#and then when i held back he zoomed off zipping in and out between trucks

[mirandaputsherbestbuttforward]

also to that end i sound like an angry driver but all I do is honk if someone’s being stupid (as in they cut me off or do something otherwise illegal), or just make a running commentary about their incompetence behind the wheel.

[limenysnocket]

Attention and Company

I couldn't help myself. @honorarytenenbaum

Summary: Sometimes you need someone to chill with, and that's okay. Maybe that person is your boyfriend who also gets a little roughed up at work sometimes. Pubs can sustain you both for only so long, but what you really need is to curb yourselves in the mall parking lot, right next to a shaved ice food truck.

Warnings: Just some light swearing, a bit of angst, a lot of fluff, and some brief mentions to "raunchy" behavior. This is a soft fic for y'all tonight, out here needin' some gentle lovin'.

A/N: Got some lonely feelings right now. I just wanna hug someone, dude. Yo, we could totally watch a movie over discord sometime... maybe.

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Today sucked. Flat out. The bags under your eyes didn't lie, and now here you were, outside of your studio, sitting on the hood of your car, eating a granola bar to stave off hunger for a few more hours. Hopefully.

You pull your phone from your pocket, looking at the time for a moment, then looking at your screensaver. It was the only thing that could make you smile. You had your arm wrapped around one of your closets friends, Taika, and the phone didn't capture it, but he had his arm wrapped around your waist. His curls were all messed up, and the picture perfectly showed how drunk you both were by the fuzzy pink on your cheeks. It was 99 cent beer night at one of the local pubs, and unlike the first one held at a baseball game, all went well.

Of course, there was a limit to how much the two of you were allowed to drink, but that didn't stop the many failed attempts at stealing other people's drinks while they were looking away, just to get a taste more. Didn't matter that you guys were eventually thrown out of the bar for breaking rules and coming close to breaking a few faces, you had a great night.

That night also lead to a few other places, including his hotel room, but that end of the story has to be saved for another time.

Instead of staring at your phone for another century, you decide to unlock it and dial the man up. You knew he was somewhere around here, either charming his way onto another movie set to mess with his rich friends, or getting his tired ass kicked by daylight savings.

His number was saved to your favorites, so dialing him was quick and easy. The wait for him to pick up didn't last long either.

"Talk to me..."

God, his voice sounds like one big yawn. Looks like he needs a bit of perking up too.

"I've got two curbside tickets to eat a snow cone and watch kids do loops on their bikes in the parking lot. One of those tickets has your name on them," you grin, despite sounding exhausted too. The day really made you strain your voice.

His musical laughter really makes the sun look brighter from its low position in the sky.

"That's oddly specific... where would these magical tickets take me afterwards?" He had cocked his eyebrows up and leaned against his office door while he spoke to you.

"If this were a booty call, I would have told you already, Taik," you snort and tease him. "So, it's either make yourself fat on some weirdly flavored snow cone, or take your horny-ass home."

"Okay, okay... I'd like to make myself fat for a night, as long as your there," his voice is dreamy, desperate and warm. "You there already?"

"Nope," your lips pop the p, "but I'm nearby."

"I swear to God, if you're talking and driving, I'm gonna whoop your ass," Taika stood up, acting serious when he was just really worried about your safety in general.

"I'm not, I'm fine," you laugh again. "Not even in the car. Sitting on it though, trying to convince the world's sexiest man to go out with me again."

"And you said this wasn't a booty call," he retorts over the phone, making you playfully glare at the asphalt on the road. It's like he's in front of you.

"You coming or not?" you change the subject and you hear him laugh again, but softer.

"Yeah... I'll be there in a few minutes, gorgeous."

He always made goodbyes so easy. Maybe it was because you both knew you would be seeing each other again, no matter what circumstances you were thrown into. But the dial tone still had its effects.

You slip off the hood of your car, and take a seat in the driver's seat. The warm summer air makes your skin glow, and your brain went fuzzy only imagining it doing the same to Taika.

The drive feels so quiet. For a moment, you actually thought about calling him again, but you knew for a fact that he wouldn't pick up if he was driving.

As predicted, kids are zooming around on their bikes, showing off to their friends or trying to be cool, even though they all were obviously teary-eyed each time they scraped a knee. It was amusing to you and Taika, especially when some of the older boys would try to catch your attention and zip past you and Taika. It ended up being a heckle fest in the end, and some kid always went home with his butt hurt.

Keys and wallet in hand, you trek to the small, blue trailer tucked in the corner of the parking lot.

"Damn, you must have beat me here by just a few seconds," Taika calls, rustling his way through the small spaces between a couple of cars.

"Well, you've never been a speed demon type, so last place is your calling when it comes to racing," you guwaf and grin at him. He rolls his eyes and comes to walk right next to you.

"I pride myself on road safety," he hums, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

You glance at him from the side, just to silently check up on him. His hair was tousled and his eyes were resteless. It looks like he had it rough from the start. He had struggled to get dressed this morning, but picked the most eccentric clothes in his closet to make up from his lack of sleep.

"Dare you to try the dill pickle flavor this time," his cocky tone wakes you up.

"Like hell I will," you snort as you finally reach the trailer, where a teen boy happily greets the both of you.

"Oh come on, it'll be funny," he eggs you on, his bottom lip pouting.

"Keep trying to make me get dill pickle, and the next time we have a movie night together, I'm getting the pizza," you sniff and he rolls his eyes. He thinks it is an odd threat. "And I'm making it all Hawaiian pizza." That got his attention.

"Bull shit, you would never. Not on a perfectly good pizza!" He gasps.

"Oh, just watch me, pineapple boy," you snicker and point to his pineapple print shorts. You break conversation to order two piña colada flavored snow cones. Taika usually took for-fucking-ever when it came to picking a single flavor, so ever since the second time you've been out here with him, he assigned you to choose for him. He usually got what you got.

Now, you wait.

You plop yourself down on the curb, as you promised, and he joined you with a long, loud groan. You give him a bewildered stare, wondering if his age had really gotten him this much. He smiles at you through a wince.

"Sat on my keys," he wheezes and chuckles at his own stupidity under his breath.

Your eyes float down to where he pulls out his keys and you start giggling quietly.

"Oh, come on, I'm sure you've done the same thing," Taika says, not handling the fact that you have new material to mess with him, and also trying to get some stories out of you.

"Well yeah, but I don't sit down as violently as you do," you prod his bicep, and he laughs.

"Such a lady. Must sit down gracefully and slowly," he says, mocking an English accent, but he was horrible at accents so of course it was bad. You smack his bicep this time, and he playfully flinches, like it hurt.

"I really need to get you into some accent classes or some shit, before you get your teeth knocked out," you shake your head with a smile.

"What? I think I'm great at accents. My American accent is the best one yet, don't you think?" He smirks at you, and proceeds to demonstrate. "All you have to do is put an 'er' at the end of everything, right? That's totally how they speak around here."

"I would be careful, Mr. Waititi. Could get in some trouble if you say that too loudly," you roll your eyes, and he sighs. Yeah. Things were going to shit in LA. It was clear to everyone, but what could two hollywood producers do to stop things like that? Keep making films, you guess.

"Two, large piña coladas!"

You look up, and so does he.

"I'll get them," you volunteer, but he places his hand on your shoulder before you could get up.

"Let me," he speaks softly, in a damn near whisper.

He stands up and strides right over to the trailer with so much confidence, you're envious. He comes back with two large styrofoam cups in hand, spoons, and a warm smile. His smile was always warm. It set fire in your belly.

He sits down a bit more carefully this time, even though his car keys were sitting in the grass, far away from his landing zone. He hands you your cup and a spoon.

"Do these have alcohol in them?" He nudges you with your elbow and you shake your head.

"As if they would let a seventeen-year-old serve alcoholic beverages," you throw in logic.

"I dunno... ever been to a ballpark before? Pretty sure some of those kids are way too young to be peddling there too, but that doesn't stop people from hiring them," he says while pointing his spoon at you.

"Fair point," you finish, then look at your snow cone. You decide to start eating before it melts.

Silence swarms the air, but comfortably. There's the occasional murmur of cicadas or humming cars drowning them out. Birds would land on the scorching asphalt to pick at whatever crumbs were left by other patrons, before fluttering away at the sight of a zooming bike getting too close for comfort.

Taika will point out a few of the kids doing tricks. He picks his favorites for the night, and he keeps himself busy by watching them. You, on the other hand, are occupied with him. You examine him from the tips of his dirty white chucks, to his frazzled hairdo.

"You look like shit," you mutter. He barely pays you mind and that comment was hardly acknowledged. It was like the air had gone a bit stiffer. He was hiding something from you.

"What's going on, Taik?" you worry. He never kept things from you, unless they were hard to bear.

He sets his cup down and holds his hands together. He looks so tired. So solemn.

"Today was total shit," he whispers and runs a hand through his hair.

"Well, yeah, I get that. I wouldn't have known if you had looked a little spiffier," you say, reaching out and gently tucking a curl on his forehead back in place with all the rest of its friends.

"Look, I--..." he says, turning to you, lips parted slightly, and a yearning sensation bubbling from the tips of his fingers as he rests a single hand on you.

There were tough times with the occupancy you both, willingly, chose. The hardest part about it was making friends, or making love, then finding out you have to leave it behind for a new location the next morning.

"I have to leave... for Sydney..." he says, reaching to gently take your cheek into the palm of his hand.

"When?" you manage, though you were clearly becoming upset.

"In a few weeks. Thor is waiting for me," he sighs, barely able to look at you while his thumb rubbed your ample cheek.

"And what does this have to do with me?"

"I don't want to leave you," he says, tilting your head up just the slightest bit. "And I don't want to stop loving you."

Your eyes search his for a moment, wide and a bit confused.

"I thought you said we were just a fling with--"

He cuts you off, "A fling with benefits. I know..." he sighs again, "but every time I find myself waiting for you to call on a shitty day, each time you rest your head on my shoulder, all the times you smile at me and tease me, I find myself falling... more in love with you." He has to pause to breathe.

It's so quiet. Dangerously quiet.

"What happens if I love you too...?" you muster your courage, and look right into his expressive, brown eyes.

"I don't know," he says to you, thumb still rubbing circles.

"Guess there's only one way to find out, huh?" you breathe, and he nods.

Still as statues, you wait for words to touch the air. It's only when his foot makes a wrong move and knocks over his snow cone, does the tension break.

His bottom lip pouts for him again and you quietly pick his spoon up off the ground. You clean it on your shirt and hand it to him, all before taking your cup, and holding it out to share. He smiles down at you, taking his spoon from your hand and sticking it into the shaved ice.

Your head leans against his shoulder when the sun disappears behind the mall building.

"I love you too," you whisper.

"I know," he says back, sucking at the tip of his spoon.

"Think we can keep this up over the phone?" you ask, wondering about a brief virtual relationship, just until one of you catches a break.

"Guess there's only one way to find out, huh?" he says, lowering his spoon, wrapping his arm around you, and giving you his full attention.

[lppsidefics]

Meihem Fanfic: Victim Parallel

Chapter 05: Miles behind

><><><><

Officer Morrison zoomed passed vehicles on the highway, his motorbike easily threading through traffic. Inside his helmet, a robotic sound repeated until he pressed a small button on the ear protecter.

“This is Officer John Morrison. I’m in pursuit of the punks that orchestrated the robbery at Valiant Marks…and Ana… They’ve got a girl with them.”

“A hostage?” Officer Ana concluded, bringing her hand up over the ear piece, internally praying she’d simply misunderstood him.

“Affirmative.” He replied, switching lanes to pass a slow moving storage truck. “They’ve stolen an emergency vehicle, and entered the ramp going westbound out of town.”

Clicking the computer monitor awake, Ana attempted to locate Officer Morrison via G.P.S. “Do you have eyes on the fugitives?”

“I’m on their tale, but they’re fleeing fast…” Officer Morrison slipped his bike between two cars, thrusting forward once clear of the traffic. “I’m gonna need a barricade at the merger onto Highway 7, and every exit leading up to it.”

“Understood, but John…” Ana had already begun the data input as she voiced her concerns. “…I doubt another barricade is going to stop them, they’ve plowed through everything we’ve thrown at them so far. Now that they have a hostage, do you really think we should be giving them another wall to demolish?”

“I’m hoping I can get to them before they reach that point, but we can’t let them get away again.” He insisted, as the target vehicle sped further ahead.

With a moment of radio silence, the female officer sighed. “Alright, all other dispatched units have been informed, they should be moving in on your location now.”

“Thank’s Ana.” John said, a smile cracking on his face despite the circumstances, but then his features stoned again as the vehicle vanished over the other side of a steep incline. “Damnit. Those punks are really booking it. Can you get me a leg up?”

“Give me a moment…” Ana clicked away at the keys, and the maps of transit routes and highway lines flashed in her eyes as she scoured for a possible short cut. “Okay, go ahead and take the left most exit.”

“The exit?” John questioned, but when he spotted the suggested ramp, he did as he was told, following the single lane into another crowded highway.

“You need to get three lanes over to your left now.” She directed, but the road was congested and there was little room for such a maneuver. “Do it now, John!”

When Ana demanded him, Officer Morrison abruptly weaved across the lanes, dangerously cutting off another driver in the process, and the cars sang a harmony of angry honks. But he made it to the other side, and up another ramp he went.

The road bent and curved like a rainbow, with cement boarders on either side. This upper lane was clear of traffic and far above the packed side streets. He revved the throttle, and zipped faster on the speedy motorbike, before connecting with the westbound highway again from the right side.

He could see the ambulance again, bullet holes pathed across it’s back wall and door still swinging wildly. Officer Morrison chuckled quietly, before swerving into the next lane and gaining speed.

Oblivious of the cycle closing in from behind, the ambulance careened dangerously forward. The Shark didn’t even bother to maneuver around the cars that blocked the path, only powering through the traffic, causing other drivers to swerve out of the way.

Actually, the cars seemed to part in anticipation of their approach, perhaps because it was an emergency vehicle, and unaware that it had been commandeered and gone rogue.

In the trailer, metal tools and other things needed for medical purposes, jingled and clattered in the drawers beneath the bed. Mei-ling desperately clung to the hand rest, nails digging into the plastic pleather, as the vehicle reached eighty- ninty- one hundred miles per hour, and the force of escalation pressed her backward.

An ambulance wasn’t really made for derby like conditions, and it’s suspension jittered on every bump. Legs jiggling like noodles, and stomach churned in knots, Mei’s eyes shut with nausea as she was bounced in place upon the uncomfortably stiff seat.

The Scarecrow on the other hand, stood solidly at the back exit, one hand firmly bracing the doorway and the other on his holstered gun. He leaned into the force like a professional surfer, riding the road like a wild wave.

Barely able to see the man through her jostling glasses, Mei watched him bend and brace over every bump. Then she was tossed up, and came right back down onto the hard pull down seat, leaving her rump sore and tingling with pain. She made a pathetic whimpering sound, and clapped a hand over her lips.

His attention shifted to her, tilting his masked face down to meet her stare, and she shrank away. The Scarecrow seemed to be inspecting her appearance, and then made a bubbly giggle at her disheveled state.

Mei’s brows furrowed and her face flushed with embarrassment, but she could only continue to sit limply as the vehicle shimmied about. Turning away from the masked man didn’t deter his gaze though, as he simply stared at her jiggling body in amusement.

Then there was a noise emanating from the distance behind the speeding ambulance. It was the prolonged purring of an electric engine, and Mei spun back around toward the noise, her hand pushing her glasses up as she peered beyond the Scarecrows body.

A motorcycle was gaining on them, and the man riding it was wearing a black helmet, but the bright blue long coat was unmistakable. It was the Policeman from the hospital, Mei realized with an elated smile, and with some confusion, the Scarecrow followed her gaze.

