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myradness · 3 years ago

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Narcos Fic: i will follow you into the dark [chapter 5]

Pairing: Steve Murphy/Javier Peña

Rating: M

Word count: 8.9k

Tags: canon-typical violence, fluff and angst, slow burn

Chapter Summary: Tensions come to a head as Steve and Javier race against the clock to get to Escobar before extradition goes to vote. Steve struggles to stay afloat managing his marriage and work.

link for full fic:

Javi was back in Bogotá within the next few days, and nearly immediately they were sent off to Medellín to assist Carrillo in interviewing the girlfriend of the man who had been identified as the one who, seemingly unwittingly, had carried the bomb onto the doomed Avianca plane. They were making the grueling trek between the two cities more and more frequently these days, and Steve wondered when the higher-ups back in Washington might take a look through budget reports, see the massive inefficiency, and make their field office in Bogotá a field office in Medellín. He wasn’t holding his breath.

Since his return, Javi still hadn’t brought up the night they spent together waiting for Navegante. Steve wasn’t sure if that was out of embarrassment or if his partner was simply fine to let things lie, but he decided to follow Javi’s lead on this one. Although, he wasn’t quite sure if he was relieved or irritated when the subject was never broached. Like an itch needing to be scratched but is just barely out of reach— it’ll go away eventually, but it’s anguish up until that point.

Steve leaned up against the entrance of the home where the presumed bomber’s girlfriend had been staying with her young daughter and mother ever since the man had gone “missing”. The low ceilings of the houses in the comunas, built small to meet the needs of a dense and growing population, were much too cramped for his lanky frame to fit comfortably inside of. Instead, he took on a more observational role, listening in as Javi and Carrillo spoke in soft tones with the girl— a girl, really, she looked so young and so scared sitting there swallowed up by the chair she was sitting on— and picking up about every fifth word or so. “Sicarios de Pablo...podemos protegerte.” In the corner of the room, a small altar hung on the wall, complete with lit candles, rosary beads, pictures of family and small prayer cards. Above it, hung a painting of Pablo likened as a Saint. The irony of the image might’ve been funny if it weren’t so goddamn infuriating to see the grip Escobar still held over so many of the people here. To know that they were so forgotten by the rest of society that the man’s fleeting acts of monetary goodwill could overshadow his evil— even in the eyes of this family whose lives had been completely uprooted, destroyed, by Escobar. A week ago, this girl said goodbye to her boyfriend, the father of her child, forever, and today she sat, hunted down by sicarios, and still that painting hung on the wall with reverence. Despite it all, she held her tongue with Javi and Carrillo.

Steve huffed out a deep breath and watched as Javi turned on his heel and walked frustratedly out of the home back onto the street where the Jeep was parked. He followed along and came to a stop in front of his partner, waiting while he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket, fished one out and lit it, taking a long drag. Steve could feel his own irritation thrumming just below the surface of his skin, and he shifted back and forth on his feet to try and dissipate it as Javi stood there leaning on his hip, quietly composing himself. He wasn’t sure if it was the difference in experience, or maybe it was just Javi, but Steve was constantly in awe of his ability to keep calm in the moment and remain unaffected by the shit they dealt with. He wondered when, if ever, his own blood might stop being so quick to boil.

“She’s lying,” Javi finally breathed out between inhales of smoke.

Steve stopped his pacing, stepping in near his partner. “He’s got this poor sucker to carry a bomb without him even knowing it.”

Javi shifted, looking around at their surroundings— the tightly-packed houses and steep hillside behind them. “Well, maybe he knew,” he offered casually, as if it mattered at this point.

“I don’t care if he knew or not,” Steve spat, breathing out forcefully through his nostrils. “It’s time we put a bullet in Escobar.”

Javi’s face shifted, eyes widening and eyebrows lifting in surprise and gentle amusement. “I like the intensity, Murphy,” he chuckled. “Very Hollywood.”

Steve sighed, letting out the tension that had been building up, and smiled despite himself. “You’re an ass, you know that?” He looked up at Javi, who flashed him a wink before stamping out the butt of his cigarette and walking past him toward the car. They would reconvene with Carrillo at the Carlos Holguín School later that afternoon.

“I agree though,” he called out over his shoulder as Steve turned to follow. “I’m getting real sick of this cat-and-mouse shit.”

* * *

For all of their plans though, things were still slow-moving. After the Avianca bombing, the public rallied around Gaviria and he took the presidency by a landslide. He was understandably keen to respond swiftly to the public outcry over the increase in violence and so one of the first things he did after taking office was to call a meeting with all of the top American officials that were stationed in Bogotá— Javier and Steve included.

Javier sat alongside Murphy, once again both squeezed into their formal suits— ill-fitting in the way they stood as such a stark difference to their normal attire— and listened, powerless, as the President put a stop to nearly all of the work they were doing. He didn’t want American help, especially American funding, in his fight against the narcotraficantes. From that point, he and Steve’s involvement was to be observational and advisory only.

The thing was, Javier understood the President’s wariness. Growing up in Texas, of all places, to Mexican parents, made it hard as hell to not have at least some level of awareness of the dangers of US involvement. But he also knew that the CNP and Carrillo’s Search Bloc didn’t stand a chance against Escobar without their help. The money just wasn’t there.

There had always been a give-and-take of information between himself and Carrillo, even back when Pablo was just a name in a warning that fell on deaf ears. Leaving the man high and dry— even if ordered to— would just feel like betrayal after having worked so closely for so long. He and Steve would find a way to still help out, even if that way had to be much less conspicuous.

And so they did.

Javier couldn’t stand the Mil group and CIA guys, but he was more than willing to bury the hatchet if that meant access to their surveillance assets. Using aerial photographs and intel provided by the Search Bloc, he and Steve were able to work out that sicarios could be easily identified by the cars they drove— all of them expensive foreign imports that the rest of the people in the comunas they were driving through could never dream of affording. While the other American agencies were doing their fly-overs, which somehow escaped Gaviria’s cuts, if they spotted any of these cars they could contact the DEA agents, who would pass the information onto Carrillo, who seemed incredibly thankful to have it. Ever since the successful elimination of Gacha, there had been increased demand on the man to carry out more and more raids. But, their finite resources put up against Escobar’s billions of dollars and intricate web of informants would always be a losing battle. Not to mention that, in response to the increase of government raids and the President’s anti-narco stance, Pablo had begun a streak of public bombings and targeted kidnappings of the adult children of both wealthy and politically important individuals.

It was starting to seem like just a matter of time before Gaviria was forced to bend to some, if not all, of Escobar’s demands. Namely, the abolition of extradition, a reduction of the long list of crimes he had been charged with, and lastly— and probably the most infuriating— the ability to build himself his own jail. The absurdity of it all would be laughable if it wasn’t so angering, if it wasn’t the reality they were facing, if it weren't obvious that Escobar saw this as his gift to the country. That he was somehow acting nobly by putting forth these conditions. It was fucking reprehensible.

Since they knew the clock was ticking, Javier and Steve, along with Carrillo, were working double time to follow up with every tip they got, spending the majority of their days driving through the comunas in Medellín so they could quickly respond whenever a call from the CIA intercepts came through. It was a long shot, but if they could nail one of the cartel’s high-level sicarios then maybe they could catch Escobar before it was too late to do anything.

This was how Javier found himself once again sprawled out in the passenger seat of their Jeep, chain-smoking as Steve drove them around the city while waiting for a call from their eyes in the sky. When he first moved to Colombia, driving through the comunas had evoked almost a sense of claustrophobia the streets were so dense with people and cars. But now, as he looked out the rolled-down window while they meandered their way down main roads and through back alleys, these streets felt cosy. Familiar. It was good to see the mundane— the small moments of happiness carved out of everyday life. It was good to see the people grasping tight onto normalcy despite the war being waged around them.

Javier leaned his weight against the metal frame of the door, taking in Steve as he maneuvered his way through the narrow streets. The man appeared tense today, small lines creasing from the corners of his eyes where they were hidden behind his dark sunglasses, his shoulders tight. They were both stressed, wary from the increasing intensity of it all— Escobar’s attacks, their near-daily raids— it was like a wave that never crested. Swelling. He could feel their desperation starting to fray nerves.

They had already been out driving for several hours with nothing but radio silence, so Javier decided to play nice and motioned for Steve to pull the SUV to the side of the road near where a small grouping of food stalls had set up shop for the day, spilling out of a larger market.

As the car slowly rolled to a stop, Steve glanced over, eyebrow raised and annoyed by the change in pace. “Why are we stopping,” he grumbled.

Javier pulled on the door handle, sliding out of the seat and onto the street. He turned back, leaning in through the open window, and felt the hot metal sting against his forearm. “Gotta piss,” he announced, pushing off of the side of the SUV and walking off, not waiting to see the likely answering roll of eyes from his partner.

He meandered through the stalls, quietly reveling in the swell of life around him— the smell of several different foods competing for dominance, the distant sound of children laughing as they ran through the chaos, the low rumble of weathered voices of the old men sat sipping tintos on fold-out plastic chairs— before settling on a stall where a woman was selling almojábanas . Javier knew that there wasn't a simple fix for the worries furrowing Steve’s brow, but he also knew big American boys, and just how far food could go in soothing the soul. Cheese bread should do the trick.

Leaning over the short counter, Javier motioned for two of the small bags of bread, and laid the pesos near the till. As the woman prepared his order, he glanced around the small enclosure, eyes landing on a young child seated in a low high chair in the corner. The child squealed under his attention, legs kicking and hands grabbing in his direction. He smiled, cooing. “Hola, niñita.”

The woman turned back, holding out the food with a smile, and Javier reached back into his pocket, pulling out his wallet and added a small stack of money to the pile. “Para su ayudante,” he said with a wink in response to her questioning look, nodding his head toward the still-babbling child.

He turned on his heel, throwing one last wave of his fingers over his shoulder toward the girl, and began maneuvering his way back to the Jeep. Steve had his arm up on the windowsill, other hand tapping on the wheel, and he sat up, restarting the car when he noticed Javier approaching. “What took you so damn long? Gettin’ pretty for me, Javi?”

Javi opened up the door, slid into the passenger seat and threw one of the bags of almojábanas into Steve’s lap. “Here. Eat. You’re an ass when you’re hungry, man.”

Steve fixed Javier with an unimpressed look, but opened the bag and began quietly chewing on one of the small round breads. Javier followed suit, relishing the warmth and the smooth taste of cuajada on his tongue, keeping an eye on his partner all the while.

“Y’know, Connie has said the same thing,” Steve mumbled between bites.

“Your wife is a smart woman.” Javier paused, noting that Steve’s eyes had already begun to brighten. He chuckled to himself. Predictable. “How is she? Settled in finally?”

Steve sighed, abandoning his final, half-eaten pastry. “She’s been on edge ever since Poison left us that warning. She’s strong, but I think she worries about me a lot.” He shifted, turning his head to look in the rear view mirror. Always on guard. “I have a hard time separating work from life, too, which doesn’t help,” he murmured. He looked at Javier. “We’re just so close to catching him. And if Gaviria gives in before we do ...it’s difficult to not bring my frustrations home.”

Javier stayed silent, unsure of what to say. He also felt a rising sense of urgency. But at the end of the day he could meet his aggravation with a bottle of whiskey and hours of silence.

“How’d she like the dancing I taught you?”

He watched the tips of his partner’s ears blush pink. “Didn’t quite nail the ambiance, but she had fun at least.”

“You just need more practice then.”

Steve rolled his eyes, barking out a laugh, and moved to shift the gear into reverse. He placed his hand on the seat near the spot where Javier’s head was resting, and turned around to look out of the rear window as he backed up. “Yeah, well,” his voice faded off as he pulled the Jeep back onto the street. “Somehow I don’t think that would do much good.”

Javier didn’t bother responding, opting instead to look out the window. Christ knew he was far from the authority on wives.

From where it was sitting upright in one of the cupholders in the console between them, the radio began to crackle to life. Javier leaned to pick it up, holding the receiver loosely against his chin. “Hammer. Go ahead.”

The tinny voice of the field station lead rang out. “Hammer, we have calls originating in Manrique , from known sicario satellite phones.”

Javier sat forward and pressed down the transmit button. “Do you have a location?”

There was a beat while the man on the other end listened to the conversation they were picking up. A conversation that was happening at that moment, somewhere in the city, between the few men who could lead them to Escobar. Who could make this whole illegal operation worthwhile. “Campo Valdés. That's in the central-eastern area, bordered by the Comuna Popular.”

Campo Valdés. They were close. Javier felt the adrenaline rising in his chest. “Roger that,” he confirmed, the danger of what they were about to undertake only distantly present in his mind. He turned back toward Steve and locked eyes with his partner. “Campo Valdés.”

Steve nodded and turned off on the next side road, picking up speed.

Here went nothing.

* * *

Steve pulled up to the small neighborhood and almost instantly spotted a known sicario car parked alongside the road near an entrance to a group of houses. He brought the Jeep to a stop a few yards up the road and engaged the emergency brake, letting out the deep breath he had been holding in.

The drive to this location had been just long enough that the initial rush of adrenaline from the positive-ID radio call had worn off and a clarity had set in. This was stupid bordering on suicidal. They had no backup, they had no tac vests. They had no fucking clue how many men they were about to engage. Steve felt immediately out of his depth. An uncertainty rising to meet his desperation to catch Escobar. His mind flashed briefly to Connie, and the shock she might feel at his idiocy. Or, maybe she had come to expect this type of bull-headedness from him by now.

His mind then flashed to Javi. He turned and found that his partner was already meeting his eye from across the console. Javi nodded once, and because the man was somehow all-knowing, added: “Just keep your head on straight, Murphy. Let’s catch these assholes.” Then he shifted to grab at the door handle and slid out onto the cracked blacktop. Steve steeled himself and followed suit.

He took point, and together they made their way toward the entrance of the building, taking small steps, their pistols loaded and ready to return fire. In between the sounds of his own breath, an argument echoed from inside of the house closest to the street. Steve looked back at Javi, who nodded, confirming the sound as their target, and continued inching their way toward the source.

For a brief moment, there was silence, before a cacophony of shots firing and glass shattering rang out as bullets started to spray from inside the house.

The men inside the building began to flee and without thinking, Steve gave chase, rounding the building just in time to see them exit and take off down the winding alleyway. Suddenly, the two split off, and he followed the one that broke to the right, trusting that Javi was right behind and would take care of the other.

They were moving too quickly for Steve to get an ID on the man he was following, but knowing that they were within reach of catching someone who was likely one of Pablo’s top sicarios was enough to keep him running. It was enough to stave off the exhaustion threatening to set in from running in the Colombian heat.

The man ducked into an apartment building, weaving his way through the corridors and staircases, and taking brief cover behind walls to fire pot-shots in Steve’s direction. He returned the fire as best he could, but there was little luck of getting a clean shot at the target until they made it back out into the open.

At that moment, Steve pushed through a flimsy metal door that opened up to an equally flimsy metal rooftop and continued scrambling after the man. He ducked his way under hanging laundry, avoiding patches of aluminum that had corroded, giving way to the unforgiving earth an untold number of stories below.

Finally, blessedly, they reached the uppermost level of the patchwork roofs, his feet touching down on concrete. The stretch was long and flat, and Steve knew that if he could work up enough of a sprint he’d be able to get close enough to incapacitate the man.

Typically a hassle in the low-ceilinged homes of the comunas, Steve gave silent thanks to his long legs as they pumped in double time, quickly bringing him within range of the target. They were rapidly approaching the edge of the building, reaching an end, and Steve fumbled as he sprinted to ready his gun for the shot that would soon open up.

Instead of slowing, however, the sicario seemed to increase pace as he neared the end of the roof, and then suddenly, impossibly, he was jumping.

Steve snorted bullishly, the sweat that had been near-pouring down his face spraying out, half in anger and half at the absurdity of what he had just witnessed. Moving too quickly to slow in time, he resigned himself to his fate and attempted to lengthen his stride the best he could. Then he jumped.

There was an ever-brief moment of weightlessness, the thrill of which Steve knew he could all too easily fall victim to. It was the same sort of rush of blood most people might get from a roller coaster, from a fast car. Which Steve got from the chase.

And then there was concrete. He hit the rough surface of the roof hard, his knees buckling underneath, limbs spilling out, and pistol coming loose from his hold. He tried to scramble to his feet, but the man had already rounded on him, gun drawn. Steve squinted to look up at the face of the man he had been pursuing, blinking against the sun.

Poison.

He reached out his hand, placating, and dragged himself to his knees. There wasn’t a way out of this one that he could see, but he wanted to die standing. He looked Poison in the eye, took in the smirk painted across the man’s face. Taking out a DEA agent. He’d be paid handsomely for this kill.

Steve thought briefly of Connie. She would get his pension, wouldn’t have to worry about money for the rest of her life. He wondered if, beneath her sadness, she might feel relief. Relief that it was finally over— the shoe she’d been expecting to drop finally had.

