#bastardos show

[losbastardoscast]

Come See Us This Saturday at the Ridglea Theater in Fort Worth!

It’s this week, everybody! We’re performing at the RidgleaTheater in Fort Worth Saturday May 23rd at 10pm!!  We’ve got everything: Frank, Dr Scott, Transies, a full bar, toilet paper, prizes, virgins, preshow entertainment, rules, hot dogs, free parking, and ‪#‎buttstuff‬. Get your tickets and get your fishnets! Doors will open at 8:30 p.m. For ages 18 and up. Free parking located behind the…

[izzis-cardboardbox-of-confusiooo]

Some practice del bastardos in somewhat of the shows style. Also possible eltingville oc???? Stay tuned

[kayit-z]

I was listening to enchanted anddd...

-> English/spanish translation in alt. The english version of the au is at the end

✧ Little in another life/universe au

Roier, Quackity y Missa tienen una banda llamada "Bastardos con Semen", usualmente se presentan en clubs, cafés y bares. Una noche, tocaron en el Club Qsmp, donde phil y missa se conocieron después del show.

~ Una pequeña voz en sus cabezas diciendo "¿nos hemos conocido?" ~

Pasaron el resto de la noche juntos, missa contando historias que le pasaron o escuchó, mientras phil estaba atento a lo que decía. El músico era divertido, en una forma rara y carismática, a veces susurraba y hablaba muy rápido (como si no quisiera que phil lo escuchara) o hacia unos sonidos chistosos que hacían reír al rubio.

Missa... missa trataba de no sonrojarse cada minuto, phil era guapo, dulce y lo hacía sentir protegido. Sabía que si un monstruo lo estuviera atacando, phil dejaría todo por ir a rescatarlo.

~ Es como si ya hubiera pasado. . . ~

Después de un año, missa sigue pensando en esa noche. ¿Será que phil lo recuerda... donde sea que esté? Talvez se vuelvan a conocer en otra vida ¿quién sabe? Tal vez terminen cuidando a dos niños huevitos, un niño llamado chayanne y una niña llamada talullah, estén en una isla dominada por un oso blanco llamado cucurucho y no pueden escapar. . . Bueno eso es algo -demasiado- específico.

Sea como sea, missa se pregunta si phil sabe lo encantado que está de haberlo conocido.

• English version

Roier, Quackity and Missa formed a band called 'Bastardos con Semen' (if you know you know xd) they usually perform at clubs, cafés and bars. One night, they played at Qsmp Club, where phil and missa met after the show.

~ A little voice in the back of their minds saying "have we met?" ~

They spent the rest of the night together, missa telling histories while phil listened attentively. The musician was weirdly funny, in a charming way, sometimes he whispered and talk quickly (as if he didn't want phil to listen) or he made this little squishy sounds that made the blonde laugh.

Missa... missa was certainly fighting not to blush every minute, phil was handsome, sweet and made him feel protected. He was sure that if he ever gets attacked by a monster, phil would throw away everything to go and save him.

~ As if that already happened. . . ~

After 1 year missa still thinks about that night. He wonders if phil remembers... wherever he is. Maybe in another life they'll met, who knows? Maybe they'd raise two little egg kids, a boy named chayanne and a girl named tallulah, in a island they cannot escape and ruled by a white bear called cucurucho. . . well that's kinda -really- specific

Either way, missa wonders if phil knows how enchanted he was to meet him.

[valentine-cafe]

. ˚◞♡ 𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒅 𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒙 𝒈𝒏!𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒙 𝒉𝒚𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒐 ⊹ ۪ ࣪

⊹ ۪ ࣪ ( verse 209 rishen x reader x 781 rishen ) spider monsters x readers, moth monsters x reader, mantis monsters x reader, mad scientist x reader, yandere x reader, villain x reader x hero, cw: dark content, implied kidnapping, restraining, wounds on reader, biting ⊹ ۪ ࣪

𖹭. you've and your beloved boyfriend have been kidnapped from your universe, verse 781, by his evil scientist doppelgänger

“oh but aren't you the sweetest thing,”

a touch like velvet, and his fingers grip onto your jaw. raising your glaring eyes to his deep maroon ones. a face you know and love, yet it feels oh so foreign.

“don't touch them.”

the grunt of your lover makes your heart squeeze. yet rishen 209 only chuckles. his head turning to face his younger variant — chained by who knows what.

“well, I suppose the one thing I can praise you on is your taste.” crimson lips part into a grin, showing off larger fangs than the 781 counterpart.

“they're stunning.”

he cuts himself off when you struggle. attempting to wretch your head from his claw's grasp.

all you receive is a croon.

“now now. behave,”

words laced with honey, but sweetness was far from what you tasted when his claws dug into your jaw. scarlet oozing from your delicate skin and coating his matching nail polish.

rishen 781's eyes widen.

“bastardo!” he sneers yet is promptly ignored.

“I'm still him cariño. still your boyfriend. just. . . with more to offer.”

despite your whimpering, you maintain your glare. shooting an apologetic look towards your rishen who does everything in his power to break free of his bounds.

even when the other's fingers clamp beneath the soft flesh beneath your jaw and jerk your head up. even when your arms strain from the chain holding them to the wall. still, you scowl.

“don't. . . don't touch me.”

“cute,” is all you receive. a deep, crooning chuckle. his thumb traces along your jaw tenderly despite the pain he just dealt you.

“I wonder how you taste. . .”

the mad scientist leans closer and before you know it a shiver is running down your spine. for his lips flush up against your jaw — before trailing down.

a coldness hits the back of your head when he flushes you up against the wall suddenly. his warm body melting into yours, hands gripping your waist and mouth hungrily diving down.

an elongated tongue finds the trails of blood. drinking from you as though you were the sweetess nectar.

nails digging into your waist. all you hear is a deep groan from the scientist and the shout of your boyfriend.

your eyes can all but gape and pain forces your back to arch. an icy, sharp feeling digs into your throat and you're thrashing immediately.

but the spider moves not. simply sinking his fangs into the tender flesh of your neck. beady red irises now surrounded by darkness staring towards his doppelganger.

you could practically feel his grin.

all you can do is limp your head and hold back tears.

and your boyfriend. . .

your poor, poor boyfriend. who can only watch in horror as rishen 209 parts and grips onto your jaw once more.

crimson running down his chin. fangs stained. and all the fucker does is grin.

“oh, you're going to be fun to play with. . . ”

he dares to cast a smirk to his counterpart.

“surely you wouldn't mind sharing, hmm?”

[homeofthelonelywriter]

Let's call it Fate | Part 16

(A/N) I'll leave it up to you, what you gift Secondo!

Pairing: Cardinal Copia x Reader (no Y/N)

Warning: google translate translations, abusive parents (especially mother), arranged marriage, age gap, bullying, talk of grandparents and death of a grandparent, mistreatment of Ghouls, threats, angst, fluff, kissis, bit more spice

Prologue | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16

Sunday came too quickly. By the time everyone gathered for the black mass, you had just about finished your plans. All that was left to do was get all the brothers, especially Secondo, into Copia’s apartment after the mass so you could celebrate.

“You thinking about Copia?” Your eyes focused on Lila, who sat beside you in the chapel. A quiet chuckle left your lips as you shook your head. “No…for once at least.” Lila chuckled and nodded, her eyes focusing on the Cardinal standing at the front, ensuring everything was ready. But before you could tell your friend what you were actually thinking about, Terzo waltzed up to the altar and the black mass started. For the longest time, nothing out of the ordinary happened, and you began to wonder if Papa Secondo had convinced his brothers not to celebrate that day. But then Terzo started to speak.

“As most of you know, today is my dear brother’s birthday.” With as much pizazz as possible, he gestured to Papa Secondo, who had his head in his hands, shaking it slightly. “So, to celebrate, we’ll sing his favorite song from his album.” The moment these words left Terzo’s mouth, Papa Secondo glanced up, confusion clear on his face. But before he could object, the notes for ‘Year Zero’ started playing. Along with everyone else, you started to sing along, although most of the voices around you, were drowned out by Terzo, singing at the top of his lungs while dancing around in the front. Lila and you couldn’t help but chuckle as you watched the current Papa perform. But the moment the lyrics came to “a daughter to fall for a son”, you couldn’t help but glance up at Copia, a soft smile spreading on your lips, as you realized that he was already looking at you, his lips forming the words.

A soft blush rose to your cheeks, and you quickly adverted your gaze, scared that you could get caught somehow. Of course, Lila did catch your little moment, gently elbowing you with a grin to show her support.

After another hour or so, the black mass came to an end, and everyone slowly filtered out of the chapel, but you hung back, waiting to be alone with the Emeritus brothers. “Have fun.” Lila winked at you on her way out, making you chuckle. Before long, the chapel was empty, safe for you and the four men, as well as Phantom and Dew.

“Please lock the chapel doors on your way out.” The Ghouls nodded and did as they were asked.

“Terzo, piccolo bastardo. Era proprio necessario? Sai che non mi piace attirare l'attenzione sul mio compleanno.” Papa Secondo didn’t hold his frustrations back as he yelled at his little brother. But Terzo just waved him off with a smile. “Sai che è tradizione, fratello. Ci ho solo messo un po' sopra.” While they were arguing, you slowly made your way to Copia, who immediately pulled you to his side.

“Hi.” You grinned up at him, echoing his greeting before your attention returned to the brothers. With a reassuring squeeze on your hips by Copia, you gently cleared your throat, making everyone look at you. “You have made it very clear that you don’t like to celebrate your birthday, but we prepared a little something in Copia’s apartment. I’d really prefer you just came with us, but if not…” behind Papa Secondo, Swiss popped up, a grin on his face. “…we have reinforcements, and we will go the hard route.”

Once Papa Secondo realized that there was no getting out of it, he conceded with a heavy sigh and followed as Copia and you led the way through the secret tunnels. Just before you reached the door to Copia’s apartment, you handed Papa Secondo a blindfold, which he begrudgingly put on. Terzo and Copia took over, leading him inside safely, and once you had lit the candles on the cake you had baked, you gave the signal for Terzo to remove the blindfold.

Papa Secondo was greeted by a heavenly-looking chocolate cake with candles on it. Further back, the table was littered with presents, as well as a little bit of confetti to make everything a tad bit more colorful. But when Papa Secondo just kept staring at the cake, not saying a word, you started to feel anxious.

“My parents never celebrated my birthday with me. But…but the staff did. At first, I was sad every year. Confused as to why they wouldn’t even congratulate me, but our head chef always baked me this cake, and it always cheered me up, even when I didn’t even want to be reminded that it was my birthday. I…I don’t know why you don’t like to celebrate, but I learned that birthdays are here to be celebrated, you just need the right people.”

It was silent for a few moments before you were suddenly enveloped in a hug, two strong arms holding you against a burly chest. Confusion filled you for a moment before you realized that Papa Secondo was hugging you. “Grazie, cara.” You smiled, hugging him back.

“Okay! Let’s get this party started!” Leave it to Terzo to ruin a moment. But after Secondo let go of you and blew out the candles, the cake was served and devoured. Within moments, you were declared the family baker from then on, and after the cake was gone, the evening was spent playing different board and card games. At some point, Secondo unwrapped his presents, making comments about each one until he got to yours. He must’ve immediately recognized that it was from you because he just glanced at you with a soft smile, mouthing a quiet ‘thank you.’

After a few hours, when Primo started to doze off, Secondo declared it a birthday well spent and started to usher his brothers, especially Terzo, out the door, thanking you one more time before leaving. The moment the doors closed behind the three, Copia drew you into a hug and pressed a soft kiss to your forehead. “You are a miracle, amore.”

Translations: amore...love erzo, piccolo bastardo. Era proprio necessario? Sai che non mi piace attirare l'attenzione sul mio compleanno...Terzo you little bastard. Was that really necessary? You know I don't like drawing attention to my birthday. Sai che è tradizione, fratello. Ci ho solo messo un po' sopra...You know it's tradition, brother. I just put a little spin on it. Grazie, cara...Thank you, dear.

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Ghost Masterlist

Master-Masterlist

Tags: @antoniamarie1989

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[withnofreetime]

HETALIA ☆ WORLD STARS (514)

Germany/Japan: Este hombre está muerto, pero no le han avisado.

Translation notes at the end: ‘cuz I took a lot of “creative freedoms(?)” and sometimes I forgot the meaning of words (“kanji”). Warning: I don’t know Italian, German (my sister knows) and French (a bit). Bad words.

T/N:

Page 1.

"Fratellone", an informal way to say "Big brother".

Page 2.

"All roads lead to my house", probably Sir Hima was trying to emphasize the proverb: "All roads lead to Rome".

"Avoglia", has too many meanings and uses, but in this case is "Of course!"

"Stronzi", plural of "Stronzo", literal meaning is "t*rd".

