#and then when I felt ready; a betta

[knightdykes]

earlier today I saw a betta on fb marketplace in really bad condition, his fins were practically melting from the ammonia in the tiny, tiny tank this person was selling him in. and it breaks my heart!!!! I finally have a bit of money in my account and it's taking everything I have to not reach out to someone selling a 5 or 10 gallon tank on fb to try to save this poor little guy... but I can't. I can't afford a tank stand, heater, substrate, a water testing kit, water conditioner, medication for the betta, live plants, a light ... the list of bare minumum materials I would need is insane. fish keeping is not a cheap hobby, and I don't have the income necessary to do things the right way. that poor fish is going to die a slow, painful death, and I can't save him.

[tayraedoll]

Old Men Know All the Tricks

Hello! Here is part two of Old Man and this is a spicy tamale. MDNI.

Part 1 Part 3

Word count: 3,192

TW: P in V intercourse, swearing, biting, blood, mating cycles, pet names, cunnilingus, scent kink, cream pie, unprotected sex, breeding kink, heat and rut, chasing kink, scent marking.

He was trying to kill you, you were sure of it.

You have been at this for hours, it should be impossible for any being to have this kind of stamina. Sweat ran down your back, face red with exertion. Your legs shook, knees ready to buckle at any given moment.

"You are doing so well.", he says to you. "Just a little longer."

You really wish you could snap a witty retort back at him; but your ability to speak left you long ago. All you could do was keep gasping for air. Even if you could physically speak, your brain was so muddled you wouldn't be able to form the words to begin with. You could not keep this up much longer, you need a break- even just a brief reprieve just to catch your breath. You felt like you were about to faint.

"Aaaand time!", Angel shouts and you collapse onto the grass on your back heaving for air. "Nothin' betta than a 10-mile run eh toots?"

All you could do was raise a hand to flip him off, earning a chuckle from the spider. You had been doing research since you and Alastor started dating- turns out he was not kidding about the mating season or the 72-hour sex marathon. So you took his advice and started going on runs and doing yoga with Angel Dust three times a week. He did this to keep in shape for his job, this workout routine made his job a lot easier when Val would be a dick (pun intended) and force him to work a double shift. You asked to join him under the guise of wanting to increase your stamina for Alastor's lunatic dancing; no way were you going to talk to Angel Dust about cervid mating habits.

Dating Alastor was quite amazing, the man never did anything half-assed. You got flowers at least once per week, candlelit dinners in his bayou, gifts like the ruby you currently had on your middle finger, and the status that just naturally came with being associated with The Radio Demon. But the best part was his words of affirmation, he would speak pure poetry into your ear in peaceful moments alone. You had not gotten to the "I love you's" yet but he conveyed the depth of his feelings with just his honey-sweet words. His charisma alone left you breathless.

The only dark cloud in your dreamland romance was physical affection. Alastor still was not a fan of being touched, even by you, though he tolerated your touch much better than others. The extent of your physical relationship consisted of him holding your hand or resting his hand on your knee when in private, a swift peck on the cheek or lips, or an arm around your waist. You didn't necessarily mind, you were more than happy to move at his pace, but it did make you wonder what would happen come mating season.

That thought leads you back to the present. Mating season will begin any time now. It was fall, the days were shorter and the nights were colder even in Hell. Which is why you subjected yourself to the torture you just endured with Angel.

"I still can't believe yer doin' all dis just to dance with Smiles."

"You've seen the man dance, he's a hazard on the dance floor if you can't keep up.", you reply as you sit up, heart rate finally returning to normal.

"Yea, I remember the day after yer first date wit 'im. If I didn't know any betta I woulda thought you was fuckin' all night wit' the way you was walking sideways.", he wiggled his brows suggestively.

You coughed to hide the blush blossoming across your cheeks. The day after Alastor first took you dancing was a nightmare you wished you could forget; between Angel's sexual innuendos, Charlie's overbearing concern, and Alastor's cocky smirks and false atonement for making you over-exert yourself you reached the end of your patience.

"Any ground made with Husk?", you ask to change the subject. Bringing up the resident feline was a sure-fire way to distract Angel from whatever you did not want to talk about. The poor guy was down bad, but so was Husk- the tomcat just did not realize it yet.

You spent several extra minutes in the shower that night, letting the hot water relax your sore muscles. Alastor had some Overlord business to attend to so you would not be joining him in his room tonight. You tried not to think about what that means, if Alastor wasn't with you then he was with someone else and that someone else most certainly was not finding the deer demon's company as pleasing as you did.

As you prepared for bed you noticed that your chest was a bit flushed and you were feeling a little feverish. You swallowed a couple of ibuprofen- better to just nip that in the bud if you could help it. Probably got sick on that stupid run with Angel earlier, hopefully you would wake up right as rain.

Unfortunately, you did not wake up right as rain. In fact, you were worse; the fever spiked and you were sweating profusely. A fog clouded your mind making it difficult to think straight. But you felt energized, absolutely wired actually. Your senses were working in overdrive picking up every smell and sound and you could practically taste the air around you. You stumbled over to the door of your bedroom, you'd have to let Charlie know you weren't feeling well so she could excuse you from her redemption exercises.

You made it only halfway down the hall when a sharp chill ran up your spine. Before you could turn around you found yourself in a swamp. No- you found yourself in Alastor's bayou to be exact. There was a slight breeze and the stars twinkled overhead, you always found it strange that Alastor kept the bayou under the veil of night, never letting it see the sun. Your sensitive ears picked up the crickets and frogs singing all around. You weren't exactly sure where you were, you could not see the the actual room dimension; it was like you just appeared in the middle of the bayou. So you began to walk, hoping you would find the resident of the room eventually.

You only got a few minutes into your walk when suddenly everything went still. The crickets and frogs stopped mid-song, even the breeze seemed to hold its breath. You froze alongside everything, senses straining to pick up any indication as to what caused the sudden change in atmosphere. Alarm bells went off and your tail instinctively started to lift in a warning display. Your breathing came in shallow little pants as your eyes darted all around you.

Then, a voice- a voice that filled you with equal parts warm comfort and icy dread at the moment.

"Well, well, what do we have here hmm? And where do you think you were off to my dear? Don't you know it's dangerous to be alone in the woods? Especially for little does like you."

"Alastor-", you spin to face him and stop dead in your tracks. His antlers hung over his head like a grand chandelier, his pupils blown wide, and his ever-present smile looked absolutely sinister. "I-I am not feeling well. I am not sure what is wrong."

He stalked towards you slowly, like a wolf cornering a lamb. "Oh you poor, naive, little fawn. You haven't figured it out yet have you? You're in heat my dear, the mating season has begun." His voiced dropped to a sinister growl at the last sentence. Your eyes widened as you began to back away from his advance, a reaction he took much satisfaction in based on the sadistic chuckle he responded with. Your back hit a tree, there was no where else to go and he quickly closed the distance between you two. As he loomed over you he took a deep breath and his whole body shuddered violently. He closed his eyes and growled menacingly.

"W-what do I do?", you asked, this was not going how you imagined it- no candles, no soft sheets, no sweet declaration of love. You were utterly lost and completely at his mercy.

He hummed, then slowly opened his eyes and bent down so you were at eye level. "Run.", his voice was a baritone whisper.

Like a bat out of-- well- here-- you took off. You didn't know or care what direction you were going in, you just needed to get the fuck away. Maniacal laughter which was more like screeching static sounded behind you but you didn't dare look back. You ran as fast as your legs would carry you, thank Satan for those dreadful runs Angel made you do. When you could no longer hear the laughter behind you, you chanced a look back. Nothing- just the bayou surrounded you. You were just about to breath a sigh of relief when suddenly strong arms wrapped around you from the front and you barreled into a sturdy body, letting out a terrified shriek.

"Considerable effort Darling but I think we should preserve your strength for the main event don't you agree? I just couldn't let you get too far ahead...especially when you smell so delectable.", he growled out as he buried his nose in your hair, his muscles pulsing with the effort not to immediately jump on you. He grabbed your jaw in one hand, keeping your body tightly bound with the other, and lifted your face to meet his. He looked hungry-no, he looked absolutely famished. Like a man who hasn’t eaten for days who happened upon a cornucopia of his favorite dishes. You closed your eyes tightly, prepared to be eaten alive.

Instead of his razor-edged teeth digging into you as you expected, he began to gently rub his face against you. From your chest to your ears he spread his scent all over your skin, paying careful attention to your throat and cheeks. When you caught his scent all the adrenaline instantly drained from your body. He smelled of the bayou soil, bourbon, and woodsmoke but it was more than just the physical notes of his scent, you had a powerful psychological reaction to it as well. It was as if he was speaking right to your mind using his smell, and he was saying ‘trust me, your safe, I’m going to take care of you’. The fog returned to your mind worse than before, you were now consumed wholly by thoughts of the buck that held you. Your entire body went slack, a rag doll in his arms to submit to his whims.

Satisfied with your entranced state he shadowed you away, placing you gently on his bed on your back. Your head lazily lolled to the side, barely registering the food and water on a table nearby. The demon quickly regained your attention when he started kissing you softly. You melted into the sheets, eagerly taking all the affection the buck would bestow upon you.

Ever so gently, like he was afraid of breaking you out of your trance, he undressed you. Once he had you completely bare before him he took a moment to admire his gorgeous, little doe. “Si beau, ma biche.” He ran his hands up your body, starting at your hips and stopping to cup your breasts. His touch was icy fire, so warm on your skin but leaving goosebumps in its wake. Your arched your back, pushing your breasts into his hands, whimpering softly when his thumbs tweaked your nipples. His hands ran south, tantalizingly dragging his claws along your skin on the way down.

The moment his fingers touched your clit it was like lightning struck you, a wanton moan ripping out your throat. He leaned up to your head once more, his thumb applying pressure on your bundle of nerves. “Be mine. I want you mind, body, and soul. I need you to remain by my side for eternity Darling. I understand that this may be an outdated request, but wherever I go, I need you to follow. In return for your devotion, I promise to protect and love you with everything I am. Every part of me will belong to you, as you belong to me. Please Darling, say we have a deal.”

For a moment, just a split second, alarm bells warned you of making a soul deal but they were quickly overshadowed by the fog whispering ‘trust me’. You felt too good, too euphoric, and you desperately needed him. “It’s a deal Alastor, I’ll be yours.”

“Delightful!”, he plunged one long digit into you causing you to gasp out. You were so wet already that he added a second finger almost immediately, his thumb circling your clit in roughly. Green light flashed and you felt your soul tether to him, like an invisible string tied around your heart and attached it to his. You came despicably fast, if the fog in your mind wasn’t so thick you’d have been embarrassed. Your body convulsed in on itself with the force of your abdominal muscles locking, a breathless whine leaving your lips.

Before you could recover you found yourself flipped onto your belly, Alastor nibbling on an ear as he raked his claws down your back. You felt the warmth of bare skin on your shoulders and realized he rid himself of his own clothing. “You taste positively sinful My Doe. Mind if I make have a better taste?”. Without further warning he flattened his tongue to the base of your tail and licked up the entire length of your spine eliciting a whole-body shudder from you, the action nearly made you cum again. He then went back down to your lower back, where he started peppering kisses on each of your spots while dragging his tongue between them. His game of connect-the-dots had you squirming underneath him, rubbing your thighs together as slick pooled at your entrance.

When the buck made it back up to your shoulders he paused, “Forgive me, My Dear”, and sank his teeth into your shoulder making you cry out, his palms holding you down by the shoulder blades. He lapped up the blood, soothing the pain. “Now everyone will know you’re mine.”

His proximity washed a new wave of his scent over you, relaxing you back into your trance as he lined himself up and sank into you. One hand fisted into your hair as the other held his weight above your shoulder. Al started with long, slow thrusts, making sure you felt every inch of his cock as it dragged through your walls. He slowly gained speed, leaving you a blubbering mess beneath him. His hand in your hair kept you pinned to the mattress, completely immobilized as his cock bullied your cervix, the coil in your stomach pulling tight. He ducked down suddenly and licked another stripe up your spine, ending at the bite on your shoulder which sent you over the edge. Your core squeezing him like a vice brought him over the edge with you and he delivered his first load of seed.

As soon as Alastor pulls out you roll onto your side, letting out a contented sigh. Your head was still foggy, but you felt sated for now. You get your first glimpse of your mate in all his naked glory; his taupe-colored body was covered in lean muscle, the black on his arms ended at his elbows and they were covered in scars. You felt the urge to return the game of connect-the-dots, but could not get your body to move presently. Your eyes trail lower and fixate on his glorious cock, girthy with a thick vein running up the underside and it was STILL.ROCK.HARD. The sight of him makes your mouth water, you let out a needy, pathetic whimper.

Alastor is on top of you again in a flash, his hips wedging against yours while his legs spread yours wide to give him access. He tenderly cradles your head in his hands as he kisses up your throat and lightly kisses the spots on your cheeks. "Don't worry Darling...we are only just getting started." And he plunges back inside you.

Hour 6- Sweat covers every inch of your body, you've lost count of how many times you've cum. Your hands fist in Alastor's hair as he sucks on your clit, his nails digging into your thighs leaving rivulets of blood on your skin. All you can do is lay there and take what he gives you, your thoughts completely incoherent and cock-drunk.

Hour 18- You finally get a brief break. Al hand feeds you fruits, nuts, and jerky of his own making. You do not have the energy to question what kind of meat the jerky is made from, at this moment you really could not care less. "You need to keep your strength up Sha, we are not nearly finished yet.", he coos at you as he held a bottle of water to your lips encouraging you to re-hydrate.

Hour 36- Your hands are holding onto the headboard like a lifeline, your knuckles turning white and arms trembling with the effort to keep upright as you get railed from behind. Alastor sucks on your neck and whispers "You are doing so well. We are almost there, just a bit longer Little Doe." You get a vague memory, a little Deja-Vu moment of why that should be comical to you, but your next orgasm thoroughly wipes the thought from your mind.

Hour 72- You are sure you are on the doorstep of your double-death. Every limb and joint aches, your cunt is feeling raw, your voice long gone from your cries of pleasure. You have no energy left, quite frankly you have no idea how the demon buck you are sitting on has the energy to bounce you up and down his shaft. The bed around you is covered in blood and the combined releases of Alastor and yourself, you do not know if you should be embarrassed or impressed. The man underneath you hisses as his cock twitches inside you, letting him know he is close. His thumb picks up its pace on your abused clit, with a strangled sob you come for what feels like the hundredth time since you started, tears flowing endlessly down your face. Using the last of his energy Alastor lift his hips up, using gravity to impale you as far down his shaft as he can get you before spending himself one final time inside you. You both collapse to the side, the only sounds filling the room being your erratic breaths struggling to return to normal. You feel his arms wrap around you as he pulls you into his chest. For once, he does not speak, there is no reason to. All the two of you need is the closeness and comfort of each other's embrace. You snuggle into his chest, letting the sound of his heartbeat lull you to sleep as you finally get to rest.

Thanks for reading! Planning on doing a part 3 that is all about the aftercare. Please let me know what you think!

@stattikdemon

@vxllys

@shealizxx

[fyodior]

TIDAL TEMPTATIONS. - chapter i

༄ pairing: merman!fyodor x afab reader

༄ cw: sfw (for now), non-gory descriptions of and treatment of stab wounds to fyodor, very brief mentions of blood. not intended to be medically accurate, treat ur stab wounds as you wish

༄ notes: hello :) welcome to my first multi-chapter fic! this has been a work in progress for some time, and im quite nervous abt posting this first part so be nice pls <3 just as a note, fyodor is referred to exclusively as he/him until reader names him next chapter (he can't speak human language yet) enjoy!

༄ wc: 4k

Since moving to a beachside village after spending your whole life in a landlocked town, your mother had outlined ample, strict rules regarding the sea.

Rule 1: No venturing out past sundown.

This was the rule you broke on an almost nightly basis. Your mother was quite the early riser, meaning she often was out cold before the fireflies had even begun flashing yellow and green. It was far too easy to slip out the back door with a flashlight, barefoot to keep your footsteps silent as possible. There was no feeling more serene than dawdling down the shore, mushy sand between your toes and waves lapping at your ankles as the salty breeze curled around you. It was pitch black save for the bioluminescent creatures that washed up on the shore and the pale glow emanating from your flashlight, and it was comforting. While many feared darkness, you found solace in its embrace.

Rule 2: No swimming past the sandbar.

Also a frequently broken rule. You found it to be far too restrictive, as the sandbar was only a dozen meters from the shore. No fish could be found that shallow, and it was much easier for crabs to nip at you when you were that close to the sandy floor. Being out deeper, where the gentle waves tousled and hugged you, was where you felt the most at home.

Rule 3: No fraternizing with sea beings.

That’s the name that had been put in place for entities that straddled the line of human and creature. Some believed they were even the missing link. Very little was known about sea beings, mostly due to the universal fear of them. They often had unsettling, bone-chilling appearances and never appeared to be overly friendly to humans, so a firm boundary was set. You must never approach a sea being.