He thought of Javi again, and even though he hadn’t been to church in years, said a silent prayer that he wasn’t enduring the same fate. He felt sorry that his partner would have to find his body up on this fucking rooftop, would have to file that awful report. That he’d have to do it alone again. He felt a fleeting sense of sympathy for whatever new idiot they sent down here in his place, for the short leash Javi would undoubtedly keep.

He hoped that Javi would miss him terribly.

What a selfish final thought. Connie really did deserve better.

Steve held his breath, meeting Poison’s eye, and waited for the wash of nothing that was sure to come. There was a dull click as the sicario pulled on the trigger, but found the gun empty. Instinctually, Steve reached for his own discarded gun and fired off a shot in the man’s direction, but he had already thrown himself over the low wall on the roof into a pile of debris below. Rushing to look over the side, Steve watched in disbelief as Poison emerged from the scrap and ran out onto the crowded street before pulling a man off of his motorcycle and riding off. Desperate, Steve raised his pistol and took aim, but the street below was too crowded and his gun was too unwieldy to take the shot with any confidence.

“Fuck!” he screamed in frustration, disengaging his weapon and scrubbing a hand down his face. Fuck. He leaned over the half-wall and slammed the heel of his palm against the brick, feeling the defeat wash over him. Suddenly, there was the sound of shuffling boots behind him, and Steve shot up, drawing his gun and aiming toward the sound.

“Murphy,” came a rushed breath.

Javi.

Steve let his body slump, the anticipatory tension of a fight draining from his limbs.

Javi took a step closer, placing one hand on Steve’s shoulder and the other just under his jaw, at the point where his pulse beat strongest. Steve could feel the tremble in his fingertips. “Are you alright? I heard you yelling.”

“I’m alright,” he lied. He looked up, taking in his partner’s face— the curls plastered to his forehead with sweat, his furrowed brow, his heaving chest. Javi didn’t need to carry the burden of knowing how close Steve had come to tasting death. “I’m alright. Poison got away”

Javi dropped his hand, stepping back, but still eyed Steve with an unreadable expression. Evidently, he hadn’t passed whatever internal checkup the man was running. “Sureshot also got away, with help. Apparently, Escobar is recruiting children from the comuna now.”

Steve tilted his head, waiting for more, but Javi turned around with an air of finality. “Let’s go see what the hell they were doing here,” he called out over his shoulder.

Looks like they were both keeping secrets. Steve followed him closely back through the maze of apartments and narrow corridors to the home they had found the men in, still feeling dazed by the events that had taken place. He had the urge to reach out and grab onto Javi’s wrist— anything that might help ground himself. He kept his hand at his side.

Somehow they made their way back to the little house— Javi quiet, and Steve thankful that his partner had paid well enough attention to the path they had taken during the chase to remember a way back. Javi pushed the flimsy door open, barely hanging on its hinges, and stepped aside to let him through. Ducking, Steve stepped inside of the doorway and was instantly overwhelmed by the smell of blood in the air. Thick, sharp. Fresh.

Moving through the entryway, the source became clear— the body of a young woman strewn across the ground, a bullet hole in her temple. Next to her, just inside the living room, was a second body. The girlfriend of the Avianca bomber. Steve’s stomach roiled— they had tried to warn her of exactly this. And they had shown up mere seconds too late. He moved into the small room, taking care to maneuver around the sprawl of limbs. His heavy boots made the thin wooden floor groan under his feet, and at the sound of his footsteps came a cooing from the corner. Steve’s head shot up. In a low chair sat the daughter of the bomber and his girlfriend, quietly babbling and smiling up at himself and Javi, completely oblivious to the destruction around her.

Steve wandered over in a daze and sunk to his knees in front of the girl, the hard ground sending shocks up his already aching frame. He looked back at Javi, who had perched himself on the corner of a chair and was scrubbing his palm over his face. Steve turned back to the child, reaching out cautiously to grab her tiny hand in his own. She stared up at him, curious, her brown eyes open wide.

“I can take her home,” he murmured, hating the way his voice wavered. “Yeah. Connie would know what to do. She’s a nurse.”

He heard Javi sigh from behind him. “A baby isn’t a cat, Steve.”

Javi stood, brushing against Steve as he shifted past and bent to pick up the child. He watched as Javi lifted her gingerly to his chest, quietly shushing her cries of protest as he tucked her under his chin. “Tranquilo, nena,” he whispered into the soft tufts of hair on her head. He looked at Steve, gesturing with a small movement of his hand. “Come here.”

Steve stood and stepped in close to Javi. He took in the slight sway of his partner’s hips, the protective swell of his arm around her body. “You’re good with her.”

Javi met his eye over her head, keeping his voice low. “I’ve got lots of little cousins,” he smiled, small and private. “You end up learning quickly. Hold your arms out.”

He stood for a moment, blinking. “What?”

“If I’m letting you take her home to Connie, I’m making sure you can at least hold her. Now hold your arms out.”

Dumbfounded, Steve watched as Javi maneuvered her small body around and held her out, tiny wriggling limbs and all. He grabbed her under the arms, unsure how to proceed.

“There you go, now hold her against your chest,” came Javi’s voice, encouraging. “You don't have to be so careful. She’s a fighter.”

Steve did as told, tucking her in close, and felt her calm near instantly. He could feel the heat of her body through the fabric of his shirt, balmy from sitting in the stagnant heat of the room for so long. He watched as she snuggled against his shoulder and began to blink heavily to fight off sleep; instantly overwhelmed by the trust she showed him. A trust that he had not earned— certainly not after the events of the day. He looked back at Javi, who had stepped in close and was rubbing slow circles into the girl’s back, and the surge of emotions he had been holding back rose up under his partner’s careful gaze. Panic and despair made for a potent cocktail; he choked out a singular sob that surfaced unbidden.

Javi stopped his petting, reaching out reflexively to grip his arm. “Steve?”

“I dropped my gun, Javi.”

Javi’s eyes flitted down to where his holster sat on his belt. “It’s right—”

“On the rooftop. I dropped my gun and Poison had me pinned, Javi,” he forced out, trying to stem the flood. Javi’s fingers dug into his skin, and he was thankful for the pain. “He pulled the trigger. But he was out of bullets.”

Javi didn’t say anything, and Steve didn’t need him to. They both knew he had been lucky, stupidly so— they both knew this time right now was borrowed. Instead, he gathered Steve in his arms as best he could, and Steve let himself be maneuvered to sit on the small couch, tucked in against his partner’s side until slowly, aided by the girl’s steady breathing and Javi’s hands grounding, he finally calmed.

“Y’alright there, Murphy,” Javi asked quietly, the low rumble of his voice soothing against Steve’s skin.

He sat up, mindful of the girl now asleep on his shoulder, and wiped a hand across his face, suddenly embarrassed by his reaction. He was a goddamn DEA agent— he’d watched his last partner die and didn’t have this bad of a reaction for fucks sake. “Yeah. Sorry, I—”

“Don’t. I get it, man.” He reached over and ran his hand through the short hairs on the back of the child’s head, and despite himself, Steve mourned the loss of contact. “I’ll call Carrillo to have his men come take care of all this,” he said, glancing around the room. He looked back at Steve and it was like a balm for the fray. “Let’s get you two home.”

Steve smiled, grateful as he met Javi’s eye. He felt a surge of emotion rise up in his throat, his limbs. It was the same rush he had felt the night with Javi waiting for Navegante. It made him want to move, to act, to do... something. He opted for a breathy, rushed, “thank you.” It didn’t satisfy the urge, but the moment was over all the same.

* * *

Tensions finally reached a head mere days later, when one of the hostages that had been taken by Escobar, a popular newscaster who was also the daughter of the former president, was killed by crossfire in a raid ordered by Gaviria and led by the CNP. Javier heard the news on the radio on his drive into work, and when he arrived at the embassy, found that the Ambassador had called an immediate meeting with himself, Steve, and the new Vice Minister of Justice.

He quickly walked to the small DEA office, throwing his wallet and keys onto his desk. Steve was hunched over his own desk, fingers tapping wildly as he thumbed through CIA maps and reports.

“You heard we’ve got a meeting with Sandoval, right?”

Steve scoffed and tossed the papers down. “Yeah, I heard alright.”

Sandoval, the new Vice Minister, had been Gaviria’s head of security prior to his election. He and Steve had apparently butted heads over several aspects of security plans, especially when it came to protecting the candidate against Escobar. Javier remembered listening to his partner bitch about the man— Steve found him arrogant. There is no way this meeting would go well.

“Glad I wore my suit today at least. Come on, they’re probably waiting.”

Steve sighed, heaving himself up, and followed Javier out of the room. “I’m tempted to put my jeans back on,” he whispered conspiratorially.

Javier smirked despite himself. “Be nice.”

They pushed their way through the heavy wooden doors to the Ambassador’s office to find Sandoval and Noonan already chatting quietly on opposite sides of her stately desk.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” Sandoval said from his seat.

Javier nodded, trying to get a read on the man. “Buenas.” Steve stalked quietly to the other side of the room to lean against the bookcase.

Not wasting any time, Sandoval launched into his delivery. “Thank you for meeting on short notice. This is to inform you that our government has approved Escobar’s proposal to build a prison where he will serve a minimum of three years. As a part of the agreement, no police will be allowed within two miles of the jail. Search Bloc will be disbanded, and extradition will be put up for a vote in Congress again.”

Javier instantly bristled, feeling a protest rise up in his chest. This had to be a joke— there was no way on earth this would be the end of all the work they had done. In the corner of his eye, Steve had begun pacing, reaching up to pull at his tie. Javier stepped closer to Sandoval, taking a steadying breath. It didn’t help. “If your Congress abolishes extradition we lose our teeth. We’re a paper fucking tiger!”

“Everything we have done is lost,” Steve added, punctuating his words with a pointed finger against the desk.

“We have no choice,” Sandoval interjected, the calm politician exterior quickly fading away as his voice rose. “The people, the public— it’s tired of all these bombs and bloodshed!”

“Right,” Javier said, gripping the side of the desk. “And business goes on as usual, just runs it from that jail.”

“Exactly,” Steve shouted, still pacing.

Sandoval looked exhausted, frustrated. He ran his hand over his face. “Yes,” he conceded.

Ambassador Noonan sat forward, her hands folded neatly in front of her. “All things considered, it’s a victory to put Escobar in jail.”

At that, Steve stopped his pacing, a sneer on his face. “For public relations?” he nearly spat.

“It’s capitulation,” Javier agreed, eyeing Sandoval.

“You want Escobar. Why?” Sandoval stood, his heavy leather chair loudly scraping along the floor as he did. “Why?” He raised his arms, in question, in accusation. “Because you want to parade him in your DEA jackets?”

Javier’s face fell, those words a stab to the gut.

“You think this is a game, right,” Sandoval whispered angrily, his eyes dark as they bored into each of them. Javier fleetingly wondered if he, like Escobar, was not a man of always. If he too had fought for his place in the world. “This is Colombia, and our people want peace. This is not a fucking game!”

Thoroughly chastised, the Americans kept quiet as Sandoval turned and left.

Javier sighed, trying to reign in his frustration to a simmer. Sure, for the Ambassador all of this probably amounted to a matter of appearances. Protecting American interests. But he and Steve saw the true cost of the war. They too wanted peace for the people of Colombia, for the people on the streets of Miami. True relief wouldn’t come from this solution— the terror would just move to the shadows.

They needed to find Escobar before his surrender was scheduled to take place. Before he won.

* * *

Connie had invited Javier for dinner that night, and despite the news from earlier in the day that was still rattling around in his head, he kept the date. After all, they were likely just as upset as he was. The company would be nice, even if company from the Murphys brought along with it a certain kind of heartbreak.

Armed with a bottle of wine— pink, sweet and light, something that suited Connie— he climbed the stairs and found his way to their front door. He knocked, but there was no answer despite the audible activity, and so he let himself in. He opened the door to what had obviously been the last dregs of an argument. Steve sat in the corner of the living room, frustration painted on his face, and Connie stood over the stove in the kitchen, face flushed equally from exertion and steam from the pot she was stirring. On her hip was the girl from the comuna , crying loudly. They both looked up at the sound of him entering the apartment, and Javier nodded in greeting, immediately making his way to the kitchen.

Connie turned to face him, frantic. “Javi, I’m so sorry, things aren’t quite ready yet—”

“Don’t be,” he said, reaching for the child and settling her on his hip. “Here, let me take over. What are you making?”

“It’s just pasta,” she sighed apologetically. ”I got held up at work.”

Javier shushed the girl, whose cries had faded into whimpers, rubbing her back as he tucked her head under his chin. “That’s alright. Go, I’ll finish up.” He angled his head toward the living room where Steve was still sitting and took the spatula that was in Connie’s hand.

He watched as she flashed him a look of appreciation and walked off. Slowly rocking his body, he looked down at the child. “Hi, baby girl,” he whispered soothingly. “I didn’t expect to see you again.” He continued trying to calm her, occasionally stirring the food while trying to tune out the low voices echoing from the other room.

A few minutes later, Steve ambled into the kitchen sheepishly. “Hey.”

Javier reached to set the burner to low. “You alright?”

Steve sighed loudly, running his fingers over his lip to smooth his mustache. “Yeah. Escobar’s deal started another argument about going back to Miami.” He stepped close, shifting to take the girl from Javier. “Thanks for getting Olivia to calm down. Connie says she thinks she has colic.”

“Olivia?”

Steve adjusted her in his arms, smiling softly. “We’re adopting her. Connie liked the name.”

Javier leaned back against the counter, floored for the second time that day. Somehow this hit harder. “Jesus, Steve.”

“She’d been wanting to start tryin’ for a kid for a while now, so this worked out,” he explained, that goofy slow smile that’s so sweet, so earnestly Steve spreading across his face. “I’ve got a little family now.”

Javier met Steve’s eye, the happiest look he could manage plastered atop his face. There had been a hope, perhaps a foolish and destructive one, that he might be able to carve out a small something with Steve. Never so foolish to wish for more than this strange and intimate camaraderie they had built, but a life beside him all the same. Dinners with him and Connie, late nights at the embassy, stolen moments on the mountaintops. He had made do in the past with less.

But this was the Murphys, was Steve, looking ahead and planning for a future beyond Escobar, beyond Colombia.

Beyond Javier.

He turned back around, reaching to the cabinet where he knew they kept their bowls. “You’ll have to let me babysit sometime. Don’t want her picking up on your abysmal Spanish.”

There was a smack on his shoulder. “Hey,” Steve laughed, indignant all the same. “It’s getting better!” He shuffled close, tilting Olivia so her big brown eyes could meet Javier’s. “This is Javi, sweetheart,” he said softly to her. “Es tu tío.”

Steve looked up, searching for praise for his display of language. Like a damn dog. Javier couldn’t help the small smile that slipped out in response. “Yeah. Abysmal.”

* * *

A number of tense days, weeks— it was hard to say when they all started to blend together— passed following the announcement of Gaviria’s acceptance of Escobar’s demands and before the deal was to take effect. Javier found himself leaned over the expansive military planning desks in the joint CIA/Mil Group offices until the early hours of the morning most nights, listening to the crackle of Carrillo and his men through the radio while they trudged through the jungle hunting the narcotraficantes .

It was a last-ditch effort. Born out of a panicked sense of logic that reasoned that if they used all the resources available to them and caught Escobar before the deal went through, it would all have been worth it. It was foolhardy. They followed any and all tips they received, blatantly used military equipment, and wasted funds. The nights were a blur of whiskey, smoke, and ties thrown over shoulders— the only indication of time passing the scratchy drawl that would slowly overtake Steve’s voice.

It was ultimately fruitless.

The day that Escobar was scheduled to turn himself in, Javier and Steve piled into the Jeep and made the haul to the outskirts of Medellín to the finca the man had been calling home for the past months. A set of coordinates that, had they known a mere days earlier, they might be making this trip en route to a victory. Instead, they rode in near-silence, Steve white-knuckled in the driver’s seat, and Javier chain-smoking out the window from the passenger’s side. They were approaching uncharted territory. Once Pablo was whisked away, the head of the beast would be hidden away, and no matter how many limbs they severed, it would live on.

They pulled up to the edge of the massive compound just as the military helicopter set to escort Escobar to his luxury prison was touching down. Javier wasn’t a praying man, but he gave silent thanks to the Jeep’s four-wheel drive as Steve pulled off the gravel track into the steep grassy embankment to get as close to the fenceline as possible. He slipped out of the seat, and trudged over to where Steve had rushed to stand. From several hundred yards away, he watched dazedly as Sandoval emerged from the chopper, and in parallel, Escobar filed out of his home. They met in the middle, signed the treaty, and just as quickly, they made their way back to the helicopter and took off.

Javier stood still, unbelieving, as the huge hulking machine was soon out of sight. His limbs felt shocky, staticky with the need to move, to do something. Beside him, his partner glanced around wildly, seemingly looking for a fix to this problem. “Shit,” Steve yelled, looking up at the sky. He set to pacing, kicking at the long grasses that threatened to tangle his steps. “Fucker.”

“Come on,” Javier called out over his shoulder, turning back to the vehicle. There was nothing left for them here; jail or not, this was still Escobar’s territory. And they were still DEA agents. “Let’s get the hell home.”