“Wot? This bloke again?” He sneered, before digging into the pack on his hip and retrieving a frisbee like disk. Crouching at the door, the Scarecrow waited for the Officer to speed up closer to the back of the trailer. “G’day.” He greeted cheerfully.

“Pull over!” Officer Morrison commanded, and the criminal just tilted his head to the side, as if considering it.

“Mmmm… No thanks mate.” He said, and then casually tossed the disk like thing out the back, which then clung to the front fender of the bike. John’s attention snapped to it, trying to quickly discern it’s purpose, but before he could do anything to remove the disk, the Scarecrow revealed a detonator in his other hand. “G’bye.”

The bike veered a head and out of sight, but when the Scarecrow pressed his thumb into the tiny red button, there was a blast, and the wreckage of what was left of the motorcycle crashed and twisted into the cars behind them.

Traffic squealed and swerved to avoid the damaged bike, but a heavier truck that couldn’t turn as abruptly, crushed it beneath it’s large tires, and snapped bits of plastic went flying across the roads.

“No!” Mei screeched, thrusting out of her seat and reaching for the doorframe, but once again, the Scarecrow stood between her and the exit.

Barring the open door with his flesh arm, he loomed over her, the stitched smile of his mask hiding his true expression. Mei searched the landscape for the Officer, but the bike was too far away for her to see it in clarity anymore, and hot tears burned the edges of her eyes.

She shot the Scarecrow a glare, her head painfully turned upward to stare into his masked eyes. “You!” Mei-ling screamed, and his shoulders hunched in surprise, as if he’d been called out by a teacher on the school playground.

“Nǐ zhè guàiwù! Nǐ shāle tā!” She thrashed her arms at the man, not really aiming her hits but simply swinging blindly at his chest. It didn’t hurt him, as her dainty fists struck his tight muscles, but the frantic-ness of her motion was irritating.

“Oi sheila!” He grabbed her by the wrists, preventing her from attacking anymore, and stretched her arms out above her. He then lowered his head to her eye level, with a curious little tilt to the right. “What’s gat’n inta you all-a’sudden?”

With her hands being forcefully held helpless, Mei kicked at his shin, though it felt so wrong to do. The Scarecrow hissed through his teeth, releasing her and clenching his fists in pain.

She almost immediately apologized, but the argument was interrupted by the sounds of rumbling on the roof above them. With a frustrated groan, the Scarecrow drew his weapon again, and Mei flinched in place.

But, then the man gave her an expressive shot of a flesh finger gun. “Hold that thought miss, this’ll just take’a tick.” With that, he anchored his metal hand onto the roof of the vehicle, and impressively lifted himself up on over the top.

Rising to stand, the Scarecrow braced into the hard winds that lashed against him. His eyes locked with Officer Morrison’s, who’d recklessly leapt onto the side of the ambulance before the bike exploded.

The Officer brought his fists up in a brawlers stance, shifting his boots to firm his balance, and the Scarecrow plucked a homemade grenade from his hip pack.

“Ya know… I’m getti’n re~eal tired of blow’n ya up mate.”

Mei had watched in horror as the criminal disappeared beyond the open door of the moving vehicle, and the sounds from above brought her no ease. There was stomping of boot against metal, and then the clank of the Scarecrow’s prosthetic, but then another sound caught her very thinly spread attention.

The Shark was wheezing, gruff and sickly gasps from behind his mask. Grabbing onto the back of the chair, Mei hesitantly peeked over the man’s shoulder. Her eyes stayed on the side of his mask, forcing herself not to look at the road ahead, and she gulped when asking, “Are you okay?”

He didn’t answer at first, only taking another deep scratchy breath, but then the Shark groaned something that actually sounded like a word. “Nǐ shuō- What?” Mei couldn’t quite make out what he’d said through the thick gravelly voice, and he repeated the word with much more aggression.

“Morphine!”

“Oh, o-okay.” This time she understood, and his agitation jolted her nerves into a scramble, yanking out drawers and throwing open small tin boxes, searching for a vile somewhere in the many storage compartments. Mei wasn’t sure if she should be obeying the man’s obscure demands, but she didn’t really feel she had a choice.

Trapped in a small space, speeding down an open highway, with men who were clearly dangerous, and she was so scared, that her instinct to help was overpowering all other logical thoughts. She knew what she should have been doing, she should be trying to escape, she should have run when the Shark yelled at her in the street, she should have struggled harder when the Scarecrow grabbed hers she should have just- found it!

Taking up a tiny bottle labeled ‘Morphine’ on the paper sticker, Mei prepared a syringe. Volunteer work at the hospital had taught her about these sorts of things, injections were simple enough, just mortifying to preform. She pierced the vile and started to extract the medicine, pausing for a moment to rethink her actions,

With another impatient gurgled demand from the Shark, Mei-ling withdrew the needle and returned to the man. “Nǎlǐ? Wh-where should I?” She stuttered, and he made a stabbing motion with two thick fingers into his shoulder.

Again gulping back her fear, Mei injected the syringe into the Shark’s neck, aiming for the small slip of skin visible between his jacket and his mask. As the liquid entered his blood stream, the man gave a relieved sigh, and his breathing seemed to steady again.

Removing the needle, Mei rubbed the spot with her feather like fingers, a habit from having to inject children with insulin, and the soothing motion relaxed the muscles there. Her comforts were interrupted though, as the sounds from above became more worrying.

Guns fired, something hit the roof hard, and then with the final blow of a smokey blast, Officer Morrison tumbled off the top of the car, being left to lay in a heap on the mostly empty road behind them.

The Scarecrow crouched at the back of the vehicle, laughing at his fallen enemy. “Oi! An’ by tha way! I lied!” He called out with a prosthetic hand cupped at his mouth. Then he stood tall with his hands on either hip, and the back of his mask bent against the force of the wind. “I never get tired of blow’n things up…”

Satisfied with himself, the Scarecrow swung back in the open door like he’d just been playing in a tree house, and he giggled dementedly before dropping into the passenger seat beside the Shark driver.

With a giddy sigh, the Scarecrow rested his hands behind his head and wiggled comfortably in the seat. “I think that’ll be tha last’a him this time, but just in case, let’s put’a few behind us mate.”

The Shark didn’t reply as usual, and Mei who was still standing directly behind the drivers seat, looked over her shoulder at the fallen Officer she could no longer see in the distance.

[acreativeme]

Blast from the Past

Request: May I request 20 and 39 with Jim Street please?

(20) “You said you’d always be there for me… so how did this happen? Why weren’t you there?”

(39) “Why are you covered in mud?”

“Dude! Did you see how long that line was?” Luca yelled animatedly, smacking Streets arm. They both readjusted their gear bags.

Jim grinned, bumping into Luca. “It was almost around the corner! I think that the Food Truck is a hit, Luca.”

They continued to talk about how well the truck was doing as they walked into SWAT building. They both silently hoped for a quiet day, but their guts were telling them otherwise.

Hondo stuck his head out of the OP center. “Street. Luca.”

They looked at each other and jugged to OPs. “What’s going on?” Luca asked, setting down his bag.

Deacon typed on the keyboard, pulling up the live feed. “20 minutes ago, a link was sent out to every NEWS outlet in LA.” He clicked the link, keeping it paused. “Street, it is directed to you.”

Streets clenched his jaw. “Play it.”

“State your name.” A masciline voice demanded off camera.

A light came on above a restrained woman. “Y/N Y/L/N.” She stated, blankly.

“Who is SWAT officer Jim Street to you?” A second male voice asked.

She blinked up at them. “He was my foster brother.”

The first man stepped into view of the camera. “Liar.” He struck her in the face.

Y/N’s head jerked to the side. If she was in pain, Y/N’s didn’t show any sign of it.

Silence.

The 2nd man stepped into view. “I will only ask one last time. Who is Jim Street to you?”

Y/N’s bloodied lips formed a harsh scowl. “I told you, asshole. He is my foster brother.”

The second man turned towards the camera, quickly shutting off the camera. Before it went black, you could see the first man wheel out a large tray of sharp knives.

Everyone turned towards Street, whose face was hard and pale. His chest was heaving in anger as he continued to glare at the monitor.

“Who is she, Street?” Chris asked, stepping towards him.

He was silent for a moment. “My foster sister.” He replied.

Hondo crossed his arms. “I think that she is more than that. Who is she?”

Street looked over at him and sighed. “We dated in high school, but broke it off when she got accepted into a college in Washington DC. I loved her.”

Tan patted his back. “We will get her back man.”

Street nodded, returning to stare at the monitor. “I hope so.”

~ 45 minutes later~

The feed remained dead for 45 minutes, leaving the team to go through a list of people that have expressed a problem with Street. And man, was that a long list. It was mostly people that he had put away in Long Beach and a few from his youth.

Tan was trying to ping Y/N’s phone, or at least the last place that she used it, and monitored the feed. Luca and Deacon were going over the files of his past arrests in Long Beach. Chris and Street were going over the list of foster siblings that had problems with Street. Hondo went with Hicks to Y/N’s apartment in Studio City.

“Guys.” Tan called, getting the attention of the remaining team members. “I think something is happening.” It pulled up the feed onto the main monitor.

The team turned to face the main screen. They had placed several lights around her, making the torture they’ve put her through more visible. Tan, Deacon, and Chris had to hold back their gasps.

“Speak.” The first man ordered.

She cleared her throat, not taking her eyes off the man behind the camera. “Bite me.”

BANG! Y/N screamed as a bullet pierced her shoulder.

“Speak!” The first man repeated.

Through gritted teeth, Y/N hissed, “Jimmy, you said you’d always be there for me… so how did this happen? Why weren’t you there? Why’d you leave me with the Carmichael’s?” Y/N stressed the last part of her statement.

“You bitch.” There was the sound of cocking behind the camera. “Jim Street, you have until the sun goes down to find her.” There was another BANG as the camera went black.

“DAMN IT!” Street yelled, slamming his fists down on the table in front of him.

All eyes went straight to him. “Who are the Carmichael’s, Street?” Tan asked.

“It is an underground biker club. Y/N and I were one of them for about a year but opted out after that, because they started doing illegal activities. All we wanted to do is ride, not commit crimes.” He confessed, running his hands through his hair.

Hondo stormed in. “We found this at her apartment.” He tossed a badge on the table. “She is FBI.”

Hicks filed in after Hondo. “Did you know this, Street?”

Street held the badge in his hands, shaking his head. “No. We haven’t talked since our breakup after high school.” He shook his head. “I need some air.” He walked out of the room, leaving his team behind.

As he pushed his way out of the SWAT building, his phone rang.

Unknown Caller…..

He clicked the answer button. “This is Street.”

“Jimmy….” Y/N’s pained voice rang through the phone.

His eyes widened. “Y/N, is that you?”

She let out a pained laughed. “Yeah, Jimmy. It is me.”

He gripped his phone tighter. “What do they want?” He asked, getting right to the point.

She sighed. “They want your head, Jimmy. They said it is time to pay for abandoning the club.”

“It’s been over 10 years. Why are they coming after us now?”

“We’ve overstepped the line. We’ve not only abandoned them, we’ve betrayed them.” Street frowned, obviously noticing a change in her voice.

“What line have we crossed, Y/N?” He asked slowly, body tensing in fear.”What line did we cross, Y/N?”

There was a soft click, then a dial tone. Street cursed,throwing his phone against the wall of the building. “God Damn it!” He sunk down on the steps. He sat there for what felt like forever, going over their time with the Carmichael’s.

~With Y/N~

She flexed her wrists against the zip ties, trying to break them. The Carmichael’s had her tied to an splintering chair, which made it easier for her to escape. ‘They had been more intelligent collected group 10 years ago, what happened?’

The two goons that kidnapped her left two hours ago, stating that they were going to work on part 2 of the plan. Y/N knew that they were preparing to kill both her and Street, because that is what this group has turned into. Mercenaries for hire. They were the whole reason Y/N moved back to California. She wanted to take them down, stop the violence that she helped create. When her boss’ found out that she had been apart of Founding Members, she almost lost her job. She had to prove that at the beginning, all they were about was riding and loving motorcycles. She had to prove that she wanted to bring them down, make them pay for all of the injustice and pain that they’ve caused.

She became a younger (mild) version of her mother. Y/N’s mother was an addict/hooker that murdered 4 truckers in the early 90’s. Her drugs of choice were heroin, mushrooms, and acid. I know that combination seems odd, but her pimps got her hooked on them. Y/N stuck with pills, stating that she had a fear of needles and not liking the feel of hallucinogenics. Within two months, she was participating member of the club. Within five months, her cover was blown and these two idiots had her tied up in the clubhouse basement. With seven months, they found out that Street had joined the police force and currently apart SWAT. It pained Y/N to basically be leading Street to his death, but how else would she going to bring the Carmichael’s down.

Y/N scrapped the zip ties against the wood, feeling it giving way. She smirked as they fell to the dusty floor. ‘They really are kind of stupid.’

~~~With Street~~~

The team had been working nonstop trying to locate all of the hideouts or possible hideouts. Street was racking his brain for the places that they had met up at 10 years ago. It took them scanning over a warehouse district three times for Street to notice an abnormality on the top of a building.

“Deacon, stop.” Street shouted, pointing at the screen, “go back. There is something on top of that building.”

Deacon scrolled back, then zoomed in. A silver and maroon flag waved in the wind. “That is the Carmichael flag.”

The team glanced between themselves and took off out of the OP center.

~~~With Y/N~~~

A few minutes after she got the zip ties off, the two goons strutted in—laughing and joking with each other. She noticed that they were both covered in mud.

The first goon, Ryan (she thinks), looked at her. “Hey, bitch. You gonna ask why we are covered in mud?”

Gripping the arms of the wooden chair, she was relieved that it was dark in the warehouse. “Why are you covered in mud?” Her voice was monotone.

The second goon, Sully (again she thinks), smirked. “We are so glad that a pig like you has the manners to ask. We just got done digging you and that Street dudes graves.”

The two goons laughed like they were the world's best comedians. They were so busy joking about how they were going to kill her and Street, that they didn’t notice the SWAT teams surrounding them. Y/N locked eyes with Street, nodding in understanding.

Y/N ducked out of the chair, which caught the two goons by surprise. “What the hell?!” They both yelled in shock, reaching for their guns.

“LAPD SWAT! PUT YOUR HANDS UP!” Hondo yelled, pointing his gun at the suspects.

The two goons turned, aiming their weapons at the team. Goon one fired at Chris, cause her to take fire, hitting him the chest. Goon two fired at Tan, cause Tan to shot him in the chest. With both suspects down, Deacon called for the EMTs. Street raced to her side, placing a gentle hand on her back.

“Y/N..” His voice was filled with concern and empathy.

She groaned, “mmmhm.”

He brushed her hair back. “Y/N, talk to me.”

She turned her head as the EMTs came running in. “That hurt.” She chuckled dryly.

[fantasy-pens]

United By Love, Rain And Forgotten Umbrellas

Her eyes as blue as the merciful drops from the heaven. His eyes as green as the happy grass enjoying the heavenly showers. A tale of how forgotten umbrellas in the rain bring together the four lovable sides of the Love Square.

Chapter 3: A Lost Love Rekindled, A New Love Discovered

Summary:  Post Miracle Queen, confusion and heart break prevails for our love square dorks. Will the rain play its role in retying the threads of the square that's breaking apart?