All three of these rules were broken the night you met him.

Well, you assumed it was a “him”. He had a flat chest and sharp, masculine features, but he wasn’t human. His human-esque appearance terminated at his hips, where pale, nearly translucent skin tapered into onyx black scales, flowing into a sleek, obscenely long tail. His fluke, also inky black, was reminiscent of a betta fish’s frail fins, flowy with spindly edges, yet fanned strong against the current.

That was all you were able to see of him, at first. You had swam out well past the sandbar one night, flashlight in hand as you dove past the waves, your beam suddenly illuminating his form. He remained very still, head tilting as you made eye contact, as if he was observing you. And he was – he had heard the unmistakable sound of a human swimming, a somewhat ungraceful, clumsy affair, and followed it. Typically, when he sensed humans in the water, he would jet in the other direction – humans didn’t treat him kindly, and he had the scars to prove it. But there was something… different about you. A sweeter scent and a gentler aura. And he was curious - so instead of making a beeline towards his cove when he sensed your presence in the water, he swam closer.

He was immediately enamored by you. You were much softer and merciful, and he didn’t sense a single bad intention. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t uneasy. The only interactions he’d ever had with humans were traumatic, and other than appearances, he had no way of knowing you were any different. Claws bared, fangs ready, and tail already swishing, he was prepared for fight or flight – though he remained, just watching you. And you the same. It was drilled into your head, the second you spotted a sea being, swim as fast as possible towards the shore and never look back. There were a handful of reports of villagers being attacked by sea beings and barely making it out alive, and one case of a child who didn’t. Their presence was not to be taken lightly.

Yet, for some reason, both of you just… watched.

Watched and waited for the other to make a move - to attack. He thought it was surely any second until you unveiled a spear from behind your back to impale him, and you were just waiting to be torn to shreds by those claws. But nothing ever happened. You held his gaze and he held yours, studying the other.

Just as fascinated as you were by him, he was utterly fascinated by you. He had never gotten this close to a human before, not by his own volition anyway, and he had never truly seen one this plainly. It was easy to tell that you looked similar to him from the top up, but the bottom down was a completely different story. Where he was used to fish tails, scales, and fins, you wore two fleshy, stick-like protrusions that only bent in two places. No wonder humans were so terrible at swimming. He briefly wondered if there was anything between them. 

It wasn’t long before you ran out of air and had to break the surface, but when you dove back down, he was gone. You felt a slight sense of relief that he hadn’t been staking you out as prey, but also a pang of sorrow as you realized you’d likely never see him again. What you didn’t know is that he hadn’t gone far, just hid behind a formation of rocks as he watched you dejectedly swim back to the shore. It was a foreign experience – he’d never seen a human… disappointed about escaping from him.

As you snuck back into bed and drifted off that night, you found yourself gilled and fanged, finding home amongst the waves.

~~

You didn’t see him for a while after that. Despite you returning to the same spot from that fateful night every day, marked by an especially large horseshoe crab shell, he was never there. It became part of your daily routine to venture to that spot, a backpack full of books, snacks, and water, and lay out on a towel as the sun drifted through the sky.

It was never quite clear to you what you were waiting for, though. What would you even do if he reappeared? You couldn’t converse, neither of you could go to the other’s homes, what was to be gained from seeing him again? You never quite answered that question – all you knew was that you just had to see him again. At least one more time.

Things started to look bleak as days turned into weeks. Your mother wasn’t happy with you spending nearly every waking second on the beach. She could never find out why either, as she’d likely ban you from stepping foot on the sand ever again. And you even had started to think that maybe you had dreamt it – no way you just happened to run into a breathtakingly beautiful merman-type sea being who didn’t try to attack you. That just didn’t happen.

This… creature, you just couldn’t get him out of your head. He had found his way onto almost every page of your sketchbook, finding new life in graphite, pastels, and watercolors. The inky black tail swirled long and curled on itself on the page, as you occasionally took creative liberties on his appearance. 

Stories of him and your sure-to-happen future rendezvouses began popping up in your diary too - and not just him as a sea creature. You waxed poetic about what he might look like as a full-fledged human, with legs and without fangs. He’d surely be kind and gentlemanly, charming and funny with a deep voice and proper human language. He’d be well spoken and smart, and everything you’d ever dreamed of. 

If he ever showed up again. And it wasn’t looking like he would. Until he did.

On a night where you hadn’t even been on the lookout for him, were just dragging your feet through wet sand and shells when you spotted a dark form curled up on the shore. The moon was but a sliver barely cutting through dense clouds, compromising your vision, but something convinced you to jog that way anyway.

And it was him. The tide that lapped at the sand jostled his barely conscious body, threatening to pull him back out towards the darkness. You gasped as you ran and fell to your knees next to him, immediately recognizing the onyx tail with the delicate fins and opalescent skin. Except this time his back was riddled with what appeared to be stab wounds – they were likely a few hours old, no longer gushing blood, but still deep, unhealed gashes that needed to be treated.

“Are- are you okay?” you stupidly asked – as if he was conscious or human enough to answer that question.

When he didn’t respond, you shifted to sit with your legs crossed and pulled his head into your lap, brushing his salt-crusted hair out of his eyes. His large eyes fluttered open at the stimulus, a glowing violet gaze shifting to meet yours.

“Hi,” you whispered, laughing lightly. “I had wanted us to meet again, but not like this.” You had assumed he didn’t understand human language, but the way he only stared at you blankly confirmed this belief.

Anxiety and panic started to bubble up inside you as you absorbed the situation but did your best to ignore it. Swift, calm action needed to be taken if he was to be saved. You shifted your gaze to better assess his injuries and counted five different gashes where he had clearly been stabbed with some sort of weapon – it certainly wasn’t something that had happened naturally. The shape of the wounds was reminiscent of those a fishing harpoon would create, and your face fell as you pieced together what likely happened. Existing in his own territory, he probably swam too close to a fishing boat and spooked the fishermen, prompting them to overreact and attack the harmless creature.

You brought a careful finger to trace along the edges of the wounds, making him jump and hiss, thrashing in your hold as he groaned.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” you gasped, your hands immediately flying away. “I’m gonna, um…” you thought for a second. You knew you had medicine and gauze back home, but he was just going to have to go right back in the water, right? It surely was better than nothing…

You slowly started to wiggle out of his grip. “I’m gonna be right back, okay? I need to get supplies to make you better,” you explained slowly, gesturing towards his wounds. He only cocked his head and furrowed his brows. Fuck. He wasn’t going to understand a word you said.

With a grimace, you gently held his head in your hands as you scooted away, slowly laying it back down on the sand. You stood to head back to your house, but the creature suddenly began groaning and crying out, reaching a shaky arm towards you. He was clearly distressed over you abandoning him.

“Hey, hey! I’ll be right back, I swear,” you soothed, crouching down next to him, and gripping his hand. It killed you to have to leave him like this, terrified you might return to either find him dead or washed back out to sea, but you couldn’t just do nothing at all.

You wracked your brain trying to think of a way to communicate to him that you’d be back when words weren’t an option. Grabbing your backpack, you anxiously rummaged through it for some semblance of an idea, all the while he moaned and groaned in pain. Some sort of keepsake you could somehow communicate had value, almost like collateral. Something to say, this is special, proof I’ll be back. As fate would have it, you had decided to do a deep clean of your bag that morning, so you were coming up pretty dry.

The only thing you could think of was an old copy of your favorite book you always carried on you, Crime and Punishment. Mother always teased you for a depressing, old Russian novel being your comfort book, but you never let it phase you. Pulling it out of your backpack, you stared at the old, tattered cover with the faded title, and hoped to god he could make sense of it – that you were trusting him with something that meant a lot to you. There wasn’t much else you could do.

You tucked it under his arm splayed out on the sand, making sure he noticed what you were doing. Petting his hair, you looked him deep in the eyes as you enunciated one more time: I’ll be right back.

Panic coursed through your veins as you clambered to your feet and ran back to your house. The light of your flashlight was nearly useless as you trembled with fear, tripping over shells and driftwood to the point where your feet were probably going to need some treatment too.

The next hurdle in your way as you reached your house was remaining quiet enough so as not to wake your mother – there was no way to explain your way out of frantically searching for medical supplies to run back out with in the middle of the night. When you weren’t even supposed to be out in the first place.

To minimize the amount of time you even had to be away, you just threw anything you could find in the cabinets into your bag, hoping it would be sufficient enough. Though you stopped in front of the mirror as you passed it, staring at your sweaty and distressed appearance, and took a second to wonder what the hell you were doing. Going out of your way to save a potentially homicidal sea being? Those stabbings may have been damn well deserved. He could somehow be manipulating your kindness for… something. You couldn’t even think of what.

You decided it wasn’t even worth fretting about – you had to get your book back anyway.

The trip back to your anxiously awaiting patient felt a million times longer than the trip home, with every step of your bloody feet reminding you that there may be no one – nothing – to come back to. The sea was a place of peace, but cruel and unforgiving. Your prayers were answered as your flashlight once again illuminated his crumpled body, barely conscious but still clinging on to your (soaking wet and likely ruined) book.

A relieved smile illuminated your face as you fell to his side once again, partially burying the flashlight into the sand so it stood upright to act as a lamp.

“You’re – still here,” you smiled, taking a deep breath. You almost said you’re okay, but that wasn’t quite true, yet.

His clawed hand trembled as it reached out for you, the stretch of his fingers revealing the black webbing in between them. You grasped it back tightly and intertwined your fingers together, squeezing. “I’m here, okay?” He offered you the tiniest smile, but immediately dropped it, the miniscule energy it required taking a toll on his wasting body.

The first thing you did was unfurl a massive, striped beach towel you found shoved in the back of a linen closet onto the sand before hooking your elbows under his underarms and dragging him onto it. It was nearly impossible, his entire body essentially dead weight at that point, but you wanted to get him off the dirty sand – and this was the closest thing you could get to a sterile field.

Dumping the contents of your bag onto the towel next to him, you parsed through it trying to figure out some sort of plan of action. You tried to keep the panic at bay as the thought that none of this was sufficient for anything worse than a superficial cut nagged at you. It was this or nothing.

The first thing mother always told you to do for wounds: clean it. A wave of dread washed over you as you pulled out the bottle of rubbing alcohol, your eyes flitting from it to the gaping wounds in his back. The way he looked at you with terrified, leaky eyes, aware that his entire life was in your hands right then, shattered your heart. You almost wished he was unconscious.

Grabbing a washcloth, he watched as you soaked it with rubbing alcohol, his nose scrunching at the offensive smell. Touching his cheek, you tried to smile as he met your eyes. “This is gonna hurt really – really – bad,” you grimaced. He just stared at you, emotionless, until the rag touched the first wound.

As soon as the liquid came into contact with the broken skin, he let out a horrific, inhuman screech that had you dropping the washcloth to cover your ears. His claws tore ragged holes in the towel as he gripped it, panting and writhing in pain. You couldn’t help but cry too. “I’m so, so sorry,” you continually repeated, abandoning the cloth to lay down next to him. Tears streamed down his face and soaked the towel underneath him, barely even acknowledging the way you wiped them away with trembling fingers.

Despite how much you preferred to just lie with him under the glow of the moon and the melody of the waves, you knew what had to be done. Death was worse than temporary pain – there had to be part of him somewhere that understood that. You hoped it would be better now that he was expecting it.

Slowly sitting back up, you grabbed the rag once more and wrung it out to reduce it to only the minimum amount of antiseptic required, and tried to ignore the way he quivered and shook his head. I’m sorry felt like a shitty spell as you chanted it over and over again, though the screeches became easier to tune out as they rang on. You were surprised his vocal cords didn’t fry.

After what felt like an eternity for both of you, you had finally managed to clean out the wounds and remove some of the dried blood that clung to his skin. The towel was torn to shreds and the veins in his eyes were blown with how much he had been thrashing and sobbing. But the worst of it was over now.

“We’re almost done,” you soothed as you gently applied the triple-antibiotic cream you knew was only meant for minor cuts to the gaping stab wounds. Once they were packed with gauze, you sat back with a huff to survey your handiwork. Sloppy and a bit haphazard but… better than nothing. And having the wounds covered seemed to have helped him calm down a little bit. One last thing crossed your mind though – how could you potentially make the dressings waterproof?

Your eyes flitted over to a slew of seaweed on the shore that reflected the moonlight and figured you might as well try. With some gentle and minorly excruciating maneuvering, you managed to wrap a few thick strands of seaweed around his torso to maybe keep the dressings in place, and protect them from water immediately seeping in.

Falling back onto the towel that was mostly just threads at that point, you sighed. Thoughts of what the fuck am I doing? carved their way into every square inch of your skull. Why am I playing doctor for… whatever he- it is? Why do I care?

The sun began to peak up over the horizon, signaling that it was likely around 5 AM at that point. A groan left your lips as you realized you were going to have to leave soon if you wanted to make it home before Mother awoke, but then remembered you had company. Turning your head, you inspected his body. This was your first time seeing him on land in the approaching daylight.

He only watched you as you observed him. He was… mesmerizing. Flowing from the nape of his neck to both of his wrists, swirls of smoky black pigmentation decorated his skin, while both of his hands and claws were solid black. His – admittedly stunning – face was mostly human-like, save for his slightly larger, glowing violet eyes with slits for pupils. And you had found out he had fangs when he kept hissing in pain. His hair was jet black and flowed just past his shoulders, flecked with salt and sand, that obscured the dark gills on either side of his neck. With only the pitiful light of dawn, you couldn’t make out much of his inky tail, only that it was quite long, and lined with multiple flowing side fins that resembled the fluke.

The waterproof digital watch on your wrist began to beep erratically, making the poor creature jump in fear. Shit. The morning alarm your mother had punched into it.

“I have to leave, I’m so sorry.”

Seemingly starting to recognize the sounds of leave and sorry, his already sad expression wilted even more.

“I’ll be back, okay?” you nodded, enunciating each word clearly. “And you probably need to get back in the water, so you don’t dry out.”

The elongated amount of time outside of the water seemed to have made his tail shrivel slightly, the pointed scales more prominent than they were before. Or maybe that was just the sun rising. Either way, you were at least somewhat certain he needed to be rehydrated.

Standing up on your feet, you dusted off some of the sand that now clung to every inch of you and crossed your arms. The tip of your tongue poked out of your lips slightly as you tried to conjure up a plan of how to get him back in the water. Considering the fact that he wasn’t just pure dead weight anymore, it couldn’t be too bad. But the fresh stab wounds were the main barrier here.

“Alright. We’re getting you back in,” you announced, as if you had some position of authority. He just cocked his head and flared his gills.

With time running out, you decided the best bet was just to use the towel to drag his body the couple of meters back towards the water, and rely on the tide to hopefully aid in easing him back in. It was a deliberate choice to ignore his snarls and light thrashing, clearly not thrilled with the idea.

“Stop fighting me, dumbass,” you grunted. Finally, the tide rose high enough to envelop him, allowing him to indignantly flick his tail at you before swimming away.

The trip back to your house was spent fuming as you wondered why the stupid creature was being so damn ungrateful. As if you hadn’t spent hours saving his life. Whatever. Maybe you could give him a piece of your mind when you went to check up on him later that day. What you didn’t understand was that his unwillingness to allow you to leave stemmed from the fact that he couldn’t quite grasp why you were leaving him. What you were leaving him for. And it hurt. He had always been a loner, even amongst his own kind, and you were the only being to ever show him pure kindness. Why would you leave? And would you ever be back?

[raya-hunter01]

Not My Sister's Keeper Pt. 10

Not My Sister’s Keeper

Roman X OC(Kara)

Jey Uso X OC (Tia)

Rating: 18+

Warning: Smut; sex, fluff, couple arguing, Jealousy, infidelity, pregnancy

Roamn’s wife recently left medical school and returned home to save her marriage. Upon her return, she finds out things are not what they seem. Her sister is pregnant by her best friend Jey Uso, who is also Roman’s cousin, and her husband is acting suspicious.

What happens when a conversation overhead on a baby monitor blows her world apart?

Pensacola, FL

Jey’s House

Kara’s POV

"Uh..Mmh!"

“Where yo’ ass goin’? Stop runnin’, this what you wanted ain’t it?” Jey teased as I closed my eyes unable to keep them open anymore.

Relishing in him talkin' his shit as he slowly lost control, his thrust became more calculating and persistent. Only switching up when he felt I was close.

“Answer me, where you goin’ baby? I thought you wanted me to fuck you?”

“Mmm, nowhere, I promise.”

“Yea…That’s what I thought, you betta be glad you still healin’” he moaned biting my shoulder as I trembled against him.

“When you ready, I’m take these beautiful arms, I love to have wrapped around me, and I’mma pin’em behind yo’ back and fuck da shit outta you,” he moaned as I purred at the thought.