Page 3.

"Clown", I wanted France to speak French, but… there's no point...

"Bastardo", "bast*ard".

Page 4.

"C'est bon?!", two things: 1) it means "It's okay?" and 2) the diavolic song "Bon Bon Bon / C'est Bon C'est Bon!

"Merci", "thanks".

"Je vous apprécie!", in France is not common to say "I love you", so this is the most similar (and not creepy) I could find (thanks to French people of Reddit).

Page 5.

"Italie", "Italy".

Page 6.

"The City of Light", is called that because it was the first city to use gas as a source of street lights.

Page 7.

"En conséquence", because of "La Déclaration des Droits de L'Homme et du Citoyen". (Joke)

"Vaffanculo", a bad word, with a different meaning than the literal translation: "F*ck you".

"German tourists", in 2019, more than 12 million Germans travelled to Italy, and they are by far the number one. Ironically, for France (2018) it is almost the same with approximately 12 million German tourists arrived, and more than 18 million (2019) spent more nights there (second place, tho Italy is 58 million).

"Oddio", "oh, god!"

Page 8.

"Na", german slang "Hey!" (??)

Page 9.

"Je suis vraiment très belle!", "I'm really so beautiful!"

"Merci beaucoup", "Thank you very much!"

"Vero", an agreement word.

Page 10.

"England smile", I had two theories:

1) The story that Italy, the genius, has it all figured out is true and England knows it, or...

2) It has something to do with the fact that France's most visited tourists are from the UK, so sharing/robbing France's credit for winning "alone"; but it's unlikely because I don't see the point with what Francis says below.

"Che palle!", used to indicated frustration or annoyance, don't want to write down the literal meaning.

Page 11.

"Pfui" is a German expression to show disgust.

"È inutile piangere sul latte versato", an Italian idiom that translates to: "No use crying over spilt milk".

"Nein", "No".

"All part of the plan–!?", I have faith in Italy.

Introduction.

"Este hombre está...", "This man is dead, but he hasn't been warned", my words towards Italy and France.

Is there a problem/error? Please say so!

[assassinschaoticcreed]

so um, how did everyone become friends?

so im gonna start off saying that these are the ages I HC the boys are modern time, per my noggin.

Desmond: 22

Ezio & Arno: 23

Connor: 24

Altaïr & Jacob (& Evie): 25

Edward: 27

don't ask me why, but its just my brain rot.

Ezio's family adopted Desmond into their family after he left the farm; so their relationship is like brothers (obviously) (Desmond was 16, Ezio was 17)

Arno met Ezio & Desmond through one of his mom's fashion show; Maria & Claudia are huge fans of her work and managed to snag tickets to one of her shows (those runway things). Maria and Marie (Arnos mom) talked about their sons and Marie was like "hey let's all get together over some nice wine, my husband owns a winery" cue Ezio, Desmond & Arno meeting. ironically when they first met Arno & Ezio couldn't stand each other because of how much alike they acted, Desmond was the peace maker. over time though Arno, Ezio and Desmond became inseparable. (Ezio & Arno were 20, Desmond was 19)

Edward and Connor met through Haytham, in my noggin Edward & Connor are actually cousins but there is a 3 year difference between the two. they also have a sibling like relationship due to Edward also not liking Haytham. (Ziio is alive and her and Haytham married, they are happy, although it was rocky before they officially married and Connor was 5 years old when they married.) Connor doesn't get along with Haytham not only cause of the Templar thing, but also Charles Lee & the other Templars judge Haytham for being with Ziio and Connor being his son. they belittled Connor hence his hatred for them, Haytham behind the scenes though threatened them to stop or else..

Edward, Jacob (and Connor) met Jacob this way; they met during a mission they were sent on. they had to meet Jacob at a pub to listen to a Templar meeting and after they got their info they all sat and had drinks and a meal (Connor didn't drink any alcohol, only Ed & Jacob). they all got along great, although Connor did NOT appreciate having to carry both the drunkards back to the hotel, and he just dumped the two of them on the bed and went to sleep in his.

Altaïr met Ezio, Desmond and Arno at one of the Creeda HQ centers. he was just transferred to their branch, and he was a complete dick. Arno had no hesitation and lit into Altaïr for his behavior and had one of those "catch me outside how bout that" Altaïr ACTUALLY had respect for Arno for standing up to him let alone make a threat. they became good acquaintances, that developed into a great friendship (he does wish to throw hands sometimes if Arno becomes too sassy). Altaïr was Top Annoyed with Ezio when first meeting him. *looks to Arno and points at Ezio* "does...does this thing ever shut the hell up?" cue Ezio *LE GASP* "ME? A THING? bastardo! how dare--" and Desmond pipes in "let's all just calm down and talk, yes?" they all sit down, Desmond & Ezio introduced themselves. Altaïr likes Desmond too, Ezio is a 50/50, he wanted to punch him in the face but he didn't hate him. they're now great friends too. (Altaïr: 23, Ezio & Arno: 21, Desmond 20)

Arno, Ezio, Desmond & Connor met at Arnos Cafe (the one he was gifted from his parents on his 20th birthday) Ziio recommended the Cafe for its bakery sweets and rich flavorful coffee, they also have great hot chocolate. (Connor got the hot chocolate and some macaroons) Desmond was the one who made the recommendation on the flavors of the macaroons while Arno recommended the "campfire hot chocolate". Connor heard campfire and was convinced it'd be the best thing ever, it's his go to whenever he's there now. Ezio was introduced to Connor by Desmond & Arno. they adopted Connor into the boys then and there. (yes I see Ezio being the one to give the friend group that name)

Connor introduced Edward & Jacob to the boys.

Arno & Desmond introduced Altaïr to the boys (Ezio was still salty with Altaïr so he didn't do the introductions).

the rest is history 👏

[phantomdoofer]

Tower Town, Chapter 29 - A Long Time Coming

Giuseppe opened the door, and Anita grinned at him from the other side. “Hey, Anita. You're a bit early…” he scratched the back of his head and tried to smile… but, as so often happened, it looked more pained than happy.

“Nothing saying I can't just park on the couch while you finish,” she said wryly.

“Yeah,” he chuckled nervously.

She fought not to start examining his every action. What's got him so wound up? Giuseppe had always been a bit twitchy - ran in the family, after all - but… right now he's acting like he's in combat, instead of having dinner with his friend. We do this all the time. What's different?

He turned as he closed the door. “Just a few minutes and I'll have it ready, Anita. Make yourself comfortable.”

Anita leaned back on the couch. “Sepp, you're acting like I don't practically live here these days.” Her smirk turned into a genuine smile. “Relax, man. I don't bite… unless you want me to.”

The big Italian blushed furiously, and laughed. “Infatti,” he muttered. The man puttered into the kitchen… but everything's on the table, she thought, confused and a little concerned. He's being absent-minded. Something's really got him worried.

He opened his refrigerator and pulled out what turned out to be a bottle of wine. Not the stuff they typically had for dinner; she knew he kept some stronger stuff around. For his nerves. She reflected on the absolute hell his brother, Peppino, had gone through because of alcohol, and felt her own worries rise for Giuseppe.

They expanded when she saw him turn, think she wasn't watching, and kick back a long drink. He's normally so careful.

He put the bottle of wine back, wiped his mouth, grabbed a different one, and closed the door. “Ok, I think I've got everything ready. Shall we?”

Anita stood and sauntered over to the table, trying not to let her concern show. Are things really that bad for him?

After a brief period of eating, he took up his wineglass and downed half of it at once.

Okay, I have to say something. “Sepp, you might want to go easy on that.”

He put the glass down, looking hunted. “Why? You know I can handle a little wine.”

“A little, yes. But I saw you knock back half a bottle of the strong stuff, before you grabbed this one.”

He winced, looking sheepish. “You, ah, you saw that, huh?”

She pointed at her eye, which shifted from its normal appearance to the crosshairs it took on when she was using her powers. “With this thing? Of course I did.” She leaned across the table, grabbing his hand. “Listen, Sepp, something's bothering you. I can tell. Don't go trying to do it all yourself again. You know that didn't turn out all that well.”

He looked away. “I know.”

“So tell me,” she said, kindly but a little hotly. “You know I'll help if I can.”

He shook his head. “It's something… something I need to do myself, ‘Nita.”

She leaned back, exasperated. “Sepp, don't! Don't go trying to shoulder everything on your own! We can solve… whatever your problem is. Together. We're here for you. You know that.”

“Yeah. I know that,” he whispered. “It's just…” he shook himself, like he was trying to shake off his problems.

Then he put his hands on the table. “Fanculo. Dillo e basta, stupido bastardo,” he muttered. He looked up at her, a gleam of determination in his eyes. “Anita, let's get married.”

Anita leaned back, taken completely off-guard. “What the - Sepp? Married? I -” She spluttered for a few seconds before find her verbal feet again. “What brought that on?”

Giuseppe smirked. “I’ve been thinking.”

“Always a dangerous occupation,” Anita quipped ascerbically.

“I'm serious, Nita,” he replied. “I've really been mulling it over, and - I'm not interested in being with anyone else.” He reached over and put his hand on top of hers. “I know we've been… together… for only a little while, but - this has made me realize something. I don't just like you, I love you.” He looked into her eyes. “I want to be with you, from now on. Not just as friends, or lovers. As a unit. As two parts of a whole.”

She froze. He knew, as confident as she was in most things, that she was unsure of herself when it came to relationships. “It's… it's a big step, Sepp. A huge step.”

“I know,” he said, smiling. “But I don't think I could take it with anyone else. We've always had each other's backs, even when we were estranged.” He nodded emphatically. “So, why not make it official?”

She looked shaken, but also thoughtful. For several moments, she was silent. Is this what I want? Finally, she muttered, “You know, you're right. I try to think of anyone else, and… I'm just not interested.” She stood, pacing a bit. Finally she shook her head violently. “All right. Let's do it.”

Giuseppe felt a lump in his throat. He realized he'd been holding his breath, and he let it out in a heavy gust. “All right.”

Anita laughed. “Poor Sepp. You always did bottle up your anxiety. You could take a lesson from your brother, there.”

Giuseppe chuckled ruefully. “Non sono così sicuro. My brother letting his anxiety run wild destroyed an entire pocket dimension, after all.”

Anita leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Turned out for the best, though.” She paused. “Back on topic, though, I'm keeping my last name.”

Giuseppe laughed. “Can the kids at least have my last name?”

“Kids? You think there'll be kids?” Anita said, a wry smile on her face.

Giuseppe stood, kissing her hand and smiling. “Considering matters… yeah, yeah I think there probably will be.”

Anita grinned. “I like how you think, Sepp.” She stood, and he followed suit. They embraced, feeling each others’ pulse. “No wonder you were so keyed up, Sepp,” she said.

“I've wanted to ask you for days,” he whispered. “Took me this long to work up the courage.”

“Courage?” She said, looking up at him.

“Yeah,” he said. “I don't know what I would've done if… you'd said no.”

She snuggled back up against his chest, and he hugged her to him. “I didn't, Sepp. It didn't happen. Don't worry about what-ifs, now. I said yes.”

“You said yes,” he echoed. His face blossomed in a giant smile. “You said yes!” He picked her up, spinning her around, grinning like a fool. “You said yes!”

They laughed together as he whirled them around.

~~~~

Peppino heard a knock on his door, and he stood. “Ehm? I-a wonder who that-a could be?”

Gustavo peered over the back of the couch - they'd been watching TV together. “Were you expecting anyone?”

Peppino shrugged. “No… though people dropping-a by isn't that unusual these days.” He opened the door - Giuseppe stood outside. Peppino raised his eyebrows - he could tell his brother was nervous, but in a good way. “Buonasera, fratello. What brings you here so late?”

Peppino stepped aside and let his brother in. Giuseppe was wringing his hands. What has him in such knots, I wonder? “Come, fratello, sit down. What's bothering you?”

As Peppino sat back on the couch, Giuseppe slumped into the recliner. “I have some news. I'm glad you two are together, I can tell you both at once.” He grinned.

Gustavo waved a hand airily. “Well, don't keep us in suspense, Seppe. What is it?”

Giuseppe's mustache split in a huge grin. “I asked Anita to marry me, and she said yes!”

Both men sat up and smiled. Peppino stood, striding over to his brother and taking his hand. “Felicitazioni, fratello! Felicitazioni!” He pulled Giuseppe to his feet, giving him a hug so hard Giuseppe found himself gasping for air.

“Non così stretto, fratellino!” He managed.

Peppino dropped him and laughed. “Mi dispiace, but I'm so happy for you! After everything you've-a been through, you deserve happiness in your life!”

Gustavo chuckled. “Took you two long enough. Do you have any plans made yet?”

Giuseppe shook his head. “No, we just agreed to this earlier. After Anita left, I couldn't sit still. I had to tell someone. So here I am.” He laughed, flopping back down. He put a hand to his forehead. “I still can't believe it.”

As they sat back down themselves, Gustavo spoke up. “How'd Anita respond?”

“She was surprised, but she agreed. I left it entirely up to her. She'll probably have to take some time to digest.” Giuseppe's face grew serious.

Peppino spoke up again. “Niente di cui preoccuparsi, credo. She wouldn't have-a said ‘yes’ if she wasn't-a serious.”

Gus nodded. “She probably needs some space, though. It's a big deal.”

Giuseppe nodded as well. “Yeah. But she'll probably come back like a whirlwind.”

