#and paulie. well. i want him so bad

[savelatin]

warmups with side characters i really liked

[zillychu]

designs for a zine piece! enjoy some background story my illustration never needed under the read more (fair warning I did NOT edit this at all):

newbie mage apprentices Sam and Tucker who became friends bc they're kinda… the ones at the bottom of their class and struggle the most, for different reasons. they become besties over time and practice together!

except one night, something goes terribly wrong. they spent the last few nights preparing for a project, a bigger spell that needs an intricate circle with precise measurements to work. but when they try to activate it, well… 

oops. they summoned a demon.

which is, for one, extremely illegal. only certified demonologists are allowed to summon demons because they're so dangerous. anything less than a perfect binding circle and thoroughly researched info on the demon, including their true name, is even remotely safe.

but, weirdly enough… the demon seems just as surprised as they are. as Sam and Tuck frantically try to figure out how to dispel the demon, they realize–oh god, did their circle actually sufficiently bind the demon? it can't leave. they watch the demon tentatively poke it's claws into the air around the boundary, and watch it fizzle, retreating back with a strained hiss.

okay. okay, they can do this. without death looming over their heads, they can figure out how to send the demon back. it's cool, it's fine. except while they leaf through their books, they notice the demon watching them. it looks kind of… curious. timid. interested in what they're doing. it catches them noticing his staring, and it. apologizes? it seems flustered?

weird, okay. they keep looking, and the demon starts talking. at first, little comments to itself. mumbles that soon get just loud enough to hear. little “ooh, is that a telescope?" and “is that what fire looks like up here?" and “that must be for making charcoal…”

Sam is the one brave enough to be like "are all demons as chatty as you??” and the demon gets flustered again, apologizing. says he's just never been topside before, he's only read about humans in tomes. oh wow is that the moon outside? it really IS blue up here! is it always blue? what are you doing up? I thought humans slept at night?

Sam and Tuck can't help getting pulled in with the demon's genuine curiosity. they're wary though, since they know demons can be clever, conniving. there's a number of ways a demon can get the upper hand on a summoner who has them bound. if he gets their full names, gets them to smudge and break the circle… there could also be ways they aren't aware of. so they consider their words carefully, but engage in some chatter while they research.

it's almost morning by the time they find a way to send the demon back–but as they prepare the spell, the demon says WAIT WAIT and they stop, uncertain. the demon starts stammering out how this is weird but like… he really had fun tonight. he doesn't get to just hang out much, especially with anyone his age.

Tuck is like “how do you know our ages??" and the demon points out "oh, you said something about Paulie’s 18th birthday party, so I thought…” and they're both like oh shit we didn't even notice we did that?

“Paulina" Sam corrects in her dumbfounded stupor. 

“Right, Paulina!" the demon snaps his fingers, but quickly loses his confidence when Sam and Tuck continue to stare at him like they're not sure what's going on. he coughs and fidgets and says “um, well, I was just wondering, I guess… if you wanted to summon me another time, I wouldn't mind. you see those circles there? yeah, that's what summoned me. the candles helped too I think. oh, it doesn't need all those runes though, probably don't want to redraw all those.”

Sam and Tuck are practically gawking, but… for some reason, this demon looks so sincere. so much like them, awkward and lonely and genuinely curious.

it's a bad idea. a terrible one, even. the demon probably noticed they're newbies and not demonologists. it could be hoping they make an error in their circle, or mess up a candle, or reveal their names on accident. 

But, well. They're stupid. they're also eager for anything to help them in school, and too empathetic for their own good. they send the demon off with a yeah, no. they then think about it for a week, and end up summoning the demon against their better judgment.

the demon is shocked and so happy, they can't help but be a little endeared. they lay down some ground rules, take care to be as safe as possible… and soon, this demon that introduces himself as “Phantom" becomes a nightly visitor. they talk about their worlds, find out they share a lot of common interests, and help each other in their studies. which, hello, demons also study? bro are you serious??

they play games, laugh till their ribs hurt, and open up to each other on a far deeper level than anyone expected. over time, Phantom becomes a true friend.

Sam and Tuck quietly begin to lament the fact Phantom is stuck in that damn circle. they want to take him places, let him see the human world he seems so interested in. they want to paint his stupid claws and noogie him between his dumb horns and hug him.

but it's an astronomical risk. it's legal for a demonologist with a proper permit, but it's still considered a grave taboo to grant access to a demon outside a circle. there's just too much at risk. demons can be dangerous enough to lay waste to entire towns, take multiple teams of military-rank mages to take down.

they wouldn't risk it… if they hadn't snuck into the library’s restricted section and copy a page from a demonologist book that gives them good framework for a contract. they make some edits to it though, giving Phantom at least a little wiggle room to protect himself if need be. and allow him use of transformation magic so he can hide somehow. but they spend weeks making sure they have airtight wording to ensure Phantom can't cause anyone or anything any substantial harm. 

when they finally bring the contract to Phantom, he's stunned. he cries. nothing needs to be said, they all know the gravity of their proposal. even if they ask for proof of Phantom's trust in turn, first. they ask for his full name, so they can bind him. just temporarily. but in that moment, they'll have full control over him. they could instead tell Phantom to serve them, force him to obey their every order. even if it's just for a moment, giving them his full name with the proper circle and incantation, is putting his life in their hands. 

Phantom, with tears still in his eyes, smiles warmly and nods. with only a breath to steel himself, he gives them his full name. Daniel James Fenton.

magic sparks in the circle, and Sam and Tuck finish the incantation. ethereal chains sprout up to wrap around Phantom's arms and legs, which makes him jump–but the unwavering trust in his eyes makes the two humans choke up.

they release the binding. all that's left is to break the containment barrier in the circle, so Phantom can walk free.

“Uh, about that…” Phantom laughs sheepishly… then proceeds to step outside of the circle, merely wincing when the barrier zaps around him.

Sam and Tucker gawk. Phantom scratches his neck. “Y-yeah, so… your barrier circle was already broken that first night. It's, uh… right over there. You missed a spot.”

abject horror overcomes them because this entire time Phantom's been visiting, he could have broken out? EASILY?? THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD.

Tucker falls to his knees, but soon starts to laugh. it's kind of hysterical at first but slowly, he and Sam are genuinely laughing. they're so STUPID, and Phantom is the most un-demonlike demon they've ever HEARD of. Phantom is still flustered, stammering out apologies because he wasn't trying to deceive them or anything! he just didn't want to scare them! without a proper containment circle they technically couldn't send him back either, so he just… went back using his own magic each time they “dispelled" him. 

once they've calmed down, Phantom morphs his body into a human form–which shock Sam and Tuck, because uh, only elite demons are capable of that. they were expecting an animal, or straight up going invisible. Phantom laughs it off, says he just, spent a lot of time practicing bc he's so interested in the human world (not a lie, but). he proceeds to adopt the nickname Danny, and they all have FUN WONDERFUL SHENANIGANS

(and sometime in the near future, when faced with something truly threatening he needs to protect them from, Danny reveals that. well. their contract also had some holes in it. and he's had access to his full demon power this whole time. whoopsie! it's a good thing he genuinely loves them and doesn't want to hurt anyone, or their asses would be SO dead lol)

they're about as normal about his full demon form as you'd expect from me btw:

[loganlermanstanaccount]

Real Pretty

pairing: joel miller x reader

(AO3 mirror) summary: You and Joel are not in a relationship. But Joel gets jealous anyways. 

author's note: Timeline's a little hazy, au where Joel, Ellie and Y/N stay in Jackson and nothing bad happens ever. 

warnings: fluff, Joel's OOC as shit (what's new), filthy filthy smut (you have been warned), 18+ minors DNI

wc: 1.2k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can't stop staring. Oh god, he's pretty. You steal a glance at him with a mouthful of food by the canteen table. He's just woken up, by the looks of it: shirt a little wrinkled and hair all over the place. With a yawn, the base of his denim shirt lifts up to expose his tan belly, right at the v-line, with a dark tuft of hair leading right down to.. 

SLAM! Ellie bangs her tray on the table and clatters into her seat. 

"You look like shit." she says with a toothy grin. 

"And you smell like shit, you little gremlin." You snap, without missing a beat. Woah. Too much, maybe. 

She just laughs, her smile a bit wider, and that glint in her eye. "Oh yeah? Well I heard that somebody had a real good night yesterday." 

You pause to give Ellie a look. A look that says she's too young and too nosy. And, most importantly: what the fuck was she talking about? 

"That guy? Paulie or Peter or what's-his-face? Heard he slept over at the clinic." 

"Huh?" you splutter, almost choking on your food. 

"Kathy's mom saw him walking out of the clinic this morning. Using the backdoor. Everyone's talking about it." she tells you like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ellie, nothing happened. And if it did it would be none of your business."

"Uh-huuh." 

"I'm serious. Nothing. Happened. You should know better than to trust gossip. This kind of thing can be really hurtful and you're lucky I don't-" 

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. Joel definitely doesn't know." 

"Joel doesn't know what?" He walks up and pulls out the chair next to you, plate of food in one hand.

"Somebody," she looks you dead in the eye. "boinked Petey last night in the clinic but doesn't want to admit it." 

That last line made you squint. Ah. Now you get it. Ellie's attempt at revenge for teasing her about a certain crush she 'doesn't want to admit'. Touché. 

