#and not in this tucked away lil suburban home

[overpowered-couch-purrtato]

Jiwoo: Hi! What brings you here at this hour? 😃✨🌃🌇

Everyone: … I was in the area 😶

Jiwoo’s house: *in the middle of a dead quiet suburban neighborhood near absolutely nothing*

[salstray]

Luck of the Draw - part 1

Ghost x fem!Reader - Left 4 Dead/Cod AU

This story is written in first person. I understand that some people don't like first person reader inserts, so if you are one of them, please just keep on scrolling! And if the thought of a left 4 dead/cod au sounds fun, but this one doesn't appeal to you? Feel free to write your own! Or request it from a favorite author, as long as they are open for requests and au ideas~

--

Warnings: None in this part. Its really just a meet cute with guns <3

Words: lil over 2k!

--

Part 2

--

Weirdly enough, it's not the zombies you really have to worry about during a zombie apocalypse. They become the norm after a few weeks. You learn the difference between the show, shuffling, dragging gait of a reborn corpse over the quick, smart steps of the real enemy. It’s not the growls or vaguely pained moans of mindless hunger that make your heart beat faster and your lungs burn as you hold your breath and listen as carefully as you can. It’s the voices. The words. After being alone for so long, you’d think I’d be excited to find another person; living and breathing. Real. But I wasn’t.

In fact, I felt nothing but pure fear at the sound of a human’s voice. A man’s voice. Deep. Rumbling. Accented. Close. 

I was in a house. A two story suburban home with an attic, which I was currently hiding in, tucked behind a box that held dusty baseball trophies for someone named Michael, my salvaged rifle clenched between my fingers. My knuckles were tight and my palms were sweaty. I was on one knee, the barrel aimed right at the hatch that led down into the hallway. The drawstring was broken and I’d brought the stick I used to yank it down up here with me and there was a good chance, a great chance even, that whoever the fuck was down there wouldn’t even see the thin line that separated it from the rest of the ceiling, yet I still sat there. Dead silent. Waiting.

His steps were light. It had been the creak of the stairs that gave him away and the quiet growl of his voice that had sent my heart racing. And it was the very clear statement that I heard a few seconds after the panic started to fade that brought all the adrenaline back with a vengeance.

“There’s an attic.” 

Then another voice. Not as deep. Accented differently. 

“No string or anythin’. Can’t pull it down.” 

A few moments of silence followed. I shifted in place, my legs starting to ache from my half crouch. Then there was a loud BANG and I flinched and yelped in surprise as I watched the ladder rattle in place, sending dust up into the air. 

I cursed myself silently and stood up, backing up towards the round window behind me, the barrel of my gun locked on the ladder and the butt of it secure against my shoulder.

“Somethin’s up there,” the second voice said. Quieter than before, but not quiet enough for me to miss. 

“Someone,” the first voice corrected. “Not infected. Would have been screamin’ to hell and back by now.” Another bang against the ladder. Then a third. Knocking, this time. “Oi! Alive up there?”

I didn’t respond. My head turned and my eyes flickered over my shoulder, towards the window. It led to the backyard. Last I’d checked it had been empty, but the zombies shambled wherever they wanted, without care or reason. If the fall broke something, twisted something, I’d be nothing more but meat and memory by the time I got myself together. 

But I couldn’t risk whoever was down there. I couldn’t. It wasn’t a fucking option.

“Could be hurt,” the second voice said softly. 

“Could be waitin’ to blow our heads off.”

I curled my finger around the trigger of my gun, trying to keep my breathing steady and my aim straight. 

“You try, Johnny.”

“What makes you think they'll answer me?” The second voice, Johnny, asked.

“Worth a shot.” 

There was some muttering. A deep sigh. Then a knock on the ladder again. Softer than before. 

“Anyone up there?” Johnny called softly. 

Against my better judgment, I raised my eyes from the sights and licked my lips, opening them a second later to call back to him.

“Fuck off!” 

Another moment of silence.

“Well, they’re alive,” Johnny said, sounding amused. Then he turned his voice back to me. “We don’t want any trouble-” he started, prompting me to speak again.

“Then go the fuck away, otherwise you’ll get it if you want it or not!” 

…more silence.

Then, to my absolute horror, the ladder rattled, then dropped, opening the path down to the hallway. 

I took a few steps back towards the window, my chest heaving as I put my eyes back down to the sights, every inch of my body shaking, leaving my gun unsteady, but still lethal.

“I will fucking shoot you if you come up that ladder!” The trembling showed in my voice, yet I didn’t back down. I could and would follow through on my threat if they tried anything. 

“We don’t want to hurt you, lass, we just want to help-”

“I don’t give a singular fuck what you want! I want you to go away!” 

“We’re military,” my brow furrowed and Johnny took the second of answering silence as a sign to continue. “Lookin’ for survivors to take to a secure base outside the city.” 

“Think I’m just gonna believe that?” I snapped.

“You might, if you let us come up.” 

They’d be cornering me and they knew that. There was no way they didn’t. I glanced behind me again and leaned back to peek out of the window. The yard was still clear, but that fall would still suck massive ass if I had to risk it. And, depending on if I broke anything, it would give these two plenty of time to come grab me from the ground and kill me anyway, if that was even their plan.

Still, it wasn’t like they’d let me come down. Back up and give me space to escape if I needed it… my only options were to either say yes and kill one of them on their way up and jump out the window, or kill one of them after they came up and leap out the window if the second one didn’t shoot me the second I shot his friend. 

I sighed heavily. 

“What’s it gonna be?” The first voice asked. “We haven’t got all day.” 

Rude bitch. Not like I’m just weighing the options of my fucking survival here.

“Give her a minute, Lt.” Lt? The fuck kind of nickname was that?

I sighed again.

“Fine… but if either of you makes a single fucking move that I don't like-”

“Aye, no need to worry! We’ll keep our hands up, right where you can see ‘em!” Johnny’s smile was clear as day in his voice and it was just as bright as I expected it to be when his face followed the sight of his raised hands. 

He was in a short sleeved shirt and a sort of tactical vest. A radio rested on his left shoulder and a rifle was hanging from a strap across his back. From here I could see a Union Jack against his chest, causing me to raise a brow. 

Johnny’s hair was short. Brown. Cut into a slicked back mohawk on his head. The sides of it were surprisingly neat, which meant he’d probably had them shaved down recently, which meant they, at the very least, weren’t lying about having a base somewhere. Military or not, I still wasn’t sure, but knowing part of what they said was the truth was… at least a little reassuring.

The sight of his friend was less reassuring. 

Johnny didn’t move from beside the ladder. He kept his hands in the air, in sight and away from his weapons, as the enormous figure of Lt climbed into view. 

This one was dressed in all black. Long sleeved shirt, gloves, jeans. A mask. The same vest as Johnny, with the radio and the rifle, but I spotted a handful of extra little bits and bobs in all his pouches and along his belt. Knives, ammo, fucking grenades. 

I didn’t pull my finger off the trigger and decided to keep it trained on Lt. Something he was probably used to, what with the skull face printed on his balaclava and all.

“Well?” Johnny said, his head tilting and his smile growing lopsided. “Believe us?”

“You look the part,” I muttered. The thigh holsters and everything really did make them look legit, but still- “Wouldn’t put it above anyone to pull that shit off a corpse, though. Not these days.” 

Johnny shook his head. “Can’t blame you for that. What’s your name, lass?”

“Your's first.” 

He and his friend shared a look. Then he nodded a few times and used his right hand to gesture to himself. “John MacTavish. Call me Soap.” My brow furrowed again, but I let him keep going as he motioned to the masked man. “That’s Simon Riley. My Lieutenant. He goes by Ghost.” Ah, that made Lt make sense. 

“Fitting,” I muttered, my gaze flickering over him. 

“Your turn,” Ghost said. He stared back at me, his eyes half lidded, not even looking slightly worried that I had a gun pointed directly at his face. 

I took a deep breath, momentarily considering lying or just pulling the fucking trigger on Ghost… but there was really no reason to hide that kind of stuff anymore and Soap seemed nice at least…

If I die, I die. Honestly, it would be a fucking blessing to get out of this nightmare-

So I gave it to them. Just my first name, nothing else.

“No last name?” Soap asked.

“Not one I feel like using anymore. Family’s all dead anyway.” 

They both shared a look. Then Soap started to lower his hands and I twisted, turning the barrel of my gun on him and making him freeze.

“Hey now,” he said slowly, raising them back into place. “Like I said, we don’t want trouble. Just want to help.”

“Said you have a base outside the city, too,” I stated. My gun didn’t move from its new target, however I risked a look at Ghost. “How far?”

“Few days walk,” Ghost replied. “As long as things keep quiet.” 

“Few days?”

“Been four, with the two of us,” Soap supplied. “Might take a bit longer with us three, if you come with, but you’re still welcome. Military’s been sending out pairs and packs to round up whoever is left and get them somewhere safe.” 

“Haven’t found anyone else?” I asked quietly. 

“No one as friendly as you,” Soap said, his smile coming back with a vengeance. I hummed and narrowed my eyes at him, but I pulled my finger off the trigger and, ever so slowly, lowered my gun. Both of them visibly relaxed and Ghost set one hand on his own rifle as Soap let his hands fall to his sides. “So… gonna come along? There’s plenty of beds, a little farm they’re using to keep people sustained. Hot water.” 

“Tempting,” I mumbled. “How many people do they have up there?”

“Not as many as they'd hoped for,” Ghost rumbled. 

“Means there’s plenty of food, though.” Soap was definitely a glass half full kinda guy. Couldn’t tell anything about Ghost, yet. 

“How much farther did you guys plan to go?”

Soap shrugged. “Depends entirely on how many people we managed to find. Why? Wanna come help us be heroes?” Ghost turned his half-lidded gaze on Soap and I watched his eyes narrow for a second before he looked back over to me. 

“Don’t know about being a hero, but…,” I shrugged a single shoulder. “Seems kinda wasteful to come out so far just to go back with one person… I could head back on my own. Made it this far, so I might be able-”

“No.” Ghost growled. Soap glanced over at him with a raised brow and I did the same. “Already told you we haven’t found as many people as we’d hoped for. Not gonna risk ya like that. You’ll stick with us.” 

Lieutenant indeed. 

“Alright, Bossy,” I replied. “I’ll… trust you… for now, I guess… not like I have a choice.” Ghost’s eyes narrowed at me that time and Soap’s grin widened as he chuckled. 

“Fair play,” he stated, reaching over to pat Ghost on the shoulder twice. “Let’s get goin’ then. We’re burnin’ daylight!”

--

thank you for reading :3

have a lovely day!

[libraryofloveletters]

pools of honey and ocean blue

Eddie Diaz x Evan Buckley 

Warnings: mentions of loss of spouse, love confessions, lil awkwardness, alcohol and the consumption of. 

Category: Angst/Fluff

Word Count: 2.7k

Author’s note: I'll throw hands if any of you anything bad about Ana, she’s cool but I just wrote this, this way // @suburban--gothic this ones for you since I got you hooked <3

----- 

“I love you.” 

The sudden unprompted confession of love had caught everyone off guard. He sat across from him at the dinner table, the entire team now exchanging glances between Buck and Eddie.

The tension between Buck and Eddie was thick enough to cut with a knife, weighing heavy on their shoulders. His brown eyes staring straight into his blue ones. 

If looks could kill. 

Ana sat smiling beside Eddie, her brown eyes gleaming with hope, happiness, everything Eddie had been searching for these last few months. 

There were a couple issues at hand right now. 

Ana had just confessed her love for him, in front of the entire team. 

He hadn't heard those 3 words from anyone other than Christoper and his Abuela since Shannon. 

Eddie did care about her but she wasn't the one he was in love with. 

----

The day Eddie joined the 118, he felt like he belonged. Like he had finally found his place in the world and soon came to realize that everyone else there felt the same way, especially Buck- the golden boy. 

The same golden boy that had worked his way into his heart and into his life. 

Their first 24 hours together were absolute hell- they were in a constant state of competition, measuring god knows what but by the end of it, everyone could see that they were meant to be together, everyone but them of course. 

Months go by, Buck and Eddie are practically raising Christopher together with the help of Carla, Eddie’s abuela and his aunt. Eddie reaches out to Shannon to get Christoper into the new school he was looking into.

Buck would be lying if he said that he didn’t feel a hint of jealousy, especially when they took Christopher to see Santa and Eddie just casually mentioned that he slept with Shannon. 

Buck didn’t hold it against him, he gave him an answer and moved on. 

He didn’t really get a chance to get to know Shannon but from the little that he did know, he knew that she made them happy- both Eddie and Christoper and that’s all Buck could hope for because no matter how much he loved Eddie, he couldn’t bring himself to tell him, not while he was happy and still very much in love with her.

No matter how involved he was in Christoper’s life, he knew that he would never be her. 

Shannon was and will always be the mother of his child, the woman he loved until her last dying breath. 

He could never amount to what she was, even if she hadn't been around. 

Buck watched as Eddie grieves and lashed out at the world, he watched as Eddie’s recently found happiness fizzled out. Buck couldn't force Eddie to talk to him, he couldn't ask him what was going on until he did. 

A Saturday night being spent at the Diaz residence, the little one now tucked into bed when Eddie returned to the kitchen, Buck handing his friend a beer. The two men drank in silence until Buck asked him the question he was dreading to hear. 

“How are you?” 

“Fine.” 

The one word answer was the only thing he could manage to say without breaking down. Eddie held himself together, Christoper was relying on him and he knew that, if he wasn’t going to be strong for himself than he had to be for Chris. 

Buck knew him better than he thought, him being fine after what happened was 110% utter bullshit and everyone including Eddie knew that. 

“Just fine?” Buck pried, Eddie wanted to tell him everything- to break down and finally let it off his chest but he didn’t. Instead he nodded and repeated his answer, “fine.” 

The rest of the night was spent on the couch, the empty beer bottles scattered across the table along with a half eaten, disregarded bowl of chips. Eddie sighed as Buck scrolled through Netflix looking for something to watch. 

“She thought she was pregnant” Eddie mumbled, barely above a whisper. Buck almost missed what he said. 

He looked over at the brunette, his heart hurting for his friend. “Was she?” he whispers back an answer, afraid that if he said it louder that Eddie might break. 

Eddie shook his head, his shoulders hung as he leant forward. He was ready to talk but he couldn’t physically bring himself to look at him and say it. “The day she told me, I was ready to try again. The thought of having another child made me.. I don't know, I felt like things were starting to finally fall into place, you know?” 

A heavy sigh left his lips, Buck’s heart broke a million times over for Eddie- if he felt that way just hearing it, he couldn't imagine how Eddie felt. 