~~~~

Anita knocked on the door to Pepperman’s studio, then leaned back against the wall. I know he's here. Much to her surprise, though he seemed utterly self-centered, he made an unusually good confidant. She'd found herself talking to him more and more. Must be the therapist training.

The door squeaked slightly as it opened; the giant pepper looked around, then around the corner. He adjusted a pair of glasses. “Oh, Anita. It's you!” He paused. “Why do you always feel the need to hide when you come to see me?”

She shrugged. “Old habits die hard, I guess. Can I come in?”

“Of course,” Pepperman said, moving his bulbous body aside. “Watch your step, though, there's likely paint on the floor.”

Anita looked around - there were a few splotches here and there, but nothing unusual. She looked up at the pepper's lens-enlarged eyes. “Since when do you wear glasses?”

“Since we left the Tower and the medical checkup revealed I had vision problems. I only need them while painting, really. You hadn't noticed?”

Anita sat on a handy stool, looking at the floor. “I've been a bit, um, distracted lately.”

Pepperman grinned - the vast overbite almost lit up the room. “Of course, Anita, of course. The dashing Giuseppe! We've discussed him many times, I know.” He sat down on another stool. “I assume this is about your most recent… meeting with the indefatigable paisano?”

Anita looked up and laughed. “Call it what it is, Phil. It's a relationship.” She sighed. “He proposed to me today.”

Pepperman's smile didn't look like it could get wider, but it did. “And what did you say?”

Anita chuckled. “I said yes. He made a good point - when he asked me who else I could imagine myself being with, I couldn't think of a single person.” She smiled, a rare, genuine smile. “It's been nice, having him back in my life.” She looked down, opening and closing her hands. “Ever since we got… regenerated… I've felt things… I haven't felt in a long time. I feel… hopeful, less resigned.”

Pepperman laughed. “Youthful energy, no doubt.” He leaned forward, placing one forearm on his knee, looking her in the eyes. “Do you think this is a bad idea?”

Anita looked up, surprised. “No! No! Why would you think that?”

“Because whenever you come to speak to me like this, it's almost always because you're unsure of something.”

Anita leaned back, considering the Verduran’s words. Am I really sure about this? She put a hand to her chin, standing and pacing.

Pepperman nodded. “Take your time.” Turning, he flipped back the cover on his latest painting. Anita paused to look; it was an achingly beautiful portrait of a tree. But on closer inspection, she saw it was dying - the few leaves were gnarled and twisted, the bark peeling and covered in vines. Around it were splintered, broken trees, looking more like the aftermath of a tornado than a forest. “What that?”

Pepperman nodded towards a photo, placed on a smaller easel beside his canvas. “One of the gnomes from the nearby village returned to their old home recently. The forest is dying - the trees are mostly dessicated from lack of water. A powerful storm came through, and most of the forest was shattered like this. Many of the gnomes who didn't move here died. On their way back, they saw this single elderly tree survived. Obviously it won't live much longer though, and it so embodied their grief that they took a picture and commissioned a painting.” Pepperman looked at the scene, a bit wistfully. “I don't know if I can do it justice.”

Anita stared at the single tree, near the end of its life and surrounded by the dead. She shivered. “That tree is dying alone.”

Pepperman, without looking away from his work, nodded. “Indeed. For some, that would be fine. But I can't help but feel pity for something that once knew such community… only to have it ripped away.”

Anita leaned back again. “I shouldn't let my worries stop me from doing this, should I?”

Pepperman laughed. “Some people are fine being alone, Anita. But I think you've convinced yourself to be alone… when you don't really want to be.” He turned, smiling. “I've seen the stars glistening in your eyes when you talk about him, Anita. Don't give that up because of habit.”

Anita chuckled. “You know, Pepperman, for a raging narcissist, you make a good sounding board.”

Pepperman snorted. “I'm merely listening and offering opinions, much as my old mentor did. As… she did…” slowly the paintbrush dropped, and Pepperman's face fell with it. “I wish I could recall her name. Her face.”

Anita reached over and patted the pepper's arm. “Maybe someday, someone will come up with a way to restore memories.” She stood and stretched, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “You're absolutely right, though. I need to grab this with both hands. I let my fear take over last time, and see where that got me.”

Pepperman smiled. “That's the spirit!” He turned back to the painting. “You know, in your opinion, would you say this painting is done?”

Anita looked at it for several seconds. “Pepperman, the sight of it makes me want to cry. I think you've done what you set out to do.”

Pepperman chuckled. “One of my teachers told me that my greatest failing is not knowing where to stop.” He stood. “We'll just let this one settle a bit, then I'll call the client.” He turned to her. “Now then. What say we celebrate out on the veranda? I have a bottle of wine I think you'll enjoy!”

Anita grinned. “You're on, apple.”

“I asked you not to call me that,” he said mock-threateningly.

The two laughed as they moved towards the kitchen.

~~~~

Giuseppe sat in the dark, leaned back on the couch. He hadn't been able to sleep. His nerves were shot, his mind racing at speeds even his feet couldn't match. He was fighting the urge to pace. As keyed up as I am, I'd probably kick on the speed without realizing and wear a groove in the carpet. He leaned forward, his hands in front of his face. What if she changes her mind? What if she can't, for some reason?

His heart was racing.

He nearly leapt through the ceiling as someone knocked on the door. He clutched his chest, trying to will his heart to stop racing. Easy, Seppe, easy.

The visitor knocked again, this time more forcefully.

“I'm coming! I'm coming,” he said loudly. He strode to the door, throwing the deadbolt and turning the knob -

Suddenly his visitor was wrapped around him. “Wh-” he managed before he felt them kissing him… and he recognized them. Anita!

As they broke apart, the lights of the breezeway threw the woman's angular face into sharp profile. She was smiling.

“Soo, I take it that's a yes?” Giuseppe said, half amused, half surprised.

Anita wrapped her arms tighter around him. “Definitely.”

They stood, embraced, for an unmeasured time.

“Soo, are you going to invite your fiancee in, or are we living in the doorway from now on?” Anita grinned as she looked up at him.

He chuckled. “Kind of lost myself in the moment, that's all.”

They laughed together as the door shut.

~~~~

Giuseppe and Anita sat together at a table, a few slices of pizza cooling between them in the box. Both were trying to look calm, but Peppino could tell they were nervous. The two had requested for him to let them use the pizzeria as a meeting place after hours, and Peppino had agreed. He didn't mind at all, but… what are they being so mysterious about?

Gustavo strolled up beside Peppino, drying his hands on a towel. “Everything's cleaned up in the back, amico. Any idea what this meet-up’s about?”

Peppino shrugged; he'd locked the door nearly an hour before. “Non ne ho idea. Did they ask you to stay, too?”

Gustavo nodded. “Sì. They also said there would be other people coming by, but… who, I wonder?”

A knock at the door startled Peppino out of his reverie - Vigi and Noisette were standing outside. They looked as mystified as Peppino and Gustavo. Peppino quickly walked over and unlocked the door. Noisette bounced in, jumping up to give Peppino a little peck on the cheek. Since she'd been regenerated, she was almost too friendly. “Hi, Pep! Hi, Gus!” She gave him a little peck on the cheek too, which made the gnome blush a bit. Then she bounced over to the table, chatting animatedly to the couple.

Vigi oozed in, grinning. “Hope ya don't mind if I don't kiss ya, Peppino.”

He laughed heartily. “Non è un problema, amico mio.”

The cheeseslime held out a gloved hand to Gus, and they shook. “Wasn't sure what t’ make o’ this invite. Y'all got any idea?”

“No more than you, amico,” Peppino said.

“That's everybody, Pino, go ahead and lock the door,” Giuseppe called.

As he did so, Anita waved at them. “Come on, you two. We don't want to keep you all night.”

As the two settled down, Peppino spoke. “So, what-a skullduggery do you two cattivi have planned for us tonight, eh?” He grinned rakishly as he said it.

Everyone at the table burst out laughing, Noisette almost falling out of her chair. “No skullduggery, as you call it, this time, fratellino,” Giuseppe chuckled. “We do, however, have something to ask.”

“An’ what's that?” Vigi said, his serious tone softened by the smirk he was wearing.

Anita folded her hands. “Well, you know we've been planning our wedding.”

“Oh yeah!” Noisette piped up. “I love that outfit you picked out, Anita! It's so you!”

Anita blushed a little, then cleared her throat. “We're not planning anything elaborate, but…”

“We haven't finalized one thing,” Giuseppe said. “We need witnesses.”

Peppino nodded. “You want us to be your witnesses?”

Giuseppe squirmed in his seat. “Well, we were really, uh, hoping…”

“You'd be in the wedding,” Anita finished. “All four of you.”

“You mean, like, groomsmen and bridesmaids?” Noisette put her hands to the sides of her head, her eyes literally twinkling. “I would love to!”

Giuseppe looked over. “Peppino, I'd like you to be my best man.”

Peppino flushed furiously; he wasn't sure how to feel. “Mio caro fratello, ne sarei felice.”

"Vigi, we want you to officiate."

Vigi took off his hat and smiled. “Still remember greetin’ you that day you almost choked out ol’ Noise. Never thought we'd end up buddies.” He shook Giuseppe's hand. “O’ course I will.”

Gustavo looked uncomfortable. “But, uh, why am I, er…”

Anita laughed. “I know, the tradition is that women attend the bride. But you're the closest thing I have to family left in this world, Gus. I don't have any female family, or even friends, left.” She reached out and grabbed his hand in hers. “And I can't think of anyone else I'd trust so much to have my back than you.”

Gustavo felt a lump in his throat - he couldn't speak. Tears welled up in his eyes. “All-all right then. I'd be honored.”

Giuseppe clapped his hands together. “All right then! That's settled… now for the 18,992 other things we have to work out for this.”

[foundtherightwords]

As the Sun Will Rise - Chapter 20

Pairing: Grunauer (Overlord) x OFC, Beauty & the Beast retelling

Summary: After losing most of his unit in a disastrous D-Day mission, Derwin Grunauer returns to his hometown near Miami, body riddled with scars and heart heavy with guilt, only to find his neighbors shunning him due to his German name. He retreats into his family mansion and remains there, unwilling to rejoin the living, until the day Alba Reyes turns up at his door with a basket full of warm bread. As the daughter of a Cuban immigrant, Alba knows something of being an outsider, and when she offers to work for Derwin as his housekeeper, it is not only to pay off her father's debt to the Grunauers, but also because she feels some connection to the reclusive young man. When that connection develops into something more, they must overcome both the town's prejudice and their own doubts to find happiness.

Chapter warnings: some violence, arson

Chapter word count: 4.5k

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 - Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18 - Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Derwin knew he was not going to see Alba again. He had hoped that after she'd had some time to cool off, an apology from him might have convinced her of his true intentions. That hope was dashed when Beatriz said apologetically, "I'm sorry, but Alba can't come to the phone right now." Can't, or won't? In the background, Mr. Reyes shouted something in Spanish, Derwin didn't know what, but he caught the word bastardo clearly enough, and then the line was cut off with a deafening ding.

That was it, then. Alba must have told her father about Derwin's cancellation of the debt, and her whole family hated him now. How could he have been so stupid? How could he fix this, when she wouldn't even talk to him? His only hope was that Alba would realize she'd taken the manuscript of his poems by mistake and come back to return it to him. But what if she didn't come personally? What if she asked Frank or Beatriz to do it? At least he would have someone to relay his message then. He would sit on the front porch and wait if necessary, to make sure whoever showed up didn't just toss the manuscript and leave.

Derwin reached for his cane. Before he could get it, however, Otto suddenly jumped up and ran to the front door like an arrow. Derwin's heart raced. Could it be...? But no, Otto was barking his furious, warning yaps, not the excited yelps he only reserved for Alba. Derwin limped after the dog as fast as he could.

At the front hall, he got a glimpse of the driveway, and his heart stopped racing. It almost stopped altogether.

Several cars were coming into the drive, led by a cherry-red sports car, the kind that some GIs with money to spare had taken to bring back from Europe. The cars were full of shouting people, and they weren't happy shouts, not like the day Alba and her friends came to pick him up for the beach. These people were angry.