"Boinked?" Joel coughs into his eggs. "Jesus, forget I asked."

~~~

Later, Joel meets you in the makeshift office of the clinic after hours. It had been surprisingly quiet considering the bustle of the previous week. So much so, that you jolt at the knock at the door. You forgot he was coming over to mend a broken cupboard. 

He comes with a toolbox and kneels by the cupboards, propping up the broken door with one hand and a screwdriver in the other. The very door you had struggled to open and close not too long ago. He had picked it up with ease, and you watched in awe as his hands took out the worn screws, dexterous and nimble. The room was so quiet, you couldn't help yourself. 

"I patched him up and worked late. He took one of the beds and was out like a light, I swear." 

"I believe you." He doesn't look up. Is he mad? Jealous, even? His face was stoic, unreadable and so you kept going. 

"I was just taking inventory. And I can handle myself, you know that or else I never would've taken the chance." 

"I know." Nothing. Again. You slump in your chair and watch him finish up in silence. 

"Sweetheart," he says, packing up. "You're thinking out loud again."

His voice is soft and it makes you melt. "Everyone thinks something happened Joel. They're gonna think I'm a slut, or something."

He pads over and kneels so he's level with you. Gently, Joel cups your cheek with one hand, and puts his hand on your thigh with the other. 

"That's because you are a slut, sweetheart."

He kneads your thighs, creeping closer and closer to your core. "You're the prettiest fuckin' slut I've ever seen." 

Your mind goes blank when Joel's like this. Voice as soft as butter whispering the filthiest shit whilst stroking your pussy. His fingers ghost over your jeans and you whimper. "I'm not a- fuck!" 

He dips his hand into your underwear. Soaking wet and he's barely touched you. He keeps it slow, drawing lazy circles around your clit whilst holding you close. 

"Don't like hearing those things about you. They don't see you -fuck - like I do. You didn't fuck him, darlin', I know that. But he wanted to. You can see it in his eyes." He's faster now, dipping a finger in and out your hole like it's his job. You hold onto his forearm to steady yourself and hump his hand. Desperately chasing your climax. 

"That's it, that's it. Good fuckin' girl. You wanna cum?" He asks and you nod your head dumbly. "Use your words, darlin'. Need'ta hear you say it."

"Yes, yes, please Joel…. wanna cum-" 

He nods and you throw your head onto his shoulder, shaking as you cum into Joel's hands. He pulls his hand out of your jeans and licks them clean with hooded eyes. He's hard, cupping himself over his trousers and rocking slightly to relieve the pressure. What a sight; Joel Miller on his knees for you, because of you. 

You grab him by the lapel of his shirt and fall into a sloppy kiss, tasting yourself on his tongue. You motion to take off his shirt and start to strip yourself. When your shirt comes off he presses hot kisses into your bare skin; mumbling profanities into your collarbone and the peak of your tits. 

His pants come off and you reach to pump him; his tip red and sticky with precum. He groans and grabs your hand, lips plump and swollen from kissing you. 

"-shit, not yet," He helps you stand, and bends you over the desk, bow-legged. You're hot and sticky and desperate now, whining for him to fill you up-

-and he does, in one swift motion, without any warning or prep. "You're gonna take what I give you, ain't that right sweetheart?" 

You nod haphazardly, whining under his grip. His hips piston into you at just the right angle, so fast you're seeing stars. 

"No-one else can fuck you like I can, don't forget that. Next time, a little shit like Petey comes round, you tell him you're mine, won't you?"  You're babbling now, incoherent as pleasure builds in your gut. "All mine. All. Fuckin'. Mine." 

With that, a coil snaps, and your legs collapse under the pleasure that washes over you. Joel is quick to follow, turning you around so that when he cums on your stomach, he can see the bliss on your face. Gently, he picks you up like a blushing bride into the next room, onto one of the treatment beds. He gets a towel from the supply cupboards and cleans you up, kissing your forehead. He clambers in next to you. It's a tight fit but he manages to snake an arm around and pull you towards him. Soft breath in your ear as you both stare up at the mottled ceiling, speckled in fluorescent light. Well, he did, anyway. You turn to look at him. 

He was even prettier this close. Real pretty. 

[shoukiko]

idk if your requests are still open (sorry if they aren't!! m(_ _)m) but if they are, could i get some headcanons for the ghosts boys? thank yoouuu (* ^ ω ^)

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES ANYTHING!!!!!!!! BARKBARKRBRAKBRAKBRAKRAKBRA

(I didn't know if I should write about Ajax and Elias or not;;;;)

Call of Duty: Ghosts Headcanons!!!

Keegan

He's good as his job, always getting shit done.

but oh my god is he a bad influence on you

"Want a shot?" "I'm not 21 yet, Keegan." "I asked if you wanted a shot, not how old you were."

On roadtrips he's never allowed to drive, but he will backseat drive. "You should take this highway instead" "I know a faster way" "If you go down this road you could probably reach it easier"

Snores when he's asleep, I feel like he may have sleep apnea or something like that.

HE'S REALLY LOUD TOOOO

Mumbling in his sleep if he's asleep in a chair

That's another thing, he can fall asleep literally anywhere. Chair? Yes. Under the bed? Yes. Under a table? Yes.

He has sharp canines, I don't make the rules. He uses them to open things

He LOVES your scent, he likes having just one thing of yours just to hold and have near.

I don't think he would call you Kid if he was interested in you, I think he'd stick with your name or "Hun". Unless you're older than him, then he uses generic shit like "Babe"

A man of a few words, he gives short answers, pretty blunt, but in text he will ramble on and on~

He likes writing, he finds that it's easier for him to process his words and gives him time to think.

Logan

Good boy, very good and well behaved boy.

Grown man, but good boy

He's actually really mischievous, they took a trip (The team) to Italy while on leave and when visiting the Tower of Pisa he offered to take Keegans photo.

Gesturing for him to lean, pose, scooch back, just so he can get the perfect photo.

Only for him to take it, snickering to himself because he made Keegan pose extremely far from the tower so the photo just looks silly.

Keegan had a good laugh about it, only after he put Logan into a headlock

He does the same to Hesh, always asking for some water, then being like "I didn't ask for this" so Hesh takes it back and when he comes back empty handed Logan is like "Water?"

He's very quiet, way more than Keegan.

He only gives nods or gestures, speaks when he needs to though, like in call outs and such.

He'd call you Love

Whispering sweet nothings into your ear

Can you imagine Cody Callahan doing that? Kill me plz

Hesh

HE HAS A THING FOR HANDS I JUST KNOW IT, I JUST KNOW IT YOU CAN'T TELL ME OTHERWISE!!!!!

HE LOVES HOLDING YOUR HAND AND JUST RUBBING YOUR FINGERS

YOU CAN FEEL HOW ROUGH HIS CALLUSES ARE

HE TILTS HIS HEAD WHEN HE LOOKS AT YOU BECAUSE HE IS JUST SO ENAMOURED WITH YOU

CAN YOU TELL I LOVE HESH, CAN YOU????

He's a gamer boy, console only. Xbox..... Don't argue with me (You can have your own I was /j)

Before shaving his head, he had a hairstyle similar to DJ Pauly D. Let's keep it shaved.

He refuses to have a mustache, just straight up refuses. He will shave the minute he sees it coming in.

Beard or Goatees are pushing it, but he shaves anyways (except the sideburns of course)

That man loves veggies, he's the type to just steam a bunch of em and that's his dinner. Literally just that.

He likes stealing food from you, picking from your plate. If you don't like something, you best believe he's there eating it for you

"David, I'm full" "Give it here, babe."

Merrick

His memory is impeccable

He will always rememebr your favorite things

He's not big on gift giving, but when he does give gifts they're incredibly thoughtful.

Drives a really beat down pickup truck

Calls it his baby girl

Don't judge him >:(

Resting bitch face, eyebrows always furrowed

But then he sees you and his expression softens because he just loves seeing you.

Has the heartiest laugh imaginable, slaps his knee when laughing too

Asks for help putting on his face paint :((((

He just wants a reason to be touched by you

Kick

Earbuds in 24/7 when not on a mission.

He needs music to function!!!

He's the type to put on some hardcore music and pretend he's fighting someone, like the people that imagine their own animation edit when listening to a song they like

He sneaks food to Riley sometimes, when they're all eating, he's the one throwing stuff on the floor for him

Unironically uses "COWABUNGA"

He's just a lil.... ya know... right? Just a little (He's gay)

Kinda short, like 5'6-5'8

Has ADHD

Wears insoles (hims feet hort)

I know he doesn't have a name, but his name is now Hunter Cameron and his last name is Miller

Has freckles and a chipped front tooth

That's all I got :3

for now :3

[rollinouttahere-writes]

Platonic Yandere Paulie and little sister reader

Fix This

Yandere Paulie x Little Sister Reader

2.7k words

“I’m gonna kill him,” you panted out between breaths. Dock One of the Galley-La Company had finally come into view, and while you were relieved to have made it here, it was overshadowed by how pissed you were.

Why were you so mad? Because you just spent the past HOUR running from your brother’s gaggle of debt collectors. You aren’t sure who’s more stupid here. His dumbass for continuously taking out loans when he hasn’t paid back a single one yet, or them for being dumb enough to keep giving him money.

It would seem that you’ve got a target on your back purely by association. After years of not being able to get a penny out of him, they’re now trying to shake you down for money. Which, in your humble opinion, was bullshit.

You hop over the rope divider to enter the dock and look around. Paulie isn’t anywhere to be seen. If he’s left to do more gambling, you’re gonna strangle him with his own ropes.

Spotting one of your fellow foremen, you make your way over to him, “Hey Kaku, have you seen Paulie?”

“He’s been pacing the fence looking for you,” Kaku answered before even turning around to face you. Once he did, he looked surprised at your appearance, “You look whacked, did something happen?”

“Oh it’s nothing, I just spent the past hour running from my stupid brother’s bad decisions,” you grumbled. At this moment, all you wanted to do was sit down and catch your breath, but you needed to give Paulie a piece of your mind first. Possibly with your fists.

“There you are! Do you have any idea how late you are?!” 

Speak of the devil. Without even looking at him you could feel your anger spiking again. This guy had the audacity to cop an attitude with you even though he was at fault. Kaku wisely went back to what he was working on, not wanting to be caught in the middle of this.

Paulie stomped closer and grabbed your shoulder to make you face him. With how mad you were, this was a bad move. The second you were turned towards him, you violently shoved him away. You were looking at him with nothing but contempt, and he visibly flinched from how scorching the look was.

He cleared his throat and found the nerve to continue talking, “Don’t give me that look! You’re damn near an hour late, where have you been?”

“Ask your debt collectors,” you seethed. Each word was ground out with malice as you continued to glower at him. 

“What do they have to do with this?” Despite the question, you could tell he already knew what you were getting at. Yet here he was, playing dumb.

You threw your hands up in frustration, “Everything! From the second I left our home they were on my ass! It took me an hour to lose those pricks!” 

“Why would they be after you? Are you also borrowing money?” This guy had the audacity to take on a scolding tone towards you. You want to throttle him.

Your hands shot out and brought him to eye level with you, “No, dumbass! They’re after me because YOU won’t fucking pay them!”

“Hey! Watch your language, that is not lady like at all!”

“This is not about my fucking language! This is about your stupid ass decisions getting me into trouble! If it weren’t for you borrowing money around the damn clock with zero intention of ever paying it back, this wouldn’t happen!” You shoved him away and took a step back.

Paulie fumbled for a minute to find a decent response, “I- I will pay it back, I just need to get lucky is all.” Well, that wasn’t a decent answer at all.

“You can’t be serious,” you stared at him like he was insane, which in this moment you think he was to be honest. “What do you mean you need to ‘get lucky’?! That’s never going to happen, you suck at gambling! You couldn’t win a game of poker even if you knew everyone’s hands!”

“Excuse you! Those games are rigged, that’s all! I just need to figure out how to play the system and I’ll make everything back and then some,” Paulie huffed indignantly.

Something about how he responded made your fury finally reach its boiling point, and you screamed at him, “Of course the games are rigged! That’s how casinos make money: by taking advantage of dumbasses like you!” 

“What’s going on here?”

Both you and Paulie snap your heads toward the new voice. Mortification set it as you recognized your boss standing there. Iceburg just witnessed you getting into a screaming match with your brother at work.

“(Y/N) and Paulie are arguing because (y/n) was chased around the city by his debt collectors,” Kalifa readjusted her glasses while stating this like it was well known information. How she knows all this is beyond you. That woman must have eyes and ears everywhere, you’re sure of it.

Your resentment simmered down, but only from embarrassment. Tears burned at your eyes as you desperately tried to keep them from surfacing. This was humiliating. At the very least, Iceburg was a kind man and didn’t reprimand you. Instead he asked, “Is that why your jacket is torn? Are you hurt?”

“Torn?” That was news to you. Giving yourself a quick once over, you found what he was referring to. The seam on your left shoulder was ripped open. Oh, right. This must have happened when one of them grabbed you. You were able to rip yourself away, but it appears your jacket was a casualty. 

“Yeah, that’s why. I’m not hurt though, just upset,” the jacket was shrugged off. You didn’t want to wear it if it looked like this. You could fix it tonight when you got home.

“It looks like you were hurt, unless that bruise is from something else,” Iceburg stepped closer and stared at your wrist. Sure enough, there was a bruise in its early stages forming on your wrist where you were grabbed. So that’s why it felt sore.

“Oh, yeah I guess that’s where it came from. I didn’t even notice that until now,” you mumbled. You can’t believe those guys caught you off guard enough to do this to you. Last week you took out three pirates with a plank of wood when they tried to skip out on their bill, but some middle aged loan shark managed to get the drop on you. Shameful. 

Kalifa muttered something about this being sexual harassment, and Iceberg nodded in agreement. He gingerly held your wrist to examine it, “Do you want to take the day off? It would be a bad idea to strain this now and make it worse.”

You snatched your wrist away, “No, that’s okay! I’m fine, really! It doesn’t even hurt.” This wasn’t a complete lie. It was more so tender than outright painful. The last thing you wanted was to sit at home and stew on everything that happened, you would much rather be working.

Iceburg raised a brow at this, but mercifully spared your dignity by not forcing the matter. Returning back to his full height, he promised you that he would deal with the debt collectors targeting people that weren’t involved in their dealings. With that, he bid you all farewell and left.

The silence was heavy and uncomfortable. You could feel Paulie’s eyes on you, but you didn’t want to face him, lest you two start fighting again. 

“I uh- I’ve got a job for us to work on together today, we should get started on that,” you took solace in the fact that he sounded as uncomfortable as you felt.

“Sorry, I already told Kaku I would work with him today, actually,” you lied through your teeth. Working with Paulie would be a horrible idea right now, you can’t imagine why he thinks it’s a good one.

“Seriously? Come on, (y/n), I know you’re mad but don’t be like this. It’s not a big deal, we can talk about it while we work.”

“Not a big deal?!” You snapped. Shit, you’re yelling again. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm down, you continue, “It’s a big deal to me. I mean it. If you don’t get your shit together and get your debts straightened out soon, I’m going to leave.” 

Being harassed by his enemies is something you’ve been dealing with since you were a kid. Back then they would just follow you around for an intimidation effect, but it seems like the gloves have come off now that you’re an adult. Years of this have worn you down, and now you’re at a breaking point.

“The hell do you mean you’re going to leave?” His voice sounded shockingly cold, you’re not sure you’ve ever heard him talk like that. Especially not to you.

“I mean that if this happens again, I will leave Water 7,” you looked him dead in the eyes, daring him to challenge you.

“You don’t mean that.”

“Yes, Paulie, I do. With my resume I could get a job at any shipyard in the world, so don’t test me,” you didn’t break eye contact once, hoping to get across how serious you are.

He was the first to look away. “I’ll get it taken care of,” is all he said before walking away.

Letting out a breath you didn’t even realize you were holding, you join Kaku with picking out lumber for some ship repairs, “Thanks for not ratting me out.”

“It makes no odds,” he reassured you. Kaku quickly glanced around and then leaned down to whisper, “I have to ask though, did you mean what you said about leaving, or was that all horsefeathers?”

Horsefeathers? You assume that means something along the lines of bullshit. Whatever, Kaku says weird shit all the time. You shrugged, “I dunno, maybe? I don’t really want to leave; I love living here, but I don’t want to spend my life facing the consequences of someone else’s actions, you know?”

Kaku hummed in acknowledgement and nodded, “That holds water, I understand you wanting to. Besides, a change of pace might be good for you.”

“You think so?” Honestly, you hadn’t expected him to agree and encourage you. It was nice though to have someone supporting you.

“Sure do! Paulie’s been in the ketchup for so long that I can’t imagine him getting out any time soon. Perhaps you leaving would kick him into gear?”

“In the ketchup?” You laughed, “I swear you’re making half these weird things you say up!”

“Am not! It’s a real saying, young lady!” His tone was scolding, but in a playful way.

“We’re like the same age, don’t call me ‘young lady’!” You elbowed him in the side. 

You two fell into a comfortable and casual banter for the rest of the day, which was refreshing. It really helped to take your mind off the problem at hand and cool off. By the time you were ready to go home, you were feeling calm enough to be able to have a reasonable discussion with Paulie.

That’s not to say you weren’t still upset, but you don’t think you’ll be yelling at him anymore. Unless he says something stupid, but at that point whatever happens isn’t on you.

Typically, you’ll walk home together. In the mornings he leaves before you do since he has some extra duties, but in the evening you’ll usually leave together. Sometimes even stopping to get food on the way back. Tonight, though, he was already gone. Internally, you cringe. Is he still mad? You suppose it’s possible, you could tell that what you said about leaving really hurt him.

Walking back alone made you a bit anxious after what happened this morning. You were constantly looking over your shoulder to make sure you weren’t being tailed. Fortunately, you weren’t seeing anything suspicious. Did Iceburg really take care of this that quickly? Or maybe Kalifa handled it. Her kicks were no joke, that’s for sure.

Entering your shared home, you’re surprised to see that Paulie isn’t home yet. Was he avoiding you? How mature. Rolling your eyes, you toss your torn jacket onto the couch and go rummaging through the closet for the sewing kit you keep on hand for basic repairs.

You’d barely had a chance to start stitching the seam when the front door opened. Paulie came in looking annoyed. He didn’t appear to even see you as he stomped into the kitchen to grab something from the fridge. A beer, presumably. You sighed and resumed repairing your jacket.

His footsteps came towards the living room and came to a stop in the archway. It was silent for a moment, “You’re home?”

“Yep,” you replied. Why does he sound so surprised? Did he think you were just going to peace out after work? 

Paulie joined you on the couch, the cushions dipping under his weight. You still hadn’t looked at him. The silence wasn’t comfortable, but it wasn’t as tense as it was at the shipyard. He took a long drink from his beer, “Please don’t leave.”

“Don’t drag me into your problems then. If it wasn’t for that I wouldn’t be thinking about it,” you answered stiffly.

“It’s not going to happen again, I took care of it.”

You scoffed, “You took care of it on the way home? What? Did you rob a bank? Or maybe some pirates?” Pulling the invisible stitch tight, you finally look his way. His hair is a mess and his clothes are dirtier than usual. Most noticeably, his knuckles were bloody. “What did you do?”

“I took care of it,” he repeated. 

“How?” You pressed.

“That doesn’t matter, what matters is you promising that you aren’t going to leave,” he took another drink.

“It does matter, I want to know what happened!” From the context clues, it looks like he jumped them. You’re not exactly fond of those people, but they are just trying to get their money back. Beating the shit out of them feels excessive.

Paulie grabbed your face, forcing you to keep looking at him, “Promise me that you aren’t leaving! You can’t leave!”

You wrenched your face away, “God, fine! I promise! Now will you talk to me?” Paulie didn’t answer, instead looking away. You huffed in aggravation, “And what do you mean ‘I can’t leave’? I could if I wanted to.”

That got his attention. His head snapped back to you, his expression was fierce, “No. You. Can’t. You’re just a little girl. There’s a lot of horrible men out there that will take advantage of you the second they get the chance. You need to be here, with me, so I can protect you.” He didn’t yell, but his words were so venomous that it made you flinch regardless. 

“Excuse me? I’m not a little girl, I’m a grown woman and I can handle myself just fine! I really don’t care for this sexist bullshit from you,” you stood abruptly with your repaired jacket in hand. If he was going to be like this, then you were going to go for a walk until he stopped with the misogyny.

You didn’t make it more than five feet before a rope was wrapped around your chest and yanked you back onto the couch. Whipping your head to Paulie, you made no effort to hide how pissed you were, “What the hell are you doing?! Untie me!”

“I thought you could handle yourself?” Paulie wasn’t even paying that much attention to you, instead casually continuing to sip on his beer. He was an expert knot tier, getting out of his clutches without something to cut the ropes was no easy task and he damn well knew that.

“This isn’t funny, let me go!” Your attempts to free yourself are futile. The knots only tighten more as you struggle.

“I’m not letting you go. You are never leaving, and the sooner you accept that, the better,” he states coldly, making no move to ease up the ropes. You can only gawk at him. This wasn’t your brother, he would never speak to you like this. Did your threat to leave really bother him that much?

You’re going to have to proceed extremely carefully if you want to get out of this situation.

[five-rivers]

Pretty in Pink Chapter 2

@jadenoryuu

:)

.

“Just go ask,” said Star.  “He's totally into you.  He'd probably streak through the cafeteria if you asked.”

“Shut up,” said Paulina.  

Valerie looked between Star and Paulina, eyebrows raised.  “Is there something I'm missing here?  You guys have been acting… off… this whole month.  You two and Dash.”

“It's nothing,” said Paulina.  “Star's hallucinating.”  

Star scoffed and crossed her arms.  “Pauli's got a crush.”

Paulina had picked up some freak ghost disease from the Fentons’ stupid underground tunnel, so maybe if she thought hard enough about it, she could set Star on fire with her mind.  Why would she pick that as her cover story?  What the freak?  She had enough trouble holding onto her reputation while falling through walls and getting into fights with dead lunch ladies without people thinking she was crushing on Fenton, who looked even worse than he usually did today.  What if people started to think her type was ‘drowned rat charity case reject?’

Plus, his stupid tunnel had sort of technically killed her.  Wasn't she supposed to hold a grudge about that?

“Glare at me all you want, but it's the only way you'll be getting any sleep.”

“Oooh,” said Valerie.  “You've got it that bad, huh?  What's stopping you?”

“Well,” said Star, the traitor, “she's worried that he's not exactly A-list material, you know?”

“Girl, seriously?” said Valerie, and Paulina could practically feel her popularity points drop.  “You make things A-list.  Anything in your orbit catches some of that glow.  Anyone you like is cool by association.  You could make anyone cool.  Except Nathan Lester.  He must have been cursed by some ancient northern European god in a past life, because yikes.”

“See, I told you so,” said Star.  

“I bet,” said Valerie, “that you could even make Danny Fenton cool.”

Valerie Gray was a literal gift from God.  But Paulina couldn't run with that too quickly.  

“You think so?” she asked.  “Him?  Cool?”

“Only through your powers,” said Valerie.  She sipped at her soda.  “But as far as raw materials go…  He's got good bone structure, at least, underneath all that greasy middle-schooler hair, and he’s scrawny, but with the right outfit you can play that off as slender, he looks like Dash’s been beating the crap out of him, so you’d have to get him to quit that, but that’s the easiest part, probably.  Yeah, you could do it, Paulina.”

“And you can always dump him after, if he doesn’t pan out or is a creep,” said Star.  “We can even plan it out beforehand, so it'll be funny.”

“Well, yeah, of course you're going to dump him for whoever you're actually interested in.  This is just a trial run.”  She popped a chocolate-covered pretzel into her mouth.  “Who are you interested in, by the way?  Weston?  He's pasty, but at least he's good at basketball.”

Disgusting.  It was true Weston wasn't a complete troll, but she had it on good authority that he was a total conspiracy nut, and her papa said conspiracy theories always somehow led back to literal nazis, and that wasn't a good look on someone as pale as Weston.  

“Ew, no.”

“Who, then?  Come on, spill.”

“It's a secret,” said Paulina, winking.  She'd have to make something up eventually, though.  Maybe one of the upperclassmen would do the trick.  Or maybe she could pretend she lost interest.  “But a trial run…  I'll try it out.  But the minute I'm not having fun…”

“We'll be ready with the tar and feathers,” said Valerie, “just like in history class.  Go on.”  She made a shooing motion.  “Work your magic.  Entertain us.”

Paulina stood up and cocked her hips to one side, like a movie star.  “Watch me.”

She walked over to Fenton's table and sat down.  One of his eyes went wide and round.  The other remained a blue and purple slit.  Wow.  Maybe she'd have to ask Dash to ease up, anyway.  

“Hi, Danny,” she said, with her friendliest smile.  

“H-h-hi Pauli–”

“What do you want?” demanded Samantha Manson, hypocrite extraordinaire, looking down her unnaturally pale nose.  Honestly, anyone who caked that much makeup on had to be at least as self-centered as she said Paulina was.  

Paulina sighed heavily.  “Wow, rude, much?”

“Says the girl who bribed the school board to go back to the old, unbalanced, unhealthy, cheap as dirt menu when she brings lunch from home or orders out.”

Well, yeah, she got her dad to lean on the school board a bit.  It was the only way to keep the lunch lady ghost from coming back again.  She’d just kept attacking the school, over and over again, screaming about the stupid menu change.  Manson should be grateful, honestly.  It was her the ghost had it out for.  

But, yeah, the best way to keep the ghost away or not, she wasn’t eating the slop the school served if she had any other choice.  

“Says the girl who is so conceited she made the whole school eat her special menu.”

“Oh, snap,” said Tucker.  Was that drool on his lip?  

Men were dogs.  Seriously.  Ick.  

“Anyway,” she said, turning back to her target.  “Danny.  I can call you Danny, right?”

“Um, it is my name?”

“Right, so, I heard your parents are scientists.  Inventors.”

“Y-yeah.  They– Yeah.”

God.  And people like this wondered why they weren’t popular.  Try and string two words together.  Give her something to work with.  

“And they're investigating that meat monster that kept attacking the school.”

“They are!  They're really, I mean.  That whole thing was, it was pretty bizarre, wasn't it?”

“Yeah.  Sure.  So, I was wondering if you could maybe show me what they do sometime?  Their inventions and stuff?  Maybe this afternoon?”

“I– Well, I don't know, they've been really busy, this month, ever since the portal came on, and– Ow!  Sam!”

“Don't fall for it, Danny, she's just doing the ‘meet me behind the bleachers and then the whole cheer squad will be there to mock you when you show up’ thing, but with more steps.”

“Wow, suspicious much?”

And she might as well be.  April DeLongpre, who had been the middle school cheer captain two years ago, had done exactly that to her, and now the whole school knew Manson was a lesbian.  Except for maybe her two clueless friends.  

She turned her attention back to clueless one and batted her eyelashes.  “Please?  It would make me feel a lot better if I could see what they were doing.  That meat monster was super freaky.”

“I- I guess.  You might not be able to see their lab, though, they've been trying to, um, sort some things out down there.  It isn't really safe.”

Paulina already knew that.  As far as she was concerned, it was a death trap.  Literally.  But Star was right.  She needed something that could actually make ghosts go away, and the Fentons were the only game in town.  Despite what happened with her hands in ‘ghost form,’ her nails weren't made for fighting.  

Whatever.  Once she got there and got him alone, she could pressure him into basically whatever.  His interactions with Dash already showed that he had no spine. 

“Thanks.  I'll see you after school, then?  On the corner?”  That was far enough away from the school proper that at least the bus kids wouldn't see them.  “You have that scooter, right?”  She’d seen him on a skateboard too, but he’d been wiping out at the time, so she doubted it was his ride to school.