All last night our love makin’ had been slow and steady, this morning….Pure insanity. “I can’t wait,” I gasped holding onto the balcony for dear life as he pounded me hard and deep from behind.

“Tryin’ da run from me...Knowin' I’on play dat shit when it comes to you gettin’ yo’ nut.”

“Uh, I know it, Daddy!” I screamed, unable to control myself.

“Mmhm, you betta know it.....Now tell daddy you sorry for tryin’ to run from yo’ nut,” Jey whispered in my ear, throwing his leg up on the table beside us, rendering me a crying mess as he sank even deeper inside me.

“I’m sorry daddy!" I cried out in pleasure. “Yeaaa….Tell Daddy you sorry for trying to take his pussy away from him,” Jey growled smackin’ me on the ass.

“Josh! Fuck, I’m sorry!” I screamed as he continued to take my soul.

 I asked for it, he was trying to be all soft and shit, but I trying to make him go faster, then tried to run when he finally gave in and went to drilling my ass.

“Yeaaa, I told yo’ ass, diss ain't what you wanted right now, but you kept playin’ wit me…

"I-I wanted it so bad, I still do," I gasped feeling Jey grow even harder inside me, a low growl rising in his throat.

"Den be a good girl and take it...Take all dis dick” Jey groaned pulling me closer. “I don’t want to c- cum yet,” I gasped as he ignored my pleas.

“Mm, yes, you do, listen to dat shit, pussy wet as fuck swallowing my dick,” Jey moaned slappin’ my ass again. “Mmm, it’s my dick now,” I moaned letting him know he’s mine now as I felt him smile against my ear.

“Fuck, yea it is,” he moaned as I looked back at him feeling his hand teasingly touch my clit as our lips met in a sloppy deep kiss.

“Josh-” I whimpered against his lips as he masterfully sent my body into sensory overload wrapping his arm around my chest pulling me closer, his thrusts never wavering.

 “Is it mine, Kara?” Jey rasped as and pulse around him.

“Yes! It’s yours,” I moaned, a new intense feeling creeping up on me and I felt powerless to stop it, his strokes long and deep hitting my g-spot over and over.

“Uh huh, tell me what’s mine,” he whispered against my lips as I groaned, his thrusts in perfect sync with his fingers as they swirled against my clit.

“Th-this pussy….Mmm! It’s yours,” I cried, the primal growl that escaped from Jey’s lips turned me on even more. I felt like I was on fire and was being consumed from the inside out.

“Damn right…Now cum Kara,” Jey demanded as I finally let go almost jumping out of my skin as I felt a release so great it coated our thighs as Jey hissed tearing his lips from mine in shock as my pussy gripped him tighter bringing on his own release. “Fuck, Kara,’ Jey hissed as I smiled against his lips.

“Mmhm, surprise Daddy,” I whispered, his eyes closing riding out his high, speechless as his cum coated my tight welcoming walls.

“Surprise is right, fuck, you been holdin’ out on me lau pele. Just fuckin’ squirtin’ for me n shit, damn.” Jey praised struggling to catch his breath.

“I wish we didn’t have to go to dinner now, I need a nap,” I whispered a small moan falling from both our lips as he slowly pulled out.

“Me too, I could just stay here all night inside you, but we promised..”

Watching the sun starting to set we knew we had to shower and get dressed but dreaded it.

“Let’s shower so we can get this over with,” I said as Jey sighed rubbing my shoulder.

“It’s gonna be fine, I’m gon’ be there wit you and anytime you ready to leave, I am.”

Maybe my uneasiness about the dinner will diminish when we get there. Think positive Kara

-----

Boston State Women’s Prison

Therapy session

Tia’s POV

“Do you remember the first time you ever hurt your sister Kara?”

Julie my therapist asked as I shrugged my shoulders.

“Tia, I’m trying to help you but you gotta want to help yourself,” she pleaded as I sighed leaning back in my chair.

“I was eight and Kara was five,” I whispered not really wanting to talk about it.

“What happened that caused the outburst of violence? Do you remember?” she asked, the question triggering me, how could I ever forget the day I found out my life was a lie.

June 1988

“Tia, you know mama’s company is here….She said we stay outside till he leaves,” Kara whined as I pushed her. The man had been coming every week for about two months and I wondered what they were doing.

“It’s hot out here, I’m just gonna go to my room,” I said going back inside, her tiny, scared voice annoying me.

“Don’t leave me out here, wait for me,” Kara said following me closely as we made our way upstairs hearing shouting from our parents’ bedroom.

“You should have told me, you gone drop this on me now when I’m about to go back to Houston!”

“Terry, I was scared! I knew you had got accepted to school and I didn’t want to ruin it. You wouldn’t have gone, and I didn’t want to be the reason for you not going after your dreams.”

“You still should have told me you were pregnant with my child Rebecca!” he yelled as Kara, and I looked at each other inching towards the door to listen.

“You loved Connie, and I loved Bill. What we had was one stupid drunk night between friends Terry!”

 “But look at us now, so it obviously wasn’t just a drunkin’ night between friends. I’m here in the bed you share with your husband. Regardless, you should have told me before I left for school.”

“You wouldn’t have gone; you wouldn’t be so close to your dream as you are now.”

 “Instead, I come home, and I’m blindsided by you playin’ perfect family with Bill, telling me ya’ll had a kid! Now, you literally all of a sudden wanna tell me after seven years Tia’s mine!”

“It worked out, didn’t it? We both ended up with the people we love.”

“No, it didn’t, another man is raising my kid!” Terry yelled as my mother tried to pull him back onto the bed.

“Terry, I love you, just please listen to me!” my mother cried as Kara began to cry as I hugged her.

“Mama,” I whispered in disbelief, not believing what was happening.

“Look, we are too deep in this now and I can’t lose everything I’ve built with Bill. You and Connie are finally on the right track, she’ll leave you if she finds out you cheated and had a kid.”

“So, what am I supposed to do, I have a seven-year-old!”

“Pretend you never saw her…I’ll do anything, I can’t lose my family.”

“I have to be sure she’s mine, I got a friend in the courts I can call. He will be discrete about it, and we can get a DNA test.”

"Then what?"

"If she's mine, I will help you financially and go from there. Maybe you could send me pictures to let me see how she's doing."

"I'm glad you're seeing things my way. It's no need for us to hurt them."

“I’m tellin’ dad,” Kara whispered taking off back downstairs. “Come back, Kara.” I hissed chasing after her.

---

“How did what you heard make you feel Tia?” Julie asked, snapping me out of the painful, shocking memory I was stuck in. It felt so real, like it was just yesterday.

 “I was mad at my mom, but I was thankful she had kept it a secret because I had the best dad ever,” I said honestly.

“I want to switch gears for a second. You said your first act of violence towards Kara was that day. What happened?”

“Kara couldn’t wait to tell dad, but I couldn’t let her. I was there first; I was born before her and Donavan. He would leave if he found or would treat me differently, so I did what I had to do.”

“Tia, what did you do to Kara?” Julie asked as I felt somewhat guilty. “I was gonna just scare her and make her promise not to tell. I didn’t mean to hurt her that bad.” I whimpered starting to shut down.

“Don’t stop now, you need to talk about this to free yourself, Tia.” Julie encouraged as I nodded wiping my tears.

“I went up behind her and pushed her, she fell and hit her head on a brick by the fire pit,” I whispered as Julie looked at me in horror.

 “Uh, what happened then?”

“I got scared when I saw the blood, so I went and got my mom,” I whispered as Julie was trying to remain non-judgmental, but I felt it.

“Did she tell your mom what you did to her when she woke up?”

“No, she didn’t remember anything about what had happened that day. She only remembered us playing outside. The doctor said she had a bad concussion and had to get  some stitches on the left side of her head.”

“So, you got lucky…The secret was safe?” she asked as I shook my head.

“I couldn’t forgive her for trying to take my dad away from me though.”

“But she didn’t Tia, your mother’s secret was threating your relationship with your father, not Kara.”

“She was going to tell-”

“Tia, your sister was a child, and your anger was misguided. If anything, it should have been towards your mom. Kara never remembered and your parents stayed together so why did you constantly do things to your sister?” Julie asked making me lose focus for a second.

“Uh, I don’t kn-”

“Yes, you do, and I want you to really think about this Tia, because I need an honest answer……. You owe that to yourself,” Julie said as I thought for a second about what she was asking.

“I – I envied her and Donavan.”

“Why did you envy them, Tia?”

“They had their dad, and I didn’t have mine. I didn’t want to lose him as my dad, but I wanted to know my real dad too if that makes sense.” I cried as Julie passed me some Kleenex.

“You wanted them both in your life, and to love you…..In a perfect world your parents would be together and you could get to know your real father.”

“He abandoned me, went on with his perfect lil family. …He did what my mom wanted, he forgot I existed.”

“Tia, do you know who your father is?”

“Terry Kendall,” I whispered as Julie sat back in her seat like the wind had been knocked out of her.

“T- The judge from your case?” Julie asked in disbelief as I scoffed.

“Yea, him, small world, huh.”

“Um, Tia we can stop for today I know that was a lot and I need you to get some rest,” Julie said as I nodded, thankful, she wasn’t going to poke and prod anymore for today.

“Thank you,” I said trying to get myself together as she packed her things and left quickly.

“Morris, on your feet,” Officer Daniels said as I stood up allowing him to reattach me to my shackles and usher me out of the room.

In the hall I saw Julie frantically talking on her phone.

“Meridith, I know it’s Sunday, but I really need to speak with the prosecuting attorney for the Morris case. I have some new information that could vital,” I heard Julie say as I smirked walking past her.

You ain’t did nothin’ special bitch, I wanted you to carry that bone. My mother and Judge Kendall deserved whatever was about to come their way.

Hell, maybe I could get a little sympathy in the resentencing.

I knew one thing was for sure, I had to have a plan this time…I couldn’t stay in here.

-----

Pensacola, FL

16 East Bar & Grill

Kara’s POV

Well, I was wrong wanted to go home, now more than ever. I felt uneasy with the company, and it wasn’t Roman or Janice, it was the presence of my mother.

Damn, Jey and I had a wonderful weekend, and I didn’t want to ruin it by coming here. I still felt something was off and felt such a disconnect with my mom.

“You, ok?” Jey asked as I cleared my throat and put down my fork.

“Yea, I’m fine, just don’t feel like eating right now,” I said looking at my mom who seemed detached, almost like she was hiding something.

“Kara, you know you gotta eat,” Jey pleaded as I sighed taking a sip of water. “I just want to get through this so we can leave, I’ll get something on the way home,” I whispered as he kissed my hand smiling.

“What are you smiling about?”

“I’m glad you know what’s mine is yours. My house is your home,” Jey whispered as I smiled in spite of the situation, we were currently in.

“How are you feeling, Kara?” my mother asked, interrupting our moment.

Did she truly want to hear how I felt?....... Could she handle it?... Guess we bout to find out.

“Well, mama every day I have to deal with the fact my sister tried to kill me. Then this reminder doesn’t help,” I said looking down at the gauze on my chest, that was protecting my healing wound.

A permanent scar and a reminder of the trauma from that night.

“I love her and that’s my baby but I just ain’t seen no shit like that, she should have gotten more time,” my dad said as my mother sighed leaning back in her chair.

“Well, she didn’t Bill, but she did get some time. Now we can move on from this,” my mother said as Jey looked at me, silently encouraging me to say what was on my mind.

“Mama, I know you mean well, but I don’t see me and Tia moving past this,” I said as my mother rubbed her temples.

“I don’t blame you sweetheart it’s a lot. I can’t believe how some are taking it so well,” Janice said looking at my mother strangely as she was getting irritated.

“Baby a court settled it, and has punished your sister. I don’t see why ya’ll can’t try to work through this, and Janice what does this have to do with you?” My mother questioned as Janice shot her a look.

“Rebecca, we’re all family here, and I love Kara like she’s my own child. She was with my son for 10 years; you and I share a grandchild, Rebecca."

“So, what does that mean?”

“It means whether you like it or not everyone at this table is bonded forever and is family.”

“Mama, maybe we should leave,” Roman said as my mother nodded in agreement.

“Good idea, ya’ll had no business being here anyway.”

“Mama, let’s just go,I ain’t doin’ this wit Rebecca tonight and neither are you. ”  

“No, Roman we were invited. Now I know you and Kara are divorced but nothing will ever erase the love I have for her, and I will always be there for her. That is something Rebecca is going to have to understand.” Janice said as I actually felt somewhat comforted by her statement strangely.

“Well, I’m glad you love my daughter, but she has a mom and don’t need your motherly love, Janice.”

“Does she really have a mother though?” Trin asked looking at my mother as she gasped. “What are you trying to say, Trin?” she asked, offended, as Trin sighed, putting down her glass of wine.

“Ma Becca, I love you, but these last couple days it just really seemed you were more concerned about Tia than Kara…You know your daughter that spent over a month in ICU fighting for her life.”

“Trin, it’s ok” I said as she shook her head. “No, it ain’t Kara, you almost died, and she’s worried about how much time Tia has to serve and trying to make you forget the hell she put you through.”

“Trin-”

“Sis, that shit will never be ok in my eyes.” Trin said not biting her tongue as Jimmy leaned over and whispered something to her.

“I don’t care Jimmy, somebody had to tell her ass, it ain’t right what she did in that court room and it ain’t right what she’s doing now,” Trin whispered as he reluctantly nodded in agreement.

“I agree with Trin, it almost seems like one daughter is more loved than the other if you ask me,” Janice said as my heart dropped.

My heart dropped because I felt the same way but didn’t want to hurt my mother’s feelings.

My heart dropped because others felt the same way I did.

“You ok, we can go, just say the word,” Jey said knowing I was trying to keep it together but was moments away from losing my shit.

“Ok, I ain’t wit the back and forth, I think somebody at this table got some secrets and we need to get it out in the open so we can move on.” Trin said, looking at Janice as she stared at my mom.

 She was picking up on the tension between them, almost like she was piecing together information.

“Trin, I think you are absolutely right,” Janice said still looking at my mother before looking back at Trin. Trin seemed to be questioning her with eyes and when Janice nodded Trin frowned.

“I damn knew it,” Trin whispered as Janice cleared her throat, taking a sip of water.

 Ok, they just had a whole damn conversation without really saying a word.

“Ok…..You and auntie been talking in code since we got here, what’s going on ya’ll?” Jimmy asked looking at Trin as she refilled her glass of wine.

“I mean a whole damn conversation without sayin' nothin',” Jey added as I frowned. I guess I wasn’t trippin’ after all.

“I guess it’s a woman thing-” Jimmy said as I rolled my eyes.

“Ain’t not code, just some realizations,” Trin said as my mother let out a frustrated sigh.

“Can we just eat so we can go,” my dad said as Roman searched his mother’s face for answers as she grasped his hand in hers.

“We ain’t talking in code son, and everything is ok. I just want Kara’s mom to understand sometimes things can’t be undone or begin to heal when you keep building upon lies and trying to manipulate the people you love to get what you want,” Janice said as I felt defeated.

“All I said was Tia is going to pay for what she did.  I don’t see why Kara can’t forgive her and we move forward with our lives.”  I did the only thing I could, which was laughed to keep from crying.

“Are you serious? Mama, she tried to kill me, and laughed as I bled out. That reason alone should have never let what you just said come outta your mouth!” I said raising my voice as I felt Jey’s hand on my thigh.

“Calm down baby,” he whispered as I took a breath trying not to get upset, but it was a losing battle. I had been quiet for too long observing, trying to not get upset. It was pointless and useless, I couldn’t take anymore.

“Look, I love you both very mu-” she started as I cut her off.

“Mama, I know you love us both, but you uphold Tia in her mess and that’s why she is, how she is.” I said ignoring my father as he cleared his throat.

“Sweetie, that’s still ya’ mama,” my dad said as I shook my head. “Daddy, Ray Charles could see Tia was fakin’ in that courtroom the other day and Mama couldn’t.”

“So, you blaming me for loving my child?”

“No mama….. All I’m saying is she almost killed me, it wouldn’t have hurt you to be on my side, and you can’t change my opinion,” I said as my mother sighed.

“I’m standing by the fact I love you both and I’m going to be there for both my children.”

“I don’t even think it’s that Mrs. Morris. Kara is hurt because she feels like you cared more for Tia in this situation. You were there for Kara, but you really weren’t, if that makes sense,” Jey said as I pointed at him.

“Thank you! Somebody gets it,” I sigh as my mother rolls her eyes at him.

“Joshua, this has nothing to do with you, son,” my mother said as Jey kissed his teeth.

 “Anything that hurts Kara hurts me, and I’m sorry if you feel that way. I’mma always protect her because I love her and she’s, my family.” I felt my heart skip a beat at Jey's declaration of love.

“Thank god, because somebody needs too, especially now,” Janice said. “Mama, you know something we don’t?” Roman asked as she looked at my mother, almost daring her to say something.

“Look, my daughter doesn’t need protection from her own mother. Ok, so you can stand down Janice,” she said rolling her eyes.

