#big confused whiffs with the little head bob and everything

[mr-leach]

Our beautiful little idiot wasn't paying a whole lot of attention while I gave Malcolm a hugely transformative makeover (we cut off over 18"!!) and had just about the funniest reaction I've ever witnessed when he eventually put all the pieces together. I dunno what Victor thought I had done to his dad but clearly it was very shocking!

[nightingaelic]

Fallout 4 companions react to meeting Arcade Gannon?

Ever the curious neighbor, as soon as the sole survivor spotted the blonde, bespectacled man at the bar in the Dugout Inn, they drifted over and struck up a conversation. A drink or two later, the two were swapping tales about wasteland encounters, pointing at various holes in their travel clothes and pairing them up with fantastic backstories. When the sole survivor's companion finally swung open the door, they were given an inviting wave.

"Sit down!" the sole survivor encouraged them. "First round's on me. I'd like you to meet Arcade."

Cait: "Hiya handsome." Cait winked at the man in the lab coat and leaned on the bar. "I'm Cait. Never seen you around before. Where is it you're comin' from?"

"I, uh..." Arcade adjusted his glasses and ran a hand through his wavy hair. "West of here. Nowhere in particular."

"A free spirit, then? Just passin' through?" Cait looked him up and down. "Think the Science! Center might be lookin' for a new egghead, if those clothes aren't just for show."

Arcade tugged on his outfit self-consciously. "I thought it might keep Commonwealth raiders from shooting me on sight, if they thought I was a doctor."

Cait bobbed her head in a noncommittal way. "Or they might see you as an easy target. That is, if they don't spot that plasma pistol you've got in your back pocket."

Codsworth: "Hello to you, sir!" Codsworth exclaimed, bobbing excitedly. "Codsworth, at your service. Might I say, it is a fine occasion to meet someone nowadays who appreciates the importance of good hygience and care for one's appearance."

"Thank you," Arcade said, with a somewhat quizzical glance at the sole survivor. "And you belong to..."

"Well, I belong to him just as much as he belongs to me," the sole survivor jumped in to explain.

Codsworth waved them off. "Not to worry, the conventional assumptions are not unwarranted. I am happy to accompany and assist in wasteland adventures as necessary. When not necessary, I typically clean the house."

Curie: "Monsieur Arcade," Curie purred, with the special enthusiasm she reserved for introductions. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance. You can call me Curie. Have you been in Diamond City long?"

"Not long at all," Arcade replied, clearly intrigued by Curie's accent. “Parlez-vous français?"

"Oui, Monsieur!" Curie exclaimed. "Le français est si rare de nos jours. Où avez-vous appris?"

"Oh, um... des... des livres, principalement," Arcade stammered. "Books. It's not as good as my Latin, I'm sorry."

"Latin?" Curie switched gears instantly. "Etiam magis rara."

Arcade laughed. "Well, not where I'm from. Who are you? Linguists are practically unicorns, nowadays."

Curie sighed. "It is a long story. Perhaps we wait until Vadim brings the drinks, and we can compare notes?"

Danse: "Ad victoriam, Arcade." Paladin Danse shook the newcomer's hand with gusto. "Paladin Danse, with the Brotherhood of Steel."

Arcade's eyes narrowed. "Brotherhood of Steel?"

"That's correct, citizen," Danse replied proudly.

"Uh-huh." Arcade looked back to the sole survivor. "I had no idea they were in the area. Are you stationed in Diamond City?"

"Brotherhood operations are a strictly classified matter," Danse answered, furrowing his brow. "But our main base of operations is at the Boston airport, where the Prydwen is docked. You can't miss it."

"Well, that explains it." Arcade examined his drink, avoiding eye contact with the Paladin. "I didn't come in from the north. I'm sure it's a sight to see."

Deacon: "Nice to meet you." Deacon declined the handshake, instead crossing his arms and cocking his head to the side. "Nice tan. Been on the road long?"

"Too long," Arcade replied, retracting his hand and returning the calculated look.

Deacon grinned. "Alright, I won't pry. Welcome to Diamond City. Did Vadim try to poison you yet?"

"You watch it, John Doe!" Vadim shot back from halfway down the bar. "Or I call the guards, see if you actually do work the midnight shift, ya?"

"You can walk down to Danny's sign-up sheet for shifts and check yourself!" Deacon's grin grew wider. "And I'll tend bar. We'll see who can do a better job of it."

Dogmeat: Dogmeat approached the man's open hand, which he gave a good sniff. Soap, hot dust, a whiff of plasma cartridges: Nothing out of the ordinary. Satisfied, the dog opened his mouth to pant, tongue lolling, and accepted the scratch behind the ears.

Hancock: "Arcade, huh?" Hancock gave the man a winning smile and took one of the open stools. "I'm Hancock. First time in Diamond City? You're gonna love it here. Vadim and his brother really know how to knock you on the floor."

As if to demonstrate, Vadim delivered three shots of Bobrov's Best to the little group. "On the house," he offered. "Celebrating Mayor Hancock's newest business deal with yours truly."

Hancock threw his back, and when Arcade hesitated, he threw that shot back too. "Next one, buddy."

"Did he say Mayor Hancock?" Arcade asked. "Mayor of Diamond City?"

"Nah, nah." Hancock laughed. "God, wouldn't that be a riot. Ever hear of a town called Goodneighbor?"

MacCready: "Arcade." MacCready shook the man's hand warily. "Like the pre-war places that have a whole bunch of games inside them?"

"Actually, like the..." Arcade made a face. "You know what, never mind. Like the pre-war arcades, yeah."

"Oh, man." MacCready grinned. "There was this one I found once in the Capital Wasteland, mostly broken down of course, but it had one working machine in it. The Red Menace Whac-a-Commie. Someone took the whackers ages ago, but the little Red Menace guys still popped up and down. Duncan- my son- loved it."

Arcade chuckled. "Yeah, they're... they're fun. I found a Hoop Shot once, but the basketballs were all dried-up and flat."

"Gotta get yourself a Pip-Boy," MacCready replied, nudging the sole survivor's shoulder affectionately. "This one has a collection of mini-games for theirs. Atomic Command, Grognak & the Ruby Ruins, Pipfall... all the greats. Oh, I'm MacCready, by the way."

Valentine: "Nick Valentine. Pleased to meet you." Nick shook the man's extended hand with practiced warmth, giving him time to realize the metal grasp he offered was not a cybernetic, and the scar around his jawline was actually just where his synthetic skin ended.

True to form, the stranger's eyebrows shot up, his grip slackened and his mouth dropped open. "You're a... what are you?"

Nick gave him the standard line. "I'm a detective. But, if you're referring to the plastic and platinum bits, I'm also a synthetic man. All the parts, minus a few red blood cells."

"Whoa." Instead of the typical scramble to put some distance between the two of them, Nick was surprised to find Arcade's handshake tighten again at this explanation. "I've heard of people like you, but never thought I'd actually meet one. Er, well, one that was obviously living as a synth. Though I guess you don't have much of a choice, huh?"

Piper: "Arcade? Piper Wright." The reporter shook the newcomer's hand firmly. "So, what's your story? What brings you to the Great Green Jewel of the Commonwealth?"

"I uh..." Arcade looked flustered, despite Piper's encouraging smile.

The sole survivor came to his defense. "Leave him be, Piper, he just got into town," they scolded playfully.

"What?" Piper asked innocently. "Can't the town reporter ask questions around here without everyone telling me I'm being too nosy?"

"No."

"Town reporter?" Arcade perked up. "Is that your newspaper, on the way in? Public... something?"

"Publick Occurrences," Piper answered with pride. "Covering anything and everything worth hearing about that happens in the Commonwealth."

Preston: "Welcome to Diamond City, Arcade." Preston shook the man's hand warmly. "I'm Preston Garvey with the Commonwealth Minutemen."

"Minutemen?" Arcade asked, clearly unfamiliar with the term.

"We're citizen soldiers," Preston explained. "The people of the Commonwealth banding together to protect ourselves and decide our own future."

"So sort of like a free state?" Arcade straightened up. "Or do you have some kind of command structure?"

"Command structure." Preston chuckled and glanced at the sole survivor. "You're looking at it."

Strong: "Strong need to get moving," the super mutant replied, rubbing his big hands together. "Milk of human kindness not here."

Arcade took the mutant in with the air of someone who had dealt with somewhat-friendly specimens before. "I can ask the bartender if they have brahmin milk."

The sole survivor waved him off. "No, that's not what he-"

"Puny humans do not have milk!" Strong cut in.

"Wait, milk of human kindness?" Arcade looked confused. "Is that... Macbeth?"

The sole survivor sighed. "It's a long story."

X6-88: "Good afternoon." Rather than sit down, X6-88 adopted a protective stance of the sole survivor, completely ignoring the hand Arcade was offering. "I hope you know that if harm comes to this individual, your life will come to a swift end."

"Uh-huh." Arcade retracted his hand. "Bodyguard?"

"Of a sort."

Arcade turned to the sole survivor instead. "Is he always this much of a stick in the mud?"

They shrugged. "He's protective and slow to trust. Give him a bit and keep your hands where he can see them, you'll be fine."

X6-88 nodded. "Affirmative."

BONUS!

Ada: "Hello sir." Ada nodded her head in greeting. "I am Ada. I hope you are enjoying your stay in Diamond City. Did you experience any trouble getting to the stadium?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Arcade replied. "Sorry, you're an amalgamation I haven't seen before. Sentry bot and protectron parts for sure, but your head is..."

"An assaultron," Ada filled in helpfully. "I take it your region does not have many of these bots?"

"No, they seem to be more of an East Coast thing."

"Just don't get on her bad side," the sole survivor joked. "You don't want to be on the receiving end of an assaultron laser."

Gage: "Well hi there!" Porter shook Arcade's hand forcefully. "Porter Gage. Talked you into trying some of this swill, did they? Brave soul."

"It's not so bad," Arcade replied with a smirk.

"Oh sure, if you're lucky enough to have Scarlett bring it to you." Porter winked at the waitress, who paused in her service to flip him the bird.

"Mmm, not my type," Arcade admitted.

"Not your ty-" Porter blurted before putting two and two together. "Oh, gotcha. Well, there's always Hawthorne."

The raider waved to the adventurer in the corner, who waved back. Arcade sank as deeply into his stool as he could and blushed.

Longfellow: "Mmm." Old Longfellow rejected Arcade's handshake and took the offered seat, swinging around to face the bar. "Storm's comin' soon. Can smell it."

"Then it's a good thing we're inside," Arcade replied, his tone unsure.

Longfellow grunted his agreement and accepted the drink Vadim slid to him, downing it quickly.

The sole survivor scowled at him. "Guess he's not in a talkative mood today."

Maxson: "Elder Arthur Maxson of the East Coast Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel." Maxson shook Arcade's hand confidently.

Arcade, on the other hand, looked like he was being violently pulled between an instinct to flee and an intense curiosity. Curiosity won out. "Maxson? Of the line of Captain Roger Maxson?"

"High Elder Roger Maxson," the Elder corrected him. "You know of him?"

"Well sure, everybody on the West Co-" Arcade stopped himself. "Never mind. What's an Elder doing in a dive like this?"

Maxson studied him intently, clearly sizing him up. "Shore leave," he finally answered, sliding into the offered seat.

Desdemona: Desdemona smiled coolly. "I know."

The answer took Arcade aback, but the sole survivor just rolled their eyes. "Dispense with the power plays for once, Dez. We're just trying to have a drink."

The Railroad leader raised an eyebrow, but she sat down. "Suit yourself. When did you arrive in town, Mr. Gannon?"

"Oh, for the love of..."

Arcade eyed her suspiciously. "I don't remember telling you my full name."

Desdemona lit up a cigarette. "You didn't. But I'm by far the friendliest person in the Commonwealth who's wondering why a Follower of the Apocalypse is all the way out here, across the continent."

[rekquiemredstar]

Victims

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x female reader

Warnings:Fluff,mention of trauma,rape(not by Bucky), torture. (No mention of rape in this chapter but will be in future ones)

Description: You discover you may have misjudged Bucky.

This is my first Chapter of an idea I’ve been wanting to play out for a while now.  More to come very soon. 

Chapter 1: Sleep

Bucky didn’t talk much. 

Especially not to you. “He wasn’t always like this.” Steve had said to you once in passing, his keen senses picking up on just how tense your shoulders got whenever Bucky had blatantly ignored you. Good old Steve, not a bad word to say about anyone. You tried to brush it off, but you really hated being ignored. It made you feel like a pathetic, over excited puppy dog nipping at everyones heels for attention. You were loud, and blunt, and very aware of how much social space you took up when you engaged in conversation. You had no doubt it was annoying. Many times you tried to curb your hyper behavior, but that was exhausting, and eventually you had to come to the conclusion that that was just you. You were who you were, and everyone-save Bucky-adored you. That was on him, you couldn’t change how he felt.

