#and then schedule it to post tomorrow when the archive is back up?

[a-memory-a-distant-echo]

good [location time zone]! this is a reminder that ao3 will be going down in like six and a half hours and if you desperately need to download fic so that you can read about your weird little guys while you go to sleep or take the train to work or whatever, now is the time to do that thing!

[sportsthoughts]

.

[ihavethedreamies]

Birthday Surprise | Baekhyun

Byun Baekhyun - EXO

Rating: M (18+) MDNI

Word Count: ~3.5k

Pairing: Baekhyun x AFAB!Reader

Genre: Reader-Insert, Fluff, Smut, Cute, Sweet

!!This is smut…if that much isn't clear you should probably leave now!! MDNI!

Warnings: She/Her Pronouns used, Kissing, Bit of Swearing, Oral (F! Receiving), Fingering, Wall Sex, Unprotected Sex (Don't!)

Author's Note: This a story requested by/written for my friend @sadfragilegirl! I hadn't written something to post for EXO yet. It’s a little early for her actual birthday, but she didn't mind, so here is this as well~

I am cross-posting this on Archive and Wattpad. Please reblog! If you know anyone that would like this or future fics but they aren't on here my name and icon are exactly the same on the other sites. Happy reading!

Sighing again, you found your eyes drifting to your phone again. Tapping the screen, there were still no new notifications. You understood with the time difference and his busy schedule that your boyfriend didn't always have a second to spare and reply. You didn't take it personally; it just was hard when you missed him as much as you did. The first week of a tour was always the hardest, but then it would get easier. After time passed though, the harder and harder it would get again. At least with Baekhyun's solo career, he was gone for a shorter time than with the whole group. You also never kept close track of his tours, only what he would tell you. It was too difficult to watch the fancams others would post, because they got to be there and not you. You had to work yourself though and couldn't go with him.

Another sigh left your lips and you reluctantly went back to watching the show on the TV. You didn't even remember what you had put on initially, but it had changed. Your phone dinged and you nearly gave yourself whiplash looking at it, but your shoulders slumped. Your food was there. Grumbling, you got up from the couch, shuffling in your slippers to the door. When you opened the door, there was the food you ordered and you grabbed the bag, but there was something else too. A box was set next to your food, and it looked like it might have been there before. It was white with a red ribbon and a red envelope stuck to it. Picking it up with your other hand, it wasn't very heavy, you headed back inside. You hadn't ordered anything…

Setting the bag of food down on the dining table, you plucked the envelope off the box, a bit of the paper tearing from where it was taped on. Your name was on it, but that was it, no address, yours or otherwise. Pondering what the heck it could be, you gently tore the envelope open, pulling the card out. Your eyes widened, then stung a bit as tears sprung to your eyes. You recognized the handwriting immediately.

Hello, Sweetheart, I'm sorry I haven't been able to talk with you the way we both want, or as often. It's harder for me to leave you at home whenever I do, even more than it is for you, believe it or not. Everything I saw wherever I went that reminded me of you, I bought. I know your birthday is tomorrow, but you'll have to wait for the presents when you see me. I did prepare a surprise though. There is a dress in the box, please wear it and a driver will come to pick you up tomorrow night at 7 pm. I miss you, and happy early birthday. ~Love, Baekhyun

You sniffed, trying to hold the tears back, feeling foolish. Why did you want to cry so hard? You wondered though what the heck he had planned. Did he set up a party or something for you so you wouldn't notice his absence as much? Finally going to the box that came with the card, you opened it and removed the tissue paper inside to see the dress. A huff of surprise left your mouth, that did not look cheap. Flipping the tag over to see the brand, you were then for sure. It was a beautiful, light blue, bouffant-style dress, the fabric had a dull sparkle throughout and was made from a smooth silk. Of course it was just your size.

"Oh, Baek…" You sniffed again, holding the dress up to yourself, wondering what shoes you were going to wear.

"Are you (Y/N)?" The sharply dressed man standing by a very nice black car asked you. You nodded, and he opened the door for you. You smoothed your dress down when you got in, adjusting it as you sat to keep it looking nice. It hit you right at the knees and you paired it with a simple set of gold kitten-heels. You had curled and put your hair up and added some gold jewelry to finish off the look. The driver got back in the car and began to head in the direction of the fancy part of town. You fiddled with the strap of your bag, watching the buildings and lights pass. Maybe ten minutes later, the car pulled into the entrance of an extremely fancy hotel. You had guessed it was a party, but maybe it would be a meal in the restaurant?

"Have a Happy Birthday, Miss (Y/N)." The driver smiled, opening the door for you and you shyly thanked him, once again adjusting your dress as you entered the lobby.

"Are you Miss (Y/N)?" one of the hoteliers asked as the automatic doors slid closed behind you.

"Yes."

"Please, follow me." She smiled, motioning for you to do so, leading you to the elevators. You got in and she pulled a card out of the pocket of her vest, sliding it into the reader of the elevator, then pressed the button for the roof.

"Have a Happy Birthday, Miss (Y/N)." She smiled once again, and the elevator doors closed, heading straight up. You were feeling a bit overwhelmed with the glitz and glam of the night already. You knew that your boyfriend was an international celebrity and had been for years, granting him plenty of clout and capital, but this…

The elevator doors opened, a polished hallway leading to a set of glass doors, and presumable, the rooftop venue. You couldn't see anything pass the doors, not even lights, just those in the distance of nearby buildings. Tilting your head a bit in confusion, you walked forward, heels clicking on the floor. When you got to the door, you for some reason felt your heart surge. Resting your hand on the handle, you took a deep breath and opened the door, stepping out into the night breeze.

"Surprise!" You startled, only somewhat unprepared. The lights had come on, the pop of confetti poppers and loud cheering welcomed you. It was hard to hide your smile, seeing all of your and Baekhyun's friends.

"(Y/N)!" An extremely loud voice heralded the action before you registered it, then found yourself engulfed by a Chanyeol. You let out an 'oof' as he hugged you, you rocked back on your feet from the force of his hug.

"Let her go!" Kyungsoo huffed, hitting the other one on the back, who recoiled in an overdramatic fashion. You shot the smaller man a grateful look, but then they both looked behind them. You couldn't see over them, but when they moved-

"Baekhyun!" You beamed, tears once again hitting your eyes and he caught you when you dashed forward.

"Hi, sweetheart." He hugged you close and you heard various voices coo at the reunion, "Happy Birthday." He kissed your forehead when you finally pulled away, then scoffed.

"Hey, you'll ruin your mascara." He swiped his thumb over your cheek and you sniffed.

"I…I knew you had probably planned a party or something, but I didn't know you would be here too!" Your smile brought out his own and you hugged him again as he chuckled.

"Ah, what?!" He shouted suddenly and if you hadn't known him for as long as you did, the volume would have startled you. He turned to look behind him aggressively only to have Minseok whisper something in his ear after hitting him to get his attention.

"Oh, right." He calmed down and Baekhyun pulled away from you some.

"I did not time everything right, so we're going to eat now, then do the rest." Your boyfriend smiled, leading you over to the table set up in front of all the others.

"The rest?" you asked, sitting down in the seat he pulled out for you. He joined you and everyone else was sitting at their own respective tables. He pointed to the side at a table piled with gifts and you gaped.

"You guys!" You spoke loud enough, lacing fake annoyance in your tone and your guests laughed.

"Kyungsoo picked out the menu." Baekhyun told you, servers coming out with the food. It was all of your favorites and tasted amazing. When everyone was done with the meal and plates were cleared, another group of servers came out with a beautiful two-tier cake. The rested it gentle on the table in front of you and lit the candles before excusing themselves with a bow.

"Make a wish, sweetheart." Baekhyun wrapped his arm around your shoulder, kissing the crown of your head and you pressed your hands together, eyes closed. Let it be that I can stay happy with him, forever. You blew out the candles and everyone clapped and cheered and then the real part of the party began. Another set of chairs were at the gift table, so you moved over.

"Half of these are from you!" You sent a look to your boyfriend who chuckled a bit.

"So? Just start!" He brushed it off and you started. You got a lot of things like skincare, makeup, and other such toiletries. There were some stuffed animals, a few sets of earrings, a few nice perfumes and a tennis bracelet. Like you said, half of it literally was from him, several different countries were the origin of many. One of the boxes you opened, you slammed closed immediately, face heating. You sent him a side-glare and he seemed to realize what you had opened.

"Oh, uh, you can do that one later." He grabbed it from you, setting it on the pile and hoping no one noticed that it was purposefully hidden.

"It works with a phone app, from anywhere…" He whispered in your ear and you wanted to interrogate him further but decided to do it later. After the presents were opened and the cake cut, you finally got to eat it. Trying not to make a mess with the frosting, you enjoyed the champagne that was brought out as well. People were already dancing in the large open area in the middle of the rooftop venue, and when another nice, slow song started, Baekhyun grabbed your hand.

"I thought it would be weird if we danced to one of my songs." He whispered to you as he brought you to the dance floor. It was the second slow song, but you understood why he did that. While he literally danced for a living, you were not nearly as graceful nor practiced as him. You set your hand in his, the other on his shoulder, his other hand resting on your waist.

"Just, follow the rhythm." He coached as you danced, several of your other friends dancing with their significant others. You smiled as you passed Jongdae with his wife, somewhat envying what they had. That was something to think about later though.

"I think you got something on your-" Baekhyun brought your attention back to him and he smirked before quickly kissing the corner of your mouth and you scoffed.

"Geez." You couldn't help but smile, resting your head on his shoulder as you swayed. When the song faded to a close, you reluctantly pulled away from him, but his hand stayed linked with yours.

"Yeol!" He shouted, catching his friend's attention. He flashed an 'ok' gesture and Chanyeol sent a thumbs up back and you frowned a bit. What were they planning?

"Come with me." He looked like a kid in a candy store, a wide grin spread over his pretty face and you followed after him as he led you inside. Chanyeol had started something on the little stage set up for the band, everyone's attention focused there.

"I was going to wait till after, but I can't." Baekhyun told you, pulling you with him through the only door of the rooftop shelter other than the one outside or the elevator. It was a small staging room it seemed, there was mostly just extra tables and chairs. When you turned toward him to ask him what he was talking about, his lips captured yours, and your words slipped into a whine. Your back hit the wall by the door, hands flying up to his shoulders and up the nape of his neck into his hair. One of his arms wrapped around you, hand on the small of your back, the other on the wall to steady you both. You were glad you chose a lip stain rather than lipstick since none of it transferred over to him. You sighed and his tongue slipped into your mouth, his leg coming between yours, pressing his thigh against your covered mound. You moaned, letting him pull back from the kiss reluctantly. His lips kissed the corner of your mouth again, then down to your jaw, and further to your shoulder. The off-shoulder sleeves left plenty of skin open, so he took the chance and sank his teeth in slightly. You tried to hold back your moan, not sure how soundproof the room was, grinding down on his thigh between yours. It had been way to long, and the little points of contact through the night were not nearly enough.

"How am I going to get out of here?" You scolded lightly as he moved across your collarbone, having most likely already left three or four marks.

"You can use my coat." He offered quickly, barely pulling his lips off your skin to speak, also removing said item. Baekhyun rolled his sleeves up, lips finding yours again. When his task was done, you giggled as he lightly smoothed his hand up your thigh. His finger hooked over the hem of your panties, snapping the elastic. You squeaked slightly when he pressed into you, pinning you into the wall further, teeth nibbling your ear lobe, licking over the golden hoops you had in.

"You're already wet?" He gave a huff of smugness and you just hummed, exhaling in bliss when his fingers ran through your soaked folds.

"Baek-!" You were going to try and rationalize your state, but it was a moot point because your breath left when he sank his finger inside you. You were tighter than usual, not even having been able to get off yourself, you needed Baekhyun. The remote vibrator he bought you made more sense then. By the time he added his second finger, spreading them to get you ready, there were probably three more marks on your upper chest. Your little mewls were obviously getting to him, but the night was for you, not him. He stopped his fingers and you wanted to protest, but he was sinking to his knees.

"Oh." You whispered, letting him gently pull your panties down and over your feet, tucking them in his back pocket. You would have scolded him, but all words left as he buried his tongue inside your wanting pussy.

"Baek!" You shuddered, slumping further into the wall, hands on his shoulders to stabilize yourself. He tried not to laugh at your squeal as he hiked one of your thighs up and onto his shoulder to get you open more for him. His tongue left your core, flicking at your clit, two fingers finding home inside you again. Your walls fluttered around the digits and he could tell you were close. With one more crook of his fingers, and kiss to your clit, you came and he helped you ride it, eagerly lapping at your essence flowing down his hand. By the time the waves of your orgasm faded, you were shaking and he smirked, standing while licking off his fingers. You noticed his hardened cock straining against his dress pants, fingers finding the zipper.