“No, you need to stand up and tell your daughter the truth about that train wreck that happened the other day and your part in it!” Janice said slightly raising her voice as my dad looked at my mom.

“What is she talking about Rebecca?”

“Ok Janice, let’s do this!” My mother shouted, throwing down her silverware on her plate as Trin raised her eyebrow at her. “Oh, she mad now, huh.”

“I don’t care what she is Trin, she better take some base outta her voice. I ain’t the one, I’ll drag you all through this restaurant, Rebecca. Don't let my age fool you now." Janice said as I watched my mother deflate before my eyes.

 “What do you want from me, Janice? You seem like you know everything something, so why don’t you just tell everyone?”

“It ain’t my place, it’s yours!...... You owe everyone here that much, especially your daughter,” Janice said as Jey’s grip on my hand slightly tightened.

“Janice, I did what I had to do for my child and that all I’mma say about it!”

“Did what you needed to do?” Jey said frowning at her as I shook my head, I somewhat deep down knew where this was going but hoped I was wrong in my assumptions.

“Rebecca what did you do?” My dad asked as my mother took a sip of her glass of wine.

“Nothing bad Bill, Judge Kendall is an old family friend, so I reached out to him and called in a favor.”

Jey’s POV

“A family friend?……You called in a favor?…I know you ain’t did what I think you did?” I said raising my voice slightly but trying to remain respectful, she is still Kara’s mom.

“Just like I said Josh, he’s a family friend that did me a favor.”

“No... Tell it how it is.. You had that judge decrease Tia’s sentence. You’re the reason she didn’t get much jail time!” Janice shouted as Rebecca dropped her head in shame.

“I knew it…….I knew something was wrong. Even with that plea deal she should have gotten longer jail time,” kara whispered staring straight ahead no longer able to look at her mom.

“What does jail time do exactly, Kara?” her mother asked as Kara's head snapped back in her direction in shock.

“Is she serious?” Trin asked looking at Jimmy as he sighed running his hand through his beard.

“I can’t even right now,” he said as I stood up, helping Kara out of her seat. As far as I’m concerned dinner is over and Rebecaa better not show her damn face near Kara again.

“Look, we out, I ain’t bout to let this shit keep disrupting her peace. We done fed into this bullshit for too long as is. You got what you wanted, Tia will be out in three years….Now just now stay away from Kara,” I said pointing at Rebecca as she frowned.

“You got some nerve Josh; I don’t care if I’ve known you since you were a child and consider you family. You can’t tell me to stay away from MY CHILD!”

“Can we go, please,” kara whispered ignoring her mother as I nodded throwing some money down on the table.

 “Answer me, Kara! What does Jail have to do wi-”

“Everything! Jail time means I mattered; my life mattered!”  Kara screamed jumping at her mother as I caught her, stopping her from jumping across the table.

“Kara-”

“Let me go!” Kara cried as I refused to let her go. “Kara, I can’t let you do that, you’d never forgive yourself. Calm down baby.” I pleaded, but I knew it was no use Rebecca had flipped the switch.

“I’m so damn mad! She doesn’t get that jail time means she faces the consequences of her actions! Why can’t she see how messed up all this is!” Kara cried as I hugged her close.

“Shh, I got you… Baby you ain’t gotta keep begging her to see your point. We see it and we got you….. Your real family got you, and we love you,” I whispered her grip on the back of my shirt tightening as she sobbed.  

“Her Real family! We’re her real family!” Bill yelled standing up next to Rebecca as I tried to calm Kara down.

“I can’t tell you sittin’ there letting this shit happen! When you gon’ step in and be the father Kara needs yo’ ass to be!” I yelled as Bill looked like I reached in and snatched his soul out of his body.

“Look, ain’t nobody sayin’ this to hurt ya’ll Bill, but put yourself in your daughter shoes Uce, how would you feel?” Jimmy said as Trin walked over to us.

“Kara, tell us what you want to do?” Trin whispered rubbing Kara’s back trying to help me calm her down.

“I just wanna go…I just w-” The heart-wrenching sob that escaped her lips broke my heart.… “We can go wherever you wanna go baby.”

 “I think we gon’ leave too. Pops is watching Logan, and we need to get back,” Roman rambled helping aunt Janice out of her chair.

His anger radiating off of him in waves as he looked at Rebecca.

“Are you ok, Kara?” Janice asked, as Kara nodded grabbing Trin’s hand.

“I’m ok,” she whispered wiping her tears as Janice came over and embraced them both.

“I am so sorry for everything Kara; I was wrong for being quick to judge you. I know we never talked about -”

“It’s ok-”

“No it’s not, I was out of line and owed you an apology that night when I found out everything.”

“Emotions were high, and you’ve more than made up for it,” Kara said as Janice took Kara’s face in her hands. “I love you Kara and no matter what, I will always be here for you, but I know you gon’ be fine,” she whispered, happy that Kara accepted her loving words as Roman patted me on the shoulde

“Take care of her, she’s been through enough,” he murmured barely above a whisper before walking out the side patio door without saying another word.

I knew more than anything it hurt him to say that, but I hoped he meant it.

Kara’s POV

“Kara, we need to talk baby,” my mother pleaded as I turned to her.

“It ain’t no need, I knew where I stood with you when you ran and comforted her in that courtroom. I just didn’t want to admit to myself.”

“That’s not true! I am so sorry, but I had to help her!”

“Do you hear what our daughter is saying Rebecca?! She’s telling you how she feels, and you keep talking about Tia!” he yelled snatching the glass of wine out of her hand and throwing it across the room.

“Are you crazy?”  she yelled as my dad looked at her in confusion.

“Am I crazy?...... I could ask you the same damn question? Like are you playin’ with a full deck of cards up there?” he said pressing his finger against her temple.

“Don’t do that!” My mother shouted, pushing his hand away. “Our daughter is pouring her heart out and you’re acting like it doesn’t matter.”

“It does matt-”.

“Then fix this shit, we already lost Donavan, he barely comes to visit us, and now Kara is about out the damn door!” he said walking over to me.

“Dad, I love you, but after all this it’s really nothing she can say or do that can fix this…I can’t…I refuse to be around her,” I said standing my ground.

“I know it baby, but I don’t want to lose you,” my dad whispered hugging me as I sighed feeling safe in his arms.

“You’ll never lose me daddy, I’ll be here,” I reassured him. “Kara let’s go somewhere we can be alone and talk,” my mother pleaded, coming toward us as my dad moved to hug Janice.

"Thank you for makin' sure we found out the truth."

“Kara, baby-” she cried reaching for me as Jey and Trin blocked her path.

“Don’t ok, I’m not going to report you, your secret is safe. I’m not even mad, just stay away from me. Jey, I’ll be in the car, I need some air,” I said leaving them inside. I couldn’t stand being in there any longer.

Jey’s POV

“Ya’ll can’t keep me from her. I’m here mother.”

“Look, leave her alone and give her some time to process the bomb you just dropped on her,” I said as Rebecca ignored me trying to push through Trin and I but we didn’t budge.

“Move outta my way!” Rebecca yelled as Trin pushed her back, daring her to make a move.

“No! I love you dearly, but don’t make me drop you.……Now you made your choice when you went to that judge…Now respect Kara’s choice,” Trin said as Rebecca broke down in tears.

“Joshua, take care of my baby, and let me know when ya’ll come back to Pensacola. I’ll stop by and maybe we can have dinner,” Bill said calmly walking by us not saying another word to his wife.

“I’ve lost her, haven’t I?” Rebecca whispered, as the rest of us one by one left her alone to wallow in her own misery.

One thing was for sure, I wasn’t going to let her hurt Kara again. On my way to the car I saw Roman standing against my car door talking to Kara.

“So, you don’t want to go to the courts and reopen this?” I heard him ask as Kara shook her head.

“I can’t go through that again, I’m tired,” Kara whispered as I felt the conflict within her.

“Uce, maybe we can talk about it when she’s had some time to process it,” I said getting in the driver seat as Kara leaned back against the headrest closing her eyes.

“I agree, I know tonight has been a lot. Just make sure you get some rest Kara,” Roman said closing her door as she sighed in relief.

“Thank you for not pushing,” Kara whispered as I rubbed her thigh. “I got you and however you want to handle it, we will,” I assured her as she relaxed taking deep breaths.

"Just relax and we'll be home before you know it." Damn I hate dinner was a bust. Pulling out of the parking lot the silence was already deafining.

Kayla’s POV

I was just about to doze off but I felt Jey's eyes on me. "You better watch the road, I'm ok, I promise."

“Kara it’s ok to not be okay,” Jey said as I looked at him. “She’s my mother Jey, and she did that..After everything she did that to me and I don’t know what to do with that,” I whimpered.

“I know baby, but we gon’ get through this.” His phone interrupting us before I could respond.

“What the hell he want?” Jey asked as Mr. Reiner’s name and number passed across the radio screen.

"Answer it, I'm sure it's important," I said dreading whatever the call was going to be about."

"Hello-"

“Finally, I got someone. How are you, Mr. Fatu? I’ve been trying to get in touch with Ms. Morris, and Mr. Reingns but had no luck. I was just about to try Mrs. Fatu.”

“We were at a family dinner, but we just left and Kara’s here with me, what do you need?”

“Earlier today I received some information that could work in our favor. I’m going to ask for a new judge and resentencing of your sister.” Mr. Reiner said as I looked at Jey in shock.

“Look, if you’re talking about the ju-”

“Ms. Morris, that judge should have never even able to oversee the case in the first place, he has personal ties.” Mr. Reiner said as I sighed.

How the hell did he find out?

“Yea, he was an old family friend of my mom's, she told us tonight,” I said as Jey shook his head pulling off the exit. “Pull in at the Wal-Mart,” I whispered as Jey complied parking the car so he could listen in.

“Ms. Morris, he wasn’t a family friend.”

“Mr. Reiner, she told me out of her own mouth he was.  Now if he isn’t a family friend, what other reason is there that he shouldn’t have been overseeing the case?” I asked as Jey kissed my hand.

“Ms. Morris, I don’t know how to tell you this-”

“Look Mr. Reiner, after everything we’ve all just went through together with the trial, it’s nothing you should be afraid to tell me or ask.” I said truthfully, feeling a genuine connection with him. He earned his pay and presented a great case.

“Yea, cause’ the bomb we got hit wit tonight, I promise you, nothin’ you say will shock us, Uce,” Jey added as I nodded in agreement.

“Ms. Morris, Judge Kendall is Tia’s father.”

The statement sucking the air out my lungs as Jey and I both looked at each other truly speechless.

“Did you hear me Ms. Morris? Judge Kendall should have never been allowed to oversee the case due to his conflict of interest of being Tia’s biological father.”

“Are you sure?” Jey asked as I unbuckled my seatbelt. Opening my door feeling nauseous as Jey rubbed my thigh.

“Today Tia told her therapist that Judge Kendall was her father. The therapist being a mandated reporter, contacted my office.”

“How can we trust her word?” I asked trying to grasp at straws. My mother wouldn’t do that to my dad.

“I’m already three steps ahead of you Ms. Morris. I’m currently looking at a copy of a DNA test Mr. Kendall ordered privately through the court system in Florida some thirty years ago. He is indeed Tia’s father and your mother even received stipends quarterly from Mr. Kendall for child support."

I felt anger…..Disbelief…...Then rage, followed by acceptance as the revelation seemed to ignite forgotten memories within me. Slowly one by one coming back in flashes, overwhelming me with its power.

“You still should have told me you were pregnant with my child Rebecca!  His scream of anguish invaded my mind as I covered my face with my hands.

“Kara baby, you, ok? Talk to me.”

“You loved Connie, and I loved Bill. What we had was one stupid drunk night between friends Terry!” The hurt and disbelief consuming me as every inch of pain came rushing back at me as if it was happening for the first time.

“I can’t brea-”

“Come on baby breathe.”

Jey’s voice seemed so far away as he tried to bring me out of the haze that was consuming me. The memories continuing to flood my brain and I was powerless to stop it.

“I’m here in the bed you share with your husband. Regardless, you should have told me before I left for school.” His hurt and anger on full display, the desperation of my mother’s voice.

The soul crushing pain of hearing my mother’s betrayal as Tia and I silently cried together. I felt the bile rising in my throat even more.

“Kara, baby look at me.” Jey said trying to grab my arms but I pulled away, getting out of the car knowing I was about to lose the little bit of dinner I had consumed earlier.

“Mr. Reiner, thank you for all callin’ and just everything, but we’ll call you back later,” I faintly heard Jey say, as he appeared beside me rubbing my back as I emptied the contents of my stomach.

“I’m sorry ya’ll had to find out this way, but I promise we will get you all the justice you deserve. I just wanted to let you know the updates, and I will see you guys when you get back to Boston.”

“Preciate dat, we’ll see you Tuesday,” Jey said pulling my hair back as Mr. Reiner hung up.

“Kara,-”

“I’m ok,” I whispered, standing up as Jey reached over in the car trying to find a napkin. “Damn, I ain’t got none in here.”

“I’m good, I’ll just go in the store to clean up,” I said walking away before he could respond.

“I can go wit you or at least drive you up there.”

“No, I’m ok, just give me a second.”

Jey’s POV

“Damn, you have really been playin' in everybody's face Rebecca,” I said to myself still in shock.

She literally did what Tia tried to do to me but actually pulled it off. Tia had the fuckin’ handbook taught to her by the master.

 It’s been over thirty years and bill has raised a child that ain’t even his…Who does shit like that?

Tonight was too much but I knew by the look on Kara’s face as she came out the store, we weren’t heading home anytime soon.

“I could have walked back up there to the car, Jey,” she whispered as I got out and helped her back inside. “I was parked all the way at the top and you sick. Just let me take care of you, ok,” I said kissing her on the temple, feeling a sense of relief as she nodded no longer protesting.

Closing the door, I got back in and drove back up to the parking lot entrance and parked again.

“Jey, what are you doing?” Kara asked as I got out and moved to the backseat, beckoning her with my hands.

“Showin’ you how much I love you and givin’ you what you need right now. Now come here, Ma.” I said reaching up and pulling her onto my lap in the backseat. Sighing, Kara instantly buried her head in my neck as I held her close.

“I love you; Kara and I got you.” I felt the weight of the world leave her body as she relaxed in my arms. “I love you too.” She whispered as we sat in silence for a good bit.

“Do you wanna talk?” I finally asked as she looked at me and shook her head. “You ready to go home?”

“I wanna go home but I got something I need to do first. Does that offer still stand to take me wherever I want to go?” Kara asked as I caressed her face.

“Yea, name it and I’ll take you… No questions asked? Where you wanna go lau pele?”  

“I need to go to my parents’ house.”

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[clockwayswrites]

Like Betta Fish Do Part 23

Jason had a gun in his hand before he even registered that he was awake. A window closed in the living room. Gun trained on the door, Jason pulled up the security feed on his phone. The only reason he wasn’t out the door and shooting was because even his silent alarms weren’t going off. That pointed to this being an annoying sibling.

Sure enough, the camera showed Dick crossing the room. He stopped to blow a kiss at the hidden camera, the fucker, and then went to disable the alarms at the front door. Jason shoved the gun back under the bed frame and buried his face in his pillow. If his siblings were going to invade without warning, they could wait until he was actually ready to get up.

Jason got fifteen more minutes of sleep and a shower in before he was ready to brave his family.

“Nice of you to finally join us,” Tim said with a pointed sip of his coffee.

He was sitting on the couch, Cass perched on the arm next to him. Dick had the other half of the couch, with an angry Damian tucked next to him, while Duke took the arm chair.

“If you wanted punctual, you should have texted,” Jason said. “There better still be coffee in the pot.”

This seemed like a coffee sort of day.

“There is, and we brought donuts,” Dick chirped. “I made sure the horde left a cake and a raspberry cream for you.”

“You are slightly forgiven for whatever the fuck is going on here,” Jason said. Of course someone had taken his favorite mug already. He settled for the one with the Shakespeare quote and added more than a splash of cream to the coffee before he went to face his siblings.

Tim motioned to the table.

The aforementioned box of donuts was there as well as a pile of tabloid papers. Jason raised his eyes at them. Huh.

“Well?” Tim asked.

“News moves fast?” Jason said with an unaffected shrug. At least seemingly unaffected. His heart was going a mile a minute it felt like. He hadn’t wanted them to know yet. He wanted more time.

But he was the one who had gone to pick Danny up. He had known that this could happen. Fuck, he should have thought about this more, he wasn’t ready. Jason picked up the top one. They were just a little side picture for that publication, but the one under it they were main page.

It wasn’t a half bad picture. Danny’s face was obscured, shot from the back as he leaned in to kiss Jason. Danny’s hands on the edge of his leather jacket were clear though, as was how nicely he fit in between Jason’s legs.

Maybe he’d keep that one.

Not that he’d tell Tim that, because, “You’re fucking creepy, Replacement. Why’d you buy all these?”