You weren’t quite sure how to approach Barnes, having only ever known him as The Asset before you all came to the compound. The first time you met, he’d lifted you off the ground with a metal hand to your throat. He would have snapped your neck if Steve hadn’t gotten him off of you. You really hated that, too. You wanted so desperately not to need saving, ever. You were strong, but you were no Super Soldier, and the overly competitive parts of you reeled against that with everything they had. You did not need to be saved. Not by Steve or anyone. 

You weren’t the only one on the team without powers. You learned from shared experience it didn’t make you any less essential. Just hurt like a son of a bitch sometimes. Like Bucky, you had been taken by Hydra against your will. Unlike Bucky-you hadn’t been brainwashed. Just tortured. No matter how hard they pushed, no matter how many times you had been left bruised and bleeding on the icy concrete floor you never lost sight of what was right.  When Hydra’s infiltration of Shield was out in the open, and they released the Winter Soldier into the world again you felt like it was the moment you had been waiting for. Suddenly everything they had taught you about weapons and hand to hand became a brutal mistake on their part. When Nick Fury learned about the things you had done, what you knew, seen you in action, he made sure you and Steve Rogers got acquainted. After that, you never had to look for a job a day in your life. Now you were here.

It wasn’t yet light out when you headed down the stairs, dressed in a black running gear from head to toe, all the way down to your shoes that were propped against the wall in waiting. Your socks were actually the only colorful thing you had on, red white and blue donning the captain America shield, an ongoing joke between you and Steve. 

You were always up before anyone else, craving the silence and peace you felt in the early morning, beginning your usual run just as the sun crested the hilltops. Your workout regimen was insanely strict, you beat yourself up whenever you ran late, often feeling guilty about it the rest of the day. Absentmindedly, you bobbed your head to the song playing in your headphones, doing your best to keep relatively quiet as you mixed up your pre-workout in a shaker bottle. You spun to set it on the counter beside you, jumping when you noticed the outline of a figure sitting across from you. 

“Jesus,” you said more to yourself than to him, lowering your headphones to around the base of your neck. You popped the cap of your bottle and rolling your shoulders. Taking your first sip of caffeine, you held his stare. 

“You scared me, man.” 

Bucky said nothing, though his eyes widened slightly- the only indication that he had heard you at all. He sat straight and rigid behind the marble countertop, but he looked…softer somehow. His lips parted slightly, exhaling a short breath, then pressed together gently. His grey henley was wrinkled and disheveled, his hands laid flat on his thighs, as though he was awaiting his next order. 

“Are you going for a run?” He asked in such a tender tone that you blinked twice before you processed that it was even him speaking. You weren’t even aware that he knew you ran. You weren’t even aware he knew you existed half the time. 

“Uh-yeah.” You responded cautiously, swirling the contents of your bottle to incorporate the undissolved powder at the bottom. Bucky gave a small nod, greasy strands of dark hair falling into his eyes as he did so. Dark circles plagued in under-eyes, while the glass blue of his irises looked dull and worn. He looked rough, even for him. You always thought he was the best looking one here, but it’s a little hard to appreciate someones looks when all they ever do is disregard you. Now that you got a really good look at him, even with the obvious sleep deprivation, you could see just how handsome he really was. 

“You go every day?” The Soldier’s next question pulled you from your drifting thoughts and you had a question of your own; why did he care? The longest conversation you had ever had with this man was the time he asked you to pass the A1 and that was a month ago. 

“Six days a week,” you started, with caffeine running through your brain you were unable to keep yourself from over-explaining. 

“Wednesdays are my rest days, It’s the only day I get to sleep in but I usually don’t. I hate taking rest days, but it’s better for your body if you do.”

 You finished your drink and set the bottle in the sink for now, you would wash it later. You were ready to abandon this weird fucking conversation. Sliding your headphones back over your ears, you pulled out your phone and started to search for a song to run to when you glanced up and noticed the look on his face. You hadn’t been through anything close to what he had, but you knew a thing or two about trauma.  You definitely knew that look from all the times you’d seen it in your reflection.

 You paused your music and took the headphones down again, setting them on the counter this time.

“Are you okay?” You asked, pressing your hips against the ledge, leaning your palms on the counter, ready to listen. The sincerity of your voice threw him off. He was so used to being on the outside looking in, watching you make your sarcastic quips to everyone, chuckling to himself when no one was looking. He was always blown away by just how clever you were, and how quick your mind worked. He didn’t think he could keep up in a conversation with you in a million years. It wasn’t often Sargent Barnes was intimidated. You were fiery, and tough, funny as hell-and you didn’t take shit from anyone. 

Bucky had heard from Steve that you had a big heart, but he had never seen the softer side of you. 

His eyes were shiny when he looked up at you, his voice echoed with defeat. 

“I don’t know how I got here.” He said quietly.

 “I don’t want to move. I-“ His voice choked a little. 

“I don’t know where I’m supposed to be.” 

You felt your heart squeeze in your chest. God, what this poor man had endured. He had been told where to go, what to do, what to say- for years he had been controlled. Now he was free, and he was confused, scared. Hydra was no walk in the park, but you get used to the routine of torment and control. You knew better than anyone what that was like.

“How long have you been down here?” You asked. He was still, then he responded. 

“A few hours, I think.” He didn’t look at the clock, just stared straight ahead. He must have gotten up in the middle of the night from a bad dream.

You sucked in a small breath through your teeth, then exhaled, letting the tension release from between your shoulder blades. 

“Okay,” You said quietly, setting your phone down and rounding the side of the counter. Your run could wait a little while. 

“Okay. That’s okay. Do you want me to help you back to you room?” Bucky shook his head. 

“I think I broke a mirror. Glass everywhere.” You nodded, making a mental note to clean it up when you got back.

Bucky’s breath hitched slightly, increasing in rhythm. “I don’t know where I’m supposed to be.” He repeated, and you slid your hand toward him on the counter, leaning on your elbow so you were face level with him. 

“Hey,” Your voice was soft, calm, even. It encouraged him to stay the same by your example. 

“It’s alright, I’m going to help you.” 

You had your mission now, heading back to the kitchen you put the tea kettle on, then opened the freezer, taking out the frozen eye mask Tony sometimes used for hangovers. You dug into the cabinet taking out two peppermint tea bags from your hidden stash, dropping one in the nearest mug, and tucking one in your sweatshirt pocket. 

You were beside him again, moving the ice pack toward his forehead. Bucky jerked backward with a quick inhale, and you drew your arm inward. You remembered his mask. “I’m just going to put it on your forehead.” You murmured. Bucky’s bottom lip quivered. “Don’t put that on me, please.” Your fingers curled, and you nodded in understanding. 

“Okay, okay, one sec.” You jogged back into the kitchen and traded the ice pack for two large chunks of ice. 

“Let’s try this instead.” 

Bucky watched you carefully, your well muscled legs flexing as you busied yourself in the kitchen. He had been distantly aware that you were in good shape, but your normal black cargo pants must have hid a lot from view, because now that he was seeing you in the leggings you wore to run-he couldn’t stop looking. God damn, you really took care of yourself. His eyes snapped back up when you turned around again. You were careful to switch the stove off before the kettle wailed, pouring hot water into the mug and sliding it in font of him. Steam swirled from the cup and the soldier caught a whiff of mint.

You were in front of him again, conscious not to make too many sudden movements. “Turn toward me.” You instructed, and he followed orders, allowing you to stand between his legs as you soothed a cube of ice over each of his temples. His eyes fluttered slightly, the frozen temperature sent a shock of relief down his spine. He couldn’t hold back the pained groan as it erupted from his chest when you moved your fingers in slow circles, applying just the right amount of pressure. 

“Y’know,” You began. “Before I was here, before any of this,  I worked at a mental facility for at-risk teenagers.”

Bucky’s brow knit. He had always assumed that with your skills with firearms and combat that you had always been in some sort of covert ops position. He was realizing just how little he knew about you. Steve talked about you sometimes, but his jaw had always been real tight when it came to your past. “Drugs, alcohol, suicide, abuse-I hated it, it was too hard on me mentally-but I learned a lot. Most importantly, I learned that when you press something cold to your temple or forehead, it sends a shock to your neurotransmitters. Basically telling your system that you’re in pain, countering panic by releasing chemicals into the body that slow down the release of cortisol and adrenaline.” 

The dark haired man soaked in every word you said . He knew you talked a lot, but you’d never talked this much to him before, and he was eating it up. Bucky had always like the sound of your voice. He didn’t even mind the melting water running down his neck, soaking into the collar of his shirt. 

 “You can also bite down on a lemon wedge. ” You offered, taking the cubes of ice away and tossing them into the sink. You pulled your sweatshirt sleeve over the heel of your hand and dabbed the water away, he leaned into your touch this time.

 “Or smell strong peppermint.” You said, gently lifting his metal arm by the wrist and snatching the packet of tea from your pocket, dropping it in his shiny palm. 

“It’s called grounding.” You stated, motioning for him to try.

Hesitantly, the soldier brought his hand to his nose, inhaling deeply. He looked back at you with one grateful nod. It helped. You pointed curtly to the cabinet by the fridge.

 “I always keep a box of tea in there, it’s shoved way in the back because someone keeps taking it, probably Sam, but you’re welcome to as much as you’d like.” You slid the now perfect temperature tea into his free hand. 

“Drink it, It always helps calm me down.” 

Bucky took two greedy gulps, downing about half it’s contents in one go and making you giggle. It made his eyelids heavy.

“C’mon, Sergeant Barnes.” You coaxed, beckoning him to follow you into the other room. When he stood, you had to take a step back. You weren’t exactly the shortest person, but even so, had always worn tactical boots around him and they added a couple inches to your height. With you just in socks, you realized how much he towered over your five foot seven stature. It both scared and excited you. You edged a foot backward, circling it behind yourself and swaying your weight on it as if you were ready for him to take a swing at you. He eyed your stance momentarily before you broke and softened again, shaking out fists you hadn’t even realized you’d clenched. You didn’t trust him yet. 

Wordlessly, you led him to the couch. His footsteps behind you were lighter than you thought they would be, but of course he had both stealth and brute force on his side. That sent a tingle down your stomach that you chose to ignore. 

“Lay down.” You said as you dragged the coffee table closer to the couch. Bucky did as he was told, his burned out mind thankful to have some sort of direction. His eyes were half lidded and languorous, the long forgotten feeling of sleep pulling at the edges of his bruised psyche. His eyes tracked your every move. His stare somewhat lazy with fatigue, but right on target like the skilled sniper you’d seen in action so many times. 

“Try to get some sleep.” Your voice was still soft, but brimmed with anticipation for your upcoming workout. Bucky felt a sudden pang of guilt for keeping you back an extra half hour. He glanced over his shoulder at the window, seeing through the gap in the shades that the sun was already up. 

“I’ll check in with you when I get back.” You added, taking a large cashmere blanket from the nearby armchair and draping it over him. He hadn’t been tucked into bed in over 70 years. 

You scampered back to the kitchen to retrieve his mug, but when you set it down on the table and looked at his face, he was already asleep. 

“Sleep well, Sergeant.” You said quietly.

Bucky’s eyes were open the minute you turned your back, watching as you pulled your shoes on and jogged out the door. He craned his neck so he could watch you take off down the neatly paved road.

It was only when you were completely out of sight that he finally let himself fall asleep. 

[aurora-the-kunoichi]

Heyo! Happy April Fools Day! Its got me thinking, how do you think the guys would celebrate the day with their s/o? Perhaps playing jokes on their brothers and Casey?

Thank you for the ask my love! Happy April fools to you too!

April Fools!

Leonardo

You would think the leader of the four would be too uptightfor a good April fools joke but you’d be pleasantly mistaken. As soon as youwalked into the lair Leo was on you whisking you to his room to fill you in onhis devious plan. Mikey was always goofing off, not taking his trainingseriously and playing pranks whenever he could. So, it was time to give theyoungest a taste of his own medicine. He needed your excellent cooking skillsto make a ‘special’ pizza for Mikey.

Fresh dough was kneaded and stretched carefully on the stonepizza block along with a delicious layer of your homemade pizza sauce. Nextcame pepperoni, sausage, green peppers, onions and a very special ingredient.In Leo’s green hand sat a bag of ghost peppers ready to be laid just beneaththe thick layer of mozzarella cheese. You made Leo cut the peppers up and placethem on the pizza; you were not touching those things. Besides he was the onewith the knifes.

As the pizza bubbled and browned inside the oven thedelicious aroma drifted thorough the lair. Luckily Leo had sent Donnie and Raphout to patrol so they wouldn’t bite into the inferno pizza spoiling thesurprise.

Soon Mikey’s nose took him from his room following theamazing smell of homemade pizza. You both could have sworn his was hovering ashe moved, his feet dragging behind him. Even his eyes were closed as he marchedup the stairs into the kitchen his nose guiding him the entire way by smell.

“Did Y/N make her famous homemade pizza for us?” Mikey cooedsitting down at the table as Leo pulled the steaming pie from the oven and setit in front of the youngest turtle.

“Yeah Mikey, we made it for you special.” Leo smiled tryingto hide the mischief behind his blue eyes.

