#and i've been saving it for so long expecting it to knock my socks off and it was just fine. it was good. it just didn't amaze me.

[three-plums]

i'm not much of a sci-fi person just because i've never really found those types of questions interesting in a fictional context... if that makes sense. as far as narratives go i'm more interested in the old grrm-ism "the human heart in conflict with itself." but. the extent to which dbh pissed me off has made me start reading and watching sci-fi like a lunatic.

[darthaddock]

Chapter 5: A Forrest Encounter

‘At least that was a friday… now I have some time to process whatever that was that happened at lunch yesterday.’ I thought to myself as I walked out to the woods. Normally I'm inside during the winter as much as possible, but I needed to clear my head. The fresh air would also do me some good. In preparation to stay out longer than intended, I brought a couple blankets; some thicker than others; but they would get the job done.

I vaguely remember having seen him around the school, but given that he's in a different class than me, I paid him no mind whatsoever.

I sat down on a large rock judging that I was far enough out that I wouldn't be found. I began talking to myself and any animals that approached me. I've always been some sort of animal whisperer, they listen to me better than humans will, and they won't spill my secrets to anyone.

I was holding and talking to a rabbit that had come up to me maybe five minutes before when I heard something. It wasn't an animal you'd expect to find around here, too big and clumsy sounding. I stood up, rabbit still in my arms, and turned towards the sound.

There was nothing.

I walked over to the area to look, and all I found was disturbed leaves and a broken branch. The branch was about eye level. That could only mean one thing: I wasn't alone in that clearing.

My mind started spinning at light speeds. ‘How could anyone have found me here? I walked at least half an hour to get here. I must be crazy, there's absolutely no way.’ I nearly fell over when I went to sit back down so I could catch my breath. I'm pretty sure I dropped the rabbit by accident as well. But seeing as it was gone, I assume it was unharmed. I was breathing pretty heavily after my bold assumption that I was followed into the woods, but what else could have done that? There aren't any animals out here that could have broken that branch.

I started to calm myself down a little. “I must be going crazy. There's not anyone out here.” I reassured myself out loud.

Right after I finished calming my nerves, as if to spite me, some gross guy comes out from the tree line and just stares at me. Like I'm sorry, but that's a no from me.

“Are you-” he started

“Taken? No. Interested? Most definitely not.” I interrupted, knowing what he was going to ask. There was a long pause of stunned silence before I just got up saying, “alright that's enough social interaction for me, I'm leaving, bye.” Then I just walked off in the same direction I'd come from.

‘Was that creep watching me the whole time?’ I shivered at the thought. He literally looked like he had rolled around in a mud puddle and had never bathed in his life. That and this guy was at least forty years old. I'm not going to go out with some sick forty-year-old pervert to save my life.

That's when someone grabbed me from behind and I felt something sharp against my neck. Probably a knife of some kind. I didn't know and I certainly wasn't about to stick around to find out. By the sound of the breathing I could tell it was a guy, so I did what I think anyone else would have done in this situation: kick his crotch with enough force to knock a small tree down. He loosened his grip once the pain set in then I whirled around, socked his face, and ran.

I hit him in the nose. I know that much. I probably broke it looking back. But he would have done much worse to me. So it's more the lesser of two evils, and it was self defense.

Once I got out of the woods I just kept running. I didn't know where I was going, I just went.

I stopped to catch my breath and I found myself in a scrap yard. Where all the recently outlawed gasoline cars and crashed vehicles alike were sent to just rot away. I wandered around for a little while. There was something about these abandoned vehicles that peaked my interest.

One particularly destroyed one caught my eye because the window was down. I looked in and it looked inviting enough, save for all the debris inside from whatever accident it was involved in and the decay that followed suit.

I sat in the passenger side seat. And I was just marveling at the practically vintage cloth interior that was in nothing but ruin now. Eventually curiosity got the best of me, and I began snooping around inside to see if anything was left behind by the owners. After finding nothing I opened the glove box thinking that out of all the places this should be the one to check. I didn’t know how right I was. There was a leather purse. It looked pretty cheap, and most everything inside it was destroyed by what appeared to be water damage. But the one thing I did find in good condition was a drivers license in a wallet that had most definitely seen better days.

The name read: Scout Gertrude Finnick. Maiden name: Yerva.

To say I was in absolute shock would be a drastic understatement. This woman, not only looked like me, but shared my last name, and my middle name was her maiden name? The odds of that being a coincidence are just way too high. I pocketed the license to examine it more later. Maybe I'd be able to find more on her later. But for now, I needed to get back to the orphanage.

[ameliora-j]

I've been very unoriginal lately but Eddie saving your life and you finding a way to repay him.

cw: oral (m!receiving), sub!eddie, overstimulation, dom!reader, can be read as any gender!

° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ

it had been weeks since the last time you’d seen eddie… in person at least. he’d been the man plaguing your dreams since he’d fought off that swarm of bats and saved your life. you saw him do it every night and you needed to find a way to say thank you. after the eighth night in a row of that same horrible nightmare waking you up, you set out on your plan.

you pulled on a pair of short shorts to go underneath your three sizes too big t-shirt and pulled on your socks and a random pair of vans. you sifted through the drawers of your nightstand untill you found the small ziplock baggie of weed. you went down to your kitchen and baked some brownies then set on your way to your car.

° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ

when you arrived to the porch of the trailer and knocked, the numbers flashing on your watch in bright red read ‘3:29 AM.’ you internally cursed yourself, your why would eddie munson be awake at this hour? to your saving grace, the door cracked open. “yln?” eddie drawled out in a raspy, sleepy voice.

“sorry… i didn’t mean to wake you” you whispered, shooting him an apologetic frown. he merely shook his head and opened up the door wider for you to enter. upon entry into his trailer, you’d noticed that he was naked, save for a tight pair of boxers hugging his hips.

“sorry about that” he chuckled softly, cheeks tinging pink in embarrassment as he noticed your stare. “wasn’t expecting you at this hour.” he smiled, pulling on a robe and tying it to cover up his naked body. “what brings you here?” he smiled.

“nightmares” you answered honestly, biting your lip. “i keep… seeing those bats” you shook your head, tugging at your fingers. “they’re in my head all night and i just… i see you and i realized that” you sighed softly, gnawing at your lip once more. “i never said thank you.”

he smiled at you. he found the action heartwarming. you thought about him… seemingly almost as much as he thought about you. “so you brought me weed?” he asked with a teasing smirk.

“and brownies!” you announced, proud smile gracing your lips. “to thank you… for saving my life and all” you nodded.

“well how about you smoke this with me, hmm? seems like we both can’t get sleep” he offered, smiling as he held out his arm and led you to his bedroom.

° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ

three blunts and half a pan of brownies later, you and eddie laid sprawled on his bed. his eyes were lidded and red as cherries, your’s looked similar as you laid on his hip with his hand carded through your hair. “yanno…” he breathed after exhaling the long drag of his cigarette. “i can think of a million other ways you could’ve thanked me” he smirked teasingly.

“is one of them a blowie?” you taunted. his body flushed in embarrassment, skin searing hot as he cleared his throat. “i can feel it, eddie” you whispered. “i want it in my mouth” you mumbled, cupping the large bulge.

“m-mother of ozzy…” he stammered, looking up at you in complete adoration as you kneeled over his pale, lanky form. with shaky hands, he untied his robe and shrugged it off, leaving you to get to your work.

“look at this big cock” you hummed, mouthing over it through the fabric of his boxers. “all hard and wet, just for me, pretty boy?” you taunted flattening your tongue and lathing it over his cock through his boxers.

“god please…” he gasped. “sh-shut the fuck up before i bust” he begged. you laughed at how pathetic he was, yanking off his boxers and gripping his cock in a cold palm. the boy whimpered as you spit down onto the head. you moaned, watching it slide down the shaft of his cock and pool up around his thick, heavy balls.

you flattened your tongue, licking around his balls before popping one into your mouth. you sucked slowly at it, swirling your tongue around the fat globe as you slowly jerked his cock, squeezing him from base to tip. you repeated the action, giving the same attention to the other cum-filled ball before moving up and shoving his cock into your mouth.

“mother of ozzy…” eddie whined, gripping your hair tight in his fist and shoving your down further on his cock. he pushed your head untill your nose was buried in the dark tuft of curls at his pelvic bone and your were gasping and crying around his cock.

eddie whined and stammered above you as you hollowed your cheeks and began to bob your head. your mouth made obscene slurping and choking sounds on his cock as you sucked him off, and eddie was nearly crying in pleasure.

you reached up and began pinching and fondling with his balls, causing eddie’s toes to curl and his back to arch. you pushed his cock deep into your throat and swallowed around the head, causing eddie to explode. he whined, whimpered, and writhed on the bed, tears spilling down his cheeks as he thanked you over and over.

you laughed around his cock and kept sucking, moaning and swirling your tongue around his cock. “please please please” he whined, squirming and trying to push your head off. “please i already came” he sobbed out softly.

you pulled off of his cock, mouth making a small pop as you jerked off his cum-coated cock. “and you’re gonna cum again, pretty boy” you laughed. you shoved his cock back down your throat. you doubled down your efforts, your laughs vibrating against his cock as you milked him dry.

he sobbed as his next orgasm overtook him. you sucked until he finished and his legs were shaking weekly. you slurped at all the cum that didn’t make it into your mouth, slurping untill you had swallowed it all. “good boy” you smiled softly, placing a gentle kiss to his hip.