Most of them were men. Derwin thought he could spy Mrs. McLeish's battle-axe face amongst them, but most were men. Angry, violent men. Sitting in the red car was a man he recognized from the dance—Gastin Grant. And next to Grant was Mr. Reyes, his face thunderous.

Otto was still growling and clawing at the front door, trying to get out. Good old Otto. He would be no match for such a mob. Taking his collar, Derwin dragged Otto back into the study, ignoring the pain in his leg and the dog's whining protests. "Stay," he told the dog and locked the door for good measure. Derwin thought about locking himself in as well, but surely that would only provoke this crowd.

With a little tremble in his hand, Derwin opened the front door. The people were still shouting, mostly at each other, but as Derwin walked out, they fell silent and turned to him as one. He faltered at the hostile look in their eyes. This was no ordinary crowd. They were a mob. All they were missing were the torches and pitchforks.

"Can I help you?" he said. His voice was steadier than he'd expected.

"Yeah, you can help us," Grant said, stepping forward. The ringleader. Derwin noted, with satisfaction, that Grant's eye was still badly bruised, making him look like half a raccoon. "You can help us by clearing off, you dirty spy."

Derwin stared at the bigger man, perplexed. "A spy? What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about this." Grant held a manuscript up.

"My Robert Frost translation?" Derwin asked, even as his heart sank. How did Grant get his paws on it? Did Alba give it to him? Where was Alba anyway? Mr. Reyes was still watching Derwin from the back of the crowd, but his grim look was quite different from the fire of hatred on the others' faces.

"Yes, a German translation. What would be the purpose of that, I wonder?"

Derwin was beginning to understand the situation. This fool had gotten a hold of the manuscript somehow and was using it to convince the people of Cypress Grove that he was a spy, just because he could speak German. He would've laughed at the ridiculousness of it all, but he'd seen how dangerous ignorance could be. "German people read poetry too, Mr. Grant," he said, trying to keep his voice calm, "even if you don't."

Grant sneered at Derwin's slight jab. "Tell me, how long have you been in correspondence with this so-called Professor Bauer?"

"He's a real professor. You can call up the University of Florida to find out."

"Enough of this!" a man shouted. From his battle-axe profile and the way he stood close to her, Derwin would bet that he was Mrs. McLeish's son, Ted. "Let's call the police and let them handle it!"

"The police?" Mrs. McLeish chimed in. "I'd say we call the Feds!"

"I didn't know it was a crime to speak and read German," said Derwin, mildly.

"This is America!" shouted Mrs. McLeish. "If you want to speak German, go back to Germany!"

Derwin flinched. He almost wanted to tell them to call the police anyway, who would surely see how flimsy this accusation was. Grant must have realized that too, because he shouted over the others, "People! People! Surely we can handle this ourselves! Let's find more concrete proof before we hand him over to the authority!"

This was met with several enthusiastic cries of "Yes!" and "That's the ticket!" In the back, only Mr. Reyes looked uncertain.

"Let's toss this whole place inside out!" screamed Ted McLeish.

"You can't do that," Derwin said. "Call the police and let them search the house if necessary, but you can't enter."

"We'll see which side the police will be on once we find proof, Kraut," Grant said.

Others were chiming in as well. "What about that dog of his? I heard it almost killed the postman once!"

"I heard there are snakes in there too."

"What an ugly pile of bricks. It brings down the value of the whole neighborhood."

For a moment, Derwin closed his eyes, willing for everything and everyone to go away, but when he opened his eyes again, they were still there. This was worse than his worst nightmare. He'd rather be back in that burning C-47 than stay here and face this crowd. At least in Normandy, he'd known what he would find and what he had to do. These people hated him for no reason. How could one fight such an enemy? He tried to back away, slowly, but he knew he wouldn't be able to hold the door if they decided to storm the house. From the inside, he could hear Otto barking frantically. His only concern now was that they would hurt Otto. He no longer cared about himself.

Ted McLeish jumped up the steps leading to the front porch and pushed Derwin aside. The cane clattered out of Derwin's hand, and he stumbled to the floor, more shocked than hurt. Behind Ted, the crowd was surging forward like a wave, threatening to sweep Derwin away. Unable to get up, he could only curl into a ball and screw his eyes shut, trying to protect his head from their rushing feet.

"Stop!" a new voice called out. "Stop this, all of you!"

The feet paused. The floor shook as someone leaped onto the porch and crouched down by Derwin. The scent of frangipani hit him. Alba.

He opened his eyes and saw those familiar green eyes looking into his, and the crowd, the noise, and his fear instantly vanished, to be replaced by a sense of calm he always felt in her presence. Alba was here. She cared. And that was enough. Now he could face the entire Wehrmacht if he had to.

"You OK?" she asked. He nodded. She helped him to his feet. That was when he noticed she was splattered with mud from head to toe, and there were twigs and dry leaves in her hair, as if she'd just taken a tumble through the bushes. But there was no time to ask what had happened. At the back of the driveway, he saw Beatriz, Frank, Marty, and Claudia getting out of their car, and his heart swelled. It wasn't just Alba who cared.

Grant looked at the newcomers with narrowing eyes but remained where he was, by the bottom step, watching, waiting to see which way the tides would turn. The crowd shuffled their feet at the door, unsure of what to do.

"Don't do this, please," Alba said to them. "You could get into trouble for this. Derwin has done nothing wrong. Grant is just trying to rile you all up so he can—"

"Don't listen to her!" Grant shouted, taking a step forward. "I found this manuscript in her possession! She's probably helping him!"

Alba was unfazed. "He's lying," she said calmly. "He's lying to all of you, to all of us." Holding onto Derwin with one hand, she took something out of her pocket and handed it to Ted, who was at the front of the crowd. "You recognize this, right?" she asked Ted. It looked like some sort of flyer.

Ted glanced at the flyer and shrugged. "Yeah, it's the poster advertising the new Cypress Grove highrise. So?"

"Notice anything about that map of Cypress Grove?" Alba said. Ted peered at the flyer again, his brow furrowed in concentration. The entire crowd seemed to be craning their necks to look at the flyer as well.

When Ted shook his head in defeat, Alba said, "Grant has told us there will be a new airport built nearby, and the highway will be extended through here. That's why we should all sell up and move away, instead of waiting to be forced out by the government, isn't that right?" Murmurs of agreement went all around. Grant started to shift his weight, eyes darting about, searching for an exit. "Look at the map again, Ted," prompted Alba. "There is no sign of an airport or a highway, is there?"

The murmurs rose in volume, like an angry beehive. Grant was looking quite uncomfortable now. Ted examined the flyer, and his eyebrows went up. "No, there's not!" he announced, and the crowd turned toward Grant, just as they had turned toward Derwin, in the opposite direction, a few minutes ago.

"See, there never is any plan for an airport or a highway extension through here," Alba said. "Grant made it up to convince us to sell to him for cheap. Just as he made up all the rumors about Derwin here to drive him off his land, all because Derwin refused to sell it." Her voice rang out clear as a bell, and Derwin had never felt prouder or more loved than he did at that moment, watching her stand up to an angry mob to defend him.

Grant rose to his full height. "This is ridiculous," he said with his usual swagger, but it seemed distinctly forced. "It's just a poster. It doesn't prove anything."

"You're right," said Alba. Since he was still on the steps and she was on the porch, she was taller than him, and she looked down at him in utter contempt. "It's not concrete proof. So why not bring this to the Department of City Planning and ask them to verify if such a plan exists?"

The crowd looked back at Grant expectantly. He went pale. "R-right," he stammered. "I'll be back after Christmas with proof. But if you think Grant's Land is still going to buy from you now, you can think again. You'll get turned out on the streets, all of you!"

He turned, stormed toward his car with as much bluster as he could manage, got in, and roared away.

That left the crowd to stand dumbfounded on the front porch. Alba turned to Derwin with a reassuring smile. "He won't be back," she said. "I'm sure of it." Derwin couldn't think of anything to say, so he simply squeezed her hand and kissed it, mud and all.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" boomed Mr. Reyes' voice. "Show's over. Go home."

Still sheepishly avoiding each other's eyes, the crowd started to disperse. Just then, a small, rotund man, whom Derwin was sure had been amongst Grant's cronies at the dance, came around the corner of the house. "Hey Grant, I just did what you told me to—" He trailed off, looking at the scattering crowd in confusion. "What's going on? Where's Grant?"

"He's run off," said Ted sullenly. "He's left you here, Bozo."

Bozo stared, his confusion turning into panic, and eventually fear. Without another word, he turned and fled.

"What was that all about?" Ted asked, watching the round little figure disappear down the drive.

Before anyone could answer him, a terrible howl came from inside the house. Otto! Derwin swung around, but Alba held him back.

"Derwin, wait!" she said, and the panic in her voice was enough to make him stop. "Look!"

There was smoke coming from behind the house.

Down on the drive, people paused and sniffed the air, which was already filled with an acrid smell. Alarm spread across their faces.

Otto howled again, and Derwin shook Alba's hand off.

"You can't!" she screamed. "There's a fire!"

"I locked Otto in the study! I have to let him out!"

"Give me the key, I'll go," Alba said.

Without another word, Derwin yanked open the front door and burst into the hall. Alba followed closely behind him. "What are you doing?" he shouted. "Get out!"

She didn't answer, only raced ahead.

A thin veil of smoke hung in the air like the mist of early winter mornings, except it was not wet and cool like the mist, but hot and stinging. Ducking low, Derwin made his way down the corridor toward the study, where Otto was still barking and scraping frantically at the door. The smoke thickened with their every step, forcing him to stop every so often to cough.

Alba was already at the door to the study. The barking and scraping intensified. "Hold on, Otto!" Alba said, fumbling with the door handle. Derwin tossed her the key.

The moment they got the door open, Otto jumped at them, almost bowling him over. "Get out, you fool!" Derwin screamed at the dog. "Get away!" But the dog clung to them, finding safety and comfort with his people in the unfamiliarity of the smoke-filled space. Alba had to grab his collar and drag him to the front.

"We've got him, let's go!" she said to Derwin.

Ignoring her, Derwin limped toward the kitchen, where the smoke was still billowing out. He had to put out the fire. His house, his home, all the memories inside it, he couldn't let it be destroyed.

The closer he got to the kitchen, the thicker the smoke got. It felt like walking through darkness, a choking, swirling darkness, but he could hear the hiss and crackle of flames. Holding the tail of his shirt over his nose, he blinked and squinted through the smoke, and saw thin lines of flame spreading across the kitchen floor. Someone had smashed the kerosene lamp, poured the fuel across the whole room, and set a match to it, and now the fire was licking up the pine floor like it was dry kindling, creeping toward the walls, toward him. The heat and the sickening smell of the burning fuel reached his face, and in an instant, reality went out of him.

In line! In line!

We jump on green!

GO! GO! GO!

He froze in the middle of that darkened, burning space, not knowing where he was. The red light was flashing before his eyes, blinding him. The smoke was in his nose and his lungs, choking him. The heat was on his skin, burning him. The crackling of the fire became the whine of failing engines, the distant explosion of crashing planes, and the shouts of men, except he was alone. There was no Jumpmaster Rensin shouting encouragement, no Ford pushing him out of the plane. They were dead, they were all dead, and he was all alone—

"Derwin!" someone shouted in his ear, and he turned, expecting to see Ford, or even Gurkin, but no, they were dead, all dead... "Derwin! Get out of here!" His eyes were watering from the smoke and he couldn't see who it was. A hand seized his, a small hand, soft but strong, and its touch brought reality back. It was Alba. He couldn't see her, but he knew she was there, knew it with his entire body, heart, and soul.

She tugged at his hand. "Come on. The fire engine is coming! We gotta get out of here!"

Holding on to each other, they stumbled through the swirling smoke, through the flames that writhed and leaped at them like fiery serpents. Somewhere in the chaos, Derwin lost his cane, and Alba let him lean on her. "We're going through the sunroom, it's quicker," he heard her say. The sunroom. Right. It was only a few steps from the kitchen to the sunroom. He could do it. He tried to suck in a deep breath, but only got a lungful of smoke and fire. His shoulder smashed into a hard corner, which sent him reeling back, and his hand fell out of Alba's. He was lost again, and there was nothing in front of him to tell him where he was or where he was going, nothing but a wall of smoke and fire. Then he thought the flames were going down, because they seemed to have lost their brightness. But no, it wasn't the flames. It was his eyes. Darkness was creeping in at the edge of his vision, until he could no longer see, no longer breathe. He slipped into a whirlwind of smoke and darkness, and the last thing he was aware of was Alba's frantic voice, calling out for him.