"Wait-"

"Can't. Do it better later." You insisted and he wasn't going to argue. Just as soon as you freed him, the head of his cock was at your entrance and he pushed in. Your gummy walls pulsed around him; the stretch stung from you going to so long without him. The same leg he had over his shoulder he held up over his elbow and you were so glad you were flexible. His thrusts were shallow and hard, trying to get to the crest for both of you fast so he could get you back to the hotel room and fuck you properly.

"Shit, Baekhyun." Your breath came out in pants, trying to stay quiet, but it was hard. Your peak was getting close again, your tight core around his cock felt like heaven, so he was close too.

"Come on, sweetheart. Cum for me." His sweet voice in your ear was all it took and he had to still as you came. He let go as well, the squeeze too good. Catching your breath, you startled when someone knocked on the door hard. Baekhyun must have taken it as a signal for something, because he got himself fixed up and let you have his suit jacket to cover your shoulders. In the low light he could see the rising deep red and purple welts, a few with light teeth marks.

"Okay, lets go."

"What-?"

"Yeol got everyone distracted, so now you don't feel good, so we're leaving!" He grinned like a goof and you scoffed, shuffling after him to the elevator. Chanyeol seemed to be guarding the door, back to you, and you giggled as the lift doors closed. Your boyfriend looked at you, his hair a bit messy and you both laughed. He still had your panties in his pocket… When the elevator got to the floor for the room he booked, you slipped out, slinking past a group of what looked like college guys walking down the hall. You held his jacket over you tighter, following Baekhyun as he led you. When he had gotten you into the hotel suite, your giggles turned into a full laugh, and he couldn’t help but join.

"Come on, sweetheart. The bed is all ready…"

After unwrapping you like you were a present, he sat behind you on the bed, leading you to rest your back to his chest.

"What are we doing?" You asked, letting his hands on your hips guide you. He sat on his knees, having you straddle his lap and he sank lower as you settled on him, cock filling you back up. Sighing at the feeling of him inside you again, he kissed over your shoulders again, sucking another mark at the base of your ear. Resting your head on his shoulder, his hands guided you to grind down onto him, the angle had the head of his cock right in the best spot, rubbing and pressing you into a tizzy. You wondered why it felt so much more intense than normal, more intimate.

"You looked so beautiful tonight. I knew the dress was perfect." His voice, low and soft in your ear seemed to vibrate over you and your hips stuttered through the rhythm you both had set. Baekhyun leaned back a bit more, you followed since you were resting on him, and the shift let him slide in even deeper and you gasped at the rapidly rising pleasure.

"I loved hearing you laugh in person, being able to hold you." One of his hands slid up over your stomach, cupping your breast.

"Feel your soft skin, kiss you, taste you…" You whimpered, his hips shifting to meet yours, thrusting up to meet your rolling hips.

"Wanna see you…" You whined and he hummed, smirking.

"Okay, sweetheart." While you were not pleased that he pulled out, you were quickly filled back up when your back hit the bed. His hands wrapped around yours when they went to cup his jaw, mouth meeting yours again. Linking your fingers, he pinned your hands up by your head with his, pulling back just enough so your lips still brush slightly. You wrapped your legs tighter around his waist, and he snapped his hips hard, picking the pace up immediately. You couldn't hold back your moans, writhing in pleasure under him, the bed frame groaning from the force. You wanted to touch him too, but his hands on yours prevented it. He smirked against your lips, switching to using his one hand to hold both your wrists in place. The free hand gripped your thigh, shifting your leg up higher so he could get even deeper inside of you. It was hard for you to get out anything intelligible other than his name and your orgasm was rising faster than you anticipated.

"God, you're so beautiful. I love you so much, (Y/N)." His pace was stuttering, the vice of your core sending him closer to the edge as well.

"Love you too~" You managed to get out and your voice crested into a high moan as you fell over the edge. He groaned himself, spilling inside, filling you with warmth and swallowing your noises with a sealing kiss.

"Happy Birthday, sweetheart." Baekhyun smiled warmly and you giggled tiredly.

"You really didn't have to do so much…" You pouted playfully and he hummed, shaking his head.

"I did. I love you, and whenever I'm gone for so long, so far away, you're all I think about. I honestly wish I would have done more.”

Master-Master List

[deancasbigbang]

Title: a few stations back

Author: Kordian

Artist: ImpMakesArt

Rating: Teen

Pairings: Castiel/Dean Winchester Past Mary Campbell/John Winchester

Length: 25718

Warnings: no archive warnings apply accidental knife cut, blood, referenced child abuse, referenced alcoholism

Tags: coffee shops & cafés, past relationship, artist castiel, barista dean, second chances, reunions, setting: poland, hurt/comfort, angst with happy ending, miscommunication

Posting Date: October 15, 2024

Summary: Dean’s a forty six year old coffee shop owner, which he runs with his friend Charlie. His life is peaceful, running on a stable routine he got used to years ago, but when one day he gets on the train, and sees a stranger so familiar it hurts, his world starts turning upside down, flooded with memories from over twenty years ago. Castiel is a successful children's book writer, on his way to publish his fifth book. Impulsively, he moves back to the town of his youth, and when he gets on the familiar train for the first time in over twenty years, he’s met with a stranger, whose face is so familiar he could swear he’s drawn it before. When two past lovers meet again as strangers, who will remind them of the love they once shared?

Excerpt: Sometimes, a thought crossed his mind, a thought of leaving, or just moving to a different neighbourhood, but then he never actually got to do anything about it. Always shaking it off, making it sit somewhere in the back of his head, putting it off for later. Except later never came, and every day he woke up in the same place he did yesterday, and the day before, and where he will wake up tomorrow. It never bothered him. They never bothered him, those thoughts. Perhaps because he knew he couldn’t leave, or because he just didn’t really want to.The fact is, he can’t explain why he’s having them. After all, he’s happy where he is, isn’t he? He’s got everything he always dreamed of, a lot of amazing friends, a café, he lives in a beautiful place… Yet, he feels like something’s missing. And that feeling never really went away. That tugging at his heart whenever he seemed to get too lost in his own thoughts. Where did it come from? When did it start? What is its purpose? It was a nice and quite simple life he made for himself here, and he loved it; he truly loved it. But all those years he could feel something absent from it, and he could not have ever figured out what it was before. Not that he could now, but maybe he was getting closer to it? His mind kept circling back to the stranger he saw on the train today. Those blue eyes, dark and always messy hair, and that smile. That specific smile, which was the final stamp to make sure he has seen this man before. And just when he was putting down Miracle's bowl, now filled with food it hit him. He felt like someone punched him in the gut, and he wanted to curl up right here on the kitchen floor of his apartment and pretend he doesn't exist. In that moment, he was finally able to put the stranger in the right timestamp of his memories, fit the dirty trench coat where it always used to hang before. He could put a name to his face, and not even saying it out loud, just thinking it over and over and over in his head like a broken record, hurt like a thousand needles piercing through his skin. One by one. Castiel. Castiel. Cas.

DCBB 2024 Posting Schedule

[anne-is-ominous]

Phoenix Reignited 2.16: Pillow Talk

I am so very sorry that today's chapter is late! New Year's really... hit me hard in a lot of ways. But, I'm back - and we'll have a regular chapter drop tomorrow, too. With today's (well, yesterday's technically) chapter, Royal Road is now caught up with the other 12 platforms where Phoenix: Reignited Edition posts, which means we'll be cutting back to a Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday release schedule in line with those platforms. Thanks so much for all of your support as we got Reignited off the ground on Royal Road!

Ranko blinked her eyes open, reacclimating to her surroundings after a blissful few hours of sleep. Man, my dreams were freakin’ crazy last night. I could have sworn that Akane… She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and when they opened again, they fell on her bedroll, still rolled up tightly on the floor. Wait. Why would that be there, unless…

She started to move her arm tentatively, but found she couldn’t, as it was being pinned down by the left arm of the person holding her from behind. Her eyes jolted open, and she rolled over on her back to look behind her. 

Holy shit. It was real. 

Her mind raced through her memories of the evening. After the show, Akane… kissed me. She just helped me out of my outfit, we blushed and stammered at each other for twenty minutes, and we went to bed. I was gonna sleep on the floor, but she invited me to share the bed. We were both girls, so it’s okay, right? Nothing else happened. It’s not like we had sex or anything… hell, how would two girls even… Ranko shook her head, careful not to let her ponytail fly back and strike the sleeping Akane’s face. Yui would know. She swallowed hard enough for her gulp to be audible. Not like I need to know! Not thinking about that! Nope! She’d never want to…

Read more...

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[more-sonorous]

bluestars and crimson-- snippet from chapter 6 (javey)

just updated one of my works on the archive! here's the link, and here's my favorite section of text from the chapter :)

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“C’mon, Dave. It’s alright. You’re alright.” Jack muttered quietly, urging him to sit up with a gentle hand on his back. Soon Jack was taking hold of his chin and passing his own handkerchief over David’s face, and he’d never felt more like crying. But then he opened his eyes and let the vision of Jack’s unfair beauty steal his breath away, face transformed by careful concentration. His brows slightly furrowed, the right side of his mouth downturned in a half-frown, so loving and soft and perfect in David’s eyes. 

He stared unabashedly as Jack cleaned him up, desperately wishing that all of these little touches meant as much to Jack as they did to him. They didn’t, of course. If this was more than friendliness to Jack, David wouldn’t be sick.

“All better, yeah?�� His voice was a soft caress of a murmur as his hand slipped down to reassuringly squeeze David’s shoulder, touchy as ever. David’s skin was awash with heat, mind filled with visions of loveliness. 

“All better.”

A feminine voice cleared its throat. “David.”

His mother was offering a glass of water and wearing a positively unreadable expression. Her lips were pursed together and analytical green eyes slipped between David and Jack. He felt a deep sense of discomfort as he accepted the water with a soft thanks. She nodded and returned to her post at the dinner table, where she picked up her sewing once more.

David took a sip or two of his water before glancing at Jack again. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Jack adamantly shook his head, only affirming his endlessly caring nature in David’s mind. He’d seen Jack take care of the littlest newsies at their worst, playing the affectionate older brother figure. He’d seen him handle Les on that one sweltering August day when the youngest Jacobs had consumed far too much candy at the fair and ended up sick. He’d never been on the receiving end of the gentle affections, though, and it was a feeling unlike any other to have Jack Kelly aiding you on your sickbed. David felt like he and Jack were the only people in the world. “You… you’re sure there’s nothin’ we can do?”

“I’m sure. My Aba’s meeting with one of his doctor friends today, anyway, so I’ll let you know if there's any good news.” 

Jack nodded, eyes slipping over David’s face. “I’m gonna be walking Les home now, so I’ll visit tomorrow.”

“Don’t you have work at The World?” He asked, simply out of curiosity. He had Jack’s schedule memorized and at this point, he wasn’t beyond blaming that fact on his infatuation.

“Yeah. I’m headin’ straight to the distribution yard to get ‘im. Your family’s been nothin’ but kind to me and I figured I’d repay the favor.” He admitted, almost bashfully, and glanced at David’s mother. She was still engrossed in her work. They sat together for a few fleeting moments, in which David memorized every point of contact between their brushing thighs. Then Jack stood, and the shimmering moment faded like a snowflake on warm skin. “I’d stay for dinner if I could, but I gotta finish some drafts for Pulitzer.”

David offered him a smile. “Good luck with that.”

“Hey, I’ll show ‘em to you tomorrow. You always have good ideas, Davey.” Jack affectionately cuffed the back of David’s head, an act that earned a groan for the taller boy. “Tell the kid I said bye, huh?”

“I will.”

With that, Jack smiled a dazzling smile and exited the apartment, shrugging his coat and shoes on and leaving his forgotten scarf on the peg before he disappeared entirely. The conversation hadn’t gone entirely terribly. David was proud of himself for holding it together as he picked his book up again, with the intent of resuming his reading.

He couldn’t focus as the feeling of being watched crept uncomfortably through him. Unease urged him to glance up, and he found his mother staring at him. She sat entirely still, no needle or fabric in her hands. She was frowning.

“Ima?” David asked, hearing his own anxiety in his trembling voice.

Her upper lip curled and her nose wrinkled as she stared, giving the most subtle shake of her head. He’d never seen his mother wear such a disdainful look before, and it was cutting him to his core. Something was incredibly wrong.

