me as I grabbed ahold of the gurney and escorted it into the nearest available trauma room. “I got a tourniquet on his right leg and tried to intubate, but I couldn't get his jaw open. He lost his pulse on the ride.” 

“Put him on our monitor and rapid transfuser,” I order the nearest nurse. “Also, grab 4 units of O-neg and start with a round of Epi.” 

“I already hit him with Epi twice. Still no pulse. He's in fib,” the man told me. 

“All right, I’ve got it from here,” I exclaim. 

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to stay,” the guy stated.

“If you don’t mind me asking, who the hell are you?” I retort.

“I'm the new trauma fellow,” the man replied. After the patient had been passed off to a surgeon, I went looking for the man who had helped me earlier, and I found him in an empty patient room attempting to do stitches on his bicep.

“You need some help?” I question.

The man shook his head. “Nope. I’m good.”

“Okay. And uh, thanks for the help earlier,” I say.

“It was no problem. I’m Connor Rhodes, by the way,” the man greeted me.

I smiled. “Y/N L/N.” I then looked down at his cut, and when I saw that his stitches were near perfect, I was tremendously impressed. “You closed that almost perfectly. Where'd you pick that up?” 

“Riyadh,” Connor replied. “I spent a year there after my residency. Saudis paid me well not to leave unsightly scars.” 

“Well, it was nice meeting you Connor. I hope to see you around,” I claim.

“Yeah. I hope so too,” Connor spoke with a smile.

Flashback End

That was a few years ago, and now, we were friends. Great friends. However, for me, there was always something a little more between us. I had gained feelings for my co-worker, and no matter how much I tried to get rid of them, they wouldn’t go away. So I hid them. And now, Connor was taking a job at the Mayo Clinic, and tonight we were having a going away party for him. I was milling around the little Hawaiian themed bar on the riverfront, talking to other co-workers and such, and when I finished greeting everyone that I needed to, I walked off to find Connor. I eventually found him on a little dock peering at the river down below, and I went to join him.

“You, sir, are missing your lei,” I tell him and slide the bright pink flower necklace over his head. “And you’re also missing out on your party. Whatcha doing here all alone?”

“Just thinking,” Connor responded and stared out at the water.

“About?” I question.

Connor shrugged. “A lot of different stuff, I guess.”

“Well, seeing as you’re my best friend, I am not going to let you sulk in the corner all night. This is the last time we’re going to get to hang out in who knows how long, and I’m going to make it worth every second. Come on,” I demand and lace my hand with his before dragging him back to the party. As the music’s volume loudened, I led Connor over to the designated dance floor and began to dance alongside some of my co-workers.

“What are you doing?” Connor asked and laughed.

“Dancing, and you’re making me look stupid, so please dance with me,” I say. Connor hesitated, but soon gave in, and together we moved to the beat of the music. Connor twirled me around before pulling me back into his arms, and then we just stayed there in each other’s embraces. I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my cheek on his shoulder, inhaling the familiar scent of his cologne. For a few minutes, we just stood there, holding each other tightly, neither of us wanting to let go. “I’m gonna miss you so much,” I murmur.

“I’m gonna miss you too,” Connor mumbled into my hair and gave me a soft squeeze. And that was the last night I was supposed to ever see my best friend. I took my next shift off so that I could gather myself before going back to work, because once I had left the party and made it back to my apartment, I was a sobbing mess. I changed into some comfortable clothes, climbed into bed, and then cried myself to sleep. It was hard losing a best friend, especially someone I was so close with like Connor. After a few days though, my break was over, which meant I had to get back to work. Part of me wanted to take another day off because I didn’t want to go back to the hospital and not see Connor, but the other half of me knew that it was time to get back to my normal routine. I promised myself I would text Connor later, and once I got dressed, I headed to the hospital. When I walked through the ED doors, memories of Connor and I doing the same hit me, but I pushed them away and tried to focus on something else, and that just happened to be the doctor with curly ginger hair standing a few feet away from me.

“Hey, Will,” I greet and lean against the nurses’ station next to him.

“Hey, Y/N. How was your break?” Will asked and set down the tablet he was looking at.

“Good,” I reply. “It was much needed. So, you got any good cases you need help on?”

Will laughed. “You haven’t even put your stuff away yet. Come see me after that and then we’ll see.” I nodded and made my way to the doctors’ lounge, desperate to shed my bag and jacket so that I could get a case that would distract me. However, when I entered the lounge, I froze in my tracks. There, standing not even a dozen feet away from me, was Connor Rhodes, clad in a pair of black scrubs.

“Connor?” I question.

Connor looked up from his phone, and when he saw me, he smiled. “Y/N, hey.” I dropped my bag to the floor and launched myself into his arms, squeezing him tightly. For a few seconds, we stayed in each others’ arms, but eventually, I pulled away.

“What the hell are you doing here? Why aren’t you gone yet? You’re supposed to be in Minnesota,” I point out.

“I know, but the board agreed to run my Hybrid OR project, and they wanted me to stay and run the program,” Connor explained.

I smiled. “That’s great. I’m happy that your project is taking off.”

“That’s not really why I decided to stay though,” Connor stated. “I decided to stay because of you.”

“W-what?” I stammer out as Connor grabbed ahold of my hands.

“I stayed in Chicago for you, Y/N. You’ve always felt like more than a best friend to me, and I didn’t want to pass up the chance to be with you. If you feel the same way, of course,” Connor added. Without hesitation, I leaned up and pressed my lips to Connor’s. He kissed back immediately, winding his arms around my waist to pull me closer. I melted into Connor’s body, enjoying the warmth that emitted from him, along with the way it felt to be kissing him. Our lips moved together in sync for as long as possible, until finally, we had to pull away to breathe. “I’m really glad you feel the same way,” Connor confessed.

“Me too. I uh, I actually have to get back out to the ED to help Will with a case, but can we meet up after shift?” I quiz and shove my things into my cubby.

“Of course,” Connor answered. “I can’t wait. I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah. See you later. Oh, and good luck with the OR,” I call out as I left the residents’ lounge. I made my way over to Will, who was grinning like an idiot, something he didn’t do too often. “What?” I ask.

Will nodded to Connor, who had just exited the lounge and was making his way to the elevator. “I saw that.”

“No you didn’t,” I argue, my face turning a deep shade of red.

“Except I did,” Will countered. “So, are you going to tell me what just happened, or do I have to go hit up Connor for the details?”

I laughed and shook my head. “Neither. What you are gonna do though is cough up that case you said you had so we can get to work.”

“All right, but this conversation isn’t over,” Will said.

“It is for now. So, what do we got?” I question and look at the tablet in front of Will.

________________________

Tag List:

@prettypyschoinpink @securityfriendly-jay @scarletsoldierrr @lorenakaspersen @virtualreader @carnationworld @caitsymichelle13 @king-crockett​

[agent-whiskeys-sweetheart]

Our Little Secret

Pairing: Agent Whiskey x Reader

Summary: While you and the other Statesmen agents are on the flight to your next mission, you decide to have a little fun with Whiskey.

Warnings: This is just pure SMUT, handjob description.

A/N: I am so so sorry this took so long for me to write! I started a new job recently and it has kept me crazy busy. Nevertheless thank you so much for the request and I hope all of you enjoy!

The plane had been in the air for nearly two hours when you finally opened your eyes. Knowing that you had a ways to travel you decided to exploit the calmness and get some rest. Since joining the Statesmen a good night’s sleep had been a rarity. Even the quick nap you had been able to get in was more peaceful than your past several weeks of sleep. However, as much as you enjoyed the sleep there was a thought continually itching in the back of your mind. Finally unable to deny yourself any longer you sat upright in your seat. 

As you stretched your tired limbs you scoped out the cabin. To one side of you was Tequila who had a similar idea to you, his hat pulled down over his face as he slept soundly. Ginger was just behind him with her nose buried in her phone. Directly behind you was Champ, staring out the window. And at the very back of the cabin was Whiskey who had his eyes closed as well. With another small stretch you pushed yourself up out of your seat and began making your way to the back of the plane. Champ ignored you but the sudden movement made Ginger look in your direction. You gave her a small smile which she returned before looking back at her phone. Moving more quickly now you pulled off your jacket, draping it over your arm until you were sitting down next to Whiskey. Feeling you brush against his body made him open his eyes as you dropped your jacket down over his lap. 

“Well hey sweetheart.” He asked in a whisper, his hand finding your knee. The two of you had been secretly dating for a few months now. This job wasn’t exactly relationship friendly but you both knew that it was worth the risk. However, you still weren’t too keen on letting the other agents know just yet. Sometimes you wished you could just tell them and get it over with but you also knew that if you did you wouldn't get to have little moments like this. Feeling his breath hot against your ear as he leans in quietly to tell you how much he needs you. Stealing him away to kiss him with so much passion and fervor before pretending that nothing had happened. Letting your hands explore wherever they could when the others were preoccupied. The excitement of being each other's secret made you never want to tell anyone. You knew Whiskey felt the same when you watched the look in his eyes as your hands found his thigh beneath the jacket.

"What are you doing?" The concern in his voice was nothing more than a ruse as you saw his eyes flicker with the same lust that was lighting a fire in your chest. With a small innocent smile you look up at him through your lashes, batting them sweetly. 

“I just thought I would keep you company, Agent Whiskey. You looked awful lonely back here.” As you say this, your hand slides its way up his thigh until it is resting lightly against the front of his jeans. It only takes a few moments for you to feel him getting hard under your palm. Despite trying to maintain your innocent look, you can’t hold back the sly smile that creeps onto your lips once you can feel what you’re doing to him. 

“Oh yeah? Well that sure is sweet of you darling.” Whiskey shifts his hips forward just slightly, giving you better access. Even though you are both clearly trying to seduce one another, neither of you are willing to sacrifice the upper hand. It’s a game. His eyes bore into yours and your hands explore his body but neither of you are going to let yourself lose the advantage. You see no signs of his surrender but you have a feeling that soon you’ll have him singing your tune. 

“What can I say? I care about my fellow Agents. We are a team, aren’t we?” With this, you begin unbuckling his belt as quietly as possible, undoing his zipper as well. Opening his jeans just enough to give you access, you find the hem of his boxers. As you slip your hand into his boxers you peel your eyes away from his, now daring to look around the cabin. The other agents are still preoccupied, but you know testing the waters will make Whiskey give in even quicker. Still not looking at him, you find the outline of his cock and give it a firm squeeze. 

“Oh, you are definitely a team player.” There is a hint of struggle in his voice now, which makes you smile wider now. Trying to keep your movements as small as possible, you start stroking him. Your grip is still firm, which helps you make up for the small nature of your strokes. After one long stroke you swipe your thumb across the tip of his cock, gathering up some of his precum before using it to make him more slick with your strokes. This motion brings a groan to the back of his throat. You hear his breath catch, knowing that he is holding himself back. This makes you look back to him, seeing that his head has fallen back against the headrest and his eyes are closed. God, you wished you could lean over and kiss the hollow of his throat while he was leaving himself exposed but that was one risk you knew would be too easy to catch. However, you made a mental note to make sure you did so later. 

“Is Whiskey okay?” Ginger’s voice pulls you out of the moment, causing a lump to form in your throat. Bringing your movements to a stop, you gave her a small smile as you looked between the two of them. Whiskey’s eyes were still closed and he showed no signs of responding so you knew he would be no use to you at the moment. 

“Oh, yeah. He’s fine. He’s just got a headache. He’ll be fine by the time we land.” This answer seemed to appease Ginger as she nodded with a small and lost herself in her phone again. With an inaudible sigh of relief, you continue your small movements as his eyes slowly open. “Thanks for your help.” You whisper to him, hiding your grin.

“I figured it’d just be better if I played dead.” Whiskey joked, his eyes finding yours again. After making eye contact with him again you got a wicked idea. Without another word you speed up your movements just slightly, applying pressure just the way he liked. This shift in your motions made him throw his head back again as he sucks in a deep breath. Keeping your eyes locked on his, you continued this pace with absolute precision. You knew he was getting close when he grabbed your arm beneath the jacket. Just a few more strokes would send him over the edge. Right where you wanted him. Just as you felt him begin to tense you took your hand away quickly, making him jolt forward. The look on his face was exactly what you were hoping for. Before he could even ask you why you stopped you withdraw your hand from his boxers, zip him back up, and help him do his belt. Whiskey’s mouth is gaping as you take your hand out from underneath the jacket, stretching widely. 

“Well, I should probably let you rest. Hope that headache goes away soon. I’m sure it’s really painful to be right on the edge of relief like that.” With nothing more than a small smile you pick up your jacket and walk back to your seat. As you leave him exposed Whiskey quickly grabs his own jacket and throws it over his lap to cover up the evidence of your playtime. When you hear him shuffling in the back you look over your shoulder to see him make his way quickly to the bathroom, making you stifle a laugh. Turning back around you close your eyes and try to catch back up on your sleep. You knew you could sleep like a baby now that you had won your little game, just like you always did. 

Once seeing your eyes are closed Ginger leans forward to where Tequila is sleeping. “T. T, wake up.” She prods in a whisper. He stirs quickly, turning all the way around to look at her. 

“What’s up?” 

“You owe me twenty bucks.” This response causes Tequila to groan. 

“Right now? On the plane?” Ginger simply nods as he digs in his pocket before pulling out a twenty. She quickly puts the money away with a wide smile, trying not to laugh. So much for your secret. 

[capitainelevi]

omg 21!!! GOOD LUCK HAHAHA

Thank you for your ask!! ❤️❤️ Drabble challenge: Followers send a number to your ask and you write a drabble using that sentence/prompt in your piece.

“He’s a bad kisser.”

Do I wanna know? Modern AU. Movie stars.

Word count: 1457

"Captain, this may be my last night alive."

Levi shifted to her suddenly, and his expression softened at the sorrow painted on his subordinate`s face. He wished he could be a solace for her, same as with every mission, and he tried not to let guilt eat at him. The operation was crucial, as it always had been. More significant than even the undying trust Petra felt towards him.

"Shut up, brat."

He wished he could make promises of an unrestrained future, but Levi never believed himself capable of it. How could he pretend he was Humanity`s Strongest Soldier when so many of his comrades had to sacrifice their lives for the dream they all shared? When the tears started rolling on Petra`s cheeks, Levi took her face in his hands, determined to give her a reason to live. He could taste the saltiness of her tears as he pressed his lips to hers in a desperate attempt to show her he was always hers.

"Let`s take a break, people."

Hange`s obnoxious voice pulled Levi out of the fantasy, and he broke the kiss abruptly. His scene partner only smiled at him before making her way out of the set. Levi could feel his heart pulsating faster than before, and he decided not to trade precious hours of sleep for caffeine anymore. As enjoyable as the kiss had been, he refused to think it could have had any effect on him. Levi was not afraid to admit it: he was not fond of acting. It was nothing more than a job to him, one he found himself in since his early childhood. Being the wonder child of Hollywood set Levi up on a path of success through adulthood, but there was no movie or even scene that left a mark on him. He was about to refuse the odd script when he took a glimpse at the small photo of the ginger girl attached to the papers.

Petra Ral. A rising star of Hollywood and the first actor to piquet Levi`s interest in years. Unbeknownst to him, Petra used to refer to herself as his biggest fan in her teenage years. Petra would never admit being the admin of one of his online fan clubs or kissing her Levi poster goodnight, of course. She yelled at the phone when her agent announced Levi had accepted the role, that she would get to play in a movie with THE Levi Ackerman.

But disappointment hit her on their first day on set. While she knew all about her greatest infatuation`s cold exterior, Petra had hoped she could break through his walls. Not only was Levi cold towards her, but after a week of working together, she was sure Levi despised her. When Hange, one of Levi`s childhood friends, found her crying in her trailer after they shot Eren`s accidental transformation, Petra had to let it all out. She ranted to Hange for more than an hour, and the only reaction they had was to laugh at Petra`s distress. She thought Hange was trying to console her by deceiving her, that they had never seen Levi so open towards a fellow actor before.

Petra almost salivated at the sight of the extra coffee cup in her makeup artist`s hand. Nifa always knew how to make Petra`s day better.

"I love you."- Petra whispered to Nifa as she pulled the cup out of her hand greedily.

Petra was surprised her friend had managed to keep quiet for so long, as the smirk plastered on her face kept growing more and more by the second.

"So, how was it?"

Petra decided to take a long sip of her coffee, letting Nifa boil in her curiosity a bit more. The kiss had been breathtaking, exceeding even her incredibly high expectations. Petra found a smile growing on her lips at the thought of Levi`s on hers. At Nifa`s groan, Petra decided to end her suffering.

"Alright, alright. It was... better than I ever expected."

Nifa giggled, equally excited at Petra`s opportunity to lock lips with one of Hollywood`s hottest eligible bachelors. She hit Petra`s shoulder playfully- "You lucky dog!"

Petra couldn`t help but smile at her friend`s adorable pout- "I`m almost jealous."

"Please, I had to work with Oluo before this. I deserve it."

Petra couldn`t help but sigh at the memories locked away in her mind, the ones she brought up every time a scene required her disgust- "He`s a bad kisser."