“I’m keeping track of the family! It’s what I do. Someone has to stay on top of it all.”

“Creepy,” Cass echoed, but soothed her word by pressing a kiss to the top of Tim’s head.

Tim pouted. “How long has this been going on?”

“Well see, I first realized that I liked boys when—”

“How long have you been dating Daniel Nightingale,” Tim interrupted, clearly having no mood for sarcasm today. “Or should I say Daniel Fenton.”

Huh.

“I’ve been dating Danny for about a month and a half now,” Jason said casually as he very purposefully picked a donut from the box.

“And you didn’t tell anyone?”

“I told Dick.” Jason motioned to his oldest sibling before taking a large bite of the donut. “He’s even met him twice.”

Tim sighed like he had the world on his shoulders. “I meant anyone who could actually hand PR, not make it worse.”

“I will take that as both an insult and a compliment,” Dick said. “And don’t talk with your mouth full, you’ll choke.”

Jason rolled his eyes. Like Dick didn’t all the time. He very purposefully swallowed. “We’ve only been on two real dates.”

“There are photos, Jason,” Tim said like that was a big deal.

Jason shrugged. “And that means you had to bring an entourage?”

“This is a family matter,” Tim said with a sniff. “…and they insisted.”

“I did not. I was just shoved in a car,” Duke said. He honest to god raised his hand to say that.

“Richard made me,” Damian grumbled (snootily, but it was still a grumble).

“Mhum,” Jason said and sipped his coffee. “I think we’re missing at least two family members and several side members.”

“Please, Alfred would just be trying to figure out the guy’s favorite food—”

“Anything that doesn’t try to bite back.”

Tim actually paused. “That’s concernedly specific.”

“That’s Danny for you.”

Dick covered a laugh. “Yeah, sorta is. That’s a weird fish you have, little wing.”

Various other siblings mouthed ‘fish’ in confusion. Cass just grinned. That was either a very good sign or a very bad sign.

“And Bruce? Why didn’t you just do this tomorrow at the manor?” Jason asked.

“Bruce needs time to be prepped,” Tim said with a wave of his hand, “Or he’d osculate between relentless questions and staring at you with big watery eyes of joy. It’s best if I give him a dossier first, ideally one that has an answer about this name change. The less he has to be concerned about the better.”

Jason exchanged a look with Dick. Well that certainly wasn’t happening in full. That coffee wasn’t sitting so well anymore. “I blame you, Dick, for the way Tim turned out. I was busy being dead and dubiously brainwashed.”

“Oh no, he came to us like this, I don’t take any of the blame,” Dick said.

Tim was pouting again. “I’m just trying to protect the family! Why is that so bad?”

“Caring creepy,” Cass said with a little nod.

“Yes! I mean no, I’m not being creepy! It’s publicly accessible information… mostly.”

“Tim,” Dick started, “have you been—”

A knock at the door cut the question off and everyone’s head turned to the noise. They were like a pack of meerkats, Jason thought, as he headed that way. Pack? Herd? Jason glanced at the video feed and lamented the timing of it all.

Which really was very Danny; the fish had the worst timing.

Jason opened the door with a sigh.

“Hey! Hold this, breakfast burritos,” Danny said, shoving a plastic bag Jason’s direction before he started working on untangling his scarf. “Picked them up from that little corner place you showed me a few weekends ago. Don’t worry, remembered the extra house hot sauce.”

The scarf seemed to have basically tied it self in a knot and Danny frowned down at at it. He shoved his coffee cup at Jason too as is words turned into an odd mix of absent minded and rushed. “But thought that would be nice. There was something I was going to… Oh! So I was reading this article, which is actually a little old, but it’s so cool! And about trilobites! Which you know, now I have to read it, right? So they actually had no idea how trilobites had sex cause, you know, ancient dead bugs, but then they found this pair that was killed and fossilized while mating. Which like, one, what a way to go, and two, what are the odds! And it turns out it’s not far off from horseshoe— ah-ha! Take that scarf!”

Danny pulled the length of red fabric off, looked up to the living room full of wide eyed siblings, and froze.

“Danny?”

“You have people over?” Danny squeaked.

“Against my will,” Jason said. “My siblings invaded.”

Dick waved.

“Siblings, right, I’m just going to…” Danny took a step to the left, effectively hiding himself behind Jason’s back.

Jason felt Danny’s head impact against him and had to hold back a laugh, but knew he had no hope of stopping the smile that spread across his face. Jason ignored whatever Tim’s soft little ‘huh’ was about. “You okay back there?”

“Am I okay— why didn’t you stop me?” Danny asked, his morose words muffled by Jason’s shirt. “I was just going on!”

“Mhum, about trilobite sex.”

Danny whacked Jason’s arm hard for that, and this time Jason couldn’t hold back a laugh.

“Adorable,” Cass cooed.

“Come on, this just means that they know that you’re a huge nerd already. It’s not like you were going to be able to hide that from anyone for long,” Jason said.

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t. Come on, stop being a prickly puffer fish,” Jason said, shifting slightly to figure out the best way to reveal Danny. “You can’t hide behind me forever.”

“No I’m just going to sink through the floor out of embarrassment.”

Jason was afraid that Danny might actually go through with that so he gentled his tone. “Come on, fish, It’s fine. Tim is a complete nerd. And Damian, for all his bite, is an art nerd.”

Damian bared his teeth. “I will stab you.”

“There’s the bark,” Jason said, unconcerned. “Duke is a dork and you’ve met Dick. Cass is actually cool, but she already said you’re adorable so you might just have to put up with being hugged a lot from her. Besides, they’ve already seen you and they’re my family, there’s no getting out of this long term.”

It had gotten so quiet in the apartment Jason swore he could hear Danny’s heart thudding, or was that his core?

Eventually, Danny loosened his death grip on Jason’s shirt, took a deep breath, and stepped out to stand beside Jason.

“There you are,” Jason said and dropped a kiss to the crown of Danny’s head. “Everyone, Danny. Danny, that is Duke, Cass, Tim, Dick you know, and Damian. He really does bite so maybe don’t sit near him.”

Damian sniffed. “He is lying. I prefer bladed weapons and I was frisked before abducted to come here.”

“Um, hi? Please don’t attack me, I’m still being trained with a xiphos, I’m not going to be a challenge for you with a sword,” Danny said. He sat dutifully in the chair that Jason has brought over from the kitchen table and set near the other living room furniture.

“You’ve trained in the blade?” Damian asked, actually looking interested.

“Training,” Danny reiterated. He accepted his coffee back from Jason with a slightly strained smile and clung to it like a lifeline. “But yeah, I’ve had some lessons. Mostly it’s been a dory though, outside of hand to hand. My teacher prefers the spear. She, ah, likes the reach it gives her, not that she really needs any help in the reach department.”

“We should spar,” Damian decided with a little nod.

“No stabbing my boyfriend, demon brat,” Jason said as he pulled over a chair for himself. He broke off part of the cake donut and handed the rest to Danny who took it with a pleased noise.

“So, you prefer Danny?” Tim asked with an all too innocent expression. At Danny’s nod he added, “And is it Nightingale or Fenton?”

Danny stiffened. “Well, considering I legally changed my name the day I turned eighteen, I think it can be pretty clear I prefer Nightingale.”

“But Fenton…”

“Is my parent’s last name, yes. Look, I’ll be blunt,” Danny started. There was that resigned note to his words that Jason had come to hate. He slipped his hand into Danny’s, rubbing his thumb along the lines of the back of Danny’s hand. “My parents love my sister and I, I know that they do. But that love isn’t enough to see us past their work. They’re… obsessive, to be polite. We were always last. So once we decided to move on, it wasn’t too hard to actually do so. My sister changed her name when she turned eighteen and I did the same when it was my turn. I moved out as soon as it went through. I don’t hate them, I don’t feel strongly enough about them to hate them anymore.”

Tim winced at the words. The neglect clearly hit one of Tim’s own sore spots, but Jason couldn’t muster up any sympathy for him. It severed Tim right for starting this whole conversation.

“Was that… a fight?” Dick asked. He always put such a weight in names.

Danny just snorted, softly. “It took them three months to even notice I’d moved. So no, not really. I still don’t know if they’ve caught on to the name change. We don’t really talk.”

“How did you end up in Gotham?” Duke asked, eager to change the conversation.

“Oh. Well, I’d been doing gen-ed through an online community college. I was getting done with them so applied to some scholarships. I’m actually here on a Wayne Inventors’ Scholarship, which is, ah, a little awkward now,” Danny said with a little wave at all of them, “all things considered.”

“It took him a really long time to put together who I was,” Jason said. “I thought he knew, but nope.”

“Look,” Danny said defensively. “I actively try to avoid the lives of the rich and famous after my Godfather.”

Jason raised a brow and made a mimicking motion to the room. “Yeah, how’s that working out for you?”

“Badly. I’m clearly cursed.”

----- AN: And then Danny proceeded to be beat soundly in Mario Kart/Party. He did hold his own in Smash though.

I am very sleepy, but have some fish! Stay delightful, darlings.

[omiiomiaaus]

LET YOU GO | Toji Fushiguro

Emotionally unavailable Toji x reader Drabble

Angst, hurt no comfort lol, Toji finks you deserve betta than what he can giv ya. Broke asf Toji, umm he’s like 33 and you’re like 25, megumi is like 9 or something idk whatever makes sense I guess lol. she/her pronouns used, Not proofread bc I’m lazy. Short asf and mid asf

The only thing Toji was good at was keeping to himself and making you feel like you would never be fully a part of his life.

“you and me?” he questioned. “There is no you and me, baby.”

the only thing you could do is hold in your tears, because Toji Fushiguro will never let you break down his walls. He was completely un reachable, and he wasn’t about to let you make him vulnerable to his own feelings, or so he thought.

“You’re just wasting your time, sweetheart.” He continues, having audacity to still call you pet names. The same ones he said when he was sweet talking you into his bed.

“Toji, why can’t you just let me be there for you?” You said, a futile attempt to get him to listen to you. “You sound desperate baby, it’s not cute.”

“Stop it.. stop being so mean, I don’t get it.. I do everything for you, why can’t you just..” you couldn’t even finish your sentence, you didn’t want to give up on him but at this point you were just making a fool of yourself in front of him.

“Why can’t I just what? Love you? Why can’t you just open your eyes and realize I’m not the kind of guy who’s gonna settle down with a girl who’s got her whole life ahead of her.” He spat out, looking down at you with disbelief. “I got no job, I got a kid that’s almost half your age, and a shitty apartment with my mattress on the floor… you want that?”

The look in his eyes made you feel inferior, his gaze judging your soul. “Stop trying to make me hate you.. when did things go wrong? Why are you pushing me away?” You asked, hoping to get through to him.

“You deserve a man who’ll give you what you need. I got nothing going for me, what makes you think I’ll be good to you?” He said, softly this time. He looked away, shaking his head and letting out a soft sigh. “You think I won’t love you because you have nothing to your name?” You asked. It hurt to think he thought of you so superficially.

“It’s not about you loving me, it’s about me being good enough.” He yelled, immediately going back to his stoic nature.

“Toji don’t you get it?” You yelled back at him.

“I’ll love you no matter what! I don’t care if you have nothing, I don’t care if I have to live in the darkest corner of the world… I love you, I need you and I want to have you with me always!” You felt like your heart couldn’t take much more rejection. But you realized that Toji was slowly cracking. He went from pushing you away for no reason, finally showing his true concerns.

“Please…” you said, barely above a whisper.

“It’s for your own good” he said while turning his back to you, getting ready to walk away and out of your life. Something caused you to jump up and hold on to him when he started to leave.

“Wait Toji please don’t leave!” You yelled, voice desperate. You held on to him so tight. This isn’t how you want to remember him, you wanted to remember the Toji that reciprocated your affection.

He pulled his arm out your grip forcefully, causing you to stumble back a little bit.

“What about megumi? He needs me!” You plead again, trying to find anything to get him to let you stay in his life. He turns his head back side eyeing you, back still turned towards you. “He has to learn heart break at some point.” He said coldly.

“So that’s it? You’re just gonna walk out my life after all these years�� you’re just gonna shut me out that fast?”

“Just forget about me.”

That was the last thing you remember of Toji Fushiguro. The pain he made you feel and the words he spoke that night would always be held in your mind. Memories resurfacing of when you two were happy together, it felt like your mind was taunting you.

AN: hope you enjoyed… lowkey want to make a pt 2 bc I always want to have lore to my fics LMAOO but I might not… depends.

- omi

[januaryembrs]

COFFEE SHOP COP | Javier Peña x Younger!Reader

Request: @brekkers-desigirl says - hey i love your work~ i saw that you're taking requests for characters, congratulations by the way<33 and i was wondering if i could have some javier pena fluff? where steve notices that javi is going out a lot and suspects that hes visiting the brothels but in reality hes meeting the reader, who is maybe a university student and cant be seen with javi, so they meet in secret? just like pure fluff please

thank you so much<33 and congrats on almost 1k again!!!

description: Steve is suspicious of Javi when there’s talks of a mole in the embassy. But when he follow him to coffee shop, he’s in for a surprise.

word count: 1.1k

trigger warnings: age gap? Reader is getting a doctorate. Talk of dissection.

main masterlist

Call it part of the job but Steve Murphy was an observant man. Perhaps he was overly suspicious with the amount of leads going dry as soon as they got close, Carillo had put it in his head that there were talks of a Narco Mole in headquarters, had his head spinning for days after he’d heard the news. But surely not Javi? It couldn’t be Javi.

Javi, who had saved his life more times than he could count, who would give his all for his job and asked nothing in return, who had broken bread with his wife, had watched his baby as if she were his own. It couldn’t be Javi.

But how could he explain his odd behaviour?

Peña had been clocking out on the dot for the past three weeks. Not that he held it against the man, except the two workaholics were known for working long hours past what was on their time cards in the interest of cracking the Narco rats sooner. He was usually given a little excuse of he had to call his father or he wanted to grab coffee on his way home before the shop shut. Even his betta fish needed feeding at a very specific time, that one had Steve frowning at least.

This man was a DEA agent and the best lie he could come up with was about betta fish? If that was the case, Colombia was fucked. But on the day he seemed to have a hankering for coffee the fourth night in a row, Steve had decided enough was enough. Slipping his card into the machine to clock himself out of work not even a whole five minutes after Javi left, he trailed after the man down to the parking lot, being sure to hold back a good few paces. Javi would know if he was being followed.

It wasn’t until he’d followed his truck downtown to a coffee shop that the ridiculous nature of what he was doing hit Steve like, well, Javi’s truck. Of course Javi wouldn’t be the mole, Javi would never. Besides, if the best he could come up with was fish then any real secrets surely would have poured out of him by now. Yet here he was, stalking his own best friend as he waltzed out the side of his truck like a boy on christmas.

He felt like an idiot.

Still unable to admit defeat, he pulled up onto the curb a few spaces down, heading out his car and after the man, ready to catch him in the act. Act of what exactly, though? Purchasing a cappuccino? What a crime.

The suspicion was knocked clear out of him however when he saw Javi walk up to a young woman, glasses perched on her nose. He was floored when he watched Javi cup her jaw gently, their lips meeting in a quick but loving kiss before he took a seat opposite her.

His first thought was she was one of his girls from the brothels, except he was quick to notice the textbooks and papers surrounding her, the way her fingernails were stained with ink. She was young, younger than Javi by a decade at least, but it wasn’t until he read the front of the book he felt at least some reprieve from the shock that must have been written on his face, Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Higher Edition. Doctorate, she was getting her doctorate in medicine.

Smirking to himself that he’d caught Javi in his best kept secret yet, he returned back to his car to see his wife and daughter early for once.

“Long day, baby?” Javi asked, sipping on the edge of his coffee that had started to go lukewarm, despite him bolting his way over here to see you longer. You tucked your hair behind your ear, dog earring the page in your book you were working on, taking the small, china cup in your own hands.

“Had labs to do all morning, and my professor’s been getting on my ass about references.” You sighed, reaching out to squeeze his free hand with your warm fingertips, “I missed you. How was work?”

Javi’s eyes glistened with softness as he watched you, the paper cuts in between your fingers, hair messed from where you’d brushed it away from your face so often. He seemed to snap out of it when he saw you were waiting for a response, shrugging his shoulders a twitch.

“Still just chasing leads- nothing for you to worry about,” He said, bringing your hand up for a peck on your knuckles. Your face heated, his umber eyes following your smile as it settled between your cheeks, “I missed you too. You got classes tomorrow?”

Nodding, you took another sip of your drink, finishing the cup of black liquid, the only thing getting you through this semester. That and Javi ofcourse.

“Got a double lecture in the morning, and then more practicals mid day I gotta prep for,” You said, packing up your books into your bag.

“Nice Lab assistant or mean one?” He asked, taking your bag strap from you almost immediately. He never let you carry your books where he could help with it, the thought of you dragging them around with you in the day was bad enough as it was but seeing you lug around the five, fist width textbooks made his eyes twitch in upset.