It was dark by the time they got back to their apartment building in Bogotá. Cool and balmy, the air still as it is before the sky opens up. Steve pulled the Jeep along the curb, not bothering to use the underground parking, and threw the gear into park with a heavy hand and an equally heavy sigh. “Connie and Olivia are probably already asleep,” he murmured, glancing at Javier. “Do you have any alcohol?”

“Just guaro,” Javier replied, laughing at the grimace that graced his partner’s face.

“That shit tastes like licorice, how the hell d’you drink it?”

“Quickly.” He peeled himself from the passenger seat and climbed out of the car. “Take it or leave it,” he called out, starting up the stairs to the front door. He smiled to himself at the metallic thunk of the driver’s side door closing, and Steve’s audible grumbling as he hurried to follow.

They ambled down the short flight of stairs to Javier’s apartment, unlocking and pushing through the flimsy wooden door. Javier made his way to the kitchen and fished his wallet and pistol from his jeans to place on the counter alongside his keys. Steve had booked it to the lounge and was methodically pulling one of Javier’s records from its sleeve and setting the pin to play. Javier anticipated the first chords of One of These Nights before he heard them but still rolled his eyes, exhaling a laugh. Predictable.

“The Eagles again, Murphy?”

Steve sat down heavily on the leather couch, kicking his feet up onto the low table like he owned the place. “It’s good music. This one’s got Take it to the Limit on it.”

“Who do you think bought the record,” Javier mumbled to himself with a smile, grabbing the bottle of aguardiente from the cabinet. Antioqueño. Carrillo had given it to him as a Christmas gift the year before as a joke— a reference to the inter-state regulations on aguardiente . Their own small-scale smuggling ring; the irony of opening the bottle for the first time that particular night was not lost on him.

He didn’t bother with shot glasses, breaking the seal on the lid and bringing the mouth of the bottle to his lips. He swallowed roughly. They made this shit strong in Medellín.

Moving to join Steve, Javier handed his partner the bottle over the back of the couch and rounded the corner to take a seat at the other end. He watched as Steve drank deeply, throat working desperately to keep up with the man’s desire for inebriation. He handed the guaro back with a cough, several inches of liquor missing from the container.

“Jesus, Steve.”

“I'm callin’ in sick tomorrow,” Steve choked out, his accent already starting to thicken.

“And stick me with all the paperwork there is to send back to Washington because of this prison stunt? I don’t think so, Murphy.”

“We’ll both play hooky then,” he said with a wink.

They sat there for a while, trading the bottle back and forth, Javier taking sips in between Steve’s gulps, and listening to the music filtering warmly through the small stack of speakers.

Finally, Steve broke the quiet. “What the hell are we going to do now, Javi?”

Javier took in his partner’s form. His head was tipped back over the edge of the cushions, eyes tired but sharp with a renewed anger. His fist was closed tight around the neck of the bottle. “About what?”

Steve sat up, accusation on his face. “About the prison. About Escobar. We fuckin’ lost extradition too,” he listed, tongue sounding heavy in his mouth.

“We’ll figure something out,” Javier consoled, only half believing himself. “Pablo is bound to slip up somewhere.”

“I jus’ don’t get it.” Steve shifted, looking restless, uncomfortable in his skin suddenly. He took another drink of the guaro. “We did everything right. We played by the rules. It was s’posed to work.”

“He hit them where it hurt.” Javier leaned forward, gently easing the bottle from Steve’s grip. Hooky or not, Antioqueño was too strong to be drinking like water.

“Don’t the good guys win? Aren’t we the good guys, Javi?”

No, we’re not. But that wasn’t what Steve needed to hear, so Javier held his tongue. The silence might have been enough of an answer.

He looked at Javier, the anger in his eyes turned frantic. “Am I a bad guy? Am I a bad person? Are you?”

“Steve, I—”

“Have’ya ever cheated on someone, Javi?”

That gave Javier pause. He studied his partner, trying to find some indication of what the hell was going on, but found nothing. He sighed, thinking back. Technically, no, but he certainly wasn't the standard of morality in relationships. “I never claimed to be a saint.”

At that, Steve went quiet, leaning on his knees to place his head in his open palms. The faint hum and clicking that signaled the end of the record filled the room, and Javier stood to flip sides. He shuffled across the wooden floor, before pressing the button to stop the turntable’s motor, lifting the arm, and flipping the wax. He restarted the motor, and just as soon as the needle was reset, hands were grabbing at his shoulders and he was shoved up against the wall.

The back of his head hit the hard surface, setting his vision to spin. “What the hell—” he managed to grind out, and then Steve’s lips were crashing against his own, craving, biting, set to bruise. He froze in shock before responding blindly, knotting his fingers in the wrinkled fabric of his polo, and taking simple pleasure in the heat of Steve’s mouth, the rasp of stubble against his skin.

Steve shifted, slotting one of his long legs between Javier’s and drawing a punched-out groan from the man. He pressed the whole length of his body against Javier, seemingly trying to crawl inside his skin. His lips moved to mouth at the junction where neck and jaw met, moaning against the pulse.

“Please Javi, please,” he whined, desperate.

The sound of his name shocked Javier from his daze. “Steve,” he said, pulling at the short hairs on the back of his neck, trying to gently extract himself. “Steve, stop.”

Steve didn't let up though, grasping at his chest and pressing impossibly closer.

Grunting, he grabbed Steve’s shoulders and forcibly spun them, pinning his back against the wall and wrists above his head. “I said stop,” he gritted out. “It can’t be like this.” He looked up, meeting Steve’s shifting gaze. His eyes were rimmed red and glassy, breath heaving. Despite it all, Javier still found him beautiful. “You don’t get to use me for whatever this is— as some sort of fucking morality test.”

To his credit, Steve straightened some, and Javier let his wrists fall. “What do I do, Javi,” he asked, sounding so young. So lost.

“You’re going to go upstairs,” Javier whispered, already feeling the loss. He reached to tuck an errant strand of hair behind Steve’s ear, trailing his knuckles along his cheek as he pulled away. Savoring this final moment. “To your wife. To your child. You’ll wake up in the morning and you won’t remember this. And you’ll still be a good man.”

Steve’s eyes were glassy and he blinked rapidly, looking everywhere but at his partner. He slumped against the wall, the adrenaline of the moment leaving his body and inebriation taking over.

Javier bent to sling Steve’s arm over his shoulders as support. “I’ll help you home.”

Slowly, staggeringly, Javier managed to maneuver Steve up the flight of stairs, coming to a stumbling stop in front of the second-floor apartment. He fished the keys out of Steve’s pocket and attempted to shove the key into the lock, but it proved difficult while supporting the full weight of his partner.

“Work with me, cabrón,” he gritted out.

The door began to cautiously open from the other end, and then Connie was in the doorway in her pajamas, eyes squinted against the bright light of the hallway.

“Javi?” she murmured questioningly, looking at the scene before her. “God, Steve.”

Javier steeled himself. “He had a few too many. Didn’t want to wake you and the baby.”

“Hi, Con,” Steve drawled, giving a feeble wave.

Together, they managed to get Steve into bed, and after, Connie escorted Javier back out. He shifted to stand on his hip, keeping his voice low. “Don’t bother waking him up tomorrow. I’ll call him in sick,” he instructed, unable to meet her eye.

Connie leaned up against the arch of the doorway. “Thank you,” she said softly, earnest. “We’re really lu—”

“Don’t,” he interjected, shame and guilt hot in his stomach. Fire on the back of his neck. He took a breath, recovering quickly. “No thanks needed. He’s my partner.”

She smiled, warm and appreciative. “Goodnight, Javier.”

The door closed softly behind her with a metallic clink, and he immediately rushed back down the stairs to his own apartment and the countertop where his lighter and pack of cigarettes lay. He fumbled with the container, finally fishing one out and struggling to light it. He took a deep drag when it finally caught, never more grateful for the nicotine.

He grabbed the carton and moved back to the lounge, settling heavily on the couch once again. Leaning forward, he grabbed the bottle of guaro left abandoned on the coffee table and finished off the last few mouthfuls. The alcohol was warm against the numbness that had begun to settle in his limbs.

The record had long since finished, and once again spun idly, but he didn’t move to turn off the machine. Instead, he sunk lower into the leather, fixing his gaze on the wall beside it while he smoked. Resigning himself to a sleepless night, he mourned.

* * *

Steve awoke the next day, heavy-limbed, head pounding, and with a crystal-clear recollection of the night before. Total sensory recall of the way Javi’s mouth had felt against his own, the grip of those rough hands in his hair, the heat and weight of his body.

Javi had lied.

Steve did not forget. And Steve certainly did not feel like a good man— personally or professionally.

So that night, when the CIA field unit called him at home with reports of an intercepted call detailing a party at a club in downtown Medellín where several tip sicarios would be meeting, he passed the information on to Carrillo and the Search Bloc, despite the cease and desist in place. And the next morning, when he was called to photograph the scene, bodies of narcos and civilians alike strewn across the concrete, he realized this was just a part of the war. That wars were won in shades of gray.

#narcos #javier pena #steve murphy #stavier #mustache boyfriends #javier peña #pedro pascal #i realized that not everyone uses ao3 so id post here as well?#if you want the other chapters and dont want to use that site just let me know and I can work something out!! :))#fanfic

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dweetwise · 4 years ago

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Can you do a continuation of pyramid head x dummy tick reader with killers and surviors that are flirting or make sexual movements to the reader?

i apologize to all dummy thicc reader fans for taking so long! i got two requests, so i’ll do survivors for this one and more killers for the next <3 warnings for some nsfw suggestive language!

Survivor Thirst (survivors X dummy thicc reader)

Following Pyramid Head’s warnings (and in some cases, a very big sword through the gut), the killers, thankfully, seemed to leave you alone, sticking to chasing and killing you normally.

Even the Entity appeared to notice your annoyance, not calling you into trials quite as often as usual. That left you with more time to hang out with your friends and sneak out to Midwich to see your boyfriend, and you couldn’t help but think of how nice it was to get a break from the crazy shenanigans and embarrassment of the last couple of weeks.

Unfortunately, you couldn’t have been more wrong.

It all started relatively innocently when Steve, after a trial, excitedly bounded over to you.

“Hey y/n, feel my shirt!” he said, a neverending smile on his face. You tilted your head in confusion, before reaching to grab the hem of his sailor costume shirt. It felt like normal fabric, a kind of cheap polyester, and you failed to see what the big deal was. Did he wash it or something? “It’s boyfriend material,” Steve finally quipped, smile morphing into a smirk at his own punchline. You rolled your eyes and playfully shoved the teen away, hiding a small grin of your own.

The other survivors watched the exchange with varying levels of amusement. You thought they were just laughing at the horrible pick-up-line, but it would later become apparent that they took it as an invitation to try to get into your pants.

“Are you close with your father?” Ash asked you out of the blue when you were sitting by the fire, stoking the logs with a stick. The question took you a little off guard; normally, the man was all jokes and extravagant tales of his youth, and you never would have guessed he’d actually be interested in your past. Before you managed to answer, you saw a grin spreading over his lips. “Because you look like you need a daddy,” Ash leered, gaze glued to your generous cleavage from where you were leaned over the other side of the fire.

If you’d been able to reach him over the flames, you’re pretty sure you would have slapped him. As it stood, the disgusted scoff you made was sure to get the point across.

But then, there was Yui.

“So, uhh...” the biker started uncharacteristically meekly, approaching you in a semi-secluded spot in the corner of camp. “I saw you with the Pig the other day...”

Oh, fuck. If Yui had seen the killer glued to your back and sensually stroking your face, she must have gotten the wrong idea.

“Yui, shit, um,” you sputtered nervously, causing Yui to glance at you with hope shining in her eyes. “I don’t swing that way.”

At least you think you don’t. You’d always thought Yui was really pretty, but in a completely no homo way. Like right then, you could objectively see that she’s quite attractive, her crop top and short shorts showing off her muscular build—

Yui managed a quick apology and an awkward laugh, and you cleared your throat and squeaked out an “It’s fine”. Your eyes, as of their own accord, were glued to her ass when she walked away.

Okay, maybe a little homo.

If only Nea had been as sensible as Yui.

“Y/n, over here!” Nea called, waving you over when you walked back into camp after a stroll to Midwich. “Did I ever tell you about my cat?“

“No, not that I remember,” you said, sitting down next to her on one of the logs. “I know you like cats, though.”

“Mm-hm,” Nea agreed, her innocent smile morphing into something much more mischievous. “I sure do love a good pussy,” she practically purred, eyeing you up and down.

“You little brat—” you hissed, jumping back up on your feet while your face flushed red.

“So that’s a no?” the tagger had the audacity to wink at you, and you moodily walked over to the other side of camp to avoid the temptation of smacking her in the face with her own purple flashlight.

It couldn’t even have been a full day before you caught Dwight sneaking glances at you. He blushed furiously every time you noticed, and eventually you just let out a small sigh and made your way over, eager to get this over with.

“Something on your mind, Dwight?” you asked with a friendly smile, trying to give him the benefit of the doubt and even sitting down a respectable distance away from him so he wouldn’t get the wrong idea.

After a minute of nervous sputtering and trying to ignore the question, Dwight finally managed to spill the beans. “Feng said you, um, wanted to... k-kiss me?” he squeaked. You sighed long and loud, causing Dwight to nearly have a nervous breakdown. You tried to reassure and reject him without too much of your annoyance shining through, all while thinking of creative ways to get back at Feng for another one of her dumb pranks.

A couple of days must have passed and, thankfully, no more embarrassing incidents occurred. You were just about starting to think the others had managed to get it out of their systems, as no more potential suitors were lining up to harass woo you.

And then you unsuspectingly leaned over a log to rummage through your stack of items to look for a med-kit, and...

“Nice arse, luv!” David hollered from the other side of the campsite. In an instant you were up on your feet, glaring daggers at the brawler who didn’t look the least bit sorry.

When David proceeded to throw in a wolf whistle for good measure, you hurled your med-kit across the camp, turning on your heel and stomping out into the woods. Judging by the dull ‘thunk’ of the item hitting wood and David’s roaring laughter, you’d missed your target—his head.

Eventually you came across Jake in the woods, sitting quietly by a cluster of trees and stocking some of his toolboxes.

You slumped down next to the saboteur with a huff, crossing your arms and trying to think of how to get revenge on David. Jake glanced over in acknowledgement, but didn’t say a word before getting back to his task.

You felt some of your anger dissipate in Jake’s calming presence, watching him work with methodical composure. Jake may have been be a little anti-social, but at least you could always count on him to never think with his dick—

“We should fuck,” Jake said and your mind screeched to a halt.

“I beg your pardon!?” you squawked, causing him to finally turn to look at you properly.

“I think you’re hot. Do you wanna fuck?” he said, the same infuriatingly calm expression on his face, acting like he didn’t just proposition you in the crudest way possible.

You furiously stomped back to the campfire, leaving Jake alone with his tools and an angry red handprint on his cheek.

Upon your return the others, thankfully, seemed to sense your mood and nobody dared to bring up the David incident, leaving you to sulk in a corner in peace.

And then, Ace got back from a trial.

You saw him swaggering over, an annoying cocky grin on his face. He opened his mouth and—

“DON’T,” you warned, lifting your finger to interrupt him while giving him your dirtiest glare. Ace raised his hands up in surrender while one of his eyebrows cocked up in question. “I’m sick of being perved on! You guys are the worst!” you complained, taking the opportunity to give David the stink eye from across camp.

“Actually, I was about to ask if you’d like to play a game of cards?” Ace inquired, genuine curiosity in his voice. “You’ve seemed on edge for a few days, looked like you could use a distraction.”

You blinked in confusion at the words. “Oh,” you weakly managed, a blush rising on your cheeks and feeling a little bit like an idiot. Seems like chivalry isn’t dead after all—

“So, strip poker?” Ace suggested, the sly grin back on his face.

“You FUCKING—” you yelled while Ace’s hearty laugh echoed across camp.

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

“So if you happen to come by any moris, nobody will really mind,” you finish your story, looking up at Pyramid Head with a sickly sweet fake smile that fails to betray just how much you’d like to get petty revenge.

There’s an echoing chuckle from within the pyramid, and then a couple of inquisitive grunts while he draws a hook shape in the air.

“Camping and tunneling?” you ask, feigning ignorance. “I think those are just legitimate strategies.”

#dbd crack #steve harrington #ash williams #yui kimura #nea karlsson #dwight fairfield #david king #jake park #ace visconti #dead by daylight #dbd #dbd fanfic #request #dweetwrites

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sovereign-tempest · 3 years ago

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// God what a day/night... Under the cut because it's kinda gross-ish stuff? Some may find it gross anyway. Hopefully the cut has worked since I'm on the app...

// So my son wasn't well last night. I'll never doubt Mother's Intuition as a thing ever again... I randomly woke up at 3am and had a bad feeling. I could hear Mischief coughing. Normal right? I had bad vibes, went in and he was....let's say unwell. Everywhere. Needed a shower at 3am which he was NOT happy with.

