#billy will start huffing and sometime whimpering

[unreadpoppy]

things i think people who never owned dogs know but i want them to know: dogs dreaming will give you a jumpscare and you'll have to remember they're fine

[buckysgrace]

The Importance of Updog

Part one of Closer to My Heart!

Single dad!Billy Hargrove x fem!Reader

Theo shares the new words that he's heard. Billy is late as usual.

“No,” Becky drew out, “Mermaids can’t be this color.” She snapped as she pointed towards the mixes of orange and purple on Rosa’s paper. Rosa’s nose crinkled in response. 

“Yes they can,” Rosa snapped back, looking just as frustrated, “You’re a liar.” She said quickly, pointing her finger at Becky. You quickly wiggled yourself in between, knowing that Becky liked to bite rather than argue. 

“Hold on,” You spoke up to get their attention, “This is a really good question. How can we find out what color mermaids are?” You asked them, tapping your finger against your chin as you pretended to think for yourself. You liked giving your students the opportunity to work out their issues on their own. Sometimes.

“Well-,” Becky began, only to be cut off by a loud sigh further down from the room.

“Motherfucker!”

Your eyes widened in surprise as you snapped your head around, your students following your lead as the room suddenly became quiet. You drifted your gaze towards your table of boys that usually were full of giggles and anything but dirty words. 

“Shitbiwd!” The smallest one yelling out, his dark eyebrows furrowed together as he stared angrily at the blue marker he’d been shaking in his little fists. He pouted his little lips out, looking frustrated as he tried to scribble once again. 

“Theo,” You rushed over, ignoring the sounds of the other little boys and girls gasping as you knelt down by him, “What’s wrong?” You whispered towards him, surprised that he had said such a thing. You never had any issue with him. 

Theo had been in the daycare since he was an infant. He was a big snuggler, one of your loudest gigglers and was always first in line for snack time. Hearing him curse was something new, as was seeing him so frustrated. 

“It empty,” He said in annoyance, “Wook!” He proclaimed as he tried to draw, showing off that the ink was gone. His blue eyes looked up towards you worriedly, like the world would end if he couldn’t get green down on his paper. 

“So what can we do about it?” You asked him calmly, watching the way his features slowly relaxed and his blue eyes widened. He stuck his tongue out in the same way he did when he was thinking extra hard. 

“Get a new one?” He questioned you, his blonde little curls still hanging over his forehead despite his new haircut. You figured he must’ve been outside a lot this weekend as his cheeks were full of fresh freckles. 

“Mhm,” You told him as you nodded your head, “And what can we say instead of using bad words?” You asked him casually, sure that he would come to his own conclusion. You blinked, watching as his features fell in despair. 

“I said bad word?” He asked you fearfully, his eyes filling with tears as he brought his chubby hands to his face, “Oh no!” He spit out dramatically, tears beginning to roll down his cheeks. 

“It’s okay,” You reassured him quickly, feeling guilty for making him cry, “You didn’t know. You don’t have to be sad.” You rubbed at his back as he collapsed into your arms, his little shoulders shaking as he cried. 

“My daddy say -,” He started as he sniffled harshly, burying his face into the crook of your neck, “My tongue tuwn to bugs if I say bad words!” He proclaimed once again, sounding quite sure of himself. You huffed, but quickly slid your disdain for his father away. 

“Theo has bugs.” One of the other little boys began to whisper, followed by a little course of giggles from your three and four year olds. You shook your head as Theo whimpered into your chest, as if his whole life was over. 

“Theo does not have bugs.” You told them seriously, meeting eye contact with each one until they were no longer laughing. Theo pulled his head away curiously, his skin flushed from where he’d been crying.

“My daddy lie?” He asked you in horror as you reached for a tissue, handing it to him tenderly. You bit your lip, knowing that one of the hardest parts of your job was to find the delicate balance between teaching them and sticking to the rules their parents set up. 

“No. I didn’t say that,” You clarified softly as he lightly dabbed at his eyes, “Stick out your tongue.” You told him as you sat back. He looked at you confused, his little button nose wrinkling up. 

“Huh?”

“Let’s check for bugs,” You said, tilting your head while he stuck his tongue out for you to see, “Hm.” You pretended to think as you playfully tilted his head from side to side. Zane, who sat next to him, leaned closer in curiosity. 

“Wha?” He asked, still holding his tongue out. His blue eyes were wide with fear as he kept flickering his gaze down to you. 

“All I see is up dog.” You replied as you put on a frown, dropping his chin at the same time he stuck his tongue back into his mouth. 

“What’s up dog?” He asked almost perfectly as you felt a smile form on your lips. Humor really was the best medicine. 

“Not much, dog. What’s up with you?” You grinned as you asked him the question, fingers pressing into his soft sides as he let out a loud giggle. His eyes lit up in joy, already forgetting the previous situation. 

The remainder of craft time was spent with your children telling each other the updog joke, as in their eyes you were clearly the funniest person they knew for the time being. And you were fine with that. At least they appreciated your humor. 

You passed off reading time to one of the assistant teachers, knowing that you needed to at least attempt to reach Theo’s father before the day was over. Even though you didn’t want to. You never wanted to. 

“Is Billy Hargrove there?” You asked once someone from the auto shop finally picked up, “I’m with Sunnyside-“

“Just a second.” The guy answered you before you could finish, making you feel as if you already knew where this call was heading. Billy was never pleasant when you called, always acting as if you were purposely trying to annoy him. Even though you were doing your job. 

“Yeah?” You listened to the sound of Billy’s voice a moment later. He sounded slightly out of breath, his tone raspy and uneven. You were sure his hands were probably greasy and dirty, his forehead sweaty. But you shook those thoughts away. 

“Hi,” You began, “There was an incident today at S-“ You read off the same script that had been engraved in your brain since you had started here. 

“Is Theo okay?” He interjected, “Did that Ricky boy bite him again?” He snapped, sounding as frustrated as Theo had earlier. You chewed on your bottom lip, but knew he had a fair point of being concerned with RIcky. Lucky for all of them, he no longer attended this daycare. 

“No,” You said slowly as you tried to keep your cool as you kept getting interrupted, “As I was saying, there was an incident today with Theo cursing.” You spoke a little faster in hopes that you wouldn’t get cut off this time. 

“So?” Billy scoffed as if it was no big deal. In all honesty, you did think it was sort of funny. But it was against the rules and you were just following the right steps so it didn’t look like you were stepping on anyone’s toes.

You wished you could step on Billy’s toes. Perhaps with a sharp pair of heels. Maybe he wouldn’t be so arrogant then. 

“It’s against the rules to have the children using profanity,” You replied as you rubbed at the back of your neck, trying to keep yourself from using the snarky tone that was crawling up the base of your throat, “I just had to call to keep you informed.”

“Isn’t your main rule for children to express themselves?” He asked and you swore you could feel the cocky smirk forming on his lips despite him not being here. He always wore it when he questioned you, as if you were the one that was doing something wrong. 

“I did not create the rules,” You replied sharply, “I’m just following the system so you’re up to date with the care of your child.” You spoke professionally despite the bitterness coursing through your system. Asshole. 

“Is Theo okay?” He asked a little softer, making your shoulders relax. Just a smidge. You were still on edge, feeling like he was tricking you with his gentle tone. Deep down you knew that he wasn’t. Despite your grievances towards him, he really was a good dad. Theo adored him. As did every single worker in the building. You didn’t understand the fascination.

He was always late, snippy and curled up his nose at you like you were the scum of the earth. There were many times that you wanted to remind him that he could move Theo to a different classroom if he wanted, but he never did. It was like he enjoyed torturing you. 

“He’s better now,” You responded as you nodded your head, “I just had to update before I filled out a behavior she-,” You were once again cut off, unable to finish your sentence. Perhaps that’s where the dislike came from as well.

“I’ll talk to Linda about it.” He hung up before you could respond, making you silently seethe in anger for a moment as he once again went above your head. You hoped the car grease seeped into his pretty blonde hair and ruined it. 

As usual, Billy strolled in at exactly 5:15, fifteen minutes passed when the daycare was officially closed. Something your supervisor liked to yell at you about. As if it was your fault. You’d given Billy the warnings, the reminder slips and everything above and beyond. He didn’t care and you no longer wasted your breath. You had learned to pick up your classroom at that time, to clock out and sit up front with Theo until Billy decided to arrive. 

He put out his cigarette before he entered, his curly hair loosely tied back as some strands fell in front of his forehead. He was out of his mechanic uniform, wearing a tight pair of jeans and a white tank top. You tore your gaze away from his formed biceps, distracting yourself with how many rainbows were decorated on the walls instead. 

“Daddy!” Theo proclaimed, dropping his collection of toy cars as he bolted towards Billy, “Hi!” He squealed out, a smile bursting on his face as he reached for Billy’s arms. You smiled despite yourself. Perhaps all of Billy’s best qualities had gone to his son.

“Hey, squirt,” Billy responded affectionately as he kissed the side of Theo’s head, “How was today?” He asked as he bounced him in his arms, pulling a grin on his lips.

“Fun!” He replied as he rested his cheek against Billy’s for a moment. He really was the spitting image of his father. You shook your head as you began to place his toy cars into his backpack.

“He can do that.” Billy responded, stalling your movements as you held up your hands innocently. Usually your interactions were fake smiles and the occasional good night. But that was only if you were extra annoyed with him. His presence was already making your blood boil.

“Thank you teachew,” Theo smiled happily as he waddled back towards you. You slightly wondered if Billy purposely made him forget your name, “You come back?” He asked as he tilted his head, worried as if you would suddenly disappear.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, dog.” You teased him as he gave your fingers a little squeeze. He giggled, his eyes lighting up and his features bursting into joy as he turned back towards his father who looked anything but impressed. 

“Hey,” Theo ran up to him again, “I see your tongue.” He stated as he stared up at Billy, his backpack far too big for his little body. You pressed your lips together as you gathered your purse and collected yourself from the floor.

“What?”

“Please.” Theo begged as he tugged on Billy’s large hands. You kept to yourself but stayed put, knowing you couldn’t officially leave until they were gone. 

“Okay,” Billy pulled his lips together, like he was trying to keep from smiling, “What do you think?” He asked then stuck out his tongue, bending over a little bit so Theo could see better. 

“I don’t know,” Theo said as he rested his hands on his hips, “All I see is updog.” He replied, covering his mouth as he began to giggle. He was bouncing on the tips of his feet, unable to hide his excitement. 