“Thanks, honey,” You said, heading out of the coffee shop towards his truck, the passenger seat reserved for you as far as he was concerned, “Mean one. Though, I don’t think I’ll be much more pleasant considering were gonna be harvesting Liver, Spleen and Urine to test for signs of Arsenic,”

Javi grimaced, opening the door for you, helping you step inside with a little pat on your thigh. Gently putting your bag in your lap, he snuck in a quick kiss to your cheek before he shut the door behind you and headed towards the drivers side.

“What’s that face for?” You giggled, your own hand coming out to rest on his jeaned leg as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“It’s a lot of dirty work, your degree,” He said, though his eyes kept flicking back to you from the road, “Not that I don’t think your capable, I just hate to think of you around so much…”

“Blood?” You helped out, and he nodded back, “Javi, I’m fine. The blood is only like half of what I do anyway, it’s the maths that gets messiest,”

Javi shook his, a wry smile on his face as he grabbed your hand in his own, giving your fingertips another kiss.

“You’d give some of the boys at the station a run for their money, sweetheart,”

Taglists;

PERMANENT TAG LIST:

@greeneyedblondie44 @liadamerondjarin @pedrosgirlx @andy-rocks @musicartmayheminmyheart @howlerwolfmax @ciarra–mae @lou-la-lou

Pedro Pascal

@evyiione

Javier Pena

@spideysimpossiblegirl

[novemberhope]

Summary: The Strawhats are on their way to Fishman Island but are attacked by the Kraken. Zoro also gets attacked by a fishman. When Neri shows up unexpectedly, Zoro gets a glimpse of her improved fighting skills after not seeing her for two years. Notes: It's been ages since I read Fishman Island so this might not 100% align with canon. Also, I hate writing fights. Word Count: 1272

Zoro stood firmly on the deck, his eyes narrowed in determination. Around him, chaos had spread like wildfire. Luffy, as always, was laughing, as the giant kraken approached them, slamming it’s tentacles into the ship's sides.

"Let’s take this beast down - or keep it as a pet!" Luffy shouted.

“Are you crazy, we’re not keeping that as a pet!!” Usopp exclaimed in horror.

“Don’t let it break the coating of the ship or we’ll all drown!” Franky warned.

Zoro knew they could only fend it off for so long. They had to take the fight away from the Thousand Sunny.

“Luffy!” he called. “I’m going in!”

He put his bandana on and glanced at his crewmates one last time before diving into the dark and cold waters, thankful for the protective bubble around him that allowed him to move under water without drowning.

Immersed in the chilly depths, Zoro still felt the pressure of the ocean around him. Or maybe that was just him coping with the strange feeling of moving around deep down in the ocean with only a protective bubble around him. As he descended towards the kraken, he could see Luffy and Sanji not too far off, also within protective bubbles, joining him in the fight.

The kraken’s tentacles thrashed all around him, a few times coming dangerously close to actually smashing his bubble. Zoro clasped his swords tightly. He aimed his blade and made his move, slicing with speed and precision as he slashed at the beast's tentacles. Suddenly, something dark darted through the water, catching his attention. A figure appeared, a fishman it seemed, with gleaming eyes and teeth that looked like razor blades, and muscles rippling under his skin. With a swift motion, the fishman lashed out, blocking Zoro's path and launching a strike aimed straight at him, clearly trying to slice through the bubble.

“So, the great Pirate Hunter decided to swim into dangerous waters?” the fishman sneered, a twisted grin on his face. “You shouldn’t have come here, human.”

Zoro narrowed his eyes. “Whoever you are, I don’t have time for you. Get out of my way.”

The fight began. Zoro parried the fishman’s attacks with astounding skill, but the fishman was relentless and powerful. Each blow drove him closer within the reach of the kraken’s tentacles. The beast continued its rampage, and in the distance, he could still hear Luffy and Sanji fighting, but they were too far away.

A tentacle came at him with full force and he had to use two swords to block it. At the same time, the fishman came from behind, also full force, while another tentacle came in from the side - something that wouldn’t have fazed him that much up on the surface but down here, fighting within the protective bubble, it was a different story in an entirely new environment. He not only could not let the attacks touch him, he had to make sure the entire bubble stayed intact.

Just as he was ready to attack three-sword-style and simply hope to get both the tentacles and the fishman at the same time, he sensed a sudden shift in the water. There was something coming in at full speed, something that forced the tentacles away and blocked the fishman’s attack.

And then something huge burst onto the scene — the shimmering silhouette of a beautiful betta fish mermaid with seemingly translucent shining pale blue scales, shining rather brightly in the dark ocean, with a cloud of shiny dark brown hair billowing behind her.

It was Neri.

The last time Zoro had laid eyes on her was two years ago during the chaos in Sabaody when Bartholomew Kuma had used his powers to teleport each of them to a different location. Last thing he had heard was that he had teleported her to Fishman Island where she had undergone some training. And when he had returned to Sabaody, Rayleigh had told him that since Neri already was at Fishman Island, she would await the Strawhats there. Which… made sense but still, it had been a bit disappointing since he kind of had been looking forward to seeing her again.

The mermaid’s long, dark brown hair flowed around her, and her brown eyes shone with a determination he didn’t know she had. Gone was the timid, everything but confident girl he remembered from two years ago. Right now, she exuded confidence and strength as she used her hands to form the water in front of her into a magnificent trident.

Their eyes met. Her whole face lit up and she smiled, clearly very happy to see him again. And he who rarely ever smiled couldn’t help but smile back.

“Zoro!! It’s so good to see you!” she cried.

“Neri!” he shouted back. “I thought you were waiting for us on Fishman Island!”

“I was!” she said, still smiling. “But I couldn’t wait to see you all again so I thought I’d meet you half way! But Zoro - what happened to your eye?”

Unfortunately both the kraken and the fishman cut the reunion short and stopped Zoro from answering any further questions. They attacked again but were both hit by powerful waves coming from the water trident. The kraken tentacles came again and this time, were blocked by Zoro’s swords. The fishman turned towards Neri, showing her his ugly grin.

“You think you can defeat me? You’re nothing but a mere mermaid!” he hissed at her.

With elegance and strength that she did not have two years ago, Neri moved around the fishman, parrying his strikes with her trident. Each dodge, each thrust made it very clear to him that she indeed has used the last two years to work on her fighting skills. Being this deep under water, bending it to her will had become second nature to her. Gone was the timid and careful girl who often had been unsure if she would be able to do something.

“Do not underestimate me,” Neri said to her opponent.

The trident vanished. Instead, Neri held out her hands, forming underwater currents and using them to push the fishman off balance and right in striking distance of Zoro. His swords glinted in the dark. He struck fiercely, again and again and again, while also holding the tentacles at bay that were still coming his way.

“Let’s try it together,” Neri suggested, one more forming the water into a trident.

“On my mark!” Zoro yelled, and he and Neri coordinated their moves. Neri spun the trident, flinging the fishman’s defenses aside, allowing Zoro a clear path. He slashed out with his swords both at the tentacles and the fishman.

In a moment that felt like eternity, Zoro’s blades carved through the water and met their mark, the fishman pirate collapsing into a heap, defeated, and immediately started to sink deeper into the ocean. At the same time, Luffy and Sanji had driven the kraken further back so that it became more difficult for it to attack Zoro.

Breathing heavily, Zoro stared at Neri, who smiled brightly, her eyes sparkling with joy.

“You’ve improved,” he admitted gruffly, the corners of his mouth hinting at a smirk.

“A little,” Neri replied, blushing.

Just then, the kraken’s roar echoed through the water. Luffy and Sanji were yelling while fighting it. Apparently Luffy had yet to give up his plan to keep the beast as a pet.

“Let’s go join them!” Zoro suggested.

The swordsman and the mermaid swam towards the kraken. The Strawhat’s journey to Fishman Island had only just begun - and now that the crew was complete again, nothing would stand in their way!

[guardianofthedawn]

Mer!AU: Little Pearl

(It’s nearly the end of Mer-May and all I’ve done is two things. I needed to fix that.)

(Game: Mortal Kombat 1, 2023. Alternate Universe.)

“Hold on, little pearl…” Tora curled her tail a little tighter around the orb that pulsed with light. “Your papa will be here soon…I hope.” The pulsing lights shone through her fins, which were illuminated white with her worry. She’d sent those messages an hour ago, surely the one to Kuai Liang would’ve -

“Tora!”

“Bi-Han!” The shark mer darted into the cavern and swam straight to his mate, curling his own tail around the flashing pearl. The betta mer pressed a grateful kiss to his cheek. “I was getting worried you weren’t going to make it.”

“Not even death was going to keep me from being at your side, though it nearly came to that.” Bi-Han flicked his head toward a burn mark on his right shoulder. “We owe Kuai Liang and Tomas first caretaker duties.”

“If that’s all they want as a thank you, they can have it.” The pulsing lights began to slowly speed up, indicating the orb was close to opening. Tora chanced a look at her mate’s injury; it was shiny and red, but she suspected the damage was superficial and it looked worse that it probably was. A few tear pearls pricked her eyes at the thought of him being injured for wanting to be present at the hatching of his child.

The shark mer swiped a gentle thumb under her eye, snapping her from her thoughts. “I will be okay, Tora. What matters most is that I’m here now.” Bi-Han used his better arm to bring the betta mer into his embrace as the pulsing lights sped up further. She nodded into his shoulder; she could accept that.

The pulsing lights stopped as the orb was fully luminescent, loud cracking noises filling the space of the cavern. As the orb began to split apart the light grew brighter; one final loud crack, and the light died down to reveal the tiniest mer with jet black hair and a silver tail laying in the two pieces of the orb. She slowly opened her eyes to take in their surroundings, spying her mother and father looking down at her and reaching toward them.

“Hello, little pearl…” Tora slowly lifted the tiny mer into her arms. “Welcome to the world.” The smile on her face was not going to go away any time soon.

“You are as beautiful as your mother, little one,” said Bi-Han, reaching over to stroke the tiny men’s cheeks. A tiny hand grabbed at his fingers, spearing happiness right into his heart. “She’s so small…”

“She looks a lot like her father.” The betta mer lifted her head to press her lips to her mate’s, smile widening as she felt him return the gesture. Once they parted she helped the shark mer to hold their little pearl, her tiny tail twitching against his arm. Bubbles of emotion rose from his chest to his throat, threatening to spill from his lips.

A hand cupped his cheek. “You’re allowed to cry, Bi-Han,” said Tora. “It’s just us here.” The first sob in the longest time finally escaped from the shark mer, the tiny mer hiccuping out some giggles and grabbing at her father’s free hand. Bi-Han refused to stop himself as he passed his little pearl to her mother when she began to fuss, the betta mer lowering the modesty scales on one side of her chest ready to feed. The tiny mer immediately latched at the proffered nipple, suckling earnestly.

“Hopefully this’ll ease that pain I’ve been having in my chest for the last couple of weeks,” Tora commented. Bi-Han wrapped his tail further around his mate’s and pressed his face into her neck as he slowly calmed himself. The reality was finally sinking in, this was real, he was a…

“Yinxue…” he breathed once he trusted his voice again.

“Her name?” the betta mer asked. The shark mer nodded against her skin, turning his head to watch his daughter - oh gods, that felt so good to admit. “It suits her.” Yinxue detached herself from her mother’s breast, and Tora lifted her to her unoccupied shoulder so she could encourage what the tiny mer had consumed to settle.

“I love you,” Bi-Han said.

“I love you too,” the betta mer replied. At the satisfied sound she heard, she brought the now sleepy Yinxue into her arms. “She’s asleep.” Indeed, the little pearl’s eyes were now closed and her breathing had evened, tiny fists resting on her chest.

“Perhaps we should follow her example.” The shark mer curled himself up and gently pulled the betta mer fully into his arms, manoeuvring her so that their daughter was safely nestled between them. Tora tucked her head under his chin and smiled softly, feeling his fingers brush the scales on her arms.

“Who do you think will be more excited to meet their niece?” she asked. Bi-Han hummed as he mulled the question over.

“Perhaps Kuai Liang,” he replied. “He’ll be happy his son now has a cousin.” The betta mer hummed her own response and closed her eyes, feeling her daughter shift between her parents.

[obamaonaunicorn]

Gone Fishin'.

(mild spoilers for TWDG season 2!)

It was a lovely day. The sun was shining, and there was a gentle warm breeze flowing through the air.

Luke and Sarah walked through the woods, fishing rods in hands, chatting with eachother as they went.

"Thanks for coming with me, Luke," Sarah mentioned. "I've been wanting to learn to fish for a while now."

"Of course," Luke replied, smiling at her. "I'm just glad you didn't ask Nick to go with you instead."

"Why? Is Nick like, bad at fishing or something?"

"Well, he's always talking about how well he can fish," Luke looked around, checking if anyone was there. Then, he looked back at her. "But just between you and me, I'm the only one doing the fishing whenever we go out."

Sarah giggled at this.

Once the pair found the river, they chose a decent spot to set up. Luke showed Sarah how to put the bait on the hook.

"Now, we wait," Luke said, sitting down at the river bank. "It'll take a while for the fish to actually bite."

"That's okay," Sarah replied. "The woods are nice."

Luke casted his fishing line into the river.

"You know, I used to do this all the time with my mom," Luke said, sitting down next to Sarah.

"Really? Was she the one that taught you how to fish?" Sarah asked.

"That, she was. She was patient with me, too."

"Were you ever bad at fishing?"

"Oh, I was terrible when I started, but she never gave up on me," Luke chuckled. "My first time, I got a fishhook stuck in my hand because I wasn't paying attention."

Sarah winced. "Ouch. I don't think I'd want to fishing again after that. I'd be too pissed."

"Oh, believe me, I didn't. But after some prodding, I came around. Can't say the same for my sisters, though," he began. "Eventually, fishing became a thing that we'd only do together."

"That sounds sweet," Sarah said, looking back at him. "Before my dad... I never got to do any of this stuff with him. He told me it wasn't safe, and I'd get an infection or something."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Sarah," Luke said sympathetically. "But hey, now you get to fish with me."

Sarah grinned back at him. "Yeah, that's true."

Suddenly, Sarah's rod started shaking. "Luke, I think I got something!" She exclaimed.

Luke jumped up beside her, obviously quite excited. "Let's reel it in!"

Sarah began to reel in the catch, while Luke stood next to her, ready to help if she needed it. After a few moments, a tiny betta fish emerged from the water, it's mouth caught on Sarah's line.

"Great catch, kid!" Luke said, grinning at her.

"Thanks, Luke," she replied. "It felt like the fish was going to be bigger, though."

"The first catch always feels bigger than it really is. You'll catch a big bass one day."

They continued to fish for a while longer, catching a few more fish between them. It was a peaceful and enjoyable afternoon, a rare moment of relaxation in a world filled with danger and uncertainty.

As the sun began to set, Luke and Sarah packed up their gear and headed back to camp, their catches in hand. It was a successful and satisfying outing, and they both knew that they would remember this day for a long time to come.

[lunastarhawk]

The Two of Cups

Julian post-route series Tides of Memories continues with Part 10(!) - The Two of Cups.

You know, I'm quite excited about this one. I'm having a lot of fun anyway :-)

Summary

Asra gets a very welcome surprise, but tension arises when he and Altheia have a heart to heart. Julian and Altheia spend some time together, and make some magical discoveries. But the tension between Julian and Asra explodes when Asra's tarot reading reveals a truth he's not ready to face.

*~*~*~*

Asra looked at him curiously. “Why that one?”

“I don’t know.” Julian looked both confused and impatient. “I… felt something. Like a vibration… I don’t know. What is it?”

Asra turned the card over. The image of a pinkish-blue betta fish looked up at him, but he felt nothing. This card really was calling to Julian alone.

Two of Cups, upright .

“What is it?” Julian leaned forward onto his thighs, peering over at the card. “Is that a fish?”

“Mmm.” Asra held the card out; Julian took it between thumb and forefinger. “Two of Cups.”

“Oh.” Julian looked at the card for a moment, then turned his eyes up to Asra. “And what does that mean?”

Almost to himself, Asra murmured, “The Cups don’t normally speak so loudly, or so often. But it seems they have a lot to say about Altheia. And you.”

*~*~*~*

The beautiful banner image is by ladywarlock03, the full image is here.

[awesomeyouthofcollectors]

don’t do love don’t do friends right? an ambrose centric one shot

this is a one shot and my first time writing any kind of fanfic but I want ambrose to be happy for once damn it. No betta we die like ambrose here

warning for mentions of skipping meals and people not respecting boundaries.

Ambrose sat at his desk chair, staring at his paper he needed to finish it but he had no motivation to. A knock sounded and Ambrose jolted.

“Come in” he called out turning his head to see who it was. His heart sped up when Vincent and Quincey walked in they sat on his bed. 

“why are you guys here?” Ambrose questioned. 

“We are worried about you. you haven’t come to the dinning hall for lunch in weeks.” vincent said eyes scanning Ambrose’s room.