“th-thank you…” he whimpered.

[lunaofthevalley]

The Little Mermaid of Manhattan

Peter Parker x Reader.

Plot: Peter is saved by a mystery girl one day in the park, and he will stop at nothing to find her.

Growing up in New York City, Y/N had seen more than enough strange things in her lifetime. Aliens, giant centipedes, killer robots, superheroes etc. But besides all that it was New York City, a place that wasn't a stranger to weird things happening all around. But luckily enough Y/N had never experienced these strange things first hand, although she had dealt with a knock off Elmo at least twice, but no aliens or superheroes.

That was until one day at 7 am on a Saturday morning during her run in Central Park.

She was running her usual trail, one not many people took, which to her was good, meant she was away from prying eyes that could possibly judge her on the terrible running she did, which in reality wasn't that bad at all. She was running past the small lake she usually passes when a blur of red caught her eye.

She was going to ignore it and continue running but a splash and the sound of terrified ducks made her stop. She pressed pause to her music and took out the one earphone she was using before turning her attention to the lake. There in the middle bobbing up and down was what appeared to be a person. Y/N couldn't really make out what it was until she stepped closer, and upon further inspection she recognized it to be Spider-Man.

Y/N panicked, she didn't know what to do. She couldn't leave him to drown, nor could she just run off and ask for help, no one appeared to be close by and it just so happened she was also a selective mute. So that only left her with one option. She started by removing her electronic devices, then her jacket, followed by her shoes and socks.

She then jumped into the really cold water and began swimming towards the figure. As she reached him she couldn't help but give a silent thank you to her father for having her enrolled in those swimming and lifeguard lessons during past summers. What she though would never help her in anything was quite helpful at the moment.

She reached out and grabbed onto him in a way that would permit her to swim to the shore quickly. The lake she had always considered small now seemed like an endless sea. Once they were both safely on shore she softly dropped him on the grass before dropping down beside him, she had been tired enough as is due to her run, but was now even more so due to the impromptu rescue mission.

Once she recovered her bearings Y/N turned her attention back to the superhero. He still had his mask on and she didn't know if that was a good thing or not. She knew she would probably be breaking the most important superhero rule there was at trying to remove his mask, but she considered at that moment that air was more important than keeping his identity a secret. She looked around and found no possible way of removing the mask, it seemed to be connected to the suit.

She started feeling around his neck area and upper chest to see if that would help in removing the mask, but her efforts seemed useless. It was as if the suit understood what she was trying to do because next thing she knew the mask was gone as it has retracted.

That's when Y/N took a good look at his face and almost screamed because she knew him. She knew Spider-Man. She knew that head of messy curls, that nose, those lips, that bone structure. How could she not when she had spent almost everyday of the last 2 years looking at it.

Out of everyone in the world the last person Y/N had ever expected to be Spider-Man was Peter Parker, but here she was, staring down right at him.

After calming down and assessing the situation she noticed that the suit had kept the water out, which meant he was never in any real danger of drowning, but that the force of the fall had made him pass out.

She quickly retrieved her stuff, putting on her shoes and jacket, thankful that the cool may air was already drying her wet clothes. She then went back to look at Peter, not yet wanting to leave him alone. She sat beside him, looking down at his figure. As creepy as the situation was Y/N was honestly quite concerned for his well being, who knew how long it would take him to wake up.

Some time had gone by, Y/N wasn't sure, she just knew it had been a while due to the position of the sun. She was playing with the grass, being so lost in thought she had started singing a song to herself, something she only did when absolutely alone. It was an old song her mother used to sing to her before she passed. It was a Fleetwood Mac song, Songbird.

Her mom also used to call her that because Y/N loved to sing, but after her death, Y/N stopped singing and after some time she stopped talking, she was already shy enough as is, but after what happened to her mom she became so scared of what people could do she developed social anxiety as well, becoming not only silent, but an outcast as well, someone so shrouded in mystery, people tended to keep their distance.

She came back to the normal world when she heard grunting and some shuffling. She looked down and noticed Peter had woken up and was looking at her. She had gone into such a panic that she was frozen in her spot. She knew she needed to get out of there but her body wasn't responding to what her brain was telling it to do.

"Who-who are you?" Peter asked suddenly, squinting up at her, trying to make out a face against the bright sunlight.

That's when Y/N bolted. She couldn't afford to have Peter know who she was, nor that she had saved him. She went and took cover behind a tree, close enough to see and hear him but not for him to see her.

After a couple of minutes Peter sat up and looked around in confusion, looking at the lake, then down at himself and then in the direction he thought the mysterious girl had gone in. It was then that loud sounds invaded the calm area and next thing either of them knew an Iron man suit was landing beside Peter. Peter quickly stood up as he saw Tony exit the suit.