You leaned back against a support beam your arms folded overyour chest watching Leonardo cut the fresh pizza into the triangles for theeager orange banded turtle. Mikey leaned down taking in a big whiff of thepizza and turned to you with a giant smile.

“It was Leo’s idea, thank him.” You smiled as sweetly as youcould trying not to laugh. You felt a little bit bad for Mikey because he wasabout to be in a whole world of hurt but you knew the kind of pranks he pulled.So, it was only a matter of time before he got it back onto him tenfold.

His green three fingered hand slid gingerly under the firstslice and separated it from the rest, drooling at the stretch of the cheese.

“Bon apatite.” Leo encouraged his brother.  

Sliding the end of the pizza passed his lips, his eyesclosed, Mikey bit down on the cheesy goodness taking a large piece into his mouth.His pearly white teeth worked the dough and protein chewing everythingthoroughly. You watched his adams apple bob when he swallowed his first andmost likely only bite and hummed in gratification. His chest jumped when he letout a soft abrupted cough.

“Whoa that has some heat to it.” Mikey laughed coughingagain this time a little more violently.

Almost instantly you could see the beads of sweat roll downhis green crown. Another cough and Mikey put down the pizza. “Wow, did you addsomething new Y/N? It’s never been… oh my god…..my tongue..(cough)…it’s onfire….(cough)…….What the shell?!” Mikey raced to the sink and turned on thefaucet dipping his whole head under the running water.

By now Leonardo was doubled over laughing the hardest youhad ever seen the leader do before.

Between gurgles of water Mikey screamed at this eldestbrother. “What did you put in that pizza brah?! And why isn’t the water helping?!”

“Ghost peppers Mike, Ghost peppers!” Leo managed to squeak outbetween bouts of laughter.

Mikey’s eyes went wide and looked at you, pleading for help.

“Milk Mikey, that will help some.” You were trying so hardnot to laugh but you were failing miserably. And then something caught your eyeand it happened too fast for you to stop it. Leo brought his hands to his mouthtrying to muffle the laughter and his eyes went wide. His laughter immediatelystopped, and his hand ripped from his lips like they were on fire and that wasbecause they now were.

The oils from the pepper lingered on the skin for quite sometime and you had told the leader in blue to not touch any sensitive skin for awhile.

You were now doubled over in laughter as Mikey and Leobattled for the gallon of milk to relieve their burning mouths. “April fools.”You cried.

 Michelangelo

You were sitting on the couch next to Leo in the lairwatching a horror movie when you felt a tap on your shoulder. Tuning your head,you saw Mikey with his contagious toothy grin and he urged you to join him witha curl of his green digit.

Getting to your feet you jumped over the back of the couchand ran after the handsome turtle into his room. You thought there was anaughty reason Mikey had called you into his room, so you curled your armsaround his neck and took a heated kiss. Mikey groaned into your eager mouthtaking the gesture fully but ended it reluctantly with a pop of your lips.

“Not that I wouldn’t mind you under me right now...” Mikeystopped himself mid sentence and looked down at the growing bulge in his pantsand cocked his head like he was contemplated something. His blue eyes glitteredwith desire but quickly shook his head ridding himself of the lewd thought.“It’s not what I called you in here for, it’s April 1st today.” Hesmiled wickedly.

It was April fools and this was the orange terrapin’sholiday of choice, he was the master of pranks. His target would be hishotheaded brother Raphael and his face was lite up in excitement. In his handwas a packet of quick set gelatin. He needed you to distract the brute when hemade himself a protein shake after his workout so he could slip the contents ofthe packet into the drink.  

You happily agreed to the prank, you loved messing with thered brute so of course you were on board.

Raphael was currently working out and the clanging of metalreverberated throughout the lair with every rep. Each push of the barbell overhis head he grunted and groaned with the immense weight he benched. Soon thechorus of gym sounds stopped, and a heavy thud was heard, Raph was done andheading towards the kitchen for his shake.

You and Mikey watched the red brute saunter over to thekitchen and pull his tub of protein mix from the top of the fridge. He filledup his glass with water and dropped a few spoon fulls of the white powdery mixinto the glass. Before he could start mixing you made your move entering thekitchen.

“Hey Red.” You smiled sliding an arm around his impressivewaist turning him slightly from his glass.

“Hey there little sexy. What’s up?” he growled returning thegesture happily.

Unbeknownst to the red banded turtle Mikey snuck up behindyou both and emptied the contents of the small packet into the forgotten glassand disappeared as quickly as he came.

“I was wondering what that scarification tattoo on yourshoulder represents?” You asked nonchalantly trying to stall for time. Youturned him further to look at the scared Japanese symbol on his right shoulder.

Raphael chuckled and reached behind him to start to stir thedrink, the metal spoon clinking as it spun in the glass cylinder. “It means‘Beast’.” His chest vibrated with his words as he hip checked you in jest.

Your fingers hooked his harness and pulled him down to youlevel. “Thanks, I always wondered that. Was too scared to ask before.” Youchirped quickly pressing a sweet kiss to his green skinned cheek beforereleasing him.

You could see him blush and he laughed breathlessly, “Don’tbe scared, I ain’t gonna bite ya.”

“I know that now, you’re just so intimidating.” You gave hima pat on the bicep and trotted off back to the couch with Leo, unsure whereMikey was hiding. You knew though he was close, he had to see the prank tofruition.

Raphael laughed at your innocent kiss and without lookinggrabbed the glass bringing it up to his scarred lips and tilted it to receiveits contents. A weird slick suction sound filled the lair followed by a heavysplat.

“One, one thousand, two, one thousand.” You counted waitingfor the ear deafening bellow to come. You sunk a little in the couch to mufflethe sound.  

“MIKEY!!!!!” it finally came and you and Leo turned aroundwatching a cylinder shaped jelly glide from the red turtles face and slip tothe floor splatting into several pieces when it made contact.

As if Raphael had a sixth sense his eyes found the youngestbrother immediately across the lair and hopped over the counter making abeeline for his screaming brother.

Leo gave you a confused look when the two brothers racedaround the lair, Raphael dead set on ringing Mikey’s idiotic neck.

“April Fools.” You giggled ducking as the two mutants hurtledover the couch in hot pursuit.

 Donatello

Casey had come down to the lair with a carburetor in hishands for his motorcycle and made a beeline for Donnie’s lab. The large metaldoor rattled open, startling you and Donnie who were in the middle of a heatedmake out session. Hearing the hockey enthusiasts voice call out in the massivelab made Donnie growl when he released your lips.

“Does anyone know how to knock around here?” he hissedtowards the sound of the intruder. With a heavy sigh the tall terrapin removedhis large hands from inside your shirt and rested them on your hips which werestraddling him at the moment.

Displeased by the interruption you both glared at the man ashe neared Donnie desk.  When Casey sawthe current position you were in a rush of blood swelled in his cheeks.

“Oh Jesus, I’m sorry Don.”

“What do you need Casey?” the genius sighed lifting youeffortlessly from his lap, setting your rump on the top of his desk as if youweighted nothing. God was he strong.

Stumbling over his words as his eyes moved over your disheveledappearance Casey handed the troublesome part into Donatello’s awaiting hands. “Thisis the carburetor for my motorcycle. I can’t seem to get it running, I washoping you could take a quick look at it for me. You know cause you’re the geniusand can always seem to get things going again.”

Donnie turned the large part over in his talented hands andwaved his fingers urging the man to leave. “Give me 20 minutes I’ll get itworking again.”

“Really Don? You’re the best! Thanks man!” Casey’s smile wascontagious and you laughed as the man quickly evacuated the genius’s lab inhopes it would get his part fixed faster.

Donnie set the part in his lap and returned his fingers toyour hips and slid you back to give himself a little space to work between yourlegs. Slowly and deliberately his fingers ran down your thighs dipping between thento tease the skin there. Your breath hitched as his fingers made a quick detourup to the apex of your legs and brushed his knuckles against the coveredwarmth.

“Keep that kitten purring, this shouldn’t take long.” He rumbleddeeply looking at your with hooded eyes and a half cocked smile.

Setting the part down his fingers began to tinker with thedelicate piece of machinery. Taking up the tubing in his fingers he flipped onthe light on his goggles giving the rubber a good look over. After a fewminutes Donnie made a click in the back of his throat and stood from the chairbringing the part over to his workbench and started to hook it up to a fewthings sitting there.

“Will you go grab the meathead?” Donnie asked sweetly as hefinished hooking up the part.

You obliged the turtle and hurried from the lab to retrieve Casey.You were little anxious, you knew that sound Donnie made. He was annoyed and nodoubt about to teach the man a lesson. You giggled at the thought and it wasthe perfect day to do it, being April 1st and all.

After getting Casey back in the lab you handed him over tothe purple banded turtle who quickly ushered him over to the workbench and hisailing part.

“Casey I want you to grab the hose the take a good look atthe end and tell me what you see when I turn it on.”

“Uh ok Donnie.” Casey smiled taking up the hose and doingwhat the turtle asked.

Donnie smiled and flipped the switch which sent the carburetorhumming to life. It chugged and struggled until it popped and black goo shotforth from the tube splattering all over Casey’s face.

“Ah man! Gross!” Casey howled dropping the tube and tried towipe off the offending substance from his face.

“You don’t winterize the bike in the winter do you meathead?”Donnie laughed throwing Casey a rag to clean his face with.

Casey stopped struggling and shook his head.

“It was clogged you buffoon. Clean your toys at the end ofthe season. Oh and April fools Cas!”

Gathering up his part Casey looked up at the tall terrapinwho toured over him, “Thanks Don.”

“No problem Casey, next time knock before you enter. You’relucky we weren’t doing anything more intimate when you barged in here.” Donnieturned back to you and wrapped his arms around your waist hoisting you up. Instinctivelyyour legs lifted and wrapped around his lean waist. “Now where were we?”

Raphael

You were currently sprawled out on the couch with thehothead, your body laying on his your head resting on his plastron. On the TVscreen was a wrestling match and by the quick muscle flexes of the red bandedturtle he was enjoying the match thoroughly. Your fingers traced the scrutes onthe plates of his chest, you were bored. Then you remembered what day it was,April 1st, it was the perfect day to play a little prank.

“Hey red?” you called lifting your face to look up at the distractedturtle beneath you.

“Yeah shortstack?” he responded keeping his green eyes gluedto the TV, his finger rubbing gently over your back raising a line of goose bumpsin its wake.

“Do you know what day it is?”

“Nope, should I?”

“It’s April 1st.”

The turtle’s face slowly turned towards you a wide evil grinforming on his scarred lips. “You don’t say?” He growled deeply vibrating yourchest with the bass of it. “I think a prank would be in order, and Leonardo wasa whiny bitch this morning at training so I think he’s going to be our target andwe’re going to need Master Splinters help.”

Turning off the TV you and the red brute made your way tothe Dojo to talk to their Sensei in private. After a quick discussion and a fewlaughs later, it was decided, Splinter would assist in the April fools joke.

“Please get your two others brothers involved in on thejoke, it will make it that much sweeter.” The old rat chuckled as he stood fromhis lotus position.

You made your way to Mikey who was out in the tunnels skateboardingand Raph entered into the genius’s lab to bring him in on the joke. Of coursethey were on board, pranking their oldest brother and Leader was a rare opportunityand they wouldn’t miss the look of disbelief on his face for nothing.

The suspense was killing you as the rest of the brothersmingled in the lair waiting for Leonardo’s return from the surface. You couldn’tcluster together; it would look suspicious so you all went to different partsof the lair and waited for his return.

Finally after an hour the blue banded leader returnedhopping over the turnstile with enthusiasm. “Anything happen while I was gone?”he asked removing his katanas from the back of his carapace setting them on hisbed to be cleaned later.

Raphael stretched out on the couch making sure not to disturbyour body on top of him, “Nothing note worthy, but Master Splinter said hewanted to meet with us all when you returned.”

Leo’s brow ridge lifted in confusion and looked towards theDojo in hopes to see his father sitting peacefully within. “Oh is that so? Whatabout?”

“No idea, but said to come in when you came back. Which youhave, so let’s get in there, sounded pretty important though.” Raphael continued,gently nudging you from his chest.

Mikey stood from his spot on the recliner and made his wayto the dojo and you rushed up behind him to jump on his carapace for a piggyback ride. Without complaint he allowed it gripping your thighs to keep youhigh on his shell.

Leo led his three brothers and yourself into the dojo whereyou all found the old rat meditating in the middle of the large padded room.

Upon hearing you all enter the rats eyes opened slowly andgreeted Leo and his team with a tight solemn smile. You and Raphael looked overto the eldest and saw him silently react to the cool greeting from theirfather. He was nervous already.

“You wanted to see us all Sensei?” Leo asked timidly.

“Yes my sons and Y/N, please kneel I have an important announcementto make that I have been meditating on quite a bit lately.”

Without a word you all lined up before the old Sensei andkneeled for the announcement. You all could sense the tension in Leonardo’sbody. He did not like the way his father was acting. Something big was going tohappen.