“You’re in love with that boy.” 

He inhaled, but the breath had been stolen from his chest. He could only whisper. “No.”

“No? No, David? I see the way you look at him.” Ima hissed a whisper, rooted to her seat, eyes wide. 

David’s world was crashing down around him. He felt his eyes burning already as a thick sort of panic clouded his mind. Somehow he was frozen in place as well, worried that any movement would shatter his mother and send her into a rage. He didn’t think it was so obvious. He figured he was safe. His worst fears had been actualized and he could do nothing but sit and shake and pray that somehow she’d convince herself that his lovestruck eyes and infatuated smile were visions of a frantic mother and not the reality they were.

“Ima, please.” Like a child, David’s voice warbled with each word. “I didn’t– I didn’t ask for this. I don’t want it.”

“Now there’s no chance we’ll cure you. None at all.” She lamented, rigid posture collapsing into one of certain defeat. Her shoulders arched and slumped and her elbows met the wood of the table, pale hands shielding her expression from her son. David had never seen her so rife with disappointment. “How could you go and fall in love with a boy, David?”

He had no fair response to that question, but hot tears rolled down his cheeks as he watched Ima sit in her misery. 

Rage was surely next. She’d send him packing. But nothing came. The silence lasted for an eternity before she stood and calmly made her way to the kitchen, looking every inch like she normally did, save for the slight tremor in her long, pale fingers. Not a word was uttered in edgewise. She didn’t even acknowledge her presence as she resumed her cooking, leaving David stranded on the couch to deal with his spiraling emotions in confused quiet. 

He couldn’t stop crying. The knowledge that his own mother was so deeply disappointed in him hurt his perfectionist core more than any stupid lovesick flower disease ever could. This was a pain he’d been desperately trying to avoid since childhood.

As the rest of the family returned, filling the apartment with forced cheer, David and his mother remained silent. The object of David’s affections hung heavy in the air between them. 

[usafphantom2]

SAC Crew Dog War Stories: The Missing Aircraft Commander

T Campbell

@tcamp202

·

6h

Every good war story starts with the best four words in the English language… “So, there I was.”

(“So there I was, leading a four ship of (F-4) Phantoms over the Ho Chi Minh Trail; So, there I was, in the O’Club casual bar in Subic Bay on a Fri night…”).

So, there I was, on SAC Alert in the late 70’s at Loring Air Force Base, Maine when I got a call from the squadron admin. He told me the Ops Officer wanted to see me right away. Well, sh*t!

First, a little about me. I was first term Senior Airman who had just been upgraded to Instructor Boom Operator assigned to the 407th Air Refueling Squadron. I had been stationed at Loring for almost three years and had a pretty good reputation around the squadron. I knew I hadn’t done anything stupid lately, so I was concerned about my visit to the Operations Officer’s office. When I walked in, I could tell by the look on his face that I wasn’t going to be happy when I walked out.

He had me sit down and said, “There’s no easy way to tell you this so here it is: I have to send you TDY to the Alaska Tanker Task next week.” I had been to Alaska once already and had totally enjoyed it. Great flying, cool environment, and it meant no alert duty for a month. What’s not to love? I told him, “No problem, Sir. That would be great.” Then he gave me the bad news by saying “You’re going with Capt. Joker’s (not his real name) crew.” Well, sh*t!

Every squadron I was ever in had THAT one crew. The crew that could never get anything right. Always late for the crew bus, flunking Emergency Procedure tests, going DNIF (Duties Not Including Flying) so other guys had to cover for them. You know…THAT crew. Well, in the 407th, THAT crew was Capt. Joker’s and it started with him. He was actually a really nice guy and a pretty decent tanker pilot, but he was nothing but trouble. He had filed a Congressional Inquiry over something at his previous base and the “powers that be” decided he should spend his last year in the Air Force experiencing all that northern Aroostook County Maine had to offer. He was down to his final month in the Air Force and needless to say, he was sour. The co-pilot was a rich kid who was getting out in less than a year to go back to Georgia and run the family business, the Navigator was a sad sack that wanted to be a pilot but didn’t get the opportunity, so he was getting out in a few months. The boom operator was OK, but not well liked and I liked him even less when he got the DUI that landed me in the Ops Officer’s office at this moment.

Patches for the Alaska Tanker Task Force and the 407th Air Refueling Squadron. The 407th was stationed at Loring AFB, Maine.

So, off to Alaska. The first three weeks of the TDY were pretty routine and everything was going OK until our second-to-last flight when Joker told us that he had just gotten a call from an airline that wanted to interview him. Pretty cool, except that it had to be done while he was still going to be in Alaska and the interview was in San Francisco.

Sucked for him, but I didn’t give it any more thought until later that week, when we had to go to the Strip Alert bird to do the daily preflight since we were the strip alert crew. The Copilot and Nav picked me up in the alert truck, but we had no Aircraft Commander. “Where’s Joker” I asked logically. The copilot almost whispered “He went to San Fran for his interview. Left last night, and he’s supposed to be back tomorrow.” We were scheduled for our last sortie in two days, so if everything went well, it would all work out.

Of course, while we were at the plane, command post called us on the radios and told us to prepare for launch. Radar had spotted a Russian Bear bomber on course for an ADIZ violation flight, and we had to refuel the Phantoms launched out of King Salmon to intercept them. Well, sh*t!

An air-to-air left side view of a Soviet Bear H bomber aircraft March 25, 1986, National Archives DD-ST-86-06589

We had a quick crew meeting, and the subject was broached about launching with just the three of us. I was the first to speak. “I am NOT gonna be party to any of this. We’ve gotta tell them that we don’t have an AC.” The copilot sheepishly called the command post and told them we didn’t have an AC and they told us to keep preflighting up to engine start and then wait.

About ten minutes later, the ATTF (Alaskan Tanker Task Force) Ops Officer came out in the SOF vehicle, jumped in the left seat, and we took off. It was actually a pretty cool mission. The Bear came a lot farther in that they usually did, so they launched another pair of Phantoms out of Galena, and we got to refuel both pairs three times each. Lot’s a work for me and nothing was said about our missing crewman during the flight.

An air-to-air left side view of an F-4E Phantom II aircraft over Mount McKinley. The aircraft is assigned to the 21st Tactical Fighter Wing, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. Nationa Archives DF-ST-84-07308

Once we landed however, that all changed. It usually sucked being the only enlisted guy in a world of officers, but this one time, it was GREAT. They dismissed me, and whatever was said wasn’t my business, and to this day, I don’t know what officially happened to Joker, but he never flew again in the 407th after we got home the next week. And then he was gone.

There were many truths about SAC Crew Dog life and one them was “Be careful who you piss off because it’s a small world and you will meet them again.” This was true in my case. Fast forward three years, and I was at my next duty station flying, pulling alert, living the life. I was chatting with our squadron commander one day and he said we were getting a new Ops Officer who was coming in from the Alaska Tanker Task Force staff. You guessed it…it was the staff pilot that flew for our AWOL AC. I figured it was three years later and he probably wouldn’t even remember me. His first day in the squadron, I met him, and he looked at me and said firmly “I remember you.” Well, sh*t!

Notes about this story:

This story was provided to me by a fellow boom whom I’ve met on X. He asked if I would “host” his story and I agreed because these stories are total gold and they need to be preserved.

@Tcamp202 via X

[oneluckygoose]

O'Knutzy Week Day 3

Hoorayyyyy, we've gotten to day 3 of this absolutely awesome O'Knutzy week filled with barrel loads of glorious content! (This post was written in June and was scheduled, just btw)

Credits to @lumosinlove for creating this story and character, and to @oknutzy-week-2024 for organizing this all!

This is a fic based on the racing prompt, and also has two parts, the other officially coming out tomorrow. No Leo, only Harvard era finlo + background characters.

Summary: When the Harvard Hockey team goes car racing on an old dirt track, Logan ends up riding passenger to Finn, and then makes some heartbreaking decisions.

Characters: Logan Tremblay, Finn O'Hara, Percy Lastname, Cole Lastname, and a few OCs I threw in there just to say a few lines and have a Leo reference

Warnings: Cursing, mentions of recent injury, bucket loads of "FUCKING GET TOGETHER ALREADY" and they don't

Word Count: 2,154 (Preview of 371 under cut)

It started with a one off question: “Hey, have you guys ever been racing?” It was what Percy had asked OKN while they were crowded together in the small living room watching Fast and Furious. Now the entire Harvard hockey team was crowded around a renting booth for the nearest race track they could find. It was a dirt track, and dirt cheap too, so long as you had a car. Currently, Logan was staring at Finn, leaning against the chain link fence around the track and talking to Will and Percy about something or the other, probably what they were going to do for the upcoming summer. The late afternoon sunlight hit Finn, backlighting him and making him glow like a god. Logan on the other hand, was standing with some of the other guys a little further back and away from the fence. He was also completely checked out of whatever conversation they were having. That was until a hand was waved repeatedly over his eyes and Cole beside him said, “Yo, Logan! Earth to Logan!” “Quoi?” Logan questioned, eyes snapping away from Finn and meeting Cole’s, “What’d you need?” “Just wondering if you wanted to drive first or not,” Cole said, pointing towards the cars lined up on the track. Logan remembered someone noting that they only had about 12 cars between the twenty guys that ended up going. “Oh,” Logan laughed, hands reaching up to fiddle with his hat, “I-” “He can’t drive!” A voice chirped from the fence. Logan turned his head up to see Finn walking towards them. A warm, late spring breeze tossed Finn’s hair into his face, and he pushed it away quickly, shooting Logan a deadly smile. Deadly not because it was sinister, but because it was fucking gorgeous. Because it flipped Logan’s stomach into a million knots. “Why’d you come then, man?” Nolan Ari, a freshman winger, asked, sidling to the side to make room for Finn in the circle. “Figured I’d fuck around here instead of being lonely at OKN,” Logan replied, shrugging. “Hey,” Finn remarked, “don’t worry about Ten here, NOLA. He’s riding with me anyway.” He’d said it so casually, as if it didn’t make Logan’s heart stop.

[caelwynn]

I think I’m going to post the prologue to Choices tomorrow, update with chapter 1 on Monday, and then continue with the schedule I have set up for Mondays and Thursdays. Partly, I’m doing this because the prologue is only about 2k (most chapters sit in the 4-5k range, though a couple are closer to 3k and a couple of others are closer to 8k), and partly because I’m impatient to start the thing, you know?

But it means I’ve been working on tags and a summary for Choices; this, in turn, has me contemplating what is Choices about? What sort of story is it? Why would anyone want to read it?

When I started writing Choices, I did so because I wanted to explore the characters from not just the base Stardew game but from three different mods as well—SVE, Ridgeside, and East Scarp—and how those characters would change because of all the other people that the original game and mods honestly can’t take into account. What’s Jeric’s relationship with Oliver, the governor, and Josephine considering they took him in off the streets before Oliver was born? What do the Bladebanes think of Mateo considering they’d donated quite a few of the original artifacts that were in the museum? Philip loves comics, Sophia loves anime and cosplay, Sebastian GMs Solarion Chronicles, and Henry still has a wide collection of Pokemon cards—do they ever get together and geek out?

But it’s hard to say that’s what the story is about.

There’s the obvious thing, right there in the title. It’s about choices, about the decisions people make, why they make them, and how those choices affect not only themselves but the world around them. It’s about the comforting lies we tell ourselves to make peace with a choice we’ve already made. It’s about the families we’re born into and the families we make for ourselves, about going back to a place from our childhood and trying to decide how much of that child still exists inside of us. What happens when you’ve spent your whole life running from your past, and then you are forced to confront it? What do you choose to do?

But that doesn’t tell you the flavor of the thing. It’s a nice overview from 30,000 feet up, but it doesn’t tell you the kind of story it is. Choices doesn’t fit neatly into any one particular genre, though Slice of Life probably comes closest followed by romance and maybe fantasy. There are elements of both comedy and tragedy, drama and fluff, and so many moments of hurt/comfort. It’s definitely a slow burn.

It does focus in on a particular subset of characters, mostly because there’s a cast of nearly a hundred characters if you combine all of those mods, but even then it’s a long list: Callie (the farmer), Sterling, Shane, Emily, Mia, Henry, Jeric, Philip, Shiro, Yuuma, Jas, Elliot, Leah, Mateo, Tristan, and on and on….