“I invited her out for dinner, to tell her that I wanted to try again but she said she wanted a divorce, and that she wasn't pregnant. I couldn’t wrap my head around it, how did we go from almost becoming a family to being strangers again?” Eddie leant back, sinking into the couch cushions. Buck’s brows furrowed, a slight pout on his lips, Eddie’s stomach turned. 

“Don’t.” he warns him, getting up off the couch. Eddie stood in front of Buck, his arms folded. Eddie’s expression was similar to that of his friend’s - furrowed brows but a scowl present rather than a pout. 

Buck watched his friend, the way his little forehead lines popped up whenever his brows furrowed. Eddie looked older, his youthfulness disappearing as the months passed by- it didn’t mean that he was any different. To Buck, Eddie was the handsomest man on the planet and nothing would change that. 

“Don’t what?” Buck’s expression softened, Eddie shook his head. “Don’t give me that look- don’t pity me. I’m fine.” Eddie spat, his words coming off harsh then intended. 

“I didn’t say you weren't” Buck answers, looking up at him. Eddie walked away, leaving him on the couch. It was a few moments before he heard Eddie’s bedroom door shut. He sighed, he knew he could stay and Eddie wouldn't say anything but he felt like he should go, it wasn't right. 

A folded piece of paper was left on the kitchen table, Eddie’s name scrawled onto it. 

‘Headed home, didn’t feel right to stay. Have all the space and time you need. If you and Chris are still up for it, we can go to the zoo tomorrow, if not it’s cool or maybe Chris and I can go by ourselves, give you the day to yourself. 

Let me know. 

Buck.’ 

----

���I love you” 

The 3 words ringing in his head, he could feel the eyes burning into him- his team all looking at him and at Buck. As well as Ana, who was looking at him for an answer and Athena who had just arrived from work and was looking toward everyone for an answer. 

He knew he had to answer her, it’d be weird if he didn’t. 

“Thanks” he mumbled, his attention back on his plate. 

Maybe he should have pretended he didn’t hear her instead. 

Chimney coughed as he choked on his water, he glanced at the man sitting across from him who gave him an apologetic look. Eddie’s answer caught everyone off guard- Hen’s brows raised, Bobby and Athena’s shifty glanced towards each other and to Buck, and Buck himself, the man whose ocean blue eyes were staring right back at his honey brown ones. 

Ana cleared her throat, Eddie looked at her. Her brows furrowed slightly but Eddie didn’t say anything. Ana knew what this meant- truthfully, she hadn't meant to say that but it just sort of slipped out. The relationship was still new and she didn’t want to scare him off. 

She also knew that Eddie wasn't in love with her, rather he was in love with the blonde man at the end of the table, the same man that was staring at her boyfriend. 

“Bobby,” Ana speaks up, “Thank you for having me but I'll be going now.” 

“Are you sure you can't stay for dessert ? I have brownies in the oven” he asks her with a smile on his face. 

“Thank you, but I can’t. I’ve got some paperwork that needs to be to the board by tomorrow. Maybe another time” she smiles at him and he nods. 

“Well thanks for joining us, it was nice to meet you.” 

Everyone watches as Ana gets up from the table, her hand placing on Eddie’s shoulder, letting him know that she’s leaving. “I’ll walk you out” he also gets up, his hand on her lower back as they make their way to the stairs. 

As soon as they reach the parking lot, she turns to him. “I’m sorry” they both say to each other at the same time. 

“What are you sorry for?” he asks her. If anyone was in the wrong, it was him. 

“For blurting out that I loved you in front of your entire team- especially when I know I'm not the one you’re in love with” a small smile on her lips, her hand patting his chest. 

“Ana-” Eddie was shocked, she knew? Of course she knew. She worked with children, children lie all the time, the fact that he thought she didn’t was stupid. 

“No, I know.” Ana sighs but smiles. “I never meant to hurt you” Eddie tells her, she can hear the sincerity in his voice. 

“I know that too- you can't help who you fall in love with, Edmundo. If it’s him, tell him.” She looks up at the man in front of her, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Her hand still against his chest, his hand now on top of her. 

She steps away, Eddie’s hand holding her back from moving further. He was looking at her like a lost puppy. 

“Him?” he questions, the one word coming off so dumbfounded. 

Ana chuckled at his obliviousness. “Buck- Everyone can see the way the two of you look at each other, everyone except you apparently” she chuckles once more. Eddie loosens his hold on her hand, she's now by her car with the door open. 

“Text me sometime, just cause this didn’t work doesn't mean we can't be friends” she flashes him a smile before getting in the car. Eddie watches as Ana pulls out of the parking lot, he even waves to her but her words catch him off guard. 

He stood in the middle of the parking lot, staring off into space. The sound of the alarm going off snapped him out of his empty thoughts. He ran back in, Buck coming down the stairs just as he re-enters the building. 

“You okay man ?” Buck stops at the bottom of the stairs, Eddie nods. “Yeah, I'm okay” he tells him, Buck pats his shoulder and runs off to get his gear. Eddie pauses for a moment before following Buck. 

---- 

7am. 

Shift doesn’t start until 9 but he couldn’t sleep.

Eddie paces through his house until he hears the knock on the door. He pulls the door open, partially hoping it’s Buck but is met with Carla instead. 

“Morning sugar” she steps in, Eddie hums and goes back to pacing. 

She shuts the door quietly, stepping past him and heads to the kitchen to make herself come coffee. 

“Is little man still sleeping?” she calls out to Eddie who’s now pacing by the entryway of the kitchen, he hums again. 

She had only been there for a few minutes but she already knows something’s on his mind. 

“Alright soldier, sit. Let’s talk” she takes a seat at the table, Eddie keeps pacing. Her look catches his glance, a pointed look with a brow raised- Eddie sits across from her. 

“What’s on your mind ?” she gets back up when the kettle goes off, making a cup of coffee for herself and a cup of tea for Eddie. Eddie sighs, his head resting flat on the table, “love sucks” he groans when he lifts his head back up. 

She laughs softly, “trouble with your girl ?” “not exactly” he looks up at her. She sits down again, waiting for Eddie to explain what he meant by that. “Ana let it slip that she loves me when we were at dinner with the team, I said thanks” he groaned once more. 

Carla bit the inside of her cheek, resisting the urge to laugh, “you said thanks ?” she asks, coughing to stifle a laugh. 

“I apologized to her and she said that I should tell him that I love him and not her” 

“Buck ?” she sips her coffee, Eddie was once again, shocked. 

“You know?” 

“Honey, I've known from the day I met you.” Eddie hums, seems that everyone realized but him. “She’s right though- you should tell him before it's too late. Life’s short Eddie.” 

Eddie sprung up from his seat, he rounded the table and cupped Carla’s face. “You’re right, you’re so right” he kisses her forehead before grabbing his keys, “I’ll be back in time for school!” he shouts on his face out the door. Carla laughed, the poor man was now realizing that he was in love after 4 years - better late than sorry. 

--- 

The door opens, Buck’s hair dishevelled and a pair of sweatpants hung on his waist. “Eddie ?” Buck blinks back the tiredness, it was clear that he only just woken up. 

“I love you” Eddie blurts out before he loses the courage to tell him. 

“Ed- What ?” Buck looked at his friend like he was a crazy person- although he had been waiting to hear those words, he was confused as to what brought on the sudden confession. 

Eddie pushed past Buck, stepping into the apartment. He paced for a moment  before turning to Buck, who was now leant against the closed door. 

“I love you and before you say anything, I know this is crazy” Eddie says, Buck hums, listening to him. 

“I’ve been in love with you for the last- god I don't even know. I’ve recently realized that the reason you’re always around is because I love you and so does Christopher but I just- everyone seems to see how in love we are and life is too short to not tell those you love that you love them. So here I am,” Eddie glances at the clock, “7:47 in the morning to tell you that I love you.” he sighs. It feels like a weight had been lifted off his chest. 

Buck studied the man in front of him, the same dishevelled hair from sleep, a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, not exactly a typical ‘going out Eddie Diaz’ outfit. 

Buck smiled, stepping towards Eddie. “Did you roll out of bed and have that epiphany?” 

“um, not exactly. I was in the kitchen with Carla” he admits, Buck hums. “Do you have any idea how long I have been waiting to hear those words ?” he’s now in front of Eddie. 

“No, but I’m glad I said them” Eddie smiles, Buck’s hands cupping his face and his forehead rests against his. 

“Tell me again” Buck says, barely above a whisper. 

“I have the rest of my life to tell you” 

“You’re the one that said life is short” he smiles, Eddie rolls his eyes playfully. 

“I love you Buck” 

“And I love you Eddie. 

---- 

taglist: @mrs-dr-reid​ @dralexreid​ @onceuponagayship​ @yelenabelous​ @ickletheficklepickle​ 

[sxveme-2]

blueberry pancakes // bucky barnes

MASTERLIST

Description: A single mother. Juggling being a mom, a full time pediatrician, and a difficult ex who believed now would be the best time to finally be a father. A soldier ripped out of time. Ex-assassin turned superhero. Learning how to balance a new domestic life with handling demons of his past, while facing the trials of the future. a love story began over something as simple as chocolate chip pancakes with hidden blueberries.

Disclaimer: I do not own any original Marvel characters! All canon plots and canon characters belong to Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios. This is an original work. You may not publish it anywhere else

Status: Edited

Note: Takes place after endgame. I have elected to ignore Tony's death and Steve's leaving. Did not happen. Quick Reminder! My works are only published here, AO3 and on Wattpad, thank you.

Chapter Eighteen: The One With the His Job

Warnings: N/A

Word Count: 3054

He told her there was a danger with him. That there was always going to be a threat. He warned her what could possibly come if they went further. But neither cared. Neither wanted to stop. There were such strong feelings between the two that if they stopped, Lily would be left with something missing in her life. She didn't want to let him go, despite being hesitant to let him in. He created this new feeling of safety for Lily, yet here they sat. She knew what her parents were doing. It was recorded in studies that the Winter Soldier was unlocked through a series of Russian words, triggers that would set off the chemicals in his brain.

And for the first time, Lily felt scared around Bucky Barnes. But it didn't last long.

With his eyes squeezed tight, Bucky made his way towards Lily and Hunter. Fluttering those steel-blue eyes, Bucky looked at Lily, and she knew he was still there. He turned his back to the two, blocking the view of Lily's family. And he spoke, cool, calm, and collected.

"For two of the smartest scientists, you don't do a lot of research," Bucky began, "I don't work like that anymore. Now in about two minutes Captain America and the Falcon are going to walk through those doors. Do us all a favour, and just sit. And wait."

The clicking of a gun made Lily's heart stutter. It came from one of the three Osbornes. She whispered a quiet prayer, despite her lack of religious beliefs, and tugged the young boy closer to her. Her breathing was rapid and tears brimmed at the mossy iris of her eyes, creating a glass-like effect. It made her look like a real doll, just as Bucky called her. A small shuttering breath escaped her lips as she pressed a kiss to the soft tufts of blonde on Hunter’s head. If anything, she just wanted to shield Hunter from all of this. With what he had been through at such a young age already, Lily felt her heartbreak at the idea of him having to witness the events that would follow.

"Lily go to the car," Bucky whispered, glancing over his shoulder, "Please."

She didn't hesitate. Most people she was sure would try and stay and help, but Lily would be damned if she had Hunter stay in this cafe for a second longer. Without skipping a beat, the blonde tugged her son away from the booth and darted with him towards the car they had brought here that morning, rushing him into the back. The moment the doors closed, both Lily and Hunter let out a breath of relief. Leaning her head forward, Lily placed it on the top of her steering wheel, blinking away the tears that threatened to fall as everything began to settle in.

The sound of her phone ringing made every hair on her body stand on edge.

Glancing up, Lily sniffled while answering through her car. It was Rose. And dear God was the elder sister glad to hear from her. But nervous at the same time. She wasn't sure if Rose knew about what was happening, she could only assume so, seeing as the younger sister had been in the cafe not too long ago with Lily's best friend.

"Lily! Thank god you answered are you okay?" Rose's panicked voice quivered as it rang through her speakers, "Do you have Hunter? Please tell me you have Hunter?"

"Yeah, yeah Rose I've got Hunter. We're okay. We're in the car." Lily responded, her own voice barely above a whisper, "Are you and Gen okay?"

"Yeah...yeah, we're at Gen's apartment. I tried to take Hunter, I tried. But they...they ju- "

"Rose stop. It's okay...listen I'm with Hunter right now I'll call you back. Make sure Gen's okay, and just stay there." Lily finished, "I love you." and with that, the blonde ended the call, turning her attention to the clear shell-shocked boy that was sitting in the back seat.

"Mom is Bucky gonna hurt grandma, grandpa, and uncle Cedar?" his voice whispered, shaking and cracking halfway through.

Lily felt a ton of bricks smash against her chest. She herself didn't even know the answer to that. She trusted Bucky, yes. But this was also his job. To take down the people who do these sorts of things. Bring them to justice, by whatever means needed. And a part of her knew that there was a possibility she could lose her parents and brother within the next few minutes, but the other half of her knew that Bucky wouldn't. She felt deep inside that if it came down to it, he would let them live and be brought to legal task instead of violence. But Lily didn't know...but she couldn't leave Hunter hanging. If she did that, then he'd know her own thoughts on the matter. And it wouldn't help either case.

"No." she stated, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, "No I don't think Bucky will."

And she was right.

Not too long later, the doors to the cafe swung open after the police screamed down the street. Lily watched with pain in her eyes as her parents, unscathed with a mere bruise or two were walked from the building, Bucky, Steve, and Sam following close behind. No one looked injured or hurt, and a sigh of relief escaped from Lily. Bucky glanced over at the car and excused himself from the trio, jogging towards the car. Lily watched as he opened the passenger side door, sliding in.

"Hey, Hunt buddy," Bucky whispered, shifting to turn.

"Hi, Bucky." Hunter returned, a sense of relaxation in his tone after seeing that no one had been injured, "Is everything okay now?"

Bucky's eyes met Lily's, and the two shared a moment of silence before he began to speak once again, "Yeah. Everything's okay now buddy."

-----

"How're you feeling, hun?" Lily whispered as she took a seat on Hunter's bed after tucking him in for the night, "Lots happened today. Is there anything you wanna talk about?"

"Why'd they do it?" the boy whispered, looking up at his mother, "Why did they do it, mom, I don't get it."

Lily let out a soft sigh, running a hand across the boy’s forehead, "I don't know bud. I don't. I wish I had an answer for you. Bucky's taking care of it. anything you need to know I'll tell you, okay? I promise." the blonde hummed, reaching her pointer finger out.