“You also aren’t going on morning runs anymore and your notes in class yesterday were messier than normal.” Quincey stated calmly.

Ambrose tensed and sighed he had been neglecting his normal schedule but he didn’t think anyone would notice much less these two. 

“you’re right but I’m fine really.” Ambrose tried to brush them off.

“Bullshit“ Vincent said quickly. “You’re struggling let us help” he continued.

Ambrose knew he couldn’t get out of this now Vincent was nothing if not stubborn. 

“why don’t we go up to the roof and we can just hang out and you can tell us what’s going on.” Quincey proposed.

Ambrose agreed and they headed up the fire escape to the roof. 

“alright talk” Vincent said seriously after they sat down.

“It’s just, my father is on me about my grades more than ever and keeps bringing up marriage too. I’m not ready for marriage. Plus my girlfriend is pissed at me for not wanting to be intimate.” Ambrose spoke letting all the stress bleed into his voice.  He wrapped his arms around his legs and dropped his forehead to his knees. Vincent put their arm over Ambrose’s shoulders as he spoke.

“that sucks man. You are top of the class what is your father on about.”  Quincey added “and both your father and girlfriend should respect your boundaries.”

Ambrose felt a bit better at the reassurance. They talked more and by the time the sun was setting Ambrose was happy to just relax with his friends.

[heavyhitterheaux]

Just then you heard tiny footsteps and your daughter climbed up into your lap and tightly hugged you. See now I was already HURT & ANGRY!! But when I read they had A DAUGHTER, omg I FELT PURE RAGE 😤 I WAS READY TO FIGHT BEFORE, BUT KNOW I WANNA TUMBLE, HUSTLE, BOX MAYBE PULL OUT SOME KARATE ON THAT HOE 😤 whatever is it Jack WILL be Liming his way back home, cause IMMA FUCK UP HIS JEEP & any Otha car he own AND I AINT PLAYIN!!

And SUNNI & URBAN THEM WHITE SALT SNOW FLAKES ARE CATCHING THESE HANDS TO! AND ANYONE ELSE WHO KNEW. I BETTA NOT FIND OUT WHO THEY ARE, CAUSE WHEN I DO I WANT THEM TO KNOW. ITS! ON! MOTHAFUCKIN! SIGHT! BITCH!

ANDDDD I will be dragging the hoe who was MAKING OUT WITH A MARRIED MAN🤨 like bitch He STILL HAD THE DAMN RING ON 🗣️ so YOU CANT ACT INNOCENT🙄

So really at the end of the day EVERYBODY BETTER WATCH OUT, CAUSE IM PASSIN OUT ASS WHOOPINS LIKE THE DAMN FLU BITCH..*ACHOO* 🖕🏽

Anywayzzzz @heavyhitterheaux I can always count on you to make me wanna BEAT SOME ASS 😭 but I also always know U GON EAT💅🏽

BITCHHHHH I AM SCREAMINGGGG AT THIS! I GOT TEARS IN MY EYES 😭😭😭

So really at the end of the day EVERYBODY BETTER WATCH OUT, CAUSE IM PASSIN OUT ASS WHOOPINS LIKE THE DAMN FLU BITCH..*ACHOO* 🖕🏽

It was this one for meeeee 😭😭😭😭

Urban and Sunni are dead wrong for hiding it

That hoe KNEW he was married

And poor Amiyah 😢

Yo daddy a cheater!

Don't worry, he SUFFERS in part 2 😘

[kusumsays]

Few hours, many joys

Beautiful are the nights, Around the city lights, On the highway. We set off for the trek when rains brought cool breeze all the way, And it washed away all the dust of the day. A halt at the toll plaza with no sleep, We were an hour or two away from the base we had to visit. Got to spot an old movie van Among many vehicles made by the man Surrounded from everywhere by the nature, I realized once again the human is a small creature. We fell asleep in the bus Till the guide woke all of us. Santhepete was arrived at, and we gathered at the old architecture. While being instructed, the peacock chirped, we watched city lights at the beginning of an adventure. Rural route and a few hours for sunrise, We embarked on the trail where aura of cattle and trees always lies. Carved out of boulder rocks were stairs, trails and gates with the carved design of the fish, We looked at the huge mountains and forest so close by. It looked fascinating under the night sky. We reached at the top after a short hike. Two dogs were there, it was no surprise. We lied down on the huge mountain rock watching the skies. Cool breeze bought cheers and it simply felt nice. Short bonfire and some songs Sun was ready to come up but the clouds played along. We started descending and there was morning light. The route was thus enlightened, so was the vibe. Having some coconut water at the base, I saw the village and the cattle awake It was time to wave a goodbye to the village, to the goats, to the cows, to the buffaloes, to the water spillage. A short nap of an hour and the bus reached another rural place Where we had a homely breakfast with the view of beautiful blue lake and greenery. If there would have been no trip planners, such place is hard to trace. Witnessed silk farming and the humanity of the localite. They welcomed us truly with an innocent smile. Their courtesy and grace will always be valued, remembering those silkworms in whites. Looking at the Nandini Milk Centre, there, I did realize how rural touch exists on urban life. Going back by bus, I waved the huge mango fruit farms a good-bye. I gathered many memories, to keep, in some hours, which slowly passed-by.

At Santhepete after descending - 1

At Santhepete after descending - 2

At Santhepete after descending - 3

Breakfast at another village

This view - 1

This view - 2

At the summit of Uttari Betta - 1

At the summit of Uttari Betta - 2

At the summit of Uttari Betta - 3

At the summit of Uttari Betta - 4

At the summit of Uttari Betta - Bonfire

Going back to the base - 1

Going back to the base - 2

Going back to the base - 3

Silk farming and amazing people of rural Karnataka - 1

Silk farming and amazing people of rural Karnataka - 2

Silkworm and cocoon

Nandini Milk Centre at the second village

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

[dotster001]

Enemies to Lovers Part 3 of however many it takes for my coworker to Love Vil

Summary: You're living at Vil's house for the summer, and of course nothing can go as you planned. (Also, you guys are getting this a couple hours earlier than my coworker because I had time to gender neutralize it, so shh don't tell her)

Part One. Part Two. Part Four. Part Five. Part Six. Part Seven. Part Eight. Part Nine. Part Ten. Epilogue.

Despite Vil assuring you that he would provide everything you could need over break, you still decided to get a part time job. Your resume didn't exactly translate well in another world  (apparently the jobs that people in your world had come up with didn't exist here) so you had bullied Crowley for a recommendation letter before you left for break. Despite his lazy nature, it was quite good, so you were able to get a job quickly.

That part time job quickly became a full time job due to lack of staff. At first it was fine. You were saving up money for yourself and Grim, you were getting experience in jobs of this world, and you were able to avoid Vil for the most part due to your chaotic schedules. If you were being completely honest, this was the best part. You weren't ready to look at your conflicting feelings for him yet.

But we don't always get what we want, now do we?

You'd pulled your back at work, and instead of addressing it early, you had continued to work over it until you'd become a mess. Your sleep schedule was off, and you were nauseous which was bad for your eating habits.

You had had to call off work today, things had gotten so bad. You had told Grim to keep it quiet, but he must have blabbed because…

"Come, we are going to the spa." You could tell Vil was trying to give you an out by making it seem like it was a friend offer, but you knew he knew.

"No thanks," you said, hoping he would leave.

Vil frowned at you. "Even on your break, you are overworking yourself. Shriveled potatoes do not flourish."

You were about to pout at him, and say something snarky, but he had already moved to massaging your shoulders.

Apparently, he was really good at this. You felt yourself practically melting at his touch, feeling the stress and pain fade away for a moment. You could get addicted to this feeling if you weren't careful.

You could get addicted to Vil…

After a couple moments of heaven, he pulled back. 

"I assure you, the masseuse we have on retainer is very good. Her first and foremost background is physical therapy. She has worked miracles for me many times." 

You had to stop yourself from asking him to just continue massaging you instead. But you knew he was right. A physical therapist would be better. But it begged the question why he had one in the first place. You'd worry about that later.

He was definitely right, the masseuse worked wonders. After your massage, Vil had had the other employees of their home spa give you the total treatment. You felt more refreshed than you had since you had arrived.

The next day, as you were about to head to work, Vil had pulled you to the side.

"Your dedication is admirable, but if you break yourself you will be of use to no one. Be careful." 

He then handed you a bag he had personally assembled full of snacks, then sent you on your way.

                                       …

At some point during the summer, you couldn't quite remember when, you had taken to having your lunch breaks together. He would come by the shop you worked in, you would sit in comfortable silence, and then you would part ways.

It became so much of a pattern that the day Vil didn't show up, you panicked a little.

Near the end of your break, you got a call.

"Shrimpy!!!!!"

"Floyd?" You questioned. "How did you get my number?" 

"Hee hee."

That wasn't an answer, but you figured it was all you were going to get.

"What's up?"

"Hee hee, where's Betta fish I wonder?"

"Betta fish…" you muttered, trying to remember who belonged to the nickname. "Oh, Vil? I don't know, he's…. Wait."

You heard Floyd guffawing on the other end of the phone call.

"Floyd, what do you know about where Vil is?"

"Azul wants to see you. I'd show up if I were you, or Jade and I will give Betta fish a biiiiiig squeeze!"

Then he hung up.

You looked down at your phone, and saw an address from an unknown number, along with a picture of a tied up, very annoyed looking Vil.

You got permission to leave work early on "family emergency" and raced to the address. 

You arrived at what seemed to just be a beach house. You knocked on the door and Floyd threw it open, squeezing you in a hug so tight you couldn't breathe. 

"Shriiiiiimpyyyyyy you came! I knew you would!" 

You did your best to "tap out" of Floyd embrace, but to no avail, until you heard,

"Fu Fu, you can play with Shrimpy later, Azul wants to see them right now."

"Hi Jade," you said drily. "Where's Vil, and what are you…."

"No need to worry, all will be explained in time. Follow me."

Floyd begrudgingly let you down and stalked off after Jade, you in tow. At length, they arrived in an office. Azul was sitting at his desk looking the very picture of a mob boss, while Vil sat tied to one of the chairs across from Azul's desk, looking the very picture of annoyed.

"Took you long enough, Potato. I was beginning to think you'd leave me to the eels." He groaned.

"Believe me, it was very tempting," you hummed, and took the opportunity you knew you would never get again to muss up Vil's hair. If looks could kill….

"Alright, Azul. What do you want?"

He smiled at you, and gestured to the other chair. Once you sat, he leaned in close.

"I'd like to offer you a job."

....

Tag list: @stygianoir

[astoldbychae]

I-

MA’AM I was not ready. Anybody else hot in here? 😩

Listen! Daddy said it’s his & his only. 😩 (…Lord, it’s me again…)

Now, I didn’t think that my jaw could drop any lower…but here it is, below sea level because honeyyyyyy you weren’t lying about the beginning. How it starts. The sneakiest of links THEN the IG close friends shenanigans. Woo! 🥵 Miss ma’am had the nerve to think nobody would know…GIIIIRL…the way he had her screamin, scratching, & yellin’…the neighborhood knew. 😂 But I ain’t mad at it one bit. Getcho pipe sis! (And you betta DELIVER her pipe sir!) 😩

“Alexa turn the light off in the Master bedroom”…

It was at that moment my knees buckled and gave out because I could hear his voice & felt it in my spirit that it was about to go down. Mmm. 🤌🏽

Side note: The inner thought always have me on the floor. They are literally one of my favorite parts to your stories. 😂 But the “I can-ah” sent me to the moon & back. MY SIDE HURTS! …but he instantly brought me back with the reassurance. 🫠 Where is my Yah? *points to her plate* I want what she’s having! 😩

I enjoyed the appearances! Giiiirl! Michael was the biggest plot twist but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was excepting all the smut when he walked through but I am glad you hit us with a plot twist. STEALTHY! 🤌🏽 No cat for him! 😂 And look at Jerrika, being in on the plan…She’s cool (right now)…but I still gots my eye on her. Cause I’m a firm believer in “Once you go Daddy Yahya, you don’t go back”…I feel that in my spirit. Where does one fro from there. HE WAS PUTTING IN WORK…on & off the field. All. Night. Long. You hear me? 😩🥵🙌🏽 HE WOKE HER UP TO HIM BEING BETWEEN HER THIGHS…After he just put her to sleep in the same way. And I- 😮‍💨

You most definitely did your thing with this one hun! BOTH PARTS! Boffum was music to my ears! I made it through with my glass of wine…but now that I made it to the end…lemme spark up my imaginary cigarette, just because the strength in my ankles is GONE for the next 3-5 business days. Lol.

Alexa, play “Another round” by Fat Joe & Chris! 🙃

Nobody's Gonna Know

(Part One)

Characters: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as himself x Black!reader (woc!reader), Michael B. Jordan as himself (appearance), and Kiana Ledé as “Jerrika” (appearance).

Summary: What happens when you realize what you’ve always wanted was right in front of your face the entire time?

Warnings: Profanity, daddy kink (you’re not surprised), smut, mentions of violence, drinking, and did I mention smut already😈?

Word Count: (Part One) 4,100+/9,000+. Sorry, lovelies, I couldn’t stop😆.

A/N: Yes, it’s lengthy, but the idea snowballed into something unexpected. I hope you all enjoy it!

Inspired By:

Lounging lazily on your king-size bed, you laid on your back comfortably in an oversized t-shirt. You silently scrolled through Instagram. Your breath hitched at the feel of fingertips gently stroking your calves. Still staring at the phone screen, a wicked little idea popped into your head. You smirked, tapping the add a new post button. Using your free hand, you positioned it atop the head that rested on your pelvis and between your thighs. Not wanting to give him reason to stir, you gently stroked his head, and he relaxed into your touch. The movement of your hand paused long enough to snap the picture. He was none the wiser as he continued to search for something to watch on HBO Max. Eyes still searching the screen, he turned his head slightly and placed a gentle kiss on the inside of your thigh.

“Soft ass thighs.”

A soft moan fell from your lips. You made sure Yahya’s face wasn’t in the shot. Your digits glided across the keyboard, adding a Nicki Minaj lyric as the caption, “My man full, he just ate💦😘.” You tapped the post button and laid your phone on the nightstand.

Yahya had just licked you to tears. No one knew about the two of you. That you started as best friends turned into a sneaky link. The both of you have secretly been trying to figure out what this was morphing into. Unsure of where things were going, you decided to keep things quiet. You both enjoyed teasing the people in your inner circle on IG (they were all extremely nosey). Thus the reason for posting said pic—that it would sometimes get a rise out of the other person was a bonus.

Yahya received a notification that you had posted. Still lying between your legs, he teased, “What thirst trap are you posting now?” He froze, seeing a picture of his current position. He huffed, “You for real?”

Yahya rolled over, still lying on top of your stomach. His hand rained down on your thigh.

“I thought this was supposed to be on the low? You damn near ripped my head off for telling my bro I was over here in the middle of the night. I guess the rules only apply to me,” Yahya grumbled. His face changed from frustration to a sly grin.

“Boy, calm down. Nobody’s going to know that’s you. That’s what makes it so exciting, you teased. “And why do you have that stupid grin on your face?”

“I just noticed the caption, so I’m your man now?”

“Don’t do too much. They’re just lyrics. Relax, my guy.”

“Yeah, right. When are we going to stop playing this game?”

“What game, Yah'?”

“Stop acting like this isn’t more than just a sneaky link now. I’ve been blowing your back out for over four months.”

“And I greatly appreciate it. Why do we have to get into specifics? We have amazing sex. No need to make it more complicated.”

“Are you dating anyone else? I know you better not be fucking anybody other than me, Y/N.”

“I’d hardly call a few dinner dates that haven’t gone past friends, dating. It’s been nothing but innocent, Yah'.”

His jaw ticked at the revelation of you being in the presence of another man’s company.

“For the record, I don’t make a habit of having more than one sexual partner. That’s your thing, not mine.”

“You refuse to let that shit go, huh? I slept with her one time! We had just started whatever this was at the time. I cut her off once I knew this wasn't a one-and-done situation. Who exactly did you go on a date with, sweetheart?”

The question and term of endearment dripped with jealousy. You took a deep breath, preparing yourself for more confrontation. There was no doubt in your mind that the answer would upset him.

“Michael. I know you don’t like him. We just went on two dates. Nothing happened, Yah'.”

He pulled into a seated position on the mattress.

“Out of all these thirsty ass dudes that beg for your attention. He had to be the one you said yes to. How many times have I told you that’s a waste of your time? How do I get you to understand that he just wants to knock you down?”

“Is that not what you’re doing with me?“

“Stop that shit. You know how I feel about you. Your ass doesn't want to hear it because you’re scared. We both know this could be so much more.”

“This is stupid. Why are we arguing? We’re not a couple. This is supposed to be easy and chill.”

“There you go deflecting as usual,” he sighed.

“Do you want me to delete the damn picture, Yahya? It’s the reason this conversation even took place.”