I suppose, in the end, Choices is the sort of thing that I like to read: long and complex with both heavy moments and incredibly silly ones, a great deal of foreshadowing, and the feeling that this is a world and community that lives and breathes even when no one is paying attention. And, honestly, if even five other people end up reading the bloody thing, I’ll be ecstatic; it’s incredibly niche. But I love Choices. I love this world that I’ve fleshed out and the people that live in it. I hope that a few of you decide to come along for the ride too.

Edit: Here's a link!

[canmom]

status of canmom projects

for me to keep track as much as anything.

thrust//doll: steaming ahead in active development. this is taking most of my time at the moment.

ghost barrier: page 7 is drawn, and I’m working on giving a proper archive on the canmom.art site. once that’s done, and maybe page 8, I’ll post it. or you can get a look right now if you sub to the patreon. wink. I would like to commit to a regular update schedule but lets get the infrastructure up first eh.

animation night: haven’t missed a week yet and i’m not going to. I added a new introduction to the archive! I want to fill in some of the gaps, but we’ll see what time permits.

umineko liveblog: sorry for the hiatus here. I’ll be getting back to that tonight or tomorrow, all being well.

comics comints: hopefully going to write one of these on the weekend. the queue is: The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal, The Sandman (this one’s gonna be a monster), Dresden Codak. reading some other stuff, we’ll see if I wanna comint on it.

bookposting: this isn’t exactly a series or anything but I’m cooking some kind of post on charity’s Serious Weakness. it’s just a daunting one to tackle! i keep rewriting it in my head but I need to actually sit down and write lol.

nier guide: someone recently commented asking when I’d write up NieR Automata! with the anime it seems like it might be a good time. but uhh... look at that list, no promises I’m afraid!

learning to animate: hoo boy this on fell by the wayside T_T. I’ll try and squeeze a little practice animation in somewhere.

Also planning to release some short stories soon. More on that when I have more to report!

indefinite hiatuses: perspective drawing series, history of the anime girl, final baru article, adventure time liveblog (anyone remember that?). I might randomly pick one of these up if the mood strikes.

[grumpy-gamedev]

Finally got started with the studies

Today it finally happened, I started with the first set of homework for the first lesson of Draw a cube (will show some absolutely uninteresting process in the end of todays post).

It feels good to take the first shaky steps for getting started with the foundational skills. And it's a humbling experience for certain. I've been doing artsy stuffs since I was 6 years old (I designed Mario levels in my school books, so already I had my sights aimed on game development). But I've always just gone full steam trying to do things without actually doing some serious training.

This works to a certain degree for sure. I've been able to produce things that I still feel a sense of pride over, so nothing bad there. But now I want to take things up a notch and actually get to a semi-professional level (still keepin' it indie though).

Let's take a break and look into the archives, here's a piece that I made whilst actually being at a art school (and of course they really didn't give a **** about foundation, it was just "draw what you feel like". More about producing personal expressions and some figure drawing on the side.

This is Leviathan, a postcard sized mixed media painting (I used watercolor and acrylic ink). This like the previous post has gone through some iterations starting with a graphite drawing. I do have a digital version in the works, but I laid it to the side several years ago sadly.

Anyway, back the the present. Today I have been churning out most of the homework for the first part of lesson 1 of draw a box. Still have one more page of ghosted planes left to produce. But I want to take things in a healthy pace, so will continue with that one tomorrow.

I am trying to gauge how long time it'll take to finish the curriculum and feel steady with the basics and right now I think it will take the better part of this year really. I want to pace myself in a way that gives the ol' brain time to process both the muscle memory and the theory of the course.

I do have my eyes on some follow up courses after I've finished the DaB course as well. Right now I'm really enjoying Tim Mcburnie's YouTube channels, and I really vibe with his reasoning on both a practical and philosophical level. So when I feel ready I will probably give his big course a spin!

And now for the actual work I churned out today! It's quite horrific as expected, but I want to be transparent in my journey and give the ones that find it interesting the complete picture. I have a long way to go, but each stroke is a part of that journey, and I will try to enjoy it to the fullest.

"But Glenn! Where's the first page?" You might ask, weeeeell, the first page has the same things as the second page really, it was a 2 page thing, and I will do one more of the fourth page so I have 5 pages total for the first homework (and page 4 and 5 will get additional scribbles in the shape of ellipses at a later stage as well).

These exercises will also be put in a schedule of warm-up exercises after I've finished the homework, so it won't be the last time I will be doing planes for sure!

Anyways, super psyched to have started the course! I will be sure to you you all another update when I'm getting a bit into the thing! I hope ye enjoy!

Cheerz!

/ Glenn the Grumpy Gamedev

[sofiadragon]

OK, the poll has been up for a hot minute, but I'm scheduling this post for tomorrow!

Here are some words from one of the reddit discussions that inspired this poll. Before I open the floodgates on this: We all agree that being rude or a troll in the comments of a fanwork is bad, we're talking about constructive critique that asks why certain choices were made with a supportive tone and could open a respectful dialog with the author or other commenters. It isn't demanding or hostile.

Concrit is not: "You write OK, but I hate that one character and just her name triggers me, you shouldn't use her as a background character in one chapter out of 20 without tagging her. Change it to my other blorbo. Love the B plot romance and the mystery really wrinkled my brain."

This is also not criticism of the story content, but is constructive criticism of how the author used the website and counted in the discussions I've had before: "Hey great story, but I think you should tag [kink] just in case because that caught me off guard. I don't mind, I'm into it!"

Everybody cool? You in the back skimming shit, you got the gist? Cool. Let's go:

You can check out this comment in its natural habitat here, but the thread is locked:

This one felt right about the way things were and the way things are now, but I haven't voted yet so I don't know what all you lovely people are saying. I think the phenomenon of the shift comes from a couple places:

A plurality of young writers didn't have a strong idea of what concrit is when they started posting online (Blame standardized tests? The low quality of american schools staffed by underpaid teachers?) They get comments that eviscerate the fan work and then say "But, this is concrit! I said one nice thing at the beginning and end!" They can't articulate what the substantive difference is between this comment and the critique they got that was super helpful and kind to the troll they are talking to, and leave the conversation thinking that the troll comment was also legitimate concrit and that sometimes concrit is just mean and sometimes it isn't. AO3 hides comments until you leave one or click the rectangle, so other fans that might step in and help as part of a fan community don't see it happening, and the fandom spaces elsewhere have become segregated by age by accident since different social media have different age demographics.

Following from this: there are Olds on tictok, but not as many as on Tumblr or Facebook groups, and fandom spaces are very segregated these days along age and even political lines. On AO3 the culture has become "every man is an island" in a lot of ways. In the push to make sure the Archive is not treated like social media, anything social is rejected and discouraged by the louder users on related forums like reddit. Going to the source for this screenshot: this is absolutely an unwritten rule of AO3. The most common comments are just "Chapter Kudos!" Or a string of emoji these days, easily cut and paste with nothing mentioned about the fic. I remember most comments being just as simple, but not cut and paste: "[character] was a BAMF in this." This is the current culture I experience in fan communities. Critique, or even a comment that gives a specific opinion on any aspect of the story, of any kind is much more rare than when I was banging out a YuGiOh! Fic on LiveJournal.

The social media mindset. Even though AO3 and the surrounding community is loud and proud about the archive not being social media, new users will arrive pre-conditioned by it. Big "influencers" post a picture of themselves using a crappy sponsored product and get almost all praise, with anything even slightly critical deleted by moderators/staff. People mention an opinion on tiktok and any request for clarification, even if it isn't rude, is more likely to be dogpiled out that given an equally respectful responce. People just leave instead of starting a conversation when they enjoyed something but have a question that might sound negative or be taken wrong because they don't want the dogpile and don't want to feel like they are lying by leaving pure praise as a comment. When these people are told that anything that might be negative is morally wrong to say because the creators are just doing this for fun in spaces that are paid, it is absolutely going to effect the mindset in an unpaid space like fan works.

AO3 lets you turn comments off, turn on comment moderation, and put "Please no critique" or something similar in the end notes just above the comment box. While the culture around this has shifted and varies from one fandom to another, it could always shift again. Shouldn't people do what they can to make it clear where they stand when they choose to post their creation in a place where critique is not against the TOS or any official rule?

Please don't keep it positive in the replies to this one, folks. I'm just trying to wrinkle some brains. I'll be presenting a very different argument later on.

Hey fanfiction loving friend!

AO3 has the ability to turn off comments, moderate comments, restrict comments to logged in users only, or let anyone comment on your story. Most other fanfiction hosting websites do not allow comments to be turned off and in the case of some (wattpad) highly encourage comments even on individual paragraphs.

Over on reddit, someone said it is an unwritten rule of fanfiction that you should never leave a negative or critical comment on a story. This was countered most strongly by many arguments. Despite many people asserting that their stance was the one truth and that there was no debate on the topic - there was a lot of debate about what criticism even is and where the line should be for if giving concrit is alright.

So give this some thought:

If you have tea to spill, examples or an argument you want to make, please do. I have some that go both ways, but I'm going to wait for a few responses so I don't pre-empt the results. I'm not going to vote myself for a while, either, so I won't know which way the poll is leaning when I do pour my tea. I tried to cover all the flavors of debate I've seen in the many "definitive" posts I have read here and on reddit. Please reblog for a wider sample!

[ihavethedreamies]

Challenged | Easy to Expert (3 v5)

Lee Yongbok (Felix) & Lee Minho (Lee Know) - Stray Kids

Rating: M (18+) MDNI

Word Count: ~4.1k

Hard Dom!Lee Know/Switch!Felix/Sub!Reader (AFAB)

Genre: Reader-Insert, Smut, Kinda Fluff

!!This is smut…if that much isn't clear you should probably leave now!! MDNI!

Warnings: She/Her Pronouns used, Jealousy, Competition, Swearing, Kissing, Lingerie, Multiple Partners, Some M/M Moments, Oral (M! and F! Receiving), Fingering, Deepthroating/Face-Fucking, Threesome, Double Penetration, Anal Play, Sex Toys - Butt Plugs, Anal Sex, Unprotected Sex (Bad Idea, Don't Do It), Felix is a Bratty/Reluctant Sub (it's not Non-con, he's just surprised)

Author's Note: -)w(- don't ask, I just let my fingers type

-> Series Hub <-

-> Part 1 <-

-> Part 2 <-

-> Ver. I.N. <-

-> Ver. Seungmin <-

-> Ver. Hyunjin <-

-> Ver. Han <-

-> Ver. Changbin <-

-> Ver. Bang Chan <-

I am cross-posting this on Archive and Wattpad. Please reblog! If you know anyone that would like this or future fics but they aren't on here my name and icon are exactly the same on the other sites. Happy reading!

"Do I get to choose her lingerie?" Minho smirked, trying to tease Felix. He wanted to get some kind of reaction from him, he so easily asked the older man to fuck his girlfriend with him, but he just shrugged.

"If you want. I was going to have her dress like a bunny-"

"That works!" Minho smiled, already thinking stuff over in his head.

"So…are there any ground rules?" The older man asked and Felix looked up from his phone. He was texting you that the plan was on.

"Um. Maybe, we'll talk with her. Are you free tomorrow night?"

"I can be free tonight." He smirked, chewing aggressively on his snack.

"Don't you have practice?" Felix looked up at him, he was supposed to help with the rookies he was choreographing for. He shrugged, popping another piece in his mouth.

"I can move the time."

"Okay."

"Tonight?" You halted your chopping knife, looking down at your phone on the counter. You had it propped up so he could see you on the video call and it looked like he was sitting on a swing at a park.

"Is that okay? I know we agreed on tomorrow but he moved his schedule."

"He's eager." You huffed, putting the knife down entirely. There was no point continuing cooking supper if he was coming over, not for what you were making anyway. You only had enough ingredients for you and your boyfriend.

"Will he be here to eat or come later?"

"I don't think he'll want to eat when he gets here, not with what's planned. I'm meeting him later and we'll eat and then come." He brushed a strand of his blonde hair that fell in his face from the wind.

"Okay."

"Did the bunny set fit?"

"Yeah. I'll be read by when, seven?"

"Perfect. Love you." He brought the phone close to his face and you giggled blowing a kiss to him and you hung up. Guess it was a delivery night.