“Updog?” Billy asked him curiously, going off script as he tilted his head to the side. He spared you a glance, but you quickly turned away from him. You offered no explanations. 

“Yeah,” Theo replied as he wrinkled his eyebrows together, “Updog!” He said sternly, his eyebrows wrinkling together once again. You debated about helping him out, but stopped in case Billy snapped at you again. 

“What’s that?”

“Daddy no,” He grumbled in frustration, “You have to say the name!”

“What’s updog?” Billy asked this time, raising an eyebrow as he waited. Theo was still grinning, the words on the tip of his tongue before it slowly fell. He wrinkled his eyebrows together, his features wrinkling into confusion as he faced you.

You met him halfway, sitting back on your knees as he raced over to you. He pouted his lips out as he gripped one of your hands, leaning against you as he stood to whisper into your ear, “How’s it go again?”

You smiled as you turned him around, still letting him hold your hand as you whispered to him, “Not much dog, what’s up with you?” He giggled as he listened before he repeated it back to Billy, laughing so hard that it was almost hard to make out the words.

“Ha,” Billy responded dryly, but his eyes crinkled in amusement as he held out his hand for Theo again, “You better get moving before we have updog for dinner.” His eyes slowly cut into yours but you turned away, having no desire to see how dumb he thought the joke was. 

“Uh oh,” Theo’s eyes widened as he quickly glanced at you before he bounced back towards Billy, “See you ‘morrow teachew!” He waved before he took Billy’s hand, rambling about his day as they left.

You used your key to lock up, ready to get home and have something strong. Perhaps a drink. Perhaps you’d eat your feelings away. Perhaps you’d buy a carton of cigarettes on the way home. The exciting possibilities were just endless. 

Your joy for the day only grew as you arrived at your car, almost jumping in joy to see the front tire that was completely lifeless and deflated of air. Perfect. Just the cherry on top that you needed. 

You turned on your heel, grumbling for the first time as you headed down the street. Looks like you’d be taking the bus. Your car could wait for later. You didn’t feel like unlocking the building and calling for anyone yet. That could wait for tomorrow. 

[gatorbites-imagines]

In honor of the (late) Christmas season, I’d love to request something with Billy Lenz (love his underrated ass)

Something smutty ofc, whatever you think suits him best! Thanks <:) i adore your writing

Billy Lenz x male reader

Drabble

I love Billy Lenz, hes my little freaky guy.

Somnophilia warning, if that’s not your thing.

Shaky, uneven breathing was the only noise in the dark bedroom besides the slick uneven noise of Billys hand dragging up and down his shaft. He was straddling your sleeping body, knees settled far enough apart that no part of him was actually touching you, but you were oh so close.

Close enough for him to see your chest rise and fall, close enough to smell you, and oh how your smell made his eyes roll back into his head, tremors of needy desperation running through his bloodstream.

The darkness of the room covered his features, the dark December night working in his favor, as it allowed him to get closer and closer to you at night, until finally, he found himself bold enough to crawl onto the bed with you. The first nights he hadn’t done anything besides sitting near you, just staring with wide unblinking eyes, as you looked so peaceful dead to the world.

But soon that wasn’t enough, and Billy had undone his belt and started touching himself, sometimes going as far as to bury his face into your sheets right beside you, muffling his sloppy barely suppressed moans and whimpers as he worked himself harder and faster.

Tonight, that hadn’t been enough, even after dragging two whole orgasms out of himself, even as his cock ached from overstimulation, it wasn’t enough. With a pair of your used boxers pressed to his face, the man huffing your scent and musk like a drug, he found himself working his length a third time, twitching and shaking at the electricity it sent through him.

Drool ran down Billys chin, staining the fabric held to his face, only causing it to stick against his chin and mouth. With a wet shaky silent moan, Billy rubbed his tongue into the fabric, working the hand around his sensitive length even faster.

It wouldn’t surprise him if he gave himself carpet burn, or rubbed himself raw, with how much he jerked off to the sight of you, even just peeping on you at night or around the house, or listening to you talking to yourself or to someone on the phone. At least once a day, Billy was draining himself, going cross-eyed, tongue pressed between his teeth as he grunted and groaned, coating his hand in white.

Below him, you shuffled, causing Billy to freeze until you settled on your back, the blankets falling down enough to leave your naked chest uncovered and for Billys eyes to devour. Chewing at the fabric of the boxers, Billy found himself fantasizing about taking your chest into his mouth, to bite and suck and leave hickeys all over. To squeeze your chest together, to shove his cock into the grove it made, to cum all over your neck and face.

The fantasy had his thoughts swimming, feeling lightheaded. But maybe that was also from him suffocating himself with the now spit soaked boxers, making it difficult to breathe in and out. The mild asphyxiation and mental images of making you his was like a punch to the gut, weak spurts of cum shooting from his tip and coating your chest in thin stripes.

If he hadn’t gotten off at least twice before climbing on top of you, the load would have been much bigger and stronger, probably striking you across your peaceful sleeping face. With a whimper, Billy froze, fearing you would wake up to the foreign feeling. But when you didn’t, the giddy feeling inside Billys chest unfurled, arousal and need churning inside his body.

His length ached and was soft in his hands, but it didn’t stop Billy from starting to pull and twist at it again, forcing his body into painful overstimulation, vision going black for a second as he pushed his body to its limits. He wanted to coat you again, as many times as he could, he didn’t even care if you woke up anymore, he needed it.

[creepswrites]

RED CHRISTMAS (CH 2) | Billy Lenz

ah my favorite story Red Christmas time....... i love writing billy lenz character studies, it makes me so happy...

BILLY LENZ + SORORITY GIRLS

SUMMARY: Something stuck with her though: the name Agnes. Billy had mumbled it during his meltdown and it felt personal. It gave her something to work with though. She needed to know more, needed to unravel this man's mysteries. Both as a future psychiatrist and out of genuine concern.

He was strange. She needed to know more.

WARNING: discussion of graphic violence/child abuse

Phyllis Carlson had a lot of patience. She prided herself on being realistic yet understanding, all good qualities to have for a future as a doctor. Because she wasn't going to just be a nurse like her parents had wanted for their good little girl, always so condescending. No, she would be a proper doctor and a damn good one too.

However, sitting here on the couch watching some stranger whimper and cry in the communal kitchen while Jess tried to talk him down? She was reconsidering that whole Hippocratic oath "do no harm" part. "So let me get this straight," she rubbed her temples with her fingers, eyes squeezing shut in pure frustration. The Christmas tree still sat aglow, the soft lights the only light in the living room. It made her glasses-less sight all that much worse. "Some random dude stayed here after the party, attacked Peter, and suddenly Jess is going all psychology major on him?"

She kept her voice a whisper, shooting paranoid glances towards the kitchen, afraid to be too loud and be on the receiving end of the stranger's wrath.

Barbara Coard, in sharp contrast, did not appear at all stressed or concerned. "Good for him, honestly. Petey here can be pretty annoyin' sometimes." She said with a smirk, ignoring the glare the man gave her. "I like him."

Peter huffed in typical drama queen fashion. "He attacked me, Barb."

"Aw shut up and keep fidgeting with your ice pack," Barb scoffed, "And zip it, bucko, mommy and daddy are talking." She turned back to Phyll with an attentive look.

Phyll didn't give that any kind of response. "I'm just worried this guy is dangerous. I mean, I certainly don't remember seeing him."

"Neither do I," Barb said with another drag of her cigarette. "His voice is kinda familiar though, ain't it?"

The two girls shared a look before looking towards the kitchen doorway.

Billy and Jess had sat at the little kitchen table once again. He was staring ahead at absolutely nothing while she wrapped his knuckles with soft, white gauze. They'd started bleeding after hitting Peter and Jess had immediately fretted over the injury. She shushed and soothed his stammering and mumbles, not flinching when he had small, squealing outbursts. "It's alright, you're safe." 

Green eyes fixed on her with an unblinking stare as she worked.

"You really did a number on Peter, y'know. What, um, prompted you to even lash out like that?"

Still, she was met with only silence.

It was very odd to her, considering what she knew about the Moaner. She hadn't told anyone else about his identity yet because she knew without a doubt that that reveal wouldn't go over well for anybody. The memory of Billy's threats to kill them still lingered in the back of her mind and it kept her on edge.

Surely, if he wanted to hurt her, he would've done so by now.

As she finished wrapping his hands, she gave him a warm smile. "Well, there you go, all patched up."

Billy couldn't meet her eyes and instead stared across the room at the candy cane he'd sharpened. After the incident with the pillow, Jess had taken it away to throw out. But his hands itched for a new weapon, for something to distract himself with. The longer he stared at the candy cane, the more compelled he felt to stab someone with it. Whoever he could get his hands on.

She noticed his gaze and stepped away slowly, creeping towards the candy cane knife like she was worried he'd lunge if she got too close. But he stayed still, picking at his cuticles and nails anxiously as he watched her pick it up and throw it away.

His eyes closed as the voices in his head disappeared in a soft breeze of calm.

"Hey," Barb's voice cut through the serene silence of the kitchen. Billy let out a small yelp and scrambled out of his chair to hide on the other side of the table away from Barb. 

"Barb." Jess said softly. "We should, um, talk. With Phyll too."

The other girl nodded before giving a hesitant glance towards Billy. "You behave, alright?" She said, her cigarette hanging loosely between her fingers, a sharp contrast to the pink nightgown she wore.

He watched their backs retreat and hurried to turn off the kitchen light, plunging the room into darkness. Peter scoffed in the next room but Billy ignored the swelling urge to go kill him. Instead, he ducked under the table. Dark and quiet, just like the attics he was used to.

The attic.

The girl he'd left upstairs.

Jess's kindness would surely disappear once she learnt of the girl in the attic. Broken and cold, tied to the rocking chair like she was nothing more than a doll. She wasn't, as far as Billy was concerned. But she was still broken. A broken toy.

"Silly, silly, silly Billy, what have you done..." He whispered as he ducked his head between his knees, suddenly struck with a sick feeling in his stomach. "Billy, Billy, you broke it. Broke it. Broke it. Nasty, stupid Billy!" The words scraped his throat, mimicking his mothers voice. "Nasty pig bitch !" His voice cracked and he slapped a hand over his mouth.

Tears began to fall and he didn't know why.

"Jessie, I gotta be honest, this is a weird one." Barb said as she gestured to the kitchen, now plunged in darkness. "He's, uh, kinda strange."

"Kind of?" Peter protested with a huff. "You can't seriously be thinking of keeping him here."