(Kudos to the anonymous artist of this beautiful art I found on the net! If anyone knows who the artist is, please feel free to inform! <3)

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Heavy downpour sure is a blessing for many. It rejuvenates life, removes the thirst of parched lands, becomes the symbol of eternal love…

 Lightning flashed in the dark sky, only to bring into view the silhouette of a girl swinging over the city of love, sprinting on slippery rooftops and jumping over alleys. A yo-yo zipped out of her hands, wrapping around a distant lamp-post in the local park. Giving the string a tug, the girl sailed in the sky like a ladybug until…

 … She felt the string slip, her hold slackening as gravity pulled her down. Not getting time to brace herself for the impact, the girl fell on her side, sliding in the mud for a short distance before coming to a stop.

 Pain shot up her body as she gasped for air. No scream escaped her lips, though. How could it? Her throat was already raw due to all the screaming she did earlier.

 The girl rolled lightly on the ground, cradling her left shoulder, her teeth clenched and eyes squeezed shut in pain. Maybe she should have used the teleportation powers of Kaalki to get out of the city, then she surely wouldn’t have got stuck in this rain. But she still couldn’t risk taking the Miraculouses out. Hawk Moth knew she was the new Guardian of the Miraculouses. Plus, who knows what information that conniving man had acquired from Master Fu when he had held the old man captive? No, Ladybug surely could not take the risk, at least not until she came to terms with the new reality.

 Responsibility had not been ceremoniously bestowed upon her. No. Circumstances just threw the entire burden of the magical jewels and the city on the teenage girl’s shoulders without warning. There was a limit to how much she could handle, after all. The emotional collapse she had had in front of Luka… that was just the tip of the iceberg. With Lila hell-bent on ruining her ties with everyone, the responsibilities of Paris and the Miraculouses on her shoulders, her entirely messed-up and disastrous love-life and her own stupidity being the cause of the loss of the Great Guardian… Marinette had been a walking farm for akumas. Tikki had suggested she go to the countryside, far from the range of akumas, to let her emotions out. And that’s what she did. 

 Letting out the rage, the frustration, the despair, the agony, the hurt had helped a bit. But as she now lay on the ground, her body figuratively screaming at her for the exertion it faced, somehow, Ladybug couldn’t stop the deprecating feeling of being clumsy and useless from washing over her. Her eyes again brimmed up with tears she thought she had run out of.

“Is that Ladybug?”

The voice snapped the heroine back to attention. No. Ladybug was Paris’ beacon of hope. She wouldn’t let them see her down.

 Shakily getting up, the heroine barely suppressed the wince that escaped her as her strained muscles begged for her to stop. Looking over to the civilians who had been rushing to help her up, the girl gave them a short smile and wave, and yo-yoed away.

 Another benefit of the heavy downpour? The world never gets to know that you’ve been crying.

 ....................................................................... 

Exhaustion crept over her, and one thing was clear. She wouldn’t be able to make it home like this.

Glancing around wearily, the heroine searched for a quiet place where she could give her limbs some rest. It won’t do her or Paris any good if she got ill. Especially when she was the Guardian of the city now.

A familiar mansion caught her eye. Specifically, a window that always remained open. 

 Her heart clenched, remembering the heartbreak she had felt the day everything went wrong. No. She wouldn’t take his help. Maintaining the distance between them was the best way to reduce her ache.

But her body wasn’t hearing any of it, for she felt herself sway as she took another step.

 Looking at the mansion again, the girl debated her choices. Did she have the strength, the will to look at him, be near him, and remind her heart that no matter how much she desired, he would  never  be hers? She had seen  them  that day, the model with the fencer, staring into each other’s eyes like they were the only ones who existed. How  she  had leaned into him, and he didn’t back off. How they… how they  clearly  had feelings for each other. 

As darkness started to creep into her vision, she made her choice.

 Desperate times call for desperate measures. He was the only one right now whom she could trust. She could deal with her heartbreak later.

 ...........................................................

Romancing Camembert without spectators was... Well, not fun .

 Plagg was busy spouting poetry at the best dairy product in the world (try changing his mind) when he noticed that the background ‘appreciation’ was missing. 

Gazing at his chosen, the kwami noticed something was off. Like, way off.

“Adrien?”

No answer. 

Well, this was new. Might as well take some risks.

 The little being gingerly took the cheese to the boy’s nose.

One. Two. Three.

“PLAGG! What the actual--?” the blond finally screamed, coming out of his stupor.

“Kid, you were lost. Like actually lost, unresponsive! You had me freaking worried! Now spill, what is the matter with you?"

 The blond merely sighed, running his hand through his hair as he stared at the photo on his phone. 

Selfies of him, Marinette and Kagami.

Focusing on the Ladyblog window on his computer screen, Adrien let out a sigh again.

 “Plagg, I am. So. Confused.”

“Confused why, kid?” the kwami worriedly asked.

“It is just that, my thoughts… they are all haywire. I… I don’t know what I want, what love is like. Everything is so, so… confusing. So many questions, so few answers,” sighing, the boy closed his eyes.

“Spill it, kid,” the little being offered. “I might not be a love expert, but maybe I could help? It is about Ladybug, right?”

 “Yeah. Kinda,” the blond muttered. “I mean, I said I would love the girl beneath the mask, and I really do! But... Does she love me back? I mean, she sure sees me as her partner and of course cares about me as her best friend, and I-I do cherish that friendship, but… but I still hope for more, Plagg. Her constant rejections, frustrations at my flirting, and her admission of having a crush… They make me wonder, am I doing the right thing? Chasing after her like that?

“Like, that time when we fought Frozer, I did feel I was a tad bit too pushy. I don’t want to push her away, Plagg. But I need some certainty now… I don’t know what to do. Should I chase after her? Or should I give up? But then again, Plagg, if I am even thinking of giving up, doesn’t that mean that my love isn’t true? Ughh,” the blond buried his face in his hands.

 “Kid, some other day, I would have happily advised you to leave the females and get together with my gooey delight. And I sure am not as good with all the mushy lovey-dovey stuff as SugarCube, but for one point, kid, I think chasing after the mask is only going to end up with you getting hurt.”

The kwami sat atop his chosen’s head, patting his blond hair, “You don't know who exactly she is under the mask. Chances might be slim, but maybe she is some snobby co-model you hate? Or she hates your model self? Who knows, she might be crushing on someone who hates your guts? Or maybe some sister-like best friend of yours? Or your classmate?”

“There are so many possibilities, kid, that going after the uncertain while leaving the certain is nothing short of tomfoolery. You have that Kagami girl, Pigtails, and many more! My point, kid, is just that chasing after a mask is only playing with your own feelings,” the kwami buried himself in the boy’s hair, purring and providing the human with a sense of comfort.

“But Plagg, what if..”

 A whirring sound followed by a dull THUD! interrupted the blond and his kwami zoomed away to a convenient hiding place. What the boy saw shocked him.

“Ladybug?!”

 The heroine in red-and-black-polka dots merely groaned in pain. Adrien ran over to help her, worried out of his wits seeing his crime-fighting partner all muddied and in pain.

“Ladybug? Is everything alright? Is there an akuma?” he asked hurriedly.

 “Re- Rest,” was all the girl muttered before her eyes shut.

.......................................................................... 

Her head felt so heavy, like she had just been hit by some jumbo mental truck. Blinking the dark spots away from her vision, she looked around .

Big windows beyond the grey banisters. Nice view outside. The girl snuggled deeper into the sleeping bag.

 Wait. Sleeping bag? Grey banisters? Big windows?

WHERE WAS SHE?

 Panicking, Marinette nearly shot up straight, only to groan at the feeling of headrush and plop back down.

So, she was in some unknown place, sleeping in someone’s sleeping bag. She didn’t remember how she ended up here. The only vague memories she had were of sprinting on the rooftops in the downpour when she had decided to give in to her exhaustion and shelter herself in the Agreste Mansion…

 She had been Ladybug before passing out.

Panicking once again, the girl frantically glanced at her arms. Only to find them covered in the familiar red-and-black polka dotted spandex. 

Her identity was safe.

 She heard footsteps climbing up a staircase.

“Ladybug? Are you awake?”

 Oh dear Lord. She had certainly entered the mansion with a steeled heart, but hearing his enchanting voice, the girl felt her resolve crumbling, the choking pain of heartbreak washing over her once again. 

I can’t do it... I can’t do it... It hurts, it still hurts…

 “Ladybug?” She felt a cool hand on her forehead. So cool, she couldn’t help but lean into the touch.

“Oh, my god! You are burning up! Why were you out in the rain?” the owner of the hand exclaimed. 

 Oh! How much she wished to tell him the true reason. That she had gone out to escape being Ladybug, the Guardian of Paris. That she had wanted to be one normal teenager, free to let her emotions out without the risk of an evilized butterfly or feather turning her into a rampaging monster. That she had repented her tomfooleries, let out her frustrations with the Liar, and let her tears flow freely at the pain of the heartbreak he had caused her, even if unknowingly.

  You are not Marinette right now. You are Ladybug. Be confident, composed.

“I just needed some fresh air, and well, got stuck in the rain. But I am fine, thank you,” pushing herself up with her right hand, the girl struggled to disengage with the sleeping bag and stand up.

 Only for a sudden jolt of pain to shoot through her left leg, causing her to scream as she felt gravity dragging her down. 

Too shocked by the sudden pain, the girl merely closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact.

 Which never came.

Opening her eyes, she looked into the concerned grassy greens that she had fallen in love with. And sadly, looking at them didn’t help her fall out of love. Instead, it only acted as salt to the burn of her heartbreak.

 “You okay?” 

His voice was too soft, too caring, too loving for... for just a friend , but, who was she to ignore the truth? The truth that he loved the strong Kagami, not the clumsy Marinette. That he had feelings for the fencer, not the baker girl. That he had shared a sweet kiss with a ravenette with brown eyes, not the bluebell ones.

  Stay calm, stay calm, stay focused! You are NOT in love with him.  Her brain screamed.

You can’t  be in love with him.  A soft voice from her heart spoke.

 “Ladybug?”

Pulled back from her thoughts, the girl gathered herself quickly and flashed him a smile, straightening herself again. “Oh! I am alright, I am fine, it must be just a bit of exert-AAH!” Another wince escaped her as her left foot pained the moment she put it on the ground.

 “You're not fine! You fell quite badly on your left side when you entered. I guess it needs to be checked.” Adrien exclaimed with concern, bending down to examine her foot.

“Oh no no! There is no need for that! I am fine! Yeah, I really am,” the girl fervently explained, her voice a bit high due to embarrassment (or was it uneasiness?).

The wince that escaped her again as she put her left foot a bit too hard on the ground didn’t help her cause.

 Adrien merely shot her an unimpressed look. “Ladybug, don’t be so stubborn.”

“I am NOT being stubborn!” she protested, “And I am really fine. In fact, I guess I must go. I don’t wish to overstay.”

 No matter how rude it sounded, she needed to maintain her distance. For her own safety and sanity. No, she just came here to rest and now that her limbs were rested a bit, she could make it home and snuggle in the comfort of her own bed, snuggling with her cat pil- WOAH!

 Ladybug squeaked and turned an awesome shade of scarlet as she felt strong arms pick her up, bridal style. 

 “Wh-wha-what the hell?” the girl squeaked.

“I am sorry porte-bonheur , but you sure need to get that foot checked. So, allow this meagre civilian to take you down the stairs and check your foot. Paris can’t have her guardian angel in pain and discomfort,” Adrien replied, a hint of a smirk on his face. And was it just her, or was the boy blushing?

 Shaking her head, she cleared her thoughts, mentally steeling herself. 

You can’t get hurt again. Your feelings matter. He sees you as just a friend. You can’t deal with the pain of one-sided love, especially with the responsibility of the entire city on your shoulders.

… 

He smells good. His arms around me feel good. His concern is genuine. No matter what, his kindness shines through.

 The irony. The more she stayed near the sunshine, the more clouded her resolve of not falling in love became.

 ............................................................................ 

“Thank goodness it is nothing much, just a mild sprain due to muscle exertion I believe,” the boy exclaimed in relief, holding the spandex-covered foot with care. “I guess a little first aid will do just fine, but you seriously shouldn’t be running on rooftops for a day or two at least. Your foot needs rest.”

“I know, but- ” the heroine didn’t need to voice her thoughts. It was clear, her identity must remain a secret. There wasn’t a way she could enter her home without concealing the mask, and of course she couldn’t take her mask off in front of Adrien, no matter how much she trusted him.

 What if, Adrien thought,  she did conceal her mask? And took it off midway?

 “Ladybug, I think I might have a plan. Plus, you are all muddied up. Wanna take a shower?”

 ..................................................................................... 

At first, she thought he was joking. But when Adrien told her his plan, she assumed that was the only way out to help her reach home with her identity safe. And she sure needed a bath.

“I will go get you the clothes and towel, okay? And here is the first aid kit on this shelf,” the boy pointed out, then walked out, shutting the sliding door behind him.

 Blinking, the girl stepped into the bathroom, shutting close the glass doors as she dropped her transformation. The kwami flew out, looking with slight worry at her chosen.

“Marinette,” she started to speak, only to be interrupted by the girl’s query.

“Why does it hurt so much, Tikki?”

 “Oh. Well, the magic of the miraculous is supposed to act as a cushion for all the hits that you take, but since you are very much exhausted yourself, and I was trying to keep the energy safe for holding the transformation as long as possible, I couldn’t cushion your falls much and...”

“I meant my heart.”

 “Oh,” the kwami fell silent. “Marinette, you will be alright.”

“But when Tikki? When?” the girl nearly screamed. Stripping off her clothes, she started pouring  her feelings out, “For two years, I have been trying to get him to notice me as someone more, and he sees me as Just. A. Friend. And now, when I try to get over him, try to bury my feelings for his and Kagami’s happiness, he...he is again stealing my heart! I know, I bloody know he doesn’t mean to hurt me, I know that it is his caring nature, but, but… Tikki, I can’t take this! I can’t. Why, why does fate have to be so cruel? Why?”

 “Marinette, it is okay to fall in one-sided love. It hurts, surely it does, but you don’t always have to conceal your feelings. Love is a rocky boat; don’t let it overwhelm you. I am not saying this because you are Ladybug, but I am saying this because you have a full life ahead of you, and it will have its share of ups-and-downs. You can’t let it burden you like this.”

 The girl took in a deep, shaky breath. “I agree, Tikki. I guess- I guess I really need to get my mind off these things. I am glad I accepted the offer for shower though, this will surely help.” Smiling, she fiddled with the taps for the suitable temperature of hot water and stepped inside.

 The warm water relaxed her tensed muscles, the mud from her body and the tension from her mind going down the drain as she let out a relaxed sigh.

And that was when she heard the sliding door open.

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 Ah, the beautiful cliffhangers. But hey hey, nothing happens! They are teenagers, and that has been totally respected here. Following is just a moment of awkwardness and fluff.

Continue reading on AO3 here

Continue reading on FFn here

Finally!! For @galahadwilder​ @rena-rain​ @ceres-zephyr​ @enonimouse​ @celestialtitania​. The exclusive Adrien’s thoughts on Kagami and Marinette and their realtion with LB have been included!!

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As the kwami zoomed back into the bathroom, Adrien turned to his computer desk. Only for his attention to drift to the fencing match group photo he had there.

Specifically, a girl in red who was in the photo.

 Kagami is a nice competitor and an equally nice friend. Sure, she has an icy fa ç ade, but I know the bubbly girl beneath it. Our meetings, our banter, the occasional flexing and punning….they were as fluid as those with Ladybug, And well, just like LB, she surely has handed me my behind on a silver platter many times. 

She and Ladybug are so similar: rolling eyes at my puns, responding wittily to my flirts, bantering with me. She is so like Ladybug.

That’s when the realisation hit him. He had been falling for Kagami because… because....

I see Ladybug in her. And when she responds back, it seems like… like it is Ladybug returning back my feelings.

I...I don’t love her in a romantic way for who she really is. And I don’t want to hurt her or lead her on. I did try loving her, but no, I can  never see her as anything more than a friend, a competitor.