"It`s the tongue, isn`t it?"

The two girls burst into laughter, missing the sound of her trailer door closing after the short man. Levi strolled away angrily, throwing the coffee cup he had brought for Petra in the nearest trash can. He couldn`t help but feel hurt at her words. His stomach churned at the idea that the only girl he had liked in years thought he was a horrible kisser. And the tongue? Levi couldn`t recall having used it. Or was it the lack of it that made the kiss disgusting?

"Hey, did someone finally piss in your coffee, Shorty?"

Levi was too caught up in his turmoil to offer Hange an answer, ignoring them and Erwin setting bets on who hated him enough to go to such length. He had trouble controlling the grimace on his face at the sight of Petra`s smiling figure making her way to them, and he felt guilty when he noticed her deflating on the spot. It was not the girl`s fault for not finding their kiss enjoyable, after all.

Hange embraced the ginger girl- "Petra, darling, the crying was on point! But we do need to redo the kiss scene." Petra studied Levi`s reaction, and his lack of any left her confused. She thought the kiss had been astounding.

Levi couldn`t believe his luck. Not only Petra thought he was a bad kisser, but he was also going to put her through it again. As Levi was standing in front of the pretty ginger, he made up his mind. He was determined to make it up to her.

Levi hungrily pressed his lips against hers as one of his arms embraced the girl, pulling her closer towards him. Petra was surprised at the sudden passion behind Levi`s kiss, but she reciprocated in a matter of seconds. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and when Levi nipped at her lips, she opened her mouth to let his tongue explore. Petra moaned, making Levi kiss her deeper.

Hange and Erwin kept looking between themselves and at the couple, perplexed by the sudden show of passion. Hange checked their files again- "Erwin, did we have a sex scene next?" Erwin shook his head no, both stunned and intrigued by the couple so lost in each other they forgot their surroundings.

Hange laughed awkwardly, unsure of how to proceed next- "Hey, guys, appreciable commitment! But I think we`re done for now."

Levi and Petra ignored their calls, only breaking their kiss after the third time both Hange and Erwin intervened. Levi left the set suddenly, without saying any word, and Petra exchanged confused looks with the people left.

When she spotted him walking around in circles outside of the building, Petra was unsure if she should approach him. She wasn`t even sure what to make of his reaction. Petra closed her eyes and gathered all the courage she had before she made her way to him.

"So... hey. That kiss was really..."

Levi cut her off- "Look, I`m truly sorry it was a bad experience for you. I tried to make it up to you."

Petra was left wordless. Bad experience? Their kiss had been so astounding she was sure if levitating was possible, she could have achieved it.

"Bad experience?"

Levi sat down on the bench with his head between his palms. He just wanted to get home and forget he had made a fool of himself. Twice.

"I heard you and Nifa talking earlier in your trailer. I was on my way to bring you coffee."

Petra couldn`t help the laughter erupting from her, and when she noticed Levi`s pained expression, she tried her best to gather her words. She took a deep breath- "Levi, it was out of context. We were talking about Oluo, my former set partner."

Levi`s mouth dropped open, surprised at his stupidity. He could feel his cheeks growing red from the embarrassment his impulsiveness caused him. His reaction didn`t go unnoticed by Petra, who decided to take matters into her hand.

Petra sat down next to him with a cheeky smile painted on her lips- "But how about we kiss again, and I can give you my opinion after that? You know what they say: third time`s a charm."

[ohheyitsokay]

storm clouds

Pairing: Agent Whiskey (Jack Daniels, Kingsman) x (f) reader 

Warnings: none, this is entirely practice in characterization? I guess. Novice writing and over-description of random things

Wordcount: 2.3k

Summary: You’re a mysteriously casual secret agent that Jack gets paired with for a mission. You’re kind, capable, and kissable and Jack is confused (and smitten).

Notes: y’all this is the first fic I’m posting, I’m just trying to find my voice again. I had fun though, so please enjoy and be patient with me! Thank you!

>>

Walking into the conference room, Agent Whiskey felt like he was entering the eye of a storm. Anticipation and danger felt one step away, but in front of him was a calm and overwhelmingly comfortable presence.

He had never met you before, never even seen you, but you had the air of a good friend, a cup of hot coffee, and a hoodie all rolled into one attractive person. Images of the two of you flashed in his mind: on his couch, in his truck, talking about life, laughing. The images alarmed him, and his guard was immediately up.

“What’s all this?” he asked, eyes narrowing slightly, moving his gaze to the familiar agents in the room.

“Agent Whiskey, we’d like you to meet Special Agent Cloud, our new friend from...” Champ trailed off, looking at you. Whiskey watched in disbelief as you tilted your head and then gave it an almost imperceptible shake.

“From an international classified department that we’ve recently been chosen to work with.” Champ said the last part with enough force that Whiskey had no trouble reading in-between the lines.

An agency even the Stateman didn’t know? Clearly a legitimate one, seeing as you weren’t in handcuffs, but what kind of mess was this?

“Nice to meet you,” you said, and he appreciated that you stood up to shake his had. Your grip was firm, but he was further confused to feel how soft your hands were - not fully foreign to work, but certainly less calloused than a typical field agent. Your voice, he realized a moment later, was without distinguishable accent.

“The two of you will be working together to infiltrate a wealthy suspected smuggler in Vancouver,” Champ continued, explaining the details of the target and mission. It was all seeming very standard until something caught Whiskey’s attention.

“Wait, I’ll be point and she’s on logistics, right?” he said, clarifying but confident.

“No,” Champ replied, once again looking at you questioningly.

“I’ll be in the field with you, Agent Whiskey,” you said, and much to his annoyance, he found himself unable to read your tone.

“Are you serious?” he said incredulously, and your eyebrows rose just a hair, “No offense, Agent, but you don’t look the type, much less like your old enough to handle this advanced of a mission.”

Whiskey didn’t know why he was so annoyed at being wrong, and frankly, he surprised himself with how judgmental he was being. In all honesty, all his instincts weren’t even saying you were young, nor did you seem particularly unqualified. They were just saying he wanted to protect you. And he was afraid.

The other agents in the room began talking, all obviously trying to defuse a potentially tense situation., but you said nothing, a slow smile spreading across your face.

“Well you can’t be that old,” you said, causing everyone else to fall silent, “because you should know better than to assume a woman’s age.”

There was a beat of silence, and Whiskey was dumbfounded. Did you just sass him in front of everyone?! 

He sputtered, caught between his previous annoyance and spikes of embarrassment and attraction. 

You were laughing though, and it was contagious. It felt as though you had been friends for years and the banter was all part of the fun. The others in the room teased him, joining in, their laughter just a little bit giddy with relief. 

The meeting finished with no further interruptions, and you were dismissed, giving him a wave and what he couldn’t sworn was a wink before you slipped out the door. You took the casual air with you, as the energy dissipated, he was reminded of how baffling what whole interaction was. 

“Alright what in tarnation,” Whiskey said, turning to glare at his fellow Statesman agents, “was that?”

“Calm down, Jack,” Ginger shrugged, “she’s from a highly respectable agency. We need to play nice and get to know them for the future. You can’t actually be mad, you two already seem like a good fit.”

What was that supposed to mean? He felt his face heat up a little bit so he deflected the comment saying “I don’t even know what she does!” But Ginger just shrugged, tossing him a small camera made to look like a tie clip.

“Figure it out.”

- 

Early the next morning he climbed onto the Statesman plane, only to find you already going over the mission research papers.

You were wearing comfortable clothes but you looked... beautiful. Your hair was a bit messy and the sunrise light streaming through the windows gave the illusion that the runaway strands were glowing. Your eyes were downturned, scanning the papers, making your eyelashes veil your eyes just enough, and your lips looked soft as you silently mouthed the words you were reading.

When you noticed him, he felt like a deer in the headlights. 

You didn’t seem fazed, waving at him and gesturing to the seat across from you. 

“I hope we didn’t get off on the wrong food, Agent Whiskey,” you said, reintroducing yourself by name. “I’m sure this must all seem very strange.”

He shrugged, knowing he had reacted too strongly before, considering how weird his life was normally.

“This flight is a long one,” you continued, looking a bit hesitant, “I’d like to get to know you better, if you don’t mind?”

He found himself agreeing readily, saying, “Well first off, call me Jack,” and allowing himself to smile at you.

You smiled back, and before he could notice how it made his heart skip, the two of you launched into conversation. 

If jack wasn’t already enamored by you before the flight, he certainly was after. He found himself letting his guard down, telling you things about yourself and chatting with you like you’d known each other for years, the papers between you laying forgotten. You, in turn, were an open book concerning your domestic life, for all you weren’t allowed to share about your job. The end of the flight came far too soon, and Jack’s whole body felt warm and cozy.

When he helped you off the plane, your hand fit into his and for the first time, he noticed how something tugged inside him. 

Shocked by this revelation, he pulled away as soon as it was polite, and hurried to the awaiting ca, hoping his long stride served as an excuse for his quickened pace.

By the time the two of you arrived in your temporary apartment, you noticed he was avoiding you. You questioned him, and he felt like a lad in love: vulnerable and earnest. 

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, I just... I need...” what did he need? You waited, not pressing him, “I think I need to call my therapist. His insides buzzed with anxiety at his confession but you surprised him yet again, because you were blushing and nodding. 

“Okay,” you said after a moment, pulling out your own phone, “knock when it’s okay for me to come out!” Your smile was kind as you ducked into one of the rooms.

When the doors closed, the bubble you two had created popped and separately you were both taking deep breaths.

Jack listened to his phone dial, and the tugging on his heart returned as he considered your beautiful, honest eyes, telling him silently that this was normal. He could hear your muffled noises through the door, and he moved towards his own room as his therapist answered. He didn’t exactly know what to say but he knew he needed to figure it out fast because for the first time in a long time, he felt like maybe he was more than just an agent.

Over the next few days, the feeling didn’t go away. The shared living space provided ample space for you two to prepare for the mission, but it was intimate. Even though much of your conversations were about analysis and tactics, all he felt like he was learning was how good you looked cooking breakfast. How adorably your expression changed when you were thinking hard. How his heart beat felt when you walked out of the bathroom, clouded by shower steam, beads of water sliding down your skin. 

“Jack?”

He snapped back into focus, and he almost tripped. The two of you were walking to the Big Bad’s place, your professional heels clicking along the sidewalk. He blushed like a schoolboy caught daydreaming.

“Sorry, darlin’,” he fidgeted, “ what was that?”

“Just saying that I think it’s going to be the best way,” you said, and if he didn’t know any better, you were apologizing to him. His eyes narrowed and his heart protested, not wanting to argue with you.

“I just don’t like you going there alone.”

You crossed your arms at him.

“I’m not sayin you’re not capable,” he backtracked, “but it doesn’t make sense if we need to figure out how our agencies can work together.” He made a fair point, but you were prepared, having had variations of this argument over the past few days. 

“Jack, the Statesmen already know what you do. Before we work together, before you put yourself and your agency on the line, don’t they need to see what I can do?” You had trapped him. Jack was already clenching his jaw. You were right, and the supervisors agreed with you. He should agree, too, since logically you two hadn’t known each other long enough to justify how badly he wanted to protect you.

“I just don’t know,” he said, trying not to sound too much like he was pleading with you. You stopped, turning to look at him. 

You looked conflicted for a moment before, much to his delight, you blushed and reached up to touch his cheek.

“Trust the plan,” you said, and his had involuntarily covered yours, squeezing it. 

 You placed the other one on his chest and stood tiptoe to kiss his other cheek, making him want to forgive you instantly, once he remembered how to function. Your face was so close to his, he ached to kiss you for real but you pulled back, squeezing his had back before you did something that baffled him for a moment.

You pulled your weight onto your right side, gently grinding the heel point into the ground.

And then you disappeared with a burst of smoke.

Agent Whiskey immediately panicked, rotating, his eyes searching for you, until he finally saw you at the entrance of the corporate building. 

A grin spread across his face.

“Well played, Special Agent Cloud,” he said into your communication piece. and he saw your wink before you were gone. 

-

An hour later, back in your apartment, Whiskey found himself unable to stop pacing. He still had awhile before he was supposed to follow you but he couldn’t help but feel anxious. He’d known you less than a week - he was only nervous because of the mission. Because he couldn’t be videoing what you were doing. Because he couldn’t be part of the action. That’s all. It had nothing to do with the fact that you were kind and fun and clever and so mysterious and lovely he could kiss you. Nothing to do with the fact that he’d like to be showing off for you. Nothing to do with any of that. 

Against all logic, suddenly the doorknob turned and Jack whipped around to see you sheepishly walking in. The two of you stared at each other for a moment before you turned as deep a red as your skin tone could manage. 

“I’m so sorry Jack!” you said, holding up your hands in a gesture of peace. “Please don’t be mad! I was following the plan I promise, but then the secretary was in a bad mood and she just started talking and everything happened so much faster than we thought it would and I was just rolling with it and,” you gulped air, your words having sped up considerably, “and so many people were standing by me and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to contact you subtly but then all this stuff happened, and I wanted to impress you and I knew I had more time before you came and it was so chaotic and - “ you stopped, looking equal parts embarrassed and proud before your voice emerged again, much quieter, “I may have accidentally completed the whole mission.”

Jack was staring at you like you were an alien. 

“Please don’t be mad,” you said, meekly, meeting his eyes for the first time since you started talking. “I really am sorry!”

Your eye in his pulled Jack out of his shock. He couldn’t believe you were apologizing. 

“Darlin’,” he could feel himself grinning. The words I wanted to impress you rang in his ears, filling him with the confidence to slowly, gently step into your space. His face hovered just inches from yours and his hands were soft as on the space where your neck met your shoulders. “Don’t be sorry, you wonderful, talented, capable little thing.”

Your eyes flickered to his lips before you looked back up to him, your head tilting just a touch. 

“I stole your camera to get footage for the Statesmen,”

Startled, Jack stepped back, his hand shooting to his tie,

“Wha- when- wait how-” he stuttered, completely baffled that he hadn’t noticed at all.

His eyes were wide and that helped you breathe again; you smiled at him. Did he have as much trouble focusing as you did when you kissed his cheek, your hand on his chest?

“Ah,” he found it in his memories, shaking his head in disbelief, “you really are something, aren’t you, darlin’?” 

And he felt it again: the eye of the storm. Perfect comfort with something brewing just below the surface. Anticipation and danger felt one step away, but this time, Jack Daniels wasn’t even a little bit afraid.

[penguintransporter]

Winning The Game Called Love (Hector Bellerin) Part I

Here it is my ladies and gents! I hope you like it, and I apologise if it’s too long, but I got carried away. Please let me know if you like it because I am always up to work on my writing, so don’t hesitate to write me DM or send in an ask (I promise, I am the friendliest person out there). This one is dedicated to @bitchforaesthetics. Anyway, read, enjoy because part II is coming out very soon...

P.S. There is no covid-19 in this story :D

_____

If one asked anyone at the Arsenal Training Centre to describe Aida - the young brunette behind the reception desk, nine out of ten times one would hear the same answer:

Bundle of positive energy. 

It didn’t matter if one was a know or less-known footballer, coach, manager, medical staff or just a random fan touring the grounds - Aida, with her smile and positive energy, could chase away whatever dark cloud was looming above one's head. Yet, despite her contagious smile that was just loud enough and genuine curiosity, as any other human being, Aida wasn’t able to chase away the real dark clouds that seemed to clutch Hertfordshire sky in a tight embrace on that Monday morning. 

Seated behind the desk and waiting for her laptop to turn on, Aida observed the gloominess outside the building and all she saw was heavy blots of grey that seemed to carry all the weight accumulated during the month of December. 

Her last month at Arsenal FC, doing the job she enjoyed more than anything.

If it only had snowed; just a little.

 She would be lying if she said she liked freezing cold, and if anyone, she would be the absolute winner of “the worst balance on icy pavements” competition - if there was one - but Christmas had a different feel to it when everything was covered in fluffy and pillow white cover. And even if she wasn’t religious or celebrated Christmas as the majority of the people, she was a firm believer that snowy Christmas made that cup of hot cocoa, as she sat in her tiny studio under her favorite blanket, just a tiny bit better. 

Aida glanced at the small card that sat next to her laptop - red and golden swirls decorating the backside of it, and with a sigh she averted her gaze back at the laptop screen that had already turned on and was humming quietly - red Arsenal FC logo staring back at her. The large and Christmas decorated lobby was still quiet, but not for too long. In just a few minutes, most of the footballers and some other employees will start pouring into the building, either for training or for their 9/5 job, and with that the building will start buzzing with contagious energy. 

All except Sead. He was late on most of the days.

Aida looked at the clock in the corner of her screen before looking up expectantly at the door, and as if on cue, Alexandre Lacazette walked in through the door, talking to his fellow countryman Thomas who worked as a medical assistant. Both Aida and Thomas, along with some others were shortlisted for the layoff, but in the end it was Aida who pulled out the shorter straw. 

She shook her head, refusing to create unnecessary tension.