Jess felt indignant. "Yes, I am. I think we should let him stay. At least for tonight."

Phyll gazed up at the Christmas tree, listening but not contributing. She seemed far away, thinking hard about something.

Their guest's voice was so familiar-

"I'm cool with him stayin'," Barb said with a shrug, "But, uh, no more screamin' episodes, yeah?"

Jess nodded, beginning to drift away to her own thoughts as Barb and Peter argued.

She was a psychology student. Being presented with a mysterious and clearly unstable man was, intellectually, fascinating to her. Had she not heard his comments about pigs earlier, she wouldn't even believe the man who sat in her kitchen and lost his mind trying to defend her from Peter could possibly be the same man who screamed lewd remarks at her over the phone.

How did these things connect? What happened to him? Where did he even come from?

She had to know more.

"He's familiar, isn't he." Phyll said more than asked. She turned to look at Jess, staring her down harshly as though searching for an answer on her face. "Kinda looks a bit like Peter. But I feel like I've heard him somewhere."

The two stared each other down. Jess tried to keep her expression schooled as Phyll searched for something there.

She knew. Or, at the very least, suspected. Jess wouldn't fold. She wouldn't say anything, especially not with Peter in the room.

"Bitch-!" They heard from the next room and Phyll's eyes widened in horror.

Barb didn't seem to notice. "You okay in there?" She called out, oblivious to the way her sisters seemed to have a conversation with just a look.

When Billy didn't answer, she made her way to the kitchen. "Wait, Barb, be careful!" Peter called out which only annoyed her.

"Relax, Petey, I can take care of myself." She sighed before stepping into the kitchen, the cold tile biting at her bare feet.

The limited light that reached the kitchen only faintly highlighted the face of the man gasping through sobs under the table. Green eyes were sharp and calculating, watching intensely as Barb sat on the floor in front of him. "Hey, you alright?" She asked softly, talking to him like one of the animals at the shelter she took care of.

Billy just stared at her, his hand still clasped over his mouth to muffle his crying and whining.

"Hey," she said softly, "You okay?"

He stared at her as tears ran down flushed cheeks. In the dark, the shadows danced menacingly on his face, making him look terrifying. Billy grumbled something though his words were muffled by his hands.

Barb just tried to smile. "You, um… You like music?" When he continued to just stare at her, she took a slow drag from her cigarette. "I've been really into makin' mixtapes lately. It's, uh… It keeps me busy, y'know? I've made a couple for Phyll and Jess too."

Billy continued to stare blankly.

"What's up?" Barb eventually sighed. 

Without hesitation, Billy crawled towards her till their faces were mere inches apart. Barb opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it as his eyes began to dart back and forth between hers.

As quickly as he came, he recoiled like she'd slapped him, giggling and biting his lower lip as he tried to fight a smile. "You… good?" She frowned, scooting back a little.

He just gripped his hair tight, hanging his head like he'd done something wrong and he felt ashamed. "Silly, silly, silly," Billy whispered through his laughter. He couldn't help his staring. It was her fault, surely. Barb was pretty, he couldn't help but look. All the girls were but he hadn't gotten the chance to look at her properly. Jess had already been so close and he wanted to just get closer-

"Dude, what was that about?" Barb just chuckled good-naturedly. "If you wanted to kiss, all you had to do was ask."

Billy's head snapped up and he stared with his mouth agape. "K-kiss?!" His voice cracked into something higher pitched. "Kiss Billy? Kiss Billy?"

She just laughed. Laughed. Like Billy was funny, like it wasn't outlandish for someone to want to kiss him. Like he wasn't disgusting and ugly and-

Barb scooted closer, running her hand through his wild, curly hair to dislodge his hands. "I mean, you're probably less crazy than my ex boyfriend. He was a real psycho. Wanted me to run away with him to Europe. Like, dude, I have a life here. School 'n shit." She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Almost did it. My mom's a real piece'a work. Might've done it if she didn't beg me to stay."

Billy's eyes were still wide as he listened. A white-hot flare of protectiveness shot through him but was quickly extinguished when she shrugged.

She sighed, as though the mere memory exhausted her. "Whatever. Wanna kiss? I mean, if that's what you were thinkin' about doing. Got real close to me, man."

No. He didn't want to kiss her.

He nodded anyway.

Mother used to insist on affection from Billy. This wasn't different, surely.

The way Barb looked at him was different though. Gentler than his mother. Bile rose in his throat as she scooted closer and he tried to focus on anything else. The cold tile under his palms where he knelt on his hands and knees. Her soft, pale skin and the pink nightgown that rode up slightly when she moved closer. His teeth ground painfully, he couldn't meet her eyes, and he felt compelled to dig his teeth into the soft flesh of her exposed arms or thighs just to make her go away.

But her hands were gentle as she held his face. He didn't want to look at her face, didn't want to see his mother's face looking back.

Her lips were soft when she pressed them to his. Bile threatened to spill and he wanted to scream. She was soft, too soft, and he couldn't help the way he trembled. It was everything like and yet nothing like when his mother demanded he kiss her cheek goodnight whenever he was let out of the attic. Barb was softer, kinder, and it made his skin crawl. If Barb was harsh and forceful about it, at least he'd know to be repulsed. 

This was so different. The repulsion was there because he didn't know how else to feel about kissing. But her thumb gently brushed under his eye and she tilted his head gently so their noses wouldn't bump and he wanted to bite her so she would be cruel to him. He didn't deserve this sweet kindness from a girl he'd only ever known through the floorboards of her attic.

When they parted, he was gasping for air and she just giggled. "What, never kissed a girl before?" Her tone was light, teasing, and she was still holding his face like he was fragile.

No, he hadn't. He'd never enjoyed it, at least. The thought he even enjoyed kissing her made him feel sick to his stomach though. Billy opened his mouth, ready to scream at her, scream at himself, anything but then-

"Hey." Jess's voice broke their little bubble and Billy nearly cheered from relief. He couldn't bear thinking about kissing her again like he so desperately wanted to yet was equal parts disgusted by.

"Hey yourself," Barb chuckled, letting go of Billy and standing up to brush herself off while pointedly ignoring the look Jess was giving her.

Jess just sighed and shook her head, looking down at a trembling Billy. "Phyll says you can stay the night, if you want."

Peter, like usual, was hot on her heels to disagree. "No, absolutely not! I don't care what you girls say, I'm not letting him be alone with you."

Barb's eyes could've pupped out of her head with how hard she rolled them. "Petey, as cute as your white knighting is, we're perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves."

"I'm calling the police." He said with such an arrogant finality that Barb felt the urge to smack him upside the head.

Billy lunged for him and only stopped when Jess got between them. "No, Peter, you're not," she said, pushing Billy back slightly. "We're fine."

Barb reached over to ruffle Billy's hair and smirked when he squealed. "We got a big, strong man to protect us from the bad guys, Petey. We're all set."

Peter looked angry and Billy snorted to himself at the sight. He hated him so much. Rude, dismissive of the girls, forced his will on Jess all the time…

"Sounds like we're having a sleepover," Phyll's tired voice came from behind them all. She stood in the living room with her arms crossed over her chest in attempts to warm up. The fire had begun to turn to flickering embers and it was beginning to become too chilly for the girls in just pjs. 

"I'll make popcorn!" Jess smiled, turning on the kitchen light.

Billy hissed at the brightness. "Popcorn," he popped loudly. "Pop pop popcorn." He mimicked her tone and smooth accent, snickering. "I'll make popcorn."

Barb snorted. "Yeah, crazy. You got it." She yawned loudly and let out a long sigh. "'m gonna go grab pillows 'n blankets from our rooms. And my cigarettes. Be right back."

"Alright," Phyll said as Barb walked past her and back up the stairs. Her eyes never left Billy though, staring him down like a hawk when he turned to hover beside Jess in the kitchen.

Something was off about their impromptu guest and she wanted to find out what.

Peter, despite everyone insisting otherwise, had decided to stay. Despite his wishes, Billy happily sat at Jess's feet as she took her spot on the couch with the girls. The fire was now roaring and some romance movie Phyll picked was playing. She and Jess were enraptured by it while Barb just smoked, quietly bored. Sometimes Jess would play with a curl of his hair absentmindedly, not missing the way he tensed. Jess knew he was obviously not used to being touched but she did it anyways, hoping to help him get used to it again.

Peter sulked in the armchair and glared harshly at Billy all night as though hoping the other would just combust. 

"Alright," Barb eventually said, sliding off the couch to join Billy on the floor. "We usually do each other's nails during sleepovers, so!" She set a little tray full of nail polishes in front of him with an expectant smile. "World's your oyster bud. Pick whatever you want."

A scoff coming from the armchair made Barb roll her eyes again. Billy snorted at the way her face immediately contorted from kindness to annoyance in the blink of an eye. She was really animated when she wanted to be and Billy couldn't help mimicking her face at Peter. "Guys don't paint their nails. Pretty sure that's for fa-"

Phyll threw popcorn at him with a sharp hiss. "Watch it. We're throwing you out if you finish that sentence."

Billy turned his attention to the little tray while Peter and Phyll argued. He'd never been given a choice before and it overwhelmed him. Was there a right answer? Did Barb want him to pick her favorite color?

She must've noticed his hesitation and took pity on him. "You like candy canes, right? Want me to do alternating red and white?"

"Yes." Billy said softly, poking gently at the red polish. Yes, he liked that idea.

Barb smiled at him and took out her nail clippers to get to work. Surprisingly, Billy had rather long nails for a guy, which intrigued her. They were chipped in places and cracking in others but she was able to clip and file them down to an almost almond shape. "You've got such nice skin," she sighed wistfully. "I'm kinda jealous. I get pimples, like, all the time."

Billy didn't know what to say to that so he didn't say anything. Jess's hand was back in his hair and everything felt a little overstimulating but he grit his teeth. Barb wanted to paint his nails and he was determined to tough it out. He didn't want her to be mad at him.

When she was done, though, Billy couldn't help but admire her work. They were pretty. It almost reminded him of the dark colors his mother would sloppily paint her toes with in the living room while on the phone with her friends.

Almost.

Suddenly, a sharp shuddering feeling wracked his body as Jess began to scratch his scalp in slow, methodical circles. He let out a yelp of surprise and clung to her legs like he would drift away if he let go. Billy trembled, biting his lip to keep himself from making a sound. Barb noticed though and gave him a knowing smile. "Hey Jessie, I think he likes that."