“Actually, Jazz has been driving me,” said Danny.  “She started worrying, after, well, you know.”  He shrugged with one shoulder.  “She should be okay with bringing you, too.”

Bleh.  Jazz Fenton.  The girl wasn’t as bad as Danny.  She was pretty, edging into beautiful, and Dash totally had a crush on her.  Still.  She was so preppy and peppy it even put Star off.  She was, like, an alien or something.  

“That’s… cool,” she said.  

“And, um, we carpool with Tucker, too.”

Great.  Well, she could cope with being drooled over for one car ride.  She’d take a cab home.  

“Sounds like a date,” she said, giving Fenton another winning smile.  

“Oh!  Um, yeah!  A- a date!  I’ll see you then, Paulina.”

Gag.  

“See you then.”

Paulina couldn’t scoot off the bench fast enough.  Hopefully Star and Valerie were letting everyone know about ‘the plan’ to seduce and dump Fenton, because, otherwise, her popularity would definitely take a hit.  

.

The car ride was just as agonizing as she’d imagined, with Foley’s staring, Danny’s downright painful, stuttering attempts at flirting, and Jazz trying to psychoanalyze all of them.  As if she could understand any of what Paulina was going through.  

But then Tucker was dropped off and Jazz disappeared into the house, leaving Paulina and Danny standing on the front lawn.  

“Yeah, so, it’s a bit much, but do you want to go in?” asked Danny.  

Paulina gave him a sharp look, and he looked away.  So what if she was a bit hesitant about going somewhere she’d been killed?  That was her business, wasn’t it?

“Yeah, let’s go,” she said. 

Danny nodded and dashed up the steps.  “The living room is just off of here.”

“What about the lab?” she asked.  

“Well, like I said, my parents are pretty busy…”

What, and he didn’t want her to see them?  The whole town knew what they were like.  Annoying.  “It’s just… after everything that happened the past month, I’d just really feel better if I knew there was someone working on things, you know?”

“I…”  Danny was visibly wavering.  

“Please?  Show me the lab?  I’ll be really careful and quiet.  They won’t even know I’m there.”

“I– Okay.  But it’s not their fault, really.  They didn’t mean to make it so things could pass through it.”

“What are you talking about?”

Danny made a face.  “It’s easier to show you.  But first…”  He reached into his pocket and pulled out… a tube of lipstick.  

Huh.  Dash always called Fenton girly, but she’d never seen him wear makeup.  

“This is just a precaution,” he said, holding it out in front of him like it was loaded.  

“The lipstick?” asked Paulina, skeptically.  

“The lipstick laser.  The lipstick tube is just the casing, so you can carry it around.”

Yeah, Paulina would believe that when she saw it.  

Fenton then turned into the kitchen and went straight to the big metal door.  He braced himself before opening it, as if he expected an explosion.  There wasn’t one.  The only noise coming from below was the buzzing hum of the thing.  

Not that Paulina was going to bring that up.  

“Huh,” said Danny.  “I guess they must be out.  Okay.  So, um, if I say to run, then you’ve got to run, okay?”

“What, are you expecting something to explode down there?”  It wasn’t an out-of-nowhere question, based on what she’d seen when they were down here before.  

“Not exactly,” he said.  

He went down the stairs.  Paulina followed.  

It was empty down there.  That’s all Paulina registered before her attention was grabbed by the thing.  It was just as sinister and gaudy as she remembered it.  A goth punk’s dream.  Her nightmare.  

“So, uh, this is the portal.”

“The portal,” she said.  “That’s what it was.”  

“Yeah.  The portal.  The, um, the ghost portal.  That spews ghosts.  Hence the lasers.  They didn’t mean to.  They wanted it to be a window, or something.  Like, they could look at ghosts through it, but they wouldn’t be able to come through?  But the thing turned on in the middle of the night all on its own, without any of their safeguards - not that there were all that many of those - so now it’s more of a door.  To hell, apparently.”

“Wait, wait, wait, you think that meat monster thing came through here?”

“Yeah, probably,” said Danny.  He sounded exhausted.  

“Then why don’t they turn it off?  Jesus.”

“They tried.  Like I said, no safeguards.  It sucks so much to sleep near this.  You wouldn’t believe it.”  He rubbed his eyes.  “I hate this, truly.”

“So, it could keep… doing this?  More could come through?  Have more come through?”  She didn’t have to feign fear at this.  She had plenty of it to spare.  

“Yeah, probably.”

“But your parents are doing something about it, right?  Finding a way to close it, building weapons, that kind of thing?”

“Yeah, they’re building weapons, capture devices, that kind of thing…”

“Do you think… are there any that I could… have?”

“I mean, they’ve got some things for sale… But those aren’t the ones that work, right now.  Some of their theories were off.  Don’t buy the ghost gabber, for all that’s holy.”

“But there are things that work?”

“Yeah, but they’re prototypes.  Design stage stuff.”

“Could I maybe take one of those?”

“One of the prototypes?  Um.  No.  That’s– Those aren’t mine to give away.  Those’re my parents’.”

“Oh, come on, they’re not going to notice!”

“Trust me, the lab might look like a mess, but they’d notice.”

“But what if one of these ghosts comes after me?  Like, your dad’s a big guy, and doesn’t your mom do martial arts?”  That was one of the things he’d mentioned on that car ride.

“I mean, yeah…  But they’ll be really upset if they notice something’s gone.  They work really, really hard on these things.”

“More upset than me, if I run into a ghost?  I’m just asking for something for self defense.”

“I– Okay.  But, um.  But.  I think.  Maybe.  Um.”  He turned bright pink.  “I’m taking a big risk, here.  So maybe.  Maybe you could come to the– the fall dance with me?”

“What.”

“Just the dance!  If you don’t like it, you don’t, um.  You don’t have to go out with me again.  It’s just the dance.  As, like, an exchange of favors.”

“Fine,” said Paulina.  Danny beamed.  “But you’d better give me something good.”  Or else she was doing the ditch at the dance.

“I will!  But self-defense only.  Small stuff.  The bigger guns can seriously hurt people, and can hurt you, too, if you don’t know how to use them.  And you have to practice with all of these.  They’re weapons, not toys.”

It was better than no stuff.  And she could work up to big stuff later.  

Danny pressed the ‘lipstick laser’ into Paulina’s hand.  “Don’t go showing this off.  My parents will kill me if they know I gave it away.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling.  Is there, like, anything else?”

“I…”

“Please, Danny, you’re my only hope here.”

“I… fine.  Fine.”  He looked around the room, hands on his hips.  “Okay.”  He strode over to the table and picked up something that looked more like a thermos than anything else.  “I’m only giving you this because they’ve already gotten the second one in production.  This is the Fenton Thermos.  And, yeah, I know, we slap our name on everything, I get it.”

“And it does… what?  Keep your coffee hot?”

“It traps ghosts.  It’s actually pretty cool.  Dad caught these octopus ghost guys with it last week.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah!  It was one of the coolest things I’ve seen my dad do, honestly.  So, um.  Practice!  Let me show you how to use a lipstick!  Not that you don’t– I mean, obviously– I mean, a laser.  And a thermos.  Ghost thermos.  You get what I mean.”

“Yeah,” said Paulina.  “Just show me, okay?”

[mdemn]

So I just remembered at one point Sam had said something about Paulie like "Tom, if his own mother had given up hope - Then you can give up hope too"

Does this mean Paulie's mother is still alive when hes a mobster

Is she still alive when his son is dead. Does she knows?

i had thought about this before but didn’t know how much of this i wanted to add to my own headcannon version of events…. but now you’re all going to have to hear about it. sorry! going to ramble under the cut—

i think paulie is, without a doubt, the light of his mother’s life. i think he also, without a doubt, lies to her— about EVERYTHING he possibly could. i think paulie is maybe the only one of his mom’s kids to survive infancy and so she dotes on him and gives him everything she can and she just wants him to be happy.

her husband goes to the first world war and paulie has to step up to ‘be the man’ but the economy is shit and the only thing he’s really got a knack for is stealing. which turns into joining up with salieri. and the money is good, more than good. and he’s able to hide the truth from her for a long time.

but he comes home with an injury he can’t explain after there’s some big news in the paper and his momma pieces it together. and it hurts him so fucking bad how she reacts to it. begging him to stop. that it’s not too late. begging him to join a better path. find a girl, marry, settle down.

but paulie can’t, he’s in way too deep now. and he tells her this. and so she just…. lights a candle in prayer for him every night, and pretends she doesn’t notice. as long as her son comes home to her, she doesn’t care what he does in his free time.

and one time a mission goes horrible for him and he’s in the hospital but can’t no one tell his mother because she can’t know where the doctor’s house is.

HOWEVER, before this— paulie had brought sam to his mother, had introduced them, had let sam see this part of his life and know what it was like to have a loving family for once. because paulie’s mom DID love sam. and they were close as well. so when paulie is in the hospital, sam visits her and tells her all about how paulie is and how he is recovering.

and all the time sam is with her, catching her up, they talk about paulie. and sam loves to hear paulie’s mother talk, loves to keep her company, loves to have a mother himself, even just for a little while.

so i think sam makes this joke because he’s close with paulie’s mother, yes. i think paulie’s mother is fully aware of the life style he lives, yes.

do i think his mother is alive when he’s murdered? no. i think her dying, and him still being single, him not giving her her wish to see him settled down and happy with his own family is what pushed him to do the bank job. and i think sam wanted to talk paulie out of doing it, knowing it may be the grief talking, but sam knew what they were running to get before this mission. and he knew what would happen once paulie found out.

and the pain and grief and suffering of them all had really only just started.

[star-dust-stuf]

The Beatles period comfort hcs

warnings: mentions of blood, vomiting

a/n: again, me being a hopeless romantic may it spread through the scrolls of tumblr bcs why not?! Not my gifs, as always, enjoy loves!

Gogi

oh nawww!

it would break his heart to see you in such a situation

he never wants you to feel as though you can’t talk to him about it and never wants you to think any lower of yourself

he always brings you blankets and a heating pad

he’d help you in the bath, make the cramps go away

he understands the pain and knows it’s absolutely horrid

baby tries his best to fill you up, keep you hydrated

mood swings, he goes on with them never gets mad if you tend to start a fight or if you just need a good cry

dear lord this man is over the moon for you, rubbing your belly through your cramps

singing his song to you, soft voice and slow guitar “here comes the sun and I say, it’s alright”

he can’t help but be a bit snappy when you ask if you’re fat “babe, it’s okay to feel that way, you’re bloated!” or “eat whatever the hell you want!”

“here, squeeze my hand, love” he’s never been around real pain before, seeing you in it breaks his heart and he tries anything to help you relieve it

queue the clap for baby gogi because girls, admit it he is the painkiller

Ringooo

he’s so proud when you make it through each day

he’s never really seen anyone in any physical pain so if he’s a bit shaken up to see you crying in a ball, tell him it’s alright

little bean has it bad for you, so bad he wishes he could take all your pain and put it in a jar

he may not look it, but man’s would beat up anyone who’d make fun of you for your period or say that it can’t even hurt that bad

he hums to you through the nausea and if you do end up puking, god this man

he rubs your back, tummy, puts your hair up, *crying*

he makes you comfy, sings you tunes and hums louder through each aching cramp

“keep a hold of my hand and just breathe.” *screams*

he makes sure you’re hydrated and fed well. he understands if eating is the las thing you want but he got you chocolate ice cream… so

“I’d like to be- under the sea” he sings as he rocks you in his arms, your in his lap and just being there makes you feel ten times better

cramps are not fun and he knows, he knows because of that face you make

he laughs when you make jokes “do you need anything, love?” he’d ask “a gun” you’d reply

he lets you play with his fingers and his rings as his hand rests on your belly

high expectations and that’s ok, pain isn’t worth the shame keep on, keep on

Jon

he is your sunshine, your only sunshine

he knows it’s that time when you walk out of the bathroom with a giant ‘diaper’ on

“come here sunshine, get warm!” He snuggles you, makes you feel loved

this man- this man is the reason you don’t mind having a period anymore, he makes it less sucky

he makes you a warm bath to sooth your aching body, he sits outside the tub, hand in yours

hes the type of guy to put your pad in your underwear before you get out, few it’s just too much work!

If you are having bad pms let me tell you, he’s head over heels

pms, he knows it’s all mixed up inside and he comforts you even if it all comes out in clumps

he sings to you of course “i love you, yeah yeah yeah, I love you”

sleeping with pain sucks so he lends himself for your body pillow

throwing up is the fear, but he’s there, coaching your breathing, holding your hair back, putting a wet cloth on your neck

you play with his hair as he puts his head on your stomach hoping the pressure will help the cramps

top it with a cherry, kiss him

Paulie

bby is so good with that time of the month

he gets you anything, anything! pads, tampons, hot water bottle, blankets, snacks

he knows what you’re thinking, “am I fat?” he’d go absolutely crazy

“eat whatever, and how much you want!” he’d make sure you’re hydrated too

he also sings to you, of course, nice and soft, he knows you have a headache, “oh darling, please believe me- ill never do you no harm”

he makes you a warm shower, or bath if you prefer, he helps you in and out

he’s the kind of guy to light some candles, perhaps do some yoga if your feeling it teaches you some tricks to help the pain

he’s not squeamish, if he sees some blood where it shouldn’t be he won’t get mad at you “darling, it’s out of your control, don’t cry!”

in a snap of a finger he has you spilling your feelings, he doesn’t want you to bottle it up, it will only make your mood swings worse

feeling nauseous is the worse, he understands but he keeps you busy, focusing on something else, like playing with his hair

if out of the sudden you just grab his hand, leg, arm he lets you do whatever to cope

baby loves you and is always there

[aetherdoesthings]

let's be friends - nico robin x gn!reader

forethoughts: i wrote this late at night so no proofreading other than one quick read through so apologies for any grammar mistakes! i just watched eneis lobby and sobbed my heart out prior to writing this. i want to give robin a hug so bad and be friends with her. anyways i hope you enjoy ^^

warnings: MAJOR ENEIS LOBBY AND WATER SEVEN SPOILERS!!! you have been warned.

You were the newest member of the Straw Hat Pirates. Temporary, maybe, but still you had allied with their captain and joined their ranks. You were minding your own business in Water Seven, doing some shopping for food and picking up new parts to repair your own ship that had taken a beating. But when the news about Iceberg’s attempted assassination got out and everyone got in a frenzy, was your attention set on the Straw Hat Pirates. You weren’t a fan of the World Government, nor pirates; rather a wanderer that set out on sea to accomplish your own goal: finding some friends. You weren’t well received as a child; many called you estranged and unfortunate. So you had set out on the sea to prove those people wrong. After years of sailing to different islands across the Grand Line, you had made it to Water Seven somehow still alive, but still alone. 

That’s when you met the Straw Hat Pirates. Well, somewhat. You had decided to sneak into the train station the night after Iceberg’s attempted assassination, wanting to go away despite Aqua Laguna. But of course, with your incredible luck, you managed to miss the train. You paced around the station, thinking about your next course of plans when footsteps approached. A girl with tangerine hair and the renowned Paulie from the Dock One foremen charged into the station, demanding for answers. After a heated conversation and a close call, it eventually led to a mutual agreement between you and the orange hair girl. You’d help them get back one of their crew members, Nico Robin, and they would give you the materials to go the nearest island once the whole mess was over. Sure, you weren’t that skilled of a fighter; you only had a devil fruit power that essentially made you faster than the speed of light, but it was valuable enough for the girl to shake your hand and bring you aboard on their rescue mission.

Now you stood feets away from the dark haired woman herself, who found a spot on a cliff next to the coast, basking in the sun as it started to retire. You stood there idly, a basket in your hand. You tried not to make a noise so as to not disturb the poor woman’s needed peace, but this was Nico Robin you were facing. Nothing gets past her.

“Ah, Y/N, it’s you. What are you doing here?” Robin turned around, a faint smile on her face. Her shoulders relaxed at the sight of your face, as she turned her body to properly face you.

You blinked twice, your heart pounding as you shook your head, trying to avoid eye contact with the beauty in front of you. The sunlight accentuated her features, making blood rise to your cheeks as your skin got evidently red. You clutched onto the basket Sanji had given you earlier, trying to give the notion that your grip was causing you to overheat, even though you knew that made zero sense. 

You nodded your head, warily taking a step towards the woman, setting the basket down by her side. “You missed dinner. Sanji, I think his name was, told me to give you this since I’m going anyway.”

“You’re leaving? Already?” Robin mused, looking inside the basket. “Thank you, Y/N. I’ll be sure to apologize to Sanji when I see him.”

“Yeah. Y-You’re back safe with your crew, and Nami has already paid for my ship. I don’t have any more business with you guys.”

“I see.” Robin takes a plate of food out from the basket and a piece of cutlery, as she began eating. “Would you stay with me, Y/N? I haven’t gotten the chance to talk to you since… everything.”

“Huh? Oh. Uh, sure.” You hesitantly took a seat next to the woman, unsure whether to cross your legs or put them out. That left you with one leg crossed under a stretched out leg.

“I wanted to ask, Y/N, did you only agree to help my friends rescue me because of the deal they gave you? Or was there something else that prompted you to go to Eneis Lobby?” Robin asked out of the blue, her serene and elegant voice floating into your ear.

You stared at the waves calmly rocking back and forth, as if Aqua Laguna never happened. “It was half of the reason I decided to join.”

“Oh? If you do not mind, would you tell me the other reason you decided to go to Eneis Lobby?”

You shrugged, as your fingers dug into the soil, picking at the grass. “Well, I never really had any friends growing up. They called me weird and estranged, and always picked on me. But after I ate that devil fruit, they called me a monster and excluded me from everything. So I didn’t have any friends growing up. Now that I’m older, I want to sail across the seas to find friends or people I can call friends. And when I met you guys… or at least the six of ‘em, I guess I was moved. I’ve never heard or seen anyone do such bold things for a friend. You’re really lucky, you know? You have a group of people that prioritizes your wellbeing. I wish I had someone who’d do that for me too… but I know it’s not gonna happen to me. I move too fast for the world. No one can catch up to me.”

You couldn’t see her face, your eyes too busy counting each blade of grass, but you could feel that faint smile she had that brought warmth to you, eyes filled with understanding and not judgment.

“What makes you so certain you will not have anyone who will prioritize your wellbeing over theirs?” Robin gently asked.

Your fingers stopped moving, your eyes shifting towards the woman. You were met with a kind and warm smile, as she looked at you with confidence and encouragement. “I appreciate your help today, everything you did for my friends. For me. Even if it was just an agreement, I truly appreciate your help. You sound quite like someone I know.” Robin looked away, seemingly reminiscing upon a memory. “Someone I would love to be friends with.”

You raised an eyebrow at her. “Friends?”

“Yes. Friends.” Robin turned her head to look at you, as she handed you a piece of bread Sanji had packed. “I don’t understand your devil fruit power, but I do understand running that fast for a long duration must be draining.”

Despite the large meal you had eaten and fought over with Luffy, you gladly took the bread, shoving it down your throat without struggle nor hesitation. You immediately looked down as blush filled your cheeks. “S-Sorry. And thank you for the food.”

“Don’t be.” Robin softly chuckled, looking at you with an amused look. “You interest me, Y/N.”

“I do?” You asked.

“I do. Say, where do you plan on going?” 

“Um, I don’t know. I suppose wherever my log pose says I should go.” 

“I see.” Robin looked at the setting sun, a small smile on her face as she held onto the other piece of the bread, deep in thought. “May I propose something, Y/N?” “Sure, go ahead.” You answered, confusion evident in your voice.

“Sail with us. Or stay with us until we manage to reach the next island or wherever we go. Go on one trip with us to one island.”

You raised an eyebrow. “That’s all?”

Robin nodded her head. “That’s all. Join us on our captain’s next adventure. I’m certain Luffy will love to have you on his crew. I will love your company; I’m certain everyone else will.”

“There’s nothing in it for me?”

“Would you rather sail alone, searching island after island, year after year?”

You bit your lower lip, your eyes falling to each blade of grass. “Why are you offering this to me?”

Robin smiled. “Because I would love to be friends with you. Or at least make an attempt to be as close as friends, if not comrades. You sound like an amazing person with quite the unique devil fruit power; I’m very interested in you and your abilities. One trip to one island, and you may leave or do whatever you wish after. Does that sound good to you?”

You tilted your head, staring at the waves that reflected the sun’s radiant light. You stayed like that for a while, remaining silent even after Robin finished her meal, finally breaking your silence when she closed the basket lid. “You’d love to be friends with me?”

Robin looked at you with a smile on her face. “Certainly.”

You let out a scoff, shaking your head as a low chuckle exited your mouth. “Really?”

“Really.”

You sucked your teeth. Despite being the fastest person alive, your brain still took its sweet time processing each word. “And if I said I would love to be friends with you too?”

“I would be delighted to hear that, Y/N.”

You finally smiled at her, returning that warm and kind smile she had given you. “Then let’s be friends.”

Robin let out a sigh of relief, as if she would’ve driven a harder bargain if you had turned down her deal. “Let’s be friends, Y/N.”

The two of you sat there admiring the sunset, silence filling the environment around you. It wasn’t awkward nor deafening, but a peaceful and serene one. A smile was plastered on your face, your inner child shining through as you had completed the one goal you had ever wanted since you were a child.

To have a friend. 

[cipher-zoo]

Kalifa: Why are you in such a bad mood? Kaku: Paulie went on a coffee run and asked me if I wanted some as well. Kalifa: So? Kaku: I didn't want to fall out of character, so I told him to bring me a venti vanilla latte with caramel drizzle... Kalifa: But you only drink black coffee. Kaku: Yes. I know.

[hannahmanderr]

(part 1 of 2)

Newton's third law states for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

The Heart of the Infinite Realms sets out to prove that wrong.

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

Danny reeled.

Remnants of fleeting memories that weren’t his own assaulted him like a swarm of angry bees. There was the weight of a pulsating ring lifting from his finger - 

- and the distant thunder of a door slamming open -

- and -

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

Star rolled her eyes. “Listen Pauli, if he really thinks he can use you like a plaything and toss you aside the moment he thinks he’s found someone better, then he never even deserved to breathe the same air as you.”

“H-he told me I was special!” Paulina sniffled. “That I-I was the on-”

“Girl, you know I love you, but I told you this when you first started seeing him!” Star interrupted. “He’s a player! Like literally! That boy can’t keep it in -”

“But he ch-cheated on me! No one cheats on me!”

She flicked her eyes both ways as she crossed the street. Paulina’s house wasn’t too far of a walk, but she did have a couple of streets to cross to get there. “Exactly. No one cheats on you and gets away with it. You’re the queen. You’re the one who rules.”

Paulina sighed with a dramatic flair only she could perfect. “I don’t feel like the queen. Not when I can’t have what I want…”

It was a rare show of vulnerability from her. Paulina never showed weakness, not to anyone. The only person she would open up to was Star, and even then she would not do it often. Things usually had to get pretty bad for her to be so blunt. 

Still, Star frowned. “Are you on about Danny Phantom again? Because I thought we -”

“No! I’m keeping my promise! No ghost boy until he realizes I’m right for him!”

“Good girl.” She skipped over a puddle, and a sudden grin blossomed on her face. “Ohhh, wait, I think I know what this is about,” she said with a mischievous air.

“What?”

Star’s grin widened. “Don’t think I haven’t forgotten about what you told me at Dale’s party last month. I know what you really want. Or should I say… who you want?”

She could practically hear Paulina’s stunned expression over the phone. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said flatly.

“Mhmm. Sure. You were drunk, but you weren’t that wasted.”

“I wasn’t anything because it never happened!”

Star laughed. Paulina’s house was just around the corner and a block down the road now. “Pauli, you can admit it to me. I’m not gonna tell anyone. Besides, I think it’s sweet how you pine after her!”

Paulina groaned, and there was a soft thump as she presumably flopped onto her bed. “It’s not pining! Díos mio, it’s not anything! Like I would fall for a goth geek like her, even if she is pretty!”

Star had to bite her lip to keep from guffawing at her friend’s slip. And to think Paulina was denying this crush so vehemently.

“Well, I -”

The sky exploded around her.

Experience had long since taught her to duck immediately. When you lived in a town plagued by ghosts who could fly, there were only so many reasonable responses to loud noises. Miraculously, she managed to keep the phone pressed to her ear.

She glanced up fearfully. The air hummed with potent energy, the kind that usually heralded a powerful ghost, only this was dialed up to an eleven. A series of chills ran down her spine, and in spite of herself, she shivered.

Above her, the sky keened with an ominous rumble that shook her to the bone. Her heart plummeted when the sharp crackling of lightning pierced her ears and a blinding fork of green light split the sky. 

The edges of the cracks began to try and pull themselves away from each other, revealing even more green light. Just beyond, if she squinted, she could see the black of a pitch dark void trying to creep into the cracks and push them apart even more.

And just as quickly as the lightning and the cracks had appeared, they disappeared with a deafening snap that jolted Star’s gut out of place and sent her falling onto the sidewalk.

For a minute, she couldn’t do anything other than breathe heavily, trying to catch her breath and calm her racing heart. Paulina’s voice was running at a hundred miles per hour in her ear, but she couldn’t find it within herself to even try to pay attention. Something inside her boiled away at her blood, filling her with a kind of dread she’d only felt a handful of times before. 

Very carefully, she propped herself up so she was sitting. She couldn’t find any remnant of what had just happened - only confused neighbors emerging from their homes, peering up and wondering the same thing she was.. 

“... was that? Star! Star, please! I heard a loud noise, are you okay?”

The words slowly started to take form in her brain. “Y-yeah,” she whispered, still watching everyone point up at the sky and talk amongst themselves. “I’m fine… I think… Did you see the sky?”

¿Qué piensas? Of course I saw it! What even happened?”

Star swallowed. “I don’t know…” But whatever it is can’t be good, she finished silently. Not when you lived in a town constantly plagued by the supernatural.

“I-I’ll try to tell you what I can when I get there,” she promised, hoisting herself onto her feet and jogging towards Paulina’s house. It shouldn’t have been more than a block, by that point. 

She didn’t know how on earth she was going to explain it.

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

  He staggered backward, the blinding green light from the split sky still imprinted on the back of his eyelids. His hand hit the stone wall behind him, and if it was the wall of the Keep or Long Now or the Acropolis or his own house, he didn’t know. 

Swooning, he pitched to the side. Fragments of foreign memory still plagued him with the echoes of sounds he didn’t recognize, like the unearthly roar of rage and anguish -

- and the broken cry of a disembodied voice -

- and the sound of -

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

Sydney yawned noisily as the shade of his trigonometry teacher, Mrs. Rekdal, wrote out another equation on the blackboard. In life, Ms. Rekdal had been a tiny, crotchety Norwegian lady with a distinct distaste for nonsense. Apparently, her shade held similar attitudes.

She whirled around sharply and pointed her chalk at the classroom. “Who said that?” she demanded, beady eyes coming to rest on each and every student in turn. “If this is so boring, perhaps it’s time I assigned you another twenty problems for homework, eh?”

Sydney froze. Granted, he didn’t particularly care if they got another twenty problems (things like homework become meaningless when your entire afterlife is tied to the shadow memory of a high school), and he knew Ms. Rekdal would easily forget about the incident, but even after 50 years of trig lessons from her, incurring her wrath still shook him to the core.