"What happened kid? I was calmly working in my lab when I got a notification from Karen that you were in trouble."

"I-I don't know Mr.Stark," Peter stuttered, "I was just swinging around and then I hit something and I fell and next thing I know I'm waking up right here with a girl looking down at me."

Tony gave Peter a questioning look, "A girl?"

Peter nodded, "Y-yea she was...she was sitting right beside me, singing this song, I don't know the name, I just know I've heard it, but she saw me wake up and then ran." He explained. "I think she dragged me out of the water, even though I couldn't make out her face because of the sun I could tell her hair was wet."

"I don't know how likely that is Kid, no one comes down this part of the park. I'm pretty sure there's no one even near here."

"I swear Mr.Stark there was a girl! And she saved me."

Tony patted Peter on the shoulder, "last time I checked Mermaids weren't real Kid."

"What?" Peter looked up at Tony confused.

"Saving you from drowning, singing a song, mysteriously disappearing. You sure her name wasn't Ariel?"

"What?" Peter repeated.

Tony rolled his eyes, "You should know this Pete, you're the pop culture expert and last I heard you were on a Disney movie splurge."

It took Peter a moment before he got what Tony was talking about. "Are you talking about the Little Mermaid."

"You probably watched the movie not long ago and the fall probably made you take quite a good hit to the head, so it's very possible you imagined the whole thing, it tends to happen."

"No Mr.Stark, she was real, I swear."

"Yea and I got a date with Ursula the sea witch." Tony fired back, "Now come on I want to take you back to the Tower and see how much brain damage you caused yourself."

Peter only huffed in annoyance before letting his mask cover his face again, and in the blink of an eye both him and Tony were gone. Y/N sighed in relief and came out of her hiding spot.

She was glad she hadn't been caught as she had no idea what she would've done had that happened, and she just hoped Peter would eventually believe Tony in thinking this was all a hallucination he had due to hitting his head upon impact with the water. Things would be different from now on, Peter Parker would no longer be the nerdy boy no one pays attention to.

She has seen him for who he truly is now and she would not forget it.

Part 2??

If you would like to be added to the tags for the story or my general tag list comment or send me a message and I'll ad you to the tag list.

[takadasaiko]

Such Great Heights: Part Twelve (a Wynonna Earp fic)

FFN II AO3

Part Twelve

Willa.

She had been through this already. A girl with a different name and a face that had seemed vaguely familiar that had shot Peacemaker and sent Lou screeching down to hell. Wynonna had loved her sister, but the woman that had returned to them had been a shadow of her former self. Cold and callous, willing to sacrifice anything or anyone to get what she wanted. She had blamed Bobo for a while, but the truth was that Willa had broken at some point, and no one else was going to save her. If there had been any hope of her sister coming home again, it would have been something only Willa could have chosen.

But she hadn't. She had gone wrong and Wynonna had been forced to do the one thing she swore she wouldn't: put her down. Then she had turned up in the dream world and as soon as Wynonna knew what was going on she had shut her out. There had been no way that she was real. Kind and loving and loyal…. all things she might have been without all the darkness in her life. It hurt to think about the might have been's, but Willa was dead. She was gone, and Wynonna had fixed her focus on Alice.

Now her sister was back. Again. And she had betrayed them. Again. Wynonna wasn't sure she could do it all over again.

Bobo hadn't had a lot to go off when he had woken up. He and Doc had gone after a few Revenants trying to make their escape and Bobo had toppled their escape vehicle. Wynonna had seen the aftermath of the fight and the damage done, and all she could remember thinking was that she was glad he was on their side now.

From what he had said Willa had climbed out of the toppled van, surprising him, and she'd barely hesitated when she'd pulled the trigger at point blank range before leaving with a Revenant of her own free will. It seemed pretty cut and dry. Whatever some of the others had brought with them from the dream world hadn't affected Willa.

Wynonna had stepped outside to try to find some peace from the increasingly full house only to find Bobo Del Rey balanced on the railing around the porch, long legs stretched out in front of him. He was leaned against a pole with his head tilted back, eyes closed, and the only sign that he hadn't dozed off there the fact that he hadn't dropped the cigarette dangling between two fingers. The closer she crept, though, the more she thought that might just be a matter of time. If the ash collecting at the tip was anything to go by he hadn't taken a drag in a few minutes.

She was in the process of turning to find a different place to hide away and think when a rough voice stopped her. "Looking for me or did I steal your spot?"

Blue eyes had cracked open by the time Wynonna turned back and he was watching her as he tapped his cigarette and tried to take a drag. He frowned at it, dug for his lighter, and relit it. He looked exhausted, his hands a little shaky as they worked, and she wondered if that came from dying or everything else that had happened. It had been so much easier when she hated him, when she blamed him for everything, but she'd gotten to know the man behind the demon. It made it harder to ignore the pain he couldn't keep hidden in his eyes or the stress in the way his shoulders hunched, strangely thin looking with only the thin Henley to cover them.