You nudged Raphael who kneeled next to you and he looked upto see Leo’s blue eyes drifting from his hands clutched in his lap to his stoicfather as he slowly got to his feet to address you all. You both stifled a giggle;Master Splinter was doing an amazing job. His acting was superb and you wouldneed to commend him on his composure when this was all over.

“After many hours of debate and meditation I can come to theconclusion I made a mistake years ago.”

Leo tensed and held his breath.

“Leonardo will no longer be the leader of this team. Raphaelmy son you have shown many times that your strength and dedication to thisfamily proves you should lead this team. This decision is effective immediatelyand will not be questioned.”

Trying not to stare you all watched Leo’s mouth fall open inhorrified shock. Disbelief and anger flashed in his blue eyes as his green fingersclenched tightly into his palms. He didn’t know what to say, Leonardo the greatwas speechless.

His eyes finally breaking away from his father’s they lockedin on the green orbs of his brute of a brother who was already staring at himwaging his eye ridges playfully. “You got problem with that fearless?”

“N-No, if that’s what Sensei wants then I will not questionhis word.” Leo began to rise and Sprinter’s hand came out abruptly to stop his movement.

“I have one final announcement my sons and this one it veryimportant.”

Leo looked confused and angry all at the same time but sat patientlyfor his father to finish.

The old rat’s eyes lit up and a toothy grin overcame hisfury face, “April fools!”

All four of you jumped to your feet and screamed with theold rat and started to laugh when Leo’s face went wide with shock and rolledback onto his carapace resting his arm over his face in frustration.

[wickedgamesfanfic]

3-WAY Snippet

Chapter 1- ‘Cause 2 Heads Are Better Than One

Scarlett 

"Stop fussing over yourself." Carmen said pulling my arms to the side from just behind me. "You look great." 

"You really think so?" I asked turning my head to the side attempting to take my appearance in once more. 

"Yes I do. Derrick is going to shit bricks when he gets a whiff of this." The mention of Derrick's name caused me to roll my eyes lightly. I looked on a bit longer into the mirror. And decided I needed this night out more than I originally thought, I couldn't continue to sit in the house moping over a love lost. It was time for me to put myself back out there. And what better way to do it then to attend a Hollywood movie premiere. 

There had to be something cute, successful and single there I'd be able to push up on. Or at least attempt to. It had been three years since I had been off the market so to speak. Three years wasted. Derrick and I started off great. However our promising relationship quickly turned into something toxic. I endured as many lies and as much cheating as I could in hopes that he'd come around and see in himself what I saw in him. But he never did. Years of emotional abuse finally caught up to me and I started to lose myself. My confidence had been diminished. And my peace of mind had long run off. 

Pretending to be happy was tiring. And one day I finally found the courage to leave. It's only been a couple of weeks but thanks to my bestfriend Carmen they've been fairly manageable. I'll admit the first week was all tears, ice cream and romantic movies. But Carmen was right there by my side literally sitting on my cellphone so I wouldn't reach out or respond to Derrick's text or calls. And at the threat of physical violence I had made sure to keep my word not to return to him and his manipulative ways. Everything in me believed her when she told me she'd beat my ass if I tried her again. 

"C'mon Chica or we're going to be late." She said playfully slapping me on the ass. I glanced over the red bodycon dress that hugged my body ever so nicely. It was mid thigh length and had a long drop in the front that dared to reach my belly button but fell just short. I ran my hands over my asymmetrical feather cut bob and decided that my light makeup was indeed a great choice. My hair and body in this dress was already a mood. 

****

"This is not what we agreed to." I squeezed through clenched teeth as Carmen continued to drag me towards the red carpet. 

"Trust me." She snarled in identical fashion. Next thing I knew we were being ushered down the carpet and carefully placed for photos. The paparazzi had no idea who I was but of course they were happy to see Carmen. She managed talent and was very good at her job. She was well known and respected in the Hollywood community. 

I smiled and wrapped my arm around Carmen's waist as she had mine. It was a lot to take in. The flashing lights and strange people yelling at you to turn your head in different directions. But also mildly flattering  hearing them call you beautiful and many other complementizes. Any doubt I had about my appearance quickly faded. 

We were ushered further down the carpet and I made sure to mouth thank you and wave friendly as we made our way. As I attempted to pose for the next set of pictures a few loud screams from just behind us caught my attention. "Michael!" They all screamed trying their hardest to get his attention. Meanwhile he had all of mine. I was star struck. Michael B. Jordan  was only a few feet away from me and he was even more handsome in person. 

He was placed in the same spot we had just stepped away from. He smiled and my eyes roamed over the way the navy blue suit he wore hugged his body. I don't exactly know how but he managed to look even taller and bulkier in the flesh. My eyes roamed over his chest, his shoulders and down his arms. And I felt my clit twitch. 

"Michael look to the left!" One of the paparazzi closer to us yelled. And he did. His eyes landing directly on me. I quickly looked away in fear that he had caught me staring. But who wasn't. I could feel the thin hairs on my arms rise. That feeling you get when someone is watching you quickly swept over my body. I was frozen and afraid to move. A few more flashes and Carmen was pulling me away with her towards the Creed 2 movie premiere entrance.  I followed closely behind but my body was still on fire. And against my better judgement I looked back for the source of the flame. And our eyes locked. My knees instantly became weak and I accidentally stumbled trying to keep up with Carmen. A small grin crept across his face as he took his bottom lip into his mouth.  

****

"Please excuse me." I said pardoning myself from Carmen and a group of others. I had noticed a restroom sign not to far away. I hurriedly made my way towards the entrance. 

"You okay girl?!" Carmen yelled behind me. I held my hand in the air behind while managing to nod my head yes but never looking back. I was okay. Or so I thought. I wasn't absolutely sure. All I knew was that I was on fire. I quickly made my way into the restroom. Taking a handful of paper towels into my hands and dampening them. I dabbed them over my face and the part of my chest that was exposed. All the while managing to take a couple of deep breathes. I tossed them into the trash and softly hand fanned myself for a moment. My soul was a blaze. How had this man managed to eye fuck me so quickly. I literally felt violated but in the best way. 

"Calm down bitch." I whispered to myself challenging my own stare in the mirror. I was making a big deal out of nothing. And it was frustrating the hell out of me. It was a meaningless interaction and here I was about to stroke out. "You good?" I asked myself subconsciously. I nodded my head up and down before glancing over my appearance again. I managed to calm myself enough to return.

I walked out of the restroom and began to search the crowd for Carmen who was assumingly mixing an mingling with the other attendees. I spotted her and as I expected she was looking for me. I smiled and began to take longer strides. "Scarlett I want you to meet somebody!" She yelled excitedly. Just then I noticed his shoulders only inches from hers. He turned his head first and his body slowly followed. 

I felt a lump form in my throat. I couldn't breathe so my long strides became short steps. He didn't smile as he had before. He simply focused his attention on me. His stare was intense and unwavering. My eyes fell to the floor for a moment. That heat was back. That raging fire I had just attempted to put out was four alarm again. I managed to look up again. I found him still focused on me. But this time his eyes roamed over my body. He placed his hands together just over his crotch quickly adjusting himself. Causing me to swallow the lump caught in my throat. 

"Michael." He said extending his hand for me to shake once I was near. 

I hesitated for a moment unsure if I was capable of with standing the amount of power his actual touch could inflict on me. Or my little girl for that matter. "Scarlett." I said cautiously placing my hand in his. To my surprise he gripped it firmly taking it to his lips and placing a soft kiss on it. I melted beneath him. He winked and a small dimple formed just beneath his hooded eye. 

"The name is fitting." He said removing his lips from my hand slowly. 

"What?" I quizzed out of curiosity. 

"It's sexy. Almost as sexy as  you." He admitted finally releasing my hand. I could feel the blood rush to my face as others around us giggled at his charm. He stayed a moment longer conversing amongst the group before he was pulled away by his managers. He made sure to thank everyone for attending and assuring us all he'd chat with us again later. He placed his hand on my lower back. "Nice meeting you." He said before walking away. I nodded as to say the same. 

I watched him walk away and resisted the urge to follow him. My body yearned to be next to his. And in its absence felt lost. "I think he likes what he saw." Carmen said nudging me in the side with her elbow. I shook my head dismissively. There was no way in this room full of beautiful women I had managed to get underneath his skin. The doubt in my mind was quickly hushed as he managed to turn his head around and smile at me once more before disappearing into the crowd. "He most definitely likes what he saw." Carmen teased pulling at my arm. 

"Stop." I said brushing her off. 

"I knew I should have worn that dress. She said playfully referring to the dress I had worn. Which she had let me borrow for the occasion. We both laughed as we made our way to the theater. 

****

The movie was amazing to say the least. Everyone had done such a good job. I was glad I had the honor of attending. I stood to clap as everyone else had as Michael, Tessa, Sylvester and the director took the podium just beneath the screen. They thanked everyone for attending and took a few questions from interviewers. 

I smiled to myself as parts of the movie crossed my mind again. Tessa was stunning in person and I thought to myself how cute a couple her and Michael would be in real life. They complimented each other very well. And shared a natural compatibility on and off screen. 

"That was fun." I admitted as everyone began to exit the theater. Happy that Carmen had talked me into attending. 

"We ain't done." She said with�� laugh. I was confused and my face read of it. "Two words. After Party." She said looping her arm in mine. I didn't know how to feel. A part of me wanted to go home and hop into bed. Maybe touch myself to thoughts of Michael and pray to the man above that I dreamed about him. Another part of me was hoping to see him at the party. I looked over to where he stood and to my pleasant surprise his eyes were already on me. 

****

"This is nice." I admitted taking a seat on the lounge sofa next to Carmen in the VIP area. She nuzzled her head into Steven's neck and I lightly rolled my eyes. She had been carrying on an affair with him for quite sometime now. I didn't approve of her being so messy but who was I to judge. I knew far to well what it was like to be lonely and crave the presence of another.  

And to be fair they had actually been a thing for far longer then he and his wife had. Carmen was just as strong willed and career driven as he was. And somehow the thing that brought them together had managed to pull them apart. He needed a woman who could play the background roll. Be his support when he needed it. And Carmen wasn't that exactly. She wasn't a beck and call girl. She was a boss. A queen. And could never simply fade into the back ground. She needed a man who could except her as his equal. A man she could proudly stand beside and reign with. Steven wasn't that. I just wish she could see that. But who was I to talk.

I scooted away when I noticed the servers bring over bottles and finger food. I quickly made myself a drink and plate. I took the time to glance around the club. It was a very nice establishment. High class but the DJ made sure to play the hottest music. I scanned the room and was a bit disappointed that no one else from the cast seemed to be there. 

I felt my phone vibrate in my lap. I picked it up and noticed it was Derrick texting me. I skimmed over the text and rolled my eyes. He was going on and on about pictures of me he had saw on IG and how it made him realize how much he missed me. He was so full of it. I took this time to pour myself a shot. I turned my phone off and placed the shot glass to my lips. Quickly swallowing the entire thing. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the heat the liquor left in my chest.

Upon opening them I noticed Michael making his way into the VIP area. He no longer wore the navy blue suit he had at the premiere. He stood before me dressed casually in a white t-shirt and distressed jeans. I mowed over his gold chain and the Jordan's that adorned his feet. He still looked delicious and I found myself licking my lips. Our eyes met and I once more felt my clit twitch. I instinctively tightened my legs. He noticed and smiled. At that moment I realized his left arm was behind him. Tessa's hand was in his as she walked in right behind him. A feeling of disappointment quickly replaced my excitement. 

I watched as the two greeted Steven and Carmen before taking a seat. Looking more like a couple than co-stars. A few others joined us and soon after lots of meaningless chatter filled the air. I noticed how he handled her and quickly became annoyed. Or jealous for that matter. I wasn't sure of which. All I was sure of at that moment was that I needed another drink. I took a deep breath and stood to my feet. Annoyed further by the fact that the only remaining bottle of liquor was closely located near the two. 

I made my way over hoping that Michael was too deep in conversation to notice me. To my disappointment he wasn't. He noticed me right away. Although he continued to speak his eyes were dead set on me. I tried to squeeze by his legs and quickly fill my cup but he grabbed me just as I was finishing up. 

"Scarlett." He said pulling at my arm. I tried to wave him off but he quickly pulled me down into the seat. Exactly between him and Tessa. My hips rubbed against the fabric of his jeans and the sequence of her dress as she moved aside. I smiled nervously at him wondering if he was tipsy or if it was just me. My face slowly turned towards Tessa who I was sure had found his gesture disrespectful. To my surprise a smile adorned her face. He placed his arm around my shoulders and swiftly pulled me back. "Tessa this is Scarlett. Scarlett this is Tessa." He said placing his face into the crook of my neck. The warmth of his breath against my neck had my faucet leaking. 

"Hi." I managed to utter. 

"Michael you didn't do her justice." She said placing her hand on my knee. She rubbed her hand over it before softly digging her nails into me. If this was his bitch I didn't want any smoke. I had my own problems. I softly shook my head before attempting to move. To my surprise he placed his forearm against my chest quickly pulling me back down. "She's gorgeous." Her hand managed to make its way up my inner thigh. And to my own surprise my body reacted. I wasn't sure if it was the lack of being touched. Or simply being touched by such beautiful people. 