The girl behind him - not one of the ones he’d finally managed to win over, sadly - kicked the bottom of his seat. “It was Poindexter!” she said. Her voice barely concealed her snickers. “He did it!”

Sydney turned to glare at her. “Real chummy of you, Kathy.”

She merely flashed him a cheeky grin.

“A-hem!”

Sydney yelped at the sharp crack of Ms. Rekdal’s ruler slapping against his desk. Sheepishly, trying to keep his shoulders from creeping up towards his ears, he turned back to meet her fiery gaze. She had always been one of those teachers that seemed like they could stare into your soul, and now felt no different. 

“Well, Mr. Poindexter?” she said. She peered over the rims of her tortoise-shell glasses. “Tell me why I shouldn’t send all of you home with an extra hour of homework tonight, since you seem to be the wise guy here!”

He bit back a comment about how it was impossible for her to send them home with extra homework - for all intents and purposes, the echo of Casper High was home - and instead tried for an apologetic smile. “W-well, you see, ma’am, I -”

Ms. Rekdal disappeared.

Sydney blinked. “What the -” He waved a hand around where she’d been standing, but there was no trace of her. “Did you guys -”

He cut himself short when he turned around, only to see the rest of the class had disappeared too. Not even their bags and books and papers remained.

He stood up, and his chair fell to the ground with a clatter. “Alright, if this is someone’s funny idea of a prank, I’ll have ya know this is a lame one, buster!”

Something shifted outside the window.

Something of a girlish scream tore from his throat as he looked out the window only to see a big, gaping rip of pure darkness emerging against the already-dark horizon of the Ghost Zone. Around the edges, ectoplasm warped and wobbled. Neighboring doors and windows were swallowed whole, or disintegrated, or simply glitching. 

Even through the glass, he could hear the distant sounds of a guttural, furious roar. His eyes flew open, and his core shuddered to a halt.

He knew that roar anywhere. 

“I-impossible!” he gasped. He made to run for the door and tripped over his fallen chair. “He can’t be - he’s supposed to be locked away! I-I have to…”

Have to what? If his ears weren’t tricking him, if this truly was him… what could little old him do? He was a wimp! Nothing like the kind of person needed to beat him up! Nowhere near as strong as -

The answer hit him like a brick wall.

“Phantom!” He worked to untangle himself from the chair. “I’ve gotta -”

“And just what do you think you’re doing, Mr. Poindexter?”

Sydney blinked again, and Ms. Rekdal stood over him, arms crossed and eyes as beady as ever.

“What?” His ears fell deaf to the snickers of his classmates around him as he sat up, staring out the window.

The tear of darkness was gone. The roar had died away. The doors had been returned.

As if nothing had ever happened.

“Sit! Up! Poindexter!” Ms. Rekdal snapped at him. “Unless if you don’t think you need history class anymore, in which case I’m more than happy to send you straight to the principal’s office!”

Sydney stopped in the middle of righting his chair. “History class? But this is trig!”

This time, he heard his classmates’ giggles. “Wow, did you really hit your head that hard?” Kathy said, still laughing behind her hand. “Trig class, what a joke!”

“I don’t -”

“Enough!” Ms. Rekdal barked. “There’s been enough interruption to this class for one day! The next person to disrupt class will earn themselves a one way trip to a month’s worth of detention!”

Sydney gazed around the room helplessly. Sure enough, the posters of formulas had disappeared in favor of maps and posters with the presidents. Rather than the math they’d been working on before, the blackboard was covered in notes about the War of 1812. His classmates all sat in the same seats, but they held history textbooks in their hands instead of trigonometry textbooks.

His mouth formed around soundless words. This… it couldn’t be right. The shade never changed. It never changed. It was impossible! It was an echo, it couldn’t change! Everything always remained the same!

Until now. Until that rip in the sky. Until that roar.

Without another word, Sydney turned and fled out the door.

He had to warn someone.

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

He fell into something squishy and warm and loud, something yelling his name into his ear. He flinched away from the sound. It grated too harshly on his ears. It only added to the cacophony of alien memories overwhelming him.

And yet worse than the peppering of unfamiliar memories and the swimming thoughts and the disorientation, was the intense burning that consumed his core and heart, inside and out. Like someone had taken him to the sun and dropped him inside. Or like someone had stabbed it with a knife of fire and blood blossoms.

Like being caught in the crossfire of life and death all over again.

He groaned weakly and drew his knees to his chest. It was too much to bear. Too much. Too hot. Too much like the memory of a razor-sharp sword swinging down into his eye - 

- and the angry flames of a crown trying to reject him - 

- and the -

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

The Fright Knight sighed as he carefully petted Nightmare’s fiery mane. He did not own much; he was a servant to the throne, and the throne provided for him. He had no need for belongings, not like other ghosts. Even if he’d had belongings, he couldn’t guarantee they would even remain the same with the changing of the throne. Everything, even down to his armor, always changed.

Still though, there were a few things he could always count on having. His sword, for instance, christened as Sāwol Rīpere many centuries before, with the coronation of the most recent king. Of course, its name changed with each coronation of each new king, but the sword remained his. The tool with which to carry out his sacred charge.

And his beautiful mare. Her name too changed along with the sword’s (and his own), but she remained by his side throughout the centuries. His duty to the throne aside, Sāwol Rīpere and Nightmare were the two things he prized most. His two constants amidst an existence of rotating rulers and rotating identities.

Granted his relationship with Sāwol Rīpere, now better known by its more modern translation of Soul Shredder, had been strained over the past few centuries. Even now, sheathed and hanging at his side, he could feel its power itching to be freed, its need to reap souls to the Realm of Eternal Terrors, as it had been commissioned to do with the name it had been granted.

It was a power he despised.

And yet it was a power he couldn’t reject.

Not yet, at least.

He still managed to take comfort in Nightmare. Though her appearance had changed to evoke fear in those who saw her, to him, she was the same magnificent steed she had been millenia ago, back when she’d first been given to him. Their bond was strong, one-of-a-kind. No matter what, he knew he could rely on her to be his faithful companion.

As he stroked her neck and mane, though, he felt her muscles tense beneath his hand. Despite having no visible face, the Fright Knight frowned. “Nightmare? What troubles you?”

As if in response, a crashing force of energy slammed into them both.

The Fright Knight braced himself against the barrage. He’d found himself in the midst of many onslaughts before, but none so strong as this. Nightmare whinnied with anxiety, and he suspected the only reason she did not kick her hoof against the ground was because she too needed to brace herself against the force.

Almost as quickly as it came, it left, and in its wake came a rumble that caused his armor to clink together loudly. Across the sky of the Realms above him, green light flashed and forked, and with a great heave that he could feel in his core, it began to tear itself apart, exposing a darkness like none he had seen before.

At the same time, another sensation grew in his core, one that he’d not felt in many centuries. A certain yearning that strained against himself, one that demanded to be satisfied immediately. As he watched the tear in the sky grow, his eyes widened as the recognition of the yearning dawned on him.

“After all these years,” he whispered. “Could it be…?”

For a moment, he stood there, reveling in the feeling. True, this was not an entirely foreign pull on his core, but there was a distinct… lightness to it. Not heavy or forceful or with the sense of impending doom that had accompanied it the last time it had appeared. No, this one felt promising. 

Like for the first time in hundreds of years, he could allow himself to hope again.

And then the next moment, yet another sensation wrapped its hot grasp around his core. He gasped at the familiar sting, and Nightmare reared with a loud neigh.

Of course she would. He knew she hated the sting as much as she did.

“Calm yourself!” he said, unable to keep the urgency out of his voice. He reached up to stroke her neck again, and she dutifully relaxed into his touch. Still though, she made sure to voice her displeasure through a series of nickers and grunts.

“I know, my mare.” He couldn’t resist how his fingers tightened around the tendrils of flame that formed her mane. “He’s been awakened again. He’s…” His voice trailed off. He couldn’t bring himself to reassure his horse in the face of the revelation.

He swallowed thickly. The hot grip on his core was undeniable. It had held him captive for too long now, ever since a crown of flames was placed upon the new king’s head. He knew it all too well. His core demanded that he follow it, that he fulfill his duty to the throne.

And yet the new sensation, the new tug at his core… it too demanded his attention. Though softer and quieter than the sting, it beckoned to him as well. It told him of a duty that needed equally fulfilled. The same duty demanded by the sting.

He sighed again, shakily, and carefully untangled his fingers from Nightmare’s mane. The feeling of his core at conflict with itself was quickly becoming all too much for him to bear.

He needed to choose. 

And he knew which one would win out in his core, regardless of his own desires.

Slowly, he mounted Nightmare. With a cry, he snapped the reins, and his mare took off like a rocket.

Headed straight for Pariah’s Keep.

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

“No!”

His cry was strangled; his mouth felt too clumsy around it. The scratchiness in his throat didn’t help matters, and he couldn’t remember if it had been from all the screaming, but had it actually been him doing the screaming? He couldn’t remember, and he had too many memories jumbled around in his head.

And he had priorities. Like the last memory of the Fright Knight. And his panging, burning core. 

His core, burning with the same hot grasp that had taken the hold of the Fright Knight.

Trembling, he blindly attempted to push himself away from whatever warm, soft thing he’d fallen on. “He’s -” he gasped, unable to catch his breath. “Pa- he’s…”

Voices around him drowned his own feeble voice out. They shouted, only adding to the overstimulation. Were they talking to him? Yelling at him? He couldn’t tell. It was like trying to listen underwater.

With another gurgle, his arms gave out from under him, and -

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

He fell face first onto the stone floor. The dome of the Ecto-Skeleton shielded his face from most of the damage, but the force of the blow still shook his body and caused him to crash painfully against the side. Hopefully that crack in his ribs was more imagined than real.

Ignore it, he repeated to himself. The same mantra he’d been repeating to himself the entire fight. Do what needs to be done.

Still though, he couldn’t stop himself from glancing down at the dashboard.

19%.

18%.

17%.

Not enough.

It wouldn’t be enough.

Gritting his teeth, he summoned a picture of Amity Park to mind. Pushed out the pain. Pushed out the feeling of energy draining from him faster than he could replace it. Pulled in every desperate thought about the city and people he loved so much. His friends. His family.

Do what needs to be done. For them.

As he stumbled to his feet, gasping at how much energy even such a simple movement cost him, Pariah cackled above him, his laugh deep and thunderous. “Surrender, child!” he taunted from his place at the foot of the dais. “You can’t possibly win!”

Danny’s eyes narrowed.

16%.

15%.

Pariah was right. God, the thought made his stomach turn and his heart stutter, but Pariah was right.

There would be no winning here. 

For a moment, time seemed to stand still. The sound of Pariah’s maniacal laughter was drowned out by the rush of blood in his ears. Each labored breath pushed his overworked lungs closer and closer to the brink of giving out. His heart and core had long since begun to fall out of their carefully maintained rhythm.

The image of Sam and Tucker, of Mom and Dad and Jazz, began to fade from his mind’s eye.

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the tears threatening to fall. 

He had to.

He had no choice.

Do what needs to be done.

He inhaled shakily. “I don’t need to win,” he said, making sure to look Pariah dead in the eye. With a heave, he summoned energy to his hands and shot twin blasts of turquoise ectoplasm.

Pariah, of course, ducked, but the blasts soared over his head and into the rubble at the top of the dais. With a deafening crash, the stone was exploded out of the way, revealing an ornate sarcophagus standing alone atop the dais, lid still opened and ready to welcome an occupant.

There would be no winning today.

14%.

13%.

Not for either of them.

Not if he could help it.

“I just need to make sure you lose!” he shouted, lunging forward. Pariah, whose confident aura had faltered at the sight of his old prison, stumbled back, never once averting his gaze from the Sarcophagus to see Danny. 

Just before they collided, Danny made a desperate swipe above the king’s head. His fingers closed around hot metal, and he yanked with a great tug.

The Crown came loose.

If his life hadn’t been at stake, he probably would’ve laughed at the bewildered look on Pariah’s face. Unfortunately…

He looked down at the Crown in his hands. Back up to the Sarcophagus. Over to Pariah.

12%.

“NO!” Pariah’s scream was loud enough to shake bits of rubble from the ceiling. 

Danny looked back down at the Crown. Something about it seemed to pulse in his hands, almost as if it were alive. He could feel the power within it. Even through the metal mecha, he could feel its richness, its fullness, how pure and unfiltered the power within was…

It reached toward him. He could feel it practically knocking at the door to his core, asking to be let in, and his core ached to do so. It was almost frightening how welcoming the power felt, and how much he found himself yearning to welcome it back.

If only…

11%.

Pariah began to recover from his shock, and in that instant, Danny made another split second decision.

He threw the Crown to the side and lunged forward again.

The instant it left his hand, Danny regretted that decision. The sudden absence of that power hit him like a brick wall, and he nearly faltered from the shock. Maybe he should’ve kept it. Maybe the ghosts were wrong about it only working with the Ring. Maybe it could’ve offered him something, anything, just something enough to make sure he lasted long enough to put this guy away for good.

When he came into contact with Pariah, though, those thoughts were thrown aside just as easily as the Crown.

He had a job to do.

Pushing the king up the dais was surprisingly easy, all things considered. Still ate up too much of his precious energy, but had he held onto the Crown any longer, Pariah would’ve had more of a chance to recover and brace himself against the attack. That would’ve cost him even more energy.

And it didn’t mean his heart didn’t tremble in his chest with every pained breath. Or that his ribs didn’t scream in agony. Or that his body felt any less battered and bruised as it probably was.

Just a little further.

Pariah growled, something feral and guttural, and he tried to dig his heels into the ground. 

So close.

Danny pushed harder.

10%.

Something snapped inside him as they reached the top, and with a feral growl of his own, Danny shoved Pariah face-first into the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep and shut the lid with a bang that resounded across the Zone.

For one blessed second, he felt lighter than air. Had he managed to do it? Had he really won? 

And then the full force of Pariah’s power crashed against him.

Danny’s core skipped a beat as he frantically repositioned himself to hold down the lid tight. Pressed tight against the Sarcophagus with his head bent low, he couldn’t see much around him, but he felt it as the atmosphere around him began to shift violently. Ambient ectoplasm manifested into something tangible and swirled around Danny and the Sarcophagus like an angry cyclone.

Angry was definitely the right word for it. He could practically taste it in the air as the energy around him hummed.

(Little did he know that the same angry cyclone surrounded the kidnapped Amity Park.)

Something was on the brink of happening. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Something familiar.

He looked down at the dashboard.

9%.

8%.

Pariah roared wordlessly from within his prison, the noise nearly deafening in Danny’s ears. The king gave a particularly strong heave, and Danny gasped as he desperately pushed back.

The energy around them was becoming palpable now. It wanted… something. It wanted… to…

7%.

6%.

5%.

His eyes unfocused for a moment, no thanks to the exertion, and when they came back into focus, albeit somewhat blurry, they landed on the keyhole of the Sarcophagus.

His heart dropped like a stone.

The key. He didn’t have it.

No…

Oh God. Oh God. He…

He really wasn’t going to make it.

He wouldn’t win.

And Pariah would be able to walk free over his dead corpse like a welcome mat.

Oh God.

I’m gonna die.

4%.

And now he knew why the energy buzzing around them felt familiar. He’d experienced this before. The ectoplasm and the hum and the desire and the feeling like something was about to break and everything.

He didn’t have the energy to scream as flashes of blinding white and green light filled his mind. The memory of electricity coursing through his body, burning his insides away and reducing him to dust and rewriting him entirely, was almost enough to make him fall away from the door.

3%.

Almost.

He couldn’t breathe now. Whether it was because he was too weak or because the smell of burning flesh and ozone and ectoplasm haunted him or because of some other third reason, he had no clue. Tears fell freely down his cheeks.

Please, he begged silently. Why was he praying? Did he even believe in God? Was it some fit of desperation of hope of a life beyond this one?

2%.

His core felt ready to give out. His heart fluttered in an irregular beat. He was slumped against the Sarcophagus’ door, nothing more than dead weight against it. He was all too aware of the neural receptors attached to him, sapping away any last bit of life they could. 

I don’t want to die…

The energy around him threatened to rip him open all over again.

I’m too scared…

Distantly, he felt something wrap around his core. 

I’m too weak…

It wasn’t unpleasant, surprisingly enough. If anything it was… comforting?

I can’t do this…

1%.

He began to fall into a lifeless heap. He expected it to hurt as horribly as the rest of him, as badly as everything else had hurt him, but it was strangely soft. In a bizarre turn of events, he was reminded of one of the poems Lancer loved to drone on about. Something about going softly into the night.

Maybe that’s what dying would end up being.

I don’t want to die…

He couldn’t do it.

He couldn’t hold on.

He dropped.

Something clicked.

(The energy moved.)

The roar in his ears died away. His vision went black.

A voice tried to speak to him. He couldn’t understand it.

His core and heart slowed.

Rest. The thought was fuzzy, unclear, more of a feeling than a word. He couldn’t even tell if it was his own.

But he obeyed.

Maybe dying could be like going to sleep.

Maybe…

And as he lost the last threads of his consciousness, a new voice spoke to him, unfamiliar but clear as day.

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

Sweet little Prince…

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

He choked back a cry of fear. That voice… Was it the memory, or was it speaking to him now?

With a jolt, he realized it was the same voice that had been giving him those thoughts since he’d entered the Ghost Zone not two hours earlier. Panic gripped his heart, and when the hot hold on his core gave a particularly strong squeeze, he gasped and clawed at his chest.

Leave me alone! He didn’t know if he said it out loud or not; he couldn’t tell. At this point, all he knew was the fear inside of him. Get out of my head!

It was Pariah. It had to be. How he’d gotten inside his head like this, he didn’t know, but it was the only explanation.

Another wave of panic seized him, and he began to claw with more desperation. On some distant, not quite conscious level, he drew on his core, willing the energy into his hands, only for it to respond with another stab of pain. He cried out.

A pair of hands seized his own. He instinctively drew on his core again in an attempt to go intangible and escape, but he was met with the same pain. Instead, he resorted to thrashing about, trying to free himself.

“Par… let go..!” he wheezed.

He couldn’t let Pariah get him again.

He couldn’t go through that again.

He couldn’t.

You won’t have to.

The voice only increased his vigor. 

He jerked away from the hands as hard as he could, and -

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

The force of the shudder had been enough to bring everyone in the Ancients’ chamber to their knees.

Save for young Phantom.

For a moment, Kala could only watch from his position pressed into the table as the child hung in the air, wrapped in a warped glow. The deathmark on his arm grew brighter and brighter, and frost began to spread on the floor and walls. Power tinged the room, a power that felt as light as a refreshing summer breeze and as strong as a mountain.

In that moment, Kala could believe that this child was truly the next High King, every bit deserving of the title of Pariah’s Bane.

And then Phantom fell and the illusion shattered.

The shudder was almost forgotten as the power and frost dissipated. The child landed on his feet but quickly fell first into the wall behind him, then into one of his human friends, the boy. The boy yelped Phantom’s name, and the other one, the girl, was quick to kneel at his side as well.

If the image of the child floating in the air, surrounded by power, had been kingly, the image of him writhing pathetically on the ground and whimpering nonsense was anything but. Kala found himself at a loss.

He’d never seen anything like this.

Frostbite and Pandora’s attendant reacted immediately, rushing to help ease Phantom off of the human boy. “He’s burning up,” Frostbite murmured. In his arms, the child looked small, weak. He pressed two claws to Phantom’s chest, and Pandora’s attendant took Phantom’s hands in hers to keep him from flailing too much. “His core is overheating.”

“It was that - that earthquake, or whatever you call it!” The human girl sprang to her feet and looked helplessly at the other Ancients. “It’s been doing that all day, that’s what we were trying to say before!”

Zunje grabbed the tablet that had been thrown from her hands. “It’s done this each time?” She began to scroll furiously. “But why would it overheat? Why would it respond so poorly? If it’s the Heart at the root of all this, it shouldn’t…” She trailed off, muttering to herself.

Phantom cried out unintelligibly, trying to shake off the attendant’s grasp, but she held tight, singing something quietly in ancient Greek. 

Kala’s frown deepened. Something was not right. 

“No king before has ever had such a… violent reaction to being told of their ascension,” he remarked.

The human girl’s eyes flashed his way, and to his surprise, he found himself mildly impressed by the fierce, determined shine in them. “It’s not that! He wouldn’t… It’s gotta be something else! This doesn’t just happen!”

“Precisely,” Kala agreed with a nod. “Perhaps this truly is the work of the Heart. Perhaps it is attempting to reject him.” The idea made sense to him. In spite of whatever image he’d been presented with earlier, he couldn’t accept the notion that Kilaris would choose a half-breed child of all possible candidates. He simply couldn’t! It violated every unspoken law that had already been established!

… Right?

“But the Heart’s rejected folks before,” Babel said. “It’s never done anything like this before. I mean, even if he ain’t the guy…”

“... Kilaris would never inflict harm like this upon one of its own,” Pandora finished. 

Kala hummed. “Then it must be someone else’s doing.”

“What?” The human boy glanced at him. “I thought Vlad said that was impossible. Like, someone would have to actually be here to hurt him that way.”

“No, yeah, that’s about right,” Zunje said. She did not look up from her tablet. “Core interference has gotta be a direct thing. Only a strong magic can do anything from a distance.”

“So then it is the Heart,” Pele said with a grunt. 

Zunje bit her lip. “I… I don’t know? It’s… I can’t tell?” She stabbed a finger at the tablet. “I’m trying to, but it’s not…”

Phantom rolled in Frostbite’s arms. “P… pah…” he gasped, as though his mouth struggled to form around the sound.

Frostbite himself rumbled. “He needs to cool down. I’d offer to maintain his core temperature myself, but…” His eyes flickered in Pandora’s direction. “I… worry about the practicalities. I may have something that can help, though.”

“Here.” Pandora’s attendant shifted to sit on her ankles. “Go. I will keep him as stable as I can.”

Frostbite seemed hesitant, but after a brief moment of indecision, he carefully lowered the child into the attendant’s lap. “I’ll be as quick as I can,” he promised, and Kala couldn’t quite decide if it had been directed more towards the attendant or Phantom himself.

As Frostbite disappeared through the door of thick ice, Kala turned his attention back to Zunje. “Can you not give us any report?” he asked.

“Believe me, I’m trying. My sensors are going nuts. Things are just so inconsistent…”

There was a loud crack, and suddenly, Babel stood on Zunje’s shoulder. “Lemme see!” They made a grab for the tablet. “Inconsistent is my middle name.”

“You don’t have a middle name.”

“Well, if I did, it would be inconsistent.”

Phantom began trying to speak again. Pandora’s attendant leaned in closer. “Say that again,” she whispered.

Still, the child’s mumbles seemed unintelligible to him.

The human girl had gone back to staring at her friend, picking blindly at her fingers. “So… you were being serious about Danny being a - a king?” she asked quietly.

Pandora nodded. “Very much so. I’ve admittedly had my suspicions for a while now…” She trailed off, glancing at Kala. “But it’s been speculation at best. I’d hoped for his sake that I was wrong, but…”

“Wait, what? Why? Is it dangerous or something?”

Pele snorted. “Danger lies in all things. It is never a question of if. It’s a question of how much.”

“The throne is not inherently a dangerous office,” Pandora said quickly, having seen the way both humans paled considerably. “My concern was… mainly in terms of his age. Even by your human standards, he is young.” Her gaze softened as it came to rest on the delirious Phantom. “It is an incredible burden to ask of anyone, especially for someone as young as he.”

“Right. Yeah.” The human boy licked his lips. “Definitely not dangerous to put a teenager in charge of an entire dimension. Nope.”

“Do not get me wrong. I firmly believe he’ll make a great king, given time.”

“If he is to be king,” Kala said before he could stop himself. “I am still not certain that he is the Heart’s chosen. Especially given these… troubles.”

“You can’t deny that he has some connection to Kilaris,” Pandora protested. She gestured to her attendant, still holding the child in her lap and leaned in close. “How else can you explain a reaction such as this?”

Kala opened his mouth to answer before realizing he didn’t have one. How could he explain it? As much as he loathed to admit, the evidence did seem to point to the boy as the next king. He would, as always, wait to finish gathering all evidence before making a decision, but he couldn’t deny the signs.

He also couldn’t deny the doubt that refused to be satisfied, deep in his core.

The door of ice opened again, and Frostbite re-entered the chamber, holding a bundle of fabric in one of his paws. He wasted no time returning to young Phantom’s side.

“Here.” Gently, he lifted the child’s shoulders and secured the fabric around his neck. “I was saving this as a gift, but… he needs it now.”

Kala watched with attentive eyes as Frostbite carefully wrapped the outer folds of the cloak around Phantom, effectively cocooning him. 

His eyes opened.

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

Clockwork hummed a little tune to himself as he spun the dial on his staff. In front of him, a time window showed the image of young Danny, emerging from a portal.

A black, frosted crown sat on Danny’s head.

Clockwork would’ve liked to watch the boy in real time. Sadly, the Observants had made sure to block his view into the Ancients’ chamber long ago.

He’d have to settle for offering a tiny bit of assistance from afar. 

Hopefully Frostbite wouldn’t be too upset with him for adding his own little touch to Danny’s gift.

[hotforharrysheart]

Hopelessly Devoted

Lily’s POV:

You look at the moonlit ocean, standing on the deck outside the master bedroom of the Malibu beach house Harry leased for the time residency in LA. The week of your anniversary has come and gone much faster than either of you wanted, but it was full of quiet togetherness; however, now, it’s back to business as usual. The memories made won’t soon be forgotten. The ocean breeze runs through your hair and the long, green Pleasing hoodie you grabbed this afternoon. Enjoying the privacy of the house and the beach outside, you didn’t bother with pants other than panties. You touch the charm on your necklace that holds your special video. Admittedly, you’ve watched it more than a few times…it was the ultimate gift. Now with Halloween just around the corner and Harry’s epiphany about the Grease theme, you’ve had a little epiphany yourself. Now to just get it in play…looking behind you to make sure Harry isn’t anywhere close, you pull your phone from the hoodie pocket and dial Lambert’s number.

“Well, ‘ello, Lily Rose… ya doin’ alright?” he answers happily.

“Hey, I’m doin’ well, thank you. How are you?” you say still keeping an eye on the bedroom.

“’M great! Whatcha got on ya mind, love?”

“Well, I had an idea about Halloween and I was wondering if you could help me pull it off. I know we have arrangements for my costume…err…,” you see Harry step by the bedroom door, with his phone to his head, then gently pull the door closed once he sees where you are. What in world is he up to?, “sorry, the umm…’sweet Sandy’ look with the poodle skirt, sweater, pearls, ponytail…yanno? Well, I’d like to see how hard it would be for me to also get a ‘bad Sandy’ outfit?”