 Aida knew that she gained nothing from sulking and sadness. She still had to sit behind the reception desk for another few weeks, smiling and giving the best first impression to everyone who came in. So, with a deep breath, Aida lifted her chin high and looked at the two men in front of her. 

“Bonjour lads,” she grinned - the dark thoughts disappearing as soon as she spoke, leaning on the till in front of her. “Lovely weather outside, no?”

“Good morning indeed, sunshine,” Alexandre responded while still walking across the lobby, “I am actually wearing my bikini on underneath this outfit, what about you?” he added as he disappeared through the hallway that led to the changing rooms while Aida only laughed after him.  

“What a ridiculous man,” Thomas commented, stepping in front of Aida’s desk, smiling at her. “It is so cold outside. How did you travel?”

Aida sighed defeatedly. “Clio took four tries and a bottle of warm water to start this morning, despite the lack of snow and ice. I was really chuffed for this winter, but so far it has only been disappointing.” 

Her soon-to-be ex-colleague nodded, agreeing with her words before his eyes landed on the shiny invitation on Aida’s desk. “Oooh,” he mused, running a hand through his ginger curls. “Who’s date are you? Is it David? Please say it’s not him?”

“Nope!” Aida replied, giggling. There was nothing wrong with David Luiz - he was in fact a genuine sweetheart, but also notorious around the building for his charm and flirting action. Whether it was Aida at the reception desk when he needed an excuse for being late for the training or if it was Simone in the kitchen when he wanted another round of hash browns - he didn’t pick his victim nor his weapon. “Actually,” Aida started, “it was Finn from HR. He thought it would be a nice gesture since I do not get to stay here.”

“I don’t have to tell you again how sorry I am that you have to leave,” Thomas mumbled and Aida shrugged, hiding the disappointment. 

“Oh well,” she trailed off as few of the other players walked into the building and she made sure that she smiled at each one of them. She also made sure to high-five Calum Chambers as she did every morning for more than a year. “There is nothing that you can do really… Post?” she asked, trying to change the subject, and Thomas nodded, leaning over the till to grab the signing pad that rested on Aida’s desk while she shuffled some envelopes before pulling out a big, mustard yellow one. “There is something from Miami. I am assuming it is for Michael,” Aida spoke, exchanging the signing pad for the envelope. “Just tell me if there—  ,”

They were cut off by  the upstairs’ doors slamming shut with a force. Both her and Thomas looked up, watching Mikel Arteta walk downstairs with a risky speed - phone pressed to his ear as he spoke in a very quick and heavily accented English. Thomas quickly cast his eyes downwards, but Aida kept her eyes locked at the dark-haired man, waiting for the manager to notice her. When he finally did, she gave him a bright smile - ignoring the fact that he looked as if he was angry with the whole world - including Aida.

To Thomas’ surprise, Arteta returned Aida’s gesture with a friendly grin and a small wink before putting his agitated face expression back, walking away towards the training pitches.

“I really don’t know how you do it,” Aida’s colleague muttered, and she responded with a childish giggle. 

She was about to add something sarcastic, but the main entrance doors opened, letting the gust of cold wind trail in with force as Héctor Bellerín walked in with confidence that he mastered so well. He was dressed in clothes that resembled every outfit of Aida’s dad in the family photographs from the nineties, looking the only way Héctor Bellerín could -  both ridiculous and extremely cool at the same time.

“Want to watch me how I fail?” she whispered before clearing her throat a little, following their vice-captain with her green eyes. “Good morning, Héctor!” she called out, raising her voice so he could hear her perfectly. “Bollocks weather, innit?”

Nothing.

Not an eye-contact, a simple shrug, or any kind of motion or face expression that showed a tiniest bit of interest. 

Aida was aware that her friendliness sometimes caused people to recoil and shy away from her, and that her behavior could be overbearing at times, and she often wondered if people in the modern world, including Héctor, forgot how to be friendly and appreciate an honest smile. Aida was confused and a slightly bit hurt because it has been more than a year since she started working  for the club, and they only spoke two times - morning of her first day, and that time when they accidentally slammed into one another as they crossed their paths in the medicals. 

She wasn’t sure if she was doing something wrong because to Aida, he seemed like a nice and down to earth lad, and occasionally when she would observe him interact with his teammates and other staff members, she felt a pang of jealousy because she never got more than a cold stare across the room or occasional roll of his eyes.

“Maybe he’s just not a morning person,” Thomas commented, breaking Aida’s train of thoughts. He placed the envelope under his arm as he stuck his woolly hat inside the pocket of his puffer. “Anyway, I have to go. I have meeting in ten minutes. I’ll see you around.” 

“Yeah, good luck with your day,” Aida responded, watching Thomas walk towards his office on the ground floor. 

She sat back in her comfy chair with an itch of confusion mixed with some foreign feeling of sadness that started to tickle her. She couldn’t pinpoint what she was doing wrong when it came to Héctor Bellerín. They barely interacted, and yet he wasn’t giving her a chance. It didn’t help either that out of all people that Aida interacted with on a daily basis, he was the only one who made her heart both flutter and break at the same time. 

Her eyes glanced at the small calendar taped on the inside of her desk before resting on the party invitation again - her heart soaring with that familiar feeling.

**

Aida nodded, forcing a smile at some of the guests who passed her by. She wasn’t sure who they are or what their names were, but judging by their expensive clothes and blinding jewelry and watches, she figured out they must be very important people with lots of money.

The evening of the charity party has arrived quicker than she expected; quicker than she wanted, and even if the party was for a good cause, and she was meant to have a good time, she couldn’t shake off the tension that slowly accumulated over the past few weeks - her last weeks as the club’s employee. She didn’t want to leave, but despite talking with the HR department once again, there was nothing that she could do. Official answer was that the previous season was really bad for the club both, in terms of injury and finances, and that they had to cut the cost when it came to everything, including staffing. 

“Ada!” a boy’s scream rang out over the classical music they played, making Aida look up from where she was standing, and observing her pointy loafers and tiny specks of water residue from the drizzle of rain she caught on the way from the parking lot to the party.

Aida’s eyes connected with the small boy, dressed in a mini version of the official Arsenal FC suit as he ran towards her - his curly and unruly hair giving him a few extra inches in height. Despite feeling anxious and a bit sad, Aida smiled greatly at him, crouching down to his level before catching him in a tight embrace. Over his shoulder, she noticed his mother Alysha giving her an apologetic smile, but with a small nod, Aida reassured her that it was okay. She spent a lot of time with the boy on more than one occasion - in fact,  whenever Pierre-Emerick brought him to the centre, Pierre Jr. spent half of his time, sitting behind Aida’s desk as he talked in delight about his favorite cartoons and toys. 

“My God, look at you! You are so handsome tonight,” Aida mused and the boy giggled, embracing her once again, silently asking her to lift him up, and Aida obliged. Letting out a puff of air, she straightened up with the boy in her arms - it always surprised her to learn that he was heavier than he looked. With a smirk, she pulled at this red tie jokingly. “Has your daddy helped you with your tie?” she asked, tickling his stomach.

Pierre Jr. let out a loud cackle, squirming in her arms. “No, it was mamie. She also tied daddy’s.” Aida smiled at the boy’s mix of using French and English words, but as soon as the boy started telling her something about minions, Aida, as much as she hated to admit, stopped listening. 

The fact that she was going to be without a job occupied her brain and wasn’t something she was able to push away easily. Where did it go wrong? Obviously, like everyone else, she had her fair share of personal problems over the year, but she managed to keep them away from work - being nothing but professional and friendly the entire time. Aida always tried to give her best, treating everyone with nothing but respect, and even ran a couple of successful campaigns with the fans touring the grounds, but it was all in vain. 

Aida loved the club and being part of it. She loved the mornings when she would be one of the first to arrive, she loved that cup of coffee with Simone in the empty canteen, listening to all the anecdotes that happened since the older lady started working in the kitchen, fifteen years ago. Aida enjoyed the silly banter with footballers and the staff - heck, she even liked when Granit mispronounced her name and she had to correct him every day. She experienced so many nice moments during the past fourteen months and it felt so strange knowing that soon enough those moments will just be a nice memory.

“—so I told Curtys to stop hitting me with the pillow, but he didn’t. So I ate his hobnobs.”

Aida blinked quickly, reverting back to the reality from her thoughts and looked down at the little boy who was proudly explaining his hobnob revenge on his older brother. 

“Great job,” she answered, ruffling the boy’s hair before looking away from his glinting eyes and cheesy grin. Various groups of people mingled around her, and Aida moved her gaze across the room. Manager Arteta was talking to the club president while Claudia, the girl that was going to take her job along with being Arteta’s assistant was chatting excitedly with Naomi from PR. Everyone seemed to be in a better mood than she was, and Aida hated it. 

“Papa!” Pierre Jr. cried out happily and Aida followed his gaze. She spotted Pierre-Emerick, surrounded with some of the teammates and their significant others. 

“Do you want to go there?” Aida asked softly. Pierre Jr. nodded rapidly, and Aida craddled him before making her way through the well-dressed crowd.

**

Héctor Bellerín wasn’t exactly a man of few words, and everyone who knew him privately, knew that fact. The young Spaniard with an extraordinary London cockney accent loved to talk, appreciated a silly joke and banter, but also enjoyed discussing serious subjects and matters at any given opportunity. He was no stranger to a good book or a documentary, but also loved playing CoD with his teammates and just chill around his house. 

He considered himself polite, trying to treat everyone with respect, and most of the time he kept his cool - except that one time with Richarlison, but the lad deserved it. Yet, despite it all, the behavior of the girl behind the reception desk, for some reason, annoyed the shit out of him.

Héctor found her behavior tiring and utterly insincere. Ever since she started working, she would greet him with that smile that couldn’t have been a real one, asking him about the weather - day in and day out. It tired him to the point that he just decided to ignore her. 

On the other hand, he didn’t think that there was something wrong with her - moreover, he did agree with some of his teammates the first week she started working that she was actually pretty, but after another few weeks, her “eager beaver” behavior became a huge turn off. To Héctor, she seemed to be a type of girl that had no rest nor knew how and when to keep it down, and in his head, he used to paint this picture of her where she is making cupcakes every day, talking to fluffy animals and farting rainbows.

So, when she approached their group at the party, wearing a teal-coloured dress that wasn’t really a proper fit for her height or body type, carrying Aubameyang’s son in her arms, he waited for that bubble of overbearing happiness to burst in front of them. 

But it never did.

Instead, she greeted everyone with a short “hello” before reaching the little boy back to his father. “I apologise for interrupting your fun, but the best dressed man in this room wanted to go back to his daddy.”

“Excuse me—” Calum started, clearing his throat loudly as he smoothed down his tie. “What about us? We look decent as well, no?” 

His hand went towards Héctor’s shoulder, brushing the invisible dust from Héctor’s suit. 

Héctor swatted his hand away. 

“You look good too,” she replied, followed by a brief silence as Héctor took a sip of water, stopping himself from rolling his eyes. 

Wasn’t she a walking chatterbox? 

Has she already asked about Calum’s mother's wellbeing?

“Only good?” Alexandre pressed, but she sighed in defeat. 

“Well, I hope you enjoy your evening…” she trailed off, breaking the banter that his teammates started. “I have to go back to—” she bit her lip, looking behind her shoulder, “—I have some stuff to do.”

Only a few seconds later, Héctor watched her walk away through the crowd of men dressed in black suits and red ties. 

Part II

[jobrookekarev]

Falling Because of You

Chapter: 1/1

Words: 7100

Summary: Jo and Alex are doing their best to keep her pregnancy under wraps until Jo faints in the OR and their exciting secret slowly gets out to everyone.

Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy.

Relationship: Alex Karev/Jo Karev, and Atticus Lincoln/Amelia Shepherd. 

Characters: Jo Wilson Karev, Alex Karev, Carina DeLuca, Atticus Lincoln, Amelia Shepherd, Miranda Bailey, Maggie Pierce, Meredith Grey, Nurse Ginger, Sara Ortiz, and Levi Schmitt.

Rating: General Audiences.

Additional Tags: Fluff, Fainting, Surgery, Pregnancy, Vomiting, Jo's pregnant there's bound to be puke, and Tiny Baby Booties.

Read at AO3

Read at FFN

AN: There's a running joke about Jo being a princess or a warrior queen on the show and Camilla played Kate Middleton in a movie, so I figured giving Jo the same thing Kate had would add some extra drama.

……………………………………………………………………

Jo was in her happy place. Many surgeons had a favorite procedure or OR that they liked and for Jo, it was this. She was in OR 3 separating blood vessels between two twins that had Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome. She was essentially turning their one placenta into two and it was her new favorite thing. Ever since the pandemic started the one thing that didn't change was their work in the OR. They still took extra precautions cleaning and sanitizing, but they had already had all the essential PPE for surgery and stepping into the OR felt like a little bit of normalcy that Jo had missed over the past year. 

Along with the pandemic changing everything, Jo changed specialties and she was now in her last few months as an OB/GYN fellow.  This was her second time doing the procedure and it was going beautifully, despite the dizziness she'd had for the past few days. It was a side effect of the medication for her Hyperemesis Gravidarum that Carina had given her. Which wasn't working as Jo had barely kept down her breakfast and had thrown up at lunch. She was supposed to talk to Carina when she got out of surgery and hopefully, she could make it till then. 

Jo loved her baby so much that it made her heart swell. The tiny pea inside of her had captured her heart and the amount of love she had for them already surprised her. The only other person she loved this much was Alex, but just like Alex did, they got on her nerves sometimes. Like when she was trying to concentrate in the middle of surgery, but the baby had decided to make the room spin as she fought with them to keep her balance.

The dizziness and nausea weren’t so bad as they didn’t occur very often, but Alex was still worried about her. So much so that he had gotten Meredith to keep an annoyingly close eye on her, but Meredith had her own surgery. Jo was on her own for a few hours and was determined to get through this surgery. She was halfway done having, paused when twin A decided to move in front of the camera.

“This is so cool!” Levi exclaimed, his eyes were glued to the monitor as he moved the camera and watched her work. 

Levi was on her service today and had scrubbed in with her as he wanted to see what drew her to OB/GYN and fetal surgery. Jo smiled as he moved the camera and they got a glimpse of the twin’s face before he moved the camera back to look at the placenta. She had been on her feet all day and it was beginning to take its toll on her. She looked up at the clock for the first time since the procedure started, not wanting to miss a second of it, but then her vision faded around the edges. 

Jo blinked a few times and then looked over at Levi. “Schmitt stop.”

“Is everything okay Dr. Karev?”

“No,” Jo said, letting go of the instruments and stepping back from the table. 

Jo took a deep breath, trying to steady herself as she put one hand on her belly as if it would calm her baby. Usually, all she had to do was pause and take a few deep breaths or sit down, but this was different. Her vision darkened and things faded around the edges. As the lightheadedness made her feel weary and Jo reached out to put her hand on the table.

Jo blinked and realized that she was laying in the recovery position on the OR floor, all of the nurses and other staff were leaning over her. She had no idea how she ended up on the floor or why everyone was around her, she just felt heavy and tired and hot all over. Despite the cold OR, Jo was sweating in her gown and one of the nurses put an ice pack on the back of her neck.

“Welcome back Dr. Karev,” Nurse Ginger said, squatting down next to Jo, her eyes wrinkling as she smiled under her mask.

All of the nurses were talking above her as Ginger kneeled beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. Jo was too weak to do anything and was still a little out of it as she lay there and someone put a square alcohol wipe under her nose. She tried to breathe it in and let it rouse her, but all Jo wanted to do was rest on the nice cold floor.

“Dr. Karev? Is she all right?” Levi asked, panic filling his voice.

“She'll be fine Dr. Schmitt, just wait here for Dr. DeLuca,” Ginger said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Should we get her up on the gurney?” One of the other scrub nurses asked. 

“Yes, but let's give her some ammonia inhalants first to see if we can revive her more,” Ginger said, putting a packet of smelling salts a few inches from her nose. 

The smelling salts did their job as Jo felt more alert and lifted up her head to look around the OR. 

“Ugh that stuff is terrible,” Jo said, as the ammonia burnt her nose and mouth and she tilted her head away.

“There we go,” Ginger said, patting Jo’s shoulder. “Alright let's get her on the gurney.”

“I thought you died!” Levi yelled, from where he stood on the other side of the patient. 

“I’m fine,” Jo insisted as the nurses stripped off her surgery gown and gloves leaving only her mask.

Several of the nurses lifted her up onto the gurney and Jo thought she'd die of embarrassment if she ever regained her strength. She stared up at the ceiling and the doorway out of the OR as they wheeled her out. Ginger remained at her side and smiled down at her. She put a reassuring hand on Jo’s arm while one of the other nurses took her blood pressure.

“What happened?” Carina asked as Jo heard her footsteps run up the hall. Jo looked up at Carina as she reached down to take Jo’s hand.

“She fainted, but one of the other nurses caught her so she didn’t hit her head,” Ginger said to Carina as she tilted her head.

“I can’t get a read on her BP,” the other nurse said, releasing the pressure on the cuff.

“I’ll try once we get her settled,” Ginger said with a nod as the other nurse disappeared. 