"What?" Jess blinked. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was-"

Billy whined, digging his nails into her bare legs and burying his face into the couch cushions beside them. It felt nice. Goosebumps ran up and down his arms and made him shiver.

So she resumed, scratching in slow circles with her nails, uncaring of the way his hair felt a little dirty. Billy whimpered and would occasionally bite on his knuckles - Barb had smacked his hand when he tried to chew his nails - and Jess was struck by how intimate this felt.

It didn't normally. But things with Billy were slightly different, more charged, likely because he was so overwhelmed by gentle touching and genuine care. She'd seen Barb kiss him in the kitchen, she knew there was something about him that pulled people in. It was interesting, in her opinion. She'd met many mentally ill people in her studies so it wasn't the strangest thing she'd come across.

Something stuck with her though: the name Agnes. Billy had mumbled it during his meltdown and it felt personal. It gave her something to work with though. She needed to know more, needed to unravel this man's mysteries. Both as a future psychiatrist and out of genuine concern.

He was strange. She needed to know more.

Jess woke up first. Light peered its way through the windows and shined bright in her eyes. She took in the room, noting Barb and Phyll cuddled up on one end of the couch with Peter slumped over in his chair. She became immediately aware of the soft snoring beside her though.

At some point in the night, Billy had climbed up on the couch and tucked himself against her. The two of them were pressed together, his head resting on her shoulder while her head lay atop his. His knees were bent up to his chest with his arms curled against his chest, like he'd tucked himself into a ball. It made her heart clench a little seeing how little space he tried to take up.

In the light, it was easier to study him. Dirt and dust covered his clothes and hair, now highlighted obviously in the morning sun. Long, thin scars littered his hands in places and it was obvious he chewed on his fingers a lot. He was freakishly pale with dark circles under his eyes as proof he didn't sleep very often. A few stray scars on his face or near his mouth likely meant he'd been hit a few times. The idea sickened her.

Gently, Jess reached over and brushed a stray lock of hair behind his ear. When she pulled her hand back, he was staring at her, his breathing never changing. "Hi." She kept her voice soft to try and avoid waking the others or disturbing the sleepy atmosphere between them. "Do you want to take a shower?"

He looked at her with slow blinks, reminding her of how Claud would stare at her.

She took his hands and pulled him up, leading the way up the stairs towards the communal bathroom. "Here, wait in there, I'll grab you some things." She said quietly before retreating to her bedroom to grab her toiletries and some of Peter's clothes he'd left the few times he'd stayed over. He was skinnier than her boyfriend was but they'd fit him better than any of her clothes.

Billy was easily coerced into taking a shower, giving her time to do some quick research.

Jess made herself comfortable at her desk in her bedroom, cracking her knuckles as she got to typing. Without a last name to go off of, she'd have to get creative. So, she tried a few key words: "Billy and Agnes." "Billy phone calls." "Mimicking phone caller." But nothing had come up yet.

A thought came to her. While it had been rude, Peter had made a comment about an asylum. It was a stretch and not an idea she particularly liked, she googled nearby asylums within reasonable driving distance, added Billy's name, and began to scan through search results.

On the fifth failed attempt, Jess hung her head. "Okay," she sighed, "One last try."

Harmony Heights Hospital... Billy...

Instantly, various articles popped up about a man named Billy Lenz. She straightened up and began scanning through the first few links…

CHRISTMAS KILLER SET FREE...

LENZ BOY LET OUT ON GOOD BEHAVIOR...

THE TRAGIC STORY OF AGNES LENZ...

What on earth was this…

\\\

LENZ FAMILY MURDERED by Axel Waters, Investigative Journalist

Many times over the course of a person's life, we face challenges that seem impossible. Our experiences change us and shape us into the people who we are. These challenges help us grow as people, be it for better or worse. For one Bill Lenz aka The Christmas Killer, things have certainly changed for the worse.

On Christmas morning, Lenz was found by police in his home, covered in blood and holding his baby sister Agnes Lenz. Upon his arrest, Lenz was pleading with the police to not take his sister and had fought so viciously that he had to be restrained in order to be taken to the car. The state of the home, dear readers, was horrific.

Both Lenz's mother and stepfather had been stabbed through the neck with sharpened candy canes. The man - Roger Dirkson - was face down on the stove with various knives lodged into his back, a passionate kill that chilled me to the bone. His mother - Constance Lenz - was far worse; her eye punctured with a sharpened candy cane with her head caved in by a frying pan that lay discarded nearby. Lenz had been vicious and brutal and had the nerve to huddle up with his freshly traumatized five-year-old sister.

Lenz is said to be institutionalized in the nearby Harmony Heights Hospital whilst Agnes is placed into foster care for the time being. While the date for Lenz's trial is not yet in place, I hope that the seventeen-year-old will be tried as an adult for these grisly murders.

\\\

Jess sat back in her chair, letting the words roll over her like smashing waves. Her body thrummed with terror and anxiety as she tried to process what she'd read. He was a killer? He'd killed his family?!

She checked the date of the article, swallowing when she noticed it was from nearly four years ago. Quickly, she began to search for anything more recent, praying for an explanation as to why he'd done it.

An article from a year ago caught her attention.

\\\

A DARK CHRISTMAS INDEED by Marilyn Lowell, Journalist

On a dark, terrible Christmas morning exactly three years ago, a young Billy Lenz was arrested for the brutal, unnecessary murder of his mother and stepfather. 

Or so we thought.

After a difficult trial two years ago, Lenz was found guilty by reason of insanity and was not imprisoned for his crimes.

How could this be?

Evidence later found by police showed overwhelming evidence that Lenz had been gruesomely neglected. Investigators say he was locked away in the attic for days at a time and, based on medical reports from Lenz's physical, it's likely that he was fed very little. He was, undoubtedly, insane. He was unable to form complete sentences and lashed out at anyone who tried to get close.

While it had been impossible to pull any kind of real information out of the traumatized young man, Sheriff Rowan Pierce had this to say about the situation: "He was screaming like nobody's business," Pierce said of Lenz. "All he kept asking was where was [Agnes], where's my sister, all that..."

Agnes Lenz, tragically, bore witness to the murders at only five years old. She was separated from Lenz and became a ward of the state during investigations. She has reportedly since been placed in foster care, far away from her home, her brother, and the horrors that unfolded. Police have refused to give any and all reporters her whereabouts.

Officer Jacob Fowling had this to say: "She's just a little kid. She doesn't need to be reminded of this every day. Anyone who goes looking for an interview with her is just heartless." 

Bill Lenz, now twenty, is said to be released from Harmony Heights this upcoming week. Here's a statement about Lenz, from Dr. Steven Fell: "Bill Lenz has been through a lot. People often overlook the results of a deep abuse like that and aren't understanding of what extreme measures a man can take to save himself. When he came to me, he was practically emaciated and you couldn't even get within five feet of him without him freezing up. It was horrible."

While initially the Lenz children were scorned when the crime was first made public, opinion has since swayed after the evidence of neglect became apparent. As far as I know, the children are both recovering and have reportedly not seen each other since the incident. I can only hope that they will heal.

I send my condolences to the two children and wish all my readers a happy holiday.

\\\

Jess let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She continued to skim through articles, jotting down whatever information she could on a small pad of paper beside her. Different articles revealed more and more horrific details. Some reports, however, were just trashy, claiming that Billy had eaten his parents' cooked flesh or that Agnes was both his sister and daughter. Clearly just written in hopes of capitalizing on a horrific tragedy.

But she was able to get a clear picture of what happened: Billy killed his family, had been locked away in the attic for most of his life, was physically abused, and cared deeply for his sister despite the favoritism. 

Reading through it, Jess found it harder and harder to be angry about him killing them. It was practically self-defense.

Agnes was difficult for reporters to find. The only article she could find was one about the trial where she'd been called to the stand and unable to recall anything of the incident, clearly having already suppressed the trauma. It made Jess's heart ache for the little girl.

But Jess was no reporter. She was a studying psychologist and she knew there were answers that only the young girl would have. If she could find her, she might be able to help Billy somehow.

Opening a new tab, Jess hovered over the keys. But, instead of Agnes' name, she typed in another: Dr. Steven Fell.

Call it a hunch, but she had a feeling he may know where Agnes went.

 Hot water ran down Billy's neck and shoulders as he hung his head in front of the shower head, staring down at his feet to watch the way dirty water began to run clear. He lifted his hand to chew anxiously on his knuckles and whimpered, mind racing.

After Jess had left, he'd turned the shower on but hadn't gotten in. Guilt gnawed at him, ate away at his stomach until he nearly threw up. Mother. Upstairs. The girl he'd hurt and broke and left to die in the cold attic. As soon as the others learnt what he'd done, he'd be in trouble - thrown out onto the streets or, worse, thrown back into his cell.

Bad Billy, his mother scolded him in his mind, naughty, stupid Billy!

So he'd crept towards the stairs, using the running shower to muffle his steps. Jess was nowhere to be seen and he couldn't hear any of the other girls moving about so he tried to be quick. Before he was caught and thrown away.

He opened the little door to the attic and hoisted himself up, tucking his legs in and shuffling towards the girl still tied to the rocking chair. She was still and cold and he briefly worried she had died in the night. But no, her breath came out in hot clouds.

Scratching at his wrists and arms, he studied her closely while untying her. Not broken then. Cracked, maybe, but not broken.

Billy lifted her up into his arms and carried her down the ladder carefully, making his way back to the room he'd found her in.

He took in the decor, giggling at the photos of naked women performing witchcraft on her walls. Billy lay her gently down on the floor, mumbling to himself. She fell. Yes. She was hit in the head and she fell but she was okay. He set a box nearby to make it look like it had hit her. Perfect.

The door shut with a quiet click behind him and he hurried back to the bathroom. She'd wake up and no one would know. Everything would stay as it was.

Which was where he stood now. Scrubbing himself off with a washcloth in water that was slightly too hot but he was too afraid to try and fiddle with the nozzles. He was just grateful he got hot water at all. Usually, mother wouldn't let him have that, even in the winter.

When he finally stepped out, he got dried and changed quickly, not wanting to see the scars on his body any more than he had to.

But he couldn't help looking in the mirror when he was done.

His hair hung in messy, uneven lengths, water still bogging down his curls that hung just to his shoulders. It felt good to be clean though, flushed warm from the shower and pink in the cheeks. Billy studied himself in the mirror, poking and prodding at gaunt cheeks, tugging around the skin around his wide, unblinking eyes. He looked unpleasant, just like his mother always said. Too tall, too skinny, too ugly.