Hunter nodded and wrapped his smaller finger around hers. Pressing a kiss to the boy’s forehead, Lily stood from the bed. Flicking off the lights, she smiled gently at Hunter curling under his blankets before she shut the door to his bedroom. Digging the heels of her hands into her eyes, Lily walked down the stairs where Bucky, Sam and Rose were sitting in her living room. She smiled gently when they looked up at her before she took a seat next to Bucky on the couch.

"So this is a daily thing with you guys, hm?" Rose asked, sipping her water, "Like what do you guys do when people aren't trying to blow up the city or take over the world?"

The room fell silent except for the late-night news playing in the background. Bucky and Sam looked at each other with frazzled expressions as though they didn't even know what they did when there wasn't an imminent threat to the city or the world. Lily couldn't help but laugh at that fact. Out of the four of them, she lived the most basic and mundane life. Rose was a world-famous stylist and designer, Bucky and Sam were superheroes. Lily was just a children's doctor living in suburban Manhattan with a family and a dog. The other three had travelled all over the world, and Lily hadn't. So learning what these fantastic people did in their free time did seriously intrigue the girl.

"Yeah I mean there aren't always people trying to take over the world," Lily continued, sipping her glass of wine, "Do you like...go bowling?"

Bucky let out a laugh, his head rolling backwards, "Bowling? I guess so, I mean there is an alley in the compound. But we mostly just hang out at our own places really. Wait for the next mission. I help at the retirement home, Sam hosts a veteran support group. Steve never stops working." the man hummed, his arm draping across Lily's shoulders.

"Speaking of bowling," Lily sighed, readjusting herself, "Hunter's birthday is next week and I still have no idea what to do. He's getting older and it's harder to come up with ideas."

"How do we go from talking about Bucky and Sam being literal superheroes to Hunter's birthday," Rose chuckled, "But I'm not sure Lil. Maybe take them bowling I guess."

"Or bring him and a few of the kid’s friends by the compound," Sam suggested, "If the kid’s friends are anything like Hunter, I'm sure they'd love it. Run a watered-down version of a training thing to be an Avenger."

"I'd love that Sam thank you. I just want to give him something to take his mind off of everything going on." Lily shrugged, leaning further into Bucky.

-----

November seventh. The faithful day that Lily welcome her baby boy into the world around her. Into her arms, into the life of New York. Despite her not wanting kids for quite some time, she wouldn't take back having Hunter. She just wished he was the son of someone better. For his father was the person Lily wouldn't even wish upon her worst enemy. Every year since Hunter was born, Lily wanted to make his birthday special. She'd pull out all of the stops if it meant seeing her boy smile brighter than she ever had before. And in the times they were experiencing now, she knew he needed it, as did she, more than ever.

"So how do you know the avengers?" One of the kid’s parents, Jill, asked as everyone unloaded from the cars when they arrived at the compound, "Because Hunter's story seems a bit far-fetched, hun."

Lily sighed and rested her hand on her son’s shoulder and looked over at the woman, "What did he tell you, Jill?"

"That his mommy's seeing the Winter Soldier." the woman hummed, placing her own hand on her son’s shoulder, "Sounds like a fantasy."

"Fantasies can come true." A deep voice hummed. Lily couldn't help but grin at the feeling of a metal arm wrapping around her waist. Bucky. The small group of parents went silent as the man pressed a kiss to Lily's temple, "And only seeing? Here I was hoping we could refer to it as something a little bit more, doll." he teased, earning an elbow from Lily.

Lily felt her face heat up and her breathing catch in her throat. As much as she wanted to rub all of this in Jill's face, she still had that massive bundle of nerves inside of her that held her back. All of the parents here weren't exactly Lily's friends. She knew them from the PTA at Hunter's school and a few from her neighbourhood, and they were all very much those cliche suburban moms that would be seen in movies. Stuck up, believed themselves to be perfect with the perfect children. And Lily quite liked their children, but the mothers? Ugh, Lily couldn't stand them. However, they were insistent on joining the kids for the tour.

"Nice to see you finally have a man in your life," One of the other moms, Gina, hummed as the group began to walk towards the compound, "And a strong father figure for Hunter."

Lily glanced to the side, scoffing at her remarks, "I'm both Hunter's mother and father. And I don't need a man, Gina, I've raised Hunter alone his whole life essentially." she muttered, resting a hand on Bucky's arm to relax the tension.

Ever since the night Cedar attempted to break into Scott's apartment, something inside of Lily grew. A new side of her, she supposed. Growth, almost. A part of her knew that if she were able to stand up to Scott, the man who had destroyed any ounce of confidence she had throughout their relationship, who were Gina and Jill to hold her back. Of course, there was only a certain extent she would go to, for she was still nervous to even speak to people most of the time.

"Welcome to the Avengers compound!" Tony boomed as the doors opened for everyone to walk in, "If you'd like to join the little kiddos on the tour Just keep to the left here with Mr. Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon. and if parents would like a few drinks, follow me, towards the lounge."

A few of the parents joined the group of kids as they wandered down the hall. Hunter waved goodbye to Lily as she and the other parents made their way towards where Tony Stark was leading them. The small group of mothers and fathers whispered as Bucky tightened his grip on Lily's waist. The last thing Lily actually wanted to do was spend time with these parents, however, she was willing to sacrifice her sanity for a few hours if it meant giving Hunter the best day ever.

"Alright, Cyborg go help Nat bring out the refreshments while I get these people situated, hm?" Tony teased, patting Bucky's flesh arm, "Lily come, help me entertain your friends."

When Bucky's arm left Lily's waist, Tony took over by looping his arm with hers. Lily raised her eyebrow at the man as he took her over towards the rest of the group, sitting next to her on one of the couches. Lily gave the billionaire a quizzical look but he just nodded, as if telling her to simply go along with it. Lily and Tony had only spoken a handful of times, but he seemed fairly persistent about letting Bucky go get the things from the kitchen.

"So Lily," one of the fathers, Thomas, started, "it's really nice to see you get back out into the field. Not even just romantically, socially too. Maybe you'll actually come to the PTA group date nights, with someone other than Genevive." he chuckled, leaning backwards on his seat.

"She wouldn't attend anyway, Tommy. Lily isn't one for fun." Jill chuckled, crossing her legs, "What is it you do, Lily? Stay at home with your dog and kid. Come on, no one wants to see their kid that often. The only time I see you out is with Joey!" the woman continued, shaking her head.

Despite it being somewhat truthful, the woman's words stung a bit. Lily knew she didn't go out often and never really tried to connect with everyone around her. The only time she really did was when she was essentially forced, and she figured that's why Jill figured to go for a sensitive part in Lily's life. But then again, Jill was also a two-faced gossip who could never stay out of other people's business. Lily seemed to be her favourite topic of discussion, and her favourite to pick on. The blonde felt as though she were back in high school, or hell, even middle school. Jill was always going after Lily's insecurities, as though she could see right through her. It terrified the young mother, but Lily knew how much Hunter loved Jill's son. So she went through with it and sucked it up so her son could enjoy himself.

"Interesting comment...uh what was your name?" Tony commented, leaning forward slightly.

"Jill. Jill Reinhart." the redhead hummed, tilting her head to the side.

"Right. Jen, so like I was saying. Interesting comment. Lily here is actually quite in tune with fun. She attended a party I threw not too long ago and was an absolute hoot." Tony chuckled, squeezing the blonde’s shoulder, "And just because she actually enjoys spending time with her kid, who is a saint, doesn't mean she's any less fun. So."

The room fell silent. Lily looked over at the man with wide eyes as she took in what he had said. Jill always managed to find that soft spot, but Tony was quick to the jump. She figured this was why he had sent Bucky off, so he could deal with the clear teenage drama that was taking place inside of a group of adults. It probably didn't help Lily was the youngest of the entire group and was clearly the most vulnerable.

"W-well I was just- "

"No, jenny I really don't wanna hear it. Ah! here come Nat and Bucky with refreshments." Tony hummed, wiggling his eyebrows at the blonde before taking a seat next to nat as she sat down.

"you alright doll?" Bucky hummed as he walked over, reaching his hand out, "Mind joining me in the kitchen for a quick second?" he continued.

Lily nodded and took the man’s hand, standing from the couch. She glanced over her shoulder to see Jill sitting there with an absolutely shocked face. Lily smiled gently to herself as Bucky tugged her out of the lounge and into the hallway. A giggle escaped both of their lips as he spun her into his arms, leaning her up against one of the walls just outside of the kitchen. shaking her head, Lily wrapped her other hand into the man’s hair, enjoying the soft feeling of the dark tresses. He hummed softly, before bending down and pecking her lips.

"I was about ready to absolutely rip a new one off of that woman." Bucky chuckled as he pulled away, resting his forehead against the shorter girls.

"Mmm, that's Jill. Just a PTA woman. A real handful." Lily cooed, letting out a deep breath, "Now what can I help you with?"

"Well..." Bucky hummed, leaning back gently, "I was just wondering...seeing as we may as well be. And I absolutely adore spending time with you and Hunter is the sweetest boy...Do we want to I don't know...make it official? Basically, what I'm asking, Lily Osborne, will you be my girlfriend?" he finished.

A new sense of fear settled deep within Lily's stomach.

[spy-der-woman]

Clair De Lune: A Conversation with the Winter Soldier

Word Count: 3140

summary: 

Clint tossed the keys to Bucky, tipping his head as a silent goodnight. Bucky waited for Clint to make it back inside before entering the shed.

She still sat in the same position, feet forward, back straight, hands bound with rope behind the wooden chair. The black eye he gave her was no longer a deep purple, instead fading into sickly hues of yellow. The red dress she wore, that was torn up during their altercation, had started to turn black from the bloodstains.

“Do you need water, kid?”

She remained silent.

A/n: Hi! Thank you for taking the time to read. This is going to be the first in a couple of one shots I plan on writing. Which, fingers crossed, will lead to a bigger fic coming up here soon. Enjoy! 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21838705

It was nine pm at the Barton homestead with a fresh blanket of snow falling over the farm and the places beyond the pine trees. Cooper, Lila, and Nate were all glued to the window with fingers crossed and tape on their white socks, praying that there would be no school tomorrow. As inches piled on top of inches, it was clear that there wouldn’t be a chance in frozen hell that they would have school in the morning. Laura knew this too; still, she called for all three of her kids to go upstairs to get ready for bed. 

After losing five years, Laura had found that her best coping mechanism was to stick to a routine. Her only means of control in a world that could turn to dust with the snap of someone’s fingertips. In the past, on red sky nights like this, her and Clint would let the children stay up watching movies with fresh popcorn or put on their snow pants to go sledding down the hill. Clint preferred movies, Laura preferred watching the kids play in the snow. Laughing at them and with them in the dead of night, however, that just wasn’t an option anymore. Having the kids in by nine gave her the peace of mind that she knew they were safe. In case men, monsters, or magic got the better of the good guys, she would know exactly where her children were⁠—tucked in bed. 

Deep down, a part of her was self-aware that maintaining a routine was just an illusion. Sometimes it was easier to just play pretend than to continually live in the dark shadow of the truth. She called for her kids to come upstairs again, this time slightly louder. 

The kids didn’t budge, except Cooper, who went to turn on the PlayStation. Clint stepped out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee in hand. He cleared his throat causing Lila and Nate to break their gaze from the window. 

“But, Dad.” Each of the children groaned. 

“I know. I know.”

Cooper slumped himself into the couch, “There is no way there is gonna be school tomor-”

“Once again, I know. That being said, as we all know, she runs the house.”

Little Nate let out a slight yawn, “Can we just go outside for a lil’ bit.”

Lilia laughed, watching her youngest brother barely be able to keep his eyes open. She ran her fingers through his hair, “You baby, you are about to pass out.”

Clint looked over at the staircase as he took a sip of coffee. “I’ll cut you guys a deal. You have any tests, projects, book reports due next week?”

All ears perked up as they shook their heads no.

“Scout’s honor?”

“Honor.” They all said in unison.

“Okay. I will take your words for it. Next week, your mom is going to visit your aunt for the weekend. She is going to be leaving Thursday night after dinner. And if by some off chance, all three of you have food poisoning in the morning⁠—” he took another sip of his coffee, “I’ll let you stay home from school Friday. Deal?”

Nothing could ever make a child smile more than the very idea of a three day weekend. Before Laura could call for her kids a third time, they were all already running up the stairs. Clint stood against the door frame of the kitchen, waiting to hear the last of the footsteps, even Laura’s. As the final bedroom door close, he returned back to the kitchen. He poured himself another cup of coffee. 

“Cute kids, Barton.” Bucky pushed his empty mug across the table. He leaned himself back in the kitchen chair. He remembered back in the day, after the war was over, wanting to get married to a cute redhead. Then moving into a beautiful bright blue suburban home in Long Island and starting a family of his own. He pictured himself having three kids like Clint, just with three boys instead. He even picked out names for them too: the first would be a junior, the second named after her grandfather, and the third (who he also pictured being the runt of the litter) after Steve. He would get a job at a 9 to 5, his wife would keep a lovely home, the eldest would become a doctor, the middle a baseball player, and the youngest a soldier. Also, as childish as it sounds, he even pictured Steve living right across the street. In a bright yellow suburban home, with a family of his own who would get bullied by Bucky’s three boys.

  In the bunks, he and Steve used to map out their entire lives as bombs fell above them. Daydreams were the only thing that used to keep them sane. Now, the thought of having a family of his own had long since passed. With the way the world was paired with the things he had done to make it that way, he knew his dream of being the cookie-cutter family man was never going to be possible with blood on his hands. That being said, his voyeuristic visits to the Barton homestead in between missions allowed him a taste of what could have been. Especially on the warm sunny July days this past summer when he and Nate would toss a baseball in the backyard.

“Thanks. More coffee?”

“No. I’m good.”

Except, Bucky’s visits as of the past three weeks were not as light-hearted. 

“What’s your plan for her tonight?” Clint nodded his head towards the kitchen window, which right outside, only a few yards away, was the shed that had a dim yellow light on.

“Same thing as every other night. Talk to her.”

“I don’t think she is going to break. When I go out there to try and give her food and water, I talk to her. I think I have ran through every dad speech in the playbook. Nothing. Just takes a few sips of water, and that’s it.”

“They trained her well then.”

Clint turned his attention back towards Bucky. The two had grown an unlikely friendship with an immense amount of depth unknown to the rest of the Avengers. With Nat gone, Clint had relied on Bucky to discuss the five years he had lost himself to grief. Bucky never flinched; he had no right too. Even as Clint went step by step to what he did to those men in the Cartel, Bucky only spoke to him with understanding indifference. Their late-night coffee dates served as small baby steps for the father of three young children to be a father again. Even more importantly, be the father that Laura needed him to be for her to maintain her own healing process. Clint poured the rest of the coffee pot down the sink, “You think she is one of them? What you used to be?”