“Well, Sarah already has that look set up…,” he says hesitantly.

“No! I know that, this would be for after the show…kinda a, uh-hm, surprise look for Harry for….after,” you say softly hoping not to sound ridiculous. “Like I was thinking, I could change from ‘sweet Sandy’ look during the show to surprise him with the ‘bad Sandy’ look in the car on the way home…you know what I mean?”

“Oh, my, god…Lily! This is a GREAT idea! We could do tigh’ leather skinnies, a black off the shoulder tigh’ top…the big hair…”

“That’s exactly what I was looking for,” you interrupt his vision recitation. You’re watching that bedroom door like a hawk, hoping Harry doesn’t come in anytime soon.

“We can absolutely do this! Can you meet me tomorrow for a fitting?”

“Yes! That would be great!,” you whisper shout excitedly.

“I’ll text ya tha time an’ place first thin’, an’ we’ll see wha’ we can do!”

“Great! Hey, thanks, Harry, I appreciate you always helping me with my hair brained ideas.”

“Girl, it’s no trouble at all. You’re a part of the family, I’m happy to see you make him so happy.”

Harry’s POV:

“Hold on Mitch, lemme see where she is…,” I say looking for my sweet Lily girl. Spied! She’s on her phone out on the deck…hmm…wonder what she’s up to? Shrugging, I pull the bedroom door closed and turn to finish talking to Mitch.

“Harry, what the fuck, it’s late and the baby is in bed already…asleep…and we…are…alone, Harry. Do you get my drift? Why are you interrupting our…aloneness!? Why am I talking to you, rather than kissing my woman…hmm…?” Mitch says grumpily.

I laugh my breathy little laugh. “‘M sorry, man, I really am, bu’ ‘m plannin’ a surprise fo’ HARRYWEEN an’ I need ya help ta pull it off.”

Mitch sighs loudly, giving in.

“I wan’ the special song ta be ‘Hopelessly Devoted.’ Can ya get with Pauli an’ set up a rehearsal fo’ tomorrow so we can start practicing it?”

“Yeah, I actually love that idea. I’ll text everyone in the morning and let you know the details. I’m going now.”

“Alrigh’, thanks. Tell Sarah I said hi,” I say, glancing out to the deck to make sure she’s still out there.

“Bye H,” Mitch says and the line goes dead.

I chuckle to myself and put my phone down and sit down on the bed waiting for her to come back in. I shoot off a quick text to Molly and let her know the song I’ve chosen so she can start putting together some pics of Olivia Newton-John to add to the monitors because this is as much a tribute to her as well. I can’t wait to sing this song to celebrate my love for Lily. I watch as the bubbles come up and then Molly’s thumbs up emoji.

Just then my beautiful Jezebel slips in the glass door and closes it behind her, smiling softly. I can tell she’s up up something. I watch as she tucks her hair behind her ears and moves to the other side of the bed, crossing her arms and pulling off her sweatshirt, tossing it to the floor. I lick my lips as her breasts pop out and I catch a glimpse of the bee tattoo under her breast. I hold out my hand and smile as she takes it and I pull her to me. We smirk at each other as we lay on our sides facing each other.

Lily’s POV:

I clear my throat. “I need to run to do some research with Bella tomorrow for Sophia’s case,”I say fingering the duvet without meeting his eyes. I never can lie to him convincingly.  

“Yeah, well, we’re workin’ wi’ some new equipment tomorrow so practice will be kinda longer than usual,” he replies adjusting the pillow even less convincingly, but at least not a complete lie.

He smirks at me. “Know ya go’ somethin’ planned Jezebel tha’ ain’ go’ nothin’ ta do wi’ ya case,” he says, chuckling. “Don’ gotta lie ta me…jus’ tell me ya go’ an errand ta run an’ I won’ bug ya abou’ it, yeah?”

“I don’t know what you mean, H, but ok, I have an errand to run…you have fun testing out that “new equipment”, I say using air quotes.

He laughs that breathy little laugh I love so much. “Alrigh’ ya go’ me. I won’ lie ta ya either.” He leans his face close to mine. “Now C’mere an’ give me a proper kiss.”

I smile and move closer to him, sighing as his hand lands in my bum pulling me flush to his body.

He presses his lips to mine and i just enjoy the feeling of his soft lips against mine.

He pulls back, forehead pressed to  mine, and I can’t help it…my brows furrow thinking about our time coming to an end.

Harry’s POV:

I know what she’s feeling because I feel it too. I pull back to kiss her forehead as her arm wraps around me. I feel a tear hit my chin and pull her closer to me. “Shh, Jezebel, I know, baby, I know,” I say trying to soothe her. I feel her nod her head against my cheek.

“It’s been amazing, and I’m just sad it’s coming to an end,” she says sniffling.

“I know bu’ it’s no’ ov-ah jus’ yet…any idea how we can pass the time?” I ask her, pulling back to look in her eyes.

She smiles and bites her lip. “Wellll…I can think of a few things.”

Lily’s POV:

The next few days went by in a blur with the first LA shows being Harry’s usual overwhelming success. His bond with the audience is still amazing to witness. I’ve met with Lambert to get fitted for a pair of leather leggings and a black off the shoulder top, add in a pair of stilettos and a big curly, blond wig and my badass Sandy outfit will be ready to surprise Harry with. I pulled Cal aside to let him in on the idea and after he finished grinning smugly, he promised to provide the cigarette to complete the fantasy. My body feels tingly every time I think of my plan. I’m gonna rock his world… Harry has been adding extra practice time to make sure he’s ready for the show, and I have warned that all this extra time in addition to the current schedule is gonna run him down and he’s gonna end up sick if he doesn’t watch it, but he believes he’s invincible…especially with IV therapy to keep him hydrated and fully nourished with vitamins and minerals. To be honest, he does amaze me at his incredible energy and stamina. Such a talented, gifted man and all mine…still causes me to pinch myself after all this time.  I have a lunch date with Bella and Harry is off to one of the extra practices.

“Babe, I’m off to meet Bella for lunch at Mel’s…Cal’s drivin’.” I turn around to walk out to find him and smash right into him. “Wha…? What are you doin’?” Putting my hand on my hip, “Have you been there the whole time?”

He grins and laughs that breathy little laugh I adore so much, “Uhhh, yup…ya were ben’ over when I walked by an’ I couldn’ resis’ this arse,” he says smoothing his hands over my bottom.

Harry’s POV:

I smirk watching her eyes flutter closed as my hands grab her gorgeous arse, pulling her flush to me.

“Mmmm…H. Can’t do this now…I’ve gotta get going.”

I sigh. I know she needs to see her friends and I want her to but I hate it when I can’t be with her. “‘No tha’, Jezebel. Ya miss me?”

She smiles and nods.

“Kiss me goodbye then woman.”

She presses her lips to mine and I smile into the kiss, enjoying the feel of her lips on mine. Will I ever get tired of kissing her?

She pulls back and pecks my lips quickly again. “Bye. Text you later,” she says and then she’s gone.

Luis picks me up and we head to rehearsal. Hopelessly Devoted is really coming together…it sounds better every time we play it and I can’t wait to play it in front of an audience and especially my Jezebel.

We’d just wrapped up the song and I can’t help but smile at my band. Pauli gives me two thumbs up and I know we’ve nailed it.

“See ya guys tomorrow nigh’,” I say and then watch as everyone leaves except Mitch. I watch him put his guitar down and then slowly walk towards me.

“Sounds fuckin’ amazin’ man,” Mitch says, slapping me on the back.

“Yeah, it does,” I say, smiling. I can tell he’s got something on his mind.

“I know we’re doing the Grease theme and everything…so Hopelessly makes sense but like…it’s gonna give Lily a lot of attention, which isn’t like you. Is there something you’re not telling us?”

I suck my lips into my mouth and run my hand back through my hair. I’m not exactly sure how to answer this question if I’m honest. “Uhhhh…wellll…I mean…shit.” I meet his eyes and smile. “We’re gettin’ married, I asked her ta marry me.”

Mitch’s eyes get really big. “Jesus H! Man, congratulations! I’m so happy for you!” He says, hugging me.

I hug him back hard. “We’re no’ tellin’ anyone jus’ yet so can ya keep it quiet fo’ a while?”

“Of course, of course. Wow…that’s great. You guys are just great together.”

“Thanks man. Thanks.”

Lily’s POV:

Cal pulls into Mel’s parking lot and I see Bella’s car already there. “Alway’s early…that’s why she’s your assistant, Lily,” I say to myself as Cal pulls up to the front door. It isn’t too busy, thankfully, so we should have a nice quiet time together. I put away the lip gloss I had pulled out to touch up where Harry had kissed my first coat off. I smile to myself remembering his kisses…he’s up to something…I can tell, but, hey, what can I say…so am I.

“I’ll be back around two if that’s alright, Miss Lily?” Cal says looking in the rear view window. “There’s a nice coffee shop I really enjoy down the strip a bit…thought I might treat myself to a nice cuppa and some quiet time.”

“Aww… the baby still cutting teeth?” I ask knowing that his littlest one, Jasper’s, bottom teeth are coming in so he’s been quite colicky, slobbery and feverish, especially at night.

He smiles and nods his head animatedly. “Don’t remember Amelia being this cranky when her teeth came in, but that boy of mine is downright mean about his. Biting everything he can chew on, cheeks all broken out and red…feel sorry for the ‘lil fella…”

“I feel sorry for his mum…she must be out of her mind…err, along with you. Well, Cal, I hate to say it, but Jasper IS a boy and they just don’t cope with pain as well…,” I tease and rub his shoulder. “Thanks for the ride, Dad…go get you a cuppa and grab Cecily some donuts to bring home…you’ll make her day,” I suggest, “might even get lucky…pastries do that to us ladies.”

He chuckles and his shoulders shake. “Harry has his hands full with you Miss Lily, you’re perfect for him.”

“Thank you, it means a lot to hear that…Love you Cal,” I say and blow him a kiss. This man has been there for so much, he’s not just a driver or security…he’s our family. I step out of the car and just as I’m about to close the door, I remember to ask Cal, “Hey, could you go by and get a package of cigarettes for me? Ya know for Harryween….” That’s the most awkward question I’ve ever asked someone to get for me in my entire life. You’d think I asked him to pick up condoms or something with the way I’m blushing. I look down at the asphalt drive grinning to myself at my ridiculous embarrassment.

Cal leans back to look sideways out the back door, “No problem…you want Marlboro…Salem…, you interested in the light kind…?” he teases with a very smug smile.

“Stop…you know I have no idea…!”

“I’ve got ya covered, don’t worry,” he replies with a chuckle.

“See ya, Cal.”

“Back at two, Miss Lily…with your cigs.”

I purse my lips at his teasing and shut the door. Turning, I see Bella sitting in a booth in the windows waving happily and sucking on the straw in a very strawberry milk shake. Yay, it’s gonna be a dessert first kinda lunch, my favorite kind.

As I get to the booth where Bella is, I hear her hit bottom on her shake and the straw sucks up bubbles of milk and air rather loudly. Trying to hold in my giggle, I lean down to kiss her cheek. “Yum! Strawberry! How long have you been here?” I ask looking down at my phone.

“Only about ten or fifteen minutes,” she says dangling the cherry in front of me as an offering. She hates the cherries, but she always gets them because she knows I love them.

I take the red lusciousness and pull the fruit off the stem before chewing. “God, I love those…,” I groan grabbing the menu.

“You always get the same thing, why are you looking at the menu?” she asks licking the whip cream from her thumb.

She’s right…I have no idea why I’m looking at the menu, I always get the avocado burger, sweet potato fries and a large Arnold Palmer. “You wanna share?” I ask thinking about those tight leather pants I have to fit in tomorrow night.

“Sure, I’m full of ice cream, but I def have room for a burger and fries,” she says sliding her shake glass over to the side.

We order a split burger and fries, with a side of ranch for Bella who apparently is a bottomless pit, and I sit back and take a deep breath.

“So what’re you up to Lil…you have that look…like you’re either dug in a case or up to no good…or you have cramps…,” she asks crossing her legs in the seat.

My face frowns and I squint my eyes, “What the fuck, Bella…I do not look like I have cramps!”

“Well, now you do,” she says pointing to my face.

“Shut up!” I say sticking my tongue out at her. “No, I am kinda up to something, but it’s definitely gonna be oh-so-good.”

She sits forward rubbing her hands together then rests her elbows on the table, “Oooo, do tell!” she says conspiratorially

I smile at her adorable attitude, she’s always ready up for something fun. I adore her so much. “Well, first, do you have your costume for Harryween set?”

“Yes, I’m going to be Cha Cha DiGregorio! You know the dress she wears to the dance? The black halter with the teal blue floof on it?  I have a friend in San Fran who’s making it for me. And Gavin is going to be Leo Balmudo, her first boyfriend, ya know the one she cheats with Kenikie on…the “Leader of the Scorpios,” she says using air quotes. She seems very, very excited about this theme.

“Wow! Bella, that’s gonna be so hot…quite cheeky, seeing how Cha Cha was the one with the worst rep and who enjoyed showing her unmentionables quite often if I remember right. And Gavin, is so so far from being the bad boy… I love it! Now, she really came on to Zuko in the movie, if I remember right, so you better keep your little, grimy, strawberry milkshake, sticky fingers to yourself!”

She offers a snarky expression, “Welp, you just might need to make sure your man is properly satisfied if you want me to keep my hands to myself…,” she says looking closely at her cuticles, “especially after the weekend I had at The Headlands….”

My eyes go wide, “Oh my god! You haven’t spilled about The Headlands! Go on! I want the tea, neow,” I say using my sassiest voice, “as your boss, I’m demanding it.”

She scoots forward in the booth and grins like the Cheshire Cat. “Well… first of all, thank Harry so much for the suite it was sooo amazing, although it was interesting when he made the reservation he told them any of the suites but not room 603…Gavin and I thought it must be haunted or something…,” she shakes her head like she’s clearing her mind, I smile to myself knowing exactly why he said any room other than 603. That was our room on our stay and, knowing Harry, if he could buy the room and make sure no one ever uses it again, he would. “Noooo! It has something to do with you two and sex, right? Ugh…you two are so wild…,” she says sucking in her lips, “Buuuutttt…. I WILL say there’s just something about that place….,” she continues biting her forefinger.

“Isabella Marie, you better start talking now!”

About that time the waitress drops off our plates smacking her gum, “Can I get y’all anything else?” she says with a smudge of red lipstick on her front tooth.

“No, thank you.”

“You girls hot, both of you have red cheeks. Do ya want me to have Charlie turn down the thermostat?” she says looking from first Bella then me.

Bella bursts out with a giggle shooting part of the fry she was munching on out of her mouth.

“Bella!” I scold giving her my best “how dare you” look.

“No, ma’am, we’re good. Thank you though,” I say politely trying to reduce the ridiculousness of the situation.  

She smiles sweetly and pops her gum. “Ok, if you need anything, just holler, I’ll be behind the bar, we’re not too busy, obviously, so just holler and I’ll hear ya. I’m Margaret.”

“Thank you Margaret,” I say again trying to introduce some form of respectability into our encounter. As she walks away, I look at Bella with wide eyes. “Seriously…you spit on me…!” I exclaim laughing and wiping my shirt.

She grins holding a fry out to me. “I’m sorry…?” she mock whimpers.  

I grab the fry from her hand in one swift motion and pop it into my mouth. It’s salty and crisp, just the way I like them. “Well, you should be…now spill your guts…,” I say leaning forward over my plate of food and inhaling the glorious smell of fried hamburger meat and melted cheese.

“Lil, there must be something in the water there…Gavin was…just…wowzers. I’ve never…I mean…that many times…and he was just so…I mean,” she moans and looks out the window, obviously caught in a memory.  

“Bella, you aren’t tell me much here…,” I say taking a bite of my burger.

“Has H, ever gotten all…” she looks side to side and whispers, “dominate…with you?”

It’s my turn to spit my fry. “Uh-hum, weellll…depends on what you mean?”

“Well, Gavin was just so…”

“….intense…” I finish for her.

“YES! Intense, his eyes and…,” she cups the side of her mouth, “dirty talk…,” she ends with the gesture of a chef’s kiss.

I feel the blush as it furiously takes over my face.

“Oooo, I can only imagine how Harry sounds in bed with that fucking accent of his,” she says dreamily.

“Yeah, he’s quite good with his words, but, anyway, so you had a good time?”

“Jesus did we ever, we needed the break so, so bad…it was like he let loose…and I hardly recognized myself in the mirror the entire time…I had bite marks and swollen lips…I was sore in all the…,” she cups her mouth again, “best places…Lil, it was a breakthrough…a real breakthrough.”

I giggle at her use of the word “breakthrough.” “Yeah, that place is quite a lovely place to just break away and let loose…I dunno, maybe there is something in the water, because I remember our stay was quite memorable as well.” I say thinking back to our time in suite 603. “Bella, I’m so happy you and Gavin are happy together.”

“Lil, he’s so…I mean…he’s just…I mean…I think he might be the one…I absolutely cannot imagine my future without him. He makes me hope and dream and want…and feel like it’s safe to…need. I haven’t really ever needed anyone before…but I need him. And that makes me happy. Because I know he needs me just as much. I can bet the world that he loves me, I know, that I know, that I know, that he does. And, I know most people say it’s not that important, but…they lie… we have amazing sex and, yes, it’s important. I’m free…I can let him have control and know he sees the gift in that…that he’ll cherish me, my body, wear me out, take care of me afterwards and then do it all over again two hours later…” she says dropping the fry she was holding to the plate and flopping back against the seat with a woozy sigh. She’s so content. She’s absolutely glowing.

“Oh, Bells, I’m so so happy for you! You should feel all those things in a relationship and I completely understand what you’re saying. I feel the same way about Harry. I think I’ve always felt this way about him…through all the years we’ve known each other, but it just wasn’t the right time…now, it’s been a year of being with him and I cannot imagine my world, my day, any moment without him in it. And we fit so well together, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically…we match and compliment each other in ways we don’t even understand…but don’t have to question either. And for the record, I adore, his dominate side…whew…,” I say blowing out a big breath. “He takes me, and to places I never dreamed I go…I never dreamed I could go and he does it over and over and over again. It’s like we just get better together as time goes by…the more we, err, ‘practice’ the better we are as satisfying each other.” Now I KNOW I’m blushing furiously. And wouldn’t you know it, Margaret picks that moment to come check on us.

“Errr…Do you need some more Arnold Palmer, darlin’? Wait, are you sure you don’t want Charlie to turn the thermostat down?” she asks propping her fist on her hip.

“Huuuhhhh,” I stammer in an awkward laugh, “No, I’m good, Margaret, on the Arnold Palmer and the AC.” She just shakes her head and walks off.

“That being said, I have a little idea for the Harryween show, and I was hoping you could help me out? You know how I’m going as Sandy in the pink poodle skirt, the Pink Lady’s jacket…the pony tail, the Keds and…”

“Tube socks…” Bella says with a smirk referring to the song Teenage Dirtbag…specifically Harry’s part about “Keds and tube socks.”

“Cute, Bells, but what I was gonna say was bobby socks and scarf…ya know, ‘good Sandy’?”

She shakes her head remembering my costume.

“Well, I was thinking during Kiwi, I could slip out and change into the ‘badass Sandy’ with leather pants, the off the shoulder jacket and stilettos…cigarette…big blond curls…and meet H in the back of the car after the show.  But need some help getting dressed and fixed up. Would you mind slipping out with me at the end and helping me?”

“Oh my god… that is the sexiest idea! I would absolutely love to help with this! Dammit, I need to do something like this for Gavin,” she says biting her bottom lip thoughtfully.

“Thank you so much! I’m kinda excited about it…because I don’t think he’ll have any idea about it, other than to wonder why I’ve left before the end of the show,” I say raising my eyebrows. “Maybe with the fact that the show is so popular and he’s planning to leave as soon as possible because he wants to avoid the traffic surge, he won’t question my absence too long before he gets rushed to the car and I can be waiting for him.”

“Lily you know Imma-gonna-hafta have details on this night…because,” she swallows hard, “it sounds super sexy…and I know it takes you two a good forty minutes to get to Malibu, right?”

I just grin looking at her from under my lashes and nod my head.

“Oooo…Lily, you are sooo naughty…,” she says dunking another fry in ranch sauce then ketchup. “Kranch” she calls it.

I smile and wipe my finger and then my mouth. “Wellll, Bella, yeah, I can’t lie, I do have a bit of a naughty streak. But, trust me, he’s worth it.” About that time, I see Cal pull in and park to the side.

Bella notices too, “There’s Cal.”

“Yeah, I need to get going. I talked to Sophia in Sao Paulo again last night, she’s forwarding some additional documents to us on the podcast email, so be on the look out for them. She’s the sweetest girl, I’m just amazed at how mature and hard-working she is. I mean, I know she and her sister…”

“Felicity…” Bella interjects.

“Yeah, Felicity, live with her Aunt and Uncle, but they don’t sound like they take that much time with them or go out of their way to make them feel like they belong. I mean, Jesus, they’ve lost their parents, viciously, I might add, and have now spend years living with a couple who are…indifferent…, yeah, I think that’s what I would call it, indifferent. Sophia has done so much to make sure her sister is going to school and has the things she needs. The Policia haven’t been very helpful either.  I really feel sorry for them, but I…don’t feel pity. I mean, she’s done so…well…in spite of her circumstances. She isn’t to be pitied. I mean, I feel…proud of her. Is that strange?”

“No, not really…I mean, look at you. You did very well for yourself after your parents were killed. It’s not unheard of. Sometimes you do what you have to do because it’s necessary. Maybe Sophia is just as strong minded…strong willed as you,” Bella says taking a last sip.

“Yeah, I guess so…it’s just sad that her Aunt and Uncle aren’t more loving toward them. I really really wanna work this case…I want us to get involved, maybe there’s something we can do. I met that woman in Venice, Paula, retired instructor at Quantico, remember her? She’s doing contract work for Interpol. I think while we’re here, I will meet with her about it and see what she thinks.”

“That’s a brilliant idea! Let me know what you decide and I’ll put it on the calendar and get the portfolio of her case information put together for you. AND, don’t worry, I won’t forget to scan it AND get you a hard copy…I swear, I forgot that one time and you remind me every time now,” she says rolling her eyes.

“Awww, Bells, you know I love you…I’m fully aware that I’m a pain in the ass,” I say pouting my bottom lip out to her.

She purses her lips tightly and then breaks out into a smile, “Oh come on, Lily, you know I love this job…I love what we do and the people we help. I’m honestly not looking forward to you going back on the road in November, though.  I’m really gonna miss you. But, I will hold down the fort and keep things organized with the show, at least Gavin is staying here with me rather than going on this leg of the tour. He asked me to move in with him, yanno.”

“Oh wow, Bella, that’s a big step!”

“Yeah, I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

“Well, take your time and think it through. It’s a big step, but when it’s right, it’s so…comforting. Keep me up to date, kay?” I say grabbing the bill to take to cash register. “Working lunch,” I say holding it up.

“Yes, we did talk about work….and sex, but yanno…,” she says with a giggle.

We stand from the booth and I wrap my arms around her tight. “I love you, Bella Boo. I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without you. But even if you didn’t work for the podcast, I couldn’t ask for a better bestie in my life.”

“I love you too Lil. And thank you so much for giving me a job I love AND being my best friend. I mean, who would I share my recipe for Kranch with if I didn’t have you?”

I giggle and take her hand as I walk to the cash register and pay. I tell her I will call her later and we can further plan the Harryween surprise. She starts up her car and the radio is blasting Radiohead at full volume. She rolls down the window, “Sorry, you know I love H, but a girl’s gotta have some variety too.”

I just laugh and blow her a kiss as she backs up. She waves frantically from behind her dark black sunnies and is off.

I make it over to Cal who has the car running and find in the back seat the bag of cigarettes.

“Nice lunch, Miss Lily?”

“Yes, it was so good! Thanks for picking these up for me,” I say holding up the bag. “Would you mind keeping them until tomorrow night, I’m afraid I’ll lose them in the ruckus.”

“Sure,” he says taking the bag and placing it beside a pink pastry box. I grin at him and he catches my eye. “Donuts…for Cecily…someone told me it would help ease the teething headache my beautiful wife currently has.”

I smile and nod. Sitting back, I can’t help but think of the time me and Harry might have a family…whatever that looks like. I think of Bennett and Thomasina and can’t help but long for a pet. That would never work with your schedule, I think to yourself. It sure would be nice to try though. One thing at a time, Lily. Let’s get this badass Sandy put together. Harry’s gonna love the panties you have had made for this occasion. You look down at your phone and send a quick text to him.

Lily: I love you. You sexy beast.

You know he’s practicing so, he won’t respond, at least not immediately. You tuck your phone away and watch the city go by outside on your way back to Malibu.

Cal pulls into The Forum parking lot and your eyebrows go up in surprise. Your mouth opens to ask a question but Cal speaks first. “Harry texted and asked me to pick him up after your lunch.” 

You giggle. It’s so typical of him to do something like that.

Cal pulls into the garage and sends a text letting Harry know he’s there and then the door opens and Harry slides in next to you.

“Hey Jezebel,” he says, pressing his lips to mine.

I smile and kiss him back, enjoying the smell of everything that is just him.

“Surprise,” he says kissing me again.

I start to pull away in surprise, but the feel of his tongue against me makes me quickly abandon that idea. He threads his hand in my hair with his palm on my cheek and twists his body almost over the top of me pressing me into the back of the seat. I open my mouth craving for his taste…craving to be tasted. He tastes of peppermint from the throat spray he used when he sings. God he’s such an amazing kisser. I grab onto the back of his shirt and pull and push at the same time…I just want more of him.

“Mmm…H….mmm…Har…,” I keep trying to speak against his lips. He silences me with his passionate lips and who am I to continue to argue. He’s a man on a mission and I love every mission he’s ever taken me on.

Finally he pulls away panting against my lips, “Missed ya taday,” he says brushing his nose against mine. “How was ya day, darlin’?”

“Weelll…it just got much, much better,” I say running my fingers along his jaw. “What’re you up to Styles?  Is this what you’re so secretive about at the moment?”

“Maybe.”

I smile against his lips and kiss them again, “Well, I definitely like what’s going on so far, but I think Cal might be getting sick of always having to chaperone us in backseats.”

He chuckles and turns his head toward the front seat, “Cal, are we buggin’ ya?” But there’s nothing…no response.

Harry looks back at me and then back up toward the front seat.  

“Cal?” I say.

Then we hear it. The snore… Harry blows out a breathy laugh and turns back to me. “Jasper still teethin’?”

I suck in my lips to hold in the giggle, “Umm…yeah, he’s not getting much sleep apparently…and apparently we’re to boring to pay attention to. Jesus, H, we need to get a sitter for he and Cecily and let them go get a room somewhere so they can get some rest.”

“I fuckin’ doubt sleepin’ would take place, bu’, yeah, need ta ge’ him some time off fo’ fuck’s sake.”

“Well, mister, now that you have me here, what in the world are you gonna do with me?” I say with equal amounts sass and innuendo.

“I thought we’d take a ‘lil walk through…the venue’s set up fo’ Harryween, inside an’ out, see…,” he says pointing to the small carnival area that that’s decked out with a few booths and a Ferris wheel, “’s jus’ like the one at the end of the film…ya like?”

“I love! Can we go see it?” I say with wide eyes and a big smile.

“Sure, tha’s wha’ I was hopin’ ta do. Never getta check the place out on Halloween myself, so, though’ it would be nice ta take a minute ta check it out wi’ ya befo’ we go home. Up fo’ some cotton candy an’ a ride on the Ferris wheel?”

“I’d LOVE that, H!!!”

“Hold ya if ya ge’ scared,” he says wiggling his eyebrows, “eva’ been kissed on a Ferris wheel?”

I touch the bottom of my chin in contemplation. I think…and think some more, purposefully dragging my thinking out…

His shoulder’s slump, “Just tell me, Lily, s’ I ‘no which arse, I need ta kick…”

“So feisty, H! No, just Tom, you remember him?”

“Grrrr…” He groans and rolls his eyes, “yes, am well aware of Tom.”

“Now, H, he’s a nice guy. Really. I mean, if I hadn’t been so hung up on you, I could’ve had a really nice life with him.”

“Bbb-orrringggg,” he runs his fingers down my cheek. “Tom could’ve never handled ya passion. Lily, ya would’ve wilt’ed away wi’ him. Ya know ‘m righ’… ya belong wi’ me an’ I belong wi’ you,” he moves his lips to my ear, “We fit tagether perfec’ly…don’ we?”

I swallow hard and nod slowly. I know he’s absolutely right. We are a perfect match, we challenge each other and complete each other in all ways. It’s a once in a lifetime kind of love…one I wish all people of the world could have.

He kisses his way back to my lips, “Ya ready?”

My pussy weeps. He uses that voice and that very line in bed so often, I can’t keep it clean when we’re out of the bedroom, or the kitchen, or the dining room, or the shower…Earth to Lily, I chastise myself for going there.

“Le’s go check it out,” he whispers against my lips with a smirk. He reads my mind like a book. He knows where my mind went and still manages to pull me out of the car.