But he was clean. That was a nice change at least.

The old band t-shirt and sweatpants didn't suit him at all but it was better than nothing. He poked and prodded at the small holes in the shirt, smiling when he heard the fabric snap as he made them bigger. Serves Peter right.

Quietly, he tiptoed out of the bathroom and back towards Jess's room, peering in through the slight opening of her door. She was already dressed in her day clothes and seemed focused on whatever she was writing. Billy didn't want to disturb her, so he just watched her. Bore holes into the back of her head as she wrote vigorously, glancing between her paper and the screen. Minutes ticked by and he wondered what she was doing. But, before he could creep in to get a better look, she turned her computer off, put the pad of paper in her purse, and stood up to leave.

Jess jumped when she saw Billy hovering in her doorway. "Christ, you scared me!" She scolded him as she caught her breath. She pushed Billy aside as she stepped out and took a deep breath. "Smells like Barb and Phyll are making breakfast."

"Breakfast." Billy repeated, mimicking her cadance. He liked the way her voice sounded, like cold water.

She gave him a slight smile and led the way back downstairs.

Peter immediately descended upon them. "There you are!" He rushed over to Jess, taking her by the shoulders to look her over. "What happened? Did he hurt you?" 

Billy growled as Jess pushed Peter's hands off her. She hated feeling coddled and knew his concerns only stemmed from the fact she was pregnant. "Relax, Peter. I was just upstairs doing some quick research while Billy was showering."

The man looked Billy over, scrutinizing him. "What's he doing in my clothes?"

"Nothing I had would fit him," Jess sighed as she headed towards the kitchen, Billy hot on her heels like a needy puppy, sad whimpering to match.

Soft music filled the tiny kitchen as Barb worked. For as troublesome as she could be, no one made pancakes better than Barbara Coard. Phyll was sat at the little table with a mug of coffee and a tired smile. "Morning Jess," she sighed as she took a sip, "And… good morning, Billy." She said, albeit nervously.

Jess pressed a fond kiss to the top of her head before noting the music. "I didn't take you for a Human League fan." She called over to Barb with a wide grin.

"Well, this is my morning mixtape." Barb said over his shoulder, giving Billy a once-over. "Fashionable." She teased him before turning back to the bacon and sausage.

Don't, don't you want me?

You know I can't believe it when I hear that you won't see me

Jess reached for Phyll's hands and, despite her tired protest, pulled her to the center of the kitchen and began to dance rather clumsily together. Phyll squealed with delight as she slid around in her socks and Jess sang along to the music without a care in the world.

Don't, don't you want me?

You know I don't believe you when you say that you don't need me

"Careful! Crazy kids," Barb teased good-naturedly. She noticed Billy standing there awkwardly and, taking pity on him, held out her hands. "C'mere, freak." Was the only warning Billy got before she took his hands and dragged him into the fray.

It's much too late to find

You think you've changed your mind

Alarmed, Jess went to protest on his behalf but Billy let out a sound that was somewhere between a scream and a laugh, clinging to Barbara like they were stood on ice rather than the sturdy kitchen floor. Neither of them were dancing, just spinning each other over their heads and Barb kept trying to tickle him, digging her fingers into his sides and relishing in the manic smile on his face. Soon enough, the four of them were all dancing around the kitchen and laughing.

You'd better change it back, or we will both be sorry

It was the first time any of them had seen Billy really smile.

When the song came to an end, Barb grabbed both sides of Billy's head and tilted him down so she could press an exaggerated kiss on the top of his head. "Thanks for the dance, crazy." She teased with a violent ruffle of his damp hair, hoping to fluff it out a bit more.

Billy meowed like a cat and escaped to sit at the table with Phyll, face bright red and beaming, oblivious to the strange look Barb gave him. "Breakfast's ready!" She said instead as she plated the pancakes, bacon, eggs, and sausage for them all to take from.

Billy politely refused bacon and sausage with another quiet meow as he drowned his pancakes in syrup.

"Real men eat meat." Peter mumbled under his breath, glaring at Billy.

"Stupid bitch." Billy shot back in a scratchy, shrill voice.

The other man's head snapped up. "Excuse me?!"

Jess sighed loudly. "Be nice, boys."

Jess stood at the sink, washing the dishes from breakfast as she hummed along to the music playing on the radio. Phyll and Barb had gone up to shower and Peter was watching television in the living room. It wasn't her turn to do dishes but she didn't really want to sit with Peter and risk him talking about the baby. Besides, washing dishes was methodical and let her turn her brain off. It also gave her the chance to consider her plan of action for the day: call Dr. Steven Fell and, hopefully, go talk to Agnes.

She wasn't… totally sure what she'd do when she got there. But she'd figure that out later.

Soft footsteps approached her and stopped just behind her, observing over her shoulder. "Do you want to help?" She asked with a fond smile. "You can dry them, if you'd like."

Silence. Instead, she felt Billy press his fingertips to her back and she had to hold steady to avoid jolting. The last thing she wanted was him getting scared and running off. Instead, she just resumed humming the song. "Do you like music?"

More silence. But, after a beat, Billy began to hum along with her. Jess smiled and set aside the last dish on the rack to dry. "Do you want to dance? And I mean properly dance, not just spinning around the kitchen." She turned to look at Billy properly, ignoring the glares Peter kept shooting them from his spot in the kitchen. Of course, her boyfriend raised his hackles if Billy so much as looked at Jess but the girl was so fed up she didn't even care.

Billy's eyes shot open in surprise and he began to chew nervously at chapped, peeling lips. "Dance…" He whispered as he stared down at his feet.

Jess took his hands and led him into the center of the kitchen and gave him a reassuring smile. When he floundered for what to do, Jess put his hands at her waist and set her own atop his shoulders. Billy looked a little green but let her move him how she wanted him. "Relax," she chuckled as the two began to sway stiltedly along to Let It Snow. "I won't bite."

Oh, the weather outside is frightful

But the fire is so delightful

Slowly, Billy began to relax and lean into the gentle swaying. It was basically middle school slow dancing - not enough movement to really be dancing but Jess was too afraid to do much more. He seemed easily overstimulated and she was just honored he let her touch him so much. She slid her hands up to loop her fingers around his neck and stepped more into his space, humming to the music.

And since we've no place to go

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

"Please don't," his voice came soft, barely audible over the music.

Alarm bells rang in her head. "Don't what?"

"Kiss me." He practically pleaded, green eyes finally meeting hers.

It doesn't show signs of stopping

And I've bought some corn for popping

The lights are turned way down low

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Jess frowned. "Why would I kiss you?"

Billy swallowed with a click of his throat. His eyes darted to Peter in the living room who had yet to notice their closeness. Because I want to, Billy's mind unhelpfully provided.

She just swayed with him in time to the song, her brain trying to wrack itself why he'd think she wanted to kiss him. "Is it because Barb kissed you?" She tried, biting her own lip now.

Billy jolted but still nodded.

"Barb is just like that," Jess sighed, thoroughly annoyed with her sorority sister now. "She doesn't read the room sometimes and has a habit of kissing anyone she wants."

The two of them flinched when Peter shouted in the next room, cheering along with whatever sport he was watching. Billy growled under his breath. "Nasty pig bitch…"

Jess couldn't help her laughter. "Yes, I'm beginning to agree with you."

Billy felt light and heavy all at once. He wanted to die when he saw her smile yet couldn't imagine a world where she wasn't happy. Peter deserved to die for trying to ruin her life with a baby.

True to her word, Jess didn't kiss him. Billy couldn't help the way his hands tried to follow her when she stepped away, already missing her warmth.

Jess paced her room, listening to the dial tone of the phone ring. She'd swiped the downstairs phone to try and call Dr. Fell in the privacy of her own room. The others were downstairs watching television and she took the opportunity.

She nearly gave up until, after the fourth ring, he picked up. "Dr. Fell speaking."

"Dr. Fell! Hello, my name is Jessica Bradford. I wanted to ask you some things pertaining to a patient." She fidgeted with the cord, keeping her eye on the door in case anyone decided to barge in.

A pause. "Ms. Bradford, I'm afraid I'm unable to provide any information regarding patients to strangers."

"Oh, I don't need patient information."

"Then what?"

"I… Need to know where Agnes Lenz is."

The silence that followed was deafening. She heard his chair creaking and worried for a moment he was going to hang up. "The case was closed years ago. And trying to get an interview through me is rather shameless." His voice was menacing and certainly threatened hanging up.

But Jess was fast. "I'm a friend of Billy's!" More silence. "He's… He mentioned Agnes to me yesterday and I felt compelled to try and find her. I- I don't know when's the last time he saw her but-"

"If you really do know Mr. Lenz, tell me: which of his ears has a chip in it?"

Jess bluescreened, trying to remember how Billy looked. Who paid attention to that sort of thing? She had a fifty-fifty chance… but she decided to take a gamble: "Neither."

Silence. Then a sigh. "Why do you care so much, Ms. Bradford? It's been years since the two have seen each other and even longer since the case was closed."

"I'm not a reporter." Jess insisted, clenching her jaw. "I'm a university student, I live in the Pi Kappa Sig sorority, and I go to school for psychology." A pause. "I want to help Billy."

"And you think reuniting him with Agnes is a good thing?"

"Yes, sir, I do."

Silence stretched on again, longer than any of the previous times. Jess almost worried he'd hung up before he spoke again. "Okay. But if I see anything in the news about an interview with this girl, I'll call the police."

Jess pulled out her pad of paper to scribble down the address.

"I'll only be gone a few hours." Jess sighed as she put her mittens on, trying to push Peter away from her.

Phyll, Barb, and Billy watched the whole tussle from their place on the floor, their game of Candyland temporarily put on hold in case Jess needed aid. Peter was convinced Jess was going to an abortion and all but grabbed her to try and keep her inside.

"Jess, please, don't do this!" He whined, standing in front of the doorway like a petulant child.

"I'm going shopping." Jess sighed, holding up her grocery bags. "Please, Peter, stop embarrassing me." She looked over at her sorority sisters as she pulled on her hat. "You two are find to stay with Billy?"

Barb chuckled and poked at said man with her foot. "So long as he keeps kicking Phyll's ass at Candyland."

Jess rolled her eyes fondly and pushed past Peter to head to her car, ignoring his protests as he tried to follow her. Thank god her lock hadn't frozen or he may have dragged her bodily back into the house. His fake crying was ignored as she pulled out of the driveway, content to let him think she was getting an abortion. She didn't care. Who knows, maybe she'd make an appointment later.