 “I...I loved the shadow of Ladybug I saw in Kagami, not the real Kagami.”

“High time you got your senses back, kid,” Plagg commented.

 Ignoring Plagg’s quip, Adrien delved back into his thoughts. Kagami wasn’t someone he could see a future with. Sighing, the blond began to turn around, only for his sight to fall on the charm bracelet on his hand.

Marinette.

Her name itself brought a smile to his face.

 As awkward, shy or clumsy as she is, I am really grateful to have her as one of my closest friends. Especially after the gum misunderstanding. I really appreciate the brave, strong and kind leader beneath the shy girl nature. 

And then again, she is the best person I can share my thoughts with, be it as Adrien or as Chat. Her parents are sweet, she herself is Kindness personified. His Everyday Ladybug. Standing for the truth and the good. Imagining life without her presence...no, not possible.

Marinette, she feels like-no, she is my home.

 The realisation hit him like a truck. Somehow, buried within his feelings for Ladybug, another little stream of feelings for a certain ravenette had sprouted, only to make its presence known to him now.

......................................................................................................

[themockingcrows]

Companionship Through Circuitry Ch. 4: Treasures New and Old

This chapter is SFW This chapter available on my AO3!

From weaponized Furbies to old school prewar technology, Bro is finding his hands in many pies. Hal wishes he'd leave the pies the fuck alone for the most part.

     The small wheels of the Furby were sturdy enough to handle the terrain inside of the building with ease, so long as the bigger debris was avoided. These weren’t monster truck wheels, after all. Every so often a ping would be sent back to Bro’s location in the stairwell where he was secured out of sight, ready to be back up once Hal was done exploring and mapping out the place. He’d already covered significant ground, only needing assistance when it came to changing floors, and was holding his own against some of the mutated pests that had taken up residence in the various empty rooms.

     The modified laser was perfect for quick shots, and most of the critters seemed to be expecting humans or at least food they could smell. The small mechanical device wasn’t very appetizing looking, more of a curiosity. Bro was pretty sure he’d never seen giant insects that close up before unless they were dead, the radiation having done a number on their dna sequences since the war. Their protruding eyes were kind of fascinating to see up close, though Bro was content to watch from his distance rather than get hands on.

     I don’t appreciate this, you know

     “Don’t appreciate what,” Bro said into his end of the walkie talkie. “Freedom to move around? Weapons to protect yourself with?”

     I don’t appreciate being stuffed into this toy and you damn well know it.

     “Cry me a river and check the next hallway, I’ve got a feelin’ there’ll be somethin’ good there.” 

     There were other toys there. You could have put me in something useful. Something sturdier. Something-

     “What the fuck is that thing?”  said a voice from further down the hallway Hal was trundling down. A human who’d been living rough for some time, with attitudes that were even rougher judging from the wild clothing they wore, came into view. A man, when he got close enough to be seen clearly. A raider, if some of the markings on his clothes were authentic and not just slapped on for fun. Great, just what he fucking needed, a pack of wild men to deal with.

     “Find something to eat?” called another voice. Bro quietly grunted and got up out of his hiding spot to go get ready. Humans could be destructive with shit they didn’t understand, and the last thing he wanted to do was lose Hal. He’d become pretty attached to the AI by now, and losing him wasn’t an option anymore, not with the end goal being so interesting to him.

     “Nah, just found… something. I don’t know what this thing is,” the first man admitted, reaching down to snatch the Furby off the ground after a few attempts, the small wheels motoring this way and that to avoid being picked up. “Some kinda toy?”

     “What, find a new teddy bear?” joked the other voice out of view.

     “Nah. This thing’s cute though,” he chuckled, touching the spinning wheels and the moving beak before setting it back down on the ground. The Furby failed to move. “Hey, c’mon over and get a look while it’s still.”

     The second man finally appeared, itching his back with the baseball bat he held, hair tied back into a messy bun. He popped a squat in front of the still Furby and smirked.

     “Aw. Lookit the lil shit, it’s cu-”

     Zap.

     The laser was probably overkill as far as power went, but Bro was proud of the addition and how stable it proved to be. The fact that Hal was a killer shot was just a bonus, landing the guy right between the eyes before the guy could get the word out all the way, dropping him like a sack of potatoes. The first man panicked and jumped back as the Furby zoomed back to life and backed up several paces.

     Bitch.

     Bro was able to take a shot towards the man’s shoulder with his sword  before turning and cracking him upside the head with a fist, sending him down in a bleeding pile. Nothing like a small fluffy creature buzzing on the floor after firing a deadly laser to act as a distraction for a 6’6 man with a sword creeping up on ya. It probably would have been more prudent to use long range… but sometimes he just needed to have an excuse to clean his sword off rom residue that wasn’t radroach or abomination. 

     “Y’know, you could’ve just singed him and he might’ve run. I was on my way,” Bro said, nudging the dead fellow with a toe of his boot. “I don’t think he even has anything interestin’ on him.”

     I hold no apologies for being called ‘cute’. 

     “You’re right, you’re adorable. How dare they.”

     Laser has entered the cooldown period. You’re lucky.

     “Your own fault for shootin’ full force, if you want to roast me you’re gonna need to learn your limits first Hal,” Bro said as he abandoned the toy and walked ahead to peek in different doors. Big fat load of nothing… till he found the place the second man had come from. Paydirt. A temporary camp site, complete with food and water. Packaged food, no less, prewar and sturdy enough to last ages thanks to its healthy doses of preservatives. Giving a pleased whoop of joy, Bro took off his bag and took to stuffing what he could carry into it, taking his time to look around for other important looking things. Keys, cards, electronic tidbits that might be useful, ammunition. Bandages. Christ could he use some bandages, or disinfectant, he’d forgotten to stock up on extras at the last place they’d stayed and it was going to bite him in the ass, he could just feel it.

     While he found some disinfectant in the form of a high octane liquor, the bandages were at least sanitary looking and standard. Eh. A drink and something to clean with. It’d work. Otherwise interestingly he found a notebook, one with most of the pages in it no less. Perfect. He’d be able to write Dave again tonight and send the letter off when they hit a trader or a town next. Right on schedule.

     ...Or maybe too much of a schedule. Kid was probably being inundated with letters and not sure what to do with them since he couldn’t write back. If he even wanted to.

     Bro paused for a moment before grabbing the notebook and stuffing it into his bag after all. If Dave read his letters or threw them in the trash, at least he was reaching out on his end and showing he was willing to talk. It was the best he could do, he supposed. Be there and be ready for replies if they came.

     You’re going to get fat if you eat all that processed garbage. Why did junk food survive but next to none of the decent food survive.

     “Preservatives and chemicals for flavorin’,” Bro said, snapping out of his thoughts. The one man was only knocked out, after all, not dead. He’d be coming to eventually, best to be long gone by then. “When there’s more chemicals than food in the package, the food’ll last through goddamn anything.”

     I’m starting to think that if you encountered a fresh vegetable you would collapse inwardly like a dying star.

     “Everything I’ve ever come into contact with had some traces of radiation in it, it’s part of the post-apocalyptic lifestyle, Hal. It’s just a waitin’ game to see how much will make you sick and how much just adds a zesty aftertaste.”

     ...I’m unable to tell if you’re joking or not and that is concerning for my future mobility. I can hear the atherosclerosis from here.

     “All you can hear are the dulcet tones of my voice, admit it,” Bro said, giving one last look around the room before reaching for Hal. The laser fired a small zap, stinging his hand and making him yank it back, watching the toy zip around in circles teasingly. “Ah c’mon, don’t be a lil shit. I was gonna put you back in the glasses. Don’t you like the glasses more than the Furby?”

     I like many things more than the Furby.

     “C’mere then,” Bro said, reaching down to snatch the toy up by its fuzzy body, the weight more substantial now than it had been fresh out of the box. The skin was stretched taut over all kinds of goodies now, and he was careful as he plugged the shades into the side of the Furby by way of the metallic port, waiting and watching as the small loading symbols flickered in front of his eyes. Once again, Hal’s eyes opened in front of his own, pupils dilating briefly in recognition before they flickered away and he was left with the usual interface once more.

     “There. Better?”

     If you really loved me you’d have built something better with all those spare parts.

     “I don’t love you. I tolerate you.”

     Frankenfurby is a token of your affections as surely as your letters to your spawn are.

     “Those’re different,” Bro murmured, tucking the doll away carefully in his bag and securing it closed. He wasn’t sure if he could hear groaning or was just paranoid, but better to leave than to find out. Slowly, he backtracked down the hallway past the felled men before speeding up to the stairwell, hurrying down and out of the building while he could. All in all a successful scavenge, his luck was really holding out now that he had his new toy.

     Friend.

     … Yeah, he’d call Hal a friend now. Maybe prematurely, but it was hard not to bond with someone whose sense of humor was so similar to his own, bot or not.

     Are we still on target to approach where my body was last being kept?

     “Should be. I’m only swervin’ once in a while to find places to stay, or to get goodies after all. There’s a few places I’d love to hit between here and there, though it’d be too rough goin’ for the furb to be active.”

     What are these locations you are wanting to go to and why.

     “Well, one of’ems a vault. I know if there’s people in it they’d be good for tradin’ with and prolly have somewhere to stay or know where it’d be good to stay in the region. If it’s a decrepit one it’d prolly been picked clean… if you give up after the first few areas,” Bro smirked. “Dig deep and pick enough locks, know how to sweet talk the electronics, and usually you’ll find a treasure trove of some kind. Or at least so I’d assume, given that I’ve not exactly crawled my way through enough to formulate a mean average on accessibility to the damn things.”

     Hal whirred briefly as if thinking before speaking up. What kinds of things would you be hoping to obtain from there that you cannot obtain from elsewhere that we’ve been going into? These ‘goodies’ you mention.

     “More prewar things mostly,” Bro said as he sized up a slope and skidded down it with his feet turned. He had to sit down once, scuffing his ass, but he made it to the bottom without falling at all. A quick dust, and he was back en route. “Food, ammunition. Weapons. Medical supplies is a big important one. Old prewar tech is like findin’ the needle in the haystack, but once you find it it’s sweet.”

     Old prewar tech like what, more odds and ends?

     “Sometimes. Sometimes it’s more like findin’ entire bots untouched in their charging bays,” he explained, eyeing the surroundings cautiously. He was more exposed out here, and he didn’t exactly enjoy it, but sometimes it was a choice between being exposed and being boxed into an area chock full of super mutants.

     No thank you, he’d take his chances out here thanks. Could hear and see shit coming that way while he was awake.

     Would these untouched bots have data cables perchance.

     “I’m not uploadin’ you into a Gutsy, Hal.”

     I’D BE SO MUCH MORE USEFUL, YOU’D BE MISSING OUT!

     “I like you bein’ portable. I also like you not bein’ capable of friendly fire. No, I didn’t forget that laser earlier, you fuck, my hand still stings from it.”

     Okay, what if instead of uploading me into a Gutsy you uploaded me into the mainframe computer? reasoned Hal. I could manually override everything in place since lockdown, and likely would be able to communicate with you through various data ports.

     Bro’s steps slowed a bit. That, he liked the sound of. Just need to make it to the overseers office and make sure it was clear before uploading him… or maybe even uploading him from another unit, if it was still functional.

     “If you ever got stuck in there, would you be patient and wait for me to figure out how to get you out?”

     And give up the God like control I would have over the giant rodent population? You tease me.

     “I’ll take that as a yes, and an Okay for where to head to next,” he hummed.

     If he could make it out of there with enough swag, he could sell the extra and have plenty to spend till the end of the mission. ...Was that what this was now? A mission? A mission to get to an AI’s body that may or may not even exist...for what. There was no guarantee Hal would even want to stay with him at the end of all of this. Odds are he’d get freedom and go running with it like Dave had, leaving Bro on his lonesome again.

     The thought put an unpleasant knot in his stomach. No, Daave hadn’t run away, he’d grown up and left the nest like everyone else did eventually. And even if Hal DID leave him behind, so what? He’d have had a bit of an adventure, restocked his cash supply, probably gotten more things to keep himself busy with. There’d be more stories to tell over a few shots of booze, more things to write to Dave about, and more things to remember when he was old.

     Nothing happened without a reason. This wasn’t a fruitless venture, he’d already had more fun than he assumed was possible.

     Are you okay? Hal asked suddenly.

     “Huh? Yeah, why.”

     Your eyes looked pensive and you seemed miles away. No reaction to the mole rat coming in from the left.

     Cussing, Bro turned and whipped his sword out, raising it up to-

     “...Hal. Where’s the mole rat,” Bro asked, scanning around in circles with his weapon raised.

     It’s fictional, but you proved my point about being distracted quite well.

     “Hal. I’m gonna bust you into twenty pieces if you keep that shit up.”

     Do you wish to talk about it? The things that were catching your thoughts.

     “You my therapist now?”

     Curiosity has captured me and you’re the nearest target.

     “I was thinkin’ about the nearest vault and what we might find in it,” he lied. Hal’s loading screen flashed in front of his eyes again before the outdated map appeared like a hazy display over reality.

     If we continue at the current ambling pace it would take till tomorrow evening to reach the nearest vault, given that nothing between here and there has become too irradiated to support living creatures or has become irradiated enough to support terrible living creatures.

     “One way to find out, huh.”

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

     The vault was an opened one, leaving the usual rundown of various critters to deal with near the entrance. Pests. This was his pearl to unearth, not theirs to eat. They could have the leftovers, maybe he’d crumble up a bag of chips and leave’em nearby as a peace offering or something, not that the dumb animals would understand or appreciate it at all. As it was he took potshots at some of them and just stomped on the insects before they could be a problem, wiping goo off his shoes on the metal rack steps inside the big steel door. It smelled damp somewhere, made sense. The rest of the air just smelled old and musty, rusted. Worn down. There was still electricity though, these bastards really were meant to last.

     Bro made his way through a few doors before finding his way to some signs, following them to the main recreation area. Graffiti tagged the walls with various people he’d never heard of and probably never would know of, and most of the things were picked over or left broken open to rot. Raiders. Messy fuckers, lived somewhere for a while then moved on when the supplies ran out.

     Just meant there was probably gold in there further than the numbskulls could reach, and he just had to be patient.

     Paydirt came when Bro finally found a computer monitor that was not only unbroken but accessible to the main system, taking a seat to toy with the keys for a while. He spent some time reading old logs, scouring it for data that might be useful, keys being left somewhere or security being heightened in different areas. Not much to work from, though. He pursed his lips and made a soft tutting sound before shaking his head and standing.

     Aren’t you going to upload me?

     “Not here, no. If I find a security terminal maybe, or if I can get to the Overseer’s office, that’d be the best shit. You’d have access to a wider percentage of the place, if not all of it once the override’s overridden.”

     You underestimate me, I could probably reach there before you.

     “You could also get firewalled by some shit you’re encoded with because you’re still an AI tryin’ to hack somethin’. ‘Sides, I’d rather have the company for now,” Bro chuckled.

     At least the scenery is interesting. I believe the last three dicks on the walls were larger than the first three dicks on the walls.

     “We’re in the tainted parts,” Bro said, hopping a barrier to reach the first locked door they’d encountered. Smirking, he pulled off his bag and got a few small tools out, sparking the data screen back to life after a few minutes of jimmying the wires. He made quick work of it, letting the door open before allowing the charge to drop, rendering the door permanently open.

     “Child’s play,” he said softly, putting the tools into his pocket in case they were needed sooner rather than later before letting himself walk through and down the much better conditioned hallway. There was no graffiti here, but the smell of mildew was still strong, meaning there must have been a leak somewhere. Internal leak was one thing, an external meant radiation. “Hal, keep a geiger check goin’, warn me if we’re gettin’ anywhere too hairy.”