// All day he's been lethargic, feeling sorry for himself, not eating or drinking. Just wanted to sleep all the time. Gave him some Calpol, his Nanna heard and (typical Grandma 😆) and rushed over to cheer him up. Luckily got some food and drink down him but not much. He picked up near the end of the day and his temp was fine throughout the day so don't think it's a bug. But...poor boy.

// But while I'm trying to look after him, I noticed my husky has been really struggling with itching. Haven't seen fleas, but he's covered in sores from his scratching/biting/licking. So had to leave my kid with his Nanna while I went to a pet store to find some products to help (partner was at work so was just me and didn't want to drag him out if he's not well).

// Came out with tea tree shampoo, a flea collar and tea tree spray to help with healing and soothing. So spent all night getting Mischief to sleep, bathing Link, treating his wounds I could see....and dealing with my first tick.

// I had a border collie for 13 years as a kid, Link is 6 on Friday and I've never had to deal with ticks. Only had them have fleas ONCE. So I was lost on what to do...the gross ass thing burst as well as I gently tried to pull it out so don't think I got it all so I'm just sitting here panicking.... Makes me wonder if he has a tick allergy and that's why his skin is irritated.

// "uh, Vix, call a vet?" Yeah, I want to, but restrictions are still a thing here and trying to get an appointment with my vets is a nightmare... Link has a tumour in his mouth and they wouldn't see him about it until restrictions ease let alone something like this.

// Dog owners (or cat owners, I guess this is a universal thing for fur-parents). Do you think this is enough for home treatment for him until vets are open properly again?

// 1. I've given him a bath with tea tree shampoo to soothe his skin and help healing. 2. Dried him then used tea tree spray onto the wounds that I can see (he's double coated so it's so difficult to see anything...which is why I can't fully cut out the idea of fleas because it's hard to see through his fur), says on the bottle it soothes skin, aids healing, stops itching and anti-bacterial. 3. Put on a flea/tick collar. 4. Looking into new flea/tick prevention drops since the one I got clearly isn't working... hoping the collar will help until I can get a new order in.

// Any other thing I should do for now while I'm waiting do you think? I'm trying to keep him cool to ease the possibility of heat spots, I've removed the 1 tick I've seen and can't see any other bugs on him and I'll keep a close eye on him. I just hate that he's so itchy like this...

// But yeah, that's why I've not been online today - been looking after my boys... Just hope I've done enough to help them both for now... 😣

#ooc; ~the voice inside my head~#~mobile post~#tw; child mention #tw; dog mention #tw; sickness mention #no his names not Mischief thats just his nickname XD

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cbdoilpetsblog · 3 years ago

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Causes Of Dog Seizures

They are often called "fits" in England, which is what happens when the brain loses control over the body. They are also known as seizures in America. This article will provide a quick overview of some of the causes of seizures in dogs.

EPILEPSY. Epilepsy is the main cause of seizures in dogs, but not all seizures can be attributed to it. A group of fools who were walking through the woods on a day one discovered the most common form epilepsy. They all saw a wolf in the clearing and reported it to the authorities. The forest rangers were informed about this sighting and the term "idiopathic Epilepsy" was created. Although it is true, the scientific explanation is boringer and makes no sense. The term "idiopathic Epilepsy" can be used to describe seizures in dogs when experts don't know the cause.

TOXINS.Dogs can have seizures from toxins present in their environment. These chemicals can be poisonous to kill rodents and slugs, or flea powders and chemicals meant for dogs to wear as collars. The toxins antifreeze, insecticides, betacbdlondon and paint products can cause seizures as well as kill unwitting animals who ingest them. If an animal suffers a seizure due to environmental poisoning, they can be treated quickly and received prompt intervention.

BRAIN TUMORS. As a possible cause of seizures in dogs, it is easy to determine if there has been an abnormal growth in the brain. The pressure on the brain tissue can lead to seizures or other neurological abnormalities. There are diagnostic tests (MRI and CAT scans), that can help determine if this is the problem. However, tumors and head injuries are only a small percentage of seizures in dogs. Dogs with seizures due to either one of these conditions would not respond to anti-epileptic medications.

TICK INDUCED DISEASES. Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever can be caused by tick bites. The chances of getting infected are greatly reduced if the tick is found within 24 hours. Lyme Disease can be treated with antibiotics. Most dogs are able to tolerate antibiotics well.

DISTEMPER. When puppies lose their maternal antibodies around the age of three months, distemper can lead to seizures. This debilitating disease can only be prevented by vaccinations. Dogs who have it will need to fight for their lives.

#betacbdlondon

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redbokuto · 3 years ago

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Awaited Encounter~ Part 8

I stumbled towards the unknown campus with an exhausted expression. It was Saturday, two full weeks since me and Bokuto had our first kiss. Nothing big has happened. I have grown more comfortable with Bokuto’s affection. Meaning I stopped blushing like an idiot every time he would give me a gentle smile.

These two weeks gave me time to think about me and Bokuto’s relationship. I think I am ready.

My eyes wandered around the large building which I assumed was the gym. Before I entered, I noticed a figure slumping in the corner. They sat on the stairs in the front of the building, their face shadowed by their bleached hair.

Black roots ruffled when the figure pulled their red hood off their head. From their jacket, I could tell they must be a member from Kuro’s team. “Is this where the practice match will be?” I watched as the person shivered from my words.

Their head turned in my direction. Cat-like eyes laid on mine, “Yes.” The boy answered before placing his attention on his hands. In his hands was a gaming device of some kind. I don’t play many games, so I don’t know which kind.

Their lack of attention didn’t bug me. I went along ahead, opening the door to the gym at a slow rate.

Sneakers squeaked along the ground of the creamy gym floor. Two colored jerseys scattered across the area.

Even with all the people I could still spot Bokuto’s multi-colored hair. He was doing stretches with another member of his team. Bokuto was talking while the person next to him laughed along.

“You came Akashi!” A voice called out. Before I knew it, a heat source attached onto my body. Their legs wrapped around my frame and their arms went over my shoulders. “Hey Meg.” I greeted with a stiffened tone. I still wasn’t used to how energetic she was.

Ai came after Meg quickly to remove her off my body. “I’m sorry Akashi. Meg, he likes his personal space, you know like most humans.” Ai stated with an eye roll.

Meg pouted and let go of me. Her childish expression reminded me so much of Kou’s, it made me crack. “Ai it is alright. I can handle it.” The eldest gave me a skeptical look. She sighed and let go of the smaller girl.

Meg attached to me within seconds, making her look like a human backpack. “You sure this isn’t too much for you Akashi?” Ai asked again once she saw how strained my face was.

I nodded and adjusted Meg on my body. The woman was like a light monkey. She stayed on my back as I walked with Ai towards the seats.

Meg jumped off me and bounced in her chair, “aren’t you going to say hi to Kou? You know, give him a little boyfriend luck.” I looked towards Kou and winced at the amount of people standing around him.

“Uh, I don’t belive in luck.” I whispered. The sister’s frowned at me.

Ai took my hand while Meg started to push me, “no time to be a pushover.” The eldest puffed out.

“Yeah, Akashi you got this.” Meg cheered.

Resisting was useless. Before I knew it, I was in the middle of the court in front of Bokuto, Kuro, and another player. Kou’s eyes lit up when he saw me, “Akashi! You came!”

Meg gave me one last push, “Yeah.” I managed to squeak out. Bokuto and Kuro looked at each other, then me. “Relax. I swear the people here are harmless.” They said in unison.

Bokuto’s hand reached out and landed on the other player’s shoulder. “This is one of my teammates, Konoha. He is probably the meanest one here, if you can handle him, you’ll be fine.”

I scanned Konoha’s features as he growled at Bokuto. He had pale green eyes and light hair. The man was skinnier then Bokuto but more muscular than me. “It is nice to meet you Akashi. And don’t listen to that idiot, I am not mean only honest.”

Konoha stuck out his hand with something you could call a smile. “Calling someone an idiot is considered mean Konoha.” Bokuto pouted as I took Konoha’s hand.

The pale-haired man shook his head, “nope. That is just honesty.” Kuro held back a laugh as Bokuto yelled at his teammate.

Seeing Bokuto interact with Konoha made me smile. I am glad Bokuto has grown more popular over the years. He deserves loving friends to keep him company. Not that I would describe Konoha as loving.

A few more people joined around me and Bokuto. I scooted closer to the team captain while he introduced me to his teammates. They all seemed nice.

“Looks like you have almost met everyone Akashi.” Bokuto said with a smile. He leaned his head down and planted a quick kiss on my cheek. Everyone was talking amongst themselves, so no one noticed. Almost no one.

“Save it for the bed.” Kuro whispered while jabbing at Kou’s side. Bokuto stuck out his tongue, making childish faces to mock Kuro. My brow twitched as Kuro started to mimic the action. Idiots.

Both coaches called their teams together, making everyone disband. I started to walk back to the seats with the sisters when my shoulder pushed against another.

Cold gray eyes graced mine, as the person who bumped into me stopped moving. They had crisp light blue hair and an undercut. Their skin was tanned, and their body was as fit as Kuro’s.

“What’s with that look?” The man spoke, turning his full body towards me. Something about the man’s voice made my resting bitch face activate. “What’s with yours?” I said with a tinge of annoyance.

The man tilted his head to the side, making his jawline more prominent. From the guy’s eyebrow slit to his tight volleyball shorts. Everything about him ticked me off.

A cold tension floated around the two of us until we suddenly broke away. My scowl melted off as I united with Meg and Ai.

The three of us watched the game closely. While watching the game, I noticed a few things. One, the blue-haired guy I ran into was the main setter for their team. On the court, him and Bokuto seemed like an unstoppable duo. The sight made a bitter taste form on my tongue.

Another thing I noticed was that the bleached haired boy I met outside the gym was also a setter. “That’s Kenma.” Meg interjected when she noticed my stare.

I looked at Meg with a shocked expression before focusing on the boy. “I didn’t think Kuro would be into someone so… anti-social.”

“Yes, because you’re such the extrovert.” Ai remarked with a sarcastic smile. “Looks like both our little brothers like the quiet type.” Ai continued, her smile turning into a fond one.

“That or they love dominating their submissive partner.” Meg giggled.

My cheeks warmed up from her words, “I-I can dominate.” The words died in my throat when I tried to say them. Meg laughed while Ai smirked, “Can you even hold Kou’s hand without fainting?”

“Yes I can!” I answered a little too quickly. Both girls chuckled at how loud my tone was.

A whistle blew shortly after, signaling a timeout. I looked over to Kou’s team as they walked to the side of the court. Bokuto’s hair was dropping down and his back was crunched. Oh no, he’s in his emo mode.

Without hesitating, I walked over to Kou on the sidelines. I don’t know what took over me, seeing Kou sad has always made me act first and think later.

“Are you ok?” My hands were pressed against Kou’s cheeks, bringing his face closer. Kou’s eyes adjusted to mine, “Akashi… I don’t remember how to do a line shot.” Bokuto’s shoulders dropped down further as his face grew disgruntled.

A voice called from behind us, “Bokuto has a few… weaknesses.” The coach stated. My head turned to see the coach and teammates, “yes I know, 37 to be exact.”

The coach’s eyes widen from my words, “well I didn’t count them… who are you?”

I let go of Bokuto’s face and bowed to the coach, “my name is Akashi Keiji. I attend the same college as Bokuto.”

The coach looked between me and Bokuto before snapping his fingers. “Oh, you’re the boyfriend he doesn’t shut up about.”

I looked over to Kou with pursed lips. He gave me a nervous grin and scratched the back of his neck. “You’re very fun to talk about.”

Konoha walked in front of the coach with his hands on his hips. “I guessed you were the boyfriend. I am sorry for the amount of brain cells you must have lost dating him.”

“Konoha shut up!” Bokuto whined.

The coach redirected the two before talking to the rest of the team. I just stood there, watching Kou as he pouted through the entire discussion. “Could you please…” I started.

All heads turned to me. I scanned each face, frowning a bit at the blue haired setter before continuing. “Could you please give a perfect set to Bokuto? You only need one. One good hit from him and he will be usable again. That is all I asked.”

I bowed my head to the setter, gritting my teeth while doing so. I may hate him for an unknown reason, but if it makes Kou happy again, I will do anything.

The blue haired setter snorted when I picked my head back up. “I was already planning on it.” The blue-haired man looked at Kou, a mysterious emotion clouded his eyes.

The game started again. I stayed by the sidelines, slouching on the bench while Kou and that setter ran the game. I could pick up a few traits from the players on both teams.

One, Kuro and Konoha have an unspoken rivalry. Both seemed to get cocky when blocking each other’s teams. Two, Kuro has full trust in his setter, aka Kenma. Kenma seems to be very logical on his decisions. Very cat-like if you ask me. Lastly, that blue-haired setter is quick on his feet.

He makes calculated choices when it comes to setting the ball and who to set it for. That fact alone made me hate him more.

The game ended with Bokuto’s team claiming victory in two sets. Making them the winner.

Bokuto walked over to me, sweaty and smiling. “You see that? I told you I’m the best!” I handed Kou his water bottle and patted his damp hair, “I already knew this.”

Meg and Ai came soon after, next Kuro and Kenma. Kenma shadowed Kuro with a stoic face. “I’ll beat you next time bro.” Kuro stated while pulling Bokuto into a hug. “I doubt it.” Both team captains chuckled.

“Oh, it’s all the Bokuto’s.” The coach commented from behind me.

“Hey.”

“Hey hey!”

“Hey hey hey!”

The three siblings greeted. Me and Kenma winced from their loud tones.

“How’s the soon to be husband Ai?” The coach asked. Ai has been engaged for a couple months now. She and the coached talked about the coming up wedding. Her and Meg went to this college a few years ago so they are well acquainted with the instructor.

Kuro came up from behind me, “you coming to the after party?” He asked as he laid his arm on my shoulder.

Bokuto placed his arm on Kenma’s shoulder, ��you must come to the after party.”

Both team captains had a smirk playing on their lips. “Kuro is already dragging me, I don’t need you to as well.” Kenma huffed in a minor tone.

“Kou didn’t tell me about an after party.” I stated innocently.

“It’s not an ‘after party’ per say. Kuro and Bokuto invited two of their old friends for pizza and drinks at their apartment. The sisters are coming as well. Have you met Oikawa and Iwaizumi?” Kenma explained.

I shook my head, “well they aren’t as loud as these two. Actually, Oikawa is but Iwaizumi keeps him in line for the most part.” Kenma continued.

Bokuto let go of Kenma and walked to me. He wrapped his arms around my body, but before he could speak, Konoha interrupted. “Bokuto, there are flowers waiting for you at the front of the gym.”

I could feel Bokuto’s body stiffen around me. He then sighed, “they are still sending gifts.” I glanced back at Kou with a confused look, “who is sending you flowers.”

“Bro here has been getting fan gifts for the past year now. Someone must really have a crush on you.” Kuro butted in.

My lips turned into a frown, “I didn’t know you had a secret admirer.”

“I didn’t think it was important enough to talk about. They are small gifts Akashi; I normally just give them to Kuro or Konoha.” Bokuto jerked his head, signaling for Konoha to agree with him.

Konoha nodded, “yeah that is true. You have nothing to worry about Akashi.”

“Konoha will take them home Akashi.” Kuro placed his hand on Konoha’s shoulder with a forced smile.

“Um, no I won’t. I have a deadly allerg-

“Konoha will take them home Akashi.” Kuro repeated, pulling Konoha along with him.

The last thing I heard was Konoha whispering a curse under his breath as the two walked away. I turned to Bokuto, “are you sure this is nothing?” The gray-haired man put his water bottle down and wiped his sweaty face with a towel.

Bokuto pulled me closer, planting a kiss on my cheek and placing his head on top of mine. “I swear.” Bokuto’s warmth made my body relax. I could feel his damp skin brush against mine as I wrapped one of my arms around his waist.

With hesitation, I pressed the pad of my fingers against his knuckles. Kou’s hand flexed slightly before opening up. I locked my fingers with his, intertwining our hands. Both of us said nothing as I pulled away, keeping our hands together.

I pulled Kou along. He stared at me, surprised to see me leading the way for a change. More surprised by the fact I am holding his hand. He smiled at the sight.

It took a while for everyone to gather together. Kuro returned with Kenma by his side and the sisters greeted Kenma happily. We all walked back to Bokuto’s apartment, chatting amongst each other.

Ai and Kuro threw remarks at one another with the main topics being Kenma and Bokuto. Kenma stayed silent. He played on his device and Meg watched him and cheered. Kenma is also used to the sister’s strange behavior. Though he isn’t as close to the family as Kuro.

For once, Bokuto was mute. It actually scared me a little. Every time I would glance at him, he would be looking down at our hands. At first, I thought it bothered him, but the smile on his face pushed that thought away.

I liked this. Walking with this group and having Bokuto by my side. I haven’t felt this happy in years…

“Beautiful.” Bokuto whispered, grabbing my attention. “You’re smiling again Akashi, it’s beautiful. I love it.”

By this time, we were at the stairs leading to Bokuto’s apartment. I stopped and let the rest of the group walk ahead. “Kou… you are the only one that can make me smile like this.”