“Jo, how are you feeling?” Carina asked as Jo looked to her left to see Carina looking down at her, wearing her scrub cap and mask.

“Tired, but okay. I am okay right?” Jo said as she breathed a sigh of relief when Carina nodded. Jo hated being fussed over by Carina and Alex, but Jo would happily let them fuss over her now. 

“Fainting is a common sight in pregnancy. Pregnant women faint all the time, I had one faint on me last week, but it could be your meds too, so let me give you a check up after I finish your procedure. I did page Alex, but he’s in an emergency surgery so they will tell him when he’s done,” Carina said, putting a hand on her arm and giving it a light squeeze as Jo nodded. As much as she wanted Alex his work was important and she didn’t want him worried about her during surgery. “Is there anyone else you would like me to get for you?”

“Yeah, can you page Link or just Meredith, she knows I’m pregnant,” Jo asked, Carina nodded and one of the other nurses ran off. “What about my patient?” 

Jo lifted up onto her arms, which was a terrible mistake and only brought back the dizziness as her stomach churned. 

“Your patient is completely fine,” Ginger said, as she and Carina put a hand on her shoulders and pushed her back down. 

“I'm going to go scrub in, now but when I’m done I shall come and see you,” Carina said, rubbing her arm as she smiled down at her. “In the meantime take it easy and let Ginger take care of you.” 

Carina looked down at her and her eyes crinkled as she smiled under her mask. Ever since Jo switched specialties and started her fellowship with Carina the two of them had become close friends. Carina was excited for Jo’s pregnancy if not extra precautious when it came to her pregnancy care.

“Karev,” Dr. Bailey's booming voice yelled at them from the end of the hall. “What is this I hear about you fainting in my OR.” 

“Good luck Jo,” Carina said, making a quick exit back into the OR. 

“No, don't leave me,” Jo said, reaching out to her in the hope that she would save her from Bailey's wrath. Carina hesitated, but just sent her a wink as she disappeared inside. Jo grumbled as she looked back at Chief Miranda Bailey storming towards her. “I'm sorry Dr. Bailey I have this headache and it makes me dizzy.”

That was the excuse they had been using, the past few weeks as they tried to hide Jo’s pregnancy. So far most of their friends and coworkers bought it, but Link was highly suspicious and Jo suspected that he would figure it out sooner or later. 

“A headache!” Bailey said putting her hands on the side of the gurney. With her clear helmet face mask respirator they called the space helmet she leaned over Jo in a truly terrifying way as Jo sunk back into the bed. “You willingly stepped into an OR with a headache that was messing with your abilities as a surgeon, leaving a third-year resident to continue your procedure.”

“Schmitt continued the procedure!” Jo said sitting up again, which in combination with her recent fainting and the movement of the gurney was not a good idea. 

Jo's stomach churned and before she knew it, she was pulling down her mask and leaning over the side of the railing to throw up all over Bailey's shoes. She stared down at the white hearts and pink flowers on Bailey's surgical clogs that were now splattered with vomit, fearful to look up. Bailey stepped away from her and Jo slowly lowered herself back down to lay on her side. Ginger gave her a tissue to wipe her mouth with and Jo put her mask back on as she cursed herself for getting into this situation. 

“I have not been vomited on since I was a fourth-year resident,” Bailey said in astonishment as Jo curled up and tried to hide on the gurney. “Ginger, take her to a recovery room and paged Shepherd for a Neuro check.”

“That’s not necessary,” Jo argued, but Bailey silenced her with a look and Jo resigned herself to lay back and shut up.

“And tell the other Dr. Karev to take her home when he gets here,” Bailey said before she left.

Jo squeezed her eyes shut, holding her stomach, and begged whatever forces were at work that she wouldn't embarrass herself again today. Thankfully for her, Ginger remained quiet for the rest of their ride down the hall.

“Hey Jo,” Link said, placing a hand on her shoulder as Jo looked up to see a huge grin across his face through the space helmet he was wearing. “I heard you threw up on the Chief.”

“Ugh don't remind me,” Jo said, swatting at his arm. “Or I'll throw up on you too.”

“Hey, don’t jinx it,” Link said, pulling back and helping Ginger push her gurney down the hall. “I've already been spit up on twice today.” 

Jo laughed, knowing that her godson was particularly prone to spit up and at this rate, it looked like her kid would be too. Link smiled down at her, putting his hand back on her arm and rubbing up and down as they parked her inside of an empty recovery room. 

Link looked around and grabbed a chair before sitting down beside her. “Jo, you passed out in an OR. Why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling well.”

“I'm fine,” Jo said, brushing him off and ignoring his concerned look. 

“Fainting is not fine Jo!” Lincoln said, giving her a look. “And if Alex were here, I'm sure he'd agree with me.”

“I’m sure Dr. Karev will be just fine,” Ginger said, with a knowing nod. “I’ll get you some juice and be right back.”

Jo smiled and whispered thanks to her, as she left. Link took off the helmet and put it on the bedside table, but pulled a mask out of his pocket for when Ginger returned and Jo took off her mask as well. The two of them had both been vaccinated and both of their families had been co-quarantined together for the past two months, but given that the pandemic was still ongoing they were still taking precautions at work.

As soon as she looked over at Link she sighed. Jo knew he wouldn’t let it go and that Alex would do the same. Alex was too worried for her and she knew she'd get twice as much concern and nagging from him. At least with her husband, she could kiss him to make his grumpy look go away. 

They heard a knock at the door and Jo saw Amelia peek her head in and Jo bit her lip trying to think of a way to get out of this before Ginger got back. “Hey Jo, I heard you threw up on Bailey’s shoes.”

Jo groaned, putting her hands over her face as her cheeks turned pink. She wasn’t surprised that her puking incident with Dr. Bailey’s shoes had spread all over the hospital. With how the current gossip cycle worked Jo would be the subject of whispers and ridicule for weeks.

“And she fainted in the OR,” Lincoln added, ignoring the glare that she sent his way.

“Yeah I heard about that too,” Amelia said, adopting the look of a more concerned doctor rather than a friend as she stepped into the room and took off her mask. “Bailey paged me and said she was concerned about you. What happened?”

Jo looked over at Link and grabbed his hand. As much as she wanted him there, she didn’t want him knowing she was pregnant just yet. “Can you go grab my bag from my locker and check on Alex? He’s in surgery, but can you see how much longer he’ll be?” 

Link looked confused but nodded and squeezed her hand. “Yeah.”

Link left, but not before he and Amelia exchanged a few whispered words and a parting kiss. Jo tried to slowly sit up and Amelia put down the railing and moved the upper part of the bed into a reclined position as she came closer to examine her. Jo felt exhausted and still faint as she leaned back against the bed. She put a hand on her belly remembering her tiny sweet pea sized baby inside of her. Jo thought it best to just tell Amelia the truth and hoped she could keep it a secret, even from Link.

“I'm ten weeks pregnant, on top of that I have Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Carina put me on medication because the weekend we found out I was pregnant, I threw up non-stop and by the time we came in I was dehydrated. I’ve been dizzy before, but I've never fainted and Carina said she’d check on me once she’s finished with the surgery.”

“Oh my god, you're pregnant!” Amelia said with a smile as she leaned over to hug her. “We’ve all been waiting for you and Alex to have a kid. You must be so excited, congratulations.”

“Thank you, we’re really excited as well,” Jo said, smiling as Amelia hugged her. “But can you keep it on the down-low and not tell Link. We aren’t telling everybody yet, only Meredith and Carina know.”

“Yeah, of course, and that makes sense as to why you fainted. So since you're the OB Fellow what would you recommend as a course of action for your care, Dr. Karev?” Amelia said with a smile as she handed Jo the tablet with her chart. 

“I want a fetal doppler to check the baby's heartbeat and a pelvic exam just in case. Ginger said she'd bring by some apple juice and crackers, but I don't think I'll be able to keep it down so I'd prescribed Ondansetron for my nausea as it’s worked in the past,” Jo said in putting her orders into her chart and sending out a page to Sasha the only OB Resident she trusted to give her an exam other than Carina and instructed her to bring down the fetal doppler. 

“Sounds good, but let me check you out just in case,” Amelia said, grabbing the BP cuff that was still wrapped around Jo’s arm and pulling out his stethoscope as she grasped her wrist to take her blood pressure. 

“Is a full exam really necessary,” Jo sighed, tilting her head as Amelia wrote down her BP in the tablet. 

“If you want me to keep this from Link, yes,” Amelia said, raising her eyebrow. Jo smiled and sat back as Amelia continued to examine her and had Jo grip her hands. “Why haven’t you told him yet?”

“I love Link, but he freaked out when he found out you were pregnant and I already have Alex fussing over me, I don't need Link to do it too and it's nice to have the baby just be mine and Alex’s,” Jo said as she smiled and looked down at her hand over her baby. 

“I get that,” Amelia said, giving her a soft smile as Amelia undid the BP cuff and had her touch Amelia’s finger and then her nose. “Have you experienced any headaches?” 

“No, and no other neurological effects apart from the dizziness,” Jo said as she sat back Amelia checked her pupils.

“Okay, well your reflexes and grip are good, and your BP is back to normal,” Amelia said, pulling back and putting her stethoscope around her neck. 

Sasha came down and gave her a quick pelvic exam. Jo hated having to change into a gown and that Amelia officially admitted her as a patient, but for the sake of her baby, she complied. She wasn't dilated or bleeding so Jo sent her away, opting to do the fetal heartbeat check herself. Amelia moved the bed back down as she warmed up the gel packet in her hands. Jo undid the strings of her scrub pants and tucked the blue towel into the hem of her pants. Jo then pulled up her shirt and laid back as Amelia poured the now warm gel onto her belly. 

“Okay, I have no idea how to do this. The last time I did a fetal doppler I was a resident,” Amelia said handing Jo the doppler.

“That's okay, I’ve done it a hundred times at work, and after we heard the heartbeat the first time I borrowed one from the hospital. Alex and I listen to it every night. I’m usually able to find it over here...” 

Jo trailed off as she moved the doppler over her belly to the spot where the heartbeat was last night and sure enough, the strong sound of her baby's heartbeat filled the room. Jo smiled as she listened to it, completely forgetting to pay attention and count the heartbeats.

“Your baby's heart rate is 172 beats per minute which is normal for ten weeks when the BPM is at its highest around 170. Your baby's heart rate is steady and strong,” Amelia said, smiling as she wrote it down on the tablet. “You and Alex must have already started work on the nursery then. Are you gonna expand on the space you have set up for when Scout stays over?”

Jo let out a breath of relief, knowing that her baby was healthy and okay, but kept the doppler on her belly, enjoying the sound of her baby's heartbeat. “Kind of, but we're thinking of buying a house. The loft and neighborhood aren’t really kid-friendly, but Alex’s mom, Helen, has sent out a dozen little baby hats and booties. She said she’s even working on a baby blanket for us as well.”

“Is there anything in particular you guys want? I loved the Snoo and those little WubbaNubs. Oh, I’ll get you the monkey one! Also, are you having a baby shower? After you tell people of course,” Amelia smiled as Jo finally handed her the doppler and exchanged it for a few paper towels so she could wipe off the gel. 

“I’d love the monkey one, Alex will get a kick out of it, and yes we're planning on having a baby shower, I’ve attended five on the OB floor so far and I want one of my own,” Jo said, balling up the tissues and the towel and pulling her scrub top back down before putting her hand over her baby. “And my patients always give me their recommendations for the best baby products. I've been writing it all down ever since Alex and I started trying so I have a full registry now.” 

“Well email me the link and I'll try and get you something good because Auntie Amelia gives all the best gifts,” Amelia said, with a smile and a little giggle that was infectious as Jo laughed. 

When Amelia started dating Link, Jo wasn’t sure how she’d fit as Amelia joined Jo and Link's family. In the past year, they had grown closer. So close that Link often complained that Jo was replacing him with Amelia as her best friend. Amelia put the doppler in the drawer next to her, so she could check the baby's heart rate again if necessary. Jo thought she was done until Amelia pulled out a thermometer from the drawer and ran it across her forehead.

“Any other symptoms, any fevers?”

“No.”

“You’ve been fatigued and have been complaining of back pain and heartburn,” Link said as he walked into the room and took off his mask. He handed her the bag, giving her a look as Jo scoffed at him and crossed her arms.

“Yeah, because I have a cold and a puppy that refuses to walk down the stairs so we have to carry him,” Jo insisted, setting Link with a look before. 

“Well I’m sure Reeses will learn to navigate the stairs eventually,” Amelia said, hiding her smile as she dipped her chin, but she sent Jo a wink and she knew Amelia would keep her secret. “Well you’re not running a fever now and it looks like just a cold, but I want to run some labs and double check since you did faint and threw up. I also think you’re dehydrated again so let’s start an IV.”

Jo sighed, she was frustrated that her medication wasn't working and worried for her baby's development. She looked down and realized she was still holding her belly and moved her hand to take her wedding rings off the necklace. She always put them on the necklace Alex had given her for Christmas, during surgery and slipped them to her finger now. 

“Is Alex out of surgery yet?”

“No, I just checked, but he should be out pretty soon,” Link said, sitting down next to her and reaching out to hold her fidgeting hand. 

“Do you have surgery or anything?” Jo asked, trying to seem nonchalant and she shrugged her shoulders.

“Nope,” Link said, relaxing back and settling in. “I’ve already pushed it and put Nico in charge, but I can go if you want to be alone?” 

“I suppose you can stay,” Jo shrugged, but gave him a thankful smile as he squeezed her hand. 

Amelia left, but not before Link tried to get more out of her, but Amelia just patted his cheek and gave him a kiss before she left. Jo had seen Link in love a few times, but not like this. Amelia was good for him, she was a tiny firecracker that brought some excitement to Link’s life and forced him to let loose a little bit. With Amelia and Scout, Link finally had the family he always wanted and Jo was so happy for him.

Ginger came back and she set Jo up with IV fluids, some apple juice, a few crackers, and the Ondansetron so she could keep it all down. As Amelia had officially admitted her, Ginger put a hospital bracelet on her wrist, which thankfully only said that she was under observation and listed her wool allergy. 

Dr. Sara Ortiz came by to take the blood sample, and thankfully Jo didn't faint again. However, Ginger made her wear a stupid fall risk bracelet, that Link wouldn’t let her cut off. In exchange for Jo promising to keep it on Link grabbed her an extra blanket straight from the warmer. Since she would be stuck there for another few hours, Jo curled up on the bed as She and Link talked for a while until Alex came rushing in.

“Jo,” Alex breathed out, a look of desperation across his face as he rushed over to her tearing off his mask.

Jo sat up and let herself be enveloped by Alex's hug, wrapping her arms around his neck. She heard the door open and saw Link sneak out before she hid her face in Alex’s shoulder.

“We’re fine, the baby and I are fine.”

“You passed out in an OR, you're clearly not fine!” Alex exclaimed as he looked her over. 

“Alex,” Jo said, placing a hand on his cheek. He instantly melted. His eyes growing soft, his shoulders slumped as he leaned into her hand. Jo smiled as he softened for her. “The baby made me dizzy and that’s all it is. We’re fine, I promise.”

“I know, but please don’t scare me like that again,” Alex shook his head. “I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you or the baby.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, okay, come here,” Jo said, pulling him over to sit next to her. 

“My heart just dropped the second Amelia told me,” Alex said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and leaning his head against hers as he put his hand on her stomach. “You should have gotten me sooner Hayes could have finished my surgery.”

“Link said that it was an emergency surgery and that they couldn't pull you out without risking the patient,” Jo said, closing her eyes as she put her hand over Alex's. “If it’d make you feel better, you could go yell at a resident for my labs so we can get out of here.”

“Which one?”

“Baby Ortiz.”

Alex smiled and shook his head. “Bailey said not to scare the Interns anymore.”

“Well it looks like you won't have to anyway,” Jo said, looking past him to see the back of Ortiz's head outside the window as she waited patiently. 

Alex got up as they put on their masks and let Ortiz in. Meanwhile, Link, Bailey, Maggie, Jackson, Richard, Andrew, Levi, Helm, and even Owen, waited outside. Jo saw Alex’s phone ping as a text from Meredith demanding an update flashed across the screen. She looked out at everyone waiting outside, Jo never thought that she would have so many people in her life who cared about her.

Alex reached for the paperwork in Ortiz’s hand, but she pulled back. “Perhaps Dr. Karev would prefer to be given her results alone and then inform you later Dr. Karev.”

Alex shook his head but looked over at her, asking permission to stay and Jo nodded. He closed the door before coming back to sit on the bed beside her. Jo then looked at Ortiz as she opened the tablet in her hand, giving it to her. 

“Your blood results are clear of infection, or any other concerns, but it also showed elevated HCG levels consistent with a pregnancy of ten weeks gestation.”

Jo and Alex looked at each other and then back at Ortiz before they started to giggle. “We know.”

“You know,” Ortiz said, looking at them wide eyed as Alex tried to stifle a laugh. 