You adjusted your headband, the tall bunny ears attached made your head feel odd when you moved it. You hoped it didn't fall off. The fluffy end of the bunny tail you attached to the silicone plug tickled your skin. The combined corset and bra was a little too nice, you had tie it up in the back. At first you were going to get the cheap one that was kind of shiny, but Felix told you to take his card and get the nicer leather one. There was a matching thong that went with it, but you got a different pair of panties. They had to be crotchless and allow for your tail plug. Looking in the mirror, you smoothed your hair back and tied it up into a bun. The thigh-high fishnets were a bit difficult to get on since the weave was pretty loose, your toes kept getting caught. You debated getting a pair of high heels to finish the look as well, but decided against it. Sure, it would be sexy, but there was a pretty good chance you would twist your ankle or fall and ruin the mood. You debated putting on some lipstick but decided against it, the red would kind of clash with the mint colored lingerie. You were kind of surprised it came in that color, but it seemed you could either get dark like red, black or navy, or get pastel colors. Luckily, they had Minho's favorite color, you always remembered it since it was a pretty unique pick. At first you didn't think the black choker with Felix's name on it would match, but it didn't look too bad. You jumped a bit in excitement when you heard your boyfriend keying in the code for your door and you waited patiently in your room.

"Hyung wait!" You heard Felix shout and you giggled a bit, hearing another set of steps hurrying down the hall. Your door was already propped open, and he nearly slammed it open all the way. Minho stood there, still in his coat and had his bag on his shoulder, at least he took his shoes off. His bag thumped to the floor and you didn't think his coat had even hit the floor too before you were scooped up in his arms. You knew he was strong, but he did it so easily.

"Hyung!" Felix huffed, coming in himself and grumbled, shoving his friend's stuff to the side. You squealed in delight as he kissed you all over your neck and chest, holding on to his shirt to stabilize yourself. Minho's mouth led from your cleavage up to your chin and before he could capture your lips in his, Felix shouted as deep as he could, "Yah, Lee Minho!" This caught both of your attention and he slowly and carefully let you down and you took a step back, looking down shyly.

"Come here, love." Felix's tone was dark and you shivered, scurrying over to him. Minho scoffed, still smirking.

"She is all dressed up for me, isn't she?"

"Keep in mind, she's my girlfriend." Felix emphasized. He didn't care if Minho was older than him.

"What are the rules, love?" Your boyfriend's tone and gaze softened dramatically for you, but his gaze hardened again when he met Minho's stare.

"One!" You held up a finger, then brought it to your lips, "no kissing here." The older man seemed to pout a bit but acquiesced.

"Two!"

"Listen to me." Felix was sure to get pushback on that from. Sure did. Minho rolled his eyes, scoffing again, then shook his head.

"Why should I?"

"Because-"

"I'm his girlfriend." You crossed your arms and his fiery gaze went to you. The look was dominating, even more so than when Felix got rougher with you. Your cunt clenched and the fluffy white tail shook. He smirked when you shrunk some, your arms falling and you placed them behind your back.

"Third…" You started, almost sheepish under the harsh gaze.

"Only I, me, her boyfriend, gets her ass." Felix emphasized. He knew that one would piss Minho off. He was an ass man in all kinds of ways.

"No." The older man sneered and you took a step back. You weren't scared of it, it was incredibly sexy how he was getting and you were nervous for how it affected you.

"Hyung-"

"No." He reiterated and you felt Felix stiffen next to you. It was easy for him to be dominant with you, you were his cute little girlfriend, plus he never went too hard. Minho was extremely dominant even in non-sexual situations. He could also be terrifying.

"Look, I know she wanted you, but if you don't respect that she's mine-" Felix was cut off when Minho suddenly marched forward and buried his hand into Felix's blonde hair, tugging his head back. You startled and Felix wasn't quite sure what to do, so he just stared at this hyung in shock.

"I get to call the shots, 'Lix. You should have known when you asked me." He whispered into your boyfriend's ear and the younger man shuddered a bit, which made Minho smirk. He ran his tongue over the stud in Felix's ear, sucked on it, then let him go and shoved him back. You stood nervously nearby and Minho crooked his finger for you. Looking at Felix as you went forward, Minho pointed to the floor and you slowly sank down. There was no hesitation in your gaze, nor protest, and the older man smirked, biting his bottom lip. You cast a glance over your shoulder at your boyfriend, the ears of your headband bouncing with the movement. He was standing there, red dusted over his freckled cheeks, his hand over his mouth. You glanced down and he was already hard. You startled when Minho's fingers played with the tag on your choker, humming in derision.

"Strip." Minho ordered and Felix snapped his gaze up to the other man's before he removed his shirt and let his pants fall around his ankles.

"Get the stuff." He motioned his head toward your bed and your boyfriend slowly followed the command and you wondered what was going on in his head. Felix got out the lube bottles you had so he could pick. Minho clicked his tongue and went over to the other guy before he could shut the drawer. He smirked seeing everything you had in there.

"Oh, what's this one?" He chuckled and Felix tossed you a look. Are you okay? You nodded in response to his silent question. You shot it back to him and he exhaled and nodded, his cheeks a bit red again. Minho pulled out the item he was eyeing and your eyes flew open. So did your boyfriend's.

"Good boy?" He tossed the younger man a look and his face got even redder, the color spreading to his ears and neck.

"W-we got the wrong one-" You tried to cover but it didn't work. It was kind of a joke when you grabbed it. He had joked that he wanted to see why it felt so good for you so you got matching ones. The 'good girl' plug had obviously been used so it was in your box instead of the original packaging. Minho fiddled with the box, shooting a look to Felix. You couldn't see what Felix did in response since his back was to you. Suddenly, the elder grabbed the orange bottle of lube and placed it and the box in Felix's hands.

"Put it in." He ordered and you looked back and forth between them.

"W-What?" Felix gasped.

"You heard me." Minho spun him around and shoved him toward the bathroom. You looked at Felix again, but he went, shutting the door. You were a bit shocked, and were snapped out of it when Minho's hand went to your head. You hadn't noticed he had removed his own clothes, leaving just his underwear on. Turning to look up at and over him, you admired his physique. He really did look good and you couldn't help but wonder why he didn't show off more.

"Good bunny," he cooed, stroking under your chin, "You thirsty?" You nodded, a little unsure. His hand went from your chin to grab your jaw, his eyebrow raising. You caught his hint and brought your hands up to remove his boxers. Your nails were painted to match your outfit and he couldn't help but watch the white fluffy ball sticking out behind you. When he stepped out of his final garment, you eyed his cock, shuffling in anticipation. You simply opened your mouth, tongue out and he huffed in amusement.

"What a good bunny." He smirked and took the chance. One hand held the base of his cock and the other found your head and you took a deep breath in through your nose and he groaned as he made you swallow his length. When your nose hit his pelvis, you gagged a bit, he was longer than you were used to. Your mouth was so tight and hot, he wondered what your other holes would feel like. It was clear that you were experienced with sucking cock, even more so with getting your face fucked. Your eyes cast to the side when the bathroom door opened back up, and Minho pulled his cock out just enough so you could breathe.

"It in?" He asked Felix. It seemed there a blush covering more of him than not. His underwear was still on, more likely he put it back on, his cock was still hard and tenting the fabric. He nodded once, glaring at Minho.

"Get over here then," He stroked over your hair, still not moving. Felix shuffled over, looking much like you probably did the first time you moved with a plug in. The one he had to wear was smaller than yours by quite a bit, but it was probably still odd. Minho nodded and your boyfriend sunk to his knees behind you and you couldn't see his expression but heard his grunt.

"Fill her cute little cunt for me, 'Lix." He stroked your chin again, marveling at your swollen lips surrounding his swollen cock. You whimpered a bit, but adjusted your position to allow it. Since you did that, Felix knew you were okay. His breathing a little heavy, trying to get used to the plug he had put in himself. It was a really odd sensation and he was loathe to admit not an unwelcome one. He wondered if it felt the same to you or not. He stared at the white fluff on the end of your plug and rubbed the head of his cock against your folds, simply unbuttoning the front of his boxers. He did not want to take them off, still embarrassed. If he really, really was against it, he could have said it, even though Minho was scary. He didn't want to admit how he really felt. You moaned a bit and the elder huffed a laugh before you moaned louder and harder when Felix filled you with a single thrust. He sighed, brow furrowing, the stimulation from your hot cunt around him as well as the plug in his ass, he was sweating already. Minho scoffed and you nearly yiped when he started to thrust again, your eyes nearly crossing. You hadn't yet done anything like this and it was a lot. Swallowing and taking a cock at the same time as the silicone plug… You were in heaven.

"You thirsty, bunny? Want me to come down your throat?" Smirked and you moaned a yes around him. Felix still hadn't moved, trying to get used to all the stimulation.

"Ah, good bunny." Minho threw his head back, holding your head and you clenched hard around Felix's cock, swallowing the thick cum the other man gave you. He chuckled breathily, pulling out of your mouth and you panted hard, trying to get your air back. You gasped as Felix fell back on his haunches, but he lost his balance and he held you to his chest tighter. His teeth sank into your shoulder, he was trying not to moan himself. Never again was he letting Minho do this with you again. And he was throwing away the 'good boy' plug immediately when he was done. Why does it feel good? He grumbled in his own mind.

"Felix?" You asked, worried, wincing a bit from the bite. His cock was already pulsing like he was close and he hadn't even moved. The way he held you jostled your tail plug, but you were used to the feeling and he wondered how long it took you.

"Clean her face." Minho ordered and Felix sat up more, letting out a little groan, and wiped the rest of the cum from your lips. He shot a glare at Minho who nodded once and he huffed, bringing his thumb to his lips to clean it off. He continued to glare at his friend and you were so distracted by their interaction, you yiped when Felix moved again. He laid flat on his back, adjusting his feet, the pumped his hips up hard into you.

"Fuck~" You wailed and Minho could see your cunt drip all over the other's cock. He was a little annoyed that Felix just doing something small got you so close so fast. Felix needed to compensate for the submissive acts Minho forced him into by fucking his cute little love. You had a hard time holding yourself up as he battered his cock against your cervix, your orgasm approaching quickly, as usual.

"Want me to fill you up, love?" He huffed, more confidence present in his voice between grunts.

"Yes~ Please~!" Your stuttering moans pissed Minho off, and he came forward, snatching you under the arms like a child and hauled you off Felix.

"Ah!" You yelped and Felix snapped, "What the fuck, man?" You were literally tossed onto the bed and Felix got up, moving to shove Minho out of the way. You gasped when the older man grabbed Felix by the jaw, easily holding him in place.

"If you hate having that plug in your ass you better shut up before my cock ends up in your mouth." He sneered at the younger man and you gaped, but noticed an extra drop of precum leak out of the tip of your boyfriend's cock.

"You gonna calm down?" Minho finally asked as Felix swallowed hard, then nodded. He pulled back, rubbing at where he had been held.

"H-hey!" There was no fire behind your protest, and it was kind of late, but you had to work up the courage. Both of them turned to look at you and you cowered under Minho's gaze.

"L-let him be!" You tried to be assertive but it was a little difficult for you normally, let alone in that situation. To show your aggression you ripped the headband off and threw it to the floor.

"Bunny, if he hated it so much he would be fighting back more." Minho cast a smug look over the younger man who glared at him, if only to avoid your gaze.

"It's fine, love." He assured you and you wiggled your nose a bit, much like a bunny.

"Move, cutie." Minho finally turned away Felix and you scooched out of the way so he could climb on the bed, resting his back against the head board. He grabbed your hips and drug you to him, making you kneel before him. Your boyfriend stayed where he was, nervous to do something wrong.

"Breathe, pretty." Minho coached and you did so and he pulled the bunny tail out of you and tossed it to the floor, the lube still dripping of it splattering on the floor. He smirked at the sight and you whimpered under his gaze. Grabbing your shoulders, he manhandled you again, making you straddle him, his legs holding yours open.

"Fucking finally~" He cooed, bringing your slicked up pucker to his cock. You whimpered as he pulled you down on to him, your body shook as he went deeper than you were used to. You made sure to keep your breathing controlled to get used to him and you wondered what he would let Felix do. Your empty cunt was on display and still desperately empty after you were plucked from your boyfriend's grasp and cock.

"Taste her." Minho permitted and Felix exhaled, still kind of hating (but also kind of enjoying) being told what to do…with HIS girlfriend. He climbed onto the bed and Minho wrapped his arms around you, one over your chest and the other around your stomach. It wasn't tight or restricting, he was just hugging you. He smirked over your shoulder as Felix eyed where Minho's cock was inside of you. It irked him to no end. He made the rule that only he got your ass for a very specific reason. Well, at least he knew how to make you cum easy. You keened for his fingers when they pressed at your cunt and he slid three in, quick and hard. Your yelped, trying not to clench around Minho too much, and even though it was just his fingers, the double penetration was overwhelming. Plus, Felix normally started with two fingers. The other man was a little shocked when Felix began to fuck you with practiced motion, wiggling his fingers and pressing hard on your back wall. Your breath was already hitching and your cunt was already leaking. Felix smirked smugly, knowing he still had control over you even if his own was taken over himself.