"She is." He whispered into my ear just as 3 Way by Teyana Taylor filled the air. I froze beneath them. And I wasn't sure if it was just me or did the time do the same. I closed my eyes for a moment as they both closed in on me. I could feel them both on each side of my neck. Their heat. Their breathes. I could still feel Tessa's hand slowly moving up my inner thigh. While Michael's hand roamed over chest and down my stomach. I quivered as the lyrics and melody consumed me. 

Threeway, I couldn't wait to have with you

'Cause I know it turn you on, so let's do it' babe

'Cause two heads are better than one 

Threeway, I couldn't wait to have with you!

[relaxedreptile]

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

A/N: Okay, so, my apologies.

This was requested maybe three months ago? But I am severely behind on fulfilling these requests from you guys. Slowly but surely, I will have them all finished so don't you worry.

Also, the original request for this wanted smut, but I am content with the way this went so I’m going to keep it the way it already is. Forgive me?

Stay warm.

“With the bridge closed and most, if not all,” the newscaster paused and let out a laugh that oddly reminded you of the Wizard of Oz, “of the roads closed, it doesn’t seem how anyone could find a way in or out of the city. “I don’t know, Catherine, I always keep a spare set of tennis racquets in my car. You think I could tie them to my shoes and make my way home?”

Catherine was cut off mid-laugh by your TV clicking off on its own accord, which elicited a loud groan from your mouth full of popcorn. You expected this much, so you used the light of your phone screen to act as a guide to your box of matches and off to your scented candles. You had searched your home for six of the biggest candles with scents that wouldn’t overwhelm your nose once they mixed throughout your home, but you supposed you couldn’t be too picky.

You had always loved the holidays. It was the perfect mix of exciting, high-powered activities and a relaxed stature throughout the city. While you were devastated your parent’s flight was cancelled due to this snowstorm that had also cancelled your night-in with Naruto on Hulu, you decided you could enjoy this night without technology. It’s not like this night was unplanned considering everyone had known about the storm a few days prior due to its enormous size and not very subtle footprint on whatever system meteorologists used to determine how fucked the holiday season would be. Hopefully reading by candlelight wasn’t going to permanently damage your eyes or something, you didn’t really have the money for that kind of thing at the moment.

You had finished lighting your candles and sat back on your couch, eyes following the lights and shadows as they danced across your walls in a waltz.

A sigh escaped your lips as you relaxed farther into your plush coach, deciding to sing along to a song that had been stuck in your head since November 1st.

“I really can’t stay.” A whiff of “ocean breeze” whizzed past your nose. “Get over that hold out.” This time it was “autumn leaves”. “Ah, but it’s cold outside.” Was that cinnamon? “Baby it’s cold, out-”

The sound of three soft, polite knocks on the door to your apartment startled you out of your harmonizing stupor, your legs forcing you out of your comfort zone and out onto the floor that had already begun to grow cold after a few minutes of your cheap heater switching off.

You wrapped your arms around yourself to retain the warm you had left and shuffled over to your door, sliding across the floor on your fuzzy socks.

“Oh, thank god.”

The man at your door greeted you with a smile that reminded you of the homemade moonshine your uncle used to make for special occasions, the way they warmed your body were way too similar.

“Hi,” you greeted your neighbor… Baekhyun. That was his name. “I’m so sorry to bother you, Y/N,” first name basis with your cute neighbor? Merry Christmas to you, “but I just ran home in that fucking blizzard out there and here I was, completely prepared to heat up some water for a bath on my stove for all I cared, until I realized that I left my keys back on my desk. At my office.” You thought that was all the explanation he needed to offer but Baekhyun interrupted you before you could invite him in.

“I hate to ask this of you so close to the holidays. For all I know you could have family with you, but I guess I have no other choice,” his laugh was short, but sweet. “I only need an hour or two I-”

“You can stay, it’s completely fine with me.” You opened your door wider, hoping it resembled a warm invitation. “Just don’t blow out any candles.”

Baekhyun offered another bigger smile, one that left sparks flying through your body and festering in your stomach.

With a smile like that, you wouldn’t have been able to deny him entry no matter the circumstances, so you were glad that you had met this man (and even his dog) before and were comfortable with him being in your home rather than ten feet across the hall.

Despite you living in this building for close to a year (and Baekhyun for one year more, as he told you when you first moved in), you and your cute neighbor hadn’t made it past small-talk and the only obscure facts you knew about the guy was the fact that he had a brother, had a passion for singing, and his dog’s name was Mongryong.

It was simultaneously better than nothing and enough for you to let him into your home, to allow him access to everything in your possession. Including you.

“I promise I’ll be out of your business as soon as the roads clear up and I can get back to the office, the landlord said he wouldn’t make it out onto the roads until they were plowed. I figured I should risk it myself.”

You nodded in response, not sure why he was repeating himself. It was the holidays, after all, it couldn’t hurt to be a little more giving. Lenient.

“I don’t exactly have a fire place you can hang out by, but I do have a gas stove if you want me to make us some hot chocolate?”

Baekhyun halted in peeling off his soaked socks (him and his dress shoes were not prepared for the snow) and nodded at you before asking if you had marshmallows.

“Whipped cream alright?” You answered with, already heading into your kitchen. “Yeah, yeah, that’s great. Thanks, Y/N.” “Any time, Baekhyun, what are neighbors for?” “I guess for coming in handy when dumbasses like me screw themselves over,” he joked, following far behind you.

A laugh escaped your lips. “Oh please, if I had work today and hadn’t stayed home, I probably would’ve done the same thing.” “Then we’d both be screwed,” Baekhyun pointed out, “but I’m sure we could figure something out. My coat is probably big enough for the both of us.” You were glad that your blush wasn’t visible in the candlelight. “With those shoulders of yours? I wouldn’t fit.”

You allowed yourself to speak with a flirty tone, hoping you hadn’t read his remark about the coat wrong.

“How about you sit between my legs and I wrap my arms around us?”

Okay, he was definitely flirting back.

“All this talk has me wishing I lost my keys as well,” you admitted, not even bothering to lie for the sake of flirting. “There’s always next year.”

You smiled and continued stirring the powder-water mixture, watching the tiny marshmallows that were included in the mix bob up and down in the pot.

The silence was a tad awkward, one wouldn’t lie, but it was to be expected with the relationship between you and your neighbor. Despite the lack of words, the feeling he brought into your home was comforting. Especially with the environment outside of your candlelit apartment being oh so cold and dark.

Baekhyun offered a thank you as he took the steaming mug of liquid from you, licking the edge of the rim as some of the whipped cream started to slip down the side. Your eyes followed the movement of his tongue.

Your lips closed around the edge of your own cup and willed the liquid to slide down your throat, welcoming the slight burn as it went down.

“This cup of hot chocolate is the most Christmassy thing I’ve done in years,” Baekhyun admitted, wrapping both hands around his mug. “I’m glad I had the honor of getting you into the Christmas spirit,” you joked, smiling at your neighbor incase he needed some comfort. “You’re expecting a sob story, I can tell.”

You ignored Baekhyun’s implication and took a rather long sip of your drink.

“Busy?” You guessed. Baekhyun’s nod was the saddest thing you had seen all day. “How about every year you set aside like, twenty minutes to come drink some hot chocolate with me? Completely on the house.”

The man in front of you scrunched his lips in thought, considering the offer you both knew he would say yes to.

“I’ll bring some marshmallows next time.”

“How many times, Baekhyun?” “Just three!” “Oh, I’m sorry, you only got arrested three-” “No building off of our secrets! You set that rule yourself.”

You bit down on your lip and shook your head, disappointed at the fact that your houseguest refused to elaborate on his criminal record.

“Come on, Y/N,” Baekhyun teased, “your turn.”

To ease your boredom, your neighbor had suggested playing what he called “girly slumber party games” to pass the time. You readily agreed, hoping for something racy like spin the bottle (even though that barely works out even when you have more than two people), but settled on truth or dare.

Once the two of you realized that wasn’t going to go anywhere, you suggested going back and forth between asking the person for a secret or a story, no questions asked and no further explanation needed. The two of you required secrets for such a long streak that it was now just a given that that was what the other player wanted from you.

Your body contorted into the “thinker” position, hoping to pull a smile or a giggle from the attractive man sitting opposite from you. Your actions rewarded you with both.

“I went to cotillion for three years.” “Cotillion? I don’t-” “It’s an American thing. It’s these classes over-bearing parents send their kids to so that they can learn how to be “proper”. Table manners, how to court, dancing-” “Why is dancing included in proper behavior?” “Slow-dancing. Waltz.”

Baekhyun seemed to be deep in thought about this, his eyes showing the inner battle deep in his mind.

You better get a good secret in return for further elaboration (even if it was on cotillion and not you).

“Show me.”

Your head snapped up to make eye contact with this beautiful man who continued to make your cheeks flush and the butterflies in your stomach flutter.

Baekhyun could see that you were a bit confused by his outburst, so he decided to confuse yo further by jumping to his feet and outstretching his hand in your direction.

You took his hand out of instinct and tried to remain as graceful as possible when you were yanked upwards and immediately towards your Christmas tree that was between your  favorite parts of your apartment, two floor-to-ceiling windows that allowed you and your guest a gorgeous view of the snow capped city below.

“You said you can dance, show me.” “I didn’t say I knew how, I just said that I learned.” “Well now I want to learn! Usually I would jump on YouTube and figure it out but since I can’t at the moment and you’re right here…” When Baekhyun realized you weren’t budging, he pursed his lips into a full blown pout and cocked his head to the side. “Please?”

You blamed the holidays for you acting so lenient towards this man.

You showed him where to put his hands on your body (each placement sending shivers down your completely covered spine) and explained the counts, repeating “one, two, three” for the first few rounds, smiling proudly when Baekhyun seemed to pick this up in no time.

Was it your expert teaching or did this guy have a better idea of this beforehand than he let on?

“All we need now is some music,” you decided, leaning to rest your head on your dancing partner’s shoulder, thinking of how your old instructor would have gasped at how improper said behavior was.

Your comment was met with a silence that was first interrupted by the deep vibration within Baekhyun’s chest.

“I really can’t stay.”

Silence.

“I’ve got to go away.”

Smile.

“This evening has been,” you sang in your current position. “Been hoping that you’d drop in,” Baekhyun continued. “So very nice.” “I’ll hold your hands, they’re just like ice.”

You couldn’t believe how stupid that sounded to you. No matter how much snow piled up outside, no matter how low the temperature dropped, you felt warm. You felt safe.

It’s cold outside, but you feel perfectly fine.

[kailenawolf]

It was too long to put in an ask but maybe it will make your day a little better? @cassandrapentayaaaaas

The last of Dennets stock had finally been shipped into Haven, the strain on the makeshift stables was showing but damn did they have a fine herd to show for it. Eris had made little headway with her chosen mount but she wasn't giving up, he just needed a little more time. Grabbing two apples in each hand from the kitchens, Eris scuttled away from the cook waving a metal soup ladle at her as she chased the elf out of her domain. Tucking three into her pocket Eris bit into the sweet fruit relishing the flavor, she missed the treat during the winter months and was beyond grateful that Josephine had secured a trade route that got the fresh produce to the town. Meandering down the paths leading towards the stalls and small arena Eris let her eyes wander, Solas and Dorian nodded to her as she passed Adans medical shack. According to her sister Solas had already picked his mount and even named the mare, a golden colored beauty Eris recalled. The elf doubted Dorian had even attempted to go near the stable, his fussy protests about the smell and how they couldn't compare to the Tevinter bloodlines was already ringing in her ears. Rolling her eyes Eris knew there was a flashy enough horse in that herd to attract the mages attention if he would just go SEE them. Waving cheekily at Varric by the fire by the stairs she wondered what kind of mount would be suitable for him, he was compact and sturdy and much stronger than he let on. Eris had seen those impressive arms when she had to stitch a nasty wound closed when they had run out of potions, and damn was he built, such a pity he wasn't interested.

The sounds of the recruits fighting each other and Cullen barking orders quickly drew her attention and Eris paused watching them run through the drills. Cassandra wasn't far off sparing with the dummies, the dulled practice sword still managed to chip off wood splinters with the force of her swings. Cocking her head an idea began to form in Eris' mind, swinging her gaze left Eris scanned the visible stalls and grinned. "I don't have to know you very well to know that look spells trouble." Bull quipped as she jogged up.

If she remembered right Bull had chosen a horse as well, a hulking beast of a gelding, though Dennet swore he was in fact a warmount the big lug had the temperament of plow horse and seemed quite content to eat and nap the day away. "You wouldn't be wrong, I usually am up to no good."

"Got plans huh? Anything interesting?" The qunari warrior smirked back as he fell in step with her towards the pens.

"Maybe, I'm about to pick out some mounts for someone."

"Thought we were picking our own?" Bull was curious now, a slight tilt of his head telling he was a touch confused at what she was doing.