“Of course I know. I’m an OB/GYN, we’ve been trying for a baby and we found out I was pregnant a few weeks ago. Now can you please go get Carina so I can get out of here!” Jo yelled at them as she was frustrated that everyone was overreacting. Alex however, seemed to find it absolutely hilarious and let out a full laugh as Ortiz turned pale. 

Ortiz scurried out of the room and straight into Carina who came and looked over at Jo and Alex in the bed. She shut the door behind her as she took them in. “What is going on?”

Jo looked over and Alex as he laughed, his laughter was infectious as she realized it was all so ridiculous and laughed with him. She smiled wider than she had in a long time and she was giddy with laughter as she looked over at Alex. 

“God Jo, I've never been so worried about you,” Alex said, shaking his head with a laugh. “And only to find out that you're just pregnant.”

“I know, I know, and I fainted. I know it's concerning, but it's just my pregnancy, right?” Jo asked as she looked over at Carina who had picked up her chart and was reading it.

Carina giggled as well as she nodded and looked over the chart. “I agree with your conclusion Dr. Karev, you are indeed fine, but I suggest we switch your medication to something else as it is clearly not working for you. I heard about Dr. Bailey’s shoes. I'll have the new prescription sent down to the pharmacy that you can pick up right away. I suggest you take the day off and relax, but feel free to come in to work tomorrow. I want to keep a close eye on you and monitor you on the new meds. I see that Dr. Shepherd had cleared you and that you were a little dehydrated earlier hence the IV, and as soon as it’s finished you may go.” 

“Thank you, Dr. DeLuca,” Jo said, giving her mentor a nod. Carina patted her leg before she left and Jo turned back to Alex as they took off their masks. “I’m sorry I worried you.”

“Hey it's okay, you're pregnant and your meds aren’t working, it's a lot,” Alex said, rubbing his thumb on her stomach from where it was still on her belly. “You’ll finish your IV and we’ll go home, take the rest of the day off, and spend some time with Reeses. You’ll take your new meds and that should help with the Hyperemesis Gravidarum and the dizziness, then we’ll go back to work tomorrow and everything will be okay. In the meantime, I'm going to take care of you, while you take care of yourself and our baby.”

His eyes and his smile were soft and Jo just nodded, leaning in to kiss him and relax against his lips. She pulled back, but he kissed her again as she laughed, she leaned her head on his chest and put her hand over his, on her belly. Even if she wasn’t showing yet, their baby was there and she couldn't wait to feel them move inside of her.

Alex nodded and leaned down to kiss her head. He couldn’t seem to keep his lips off of her, but Jo was still tired and was content to lay in his arms. Jo soon closed her eyes and the rest of the world drifted away. She listened to the sound of Alex breathing in and out and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep. Alex let her sleep till the IV bag was finished and Jo woke up to Ginger taking her IV out. 

“I never did say congratulations,” Ginger whispered to her, putting a cotton ball over her IV sight and Jo gave her a sleepy nod.

Jo slowly woke up and Alex grabbed her things from her locker in the lounge so Jo could change back into her clothes. They figured that their laughing had let their friends know that Jo was okay and they weren't surprised to see that none of them had stuck around outside the room.

“Well, what is it? What happened? Are you and the baby okay?” Meredith asked the door swinging open as she flew into the room still in her mask, surgery cape, and scrub cap. 

“The baby and I are fine, I just fainted because of my meds,” Jo assured her as Alex finished tying her shoes and stood up putting a hand on her back. 

“You're fine and the babies’ fine,” Meredith said as she let out a sigh of relief and walked over to Jo.

“Yes, we’re both fine,” Jo sighed as she nodded and Meredith enveloped her into a hug. 

Alex cleared his throat before he turned to look at her, he wasn’t used to being Meredith's second favorite as she fussed over Jo now that she was pregnant. “We're going to go home for the rest of the day.”

“Okay good, you should rest, why don't I bring over some dinner for you tonight?” Meredith said, as Alex and Jo exchange to look. “I never said I'd cook, I'll pick some pizza and drop it off around six, Maggie is taking Zola and Ellis to a Girl Scout’s meeting tonight, so it’s just me and Bailey. If you want I'm sure Bailey and I could take Reeses for a walk at the park.”

“That’d be great. I'm sure Reeses would love to play with him,” Jo said, as she grabbed Alex’s hand and stood up.

“Good,” Meredith said as her eyes sparkled with joy. “You two are such a good Auntie and Uncle to my kids and I can’t wait to be an Auntie to your baby.”

Jo and Alex exchanged a look and Jo could tell that he was smiling under his mask just like she was. They had been Aunt Jo and Uncle Alex to Meredith’s kids for so long. Babysitting them whenever she needed them too, taking them on day trips around Seattle, getting them whatever they wanted, and then hopping them up on sugar before giving them back to her. Meredith always talked about how much she would spoil their kids when they finally had them, giving them a taste of their own medicine.

Link knocked on the door looking between them with raised eyebrows before his eyes settled on Jo.

“It's just a cold, I’m fine,” Jo insisted, despite how she knew she wasn't the least bit convincing.

“We heard you two laughing from the hall. The whole hospital knows you're pregnant,” Link said and Jo could see several of their friends behind them. “You up for any visitors?” 

Jo just nodded and sat back down on the bed as Link opened the door. Amelia, Maggie, Jackson, Bailey, Richard, Owen, Levi, Helm, and several of the other doctors and nurses came in and crowded around her bed as Jo sat back down. She looked over at Alex who just smiled as he put his arm around her waist. 

“Congratulations!” Everyone shouted as they all took turns hugging her and Alex.

“Congratulations, I'm glad you're okay. We were all so worried. You are okay right,” Maggie said, hugging Jo before she pulled back and grabbed her wrist to check her pulse.

“I’m fine,” Jo said, but let Maggie do it anyway.

“Are you sure, because fainting isn't necessarily neurological related it could also indicate a heart issue,” Maggie asked, still looking at her with a look of concern. 

“I'm fine, I’m just pregnant,” Jo insisted as she looked over at Alex and Jo put her hand on his knee as he squeezed her hand. 

Their friends continued to offer congratulations and fussed over Jo as she assured them she was fine. Regardless they all vowed to keep an eye on her and offered their help for whenever she would need it. Jo expected nothing less from a room full of doctors but was happy that she could relax. She could barely pretend that she wasn’t exhausted at the end of the day and now no one would bat an eye if she took a nap at lunchtime. Even if it meant Alex would be able to hover over her more than he already did. 

“This is so exciting!” Link said, pulling Jo in for a hug. “I thought Scout would be the only baby of the hospital running around after his big cousins and now he can have a friend, and me I need a parenting friend. I mean Amelia too but mostly me.”

“You’re welcome?” Jo said she wasn’t sure if he was excited for her or just excited that he wouldn't be parenting alone.

Link let her go and Bailey walked over to her, setting her with a look through her helmet as Jo bit her lip, thankful that her mask covered her expression.

“So you're having a baby,” Bailey said, Jo thought she'd be in trouble for keeping her pregnancy a secret from the chief, but Bailey just smiled and put a hand on her arm. “Congratulations, Dr. Karev, although you’ve probably heard that a million times by now.”

“Pretty much, but it hasn't gotten old yet,” Jo said as she relaxed and leaned against Alex who automatically put his arm around her waist although he was still talking with Meredith. 

“It never does,” Bailey said with a bright smile that Jo easily matched, sharing in her excitement. “Just try not to throw up on my shoes again?”

“I will aim for the floor instead,” Jo said, with a solemn nod.

“Um-hum,” Bailey hummed, but smiled and Jo knew she was forgiven.

Things turned into a small party as everyone ran out and got balloons, and flowers, and teddy bears, even a few onesies and hats. Ever since they had all been vaccinated the restrictions around the attendings being able to be in groups together had relaxed. Which meant that everyone used any excitement as an excuse to crowd around and have a little party. It had been a hell of a year and they could all use a little excitement. It only ended when everyone was pulled into a massive trauma. Finally, around 4:00 pm they walked out of the hospital, with more flowers and teddy bears than they knew what to do with. Their plan was to take the flowers home to die and relax on the couch. 

As they passed the gift shop Jo paused and pulled Alex in. There was a pair of the cutest baby booties in the window that she had been staring at the past few weeks. Now that everyone knew she could get them without anyone questioning her purchases or someone starting a rumor. Even if Jo knew that the baby would just kick the booties off the second she put them on, as she put them in Alex's hands they both knew that they couldn’t resist. Cindy in the gift store packaged them up with a knowing look and told them congratulations before they walked out of the hospital. 

Once they got home and changed out of their work clothes, Jo took the baby booties out and cut off the tags. She cleared out one of their clothes shelves and placed the onesies, hats, and booties on the now empty shelf, then she laid down on the bed and just stared at them. Alex put her things away and ran across the hall to Layla’s to get Reeses, who bounded into the loft before he culled up next to her and Alex laid down next to her too, staring at the baby clothes on the shelf.

“We're going to need a bigger clothes cabinet.” 

Jo smiled and squeezed his hand from where it rested on her belly, before rolling over to look at Alex as he stared down at her.

“We're going to buy a house, one with a backyard and a swing set and a playroom for all their toys that is never going to be clean. We're going to start using our vacation days and we're gonna go to the zoo and the aquarium and museums, and the beach and we’ll go camping and to freaking Disneyland and all of those vacations that we never got to take as kids. Promise me, we're going to give our kid everything that we never got as children and that we’re going to love them more than anything in this world.”

Jo staring intently into his eyes and Alex nodded, looking more serious than she had ever seen. “I promise.”

“And after the baby is born, I need you to take paternity leave with me and once we go back to work we're going to adjust our hours. We’ll do the 4 on 3 off, days. It'll be 12 hour shifts and we'll be on call some nights, but we'll get the weekends off and it'll be just us and the baby. And when they get older and go to school we can work more but for now, we need to make time for them. We need to promise that we'll always take time for them regardless of our careers. I know we can do it because I’ve seen Meredith do it. We have to try, we have to be better than our birth parents and our crappy foster parents. We have to be there for our kid.”

“Yes, I promise, listen to me Jo,” Alex said, putting one arm around her, but keeping the other on her belly as he pulled her close, and rested his forehead against hers. “You and me, we're going to be better than the people who raised us. Our kid is going to have so much more than we ever had. We're not going to be perfect, but we’ll be good and our kid will be loved and safe. They’ll grow up in a good home and I’ll work to make sure of that, I promise.”

Jo felt the tears collect in her eyes as she nodded and snuggled up to Alex, nuzzling his neck with her nose. Alex kissed her forehead and Jo thought of the baby booties. Their kid would have a good life and a good home and they would do their best to be good parents. Jo was sure of that.

……………………………………………………………………

AN: Also I fainted while getting a blood draw recently. Yeah, it was not fun, but all the nurses were really nice. I’ve fainted with IV’s before, but this was new and not fun. This wasn’t inspired by that, but I did use my experience in this story.

[tagsecretsanta]

From @TsarinaTorment

to @gumnut-logic

Secret santa does not own this work, full credit to the author mentioned above!

Prompts used: all of them but in true Tsari fashion I also twisted them so much they probably barely resemble the prompts at this point.

Virgil and many, many butterflies (probably not what they had in mind...)

Virgil has a puzzle to solve (actually maybe stayed on some sort of track with this one!)

Virgil and a brother go on a boat trip (of the rescue sort)

Nothing Christmassy, so sorry if my requestee was hoping for that.  But on the plus side, it's 8k words of Virgil!

Tsari--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Title: Steady Hands

Rating: Teen

Characters: Virgil, Gordon, Scott, John... and some friends :D

Summary: One boat.  Two brothers.  A life-or-death game of Jenga.

“Eeeeaaasy.”

Virgil didn’t bother to glare at his brother, far too used to his distraction techniques.  He didn’t even spare him a glance, keeping his attention firmly on what he was doing.  Gordon wanted him to fail, like the supportive little brother he was, mostly because he inevitably had a bet on with Alan, and Virgil had far too much pride to let his younger brothers’ schemes throw him off of his game.

He had the steadiest hands of all of his brothers.  All four of them were too jittery, too used to moving, whether it be the physical activity Scott and Gordon preferred, or the twitching at the tips of fingers over keyboards and virtual reality.  Virgil was an artist, a pianist, an engineer.  A medic.  His hands didn’t tremble unless he let them.

The tower in front of him wouldn’t fall.  Not on his turn.

Perfectly steady hands poked at a single block, careful yet confident.  It moved, but its neighbours didn’t.  Gordon groaned loudly.  Virgil ignored that, too, and once the block moved far enough, deftly plucked it from its fellows.

The tower didn’t even wobble.

“How do you do that?” Gordon groused, pouting at the stack.  There were more holes than blocks in the Jenga tower now, and Virgil’s latest move had left it teetering on the very edge of stable.  Even he would struggle to get another out without nudging neighbouring blocks and bringing the whole thing crashing down.  Gordon had no chance, and they both knew it.

But Gordon wasn’t a quitter.  Eyes narrowed in concentration and tongue stuck out the corner of his mouth, he surveyed the stack in front of him for several moments in silence, assessing.  None of the blocks would go without pulling others down with them, Virgil knew, but Gordon still refused to throw the game.

Eyes almost slits, he selected his target and reached out to touch it.

“International Rescue, we have a situation.”

Clatter.

“Aw, man!” Gordon complained, looking at the jumble of blocks in front of him.  “That doesn’t count!  John knocked them down!”

“John’s a hologram,” Virgil reminded him, satisfied grin on his face.  “That was no more of a distraction than you talking when I picked.  My victory.”

“What’s the situation, John?” Scott cut in, ignoring them in preference of John as he always did when a call came in.  With one last look at the still-pouting Gordon, Virgil turned his own attention to the projection of his brother.

“There’s a large fishing trawler in distress,” John said.  “There was a small explosion in the engine room and now they’re taking on water.  The crew are requesting evacuation.”

Virgil straightened up.  He didn’t need to look to know that Gordon had done the same, poised to dart for his Thunderbird the moment the brief was over.

“What caused the explosion?” he asked.  John shrugged.

“The crew don’t know,” he said.  “But the ship’s sinking, so I suggest you launch.  I’ll see what I can find on the explosion.”

“F.A.B.,” Scott agreed. “Virgil, Gordon – you’re up.  I’ll attend in Thunderbird One.”  Virgil didn’t wait to hear anything else, standing up and heading over to the painting that concealed his launch chute and trusting his brothers to be doing the same.  “Thunderbirds are go!”

Scott always loved saying that.  He denied it, but Virgil knew his big brother.

John was efficient.  By the time Virgil was sat in his pilot seat, Module Four selected and little brother rising up into the cockpit behind him, Thunderbird Two’s navigation systems were updated with the precise location of the distressed trawler.

It wasn’t too far, down in the waters south of Tasmania, and before long they got visual on the boat in question.  It was listing to one side, figures crowded on deck.  From the way they were waving up at Scott in Thunderbird One, Virgil thought it was a pretty safe bet that they were the crew.

“That boat’s too big for Thunderbird Two to stabilise,” Gordon noted.  “I’ll see what I can do from the water.”

“F.A.B.,” Virgil agreed.

“I’ll drop down and help the evacuation,” Scott said over the comms.  “Virgil, stay overhead in Thunderbird Two and drop the rescue platform.  It’ll be a tight fit without the module, but once they’re on board take them to the nearest port.  John?”

“I’ve got their home port located,” the ginger said.  “Sending co-ordinates now.”

“Once they’re all evac’d, I’ll look around and see if I can find what caused this,” Scott continued.  “If Gordon can get the hull patched, we’ll get the GDF out to tow it to port.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Gordon said, hologram flickering to live next to John’s on the dash.  “Ready for module deployment, Virg.”

“Dropping you now, Gords.”  He brought Thunderbird Two into a hover just above the water and released the module.  The familiar shudder passed through his ‘bird as she dropped her belly, and it was with a practiced hand that he kept her steady.  Out of the window, he saw Scott bring Thunderbird One down before dropping the few feet onto the deck.  The silver rocket soared back into the sky under remote control or autopilot – Virgil didn’t know exactly which controls were being used but she wasn’t slaved to Two – as Scott made his way to the crew.

Leaving his big brother to corral them, he focused on his own task, bringing Thunderbird Two overhead and getting ready to drop the rescue platform.

“How many guests am I expecting, Thunderbird Five?” he asked.

“Captain tells me there’s ten,” John told him.  “Life signs agree.”

“Gonna be cosy in here,” he observed.

“Cosy or not, we’re ready for evac, Thunderbird Two,” Scott cut in.

“Copy that, Thunderbird One.  Lowering the platform now.”

Aside from the unknown cause of the explosion, it was about as standard as they got.  Well, Virgil wasn’t used to carrying an entire crew in his cockpit, but aside from that little detail, it was nice and simple.

“Scott, I’ve just picked up another life sign.”

Well, it was simple, until John dropped that little detail.  Already leaving the danger zone, Virgil glanced over at the captain, sat in the co-pilot’s seat.

“I thought we had the whole crew here?”

The captain looked shocked.  “We do.”

Virgil frowned.  “Thunderbird One, all heads are accounted for.”