Wynonna cleared her throat awkwardly. "This may be one of the first times I've seen you without that obnoxious coat of yours."

"Not sure where it went yet," he answered with a shrug. "Woke up without it and my boots."

Wynonna's eyes traveled down the long legs to find sock covered feet rather than the usual heavy boots he wore. "Right, sorry. Waverly put them away when we… got you back here."

He hummed a little and took another drag of his cigarette, his gaze distant.

"Look… I'm sorry about Willa."

"Not your doing."

"Yeah, well…. still. I know I've…" She grimaced, trying to find the words and coming up short. She pulled in a deep breath, steeling herself. "I know how much you loved my sister. It can't be easy having her do this… again. Especially after everything in the dream world."

He didn't react at first, merely kept his gaze fixed on nothing as he smoked. Finally he leaned back, his head thumping lightly against the pole and he let his eyes slide closed again. "She said it was the only way."

The words were so soft that Wynonna almost didn't hear them. "What was?"

Bobo shrugged. "Shooting me, I 'spose. She said it was the only way to get the kids back."

"Bobo…."

Icy blue eyes snapped open again and he glared a little at her. "I'm not an idiot, Wynonna. I know she thinks she's struck a deal with him and that he'll never honour it." He shifted and pulled a knee up, wincing as he did and his hand went to what must have been the still-healing wound. "Desperate people do desperate things."

Wynonna stared at him. "Are you seriously telling me you're not pissed?"

"Oh, I am," he chuckled, the words drawn out. "And frustrated and tired. I've been at this a long time, and I did warn you, Wynonna girl. The weight on your shoulders only gets heavier. The more you give a damn, the more you've got to lose, and it will drive you a little crazy if you let it." He flicked the butt of his cigarette out. "I though Josiah'd be the one to break it. He was good. Lot like his daddy, but they strung him up and I couldn't stop 'em. Couldn't have if I tried. All it'd've done was taken me down with 'im. Edwin had the drive, but no give. Your daddy…. you know all 'bout him." He tapped the bottom of his pack and knocked another cigarette out, lifting it to his lips. "Willa and I were gonna save each other. She waited for me. She…. I saved her from them and she was gonna wait 'till she was old enough to take me with her. Then there's you." He lit his cigarette and inhaled. "Wouldn'ta bet on it early on, but you're more like him than even Josiah was."

Wynonna swallowed hard. "You think I can finish this?"

"First Earp since your great-great granddaddy that I've openly aligned with. What do you think?"

"I think it wouldn't kill you to say you have faith in me, asshole," she huffed, but her lips quirked up a little as she spoke.

"I think I used up my faith a long time ago and you Earps just keep trying it."

"I'm going to finish this, Bobo. Clootie won't be coming back when I'm done with him. My daughter's life depends on it."

"And desperate people do desperate things," he said, his voice a little sad.

"Are you sticking around?" The question left her without permission, but if she were honest she had been waiting for him to leave since he'd chosen to join them. Waiting for him to choose to try to lay low and survive this in any way he could. He'd stayed longer than she might have expected, and with Willa popping back up, this might just be his breaking point.

He swung his legs over to slide off the railing, discarding his used up cigarette "Well, I was there when it started. Might as well stick it out to the end." There was more there, but she supposed she couldn't expect him to share everything. He'd been more honest with her in these last few minutes than she thought he'd been with her since they'd met. He didn't say any more as he moved back into the house, leaving her alone with her thoughts just as she had originally wanted when she'd walked out there in the first place.

When she slept she could still feel his breath against her neck, curled up behind her with his arm carefully looped around and her back against his chest. It felt comfortable. Safe. For just a moment it felt like they were still in that little house that they had bought in Purgatory and catching the last few minutes of sleep before the alarm went off and the Svane household stirred to a sleepy morning of coffee, breakfast, and work.

They'd been pulled from that world, though, and this was only the echoes of it that she saw when she let herself drift off to sleep. She wished she could enjoy it for a little while but it always went the same way.

She would wake to hear Grace crying, but no matter how hard she looked for her, she was always just beyond her reach. Every night following the one that she'd woken in the dank little cellar that Clootie had tossed her in she had searched and searched only to wake and be separated from them both.

She wasn't sure when she'd drifted off to sleep that afternoon, but when she felt him nuzzling against the nape of her neck, his voice soft and mumbling as he begged her to stay, she knew she had. It didn't matter. No matter how much she wanted to stay, the dream played out, so there was no point in delaying.