“What about Cal?”

“He knows wha’s up, let ‘em sleep till we ge’ back,” he says closing the car door softly.

Harry’s POV:

I grab her hand and lead her to my dressing room, punching in the code and pulling her inside.

Laying on the sofa are Grease costumes I had delivered today.

“What’s all this?” She asks me.

“Though’ it migh’ be fun ta get inta character a lit-ull bit. Jus’ a lit-ull taste,” I tell her, smirking.

“You…you amazing man! I can’t believe you did all of this!”

I lean over to kiss her. I’d do anything to make her happy. Anything. “C’mon les’ ge’ changed. The band’s waitin’ fo’ us.”

“Wait…they’re all here too?!”

I nod and smile.

She shakes her head and giggles, crossing her arms and tugging her shirt over her head and unbuttoning her jeans.

I lick my lips as her tits jiggle. She’s so beautiful and she doesn’t even know it. We get into our costumes and walk to the side where everything is set up, the smell of popcorn and cotton candy hitting us as soon as we walk out the door.

As soon as my band sees us they raise their glasses and yell. Ny runs over and pushes a drink into our hands and I clink my glass to Lily’s.

She blushes and takes a sip and I can’t help but lean over and kiss her quickly.

We walk around looking at everything and point out the cool things that were set up. I get a cone of candy floss and enjoy feeding her and kissing the sticky sugar from her lips. We eat popcorn and take pics and just enjoy this moment. It’s hard to believe that this is all for me sometimes. It blows my mind that I get to do this for a living. The sun is setting and the lights on the Ferris wheel come on.

“Wanna go fo’ a ride?”

She wraps her arms around me and pulls me close. “Only if you’ll kiss me at the top if I get scared.”

I laugh. “I’ll kiss ya anywhere ya wan’, ‘no tha’.”

She giggles and grabs my hand and pulls me to the Ferris wheel and sits down. “C’mon everyone! It’s time for a spin!”

Everyone gets loaded in and I put my arm around her, pulling her close to me.

She gasps as the car rocks backward as the ride starts and I chuckle. She’s so cute I can hardly stand it. “I love ya, Jezebel,” I tell her as she snuggles into me.

“I love you more,” she says, sighing.

Lily’s POV:

I lay my head on his bicep and take a deep breath in. He smells like cologne, buttered popcorn, and the outside air. I can feel him press his lips to the top of my head and I smile to myself in pure contentment. We go around a few times and giggle at Pauli in his own car rocking it back and forth dramatically. I just happen to notice Cal standing outside the car leaning against the hood and began to wave frantically when the car suddenly comes to a crushing halt.

“Oof!” I say as we rock forward with wide eyes.

His arm comes out straight against my chest to hold me in place. “Care-ful, baby,” he cautions.

“That’s not…ok, yeah… that was sorta scary,” I whimper with a flat smile looking over the front rail holding us in the car. “Ooohhh…yeeeeaahh, ‘s a long way down there…,” I say with raised eyebrows and wide eyes.

He laughs his breathy little laugh, that I normally love, but at the moment find completely irrational. He pries my fingers off the rail and holds them in his. “Awww, Jezebel…’s fine….ya good?” he reassures and asks at the same time.

“Yeah, I mean…I’m aware that this isn’t the London Eye or anything, but it’s still kinda high…or am I just a wimp?”

“Nah, ’s high ta no’ be enclosed, bu’ ’ve go’ ya, baby,” he says draping one arm along the back of the seat and wrapping it around my shoulder to pull me in close. “Come closer,” he whispers with a soft smile and tug.

I move into the cradle of his arms and softly touch his stubbled chin. “Thank you, H…for bringing me here. I love this surprise…a real-life ‘Notebook’ moment with the Ferris wheel and all. A real moment at a carnival where we don’t need security and there aren’t screaming fans. I don’t mind them, truly, I don’t…it’s nice; however to have a basic moment together, yanno?”

“Yeah, baby, I ge’ it. God, ya s’ beautiful in the ligh’ of the sunset.”

I lick my lips subconsciously asking for…needing for him to kiss me.

He runs his forefinger down the bridge of my nose and tips in to place a tiny soft kitten kiss on my upper lip. Then the tip of his tongue pops out and he nips the tip of my nose. “Could fuckin’ eat ya up, Jezebel. Ma baby girl ‘ere in ma arms on top of the world…,” he rubs his nose along mine, “d’ya ‘ave any idea how much I adore ya? Whole world ligh’s up when I see ya.”

“Harry…,” I say smoothing my hand up his chest and twisting my fingers in the neck of his t-shirt.

“Mean, it, Lily…all of this is great…’m really fuckin’ proud an’ gra’eful fo’ this success, bu’ ‘s jus’ s’much swee’tah wi’ ya in ma life.” He leans forward and places another soft kiss to my lips and I open instinctually longing for his taste, and he needs no further invitation. He deepens the kiss and takes everything I’m offering. His hand tilts my head so he can have access to my mouth and his tongue dives deep and I softly suck on it and brush it with my own. He groans and pushes forward until I slide farther to the side almost to the low seat. His hand makes its way down my cheek across my collarbone and to my chest.

“Mmmm…,” I moan as the car rocks gently. I’m losing my breath and slowly falling under his spell. His hand works its way up my shirt to run his thumb back and forth over my erect nipple.

“Fuck, baby…rockin’ like when ya in the swing in the pink room,” he says as he runs his lips along my jaw to my ear. “Love ya…wan’ ya so bad,” he whispers in my ear emphasizing the “so”.

I close my eyes and stretch my neck to give him more…because that’s exactly what I want, more. I slide my hand up the inside of his thigh to palm his cock. He slides his hips forward until he is open further for my touch. He’s soft and I make it my mission to make him hard. It doesn’t take much. Biting his bottom lip and sucking it into my mouth gets a surge of blood I can feel through the zipper seam of his jeans.

“God damn, babe. Careful.”

“Does it feel good?” I ask as he pinches my nipple.

“Ya know it does,” he mutters.

“Yo H!? Have you made it to third base yet?  Can we please get off this thing, man?” Pauli yells from below.

Harry chuckles and drops his forehead to my chest. “Fuck, I forgot, I gotta signal to start back up again.”

“Did you…like, you had the operator stop us on purpose?” I ask with a giggle.

“Mm-hmm,” he answers against my breast. “Told ‘em I’d wave ya scarf when we were ready.”

“Oh my god, you’re crazy…we have gotta get these people off this ride, Harry!” I exclaim in embarrassment as I untie the scarf from my neck.

“Jesus, Jezebel, ‘m s’ hard.”

“I know, but you’re just gonna hafta wait until tomorrow night,” I say trying to sit up further and straighten my sweater twinset, “I want you very ready for me after the show, so it’s sleep tonight, play time tomorrow.”

“Wai’ a minu’ah...! I didn’ agree ta tha’…no’ one bit.” he says waving the pink scarf in the air. Suddenly the ride begins to move and everyone is clapping and cat calling. Has anyone’s face ever exploded from extreme blushing, I think to myself rolling my eyes.

“’M sorry, mister, but you work me up all the time and leave me hanging. Tonight it’s your turn,” I say smugly.

“Oh, really?! Tha’s jus’ cruel…,” he murmurs as he adjusts his cock in his jeans. “Fuckin’ tight jeans,” he says under his breath.

I suck in my lips to keep from giggling as the ride rotates and stops occasionally to let other riders off. I rub my hands together to warm them up and feel proud at my unexpected evil edging plan where he has to wait until tomorrow…He puts me through this every show, I watch and I wait…wet…for him. It won’t hurt him to suffer a little bit, because when I get a hold of him tomorrow night, I’m gonna rock his world.

Harry’s POV:

I purse my lips. I know she’s right…the anticipation will make it even better, but I need to be with her. I palm my cock as we exit the car. We hug everyone and then walk to the car where Cal is waiting.

She gets in and I follow her in and smirk. Waiting isn’t something she’s good at. Everytime I edge her, she begs me to fuck her so all I have to do is get her proper worked up and hope she folds.

“Ya hungry Jezebel?” I ask her in my most seductive voice, noticing the way she presses her thighs together.

“Yes, let’s have Cal stop somewhere.”

I draw my fingers up her arm and watch as goosebumps break out on her skin and I smirk. “Wha’ ya thinkin’ abou’?” I whisper, my lips just grazing her ear.

She licks her lips. “Ummm…I don’t…mmm…” she moans out as I kiss down her neck.

“Ya don’ know?”

“I don’t care. You pick it.”

“Ya’ve already said I can’ have wha’ I wan’…unless ya’ve changed ya mind an’ ya gon’ let me fuck ya?”

“Harry…”

“Wha’? I wan’ ta be buried deep inside ya an’ taste ma honey. If I can’ do tha’ then it’s ya choice.”

Her eyes flutter closed and she sighs. “That little restaurant by the house. That was really good. Let’s just go there.”

I shake my head. “Cal, we need to make a stop…”

***********************************************

Later that evening

I’ve tried everything I can to get her to give in, but she’s still holding out on me. We’re laying in bed, making out and I want her so bad but truth be told after my swim in the pool after dinner, I’m getting tired. I pull back and trail my fingers down her face. “I love ya Jezebel. I give. I’ll wait fo’ ya.”

She smiles and kisses me. “It’ll be worth it tomorrow, I promise.”

It’s been a long night and morning. We’ve both been extra touchy. I’m actually not sure that there’s a moment all day that we haven’t been touching each other except for when we went for a swim. She’s still not into cold water swimming but she joined me for a swim in a warm pool. She’s sitting next to me in the Rover on the way to The Forum, my hand on her thigh and her hand covering mine. I’m literally counting down the hours until I can get her naked and beneath me.

I know she’s feeling it too. She keeps crossing and uncrossing her legs, biting her lip, and gripping my hand hard.

“Ya gon’ be ready fo’ me after?” I ask her on the way.

She turns her head to meet my eyes. “The question is: Are you gonna be ready for me?”

My eyes flick to her mouth and then back to her eyes. “Been ready fo’ ya since las’ nigh’, Jezebel.”

“Me too.”

We have a light dinner and then soundcheck and then it’s time to get ready. My hairdresser is just about to put on my Danny Zuko wig when I hear the keypad on the door beep and then my beautiful Jezebel comes through the door and my mouth drops open.

She does a twirl showing off her Sandy cheerleader costume - red skirt, crinoline, white Keds and bobby socks, white sweater that says ‘HARRYWEEN’ that matches my leather jacket instead of Rydell and pearls.

“You like?”

I don’t even answer her. “Can ya leave us fo’ a minute?” I ask my team. I watch as they put down their things and exit and Lily blushes.

“What’re you up to?” She says as I stand and move toward her.

Her eyes move down my body, taking in my tight black jeans and black muscle shirt and she licks her lips.

“Ya like?”

She nods her head, biting her bottom lip.

“C’mere,” I whisper, pulling her flush to me.

She wraps her arms around my neck and I don’t waste a minute before I press my lips to hers and push her back toward the sofa. I break away long enough to lower her to the seat of the sofa and then kneel down in front of her, my lips attaching to her neck.

Her hands tangle in my hair and my hands slide up her legs, pushing her skirt and crinoline up. I dip my head down and kiss up her thighs as my hands move the material up over her skin. I look up and see her eyes closed, chest heaving and then push her skirt up over her tummy. My mouth drops open when I see her panties - they match the back of my leather jacket, HARRYWEEN written in red crystals. My fingers gently move over the crystals and she whimpers above me and I pull the ties on the sides revealing her wet cunt to me. I lick my lips. “Wanna taste ma honey, Jezebel. Gon’ tell me no?”

She whimpers and pulls my hair. “No! Please…”

I smile as I grab her hips and pull her close to me, licking a stripe up her slit. I groan against her flesh. She’s wet and she tastes so good. My thumbs pull her lips back and I lick her clit with the tip of my tongue until she grips my hair harder and I know that she’s ready for more.

She cries out my name as I latch onto her clit, sucking it into my mouth, tongue working against her quickly. I’m ravenous, and push in closer, my nose digging into her mound. She’s close, I can tell. Her thighs are shaking and her back arching. I pop off and then lick a hard stripe up her slit, pressing in hard before pulling back.

She cries out at the loss of my mouth. “Mmmmm…fuck….NO!”

I tie her panties and pull her skirt and crinoline down. “I’d kiss ya Jezebel bu’ ‘m goin’ ou’ there wi’ ya honey on ma face tonigh’.”

She rises with a tumble and lurches forward with a fumble before I catch her by her shoulders and turn her toward the door. I pull her back toward me, “Door’s tha’ way, love,” I say with a smirk and give her a slight nudge. The door opens to a team of people waiting to finish me up and Bella who is decked out head to toe, including the big hair and what has to be a rather busty prosthetic set of tits, because she looks like she might fall over… forward. I smirk and think about how happy Gavin will be when he sees his little Bella quite outdone.  

“Bella,” I say and nod. ‘Les’ ge’ finished,” I say to the group and they file in and take their usual places.

I look at Bella and say, “Take care of ma girl tanigh’?”

Bella looks at Lily and furrows her brow, “Always, H…What that hell, is she drunk…? Harry! Did you get her drunk!?”

Lily perks up to that and slurs, “Nah, ’m good, Bellss, le’s juss go fine our sseats.”

“Oookkaaayy…” she says skeptically.

When I close the door, I suck in my lips and taste her one more time. I can smell her on my chin, taste her on my lips…I turn away from the room and adjust myself inhaling deeply.  I might just have fucked myself over with this little game because I gotta do a high profile show tonight, with a very needy hard cock.

Lily’s POV:

Bella and I begin our trek to our designated spot with Bella looking at me like I’ve lost my ever lovin’ mind. Fuck, I may have. He’s such an evil menace, my man. For all his sweet charms, he can deliver a round of sexual edging like no other. He has the greatest grasp of delayed gratification…I challenge anyone to have his stamina and patience for the slow burn… “Get a grip,” I say as we walk down the hall.

“Hmm? What did you say?” Bella asks threading her fingers with mine.

“Oh, nothing, just talking to myself.”

“Are you gonna tell me what the fuck is wrong with you?” she asks squeezing my fingers.

“No…can’t really…just…Bella, I’m so in love with that man…I want him so much.”

“Well, darlin’ so does most of the world, but guess what? He wants YOU like he wants no other.”

I smile and drop my head to her shoulder as we walk, “He does, doesn’t he…”

“Yes ma’am, he sure does.”

I float the rest of the way to the VIP section.

*****An hour later*****

The costumes on the fans are second to none! Harry throws a Halloween party like no other. But then again, he does have fans like no other as well. There are those who have dressed like him from different eras, fairies, frogs, cats, toys…there is an incredible Strawberry Shortcake that everyone can’t get enough of…her costume is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The number of feather boas has increased dramatically and everyone seems to be extremely high on life. “High on Harry” is what Bella called it. She’s not wrong. The buzz is as intense as I’ve ever seen it. And, of course, the big question is what will Harry and the band be dressed as. It’s really going to be fun to see how everyone reacts.

The crowd on the other side begins to scream and I see the heads of his security grouped together moving along so I know his box is being wheeled in. Damn it! I meant to kiss him once he got in tonight, but, fuck, if he didn’t derail that idea with one of his own. The only consolation I take is that he must be feeling as desperate as I do.  

The slow music begins to fade…not much longer now. Suddenly Bella pulls away and Gavin is there with his headphones on. He grins and hands her a white envelope and lays quite the kiss on her before he runs off to his spot. Bella gets turns back to me, “What’s that all about?”

“I don’t know,” she says with a shrug about to rip into the envelope.  

I see the front and stop her, “Wait! It says something on the front!” I twist it over in her hand and see it reads, “Don’t open until LOML!”

“Oooo Bella…Love Of My Life…that boy is totally taken with you….”

She holds the envelope to her chest and closes her eyes with emotion. “I love him so much!”

Suddenly the screams ramp up as the band begins to make their way onto the stage.  

I let out a breath and just let myself feel the energy from the crowd. This was my favorite part of his concert before we were together when I was just a fan pining away for him and it still is. I smile because it really is edging…that almost heart stoppingly beautiful pain you get right before he comes on stage. The words start and then he pops up from his little trap door and ‘Daydreaming’ starts and the crowd goes insane when they see him dressed as Danny Zuko, wig, sideburns, and all. It’s a deafening roar but I can tell by the look on his face that he’s enjoying the surprise he pulled off. I’m almost just as surprised as they are. I’d seen some of it but not the whole thing put together with the wig and sideburns. He looks amazing and I can tell that he’s into this cosplay.

By the time Adore You starts up, he’s moving around the stage and I gasp as the lights hit his chin and I see the shine of my honey on his chin. My mouth is a perfect O of surprise and he notices and blows me a kiss before he prances to the other side of the stage.

“Are you ok?” Bella asks me.

I close my mouth and nod. How can I explain any of this right now?

“Uhh…yeah, I’m good!” I say over the crowd screaming.

“You sure?  You’re acting so weird tonight, Lil?”

“No,” I say shaking my head, “I’m good, really, don’t worry…I’m happy, very happy…doesn’t he look amazing!?” I say clapping my hands and hoping up and down.

“Yes, he looks sooo good! And right now, you look like his personal cheerleader,” she says wiggling her eyebrows.

I look down and giggle, “Well, I hadn’t thought of that…yeah, I suppose I am…I’m definitely his number one fan, but don’t tell any of these lovely people, they’ll beg to differ!”

“Lily! Lily! Lily! Smile for us!” I hear calling from one side and there stands four adorable teenage girls all dressed in pink poodle skirts and matching Pink Lady jackets.

I cover my mouth with my hand and then applaud them in dramatic fashion, “How did you know!!!??,” I call out to them pointing to their outfits.

“We didn’t! We didn’t! This was our mom’s idea!” they turn and point behind them and I see two lovely ladies also dressed in poodles skirts, theirs black with pink poodles and black leather jackets. I wave and offer an applauding gesture to them as well. “Very very nice!” I call out in their direction.

Bella and I pose and they take a quick shot.  I pull out my phone and turn my back to them to take a selfie with them in the background.  I assure them I will send the picture to them and promise to show Harry as soon as I can. I ask one of the security guys standing by to get their information.

Things on stage slow down and Harry moves close by. I know Matilda is next and then Little Freak, our song. Tonight I sure hope he’s gonna be a little freak, because I’m certainly gonna try to be his Jezebel.

I sigh as Little Freak starts up and he moves to my side of the stage. He always sings this song to the side I’m standing on which takes my breath away. I’m nearly in tears by the time he’s done singing. That song means so much to us and I still can’t believe it took so long for me to figure it out.

Bella and I go crazy dancing and singing to Satellite and I’m not prepared for the sexy slowdown of Cinema. When he comes to my side of the stage and sings ‘getting yourself wet for me,” his hand slides down the front of his pants and then he rubs his thumb on his chin and licks it and I can feel myself blush. I glare at him and he laughs his little laugh and then bounds off to another part of the stage.

“He’s a menace,” I grumble to myself hoping Bella doesn’t notice.

Love of My Life starts and Bella hands me the envelope and I pull it open. It’s dark so Bella pulls out her phone and uses the flashlight so I can read the message:

The next song is dedicated to you tonight, Jezebel. I can’t say it out loud but wanted you to know.

I furrow my brow trying to figure out what he could be singing and then I hear the opening chords and my mouth falls open. Tears fall down my face as he starts singing Hopelessly Devoted. How did I ever get so lucky?

Harry’s POV:

I close the song and take just a moment to stare…probably with the dumbest smile on my face.

She’s so fuckin’ gorgeous…the light might be dim, but I can see her eyes and I see the tears. She stands with her hands together in a prayer position against her lips. She has no idea how fucking idea how hopelessly devoted I am to her. I see more of her than anyone else; well beyond her looks…I see that gentleness, the kindness, the courage, that sweetness…I see her desires and passion. She’s mine for forever. It’s time for Sign Of The Times, I better get to my spot. I wanna kiss her so goddamn much right now. I smile and turn from her with a blink of my eyes.

I finish up Sign Of The Times and walk back toward center stage. The crowd tonight is out of this world. It’s beyond inspiring and equal parts exciting and scary as fuck…I sure as shit hope I can keep up with these folks. I glance over to find Lily and she’s not there. Neither is Bella…I start scanning to see if I missed something. Then Mitch nods me over so I step toward him.

“She’s ok, said she’d see ya after,” he says with a shrug.

I nod with a questioning look to which he shrugs again. The intro to As It Was begins and I go back to work.

This fuckin’ wig is hot, Jesus.

Lily’s POV:

Bella and I finish up my make-up with a layer of red lipstick and she does a final fluff on my hair. These leather pants are basically skin tight leggings that fit beautifully. I had to lose my bra in order to wear the tight off the shoulder shirt.

“Holy shit, Lily!” Bella squeals louder than I would’ve liked. “You look so fucking hot…you are so getting it good tonight!”

I smirk at her from under my false eyelashes. “Oh, I plan on it, B. I made him wait last night…which he was not happy about.”

Bella gasps. “You didn’t?!”

I nod. “He’s always edging me! It’s about time I paid him back.”

“Jesus…I…well, he’ll be ready for you then,” Bella says, eyes wide.

“I’m sorry if that was TMI.”

“Ummm, no…it wasn’t. It’s just…well…”

“It’s what?”

“This is just a whole new side of you, Lily. You never seemed very interested in sex. Or you never really talked about it, I guess. It’s just different is all.”

I can’t help but throw my head back and laugh. If she only knew the dirty thoughts I used to have about Harry. “Believe me, I was very interested in sex…but most of my thoughts were about H and it was just too weird to talk about, yanno?”

Bella nods her head. “I get it. Goddd…you actually got what you always wanted. He’s soooo into you…you can just tell. You guys are intense.”

I smile. “I did, didn’t I? I still have to pinch myself sometimes.” I look around for my black leather jacket and slip it on. “Let’s go put my plan in action, yeah?”

Bella smiles and nods. “I hope Gavin can leave early tonight too!”

We giggle as we head back down the hallway and to the tunnel where the Rover is parked. I kiss Bella on the cheek and she makes her way back to the pit to wait for Gavin.

Cal gets out of the car and opens the door for me. I roll the window down so I can hand the cigarette to him as soon as I’m done with it. “Ya look great, Lily.”

“Thank you.” I hear the last chorus of Kiwi start and Cal knows exactly what to do. He lights the cigarette and hands it to me and I pose seductively and then we wait.

A couple of minutes later, the door opens and then he’s climbing in the car next to me, his eyes wide in shock.

“Lily?!”

“Tell me about it, stud,” I say in my sexiest voice and take a drag from the cigarette blowing the smoke out and handing the cigarette to Cal who takes it from me and smirks.

Harry leans over me and rolls the window up.

Harry’s POV:

I look her up and down and run my hands up her thighs. “Jesus, never seen ya in leather, 's fuckin' hot," I say, biting my bottom lip. “Dinna 'no I had a thing fo' leather, bu’ damn it feels good on ya.” I inhale a deep breath. “Smells good on ya ta.”  

She just smiles at me, her eyes boring into mine. “This why ya left early?”

She nods.

My hands slide to the waistband of her skin tight pants and I pull them down just enough to see what she’s wearing underneath. “Tha's my girl, badass wi" a little pink unda'neath," I breathe out as my finger runs down the crease where the fabric has molded to her slit.

She moans as my fingers run up and down the leather.

“When we get home, will you do something for me?" She asks softly against my lips.

"Anythin', baby," I tell her, nonchalantly as I kiss to her ear, one hand on her neck.

“I want you to spank me with your rings on,” she murmurs, giving me more access to her neck.

I grin against the skin of her neck as I slowly kiss back up to her face, "Yeah? Ya wanna feel the sting, hmm?"

"Yes!! I w-wanna f-feel the sting,” she says as my hand moves to cup her throat and my eyes fix steadily on hers judging her reaction, "Spank ya, 'f ya lemme clamp these nipples ta,” as my other hand runs up her shirt to her heavy, sensitive tits bare and oh so needy. “Everytime I spank ya, those clamps are gonna swing. Ya ready fo' it?"

She whimpers out a yes.

"Ya wan' me ta spank ya hard?"

Smiling, she grabs a handful of curls on the back of my neck, "Hard enough for you to kiss it better," she says, teasing.

"Oh, I'll kiss it bet-tah Jezebel, don' ya worry,” I tell her kissing her mouth. “Baby, ya really askin' fo' it tanigh’, hmm…leather's go’ ya all fiesty fo' me,” I mumble against her jaw before I nip it with my teeth.

“I need you now. Why can’t we go faster?” She whines.

"Wan' me ta take ya fast first, then lemme play, hmm...?" I ask her, cupping her breast, squeezing and massaging before pinching the nipple between my fingers. "Bend ya over the chair, spank ya arse for bein' so impatient an' leavin' ma show early," I whisper, licking the shell of her ear. “Then push these leathers ta ya knees an' fuck ya hard. Ya wan' tha'...hmm?

She whimpers in response.

“Goddamn, neck smells s'good..." My hand moves from her breast to her neck and my fingers feel warm as they wrap around her throat. My thumb pushes against her chin moving her head to the side so I can lick a line from her ear. “Doesn' scare ya wi' ma 'and here does it?"

"No, love it...nothing to be scared of. You’d never hurt me,” she says softly.

I pull her face around to see me, my eyes serious. “Tha's righ', never hurt ya.”

She’s panting in anticipation.

"Harry..."

"I know, Jezebel, I know. Gotta wait tho. Don' worry, we'll be there soon enough an' 'Il make it worth the wait."

Her eyes flutter closed and she whines.

"No' usually this antsy, Jezebel. Don' get me wrong, I love it when ya feral fo' me,” he says, smirking against her lIps.

Finally, Cal pulls up to the gate and the time he takes to type in the code is just about too long in my opinion. My girl needs me… she needs to be satisfied in a way only I can satisfy her and fuck knows that makes me hard as a rock. The light from Cal’s open window is just enough to let me see her tits poking through that tight shirt. Her chest rises and falls with shallow breaths…yeah, she’s barely hanging on. I’m the lucky bastard who gets to watch her fall over. Fuck! Cal missed the code! Jesus, doesn’t he know! Frustration and desire that’s borderline painful…killin’ me! I lean over to Lily and nuzzle her ear.

“Soon, Jezebel, soon….Mmm…smell of leather an’ you is fuckin’ killin’ me….”

She whines and turns her face toward mine. “Need you, H…,” she says against my lips.

The car lurches forward and pulls into the garage. Cal turns to us with a grin, “Alright lovebirds, I’ll leave you to it…have a, uh-hm, lovely night.”

“Nigh’ Cal, thanks fo’ ever’thin’. Kiss Cecily an’ the kids fo’ us.” I turn to look at Lily and she’s flushed and only manages a soft, “Yeah, thanks…” My girl is totally blissed out and ready.

I manage to get her out and as soon as Cal is behind the garage door I press the button to close it and turn back to her. She looks like a sex dream. But I need that wig off. I want my baby’s real hair, to touch and smell and pull. “Take the wig off, Jezebel.” She’s stood stiff against the fender of the Rover. She reaches up and pulls the wig off and tosses it to the hood. She fluffs her beautiful hair and it looks like it does right after we’ve had a particularly long session in the pink room…sexy as fuck. I take the few steps to her and reach around her waist and pull her in tight. “Feel me? ‘M s’hard. Ya wet?” She nods her head with a swallow. I grab her bum, “Up.” She jumps up and wraps her legs around my waist…my hands full of her leather covered ass. I pop her up on the edge of the car and attack her mouth. She grabs the hair on the back of my head and pulls just the way I love it. She’s whining and closing her thighs around me tighter and tighter. One day I’m gonna fuck her on the car…but not tonight. I turn and bumble from the car to the wall by the door…she tastes so fucking good even with the slight trace of nicotine on her tongue. We make it through the door, the kitchen and land against the couch on our way to the bedroom. I drop her to he feet and step away to take a long look again. She bites her bottom lip. Her shirt down low on one side her tit just centimeters from spilling out. My eyes flutter and I press my palm against my cock shaking my head attempting to get some semblance of control.

Lily’s POV:

“No idea wha’ ya do ta me, do ya Jezebel?” he says as I turn turn against the back of the sofa and show him my bum. I wanna remind him of what it is I want.

“I’m all yours H,” I say looking over my shoulder and running my hand along my presented bum. He grabs that hand and leans forward to kiss my fingers and then gentle places it back on the edge of the sofa. “Stay still, love. Understood?”

I whimper out a yes as my eyes flutter closed in anticipation.

I know he’s gonna pull his hand back and strike but I don’t know when and I can feel myself drip in my panties.

“Ya asked fo’ this so ya must wan’ it pretty bad, hmmm?” His nose nuzzling my neck, lips by my ear.

“Tell me, Jezebel…did ya fantasize abou’ this befo’ we go’ together?”

I nod, biting down on my lip hard.

“I always wondered…I mean… I…” THWACK a blow lands on the leather and my right bottom cheek stings, deliciously. “Answer me, Jezebel.”

I let out a whine and groan at the same time and bite down harder on my bottom lip. “Ha…Harry…yes! God yes…” I slur. “Tell me…did it make ya wet?”

He lands another smack on my other cheek a little harder. “Ahhhh! Fuck, yes! I…mmm…made me so wet…” I pant out, head falling forward.