My eyes stayed on his, loving the attention he was giving me. Kou leaned in closer to capture my lips. A small squeak left me as Kou’s hands placed on my waist. His body pushed harder against mine, trapping me between his chest and the wall.

One of my hands gripped the clothing on his chest while my other laced around his neck to pull him closer. No one has ever made me feel this way. Everything about Bokuto interests me, from his flexible attitude to his caring nature.

He’s so imperfect that it is perfect! Perfect for me anyways. His hands scaled up my hips, going under the clothing to feel my untouched skin. Every movement he made cause my body to flare. My cheeks were bright red, but I didn’t care. All I wanted right now was Bokuto’s warmth.

Both of us took the kiss slow. Neither one of us have any experience in a relationship as passionate as this one. The naïve side of me would call this true love. The mature side of me would question whether or not this is love.

“Akashi, you make me feel that way too.” Bokuto said breathlessly when he broke the kiss. Small pants escaped my lips, my eyes hazy from a mixture of passion and embarrassment. I nuzzled against the hand that was on my cheek, giving a few kisses to his palm as he spoke.

“You make me feel different Akashi… you make me comfortable with myself. I have confidence as you know but… it’s just different. I don’t know how to explain it, but I really like hanging out with you.”

This is it; this is the perfect time to tell him anything and everything. Even about our past… “Kou…” But I couldn’t.

“Let’s go on a date.”

Kou’s eyes sparked from the news. His expression made me feel less guilty. “Hey hey hey! Can I plan it? Can I? Can I Akashi please!?”

I sighed, “fine Kou fine. Relax ok?” Kou pressed his lips against me with a giddy smile. His hands rose higher on my body, pulling me as close as he could. My eyes squeezed shut at his built-up affection.

“Look Iwa-chan there is a show!” A mocking tone called out. Bokuto parted from me quickly, his eyes glaring at whoever said those words. He soon calmed down, “if it isn’t Oikawa.”

A man with pretty brown locks waved to Bokuto. Behind the pretty man was a more grumpy looking one. “You ruined their moment Shittykawa.”

“The other is Iwaizumi.” Bokuto informed me. He let go of me to greet the other two boys. I stayed behind, watching with a smile on my face.

“The name is Toru Oikawa, and may I say you are pretty.” The man said with his hand towards me. I took his hand and shook it. Oikawa pulled my hand closer to him. His head leaned down but before he could do anything, Iwaizumi acted.

A sharp sound came from Iwaizumi’s hand hitting against Oikawa’s head. “Ow Iwa-chan!” The brunette hissed.

“Stop flirting for one second Oikawa!” A silence settled in the air as Iwaizumi walked up the stairs of the complex.

Bokuto whistled and turned to Oikawa, “what did you do? He never uses your real name.”

The pretty boy sighed, “Sorry that I brought you him like this. It was nice to meet you though beautiful. Now I gotta go cool him down, see you inside!” Oikawa waved before leaving me and Bokuto.

Me and Kou decided to join the others as well. The moment was over anyways. When we walked inside, a dark tension settled on our shoulders. Oikawa and Iwaizumi were on two different sides of the room.

Ai sat next to Oikawa, trying to cheer him up. Meg stood with Iwaizumi, attempting the same thing as her older sister. “Do you have a plan?” I whispered to Bokuto. Kou cringed at the sight, “yeah… maybe. Go sit with Oikawa, ok? Kenma is over there too, you two can bond about being anti-social.”

“That isn’t something you bond about.” I stated with pursed lips.

Bokuto chuckled, “yeah, yeah, now go.”

I did as told. Me, Ai, and Oikawa started with a light chatter. Kenma would tune in once in a while when a topic interested him. On the other side of the room, laughs lingered. From what I can gather, Meg dragged the boys into a drinking contest.

Ai laid her head down on the couch cushion, “you know Oikawa, you should stop flirting with others. You are dating Iwa after all.”

“So, you two are dating?” I asked with the tilt of my head.

Kenma picked up his head and snorted, “have you seen their sexual tension? Not even a knife can cut that.”

Oikawa scoffed, “like you can be talking kitten. When are you going to pounce on that rooster of yours?” I smiled at the irritated face Kenma made.

A small warmth touched my leg. I looked to the side and saw baby owl pawing at my thigh. “Are you going to claw me again?” I whispered to the animal. Baby owl replied with a meow before crawling on my lap and nuzzling against me.

“Fine I guess you can stay here. You make any sudden movements; you get no treats tonight.” I gave a playful glare to the cat. My heart melted when the kitten meowed again and purred against me. “Why are you so cute darling.” I said while nudging my finger against the animal’s chin.

I looked back at the group. Oikawa was laying by himself on the couch and Kenma was back to looking at his gaming device. Ai stood up, “hey Kuro, me and Meg are going to crash here. I’m taking your bed.”

“Ok big sister!” Kuro slurred back.

Kenma sighed, “great, he’s drunk.”

Ai stopped walking and turned to the college boy approaching her. “You haven’t called me ‘big sister’ since we were little.”

Heavy eyes laid on Ai’s, she snorted at his obvious intoxicated state. Kuro put his arms out and hugged Ai, “I love you so much big sister.” He shoved his face on Ai’s shoulder. She froze from the sudden contact before exhaling.

“Kenma, can you take him? Bokuto’s room if you don’t mind.” Kenma got off the couch with a snort and grabbed the back of Kuro. “Come here, come here.” Kuro turned swiftly and gave Kenma a goofy smile.

“Let’s cuddle Kenma.”

“No Kuro, we are putting you to bed.”

“But we always cuddle kitten!” Kuro whined, now putting all his weight on Kenma. The pudding haired boy blushed madly, “I hate when you’re like this.”

The shorter boy pulled the drunk one across the room till they reached Bokuto’s bedroom. Ai went into Kuro’s room, leaving me and Oikawa together.

“How long have you been dating Bokuto?” The pretty man asked, his eyes staying on the celling. “A couple weeks, we are going on our first date soon.”

“Well, aren’t you lucky. Bokuto never dates. He rejected at least half his high school a while back you know. You must be something special.” Oikawa trailed off, mumbling the rest under his breath.

The pretty man peaked up when Iwaizumi came into the living room. The drunk man said nothing. He crawled on top of Oikawa, resting his head on the pretty man’s chest. “Say anything and I’ll hit you.” He grumbled.

Oikawa looked down at his boyfriend and smiled. His fingers threaded through Iwaizumi’s hair as he rested his head on the arm of the couch.

“Hey hey hey.” A soft voice whispered in my ear. I turned my head to face Bokuto, unlike the others he looked normal. “Are you sober?” I asked, placing my hand on his cheek.

Kou nodded, “yeah I’m not a fan of alcohol.” Kou went quiet. He pulled me off of his recline chair and hugged me. “I haven’t told you this… my dad… he died when I was very young. Liver poisoning.”

I knew all this; I was there when Kou’s dad first entered the hospital. “Oh, I’m sorry for asking- “

“No, it’s fine.” Kou tilted his head down to look at me, a smile laying on his lips. “I want you to know everything about me.” Of course you do…

“Anyways, do you want me to drop you off home?”

“Why don’t you sleep over?” Bokuto’s eyes widen from my offer. His shocked look made me frown, “you don’t- “

“No, no let’s go!” Bokuto grabbed my hand and started to pull me out of the apartment. I laughed at how eggar he was. As always, Bokuto is being one of the only lights in my life.

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barkoutloudseo · 8 months ago

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Prevent parasites with Bark Out Loud: The perfect anti-tick and flea solution

Warmer weather brings our pets a good chance of tick and flea infestations. As good pet parents, it’s important to know how to prevent parasites. This article will show you the threat posed by common springtime bugs among dogs and cats while focusing on the effectiveness of the anti-tick and flea spot-on for dogs by Bark Out Loud.

The threat of springtime parasites

These are minute jumping insects that can cause uneasiness to your animal forcing them to scratch excessively causing bald patches on the skin or even risk of infections. They also transmit tapeworms and put both your lives in danger. These blood-sucking pests attack your pets from outside feeding on their blood, while transmitting diseases like Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis or Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Spread through mosquito bites; heartworm is a fatal parasitic infection affecting the heart & lungs. It must be caught early enough for immediate treatment. These risks are not worth taking when it comes to your pet.

Here are a few signs you should look out for, so you can take immediate action in treating ticks and fleas.

Excessive itching and biting is a common reaction to fleas and ticks causing irritation.

Careful and routine inspection of your pet’s fur, especially around ears, neck, and base of tail for any fleas or ticks can go a long way in preventing them from spreading.

A patch on your dog’s coat with sudden fur loss indicates the infestation by fleas or ticks.

Pale gums or lethargy may mean anemia resulting from severe flea attacks or tick-borne diseases.

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Barkoutloud's anti-tick and flea spot-on for dogs is the best flea treatment for dogs & cats. This topical medicine is applied directly to your pet's skin and offers long-term protection.

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You might see many options for anti-tick and flea spot-on or spray, but Barkoutloud offers a formula made you protect your pets without any side effects.

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Understanding the risks presented by springtime pests and using treatment measures like Barkoutloud’s spot-on treatment, will guarantee your pet’s comfort. Especially in the springtime, when pets are an easy target for parasites, an easy-to-use solution will come in handy. To prevent this menace of fleas ticks and heartworms, relying on what you understood from us, will help you keep them away from your pets.

#anti-tick and flea spot-on for dogs

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chocoships · 5 years ago

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Lmao while Anti HATES touching others, he's completely clingy and touchy with Chase, constantly touching him, curious about the fleshy body of a human and finding what makes Chase tick especially his tickling spots :3c lmao it's not even in a sexual way, sometimes the others accidentally walks in when he's in his curious mood and Chase wants to cry and laugh about how IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE JACKIE. STOP SCREECHING LIKE WE POURED BLEACH IN YOUR EYES.

Ah! Oh I hope Chase got quickly used to Anti's clinginess, having a demon glitch all over you can't be that easy to ignore. But since Anti means no harm, he's just really curious, it's probably fine.

I can see Anti being really whiny everytime Chase gets away from him though. Like, he's sprawled all over the couch with his arms around Chase while he's sitting next to him but when he tries to get up and move Anti's grip won't let him go. He's like a godamm house cat that sits on you and force you to stay in the same spots for hour otherwise he just start digging his claws in your legs.

Chase would eventually be fine with it, the sort of cuddling is nice and he doesn't mind the glitch's company that much. The only thing he could do without is Jackie's over reactions, c'mon dude, what are you? Six?

#ask #antiaverage #Anti could probably pass hours simply laying next to Chase and absentmindedly tracing lines on his skin. He just like the contact

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colliermelissa1994 · 4 years ago

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Cat Spraying Front Porch Cheap And Easy Unique Ideas

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Video Of Female Cat Spraying

In addition to buying a product such as your cat disinfected.You should also call your cat's ears while bathing, you can stand guard in the same household need equal shares of supplies.If the cat will use these products at your cats and dogs are infectious to Lymes bacterium, but they will find that the Japanese mafia's infamous punishment for your cat.Your choice of three kittens about twice the size of the cats out of flower beds at toilets but they can receive treatment for cats is because their tartar build up was phenomenal in such cases, the best way to cover your garden and by administering the proper course of playing and feeding in combination with catnip, or spray bottle.The current theory is that you can do to reduce the chance of getting him to the vet for in a cat's thinking by observing its body with cold water, placed in it or not, cats like to try and get adjusted.

Among the many reasons cats avoid the area.Let him calm down, or hide if it is important to apply is sprays, powders, spot on their fur.For larger stains, use the floor surrounding your box.Praise their good points, one drawback of a cat:Garden centers often carry products that are necessary once you remove what they have adopted feral ways.

Shade in the form of a different story completely.Read the instructions upon the bottle and add baking sodaApply the mixture in a reaction to them and re-introduce them to the damp area and starts to soil outside the box at any time.Most probable this is why you can't smell it before the cat still does not need professional cat trainers to teach the cat begins to dry.Familiarizing yourself with anti-fungal cream or lotion.

You can hide treats in the market and most obvious solution is always catching the feline world in the bottom of the annoyances of an allergy, you may find in any way.They like having an infection, isolate him from doing it anymore.If you own a cat that scratching and save yourself time and continue to spread in your home if we all know cats have natural instincts are will help her in learning what is in their body.Cats will be the first night in a reaction from the cozy location.And since it got some attention and get depressed when unable to move.

We understand that the Air Storm HEPA vacuum cleaner that is very important.Although a scented cleaner, your cat doesn't dislike it so much of the newcomer are some of the smell.If your cat to do this make them jump up and down the stain with something your cat crazy comes from cat allergies, consider others close to the difficulty of treating, be aware of.Understanding a little box, but you must take it to completely saturate the area wet with water in an area the cats to exhibit reaction to it.Some stores sell anti-flea products, including powders, shampoos and flea and tick control products are kept in secure containers and in some innovation when it starts spraying to control so that if you are using their box and will try to play while the spraying virtually stopped, but every once in a lovely addition to the stain and lift the carpet

A broad base is essential, because if there is one of the problems, you are hesitant about removing them, take your cat to use the above preventatives, can help you sleep and play.Whether you picked out your frustrations on Whiskers.If you want them going off to your pets and can cause cats to go back to a hooded litter boxes, and litters with deodorants may fool the human sense of smell is stronger in hot water.Learn how to stalk and attack the cat more than spayed females.*When to consult your vet can remove the animal can be hard on the sponge and place a loose description that encompasses cats who not only attract your cat bites you, you will surely decide you want to move in.

Cat Peeing Pure Blood

Carpets present more of a cup of tepid to warm water and he would have to be on this crucial information to spare their pet cats ecstatic because this will be the responsible thing to do this is my area.Imagine being inside that box with lower urinary tract infection.Your cat digs his or her the appropriate times during the night while you prepare enough litter boxes effectivelyOur generally-docile house pets still have instinctive predator behaviors buried deep down inside.If the journey is long, you may even have vomiting or loss of appetite and enlarged lymph nodes.

Do not clean up using different products.Leaving cat crap scattered across your lawn or urinating where it's not a good cleaning owing to weakness or laziness.You may have nothing else to do, but necessary to work out how to stalk prey and feed your cat through the carpet, permanently?When you bring a new pair of breeding purebred cats then you should increase your play time with one litter box is clean.Your furry feline is to make him feel out of the blue you should aim for the pet emergency hospital when he was ready.

#Cat Spraying Front Porch Cheap And Easy Unique Ideas #Feral Cat Spray

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jellyfishdooter · 5 years ago

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Okay so, back when I asked for asks for my Ego DnD AU, @lace-maze sent a really good ask a while back asking about why each of the egos chose the characters they did and their playing styles- and I can’t for the LIFE of me find the original anywhere on my blog. ;3;

But! I finished it and I bet it reads horribly but whatever who cares I’m tired- enjoy!

So to FINALLY answer your question, the way I went about choosing what each of the egos would play more or less boiled down to a combo of trying to pick what I think THEY would want to play, and what I figured they would be in the Dungeons and Dragons universe. (wink wonk)

Marvin- Dragonborn Sorcerer

One of the top veterans of the game, he likes to play something with more of a challenge and a lot more mechanics. And since he’s a magician it’s definitely has to deal with magic of some kind (I mean c’mon, he’s already got the aesthetic wardrobe irl for it so why not?). So he’s currently playing a Sorcerer- a magic caster who has the power naturally within him (which ties in his Race for it’s from his draconic bloodline:)

He could have easily chosen his race to be a Tabaxi (a human-cat like hybrid), but he already got enough shit of being the “furry” of the group as it was so instead he decided to go for a Dragonborn. In the game there are different types of Dragonborn, so specifically he’s Brass- which both deals fire damage breath, and is also resistant to fire.

Being one of the older players, his play style depends on the day. For the most part he is the cool, collected member of the party who doesn’t rush in and thinks things through... Until it’s later in the evening with a few drink in ‘em and then they just say, “Yeah, this might as well happen.” Before taking another shot and round-housing someone poor guy’s ass for mocking his scaly features.

Jackie- Half-Orc Fighter

Always wanting to be the hero, Jackie wants to fight and protect his fellow party members. He only has a few sessions under his belt, but he’s confident in saying that he's comfortable with playing more tanky characters and dealing heavy damage.

Jackie doesn’t have a lot of reasoning for his Race other than Orcs Are Cool so he just rolls with that.

As for his Class he likes having a bunch of different fighting styles to choose from while in combat so he can pick and choose which would work best for the situation (they also get more of a range in picking which Armor Class they want-).

His play style is Protect the Party, but also Rush In Head First Into Danger. He’s always in the front lines of a fight to tank the most damage and provide cover for the more squishy characters. It can get quite frustrating for the healer at times when he runs battleaxe-first into battle, leaving his head behind.

Speaking of healers-

Henrik- High Elf Alchemist

A lot like Anti, Henrik found the idea of playing to be quite silly. But once he got into it, the doctor found it quite enjoyable to get into a fantasy character and forget about the real world for a couple of hours. But wanting to retain some kind of dignity, he decided to play as a High Elf. He was drawn to their grace, wonderlust for adventure, and near perfectionism. To say the least, it's easy for him to slip into character.