The drive to the little foster home Agnes lived at was about an hour away, giving her plenty of time to think. According to Dr. Fell, Agnes had visited Billy a grand total of twice when he was staying at the hospital. The two hadn't really talked but she didn't seem to hate him for what happened. She'd be around ten now and had been kept secret from any and all reporters. One had tried when Agnes had been seven but, luckily, police had been called.

She didn't seem to remember the traumatic night but both Jess and Dr. Fell didn't believe that.

Now that she was in the car and thinking about it critically, she wasn't sure what she was hoping to get out of this. Even if Agnes's guardians would let them talk, who knows if Agnes would even want to. All she could do was hope she'd talk if she mentioned Billy…

Did she even remember him anymore?

When she pulled up outside the house, she let out a little sigh, watching her breath become clouds in the cold air. It was like a tiny winter wonderland decorated with little white lights that cast flickering glows against the sparkling snow. Tiny snowmen and snow angels littered the front porch and Jess smiled fondly. Kids had certainly been out playing recently and it made her heart clench a little.

It wasn't like she never wanted a kid ever. Just right now wasn't a good time. How Peter couldn't even respect that was…

Shaking that train of thought away, Jess steeled herself and marched to the front door, reminding herself with every step that she had to do this. She had to get answers, had to try and help Billy in some way. He clearly needed it and she had a feeling this would solve a lot of problems.

The elegant green wreath stared her in the face as her hand hesitated over the warm red door. "You can do this." She whispered to herself and squeezed her eyes shut as she knocked.

The sound of footsteps running around became louder and a dog could be heard barking from inside. The door swinging open surprised her and she was met with the face of a little five year old girl stood in the doorway dressed in a cute little dress and holding a doll to her chest. "Hello," Jess said gently and smiled. "Where's your mother?"

All she got was a blank, terrified stare in response, like the little girl had opened the door on impulse and didn't actually expect anyone to be on the other side. "Um. Mm…" She mumbled, clinging tighter to her doll.

"Nora! What are you doing? Mama said you can't just open the door to strangers!" A voice came from within the house and an older girl came around the corner to shoo the younger girl off, watching as she scurried away shyly. She eyed Jess warily, holding onto the door as though preparing to slam it shut if Jess gave her an unsatisfactory answer. "What do you want?"

Jess felt her eyes widen as she stared at the girl. She looked different from the police photos but there was no doubt who she was. The little girl with wild brown curls that fell just past her shoulder, dressed in a soft white blouse and a navy blue skirt, who was staring down Jess with caution in her piercing green eyes…

...was Agnes Lenz.

[latelyanobsession]

Mosquito Bites - short scene

credit

a small scene that’s probably going to be put into a larger series i’m still thinking about... let me know your thoughts.

warnings cursing, sexual innuendo, previous sexual acts, heavy flirting

note this scene didn’t turn out as short as I thought it was going to 

__________

Turning your head from side to side you examined yourself carefully in the bathroom mirror. Wine stained blossoms were creeping from your collar bone to below your jaw. You sighed, touching them gently.

“It’s a damn good thing my mother isn’t here Billy Hargrove...” you huffed drying your hair and leaving the room to look for a shirt.

“And why’s that?” he mused, flicking his cigarette out the open bedroom window.

Rummaging around in your drawers you found the top you wanted slipping your arms into it.

“Because there’s not a chance in hell I’d slip past her looking like this.”

He licked his lips thoughtfully looking you over, lounging among your pillows.

“–––let alone smelling like you.” You added.

He grinned wickedly.

“Mommy’s good little girl isn’t so sneaky, hm?”

He quickly rose from the bed, pulling your t-shirt from your arms and tossing it aside.

“Don’t start.... I just showered...” you whined pathetically. 

The space between you two was closing quickly and soon your options for escape would be nonexistent. 

About to turn and run, he caged you in his arms looking positively smug.

You looked up at him with the biggest doe eyes you could muster. 

Your final plea. 

“Billy... school is in thirty minutes.” 

“Fuck’em.”

“But....”

His lips were on yours. 

Game over.

He was drawing you in, biting your bottom lip harshly, a low rumble in his chest egging you on. 

You clasped your hands desperately to his biceps, you were fading fast already.

“Billy....” you whimpered.

The day was going to be shot.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

“Hey kiddo, it’s me! Just checkin’ in! Got some grub!”

Billy looked at you quizzically.

“Hopper” you manage to puff out.

You grabbed his wrist shoving him into your closet. 

“Quiet.”

You quickly got dressed and answered the door.

“Hey...” you said meekly looking up at the adult.

“How’s it going kiddo?” He stepped inside and placed a brown paper sac on the kitchenette counter.

“Good. Settling in.”

He nodded, his eyes scanning the small apartment in approval.

“Glad to hear.”

He started walking towards the bedroom.

“So... Hopper —!” you croaked loudly, blocking the bedroom doorway.

He stared over your shoulder curiously at the messy layout.

“Is there any reason you came by... or can I just see you at the station later? School starts soon.”

He crossed his arms, running his hand over his mustache in thought.

“Yuh, I s’pose. Nothin’ big is happening. I need you to come in a bit earlier to run the phones. Flo is out this week.... her daughter just had a baby.”

You nodded. “No problemo.”

He looked at you suddenly worried. His chest bulging. “What are those?”

“What?” you asked dumbly.

“Those....” he pointed to your neck.

“Mosquito bites” you said, slapping a hand over them.

“Mosquito bites” he repeated in disbelief... “In April.”

You laughed nervously, “yeah I’m like candy... to ‘em. Can’t get enough of me.”

The clothing hangers in your closet shifted.

Hopper craned his neck into your room, “what you got in there?”

You started shoving him back towards the front door.

“That? The top shelf is unstable, falls out sometimes... no biggie.”

He looked over his shoulder at you.

“I could fix that for you...”

“Nah I’ll have the super do it. Hopper I have to get to school!”

“Right.” 

He grabbed his keys off the counter as you wrenched open the front door.

“I’ll see you this afternoon.”

You hastily waved and slammed the door.

“Mosquitoes huh?” Billy mused.

You jumped.

“Shut it...” you grumbled, a blush settling across your cheeks.

“Like caaaaandy...” he drawled grasping at you.

Before he could grab you, you pinned the bag of breakfast sandwiches to his chest.

“School. Now....”

––––––

The rest of the day went by without incident. 

That was until after school. 

You were waiting with Billy. Max wasn’t out for another couple minutes.

“You’ve caused me so much trouble today...” you looked over at him as he lit up, arm hanging out the driver’s window.

He lolled his head over to look at you, a small smirk pricking his lips.

“Not such a good girl after all....”

You inhaled sharply, looking away.

Thank God. Max!

“Hey Max! How’s it hanging?” you said with immense relief.

“Hey!” she tossed her skateboard in and climbed into the backseat.

You smiled happily.

Max gasped audibly. “What the hell happened to you?”

You turned in your seat, picking your brain for a believable answer.

“Well it’s a––”

“Mosquito bites...” Billy said cooly, starting the engine and peeling from the parking lot.

Your face flushed bright red as you sunk back into your seat.

“Gnarly...” Max replied.

[cloudninetonine]

Cogito, ergo sum

Chapter: 2

Pairing: Connor (RK800) x fem!reader

A/N: Hey guys! I want to apologise for the long wait between chpaters but seeing as I’m on my last year of college my school work is coming before everything else so it’s a little hard working between them! Don’t worry, I’m not dropping this series or anything just expect chapters to take a little long to be loaded and everything! Also, this chapter seems a little too far paced for me, so sorry about that as well!

Tags at the bottom once again!

I do not own Detroit become human this is merely fanficion

Warnings: Bad language, physical assault, threats (?), hints of abuse, (Name) being weird like always, also angry (Name), mentions of drugs, there’s a bit of slander against drug abusers that I do not condone!

Undercut babes!

It’s fascinating, it really is, the way her beautiful gaze follows you as you round her, studying her feverishly, your eyes wide and bright.

She’s...well, words cannot describe her. Her beauty lies beyond your imagination and you’re not quite equipped to say anything that her magnificent ears deserve to hear, your words are below her and she’s just-

Wow.

“Ms (Last), please-”

You raise your hand towards the younger engineer, silencing with a small utter of ‘hush’ and he’s shutting his mouth, falling back to the side of your desk with not much else to say.

The android you’ve been un-shamelessly ogling for the past 10 solid minutes is still very quiet, she’s just watching you in her manufactured attire, shy, nervous, scared- everything you really wish she wasn’t right now because there is no way you want her to see you as some sort of threat, far from it.

“Henry” Turning back towards the engineer, he stiffs up like a board, sweat forming on his brow “Why didn’t you dismantle her?”

It’s rude, it’s horrible to say and it sours your mouth when you form those words, but it’s an honest question, you want to know why someone would do this, keep her alive, see her for all her glory.

The public spoke strongly about their opinions of androids, like toys to be played with, slaves to be worked, not the thing you so desperately wanted people to see them as. The masterpieces that stood beyond human comprehension.

The android lets out a noise similar to a whimper as Henry stammers out.

“I-I couldn’t she- um- I-” Finally, he sighs with frustration, Henry makes eye contact with you “She said was scared and...I couldn’t”

You snap back to face her.

“Is that true?”

She hesitates, one second, two seconds, three seconds, four- it takes a whole 30 seconds before she’s finally responding. “Yes…”

Your chest bursts in excitement.

“You’re incredible” Henry deflates in relief, placing a hand against your desk while you grasp her cheeks, her warm grey eyes glancing between your two hands then meet your own stare, confused. “Amazing, beautiful, fantastic, so, so much more”

“...thank you”

You sniff, then you’re pulling away, trying to keep your tears abay. You really can’t believe that your work has gone so far, that new forms of sentient are evolving from a human’s hand, you’re so overjoyed by it all but you’re also kind of realising how weird you’re being.

“Sorry, I’m becoming the creepy stereotypical scientist, let me just-” Pulling off your lab coat, you throw it over her shoulders, pulling it tighter around her for her dainty hands to grasp and hold, a smile growing on her face in gratitude. You’re really still in awe of it all but send her a giddy smile back “Henry get Kamski I’m sure he’s gonna love this”

When the man disappears, closing the office door behind him, you guide her to a chair, kneeling before her kindly.

“Tell me” She waits patiently for you to continue “What’s your name?”