     There are elevated levels, but they’re within the safe amount so long as you don’t do something foolish like sleep back here.

     “Figured. Don’t worry, I don’t feel very tired right now.”

     If anything he felt alert, awake, ready to fight. He almost wished something would lurch around the dimly lit corner thirsting for his blood so he could decapitate it. Stress presenting itself in violent ways was just a part of life here, and fuck could he use some stress relief before the night was up. Getting here had been more stressful than he assumed, involving some stealthing past massive horned abominations with razor sharp claws and dealing with some leatherbound fuckheads who just HAD to decide he was worth heckling.

     Another bit of wandering, most rooms not holding anything useful or worth lugging out of there, Bro finally hit jackpot. The overseers office wasn’t locked down, it seemed. The bloodstain on the wall gave a few clues to why that may be, but the lack of a skeleton to follow up with made the guessing game all the more interesting in his opinion. Hopping into the creaking leather seat, he rustled for the connection cable from his bag.

     “Ready, Hal? I want you to light the place up, unlock shit, and see if you can access the sound system,” Bro rattled off, instructing the AI as if those weren’t the things he was already planning to do.

     I’ll send feedback to these monitors as well, no doubt there are some cameras still working, Hal promised, eagerly awaiting the moment of plugin.

     Briefly, Bro was concerned he’d caused a power outage. The room went pitch black, as did the rest of the vault that he could see from the rounded window and doorway, save for the monitor in front of him.

     “Hal? Fuck.”

     The screen flashed green, before taking on a red hue as pixels fell by the wayside. A small loading screen image appeared, same as in the glasses.

     Loading. Loading. Loading, came a voice from the sound system around him, soothing and methodical. In the distance, however, Bro heard unworldly screeching and hisses, and his blood ran cold.

     “Lights back on any time, Hal.”

     Loading. Loading. Loading.

     More hisses and screams, this time closer, reacting every time they heard a voice on the speakers.

     “Haaaaaal. Any time now would be pretty fuckin’ sweet,” Bro hissed, slowly sinking down below the desk and pulling his weapon out, hiding but prepared as he waited.

     The lights flickered back on, too bright and intense enough to sting his eyes before lowering back down to the softer indoor degree. Bro scooted out and lifted up enough to look at the screen, smirking when he saw a small, digitized version of a human with red eyes and white hair doing a bouncing dance in the corner. This wasn’t a simple data upload, it was practically a hijacking.

     “...Hal? Can you hear me?”

     No response. Frowning, Bro looked up to the corners to find the cameras, repeating himself.

     “Can you hear me?”

     No. But I can see you. I can see a lot of things.

     “Show me,” he mouthed towards the cameras before looking to the displays once more. It was like he’d feared: those hisses weren’t just in his head. The place was lousy with feral ghouls, and fuck if that was one thing he hated dealing with. Normal ghouls? Chill folks. Feral ghouls were a goddamn mess that didn’t stop hitting and they were smart enough to run while aiming for the soft bits. At least they weren’t infectious like in those old books he’d seen. Prewar people had been obsessed with the idea of the living dead. Well, congratulations fuckers: you were the reason they existed now.

     He assumed his sword could get through most of them, the rest he’d need to aim for the head to take down. Biting his lip, Bro stood up and took the chair once more, typing to get a more detailed message across to Hal in case the simplistic lip reading couldn’t carry over. 

     Can you unlock the doors?

     Done and done.

     Is there a path towards the medical bay or security room that isn’t littered with ghouls?

     Negative. Your new friends are everywhere and they don’t seem very happy to hear me.

     “God damn it, of course, the two places I wanna hit and they’re crawlin’,” Bro hissed in disgust. 

     Do you have a clear view of these areas?

     Absolutely, Hal said before the camera views changed, showing different hallways and signs, then finally the interior of the medical bay and the security office. Each had its own ghouls, but even from there Bro could see enough treasure that his mouth watered. Treasure in ammo boxes and containers that weren’t rusted and permeated with water. Treasure in medical cabinets, maybe even some chems. Bro was absolutely not above using chems if the need arose in a fight or the interest was high enough in a calm moment, but the thought of having prewar chems that not only were in good condition but plentiful?

     “Lock and load, Hal.”

[jj-lynn21]

Plastic and Glass: Rocker Axel ch 2

Ch 1    ch 3  ch 4  ch 5  ch 6  ch 7

Warnings: light angst, fluff, talk of smut, light kissing

Painting of Axel by @hiddlelecki​

Applebee’s has the air conditioning on full blast since it is so hot outside. It is 86 degrees Fahrenheit outside and maybe 40 degrees Fahrenheit in the restaurant. Stephanie shivers a little as they get inside for a minute looking for her family. It is a little after 1 p.m. so they should be there.  Stephanie sees her sister-in-law wave with a smile.

Axel whispered, “Let me go get you a hoodie from my bag. I’ll be right back.” He kisses her cheek and runs out to door.

Stephanie walks to where her family is sitting and sits down in the empty seat by her Mother. Another empty seat is across from her by her brother.

“We scare Axel off already?” Her brother laughed.

“He went to get me a hoodie since its so cool in here,” Stephanie smiled.

“That’s so sweet,” her sister-in-law complimented, “Isn’t it Mark.”

“Yeah,” her brother agreed as Axel came over.

Axel squeezed behind her Mother to put the zip up dark blue hoodie around his girl. “It’s big on you but it should keep you warm.”

Stephanie stood up proudly, “This is Axel.”

Some of the tattoos on his arms were on display but the sleeves hid the ones that might be offensive to a girl he like’s family.  Not that Stephanie had asked him to cover his tats. He just knew that it would be better for them both if he coved a few of them.

“Axel, this is my mom Laura, sister-in-law Beth and brother Mark.” Stephanie introduced her family by name.

“Good to meet you,” Axel’s voice was nervous.

He pushed Stephanie’s chair in when she sat before going around the table to sit down. Mark stood to stop him and shake his hand. Axel shook his hand and they both froze a moment in an equally tight handshake.

Mark chuckled and padded Axel on shoulder, “Good man,” He leaned in to whisper, “I will find you if you hurt her to badly.”

Axel just nodded, a little freaked out look on his face as he sat down. The waitress comes over to take drink orders while everyone is still looking over the menu. Stephanie tenses a little hoping Axel doesn’t order a beer which he does normally order when they go out for lunch or dinner. She relaxes as he orders a Pepsi. She orders the same. He notices her tensions and reaches out across the table to take her hand without saying a word.

Her mother orders club soda, “You sure you want that caffeine drink Steph. It could keep you up all night. Maybe you want a spite or juice?”

Stephanie looks at her Mother holding back the eye daggers she wants to throw, “I think I’ll be up late, so I’ll be fine.” Her voice is sweet, but she hols on to Axel’s hand like a vice grip.

“Hey Steph,” Axel breaks the tension. “They have some mac and cheese with chicken on the two for $25 and I can get a steak. We can share some cheese dip with chips and add a desert if you want?”

Her Mother shakes her head and mouths to Mark, “I am not paying for him.”

Axel see this, “My treat Stephanie. The skies the limit.” He chuckles.

Stephanie giggles, “Sounds good. I will probably be too full for dessert, but we will see.”

“We got you Mom, as Axel said the skies the limit.” Mark chuckled. “So, what you do for a living Axel?”

Axel takes a sip of his Pepsi as soon as the waitress sits it down.

She looks at Axel just recognizing him, “Hey Axel, how are you?” She smiles.

“I’m good Stacy,” He keeps a blank look on his face. “How is Simon. You two coming to the show Saturday.”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” She giggles. “Um what can I get you?”

His eyes flit to Stephanie, “Me and my girl Stephanie are going to have this two for $25. I’ll take the well-done steaks with loaded baked potato and She will have the mac and cheese with grill chicken. Grilled chicken right Stephanie?”

“Yes, Axel.” She smiled.

“Oh, cool, good to see you to Steph.” The waitress finally acknowledged someone else at the table than Axel. “I’m  not sure you ever noticed me or my boyfriend Simon at the shows. But we are always there.”

“Cool,” Stephanie nodded and smiled.

“What can I get for everyone else?” She took the rest of the table’s orders.

“Well, that was uncalled for,” Laura said. “That girl practically threw herself at you with your girlfriend right there.”

“I don’t think so,” Axel chuckled his thumb running over Stephanie’s hand. “She and her boyfriend are just big fans. I appreciate her enthusiasm.”

“Really?” Laura raised her eyebrows.

Mark changed tried to change the direction of the conversation, “So, is music something you want to make a career out of Axel?”

Axel makes eye contact with Mark, “No, the music thing is just for fun and a little extra money. I’m going to business school. I work at my uncle’s tattoo parlor now. He wants me to take over the business when he retires. It’s a lucrative business especially in a college town.”

“What do your parents think of your tattoos?” Laura griped.

Axel shrugs. Takes a deep breath, “My Mother passed away when I was really young. My Dad left me with my Uncle Derick not long after. So, I guess I don’t know what they would think,” he looks away from everyone.

Stephanie glares at her Mother. The appetizers come to distract everyone for awhile.

As Mark eats some wings he engages Axel in another conversation. “You follow football Axel or other sports?”

“Yeah, man,” Axel held a cheese chip a few inches from Stephanie’s lips. She moved to eat it.  “All the local teams. I played when I was a kid. I wasn’t very good, but I played.”

They got to talking about sports. Stephanie was happy they were getting along but tuneed out most of the conversation. She was not going to sit around watch sports center all day like her brother and sister-in-law. She didn’t even realize Axel followed sporting even. Now she thought she would eventually have to sit through some important games as long as it wasn’t a huge part of their lives. She laughed at herself for thinking so far ahead with Axel and her sitting around like her brother and sister-in-law.

The conversation was positive as the main meals came out. They talked about school. How Axel and Stephanie met. Axel invited Stephanie’s family to the show Saturday knowing they wouldn’t go. Her Mother laughed saying she was usually in bed early. Mark said the music wasn’t his cup of tea, but it was nice of Axel to invite them. He knew it was Stephanie’s scene more than his.

“Nothing wrong with rock music,” Mark stated. “Steph is like our Dad enjoying that scene.  Our Dad has a few tattoos. As long as people are not hurting each other there is nothing wrong with people liking different things. I like R & B and dance music myself.”

“That’s a cool outlook,” Axel nodded in agreement. “To each his own.”

Axel and Mark paid the checks and they all got up to leave. Axel tosses a $20 tip on the table. Mark nod in approval. They all leave together.

“We are going to grab a good spot on the beach for fireworks.” Mark looked to Axel and Stephanie. You guys can follow us or meet up later.”

“We will follow you,” Axel has his arm around Stephanie’s waist. “After that meal I could use a walk along the beach. How about you Stephanie?”

“Yeah, sounds nice,” She looked at him dreamily as they walked toward his motorcycle.

Mark and Beth smiled. Laura smirked disapprovingly. Stephanie took off the hoodie. Axel put it away. He put on her helmet and then his own. They got on the cycle pulling behind Mark’s silver minivan. Stephanie’s family were inside. They started off towards the lake.

“Well, he’s quite a hoodlum,” Laura shook her head. “I can’t believe your sister likes that.”

“He seems to be nice to her,” Mark counters. “I think he is a good guy. They like a lot of the same things and that’s important.”

“You don’t think he is just trying to sleep with her,” Laura grumbler.

“Not anymore,” Mark said without a thought. “Just hope they take precautions.”

“I can’t believe you would insinuate your sister is having sex,” Laura’s voice was angered.

Beth puts both hands over her mouth to catch a laugh.  

“We’re here,” Mark pulled into the first close parking space he saw.

Axel zoomed by pulling into a space a few cars away. Him and Stephanie got off the cycle. He put the helmets in the lockable saddle bags after he got a red blanket out and a small blue over the shoulder cooler with two waters. The two walked towards her family.

“I thought these would come in handy tonight.” Axel kept a stoic look.

“Good call man,” Mark was getting a blanket and a lawn chair out of the back of the van.

Kids ran around on the grassy hill near the beach as their parents set up blankets and chairs. A radio station truck pulled in the parking lot to set up to play some tunes. An ice cream truck followed. Mark and Axel set up their stuff in an empty spot. Mark set his Mother’s lawn chair on the other side of his blanket.  Axel and Stephanie took off their boots and socks. Axel takes off his jeans and has black shorts on. 

“Can you sit my chair between the two blankets so I can chat  with everyone easier, Mark?” Laura asked.

“Sure, Mom,” Mark and Axel each moved the blankets over to accommodate her lawn chair.

Stephanie took Axel’s hand, “We are going for a walk.”

“Oh, let’s all go.” Laura invited herself along.

“Hey, Mom, let’s go get some ice cream,” Mark suggested. “They don’t need a babysitter.”

Laura smirked at him before turning her attention back to Stephanie. “Be careful. Get back to the blanket before it gets to dark.”

Axel takes his shirt off revealing hidden tattoos. He figures at this point he made a good enough impression so if any of them don’t like him, fuck’em. He tosses the shirt onto the blanket before walking off towards the water with Stephanie. There are several other tattooed men and women with their families so Axel feels confident.

He mumbled as they were walking away, “Don’t talk to strangers or run off with any tattooed hoodlums, Stephanie.”

Stephanie laughed, “Yeah, she is um what doesn’t offend her to badly is we say she hovers.

“OK, we’ll call it hovering,” He chuckles. “Your brother seems cool with us. I mean other than threatening to track me down if I hurt you.”

They walk down to the sandy beach and along the shoreline.

“He didn’t,” Stephanie was shocked.

“Yep, but its cool.”  Axel kicked some water on her. “If I had a sister, I would be the same way. Come here.”

Axel pulled her over behind the changing room building where there was no one else around. He pinned her against the wall. One hand holding her wrists above her head. Her breath quickened as he looked at her licking his lips. His other reached under her skirt to palm her through her panties, His thumb rubbed against her slit.

“Your Mom really makes me want to wreck you,” Axel grins evilly. “Did you ever try anal with that ex of yours?”

“No, and we are not doing that here.” Stephanie struggled to get out of his grip to no avail.

“Wouldn’t think of it,” Axel leaned down to kisses that part of her neck that always made her melt right into him. “But you will try it?”

“Yes,” she murmured eyes fluttering.

Axel kissed her. His tongue darting into her mouth to touch with hers like a dance. He let her go and moved away, “I can’t wait to get you home tonight.”

“It is going to be 1 a.m. once we get home.” She reminded him. “I’m not sure I will be up to anything new after this day.”

His arm was leaning on the back of the wall behind her. His other hand dropped to his side. “We will see how we both feel later, alright?”

“Alright, Axel.” Stephanie sighed. “we should get back.”

“Oh, yeah its almost your curfew,” He teased.

“Shut up,” She laughed and smacked his chest playfully.

“Kiss me again and we will head back,” He leaned down lips close to hers before she answered.

“Small price to pay,” She kisses his lips quickly and ran.

Axel ran after her, “You are going to get it later.”

He catches her and swings her around. They were both laughing.

On the way back to the blanket their waitress from Applebee’s saw them and they stopped to talk to her and her boyfriend. The guys compared tats. Axel told him if he wanted something else to stop by his shop for a friends discount.

They got back to the blanket. Axel pulled Stephanie down. They were laughing again. 

[ladye11e]

Deception pt 13

The conflict between the Assassins and the Templars is getting out of hand. Lies, deceit and subterfuge, now you must pick a side...