“Thunderbird Two, keep going.  I’ll find our mystery person and evac them in One.”

“I’ll help you search, Thunderbird One,” Gordon chipped in.  “I’ve patched up the hole best I can; I’ll leave Four here and join you.”

“F.A.B., Thunderbird Four.  Everything’s under control here, Thunderbird Two,” Scott assured him.  “You get the crew to dry land.”

“F.A.B.,” Virgil agreed.

“I don’t get it,” the captain said, shaking his head.  “There are only ten of us.  Who’s the other life sign?”

“If I had to guess, Captain,” John said, “I’d say that’s probably the cause of your explosion.  Scott, Gordon, be careful.”

“Noted, Thunderbird Five.  Gordon, I’ll rendezvous with you on deck.”

“F.A.B.”

Both his brothers flickered out of sight, presumably switching to a private channel, and Virgil let out a breath, glancing over at the crew behind him.  There weren’t enough seats for all of them, so he couldn’t go at his usual speeds, and inwardly he frowned.  Even if it was Scott and Gordon, he didn’t feel right leaving them with someone potentially dangerous and without backup.

But he had a job to do, and some people to get to shore.

The trip took longer than he was happy with, but once the crew were safely offloaded, he turned around and shot for the boat and his brothers as fast as Thunderbird Two could go.

“Scott, Gordon, you found our mystery life sign yet?”

His brothers flickered into view.

“Negative, Virgil.  No sign of them yet.  John keeps losing the signal.  I’m guessing it must be some sort of cloaking device.”  Scott looked frustrated.

“I don’t like this,” Virgil said bluntly.  “Call the GDF to deal with it and get off that boat.  If you haven’t found them yet they’re trying not to be found.”

The journey was much shorter when he could go at top speed.  Thunderbird One was still hovering above the boat, gleaming silver from the sun.

“Virgil, this boat is still likely to sink.  We’ve got to get them off,” Scott argued.  “We can’t wait for the GDF.”

“Scott’s right, Virg,” Gordon agreed.  “We’ve got to-  Scott!  I saw them!”

He broke into a run, Scott seemingly hot on his heels.

“Guys,” Virgil ground out.  “Guys, if they don’t want to-”

BOOM.

The explosion rocked the boat; through the cockpit windows he saw it list from one side to the other, and then back again, noticeably lower in the water.  The cabin was gone, replaced with timber sized matchsticks.

“Scott?” he shouted.  “Gordon?”

His brother’s holograms flickered once, twice, and then they vanished.  No, no, no.  Virgil didn’t think, just reacted, pushing his ‘bird forward the last short distance and firing the grapples down towards the once again sinking boat.  As Gordon had noted earlier, it exceeded her lifting power, and VTOLs shrieked as he gunned them with everything she had.  His brothers were still down there, somewhere inside looking for their elusive lifesign, and he absolutely was not letting them slip from his grasp.  Not now, not ever.

“Scott!” he shouted again, over the sound of Thunderbird Two’s screaming engines. “Gordon!  Come in!”

Autopilot couldn’t keep the pressure on the VTOLs; if he tried to leave the cockpit and find them himself, the boat would sink.  Even on manual pilot, Thunderbird Two couldn’t hold it for long.  A shudder ran through his ‘bird and he grit his teeth.  He wasn’t Scott, but he still solved problems.  Logistics.  Thunderbird Two was at maximum lift strength; her engines would burn out if he kept this up.

His brothers were still down there, unresponsive.  He couldn’t risk that.

Module Four was floating on the swell of the waves, waiting for Thunderbird Four’s return.  The bright sub was under the waterline; he could just about see her through the ocean swell.  Remote controlling her was difficult, and he didn’t know precisely what Gordon had done with her to latch her to the boat.  She was also their backup exit if their route to the deck was blocked.

After the explosion, it probably was.

So he couldn’t move Thunderbird Four.  Gordon would know exactly where he’d left his ‘bird, and would be making for her if they hadn’t been incapacitated by the explosion.  With neither of them picking up comms, Virgil knew better than to cling to a false hope, but he still couldn’t risk it, just in case they were fine and it was just some damaged radios.

He did have Thunderbird One.  Her lifting power was nowhere near that of Thunderbird Two’s, but combined, it might just be enough to keep the boat from sinking.  It was now an inconvenience that Scott hadn’t slaved her console to his, but he could still override her from Thunderbird Two, and unlike Thunderbird Four, there was no way she’d be of use to his brothers in the boat.

Jaw set, he flicked the control pad and jabbed in the override code for Thunderbird One, slaving her to her sister’s controls before remote piloting her to the more laden end of the ship.  One high-tensile grapple cable fired.

It missed.  He didn’t have Scott’s precision, or Gordon’s innate dead aim.  Those thoughts got pushed away as he reeled the cable back in to send out a second time.  The ship below him had to be secured – before Thunderbird Two’s VTOL overheated.  He could worry about finding his brothers once he knew the ship wasn’t sinking any more.

The second shot caught, the light going green to represent the clang of success he couldn’t hear over Thunderbird Two’s engines.  Thunderbird One’s VTOLs joined the chorus; a cacophony of sound so loud he could barely hear himself think.  It was enough.

Just.

Virgil still couldn’t risk autopilot on Thunderbird Two, the weight remaining beyond her official lifting parameters.  If it wasn’t for Brains’ over-engineering, she wouldn’t be holding even with her sister’s help.

“John!” he called.  Unlike his missing brothers, the ginger appeared immediately.  “They’re not picking up.  Do you have their signals?”

John looked annoyed, and a little worried.  That wasn’t good.

“Their location transmitters are still working,” he said.  “But I can’t get either of them to respond, either.”

“Take control of Thunderbird Two,” Virgil ordered.  “I’m going to get them.”

“F.A.B.  Taking control of both Thunderbirds One and Two now.”

The holographic symbol for Thunderbird Five flashed up over his controls, and Virgil released his grip on them, trusting John – or EOS – to keep the boat from sinking.

Now he had two brothers to save.

“Locations, John?”

“They’re both in the engine room,” his brother told him, the boat’s schematics appearing over his wrist controller as he hurried along the internal corridors of his ‘bird.  Her module was detached, floating too far away to reach, but Virgil made it a point to have one Jaws of Life accessible at all times.  Just in case.

That just in case paid off as he reached the small storage room, filled with spare gear – and a half-eaten celery crunch bar.  He ignored it, but made a mental note to remind Gordon where food was and wasn’t permitted on Thunderbird Two later.  Once his brothers were safe.

“Bzzt!”

Static erupted from his wrist controller just as he began to shrug on the mechanical exosuit and he paused, tapping at it to try and clear the signal.

“Bzzt!  -irgil?  Bzztin -Two!”

“Gordon?”  The static was bad, but Virgil still recognised his brother’s voice.  “Gordon, can you hear me?”

“I’ll try to boost the signal,” John said.  Virgil nodded distractedly, his focus on his comm as it crackled again.

“-ear you,” Gordon confirmed amongst more static.  “-dio damaged.  Bzzt-bzzt-pair job.”

“What’s your status?”  He resumed suiting up, unwilling to waste a moment if his brother was trapped.

“-t great,” his comm crackled.  “Not hurt bzzt-ott bzzt cold.”

Virgil frowned, trying to parse what his brother had said through the static.

“Say again, Gordon?”

“Bzzt-t hurt bzzt Scott-bzzt-t cold.”

That was either Scott’s cold or Scott’s out cold, and considering the lack of communication from his older brother, Virgil decided to assume it was the latter.  That was a problem, but not an insurmountable one.

“I’m on my way down to you,” he declared, Jaws of Life now settled over him.  “Any idea what caused the explosion?”

“-egative, Virg.  It’s bzzt-gerous.”  Virgil scowled, hearing Gordon’s too dangerous protest and wondering if he thought for one moment that that would stop him.  “-ther problem.  Bzzt-bzzt-”

“-me a probl-bzzt?” another, unfamiliar voice cut in.  Sharp, female.  Their missing life sign?

“-ou-bzzt been goo-bzzt-bzzt-fore,” Gordon retorted.

“Gordon?” Virgil cut in.  “What’s the problem?”

“-os Crew bzzt-bzzt.”  Whatever else Gordon had to say was lost in a snow of static, but Virgil had heard enough to start piecing it all together.  Chaos Crew.  Explosions.  Unfamiliar female voice.

Gordon, and presumably an unconscious Scott, were with Havoc, and Fuse was running around somewhere with no eyes on him.

“Gordon, I’m coming,” he said, cutting off whatever the static was supposed to be.  He hoped their connection was better on his brother’s end.  “John’s given me your location.”

“No!” Gordon protested, but Virgil ignored him as he left the safety of Thunderbird Two to slide down one of the cables holding the boat up.  The roar of the engines drowned out anything coming from his comms for several long moments before his boots hit the surface of the deck.

He’d known it was bad, but this was worse.  His comms spluttered at him but he ignored Gordon’s static-garbled protests that he’d left his ‘bird in favour of reassessing the situation.

Virgil was no Scott, able to take everything in at a glance and make snap decisions, but he had an eye for detail and the patience to spend an extra moment looking things over before acting.  It was that eye that told him this was not going to be easy.

The main entrance to get below deck – he was sure it had a name but that was Gordon’s area and Virgil might not be Scott but right now he did not have the time to waste on remembering it – was entirely collapsed in, the cabin so much steel and timber covering it and well and truly trapping anyone down below.  According to the schematics, that was the only way down.

This was why Virgil had the Jaws of Life with him.

“Virgil.”  John’s voice overrode Gordon’s crackling with an urgency that demanded his attention right that moment.  “I can’t boost their radio signals any further, but I did manage to boost their suit telemetry and get a more detailed scan of the compartment they’re trapped in.”

“Let me guess,” Virgil sighed, stomping over to the mangled mess of former-cabin and starting to calculate the best way to clear it.  “Bad news?”

“Scott’s helmet’s taken some damage, probably from the initial blast, and his oxygen supply is depleted.”  Virgil frowned as he identified the first bit of rubble that needed to go – a large sheet of mangled metal that was probably part of the cabin’s roof or walls.

“So they can’t swim for it?  That’s not a problem unless their compartment starts to flood,” he observed.  It wasn’t ideal, and if Scott’s helmet was damaged that confirmed that he was probably unconscious, but he trusted Gordon to do any initial first aid until he got there.

He ignored the uneasy feeling in his stomach.

“Yeah,” John said in that flat way that meant bad news.  “About that.”

Uh oh.  “It’s already flooding?”

“Got it in one.  The flow’s reasonably slow and the compartment’s quite big so they’ve got time, but I’d estimate ten minutes and they’ll be under.”

“And with Scott unconscious he can’t hold his breath.”  Virgil scowled and shifted the metal with more force than he should have done.  The diluted clang of metal on deck reverberated through his boots.

“I imagine Gordon-”

“Hey, watch it!”  John’s speculation – probably on how Gordon, their resident aquanaut and underwater rescue specialist, was going to get oxygen to Scott when his helmet was damaged and didn’t fit Gordon’s rebreather anyway – was cut off by a disgruntled exclamation from behind him.

Virgil turned to see unmistakable purple armour, and wondered how on earth he’d missed Fuse coming up behind him.

“You almost hit me with that!” the young man griped, but his heart didn’t seem to be in the accompanying pout.  Instead, he was hurrying forwards, almost frantically, and Virgil remembered that Fuse was reportedly Havoc’s brother.  “What are you doing throwing metal around on a ship full of explosives?”

“What?”

Virgil hadn’t seen any more explosives.  There weren’t supposed to be explosives on the ship.

Fuse hurried past him – probably as fast as he could run in that suit – and started digging through the pile.  Metal and wood creaked in protest at him and Virgil clapped a hand on his shoulder, forcing him back.

“Hey!  Careful or you’ll bring the lot down.”

“I left a charge around here,” Fuse told him, and Virgil took a deep breath.  “They weren’t supposed to go off yet!”  He sounded panicked and even though it was blindingly obvious this whole thing was Fuse’s fault – probably directed by the Hood – Virgil couldn’t help but slip into reassuring rescuer mode.  That was what he did, after all.

“Okay, okay, take a breath,” he instructed, eyeing the pile of former cabin warily as he tugged Fuse to take a step back.  The young man resisted, but Virgil was stronger and he stumbled a single pace away from the pile. ��“How many explosives are on the ship?”

Fuse glanced around, clearly nervous and slightly scared.  Virgil could relate, but he’d been doing the job long enough to compartmentalise that part of his brain and still-fluttering stomach.  “Uh… I’m not sure.  Nine or ten?  I think?  I just put them where the Boss said to.”

The silence in his ear from a definitely-eavesdropping John turned frosty, even though his brother still didn’t say a word.  No doubt he was about to do his best to wreak hell on the elusive criminal.

“And how many haven’t gone off?”  How much of a ticking timebomb was this ship he was stood on – the ship his brothers were trapped in and slowly running out of air as the water seeped in, the ship three Thunderbirds were attached to?

“Only one went off,” Fuse said.  He was wringing his hands, still glancing around nervously.  “It shouldn’t have gone off until Havoc was clear.  He said she’d be safe!”

“Well, she’s trapped with my brothers somewhere down there,” Virgil pointed out.  “Where are those explosives and how long do we have until they go off?”

“Five minutes,” Fuse gulped.  “I think.  But that one went off early and the others are all close enough that if one goes…”

“They all go,” Virgil realised with a sigh.  He assessed the situation again.  “You want Havoc out of there, I want my brothers out.  There’s five minutes, tops, until this boat blows.”  Those ten minutes of air didn’t seem significant any more.  He took a breath.  “We’re going to have to work together on this.”

Fuse glanced sideways, thinking, and Virgil fervently hoped that he loved his sister more than he feared the Hood.  John hadn’t warned him about the explosives, which meant Thunderbird Five hadn’t picked them up – the Chaos Crew’s cloaking technology was something Brains and Kayo were itching to get their hands on.  That meant that if he had to do it alone, he was working blind.  Five minutes to disarm nine or ten explosives… even with the person who had made and placed them with him, it was going to be tight.

It felt like an eternity before Fuse sighed and met his gaze.  “Okay.”

Okay.  Plan of action time.  “We need to get those bombs disarmed as quickly as possible,” Virgil said, knowing the words were redundant but saying them all the same.  “Tell me where they are and how to disarm them, and we’ll take half each.”  A minute per bomb – just under.  He could do that, except Fuse was wringing his hands again.

“I don’t know how to turn them off.”

“What!”  Virgil didn’t panic – was the last of his brothers to ever panic in a given situation – but he was starting to get really, really close.  “You make them!  How do you not know how to disarm them?”

“I-I’ve never had to!” Fuse protested, and right then he’d never looked more like a kid.  Virgil took a deep breath, pushing the panic back because this just made things a lot harder but he wasn’t giving up.  Not now and not ever.

“We don’t have time for this,” he ground out.  “Do you have one with you that isn’t primed?”

Fuse nodded jerkily and reached behind him, withdrawing the familiar purple triangle of a Chaos Crew bomb.  Virgil took it gingerly and wasted no time in slipping an arm out of the Jaws of Life to palm a hexdriver and pry the cover off.  Five minutes – probably four, now – to work out how to disarm them, teach Fuse, and then get nine-or-ten bombs disarmed.

Easy peasy.

The crisscrossed wires that greeted him weren’t complex, thankfully.  If they were, then no amount of miracles would have been enough to pull it off.  But it was a simple enough wire pattern; only two wires needed cutting to render them useless.

Well, they could have done with knowing that several times in the past.  If all Fuse’s bombs were like this, that was a lot of explosions they could stop.  But he didn’t have time to muse on that right now.

“You have a hexdriver and wirecutter?” he asked Fuse, who shook his head.  Silently despairing – and starting to wonder if the Hood’s plan wasn’t to one day blow the kid up with his own bombs – Virgil fished out spares from his toolbelt and handed them over.  “Okay, it’s simple enough, luckily for us.  Pop the cover, and cut these two wires.”  He pointed, and then demonstrated by doing it on the one in his hand.  “Those two.  Got it?”

Fuse stared at the bomb, swallowed loud enough for Virgil to hear it, then nodded.

“Yeah, I got it.”

For the sake of everyone on the boat, Virgil really hoped he did.

“Okay, so where are they?  Time’s running out.”  Somewhere, Virgil noticed that Gordon’s static had ceased buzzing in his ear, and really hoped that was John’s doing and not because he’d lost what little contact he had with his younger brother.  He didn’t have time to worry about that now, not with three and a half minutes and five bombs to disarm.

Luckily, with a plan of action in place, Fuse seemed to regain both his confidence and his memory, bringing up a schematic of the ship and highlighting the ten points he’d fixed bombs to.

“That’s the one that went off,” he said, indicating one inside the cabin area.  It was positioned to do exactly what it had managed and cripple the cabin, Virgil noticed.  The others were all scattered around the deck, ensuring no escape if any of them went off.  Whoever had been trapped by the initial explosion would never stand a chance.

Three minutes, five bombs.

“I’ll take these five,” Virgil said, pointing at the ones on the left of the boat – port side, Gordon’s voice whispered in his head.  “You take the other four.”