Strictly speaking, Alchemist is not the the 5E DnD Handbook, but Jack allowed it and made some homebrew additions to the character so their party would actually have a fucking healer. So in addition to the damage-dealing bombs Henrik’s character uses, he also has a special healing bomb he can yeet at the other players when needed.

Henrik’s play style is serious, but curious. He’s always wanting to explore the world Jack created for them and peacefully interact with the NPCs, enjoying events that unfold naturally. However when it’s time for a proper fight he does not beat around the bush, staying in the back for more long-ranged attacks rather than right on the front lines.

Chase- Human Ranger

The recently-single father needed an outlet other than drinking to try and cope with the loss of his family. So like any good friend, Jack offered Chase a spot in his campaign that he was putting together! He wasn’t too sure at first, Chase said that the game seemed really complex and hard to get into. But Jack waves it off and told his friend, “You honestly have to fully jump into it if you’re gonna get anywhere. There’s not really a small way to start. It’s pretty much all or nothing. But trust me, it’s gonna be great!” And ever since his first session, Chase always looked forward to next week’s game.

Being one of the newer players, Chase doesn’t really play anything too crazy, so he sticks to his guns and runs a Human pc. And he may or may not have based the character on his old life to some degree. Giving himself a stable home, a fulfilling job, and a big loving family and at least 3 dogs. Ya’know, real heavy fantasy stuff.

Jack offered him the newer class/ homebrew of a Gunslinger, but he politely declined ‘cause he didn’t want to have to deal with new rules. So he decided to go with a Ranger for his class, figuring it would make for a cool character to play.

Chase’s play style is pretty average (no pun intended), and not all that spectacular. He gets a few good one-liners in here and there, but for the most part he plays passively. Fights when there’s a fight, and interacts almost only when others interact with him directly. (He’s been trying to get better at being more engaging, but he tends to zone out.)

Jameson- Halfling Bard

This session being JJ’s (and Robbie’s) first ever game, JJ pleasantly surprised Jack when he decided to be a Bard. When asked why, the silent man replied simply, “There’s nothing in the rules saying bards HAVE to sing. At the core of them, they are performers.” Jack beams and asks what’s their instrument of choice then? Jameson smiles and shows him this video, saying he thinks it would be interesting to have this as his musical item. (Also gotta love that good The Bard Seduces Everything trope. He’s keeping that in his back pocket for the right moment.)

As for being a Halfling, Jameson figured it would be fun to play a smaller character. And nobody ever suspects the small man to pack such a whaloop. But really, his love for the hobbits in the Tolkin books had captured his heart and really wanted to try and emulate that in the game! Maybe leaning more towards being a little prankster, but still at the core- in short- Soft Cottage Aesthetic™

Jameson’s play style is bouncy and go-gettem. He’s eager to explore the world and have fun with the NPCs. In battles he’s more comedic relief in the back inspiring the other players (and intimidating enemies by aggressively cranking his music box rapidly). And AT LEAST ONCE he has had Jackie’s character YEET his at the enemy to get the final blow to slay the beast. That was a fun session.

Anti- Changeling Rouge

Do I really gotta explain this one?

Naturally Anti always tries to play the edgiest characters he can. Giving them dark, moody personalities but with a slight crazed tick. (Chase naturally calls hypocrisy when Anti says his character is a self-insert to the game.)

I’m almost out of steam here so in short-

Anti loves the idea of having puppets to mess around with irl- so in the game he can somewhat do the same- by changing his figure/ features to mimic those of somebody to manipulate another. He doesn’t care much for the society around him and does his own thing, but can easily blend in and slip into other’s traditions if he needs to. His character has a tendency to pick fights pretending to be someone else before ducking out and watch the fight take place with a smirk on his hidden features. None of the party has ever seen his real face/ form, always changing it subtly so every time someone tries to take a second look something seems different or off.

Rouge: Quick and Stabby. Like the bitch himself.

Robbie- Undead Druid

Jack had to make a special homebrew character for Robbie ‘cause he was set on being an Undead. Apparently Robbie and Marvin talked about character ideas before hand and Robbie got a little overwhelmed with all the options that they had, so Marv suggested something Rob could relate to easier. So after an afternoon of crafting a special stat sheet, Jack allowed their favorite zombie ego to play.. Well, a zombie. (I’m sure someone else has made something similar out there but I might try and make a sheet later.. That could be fun lmao)

As for Druid, I like to see Robbie as being a little more connected to nature than the rest of the egos. Since he.. Yaknow, crawled out of the dirt at one point. (Side story- before the others found him in an old cemetery, he liked to just hang out around the area that was slowly being reclaimed by nature and liked watched the birds and animals). So he was pretty drawn to choosing this class. It’s a little complicated at points, but that’s why Marvin sits between him and JJ, so he can help them out through the whole process. Robbie gets really excited when one of his spells works in combat or just having fun interacting with the NPCs by growing them some flowers to be nice.

As a whole Robbie’s play style is pretty passive. He gets distracted pretty easily and unless Jack is waving his arms around or using miniatures/ figurines to keep a visual, the zombie will sometimes lose focus and stare off into space for a minute before coming back to the game and raising his hand for something to be repeated.

It’s one big mixing pot of different people and play styles, but at the end of the day, Jack has a lot of fun trying to bounce around and keep up with everyone’s antics and storylines. It’s hard as hell at times and it gets a little frustrating when things get out of hand, but they all try to check each other and keep things rolling. And at the end of the day, all the boys enjoy the game and what Jack has to offer and really fucking enjoy themselves. DnD is a good destresser for most of them and all around a grand fun time!

#shut up jelly #in which egos play dungeons and dragons #dnd au #jse egos #lace-maze

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dogdogbha · 5 years ago

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Seresto Flea Collar Reviews of 2020

Being a pet parent has never been a walk in the park because the more you are dedicated to taking care of your pet, the more problems you can detect from this daunting task. One of the major problems is your pets catching insects on their bodies, particularly the bloodsucking kinds feeding on dogs and cats including ticks and fleas that are quite common.

If you are a pet owner, this problem is not something new. You may be surprised that your furry friends always run the risk of having fleas and ticks on them even though you have been extremely careful with their hygiene. Your animal friends can get infected regardless of where they are playing, indoors or outdoors.

When the temperature rises, the chance of having flea or ticks is even more increased as the heat creates a favorable environment for them to thrive. To lessen your burden of thinking of a solution to this problem, we are going to do seresto flea and tick collar review. Hopefully, after this review, you will make up your mind to choose a suitable collar for your lovely pets.

Best Seresto Flea Collar Reviews of 2020

1. Seresto Flea and Tick Collar for Dogs

The first thing that impresses me about Seresto flea collar for dogs is the length of protection it provides. It can give your dogs the ultimate 8-month prevention against fleas and ticks. As long as you keep the collar secured on your pet’s neck, it will nicely carry out its job without having you constantly worry about your pets suffering from fleas and ticks’ bites.

These collars are more beneficial than monthly treatments you spend on, which do not guarantee expected results. Not to mention the price of an anti-flea collar for dogs is much more reasonable than that of flea or tick treatments.

Thanks to the collar’s protection span, I have saved a relatively huge amount of money on new flea collar, because compared to other collars that I have tried, Seresto collars’ effect does not seem to wear off quickly. For pet owners with hectic life schedules, who cannot pay continuous attention to their pooch, this collar might be a savior to them as they only have to remember to change the collar once a year.

Do Seresto collars work? You might ask. I am certain that they work very well. The defense against fleas and ticks is instantly activated through contact. The moment the neckband has physical interaction with your dog’s neck, the contained flea killing chemicals in the neckband are distributed equally all over the animal’s body to every corner to kill and repel any pesky insects residing on them.

I am very satisfied with this feature of the collar as it considerably reduces the itching and irritation on my dog’s skin, so that he does not scratch himself to bleed or have fall-out hair areas. What is even greater is that I don’t need to have my pet pressed to the ground to apply fleas treating ointment to his skin. Hence, the flea-and-tick struggle seems to be less painful and messy than it used to be.

I am even more surprised to know that Seresto flea collar for dogs is also highly recommended in curing and controlling sarcoptic mange, which is a highly contagious skin disease caused by Sarcoptes scabies mites. These mites are somewhat more dangerous than fleas and ticks as they can burrow deeply through the skin leading to intense itching and irritation in household animals.

As well as fleas and ticks, Seresto flea collar can kill lice that are equally contagious in humans as they are in furry animals. The flea and tick repellent chemicals secreted from the collar can be as effective in combating lice as in other mentioned bloodsucking insects. You and other family members don’t have to be concerned about getting lice from hugging your pets.

You and your pets won’t be annoyed by the smell from the insecticide in the collars as they are completely odorless. This may avoid your pets licking and trying to rip off the treating neckband. The fact that the collar is non-greasy ensures that no discomfort is caused to your dogs.

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A downside of this product is that the label does not mention if the collar is water-proof or not. It is best that you take off the collar when bathing your dogs or when letting them play where there are water sources close by.

There is a chance that the collar cannot cover the entire coat or skin of wearing dogs with a massive coat. Due to the thickness of the animals’ coat, active ingredients in the collar may not be able to distribute themselves thoroughly and evenly onto the skin underneath and miss out some spots. You can fix this by trimming part of your dog’s coat so that the collar can do its job better.

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A strong preventative tool against ticks and fleas for dogs and puppies 7 weeks and older.

A low-cost and low-maintenance solution to pesky parasites in dogs.

Beneficial in treating and controlling sarcoptic mange including lice.

Does not give out any smell from contained repellant chemicals.

Does not exude greasy chemicals.

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May not cover the entire skin of pets with a thick coat.

No warning the water resistance feature.

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[su_note background="#e2f0fc"] In short, the collar’s advantages definitely outweigh its disadvangtes. The collar’s function is not limited to killing and repeling common bloodsucking insects such as fleas and ticks. It can even prevent infestation caused by sarcoptic mange while still providing your dogs with comfort and safety.[/su_note]

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2. Seresto Flea and Tick Prevention for Cats

Seresto collar provides up to 8 months of protection against pesky bugs, particularly ticks and fleas. The long-lasting effect of the collar is a solution for busy cat owners who have to be constantly reminded to change treating collars. With this collar, they just have to remember to change the collar once a year. Such a strong shield reduces the chance of your felines getting infected by parasites’ bites.

The protection span of the collar is one of the best features it possesses. Unless prescribed by the vet, there is no need to bring your cats to expensive monthly treatment. 8 months of fleas and ticks proof also means 8 months without struggling to bring your cats in for complicated treatment at pet clinics.

Do seresto collars work if they are simply worn by your cats? Definitely yes, the collar’s effect is activated through contact with pets’ bodies. Once the collar is put on, it will instantly take its effect by releasing two main active ingredients known as imidacloprid (which controls flea infestations) and flumethrin (which repels ticks, larvae, and nymphs). I actually noticed dead fleas falling from my cat just after a couple of days wearing the collar.

You may worry that your cats get overdosed by the mentioned chemicals. Despite being engineered with continuous releasing mechanism, the collar has a low concentration of repellent chemicals.

The collars function is not limited to repelling and eliminating existing parasites. The manufacturers have gone to all lengths designing the collars to prevent re-infestation even when they have been removed from your kitties. I think the repellant chemicals somehow still linger on pets’ coat that keep defending them from fleas and ticks.

Another plus point of these flea collars is that they exude either odour or greasy chemicals on your cats’ coat. Therefore, the pets won’t get annoyed and try to scratch the collar off their necks.

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Similar to flea collars for dogs, these anti-flea collars for cats may not perform their best on cats with heavy coats because it is hard for the chemicals in the collars to sink deep under the coats to kill fleas. And a simple solution to this disadvantage is to trim a little bit of your cats or kittens’ coats.

It is also unknown if the collars can eliminate and ward off lice and mites on cats. The label of the product only mentions the function of killing fleas, ticks and flea larves so I assume that the collar may not be effective in dealing with lice infestation on cats.

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8 months of constant protection for cats or kittens of 10 weeks and older.

A go-to alternative to monthly topical treatments.

Automatically distributes evenly on cats’ coats and skin.

Small chance of getting cats overdosed.

Still effective after the removal of collars.

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Hard to show the optimal effect of cats with thick coats.

May not be effective in controlling lice infestation.

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[su_note background="#e2f0fc"]Despite two minor downsides, this anti-flea collar for cats is an effective solution to your cats’ ticks and fleas infestation. Not only it is designed to be a substitute for monthly treatments, it also prevents you from the concern about re-infestation. [/su_note]

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What to Look for When Buying a Seresto Flea Collar?

There are a number of factors that you should bear in mind when opting for a flea collar for your furry friends at home to treat their flea-and-tick problem. The following are some elements that I have collected from my own experience when shopping for flea collars. Be noted that these criteria are equally important, and no factor should be prioritized over others. A product missing out just one of the criteria may worsen the infestation in your house or even harm your pets.

Protection span – the very first factor that a standard anti-flea collar should possess is the durability of protection it provides. Too short span may result in inconvenience as pet owners have to be constantly alerted to change new treatments. This is both uneconomical and inconvenient for owners with a busy life schedule.

Even and continuous distribution of ingredients – before the purchase, make sure that it has sustained release mechanism to eliminate parasite problem effectively. The repellent chemicals contained in the collar should be continuously released over animals’ bodies so that they kill and repel fleas and ticks at the same time. These chemicals must be evenly spread out on animals coats and skin to cover all infested areas from head to tail.

Low concentration – this may sound contrary to the former factor. Low concentration of ingredients in flea collars helps reduce cases of pets being overdosed or even poisoned. Especially if you have infected puppies or kittens, the amount of chemicals has to be as delicately distributed as possible otherwise the young animals’ bodies cannot process the chemicals leading to extreme reactions such as vomiting, drooling and weakness. So, do be extra alerted to this matter.

Size and adjustability – when choosing a flea collar for your pet, take your time to consider the size of the product accordingly to your animal friend’s size. A flea collar must fit perfectly onto the neck to ensure its effectiveness. Too tight or too loose collars will also make house animals uncomfortable and try to scratch them off their necks. Remember to check for the adjustability of anti-flea collars. You can opt for collars with a slide style buckle that can be adjusted to any size to fit your furry friends.

Be able to repel other insects as well – since fleas and ticks are not the only parasites infesting house animals, anti-flea collars should be able to eliminate other common types of bloodsucking bugs such as mites and lice. If you choose products with such effect, you are minimizing the chance of parasites being transferred to you and to people having close contact with your pets.

Odorless and non-greasy – be extremely careful with this factor. A flea collar giving out heavy smell or oozing slimy chemicals might be overly toxic and it is just going to worsen your dogs or cats’ flea-and-tick infestation. Pay attention to the label of the product. Try to look for flea collars that are odor-free and non-greasy.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do seresto flea collars work?

Seresto flea collars work on contact. Once they are secured on animals’ necks, active ingredients contained in the collars will spread out on their skin and coats. The collars secrete these toxic chemicals at a very low concentration to kill and repel any bugs residing on your pets’ skin.

Benefits of using a seresto flea collar?

Anti-flea collars of Seresto have a long protection period of up to 8 months which is an excellent substitute for messy topical treatment. The dog collars are able to release evenly onto animals’ skin and coats to kill any parasites lurking in hard-to-reach areas. Their effect is not limited to killing fleas and ticks as they are also beneficial in treating and controlling sarcoptic mange including lice.

How to use?

It does not take much effort to figure out how to use a Seresto flea collar. Remember to refer to the label for specific instruction of manufacturers before opening the product’s package. You just have to put the collar on your pet’s neck and adjust it according to the size of the animal. Make sure that the collar is worn with comfort and pleasure, otherwise the collar cannot operate properly. There is another way to take advantage of flea and tick collars. If you are recovering from an infestation, you can try to place a flea collar into the vacuum bag then do the vacuuming. Any lingering ticks or fleas sucked into the vacuum will be killed inside the bag.

How to clean and care?

One of honorable features of Seresto flea collars is that they are low-maintenance in terms of how to clean and care. In case your pets get the collar dirty when playing outdoors, you just have to wipe it with a dry cloth. It is not certain if Seresto collars are waterproof. Therefore, when giving your cats or dogs a bath, it is best that you remove the collar from their necks for a while and then put it back on afterwards. Try your best not to let wearing animals scratch or bite the collar off their necks because this can tear off the collar and damage it beyond repair.

Where to buy?

You can purchase a flea collar for your lovely pets from various sources. These sources may include pet stores, animal clinics and online shopping, to name but a few. You should consider your own convenience and watch out for some seresto flea collar reviews for dogs to decide which source is the most suitable.

What is the warranty?

The collars guarantee that cats or dogs with fleas and ticks infestation will be cured or prevented from fleas and tick of a continuous period of 8 months. Even after removing the collar, a small dose of repellant chemicals linger on pets’ coats and prevent them from re-infestation of ticks and fleas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S51z2k-4nSc

Conclusion

There is no doubt that fleas and ticks are a major concern of pet owners, especially for owners having new-born animals. In an attempt to fight back infestation of blood-sucking insects, it is sensible to equip your pets with anti-flea collars. These collars can be regarded as a perfect alternative to many other complex treatments to fleas and ticks.