A few weeks ago, when Bucky arrived on his back doorsteps with a battered unconscious girl in his arms asking to keep her hidden in his shed. Clint just followed along. It was the least he could do.

“A Winter Soldier? No, all of them are long since gone. From what I can tell, they have no intention of reviving that program anytime soon. That being said, the way she fights? It's them. But-”

“But?”

“There is something else there. It doesn’t make sense, but when I look at her in the eyes⁠—she just has this look.”

“Well, your right, that doesn’t make sense. Then again, a lot of things don’t make sense anymore. The obvious example, you’re 94 and look about ten years younger than me. Don’t make much sense, yet here we are.”

“You got a point.”

“Always do.”

Both men chuckled. Clint grabbed a set of keys from underneath a jar on top of the fridge. 

“Either way, Barnes, all those years back, Steve used to say the same thing about you. He turned outright. Took a couple of rounds in the parking lot for that point to be proven, we still got there. That being said, however-”

“The kids?”

“And Laura.”

“Understood.”

The two men put on their jackets and went outside, which was unusually bright for a winter night. The bright red sky had turned into a thickening maroon. Fluffy white snow was now just small little pricks of ice, causing a hazy blur. Branches of the surrounding trees were bent towards the ground allowing the dark edge of the horizon to be more apparent than before. Taking in a deep breath, Bucky felt a familiar burn in his lungs while Clint unlocked the door to the shed. 

“Do you want me to stay out here?” Clint rubbed his hands together for a minor sense of relief from the cold metal of the lock and keys. 

“No, go to bed. I’ll keep everything under control.”

Clint tossed the keys to Bucky, tipping his head as a silent goodnight. Bucky waited for Clint to make it back inside before entering the shed. 

She still sat in the same position, feet forward, back straight, hands bound with rope behind the wooden chair. The black eye he gave her was no longer a deep purple, instead fading into sickly hues of yellow. The red dress she wore, that was torn up during their altercation, had started to turn black from the bloodstains. 

“Do you need water, kid?”

She remained silent. 

With in the past year, the team had given Bucky more freedom to go out on his own. Most of the time, he was still paired up with Sam or T’Challa on missions that easily could be one man, which they would usually end up being. Bucky would complete whatever task at hand while whoever would watch the door. But now that it was clear that HYDRA no longer held a tight grip over him, Bucky was given at least one primary mission a month to go out and play on his own. While working with a team had been a welcomed adjustment in his life, working alone was a familiar comfort. 

This last mission he was on was supposed to be a simple one. All he had to do was run around to each vacant government building in D.C on Christmas Eve. Do a simple checkup on some hidden security measures the team had put in place. Nothing special. He finished hours earlier than he had planned for him to take. Knowing that everyone else was away for the holidays and the base would be empty, Bucky had figured that grabbing a beer in a hole in the wall dive bar wouldn’t hurt. No one was waiting up for him. But, Bucky never made it to the warm light of any bar that night. 

In fact, he had only made it halfway down a one-way street where he found her hunched over a dead man in a grey suit in an alleyway. Her hands glowing a bright green holding on tightly to a small knife. An overwhelming sweet smell, like spun vanilla sugar, seemed to be oozing out of her pores. 

She had put up a good fight, but Bucky had years over her and one good sucker punch to the underneath of her jaw. 

“You got to be hungry, at least.”

She didn’t even lookup.

Bucky grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, “I’m going to need you to at least drink some water.” He took are by the chin forcing the bottle between her lips, “You aren’t looking too hot, kid.” 

She only took a few sips, but still said nothing. Bucky walked around to the back of the chair. The rope was still tight, but the skin around her wrists had started to break. Her hands were marred with burn scars, which he took into his hands in an attempt to warm them. 

“You know, I think in most movies this would be the part where I would say, ‘I’ll let you go, but only after you start talking.’” Bucky grabbed a chair and sat in front of the young girl. “But we both know, that if you wanted too, you could have been out of here weeks ago, kid. Probably have this whole place leveled out too. Why haven’t you?”

 He gave her a chance to respond. 

She didn’t.

“Is it because it hurts?”

For the first time, the young girl looked up at Bucky.

“The burns on your hands, are they from what you can do.”

The vacant stare in her green eyes was enough of an answer.

“I know a group of people who can help you. They are the same people who helped me too, kid. You just have to talk⁠—tell me your name⁠—something anything. I told you this before, I’ll tell you again, the people who did this to you don’t care about you. They will use you again and again for their own gain no matter how much it hurts you. However, I can’t help you if you don’t talk. I need you to talk to me ki-”

A small green flash appeared behind the girl. She winced in pain as the rope that tied her hands turned to ash. “Jessica. My name is Jessica.” She rubbed the sides of her wrists which had already started to blister. “If you call me kid one more time⁠—” her voice trailed off. 

“Jessica. You got a last name?” 

“No last name.”

“Everyone has a last name.”

“Don’t have one.”

Jessica’s bones cracked as she stood up and walked around in a small circle. Three weeks of sitting in the same position left her body stiff. The places where her dress was torn, along with the burn wounds, Bucky noticed deep purple surgical scars on the side of her stomach .

“I know I said this to you before, but this doesn’t have to be it for you. I was you onc-”

Jessica cut him off quick, “I was you once, Winter Soldier, this doesn’t have to be your life, the things you have done aren’t your fault, I’m part of a team/a family, we have a kid who is almost like you⁠—you repeat yourself a lot.”

“Well, I’m not usually the speech giver.”

“What happened to the usual guy?”

“Retired.”

“The other guy that comes in here does a decent job at it.”

“Barton? He has had years of practice.”

“I can tell.” Jessica ran her fingers across the walls of the shed admiring the various bows and arrows that hung up on the wall. “Is he a hunter?”

Bucky let out a small laugh, “A pretty good one.”

“Does he take his children with him?”

“Did he tell you about his kids?”

“No, but I can hear their footsteps in the house.”

“He takes his daughter out with him from time to time.”

“Well, tell him to be careful. A family of wolves have been making their way over here.”

“I’ll let him know. Anything else?”

“It’s temporary alliances.” Jessica turned her focus back towards Bucky.

“Temporary alliances?”

Jessica walked over to Bucky, barely making a sound. “Every other night, you come in here repeating  yourself.”

“My offer stands all the same.”

“But you don’t understand.”

“No, ki-Jessica, I do. The people who did these things to us⁠—” Bucky pulled his shirt down off his shoulder, revealing the thick red line that combined machine and man. 

“They created the Winter Soldier. They only made me.”

“Made you?”

“Gave me a warm bed, three meals a day cleaned me up, trained me, I can go on and on. But what I can do,” she lifted her hands up into the air, “isn’t them. They didn’t create this.”

“Then why work with them?”

“Because they found me first.”

“Does that logic justify all the people I’m sure you have hurt? Because they found you first?”

Jessica’s face gave a hint of a smile while blowing air out of her nose, “What’s the first thing they teach you?”

“Complete the mission at any and all costs.”

“Complete the mission at any and all costs.” Jessica echoed back as she pushed the rest of her hair behind her ears. “Same speeches.”

“But you don’t listen.”

“I can tolerate anything if it means I get what I want.”

There was a brief moment of silence between the two. The only sound being the light gust of wind knocking against the glass window of the shed. Bucky stood up from the chair towering over Jessica. “Then what’s your mission, soldier?”

“Secure my own survival.” She whispered. 

“Temporary alliances?”

“Temporary alliances, until my needs are met.”

“Then what?”

“I move on.”

“To what?”

“I won’t know if you keep me here.”

“Which you could have⁠—”

“I needed you to trust me.”

Jessica stood up to match the stature of Bucky: chin up, shoulders rolled back, arms crossed. The spun vanilla sugar smell had made its return. For a brief moment, Bucky saw a warmth in Jessica’s green eyes. “Since you aren’t one for speeches, I will keep this short.” He stepped over to his left and started to knock down the various tools off the wall, “Since I am a man of my word, I’m going to let you go.” He then walked over to Clint’s workstation and flipped the table over, causing papers to scatter across the floor. “That being said, I will be keeping my eyes on you.” Grabbing the chairs both of them had been sitting on, he threw them to opposite sides of the room. “And if you step out of line,” he punched several holes into the floor, “or if my team finds you⁠—”

“Understood.”

Bucky pulled a knife from his boot then slid the sharp blade across his cheek. He tossed the knife back to Jessica, “You can have that back.” He then took a seat on the floor against the wall, “I know it hurts you to do, but can you⁠—”

“I can do it just enough to leave you paralyzed for about an hour.”

“Works for me, kid.”

She placed her hand on his chest. Taking in a deep breath, she allowed herself to let go for a brief couple of seconds. “Jessica.”

Buky felt his whole body go numb. His breathing slowed down to almost a complete halt. He only had had enough function in his eyes to watch Jessica pull herself together. That brief warmth she had only minutes ago turned back into that cold demeanor she had every night before. She busted the lock on the front door giving Bucky one last look before running off into the night. 

The winter winds brought inside ice and snow. Bucky just sat there, unable to feel any of it at all.

[butterflywitchart]

Haunted House Blue by KittenDiotima

There is a little rise in the half-wild back acres next to a suburban neighborhood, and on that rise is an old tree and some dilapidated buildings. Some lot holder held out when the developer came, and refused to sell, but they never did anything with the land - which their ancestors had logged out many years previous. No one knew who owned the back acres, but the kids in the neighborhood used it like a community park. Since it was mostly short, young, 2nd growth trees, and blackberry bushes, parents didn’t mind - except kids were warned away from going to the boarded up old barn left by the original settlers. One smart old wife had started a rumor it was haunted, and the old wife’s tale kept the children from going any where near the Haunted Barn. But there really was magic in the woods. The tree on the rise was too young and small to be logged when the Settlers had cut the old growth forest, but now it was the largest tree in the woods. It was so beautiful, and strong, yet with delicate scented leaves. The tree almost begged to be climbed, and once you got nestled in it’s branches, above the lil scrub second growth forest, you felt like you were in a fairy land. So the children called it the Fairy Tree:

The kids in the neighborhood used the Fairy Tree as home base, the place they came when “olly olly oxenfree” was called, or where someone hid their face and counted for Hide and Seek. But every so often, in the dead of night, when everyone in suburbia is tucked into bed, and no one is roaming the streets, strange lights can be seen by insomniac children coming from the back acres. The lights seemed to be coming from the Haunted Barn, but it was so well tucked into short, scrubby trees, no one could tell for sure. There were always more strange magic lights flashing in the night during Autumn, no one knew why. But it was because the veil between the worlds is thinnest during the Autumn, so spirits can push thru into our world.

At night the children were both scared and curious, they wanted very badly to see what was inside the barn. But during the day, when they would gather at the Fairy Tree in the crisp Autumn air, they would talk about the Haunted Barn, and they would tell stories about their older cousins, sisters, or brothers who had gone into the barn and seen strange things, like pink pigs flying upside down and backwards. These stories were actually the product of childish imagination, there were no flying pink pigs in the Haunted Barn. The children would eventually try to work up the courage to go into the Haunted Barn, even tho their mother's had all told them to "never go in that building, it's a death trap, it could fall down at any time!" they wanted very badly to see the flying pigs that weren't really there. So they crept closer and closer, but inevitably the wind would suddenly howl thru the barn's wooden slats, or a small animal would rustle in the bushes, or someone would step on a stick, and the children would scream and run all the way out the back acres and into the streets of their neighborhood, where they would wisely decide to play games closer to home. Which was probably for the best, as the ghosts of the Settlers were still hanging around the barn, along with the ghosts of the Native Americans who had been living on that land before the European invasion, and who had been killed so white Americans could take their land. The Settlers had helped the army destroy the First Nation village that had been on that little rise, and now, they were haunted everyday for eternity by the spirits of the people they murdered. I guess there's justice after all.

I did this for Mab Graves Drawlloween club last year.  I really like this one, and it gotta a lot of

too. Unfortunately, dA seems to be flailing. I barely get any traffic, no one has ever tried to buy anything of mine that I know of. It's like, they want me to become a Core member again, but i'm not sure i see the advantage any more.  

[juicy-cookie]

Through The Valley - Chapter 6

Fic Summary: A deeper look into The Sanctuary.

Boy meets girl. Girl meets boy. Boy has a weird obsession with a baseball bat, promiscuity and the word “fuck”. Girl has to find out if she can look past these things. Also, zombies and shit.

AO3 Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/10075958/chapters/23606151

Tags: @rickdixonandthefandomlifeposts @embracetheapocalypsewithme @redisunamused@kinkozan @lupienne @theblack-wolf @lovingzombiechaos @dragonracer @miiraal

Pairing: Negan X OFC

Chapter Summary: Welcome to the fucking Sanctuary.

„Hello? Anyone home?“ Jax’s voice was coming from the front door and Lilly left Negan on the porch to go greet him and the others. She heard laughter coming from the small group of men and when she arrived in the living room, she could see that they all looked tired, but relaxed.

Her eyes searched for Jax and when she found him, his smile became even wider. No matter how often she would assure him that she could take care of herself, he was always relieved when she came back from a run, or a hunt, or in this case the weirdest pajama party she had ever attended.

Lilly pulled Jax in for a tight hug, which he returned enthusiastically and he whispered “You okay?”. She nodded and said “Yeah, all good. You?” and he smiled at her again: “Yep. Those guys aren’t too bad.” he lowered his voice even further “Did you know they call their place The Sanctuary?” which made her chuckle.

Just in that moment, the booming voice of the leader of said Sanctuary came from the backdoor. “Guys! They’ve got fucking coffee!” which made the men all break out into different expressions of approval and they made their way to the back porch, while Lilly and Jax headed for the kitchen.

Lilly immediately busied herself with gathering breakfast ingredients. She knew what was coming and, sure enough, she could already feel Jax’s blue eyes burning holes into her and he cleared his throat. Oatmeal, milk and cocoa powder, “Ahem.”, water, the small box of wild berries she had gathered a couple of days ago. “AHEM!”

She finally turned around with an exasperated sigh, “What?”

“So… what happened last night? Did you two, you know…” he wiggled his eyebrows .

“What are you taking me for, Jax?”

“I don’t know. I mean, he was obviously trying to get into your pants.”

“That doesn’t mean I let him.”

“His men were making jokes all night that his bat wasn’t the only hard and long thing of his you’d get to know. They were talking about ‘wives’ or something? No idea what that was about.”

Neither did Lilly, but she felt like they were back in their shared apartment, the morning after some college party. She sighed and put a couple of cereal bowls on a tray.