"Oh you are, but this one is... special."

"It's for Varric isn't it?"

Eris chuckled not surprised he guessed somewhat correctly. "Close, I will be selecting some for him to choose from later but this is for someone else."

She really had his attention now. "Hmm, alright don't tell me I want to try to guess who it is from your choices."

"You're on."

Bull leaned against the fence of the enclosure as she perused the horses in their stalls, her first pick was a bright chestnut. He was solidly built and well trained with wide set eyes that spoke of intelligence, but he just didn't feel right. When she moved with him it felt like the beast was just going through the motions, there was no spark or connection with him. Frowning Eris finished working him quickly and let him be taken back. She tried again with a painted buckskin, she was much more lively and full of spunk with her high stepping strides, and while the pretty mare responded well to commands there was a tiny trace of timidity when Eris asked her to do something a bit more daring. "Not quite."

Bringing the mare back in she sent a look to Bull who was watching everything unfold in earnest, his eye missing no details as the elf weeded through the herd. Eris was slightly frustrated and a crease was beginning to etch deeper into her brow at the lack of results after another two horses, but a deep snort and a stomped hoof drew her attention to a stallion being teased by a lovely shaded mare over the stall wall. The stallion in question did not seem to enjoy the mare lipping at his ear and nipped at her since the limited stall space couldn't get him completely out of her reach. Feeling sorry for the handsome bugger she decided she might as well bring him out, the stallion gratefully whickered to her and quickly trotted out of the stall his pale coat glinting in the sunlight. The stallion was a snowy white, nearly blending into the drifts surrounding the corral if not for the glowing attention Dennet gave to grooming his charges. He was a stunning example of his breed, a blend of Antivan grace with Nevarran strength. The white charger had a supremely smooth gait without being overly flashy like he was in a parade, it was effortless and the stallion listened to her cues with an ear always turned to her. He challenged her for control a few times by taking hold of the bit, but with firm hands on the reins and quick reprimands he accepted her leadership. Tilting her head Eris felt a smile start to grow on her face at the happy accident that drew her to him, bringing him around she tapped him into a charge at where Bull was standing. Understanding what she was asking the pale animal threw his weight forward the first few paces with a snort before finding a steady stride, Bull didn't flinch but neither did Eris or the stallion. He skidded at the last second rearing up with a scream, his sharp hooves renting the air above Bulls head, when he dropped to the ground with a loud bluster Eris knew she had found the mount.

"Perfection."

"His is impressive and a good match for her."

Eris raised a brow. "Figure it out did you?"

Bull gave her a saucy grin and a one shouldered shrug. "Cassandra will love him."

"You're gonna have to teach me how you do that. But would you go get her for me? I want to see if he connects to her."

"Sure, and I can't divulge Ben-Hassrath secrets that would defeat the purpose of you keeping me around aside from my affinity for hitting things and good looks."

Bursting out with a laugh Eris watched him chuckle with her and walk off to collect the Seeker. Trotting him around the ring as they waited the stallion tossed his head with restless energy that the mock charge had left him with. "Don't you worry, someone is gonna give you a run for your money. Let's hope you like her."

"You wanted to see me?" Cass' voice rang out at the fenceline and Eris grinned from ear to ear.

"I did, what do you think of him?"

Cassandra didn't question why she was summoned verbally, a slight twitch of her mouth was all she got before the Seeker took in the stallion. "He is a fine specimen, and much preferable to that... other one. I'm glad you are choosing a more suitable creature." Her gaze lingered over the animal, his dark eyes and elegant ears turned to her in turn.

"Oh this boy isn't for me, he is yours."

That got Eris a reaction, Cass jolted like she'd been shocked by Solas' staff, taking an unconscious step back. "Mine?"

"If you connect with him that is, and... if you like him." The stallion shifted as his riders emotions went from confident to more trepidatious. "Come meet him."

Cassandra hesitated but after a steadying breath slowly moved through the poles to meet the charger Eris had chosen. Dropping to the ground Eris lead the male closer, his grey velveteen nose reaching out to sniff at the armour clad warrior. Eris stroked his neck encouragingly as a back hoof stomped a little, she bid the Seeker to remove her gloves to get more of her scent and learn her touch. He again pushed some boundaries like a typical stallion but before Eris could correct him Cassandra did with a sharp word and a glare. He exhaled harshly into her face for it but did as she bade, when his muzzle stretched to get a whiff at her neck Cass let out an uncharacteristic giggle at the whiskers tickling her skin. Slipping her the last apples Eris let the two get acquainted further without distraction, though she stayed close to the fenceline watching. “Introduction went well I see.” Bull commented appearing as if from nowhere.

“Mhh I only wish it were that easy with some of the others.”

“Oh you have your work cut out for you with that one.” Bull grunted using his horns to point at the seemingly scowling silver black stallion in his own stall.

The animal had his ears twitching back and forth nostrils flaring with each hard heavy breath, but it was the subtle head bobbing that made Eris frown as she realized what he was going to do. He screeched at the top of his lungs a challenge that many of the other horses stallion and mare alike answered. Fearing that the white would get to spooked and ruin whatever ground he and Cassandra had made Eris was about to jump back in to wrangle the warhorse before either of them got hurt. Bull stayed her with a firm hand on her shoulder. “Wait.”

She was about to protest when she heard the white scream back, ears flat against his skull and tail lashing his sides in agitation. Cassandra held tight to his reins and kept him in place, the charger angrily pawed the ground with his hoof, shifting his body around Eris watched in rapt fascination as the charger laid claim to Cassandra. It was done, the stallion had chosen. She hadn’t expected it so suddenly and given male behavior he may have only done it because the black had challenged him but the end result was the same. Cass now had a mount straight out of the fairytales she had read as a child, wanting to be the knight on the white valiant steed instead of the wilting princess. The two would be a fine pair, now if only her own stallion would stop being such an asshole and let her get near him to prove they could be partners too.

[parttimewriterfulltimefan-blog]

Chapter Ten: Free Time

Time froze, as Hoseok and her father starred at each other. Unsure what to say next, Elise looked at the guys and her uncle, noting their looks of surprise and amusement. "Dad? Oppa?" She asked cautiously.

Suddenly, Hoseok stood from his chair and bowed 90 degrees at her father. "Mr. Lee. Nice to meet you. I apologize for not revealing our relationship sooner." He said still bowing.

Her father looked at her with a raised a brow before flashing her an impressed grin. "Hoseok, don't worry about it. I know how my daughter is. I'm sure it probably was her idea to keep your relationship a secret." He said empathically while Hoseok nodded.

"Wow, dad really?" Elise said, realizing it was great that they connecting even though it was about her being difficult. Before her father answered, Hoseok grabbed her hand and kissed it. Feeling the butterflies flutter, she smiled.

"Oh so he knows how to manage you." Her father commented, nodding. "Son, you and I need to have a little talk. I've spent twenty four years with her, and I still haven't figured out how to do that."

Hoseok smiled before patting Elise's hand. "Taking care of Elise comes natural for me. Plus, I'm just as vulnerable as you are when it comes to Elise."

Grinning, Elise looked at the others and they all seem genuinely happy for the two. Glancing up at the clock, Elise looked at her father. "What time is your flight?" She asked.

Uncle Si Hyuk looked at he clock before standing up. "It's in about two hours. We should get going."

Confused, Elise looked at her uncle and father. "You're both leaving?"

Her father nodded and went over to her to giving her a big hug. "Yes, your uncle will accompany me back to Korea. He was here to oversee some things but since everything has been settle he's no longer needed in Japan. Be safe and be sure to take care of yourself. I'll be expecting you for dinner some time." He said, kissing her forehead then looking at the guys. "Please take care of my daughter. You guys are always welcomed to our home. I'll be seeing you guys for dinner." Her father walked over to Hoseok and whispered in his ear.

Straining to hear, Elise frowned as Hoseok grinned then nodded at her whispering father.

Elise starred suspiciously at the two. "Dad? Oppa? What are you talking about?"

Her father shook his head. "Oh nothing, I just wanted to give him a little advice before I left."

Elise raised her brow at Hoseok. "Oppa? What did he say?"

Hoseok squared his shoulders before nodding at her father. "Sorry, baby. I've been sworn to secrecy."

Elise threw arms up and looked at her watch. "Wow, four hours and you guys are already conspiring against me." She looked at her father. "Aren't you suppose to be threatening to kill him he did something ungentlemanly like?"

Her father shrugged and smirked. "Oh that's a given, but I trust my daughter's judgement so I'm not too worried that he's a bad guy."

She sighed, realizing she was already defeated then raised one hand, motioning her father away. "Okay, you win. You may leave now. Go back to your desk and mountains of paper work."

Her father laughed and nodded towards Uncle Si Hyuk. "You ready? I'll race you to the airport." He challenged while Elise smirked, knowing her father was a speed demon.

Uncle Si Hyuk snorted and shook his head looking at Elise. "You see what happens when you aren't around to control him. Now, I have to deal with him."

Elise giggled before looking at the guys then back to Uncle Si Hyuk. "Uncle,  I forgot to ask, do the guys get a whole day of rest anytime soon?" She asked.

Uncle Si Hyuk pulled out his phone and did some scrolling before looking up at her. "Well, they have the rest of today and tomorrow free. Why do you ask?"

She shrugged and looked at Hoseok. "Got some plans for them" She said making Hoseok grin.

Uncle Si Hyuk crossed his arms. "Elise, I know where you're going with this. So I have to warn you. Be careful of the media. Reporters a mile a way will be all over you guys, if there is a whiff of a dating scandal." Her father nodded in agreement.

She nodded and smiled at him. "Of course, I took the extra measures. Plus, we already have a cover for the media." She said and told her Uncle and father about their plan to play her presence off as a producer working on a project with the guys.

"Hmm. That may work, but please refrain from skin ship in public." Uncle Si Hyuk said sternly, he then looked at the others. "You guys make sure they are on their best behavior." The guys nodded with Jungkook and Taehyung saluting him.

Once they said their goodbyes, her father and Uncle Si Hyuk left the suite leaving the guys to sag into the couch while Elise looked at them confused. "What?"

"Noona, that was intense!" Taehyung exclaimed while the others nodded.

She shrugged understanding their stress. "Oh, that's because he's your boss and my dad always had that kind vibe around him. After 24 years, you get used to it." She said then looked at the clock and smirked. "You guys want to go out and have fun? I have a treat for you." She asked recalling her event planning she had done the night before.

Jimin jumped up with a smile. "Yes! Noona, what do you have in mind?"

She waved her finger. "It's a surprise. You guys go change. I have to get my stuff." She said walking behind Hoseok, as he sat on the couch. Leaning down, she kissed the top of his. "Oppa, I was waiting to do that since I woke up." She said before heading to her room.

In the back, she heard Nam Joon say. "Heol, now that everyone knows, there's no holding back now."

"Nope!" She called back as the guys laughed, while Hoseok scolded them to be quiet.

*****************************************************************************

After freshening up and changing her clothes, Elise headed out to find the guys waiting for her. They were all dressed comfortably and had their bags with them. Nodding, Elise walked over to Hoseok and slipped her hand into his.

"Okay, guys. Let's go!" She announced, leading them out of the suite. They all loaded up into the elevator and headed to the parking lot. When the elevator doors opened, Hoseok dropped her hand when he noticed that there were people in the lot as well. Elise secretly smiled, knowing he didn't know the people were part of the surprise. Yesterday, she had to decided to rent out a big car for her plans, since her SUV would be too small to fit everyone.

As they got out, Jungkook ran towards her car that was parked in the farther part of the lot. Just as he got to her car, She called out. "Jungkook, we're not taking that car."

Confused, Seokjin asked looking around the lot. "What car are we taking?"

Elise grinned and nodded towards the two luxury vans that were parked. With her nod, the drivers got out of their vans and opened the car doors. "Those. I got them for the day." She said, as Jimin and Nam Joon rushed over to check out the interior of the cars.

"Wow! Noona, this is crazy." Jimin commented as his head bobbed left and right in the car.

Elise smiled knowing he was right, when she made the reservations online she went with comfort and style. So she had decided on luxury vans. Each van was equipped with four reclining chairs, curtains for privacy, two flat screens and a fridge. She gave them some time to take in the cars before checking the time on her phone, seeing that it was almost time for her next surprise. "Okay, guys let's split up. Four in each car." She directed and the guys all huddled and did a game of rock paper scissors.

Naturally, She and Hoseok stayed together with Yoongi and Jimin, while the others got in the other van.

"Wow. This is nice. So comfortable." Yoongi commented as he sat then reclined his chair.

She giggled as she saw that Jimin already had his knees drawn up to his chest, looking like a kitten, his eyes darting around the car.

Hoseok held out his hand for Elise. "My baby is so cool."

"Ah Hyung." Jimin whined covering his eyes.

Hoseok glared while Elise smiled before slipping her hand in his. "I think it's endearing." She commented before pressing on the intercom button to speak to the driver. "Mr. Suzuka, We're all set here. We can proceed to the next location." She said.