"Ah~" You mewled when his fingers pressed down on the thin wall of your cunt, Minho's cock sitting inside you past the barrier. Even he grunted a bit at the feeling, and, not wanting to be one-upped, he began to roll his hips up, fucking shallowly into you.

"Fuck!" You gasped and Felix bit his lip, eyes flicking to your face. He smirked and it pissed his friend off, but then he leaned down to your cunt. His thumb brushed over your clit and you knew what was coming."

"W-wait~!" Felix could tell your tone was insincere, you were just overwhelmed. His fingers crooked up, easily finding your spot, and after he sucked hard over your little button, you fell apart. The man behind you grunted at the force of your vice clenching around his cock, but was able to hold back. As you panted, coming down from your high, Felix removed his fingers and habitually brought them to your mouth. You eagerly took his digits between your lips, licking your own release from them.

"Good, love." Having nearly forgotten about the toy inside him, Felix winced when he shifted, but was too determined to really focus on it. Not even looking to the elder for permission, he once again pressed his cock into your cunt, filling you easily. Your head fell back against Minho's shoulder, your breath leaving you as you felt both cocks filling you at once.

"Breathe, love." Felix coached and you did so. Your boyfriend smiled, feeling grounded by the trust you had in him and the love behind your eyes. Minho did nothing, still trying to cope with how much tighter you got when your boyfriend entered you as well. Though they didn't coordinate it on purpose, both of the men pulled their hips back at once and fucked back into you hard. Felix smirked as you fell apart again, your cunt releasing spurts of cum. At that angle, your boyfriend could hit your sweet spot perfect, and the added stimulation of his friend in your ass set you over even more. But to Felix, it was more like Minho was a toy you were using to get off. It was ultimately him who got you to cum. Your hands reached up and gripped Felix's shoulders, he guided your hands further and you dug your mint-colored nails into his back. He hissed when you drug new red welts into his skin over ones there from a few days before. His friend didn't like the chemistry between you two at that moment, so he lifted you up as he pulled back, nearly all the way, then slammed back into you. He chuckled at your near scream and Felix was a little worried about you, but he then realized you were just high on cock, your filter gone. You were babbling then and fell back into Minho's chest, pulling your boyfriend with you. He had to rest his hand on the headrest by the other's head for better leverage and their eyes met. Minho smirked which made the younger sneer. You whimpered as they both fucked you, either on their own would have made you stupid, let alone together. You were sure that you would be bedridden for days after this, but you loved every second of it. When Felix leaned over you more, he opened his eyes and was close to Minho then. He was determined to stay strong and just stared at his hyung. Accepting the challenge, the other's arm left you and he smirked, grabbing Felix's butt over his boxers had refused to take off. His fingers spread more, and found the hard end of the plug through the fabric and pushed into Felix. The sound he let out was still low and deep, but was more of a whine then anything. What shocked him more was that the other man swallowed the sound, his lips sealing over his. You were too fucked out to notice and Minho pulled away, grinning like he just won an Olympic medal. Felix's freckled face was painted bright red, staring in shock at Minho. The smirk was still plastered on his face and he pressed the plug into Felix more.

"Cum." He ordered and you were sure if he was talking to you or your boyfriend, but you both listened. Your cunt clenched around your boyfriend's dick, milking him for every drop. The walls of your ass clenching also sent Minho over the edge and he made sure to fuck his cum as deep into you as he could. The three of you laid in a pile, panting for a good minute.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm throwing it out."

"Why?"

"You damn well know why!"

"But you liked it, right?"

The two continued to bicker as you slept, laying on your stomach with an ice pack resting on your sore little butt.

-> Series Hub <-

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[janekfan]

"Bravo! Excellent!!” Ingo felt slow, heavy. Like the words he knew by heart were filtering out of him through honey. “I am glad that I fought so hard against a wonderful Trainer like you.” In truth he had barely been a challenge. He wondered if they were disappointed. “That's right! You grow stronger by matching yourself against a strong opponent.” For a split second he forgot what was supposed to come next despite having recited these words hundreds if not thousands of times before. He ducked his head to shield aching eyes from the harsh lights of the battle subway. Think. Just. Think. Did they notice? How out of sorts he was? Perhaps Emmet was right and it was too soon to come back after the Team Plasma attack just a few short weeks ago. But he was languishing at home. Unable to sleep. Full of nerves and worried he wouldn’t be ready for the next time. Especially if he wasn’t even there.

Ah. The words had seen fit to return.

“Please do your best and run toward the destination, an even higher state." The trainer thanked him and left.

And not a moment too soon. Haxorus caught him as he stumbled and he let himself hang there in her arms for a moment, willing his stomach to settle. Nauseated since setting foot in the cab, Ingo wondered if he’d in fact come down with something. The train slid into the station; Ingo fought the desire to slide to the floor, instead straightening with intent and righting his cap, taking comfort in the familiar actions.

“Let us get you taken care of.” He patted Haxorus on a sturdy armored plate before recalling her and stepping purposefully onto the platform.

“Bad run today, Boss?” Ingo nodded, regretting it when Gear Station swirled around him. “Better luck tomorrow!”

“Yes, I certainly hope so.” It wasn’t fun for anyone if he couldn’t even put up a fight. Squinting against the light emanating from the screen in front of him, Ingo debated putting off the paperwork for one more day. According to his timeline, he was late. Everyone else’s, he still had days. It rankled, leaving things unfinished but even though he had the time, he didn’t seem to have the wherewithal.

Failing the station, again.

A foolish thought considering Ingo was doing no such thing, especially by putting off paperwork, but no matter how frequently he reminded himself, it never seemed to change his mind.

Ingo slipped quietly into the apartment, not wanting to disturb Emmet if he was napping and indeed, saw him cascooned on the couch, head pillowed on Galvantula and broken leg elevated via Durant’s strong back. It was a far cry from the drugged oblivion he'd experienced when first arriving home, but while recovering from a concussion, his younger brother still needed his rest. Ingo toed off his shoes and hung up his coat, waving a silent hello when Durant threatened to move. Cap on its peg and tie pulled loose, Ingo touched the backs of his fingers to Emmet's forehead, just below the fading bruise at his hairline. No fever. Good. Meant he was healing right on schedule. With such a complicated break the surgeon had been worried about post operative infection.

"I am Emmet." Bleary-eyed, he came awake under Ingo’s hand, yawning. "How was work? Any strong challengers?"

"Always." He paused before admitting, "some of them are too strong." Ingo didn't want to go into how distracted he'd become. How he’d been soundly defeated more often than was his wont. How he was ruining their reputation. “How are you feeling?”

“Hm. Leg hurts. But not too badly today.” A tiny squeak heralded the rustling and Ingo raised a brow when a small yellow furball full of static crept sheepishly out of the wide leg of his brother’s pajama bottoms.

“Emmet?”

“I am Emmet, yes.”

“Why is there a Joltik in your pants?”

“They are helping!”

“There are more?”

“Can I take a shower?” Ignoring that the response did not answer his questions, Ingo frowned. “I am gross.”

“Yes.”

“Mean!” Pulling Emmet up, Ingo helped him stand on his one good leg, acting as a human walking stick with an arm slung around his waist. A bevy of tiny creatures crawled back from whence they came. "Electric current helps."

“Do not get your cast wet.” Especially if there were additional stowaways hidden. His little brother flapped a hand in his direction, already peeling off his sleep shirt. Emmet was bruised nearly all over, a patchwork of healing purples, greens, and yellows, and while Ingo’s own skin was nearly a mirror image, he couldn’t stand to see his younger brother so stiff and sore. The hot water would help. “Call out when you are finished. I will make something to eat.”

It was strange.

Gear Station should be bustling with patrons and yet.

The lights were off. The trains silent. The offices closed and locked. Ingo checked the time and couldn’t read his xtransceiver but even so, there should always be someone here, someone on duty even in the dead of night. It wasn’t. Ingo was certain he’d left the apartment at the correct hour.

“Hello?” Experimentally, he cried out, wincing at the booming sound of his voice echoing down the tunnels. It was too quiet in here and when he turned around to leave he found himself face to face with a pile of rubble. “Emmet!”

Not again.

Not again.

Not again!

Ingo threw himself at the mountain of rock and stone, clawing desperately with already dislocated and broken fingers. He hadn’t been able to wear his gloves since the first attack, still waiting to remove the splints and this would set him back further but Emmet was trapped in there. Ask him how he knew and he’d be unable to explain but as a big brother!!

“Emmet! Emmet, answer me right now!”

“I am Emmet.” Ingo whirled around, breathing harsh, dust like razors slashing up the inside of his throat until he tasted copper on his tongue. “I am fine.” Shaking, wide eyed in the dark, Ingo stepped forward on quaking legs.

“Brother, you–”

Something was horribly wrong.

Emmet was horribly wrong.

Twisted and malformed, crooked grin lined with far too many teeth stretching from ear to ear.

“Were you scared? Ingo?” Entirely too still. Unnaturally still. “I was. Yup!”

“I, no. We found–” His breath bubbled in a hollow, caved-in chest. Frothing down his chin as he laughed with a sound like drowning.

“Stop staring!” Reflexively, Ingo snapped his head to the side so fast it hurt but Emmet was there too, face pale and wet with crimson, tears carving a glittering path through the gore. Smile like a wound. “You did not even look for me.”

“No! No, I swear it, Emmet! I swear I looked!”

“You are looking now.”

“Emmet!”

“You left me.”

No.

“You left me.”

No no no.

“Have you always hated me?”

Nonononono!

“NO!”

Ingo jolted so badly he crashed out of bed and onto the floor, scrambling into the space between chest of drawers and corner, gripping his hair and pulling, pulling, pulling until the pain cleared the darkness from his mind. The image of his little brother–

“No.” Whispered, salt on his lips. He let his head fall to the side, pressing his forehead against the cool paint, an anchor point as everything reeled around him. Calm down. No good to anyone like this. Had to calm down. He could read the clock now. Barely an hour had passed since he’d fallen asleep and when he tried a slow breath, it came as a sob. Again. Again. Again. Until the pounding in his temples quieted and the air in his lungs became useful.

Emmet.

Dragging himself to his feet, Ingo made his way across the hall, covering his face with his palms as he sank into the desk chair. Eelektross tilted its head in confusion and Ingo couldn’t bring himself to answer the silent question, afraid that if he opened his mouth he’d start screaming and never be able to stop.

Emmet.

Here and whole and healing.

Ingo hugged himself tightly, until he could feel an ache in his fingers, held himself there, stiff and silent until the sun rose, casting rosy light onto the opposite wall.

“Oh! Sweet Arceus!! Ingo!” Emmet sat up, swinging his broken leg carefully over the side of the bed with a wince and leaning forward, cupping Ingo’s cold face with both hands. “What are you doing? Are you okay??”

“Could not sleep.” No need to mention the nightmares. The fear that he’d kill him with his negligence. His weakness. Ingo couldn’t even meet his eyes. The thumb ghosting over his cheek blistered and burned and he could feel Emmet searching his expression in an attempt to glean information.

“Remain home today.” Ingo shook his head, pulling away in a daze. “Ingo?” Damn his leg, by the time he’d wrestled his way onto his crutches, his brother was gone.

Grateful there were very few challengers today, Ingo sat huddled on a battle subway bench shivering in his coat and trying to maintain control of himself. He’d been nearly sick on the train because of the wheels pounding along tracks and enclosed space echoing with attacks and commands. The light flashing past the windows was like a strobe and made him ill just looking at it.

He wanted to lay down. He wanted to go home.

And abandon them, just like you did Emmet.

More so than before, Ingo struggled to find his balance in the subway car. Where usually it was a comforting sway, now he was more akin to a small boat at sea, tossed relentlessly around by the waves. When the platform doors parted, he fell into the agent manning this station.

“Boss? You alright?” The depot agent frowned as he quickly righted himself, coming to their own conclusion easily enough. “No, no, you’re not. You haven’t been for a while. I’m calling Other Boss.”

“No!” He’d grabbed them by the shoulders before he even knew he was moving. “No.” Withdrew gently, tried to find equilibrium in fixing his cap. “Please. I. You are correct. I apologize for needing the remainder of my shift off.”

“It’s really no problem. We understand.” They offered him up a sad smile. “Just get some rest, okay? You’re exhausted, Boss. We, all of us, we’re worried for you.”

Because he couldn’t keep himself together.