Willa wiggled out of his embrace, turning just a moment to find Robert still sleeping. He looked so peaceful like that, laid out on his side with his arm still stretched over her side of the bed, fingers loose and the lines in his face relaxed like he didn't have a care in the world. She bent down, meaning to steal a kiss, but she found herself in a hallway instead, her bedroom gone and the hall stretched on, Grace's cries echoing from somewhere down the way. A dream. Right.

Bare feet padded against the wooden floor as she made her way down, holding onto the reality of what it was. She'd never found her before like this, and she had no reason to think that this would turn out any different.

The hall ended, though, for the first time in her memory, and Willa turned, finding Grace sitting on the floor with tears in those big blue eyes and she pointed at her slipper. "Kitty threw up in my shoe, mama."

A short laugh escaped Willa as she bent down, scooping the little girl up and holding onto her, startled at how real she felt. Grace wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and buried her nose in her shoulder. "It's okay, baby," Willa promised. "We'll get it cleaned up."

"It's scary."

"What is, baby?"

"The sound."

"What so-" A loud crash cut her off, like a gunshot, and Willa tightened her grip on Grace, even as she began to squirm. She wasn't going to let her go. She wouldn't.

"Daddy," Grace said stubbornly as she tried to break free and Willa followed her gaze down the hall. She couldn't hold on any longer and the little girl squirmed loose, running down the hall to where a form lay at the other end.

Willa followed, a knot growing in her chest with each step. Grace stopped in front of him and Willa knew who it was before she saw the face, those blue eyes she knew so well wide and vacant, dark blood coating his t-shirt from the entry wound the bullet she had fired had left in him. She swallowed hard and knelt on the ground next to him, her hands trembling as she reached out to his face. He wouldn't stay dead. He couldn't. Only Peacemaker could kill him and she hadn't… she wouldn't have killed him.

She jolted awake, leaned against the door in the backseat of a vehicle she and the Revenant had taken when Robert had destroyed the one that they were escaping in. Grace wasn't there and neither was Robert. In that moment she had never felt more alone.

The Revenant that had survived Robert's attack stalked over to the car and tore the back door open, snapping at her to move. She was glad that she had already woken up or she would have fallen out into a heap on the ground. Instead she leveled a glare at him as she moved past him, spotting Clootie just ahead. He tilted his chin up, strange gold gaze fixed on the Revenant. "Is that how you treat our guest?"

"No, boss," the Revenant mumbled, and Clootie barely flicked his fingers. The Revenant fell immediately, a sharp cry escaping him as he started to rithe on the ground, twitching and screaming.

Willa watched the display of power, her gaze steady and her expression blank. She could feel Clootie watching her for a reaction, for even a little discomfort as a man screaming in agony. "You tried to cross the boundary with Robert once, didn't you?"

She looked over at that. "I did."

"And?"

"Obviously it didn't work. We didn't get very far before the pain hit him."

"Miles here has never crossed the boundary, but he knows now what it feels like, don'tcha Miles?" Clootie waited a moment and nudged the now foaming Revenant in the ribs, receiving another cry of pain for his efforts. "Don't you?"

"Yes!" came the strangled reply and he curled into himself a little more.

Clootie snorted. "I imagine there was none of this with Robert. He's too proud. Too stubborn. It's amazing how far he's come."

"I suppose you did him a favour," Willa said, wondering if the sarcasm was as evident to the demon as it was to her.

He chuckled "I imagine he wouldn't think so, but there are dark corners in every human being that are just waiting to be explored. Men like Robert used to be never have the courage to seek that out, but if nudged - even if shoved - they find that there's power in it." Clootie had moved progressively closer and closer as he spoke, stepping around the twitching Revenant at their feet and he lifted a hand to Willa's face. "You know that, don't you, my dear? You're not afraid to indulge your darker tendencies to get what you want."

The spark behind the conversation clicked with her and she met that strange gaze of his. "You found my niece."

"I did."

She waited for a moment, but the only filler to the silence between them were the now muffled cries of pain from Miles on the ground. Willa pushed a sharp breath from her nose. "And?"

He smirked at her, producing a cell phone from his coat pocket. "She's with your aunt. You're going to call Ms McCready and tell her that the war's been won and that it's time to bring Wynonna's little girl home."

Willa stood still for just a moment, staring at him rather than the outstretched phone. This was the moment where she decided how far she was going to take this. She could call Gus. She could even convince her that she needed to bring Alice, but then the little girl's life would be in danger. If she didn't, though, then Clootie would know that she'd been playing him and she'd lose any opportunity to find a way to take him out for good.

Her gaze shifted down to the phone and she reached up, snagging it from him. "If you want me to make the call, shut him up."

Clootie smirked and the Revenant went utterly silent at the twitch of his wrist, and if Willa didn't know better she would have thought he was dead. Maybe he was. She pulled in a deep breath and hit send on the number pre-dialed for her.