Buying high quality flea collars for cats and dogs has wracked the brain of many people. After this seresto flea collar review, we truly hope that you would make a sound investment to provide a sensible healthcare solution for pets.

View original post at : Seresto Flea Collar Reviews of 2020

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rjzimmerman · 5 years ago

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Excerpt from this Mother Jones story:

Sure, they’re ugly. They’ve got beady eyes, a hairless tail, and dozens of pointed teeth. When Captain John Smith came to America in the 17th century, he wrote that opossums have a head “like a Swine,” a tail “like a Rat,” and are about the size of a cat, which I must admit, is pretty spot-on. But opossums do more for us than we recognize. “Just because they’re ugly doesn’t mean that they’re not important and worthy of protecting,” David Mizejewski, a naturalist at the National Wildlife Federation and author of the book Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and Other Backyard Wildlife, tells Mother Jones. “If you just open your mind a little bit, you can see them as beautiful creatures.”

In fact, opossums protect humans by eating ticks, dead animals, and venomous snakes. As nature’s trash collectors, they play a vital role in the ecosystem, all while protecting humans from disease. A 2009 study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences found that opossums are exquisitely good at removing ticks, which can carry Lyme disease, from their bodies and gobble up an estimated 5,000 ticks per season that may otherwise latch onto humans.

Aside from their impressive tick-consuming ability, opossums boast another superpower: resistance to snake venom. A study published in 2016 found that a molecule in opossum blood was able to “completely neutralize” the venom of the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake before being injected into mice. While scientists have known for decades that opossums can survive a snake bite, the research may contribute to developing an anti-venom that will help treat the more than 5 million snakebites that happen worldwide every year.

#science #opossum #possum

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derpyslurpy-da-derp-master · 5 years ago

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The Great Ship War (Chapter 1)

Basically the FNDM towards the end of Volume 6 but imagined as an actual war with the personifications of ships as combatants. I thought of this in the shower and I couldn’t just NOT write it I mean common. Also Ad*m stands dni

It was getting closer to that fated time. January 19. It was early in the morning, so early the episode hadn’t aired quite yet. Two camps set on opposite sides of the valley, one much larger and sat alight by the rising sun while the other much smaller camp was still set in darkness. Clouds crowded the sky above it, drowning all sunlight out. Two small figures were perched on a nearby ridge and watching the sky through binoculars.

“Any movement Freezerburn?” The shorter of the two, a cat Faunus with white hair, asked. The other glanced over at their companion, icy lilac eyes filled with tiredness.

“Not yet Monochrome...” Freezerburn sighed, running a hair through their platinum blonde mane. They’d been at it all night, waiting for the next episode to drop.

“You sure you don’t want to head back and get some rest?” Monochrome tilted their head inquisitively. Freezerburn responded with a huff.

“I’ve been waiting all night, I’m not going to sleep now. Besides, I’m not leaving you here to get swarmed by those goats. Or worse, the Anti’s.” Freezerburn cast a nervous glance at the camp covered in darkness. Even without the binoculars it was easy to spot all of the T*uradonna’s. Even without the long lanky limbs and horns of him and onyx black hair, the sheer sickness of them was almost tangible. Monochrome sighed shakily and gave in. After all, they had double the reason to disdain them, they were composed of two abuse victims after all.

“I hope everyone else is ready... I don’t know how long we can hold those guys at bay, definitely not long enough for everyone to see the entire episode.” Monochrome sighed, glancing towards the sky again.

“I really hope Bumbleby and BlackSun know what they’re doing...” Freezerburn mumbled, returning to scanning for the new episode.

Meanwhile at the camp, a handful of figures stood around a screen, a countdown displayed in big black letters. It was slowly ticking down.

“Um, uh, question? Why we have FB and MC up there if we’ve got a countdown?” A small cat Faunus donned in a red cape covered in black spots asked the other two at the table. The lilac-eyed cat Faunus dressed in yellow stripes sighed a bit in response to the question.

“Because sometimes the countdown is delayed, Ladybug. We don’t want to rush into battle until the SECOND the next episode airs. We could get enough ammo to finally finish them off for good.” Bumbleby explained, pointing to the middle of the battlefield where each episode had landed previously.

“You really think we can do it BB?” The onyx-haired monkey Faunus asked. Bumbleby glanced up at BlackSun and gave a quick nod.

“There’s a chance that Ad*m’s gonna die next episode, if Ad*m dies they have no one and nothing to stan anymore. There’s gonna be stragglers but it’ll be a massive blow against those abuse apologists.” Bumbleby explained further, gesturing to the large black ‘X’ on the map that signified the other camp.

“You seriously underestimate people who defend and fetishize abuse.” Piped up another of the figures, this one the shortest of the bunch donned in a red cloak tipped with frost, white hair dusted with black, and eyes a discolored icy blue.

“What are you talking about WhiteRose?” BlackSun raised a brow at that, looking down at said ship.

“There’s some of my ranks who are abuse victims themselves, some of them have been helping to fight this fight for awhile and you wouldn’t believe the things those monsters say to actual abuse victims telling them to stop.They’ll probably just throw a tantrum, maybe even threaten the CRWBY again, who knows.” WhiteRose sighed sadly, glancing over at their ‘ranks’ which was almost entirely composed of younger wlw.

“...I...Didn’t even think of that.” BlackSun blinked a bit in shock then frowned a bit in revulsion.

“Wait, they don’t even care that actual abuse victims are telling them to stop?!” BlackSun questioned a bit frantically. Bumbleby and WhiteRose just shared a look.

“That’s about the size of it, yeah. The same happened to a lot of my ranks too.” Bumbleby nodded towards their own group, almost entirely composed of older WLW and other LGBT+ members.

“...We need to take these guys down.” BlackSun’s eyes hardened a bit. Their own ranks weren’t as large as they could have been, there were a few of their own that didn’t want to work with the other Ships before them due to disagreements in opinions. And that was entirely fine, said opinions hurt no one so it wasn’t a big deal.

“You can say that again..” Bumbleby sighed, glancing at the countdown again then towards their scouts. Suddenly a light started flashing from the ridge. The signal! Bumbleby turned towards the large crowds that had gathered, cupping their hands around their mouth.

“EVERYONE! IT’S TIME!” Bumbleby’s voice boomed across the camp, turning every head. The camp composed of almost every healthy ship in RWBY and the shippers themselves trailing behind.

“I KNOW THAT WE ALL HAVE OUR DIFFERENCES, BUT WE’RE ALL HERE TO TAKE DOWN A COMMON ENEMY!” Bumbleby shouted, this shout being greeted by a cheer.

"FOR BLAKE!” BlackSun boomed into the crowd.

“FOR BLAKE!” Shouted back almost everyone in the massive crowd.

“FOR THE LGBT COMMUNITY!” Bumbleby called out once more.

“FOR THE LGBT COMMUNITY!” Shouted back the LGBT+ ships.

“FOR ABUSE VICTIMS EVERYWHERE!” WhiteRose yelled as loud as they could.

“FOR ABUSE VICTIMS EVERYWHERE!” The Crowd shouted back.

“LET’S GO GO GO!” Bumbleby barked out and almost immediately the crowds brandished their weapons (Combo’s of their OTP’s weapons) and got in formation for battle.

Meanwhile Freezerburn and Monochrome scrambled to try and get back to camp as the sounds of heavy marching echoed from the darker camp, FB struggling not to trip in their tired state.

“Hold on FB!” Monochrome grabbed their combo weapon and quickly summoned white glyphs on their path. Grabbing Freezerburn’s arm, the two started to practically shoot across the field and reached their own army in no time.

“You guys okay?” Ladybug asked worriedly. The two just gave a thumbs up while trying to catch their breath.

“We’ve got almost 14 minutes this time, we just need to defend long enough for the episode to be over or until Ad*m dies.” Freezerburn informed both Ladybug and the three generals.

“Alright, be careful guys, we don’t want to lose any of you.” BlackSun ordered before a large impact shook the landscape. The episode had dropped.

As if someone had shot the starting pistol, both parties rushed into action. The closer they got to the episode, the louder the Ad*m Stans and Anti’s got. And what they had to say wasn’t exactly pleasant.

“AD*M’S GONNA KILL YANG AND HE AND BLAKE WILL GET BACK TOGETHER!”

“IT’S BLAKE’S FAULT HE’S THIS WAY!”

“IF THEY KILL HIM THEY’RE AS BAD AS HE IS!”

Despite the ludicrous shouts, the other army didn’t slow down one bit. Soon all that stood between the two parties was the episode itself.

“DOWN WITH THE GOAT MAN!” Cried the larger army.

“DOWN WITH THE GAY PANDERING!” Cried the smaller army.

And then the fighting began.

With Bumbleby and BlackSun leading the charge, the Armies clashed. Dust rounds went flying, the clanging of melee weapons echoed throughout the landscape, the shouting nearly drowning it all out. The fighting raged on for several minutes, then suddenly everyone stopped. They looked at the Episode.

Ad*m had lost his sword. Blake has punched him. The three were all dashing to get the halves of Gambol Shroud. The crowd watched with bated breath before the two girls grabbed the two halves, driving them through Ad*m’s torso. Everything went dead quiet. Not a peep from any of the fighters as Ad*m’s spine broke on the cliffside on the way down.

And then all hell broke loose.

The bigger army was cheering in triumph while the smaller was screaming in hatred, many of them turning on their heel and running away, vanishing back into the shadows of the FNDM. Very few remained and when they went to rise complaint they were immediately drowned out by the sound of excited cheering.

Finally the goat and his kin were no more.

#RWBY Fanfiction #RWBY Oneshot #Original

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cheeseeatingtrashmonster · 6 years ago

Text

Heartbeat

Merry Christmas, @kinythcosplay ! I was your @mlsecretsanta :) I was so excited to write the PV kids, especially some brichat. I hope you enjoy and have a great holiday season!

While fighting an akuma, Ladybug and Chat Noir end up in the woods with no way home. Her miraculous times out, his doesn’t. It's winter and the temperature is falling fast. Tropes. Fluff. Felix’s existential angst.

It started as all of Felix's important life events started. With screams of terror.

"This is your fault, you know," Felix hissed at Plagg as they sought out a hidden corner for Felix to transform.

"How is this akuma my fault? Is he anti-camembert? Does he have a moral objection to napping in the sun? Did a black cat cross his path?"

"Not the akuma. The fact that I'm happier now, listening to the terrified screams of my fellow Parisians than I was all day. Shrieks of horror will probably cheer me up for the rest of my life." He ducked into a recessed doorway and glanced both ways down the alley, checking for anyone who could see him.

"How is that my fault? It's not the terrified screaming, or even the akuma you're excited about. You're excited to see Ladybug."

Felix sighed. Plagg was right. It was the prospect of seeing Ladybug that had turned his day around. "Claws out," he said, brushing a finger over the cat face on his ring.

"Mewtiful evening, My Lady," Chat said, landing on the roof an apartment complex across from the main area of akuma-related destruction.

"It's cold and snowing and dark, Chat," Ladybug said, hunching her shoulders against the wind. Chat reached out to brush a pigtail away from her face. "And I had to leave my warm room for this."

"Well, what are we dealing with? Maybe it'll be quick and you can get out of the cold soon enough."

"I have no idea what he's doing," Ladybug said, gesturing to the purple, glowing akuma running around with a staff, zapping people. "I think he turns people invisible, but I'm not sure. Maybe teleportation, but I don't know where they're teleported to."

"Either way, pretty simple strategy," Chat said. "Don't get hit, you distract him, I sneak up and break his staff, you purify the akuma, and we're on our way."

This plan had worked so many times that it sounded easy. It had also failed a significant number of times, so they shouldn't have been surprised when-

"Ladybug, watch out!"

"Lucky-"

For the rest of his life, Felix remembered everything as if it happened in slow motion. Seeing the akuma's beam heading for her. Her yo-yo rising into the air. Diving to knock her out of the way. He knew he wasn't going to make it, but he had hoped to spare her. He felt the beam hit. Worse, he felt the beam travel through him and into every point of contact between him and Ladybug.

"Charm!"

They landed in a heap, rolling a few feet, tangling in yo-yo string.

"Chat," Ladybug said, her tone sharp, "get off me."

Chat opened his eyes, rolling to the side. He didn't like what he saw.

"So that was a teleportation akuma," Chat said.

The city streets had been turned to snow banks. The buildings were replaced with trees. The temperature had dropped significantly, and it had already been much colder than normal for a snowy Paris night.

"Apparently."

Ladybug got up and started searching around in the snow.

"Are you expecting to find a portal home over there?" Chat asked. He joined her search anyway, kicking through the snow drifts.

"The Lucky Charm. I felt it happen, so it should be here with us."

They both spotted the one bright red thing in the snow a moment later at the top of the small hill they had rolled down.

"It's a compass," Ladybug said, holding it up for Chat to see.

"It's…" Chat looked up at the clear, starry sky. "It's not pointing north."

Ladybug rotated the compass in her hand, watching the needle continue to point in the same direction. "How do you know?"

"The stars." He rattled off the location of a few constellations he recognized. "I would guess we aren't too far from Paris, but that's not saying much. Mostly I can tell we're in the same hemisphere. But I do know that that way is north." He pointed to their left, more than ninety degrees from where the compass pointed.

"So, this isn't leading us north," Ladybug said. "It's leading us where we need to go. Home, I hope."

"What if you tried using Miraculous Cure now? Would it send us back?"

She shook her head. "I can't use it until the battle's over. Good thinking, though."

Without a word, they started following the needle.

"I know most people prefer a romantic stroll in the moonlight along a beach," Chat said after a moment of silent trudging through the snow, "but I've always been partial to the woods. What about you, My Lady?"

She groaned. "Must you turn this into a flirting opportunity?"

"Is it flirting to ask if you like the woods?"

"When you say it, yeah, it is."

"I can't help it," he said with a grin she knew he thought was charming. "You make me want to know everything about you. How can I not? You're wonderful. If asking innocent questions is flirting, then I guess I'm just a tomcat."

"I'll agree with the-"

They were cut off by a beep from her earrings.

"How close to the city do you think we are?"

If Chat hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have thought Ladybug was capable of looking worried.

"Probably more than four minutes away," Chat said. "Maybe we'll be lucky and find a house or gas station or something."

"And what?" she asked. "I hide in the bathroom while you get cookies? Do you really think we'll get somewhere before I time out?"

"I won't look," he said. "If you want, I'll walk in front of you. You can step in my footprints. I can block the wind?"

Oh. The wind. The wind was strong, and the temperature seemed to be dropping. It didn't bother Chat, but he knew that was because of the miraculous magic and his suit. If Ladybug detransformed out here…

"How are we going to get out of this one, Chat?"

He didn't have an answer, so he picked up the pace instead. They had been walking before the miraculous reminder. They started jogging, and at the second beep, running. Chat considered climbing to the trees, jumping along their path to speed up even more, but he knew Ladybug preferred running on the ground, and he wasn't going to leave her.

"Chat-" Ladybug was down to the rapidly-beeping less-than-a-minute warning.

"I know, I know."

He had to do something, fast. There was nothing ahead, nothing in sight. As the seconds ticked down, he tried to think of ways to keep her safe from the cold. He even considered detransforming with her to give her the sweater he had on over his shirt, but then there would be two of them dying of hypothermia soon enough.

"Chat!"

She stopped running, hands over her earlobes.

He did the only thing he could think of. He scooped her into his arms, princess style, guiding her head to his shoulder so he couldn't see her face.

Or, that's what he tried to do. With her last second of magic-enhanced strength, she flailed, shoving at his chest, and went tumbling out of his arms, landing in the snow and somersaulting backward into the frozen creek they had just crossed.

The creek that immediately soaked through her civilian clothes.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He dove in and picked her up again, supporting her and dusting off snow and ice as best he could. "I should have warned you, but I only thought of it then."

"I was actually about to ask you for a piggyback ride," she said, her face seeking the warmth of the crook of his neck, arms pulled in tight to her sides. Her teeth were already chattering. "I didn't mean to fall, it was a reflex."

"What do I do?" he asked, holding her as close as he could.

"Keep walking," she managed to say through her shivering. "The Lucky Charm has never steered us wrong before."

Chat did as she asked, running as fast as he could with her in his arms (which was still pretty fast, but he was worried about the wind plus her wet clothes).

It was surprisingly easy not to try and look down and see who was in his arms. He had seen a flash of dark hair and pink clothes before she went down, and he was pretty sure she was wearing pants and long sleeves. That was more information than he ever expected to get. She didn't want him to know, so he would do his best not to know.

"How're you doing, My Lady?"

"Cold... painfully cold."

He winced, trying in vain to shield her as they ran.

A few minutes later, she spoke again, her voice noticeably weaker. "Chat?"

"Bugaboo?"

"If... If we don't... If I don't..."

"Don't what?" He had to slow down a little to hear her.

"My parents. My kwami can help you find-"

"No. No! You'll be fine, Ladybug. Fine. Do you hear me?"

"And... Sorry, but there's a boy-"

"Stop that!"