Head spinning, hurting fit to fracture, Ingo couldn’t seem to remember how exactly he got home, not with the sidewalk dodging out from under his feet like it had, or what he was supposed to be doing at the moment. All he knew was the ache in his skull, his upset stomach and its threat to rebel as he closed his eyes against the rolling walls of his room. Chandelure chirped in worry, her cool arm pressed against the back of his neck which helped, but not enough, not nearly enough.

“Ingo? You in here?” The light streaming through the open door lit a fire behind his eyes and he bit back a whimper. “The Station called. Wanted to make sure you got home?” The noise and the light combined were too, too much and Ingo heaved over the wastebasket in his arms. “Ingo!”

His older brother was curled up around a bin with his back pressed against the wall. How had he missed this? Ingo groaned in misery, laying a cheek on the rim of the basket and closing his eyes.

"’Pologize for w'waking you, Emmet." Ingo shook with delicate tremors, caught between someplace too cold and too hot and the effort of staying quiet. His voice betrayed him further, shaky and small, fading in and out. He hadn't made a move to get up, fingers tightening on the plastic and breath quickening. "Need to… you n'need your rest." His throat clicked with a heavy swallow.

"Brother?” Emmet crept further into the room, shutting the door behind him. “What about you?" Softly, softly, lest he spook him. Something was verrry wrong. “We should see a doctor.” While he longed to fold Ingo up and keep him safe, he had no other option but to sit on the bed. If even he made it to the floor, Ingo was in no state to just pick him up again. They needed help.

It was good that Elesa had a key.

“I knew it was too soon.” She kept her voice down, barely a whisper, shut the door quickly, and Ingo’s shoulders still hunched around his ears.

“He will not get up.” Emmet couldn’t keep the note of panic out of his voice. He’d been sitting. Watching. Useless while Ingo grew worse, grew pale and sick and weepy. “He will not agree to go to the hospital.”

“He won’t talk to you?”

“I do not think he can.”

“Ingo?” Elesa knelt beside him, resting a hand on the nape of his neck and giving a reassuring nod to a near frantic Chandelure. “Did you forget?” Meaningfully, she glanced at Emmet, mouthing an apology before turning back to his twin. “Your brother has an appointment today.” Ingo looked up at her, eyes bright, as though he might cry. “I’ve called a car. We can all go together. Here, let me help you up.” Tall and lanky, it took the assistance of his Pokemon to get him to his unsteady feet and he leaned heavy, shaky on Elesa.

The sunlight had him hissing through his teeth and Elesa got him into the vehicle as quickly as possible before bundling Emmet in with his crutches. She’d called ahead to the hospital that treated them after the attack and may have used a connection or two to get them into a room and out of sight of the public before their presence caused a scene.

If Ingo hadn’t already been in obvious pain, Emmet would have smacked him himself. He’d missed his last two appointments and thankfully, now that the doctor had him she wouldn’t let him leave but he wasn’t keen on cooperating. Likely, she explained, something to do with the concussion he’d sustained during the cave-in not healing correctly. Emmet didn’t understand completely, but he understood enough to know Ingo had neglected to care for himself in his efforts to care for him. Currently, the doctor was trying to cajole him into removing his button down for an exam.

“Why?” Missing a lot of words and it was never a good thing when Emmet’s words outnumbered his older brother’s.

“We are twins! Yep!” Emmet tried to keep his tone light, sincere. “The doctor needs to compare.”

"Bright in, i'nere…" It wasn’t. Ingo’s fingers fumbled on the buttons and before he could get frustrated, Emmet reached out.

“Let me.”

Emmet narrowed his eyes as he swept them over the bruises for the first time. Extensive and still dark, they spread down his back in mottled patterns like a Spinda’s spots and while Ingo was quiet under the doctor’s gentle hands, Emmet fought against demanding answers from him.

Why had he kept this pain a secret? Emmet could have, would have helped! Did Ingo think he wouldn’t have?

When she shined a penlight into Ingo’s eyes to check his pupils, he yelped, turning aside immediately to dry heave and finally she stopped in her examination of him. Tugging Emmet back into the small, private room where Elesa was waiting, she explained a nurse would help Ingo get settled.

“I want to observe Ingo overnight. He’s rundown and exhibiting a lot of post concussion symptoms.” She marked down some notes on her own xtransceiver and hummed thoughtfully. “Your brother has lost more than a few pounds since you were both here last. When did he return to work?”

“Too soon.” Elesa crossed her arms, worry evident in her expression despite the ire in her words.

“Alright. I’m going to prescribe him something for sleep. Sometimes, strange as it sounds, head injuries can cause insomnia.” Emmet should have known. Should have asked. Ingo was prone to insomnia even at the peak of health. “It doesn’t look as though he’s been sleeping well and with parts of his brain trying to overcompensate for jobs they’ve never done before, he’s likely exhausted.”

“What. What does that mean?”

“I’ll send you home with some information, but it means he’ll need to rest and let himself heal.” Emmet caught Elesa’s eyes. He didn’t want to leave Ingo here, alone. What if he woke up and he wasn’t here? Or he became confused? Or upset?

“Emmet?” Despite the gentle touch he nearly jumped out of his skin. “They’re going to take care of him, okay? We’re going to go home and get things ready for tomorrow so Ingo doesn’t have to worry about a thing!”

“Your friend is right.”

“I am Emmet. Want to see him.”

“Of course.” He didn’t wait, let Elesa take care of collecting Ingo’s prescription, shouldering his way back into Ingo’s dark room and not missing how he looked nearly as bad as the days following the attack. He’d slept a long time and now they were here again. “You can touch him.” The doctor had followed. “You won’t hurt him.”

“I know that!” He didn’t mean to snap at her, really. But the very idea– “I am Emmet. Ingo is my brother.” Carefully, he traced one of the ink-dark shadows beneath Ingo’s closed eyes before grabbing hold of his hand, mindful of the line taped to the back of it.

“For rehydration, some vitamins and other medications to help make him comfortable.”

“Ingo can come home tomorrow?” At her nod, Emmet leaned down, pressing their foreheads together for a brief moment and blinking away tears. “Okay.”

Elesa tucked Ingo in while Emmet continued his memorization of the pamphlets the doc had given him yesterday. Ingo didn’t want to sleep but the medication he’d taken was like boarding a non-stop train to oblivion.

"Emmet…needs…" Petulant, Ingo tried to knuckle the sleep out of his eyes, grateful that the pain had markedly decreased since. Yesterday? Memories were fuzzy and he had little desire to parse through them at the moment.

"Right now, you need to rest." Elesa watched him fight it, miserable, torn between responsibility and total collapse. "You're going to close your eyes. And if you're lucky, I'll get take out from that place you like tomorrow." She smiled softly as his body went lax. He'd be lucky. He deserved it and when he shuffled out of his room more than fifteen hours later Elesa wasted no time placing their regular order.

“Ingo!” By virtue of Galvantula in his lap, Emmet couldn’t even attempt to leap to his feet. “How do you feel?” His older brother looked thoughtful and, honestly, much better than before.

“Somehow, still very tired. That does not seem right.” Ingo very nearly whined as he took his spot on the couch. Too weary to sit up, he leaned on Emmet to read over his shoulder and almost immediately passed out again. There’d be time to go over things later considering they were both on mandatory leave for the next two weeks at minimum. Ingo would need the doctor to sign off on his return to the station. He’d bristled at the restriction a split second before Emmet laid into him.

“I feel I must apologize to you both and to all our friends and coworkers at Gear Station.” The trio were gathered in the living room, shoveling noodles into their faces while some train documentary or another ran quietly in the background when Ingo paused. “As your older brother, I should have handled this whole situation better and I am so sorry for my negligence. I should have protected you, Emmet.”

“Ingo.”

“I had a responsibility to you and I failed. You were badly hurt and I. I.” He clenched his teeth. “I am supposed to take care of you. I am supposed to keep you safe.”

“You did. You do!” Emmet didn’t want Ingo to feel this way, especially when it wasn’t true! He wouldn’t hear this for a minute more!

“Did you forget you were injured too, Bidoofus?” Before Ingo could gear up to argue, Elesa continued. “Working yourself into the ground was very irresponsible!”

“Verry irresponsible!”

“And even if you’d walked out of the station without a scratch–Ingo. You still deserve rest.” She dashed the tears from her eyes. “Please stop punishing yourself for situations outside of your control.” He stiffened at the expectation of a bone-crushing hug, melting into her arms when it was instead gentle and warm. She had a point and now that he was thinking more clearly, he could nearly make it out. “I’m going to call Emmet everyday to make sure you’re taking care of yourself.”

“That’s a threat!”

“Emmet meant to say promise.”

“I am Emmet! It can be both!” There was a beat of silence before Ingo shook with laughter, relenting to their special brand of care. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to stop putting his little brother first, but for the both of them, he would try to let him return the favor.

[zeldaelmo]

I hope you all have a splendid weekend! In two weeks, I will be back to the posting schedule on Sunday. This weekend, I'll post the next chapter of 'stolen kisses' today and the last installment of 'stitches' tomorrow.

Chapter 6—A love to last

At a leisurely pace, Link closed the distance between him and the Lamenting Loftwing. The tavern on the castle grounds must exist for centuries now, a compromise between keeping the spirits of the soldiers up and preventing them from meandering through Castle Town, running the risk of missing their shift.

He slipped through the entrance, stopped the returning swing door with his heel in a much-practiced motion, and breathed through the warm, humid air that swallowed him. Memories stuck to the worn interior like his boots stuck to the floor. He had been four, maybe five when his father had brought him with him for the first time. It was just after they had returned from Zora's Domain and had realized that his mother had left them in favor of a young traveler.

Link was never sure why his father had not simply paid a nanny for him—his salary couldn't have been the problem.

Instead, he had tugged him along. 

[aswithasunbeam]

December 1814

“Hush, darling,” Eliza whispered. “It’s all right.”

Angelica curled up further on the bed beside Eliza with a soft whimper. At least she was resting, finally, after hours of panic about invisible demons reaching out from the walls to take her away. Eliza had had to push the bed away from the walls before she’d been able to convince her daughter to lie down.

Eliza closed her eyes, the press of the day weighing on her already. Servants were bustling through the halls just outside the door, heaving trunks from little Eliza and Phil’s rooms. They were all bound for New York at first light tomorrow to celebrate Johnny’s wedding to his dear Maria. A joyous occasion to be sure, especially as she anticipated having their children together for the first time in years: William was meant to be coming down from West Point, and Alex and Jamie had secured time away from their posts, as well. Joyous, yes, even as it hurt that so much of her family wouldn’t be there, with Angelica and Peggy both gone, her parents, and Philip…. She swallowed around a lump in her throat at the thought of her eldest.

Her younger daughter shrieked suddenly from down the hall. “Give it back! Now!”

“I’m using it!” Phil yelled back.

“It’s mine!”

Eliza sighed, easing herself from Angelica’s bed to go see what all the fuss was about. Phil and little Eliza were engaged in an all out tug of war over a bit of ribbon in the hallway between their rooms. She watched silently for a moment, frowning, her arms crossed, waiting for them to notice her displeasure.

Phil noticed her first and abruptly let go of the ribbon. Little Eliza stumbled backwards, landing hard on her bottom. She yelped, glared up at her brother, and aimed a swift kick at his ankles.  

“What are you two doing?” she demanded.

“She started it,” Phil said, jumping hastily out of the line of fire.

“He stole my best ribbon and he was using it to hang toy soldiers out the window.”

“I was going to give it back.”

“It’s got dirt all over it and you got it all wrinkled.” She held the ribbon up to show her mother. “See? I wanted to wear it to Johnny’s wedding.”

Phil stuck his tongue out at his sister. When she noticed, she aimed another kick at his ankles. He jumped back again, shouting, “Stop it!”

“What is all the yelling about?” Alexander asked as he slowly wheeled himself around the corner, to their collective surprise.

Despite the gathering dark outside the hall window, she was shocked to see him home; she’d hardly seen hide nor hair of him in the past days as they prepared to leave for their extended trip home. Both the children went quiet at his unexpected arrival, and little Eliza bounced up to her feet.

“Sorry Papa,” they both mumbled quickly.

“We seem to be having quite the disagreement over a bit of ribbon,” Eliza supplied when they failed to offer further explanation.

Alexander looked at her with a hint of a smile. “Want me to send them to help dig out the new latrine by the camp? That’s what I do with the men who mouth off. Very effective punishment.”

They both paled considerably, sending her matching pleading looks.

She made a show of considering for a long beat before smiling as well. “I think we can give them one more chance before we put them to hard labor.”

“We’ll be good,” Phil promised solemnly.