The house had gone quiet in the mid afternoon as energy started running dry, the sleepless night catching up with them and leaving them drained. Waverly couldn't sleep though, no matter how tired she was. Nicole had gone into the sheriff's station to get some work done and Waverly hadn't gotten back to sleep since she left.

Finally she gave up trying, swinging her legs over the side of her bed and reaching for her sweater to pull around her shoulders.

The house was dead quiet, which was strange for as many people as it held when she had dozed off. The only sound she heard was a rummaging sound from the front and she moved towards it, wondering if she should have grabbed a weapon.

The fight or flight reaction dissipated as soon as she saw the culprit behind the noise. Bobo was looking for something in the front closet, coat hangers scraping across the metal pole they were hung on. He didn't seem to notice as Waverly made her way down the stairs. She cleared her throat, finally drawing his attention. "If you're looking for your stuff, it's in the closet in the room you were sleeping in."

"Ah," he managed, turning towards what had become a spare bedroom at some point, his focus switched over to that closet instead.

Waverly followed quietly, watching his movements and frowning a little. He was stiff and much slower than usual as he pulled the door open and found what he was looking for, his shoulders a little more hunched down, and when she caught sight of his eyes as he turned to take a heavy seat on the bed to work his feet into his boots, she saw how tired he looked. "Was that the first time you've slept?"

He looked up, blinking owlishly at her. "What'd you mean?"

"Since we got back. Have you slept at all this week?"

"Been sleepin' a lot since last night."

"Not sure being dead counts."

He snorted, a very small smile tilting his lips. "You worried about me, Angel?" He stopped then, the pet name almost swallowed at the end as he spoke it, and Waverly pressed her lips together a little. Angel. He'd called her his angel since she was small, but in the dream world, in a world where Robert Svane hadn't begged for his Angel's name as he had died, that had been Grace's nickname. His daughter. Her own connection to Bobo was still so complicated and there was so much that he flat-out refused to tell her that she didn't even want to contemplate how the dream world had laid that one out. She couldn't focus on it, not now. It didn't matter. Not right then, with the struck look that he was so desperately trying to hide behind a mask of indifference.

"Yeah, between you and Wynonna trying to ignore how much pain you guys are in, I've got my hands full," she said, her voice gentle and she tried to keep it at least a little light.

"Gotta stay focused. We're too close to let it slip now," he huffed, standing to shrug his coat on.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"Out. Makes them nervous when I disappear for long stretches and as useless as some of 'em are, better to have them on our side than Clootie's."

Waverly nodded slowly. " I mean… you were kinda dead. Are you up to it?"

He snorted a mirthless chuckle. "I'll live," he promised with a wink as he passed by her.

Waverly didn't chase him down. Like Wynonna, all she could do was say her piece and he would either come around on his own or get slammed in the face by what he was trying to avoid. With Willa alive and working against them, she worried it would be sooner rather than later.

Just as he'd predicted the Revenants answering to him were tied up in knots that he had disappeared after following the lead Freddy had given him. He was the one standing not just between them and Clootie, but between them and the Heir when this was all said and done. The deal struck for their freedom after after Bulshar's defeat had been negotiated by Bobo himself. If he didn't make it through this, they had no reason to believe that they would have friends on any side. He was their hope of getting out of this.

He'd settled the questions down, leaving out the part about dying. Leaving out most of what happen, if he thought about it too hard. It always had been better if they saw him as invincible.

Bobo was on his way towards Shorty's when movement caught his eye. When he looked there was no one there, but ten steps later he caught the same out of the corner of his eye. Someone thought they were being clever.

He slipped into a back alley, keying in on the presence following him. He slowed his pace, waiting until the soft footsteps drew closer.

"Robert." His whispered name made him turn quicker than he had intended to and he knew the voice before he saw the face. Bobo tensed, ready for whatever fight was about to break out, but Willa stood with her hands held up in a non-threatening manner. "I'm not here to hurt you."

"That's rich, coming from you," he growled, putting a step between them. He didn't trust her, but he had no interest in fighting her. Of all the people he could and would tear into without a second thought, he knew that that was a line even he couldn't cross. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he truly hurt her.

She reached out as he stepped back. "I'm sorry. I needed them to believe me."

"And now you need me to believe you," he snapped, his voice low and rough. "Funny how that works."

Her hand dropped, never quite touching him and she pursed her lips together like she was looking for the right words. He frowned, a low growl escaping him. "Save it. I've been betrayed enough to know what it looks like. If you're fool enough to trust whatever bullshit Clootie's fed you, do what you do best. Go at it alone."

A small, startled sound left her at the words and something in him felt a little sick satisfaction from it. She pulled in a trembling breath, her eyes squeezing closed. "Okay," she breathed out. "Okay. We don't have time for your trust issues right now."