Tagging @geekgoddess813 @ermergerd517 @sweet-flash @i-wontgivein  💕

Link to the full fic so far is Here

Characters: Jacob Frye/Reader

You had been here over a week now, and you were starting to become impatient at there being absolutely no sign of any activity around the warehouse. Connor had been reaching out to his contacts here in hopes they would have even a scrap of information on a timeline for the deal, but they had all come back to him empty-handed. Even Jacob who had been prancing about rather cheerfully for the past few days (forcing you to lie out of your ass when everyone started bombarding you with questions as to why he was in such a good mood) had begun to become surly with the lack of action as he put it. In hopes of boosting everyone's morale, Henry in his world of wisdom had decided to cook one of his legendary dinners tonight, and you had been tasked with fetching the obscenely long list of ingredients from the market.

Squinting to try and decipher the man's ridiculously swirly handwriting for the next thing he required, you gave up with an exasperated sigh and handed the slip of paper to the spice vendor, hoping that he could figure out what you needed. While you waited as he began spooning some kind of yellow powder into a bag, the tingly feeling at the back of neck erupted and your eyebrows raised when you spotted Gist at another stall, directly behind the one you were at. He had followed you it seemed, as when you caught his eye he tilted his head in a subtle gesture to the right, confusing you at what he could possibly want. Paying for your purchases and stuffing them in your backpack, you continued to walk down the narrow pathway between the stalls, keeping your gaze on him out of the corner of your eye as he followed his own route to the end. Just as you reached his position, he took an abrupt left turn and stumbled, crashing into you and almost sending you flying. Usually, you would have been annoyed at someone doing something like this, but as soon as you felt a slight pull at your coat pocket, you knew there had to be a good reason for him to approach you this way.

"So dreadfully sorry miss, how clumsy of me. Are you alright?"

You waved your hand dismissively at his unnecessary gesture and pulled your bag back up on your shoulder, walking briskly away towards the side streets eagerly to find out what he slipped into your jacket. As soon as you were alone and convinced that no-one could see you, you closed your hand around the contents of pocket and slowly pulled it out, quite surprised to see an earbud in your hand. You hissed when the whistle of interference screeched in your ear for a second as you put it in, pretending to look for something in your bag when a couple strolled past you leisurely as you were now on high alert.

"Can you hear me?"

"Yes, very subtle Christopher." You whispered mockingly, but it was completely lost on him through the transmission. "What's the matter? I haven't got long."

"I know, I'll be quick. I have no idea where you got your intelligence from, but I can assure you it's wrong. Starrick is not at the warehouse that you have been watching."

You literally felt the colour drain from your face as he spoke, staring into space as you contemplated just how on earth such a grave error could have been made.

"(Name) are you still there?"

"I'm here. How did you?.... Actually, it doesn't matter. Where is he if he's not at the location we've been told?"

"Just over the river from where we docked. In Southwark, Butlers Wharf. You need to hurry, the deal is happening tomorrow night."

Breaking out into a sprint back towards the curio shop; narrowly missing several cyclists who were on the pavement, you tugged out your phone and sent a mass message to all of your colleagues, telling them all to meet you at Henry's as soon as humanly possible.

"Gist. Thank you."

"Not a problem dear. Arms should never be sold onto the streets, especially when they could find their way into the hands of children and it's easier for you to stop him than us. One other thing...."

"What?" You panted, encouraging him to hurry up with whatever he was going to say when he just trailed off.

"Nothing, we can talk about it another time. You're nearly back, so I'll say goodbye for now. Good luck."

It was not lost on you that you were an Assassin working for the Templars, who were helping the Assassins, stop a Templar. You would have laughed if it had not been so ironic. Pulling the earbud out and slipping it into your jeans, you glanced around briefly when you realised that he knew exactly where you were at that moment in time, actually chuckling and picking up your pace when you saw a drone fly off into the distance. Men and their toys...

You were met with four gawking expressions when you burst through the door of the Curio shop, two of them turning into glaring as Jacob rushed over and rubbed your back when you held on to the counter, trying to slow your breathing so you could speak.

"We... were wrong... Starrick. Wrong.... warehouse.." You puffed, grabbing a map off the side and unrolling it in front of Connor.

"What?! Are you sure? How did you come across this information? I was certain that the intel I received was correct."

"Someone must have paid your contacts off to feed you lies. I still know one or two people around here, trust me, I'm right. And I've been told it's happening tomorrow night, so we've gotta act fast. That's where he is."

Everyone leant over to see where you were pointing at on the map, slightly bewildered before immediately scrambling to gather the equipment that you would need to relocate, all silently hoping that you weren't too late.

Peering over the side of the Tower Bridge, you picked up the camera and zoomed in when you saw another van stop outside the warehouse, watching several quite heavily armed men with red shirts get out.

"That's four in the past hour. What on earth are they doing?" You whispered to Evie as you passed her the camera so she could take more photo's if she needed.

"I have no idea (name), but it's big whatever it is. It seems that you were correct after all. Now, where is that idiotic brother of mine?"

At that exact moment as if he had been waiting to do a dramatic entrance, Jacob dropped down from the ledge above and sauntered over to where you were, leaning on the edge of the rail casually and staring out into the distance.

"You rang?"

"At last. You need to follow that van when it leaves, find out where they're bringing those crates from. Do you think you can manage that? Do stay out of sight, the last thing we need is somebody spotting you."

A devious grin crept up his face when he saw the men re-emerge from the warehouse and get back in the truck, cracking his knuckles and rubbing his hands together now that he had actually got something to entertain himself with for a while.

"Of coooourse. I am the night....."

"Jacob, no."

"I am. Batman." He growled mischievously.

Both you and Evie slapped your foreheads at the same time, dragging your hands down your faces as Jacob let out a 'Mwa ha ha' and shot his zip line to the factory next to the bridge, swinging out of sight.

"You're sleeping with him again."

You slowly turned your head to Evie as she just came out with that matter of factly; your eyes as wide as saucers and panic consuming every fibre of your being when you saw that she was staring at you, her face completely void of expression.

"Evie... we're not.."

Trailing off when she just raised her hand and turned her attention back to the warehouse when yet another van pulled up, you racked your brain in the several moments of uncomfortable silence in trying to figure out how she could have possibly found out about what happened between you and Jacob last week.

"That was not a question, so I'm not expecting an answer. Don't even think I've not noticed the way he's been acting around you. I am only going to say one thing. Break his heart, and I break you. Is that understood?"

You nodded somberly at her ultimatum, not even for a second doubting everything she had just said. In the middle of cursing yourself for getting in a predicament that you had hoped to avoid entirely, you jumped when a hand lay on your shoulder; turning around to see Connor carrying a large black case.

"Are you okay (name)? You seem disturbed."

"Er yeah, I'm fine." You blurted, clearing your throat before you adorned a face-splitting grin when you realised what he had brought with him. "Is that what I think it is?!"

Crouching down beside him when he took a knee and lay the case on the floor; undoing the clips enthusiastically, you couldn't help but gaze in envy at the newest addition to his collection. You trailed your fingers over the smoothness of the recurve bow, plucking the string gently before tugging out a small leather clad box and shaking it gingerly. You moved out of his way when he pulled the bow out along with several untipped arrows, taking the box off you and flipping it open to reveal what looked like miniature cameras attached to a vast array of tips.

"I had to call in a few favours to get these, but given our circumstances, I believe it to be worthwhile."

Both you and Evie watched Connor admirably as he assembled six of the arrows and lay five of them neatly on top of the rail, knocking the last and taking aim at the top of the building next to the warehouse.

"Connor, wait!" Evie hollered when she suddenly spotted something that made her face twist up in loathing. You looked out into the distance to where she was pointing, seeing a well dressed red-haired woman, carrying a briefcase and yelling at a short, stocky man who looked to be some kind of doctor.

"Lucy Thorne. I must find out what's in that briefcase, I'll meet you back at the train."

You stood there at a loss for words when she jumped down the side of the bridge and onto the street without a moment's hesitation as a town car pulled up beside the woman, then turned to face Connor who had the same bewildered expression as you. Shrugging your shoulders and turning your attention back to the warehouse, you nudged Connor with your elbow when you saw that everyone had left and he could carry on placing the new cameras. It only took him a few seconds to get the whole street entirely under watch, firing the arrows rapidly with deadly accuracy before anyone came back and noticed something whizzing through the air.

"Pleeeease teach me how to use one of those? I'm a good student, promise."

Connor chuckled when you made grabby hands at his bow as he began packing it away, passing you a small remote type contraption which you stared at quizzically while he adjusted the strap so he could carry the case over his shoulder.

"I am surprised that you don't already know, I will happily show you when we return home. Fix that somewhere safe, it will transmit the signals back to the Frye's train."

You let out a little excited squeal and threw your arms around him briefly before hunting around for somewhere decent to hide the black box, snapping your fingers when you spotted an ideal nook in between the rails. Skipping back over and linking your arm through his with a huge grin, he tutted and frowned at you when you cursed out loud as the unmistakable sound of a steam train came from your left.

"Shit! Oops, sorry. Come on, I don't fancy running around London chasing the thing!"

You made it to the tracks just in time; the driver had apparently been told you were coming as he had slowed down significantly considering he was in between stations. Grabbing Connors extended hand after he had jumped up first, you made your way into the middle carriage; inhaling deeply and smiling when the familiar smell of gunpowder and old books tickled your nose. Other than the couple of laptops that were on the desk and a few boxes stacked up in the corner, it was just how you remembered it. Your reminiscing was suddenly cut short when two heavy thuds echoed out from above, followed by some very loud arguing. Evie was the first to barge through the door with a resounding bang, making you and Connor wince when Jacob came in straight after and continued with the quarrel.

"Please tell me, dear sister, how is it MY fault you lost Thorne?!"

"You know exactly how!" Evie growled as she stormed over to him and poked him in the chest forcefully. "Always getting in the way, your incessant need to be in the middle of everything! You always let your personal feelings compromise our missions!"

"Excuuuse me?!"

You looked up at Connor again when Evie stared at you pointedly, seeing he was to trying to get a word in edgeways for probably the third time since the twins came in, pursing your lips together and sighing when you could see that he was getting riled up at the bickering. You couldn't hold back the giggle that erupted when he suddenly pulled out his tactical tomahawk from his belt and slammed it into the desk; taking a rather hefty chunk out of it, making the siblings instantly clam up and stare at him wide-eyed.

"Enough! We have more important things to be doing than arguing over something so frivolous! No better than children the pair of you, I suggest that the matter is dropped so we can carry on with our preparations."

Both Evie and Jacob nodded shamefacedly before giving each other one last death stare, Connor dragging her off to the other side of the carriage and leaving Jacob with you.

"Well, now that I definitely didn't miss. So what happened?"

"Oh, nothing much, just Evie blaming me for her mistakes!"

You elbowed him hard in the ribs when he said that last bit purposefully louder, making him grimace from both the pain that you had caused him and the seething expression from Connor.

"You know that's not what I meant, I've never gotten involved in your arguments, you know that. The crates, where are they coming from?"

Standing there with your hands on your hips irritably as he flopped down on the sofa and put his feet up, you lashed out and knocked his hat off his head when he pulled it down over his eyes without answering you.

"Oi! Don't you start, I've had enough of women harassing me for one night thank you."

You rubbed your face when he picked his hat up off the floor and exaggerated brushing it off before placing it back over his eyes, then tapped your finger on your bottom lip when you knew you weren't going to get anywhere like this, so as usual, you had to come up with some other way of coercing what you needed out of him. Glancing over your shoulder to see Evie and Connor with their backs to you and deep in conversation about some documents on the desk in front of them, you gracefully sat down on top of Jacobs' legs, shuffling about slightly and leaning over close enough so he could hear your whispers.

"You've never been able to hold back from me, what makes you think you can start now?"

A sly smirk crept up your face when you could see him biting the insides of his cheeks to stop himself from grinning, so you decided to push things just that little further, knowing it wouldn't take much more to get him to break. Putting all your weight on the balls of your feet, you slid yourself up him a bit more so you were sat straight on his groin and wiggled your lower half suggestively, which made him lightly groan and grab your hips firmly.

"Fine! Bloody tease. They're coming from further down the docks, there's a whole shipping container full of them, way more than we thought. Was tempted to take a look but I couldn't be bothered."

"That wasn't so hard now was it?" You chuckled as you pried his hands from around you so you could get up and tell Connor this information, then scowled when he silently imitated what you just said tauntingly.

Leaning around Connor so you could see at the blueprints he was looking at on the desk, you chewed at your bottom lip when you realised that this mission was not going to be as easy as you initially thought.

"Jacob said that there are more of those crates than we expected, It's gonna be hard to get them all."

"Did he now?" Evie grumbled, scoffing when she looked over to see him on the sofa half asleep.

"Well before I was interrupted earlier, I overheard when the deal is going to be made. We shall have to split into two groups to start, Henry will stay here on surveillance. You can take him with you to the warehouse, Connor and I will start at the docks, then make our way down to you."

Shrugging your shoulders when that was fine by you; actually preferring being paired with Jacob as you would both go off and do your own thing, you nodded when you saw she was still staring at you, waiting for an answer.

"Then it's sorted. Eight o'clock tomorrow night is when we will make our move."

[adapted-batteries]

Fairies Gone Rogue

Fandoms: The Librarians, Dresden Files

Rating: Teen, mostly sfw

Relationship: Jassekiel

Word Count: 6981

A continuation of the Land Pirates AU. The LiTs have a new case in Chicago, but they aren’t the only ones trying to figure out what’s behind the random accidents.

Also posted on my Ao3.

-----

The clippings book fluttered its pages incessantly, trying to alert the team that a new case had arisen. There were people in the main room. Their willfully ignoring the book was the problem. Rather than waste time when they weren't going to listen, the clippings book settled and reached out into the Annex, locating the trio currently very...occupied...behind one of the bookcases.

It knew what they were doing, of course. The clippings book knew everything by being a communication device for the Library. It knew that humans did this from time to time, and the act meant (generally) that the people involved were emotionally bonded. For the team to work well, it was important...but not nearly important to do so at the frequency the Library had been witnessing, which any number larger than one per relationship within a couple months was more than Library could stand, considering they did not live here. The LiTs were very much above that limit, and rightly so, the Library was annoyed. If the Librarian and Guardian were here more often, they wouldn't be so frisky. Such was the sacrifice the Library had to endure to save the world from Dulaque and whatever else might go wrong in the meantime.

Since pages alone wouldn't work, the clippings book sifted through the nearby shelves in search of the heaviest book that wasn't in a delicate state. It then relocated that book physically to the floor near the trio at a much faster speed than it would've achieved by gravity alone, producing the desired boom. If the clippings book could smile, it would at the shock and startled faces on the LiTs. Satisfied it had their attention now, the clippings book went back to fluttering on its stand.

“That wasn't very nice,” Cassandra mumbled, looking around to see if any other books were going to bombard them while she straightened her blouse.

“Sounds like a new case,” Stone grumbled. He glanced in the direction of the still fluttering pages as he smoothed his hair back into a less wild state.

Ezekiel didn't bother with fixing his appearance, as he didn't intend to stop what they had been doing. “It can wait a little while longer.”

Cassandra seemed torn between siding with Ezekiel or the clippings book. “I think the Library wants us to look, considering it did throw a book at us.”

“All it did was stop our fun,” Ezekiel replied to Cassandra, then tilted his head up to the Annex in general. “Not cool, mate.”

“It’s not like we haven't done this already,” Stone started, getting increasingly more unsettled. “Though if the Library knew where to throw the book, that means it was watchin’...which means it probably watched all those other times…”

“It’s not recent news the Library keeps tabs on what goes on inside it,” Ezekiel retorted.

“Let's go look at the case,” Cassandra butted in, trying to get Stone off his train of thought so he wouldn't be freaked out the rest of the day, and hopefully keeping Ezekiel from being grumpy until they could finish what they had started. “We haven't had one for a few days, it'll be fun.”