“Just so you know, he behaved himself.”

“Yeah, but did you?”

She set a pot down on the counter with a loud bang.

"Did those guys rub off on you, or why do you have to be such an ass right now?"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I still haven't forgiven you for making me go with those brutes. I don't even want to think about what could have happened to you."

Lilly turned away from him to hide her blush. She hated that she had to lie to Jax, but she preferred not to find out what would happen if she broke her promise to Negan about not telling anyone about the handcuffs.

"Yeah, well, nothing happened. And we're in, aren't we? We found a home, Jax."

"I hate to be a Debbie Downer, Lil, but please try not to get too ahead of yourself. We still don't know what their place is like. Just... just try to play nice this time, okay?"

“This isn’t like the last time. I mean… a points system? Everyone has to work? And a leader who actually leads? This is going to work. I can feel it.”

“Hmm, yeah, at least we’ve got your approval about King Dingaling out there.”

They looked at each other for a moment and then both broke out into laughter. Lilly handed Jax a tray with more coffee cups and sent him out to the others before she took a last look over the breakfast ingredients to make sure she got everything. She took a deep breath to brace herself and took everything out to the porch, where the six men were standing and sitting and nursing their coffees. The handcuffs that were previously lying on the porch floor were now mysteriously absent, she noticed.

Lilly laid out the ingredients on the table and started to prepare the small camping stove, while stealing glances at the so called Saviors, trying her best to remember their names.

The youngest, Gavin, was sitting on one of the plastic lawn chairs right next to her and was watching her breakfast preparations curiously.

Jax and the guy with the mohawk,  Connor, were talking by the door. Were they comparing tattoos?

Negan was still sitting on the wooden recliner, but had placed it so that he could prop up his feet on the porch railing and with one hand behind his head and one holding his cup, he looked for all the world like he already owned the place. Which he technically did.

He was chatting animatedly about today’s plans with the two men opposite of him. Seth, the bald and grim one was leaning against the railing and the last man, Dwight, was sitting on the stairs that led down to the garden. Lilly tried not to stare at the man’s gruesome scar and thought back about last night, when he had given a rather feeble explanation about how he got it, all the while stealing side glances at his leader. Lilly knew that the environment they were now living in and the lack of a government and law enforcement sometimes called for harsh punishments for rule breaking. But she couldn’t help but wonder about what kind of offense would justify what was clearly a burned face and she especially asked herself why Negan would keep him around. He apparently held a high position within Negan’s group, so what had he done to warrant such a punishment?

Lilly must have phased out, because next thing she knew, someone was waving their hand in front of her face.

“Hello? Earth to Lilly? Were you thinking about my dick, or why the dreamy expression on that pretty face of yours?”

“Don’t worry about Lil, she just zones out from time to time. We call it a brain reset.” Lilly glared at Jax, who was quick to go back to his conversation with Connor. She turned to Negan, who had been trying to get her attention and looked at him questioningly.

“I was just asking what we’re having for breakfast?”

Lilly looked down at the mushy contents of the large pot which were slowly starting to bubble.

“Uhm, yeah, sorry. Chocolate oatmeal with wild strawberries.”

“That sounds hella fucking fancy. Beats the rice and eggs we’ve been having for the last two weeks at Sanctuary, right boys?”

Negan’s men all nodded in agreement and crept closer to the table to have a look at what Lilly was concocting there.

Lilly looked up at him in surprise. “You have chickens? That’s so cool! Do you have other livestock, too? A greenhouse or maybe a garden? I’ve been reading up on how to plant stuff that can sustain people and…”

“Hold your fucking horses, babe.” Negan held up his hands, but he grinned at her enthusiasm. “You’ll have plenty of fucking time to explore Sanctuary. But gardening? I wouldn’t want you digging in the fucking dirt, not when you clearly have other… talents.” he smirked ominously at her and Lilly wasn’t quite sure if he meant her scavenging skills or if he was alluding to something else.

“Now are you going to fucking tell me what kind of supplies you got, or what?”

“Yeah, sure…” Lilly handed a ladle to Jax and told the men on the porch to tuck in. She went inside and up the stairs to go get her list of the stuff she had scavenged and found it on the desk in her bedroom, right under the menacing looking baseball bat. She picked up Negan’s weapon and stared at the barbed wire coiled around its end. What kind of man uses such a fucked-up thing? Lilly slid her thumb over the wooden handle until she reached one of the spikes, almost pricking her skin when she applied some pressure on it.

“Careful babe. My girl can be pretty fucking bitchy if you don’t know how to handle her.”

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Lilly spun around to face the man standing in the doorframe, who was watching her with a dubious smile. “How the fuck do you sneak up on people with that giant ass of yours?” And why was he looking at her like he wanted to have her for breakfast? He slowly walked over to where she was standing and bent down very close, to take the bat out of her hand, which was hanging loosely by her side.

“Can’t tell you all of my fucking secrets. You should be happy I didn’t slap your ass this time. I mean… I can still do that if you want me to.” he winked at her and she looked up at him with what she hoped was a neutral expression.

“I think we had enough ass-slapping for today.” she turned her back on him and picked up the supply list. He took the leather jacket from the office chair to put it on and shrugged: “Suit yourself. But you can’t fucking deny that you enjoyed at least some of last night. I know I fucking did.”

She handed him the list without deigning his remark with an answer and he looked at her in confusion.

“What the fuck is that? A fucking love letter?”

She rolled her eyes and secretly hoped he could read. “It’s our supply list. You wanted to know what kind of stuff we’ve got? Well, it’s all there.”

“You keep a fucking inventory for two people in a fucking suburban hide-out?”

“Yes? That way we know what we have to consume first, to minimize spoiled food and I can keep track of what to look out for when scavenging. Why? Don’t you have lists for this kind of stuff at your place?”

“Well… yeah, we do…”

“Alright then, great!” she smiled up at him, patted him on his shoulder and fled back out to the porch. The men were just finishing up their breakfast and Lilly quickly got a bowl of oatmeal for herself and scarfed it down. She had a feeling that Negan would want to start the process of moving all their stuff outside now that he had an overview of their supplies. She was surprised that it took him so long to come back down, but when he did, he immediately instructed his men to get things going.

“Gavin, Seth, get the cars and bring in the boxes for the smaller items. Dwight, call Sanctuary, get Carson on the radio and brief him on the supplies and about Jax and Lilly. Connor, do a quick search of all the rooms, see if there’s any furniture we could use, beside the mattresses. Lilly, Jax and I will start to move stuff out to the front. If we all work fast, we can be home just in time for me to eat fucking lunch and have a wife for dessert, so let’s fucking go.”

 A wife…?

Lilly thought that the deliberate use of the indefinite article must have some significance, but the people around her all jumped up to get to work and she didn’t have the time to ponder over the implications.

The next couple of hours were spent clearing the house from top to bottom. Every piece of cloth, every dish and every grain of rice was taken outside and put into either the moving truck or the van, leaving just enough room for the seven people to squeeze themselves into the seats for their journey to the Sanctuary. Dwight had mentioned that it would take them about two hours to get there and Lilly was not looking forward to such a long drive. All of them were already drenched in sweat from moving the supplies while the balmy morning had turned into a cruelly hot noon and a two hour long ride would surely make the insides of the cars smell like tiger cages at the zoo.

She had asked Negan if they were allowed to keep some personal items and he had commented that she could take stuff like pictures, jewellery and sex toys, which she had found funny, taken the fact that her love life was non-existent, solo or otherwise. So, after snorting, she had run upstairs to pack a backpack with some of her belongings.

Two pictures, one of her parents and one of her sister with her family. Two books, one about archery and the other a copy of her favorite novel. A binder where she kept information about places she had scavenged and which she was sure she would have to hand over to Negan at some point. And a key she took out of a drawer and which she stuffed into her bra. From the downstairs bathroom, she also took the bottle of hand sanitizer to keep with her during the drive to Sanctuary, in case the sweaty men she would be sharing a car with became too musky.

When they were finished loading up the cars, Negan split the group and assigned Seth, Connor and Gavin to the truck and himself, Lilly and Jax to the van, with Dwight as their driver. The Saviors started climbing into the seats when Lilly asked if she could have one last moment with Jax alone and Negan reluctantly agreed, but told her to “make it a quickie, I want to get the fuck out of here”.

She and Jax went back into the house and stood side by side, facing the now eerily empty living room of what had been their home for the past three months, their eyes on their past and their backs to the door to a new life.

Jax took Lilly’s hand and turned his head to study the side of her face:

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

“Yep.”

“Did you tell them about the shed?”

“Nope.”

He sighed and tried to let go of her hand, but she wouldn’t let him and squeezed a little tighter.

“Don’t get cold feet now, Lil. You wanted to get out of this shithole. This is our chance.”

“Yeah, let’s just hope I don’t fuck it up this time.”

“You won’t. I know you won’t. If I get a whiff of any kind of up-fucking, I’ll make sure to kick your ass. Come on… I don’t think our new leader is used to being kept waiting.”

Lilly chuckled, shouldered her bow and the quiver of arrows and followed Jax outside. Their assigned seats in the van were the passenger seat in the front and the one in the back next to Negan and she made sure to shoot Jax an annoyed glare when he climbed into the passenger seat a little too quickly. She closed the door and didn’t even have time to put on her seatbelt before Negan turned to her smirking:

“Are you finally done with your goodbye fuck, or whatever it was you were doing? Good. Now are you abso-fucking-lutely sure we got everything?”

Lilly could see Jax watching her through the rearview mirror, but she smiled at Negan and confirmed that they had indeed taken everything useful from the house and that they were ready to go.

Negan gave Dwight the command to get going and eased back into his seat with a yawn, the large space at his feet allowing him to stretch his long legs. Lilly eyed her bow and the baseball bat lying on the floor between them and then turned around to take one last look at the school, the street and the townhouse. She chuckled quietly to herself and Negan raised an eyebrow.

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh just… those walkers I placed in the front yard? I named one of them Bob. Anytime I’d got out to hunt or scavenge I’d say ‘Bye Bob, have a nice day!’ and when I got back, I’d greet him with ‘Hi Bob! Has everything been quiet while I was gone?’.”

A sudden wave of sadness hit her when she thought about leaving Bob behind and she only faintly registered Negan looking at her like she was a crazy person while she scolded herself for having these thoughts. He was just a rotting corpse. She didn't even know what or who he was before he died. Not he. It.

“I think you’re gonna like it at Sanctuary.” Dwight pulled her out of her own mind and Jax immediately started to ask more questions about their destination. Lilly listened intently, but kept quiet for the most part. She had done more talking over last day and a half than she had done in the previous three months combined and she was exhausted and felt a headache creeping up to her forehead. She propped an elbow against the window and leaned her head on her hand, rubbing her temple and sighing when she noticed some movement to her right. Negan had been watching her intently and turned around to reach behind them into the back of the van and came back with a small plastic bottle of water, which he held out to her.

“Gotta stay fucking hydrated, babe. You still have a long day ahead of you.”

She thanked him and chugged down the whole bottle.

“Whoah… easy now! Just for your information, we won’t stop at every fucking lamppost for a potty break.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll try to hold it.” she smiled, feeling a little better. She stretched her legs and leaned her head against the cool window, watching the trees and fields and buildings outside go by, listening to Jax and Dwight chatting, with the occasional comical comment from Negan, and feeling the vibrations of the vehicle all around her. The lack of sleep and the physical labor from this morning were finally catching up to her and she felt herself slowly slipping into blissful nothingness, the last thing she registered a determined “Shhhh!” coming from her right.

 The van jerked to a stop and Lilly woke with a start. She looked around in a panic, completely disoriented for a moment until her eyes focused on Jax’s face, looking worriedly at her from the passenger seat. She took a shaky breath and turned her head to look at Negan, who was wearing a similar expression to Jax’s, but whose face lit up upon seeing that she was alright.

“Home sweet fucking home!” he beamed at her and pointed to the front window with a gloved hand. The van was facing a street which ended at a barrier, with concrete road blocks in between and a chain link fence stretching to the left and right of the gate. Behind the fence, a massive factory building was looming over the area, its tower covered in windows facing the yard and the smaller hall-like building underneath and studded with three chimneys on the very top.

Lilly’s jaw dropped at the sight of the impressive structure, but the thing that really made her heart beat faster from excitement wasn’t the first look at her new, impressive home. It was the sight of the hundreds upon hundreds of walkers along the fence. They were chained to cars and to the road blocks, tied to stakes in the ground, put on leashes that led to the chain links and some of their heads were even impaled on spikes. Their collective groaning and moaning filled the air just as much as the stink of rotting corpses and Lilly could not stop staring in wonder at them, the corners of her open mouth turned upwards.

“Jesus fuck.” Jax mumbled and Lilly finally managed to articulate a whispered “Fucking genius…” while Dwight carefully navigated around the slabs of concrete and through the now opened gate into the yard.

“Welcome to Sanctuary!”

Negan’s gaze was back on Lilly, clearly happy with her reaction and he opened his door, picked up his baseball bat and hopped out of the van. Lilly was quick to gather her own weapons and step out into the sunlight, eager to take a closer look at the factory and its surroundings.

The yard contained some more cars and trucks and a couple of motorcycles parked on one end, but was otherwise empty if you didn’t count the small gatehouse by the barrier. Lilly could just make out what looked like more industrial buildings on the other side of the fence and she stretched her arms and bent down to touch her toes to chase away the last remnants of sleep before turning around to see the big metal doors of the factory opening and a couple of people approaching the cars.

Leading them was a timid looking man with short dark hair and rimmed glasses, who made a beeline for Negan while the other men and women went for the back of the truck and van, all the while staring at Lilly and Jax with unhidden curiosity. Lilly and Dwight went around the van to join Jax, Negan and the man who was introduced as Carson.

“Welcome back, Sir. Marcus and his team have made good progress with the solar panels. I scheduled a shower and a physical with Doctor Fisher for our newcomers.” he addressed Jax and Lilly “I’m going to need you to give up all your weapons.”

Jax opened his mouth in protest, but Lilly put a hand on his shoulders and smiled at Carson. “Of course. You have to promise me, though, to be really careful with my baby here.” She slipped her bow and quiver from her shoulder to hand them to Carson and took off the belt with the sheath for her machete while Jax surrendered his knife and handgun. “I take it we get those back at some point?” she looked up at Negan while unholstering her revolver.

“As soon as I can be sure you won’t fucking kill me in my sleep, babe.” he winked before his eyes widened when she reached down to pull a butterfly knife from her boot.