"Trust issues?" he snarled, his temper flaring dangerously and he re-took that step forward, causing her to back away from him and against the wall. "Wonder where I could have picked those up. I trusted you, Willa. I put everything on hold to look for you when Constance took you. Everything. But you left me to rot, same as Wyatt. We get a second chance and you choose Clootie. How do you 'spose I came by my trust issues? Don't you dare tell me you're doin' it for Gracie. You-"

The blow snapped his head around hard enough to hurt, his cheek and jaw burning from the open-handed slap. When he turned back she was fuming. "Hate me all you want for leaving you, Robert, but I would never risk Grace's soul just to get her back. What would be the point?"

He stared at her and he could feel the anger rolling off if her in waves.

She stepped forward so that there were only inches between then, holding his gaze stubbornly. "The only chance we have of getting her back - of getting them both back - is ending Clootie once and for all and freeing you. I can find a way to do that if he trusts me. We end this curse and we get our children back."

Wanting to trust and so many betrayals that came before warred against each other inside him and Bobo let his eyes slip closed, the anger flooding out of him and leaving him feeling empty and hurt. The anger was easier. The anger was always easier.

He swallowed hard, and when he reopened his eyes her gaze had softened. She reached up, her touch gentle bow, and she ran her thumb across the side of his face she had hit just moments before. "I know," she whispered, her voice straIned. "I know what you've been through. I know how you shove it aside and how you can't let anyone see. I know it now more than I ever could before, and Robert I am sorry, but I can't change what I did. I can't fix that, but we can end this curse and a chance at something like the life we lived in that dream world. Not perfect, but better. I want that chance, and I'm willing to risk everything to get it."

Bobo's hand found the side of her face and he leaned down, his lips pressed against hers and he felt her own grip shift, one hand slipping around to the back of his neck to pull him in closer and the other sliding down his chest and gripping his t-shirt. He flinched a little, half expecting the freshly-healed wound to still be tender and she pulled back. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and this time he couldn't help but believe her in that.

He pulled in a breath and leaned his forehead against hers. "I want to trust you, Willa. Give me something, anything-"

"Alice." She pulled back, almost like she was startled. "That was why I came looking for you. To warn you. Clootie wanted proof of loyalty."

"Of course he did."

"He had me make a call to Gus."

She paused for a moment and Bobo shrugged. "'Bout what?"

"That's who Wynonna has watching Alice. He had me call her and convince her to bring Alice here."

Blue eyes blinked. "He knows where she is but he's having her brought here? Not going there?"

"What are you thinking?"

"That Clootie's trapped here same as the rest of us. He kills the Heirs and the curse is done. He's free. He wouldn't risk bringing her here unless he had to and he ain't gonna risk-" His gaze shifted to Willa. "You're not goin' back."

"Like hell I'm not," she snapped.

"No, no, no. You've served your purpose. He ain't gonna take the risk in letting you live and having Peacemaker choose you again."

"I have to go back, Robert. I don't have anything on him yet. That's the whole point." She caught his wandering gaze. "I may not be the Earp Heir anymore, and I can live with that. I'm okay with that, but I'm not okay with him winning. If he wins you and I lose everything, and I'll burn this whole damn town to the ground before I let him touch my family again. Any of my family."

He loosed a frustrated growl. He knew that tone and there was no use arguing it. "Make yourself indispensable," he instructed, leaning his forehead against hers again and speaking lowly. "Make him think he can't do this without you."

"How?"

"That's something you'll have to find. You can. You're clever."

"Clever as Wynonna?" she teased softly.

"Runs in the family," he assured her. "Play on his vanity, do what you have to, and trust no one. You're in with your enemies, Willa. There's nothing easy about it."

"You did it for years," she murmured and Bobo snorted.

"Take it from my experience: it's exhausting. Find what you need and get out." He paused, feeling a knot forming in his chest and he kissed her again. "Don't leave me again."

"Never," she swore. "Go. Warn Wynonna. Be careful." Her fingers brushed along the side of his face. "I love you, Robert. I've never said that enough here, but I love you."

"Love you too. Now go. Before you tip your hand."

It was everything he could do to release her, but he had to. It was that or force her to come back to the Homestead with him. She was right though. Finding Clootie's weakness was their best bet, and if they wanted to end this, if they wanted a chance at anything more than the suffering they had all known for so long, they had to be willing to risk everything.

Notes: So, the last chapter I had trouble bringing together and this one was a freakin' kick to the feels to write. And poor Bobo. One of my favourite scenes is from S1 where he pulls Peacemaker from Wynonna and tells her that the weight is only going to get heavier. I love that so much. He sounds like he's speaking form so much experience and I'm really hoping that S3 will open up doors to allow those two to have serious conversations and land on the same side of things.