***

Someone was speaking, but he couldn't understand what they were saying, and for a moment, Derwin thought he was back in France. He was feeling the same way he had in France—groggy, face and hands smarting from burns, lungs scorched. Only the pain in his leg was the old, familiar ache, not the fresh agony of a new wound, and that was how he knew. He opened his eyes, and instead of the rough wooden beams of a barn converted into a makeshift field hospital in Normandy, he saw a clean white ceiling above him, clean white sheets covering him, and clean white walls around him. Memories trickled back—Alba saving him from the mob, Alba leading him out of the fire, Alba, only Alba.

He stirred, hoping to see her close by. His wandering eyes landed on a person sitting next to his bed—Mr. Reyes. Derwin lifted a hand, which seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, and removed his oxygen mask. "Alba—OK?" he croaked.

"She's fine," Mr. Reyes said. "She hasn't left your side since last night. She only agreed to get some rest when I told her I'd take over. How about you, mijo? How are you feeling?" Mr. Reyes' voice was gentle, though his eyes remained stern. Derwin's heart sank. Alba may have forgiven him, but what about her father?

He tried to answer Mr. Reyes' question, only his throat was still parched, and his voice came out as a hoarse, inaudible whisper. Mr. Reyes poured a glass of water from the pitcher on the bedside table and helped Derwin drink from the straw. "Thank you," Derwin said, lying back. "I've been through worse."

Mr. Reyes studied him for a moment. His eyes were dark brown, but the scrutinizing expression in them was so similar to Alba's that Derwin couldn't help smiling a little.

"You love Alba?" Mr. Reyes said.

The question took Derwin by surprise, but he answered as quickly as he could, "Yes, sir."

"She loves you?"

"... I hope she does."

"She told me you asked her to marry you." It wasn't a question.

"I did."

"Were you serious about that?"

"I was. I still am. But she turned me down."

There was a twinkle in the old man's eyes as he looked at Derwin. "I think she may have changed her mind."

Wild hope surged through Derwin, and he tried to sit up. "Sir?"

"Lie down, mijo, lie down. Don't get yourself worked up, it's not good for you. Now, my Alba is very independent, as you perhaps already know. She doesn't need anyone taking care of her."

"She's been taking care of me," Derwin said, smiling wryly.

"Quite true, quite true. She's been taking care of all of us. I should've seen it sooner..." For a moment, Mr. Reyes looked away, as if in shame. "Anyway, I'm her father, so I gotta ask. Can you take care of her?"

Derwin looked at Mr. Reyes. The old man looked back evenly.

"I don't know, sir," replied Derwin, after a moment's reflection. "Physically, I may not be strong enough." He remembered how he'd had to lean on Alba through the fire, how she was always there to catch him whenever he stumbled. "But I do know this. I love her and I'll be there for her whenever she needs me. It's the best I can give her. It may not be good enough for you, but with all due respect, sir, it's up to her, not you."

Mr. Reyes pondered this for a while. Derwin had the feeling he'd been put to the test, and by being honest without bowing down to the old man, he'd passed. Eventually, Mr. Reyes said, "I was wrong about you before, mijo. I thought your intentions weren't—honest. I apologize." Derwin frowned, but before he could ask for clarification, Mr. Reyes had extended a hand. "That's good enough for me. You're good enough."

Derwin took that callused palm in his own, hope filling him up until his heart swelled. "Thank you, Mr. Reyes."

"Mauricio, mijo. Call me Mauricio."

Derwin smiled. "... OK, Mauricio. Thank you."

"I'll let you two work things out between yourselves. Now rest."

Mr. Reyes got to his feet. "About the debt, I'm going to pay it off, every penny," he said. "I should have done that a long time ago. I'll add some interest too, though your father had been good enough not to charge us any. Consider it part of Alba's dowry." His eyes twinkled again. "If you can get her to agree to marry you, that is."

***

When Derwin opened his eyes again, it was dark. The person he longed to see the most was sitting by his side, regarding him with her green eyes full of love, and everything was right with the world.

"Hi," she said, smiling, and the sound of her voice was so sweet that he wanted to cry.

"Hi."

"I wanted to bring Otto in to see you, but they won't let me."

"Where is he? Is he OK?"

"He's fine. He's staying with Claudia and Marty and Marty Jr., having the time of his life."

"And you?"

"I'm fine too."

He reached for her face, feeling the scratches there, remembering her disheveled state when she'd come to the house. "What happened here?"

"It's nothing. I had a run-in with Grant when he took the Robert Frost manuscript from me. He pushed me down a ditch."

"What?!" Derwin didn't think he could be angrier with Grant, but it was clear that he could. "I'll kill him!"

Alba gently pushed him back down on the bed. "Sorry, but you won't have a chance," she said. "He's been arrested. Bozo gave him up pretty quickly, said it was all Grant's idea. The police are going to charge them with arson."

She went on to tell him that the house was saved, with only some damage to the kitchen, and the people who had come with Grant to harass Derwin were feeling so bad about it that they offered to fix it up and let Grant cover the cost. Derwin caressed her cheek, letting the sound of her voice wash over him.

"I thought I told you to stop fighting for me," he said.

"I like fighting for you." She took his hand and pressed it to her cheek. "I love you."

His heart skipped a beat. "Say it again."

And she did, punctuating each sentence with a kiss on his forehead, his nose, and finally, his lips. "I love you"—kiss—"I love you"—kiss—"I love you"—kiss. "I got your other manuscript, by the way," she added.

Her Christmas present! He'd completely forgotten about that. "And what do you think?" he asked, though the half-shy, half-pleased look on her face had told him all he needed to know.

"It's all pearls before swine, I'm afraid," she said, with a grin to show that she was joking.

"I told you, you have more poetry in you than you realize." He took her other hand. "Listen, Alba, about the debt—I'm sorry. I should've discussed it with you first."

She shook her head slightly. "Don't worry about it. We'll figure something out."

"No, it's all right. Your dad has promised to pay it off."

"Did he now?"

She looked pleasantly surprised, and Derwin felt rather confused. "You didn't tell him about my offer to cancel it?"

"No."

Her answer only increased his confusion. "But I thought you did, and that's why he was angry with me."

Alba blushed. "No, that was—something else. Something silly. I'll tell you about it later."

A nurse poked her head into the room. "Just five more minutes, lovebirds," she said in a firm but good-natured voice. "You both need your rest."

As the nurse ducked out again, Alba reluctantly got up, though she still held on to Derwin's hand. "Before I go, I have something to ask you," she said, kneeling by the bed so their faces were parallel.

"What is it?"

"Will you marry me?"

Derwin's heart leaped and jumped and did a cartwheel. "What?" he asked dumbly.

"You heard me. Will you marry me, Derwin Frances Grunauer?"

"But I thought you didn't want to marry me."

"I said I didn't want to get married. I don't want to marry just anyone. I do want to marry you." Her voice took on an impatient note. "What more do you need to convince you? Look, I'm on my knees and everything. Will you?"

He didn't need convincing. He only needed time to gather himself, to accept the truth that she really, truly loved him and was proposing to him. It was rather out of the ordinary, but then again, Alba had always been extraordinary. "... Yes," eventually he said.

Her smile brightened until it seemed to Derwin that it was giving off a light of its own, a gentle light that promised hope and joy and new beginnings, just like the dawn that was her name. "Yes?"

"Yes."

Epilogue

It's a "Beauty and the Beast" retelling, so of course I had to have a mob scene, even though this one is not quite as violent as the original. Stay tuned for the epilogue!

Taglist: @kitkat80, @hahahafucku

[michaelasworlds-blog]

Daddy’s Girl (A Hazbin OC Fanfic)

~~~~~~

Ch. 1: The Forgotten Decade

~~~~~~

Oregon, 19XX

He had been watching her for a week now, where she lived, where she went to school, and hung out with her friends. She was beautiful and he had to have her,

One late afternoon he finally got up the courage to go after her.

Now here they were, in one of his sheds, “Can't Smile Without You” playing on the record; She was chained to a medical bed crying over Barry Manilow.

“Please! Please let me go! I won’t tell-”

“Shh!” He gagged her with a cloth. Listening for a moment he started to hear a child talking to themselves, the man rolled his eyes. “You couldn’t have waited at least an hour,” he glared at the girl still crying. The man grabbed a syringe, before walking to a closet across the room. Opening the door, a little girl was playing with a black baby doll.

“Daddy!” She smiled up at him. “Look the baby not sleep!” she showed him the doll.

“Uh oh,” he grabbed the doll. “I have to teach a lesson.”

“Oh no! Can I come out now?” The little girl asked.

The man picked her up, “Not until you’ve had your nap young lady, you know how you get when you’re cranky.”

“Awe…” the toddler pouted.

“Yeah, I know,” the man also pouted before sticking the syringe in her leg. His daughter slowly fell unconscious, he dropped her on the floor of the closet before closing the door; “Now! Where were we?” He picked a pair of pliers walking over to the medical table.

“Please..please let me go, I won’t tell anyone,” the girl on the table cried.

“Shh…” he rubbed her head. “It’s okay, I’ll let you go I just need a favor”

“Okay, fine whatever you want,” she smiled sort of relieved.

“Say ‘ahh..’ ” he pried her mouth open before putting the pliers in.

She screamed.

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

Present day, Hell

“Welcome to today’s activity! Decade day!” Charlie clapped excitedly. “Everyone should be dressed as the decade they were born, and we can all mingle with each other about our favorite parts of that time period!”

Sinners dressed from the early 1700s to the present clapped before mingling with each other, the princess of hell and Vaggie walked around listening to residents complimenting outfits and critiquing them, “This is amazing! I can’t believe how many people decided to participate,” Charlie squealed.

“It’s all thanks to you babe, a lot of these new generations of sinners believe in change and want to get better-” Vaggie was interrupted by the sight of the Radio Demon in his everyday suit, “Alastor! You said you’d participate,” she groaned.

“I am, this was very popular in my day,” he fixed his tie, looking smugly at the angel.

“Bastardo engreído,” Vaggie glared.

Translation: Smug bastard.

“Well Alastor you look very spiffy,” Charlie snapped fingers guns at the overlord.

“Why thank you my dear,” Alastor smiled at her before the couple walked away.

They continued seeing everybody then got to Eric, Ezekiel, Erin and Bean. “Look at you guys! Eric I didn’t know you were born in the 80s!” Charlie looked amazed at his leather jacket.

“He’s not, he’s just copying me,” Bean crossed her arms. Her hair was teased and she wore punk rock like clothing, you could tell who actually lived through the time period.

“I put a twist on the activity, decade I lived through nah, how about a decade I should’ve been born in?” Eric smirked posing.

“He’s jealous cause his time period sucked,” Ezekiel elbowed him in the gut.

“Right.. because the 1920s were so much better,” Eric pushed him.

“Guys come on,” Vaggie rolled her eyes. “Men.”

Bean rolled her eyes, getting between the sinners to stop from fighting. Charlie was glad she had decided to stay at the hotel, she helped out a lot and joined in on activities; Charlie felt as if this was to keep Bean from thinking about something else but she was glad to have the extra help. She turned to see Erin wearing just a shirt that said “Ageless” and shorts.

“Erin! Cute top..um what decade are you from?” Charlie smiled at the siren.

“Um.. the thing is, I don’t know, I don’t know when I died all I know is that I was 16 when I died, but I don’t know when that was..” Erin looked down playing with her necklace, “I just thought the shirt would be funny.”

“Awe..I’m so sorry, I just love the shirt, and it’s okay you could’ve just dressed up as your favorite decade as well-”

“Seriously?!” A voice yelled. Everyone became quiet, turning to an angry Voe, “What the hell is the point of this activity then Charlie?! This is stupid!” She raged before storming upstairs.

“What was that about?” Vaggie raised an eyebrow.

“Smiles still isn’t talkin to her,” Angel leaned on Vaggie’s head. He looked at her, “That’s what people wore in your time period?”

Vaggie pushed Angel off her, “Yes!”

“Yikes,” He said before walking away.

“Anyway…” Eric slowly turned to Erin. “I just had the best idea!” He held her by her shoulders.

“What?” She looked around nervously.

“A mystery!” Eric smiled.

“A murder mystery,” Ezekiel chimed in.

“Wait wait wait, you don’t know that she was murdered,” Vaggie said.

“Actually my dad says that usually a sinner with memory loss died in a traumatic way, so it could be murder,” Charlie shrugged.

“Oh no! I was murdered?!” Erin gasped.

“You bet your sweet bottom ass baby you were,” Eric twirls her into him. “And me, you, Zeke, Bean and the viewers are gonna solve this mystery.”

“Wait-” Bean was interrupted by Charlie screaming.

“A murder mystery podcast?! We’re listening to every episode!!” She hugged Vaggie.