“Jesus fucking Christ, woman, you’re carrying a small fucking arsenal around. Are you sure those are boobs underneath that shirt and not cannon balls? Do I need to pat you down?” he grinned despite the warning tone in his voice.

“I promise that’s all.”

“Uh-huh. I’ll take your fucking word for it. Though I hope you noticed that all my men are as fucking armed to the teeth as you just were.”

Lilly wasn’t surprised that Negan was still cautious. She hadn’t exactly gone out of her way to make him trust her and she knew that bringing newcomers into your community always meant a risk.

“I prepared the quarantine room for them to take them there after their doctor’s visit. I guess a meal tonight and one in the morning and then the job interviews?” Carson asked his leader. Lilly and Jax looked at each other and back at Carson in confusion, who explained: “We require every new resident to undergo a physical examination upon arrival, to see if they carry any diseases. The quarantine is just a 24 hour hold to make absolutely sure that you’re healthy. We have a lot of people here and we can’t afford for anyone to get sick. Tomorrow you will be allowed to walk around freely and we’re going to schedule a job interview with both of you, to see where we can put you to work.”

Negan started to slowly move towards the door, where five women were standing who were all inexplicably dressed like hookers and not the expensive kind, Lilly noticed.

“Meals yes, interviews no. At least not for her.” he turned around and pointed the barbed wire end of his baseball bat at Lilly. Everyone looked at Negan in confusion and the grin on his face took on a shark-like quality. “Sir?” Carson asked the retreating man who had his eyes fixed on Lilly.

“Lilly is going to join Dwight, Seth and Gavin on fence duty for her first three weeks here.” Lilly slowly turned around to the fence and the undead in realization and horror and a strangled “No!” escaped her lips.

“Oh yes, baby! I know you’re going to take to the job like a fish to fucking water. You’re going to have plenty of fucking opportunity to chain and tie and bind fucking things to other fucking things and I know just how much you love doing that. So… you’re fucking welcome, sweetheart. Tata!” he laughed and turned to spread his arms for the women waiting for him and disappeared into the Sanctuary, leaving his men looking after him in confusion and Lilly seething with rage.

[cherylsvixens]

Pink Skies

PINK SKIES — you are my favorite everything. been telling girls that since i was 16. shut up, i love you. you’re my best friend. ( pink skies, lany )

REQUEST — archie comforts his best friend.

WORD COUNT — 2.3k

NOTES — a late v-day gift from me in the form of head-over-heels archie and his aloof best friend, the reader. this was originally going to be a quick little piece about y/n spraining her ankle and archie being her overprotective boyfriend; somewhere along the line, it ended up becoming archie trying to keep y/n’s mind off jason on her first valentine’s day without him. ( requests: open )

“AND LASTLY, RIVERDALE High and its River Vixens want me to wish you all a very lucky Valentine’s Day.” As if the seductively indolent slurring of her words wasn’t already saturated in sexual innuendo, Y/N Y/L/N then drops her left eyelid into a cocky-wink-unhinged-jaw-combo. Archie struggles to contain the dance of his thin lips, as if a sudden jerk or spontaneous movement could shatter the frangible moment between best friends, but then wolf-whistles, hoots, and hollers erupt from his classmates, and he’s left with shards; a television in the corner of the room, the outro of Riverdale’s Morning Announcements, a fading screen, a teacher shushing his now animated peers.

Irises fabricated of molten gold and honey veer to his left, where Betty Cooper sits in their homeroom class, where she’s always sat in their homeroom class. Luck would have it that the pair’s surnames were alphabetical neighbors, and in a time like this, Archie is grateful for the blonde serving as his focal point. Betty rolls her pinkened brims into her mouth and shrugs, physically saying, ‘sorry the best friend you’re in love with is such a slut!’ The blonde, herself, would never verbalize such a statement, but he’s sure she’s thinking it. She’s probably had more than a slick thought or two about the trail of flings and shortcomings the River Vixen’s left behind since the unfortunate demise of her boyfriend, Jason Blossom—especially upon discovering that Y/N was the friend Archie chose to fall in love with, and not the girl who actually loves him back.

It’s all been very messy, this year (problematic might be a better word, a word Y/N would say), a continuous thread of nadirs that ought to break under the weight of their own misfortunes. He’s seen Y/N heave sobs over an open casket, heard her voice go raw as she spoke of Jason, watched her die all over again when she learned that her boyfriend was not the golden boy mask he’d woven for her; and she’s seen Archie break, enveloped him in her arms and allowed him to mourn a relationship that never should’ve been, listened, and comforted, and bent over backwards for him when she could hardly stand upright for herself on most days. Somewhere amidst the timeline of glueing themselves back together, it cracked down on him like an epiphany: She’s his favorite person.

And what better day to tell someone that than V-Day?

Betty tethers Archie’s cognition back to his current surroundings with a flick of her toe to his ankle. “Bell rang,” she says, gathering her books into the crook of her arm. Only after he’s stood from his seat and swung the straps of his backpack across his shoulders does the blonde ask, “You gonna tell her today?” Unprompted, she continues, “Yanno, that you like her?”

He’s become so accustomed to denying it over the months (no, they’re just friends; no, she’s dating someone else; no, he isn’t interested in her like that) that his tongue’s sputtering out a ‘what?’ before he can even process it.

Identical brows, somewhat darker than the flaxen waves growing out her scalp, perk. “Don’t tell me you’re chickening out, Archie. It’s Y/N’s first Valentine’s Day without Jason, you have to make it memorable for her.” Betty gesticulates when she’s passionate; Archie has to duck his head to miss a flying hand.

“I’m not–I’m not chickening out, Betty. I’ve” —Passersby stumble their way around Archie, who’s abruptly stopped feet away from Y/N’s locker— “actually got something planned.”

The blonde follows the jut of Archie’s head over to the woman of the hour. She hasn’t neared her locker yet, still on the adjacent side of the hall, immersed in conversation with Valerie Brown and Josie McCoy. Archie knows even the vaguest of outlines of her, though, knows the coiled tendrils that plummet past the nape of her neck, knows the silver hoops that always dangle from her lobes, knows her toothy smile like diamonds embedded in her gums, knows the laugh he spends most of his time with her goading. Betty does not know her in a similar fashion, and only recognizes Y/N for who she is once she’s fumbling with her padlock—and then steps aside so Josie can do it for her.

The following seconds are so agonizingly tedious that Archie’s heart swells in anticipation.

One: Y/N opens her locker.

Two: Y/N’s full lips part.

Three: Quaking fingers extract a bouquet of yellow petals bound in ribbon.

“Those are the roses you gave me and Ronnie.”

Archie grins. “Yeah.”

Betty reiterates her previous statement, stringing her words together in that patronizing way reserved for naughty and aloof children. “Those are the roses you gave me and Ronnie.” Archie doesn’t know why she repeats herself. “Yellow roses mean friendship, Archie.”

Huh. That’s certainly not the message the ginger wanted to get across.

The curve of his lips falters gradually, and then all at once. “I didn’t know the colors had meanings!”

“Didn’t you ask the florist?”

“Florist? One of my dad’s employees was selling flowers out of his trunk.”

“You bought me, Ronnie, and Y/N trunk flowers?”

“Archiekins!”

Matching flushed countenances swing to Y/N’s beaming disposition. Fluid as the water, as all her movements are, she jumps him, limber legs fastening around his waist and long arms clasping at his neck. The friendship roses, still entangled in her digits, rest on his shoulder. “I lovelovelove the flowers sooo much. And the card, it’s too fuckin’ cute!”

“Card?” Betty echoes. The singer’s embarrassed to admit he’d forgotten the girl was there.

A dimple hollows into Y/N’s cheek. Archie’s grip underneath her thighs tightens, determined to keep her balanced even as she unfurls one hand from around him to showcase the cheesy Valentine’s card he printed online. The Guy Fieri meme had seemed like a good idea in pretense—she likes the cooking channel, she likes memes—but the slow arch of his friend’s eyebrow is a silent shit on that thought.

“Ay, lil mama, let me go down to your Flavortown?” she reads, an amalgamation of disgust and what the fuck? weaving her words together with a pretty bow. “Archie!”

“Isn’t it so funny?” Y/N interrupts, unperturbed by the girl’s exasperated timbre. “I haven’t even seen that one on Twitter.”

For all it’s worth, Betty does force the corners of her mouth into a polite grin. “Very funny,” she agrees, then shoots daggers above Y/N’s head. “Not very romantic, however.”

“'Cause it isn’t supposed to be romantic, Betts. Me and Archie are just friends. See? Yellow roses mean friendship.”

The ground opens up and swallows him whole.

(Or, at least, he wishes it had.)

Smack! Thwack! Thwop!

It’s a scene straight from a teen romance movie; his hand is bent at the wrist, thick digits enclosed around the fourth pebble he’d found by the Y/L/N siblings’ tree house, when the girl divides her baby pink curtains. Ignited is the pulse in his chest, the mere sight of her bathed in her bedroom’s warm lighting sending his heart into a flurry of rampant thumps. Y/N appraises him for a beat and then lifts her windowpane.

“What is your childhood trauma, Archibald Andrews? Do we know?” Archie isn’t foolish enough to be disheartened by the slice of her tongue. He’s witnessed the uncoming and, later, redoing of the girl too many times to shy away from her at her most vulnerable. And it’s sweet, he thinks, in their own sort of way. Everyone gets Y/N, the River Vixen or Y/N, the Femme Fatale, but he gets the Y/N that sheds her falsified smile and overzealous antics, and just is. She’s so busy compelling her peers to forget she was one wedding ring away from being a widow that she rarely is.

The material of his button-down stretches across his shoulders in a boyish shrug. “Too many 80s movies with my dad, I think.”

“Evidently,” she remarks, tucking her chin into her soft open palm. “I find it hard to believe you couldn’t find a date tonight.”

Truthfully, he hadn’t been searching for one. “Didn’t want one,” he shouts. “I wanna spend tonight with my best friend.”

Y/N dips her head, ponytail sliding against her right cheek. “That’s sweet, but I’m not gonna be a good time.”

“Shit, I always have a good time when you’re around.”

“It’s gonna take me hours to put on my makeup, get dressed, find the right shoes.”

“Then don’t.”

“You really should be getting to second base with a girl right now, Archiekins.”

“You’re the only girl I want.” Shock blesses the apathetic hue of her eyes. Her lips part, and her brows elevate, and she just looks at him, like she’s waiting for the punchline. Archie delivers: “To be with. Tonight. You’re my best friend and you, you need someone. You need me.”

Her stiff posture alleviates. He can breathe again. “Meet me by the front door.”

(The second crack.)

Riverdale's—the town with pep!—greatest woe is the girl they’ve swallowed under passing vehicles and manicured lawns and streets that turn desolate after midnight, under colonial homes and suburban families with 2.5 kids and a golden retriever. She’s destined for events better than graduating high school, and enrolling in the next town over’s community college, and returning to begin the mundane life of the previous generation’s. So if anyone breaks out of this town, it’s going to be Y/N. While he has her, though, Archie’s just gonna count his mini blessings.

Their mode of transportation to Pop’s is Mr. Andrews’ junky jalopy. A month and a half of strenuous labor (chores), busting his ass at construction sites, and maintaining a high B average was a fair exchange for the chance to drive Y/N around for once. It isn’t that Archie’s uncomfortable or emasculated by the girl in the passenger seat being a year older than him—believe you him, it takes a lot more to even bruise his ego—but he wants today to be special. It’s his last opportunity to bury her memories of Jason with his body.

“What are you thinkin’ about over there?” the sophomore inquires, shifting his gaze from the road for a well-deserved glimpse.

She segues into a different topic. “This your song?”

Pride clutches the boy’s sharp features. She can recognize his voice. “Yeah. You like it?”

Y/N hums, a discernible tune from his guitar. “You’re good with words.”

“Thank you. What are you thinkin’ about?”

She says it, and he slams down on the breaks. Their automobile lurches forward; his seatbelt thrusts him back into the torn pleather seat; Y/N nearly slips out of her own.

(“I don’t think Jason loved me.”)

Archie Andrews has never heard a bigger load of bullshit in his life.

He wishes he had—really, he does. How easy it would be if Jason hadn’t loved Y/N, if she’d been another name scrawled in their 'fuckboy handbook,’ as Veronica labelled it, if he’d hit it and quit it and left her. This agonizing uphill battle that seemingly never plateaus wouldn’t exist. Y/N would be his girl, and he’d be her guy, and who’s Jason Blossom? His existence would be like grains of sand slipping through the interstices of their fingers. He wouldn’t have to see her die every fucking day; Cause of Death: Grief. Y/N is so overraught with grief some days that God, does he wish Cheryl’d been an only child.

Of course Jason Blossom loved her. Jason Blossom had to love her. Because nothing is ever delivered to him with a golden spoon in its mouth.

Because she is Y/N Y/L/N, and it is utterly impossible to not be bewitched by her.

“And you said you passed your driver’s test?” she asks, her shade-too-innocent tone delineating a joke. Archie’s lost his appetite for jokes.

“Is that what you’re spending your Valentine’s Day thinking about? Y/N, he loved you. If there’s an afterlife, he still loves you. And maybe it hadn’t started out that way, but that’s the way it is now. Look, th-there’s a lot of stuff being dug up about Jason, and he isn’t who any of us thought he was, but what we can’t dig up—what no one can dig up—is that he didn’t love you. You know this.”

Curious gaze scans his profile, absorbing the thin line of his lips, the skin between his brows marred with creases, the eyelashes that dust the apples of his cheeks with every blink.

“Do you love me?”

Archie’s spine straightens, head tilting to meet her wide optics. This is the shot he’s been waiting for—"you know the answer to that, too"—but he decides against taking it. It isn’t a question of when he’s ready to tell her just how much he adores her, it’s a question of when is she? And she isn’t ready, not quite yet.

He’ll wait.

He was willing to wait 'til he was 18 to make his relationship with Jennifer public.

He can wait for Y/N.

“You’re good with words, Archibald Andrews. Very good.” Her lips curve into a glossed crescent, the most honest smile he’s ever spotted on her delicate countenance. “And you’re my favorite person.”

Cloud 9 looks like the effervescent pull of his lips. “You’re my best friend.”

So, it goes like this:

“Thanks for the best V-Day ever, Archiekins. I mean it.”

“Of course, anything for you.”

“And thanks for paying for all the fries I ate.”

“I, uh, I didn’t pay? I thought you did.”

“I left my wallet in my car, I thought you did.”

“Well, it looks like we don’t pay for food anymore.”

Curls fall down Y/N’s backside like rivulets as she tips her head and laughs. She then shifts her weight to the tips of her beaten-down converse, puckers an already full pout, and misses his mouth just centimeters to the left, designating a kiss at a pink corner.