“No, no. Leave it up. You know what? You’re right, love. Lay back down. Let’s just enjoy each other’s company.”

Yahya was the least bit worried about your IG post. It was only for close friends, and he wanted them to wonder. Acting angry was just a means to an end. He had a reason to get his lick back. Now, he had an excuse for what he was planning.

Hearing you went on two dates with Michael sent jealousy coursing through his veins. He made a mental note to keep his enemies closer. Seeing that you were focused on the show, he went to Instagram. Yahya went to Michael’s page and added him to his close friends. 

He wanted to see how your friends were reacting to your photo. He pulled up your page and skimmed through the comments. Yahya chuckled at your best friend's comment. In bold letters, she said, “Okay, best friend! I see you! No clue who that is, but get that head in your comfortable bed! Yaaasss👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾. I expect full details and a face reveal when we link tomorrow. I’m tired of all this damn anonymity.” Yahya laughed, knowing that you weren’t giving up any information.

Yahya waited two days before he put his plan in motion. He hit your line, inviting you for a movie night at his place. You were sure the night would end on your back with Yahya between your thighs. Anytime the two of you were alone, your hands always seemed to roam. Every time you two gave into temptation, it would go for rounds. Knowing this, you brought an overnight bag. He knew just how to put you to sleep.

Only twenty minutes into the movie, you were already at the edge of the mattress. Yahya placed you on all fours with your box braids wound tightly around his hand. He tugged at them, pulling you into the most perfect of arches. His free hand crept to the top of his nightstand. You were plunged deep into the throes of passion and hadn’t noticed him pick up his phone. The only light in the room came from the television. Pistoning in and out of your tight walls, he managed to open Instagram. Yahya needed it to be pitch black to pull off his scheme.

“Nobody watching this shit for real, baby. Alexa! Turn off the tv in the master bedroom,” he groaned.

The tv shut off as he pulled out and slammed back into your slick heat.

“Ye-yes. Fuck, baby,” you cried, arching your back deeper.

His face lit up at that. He continued giving slow, deep strokes as he recorded you both in the dark.

Yahya made sure this was for close friends only. With confirmation, he laid the phone on the mattress next to the two of you. He proceeded to put in work, going crazy in your walls. Your sweet, soft, and sensual moans were like music to his ears. You were used to Yahya laying some good pipe, but tonight he was on demon time. This man was trying to tear your walls down and ruin you for any other man.

“Feel me deep in your shit, baby?”

You moaned in response.

He thrust so deep that your hands instantly flew to his abdomen. You tried to push back against his stomach, wanting him to take it easy on you. He growled, binding your wrist with his free hand.

“Move your fuckin’ hands,” he half moaned, half growled. His hand let go of your hair and rained down, smacking and grabbing your left cheek. He slapped the right cheek before burying his digits in your braids again. “I thought you could take all of it, baby? That’s what you begged for. Right, love? Hmm? This ain’t what you wanted?”

You whimpered.

A faint “Please, Daddy” escaped your lips. 

“What is it, baby? Use your words.”

“I can-ah!”

“Yes, you can, baby. You gon’ be my good girl, and take it,” he whispered, trailing kisses down your back, fully sheathing himself inside you. His length tapped that spot deep within you.

 “Y-yes, baby, I’ll take it, g-give me that di-Yes, Yah'!”

Yahya tapped at your spot repetitively, sending you spiraling. You buried your face in the mattress, clawing at the bedding. Your release approached, barreling toward you like a freight train as you attempted to muffle your screams in the sheets.

“Good. Fucking. Girl. Each word was highlighted with another thrust. “Yeah, come just like that, mama.”

Satisfied with himself, Yahya ended the video and posted it to his stories. He hoped none of your closest friends would recognize your voice. There was only one person he needed to figure it out, Michael. Yahya knew you were going to throw a fit, but so long as nobody could see you. He felt he could get you to be cool with it. Leaning against you, he licked, nibbled, and kissed your shoulder. He was still plunged deep inside you and solid as a rock. Yahya’s lips trailed over to your ear. Releasing a deep groan, he rasped, “Hope you got one more in you, love. Daddy needs to come too. He pulled out until it was just the tip. About to respond, he plunged deep inside, forcing you to gasp. Yahya pulled two more orgasms from your body before spilling inside you.

He made quick work of getting a warm cloth to clean you up. You moaned at the sweet actions of his aftercare. Yahya smirked at how easily it was to turn you on. He swaggered into the bathroom and finished cleaning himself up. 

Collapsing into bed, he pulled you closer and pressed his lips against yours. Rolling onto your side, you pushed back against him, making yourself the little spoon. Yahya’s hand crept from your thigh and up the side of your body. His large palm found its destination as it gently cupped your breast. His lips left light kisses on your shoulder and neck.

“You’re always trying to cop a feel,” you sassed, sucking your teeth.

“You know this is my emotional support Titty.”

“Shut up, Yah',” you giggled.

Yahya bit his lip and smirked as he tweaked your nipple.

“Uhn-uh! If you’re going to be on my body like this, your ass needs to behave and sit still. I’m exhausted thanks to your big dick bandit ass,” you teased.

“You know you like that shit,” he responded, tugging at your nipple again.

He pressed his semi-hard erection against you. The action caused your breath to hitch.

“Tell me you don’t want me again, and I’ll let you sleep,” he whispered, nibbling your earlobe.

About to reply sarcastically, you lost your train of thought as he dipped his hand between your thighs.

“You were saying something, love?”

“Fuck, you don’t play fair,” you panted.

“Come here, mama. Want you to ride me.”

Sliding down his length, it became clear you wouldn’t be sleeping anytime soon.

“Yah', baby,” you whined.

“I know, baby. I know. I’m going to make you feel good. Ride me, mama,” he urged, guiding your hips.

Though he had fallen asleep satiated and peacefully, his morning was the opposite. Yahya jolted out of his sleep as he struggled to breathe. You had covered his face with a pillow while chastising him.

“I just know your big-headed ass didn’t record us fucking and post it to close friends! Please tell me my eyes are deceiving me.”

Yahya's hand tugged at the pillow over his face. He snatched the pillow, throwing it across the room. He overpowered you, flipping you onto your back as he smirked.

“What’s wrong? You don’t want your side hoes to find out about me?”

“The only side hoe I have is you.”

“Naw, sweetheart. I’m your main dude. You’re just too stubborn to admit it.”

“Whatever! You better hope nobody recognizes my voice, freaky ass,” you kissed your teeth.

“Oh, I hope they do,” he smiled. “You’re not even mad, for real. I know that shit lowkey turns you on. Listen to those pretty little moans, mama.”

You did your best to bite back a smile but lost. Yahya licked his lips, giving you a million-dollar smile.

“I know I sound good. You ain’t gotta sweat me or nothin’.”

“I should’ve left the lights on while I recorded that shit. Give them something to really talk about.”

“You want to tell people we fuck so bad,” you teased.

“It’s going to come out sooner or later. I’ma make you mine, shortie. You can continue to run from it but in the end. You’re going to be mine.”

Wanting to avoid such a touchy topic, you switched the subject.

“Boy, shut up and feed me. I’m hungry. What’s for breakfast, best friend?”

Yahya smiled devilishly, “This dick.”

“Nasty ass. I want food, Yah',” you whined.

“That’s a whole ass meal, fuck you mean?”

Eyes rolling and smacking your teeth, he laughed.

“I forgot how cranky you can be in the mornings. Let’s get the baby’s tummy full. What do you want to eat, baby girl,” he responded in his best baby voice.

“Can you make french toast and bacon? You make it better than I do,” you asked in a cute tone.

“You know I can’t say no to that voice and face. Come on, spoiled brat,” he teased as he slapped your thigh.

Yahya scooped you from the bed, dangling your body over his shoulder. His hand grabbed a handful of your behind, giving it a loud smack.

“Ouch, Yah'! That hurt,” you whined.

“I didn’t mean to smack it that hard. My bad,” he smirked, rubbing the pain away.

“Lying ass.”

Carting you off to the kitchen, he got you fed and full. Neither of you had anything planned. The two of you spent the remainder of your Sunday binging television and ordering takeout. 

When the time came for you to head out, Yahya felt his chest tighten. He was sad to see you leave. If only you two could figure out where to go from here. He’d have you sleeping in his bed every night. Little did you know, your best friend’s feelings for you had existed as long as the friendship had. He just never knew how to tell you. The chemistry and attraction lingered between the two of you. That is, until one drunken night, he did something about it. He fell back on his couch, missing you already, as his mind drifted back to that night.

You were spiraling down a black hole of heartbreak. Yahya came running to offer support and a listening ear to vent to. 

His fist balled up, jaw flexing as his memory replayed the image of you opening the door. 

Your eyes were bloodshot and glassy as you did your best to keep from crying again. Yahya’s heart sank seeing how distraught you were. He stepped closer to you, and in a low baritone, he said, “Hey, mama.” The sympathy in his soothing voice sent a fresh trail of tears rolling down your cheeks. He sighed as his arms snaked around your waist, pulling you as close as possible. Yahya’s chin rested on your head as you curled into his chest, body trembling as the tears flowed. “You’re going to be straight, mama. I promise I got you,” he soothed, rubbing his hands up and down your back. He gave you a minute or two to let it all out. Releasing you, he bent back, using the pads of his thumbs to wipe your tears. Yahya leaned forward, sweeping you up bridal style. “Let’s get you comfy on the couch. I’ll fix us some drinks and snacks. Then you can tell me everything, alright?” Giving him a faint nod, Yahya kicked the door closed. He made quick work of getting you situated on the couch. Yahya wrapped you in your comfort blanket. Gently kissing your forehead, he whispered, “Be right back, love.”

He called from the kitchen, “Are you in the mood for something light or heavy?”

“This calls for the hard shit. Bring the tequila. I don’t even need a damn chaser. Give me something that will make me forget the last twenty-four hours.”

Yahya strode back into the living room, alcohol in hand.

“What are you about to tell me, love?”

“Maybe you should take a couple of shots first.”

Yahya set the shot glasses and bottle on the coffee table. His hand ran down his face as he took a deep breath, “Am I going to have to beat his ass?”

You sat up straight, dropping the blanket around your waist. Pouring two shots, you answered, “Just promise me you won’t lose your temper.”

“No.”

“Yah', please,” you begged, voice trembling.

“The desperation in your voice tells me that I’m going to regret this, but fine, I promise not to lose my temper. What happened?”

“Drink first.”

Shots were thrown back, and you grimaced, pouring out two more. After the second, you started to pour another round, but Yahya’s hand gently grasped your wrist, “No-.”

A small whimper fell from your lips as his eyes grew. Yahya’s eyes darted from your weary ones down to your wrist. His hands were like lightning as he slid your sleeve up a bit.

“No, fuck that, mama! Is this a bruise?” 

“You promised, Yah'.”

“Promises are meant to be broken. Where the fuck is his punk ass at?”

He sprang from the couch, searching his pockets for his keys.

“Where’s he at?”

“No, please, Yahya. You promised! I handled it.”

“Why are you protecting his bitch ass? Has he been putting his hands on you this whole time?”

“I’m not protecting him. I know he’ll press charges against you. It’s not worth it. This is the only time it’s happened, honestly!”

“Don’t lie for him. Tell. Me. Where. He. Is.”

“I’m not lying, Yah'. This is the first time. I handled it, I swear. You should see the side of his face. I smacked the shit out of him.”

“Did he hit you anywhere else,” he asked, checking your face and body for more bruises.

“No, I’m telling you the truth. We were arguing about him getting caught up in his lies and cheating. I told him I was done and that he needed to get the hell out of my house. This dude had the nerve to snatch my wrist, demanding I hear him out. I told him he was hurting me. His response was he didn’t give a fuck. That pissed me off, so I slapped him. He charged at me, and I kicked him in the nuts. How do you cheat on me with a bitch I called a friend and have the nerve to be mad that I no longer wish to be with you? The audacity!”

“I pray he tries to show up while I’m here.”

“He won’t. It’s over, and he understands that now.”

Yahya looked at you, not quite believing it.

“I told his ass if he tried contacting or coming near me again that you’d beat his ass. That or he was going to have a chat with Nina.”

“Thought you didn’t want me to put hands on him. You swear your ass is tough with that baby Glock. Who the fuck puts hot pink on the butt of their gun,” he retorted.

“I don’t want you to, smart-ass, but he knows you would. It was only said to get my point across that I was done with him. Not too much on my baby, Nina.”

Yahya sighed, frustrated that he’d have to keep his promise. He reclaimed his spot on the couch, crossing his arms irritated. You kissed your teeth, “I know you're not mad at me for keeping you out of trouble?”

“It’s whatever. He needs his ass beat, though,” he sulked.

“Just leave it alone, Yah'.”

“I heard you the first time.”

The room grew quiet. It stayed that way for a little while. That was until he heard you sniffling.

“I’m not mad at you, love. I just really want to rock his shit.”

“I know you’re not mad at me. It’s just.”

“What is it, mama?”

“Am I not good enough? Dudes do me dirty, and people I call friends turn out to be grimy. You’re the only person who has always been down for me. I’m so thankful for your years of loyalty and friendship,” you rambled, tears sliding down your face.

Yahya pushed his anger aside, taking a deep breath. His hands reached for your arm, pulling you into him. His palm cradled your head, guiding you to lie against his chest. He kissed your temple, speaking words of encouragement.

“That’s just god's way of making room for the real ones to come into your life, mama. You’re going to be alright, love. You’ll shake back from this. You’re strong, girl. The right man is out there. He’ll love you the way you deserve to be loved.”

As he held you, speaking enlightenment into you. Something shifted inside you. Not quite sure what the feeling was, you shook it off.

“More tequila,” you offered.

The pair of you went shot for shot. It only took a short time for you both to get drunk off your asses. In a drunken stupor, you both laughed as you recounted the numerous times you had to fake a climax with your ex. Yahya was in tears, holding his stomach, laughing uncontrollably.

“This man had to be talked through eating the box. Every. Single. Time. At what point do you finally get the gist of eating pussy? I can’t believe I stayed as long as I did.”

“Why did you stay?”

“The dick was big.”

A hand flew to your mouth, covering your lips, shocked at what you had just revealed.

“Sorry. That was probably too much information. I need to stop drinking,” you slurred, no longer able to look him in the eyes.

Yahya cupped your chin, forcing you to look at him.

“Not too much. That’s some pretty useful information,” he rasped.

Your breath hitched as you looked into his chocolate orbs.

“I don’t follow.”

“That’s what you like, mama?”

Yahya’s hand trailed to your neck. His fingers circled your throat, giving a light squeeze. You knew you should pull away, but your mind and body said two different things.

“Yahya,” you whispered.

“Answer me, mama. That’s what you like?”

You moaned, nodding your head yes. Yahya licked his lips at your response. 

“I want to hear you say it, love. Tell me what you like. I want to make sure you understand what I’m trying to say,” he groaned.

The liquor urged you to take it further. You leaned closer, his hand still squeezing your throat. Lips only inches apart, Yahya watched in awe as you answered, breath tickling his lips.

“I love a big, long, thick di-.”

Before you could finish the sentence, Yahya groaned and devoured your lips. Not giving it a second thought, he slid you on top of his lap as your tongues battled for dominance. Hand still placed around your neck, you ground against his lap, loving the groan he released. 

“I can see why that was useful information now,” you purred.

It was evident, even inside his jeans, you could feel that he was massively large. You pulled back, slipping your shirt off, dropping it to the floor. His eyes sparkled at the sight of your breast as he cupped them, kissing and suckling your neck.

“Are you sure this is what you want, mama?”

“Yes, I want you, Yah'. Fuck the pain away, please.”

Kissing your lips again, he held you close as he raised from the sofa. Arms wrapped around his neck. You tasted each other's lips as Yahya carried you to the bedroom. The following morning wasn’t even awkward. That’s probably because you woke up with Yahya’s head between your thighs. A serious discussion occurred over breakfast. Though you both decided it probably shouldn’t happen again, time would reveal that it was too late to turn back.

I know I left it on yet another cliffhanger, but that's my specialty😆. I got my lovelies, though. The fic is complete, so slide on over to part two. Before you go, leave a comment and tap the love button. Reblogs are greatly appreciated🫶🏾!

Gif Credit: @abdulmateens, thanks again for allowing me to use it for my mood board💗.

Divider Credit: @firefly-graphics.

Tagging a few lovelies:

@sheabuttahwrites , @moebuttta , @darqchilddaydreamz

@alertyoulikeitsamber , @astoldbychae , @miyuhpapayuh

@sunshine-flower , @nightlywords7 , @4everbrookemarie

@delta7of96 , @novaniskye , @1andonlytashae

@shaolyninferno , @mcdesij , @willadean

@partygetsmewetter-x , @blackerthings , @peachbuttetfly

@theraieinfluence , @honestpreference , @queeniekiy

@tashawar , @skyesthebomb , @captainwithoutmakingitlove