Eric takes out a tape recorder, starting to record, “Episode One, Part One…”

“The Forgotten Decade”

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

“Good evening everyone, welcome back to Ravin’ wit Rave,” Eric said into the microphone. “I know what you’re thinking, ‘wasn’t he just on?’ And ‘why does he sound so serious?’ I’ll tell you why, we have an unsolved mystery on our hands. I’m here with Erin, a 16 year old-”

“Eric!” Bean said loudly.

Eric stopped the podcast, “What?!” This was the fourth time someone had interrupted him.

“I gotta go” Bean put her jacket on.

“What?! No I - I mean we need you!” Eric ripped his headphones off.

Bean looked at the three sinners before rolling her eyes, she didn’t even want to do this but she couldn’t let them down. They were her friends I guess; at least according to them, “Fine, my advice is if you really want to do this then you should probably think about the year you died; what was it like, were there cellphones stuff like that. it’ll help you decide what kind of sinner you’re looking for.”

“That makes total sense, why didn’t we think of that,” Zeke gasped.

“This is gonna be great,” Erin smiled.

“Yeah well, you guys have fun and I’ll be back…I’ll be back whenever,” Bean said before leaving.

Bean walked down the streets that were full of a lot more chaos than usual, ever since Voe killed the Vees lower sinners felt more confident; Bean knows she did. Sinners banded together and protected each other, more joined the hotel. Of course there was a downside to this, the higher up sinners fought back and would win; this is why she invested in a handgun and a switchblade. Walking by she looked up at V-Tower, the Vees got back about a month ago and didn’t waste time rebuilding their empire and it didn’t take any longer for people to pick sides. Team Voe or Team Vees, Bean was of course on Voe’s side however sometimes she wondered how Vox was, that flat faced bastard deserved to get fucked but she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Bean walked into “Ruby’s” . It was pretty busy, sinners were sweeping, wiping down poles, tables and glasses; Ruby kept moving the grand opening date because it “wasn’t the right day” she was so dramatic.

“Bean my darling!” The overlord came from behind beaded curtains, Ruby kissed Bean on the forehead.

“Um hi, club looks nice,” Bean smiled as both sinners sat at the bar.

“Trixie sweetie makes us an acid martini please,” Ruby smiled at the hellhound behind the bar. “She’s sweet.”

Trixie placed two glasses of a green sizzling liquid in front of them, “Thank you,” Bean pulled the glass towards herself.

“Koman sa va?” Ruby sipped from her glass.

Translation: How are you?

“Fine I suppose, I’ve been kind of bored,” Bean rolled her eyes.

“I’m surprised Alastor doesn’t have you killing anyone for him, you were ready to do anything for the Radio Demon,” Ruby smirked.

Bean rolled her eyes, Alastor had “apologized” to her, and by “apologizing” ; it was more like a “I’m Alastor, I can’t help it.” But he said it in a charming and confusing way that Bean never understood; he started hanging out with her but she was sure it was to tick Voe off, she was not trying to be in the middle of that. “I’m done with men.”

“Uh huh, I bet you are,” Ruby didn’t sound convinced.

“Look, I have things to do today so why did you call me down here?”

“Oh!” Ruby sat up looking across the room, “Sha!” She waved to a slim demon, she had gray skin, yellow eyes and coily brown hair tied in a large puff with a white streak. “Come here my love,” she gestured to the demon.

The woman walked over to Ruby and Bean, “Bean this is Gigi, she’s new to hell and will be staying with me; Gigi this is my daughter Bean.” Gigi stared at Bean, Bean wondered if she had something on her face, “Don’t be rude, say something,” Ruby rolled her eyes.

Gigi cleared her throat, “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she shook Bean’s hand.

“Uh huh,” Bean looks at Ruby. “Why did I need to be here?”

“Well..I talked to Lucifer and Gigi is going to be at the hotel, I’d want her to have a friend to get her started, you’d do that for mommy won’t you? Oh who am I kidding? You don’t have a choice!” Ruby laughed.

Gigi stared at a miserable Bean, smiling a little, “I hate you,” Bean glared before storming out.

“Adyeu,” Ruby blew a kiss. She turned to Gigi who was beaming, “Yeah…you’re fired.”

“You said I could stay here!” Gigi was flabbergasted.

“You are terrible at everything! The tables are never clean, you can’t use a register. You can’t dance; you look weird when you strip or climb a pole, and my glasses, which were a gift from Asmodeus himself, have YOUR fingerprints on them!” Ruby shows her a glass covered in multiple smudges, and Trixie shakes her head disappointed. “And besides, don’t you want to spend quality time with your daughter?”

“From the way you were talking to her she might as well be your daughter,” Gigi crossed her arms.

“Oh Eugenia, always taking the cowardly route,” Ruby smirked. “I need you out tonight, I need that room for a very special guest.”

“Who?”

“None of your business,” she stands up to leave. “Be out in an hour.”

Gigi pouts, it was either the hotel or be homeless..

“Fuck.”

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

“You want me to come back and work for you?” Bean sat on Valentino’s sofa.

“That’s what I said," he smirked, sitting on the couch across from her.

“Why don’t you call Angel, isn’t he the one who made you the most money?” Bean raised an eyebrow.

“That prick hasn’t returned any of my calls,” He growled.

“Awe..” Bean pouted sarcastically.

“I only have 20,000 souls now because of the Radio Demon’s little bitch, I at least wanna get my Sugar back,” he took a drag from his cigarette blowing out pink smoke.

“You tried to crush my head” she crossed her arms.

“Look, I know you’re getting bored at that hotel,” he waves her off.

“I am not.”

“Well I know you’re getting tired of being broke, your money is running low; I bet this is the third time you’ve worn that shirt,” he smirked.

Bean didn't answer, she was starting to feel a little upset, she’d never worn the same outfit twice in the same week; people barely knew her. She took a breath, “Can I think about it?”

Valentino grinned, kissing her hand before slowly licking it, “You sure can, baby.” Bean ripped her hand away, wiping the slimy saliva off of it. She got up to leave when the door opened, Bean stood frozen in place seeing Vox.

“Val there’s a meeting in ten, get your fat ass-” Vox looked from his phone, noticing Bean staring at him, his eyes widened.

Bean felt her face heat up, she wanted to say something but didn’t even know what the right thing was. Clearing her throat she mustered up a simple, “Hi.”

“What are you doing here?” The TV Demon raised an eyebrow.

“I wanted to see about getting my job back..” Bean messed with the bottom of her shirt.

“Oh really? Vox smirked. “But didn’t you quit? And I don’t know if I’m too fond of Voe’s friends in my establishment.”

“I worked for Val not you,” Bean’s blood began to boil.

“Well Val works for me, so he does what I say,” Vox grins, his voice becoming slightly distorted. Bean glared at him, and his grin got bigger.

“Well..if you want a job I’m sure there’s something I can find for you chica,” Val leaned back on the sofa.

“Great,” Bean smiled at Val. “Call me when you need me,” she winked at the moth as Vox’s grin fell before Bean left the room.

Vox slowly turned to Valentino, “What actual fuck?!” His voice was distorted.

“What…don’t be jealous baby, it isn’t a good look for you,” Val smirked. “Don’t pretend you don’t like this new side.” The Tv demon rolled his eyes.

Vox scoffed, “Get your ass to the conference room.”

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

“Here we are at Siren Springs Cassius-”

“Actually it’s Casper,” Casper interrupted Eric.

“Whatever, we’ve got some questions to ask you and your mermaid buddies,” Zeke stepped up.

“Fine, as long as you bring me up to Voe on your next podcast,” Casper led them to a large lake filled with sirens sitting on rocks and playing in the water.

Eric, Zeke, and Erin stood in front of the lake looking amazed, “Casper! Who are these guys?!” A male siren shouted.

“We’ll be asking the questions here buddy,” Eric crossed his arms. At the moment the sinners in the water started spewing water from their mouths at the three. Casper pulled them to the side.

“Okay you can not talk to them like that,” Casper whispered to them. “They don’t respond to demands, be nice or they’ll rip you to pieces.”

“Like emotionally?” Erin asked.

“Come on, and let me do the talking,” The four started walking back to the lake. “Hey guys! Sorry about that, they’re just uh..hungry I guess.”

“Then tell the bitch to eat a granola bar,” a female siren rolled her eyes.

“Anyway.. this is Erin,” Casper gently pushed her forward. “She needs our help.” He gestured for her to get in the water. Erin got into the lake, it was still scary for her, but if she didn’t think about it, it was easy to forget her fears. The sirens surrounded her, touching her hair, tail and skin; though they were in the water their touches felt warm and soft as if she could tell them everything

“What are they doing?” Zeke mumbled.

“Making her feel comfortable,” Casper answered. “We’re more comfortable around our own, they’ll help.”

“Fuck yeah,” Eric smiled.

The sinners stopped touching Erin, “What do you need?”

“I can’t remember when or how I died, I believe I was murdered,” Erin spoke to them. The sirens give each other worried looks then look back at her.

“You probably won’t ever remember sweetie,” A female siren said.

“That’s bullshit,” Eric blurted. Everyone looked at him.

“Excuse me?” The siren narrowed her eyes.

Eric sat down in the grass pulling out the tape recorder, “What’s your name?”

The demon looked at him like he lost his mind, “Wynter,” she answered.

“Well Wynter, what evidence says she won’t remember?” He raised an eyebrow.

“We’re in Hell, this is a punishment meaning that we’re supposed to remember what happened to us, so we never forget what we did; that fact that she can’t remember means something traumatic happened to her,” Wynter leaned against the edge of the lake.

“What about death?” Erin chimed in.

“Most siren’s deaths are usually centered around drowning, maybe there was an accident; maybe you fell,” Casper shrugged. “Is there anything you remember?”

Erin thought for a second, “Snow, and trees, lots of them.”

“Like a forest,” Zeke snapped his fingers. Erin nodded

“I remember screaming, in pain; like I was trying to get out of something. I was sitting in the snow, I think,” She continued.

“Alright alright, let’s say you were murdered; you’ve come to the wrong place babe,” a male sinner stood up.

“And you are?” Eric asked.

“Percy,” the siren smirked before turning to Erin. “We’re not really associated with that, we’re more on the manipulation side of hell; we get what we want through our voice and in the bed,” Percy winked.

“Ugh who does this guy think he is?” Eric rolled his eyes.

“What should I do?” Erin looked up at him.

“Have a chat with an overlord is my advice,” Percy replied.

“Percy! That’s a terrible idea!” Wynter glared at him.

“His ideas are always the worst,” a siren mumbled in the back.

“Why?” Zeke asked.

“Overlords are the only sinners that were crazy enough to kill women and children, how do you think they got the power to become an overlord? They had the power up on earth, trust me an overlord is the way to go.”

“Of course! Why didn't I think of that?!” Eric looked at Casper.

“Because it’s a terrible idea,” Casper rolled his eyes.

“E let’s roll!” Zeke helped Erin out of the water.

The three sinners ran off, “Thanks Casino! I owe you one!” Eric shouted in the distance.

“It’s Casper!” Casper shouted. “And you owe me recognition! Don’t forget to tell Voe about me!” Percy sighed, putting his arm around him, “Think they’ll remember?” He looked at him.

“Oh absolutely not,” Percy pat him on the back. “They’re idiots, I’m gonna miss them; what about you Wynter? You gonna miss them?” He smirked at a glaring Wynter. She said nothing, spitting water at him before going underwater. “Jokes on you, I’m used to bodily fluids on me!”

“Should I go after them?” Casper asked, looking into the tall grass.

“Absolutely not,” Percy pat him on the back.

Wynter slowly emerged from the water looking into the grass.

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

“That’s not what I told you to do!” Bean scolded the three.

“You said to go get info!” Eric yelled.

“I said to re-jog her memory, not start a fight with sirens and interrogate overlords! You guys are gonna get yourselves killed!” She paced the living room, they couldn’t be left alone for a DAY; it was ridiculous.

“Exactly! That’s why we need your guidance!” Zeke smiled. “You’re like our older sister!”

“No She isn’t!” Eric pushed him. “You’re smart, and hot, we need that smart beauty that I - we know and love,” he put his arm around her.

Bean looked at the sinners, they looked desperate and sad; it was making her sad. She sighed, “Fine I will help you.”

“YES!” Eric said a little too excited.

“But! Do not be weird! And we should listen to each other because that’s like teamwork I guess,” she shrugged.

“Yay! Our sister’s here to help!” Erin hugged her.

“On three! B.E.E.E Squad!” Eric shouted.

“BEEE SQUAD!” The other two repeated.

Bean shook her head, what had she gotten herself into?