Fuse nodded and then they moved.  Trusting Fuse – trusting a member of the Chaos Crew – felt like something heavy in his gut but Virgil had no choice.  He couldn’t trust Fuse, not really, not after everything the guy had done, but he could and had to trust Fuse’s love for his sister.  He stood to lose almost as much as Virgil did if he didn’t help.

That, Virgil clung to as he found the first purple bomb, merrily flashing red at him.  Popping the cover was harder when it was fixed down to something, but Virgil wasn’t going to let anything stop him and the purple casing was no match for a Tracy on a mission.  Two quick but steady snips of the wirecutter later, and that was one down, four to go.

Onto the next.

He reached the fifth and final one with thirty seconds to go.  Plenty of time, but the casing didn’t pop off when he levered at it like all of the others had.  Instead, it bent alarmingly, and the red flashing light sped up, much like Virgil’s heartrate was doing.  He tried tackling it from another angle, but the cover might as well have been superglued for all the luck he was having.

Fuse let out a shout that sounded triumphant from the other end of the boat, and Virgil took a deep breath.  Fifteen seconds, and this was the last one.  If Fuse was telling the truth, but Fuse had to be telling the truth otherwise his sister was going to die, too.

Ten seconds, and the cover still refused to budge.  He wasn’t going to get it disarmed in time, but Virgil wasn’t giving up.  Not now, not ever.

Five seconds and he finished cutting around the part of the boat it was fixed to with his laser.  He didn’t know how big the blast radius was going to be, but the further from the boat it was, the better their odds.

He was still wearing the Jaws of Life.  Virgil wasn’t the best pitcher in the world, but he had mechanical assistance and the steadfast determination that no-one’s dying today.  With barely two seconds left, the bomb was hurtling through the air, away from the boat into the open ocean.

It barely reached the water before exploding, sending a shockwave that rocked the boat and had Virgil stumbling backwards, colliding with the cable from Thunderbird One.  Above him, VTOL continued to scream their displeasure.

He took a moment to breathe, stomach churning its way back to stability one breath at a time, before pushing himself upright again.

The rescue wasn’t over yet.  The bombs were gone, but there was only five minutes left until the compartment his brothers were in flooded.  Gordon had plenty of oxygen and could hold his breath another five minutes, easily.  Longer, if he was prepared.  He had no idea what Havoc’s condition was, beyond ‘conscious and sniping with Gordon last he heard’, but Scott was unconscious and while Virgil had every faith that Gordon would be able to work something out, the fact was that they hadn’t gone into the rescue expecting to need extra oxygen, and Gordon’s supplies were mostly in Thunderbird Four.

He trusted Gordon, but the hard number he had was five minutes before Scott was at risk of drowning.

His comm crackled into life, Gordon’s voice barely audible past the static, but he couldn’t make out a single word his brother was saying.  That didn’t stop him from hearing the underlying panic.

“Gordon, I can’t hear you,” he replied, pulling himself together and heading back towards the ruined cabin, where Fuse was staring somewhat blankly at the pile of rubble between them and their siblings.  “John, is there any way to clear this static?”

“It’s physical damage to the unit, so there’s nothing I can do,” his brother said, sounding rather annoyed at the failure of their communications.  Virgil didn’t blame him.  “But after that shockwave, the boat seems to have taken more damage.  The compartment’s filling faster now.  I’d estimate you have two minutes, three at most, before they’re underwater.”

So much for five minutes.

“Any good news for me, John?”

“You… seem to be working with Fuse rather well?” his brother offered.  “Otherwise, I’m afraid not.  Communications are still down, as you’re finding, I don’t know any more than you do on their conditions, and both Thunderbirds are struggling to keep the boat up.  Once you’ve got them out you’ll need to move fast.”

“So no breathing room until we’re off this sinking boat,” Virgil summarised.  “Thanks, John.”

“Just get them out,” his brother responded.

Virgil slid his arm back into the Jaws of Life and felt the technology whirr around him as he returned to Fuse’s side and the jumble of debris between him and his brothers.

“Does Havoc have an oxygen supply?” he asked.  “They’ll be underwater in less than three minutes.”

“If it’s not damaged,” Fuse slumped, reaching for the mishmash of former-cabin.  “Her radio’s damaged and I can’t contact her.”

“Well I heard her over what little communication I’ve got with my brothers, so she’s conscious,” Virgil reassured him.  “We just have to get them out.”  He eyed the mess in front of him and shook his head.  Move the wrong bit and it’d probably all go crashing down.  “Just like Jenga.  You any good at that?”

Fuse shook his head.  “Don’t play that sort of game.”

“In that case, stand back,” Virgil told him.  “I’m good at Jenga.”  Although admittedly he’d never played it with people’s lives on the line before, or on a time limit.

The load-bearing chunks of broken cabin were easy enough to pinpoint, and it was with all the confidence of years of heavy lifting that he cleared away all the loose debris so that it wouldn’t fall when he moved the heavier ones later.  Still, he was ever-conscious of the time slipping away from him, and it only took one jerky move to send a cascade of small segments tumbling down, past the load-bearing sections and into the belly of the ship.

Less haste, more speed, he scolded himself, but the action had actually cleared the immediate issue; the load-bearing struts were no longer load-bearing, and with a mechanical whine, the Jaws of Life made short work relocating them to clear the area.

One minute down, one to go, and he still had to find his brothers.  They were still in the engine room, and the fact that they hadn’t moved told him that they must be stuck there.  Unconscious Scott or not, Gordon would have moved them as close to the exit as he could get.

Unless Havoc…

No, he refused to let that cross his mind.  Fuse was working with him to make sure Havoc was safe.  Surely Havoc was smart enough to know that working with Gordon would be better for her than being hostile.  He’d even heard Gordon’s garbled tones over the comms not two minutes earlier.  Havoc wasn’t the problem, not this time.

The problem was the collapsed corridor between him and the engine room.

Time was ticking, the fluttering in his stomach that had died down was back in full force because he could hear the water sloshing around on the other side of the barricade but not his brothers, and there was an entire collapsed section of corridor in the way.

If he couldn’t hear Gordon sniping with Havoc or trying to rouse Scott, they were probably already underwater.  If Scott hadn’t regained consciousness, his life was entirely in Gordon’s hands right now, and while there were no hands Virgil trusted more given the situation the fear was curling up inside him that he was too late.

No.

He took a deep breath.

He was not too late.  He was going to get them out of there and he was going to do it now.

Virgil had steady hands.  He was an artist, a pianist, an engineer.  No matter how much his stomach fluttered as though an entire swarm of frantic butterflies had taken up residence and his heart raced to the rhythm of a bomb’s flickering red light moments before detonation, his hands stayed steady.

It was those steady hands that reached out and directed the mechanical hands of the Jaws of Life to dig their way through the jumble of broken boat in his way.  Fast, but steady and sure as he stopped letting himself think about lifeless bodies and instead remembered the game of Jenga he’d been having with Gordon just before the call came in.  Jenga was easy, a simple logistics puzzle, and Virgil slipped into that mindset.  All the turns were his, the tower of blocks was a mass of broken boat, and Virgil hadn’t lost a game of Jenga in years.

That record was not breaking now.

Debris piled up beside him, and at some point Fuse had followed him down, but Virgil’s focus was on the shimmering surface of rising water as he broke through the precariously-balanced debris.  A blur of purple almost knocked him over, but while Havoc was strong, she was slight and he caught her – sopping wet and clearly fuming – by the shoulders.

“Go careful or it’ll fall down on top of you,” he warned her.  She scoffed and shrugged him off before hurrying past him, but she wasn’t his concern any more, not when there was IR blue with a bright splash of yellow breaking the surface of the water and taking in a huge lungful of air.

Gordon was helmetless, blond hair plastered to his face as water trailed down his skin as though he was in the swimming pool at home.  Aside from the deep breaths he was taking after holding his breath for however long, he seemed fine, and Virgil’s attention snapped to the limp body he was clutching.

The yellow-rimmed helmet jammed on Scott’s head and creatively secured with far too much insulation tape to keep it air and water tight did not belong to his eldest brother.  It didn’t fit right – hence the need for the insulation tape – and was definitely too small, but Gordon’s yellow rebreather was attached to it and while it was an unorthodox solution that Scott would be complaining about later, Virgil had no doubt it had saved his life.

“Good thinking,” he praised, reaching down to take Scott from his brother.  “Injuries?”

As soon as he had hold of him, Gordon was scrabbling at the tape, ripping it off in a way that was bound to smart Scott later.  “Not that I don’t like hugs, but there’s no way we’re getting through that tunnel tied together,” the aquanaut said in a rush.  He was right; the rebreather was still attached to Gordon’s baldric and getting Scott out was going to be difficult enough without them being linked together.  “I’m fine, wasn’t near the blast, but Scott got hit in the head by the debris and it smashed his helmet.  He’s been out of it since everything went boom.”  That worried Virgil, but what worried him more was how long it was taking Gordon to get the helmet off of Scott’s head.

The water level was still rising.

“Ah hah!” Gordon exclaimed triumphantly as the last of the tape came off and he was able to detach the rebreather and reclaim his helmet.  Trusting his fish of a brother to get himself out of the water, especially now he had his helmet back, Virgil turned his attention to Scott and hauled the limp body clear of the flooded room.

Despite the helmet, his hair was still wet.  Virgil latched onto that observation as he pulled him over his shoulder and headed back for the exit as fast as he could.  Behind him, the familiar sound of wet flippers reassured him that Gordon was following, but also told him that the water levels were still rising.

“Thunderbird One’s VTOLs are overheating,” John said suddenly, his voice grim.  “She won’t hold much longer.”

Virgil frowned.  If Thunderbird One went down in the ocean, she’d be all but impossible to retrieve and he really didn’t need any more delays.  He eyed the end of the corridor, knowing that somewhere, Fuse and Havoc were ahead of him.

“Any sign of the Chaos Crew?” he asked, speeding up as much as he dared.  A jolt in the wrong place would bring the debris down on top of them.  Water sloshed around his ankles.

“I’ve lost them.”  He could imagine John shaking his head.  “I’d assume that means they’re in their ship and clear.”

Virgil was going to have to take that chance.

“Is Thunderbird Four still attached to the boat?” Gordon asked.  Virgil had all but forgotten the little yellow sub, but John confirmed it and he nodded, realising that with his comms still down, Gordon couldn’t hear their brother.

“John, cut Thunderbird One loose and get Thunderbird Four back to the module,” he said.

“Are you sure?  Thunderbird Two can’t take the full weight of the boat for long,” John reminded him.

Virgil reached the end of the corridor, water somewhere near the top of his boots, and gestured for Gordon to go on ahead.  The aquanaut started to frown, then glanced at Scott and acquiesced.

“I’m sure,” he said, watching Gordon scramble up to the deck.  “We can’t afford Thunderbird One crashing, and Thunderbird Two can hold long enough.”

She had to.

“EOS has Thunderbird Four,” John informed him.  “She’ll be back in the module in approximately forty seconds.  I’ll cut Thunderbird One loose once you’re on the deck.  Not before.”

Virgil supposed that was as good a reason as any to hurry.  Gordon was clear, leaning back in to take Scott, and he passed their brother up to him before heaving his way out.

True to John’s word, above them Thunderbird One jerked skywards, disengaging from the boat.  Her VTOLs were spluttering painfully, and in the blink of an eye John had her diverting power to the rear thrusters and jetting off for home.

Thunderbird Two squealed, a noise that shot right through Virgil as the boat juddered and lurched beneath his feet.  A resounding crash from below deck told him that his careful Jenga of debris had toppled entirely, but they were all clear so that didn’t matter now.

What mattered was getting onboard Thunderbird Two as she juddered and shrieked in protest at the weight Virgil was asking her to hold up, just a little longer.

“Thirty seconds before her engines reach critical,” John warned him.  “Get on board now.”

Gordon had hold of Scott, one hand clinging to the deck while the other clutched his brother’s unmoving form close.  A particularly large lurch had Virgil crashing down, landing on one knee and forcing him to stabilise himself with one of his claws.  Above them, swinging violently with the Thunderbird’s movement, the cockpit platform lowered.

If all three of them were conscious, they’d make it.  But Scott’s eyes were still closed, and either Virgil or Gordon needed to sacrifice their hands to keep hold of him.  Hands that were very much needed to keep their own balance and scramble onto the platform.

Gordon knew it, too.  Virgil could see it in his eyes.

“Go,” he said, reaching to take Scott.  “Get on board.”

“Not a chance,” Gordon disagreed.  “I’m the aquanaut.  If anyone’s going in the water, it’s me.  You’re weighed down by the exosuit.”

He was right, but Virgil didn’t want to admit it.  He’d only just managed to get Scott and Gordon out of the water; the last thing he wanted was either of them going back in, but Thunderbird Two’s lurching was getting worse and he could hear her VTOLs starting to splutter.

“How about you all move and no-one goes in the water?” John snapped in his ear.  “Virgil, get on the platform.”  He sounded half angry, half terrified.  Not for the first time, Virgil decided that he did not envy his older brother’s job.

Another lurch sent all three of them sprawling sideways, slamming them against the side of the deck and further from the rescue platform.  Something went clatter.

Virgil saw something fall past him, but before he could register what it was, there was a dull thunk, like the sound of one of their cables hitting the deck, and the ship lurched back upright.

“What the hell?” Gordon muttered.  “What was- oh.”

Oh indeed.

Virgil looked at the cable that had just appeared where Thunderbird One’s had been, heard Thunderbird Two’s VTOLs quiet down just a tad as something else took the strain, and followed the thick grey line up to see a purple and grey machine spluttering away.

“I guess she didn’t hate me after all,” Gordon quipped, but Virgil could hear the wide-eyed surprise in his voice.

There wasn’t time to wonder why the Chaos Cruiser was helping them.  The little thing was even less equipped to hold the boat up than Thunderbird One had been, and wouldn’t last long.  But the little clatter had reminded him of something he really shouldn’t have forgotten in the first place.

“Gordon, hand me Scott’s grapple launcher.”

There was a split second pause before Gordon dove for their brother’s baldric.  “Oh, we’re idiots.  Virgil, get moving.”

“Gordon-”

“I’m the better shot, and also less weight,” his brother argued.  “Get moving.”  The aquanaut didn’t even wait for him to agree before firing straight at the hole in the bottom of the cockpit.  It was a bulls’ eye, of course, and Virgil stifled a reflex noise of complaint as he scooped Scott up and scrambled for the rescue platform.

It was still rocking, the Chaos Cruiser not strong enough to fully stabilise the boat, but with stubborn determination and a healthy dose of grappling using the Jaws of Life, he fumbled his way onto the platform, Scott in a heap beside him.  The familiar whirring of a grapple cable – and seriously, why hadn’t they remembered Scott had those until one of his grapple packs had fallen out of his baldric – heralded Gordon swinging in on a rapidly-shortening cable, and with a sigh of relief that sounded an awful lot like finally, John set the platform rising back into the cockpit.

Just before they were swallowed up by his ‘bird, Virgil found himself looking out at the Chaos Cruiser.  Havoc and Fuse both stared back, one gaze cold as ice, the other warmer than he’d expected.  Then it cloaked, shimmering into invisibility, and he was staring at the inside of his cockpit.

Thunderbird Two juddered, and the red warning lights shut off.

“I cut her loose,” John said from his wrist before he could panic.  “I’ll get her to pick up Thunderbird Four, and then she’s heading for home, unless Scott needs a hospital?”

Scott.  It was against regulations and Virgil was going to be grumbling at himself for it later, but he disengaged the Jaws of Life entirely and stepped out of it, leaving it loose in the cockpit.  Gordon had already crouched down next to their brother, and was poking Scott’s cheek.

The malcontent grumble he got was music to Virgil’s ears.  “He’s waking up, John, but I’ll do a scan just to be sure.”  Bleary blue eyes blinked at him as he held the scanner up, and Gordon broke into a relieved grin.

“Hey, bro,” he beamed.  “Nice to see you back.”

“Ow,” Scott rasped as the scan flashed up a group of ambers but no reds.  Nothing they couldn’t handle at home.  “What did I miss?”

“Nothing particularly exciting,” Gordon told him airily, in that tone that all older brothers knew meant trouble.  Virgil was pleased to see Scott squinting at him suspiciously.  “Just a woman with a very sharp tongue and an extended swimming session.  Pretty fun, actually!”

“Your idea of fun concerns me,” Virgil drawled, but kept his eyes on Scott, who was already pushing himself to sit up.  “John, I think home is fine.”

“F.A.B.”  His brother didn’t even bother hiding the relief in his voice.

“Do I want to know?” Scott asked, voice dripping with suspicion.  It was a rhetorical question – he’d be hounding them for every last detail before the day was done.

“Know that we maybe kinda just a little might need to be a smidge thankful for the Chaos Crew saving our butts?” Gordon asked in that same sunny tone.  “Probably not.”