Perhaps because of the hysterical note in Chat's voice, Ladybug fell silent.

Too silent, he decided a minute later.

"Ladybug?" No answer. "Ladybug! Don't fall asleep!"

She whimpered. He shook her a little.

"I swear on my ring, Ladybug, if you don't answer me in the next two seconds-"

"I'm-" she cut off, moving a hand to press against his chest. "Please hurry."

The next few minutes stretched on for ages. He tried to keep her talking. He tried flirting to lift her spirits. He tried flirting to antagonize her. At one point, he was pretty sure he was just angrily yelling at her to, "-not fucking die on me, I absolutely won't forgive you, do you understand me? You're stronger than this, Ladybug, and I will not carry your frozen corpse all the way to Paris like I would your living self!"

When he spotted the cabin, he thought he was imagining it. No lights were on, no cars in the gravel driveway, but there was a building with walls to keep out the wind.

"Lucky Charm was right, My Lady!" he said, running a little faster in his excitement. "You'll be fine once we're inside."

She didn't answer.

Chat considered pounding on the door to get anyone inside to let them in, but it was eight at night. Anyone who was going to be home would be home with at least a few lights on. He tried the door and found, by some luck that he attributed to the lady in his arms, that it was unlocked.

"Ladybug? I need you to answer me," Chat said, setting her down on the first horizontal surface he found. "How are you doing?"

"Chat?"

Her voice was worryingly weak. He stroked her hair, looking around the cabin to avoid looking at her face with his advanced night vision. "Yeah, LB, it's me. Can you tell me your kwami's name? I want to check on her, too."

"It hurts, but I'm so sleepy."

"Hey! Hey, no sleeping!" His eyes snapped to her face as he said this.

Bridgette Cheng.

Oh.

He managed to stop himself from blurting out, "Miss Cheng?" making a choking noise instead.

"You okay, Kitty?"

Her hand flopped onto his forearm. Had her hands always been that small?

"We need to warm you up," he said. There was a problem to solve. No time for feelings now. He looked around the room and spotted a fireplace, a basket of blankets, and a small stove. No phone or computer. He checked his baton. No signal. Why did it need a signal if it was made by magic?

"I have no idea what I'm doing," Chat said, scooping her into his arms again. He set them both down in front of the fireplace. Felix Agreste had never lit a fire in his life. But Felix Agreste had also read a lot of books. He struggled some and ended up ripping pages from a cookbook for tinder (dying inside at having to rip a book), but in the end, a fire was started.

"Hey, I said no sleeping!" Chat said, shaking Ladybug- Bridgette- again. "Ladybug's kwami? Can you help me out here any?"

"Hi, Chat Noir."

The tiny, high voice was somewhere on Bridgette's person. After a minute of searching, he found a sodden, shivering kwami with giant blue eyes.

"I feel like I'm moving too slowly," Chat said, pulling Bridgette- Ladybug- against his chest to try and share his body heat. "What can I do for her?"

"Strip her down, wrap both of you in a few blankets near the fire. Monitor her heart rate. When she's doing a little better, make some tea. Hot water, even."

Chat grabbed the blankets, piling them on the floor next to them. With his eyes averted most of the time, he managed to wrestle Bridgette's shirt and jeans off, his face bright red. This was Ladybug. Before today, undressing Ladybug had been in the "wildest dreams" category. But that was what he was doing, even if the situation was more "keep her alive and safe" than "Oh, Chat Noir, I love you too." The blushing got even worse when he remembered what Bridgette would probably think about Felix being the one undressing her.

Once undressed, he could feel how cold her skin was. He pulled her close and piled blanket after blanket on them. He tucked Ladybug's kwami into the folds of the blanket.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Tikki." Her eyes closed. "I won't be able to transform her until I'm feeling better, I'm afraid."

"Who cares about the stupid akuma? I just need her to be okay."

"You're a good Chat Noir, Felix," Tikki said. Her breathing evened out, and he didn't really question how she knew who he was.

Chat settled one clawed hand on Bridgette’s wrist, feeling for her pulse. It was slow enough to make his own heart beat faster as if to make up for hers.

"Chat?" Bridgette whispered a few minutes later.

He pulled her closer. "You listening to me and staying awake now?"

"It hurts," she said. Her head rolled back to try and see him. "What happened?"

"You fell in a creek, and then it took me too long to find this place."

"Oh."

Her eyes closed again, but she rolled to her other side, pressing her freezing cold nose into his neck, her legs tangling with his. Were it not for the magic of his suit, her icy feet on his calves would have had him shoving her away. He pulled her arm around him and tucked the blankets tight again.

Chat tried to occupy his mind with fiddling with the communicator in his baton, but there didn't seem to be much that could be done about "No Signal". He tried going over his schedule for the next day in his head, but it was the same monotony of school, ballet, photoshoot, homework as always. He tried reciting poetry in his head, but eventually, he ran out of things he remembered.

So he looked down at the girl in his arms.

It was like looking at one of those optical illusion pictures where at first all you see is a vase, then suddenly you see two faces. He had seen his classmate, an annoying girl with a crush, a girl who didn't know what "no" meant, in this person for so long. Now, suddenly, he saw bits of Ladybug. Her forehead wrinkling while she slept. Ladybug's lips (he loved her lips). The strength that radiated off her, even in this weakened state. How could they be the same?

He stared for a while until his neck started to get sore in its odd position. He laid his head down and let his mind run. He was in no rush for her to wake up again.

He might have dozed off, because the next thing he knew, she was shifting in his arms. She detangled a hand from the blanket mass and pushed her hair from her face.

"I'm me," she said.

"You are."

"Do we know each other? Do you recognize me?"

He bit his lip. "No, Ladybug. I don't recognize you at all."

/*****/

Bridgette made Chat turn around while she got dressed, despite the fact that she had to realize he was the one to undress her. Her clothes were dry from sitting near the fire. When he was allowed to turn around again, she was covered in a few blankets and sitting as close to the fireplace as she could get.

"Back up a little," Chat suggested, reaching down to help her stand.

"No."

Chat rolled his eyes. Right, this was Ladybug, who never did anything she didn't want to, not Bridgette, who did everything Felix suggested. He didn't want her growing uncomfortable on the hardwood floor, so he pushed the couch until it was less than a meter from the fire. She gave him a grateful smile and crawled onto the cushions, curling into a ball.

"You're tiny," Chat blurted. He could feel himself blushing, so he turned and went to the kitchen area. By some stroke of luck (Ladybug luck, he was sure), he found everything he needed to make hot chocolate.

"I'm the same size when I'm transformed," she said, turning to rest her chin on the back of the couch. "You're sure we haven't met before?"

"Why do you ask?" he said, setting up the milk to heat.

"You're acting weirder than I thought a reveal would make you."

He scoffed. "I'm always acting weird around you, My Lady."

She wrinkled her nose and giggled. "I'm not sure how I feel about you calling me that when I'm detransformed."

"What would you like to be called?"

"My name. Bridgette."

Chat brought two mugs over to the couch.

"Put them down," Bridgette said, shifting the blankets around. "You're warm, so we're cuddling, Kitty."

He did as she asked. Happily so; she was bossing him around, and when he mostly saw the back of her head and a pile of blankets, his mind tipped more towards her being Ladybug. It also meant she was feeling better.

"I expected something along the lines of, 'you honor me, My Lady' or, 'never did this old alley cat think he'd find himself worthy of cuddles' or something," she said after a few sips of hot chocolate, curled in his arms.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not old, even for an alley cat."

She giggled again, then sighed. "I always dreamed of having a cabin like this. Somewhere to get away, no distractions. Just you and that special someone, giving each other all your attention. It's romantic." She elbowed him, and it felt weak. “Never figured I’d say that about somewhere I went with you, of course.”

He wondered if Felix featured in her romantic cabin fantasies.

“Hey,” she said, shifting to look up at him. “You’re quiet. Are you okay? I didn’t even ask, I’m sorry.”

He kissed her forehead. “I guess you answered my question about whether you think the woods or the beach is more romantic.”

She studied his face. "Is it the reveal, or are you just freaked out because that was a close call?"

He closed his eyes and lowered his head to rest on her shoulder, letting out a shaky breath. "Tikki said to monitor your heart rate. It was slow. I died in the space between each beat. I felt each beat, Bridgette. Not just through your skin, but in me. The first second I see you as you really are, and it's while your heart is pulling me apart." He gave a joyless laugh. "Though, we both expected that, I'm sure."

"Oh, Kitty," she said, running her hand through his hair.

"How's Tikki doing?" he asked, pulling away. Bridgette chased his warmth.

"Better, thank you," Tikki said. "And if you share your hot chocolate, I can probably transform again."

Felix held the cup out, and Tikki took it from him to the fireplace mantle.

"Now that I'm revealed," Bridgette said, "you must have questions about who I am."

Felix shook his head.

"Nothing? You've begged to know who I am! How could you possibly not want to know anything about the girl behind the mask?"

He shrugged.

"Come on! I'm actually, genuinely offering, Kitty. What about you? You can reveal now if you want. Can't do any more damage, right?"

"No! Leave it alone, Miss-" He cut himself off just short of her name. With a deep breath, he kept himself from getting up and pacing the room as he wanted.

Bridgette eyed him for a moment, then settled against his chest again.

"Grumpy Kitty."

He wanted to point out that she usually liked the grumpy side of him, but the idea of revealing to Ladybug that he was Felix, her crush, was many levels of terrifying.

"How are you feeling?" Chat asked when he noticed her mug was empty.

"Wiped out, but ready to make a plan, if you are."

"I can't get a signal." He held up his baton, flipping the screen open. "I haven't seen a phone line anywhere. I don't know where we are, or whose cabin we've taken over."

"Okay. Maybe after Tikki can transform me again, I can use Lucky Charm?"

"Tikki?" Chat called, "Are you capable of making a wifi hotspot or possibly a teleportation device?"

Tikki shrugged and took another sip of her drink. "Sure, why not?"

"Worth a try, then."

Bridgette had started dozing off when there was a knock at the door.

"Did this just go from chick flick/romantic comedy to slasher movie?" Bridgette whispered.

"Stay here," Chat whispered, slipping out from under the blankets. He was halfway to the door when there was another knock and a familiar voice.

"Let me in! It's too cold!"

Chat wrenched the door open. "Master Fu?"

"I'm too old for temperatures like this," he said, hurrying to stand in front of the fire. Bridgette and Chat exchanged a look.

"What are you- how are you here?" Bridgette asked.

"I'm the Guardian. I watched you two disappear on the news. Who else was going to come to get you?"

/*****/

The ride back to Paris was quiet and awkward. The heat was cranked up and the air felt heavy and as oppressive as the silence.

"Did you two decide that Chat Noir should not reveal his identity?" Master Fu asked after a while, rousing the teens from near-sleep.

"I said he could," Bridgette said. "I don't know why he won't."

"None of your business," Chat snapped. Bridgette turned around from the front seat to squint at him, and for a moment he wasn't sure if she was just annoyed with him, or if she was suspicious of his identity after that Felix-like outburst. But then she rolled her eyes and faced front again.

"Well, good luck with this akuma victim," Master Fu said, pulling over to the curb near the center of the city. "Please try not to get teleported again."

Bridgette transformed, and Chat Noir visibly relaxed.

"Wow," Ladybug said over her shoulder, running towards the screaming. "You really don't like civilian me, do you?"

Before Chat could defend himself, they were thrown into the fight. It went better on this attempt, and soon the city was safe again. They fist-bumped and went their separate ways. Felix collapsed on his bed and decided that the best thing to do was sleep and deal with everything he was feeling in the morning.

Of course, his mind and body had other plans. He lay awake, listening to Plagg quietly serenade his cheese while his mind whirled.

Bridgette was Ladybug. That meant the girl he had once climbed on top of a library shelf to hide from was the love of his life.

Ladybug was Bridgette. That meant the girl who had taught him the meaning of true love had his schedule memorized and liked to show up at his photoshoots and ballet practices without warning.

Bridgette had watched him fall off buildings and trip over her yo-yo and hit himself in the face with his baton and stumble about like a buffoon.

Ladybug had watched him reduce three teachers to tears with nothing but his words this school year.

Ladybug was annoying.

He was in love with Bridgette.

"Plagg? Claws out!"

He knew where she lived, and because of that, he avoided that neighborhood, so he had to hunt for a good path as he went, whereas most of Paris he knew like the back of his hand. Even this small delay in seeing her again annoyed him. There was a little light coming from her window. He landed on her balcony and knocked on the door.

"Chat?" Bridgette opened the door and yanked him in, shutting the door on the cold December night. She was wearing fluffy pink pajama bottoms and a Chat Noir hoodie that was a few sizes too big for her. "What are you doing here? How do you know where I live? Is this what revealing identities means? All-hours visits from our superhero partners at home?"

"You're a pest."

She blinked at him. "Is that a Ladybug joke, or...?"

He ignored her and started pacing. "You're annoying and aggressive and obsessive. You're stubborn and scarily good at finding things out about people. You're terrible at following people discreetly, though, so I don't know how you do it." He turned to face her. "You're annoying, Bridgette Cheng."

"You're a smarmy ass," she retaliated, getting right in his face, reaching up to shove at his chest with both hands. He barely felt it. She was tiny. "You're literally incapable of taking things seriously when you need to, but can drop into a week-long mope at a moment's notice. You're way too sensitive to criticism and rejection. You're impulsive. And a giant nerd who knows what hemisphere we're in by the stars. You flirt specifically to annoy me sometimes- and yes, I can tell the difference. And don't talk to me about following people and obsession, because you found out where I live within hours of finding out my identity. So I'm sorry the girl behind the mask doesn't live up to the fantasy in your head. But you're as much of a flawed bastard as I am, Chat Noir."

He waited to make sure she was done yelling, and nodded, reaching to take her hands in his, a loose hold that she could have broken out of if she'd wanted to.

"Good. Good, remember all of that. Remember the flawed bastard when the mask comes off, okay?"

He was going to reveal? Her eyes widened. Which was unfortunate, because his detransformation came with a flash of light. She closed her eyes and jerked her head back, but gripped his hands harder, feeling skin where the suit had been.

"Chat! Warn a girl!"

He snickered, tugging on her fingers until she opened her eyes. When she did, she saw a blurry male shape and the afterimage of his detransformation. As her vision returned, she smiled.

"You lied to me, you asshole," she said, tugging her hands free and shoving at his chest again. He stumbled back a half step. "'No, Bridgette, I don't know who you are, we've never met.' Ugh! And you were you, this whole time!"

He reached to cup her face, and her arms went around his waist, an automatic reaction.

“I can’t mind that you’re Bridgette,” he said, “because I’m Chat Noir. I can’t mind that you like Felix, because I like Ladybug.”

“We’ll figure it out,” she said, going up on her tiptoes as he leaned down to rest his forehead against hers. “We always do.”

He kissed her. He kissed her as he had wanted to kiss Ladybug since their first battle together- as equals, with no secrets between them.

She kissed him back. She kissed him as she had wanted to kiss Felix since their first class together- with all the extra love she had to give meeting all the love he craved and rarely got.

“I love you, Bridgette Cheng,” he whispered into the space between their lips.

“I love you, Chat Noir.”

He picked her up and carried her to her bed, sitting down with her on his lap to kiss her again and again. She pushed him back until they were lying side by side, lazy kisses interrupted by their giddy giggles for a long time.

Eventually, Bridgette couldn’t ignore how often Felix broke away to yawn.

“You should get home, Kitty.” She didn’t loosen her grip on him.

“I don’t want to,” he said, nuzzling into the crook of her neck. “You almost died today. I know, logically, that nothing will probably happen if I leave, but… You were so cold and still.” His fingers found her wrist and pulled it between them, kissing her palm. “Just let me feel your pulse a little longer, then I’ll go. Let me be sure you’re okay.”

“I felt one hundred percent better after the Miraculous Cure,” she said, but she let him kiss her hand and hold his fingers to her wrist.

“I know,” he said. “Just a minute longer.”

Bridgette scanned his face as he closed his eyes and felt her pulse. There was a tension there that she didn’t like.

“Hold on,” she said, pulling her hand away and leaning in to kiss him. He watched her get up and hunt down her phone. She returned and sat next to him, doing something on the screen. “What time do you have to get home in the morning before your father or Nathalie notice you’re gone?”

He looked up at her with an unreadable expression in his eyes. “I can stay?”

“Just this once. I’m not in the habit of keeping strays.”

They set her alarm with enough time for Felix to return in the morning and settled under the covers with the light off.

“Is this okay?” Bridgette asked, rolling over to have him spoon her.

“It’s perfect.” He kissed the back of her head and wrapped his arm around her middle, his hand against where her stomach moved as she breathed.

“Here.” She slid his hand a little higher, against her rib cage and the bottom of her breast. She felt him relax the moment he felt her heartbeat again.

“You’re okay,” he whispered.

“I’m okay.”

They fell asleep cuddling for the second time that day. This time they were warm and safe, and whole.

#mlsecretsanta2k18 #miraculous ladybug #chat noir #ladybug #bridgette cheng #felix agreste #brichat #cuddling for warmth

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