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

Alastor sat listening to some soft jazz in his radio station. It was pretty quiet tonight which wasn’t a problem, it was just strange. He wanted space from Voe to think, about what? He didn’t know himself, first off it was the question of trusting her again, Alastor missed their conversations, missed her touch and her soft skin; but there was no telling what she’d do. Voe couldn’t be trusted, but at the same time he looked into her eyes and saw the truth, and that’s how they got to where they are now. Did she even care? Had she moved on? Should he move on? A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. Was it her? He hoped it was, but at the same time he hoped it wasn’t. He didn’t know what to do, or what he’d say. Alastor opened the door revealing a female gray demon standing in the doorway, she looked up at him nervously, her yellow eyes boring into his. “Can I help you?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Are you the Radio Demon?” She asked.

“Depends, who are you?” Alastor tapped the top of his cane, already becoming impatient.

“Me, my name's Eugenia..”

His eyes widened.

“I need your help.”

(Hey everyone! welcome to my new story, well more of a sequel, just some small info. First off this takes place during another fanfic “Fawning for You” it’s written by @nkirukaj the OC Voe belongs to her and obviously canon characters belong to the lovely Vizipop, other characters like Bean, Eric, Zeke, Erin, Ruby and Eugenia/Gigi are my OCs. This is an 18+ story, I can’t stop you from reading it but there will be triggering content; I will add trigger warnings and let you know when those scenes come up. I hope you enjoy my story ♏️)

[khr-guilded-cage]

Even after her fight with Iemitsu about the kidnap of Chiyoko, Yuka did started to recruit people - willing, already-on-mafia people - to her 'Kinsguard', they are treated well, she is a good boss for them, cold and ruthless to her enemies (Vongola Guardians, Nono, Reborn, Iemitsu) and they are loyal to her only. Reborn tried to show up and torment ber guards for his own amusement...

...just for them to open fire and nearly kill the little bastard. At some point Yuka give a 'kill on sight' order for Reborn and put a hit on his head. The Vongola Donna was serious about wanting him dead and Reborn's enemies are getting bolder and trying to murder him more often, in masses

The hitman had invaded her new 'Compount', trying to physically beat Satsuki and kidnap Yuka for 'training' aka he wanted control over his 'student' and to make her bend to his arrogance and pride and get her loved ones to be his dogs like Tsuna's Guardians. He is a threat, a abusive child killer and needs to die

Reborn and pointed a gun to her head and demanded o know what those ' weird powers' were (he hated not knowing everything and wanted to blackmail his new 'victim') and didn't think she would want revenge?

A smile crossed her face, the Sun Arcobaleno would pay for all of the abuse

Also, she created the 'Haven' a place for Flame Active Civilian to train and be safe without begin taken and beaten and strongarmed and broken into the Mafia like they tried to do to her. Flame Active civilian were trained and protected free of charge, from children to elderly, she wont let pathetic Vongola get their filthy greedy hands on them.

And the 'Foundation' under one Hibari Lin and her cousin Kyoya (after she put the boy under Akari, he is getting better) to match CEDEF, she would murder Iemitsu and put his subordinates under Lin-san as soon as she can.

Mostly joined the Vongola's legal business, but Yuka refused to make them mafiosi and subordinates like the Famiglia demanded of her. Reborn called her a idiot for not adding them to her 'family'.

She scoffed, bastardos

Her Guardians are planning to go college and she refused to let some old man across the sea ruin that for them. She would take political fake Guardians and make the Vongola let her people be.

Her official Fake Guardians were begin forced to go into missions every day to help her own reputation, no basketball, no boxing, not a minute of peace, she was begin cruel but they deserve it. Tsuna is too kind for them.

Without the Vongola's protection, the Arcobaleno would all die faster to Millefiore. Fon and Skull would be safe, Lal and Colonello would have the protection of Foundation maybe if Hibari Lin accepted them. Verde and Reborn wont have the kind Sky the hitman got killed to save them, both would die first and no matter what the others said, Yuka wont give them Sanctuary or aid

Yuka would probally fight Byakuran or befriend him, break the Curse yes, but probally ask Bermuda and Checkerface to let Reborn root in his little body and save only the next generation of Sun Arcobaleno

[a-not-so-clean-blog]

Ezio Auditore x gn reader

Reunited with a ghost CH 2. CH 1

Ft. Lots of Rosa and a kiss. 2.2k words

Warnings. Light cursing

Getting to embrace Ezio again was a dream come true, and one I hope to never wake from. I was completely lost in the moment before I remembered what I was doing before. I pull away and look around realizing I had completely lost track of where I was or how I'm supposed to find the guild head. Ezio looks at me with concern as he asks what's wrong.

"I need to deliver this letter." I pat the folded paper in my side pocket.

"To whom?"

"A man named Antonio. This is my final test from them."

"A test?" He slips the letter out of my pocket. I didnt even feel the fabric move. If I didn't watch him take it I never would have known it was gone.

"Yes. I am supposed to deliver the letter to him by nightfall and if I do the guild had said they will teach me how to move like them." I reach for the letter but he holds it out of my range.

"Let us go together then. I know the fastest route and how to avoid the guards!" He cracks a smirk as he waves the paper just out of reach.

I squint at him as he playfully taunts me. Haven't even been reunited an hour and he's already back to the lovable jerk I know. "With you there's always a catch." I eye him wary of his intentions.

"No catch. I just want to make sure you get to deliver this safety." He says with a warm smile. That's a face I could never say no to and he knows it.

"Fine." I relent. I hold my hand out for him to give me the letter back but instead he pockets it and laces our fingers together. Before I have a moment to respond we are already out of the alley and half way down a busy street. His hand was warm, another reminder that he was alive and this wasn't just a dream.

The twists and turns of the streets and canals never once slowing him down as we make our way towards the center of the city. I still haven't quite gotten the layout of the city memorized yet so it was nice to have a guide who actually knows where we were going. What would have taken me all day following bread crumbs left by the guild only took Ezio an hour, and that time even included a stop for lunch.

Ezio reluctantly let's go of my hand as we enter a fenced off area, the cool afternoon air replacing his warm touch on my skin. He knocks on the heavy looking wooden door and voice almost instantly tells us to enter. I follow behind him as we enter, almost hiding in his shadow. A tall man with dark hair immediately notices my presence though.

"I see you have brought a friend Ezio, and who might you be?" He said as he made his way around a large table covered in an equally large map of the city.

"My name is y/n. I am here to deliver a letter to Antonio."

"Well you have come to the right place than.

I look at Ezio, silently asking for the letter back. He quickly glances down at my pocket and back at me. Confused, I reach into my pocket and pull out the letter. Sly bastardo must have slipped it back in when I wasn't looking. I hand over the letter and the man who I am assuming is Antonio brings it to his desk for inspection.

"You have my thanks for delivering the letter so swiftly. Too many of my guild members are being recognized lately, it was safer for us to use someone the guards would not know." He folds the letter and puts it in a drawer. "I know you did not do this for free though. I will have one of my best show you how to move more swiftly." He looks over at some of the guild members in the corner, a woman and 2 men. "Rosa. If you would be so kind?"

The woman stands up and saunters over to us. "Honestly I didn't think you'd be able to do all the tasks. I'm impressed." She looks over at Ezio. "And more than a little surprised to see you escorting them." She looks back at me. "Our little friend here didn't cheat did they?"

"Of course not. I was simply heading the same direction, completely innocent." At least he had gotten better at lying over the years, however Rosa was clearly unconvinced. Thankfully she didn't seem to care too much as she led us outside, back to the fenced in area.

She points to the roof of a neighboring building. "Do you see the flag on that weathervane." I nod. The bright red flag was prominent against the light blue afternoon sky. "How long do you think it would take you to grab it and bring it to me?"

"... probably 3 minutes?" There weren't many ledges to make it easy to climb up. "Maybe 5?"

"Your 3 minutes start now, go."

"Huh?" I turn to look at her and she just waves me off and crosses her arms. I blink before my head catches up to her words. I get a running start at the wall in front of me and I'm just able to grab the ledge and pull myself up. I move as fast as my legs and vertigo will let me as I make my way up to the flag. I'm almost there and I look down at Rosa and Ezio. Both of them watching me closely, analyzing my every movement. I can't tell if I should be comforted or concerned by how sharp their eyes are. Getting down was much faster than the climb up. After grabbing the flag I drop and slide down the tiled roof. Before I fall I grab the ledge and swing for some momentum. Finally I hit the ground with a roll and spring to my feet, with a final sprint I'm standing in front of Rosa, flag in hand. "How did I do?" I ask as I catch my breath.

"Not bad for a novice." She holds up a hand and extends her pointer finger. "First you need to be able to think on your feet faster. You kept trying to plan your movements too far in advance and it slowed you down. That hesitation made you slip more than once even if it was just a little. Finally you let yourself get distracted. You should always be watching where you are going, not watching your audience." Each new point she made was punctuated by another finger. "You are certainly sloppy… but not the worst I've seen. Put in the effort and I should have no issue teaching you." I brighten a little at her words. She'll be tough but there may be a softer side yet.

…I was wrong. She was a harsh teacher and now I am laying on the ground unable to feel my own arms and completely exhausted. Ezio had watched the entire time as I learned to throw myself up onto handholds and literally had the hesitation beaten out of me. Hours of non stop climbing and she finally granted me mercy.

Ezio laughs lightly as he sits next to me, handing me a cup of fresh water. "She's a little rough around the edges but I'll be damned if she's not a good teacher."

"A little rough? I don't know if my poor muscles will recover from this." My whining only seems to amuse him farther.

"Drink, you have not had water in hours and it will help with the pain."

I grunt as I go to sit up but only make it an inch before returning to the cool stone floor. "Can't move. Too tired." Ezio rolls his eyes before taking me by the shoulder and pulling me up until I'm leaning against him.

"There, now drink. You'll feel better." I take the cup from his hand as he supports my weight with his arm slung over my shoulder. I did feel better as soon as the cool liquid hit my throat, and I finished the cup greedily. "Better amore?"

"Better."

"Good. I want to show you something. Are you able to move freely?"

I glare up at him. "Am I able to move freely?" He laughs at my snide remark.

"Please. I promise it will be worth it." The way he looked at me with that smile made my heart skip a beat.

"...fine" I mumble, and his smile grows ear to ear.

"Va bene!" He wastes no time lifting my tired body from the ground and onto my feet. We walk a little ways as I slowly get feeling back in my limbs. Eventually we get to a church like building and stop. I look at him and wonder what he's up to. "I'm sorry bello but you're going to have to climb one last time." He said softly.

I look at him in betrayal and disbelief. "You want me to climb?". I look from him to the building and back to him. Every passing moment I feel my arms grow heavier in dread. "How many times will you break my heart fantasma." He stifled a laugh at my pleading.

"I promise amore, it will be worth it. Will you do it for me?" When he looks at me so gently I know I am defeated. I let out a sigh.

"Lead the way." I gesture towards the building as he smiles.

The climb up was slow going but faster than I would have done before. Even exhausted I can tell I've improved. Ezio stops every few feet to make sure I haven't slipped or have gotten stuck. He offers his hand a few times but now I'm too stubborn to take it. I'll prove I can do it on my own and that I'm skilled enough to stay by his side. The last time I pushed his helping hand away I noticed his eyebrow furrow under his hood. I don't have time to focus on that though while I'm trying not to fall to my doom.

Finally I made it to the top, Ezio already waiting for me. He sits on a ledge and pats the tile beside him and I gladly join.

"I'm glad I was able to make it before my arms gave out." My snide comment earns me a sly smile. I close my eyes as i catch my breath.

"As am I."

"I hope this is worth it, Ezio."

"As do I." If I wasn't so tired maybe I would have caught the hint of nervousness in his voice. He wraps his arm and shoulder cape around me as I lean against him. "Look". I slowly open my eyes and see the sky alight with pinks and orange painted over a blue canvas. A stunning sight shining over the city and reflecting off her many waterways.

"Amazing…" I'm enthralled by the sunset this high over the city. I can't even hear the people on the street from this distance. It's only me, Ezio, and the setting sun.

I am taken from my thoughts when I feel a rough calloused hand gently cup my cheek and turn my head. I'm pulled close as I come nose to nose with my long lost paramore. His sharp eyes searching my face for any sign of doubt before slowly leaning in planting a tender kiss on my lips. The kiss was soft but with a smoldering ember underneath, like trying to hide a desperate flame. It felt like my skin was on fire with excitement and want. My head felt fuzzy and unable to think straight, however the feeling was not unwelcome. When finally we broke the kiss Ezio's eyes were shining brighter than the sun itself, and I'm sure mine were the same.

Long after the sun had set we stayed there, unmoving, simply enjoying the comfort of each other's presence. I look towards the ground below deep in thought. The day had been exhausting both physically and emotionally. I can't help but let a yawn escape my lips.

"I think it's time we find somewhere for you to rest amore. You have had a long day." He offers me his hand and this time I take it. He helps me to my feet and steadies me on my shaky legs.