"Hey, where are you taking us?" Yoongi asked, peeking through the curtains.

She grinned. "Well, it was somewhere that Taehyung wanted to go to, but couldn't"

Jimin nodded then looked at her, surprised. "The museum?" He asked.

"Ya, the museum should be closed by now. How can we go?" Yoongi said, nudging Jimin.

Elise shook her and smiled slighted. "Never say never." She said and relaxed in her chair.

On the car ride, Yoongi had fallen asleep while Jimin scrolled on his phone looking at memes. Elise was reading a book while Hoseok was writing something in his notebook.

Elise heard Hoseok sigh, causing her to frown in concern. Putting her book aside, She leaned over and looked at her notebook and saw that he was writing song. "Oppa, what are you doing?"

Hoseok grinned. "Oh, sometimes I write some stuff down that I want to make into a song. It's not much."

Elise shook her head and looked down at his writing to read his lyrics. "Hello to my hope world." She mumbled and continued to read the lyrics. Once she done, she looked up at  him with a smile. "Oppa, this is really good. I love it. I can't wait for the finished product." She said with a thumbs up.

Hoseok grinned and leaned back in his chair with an arrogant expression on his face. "Of course, my girlfriend makes beautiful music so it's only even that I do too."

"Ya, that's so cheesy." Yoongi said groggily, as he sat up in his chair. "Are we there yet?" He asked.

Elise leaned over to the window to peek out side. "Yes, we have to go to the back entrance way." She said, dialing Taehyung and smiling when he immediately picked up.

"Noona!" He greeted.

"Taehyung, very carefully. I want you to look outside." She instructed waiting for him to look.

After a few moments, Elise could hear some shuffling then a loud. "WOW!"

"Taehyung?" Elise called out.

"Noona! This is awesome!" Taehyung asked, sounding really excited.

Elise nodded and looked at Yoongi. "Of course, I made friends with the manager and he agreed to have guests after hours."

Minutes later, they made their ways out of the vans. Once everyone was gathered, Elise brought out her phone to where she had her game saved. "Okay guys, this is part one of Elise's grand tour. To start things off, we will have scavenger hunt. The winner gets an amazing prize!" She said and texted the group chat, a list of things to find. "Okay, winner to find and take pictures of all five object first gets a prize."

"What kind of prize is it?" Hoseok asked, suspiciously. "It's not something to do with you, right? No back hugs or dances?"

Elise shook her head. "Nope, those are reserved for you. I got something else in store." She said looking at the blushing Hoseok. "Okay let's get going. We have a jammed schedule to keep". She said clapping her hands together and led everyone through the back entrance.

Once instead, she was greeted by Mr. Sako, manager of the museum. "Good evening, Mr. Sako. Thank you for having us! These are the friends, I was telling you about" Elise said motioning to the guys, who all bowed in greeted then proceeded to introduce themselves.  

Mr. Sako nodded at their introduction the smiled. "Welcome to you all. I've already been briefed of your situation and encourage you guys to interact freely in the museum." He said then looked at Elise. "We've already dismissed the staff. So do not hesitate to look for me in the back offices."  

Elise grinned at him. "Thank you again for this Mr. Sako"

Mr. Sako waved his hand and chuckled. "Not a problem. When a call from Ms. Elise Lee came in, I was simply ecstatic. I absolutely loved your performance!"

Elise blushed at the sudden attention of the guys. "Hey don't mention it. We'll let you go on your way. I'm sure you a busy man"

After a quick bye to the guys, Mr.Sako left them to their explorations. Turning to the guys with a smile. "Okay we got about two hours before our next reservation. So enjoy and be aware of your surroundings." She said to the guys.

"Wow. We get all this to our selves?!" Seokjin exclaimed while twirling in a circle with his arms stretched out.    

They decided to break up into different groups to explore the museum. Yoongi and Namjoon went over to the more contemporary part of the museum. Taehyung and Seokjin went to the abstract part while Jungkook and Jimin checked out the Vincent Van Gogh exhibit. Elise and Hoseok wondered the museum, hand in hand looking from piece to piece.

Suddenly, both Elise and Hoseok's phone pinged. Looking at her phone, she saw that Jungkook had found one of the part pieces that she listed. There was another ping.  

"Wow look at this kid." Seokjin texted with a picture featuring Jungkook who was posing next to the painting.

Hoseok laughed. "Heol he is getting so competitive!"

For the rest of the time, Elise and Hoseok enjoyed each other's company until Hoseok hand enough off the pinging of their phones and decided to mute them both. "Wow, they must really want the prize!" He said as he pocketed their phones.  

Elise watched at Hoseok awkwardly tried to pocket everything, smiling, Elise held her hand out. "Oppa, give them to me" she instructed and stashed them in her purse. "This is way girls carry purses"  

Hoseok scoffed. "This is why guys have pockets" He stated before wrapping his hand around hers.

They walked along and chatted, stopping briefly in front of the art piece where Elise had met Henry and Mary. Elise told Hoseok about their meeting and explained the meaning of the art piece. He nodded starring at the piece.  

"Noona! I got them all!" Jungkook called out.

Elise turned to find Jungkook running towards, waving his phone.

"Yah! We're a team! Wait for me." Jimin yelled from behind.

The commotion attracted the others, as they all started to run towards them.  

Elise got nervous of the speed of which the guys rushed over, seeing her nervousness Hoseok pulled her behind him as the guys skidded to a halt in front of her. She sighed in relief before wrapping her arms around his waist. "Thanks, Oppa" She whispered in his ear before releasing him.

Out of breath, Jungkook handed his phone over to her. She shifted through the pictures noting that in between photos of art were photos of him and Jimin. Smiling, Elise handed his food back. "Okay, Jungkook. You win!" She announced.

"Wah. That's so unfair. Noona, I helped him find those pieces" Jimin whined.

Elise nodded, looking between the two before pulling out two business cards from her back pocket, with a grin. "Okay, for team Jikook. The prize."

She watched at the two read the card before looking at her surprised. "Is this real?" Jungkook asked wide eyed. Elise nodded.

"Noona, how did you get this?" Jimin asked.

Elise shrugged. "I asked him. He agreed."

Curious, the others peeked over the two's shoulders. "Awesome!" Taehyung commented.

"How did you convince Bang PD to give two favors out?" Yoongi asked with jealousy in his eyes.

"I promised to help him with a project." Elise answered.

"Project?" Hoseok asked.

Elise looked at him with a small smile. "Before meeting you guys, my original plan was to spend time here in Japan for a couple of weeks before heading to Korea to visit my father. Of course, Uncle was aware of my plans so he had asked if I could help produce a song. At the time, I totally dismissed the idea because I just wanted to relax, but I changed my mind."

"Yah, if knew this was the prize. I would have tried harder." Yoongi said looking at Jimin. "Jimin, you know I always cherished you."

Jimin smirked. "Nope, I'm not giving it to you. I'm going to save this." Jimin teased, carefully pocketing the card.

Grabbing her phone from her purse, she motioned for Jimin and Jungkook. " Come, I have to send Uncle a picture of the winners." They got together and took a selfie. "Okay, good. Now that we've seen the museum, let's go to the next location." Elise said, sending the picture to Uncle Si Hyuk.

Elise led the guys to Dr. Sako's office and knocked on his door. "Mr. Sako?" She called out.

"Please come in Ms. Lee." Mr. Sako answered back.

Elise entered his office, while the guys followed. "Mr.Sako, we're all about ready to leave, just wanted to say our good byes and I wanted to thank you again for doing this favor for me" She said bowing ninety degrees, as the guys followed.

Mr. Sako stood up and bowed as well. "Not a problem, I hope you enjoyed your visit. Please do not hesitate to call, if you desire another after hours visit and that includes you guys as well. We are planning on doing a whole inventory swap next spring."

Elise nodded. "I'll be sure to drop by to see the changes. Thank you again."

With their final goodbyes, Elise lead the guys out the back entrance to their waiting vans. Looking up at the darkening sky, Elise smiled knowing they were right on time.

As they walked to the vans, Elise pulled her hand out of Hoseok's with a grin.  "What? What's wrong?" Hoseok asked in confusion.

Elise shook her head. "No nothings wrong. I figured that we'll take separate vans to the next place. Okay?"

"Why?" Hoseok said suspiciously.

Elise smiled. "Oh, I don't know. Just feel like it. So go with Seokjin, Yoongi, and Nam Joon. Okay?" She asked, walking up to him and pecking on the lips.

Hoseok jumped startled, but slowly smiled. "Okay, you have something going on, I'll play along, this time. I don't like being separated from you. Okay?"

Elise nodded and turned to head to the opposite van, when she felt a tug on her wrist before she turned back towards Hoseok. Hoseok grinned down at her. "This is how we should say 'see you later'" He said, before lowering his lips to hers. Caught in the moment, Elise's hand crept up his chest, as Hoseok deepened the kiss.

"Ahem." Someone cleared their throat.

With regret, Elise pulled back and looked at the intruder. She found a grinning Nam Joon. "Yah, aren't we suppose to be on a time schedule?" He asked because pulling Hoseok away to the van while someone pulled Elise to the other.

"Noona, let's go. You can have alone time with Hyung later." Jimin said, helping her onto the van.

Finally seated, Elise pressed on the intercom to let the driver know that they were all ready to go. Leaning back into her chair, she looked at the guys. "So did you guys have fun at the museum?" She asked.

Taehyung jumped in the chair beside her. "Noona, it was great. It's been awhile since we could just hang out without the pressure of reporters. Thank you."

"Noona, what do you have planned next?" Jungkook asked, peeking through the blinds.

"Well, before we go out in public, we have to get you guys changed so we aren't noticeable." Elise answered.

Jimin looked her confused. "You want us to change clothes?"

"We're going shopping?" Taehyung asked excited.

"Well in a way. It's actually why I wanted to take separate cars from Oppa. We're all renting Kimonos and touring Kyoto." She announced while the guys cheered.

Taehyung looked at her curiously. "If we're renting Kimonos, why did you want to ride in separate cars?"

Elise smiled and told them of a conversation she had with Hoseok on one of their secret dates.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~PAST~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Yah, I'm sure my parents don't think anything weird is going on." Hoseok said as he put his phone beside him, at the pool's edge. The others had already gone to sleep when Hoseok knocked on her door, inviting her out to the pool for a midnight rendezvous. They were chatting  while sitting at the pool's edge, when Hoseok received a call from his mother. Elise kicked the water, while Hoseok chatting with his mother. She was completely thrown off guard when he had introduced her as his girlfriend, which caused his mother to squeal through the phone. Nervously, Elise introduced herself while mentally trying to make conversation. Finally after a few minutes of stumbling over her words, Hoseok had taken pity on her and lead the conversation, until his mother had to leave to get ready for bed. They said their goodbyes before the call ended and Elise sagged in relief.

Elise looked at him with wide eyes. "If my son was hanging out with a girl at one in the morning, I would be extremely suspicious. She probably thinks I'm a hussy or something."

Hoseok shook his head and wrapped one arm around her shoulders. "My mother is not that of person. She doesn't judge and I'm sure she was ecstatic to finally meet a girlfriend. You're the first one I have ever introduced."

Surprised, Elise turned her chin to face him. "Ever?"

Hoseok nodded. "Yup. I don't want to hide you or keep you in a closet. My biggest regret is that I can't show you off to world or go out when the sun is shining without fear that we'll be trampled by fans or reports. I'm sorry."

Elise shook her head. "Oppa, I don't need the show boating or the fancy dates. I like the simple things in life. I like that we're sitting here under the stars, with our feet in the pool. I love that what ever we talk about now, will stay between us. I like you." She said before kissing on the lips.

Pulling away, Elise grinned as she saw his grin reflect hers. "Baby, you make me happy."

Chuckling, Elise looked up at the stars. "You know there is something that I want to do before we both leave Japan."

"Oh? What's that?" Hoseok asked gazing upwards.

"A tea ceremony." She answered. "When I was younger, my grandfather told me that the first time he had ever met my grandmother was when she was performing a tea ceremony. He said that it that moment, he knew that she was the one. I guess it left a lasting impression since my mother had a tea ceremony for my father."

Hoseok looked lost then smiled at her. "Am I the one for you?"

Elise felt her cheeks heat up. Quickly she dipped her hand into the water, cupping some water before flicking her hand at Hoseok.

"Yah!" Hoseok whined, wiping his hand over his face.

Elise stood up and looked down at Hoseok. "Okay time for bed. Good Night, Oppa. Sleep well." She said and ran to the Patio door, stopping at the door knob. Elise turned around to look at Hoseok. "Oppa?"

"Yes?" Hoseok answered, still looking up at the sky.