And Archie loves her, he really does.

[lost-in-the-stars-nitw]

Part 3 of Lost in the Stars!

Jon explores possum springs! Finds a creepy basement full of teenagers and gets asked a lot of questions! Action! Comedy! OTHER EXPLETIVES! 

A fan fiction that takes place in possum springs nearly a year after the events of Night in the woods. Mostly original characters comprise the cast. Join the band members of Lost in the Stars as they cope with moving on in life and adjusting to a new place after years of ruff and tumble touring. While their pasts and the supernatural are quickly catching up to the unprepared group. Hope you guys like this. I’m putting a lot of effort into it.

‘ “YOU’RE NOT LOST. YOU’RE HERE!” Yeaaaaah. Sure.’ Jon slouched, paws tucked deeply into the pockets of his jacket. His Cigarette hanging limply from his clenched teeth as he strolled down the sidewalk of the sub-prime suburb. The air bit with the chill of the ghost of rain from the previous night. Signs of the storm were scattered here and there, the water trickling in the gutter as it rushed to the storm drains, the bright dew the sparkled in the grass and leaves of trees.  There were rows of neat somewhat uniform houses, nearly identical to the one he had just walked out of moments earlier, they extended a short distance as maple melded into main street. The taller buildings loomed over the small houses in the distance. However, they were both overshadowed by the corpse of some factory off to the north. Jon had heard this place was just like Moreano Valley, an old burnt out mining town, so it only raised questions as to what the dilapidated factory had originally been for. On all sides beyond, a sea of maples, oaks, and ever greens flowed as far as the eye could see. In the early sunrise the light peeked over the foliage of this green and brown ocean.

“Borowski.” Jon read the name of the mailbox as he passed by. He threw a quick glance to the home associated to it. A two story with vinyl sidings painted a light tan. A smattering of red shingles covered the home’s roof and eaves. And a green neatly trimmed lawn fresh with dew. ‘Just like ours... and every other house on maple.’ A car and it’s driver quietly rolled down the street next to him and off to god knows where, to do god knows what.

“Twigmeyer.” Mailbox number two. A couple of squirrels ran across the street and into the bushes by a nearby house. A crow probably 30 or so coughed as he sipped coffee on his porch across the street.

“Huh no name.” Jon paused at this one. It was the last of the short suburban sprawl and the beginning of the actual town. A set of large apartment buildings loomed in the distance. He watched as a gator, probably in his 40’s, walked out of the building closest to him and into a car, before speeding off. ‘Yes, the rat race.’ Jon continued his walk toward where ever it was he was wandering to. ‘And I am forced to join in, out of a desire to see and not starve to death.’

The taller buildings of Towne Centre, as the sign by the locked-up trolley tunnel put it, continued all the way down main street. Coating everything in a brownish gold color. ‘Rust, it’s a rusty old place.’ A gentle breeze wafted down the street as Jon passed, rustling the leaves causing a murmur of sound to echo down Maple Street.

“Hey, the real estate office. Found you.” Jon muttered to himself as he gazed up at the concrete steps leading to the door. “I’ll be back for you later, first I’m going to visit your neighbor.” Jon turned toward the neighboring building, a much smaller two-story brick structure with a large window out front. Stenciling in the window read: “OL PICKAXE. GET READY FOR SPRING WITH A SPECIAL ON RAT POISION!” Jon squinted at the bricks above the window noticing the faded text painted onto the building.

“Kerb-Kret-Kremman. Kremman’s market house. Huh.” Jon shrugged as he looked for any indication of when the store would be open, aside from the “sorry we’re closed sign.”. ‘Well I still need to find that Food Donkey anyway, I can come back later.”

Jon passed by more of the town kicking up dust and leaves on his way through, forcing them to float slowly to the ground in a dance only nature could see the pattern to; A war monument crumbling and fading, more apartments, an IRS office, a telemarketing center.

“No fucking way.” Jon said, truly astonished as he tossed the butt of his 45 to the ground before stamping it out. “A damn Video Outpost? Here? How does this place even survive with Netfilms… you know... existing?” He pressed his face to the glass and peered into the darkness of the store. Shockingly enough the store actually contained shelves upon shelves of different movies in bright dvd cases. He stepped back from the window “Whoa, it's like an alternate universe. Where watching movies still sucks.”

The bright neon glow of something horribly familiar caught the corner of his eye, as he turned away from his latest discovery. ‘Oh god. Even here.’ Jon headed toward what he was certain was a Snack Falcon only to be greeted by the sight of exactly what he was expecting. ‘Damn these things are everywhere. Ugh, and the fucking music… If I wasn’t so hungry I’d burn this place to the ground.’ Jon pushed open the bright blue door and stepped into what had to be the 50,000th Snack Falcon he had ever been in. The all too familiar sight of bright colorful packaging and snacks lining shelves, and drinks lining refrigerated units met his cold gaze. The familiar tune brightly jingled from speakers recessed into the drop ceiling. ‘When you are touring these places are a god send… but when it’s the only place you can afford to buy food from these things become hell.’   A bored looking 20 something, pale green, gator sat leaning back in a chair behind the counter, smoking and staring down Jon as he entered. The gator’s green bomber jacket rustling from the breeze that rolled in with Jon. The cat browsed the aisles looking for one thing in particular to fill the pit that had been growing in his stomach. ‘It’s the only thing worth buying in one of these places.’ When he finally found it, he picked up the plastic wrapped turkey-and-cheese sub sandwich from the cold shelf and plopped it on the counter.

“You ain’t from here are you?” The gator looked up as he swiped the sandwich across the scanner.  The scanner let out a chirp as the sandwich went by. “You visiting, or are you new in town?”

“New in town... Hey, can I get a pack of Camels?” Jon replied in tandem preemptively removing his wallet and presenting his Pennsylvania driver’s license and blue Vista Debit card. “45-s, red label.”

“Figured as much,” The gator ducked under the counter for a moment before emerging with the package. “You don’t look like you’re from Possum Springs… Whoa, your eyes.” He stopped swiping the vista card a moment, inspecting Jon’s face. Upon the closer positioning of the young man Jon could make out several things. ‘Ugh, nothing like the smell of cheap beer, cigarettes and b.o.’ He glanced down at the dark green bomber jacket it was filthy, and had a small bright blue pin on the right breast pocket reading: “Steve”.

“Heterochromia.” Jon responded, picking up the sandwich and cigarettes, after retrieving his card and ID.

“Whoa, calm down I didn’t even say anything-“ Steve’s red pupils dilated in concern.

“No not heterochampian. Heterochromia, it means I have two different colored eyes.” Jon interjected rolling his green and blue eyes in tandem. Steve visibly relaxed at the statement. “You worried about harassment charges Steve?” Jon raised a single brow questioningly.

“I may have lost sort of, lost my last job over harassment. Apparently, calling a gay man ‘lady’ is just earth shatteringly offensive.” Steve stared off into the distance, seemingly scowling at the wall behind Jon as if the drywall had somehow slandered him.

“Well it could be to the wrong person.” Jon replied.

“I didn’t mean nothing by it. Really. You know I knew a guy with Heterochromia once.”

“Oh really?” Jon said taking a step back from the counter.

“Yeah back in highschool. Heartly. He was a cat too, is that like a thing with cats?”

“It can be. It usually happens to mutts and mixed breeds. I’m a mixed breed.”

“Here we call them trash mammals.” Steve chuckled.

“Well I’ll keep that in mind.” Jon said curtly, frowning as he pushed his way out the door. ‘Bigotry. But I suppose it's out of ignorance and possibly in “good fun”… as if that makes it any better.’

‘I’m sure the others will manage to find some breakfast if they get up before I’m back.’ Jon had torn open the wrapper and was idly munching away on the dry bread and cold lunch meat as he strolled down the Main street taking, in his new home. ‘We could always get tacos for breakfast. That place said it opens at 9:00, which seems pretty early for tacos…. Who eats tacos at 9:00 in the morning?!’ Jon paused mid-step ‘Said the man who ordered fried chicken for 5 people at 2:00 A.M.’ Jon gave a small smile at the thought as he strode past a large abandoned building of some sort. He almost swore he could here music coming down from the roof, but he wasn’t sure.

‘Oh.’ Jon stopped in front what appeared to be and old passenger rail car, retro fitted into a dinner. It displayed in large neon lit letters CLIC CLAK DINER. Jon felt his ears fall flat against his head. ‘…’  

‘At least it doesn’t say Rosha’s on the sign... And people won’t constantly be praising how great Shannon Malloney’s cooking was... or how nice her family was... Or how sorry they are for your loss Lil Jonny…’ For a moment the image of the dinner blurred in Jon’s eyes, before blinking cleared it away. ‘Miss you.’

Jon gazed down the street to see a massive brown bricked building in the distance, surrounded by a field of black pavement dotted with streetlamps all surrounded by a chain-link fence. He let his feet carry him toward the new place with renewed vigor, sure that it was where he wanted to be.

‘THE FUCK?’ The vigor had been short lived, after a brief jog the full details became clear to him. Yes, indeed this was a Food Donkey, a closed Food Donkey, seemingly, for quite some time. The lettering above the above the door was tattered and falling apart, it read “Foo Dony” assuming you left out the completely missing letters.  The windows lining the outside of the store were mostly intact and those that weren’t were boarded up with plywood. ‘That realtor lied to me!’ Jon leaned against a plywood board covering the open space where glass once occupied and gazed out at the empty parking lot. Small puddles of water dotted its surface where weeds and grass hadn’t managed to cut through the cracks and crevices of the asphalt. The chain-link fence rattled softly in the breeze. Jon followed the length of the fence with his eyes all the way around the parking lot, up and down some stairs, until... A gap. Someone had cut a large hole in the barrier separating the woods beyond from the small town. Jon frowned as he felt a chill run down his spine, as if someone had slid an ice cube down his shirt. He felt the fur on his neck prickle. ‘Really? It’s a hole in a fence man quit freaking out. What are we afraid of fence-‘ Jon’s thought was cut short as a creak and moan was followed by the world flipping over and a crash and the sound of splintering wood.

“Urrgh…” Jon arose, standing in a small cloud of dust and a pile of splinters that was previously a sheet of plywood. He had fallen into the derelict store. ‘Its like Nukes Fallen in here, jeeze.’ The grocery store had certainly seen better days. The large store was painted in a dull grey from what little light filtered through the boarded windows. All throughout, tall metal shelves that had one held stockpiles of food sat in a jumbled mess, slowly rusting as time took its toll. Several tiles from the false drop ceiling and light fixtures had fallen to the linoleum tiled floor revealing the looming darkness of the building’s true metal ceiling above, as well as the complicated webbing of wiring and pipes that lay nestled there. The floor tiles too had not escaped unscathed, the black and white checkerboard pattern was broken in several places by large cracks or even missing tiles creating a new grey space in the pattern, from the concrete below. The floor was littered with dirt, discarded food wrappers, posters, even childrens drawings and the  broken glass the crunched under his boot  as Jon stepped further into the building. ‘Creepy yet this demands explorati-‘

A muffled series of sounds emanated from somewhere within the building, a constant rhythm, several high-pitched notes. Jon’s ears flicked as he tried to discern what exactly the sound was. Out of instinct Jon reached into his bag and tied the black spotted bandana from within around his head, obscuring the bottom half of his face. He took two white and red spotted rags from a side pouch and tied them around his knuckles before taking a look around and spotting an old light fixture. ‘It’ll do if I need to run.’ Jon grasped and yanked the long fluorescent light fixture out of the fallen socket, It was a milky white, and nearly as long as he was tall. He took a firm grip on it on one end of the bulb, wielding it like a bat. ‘One good swing and this thing’ll shatter into a cloud of glass and toxic fumes. Well yeah one good swing and that’ll be it.’ He gave the makeshift weapon a few swings. ‘Well I could just leave through the hole that I made… maybe this whole situation is a bit dramatic... This isn’t Mareno Valley, this probably isn’t a gang spot or a drug den or something. It's probably just an old radio or something.’ Jon wandered around the abandoned Food Donkey ears twitching as he attempted to discern the location of the sound. The muffled sounds slowly began to clear as he approached a metal door at the far end of the shop, drumline, lead electric, bass. Jon lowered the bulb to one side holding onto it with a single paw. ‘What is that? Sounds punk-pop-ish… My Final Birthday? Salaman’s Last stand?’ Jon reached out and gave the door a gentle nudge, and it swung forward surprisingly smooth hinges. The music flowed from the dark stairway beyond much clearer than before, ‘ITS WITCH DAGGER! GATES TO THE NIGHT! Well mystery solved…’ Jon gazed down the stairs into the darkness, a set of emergency flood lights lit the bottom of the three story stairway. ‘So…… do I walk down the creepy stairs into the basement of an abandoned Food Donkey by myself without telling anyone that I’m here?’

‘Yes, yes I do.’ Jon raised the light bulb with two hands and went forward.

Jon stepped as lightly as he could down the stairs but regardless his steps echoed through the darkness, but the music nearly overshadowed his steps. It was slow going, the metal stairs were coated in water and incredibly slick, Jon nearly lost his balance twice on the way down. The lack of light was no help either. After two more flights of stairs the music was nearly blaring as Jon walked off the last step and faced the illuminated hallway. In the middle of the hallway, a large red pentagram was painted on the wall and around it sat four teenage girls, a variety of cans and food wrappers along with a small radio. Three of the teens turned and looked down the hallway at him at the same time. They all dressed like the inside of a URevolution. The fourth one stood slightly afterward and was the first to speak.

“Uhh hi.” Fourth girl squeaked, she was a mouse, maybe 16, 17 years old? Grey hair cut to the same short length as her grey fur. She stood across the hall from the other three girls leaning against the wall. She had a red hoodie covering a Blood Carnage 3 t-shirt and denim jeans.

“Uh hey. Um... what exactly are you teens up to?” Jon questioned letting the bulb rest gently at his side.

“Well it seems…” The girl closest to Jon, a ferret dressed in dressed in all black said with green fur ringing her eyes which were obscured with thick framed glasses.

“We could also…” The second girl an orange furred cat with an all-seeing eye shirt chimed in.

“Ask you the same thing.” The third girl, a mint colored rabbit with shoulder length dark green hair and some sort of jeweled necklace, finished.

“Well I heard noise and decided to investigate… Then I found four teenagers worshiping the descended ones.” Jon raised an eyebrow and waved a paw in their general direction. “Now you.”

“Well it's fun to hang out in dark creepy places.” The mouse piped up. Tilting her head slightly, she added. “Are you gonna try and murder us with a light bulb? I have to admit I’ve never thought of that before.”