“We saved them first,” Virgil clarified before Scott could explode.  “Long story short, your last life sign was Havoc, one of the explosives Fuse planted went off too soon which knocked you out and trapped you two with Havoc in the engine room, and then I had to teach Fuse how to disarm his own bombs before the rest of them went off, then dig you three out.”

Scott groaned and put a hand to his head.  “I think I must be hallucinating, because I could have sworn you just said you taught Fuse to disarm his own bombs.”

“I wish it was all in your head, Scott, but no, that actually happened,” Virgil admitted.  “Come on, let’s get you in a seat.”  He looped Scott’s arm around his shoulders and grabbed his waist before hoisting him up.  Gordon hovered on his other side as they made the short few steps to one of the passenger seats and Scott sank down into it.

“Thunderbird One?”

“John’s sent her home already.”  Virgil decided against mentioning the damage to her VTOLs.  He didn’t want to be in the room when Scott found out about that.  “You were unconscious for fifteen minutes, Scott.”  Was it really only fifteen minutes?  The whole thing had felt so much longer.  “You’re piloting nowhere until Grandma gives you the all clear.”

Scott groaned, but it was his normal groan of annoyance at being grounded and not one of pain.  Still, Virgil checked his head with his fingers, which Scott suffered with his usual bad grace.  A lump, but no cut – fortunate, considering his unintended swim – and otherwise seemed in pretty good shape considering his spate of unconsciousness.  Virgil snapped a cold pack and prodded his brother into holding it against his head.

“And keep it there,” he warned.  The eye roll he got in response should have annoyed him but was really just another reassurance.

“So are you going to tell me what happened?” Scott asked.  “Because so far I don’t believe a word of it.”

“Unfortunately, big bro, it’s all true,” Gordon drawled.  He’d sprawled himself out over the co-pilot’s chair, arms folded behind his head and flippers on the dash.  Virgil glowered but the squid ignored him.  “Chaos Crew got involved but ended up helping us out.  Rather begrudgingly, in Havoc’s case.  Virg had Fuse, so he’s the one to ask about him.”

“He was worried about his sister,” Virgil shrugged.  “Family loyalty trumps his loyalty to the Hood, apparently.”

“I can believe that,” Gordon shrugged.

Scott sighed.  “This all sounds ridiculous.  Let’s just go home.”

Virgil grinned.  “That’s the plan, Scott.”

“Besides, Virg still owes me a rematch,” Gordon injected.  “Johnny ruined our last game.”

“You ruined your own game,” the ginger sniped, proving that he was still eavesdropping.  “I had nothing to do with it.”

“I think I’m done with Jenga for the day,” Virgil admitted, pressing his hand over Scott’s on the cool pack as his brother’s grip slackened.  A quick check on his brother proved it was just Scott trying to escape treatment again, rather than anything concerning.  “How about chess?”

Gordon squinted at him in confusion.  “You know you’ll lose.”

Virgil smirked.  “We’ll see.”

[xxxsoukokuxxx]

Despite rivalry...we’ll always be friends...even if neither of us know it

Characters: Dazai Osamu (main character); Chuya Nakahara (main character); Mori Ougai; OC-Asahi Ruki; Port Mafia

Warnings: slight mentions of torture (just mentions of how dazai was a torturer in his PM days); dark themes; tsundereness; cursing (of course it’s Chuya)

Notes: Hi everyone! I apologize for not posting in a while. I just needed to rest my tired brain after the exams for a few days. So here, have some platonic soukoku content i’ve written. This can also be found on AO3 on my account name: xXxNoLongerHumanXxX. Also, sorry about not doing an event for my 100 followers milestone yet. I’ll get that done as soon as I have time for it.

_______________________________________________________

The city lights of Yokohama shine brightly like stars. It looks beautiful against the back-drop of the midnight sky. The snow white moon illuminates the much darker parts of Yokohama. But the darkest place of all, was none other than the Port Mafia. Even though you can see lights on from the outside decorating the jet black buildings, it's sinister and might I say bloody secrets is what made it much more darker than any other place in the city.

But there was something, no someone much more sinister than everyone else who worked in the mafia. He was feared immensely not only by civilians and enemies, but by his very own colleagues as well. Torture was his specialty. Whether it's for interrogation or punishment, he'll do it with a sadistic smile and enjoy the pained expressions that his victims make.

His pitch black suit and coat as well as the white bandage over his right eye made him all the more intimidating, His wavy, somewhat unruly hair was a dark chocolate brown. The eyes belonging to this man were a mocha brown but ever so darkened to match his cold expression when giving commands or in the presence of an enemy. This Port Mafia Executive's name was Dazai Osamu, also known as the 'Demonic Prodigy'. There's a saying in the Port Mafia, "The biggest misfortune for Dazai's enemies, is that they're Dazai's enemies."

But as much as he might seem cold, he acts like a little child as well. This can be seen when he's with two of his 'friends' that he goes drinking with to Bar Lupin. He'll even joke about his suicidal tendencies and experiment with little things such as cooking, much like a kid does. Only to have his friends try his dish and end up with twisting stomachs in the morning.

His childish antics can also be seen with another mafia executive, his name being Chuya Nakahara. A rather bit shorter than average height for his age. He had graceful ginger locks in his hair with a longer section falling over his left shoulder. His formal attire was red and black, his signature colors. And of course his beloved fedora topped his head much like a sundae that's topped off with a red cherry.

Dazai and Chuya, despite being partners often bickered, regardless their age of eighteen, they never seemed to stop fighting like children who can't stand each other. But maybe for just one night, they might actually stop bickering for once. ________________________________________

One of the members of the Port Mafia thought of an idea but started regretting it when he thought of the boss. A party? At the Port Mafia? There's no way Mori would ever agree to such a thing. But the thought had good intentions. The Port Mafia had just finished off a rival gang and it surely was a tedious job. But they succeeded in executing them. This one member wanted to celebrate the fact they're all still alive and their victory.

He decides to take the chance one morning and head to Mori Ougai's office. Once reaching the doors of the office after getting through security, he hesitantly places his hands on the door knobs and pauses. He takes a deep breath and opens the doors, closing them behind him. He turns back around to find Mori playing dress up with Elise, she didn't seem happy to try anything on though. He clears his throat and makes his appearance known, "Boss, it's Asahi Ruki I have come to propose an idea that I hope you approve of." he says trying to sound confident.

Mori shifts himself in the chair towards his left to see who has entered and then gives his signature sickeningly sweet smile, "Ah yes Asahi-kun. What is this idea you have in mind?" Asahi stands with his hands behind his back and holds a professional upright posture, "Yes, my idea is..." "Go on, spill it out, I'm listening." Mori teases when Asahi pauses mid sentence. "My idea is...that we...throw a party, not necessarily extravagant, to celebrate our victory against the vile rival gang that we have just gotten rid off. And the fact that everyone's still alive. I've discussed this with a few fellow colleagues and they seem to be excited for such an event." he continues, cursing himself for stuttering the first few words. "...very well then, it would be a good idea, after all, why not some fun after such a tedious and stressful job?" Mori chuckles as he nods. "A party! Finally something exciting around this crappy place!" exclaims Elise.

A bead of sweat rolls down the side of Asahi's temple as he gulps when he hears Elise's words. "Thank you Boss, should I make the arrangements?" "No, leave that to me and the executives, thank you, you may be excused now if there's nothing else." replies Mori yet again with that sick smile. Asahi bows and turns around to leave, silently cheering that his idea was approved of and most of all, his head didn't get chopped off. Back in the office, Elise starts putting on her normal attire and starts contemplating all the possible party ideas. Mori just looks on with a pout on his lips.

"...do you really think this place is "crappy" my dear Elise-chan?" ___________________________________________

A week later or so, the demonic prodigy walks through the red velvet halls of the Port Mafia to get to his rather "boring" office as he calls it. He notices people a tad bit busier than usual today. It seemed as if he was oblivious to the fact that that day was the day of the party approved by the Boss and proposed by a mafioso named Asahi. But he wasn't. He just didn't like the idea of parties. Too noisy, too rowdy, too many people for his liking.

Mori had called him numerous times on his cellphone to get him to come to his office to plan this event, but before he would even bother about picking up the call, he knew what is was about already. He finally makes it to his "boring" office and shuts the door behind him with the heel of his shoe. He takes his hands out of his pockets and settles down at his desk. Tons of paperwork lay on his desk and there were at least four more piles of paperwork to be done on the floor. He groans at the sight of them, all that is unnecessary and too much of a tedious job to do.

He spins around in his chair in endless circles and finally stops when he hears a knock at his door. 'Great, which fool is here to bother me now.' he grumbles internally. "Come in" he says hiding his annoyance behind an expressionless voice. The door opens and the last person he wants to see steps in. "Hey suicidal maniac. There's a party this evening at about 9 til' late. You weren't in Mori's office to plan the damn thing, where the heck where you!? Goofing off?" says Chuya with annoyance lacing his voice. "I don't care for such things. It's so useless to waste time on such a stupid event." Dazai replies nonchalantly. "And yes, I wasn't exactly goofing off...I was trying out this new method of suicide! You see this is how you do it, first you..." "Shut up Mackerel I don't want to hear your stupid attempts of ending your life, are coming to the party or what?"

"Hmmm, how about no. Parties are so annoying." Dazai whines while slumping his upper body over his desk. "Fine by me, finally I can be free of you and actually have a good time and..." "Blah-blah-blah, I don't wanna hear how much you're going to enjoy your time acting like the fool you are, Slug." Dazai smirks. "Bastard!" Chuya grimaces and leaves shutting the door with a bang behind him. Dazai doesn't even wince at the annoyingly loud noise and goes back to spinning in his chair. He stops again but not because there's someone at the door, but at his own thoughts intruding his mind.

He sighs heavily and displays an empty and solemn look on his face, which he'll never show anyone. ___________________________________________

It was currently 9:00 pm and most of the Port Mafia members like Higuchi, Tachihara, Gin and others helped with the decorations earlier that day. And they got it done fast too, without hassles, except for Tachihara who slipped off a ladder while hanging decorations and fell. Akutagawa of course wasn't going to be at such a 'hideous' event as he called such unnecessary gatherings.

Dazai was at Bar Lupin, tonight however he was alone, no Odasaku, no Ango. He takes a sip of the amber whiskey in front of him and sighs out of relief as well as boredom. He ran out of suicide methods to try. A man wearing a fedora and crimson red button up shirt with coal black formal pants makes his way to the bar and enters. Dazai doesn't seem to notice at all. At this point he's too lost in his fog of thoughts to bother about anyone else. "Hey suicidal maniac!" calls Chuya as he comes down the steps in the bar with a fine bottle of one of the most expensive wines he's ever bought in his gloved hand.

Dazai turns his attention towards the ginger and for once in his life he's genuinely surprised not expecting Chuya to be here. "What are you doing here Chuya? I thought you'd be drunk out of your mind by now." Dazai snickers. "So early? The party only started half an hour ago!" "Knowing you, you'd go there half drunk." Dazai laughs. "Hey shut that mouth of yours you stupid Mackerel, I was bored and decided to come here instead!" "Since when do you come to Bar Lupin? And did you decide to come here because you were bored, or did you come here knowing I'd be here?" Dazai smirks.

"Shut up already will you!" Chuya yells angrily at Dazai's teasing and takes a seat next to him and places down his wine. "So answer which is it!" Dazai exclaims. "Bastard, I came here because I was bored of course! And besides you weren't at the party either. Perhaps it got boring because I wasn't constantly running around after you trying to stop you from causing havoc!"

Dazai chuckles, "Are my antics that entertaining?" "Hey, don't act all smug! All I'm saying is that I've gotten so used to your annoying and bizarre antics that other things seem somewhat boring." "Ah, I see." Dazai says and leans forward to take a sip of his drink. Chuya was lying though, the party wasn't boring at all, he felt bad that Dazai wasn't there, and decided not to go because of the suicidal maniac. As much as Chuya hates him, he still enjoys his company nonetheless, even if he doesn't know it.

"Ugh, it's getting boring here too!" exclaims Chuya out of frustration. "Yeah, it got boring since you arrived." Dazai remarks. "Why you!..." Chuya aims to kick at Dazai's calf but fails miserably as Dazai casually got up before Chuya could even graze him. "Since it's boring here, let's get outta here then hmm?" Dazai suggests. "...idiot, fine." he gets up makes his way out of the bar with Dazai, of course taking his precious wine with him. "How come you don't like parties? You're already an animal, I'm sure you wouldn't have trouble fitting in with a bunch of party animals." Chuya smirks.

"I already told you earlier you stupid Slug, it's useless and a waste of time!" Dazai replies. "But why is what I'm asking you!!!" "I just don't." "...don't be vague Mackerel." "...fine, they're too noisy and rowdy for my liking, besides there's too many annoying people like you there."

"Do you seriously have to insult me in everything you say!?" exclaims a frustrated Chuya. "Yes, yes I do." Dazai says nonchalantly not evening glancing at the short ginger walking beside him. "...stupid Mackerel." grumbles the ginger. "Hey why don't we go on the rooftop of that building and just chill there for a while hmm?" suggests the demonic prodigy. "...fine." The two mafia executives make their way to the very top of a building, Chuya silently curses Dazai because he doesn't have an ability that will take him to the rooftop in a just a few seconds. Chuya thought he could have just used his ability but Dazai's would only nullify it.

"Finally!" Chuya exclaims in excitement after climbing stairs after stairs to reach the rooftop. "We survived! Great job petite mafioso." Dazai snickers and walks passed him to go to the very edge of the rooftop. "Don't you dare even think about jumping you bastard!" Chuya yells from where he is. "Already thought about it!" Dazai replies and sits down letting his legs dangle off the building. He pats the place next to him motioning for Chuya to sit. The ginger makes his way over and reluctantly sits next to the person he supposedly despises the most. "That's some expensive wine you've got there." Dazai remarks. "Yeah, it is to you." the ginger says as he takes it in his hands and pops open the bottle with his ability. "I thought you only open such expensive wines on special occasions?" "If I'm hanging out with you, it must be a special occasion." "Chuya! You're such a wonderful human being!" "Go to hell, I'll probably regret it in the morning." "You're such a tsundere." "I SAID GO TO HELL!" shouts Chuya before taking a big gulp of the wine straight from the bottle.

"How am I supposed to go to hell, if I'm already there?" Dazai smiles sickeningly sweet. "Tsk, what kind of philosophy is that!?" "Ugh, nevermind I'm surprised you use such a big word as 'philosophy'." "For the last time today, SHUT UP!" "Aww, is the petite mafioso getting all upset?" Dazai teases. Chuya swings a fist at him but of course Dazai dodges it with ease. "Bastard." The ginger then offers the wine bottle to the brunette begrudgingly. "Uh, I don't drink wine but since there's nothing else..." Dazai takes the bottle and drinks almost half the bottle one time. "Hey easy! I want some too!" Chuya say trying to stop his partner in crime.

"Mmm, this is some sweet wine." says Dazai giving back the half empty wine bottle to Chuya. "Geez, how greedy." "Hey hatrack." "What do you want!?" "What's the real reason you didn't go to the party?" asks Dazai as he looks at the midnight black sky. "...ugh, the real reason...I didn't want you to feel alone or left out and besides it would have been much more boring there anyway." "Not so much of a tsundere now huh?" Chuya says teasing Dazai. "Oh keep quiet will you!? Be grateful that I chose to hang out with the person I despise the most in the world!" "Yeah yeah sure." Dazai leans back and lays down on the rooftop with his hands behind his neck. Chuya glances at him and then does the same. "Why do you constantly annoy me all the time?" asks Chuya and this time, he doesn't sound annoyed or angry but rather calm.

"I dunno, it's entertaining I guess?" "You seriously use me for your entertainment? Tsk, you always use people for your personal needs anyway." and he takes another swig of the wine again. "...I don't use you...not all the time" "Idiot" and he yet again takes another swig of the wine. "No wonder why you don't have friends Mackerel." "Who says I need friends?" "I say you need friends." "...why?" "So that you're not lonely all the time and trying to constantly kill yourself."

"...why would you care about such a thing?" Dazai figures Chuya's almost drunk by now. "Oh see. now who's being a tsundere!?" "...whatever..." he still gazes up at the sky as if searching for something. Chuya realizes what Dazai's doing and does the same, "Here have some more before I finish the bottle." Dazai glances at the bottle in Chuya's hand and takes it drinking all of it. "Hey! I was supposed to finish it! Stupid Mackerel!" but he doesn't sound all too disappointed this time when he shouts at Dazai.

"Hey Chuya?" “Finally you call me by my name...what do you want Dazai?" "Thanks for hanging out with me tonight, didn't know you cared that much about me." he tries to tease towards the end of his sentence. "It's nothing, just thought you might need a friend to keep you company." Chuya says, eyes droopy hinting he was tired and drunk. Dazai's eyes widen when he heard Chuya say that, he glanced over at the ginger and sees him trying to fight his sleep. Dazai gets up and shoves his hands into his pockets. "Let's go home now Chuya, I knew you'd get drunk out of your mind." "Tsk" Chuya gets up slowly and leaves with Dazai, leaving behind the empty wine bottle they shared. Despite their rivalry, they're friends...even if neither of them know it.