When she opens her mouth, you interrupt her, grasping her hands “No, not the name you were given, the name you have chosen. What is your name?”

You’re at the beginning of history right here, you can already see the books that are yet to be written, all starting at this very moment, with you and her. This android, this amazing, piece of living metal, is the start of something great and you can’t wait to be a part of it.

“My name is….”

-----------

“(Name), I’m sorry, but there isn’t really anything I can do”

Your hands come down on the desk, expression unbelieving.

“But he attacked Ortiz in self defence, it’s not fair for him to be shipped to Cyberlife! That hellhole already has enough test subjects with other deviants, why can’t he be let go!?” Pushing yourself back up, you drag your hands down your face in exasperation “He’s a victim! He was defending himself, why can’t we let him off with a lesser offence?”

Billie sighs, shutting the file softly. “Because in the eyes of the law, he’s not a victim. He’s property and there isn’t much we can do about that. Besides, because Ortiz is dead, his ownership basically goes back to Cyberlife, so they have the authority to take him back”

Billie’s right, you know that they’re right, but it’s just so frustrating, so vexing that this is the case. An android, in the eyes of society, is nothing more than their components, why should they be given the same privilege as those who eat, shit and breathe?

Billie may be a judge, but they didn’t make the law.

You remember years ago, when something like this would have been seen as detestable, that the masses would have stood up to fight this kind of horror, but for some reason, with age came stupidity and ignorance it seemed. What the fuck had happened to you all?

You open your mouth, then close it, then open it again before huffing, taking the file from their desk and ripping your coat off the hanger.

“I’m sorry, (Name)!” Billie calls and you wave them off, shouting back a ‘Don’t worry about it’ then close their office.

The courthouse is only a few blocks away from the precinct, a good walk away, a good way to calm yourself down until you’re having to face the frustration that comes in with having to work in such a high strung place. It’s funny really, you used to say ACAB when you were younger, still believed it too, so it’s really a wonder as to why you joined, but then again sometimes to make change you have to become the very thing you hate-

“Detective (Last)-” 

You scream, almost dropping your files and jumping a meter within the air. Passerbys don’t even spare you a glance, a generation raised on the weirdest websites like Vine, Tiktok, Youtube and god forbid, Tumblr, have them desensitised to whatever shit people like to play at now-a-days.

“Oh my God, Inspector Gadget” A hand falls to your chest, checking your racing heartbeat “You can’t just sneak up on a bitch like that”

Connor, the big old puppy, tilts his head in mild confusion “But I called your name twice, detective”

Oh.

“What are you doing here, Connor?”

The android joins your side and you continue your way. “Lieutenant Anderson informed me that you were heading to the courthouse, so I decided to come and brief you about a new case”

A new case, of course a new case, deviancy keeps popping up all over the country rapidly but you can’t hold your surprise about the fact that it’s been a  few days and there’s already a new case.

“Deadass?”

Wait, you hadn’t mean to say that-

His eyes narrow “Deadass?”

A snort escapes you “Oh my God I can’t believe you just said that, it sounds so cursed coming from your mouth. I meant, seriously?”

You swear on your life, on everything that may be above and so much more, that the android lets out a laugh when he continues, explaining the details as you finally enter the office.

You realise, as he talks, you feel a whole lot lighter than you had earlier.

-----------

“This guy is as scummy as it gets” 

Unfortunately, you can’t help but agree. Todd Williams is about as charismatic as a dumpster fire, messy hair, messy face, stained clothing and the stench of alcohol clung when you finally met him, having to hold back a wince of disgust.

You don’t usually speak ill of others, but you know his type, from the way he carries himself to the way he speaks. You’ve had to face men like him before, his whole demeanor brings back bad memories and you’re so glad that you’re not the one having to get details from him, to have to speak to him.

One thing’s for sure though, you don’t blame whatever deviant decided to book it from him.

“Why doesn’t he just...get a refund from Cyberlife?” You take a sip of your milkshake, staring at Hank, Connor and Mr Williams who looked to be ending off their conversation. “They do that for deviants, don’t they?”

Yes, if you remember, the new flashy CEO of the hell corp spoke it for all to see, that deviance is guaranteed to offer you your cash back.

How inhumane it all sounded.

Gavin scoffs, drinking his coffee “You think a guy like that cares about refunds?”

No. You know why he’s doing it. It’s all about power for fuckers like that.

Mr Williams leaves, Hank is looking through his notes, Connor is heading your way, probably to refer all the information back to you and Gavin is taking in a breath to start his bullshit again, despite your civilness that you had been sharing.

Eh, peace was never an option-

“Your metal boyfriend is heading this way”

The noise you make isn’t human, it’s a mix of a wheeze and scream, like you’ve just choked on the air your breathing and in all honesty, you have, but you’re not letting that mother fucker get away with catching you off guard, especially when he starts laughing.

“Shut up, furry”

Your actually feel the air from his head snapping towards you. “I’m not a fucking furry, quit fucking saying it!”

You pat his shoulder “It’s alright, Reed, we all know you wrote yiff fiction in your spare time-”

You dodge his fist, running away from his red, angered face and petty insults, dragging Connor away from the break room to the side, all while laughing up a storm.

Having your attention on the android again brings back Gavin’s words, his tease of ‘boyfriend’ which makes your face heat up, in what? You’re not quite sure, but it’s enough to make Connor notice your oddity.

“What were you and Detective Reed-”

“Nothing” You cackle, patting down his shoulders to distract yourself “He’s just being an arsehole again, nothing to worry yourself over”

And worry himself he didn’t, because he couldn’t of course, android and all.

Connor was quick to fill you in, an AX400 by the name of Kara had stolen (the word kidnapped comes to mind but you know that the robot detective will just ‘correct’ you on your wording) another android, Mr William’s ‘daughter’, model YK500 named Alice after assaulting him the night before. Mr Williams had been knocked out after the ordeal, as to why it had taken him so long to report it. 

“Were there any signs of assault that you could see? Ones that could lead to a potential take down or unconsciousness?” Connor takes a moment before shaking his head “Yeah, I didn’t think so”

What a lying fuck.

“Let’s head to the briefing room”

Hank is there, as well as a whole group of other police officers, talking amongst themselves as you situate yourself behind the podium, screen remote in hand and smiling brightly. Your partners are at your side, Connor in his usual stoic stance while the old fart has his arms crossed, bored as always and you’re ready to debrief the many uniforms but they keep talking, even after you clear your throat.

You’re not one to get angry at being talked over, annoyed, yes, but anger leads you nowhere with a crowd, so instead, you use your most favourite tactic to date

“Pay attention to me or I am gonna start screaming people” You sing. Not a threat, but a promise. “And you all know I will screech like mother fucker”

The room is silent in the next second.

“Great! So-”

The door to the room bursts open.

“Fucking really-”

“Detective (Last)'' It's the front office assistant and by the looks of it, he is panicked, worried even, as he addresses you. You suddenly feel your stomach knot up  “I’m sorry, but there’s been an emergency with your relative Carl Manfred”

You swallow, hard. “What?”

The meeting ends right then and there.

-----------

Hank hurls to a stop right outside the entrance. You’re already halfway out of the car when he shuts off the vehicle, Connor is taking off his seatbelt and you’re already racing down the soaked concrete path to the front door, rain pelting down on you.

You barely feel it though.

You startle the receptionist when you slam your hands down, eyes wide in panic, breathing coming out in fast, short pants and just looking as though you faced the masses to make it to this spot, right in front of her.

“Carl Manfred, he was brought here about an hour ago is he-”

She interrupts “Are you family?”

“Yes, please, I-”

“In what relation do you have to the patient?”

Is she really fucking serious right now? You debated leaning over and strangling your answer out of her, letting her know what kind of fucking pain you could put her through in this very moment-

But the hand that is placed against your back keeps you still. It’s warm and comforting and keeps you from mauling the fucker right out of her chair, though it doesn’t calm your anxiety, no, but at least it’s there.

You turn to see Connor, who nods towards you politely.

Huh, what a twist of events.

Hank leans over from your other side, looking just as angry as you feel, though he keeps his voice civil when he speaks “Listen, her old man’s just had a heart attack, could you drop the formal shit so she can see him?”

Her voice is sharp, just like her stupid fucking face and she snaps back “I can’t let you in unless I know your relation, unless you’d like to be escorted out by security”

Damn, she’s playing with fire and you’re ready to throw oil all fucking over her.

“I don’t fucking think so-” Pulling out your badge, you slam it against the desk, with nothing short of a growl “Police. Now, tell me where my fucking dad is or you’ll regret the next words that come out of your mouth”

You never abuse your power as a cop, it’s inhumane and back in your younger days you sneered at the disgusting police who would use their authority for their own gain, so you hate to admit but the nervous look that crosses her face when she sees your badge and Hank’s when he pulls it out for extra effect scratches an itch you begged to be scratched.

“Floor 3, the front desk will inform you what room”

“Thanks” You spit, already rushing to the elevator, the other two following.

Connor is quiet, to your surprise. Honestly, you expected him to speak out about your behaviour, your attitude, your unprofessionalism, but he says nothing, just trails after the two of you in silence, obediently, just like he was made for. 

It’s comforting having him here, even if he’s just following orders.

The next receptionist is kinder than the last (she even scowls at the mention of her coworker) and points down the hallway, to where two officers stand with cups of coffee within their hands. They stiffen in surprise at your arrival, but you pay them no mind, pushing your way into the room where you finally pause, taking in the scene of your beloved father figure, laid still within the bed, pale, heart monitor beeping occasionally. 

The doctor by Carl’s side looks up at you. “I’m sorry, but who are you?”

Hank and Connor wait outside.

“(Name) (Last), Carl’s daughter and emergency contact” You explain, walking further into the room “Is he- Can I-”

“He’s fine” She explains with a comforting smile “And yes, you can come closer, though the medication has him knocked unconscious so he won’t be talking any time soon”

The relief almost has you collapsing, brings you back from the panic attack that threatens to kick your arse right in front of everyone and you finally breathe normally.

“Thank you, and you are?”

“Dr Collins” Collins offers her hand and you shake it weakly. “Your father is going to be okay, (Name), but he’s going to need a lot of rest. Cardiac arrest at this age can be fatal, so we were lucky that he lived so close”

You nod, tiredly slinking to Carl’s side to drop into the cushion chair, taking his hand in yours. Kissing it lovingly, you place it close to you in comfort, in reassurance.

‘He’s fine, he’s fine, he’s going to be okay-’

“What are you doing here?”