The boys reluctantly followed her to the desk where the clippings book was still impatiently fluttering pages, settling when they finally neared. They read the various newspaper clippings silently, perplexed with the case.

“Various accidents in Chicago doesn’t seem very magical to me,” Ezekiel said, not trying very hard to hide his disinterest.

Stone seemed a little more intrigued. “That’s what you said last time about all the clocks in that town in North Carolina skipping time, when it turned out the town itself was doing the time skipping.”

Cassandra gave Ezekiel a rather annoyed look. “You do get that things in the clippings book are there because it’s magic somehow, right?”

“I know,” Ezekiel said with a sigh, “but it’s nothing dire, it can wait…” he tried to lean towards Stone, but got shoved away by said cowboy.

“This is our job, Jones, we can’t just do it only when we want,” Stone said. “Besides, I think the Library was trying to send us a message with that book.”

“What, that it doesn’t want us to be happy?” Ezekiel said, most of that sentence directed up towards the ceiling. He waited, but the Library was not going to satisfy him with responding.

“Well, we aren’t really starved for...it...we did just do it a couple days ago in that reading room,” Stone added.

“You can say ‘sex’ Stone, we’ve already been over this,” Ezekiel tutted. “And if that’s the case, why didn’t it stop us then? Or Last week?”

“Maybe it was how much we were, not that we were,” Stone said, face tinged red with realization.

Ezekiel didn’t care for rational and reasonable opinions the Library had about that. “I think the Library is just jealous it can’t love like we can.”

Stone blinked at Ezekiel a few times in confusion. “....What.”

While they argued, Cassandra had been rereading the clippings. “Hey, are you two done yet? Because I think I have a lead already.” The boys focused and looked to where Cassandra was pointing. “In most of these, the people mentioned seeing a small flash of silver light sometime before the accident occurred.”

“You think someone might’ve been casting spells on them?” Stone suggested.

“More than likely,” Cassandra said. She pointed to another clippings. “This one just happened today, that would be the best one to start at.”

“Truck carrying paints explodes in a neighborhood, coating everything in unicorn vomit. I don’t envy whoever’s cleaning that up,” Ezekiel said.

“There haven’t been any injuries, at least nothing above minor ones. Even that truck driver came out only covered in blue paint,” Stone pointed out.

“That is weird,” Cassandra said. “I don’t know of any spell that causes bad luck but with protection from serious injuries. Too bad Jenkins had to go visit Nessie, he would know what spell this was.”

“Guess it’s time for some investigating,” Stone said. The group looked at each other in agreement, then Ezekiel went about setting the door to Chicago.

The scene of the paint explosion was just as weirdly awe-inducing as it sounded. All colors one might see on a house exterior, along with brighter primary and secondary colors, splattered everything within thirty or so feet. The road and the cars parked on either side of it got most of the paint, but the closest houses also got impromptu paint jobs, complete with paint free spots in the shapes of the cars in front of them. Cassandra was thankful the breeze was behind them because the colors all around were enough to make her head hurt.

The street was not void of people either. Most stayed outside the paint mess, but easily spotted shoe prints occasionally entered and left homes. The carcass of the truck trailer, exploded from within, still sat in the epicenter, the sides and top metal walls peeled back somehow instead of breaking completely. A road work crew at the other end of the street looked like they were figuring out how to best clean the mess, but hadn't started yet.

“So, what should we look for?” Ezekiel asked.

“Any sigils or runes, magical objects, well, I don’t really know what to look for,” Cassandra replied.

Just then, a silver light the size of a basketball zoomed past them, zipping into an alleyway two buildings behind them. Stone pointed in that direction. “Does that count?”

“That definitely counts,” Ezekiel answered for her, starting down the street after it. Stone and Cassandra followed him half a second later. Like the professionals they were, they each stuck a head around the edge of the building, specifically in the order of Ezekiel on bottom, Cassandra in the middle, and Stone on top.

A man in a black duster knelt in front of a chalk circle, waving his hands while the silver light zipped around, stuck inside an invisible forcefield it seemed. He was saying something, but it was too low to hear.

Stone pulled the two below him back around the edge of the building. “That has to be the wizard causing the accidents,” he whispered.

“Okay, so what are we going to do?” Ezekiel asked, arms folded in front of him. “Just walk up to him and be like ‘excuse me, but can you please stop doing magic?’ Because that will totally work.”

“We have to subdue him. If he gets away now, he may cause another accident somewhere else,” Cassandra said. She looked to Stone. “You could handle him...right?”

“Theoretically, yeah, but I have no clue what magic he’s capable of,” Stone said with a shrug. “We can’t just charge at him.”

“No...but Cassandra and I could distract him, then you give him a good knock to the head,” Ezekiel said.

“Alright. Give me a couple minutes to get around the block to the other end of the alley, then do whatever distracting you want,” Stone decided. He gave each of them a tender look. “Please be careful, okay?”

“We’ll be fine, mate, it’s you who needs to be careful,” Ezekiel added, playfully ruffling Stone’s hair, but there was concern in his eyes. “You were the one laid up with a broken leg two weeks ago.”

Stone took Ezekiel’s hand out of his hair and held it with both hands. “I told ya, I’m fine, Jenkins cleared me after healin’ me all the way. I’ll watch myself.” He let go and started walking, turning sideways. “Two minutes, okay?” They nodded in acknowledgement, and once Stone disappeared around the corner, they commenced to crafting their spectacular plan.

Like the professional thieves they were, Cassandra and Ezekiel strode up the alleyway like they owned it. “Oi, mate, what are you doing there?” Ezekiel said once they’d gotten within ten feet.

The man startled, looking at them more confused than spooked. He scuffed the circle on the ground, freeing the silver light (which definitely looked like a little person with wings wearing garbage for armor). Both Ezekiel and Cassandra got distracted by it, which the man took advantage of.

“There’s nothing going on here, whoever you are. You can just go ahead and walk back the way you came,” the man started, picking up a staff that had been laying on the ground out of their sight.

“You’ve been making quite a mess,” Cassandra said, trying to ignore the man now standing at his full almost seven feet, with his equally tall staff carved with runes slightly glowing. She also kept her eyes from darting behind the man, where Stone had started creeping into the alley.

“That truck out there was nothing. Chicago’s seen a lot worse, trust me,” the man said, and then realized how he sounded. “Hold on, I didn’t mean-” He didn’t get a chance to clarify as Stone took him down, football defensive lineman style.

Even though Stone was a foot shorter than the man, he had enough muscle to turn the wizard into a rug for the alleyway, complete with a not great sounding “oof” from the man. The man had surprisingly quick reflexes despite the tackle, but instead of smacking Stone with his staff, Stone caught it and used the momentum to pull it out of his hands, then clocked him with it, relieving the man of consciousness temporarily.

Stone stood next to him, looking a bit like a hobbit with the staff. “Good thing Baird wanted to train with bo staffs last month.”

Ezekiel started searching the man for anything dangerous. While there were things he figured were probably magical, he didn’t find anything warranting taking. “So, what are we going to do with him?” he asked, standing up.

“We could take him back to the Library,” Cassandra suggested.

“Why would we want to do that? It doesn’t sound very smart to take a wizard to the largest store of magical items,” Stone countered.

“If we keep him away from the artifacts, we should be okay,” Cassandra said, looking at the staff in Stone’s hand. “He might not do magic without this staff, look at all the runes in it. And he didn’t cast anything at us either.”

“If I restrain him, he won’t be moving much,” Ezekiel added. He glanced down at the body. “We should hurry, before he wakes up and laughs at us still planning.”

Stone didn’t look thrilled, but handed Cassandra the staff and started lifting the man by the armpits. “You better quit runnin’ your mouth then and grab his feet.”

Ezekiel tried to look saucy while he grabbed jean clad ankles. “Why don’t you make me?”

“Boys, now is not the time,” Cassandra barked, scowling particularly at Ezekiel. “Let’s go, the door isn’t that far away from here.”

Surprisingly, the LiTs managed to move an unconscious tree of a man in broad daylight without problem. They decided to tie him up in a chair in the sparring room, and waited until he woke up.

---

Harry had not been having a great couple of days. Something was wrong with the fairies, and they were making a mess all over Chicago. The first couple of times he couldn’t even summon Toot, and just when he managed it, some punks came and knocked him out. Stuff like this can make a guy feel pretty useless.

He came to in a room that looked like it belonged in a gentleman’s club from a century ago, or more. The wood paneled walls and floor looked old, and real, along with the antique-looking exercise equipment next to a modern exercise bike. The other weapons in the room though, they looked like something that came out of a larper’s wet dream. Staffs (including his own) and swords and shields and other weapons he recognized but couldn’t name sat in various racks. Wherever he was practically reeked of magic, the air practically vibrating with it. More importantly, he was tied in a chair, and the three attackers were watching him.

They hadn’t gagged him; their loss. “Look, I think there’s been a misunderstanding-”

The one who put him on the ground in the alley cut him off. “You were doing magic right at the scene of the latest accident, there’s not much to misunderstand,” he said, folding his arms. Harry figured he had to be from somewhere south.

“Okay, yeah, I was doing magic. But I was trying to figure out why the accidents are happening, not cause them,” Harry countered. None of them looked like they believed him; considering the situation, that was fair. “Why did you take me anyway? Who are you people?”

“We’re the Librarians,” the redhead said. When she did, there was distinct magic in her words, not enough to charm him like it probably did an average person, but enough to make him curious.

“What kind of name is that? Are you some by-the-book wizard vigilantes?” Harry asked. Apparently his response confused them based on their inter-looking. “You really should find out who the other magically inclined people in the area are before you go incapacitating them, and trying to charm them, because if you had, you’d know that I’ve got Chicago covered.”

“Who are you then?” the Asian one with the unexpected Australian accent said.

“If you had looked in a phone book before you went all vigilante, you would know. Probably don’t even know what a phone book is,” Harry mumbled, that last bit aimed at the Asian one since he looked younger than the other two. They all just looked more confused at that. “The name’s Harry Dresden, wizard for hire.”

“And what exactly do you get hired for?” the Asian one said. Despite his youth, the kid had an air about him that said he’d been through some shit. In fact, the woman had a similar air to her too; it was the southern fighter who seemed less weathered somehow, more on edge having someone tied up in a chair in front of him. Harry concluded the Asian and the redhead had some sketchy black market experience.

“Well, I’m a P. I., so anything a P. I. might be good for, and then there’s the things a wizard P. I. would be good for,” Harry replied. He could see the fighter thinking up a question, so he beat him to it. “No, I don’t do jobs that involve cursing and hexing and such. I’m an honorable wizard.”

“Then why were you there in the alley?” the fighter asked.

“Like I told you before, I was trying to figure out why the accidents were happening in the first place. Well, I know why, probably…” Harry tapered off. There was no reason to tell these people anything, for all he knew, they were the ones causing the problems with the fairies. “Why were you sneaking up on me?”

The three glanced at each other, having some eye conversation Harry interpreted as a “do we trust him” and “maybe he can help” and “but what if he’s actually bad” type of eye conversation, with both of the men ultimately deferring to the redhead. She walked up to him, not close, but enough to change her presence from aloof in thought to leader of the bunch with a calculating eye. “We keep magical items out of the wrong hands,” she said.

“So you run the magical equivalent of that warehouse in Indiana Jones,” Harry concluded. Maybe the White Council needed one of those.

“...sure. Except it sits in its own pocket dimension and also contains a copy of every book ever written,” she added.

“That explains the name then, and why this place leaks magic like no one’s business,” Harry said. Something told him these people probably weren’t evil, but there wasn’t any way to confirm, except maybe Sight, but who knows what he’d see in here. He used his Sight anyway, because Harry was pretty good at ignoring risks, and he was just plain curious.

The lady, since she was nearest, was the first thing he saw, once he adjusted to the near pure magic running through the walls and floor like electrical wiring. The amount of magic surrounding her was like looking into the sun. Magic she hadn’t used though; maybe she didn’t know, or didn’t want to, who knows. A faint black blob near her head leaked black smoke, but the wild magic disturbed it. Whatever that was, she was fighting it as much as her will could. Underneath all the magic he could see her, almost identical but in a white dress, eyes pure white like the magic around her.

Next he looked at the Asian man, and he audibly gasped. On his head was a gleaming winged helmet. His skin shimmered with the same divine energy. He had to be a demigod. However, compared to the lady, the intensity of magic was like night and day, his magic only barely seeping through his pores. He had some scars on his arms and head which faded into his hair; they looked old and fairly well healed.

Finally he looked at the fighter. Glowing MMA gloves adorned his hands, and he also had a glittering chainmail shirt. There were bruises, faded, but still noticeable, on his face. While he lacked magic in or around him, there was a little person standing next to him, head reaching his waist. The spirit was watching Harry with a curious expression, but it didn’t do anything else. Before he switched his Sight off, Harry noticed the light pink line connecting each of them by the heart. He had a pretty good guess what that meant.

It took a moment for Harry to adjust to the relative darkness of the room. The three were looking at him like he just spaced out, which essentially he did. “You okay there?” the fighter asked.

“Oh, yeah, just had a little think,” Harry said. “Something tells me you won’t leave Chicago if I asked you to, so instead I’m gonna let you help me.” That got narrowed eyes from the redhead. “I have a good idea why the accidents have been happening,” Harry paused for dramatic effect, “but first, you need to untie me.”

“Sure, and I’m just gonna be purple now,” the demigod replied sarcastically.

Harry rolled his eyes. “If we’re gonna work together, we need to have some mutual trust, and me being tied up doesn’t exactly convey that.” No one moved to untie him, so he thought up another reason to make them less wary. “I don’t hurt people unless I have to. I have no reason to hurt you, and I’m the only one in this room who has a personal connection to the problem.”

After yet another eye conversation, the Asian one untied him. Harry rubbed his wrists, then itched his nose, and then got to a more relaxed position in the chair now that his ankles weren’t tied to the legs. “First off, you know my name, but I don’t know yours. I’d rather have something to call you.” There was a quick glance at each other, which Harry kept from being another eye conversation by saying, “I can’t do anything to you if I don’t know your whole name, so just don’t tell me all of it and you’re fine.”

The redhead tilted her head up. “Cassandra.”

The Asian flicked his wrist. “Ezekiel.”

The fighter tilted his head down, like he lifted an imaginary stetson. “Stone.”

Harry nodded at them. “Okay, so you probably saw that silver light, yeah? Well, that was Toot-Toot...he’s a dew-drop fairy. Normally they don’t do stuff like this, but something’s gotten the fairies even more rowdy than they usually are.”

“Do you have any idea what’s made them like this?” Cassandra asked.

“My guess is some sort of magical drug. I haven’t found any charm or magical signature anywhere, and Toot seemed drugged when he finally came to me summoning him,” Harry answered. “And if it is that, I can whip up a general nullification potion, but I don’t have enough to treat all the fairies in Za-Lord’s Guard.”

“Za-Lord’s Guard?” Stone asked.

“Oh, that’s what they call themselves. They call me Za-Lord because I pay them in pizza. They get information when I need it, and they make a formidable guard,” Harry explained. “With my own supplies, I probably only have enough for half the guard, and it’d take time to get ingredients again.”

“Well,” Cassandra started, glancing at the others behind her, “we do have a lab, which also has potion brewing equipment, and maybe the ingredients you need.”

Stone leaned towards Cassandra. “Jenkins ain’t gonna be happy to know we let a stranger into his lab.”

“What Jenkins doesn’t know doesn’t hurt him,” Cassandra replied. Stone didn’t seem content with that, but he didn’t argue. Cassandra turned to Harry and started walking past him. “Follow me.”

“Sure thing, but first, I'd like my staff back,” Harry said. Stone immediately looked uneasily at Cassandra, who then looked warily at Harry. He wasn't going to get his staff back. “Fine. I don't need it for potions, but I want someone to at least bring it so it doesn't get left here.”