"I don't think I have the strength to climb down…" I say quietly, guilty of my own weakness.

"Do you trust me?" I nod my head without hesitation and he smiles at me. "Then relax and close your eyes one last time." His voice is low and reassuring. I close my eyes as he wraps both of his strong arms tightly around me, holding me close to his chest. I feel my feet lift off the ground and the wind rush past me. The free fall felt like an eternity yet I still felt safe. The next thing I knew was Ezio underneath me in a cart of hay. He's got a giant smile on his face as he looks up at me. His smile is bigger than I've ever seen and for once I can't tell what he is thinking.

Bastardo. Bastard

Amore. Love

Va bene. Okay/ all right

Bello. Handsome/pretty/nice

[hunterwritesstuff]

Carmilla?

Sure! :D

Val - "He never shows up to meetings on time and treats his workers like things. Disgusting."(Hated)

Vox - "He never shows up on time either."(Tension)

Velvet - "Too much attitude, not enough respect if any at all."(Tension)

Hex - "He shows up to meetings, yes, but he treats his workers as disposable AND is just totally LAZY."(Tension)

Husk - "What Overlord gambles their assets away?"(Tension)

Shirley - "A powerful Overlord. She doesn't need to see, as she uses her other senses."(Friendly)

Ebony - "You got a family you didn't deserve. I'm sorry."(Friendly)

Ranni - "A powerful Overlord, even if she doesn't appear it."(Friendly)

Alastor - "Nobody cares about why you've been gone."(Tension)

Rosie - "A powerful yet benevolent Overlord."(Friendly)

Orion - "You want to go back for your family...I can respect that."(Friendly)

Charlie - "A dream such as yours is respectable, yet still so far off..."(Tension)

Angel Dust - "An...interesting...demon."(Tension)

Vaggie - "You did it for love."(Friendly)

Lute - "Evil."(Tension)

Adam - "Murderer."(Hated)

Jax - "Un horrible bastardo."(Hated)

Lucifer - "You turned around and became the father your daughter needed."(Friendly)

Peter - "Hm...pastel angel...how odd of a man..."(Neutral)

Astrid - "A kind angel? What a rare happenstance..."(Friendly)

Lilith - "A terrible mother."(Tension)

Eve - "First woman, first to betray."(Tension)

Dante - "An odd sinner...seems to be hiding something..."(Neutral)

Bob - "Hm...like a child given an adult job..."(Tension)

Cain - "First murderer."(Tension)

Abel - "You are safe in Heaven now."(Neutral)

Zestial - "Oh, amor… ¿cuánto más crees que podremos durar?"(Loved)

Still working out how I write her, but I hope you enjoy! <3

[slashingdisneypasta]

Remember that ask you sent me of Wheezy sending Greasy those texts if he left the Toon Patrol? I saw this video https://youtube.com/shorts/yruOJhfMrbk?si=IwMmYQqlGv5sJu2Z and couldn't help but think of Greasy 'quitting being a regular occurrence (and that's why it takes Wheezy a bit to get worried when Greasy storms out seemingly for good)

Greasy: ¡A la mierda esto! I quit!

Smartass: Oh? You're quittin', eh?!

Psycho: FINALLY!!!

Stupid: Are you quiet quitting like Poppy talked about?

Greasy, already tugging on his jacket and storming out the door: Oh no, this is loud quitting! You bastardos will never see me again!

Smartass: Oh fine! Great! Thanks for the notice, asshole!

Stupid: Wha?? No, boss! Don't let him leave!!! 🥺

Wheezy: Don't worry, Stu. He'll be back.

~some days later~

Greasy, walking back inside the TP house with the key he never threw away: Eey there, amigos. Another day at the office?

Smartass: *leaning back in his chair with a smug grin* Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged back.

Stupid: Greasy! :D

Psycho: =_=

Lottie: *nodding to Wheezy with a smirk* Told you.

Greasy: ?? Told him what??

Lottie: I betted double dessert for a week that you'd be back within 22 days.

Wheezy: *sigh* I had you at 23 days...

Smartass: A week!

Poppy: I uh... Thought you'd be back in three days.

Stupid: I hoped you came back in a few hours!

Psycho: Never would have been the best option...

Greasy: Que se jodan pendejos...

Shiny, lounging on the couch: Welcome to the hotel California~

Greasy: =_= Really, Chica?

Shiny: You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave!~

(Everyone is so mean to Greasy. He deserves it XD)

🤣🤣🤣

He totally deserves it XD But I cant get over Stupid's wholesomeness, of my goodness!! He is just too sweet!! He wants his friend Greasy to stayyyy! 'I hoped you came back in a few hours!' Stu you are too precious, Greasy doesn't deserve you XD I need to see Greasy show Stu some appreciation for once!! Of course, Greasy probably thinks very lowly of Stupid but that doesn't mean he doesn't treat his silly dumb friend a little better then others when they're like this XD

~

Greasy: *sitting with silent rage in an armchair, glaring at everyone* =_= ... Stupid: *waives all-innocent at him when he catches Greasy's eye* 👋👋👋 Greasy: Oh, hola Stu. Greasy: *Immediately goes back to glaring at everyone else*

OR, ALTERNATIVELY, BAMF!S/O stands up for her Stu, interjecting before Greasy can insult everyone in Spanish like-

Greasy: *Deep breath* Greasy: You people are- BAMF!S/O: -Hey, remember, Stu wasn't apart of this. He somehow genuinely missed you, you slimy rodent. And I'll give you an amateur lobotomy if you don't acknowledge that. Keep that in mind going forward, huh?? Now go ahead. I'm waiting. Greasy: ... You people, except for Stupid, are-

(And Psycho's on the side going ):):): no amateur lobotomy??)

[devilsainz]

It all started with a joke (Charlos one-shot)

second time trying to make sense of these charlos thoughts in my head. I dont take myself seriously so no one should take my writing skills either. I do these mostly for me, when i feel like it. English is not my first language either and i barely reviewed what i wrote so... read at your own risk.

.....

It all started with a joke.

"Hey, did you heard what everyone is saying about us? That we are the most handsome driver pairing in f1 history." Carlos said with a teasing smile that only handsome men that know theyre handsome men know, while he was scrolling through his phone, sitting in that red couch, in the free time they found when working together .

Charles giggled in return while he was in a distance from him, "come on, lets focus on the performance on the car for now, carlos, please!"

"No i was just saying, cabron, i think it might give us a boost, you know? in our confidence, and even better our ~performance~"

"you just love yourself too much dont you?" Charles said shaking his head lightly.

"Ehm... ok, now ill be serious. But its quite funny, i guess. i still feel flustered by it, actually, when the girls call me guapo out loud sometimes... i just try to get used to it joking, you know".

"I mean, theyre not lying. Youre indeed a very handsome, aaah- how do you say it? Cabron. A very handsome cabron, i'll give you that."

"Ok connoisseur of beauty, gracias for the compliment even though you just called me a bastardo"

"I cant make you get used to much to it, mate.-"

"Maaate! What are these people on?" Carlos said with a cackle in his throat.

"Ok, now you got me curious, bastardo, let me see what are you-"

"~he looks at him like he wanna kiss him so bad~" carlos said mocking in a over sweet toned voice.

"Oooh my god, these people are really going crazy nowadays" Charles commented between their shared laughter.

"Look at this one: 'i want someone to look at me like he is looking at Charlie's lips' -now where am i even look-"

"To be fair, it really looks like it, Carlos, sorry" he let escape a shy laugh.

"Shut the fuck"

"You have to look at the picture, carlos... try to understand their narrative, its very simple, come on"

Charles zoomed in the picture and showed carlo's eyes darting in the direction of his lips.

"Eh, cabron, now that looked really weird, to be fair" he grimaced. They looked into each other and there was a awkward silence until they broke into laughter again.

"Look, we have this effect on people apparently... cause we are so handsome, these weirdos just want us to start making out in front of the camera! I guess its something in their brain chemicals" Carlos said moving his fingers like trying to explain a magic trick.

"Oh mate, come on, get off of it now, this is too much junk for today" charles said with his breath apparently catching up now after laughing so much.

"Yeah, i think its enough, carlos closed the instagram app and put the phone in his pocket."

The awkward silence fell again.

Charles, desperate to break the unconfortableness, tried to start a conversation: "but like, imagine if there were actually, you know, gay-uh-lgbt people and they have to live a life like this, with people analyzing every move they make, in formula 1 in all places-"

"Yeah, you're right... like, we live in a such microscopic world already, and then having people to judge you because of, you know, something that is not even related to the job, like- yeah that must be though" Carlos complemented, now the conversation got into a more serious tone.

"I mean, that sucks. I heard about that guy called Adrian Sutil, and its not that i care, but i mean, we have no idea where he is now- i mean, good for him i guess- but its... i dont know how to explain but maybe its like these people dont even show themselves that much like we do you know?"

Carlos nods while listening and looking at what charles has to say intently as he speaks.

"Like, we and lando, we just go around kicking, punching ouselves in the groins all the time because we dont have to worry about it, you know?" Charles continued.

Carlos says now back to his joking tone: "Ah, this motherfucker is obsessed with my bal-"

Charles interrupts with his high pitched laughter as he squeezes carlos shoulders in his hand.

"No, but now im being serious: did you see how we went from joking, to then talking seriously, then we are just joking again?" Carlos said, self aware, like he just witnessed something he didnt before.

"yeah?"

"See, this is the ~chemistry~ Silvia keeps talking to us about... Cause we get along so good together and naturally... i think people just start to get, you know, hooked up on us! And... crazy, and to see we make out" He said very proud of himself and of charles while he gave some light pats on Charles back.

"Yeah... thats... true, carlos, thats true!" He said just realizing how actually good his relationship with his teammate was. "And ii meeann, we would make indeed a veryy- handsome couple!" Charles giggled as he always did when he feels like he just said something silly.

"But its true! You are a handsome fella. I mean i feel weird praising myself like this, but i am a handsome fella... we together, we would just be two handsome fellas, you know, its math" he said using his hands again, like someone enthusiastically explaining math.

"See, this is why i dont compliment you." Charles said with an harmless teasing smile. "But you ~are~ handsome, mate. If i was a girl- i'd problably try something with you, actually- not to sound weird or any-"

"Nah, dont worry, mate." Carlos gave a strong pat on charles back. "This is completely fine actually, i mean i think its nice that we dont have this uh, awkwardness, between each other, cause its very silly if we stop to think about it." Charles nodded agreeing. "And if i was a girl, i would try hitting up on you, too." Carlos said reassuringly, with a wink, which made Charles blush, not that its hard to make him blush, but...

"Thanks, mate".

"if you want a kiss, just tell me. These people may like it."

"Bastardo-"

Charlos kicked him in the shin, which carlos responded by grabbing and pulling, while charles tried to push his shoulders and get free off his arms holding his leg, making them fall off the sofa while carlos saw the opportunity to tickle him while he fell on top of Charles body.

"Stop mate, we are doing way too much in our free time" charles said trying to supress his giggles with the tickles.

"Stop what? Do you think ill kiss you or?"

Suddenly, the air in the room fell heavier.

The giggling stopped. Now Charles was staring at Carlos lips while he realized Carlos did the same with his.

"I dare you." The tone serious as his lust now.

Carlos went for it and kissed. Just like he kissed his girl for the first time, short and sweet, but now it was Charles. He pulled his head back, stared at charles for a brief moment, and realizing he was looking at him with that same look of discovery mixed with lust, kissed him again.

Charles just let himself be guided by the older man kiss, now going slower in rhythym, heavy with tongue, short in breath, thick in grunt.

After what felt somewhat between 15 hours or 15 seconds of a long kiss, they went back at staring each other, now the reality slowly bringing them back to their feet.

"Sorry, mate- i dont know what the fuck i-" Carlos said standing up

"No its fine i dont know either-" Charles stand up swiftly trying to make sense of what happened

"I just fucked up didn-"

"Pshh, dont say that. Its okay mate, its just a kiss. Nobody has to know."

"You really mean nobody, right? Like nobody."

"Of course, why the fuck would i do that"

"I dont know- i mean- i dont- i wouldnt think you'd tell anybody either way, i'm just-"

"And i wont." Charles said looking him in the eye and making him silent. "I give you my word. Nobody will know".

he extended his hand open in a handshake.

"I give you my word too, dont worry." He said back nodding, with a look that could only mean truth.

They shaked hands, firmly in their promise. After the silence settled in again..

"And... honestly... mate, your kiss was really good. I tell you that." Charles said all red as the ferrari color he was destined to wear, his face nervous but with a smile in his eyes that Carlos saw through.

"Thanks." Carlos said smiling shyly, blushing just as he did when people called him guapo in public.

And just like that, them standing in front of each other, there was two knocks on the door as a voice called "Carlos? Charles?". Time to go back to work.