“I expect so.” Alexander tilted his head to the side to dismiss them. “Off you go. Stop making your mother’s life difficult.”

If only he’d take his own advice, she thought fondly.

They scampered off down the hall, both giving their father an affectionate peck on the cheek as they passed. He shook his head as he watched them go, then looked back at her, the laugh lines in his cheeks creasing. “Imps.”

“Well, we did complain the house was too quiet without them,” Eliza said. Indeed, when Alexander had sent them off to stay with family over the summer for their safety, the house had felt empty without their constant bickering and antics. She paced over to him and leaned down to kiss him, as well. “It’s good to have you home finally. You missed dinner again.”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry I haven’t been much help getting ready for our trip. I’ve been in endless meetings. When I at one point raised the concern about the endless meetings, one of Jemmy’s secretaries quite unironically asked if I would like him to schedule a meeting to discuss it.”

She laughed.  

He grinned at her, but his eyes turned serious when he glanced towards the door to Angelica’s room. “How’s Geli today?”

Eliza sobered as she, too, glanced back at her daughter’s door. “She’s been having a bad day.”

He sighed. “She’s been having a lot of bad days, lately. I heard her whimpering and muttering when I got home late last night. She was wide awake when I peeked in at her. I doubt she got much rest.”

Eliza hardly needed reminding, having been up much of the night with her. “She’s resting now, finally.”

“That’s something, I suppose.”

His hands fidgeted on the wheels of his chair. She watched him a moment, sensing he had something else to tell her. The expression twisting his face usually signaled some sort of indigestion. When he failed to say anything more, she asked, “What is it?”

“Well,” he started, his hand going up to scratch at his neck uncomfortably.

Anxiety started to build up at his continued reluctance to speak. “If you say you can’t come to New York for your own son’s wedding—”

“No, no, it’s not that.” He sighed, resting his hands on the wheels of his chair once more, as though contemplating an escape even as he spoke. “It’s just, I need to meet with some people before I leave. And the only time they would both be available was tonight. So, I may have suggested they stop by the house before we leave. They’re on their way over now, actually. For tea.”

She felt her own expression twisting to match his, heartburn flaring in her chest as a suspicion about his guest list occurred to her. “Who?”

“Burr,” he said.

“Burr,” she repeated, disbelief in her tone even though that’s exactly the name she’d expected to hear. “You expect me to serve tea to Aaron Burr?”

“Well,” he started again.

“You promised me. You promised, when you suggested him for his position, that I wouldn’t need to be alone with him.”

“I said not just the three of us.” He fidgeted in his chair again, clearly not relishing delivering his next bit of news. “Someone else is coming, too.”

He seemed somehow more reluctant to tell her the next guest. How could it possibly get worse? “Who else?”  

He gritted his teeth, hesitating again before saying, “Monroe.”

A wave of cold fury washed over her. “Monroe!”

“Shh,” he hushed, pointing towards Angelica’s room behind them.

Her nostrils flared as she forced a deep breath, jerking her head to indicate he should follow her down the hall before moving around him towards his office. He liked to praise her as an endless fountain of love and patience, she thought, but much as she might try, she simply wasn’t. Her nerves were already frayed from sleepless nights and managing ornery children and overseeing the packing and planning for their journey. Now he wanted her to cap off her night by serving tea to two of the most loathsome men on earth.  

He rolled in to the office behind her, and she snapped the door closed.

“No,” she said firmly.

“Eliza—”

“No, Alexander. No. You ask too much, sometimes.”

He smiled softly, highlighting the dimples in his cheeks, and reached out for her hand. “You’d send me into the viper’s nest without my trusty mongoose for protection?”

“You can’t charm your way out of this,” she hissed.

“Betsey,” he sighed, expression turning serious. “It can’t be helped.”

“They’re not welcome here. Not in my home. Neither of them.”

“You know I try to keep them away as much as possible. I know how you feel.”

“Do you? Because sometimes, the way you act, especially around Burr—”

“I understand. I do. But I need to see them before I go. It’s important.”

“What’s so important?”

“Campbell submitted his budget, just before he conveniently resigned to see to his health. He estimated an appropriation of $25 million would be needed, which is far, far beyond the expected tax revenue of $11 million, and all that’s before factoring in the cost of rebuilding the capital.”

She sank into the chair near his desk, sensing a lengthy conversation. “Go on.”

“Then there’s this…this treasonous…convention.” She could hear the quotes around the last word as he spit it out. “Otis has called a meeting of Federalists all across New England to propose a radical change in our national compact. Because what we need in the middle of a war, apparently, is a new constitutional convention intent on gutting the Federal government.”

“Were you invited?”  

He snorted. “As if I’d stoop to attending such a farcical proceeding.”

She smiled a little. She knew he’d have gloried in attending, monopolizing the conversation until his voice went hoarse telling them exactly why they were all idiots and cowards, had he been given the opportunity. “So no?”

He shot her a glare, but then smirked, caught red-handed by her knowing look. “I think they knew what my answer would be.”

She threaded her fingers between his. “I know how stressed you are about the war and fate of the country, sweetheart. But I don’t see what a meeting with those two—” she paused, hunting for a word, and, finding none, continued with only the empty space to define them, “—helps accomplish.”

“Monroe is acting Secretary of War, and, with Campbell gone, probably acting Secretary of the Treasury as well at this point. I need him to call on Congress to establish a new national bank, which in turn will help fund additional men. At least 100,000 to start.”

“And I’m sure he’ll take your direction with great enthusiasm.”

“Not with enthusiasm, perhaps, but he’ll take my direction, once I explain the need.”

“And Burr?”

“The Hartford Convention needs to be minimized. We need a shot of patriotism in that part of the country, a call to arms to rally flagging spirits. Since the Northern theater quieted, they’ve been shouldering the financial burden with none of the chance for glory. Meanwhile, the enemy is starting to gather with an eye towards New Orleans. If we can start mustering troops in New England, threaten an invasion of Canada, we might be able to press England into peace and herd New England back into the fold at the same time.”

“And you want Burr to head the effort,” she said, intuiting his plan now. Once Monroe agreed to call upon Congress to fund new troops, Burr would ride north to start mustering a force to take on Canada again.

“Exactly.” His eyes bore into hers. “And it needs to happen now. Immediately. Congress can’t be frightened into cutting back on the army, or we’ll be a British colony again by New Year’s.”

She squeezed his hand.

“So?” he pressed.

She held his gaze. “I suppose I’ll let them in when they knock. I won’t agree to more than that.”

He leaned over in his chair to catch her lips. “That’s all I need from you.”

**

That she managed to bring in the tea service without pouring the scalding water over either of their two unwanted guests ought to have qualified her sainthood, in her opinion. She didn’t stay in the room with them, didn’t even mutter a greeting. She did stay near the door, however, listening, while Alexander laid out his plan. She couldn’t quite bring herself to abandon him, even when he’d invited the viper’s nest upon himself.

“I wasn’t a particular supporter of your bank the first time around, Mr. Hamilton,” Monroe said. “Why should I call on Congress to re-charter it now?”

“How else are you going to pay for more troops, Mr. Secretary?”

Monroe answered in a measured tone. “We’re mere weeks away from a peace treaty, according to my intelligence in Ghent. Once that’s signed, there won’t be a need for more troops. We can cut back, limit spending to match our more limited revenue stream temporarily, until imports duties return to their pre-war levels.”

“You don’t think the British are also gathering intelligence?” Burr asked. “They’ll be watchfully waiting for our new budget proposals. If we’re seen dismantling the army before the war is over, why would they ever agree to a peace deal? Might as well take us for their own again.”

Monroe scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. They’ve practically already signed. And I think we’ve proven far too troublesome to bother with as a colony again.”

“Too troublesome thirty years ago,” Burr pointed out. “And we were lucrative. If we can’t mount a solid defense, no reason not to give it another try.”

Alexander added, “You need to get the dissent in New England under control. And you need funding. Even without the additional expense of more troops, rebuilding the capital will be an expensive endeavor. You need to do this.”

“I don’t like the bank,” Monroe said sourly.

Alexander laughter bitterly. “It’s me you don’t like, Mr. Secretary. And that’s quite all right. I assure you the feeling is mutual. But you have to do this. Don’t make me go over your head to Jemmy to force you into action. It will only waste time.”

There was a long silence, tension palpable. “Fine. I’ll propose re-chartering the bank and adding funding for more troops. But I can’t promise it will pass.”

“Oh, I think you’ll find the votes, Mr. Secretary,” Alexander insisted. “Necessity is a great motivator.”

Sensing the meeting was coming to a close, Eliza moved to summon the servants to bring the hats and coats. She didn’t want them lingering in the front room any longer than necessary. In the moments she’d stepped away, however, something must have happened, because she suddenly heard raised voices coming from the office. She hurried back, opening the door to the office to find Burr standing in between Monroe and Alexander.

Monroe was all but shouting, “You think just because you’ve blinded Jemmy with nostalgic appeals to a long-dead friendship that you can always have your way, just as you did with Washington. I’ll not be so easily taken in, Mr. Hamilton, I promise you that.”

Burr placed a hand on Monroe’s shoulder, trying to ease him away from Alexander.

Alexander looked blithely unconcerned, all but smirking at Monroe as he said, “I’ll remind you there is no guaranteed succession in this country, Mr. Monroe, however many hats you acquire during this administration. I wouldn’t be so assured of victory in the next election, if I were you.”

Color rose in Monroe’s face as he pushed around Burr, holding a finger out in Alexander’s direction. “Enjoy your influence while you have it. Your days are numbered.”

“That’s quite enough,” Eliza said, voice deadly quiet, fury taking wing in her chest at the implied threat.

Monroe spun around to face her. “Mrs. Hamilton—”

“You have nothing to say to me, Mr. Monroe.”

“I apologize for raising my voice,” he continued, bowing his head slightly.

“No. No. If you mean to offer anything other than a full and sincere apology, not only for the unforgivable words you just uttered, but also for all the slanders and stories you circulated against my husband in the past, I have no interest in hearing it.”

Monroe frowned. “If you mean…the business with the Reynolds papers was hardly my doing. Your husband—”

“What my husband did was a matter we have long since settled between us. But that the rest of the world was involved was very much your doing. He has earned my forgiveness. You’ve never even bothered to ask it.”

“Mrs. Hamilton—”

“And you now have the…the gall to come into my home, drink my refreshments, and then threaten the person I hold dearest in the world. Please leave, Mr. Monroe. Now.”

He stared at her for a long moment. Burr patted at his shoulder, encouraging him forward. Just before Burr himself stepped out, though, he glanced back at her husband. “You’re a real pain in the ass, Ham. You know that?”

“So I’ve been told.” Alexander had the nerve to look fond as he addressed Burr.

“Out,” she insisted.

Burr at least had the decency to avert his eyes as he passed her, collecting their coats and urging Monroe out the front door without another word.

When the door had closed, she looked back at Alexander, still sitting in the middle of the room. He gave her plaintive look. “I’m so sorry, Betsey. I didn’t mean for things to get so out of hand. Or for you to be pulled into the middle of it.”

She pointed in the direction the two men had just disappeared, her hand shaking slightly from rush of rage and fear that coursed through her. “That man is never, ever setting foot in my home again.”

“Of course. Never again.”

Promises, promises—how he could make them. Her heart was still beating in her throat.  He rolled forward and took her hand, placing a kiss to the back of her fingers.

She softened as she looked back at him, calming somewhat with his easy agreement and solid feeling of his hand in hers. The reason for his insistence on the meeting in the first place re-occurred to her, and she felt a niggle of concern despite herself. “Do you think he’ll still put forward the proposal to Congress?”

“Yes.” He sounded completely confident. “He doesn’t have a choice. Jemmy will back me if it comes to a contest, and he knows it. I just don’t want to lose time on the argument when every minute counts. We’re too close, balanced on the edge of a precipice. I’ll not let our experiment fail over pigheadedness and pride.”  

She considered the exchanged she’d walked in on again, eyes locked on her husband. “You said that to him, didn’t you? You goaded him into shouting at you.”

He gave her a sheepish smile. “I do so enjoy winding him up with impotent rage.”

She wanted to be angry with him, but amusement was quickly outpacing the sensation. Damn him, his charm, and his sweet smile, she thought. She let out a breathy laugh, shaking her head at him. Relief washed over his face.

“I really didn’t mean to drag you into it, though, my dearest.” He kissed her hand again, looking more relaxed. “Though I confess I enjoyed watching you kick him to the curb. My darling mongoose.”

His darling mongoose, indeed, she huffed internally.