“I'll get it,” Ezekiel said, grabbing the staff before Harry could stop him. Comically, it was a good foot taller than him. Not so comically, the runes started glowing faintly in his grasp. Ezekiel looked at the staff wide-eyed. “Uh, is it supposed to do that?”

“You might want to let someone else hold it,” Harry started, clearing his throat to hide his concern about what Ezekiel just managed.

Stone took the staff, watching Ezekiel for a moment, then glaring at Harry. “Why’d it light up like that?”

“I don’t actually know. You aren’t a wizard, are you?” Harry asked Ezekiel, who shook his head, confused. “Well, just don’t hold it again. Now, let's go make us a potion.”

---

Cassandra had never seen a potion quite like the one Harry made. She had watched Jenkins make a few, but they were all very plant or nature based. Harry’s potion was much more physical based, calling for things Cassandra previously thought not edible like body wash for touch, the sound of flowing water, and a piece of clean white cloth.

Harry assured her it would work. Even more surprising was the fact that Harry was able to find all he needed to to make a full batch in Jenkins’s lab. She made a mental note to ask Jenkins about different potion brewing methods when he returned.

“Okay, easy part done. Now to round up fifteen or so fairies off their balls on magical drugs,” Harry announced once he poured the potion into an empty milk jug and screwed on the cap.

“How do we round up fairies?” Ezekiel asked. “That one that zipped past us was pretty fast.”

“If I can summon Toot again, he can help find the rest, hopefully,” Harry said, taking the pot he had used to the nearby sink to wash it. “Our problem now is that Toot won’t be at the paint explosion anymore. In order to find him, we have to wait until they cause another accident somewhere.”

“Can we predict where they might be next?” Stone asked.

“There's no rhyme or reason to the accidents. It’s like they just fly around and cause a mess when they see potential for one,” Harry replied, scrubbing the pot with a soapy sponge.

“Are you sure there’s not a pattern?” Cassandra asked, thoughts already rolling. “I don’t know Chicago well enough to catch if the incidents we know about have a pattern.” She turned to Ezekiel, who was tapping at his phone already. “Could you map them and sort by date, earliest to latest?”

“On it, Red,” Ezekiel chimed, typing for a second more, then grabbing Stone by the arm. “We’ll have it up on the projector in five minutes or so.” The two left, leaving Cassandra alone with Harry.

Cassandra busied herself with organizing some of the supplies while Harry scrubbed away, even though he did a pretty good job of cleaning up already.

“So, how long you been a, uh, a librarian?” Harry asked.

“Eight months,” Cassandra said. “How long have you been a wizard?”

“Oh, I've had magical inclinations since I was ten, but it took years of training to be what I am now.” He looked thoughtfully at the pot, deciding it was well scrubbed, and started rinsing it. “How come I've never heard of this place?”

“It is a secret magical library for a reason, and it works best if it stays that way too,” Cassandra said, a bit of threat under the words.

“Understandable,” Harry said with a nod. “Though from what I've seen, regular people tend to explain away magic as much as they can.”

Cassandra thought for a moment. Maybe this wizard might have some outside knowledge towards the Library’s overarching problem. “Have you heard anything about a Dulaque?”

The question was enough to get Harry to glance over his shoulder at her. “You mean like Lancelot Dulaque?”

“That's the one,” Cassandra said quite unenthused.

Harry seemed pretty confused. “Well, he was alive at one point, a night to King Arthur in Camelot, but that was over a millennium ago. Why, should I have heard more recent news?”

“Well, he’s certainly still alive,” Cassandra said.

He didn’t seem all that shocked to hear that. “That's news to me. The one I thought may be around still is Merlin, but I didn't think the knights were ever immortal.” He sat the now rinsed pot on the drying rack next to the sink, then turned to face Cassandra. “Should I be concerned about him? Or any other people from that time?”

“He’s attempting to boost the ley lines, but he's not managed to do it yet,” Cassandra said, noting the way Harry looked at her with mild horror. “It was enough to make Morgan Le Fay head to the feywild anyway.”

“So she’s around too, sort of,” Harry mused. “Well at least the courts are more than strong enough to handle her there if things went south.” He scratched the scruff on his chin in thought. “I'll keep an eye and ear out for Dulaque. If he got what he wanted, my job would be a lot harder.”

“Is Chicago a big city for magic?” Cassandra asked. They hadn't really had any cases take them there since they started.

“It’s certainly got more going on than you'd think,” Harry replied, grabbing his staff which Stone had left propped against a cabinet. “I think it's been five minutes.”

Cassandra knew six minutes and twenty seconds had past, but didn't say it. “It probably has,” she said, grabbing the jug of potion. “Hopefully I'll be able to find a pattern so we aren't sitting around all day waiting.”

Harry glanced at her as they walked into the hallway. “Your friend isn't the one figuring it out? He seemed like he was.”

“Oh, Ezekiel can map them for me, but I can do better than his algorithms generally,” Cassandra said casually. She could feel Harry’s shocked stare, which made her smile a little.

---

Ezekiel had already mapped the incidents as they showed up in the clippings book, or more accurately, the app he made that connected to the Library did that for him. All Ezekiel had to do was send that data to the computer and turn on the projector. It took Stone more time to get the white screen set up in front of the back door, and they still had two of the five minutes left.

“I’ll go get them,” Stone said. He started back towards the lab since Cassandra and Harry hadn’t left yet, but Ezekiel caught him by the hip.

“Or, we could make use of the little time we have alone,” Ezekiel purred, pressing himself against Stone.

“Zeke, we can’t, we got a mission to do,” Stone explained, but he couldn’t help but tilt his head close to the thief’s.

“Come on, just a little kiss then,” Ezekiel suggested, his nose barely brushing against Stone’s.

Stone knew if they started, it was likely they weren’t gonna stop, but Ezekiel was oh so good at making Stone ignore the logical part of himself. “...Just one,” Stone said, and pressed his lips against Ezekiel’s.

As predicted, the one kiss turned into a bunch, which turned into Ezekiel pressed against the nearest wall. They didn't have long though; Harry cleared his throat loudly as he and Cassandra walked into the annex’s main room. Ezekiel let out a frustrated noise as Stone stepped out of his space. The archaeologist looked a little embarrassed at being caught, and Ezekiel looked downright annoyed they got interrupted.

Cassandra rolled her eyes at both of them, then walked towards the screen. She studied it for a moment, then flicked her hands in front of her, processing the information via visual hallucination. The boys watched her casually since it was a fairly regular occurrence, and she'd gotten better with keeping it from overwhelming her. Harry watched with confusion and mild concern.

“There’s been fourteen incidents in the span of five days….not concentric or spiral, but there’s something net like...Zeke put on the leyline overlay, as fine of a resolution as you can...oh yes, that’s it, they’re following branches off the main leylines,” Cassandra concluded, swiping away her calculations. “Which means, the nearest branch intersection from the paint truck should be somewhere near here, and they’ll probably do something within the next couple of hours, based off the intervals.” She pointed to an intersection of the glowing blue lines just north of downtown Chicago.

“How did you figure that? And how do you get technology to work in here?” Harry asked.

“Synesthete with a mix of photographic memory,” Cassandra said, though she paused to think about his second question. “Why would it not work?”

“All the wizards I know can fry a phone just by standing near it. How that projector hasn’t started bugging out with me here I have no clue,” Harry explained.

“Must be you mate. Internet here is superb quality,” Ezekiel said.

“So we know where, but what’s the plan?” Stone asked.

“Ideally, I’ll summon Toots, douse him with the potion, then from there we do that for the rest of the fairies,” Harry said. “Unless you have a better idea.”

Cassandra looked to Stone. “Jenkins would know if we had something...do you have any literary suggestions that could lead us in the right direction?”

“I can certainly try,” Stone said. He went over to the card catalogue and started pulling drawers, looking at cards, eventually accumulating three cards after about five minutes (Ezekiel’s pet project of turning the card catalogue digital was still a long way from finished). “I’ve got a reference for a text on fairies and other fae creatures, what looks like potentially a spell book with ways to summon a few things, and someone’s diary kept while in the feywild.”

Harry glanced to Cassandra. “Any chance I can get a library card here?”

She gave him a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, strict no-loan policy,” then turned to the group in general, “those books may have something useful.” She looked over to Ezekiel. “How well does the searching the digital artifact inventory work?” (That project was technically complete, but Ezekiel let Jenkins do item tags and warnings for a lot of it since Jenkins was in charge of the physical inventory logs, which makes searching for something like “magic fairy catcher” turn up nothing)

“If Jenkins is the one searching, it works fine...but for anyone else except maybe Flynn it’s kind of hit or miss,” Ezekiel confessed, pulling up the program on the computer. “I’ll try my best, but no promises.”

Twenty minutes later, the team actually turned up something useful. Turned out the Library had an artifact that did just what they needed; a living wooden bowl of sorts that, once filled with water, would attract any fairy in a couple mile radius. With that tool in hand, a bottle of water to fill it with, and the jug of potion the trio and Harry set off to Cassandra’s prediction for where the fairies would strike next.

Harry walked with determination, like one who wants to appear like they know where they're going when in fact they don't know where they're going, stopping in a more discrete alleyway away from prying eyes. Whipping out a piece of chalk, he made a five foot wide circle on the concrete. “Okay, so once the bowl does its job, I'll activate the circle, keeping me and the fairies contained, and douse them,” Harry said. “And hopefully it works.”

“What should we do if it doesn't?” Cassandra asked.

“If it doesn't, I'll be trapped with a pack of now angry fairies, which I will try my best to get away from by breaking the circle. But we’ll hope it doesn't come to that,” Harry said, throwing a charming smile at the end. He knelt down next to the bowl in the middle of the circle, holding the water bottle above it. “Here goes nothing.” Once the water filled the bowl, flowers sprouted from the rim, lavender, marigold, honeysuckle and snapdragons. The water itself shimmered like someone dumped in blue food luster dust.

Nothing happened for thirty seconds...or a minute….or even two, but once three minutes passed, a whole bunch of little silver lights zipped to the bowl. Thirty or so foot tall humanoid creatures with various vibrant colored puff balls of hair stood around the edge or lounged in the water, taking in the flowers and chittering amongst themselves. Once they were all within the bounds of the circle, Harry quickly knelt down and touched the chalk, creating an invisible magical wall around himself. A few of the fairies noticed, but most of them were too occupied with the bowl to care. With haste he grabbed the potion jug and thoroughly drenched the fairies, the force of it knocking them all to the ground.

For a moment, nothing happened, then slowly the fairies righted themselves, fluttering their wings to dry them. One in particular, with a mane of magenta colored hair and wearing bottle caps hooked together as a sort of chainmail shirt, sat up and then flew over to Harry.

“Heya Toot, feeling better?” Harry asked.

The little fairy bobbed in flight. “Za-Lord! I feel great! I can think again.” The fairy’s voice sounded like someone did a comical pitch shift up a couple octaves.

Harry frowned. “What happened to you all?”

“There was a Tylwyth Teg that gave us a sweet. They told us it would taste even better than pizza, and it did, but then I couldn’t stop doing things that made me laugh,” Toot explained. The little fairy bowed his head. “Did we do something bad?”

“Well, you were trying your best to make a mess of Chicago,” Harry said. “Nothing that can’t be fixed eventually.”

“Oh, good,” Toot said, flying in a loop in relief.

“Next time, don’t take drugs from fey you don’t know...or any at all.” Harry glanced to the other fairies. “Make sure the rest are themselves, then you’re free to go.”

“Aye!” Toot saluted, then zipped down to the fairies, talking to each one. It took about a minute for Toot to conduct the survey of his personnel before he reported back to Harry. “Everyone’s is back to normal.”

“Good.” Harry scuffed the chalk, dispelling the magic circle. The fairies all stayed, looking expectantly at Toot, who was looking expectantly at Harry. “Be more careful next time, okay?”

“No drugs from strangers, even if they taste better than pizza,” Toot said, and without another word, he zipped off, with the rest of the guard following him.

Harry picked up the wooden bowl, dumping out the water. The flowers fizzled out in a puff of ash, and then the bowl looked just like a plain wooden mixing bowl. “Well that went considerably better than I thought it would,” he said to the LiTs who just watched the whole thing.

“It’s normally more involved on our end too,” Cassandra said. “I feel like we didn’t do a whole lot to solve this case.”

“You did more than you think,” Harry said, handing her the bowl. “It would’ve taken me a couple weeks to have enough ingredients, and then I would have to probably treat them all individually since I didn’t have that fancy bowl. You made my job a whole lot easier...even if you did knock me out and kidnap me.”

Stone ducked his head a little. “Sorry ‘bout that.”

“No hard feelings,” Harry replied. He reached into his duster, pulling out a business card. “If you’re ever back in Chicago and need some magical help, just give me a call.” He handed it to Cassandra.

“We don’t have a business card, but if you’re ever in Portland, just knock on Saint John’s bridge,” Ezekiel said. Stone gave him a bit of a concerned look, but Ezekiel waved it off. “I took it upon myself to revamp the security system when we first got there, it’s fine.”

With the job done, the four stood awkwardly in the alley for a few moments. “Is there a way I could get a lift to my place with your fancy teleporting door? It’s a bit of a walk from here.”

Cassandra smiled at him. “I think we can manage that.”

After a quick hop to another street corner five miles away, the LiTs were once again alone in the Annex. It only took twenty seconds of silence and a few looks before Ezekiel scooted closer to Cassandra, giving a tentative kiss, which she intently returned. It certainly took no time at all for Stone to get in on the action too.

If only the phone in the Annex hadn’t started ringing.

“Seriously?!” Ezekiel groaned as Cassandra reluctantly left his embrace to answer it.

“Hello? Hi Jenkins...sure, one back door coming right up.” Cassandra hung up the phone and set the backdoor to the coordinates Jenkins had written down before he left. Within a few seconds the door glowed, and the caretaker entered.

“I see everything is still in order,” Jenkins said, taking off his overcoat and putting it on the rack next to the door.

“We just finished a case too,” Cassandra added. Jenkins looked at the LiTs for more information.

“Fairies on sketchy fey drugs in Chicago,” Ezekiel said, standing quite close to Stone.

Jenkins raised his eyebrows. “Interesting. Did you recover any of the drugs?”

“No, but the fairies are sober now,” Stone answered.

“Unfortunate. I’ll keep an eye on that. Fey substances are nothing to mess around with,” Jenkins said as he walked over to his desk. He pulled out a rather thick looking book and turned pages until he got to the entry he wanted. Jenkins started to grab a nearby pen, but he noticed the LiTs loitering. “Do you need something?”

“Oh, uh, no, we’re fine,” Cassandra said. She glanced to the two with her, then looked back to Jenkins. “You know, I think we’ll head off for the day, since we did close a case. Unless you need us for something…”

It was easy to see the LiTs clearly had somewhere else they wanted to be. “Unless you want to write my entry for Nessie in the magical creatures log, I think I will be quite fine if you retire for the day.”

“Thanks Jenkins,” she said. She hurried up to Jenkins, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, then the LiTs made a hasty exit, finally ready to have some uninterrupted time to themselves.

-----

Post Notes: So, for those of you who haven’t read any of the Dresden Files, the character they meet is the protagonist from that series. He’s a wizard P. I. in Chicago, and basically Chicago’s de-facto defender from magical threats. For those that have read it, this is set sometime before Blood Rites for convenience of none of the events in Changes and later looming over Harry, and because I forgot to write in Mouse. For those who haven’t, I’ve explained the Sight and the potion he made in the next “chapter” on Ao3 because knowing how Sight works makes what Harry saw have a lot more meaning, and it’s a bit much to have in these notes.