"Maybe" She said, answering his previous question before running into the suite.

~~~~~~~~~~~Present Time~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Wow!" Jimin commented.

Elise nodded, bringing her hand up to pat her beating chest. "I'm so nervous. I think my hands will be shaking the entire time."

Taehyung reached over and patted her head. "Noona, it's okay. You're confessing. It's always natural to feel nervous."

"Noona. That doesn't answer our question. Why the big secret?" Jungkook asked again.

Elise shrugged. "While you guys were in Tokyo , I went and got my Kimono from the family house. No one out of family has seen it. I only ever wear it for special occasions."

Jimin looked at her shocked. "Wow, we get to see you in a kimono? I bet you'll look great!"

Waving his comment aside, Elise smirked. "Thank you. I do have some other treats under my sleeve".

Suddenly, Elise got a phone call from Seokjin. Frowning, she brought her phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Elise, how long is this car ride going to take? We think Hoseok is having couple withdraws. Listen." Seokjin instructed as Elise raises the volume.

In the background, she heard Hoseok and Namjoon harmonizing to Taeyang's 'I need a Girl'. She laughed as Yoongi yelled for them to be quiet, which they ignored.

The guys looked at her confused of her laugh so she quickly switched the speaker to let them in on the situation. They soon joined the laughter.

"Seokjin!" Elise called out and waited for him to respond.

"Heol, Elise you have a crazy boyfriend." Seokjin responded.

Elise smiled. "May I have a word with Hoseok, please?"

Instead of a reply, Elise heard some shuffling before Hoseok yell "Ya, turn down the music. I'm speaking with my baby". A moment later, the song was lower. "My baby" he greeted in a cheerful tone.

She giggled as the younger ones made cringy facial expressions to her. "Oppa, please be patient. We're almost there."

"I think, Hyung is right. I'm having Elise withdraws. You should be sitting beside not Nam Join." He said and Elise could already visualize his pouting.

"Hmm. If you're nice and not driving them crazy. I'll give you an award. Okay?" She suggested.

"What kind of award?" Hoseok asked.

"A peck!" Jungkook suggested.

"A kiss!" Jimin suggested.

"Yah, what's the difference?" Seokjin asked over the phone.

Elise raised her brow at the two, waiting for an answer.

"Well, a kiss has tongue" Namjoon cut in, while everyone yelled at the answer.

Elise jaw dropped, leaving her speechless. Jimin nodded. "Yes the difference is the presence of tongue".

Switching the speaker off, much to the guys disappointment. "Yah, take me off speaker" She ordered while she leaned back in her chair and covering her face with her jacket. "Am I off speaker?"

"Yes, my baby. My award?" Hoseok whispered.

"What did you want?" She asked.

"Hmm. Anything you're willing to give." Hoseok said in a husky tone.

"Can I surprise you?" Elise asked, unsure what she wanted to do.

"Surprise? That I can go with." Hoseok said with a cheerful tone.

Elise sighed in relief. " Good, I'll see you soon."

"See you soon, my baby" he said and made a kiss noise before ending the phone call.

Elise groaned before dropping her phone on her lap and took her jacket off her face. She looked at the guys as they sat with various expressions of shyness and amusement.

Narrowing, her eyes on Jungkook and Jimin. "This is your fault!"

Jungkook giggled while Jimin grinned. "Noona, you and Hyung have already kissed. I don't see the problem. It's only natural for you to take the next step."

Elise scoffed. "Yah! Things should be progress naturally not suggested out of the blue."

Taehyung jumped in. "Noona have confidence! Be your normal cool self. Fighting!"

Elise rolled her eyes. "Easier said than done. If you guys haven't noticed, this all too new to me."

For the rest of the car ride, they chatted about other things, while Elise was a ball of nerves.

****************************Next Chapter: Tea Ceremony******************************

[mckinleydivided-blog]

Congratulations Bea, you have been accepted to play The [ Gentle ] Mainstreamer, Sam Evans.  Please check the new member checklist and send us your account within 24 hours.

  OOC:

Name: Bea Preferred Pronouns: They/Them Trigger: Terrorism Age: 22 Timezone: PST Activity Level: I work two jobs right now, but I usually have Monday - Wednesdays off. Those are my heavy roleplay days. The others are kind of on/off, so I’d say about 7/10 Experience: Removed for privacy Anything Else?: I hope it’s okay if I made Sam a junior? If not, Senior is totally fine!

IC:

Character Name: Samuel Dwight Evans Social status: The Gentle Mainstreamer Character Quote: Don’t cry because it’s over; Smile because it happened! Faceclaim: Only necessary for original characters. Date of birth/Age: March 3rd, 17 School year: Junior Extracurricular: Swim team, Character Sexuality: Bisexual Ships: Sam/Chemistry Anti-ships: Sam/Forced

CHARACTER BIOGRAPHY:

Born and bred in a small town smack dab in the middle of Maysville, Kentucky, Sam Evans was no stranger to hard work. From the moment he could properly walk and talk, his father introduced him to what would essentially become the rest of his young life: farming. Although they only owned one cow and a few chickens themselves, Sam’s father was the trusted right-hand man of a neighbor who owned one of the largest plots in the community, while his mother worked part-time at a boarding/training facility for horses. Needless to say, a majority of Sam’s youth was spent tilling, digging, running and working himself sore on an especially productive day.

Though there was little to be found in the way of complaints; as far as Sam was concerned, this was absolutely the best life anyone could live. Chasing after chickens, growing your own dinner, learning how to aid in bringing a calf into the big, bright world were perks not everybody got access to, after all. And using his hard-earned allowance to buy a new comic, or a brand new cartridge for his gameboy was so darn satisfying. Working for both necessity and luxury gave Sam a grateful outlook, and watching his parents support each other through yet another baby, still managing to maintain their happy little family, only served to instill a larger sense of humility and responsibility within him.

And then came his eleventh birthday.

Technically, the signs had reared their ugly heads much earlier. His mother didn’t go back to work once his little brother, Stevie, was born. Which Sam didn’t think much of aside from being happy to spend more time with her after school. It wasn’t until his father began to follow in the same pattern that an undeniable sense of dread fell into the pit of his stomach. The news came a few hours after Sam’s party; the farm his father had spent almost two decades on was closing down, with the owner’s passing. Mr. Evans had been painstakingly trying to find other work in town, but with yet another baby on the rise, they would need a lot more income in order to keep themselves afloat. Luckily, a job opportunity via email had been offered in the line of advertising work, putting to use a bachelor’s degree and various past jobs once thought of as useless. With things already in place for the transfer, they announced the family would be moving in under a month. To Lima, Ohio.

Sam was never able to completely mask his devastation at the news, his mother occasionally catching his lithe shoulders bobbing with sobs as he packed away his toys and other belongings. But not once did he ever throw a fit, and rarely ever complained. Family was everything to Sam. His parents had stressed that this was going to best for everyone, including his two younger siblings, and Sam knew he had to be strong for them. Although the transition wasn’t as startling as Sam had expected, which made things just a little easier for him. Now working from home, Mrs. Evans took the time out to home-school Sam until high school rolled around.

When his freshman year finally did approach, the culture shock nearly had Sam wanting to book a train back to Maysville. It wasn’t even the grossly larger population, although it did intimidate him something fierce upon stepping foot onto the freshly trimmed lawn. It was the people - kids his own age, and older, yet, they all seemed to be from another planet. His timid smiles were met with either looks of disgust or downright confusion, and he was at once thankful that he’d elected to grow out his hair so as to shield him from the judgmental stares. Everything was so loud, so fast-paced, in a certain order that he had only gotten glimpses of in crappy teenage-targeted dramas.

His normally positive outlook dimmed in the coming weeks, until his father suggested that he pick up a sport. Something that Sam could focus on instead of just his classes and struggling home life, a good outlet. In the back of his mind, something that could make him at least appear to blend in with this new normal. Honestly, trying out for the swim team had been a complete crap-shoot in his head. Sure, he loved to swim in the lakes during summer, and even during some of the colder months for a quick jolt of adrenaline. What he and the others trying out, even their coach certainly didn’t expect, was for the blonde to be so damn good at it.

It wasn’t long before Sam began to lap his way through the first year, rising in both status and confidence, along with sharing in the swim team’s wins in multiple meets. That, coupled with what quickly became coined as an irresistible “southern charm” led him into the popularity circle. What started out rocky, has been a pretty smooth ride in terms of high school. However, the same can’t be said for his home life; his father’s work at the advertisement agency has been taking a toll on him, the entire family can see it. And his mother, well… he’s not exactly sure, but he’s almost certain he can smell a whiff of another cologne when she gets home from her new job. Whenever his parents are home together, half of the time they’re at each other’s throats about finances or spending time with the children, and Sam is quick to usher Stevie and Stacey away from the mess.

But no matter how much his family may be ripping apart at the seams, Sam does his absolute best not to let it affect him or his siblings. Even if it means acting as more of a parent to them than his own, they’re always going to come first, no matter what.

PARA SAMPLE

Removed for privacy

[mckinleydivided-blog]

❝ Don’t cry because it’s over; Smile because it happened! ❞

Sam Evans is the mirror image of CHORD OVERSTREET, and a 17-year-old who identifies himself as BISEXUAL. Now a JUNIOR, they have been labeled…

❝ The [ Gentle ] Mainstreamer. ❞

Born and bred in a small town smack dab in the middle of Maysville, Kentucky, Sam Evans was no stranger to hard work. From the moment he could properly walk and talk, his father introduced him to what would essentially become the rest of his young life: farming. Although they only owned one cow and a few chickens themselves, Sam’s father was the trusted right-hand man of a neighbor who owned one of the largest plots in the community, while his mother worked part-time at a boarding/training facility for horses. Needless to say, a majority of Sam’s youth was spent tilling, digging, running and working himself sore on an especially productive day.

Though there was little to be found in the way of complaints; as far as Sam was concerned, this was absolutely the best life anyone could live. Chasing after chickens, growing your own dinner, learning how to aid in bringing a calf into the big, bright world were perks not everybody got access to, after all. And using his hard-earned allowance to buy a new comic, or a brand new cartridge for his gameboy was so darn satisfying. Working for both necessity and luxury gave Sam a grateful outlook, and watching his parents support each other through yet another baby, still managing to maintain their happy little family, only served to instill a larger sense of humility and responsibility within him.

And then came his eleventh birthday.

Technically, the signs had reared their ugly heads much earlier. His mother didn’t go back to work once his little brother, Stevie, was born. Which Sam didn’t think much of aside from being happy to spend more time with her after school. It wasn’t until his father began to follow in the same pattern that an undeniable sense of dread fell into the pit of his stomach. The news came a few hours after Sam’s party; the farm his father had spent almost two decades on was closing down, with the owner’s passing. Mr. Evans had been painstakingly trying to find other work in town, but with yet another baby on the rise, they would need a lot more income in order to keep themselves afloat. Luckily, a job opportunity via email had been offered in the line of advertising work, putting to use a bachelor’s degree and various past jobs once thought of as useless. With things already in place for the transfer, they announced the family would be moving in under a month. To Lima, Ohio.

Sam was never able to completely mask his devastation at the news, his mother occasionally catching his lithe shoulders bobbing with sobs as he packed away his toys and other belongings. But not once did he ever throw a fit, and rarely ever complained. Family was everything to Sam. His parents had stressed that this was going to best for everyone, including his two younger siblings, and Sam knew he had to be strong for them. Although the transition wasn’t as startling as Sam had expected, which made things just a little easier for him. Now working from home, Mrs. Evans took the time out to home-school Sam until high school rolled around.

When his freshman year finally did approach, the culture shock nearly had Sam wanting to book a train back to Maysville. It wasn’t even the grossly larger population, although it did intimidate him something fierce upon stepping foot onto the freshly trimmed lawn. It was the people - kids his own age, and older, yet, they all seemed to be from another planet. His timid smiles were met with either looks of disgust or downright confusion, and he was at once thankful that he’d elected to grow out his hair so as to shield him from the judgmental stares. Everything was so loud, so fast-paced, in a certain order that he had only gotten glimpses of in crappy teenage-targeted dramas.

His normally positive outlook dimmed in the coming weeks, until his father suggested that he pick up a sport. Something that Sam could focus on instead of just his classes and struggling home life, a good outlet. In the back of his mind, something that could make him at least appear to blend in with this new normal. Honestly, trying out for the swim team had been a complete crap-shoot in his head. Sure, he loved to swim in the lakes during summer, and even during some of the colder months for a quick jolt of adrenaline. What he and the others trying out, even their coach certainly didn’t expect, was for the blonde to be so damn good at it.

It wasn’t long before Sam began to lap his way through the first year, rising in both status and confidence, along with sharing in the swim team’s wins in multiple meets. That, coupled with what quickly became coined as an irresistible “southern charm” led him into the popularity circle. What started out rocky, has been a pretty smooth ride in terms of high school. However, the same can’t be said for his home life; his father’s work at the advertisement agency has been taking a toll on him, the entire family can see it. And his mother, well… he’s not exactly sure, but he’s almost certain he can smell a whiff of another cologne when she gets home from her new job. Whenever his parents are home together, half of the time they’re at each other’s throats about finances or spending time with the children, and Sam is quick to usher Stevie and Stacey away from the mess.

But no matter how much his family may be ripping apart at the seams, Sam does his absolute best not to let it affect him or his siblings. Even if it means acting as more of a parent to them than his own, they’re always going to come first, no matter what.