He reaches around my waist and pops the button and unzips the zipper on my pants. He peels the them down just to my thighs. Then his hands leave me. Feeling loss from the sensation, I turn my head to find him just staring. It causes me to push out my bum a little farther, before he finally reaches soft fingers out to run along his pink hand prints. “Sting?”

“A little,” I say softly.

“this make it better?” He says leaning down to kiss the pink print.

“Touch yourself Jezebel, wanna see your fingers on my cunt”.

I reach down and run my middle finger down my slit to gather some wetness and back up to my clit where I slowly circle. The sensation is almost painful after the long wait. Just as I catch a rhythm, THWACK! He lands another smack on my bare skin. I bite my lip on a scream.

“Don’ bite ya lip, Jezebel. These’re ma screams an’ I wanna hear’em, yeah?”

I nod, panting.

“Don’ stop. Ya gon’ cum like fo’ me.”

I whimper and start my slow circling, my tummy quivering. I jolt forward as he lands another smack and this time I scream his name out.

He smirks and rubs my pink bum cheeks. “Wan’ ma fingers or ya wan’ another smack?”

I grit my teeth. “One more smack and then make me cum, please!”

I know he’s smirking even though I can’t see it and I whimper as his hands massage my pink cheeks. It hurts and probably will for the next couple of days but it also feels really good to empty my mind and give myself over to him - to our play. I turn my head and meet his stare. “Turn your initial rings around for this one. Need your initials on my skin.” I’m panting and wet…I can feel my wetness on my inner thighs.

His nostrils flair and he puffs out a breath but he holds my stare as he turns his rings around.

I turn my head back forward and take a deep breath and I wait.

His hand hits low on my bum cheek, hard and I jolt forward a scream leaving my throat as I fall over the arm of the couch, my pussy pulsing with need.

Harry’s POV:

She’s breathing so hard and that’s when I hear it…a gentle sob. Oh fuck, I’ve hurt her! “Jesus, Lily…,” I pull her up and against my chest as I wrap one around her chest and the other around her waist, her bare bum nestled against my tented jeans. “I’m s’ sorry, fuck! I won’ do it again, never…,” I plead, almost in tears myself.

“No! No…i-it’s n-not that. ‘s just… I was supposed ta seduce you and now I c-c-can’t w-wait…I-I n-need to cum..stings in my tummy,” she mumbles.

I smile against her ear, “Shh…baby…’s alrigh’. I’ll make ya cum, then we can grab a shower an’ ya can seduce me all ya wan’ darlin’.” I slide my hand down to where her pussy is waiting for attention. Her leathers are still around her thighs, she’s the sexiest fuckin’ thing I’ve ever known…all wet and ready for my fingers. “Turn ya head ta me, love…wanna see ya face when ya cum on ma fingers.” I slip my middle and ring finger between her pussy lips and still, just soaking in her warm, sweet, slippery honey. I can’t resist, I pull away and bring my fingers to our touching lips. She slides her hand around my wrist and holds my hand still as we both lick them clean. Our tongues tangle around my fingers the pink polish looks hot on her tongue. I pull them away and she takes a last swipe at her bottom lip and I rut my hips into her bum. I waste no time returning to circle her clit before I push them in deep. She’s tight, clenched down. I scissor my fingers just to remind her how I’m gonna open her up later. She moans once, and I pump them again making sure to curl them against my spot. I hold deep and pump up and down like I know she likes and it doesn’t take long before I feel the familiar fluttering and hear that sexy high-pitched moan. Her abs are contracting, and I know she’s lost. She’s losing her footing. “’ve got ya, don’ stop…keep goin’ Jezebel, understand.”  She whimpers and whines as the orgasm takes her over. Her head back on my shoulder, her mouth open in a perfect O. She grimaces as she finishes. Goddammit! There isn’t a thing in the world that compares to my Jezebel when she cums.

Lily’s POV:

My eyes close as I try and catch my breath. I can feel my cheeks burn in embarrassment as he kisses my temple. I always get embarrassed after an intense spanking.

“Know ya embarrassed, Jezebel. No reason ta be.”

“Mmmm…can’t help it. It’s intense being this vulnerable with you,” I say softly.

“I know, baby, I know,” he says as he pushes my arms to the arm of the couch. His hands slide down my sides to where my pants are around my thighs and he pushes them down my legs, gently taking off my shoes as he pulls my feet out of my leathers.

I inhale a sharp breath as he presses a kiss to my lower cheek. I know that’s where his initials are welted up on my skin.

“C’mon Jezebel. I need a shower an’ I’ll put some cream on ya bum.”

“Ok,” I say, moving slowly up the stairs.

He’s so close to me I can feel his body heat as we make our way to the bedroom and the en-suite.

I move to the vanity to take off my makeup as he hits the controls on the shower. I watch through the mirror as he takes off the wig and hear his audible sigh of relief. We just watch as we undress, eyes roving each other bodies. I bite my lip as I watch him twist off his heavy rings and place them in the bowl he keeps them in until he puts them away properly.

He smirks at me and holds out his hand, silently asking me to join him.

I watch as he showers, the water running down his taut skin. “Does it help showering after a show?”

He pushes his hair out of his face and runs his hand down his face as he moves to stand in front of me. “It does, yeah. It grounds me,” he says eyes boring into mine.

“I wish I had some sexy lingerie to put on for you.”

He lets out an incredulous breath, “Fuck baby, don’ care abou’ tha’. Jus’ wan’ ya ta take me ta our happy place.”

I search his eyes trying to gauge his honesty, “But it’s like you putting on a costume or a tour outfit…it heightens it.”

He softly strokes the sides of my cheeks with the back of his knuckles, “Tha’s ma job, Jezebel. Tha’s wha’ pays the bills. S’no’ who I am.” He sighs. “It’s part of me, bu’ no’ who I am wi’ ya…’m jus’ ya Harry an’ ‘m lucky everyday tha’ ya love me fo’ me.”

“I DO love you for you…I love what you do and am so proud of you, but I would be proud of you if you decided to be a baker in a bakery,” I say with a sly smile.

He laughs that breathy laugh that gets me every time and leans down to place a soft kiss to my lips…just a touch… “I love ya Lily, so so much,” he says against my lips.

I decide it’s time to take a little more control of my seduction plan. I lick out against his lips, soft little licks. He groans and pushes my head back trying to force a kiss. I pull back and he follows, his mouth and tongue reaching for me. His eyes narrow and he pushes even farther, soon I’ve pulled back far enough my back is against the tile and his need for a kiss his reached a fervor. I stop him with my fingers on his chin, “H, we need to finish in here, because I need you to kiss my lips.”

“’M tryin’, baby…open fo’ me,” he says putting both hands on the tile on either side of my head.

I turn my head, “Those lips have to wait, tonight your next kiss will be on my other lips.” I duck under his arm and get under one of the showerheads and begin my showering routine. I look over to see him smirk and drop his head as if he’s both proud and annoyed at me. I suck in my lips to avoid a laugh and begin to whistle as I work the lather down my body.

Harry’s POV:

Jesus, so it’s gonna be like that tonight? She’s got a plan…a very proud plan and my cock will have to wait. To be fair, her taking the sex reins is sexy as hell so I can wait a little longer to see what she has planned. I turn to my shower head and stand under the hot water as it drowns out the sound of crowds and screams…the only screams I wanna hear now come from that little soaped up thing standing next to me. She so beautiful. Her body is perfect in every way, I love how healthy she looks and soft, full and lush in all the right places, taunt and strong in others.  She’s all woman… all my woman.

We both finish up and step out and help each other dry off. I brush my teeth and kiss the top of her head as she finishes putting stuff on her face. Swears she needs it to stay looking young. I step into the bedroom and flop on my back happy to be off my feet. I should be ready to fall asleep, but I’m keyed up, not just from the show at The Forum…but also from the show at home. She comes in and stops in the door way of the bathroom rubbing lotion into her hands. She stares at me…and mouths “I love you”.  No words just her mouth speaking to me from her heart. I reach my hand out for her to come to me.

Lily’s POV:

God, he’s lying there, naked, just waiting for me. His skin is flushed from the hot shower and his hair is a tousled mess. He reaches up with his other hand and pushes it off his forehead and twists it like he has a habit of doing, especially if he wants to clip it.

“Want a clip?” I ask curiously as I take his hand and start to crawl up on the big king size bed.

He shakes his head no with a smirk.

“Harry, I’m gonna need you to use your words tonight,” I say as I settle, straddled over top of his hips.

He groans as I settle over the underside of his cock and his hands settle on my hips, fingers digging into my flesh.

I know that this is him trying to take back some control but that’s not part of my plan. My hands go to his and pry them from my skin, threading my fingers with his and pulling his arms up over his head.

“Fuck,” he whispers as my pussy moves over his dick.

I press my breasts down to his chest, running my nipples over his. I smirk when I hear another groan from him and watch as his eyes flutter closed.

“Kiss me, Jezebel. Please,” he rasps out as he opens his eyes and looks into mine.

I smile and press my lips to his. He’s needy, I can tell as he lifts his head to try and take the kids deeper. I pull my lips back from his mouth and his head drops back to the pillow. I lick my lips and gently pull my fingers from his and wrap his hands around the slats in the headboard.

His breath picks up. “Jezebel,” he says, licking his lips.

“I know, baby, I know. My bum is to sore for your hands right now anyways…does that make you harder?”

“Fuck! Jesus, Jezebel,” he says as his hips push up against me.

“It’s a good thing this bed had slats, H. Don’t move you hands unless I say you can. Understand?"

“Fuck, babe...yeah."

“Do you remember our safe word?" He swallows hard, "rainbow.”

I crawl up his chest and tease him, "You want my honey, H?" I ask him as my hands go to my nipples and I tug them.

“Fuck, Jezebel. Need ya honey. Lemme ‘ave it. Can feel ya honey on ma chest.”

“I’m so wet. You did this to me,” I tell him, meeting his eyes.

“C-C’mere,” he pants out, licking his lips.

I pull his hands away from the headboard and use them for leverage to get into position before replacing his hands. I shiver as I feel him breathe on my most sensitive part and I just catch his smirk before I lower down onto his beautiful mouth.

I gasp as I feel his tongue lick a hard stripe up my slit and my hands instinctively tangle in his curls.

“Mmmm…ohhh, fuck,” I pant out as he sucks my clit in his mouth.

He pulls one of his hands off and grabs my thigh and I pull up. “Uh um, where are your hands supposed to be, Harry?"

“Fuck,” he breathes out as he moves his hand back in place.

I bite my bottom lip as he opens his mouth and I lower back down, gasping as his tongue darts out and licks a hard stripe. I can’t believe I get to have him like this after literal years of fantasizing about him. He sucks my clit back into his mouth, his tongue working furiously against it and I tug his curls hard as his name leaves my mouth over and over.

“Gonna, fuck, fuck, fuck, gonna CUM!” My voice raising as the damn breaks and I cum, my hips moving over his mouth of its own accord.

Harry’s POV:

She fucks my face so beautifully and then… my beautiful girl… my sweet Jezebel, looks down at me with her hands in my hair and pants, “Be good for me, H…lick me clean….” Her eyes are glazed over and her thighs are quivering against the inside of my upstretched arms. She’s so fucked out, her brain is just relaying her primal thoughts and needs. I love it when she’s like this…bare…raw and open, because I know she’s trusting me with her most vulnerable moments. It makes me proud and I can’t help the smirk against her lips…her soft, wet, swollen pussy lips. She half smiles down at me through glazed expression and I capture her eyes and make a moment out of opening my mouth to her cunt…my cunt. My upper lip rakes along her clit as I use my tongue to open her up and lap at the honey she’s left for me. It shouldn’t be so fuckin’ good to taste her. She tastes earthy and sweet on my tongue, like ocean air and berries. She uses one hand to reach down and push her lips open for me.  She’s feeding me her honey…her head rolls back and her hips shiver. I pull back and place soft kisses all over her wet raspberry skin and her little pearl of a clit poking out proud and satisfied. I want her to cum again, God, I want make her cum forever.

“Jesus, Lily….ya were a Jezebel all those years, hmm?”

She whimpers above me, her chin on her chest. “Mmm I guess…yeah.” Suddenly she lets go of my hair and reaches back to grab my cock. How the fuck am I gonna make it through this? I need to fuck her. I close my eyes and inhale deeply…doesn’t help because all I can smell her sex.

“Sllleeee…Oooo, that smarts,” she says sitting back up rubbing her arse.

My brows furrow. I hate to see her in pain, especially if it’s pain that I caused her. “‘M s’sorry, Jezebel. Did I go ta hard on ya?”

She shakes her head no. “No, no, no. It’s just fresh is all.” She moves back further on my chest and flips around. “Kiss it better, Harry.”

“Fuck, baby. C’mere,” I say grabbing her hips, pulling her bum to my mouth, and I place soft kisses all over her perfect arse, my nose pressed against her skin, while she whimpers. I pull back and run my fingers softy from her shoulders down her back.

She turns her head to look back at me and smiles. “Hands back on the slats, baby,” she says as she slides down my body until she reaches my dick.

I groan but reach up to grip the headboard and I watch as she lifts up, hand grabbing my dick, and takes me inside her.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck…” I pant out. I’ve never seen it from this angle and fuck if it’s not one of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen.

“Mmmm…Harry…” she breathes out as she starts moving back and forth. She feels so good and I’ve been waiting so long, my knuckles turn white on the headboard as I watch my initials on her bum as she starts bouncing on my dick.

“I wish ya could see wha’ ‘m seein’, Jezebel. Jesus, ‘m gonna film ya one day, promise.”

She’s doing so good…she’s propped forward her hands braced on my shins. On the next down thrust she stops and swivels her hips while she takes me deep. I watch her head drop down to where we’re connected and she smooths her hand up my leg to reach down between us and cup my balls. I can feel them tighten and draw up and she stops touching for a second and then hovers her hand like she doesn’t know what to do.

“They just got tight, H!” she whisper-shouts with wonder and a flex of her muscles that almost sends me to the moon.

Panting I reply, “Yeah, love, they do tha’ when ya touch ‘em an’ ‘m fuckin’ ya.  ‘M ready ta blow, uhhh…darlin’, …Jesus, Jezebel, careful….” Her curiosity is palpable tonight. She’s tracing the line down the middle of them to just above my arse and swirling her finger on the skin there. “JESUS…FUCK! Baby, please, please lemme touch ya…wanna be close when I cum tanight…”

She starts to shake her head no…unacceptable.  

“Baby, please, need ma arms ‘round ya…ungh, ungh…waitwaitwait! Don’t make me cum, yet…please!”

“You’ve waited all night!”

I keep popping my head up off the pillow and flopping it back down. Control, Styles! To play “God Save The Queen” on the acoustic, I start with a B-flat… swear to god, I need to recite anything to calm down at the moment. “Get a grip, Styles…” I chastise to myself softly.

“Please lemme touch ya,”

She stops her movements and pulls her hands back and turns to look at me. Biting her bottom lip she shakes her head yes and I immediately remove my hands and reach up to scratch my fingernails down her back slowly and then back up lightly. “C’mon, Jezebel, gimme a shiver,” I whisper on a swallow.

She shivers deeply and I lean forward to wrap my arms around her shoulder’s arms tight to her sides. “I wanna fuck, Lily…please lemme fuck you?” I can feel her tits below my arms…her nipples are hard and they hang heavy and low.

“How do you always do this, H. Somehow you always end up in control…and I’m afraid I love it too much.” I flex my hips and grind up into her.

“Mmmm…Haaaarrryy, God…please don’t stop….”

“Hold on darlin’,” I push her up and off with a grimace at the loss, but I need leverage. I pull my knees under my thighs and help her to where she’s on her knees, legs along side mine and sit her back on my cock proper. She leans back to where her back is against my chest.  I slide my hand down to where I’m buried inside her. Jesus, she’s so juicy and swollen. Her thighs are wide open and my dick is deep causing her to drip to my balls.

I kiss her shoulder and lean in to her ear.  “Ready?”

Lily’s POV:

I lean my head back onto his shoulder and kiss his neck. He feels so good against me. He’s so warm and sturdy and he smells so good I can’t help but smile. “Mmmm…make me cum, Harry,” I say in my most seductive voice, licking his jaw.

“Fucks sake, Jezebel,” he says as he moves his hips against mine.

I gasp as his large hand moves from under my tits and I watch as it moves to my mound and he starts moving rhythmically back and forth over my swollen clit.

“Ya s’wet, baby. Hear tha’?”

My hands grip his arm that’s wrapped around me and I nod. “Hahhhh…ohhhh…fuck!” I cry out as his pace picks up.

“C’mon baby, gotta cum fo’ me. Can’ hold it much longer…gonna cum!” He pants against my shoulder before sinking his teeth in my tender skin and that’s all it takes for me to cum. All I can hear is the rush of blood in my ears but I feel him still behind me and his arm tighten around me as the pleasure takes over from my toes to my scalp.

I don’t know how long it lasts but it feels like it goes on forever and I slump forward panting, as I try and come back to earth.

He’s heavy against my back, his breath hot on my neck and I feel him press kisses to my neck and shoulder. “I love ya, Jezebel. Love ya s’much.”

“I love you Harry…God, that was so good.” I feel a shudder of sexual adrenaline run through my body and he inhales sharply when it happens. I love feeling full of him. When he’s inside me, it’s the closest we can get and I hate having to lose that connection. My pussy flutters thinking about him being inside me… Wait… wha… I… is he? I furrow my brows in consternation…and turn my head so slightly. “H…are you?” I clench my pussy around him…oh my god… “Harry…?”

“Hmm, babe?” he answers his lips against my shoulder.

“Are you still…hard?” I say softly pulling my head back to meet his stare.

“Fuck...,” he flexes his hips, “Yeah, baby...'s never happened, before... Can...ya take more?"

I bring my hand up to stroke the side of his cheek.  I smile and search his eyes. “Yeah…always take more of you…as much as you want, H.”

He shakes his head, “No…no…as much as WE wan’…don’ wan’ it if ya don’ wan’ it ta. Turn 'roun' Jezebel, wrap yaself ‘round me." I pull off him with a whimper and turn to look in his eyes…he’s so fucking soft right now. "C'mere, swee'eart, need ma kisses."

Harry’s POV:

She turns around with my hands on her hips to steady her with the sweetest smile in her face. A fulfilled, satisfied smile…but there’s something there in her eyes…a slight shadow…she’s needy. She needs intimacy. Thank fuck, my cock is apparently in tune…because he’s needy too. Apparently, he hasn’t had enough of her either. Never get enough.

I stay sitting on my legs and she gently settles on my thighs wrapping her arms around my shoulders and pushing her hips in tight to mine. My cock rests between our bodies.  I want her again. She rocks her hips until her cunt is close enough for me to slip in when the time is right. I run my hands down to her bum and pull her closer. She winces. “Ah fuck, darlin’, ‘m sorry, still tender?”

She nods, “Yeah…it feels…,” she threads her fingers in the hair on the back of my head, “feels like I… belong.”

“Goddamn Jezebel,” I breathe out against her lips. “Ya make me crazy,” I tell her as my nose trails down her chin to her neck and collarbone, just breathing her in. She smells like her body wash and the smell of us together. I never get tired of being this close to her and I hope I never do. I move down to the valley between her breasts and I hear her intake of breath. I kiss my way to her left breast and I can’t help the “mmmm” that leaves my mouth as my lips find her nipple and I swirl my tongue around it before I bite down with my teeth.

“Ahhh! Mmmm…”

I suck her nipple in my mouth to soothe it before moving to her other breast. I love her tits. I used to dream about what they’d taste like and now I can have them whenever I want. “Fuck, Jezebel, I love ya fuckin’ tits,” I mumble as I kiss my way back to her mouth.

Her lips curve into a smile as I press my lips to hers, my tongue darting out to taste her sweet mouth.

She’s sweet and spicy…her taste still minty with a trace of herself from where she licked her fingers. I lick at her lips like I did her cunt. My cunt. My hips bump up and I feel my cock slide between her lips and she shifts ever so slight with the sensation sliding her swollen clit along the underside of my shaft. Her shift lands her clit just over the top of my most sensitive spot, the patch of skin just under the head of my cock. She sliders her hands to the sides of my face and holds my stare. I search from one eye to the other. I’m telling her that I know….I know that her clit is right there…she knows it’s sensitive. I rest my forehead to hers our eyes wide open, centimeters from each other. “Feel it?”

She lets out a puff of held breath on my face, “Yeah, d’you?”

“Oh, yeah, darlin’ I feel it…,” I bump my hips just a tiny bit, she swivels hers just a bit and her swollen clit circles my spot, “there, baby…don’t stop.”

She slides one hand from my cheek to my chest just over my heart and flattens her palm…I know she’s feeling for my heart.  It may be racing, but I’ve never felt more calm in my whole life. This connection…how have I lived without it? She’s fucking my heart and my soul…and it feels like nothing I’ve ever known.

“Ya change me, Lily, I…I dunno if ’ve ever felt s’whole an’ complete. Tell me ya feel it to?

Her eyes water with unshed tears of understanding. “Yeah…Harry, I just…never knew it could be like this.”

“Shh, baby…’m always gonna be here fo’ ya…ya don’ ever ‘ave ta even think abou’ tha’…it’s me an’ you always.”

“Want you inside me, H.”

“Raise up jus’ a lil-tul.” She moves her hand back to my neck and uses it for leverage as she flexes upward slightly. I concentrate on using my pelvis muscles, flexing just right to harden my cock further. She presses her lips to mine. Our eyes open we stare deeply. “Do it.”

Reaching between us she guides my cock to her wet opening. If she could only know how my sensitive head feels resting against her warm, wet center.

“Together,” she whispers and I know exactly what she means. I push up just as she pushes down. My head pops in and it sends a surge of blood that causes me to swell on my way deep inside her. Her jaw drops and her mouth opens wide with a silent expression of utter possession. “You own me Harry Styles.”

“Trust me wi’ it all, Jezebel. Le’ go, ‘ll catch ya.”

She seats herself down and I’m deep inside her. I’m as deep as I can go inside her body. I feel her fingernails scratch along my shoulders at the depth and stretch. “So deep, like this, H.”

“Mmm-hmm…’s good, yeah?”

She breaths out warm air against my lips, “Y-Yeah…”

I wrap my arms around her back and my finger tips flex into her soft, warm skin. My open hands cover most of her small back. I push forward and slowly lay her back against the mattress. She pulls her legs up high on my sides. She’s so fucking beautiful. Resting on my elbows, I thumb the sides of her face and close my mouth over her bottom lip and suck. She whimpers softly and thrusts her tongue along my upper lip. I need that tongue in my mouth. Tempering my impatience I tilt my head, open my mouth and cover her lips. Jesus fucking christ, she fluttering on my cock already. Our kissing deepens and I pull away long enough to just watch as I pull out just a little and push back in slowly. I repeat it and her eyes change, darken with lust and desire.  “There’s ma Jezebel…ya wi’ me?”

Lily’s POV:

“I’m with you. Always with you,” I breathe out against his lips.

“Wanna take ya slowly,” he says, thrusting in and out slowly, “tha’ be ok?”

“Mmm hmm…feel so good…I…mmm…” I breathe out. My body is ready to cum for him.

“Fuck, ya gon’ cum fo’ me already, Jezebel?”

I can’t do anything but bite my lip and nod my head yes. It’s everything…the way he feels pressed up against me, the way he feels inside me, the way my bum is still tender from earlier, the way that he’s gonna be mine forever after wanting him for so long and I can’t stop it anymore and I throw my head back into the pillow, my fingernails digging into his curls as everything goes white and I’m cumming around him, hard. I feel him kiss my neck and then he stills, his body pressing me to the mattress. He’s heavy on top of me but it feels so good. It’s safe and I hug him to me tighter. I feel him trying to lift off me. "Don't move, H..."

“Baby, lemme clean ya up.”

“Just stay, please...right like this...please...I can feel your heartbeat,” I say, my hand pushing his hair off of his forehead and his eyes flutter closed. "Feel good?"

"Mmm..." he groans in my ear.

“Stay. You feel so good.” The last thing I remember before sleep takes me is the feel of his breath on my skin and the smell of his shampoo mixed with the scent of our sex lingering.

The sounds of a soft ringing followed by the distorted vibrating sound of metal on glass pulls me from somewhere far away. Somehow in the night, we’ve switched positions and I’m lying draped over his body with my head on his chest feeling the soft rise and fall of his breath. I furrow my brows and flutter my eyes trying to block out the light from the windows and the clanging sound that rings louder and louder as I pull farther away from a sweet sleep. Harry groans and his chest vibrates with exhaled breath. I start to move and he raises his head to place a kiss on the side of mine, “Shh, darlin’, I go’ it,” he says grabbing his phone with one hand while his other hand strokes my back. I drop my head back to his chest and close my eyes tight.

“Jesus, Jeffrey… bet-tah be a fuckin’ emergency, fo’ fuck’s sake,” he barks into the phone with a raspy voice.

I can hear Jeff’s response as I cuddle in tighter to his warm body. “Fuck you, H. For your information I’m not looking to talk to you asshole. I’m tryna find Lily. Oh…and say, “hi” to Ramsey your legal advisor who is also on the phone.  

“Shit. Uh…hi Ramsey, sorry abou’ tha attitude…’s early fo’ us.”

I can’t help the soft giggle that escapes me at H’s little slip-up. But Jeffrey should know better…it IS early for fuck’s sake.

“’S eve’ythin’ ok?” Harry asks raising his head with slight concern.

“Oh, sure, Mr. Styles,” Ramsey says, “Just have some news for Lily regarding the Fitzpatrick estate and assets she has inherited through Mr. Fitzpatrick’s will.”

My head pops up at the information and I sit back against the headboard grabbing a pillow to wrap my arms around as if they could see my nakedness through the phone line.

“Oh, sure…yeah, she’s ‘ere…’old on a mo’.” Harry holds the phone against his chest.

“Ya alrigh’, love?” He asks.

I nod and hold my hand out ready to take the call.

I hit the speaker button so we can both hear and I watch as he smiles. He’s my life partner and what affects me, affects him too. “Hello, this is Lily Rose.”

“Hello, Ms. Rose, Ramsey here, I’ve been working with the lawyer representing the Fitzpatrick will and estate. I have some very surprising news for you. Mr. Fitzpatrick’s estate, including his real estate, pension, investments and valuable assets…all items he left to you in his will have been evaluated to total $7.3 million. He was very specific in his will and…”

Your eyes go big as saucers and you sit straight up, naked be damned. Harry scoots up to lean back against the headboard and rubs his eyes like he too can’t quite believe what he hears.

“Wait!” you say shaking your head, “What did you just say?”

“7.3 million all together. That is including the estimated value of his house, cars, and his vacation house. I am pleased to tell you Ms. Rose that you are now a very wealthy young woman.”

“Oh my god…I don’t know what to say. He left everything to me? Did he say why?”

“He was estranged from his children apparently. He drew up a will a few months ago right after you met him and he named you his sole inheritor. I have some documents for you to sign before you take possession of course.”

“I – I – I…uhh…,” you look over to Harry who’s smiling ear to ear, deep dimples on full display. He begins to smooth the back of my hair over my shoulder down my back to the mattress where his hand rests cupping my bum.

“Lily…?” Jeff inquires then continues, “he did have specification. Apparently he had a cabin in the Poconos, near Camelback Mountain. He left the deed with specifications that it was not to be sold until you had visited with Harry. His attorney said that he and his wife had spent some very special time there and he wanted you to share at least one visit with the one you love. He pays a man who lives close by for the property upkeep, so you’ll have to keep him on the payroll until you decide what to do with it.”

You furrow your brow at Harry, “The Poconos? Isn’t that the resort town of the 50”s and 60’s?”

Ramsey speaks up, “Yes, but, I have to say, I’ve seen photos and aerial photos of the property and it’s quite beautiful. I’ll have the keys as soon as we can get together to get this paperwork signed and notarized.”

“Ramsey, Harry here, we’ll need to make arrangements to have that done in LA, Lily won’t be available to fly to Boston. She has a tight schedule here and, well, I’m sure you und..”

You frown at Harry, “Uh, thanks Harry, but I can speak for myself. Yeah, Mr. Ramsey, sir, I AM booked up tight and need to just get this taken care of here.”

Harry smirks and sucks in his lips. His Lily may have just conceded he was right, but, damn, if she isn’t going to be in charge of her destiny. So fucking proud of her, he thinks as he sits up to kiss your shoulder.

“Jeff, can you make the arrangements with Ramsey?” you ask the phone now lying on Harry’s sheet covered thigh.

“Sure thing, and Lily, we’ll send you the information on where to keep your money and investment options, those types of things. Darling, you’re a millionaire now.”

You shake your head in disbelief. “Jeff, I already know I want to put most of it in a charitable fund for me to use with the podcast, ya know, to help other child victims of violent crime…err…to use at my discretion, of course. Can you take care of outlining that information for me? I can send Bella to Boston if I need to….”

“I don’t think that will be necessary, Ramsey can come to you later this week to get it all nailed out, sound good?”

“Yes, that’s perfect. Thank you both for everything. I really do appreciate it.”