“Well no that’s not the plan.” Jon shrugged non committedly, before he leaned the bulb against the wall to his right and took a few steps closer.

“Then…”

“what is…”

“the plan?”

“Wellll… since I really don’t want to climb back up these stairs yet I was thinking about just staying here a second.” Jon adjusted the stained strips of fabric on his paws. ‘Well imagine that teenagers that like to hang out in abandoned basements have a habit of making shit awkward as fuck. Some weird teens indeed.’ “Is that ok?”

“You aren’t going to tell the cops we are here right?” The mouse scanned Jon up and down, frowning as if he was an unpleasant dog. “Also mind telling us who exactly you are?”

“My name is Jonathan Malloney, I’m new around and I thought I’d do a bit of exploration.” Jon deftly removed the bandana and placed it back in his satchel as he stepped further down the hallway toward the group. “And to answer your question, No. I’m no Narc, unless you are like… murdering people down here.” This made the teens smirk and shake their heads, acknowledging the unsettling nature of the situation. He sat down cross legged in front of them, the mouse followed suit and shortly after so did the three others.

“You bought that house on Maple street the one Mr. Penderson used to live in.” The cat chimed in looking inquisitively at Jon. ‘I guess the whole speaking in three’s thing is just for show.’

“Yyyup. How do you know that though?” Jon raised a brow, opening and closing a paw around his cloth guard.

“My Mom works at the Real Estate office, and I work for my Mom, and so I saw your name on all sorts of paperwork lately.”  There was an awkward silence for a few beats, as the cat replied. At least the mouse wasn’t sneering at him anymore. The rabbit on the other hand seem absolutely fixated on the grimy concrete floor she was studying so intently.

“So… you know my name and where I live, there seems to be a major deficit of information here. Can I at least get some names?” Jon glanced at each of them.

“My name is Lori. Lori Meyers.” The mouse extended a paw, and Jon shook it in response. She somewhat smiled before leaning back against the wall casting monotonous glares at the ceiling.

“Like the horror movie dude. Mitchel Meyers.” Jon stated.

“Ehh, he’s alright. I prefer Lesley Vermon, he was a way more interesting slasher.” Lori said turning to face him again seeming slightly more vibrant suddenly.

“Oh yeah, isn’t that the one where he like calls in a camera crew to like document him being a serial killer? I think it was also like Zeld Curbstaine’s last movie, right?” Jon strained to remember the 2006 film from one of TJ’s movie nights. Jon noticed the sudden looks of panic and annoyance on the other girls faces. Lori’s face on the hand had lit up with a faint smile.

“My name is Britt Canera!” The ferret suddenly blurted out, Lori’s small smile faded quickly to a look of defeat.

“Karla Manson.” The cat chirped still casting her suspicious glances in Jon’s direction.

“Pam.” The rabbit said quietly hardly looking up from the ground. She spun the small crystal on her necklace around idly. ‘Oh boy the pattern again.’

“So why’d you come here Jonathan?” Lori questioned as traced what looked like a ghost in the dirt on the floor.

“To Possum Springs, or to the Food Donkey? Also, you can just call me Jon if you like.” Jon rebutted as he scratched the back of his head.

“Both, Jon.”

“My band and I moved here so we could, like settle down, quit living in a van, be a bit safer, a lot of reasons really. Also I came to the Food Donkey in search of food and lightbulbs.” Jon replied, suddenly feeling very foolish.

“Well it looks like you found one of those things.” Karla gave a small smile motioning to the light bulb resting at the end of the hall.

“So I have.” Jon remarked, glancing back at the light he had brought with him. “But I was looking for a few more than that, preferably ones that actually worked.”

“If you were looking for food, you’d probably have a better time at the Ham Panther, it’s like actually open and stuff. Its out on the highway.”

“Oh well thanks for the info.” Jon started to push himself up to onto his feet dusting off his jeans. “Well I think it's probably about time for me to head off.”

“Ditto.” Lori stated and stood as well.

“Wait neither of you answered the questions three!” Britt blurted out, darting up and down the hall to block the way back to the staircase.

“Questions three?” Jon tilted his head in confusion, a pang of annoyance piercing his skull. ‘What the hell?’

“Yes questions three, answer the questions three and thee shal- ugh screw it. Just answer our 3 questions and you are free to go.” Pam sighed out, waving a paw, Jon had nearly forgotten she was there.

“Alright fine I’ll answer your dumb questions.” *huff* Lori replied taking a raspy breath.

“I guess I’ll play along.” Jon replied after all eyes in the grey hall turned to him. He crossed his arms and shifted his weight to one leg.

“First question: Have you ever done the deed?” Britt questioned the two of them.

“No.” Lori replied without skipping a beat, immediately crossing her arms, her expression scrunching up into one of annoyance and frustration.

‘AAAAnnnd we are back to awkward as fuck, yay.’ “Yes. Once, when I was 19. I was really drunk at a party and the next day I woke up next to some dude.” Jon quickly spat out, ears pressed flat against his head in annoyance. “These aren’t exactly very satanic or mystical or whatever aesthetic you all are going for is.”

“A dude huh? Well that isn’t the point. Next question: What’s the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you?” Karla questioned, shifting her weight from foot to foot uncomfortably.

Jon and Lori met each other’s glances awkwardly, silently egging on the other to speak up first before Jon frowned, conceedeing in their silent contest of will.  

“The first time my band played on a stage.” Jon stated abruptly, feeling a wash of warmth creep into his face. He was lucky to have that dark brown fur now, lest he would be beat red. He scratched at the back of his neck feeling hot and uncomfortable suddenly.

“Well what happened?” Karla goaded, raising and eyebrow in curiosity.

“Does that count as the third question?” Jon said in a falsetto, secretly hoping it did. As he reached for a new cigarette.

“No it doesn’t” Karla smirked knowingly and tilted her head waiting for his response.

“I figured as much.” Jon sighed, hanging his head down and pinched the bridge of his nose as he continued. “It was 2008 I was like… 14? Yeah. 14 years old. It was the first time Lost in the Stars, thats the name of the band I was talking about, was doing anything live and we had only been practicing for like 10 months. So we were pretty shit, to say the least.” Jon lit the cigarette and inhaled before continuing waving his free paw nonchalantly. “ It was the high school talent show, which was taking place during school hours and was mandatory to go see. We had all let Sid, our bassist at the time, talk us into it. Saying that we needed to do something live eventually. We were all really nervous leading up to the day of the show. So we decided it would be a great idea to go steal some booze and drink it before the show, for good luck or some stupid shit. Danny and I ended up sneaking into his uncle’s liquor store after hours and stealing whatever it was we could find. Danny chickened out at the last minute and sent me in and I ended up with a bottle of everclear.”

“Oh god. I take that it didn’t end well?” Karla asked, wincing slightly. ‘Must know what it is.’

“Yeah no it didn’t. Everclear is like 90% alcohol. But we didn’t know that and we all finished the whole bottle. I can’t recall the whole story myself because I blacked out. However, I have been told that we drunkenly fucked around on stage telling everyone they could eat my ass and fuck off, before I eventually threw up and slipped and fell in it, in front of the entire school and half the town. We were rushed off stage and given a month-long suspension for consumption of alcohol. After which our little ragtag group was renamed Lost in the Bottle.”  Jon punctuated his story with a cloud of smoke and a sigh.

A silence hung in the small hallway, the lack of movement only served to prolong the sense of regret quickly growing in the pit of Jon’s stomach.

“Well that sounds like it sucked.” Lori shot Jon a sympathetic look between a few quiet shaky breaths. ‘She must have like asthma or something.’

“Ok Lori, now its your turn.” Karla stated after a few seconds of silence had hung in the air.

“W-well I *huff* my most *huff*” Lori stammered between rushed breathing, as the other teens stared at her.  ‘Jeeze she is like hyperventilating like a lot…’

“Hey Lori… are you ok? You need to like sit down or something?” Jon frowned as the mouse nodded and lowered herself to the floor. He looked over at Britt with a raised brow. She shrugged and shook her head, before Jon asked. “What’s the last question?”

“What is your ideal mate?” She said after a beat the only sound in the hall was the panicked breathing of Lori and Karla quietly trying to get her to calm down.

“These questions are waaay more personal than I was expecting them to be.” Jon took another drag, staring at Britt with half-lidded eyes. She shrugged in response.  He stood and contemplated for a moment before responding. “They would need to be like... strong.”

“Strong?” Britt frowned, clearly this wasn’t a response she had gotten before.

“Yeah, strong…. Someone who is like there for you. Someone who you can rely on to be there when no one else is.” Jon shoved his paws into the pockets of his  jacket. “Someone to catch you when you fall to pieces and the world seems like it’s ending. Someone who has the strength, to hold you up when you can’t stand on your own anymore, that when everything you’ve ever known or cared about is gone they will still be there.” The hallway was quiet once again minus the radio still playing more punk music.

“Thats like… really real man.” Pam spoke up, looking up from the floor for the first time since Jon had walked down the stairs. “Not like superficial stuff.”

“When you get olde- geeze apparently i’m old enough to say that- When you get older things like looks tend to matter a lot less.” Jon flicked his ears and shifted uncomfortably. “They say it's the big things that teach you that.”

“Big things?” Pam questioned.

“You know like losing people or like having a kid I guess. A lot of big things in life are really fucked up but I’ve heard some of them are good.” Jon shrugged

“What's something fucked up that’s happened to you?” Lori asked, getting up off the floor, seemingly recovered from her fit of hyperventilation.

“Well that seems like four questions to me. I thought it was only three.” Jon smirked raising an eyebrow.

“Well 3 creepy girls ask you questions in a basement. I’m a fourth creepy girl so now its four questions.” Lori responded matter of factly.

“Fair enough.” Jon threw his cigarette to the ground and stamped it out. ‘So which one should it be? Mom? The store? Sid? …’ Jon stayed quiet a moment, blinking repeatedly before leaning against the wall opposite of Lori and taking a deep breath.

  “I saw my best friend get shot.”

 The room fell completely silent, Pam had even shut off the radio. The air in the hall felt thick and heavy with a weary anticipation and a stark gravity. Jon took a shaky breath.

“Three years ago our band had been performing in a bar at Bright Harbor. It seemed to have gone well, but this dude in the crowd. He had been booing and jeering the entire time. He was the only one, he just seemed drunk or something so we ignored him. We did our set and got paid by the owner of the bar, just like any other day. We were packing our stuff back into the van in an alley behind the building  when the dude walked down the alley. It started off slow enough. He complained about the show and waved his arms, we were sure he was high or something. He started screaming and yelling at us suddenly. He was shouting about how we were going to burn with the descended and how ‘You faggots will die unsaved like the dirty ferals you are.’” Jon froze a moment, glancing at the teens that had their full focus on him. He stared at the ceiling clenching his fists in his jacket pockets but keeping a blank expression. The fabric straps around his paws digging into his flesh slightly from the force. “ My friend Sid, we had known each other since we were kids. He told the dude he was going to call the cops if he didn’t back off. I was standing right next to Sid when it happened.”

“ BAM. Gone. Dead. Someone I knew my entire life… gone just like that.”

“But why though? What happened?” One of the girls prodded, He wasn’t sure which. Jon felt like he was miles away from any kind of basement at this point.

“He was the cousin of the bar’s owner. He was also an avid anti-LGBTQ right group member. He had done LSD and fucking lost it. After he shot sid he turned the gun on us and we jumped him, beat the ever loving shit out of him. I clawed his face open. TJ and Dan had to pull me off of him. We called the police and dealt with legal crap for about ten months. The dude lived and got 40 years in jail and rehabilitation... He got to live while Sid died. If that isn’t fucked up… then I don’t know what is.”

Jon stared down at the small scrap of a candy wrapper on the floor between his feet, for a moment he was completely alone with his thoughts. Mind racing.

“Is all of that true?” Lori asked quietly, snapping Jon out of his stupor.

“Well that's the funny thing about talking to a stranger, you have no real idea if they are telling the truth or lying to your face. Now do you?” Jon pushed himself off the wall and walked past Britt who moved aside. Jon picked up the fluorescent light and turned around to look at the group before heading up the stairs. “Well thanks for the… conversation.” Lori meet his gaze before saying:

“Hey Jon, welcome to Possum Springs.”

[butterflywitchart]

ELECTRIC FAIRY TREE - This Fairy Tree sits on a little rise in the half-wild back acres next to a suburban neighborhood. Some lot holder held out when the developer came, and refused to sell, but they never did anything with the land - which their ancestors had logged out many years previous.  No one knew who owned the back acres, but the kids in the neighborhood used it like a community park. Since it was mostly short, young, 2nd growth trees, and blackberry bushes, parents didn’t mind - except kids were warned away from going to the boarded up old barn left by the original settlers. One smart old wife had started a rumor it was haunted, and the old wife’s tale kept the children from going any where near the Haunted Barn. But there really was magic in the woods. The Fairy Tree was too young and small to be logged when the Settlers had cut the old growth forest, but now it was the largest tree in the woods. It was so beautiful, and strong, yet with delicate scented leaves. The tree almost begged to be climbed, and once you got nestled in it’s branches, above the lil scrub second growth forest, you felt like you were in a fairy land. 

The kids in the neighborhood use the Fairy Tree as home base, the place they came when “olly olly oxenfree” is called, or where someone hid their face and counted for Hide and Seek. But every so often, in the dead of night, when everyone in suburbia is tucked into bed, and no one is roaming the streets, strange lights can be seen by insomniac children coming from the back acres. Because The Haunted Barn was in the same direction as The Fairy Tree, the poor sleepy heads assumed the lights came from the Haunted Barn, making the old wife’s tale even scarier. Adults who saw the lights made up ridiculous stories to explain them, like they were swamp gas, or teens lighting fire works, or they assumed they were still dreaming. 

The Fairy Tree was also home base for the fairies in the neighborhood, where they went to gather, to meet, to talk, to sing, dance, play, and feast. Where they came to discuss important fairy things, like human secrets they’ve heard whispered in hushed tones. The fairies celebrate Nature, and Mother Earth at the Fairy Tree, throwing parties that light the sky. Their rituals follow the Wheel of the Year, and the humans in the neighborhood actually follow this Wheel too, without knowing it. Halloween, Xmas, and Easter, are very close to Fairy Holidays. Actually, on the exact same day we celebrate Halloween the Fairies celebrate All Hallow’s Eve. In the middle of Autumn the world is very dark, and the nights for the rest of the Year will only grow darker and longer until Winter. So, even tho the tree is dark, the party the fairies throw lights up the sky, and the Fairy Tree glows with electric fairy magic.  

I’ve made several versions of the Electric Fairy tree, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Since it’s Halloween, it seemed appropriate it would be my first post on my tumblr.