“You’re very welcome, Ms. Rose. I’ll be in touch.”

Ramsey clicks off and Jeff pipes up. “Sorry for the early call guys but you know how accountants are,” he says chuckling.

“It’s ok. You know how grumpy Harry is in the morning,” I say giggling.

“Heyyyyy…” Harry says, pouting.

“I’ll talk to you both soon, I’m sure. Bye now.”

“Bye…” I trail off as you hang up. I can’t quite wrap my mind around having that much money. My parents and Auntie and Uncle left me pretty well off but nothing like this.

“Ya ok?” He says, pulling me closer and putting the phone back on the nightstand.

“I’m stunned. It’s a lot to wrap my mind around but I’m excited too. I can help so many people with this money.”

“Maybe tha’s why he left it ta ya, Jezebel. He knew ya’d help people wi’ it.”

I snuggle into him and kiss his chest. “I think so too. I just want to honor my parents with my work. This money will go a long way in doing that.”

He kisses the top of my head. “They’re proud of ya, Lily. So so proud.”

[ohblackdiamond]

Fandom Ask Game! 6, 7, 15, 18, 19, 20, 22 , 23, 24, 25 (I know this is all KISS related lol but some questions are for how you write these characters in your lovely fics more than the actual people) Um, I may have asked too many questions. lol I understand if you skip some that were already answered!

i'll answer them all!

6. Show us a bit of a WIP!

This is from "rocks off"--

“You keep giving me secondhand fantasies, Paulie. I want something just for you and me.”

Paul raised up a bit, bracing himself with one arm. He was looking at Ace one aspect at a time. Long, skinny legs, not much hair on them. Damp curls, wet mound– Ace was still sitting on top of him– small, jutting hips, small, pert breasts, all in contrast to his somewhat pouchy gut. The only fat really on him was right there at his stomach. All that champagne and beer, all that greasy, rich food on tour, and yet Paul knew damn well that Ace still weighed less than him. So unfair.

Ace’s face now. Some prettier, but recognizable.  Still scarred up and pockmarked. No beauty queen, no Playboy playmate. He’d been left as himself, same as Paul, and Paul had been cruel to him for it. Having Ace buy lingerie he didn’t fill out, just to make him insecure. Just to tear into him for not measuring up, because Paul himself didn’t feel like he measured up right now. Even Paul putting on the lingerie that another man had bought him– he hadn’t meant that as a jab, but that didn’t matter. He’d sliced into Ace with such precision he was amazed Ace was still even in bed with him.

Ace hadn’t had to be pretty to mess around with before, back when they’d both had the right bodies. None of that had mattered. He’d just had to be Ace. 

“Something just for you and me,” Paul said quietly. “If that’s what you want, then stop talking about Gene.”

“Can’t help it. He’s all over the goddamn place.”

“He doesn’t have to be.”

Ace pushed Paul’s curls back behind his ear, a gesture too oddly tender for Paul to believe.

“I can’t have you the way he could. The way I wanna.” Two of Ace’s fingers ran across Paul’s lips– Paul parted them on hazy automatic. “The way you wanna.”

So that was it, then. Some of it. Paul’s lips closed around Ace’s finger, sucking lightly for just a few seconds, before he pulled away with a small, wet pop.

“Ace,” he said, “what the hell do you know about what I want?”

7. Is there a piece of clothing you think [character] is particularly fond of/that you imagine them wearing a lot or like to draw them in?

I'm not a very visual person at all, so sadly, no. Everyone is stuck in jeans in most of my fics.

15. Have you noticed your style changing over time?

I have been at the fanfic game for longer than a lot of tumblrites have been alive-- sadly, due to not reading very many actual books, my style has not changed overly much in the last ten years or so. I'm relying on the same bag of tricks as ever (parallelism, implications).

18. Type [character]'s name and tell us what the autocomplete suggests as the next word.

Paul and

19. What's your favorite thing about [fandom] (the people in it, not the media you're all enjoying together)?

You know, in real life, it's probably actually the most welcoming fandom I've ever been in. I have never been treated poorly by anyone I met at a KISS event and in fact have always been treated extremely kindly. KISS fans get a bad rap for being bitter but in my experience it's not really true. Kissblr has been pretty good to me overal as well and has led me to meet and befriend some wonderful people.

20. When did you first join Tumblr? How long was it between that and finding [fandom]?

I first joined tumblr 12 years ago (I had an Angel Sanctuary blog). I have been involved in the KISS fandom on tumblr since 2018 but have been interested in KISS since the Reunion era, when I was a kid.

22. Give us a headcanon for [character].

In the merfic, purple tails (particularly in the New York area) are basically akin to having brown eyes in terms of being common. Blue tails are just slightly less common, then green, and red/pinkish are the least common.

All the mer are inbred and that accounts for their problems reproducing as well as issues like Paul's condition (both his microtia and his always-remaining purple splotching). Oh, wait, I don't think that's a headcanon because it's basically right there in the fic.

In t&a or any permutations of it, Paul could absolutely have orgasmed as a girl on his own if he'd let go of his anxiety about it more (and stopped just sticking his fingers in!).

Ace probably told Paul the way to break the curse was to have sex with Peter.

At the end of t&a, on the other end of the line, Ace is asking Paul if he's checked to see if his dick is still working properly.

23. Has your favorite character/ship changed over time?

I don't know that I ever had a favorite ship, it's always been a rough trifecta of Paul/Gene, Paul/Ace, and Ace/Peter.

Favorite to write about is still Paul. That's mostly because he's just easy to write because he has a lot of traits people identify with (anxiety, depression, body image issues, insecurity).

24. What's your favorite thing about [character]?

Aw, I guess I love Ace because he's very offbeat. I am not a linear thinker at all and so someone like Gene (who is extremely linear), for example, is sometimes difficult for me to understand. But Ace is charming, out there in what you assume is lala land but isn't really. I feel like Ace has a very Mittyesque view of life.

25. What's your least favorite thing [character] said or did?

In real life, they all said and did terrible things, mostly to each other, their spouses, their groupies, and the people that worked for/with them.

Ficwise... I tend to write a somewhat more acrid/cruel Paul than most people (and a particularly bitter Peter); I guess my least favorite thing I ever had him do was not admit in "no change in the weather" to Peter that he is, indeed, cheating him (in the sense that Ace is getting paid much more per show, unbeknownst to Peter), so maybe that makes the climax and conclusion of that story a little hollow, if you know your kisstory....

In "careening," a drunken Paul propositions Bruce in a restaurant, which wasn't cool, either.

In "rocks off," which isn't complete/posted yet (but that's the title of the fic that the excerpt above is from), Paul is mean enough to semi-make Ace buy lingerie he has no hope of filling out, just to try to make him feel insecure.

Thanks for the asks!

[smoothies-are-cool]

snooki vs. angelina

boyfriend! chris sturniolo x reader

summary: reader is watching jersey shore and chris gets invested.

warnings: swearing, short?, pet names (ma, mama, baby), mentions of fighting.

a/n: i was watching jersey shore and this popped into my head. speaking of jersey shore/2000’s, follow my 2000’s account- @jersey-sh0re-wh0r3 !! enjoy <3

READERS POV

“whatcha watching, mama?” my boyfriend asks as he walks into his room. he and his brothers had to film a new video and they just got home.

“jersey shore.” i answer, tilting my head up as chris leans down to kiss my lips.

“you’re obsessed with this show.” he laughs softly, shaking his head as he took off his shoes. i shrug in response, laughing along with him.

“it’s a good show!” i playfully argue, my attention turning back to the tv when i hear snooki and angelina arguing. i pat the spot next to me, motioning for chris to watch with me.

“all of yous in this house, are fucking fake! and i want you all to know that i can’t stand any of you!” angelina yells and i watch chris’ expression turn confused.

“why is she-“ he begins to ask but he quickly shuts himself up when snooki takes off her earrings.

“oh shit!” he says, mouth open. chris finally sits next to me, not taking his eyes off the tv once. chris gasps when snooki starts swinging and angelina starts pulling snooki’s hair.

i giggle softly, already having seen the scene hundreds of times. i was now more invested in chris’ reaction than the actual fight.

“don’t do that to me right now!” angelina exclaims. i look back at chris, his eyes now wide.

“what a fucking bitch.” chris mutters.

“angelina?” i ask and he nods. “oh yeah 100%. she used to be very full of herself.”

chris giggles when mike moves the table away from the two.

“who’s that one? he’s kinda funny.” chris asks, pointing at the tv.

“that’s mike.” i tell him.

“oh there still going.” chris says as angelina charges at snooki.

“not for long.” i say.

as the scene ends chris lets out a laugh.

“well that was entertaining. maybe this show isn’t so bad.” chris admits.

“i told you! it’s a good show.” i had been trying to convince him to watch it with me but he always refused.

“sam is so bad too.” he tells me and i nod.

“so fucking bad.” i agree. “and pauly is so fine.”

“he’s a good looking guy.” chris says.

we stare at each other in silence for a second before bursting out laughing.

a/n: jersey shore is my comfort show!!!!

[rollinouttahere-writes]

Smoker after the first seeing Lucky post-time skip:

He’s floored and the only reason he didn’t blow his cover as a yandere is cause he GENUINELY just stopped functioning. He just stood there in shock cause “it was NOT this bad before what the fuck happened??” And Lucky got away.

It genuinely takes the wind out of him. Before the timeskip, he was very much in denial about how down bad he was. He's just concerned that she's an innocent civilian being mixed up with pirates, that's definitely it! And, well, he'll also have to keep her under his care afterwards because of how dangerous the Straw Hats are. Now, though? It's impossible to deny how badly he wants her for himself and how little it really has to do with "saving" her.

I may as well talk about how the other pre-timeskip suitors handle the change.

Buggy's brain straight up short circuits. The increased affection fries his brain so hard that he fully forgets that they never actually got married, and he starts referring to Lucky as his wife. That must be why he suddenly feels so much stronger about her! They're in their honeymoon phase!

Kaku was already head over heels for her before, now it's borderline suffocating. He can't think about anything that isn't her and their future together. The once mostly innocent love letters he would send become notably more unhinged. He goes into great detail about how he envisions their lives together as a couple, what their home will look like when he can finally make it so they aren't being pursued, and of course he has to talk about what names he loves most for their future children and how he'd like to decorate the nursery.

Paulie wants to kick his own ass for how hard he's ogling Lucky post-timeskip. For once, he looks at a woman, feels a certain way about, and then asks if he's the problem. It's one thing to have the hots for someone but this feels ridiculous! The shame turns to an overprotective panic as it dawns on him that if he feels this way, others must, too. He's now all the more determined to hide her away from everyone else in the world.

Iceburg has lost all subtlety. The letters they were exchanging before had a sort of tongue-in-cheek playful banter going on, but now it's much more direct. No more 'it sure would be nice to have you here', now it's 'you are going to come back to Water 7 pack your bags already'. The occasional gifts he would send grow into a constant stream. He becomes much more encouraging of Paulie to go get her. Granted, getting her away from Paulie will be its own struggle, but he'll cross that bridge when he gets to it.

Law is taking it very much the same as Smoker, except he goes as far as to take out his own heart to examine it because what the fuck is happening to it right now? He already had a budding fondness, but now all he can think about is locking her in the Polar Tang and throwing away the key.

Kid feels like he got hit by a god damn cannon. At first, his desire to keep her around was based more on possessiveness than anything else, but after seeing her again post-timeskip, he has this instant realization of 'oh no, I LOVE her'. He won't vocalize this, but there is now a noticeable effort on his part to genuinely win her over rather than just keep her against her will.

[twoidiotwriters1]

Almighty (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: Ara having a villian origin story every so often is very funny to me -Danny Words: 3,068 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Nobody's Soldier' -by Hozier

XIV: To Whoever's Controlling Me Like a Sims Character, It's Not Funny Anymore

It gets dark awfully quickly after an hour of walking, Ara is lighting their path with Almighty, keeping her eyes ahead trying to look out for monsters, when Meg squeaks suddenly and yanks her back.

"What?" Ara looks down in alarm.

"You almost stepped on that!" Meg points with disgust. 

Ara has been too busy looking ahead to spot it but feels a shiver run down her spine when she recognizes what Meg's looking at. "Myrmeke. Thank gods it's dead!"

"A murr-murr-key?"

"A giant ant," Apollo clarifies. "There must be a colony somewhere in the woods."

Meg squirms. "I hate bugs."

"I'm partial to them—but yeah, these in particular are not friendly," Ara examines the corpse with curiosity. "It's really hard to kill one with brute force, this looks like something took a bite. Maybe Pollo did it while playing in the forest..." Her lion growls and shakes its mane, he knows better than to get near acidic stuff since he came back to life.

Apollo gulps. "Well, the rain should keep the myrmekes in their tunnels. Just don't make yourself an attractive target. They like bright, shiny things."

Ara glances at Almighty, remembering how they took Festus into their layer the last time she encountered them. She turns it into a compass and puts it away. "Alright, so we depend on Pollo's eyesight now. Everyone hold onto the lion."

The deeper they go, the weather changes, becoming hotter without losing its humidity. "What's going on?" Meg huffs. "Feels like a tropical rain forest now."

"A geyser," Apollo says sounding weirdly excited.

"A geyser," Meg frowns. "Like Old Faithful?"

"This is excellent news. Perhaps we can get directions. Our lost demigods might have even found sanctuary there!"

"With the geysers," Meg tilts her head.

"No, my ridiculous girl," Apollo brushes it off. "With the geyser gods. Assuming they're in a good mood, this could be great."

"And if they're in a bad mood?"

"Then we'll cheer them up before they can boil us. Follow me!" 

The geyser wants them to take a survey. He keeps ignoring their questions and Meg is even more impatient than Ara, so the girl pushes her inquiries in a sharper voice. "Can you tell us anything about a secret grove with whispering trees?"

"Oh." Pete the geyser blushes. "I'm not supposed to talk about the grove."

"Why can't you talk about the grove, Pete?" Apollo raises a brow.

"Paulie said it would scare away tourists.'Talk about the dragons,' he told me. 'Talk about the wolves and serpents and ancient killing machines. But don't mention the grove.'"

"Ancient killing machines?" Meg asks in alarm.

"Yeah. We're marketing them as fun family entertainment. But the grove... Paulie said that was our worst problem. The neighborhood isn't even zoned for an Oracle. Paulie went there to see if maybe we could relocate it, but—"

"He didn't come back," Apollo guesses.

Pete pouts miserably. "How am I supposed to run the marketing campaign all by myself? Sure, I can use robo-calls for the phone surveys, but a lot of networking has to be done face-to-face, and Paulie was always better with that stuff. I miss him."

"I know how it feels to lose your better half," Ara tries patiently, slipping charmspeak into it. "So help us out, buddy."

"Maybe we could find him," Meg nods, "and bring him back."

"Paulie made me promise not to follow him and not to tell anybody else where the grove is," Pete hesitates. "He's pretty good at resisting those weird voices, but you guys wouldn't stand a chance."

"Sorry, Pete." Apollo pipes in. "I'm just not buying it."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"I don't think this grove exists. And if it does, I don't think you know its location."

"I—I do know! Of course it exists!" 

"Oh, really? Then why aren't there billboards about it all over the place? And a dedicated Web site? Why haven't I seen a groveofdodona hashtag on social media?"

"I suggested all that! Paulie shot me down!" Pete hisses.

"So do some outreach! Sell us on your product! Show us where this grove is!"

"I can't. The only entrance... Ah, spew." 

The lights go off but Ara hears the noises and recognizes them without even needing to look back. "Ah, crap. I'm reliving every single one of my childhood traumas..."

"Pete," Apollo says shakily, "when you said your spotlights attracted the wrong kind of attention—"

"I meant the myrmekes," he says quietly. "I hope this won't affect your online review of the Woods at Camp Half-Blood." 

"Apollo, stay back," Ara orders firmly.

"Thank you!" Apollo retorts. 

"I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to my lion!" She huffs. 

"His name is Apollo?" He asks in a heavily flattered tone that Ara hates.

"Only when I'm stressed out by his presence, now shut up," she grumbles. Meg presses closer to her, and Ara does her best to shield the girl. Pollo remains alert although he steps back, hesitant to attack the acid-spitting creatures.

"Oh, Pete?" Apollo whispers. "How do you deal with myrmekes invading your territory?" 

"By hiding," he vanishes instantly.

"Never trust gods," Ara mutters.

"I heard that!" He whispers angrily.

"That was on purpose!"

"Can we dive in?" Meg asks glancing at the geyser.

"Only if you fancy boiling to death in a pit of scalding water." Apollo grabs his ukulele very slowly. "I have an idea..."

"I thought you swore not to play," Meg says quietly.

"I did. But if I throw this shiny object to one side, the ants might—"

The myrmekes jump into action, snapping their massive fangs. Apollo falls on his butt and Ara turns Almighty into a shotgun, firing at their faces but having a hard time aiming in the dark.

"Hey, bugs!" Meg's weapons materialized in her hands, Ara didn't know she had any.

"Aim low!" The girl shouts out as they charge together. "They've got big heads and tiny eyes, so that's a lot of blind spots! Their bodies are tough to get through—hurt their legs!"

Meg does what she's told and Ara feels a wave of pride cursing through her. She turns Almighty into a spear, the distance giving her safety but also easier access to spots such as the mouths and antennae.

"Strategus!" Apollo shrieks when the third ant goes for him. 

Ara rushes to his aid and jumps onto the myrmeke's back using her spear for impulse, then wraps her legs around the thin neck and stabs its eyes ferociously. "Go help Meg!" Ara commands him.

The ant tries to shrug her off violently swaying side to side and slamming its body against the trees, Pollo jumps into action and topples the ant, but traps Ara beneath it in the process. "Back off!" Ara hisses at the lion.

Apollo shows up again and pulls her out from under the bug while Pollo bites and claws at its carcass ferally. "Peaches," the boy huffs out as they both fall back. "Where is that stupid diaper demon when we need him?"

"Where's Meg?" Ara sits up and then stands on shaky legs, looking around anxiously. "I told you to help her!"

A second myrmeke comes at them, they roll to different sides, and out of nowhere, Ara catches a snippet of  'Sweet Caroline'. With horror, she spots Apollo playing his ukulele, actively breaking his vow. "No!" She picks up her spear.

Apollo keeps singing, looking at her urgently trying to convey a message. Be ready. He's guiding the ant toward the geyser. The ant shrieks and pounces, the boy jumps out of the way and causes the ant's gigantic head to sink down the geyser's hole.

Ara drives Almighty right below the ant's jaw. Meg's screams cut through the air and Ara pulls her sword out, Apollo and her lion following closely as she runs to the noise. They reach her just in time to see the last myrmeke grab her and scurry into the trees. "NO!" Ara and Apollo cry out. 

Apollo seizes his ukulele again, but the second his fingers run over the strings, he collapses. She's seen this many times, demigods faint after using large amounts of their powers. It used to happen to her.

Ara decides he'll be okay, but when she turns to save Meg, she freezes. It's too dark and she can't hear the creature, they've always been quieter than most. "Pollo..." she turns and gasps, noticing the state of her lion. "Oh, gods, my baby..." She approaches and hugs the creature, gently examining his burnt paws. 

By the time Apollo wakes up, Ara has healed Pollo and the boy's superficial wounds. "You broke your oath," it's the first thing she tells him, staring at him like he's gum in her shoe.

Apollo sits up groaning. "Meg..."

"Gone," Ara frowns. "She has a day at most before they eat her."

"I know how myrmekes work, thank you," he scowls, rubbing the back of his head.

"You need to get that geyser talking," Ara continues. "So pull out the myrmeke's corpse out of his hole, and try again."

"Okay, so I've had enough of you," Apollo replies impatiently. "I only take orders from Meg because I have no choice, but you��"

"I'm your general," Ara stares at him defiantly. "I'm in charge of every mortal that's attached to the gods and—oh? Oh, what's that? You're Zeus's son!" She says sarcastically. "So you take orders from me! And since the gods abandoned us, you have no choice but to listen to me."

Apollo throws a tantrum, stomping and clenching his fists like a real teenager, so the transformation must be complete. "You're insufferable!"

"Meg is in trouble because you didn't listen!"

"I was trying to save you!"

"So I could save Meg for you!" Ara yanks him up to his feet by the bandana around his neck. "Do what I tell you next time, or I'll kill you myself!"

All she sees when she looks at Apollo is Olympus, and right now, she's got no sympathy for them. Percy was right, they mistreat her, and if Zeus is handing her a former god on a silver platter ready to be manhandled and yelled at, she won't waste the opportunity to do it. To Hades with helping the gods, Apollo serves her now.

Lester has a head injury Ara missed, so he's too dizzy and weak to walk, and to top it all, he's made a new vow to save Meg at the risk of dying instantly if he doesn't. Ara isn't speaking to him as they go back to camp, but she's forced to do so when he starts to hallucinate. 

"I loved you..." he whispers.

Ara looks down at him. "What?"

He sits up abruptly on Pollo's back and holds onto her shoulders tightly. "You were my first true love. Oh, Daphne!"

"Dude, back off!" His face is much too close to hers. She pushes him away and he falls face first on the mud. The girl turns to Pollo. "Can you..." Her question is left unfinished as she spots a second lion in front of her, smaller than hers, approaching from the trees. Her eyes keep moving, and they spot none other than Rhea, with a second lion walking lazily by her side. 

"My lady," Ara hops off and bows. Pollo sits reverently as well.

"Get up, princess," the woman walks past her and pats her head, when she does that, little flowers sprout in between Ara's brown locks like a flower crown directly from her scalp. The woman reaches Apollo. "Wake up."

The boy sits up and speaks hoarsely. "Rhea..."

"Peace, Apollo. I don't want to bum you out, but we need to talk." 

"Why are you... Where have you been all these centuries?"

"Upstate." Pollo skips over and rolls on his belly, the woman pets him gently. "After Woodstock, I stuck around, started a pottery studio."

"You... what?"

"Was that last week or last millennium? I've lost track."

"I—I believe you're describing the 1960s. That was last century."

"Oh, bummer. I get mixed up after so many years."

"I sympathize."

Ara can't say she's starstruck, but she'd never thought this was going to be her life at fifteen years old, that she would hang out in the forest with Apollo and Rhea while her Nemean lion demands to be petted. It's... pretty cool.

"After I left Kronos... well, that man was so square, you could cut yourself on his corners, you know what I mean? He was the ultimate 1950s dad—wanted us to be Ozzie and Harriet or Lucy and Ricky or something."

"He—he swallowed his children alive," Apollo frowns.

"Yeah. That was some bad karma. Anyway, I left him. Back then divorce wasn't cool. You just didn't do it. But me, I burned my apodesmos and got liberated. I raised Zeus in a commune with a bunch of naiads and kouretes. Lots of wheat germ and nectar. The kid grew up with a strong Aquarian vibe."

"And he came out just perfect," Ara says, unable to hold back the sarcasm.

The goddess is on some kind of trip and Ara wonders if gods can get high, or if they simply think I'll get high, and then forget to call it off because they're tripping so bad they can't snap out of it.

"Well, anyway, the communication lines are down, man. Nothing works. Rainbow messages, flying scrolls, Hermes Express... it's all going haywire." 

"We know this. But we don't know why." Apollo replies.

"It's them. They're doing it."

"Who?"

"The Man, man. Big Brother. The suits. The imperators."

"Triumvirate Holdings." 

"Yea. That's their new military-industrial complex. It's bumming me out in a big way."

"How is this possible? How have they come back?"

"They never went away," Rhea shrugs. "They did it to themselves, you know. Wanted to make themselves gods. That never works out well. Ever since the old days they've been hiding out, influencing history from behind the curtains. They're stuck in a kind of twilight life. They can't die; they can't really live."

"Wait, what?" Ara frowns. "What do you mean they did this? Like, simply willed themselves not to die?"

"But how could we not know about this?" Apollo frowns. "We are gods!"

"Apollo, Grandson, beautiful child... Has being a god ever stopped someone from being stupid?"

"I'd say it makes them even more stupid," Ara nods. "Present company excluded, mother Rhea."

"Your shoulders are so rigid," Rhea touches her and the muscles in her body stop responding. "Chill out."

Ara falls back, eyes wide but unable to stop it. "Can't move."

"That's great. Now, the emperors of Rome... They can't all be immortal," Apollo continues, getting used to ignoring her.

"No," Rhea agrees. "Just the worst of them, the most notorious. They live in human memory, man. That's what keeps them alive. Same as us, really. They're tied to the course of Western civilization, even though that whole concept is imperialist Eurocentric propaganda, man. Like my guru would tell you—"

"Rhea, can we stick to one problem at a time?" 

"Yeah, okay. I didn't mean to blow your mind."

"But how can they affect our lines of communication? How can they be so powerful?"

"They've had centuries, Apollo. Centuries. All that time, plotting and making war, building up their capitalist empire, waiting for this moment when you are mortal, when the Oracles are vulnerable for a hostile takeover. It's just evil. They have no chill whatsoever."

"I thought that was a more modern term."

"Evil?"

"No. Chill. Never mind. The Beast... he is the leader?"

"Afraid so. He's as twisted as the others, but he's the smartest and the most stable—in a sociopathic homicidal way. You know who he is—who he was, right?"

Apollo shakes his head in defeat. "It's true, then... The other Oracles still exist. The emperors hold them all?"

"They're working on it. Python has Delphi—that's the biggest problem. But you won't have the strength to take him head-on. You've got to pry their fingers off the minor Oracles first, loosen their power. To do that, you need a new source of prophecy for this camp—an Oracle that is older and independent."

"Dodona. Your whispering grove."

"Right on. I thought the grove was gone forever. But then—I don't know how—the oak trees regrew themselves in the heart of these woods. You have to find the grove and protect it."

"I'm working on that. But my friend Meg—"

"Yeah. You had some setbacks. But there are always setbacks, Apollo. When Lizzy Stanton and I hosted the first women's rights convention in Woodstock—"

"I think you mean Seneca Falls?"

"Wasn't that in the '60s?"

"The '40s. The 1840s, if memory serves."

"I'm having so much fun," Ara speaks from her patch of grass. "Can you please make my nervous system go back to normal?"

Rhea touches her again without paying much attention. "So... Jimi Hendrix wasn't there?"

"Doubtful."

"Then who set that guitar on fire? Ah, never mind. The point is, you have to persevere. Sometimes change takes centuries."

"Except that I'm mortal now. I don't have centuries."

"But you have willpower. You have mortal drive and urgency, just like our daughter of Olympus here present. Those are things the gods often lack." Her lions sit up and pace around anxiously. "I've gotta split. If the imperators track me down—bad scene, man. I've been off the grid too long. I'm not going to get sucked into that patriarchal institutional oppression again. Just find Dodona. That's your first trial."

"And if the Beast finds the grove first?"

"Oh, he's already found the gates, but he'll never get through them without you and the girl." 

"I—I don't understand."

"That's cool. Just breathe. Find your center. Enlightenment has to come from within."

"But what do I do? How do I save Meg?"

"First, get healed. Rest up. Then... well, how you save Meg is up to you. The journey is greater than the destination, you know?" She hands him a set of wind chimes. "Hang these in the largest ancient oak. That will help you focus the voices of the Oracle. If you get a prophecy, groovy. It'll only be the beginning, but without Dodona, nothing else will be possible. 

The emperors will suffocate our future and divide up the world. Only when you have defeated Python can you reclaim your rightful place on Olympus. My kid, Zeus... he's got this whole 'tough love' disciplinarian hang-up, you dig? Taking back Delphi is the only way you're going to get on his good side."

"I—I was afraid you would say that."

"There's one other thing. The Beast is planning some kind of attack on your camp," she looks at Ara when she says that. "I don't know what it is, but it's going to be big. Like, even worse than napalm. You have to warn your friends."

Ara stands and pulls Apollo to his feet, nodding dutifully. "You got it."

"Good luck. I've got to check my kiln before my pots crack. Keep on trucking, and save those trees!"

Next Chapter –>

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