Your anger shoots right back up, as does you head when you turn to look at the doorway.

“Leo” The name is dragged out of your mouth, it’s spoken with a heavy coat of venom and dirt and for all the participants who are about to see this wild shit show, is a clear indication that you’re far from happy to see the man that stood there. “The fuck are you doing here?”

He scoffs “I’m family, what else am I here for?”

“Oh I don’t know,” You’re standing, stalking closer to him with a raged gleam in your eye “To mooch off him a little bit more?”

The tension can be cut with a knife, everyone can see it, feel it, even Connor, who looks ready to intervene at any given moment.

“No, detective” One of the officiers starts, cutting in in hopes to keep you both calm. “He was there when it all happened, he saw everything-”

“He was there?” No, her words only add fuel to the fire and you’re glaring at your brother once again “You were there? The fuck were you there for? You did this?”

“No!”

“Please calm down” Collins cuts in “I understand the anger but the other patients-”

You ignore her, glancing around the area when a thought struck you.

“Where’s Markus?”

Connor’s the first to respond, “Who’s Markus, detective (Last)?”

“Dad’s care bot” A pin drops, no one is speaking, the two cops are quiet, Leo is scowling, but he’s not looking at you and your anger is quickly making room to fear, cold and stabbing when you push again, harsher, angrier “Where the fuck is Markus?”

The second officer speaks this time, hat in his hands and you know what happens next is not going to be good.

“He was leaning over your father when we walked in detective, Mr Leo Manfred told us he attacked him” The man gulps, hesitating. He’s not nervous for what he’s done, no, he’s nervous about the dark look that seems to be slowly taking over your eyes, “I shot him”

A beat goes by. Then another, another, another, another, another-

“Why were you there in the first place?” It’s soft, curious, but the rage behind it is big, your need for an answer is keeping it back “What was the call for?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t-”

“Answer the question, officer”

His partner offers up the answer “....A break in, ma’am”

There’s silence, then you nod in understanding.

No one is quick enough to stop you from shoving Leo into the wall, hands wrapped tightly around the lapels of his jacket and holding him up so you can scream at him properly, face feeling hot from anger, eyes wild from rage, practically feral. 

“You fucking did this! This is your fault, you good for nothing fuck!” You pull your hand back and punch him right in the face, he’s too in shock to react but everyone else is trying to pull you off “What?! Were you off your shit from snorting that fucking powder again, you damn druggie!? Huh!? HUH!? You high right now, too!?”

“Jesus fucking Christ, (Name), let go!” Hank yells but he’s fucking impressed by your resistance.

“He could have died because of you, you good for nothing cunt! Worthless piece of shit! Now, Markus is fucking dead because of you, the person who was actually fucking taking care of him! This is all your fault! He’s in that hospital bed, because of you! You! Did! This! All for those stupid drugs! You’re fucking pathetic!”

You’re finally tugged off by someone, their arms slipping under your own to stop you from going back at him again. The officers are acting as a wall between you and your brother, Dr Collin’s is checking his nose as blood drips down his face, Leo is still in shock and Hank is leaning over, hands propped onto his knees. That leaves...

“I’m sorry detective (Last), but I’m going to have to restrain you until you calm down”

You scream in frustration and try to fight against it, but damn, you have to admit in a moment of clarity, Connor is fucking strong.

“Lieutenant Anderson, if you could take her legs, we can escort her out of the building without much trouble” Hank huffs something under his breath probably a grunt of ‘fucking android’ but complies, glaring at you when he leans down.

“You kick me and I’ll kick your ass”

Your respect for him makes you comply, but the anger doesn’t stop you from cussing both him and the android out, naming every threat under the sun as they carry you out of the building, back to the car which you are shoved placed into.

“Let me out of this fucking car, Hank!” You bellow, glaring at the man with sharp eyes who stood outside the vehicle, leaning against it “I’ll break this fucking window, I swear to fucking God!”

“You can try, but we both know you won’t!”

Once again, you’re screaming, tugging frantically at the door’s handle that you know is locked, but are way too angered to care right now.

Connor sits by your side, a good distance away to not antagonise you, silent, waiting and watching as you slowly fall from angry to desperate, tears welling within your eyes and falling down your cheeks. It only takes a few more moments for you to stop altogether, your shoulders shaking as you sob, quietly but strong.

The android finally speaks “Detective (Last)-”

You’re on him in a moment, arms wrapped around his frame, face buried into his shoulder, wetting his suit jacket as you cry, shaking.

It’s a new one for Connor. An android built for detective work, to sniff out the bad deviants, to question suspects and actually built with a comforting feature for victims of crimes. But this is a first, a first he’s seen anyone to tears, more importantly, a first of seeing you so broken. Sure, he had seen you defeated those few days ago, but this is different, you’re not trying to hide conflicting feelings behind your bubbly smile and weird jokes, you’re just...crying. Nothing more, nothing less.

His arms are hovering at your sides, hesitant, unsure and it’s not until Hank gestures from outside the car to ‘fucking do something, you stupid machine’ that the protocol finally kicks in, his arms coming to wrap around you securely and comforting, reassuring you through your whimpers.

Connor is a robot, a machine that feels nothing.

But seeing you cry isn’t something he can just let happen.

Software instability.

-----------

Tags: @dillxpixkles @1950schick @pinkittwice @iris-suoh @loveflowsthroughme @thatlonelyalto @starcatcher-kay​ (ya’ll I’m half asleep if I forgot you in the taglist I am SORRY-)

[fific7]

Dangerous and Divine - Part 17

Billy Russo x Reader

Summary: Billy Russo is an itch you don’t want to scratch. But he’s all over you like a rash.

A/N: This does not follow canon, it’s mainly fluff & lemon zest 🍋 Hopefully you’ve guessed by now that is my “Billy Russo Deserves Real Love AU” as I totally refuse to accept what happened in S2! The GIF is from Exposed, unreleased pilot show in case you’re wondering 😌... Billy vibes.

Warnings: 18+ NSFW due to sexual content including oral and unprotected* sex between consenting adults. Some drinking & swearing.

*Irl, please don’t go wild in the country without protection.

(My GIF)

“Are you sure about that, Billy?” He laughed nervously, but replied, “Very sure, sweetheart.”

You thought that was really brave of him, considering you were holding his favourite weapon in your hand. You shrugged, “I’ll get the information out of you one way or another, Russo.”

He laughed, “You’ll need to get past all the Marine training first, sweetheart!”

You rolled his cock between your palms then gave his balls a long firm squeeze, hearing a loud groan from him. “What was that you were you saying, sweetheart?” you snarked back at him. Laughing, he gasped, “Do your worst!”

You wrapped two fingers round his tip and squeezed quite hard, eliciting a low grunt from Billy. Then you really set to work on him, using a lethal combination of your mouth and hands. You could hear him whimpering above you, but thought you’d better not risk calling him a puppy again.

“What’s this surprise, hmm Russo?” you asked, before swirling your tongue right around his tip and down onto his slit, teasing it before dragging your teeth very gently down his length. Billy thrashed on the bed, crying out and grabbing a handful of your hair, “uhhh... unnhh!!!” You were now licking his cock very slowly and deliberately; all of a sudden Billy’s hips jerked forward like a pile driver, he shouted “Fuck!!!” and came, really hard.

You daintily wiped a finger across your lips once you’d finished swallowing Billy’s come and rested your chin on his chest, giving him your version of puppydog eyes. “Aww, c’mon Billy, tell me!” You tickled his lower stomach and smiled when you saw the muscles rippling and contracting under your touch. His head was lying right back on the pillows, chin upturned towards the ceiling and you gazed fondly at his beardy neck. He was huffing out breaths and finally tilted his head down towards you, gazing at you with wide eyes.

He merely shook his head, saying nothing and still gasping. “Cat got your tongue?” you teased, remembering how he’d ribbed you for being speechless after sex. His husky voice said, “No, an angel’s got it,” smiling down at you and you stuck your tongue out at him. “Whilst that little session just blew my goddamn fuckin’ mind as well as my balls, I’m not cavin’, sweetheart,” he smirked. “You’re just gonna have to be patient.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

The next morning, you were gently shaken awake. You forced your eyes open, rubbing them while yawning, only to see Billy standing over you, bare naked and holding a tray. “Breakfast in bed, sweetheart,” he cooed, putting the tray down on the bedside table beside you. Trying to drag your eyes away from the view currently being presented to you, eventually you managed to stutter, “That.. uh, that’s uhh really sweet of you, Billy.”

Of course the Russo Smirk was in place, and his hands were now on his hips. He knew exactly what you were looking at, and why you were losing your words. He was putting himself on display for you like a peacock, you thought. Then your mind skipped to all those nature programmes you’d watched, where the female of the species sat on a branch and watched the males displaying themselves, before picking the best of the bunch and mating with them.

Hmmm, you thought, Mother Nature had something there - better than the humans did. Although you did take offence over the fact that the females were usually always small and dowdy and boring-looking. While they did get the pick of the males at the end of the day, you weren’t happy with that aspect of things. However, you suspected that underneath those unassuming exteriors, the females were actually done up like guest contestants on RuPaul’s Drag Race, and gave their chosen males a massive shock when they reached the bedroom (nest, hole in a tree, rainforest, whatever) and unveiled themselves in all their true splendour.

You tore your thoughts away from nature and its mysteries, and found yourself still staring at Billy’s lush body. Then you realised he was waving his hand in front of your face, “Hey! Hello! Hey, sweetheart!” You stared up at him, “Oh, uhhh, sorry - I was thinking about birds of paradise.” He burst out laughing, “Huh?” You shook your head, “I’ll explain it to you sometime. I’m not as crazy as I sound.”

He leapt full-length onto the bed beside you, bouncing you up slightly off the bed in the process. Reaching over and picking up the tray from the side, he placed it carefully on your lap. Your eyes widened in pleasure as you looked down at the plate... he’d made Eggs Benedict! “Oh my god, Billy - you didn’t!” He smiled, looking smug, “You told me it’s your favourite! Well, alongside scrambled eggs with smoked salmon. An’ I’ve already shown off my scrambled eggs to you, so here ya go... my Eggs Benedict but without the ham. Just like the lady ordered.”

You picked up the paper napkin and unfolded it, noticing that Billy had drawn a big heart on it with a little smiley face in the middle. Chuckling, you turned it towards him, “Really? Are you sure you were in the Marines, Billy Russo? A sniper? Trained in unarmed combat and still walking around with weapons concealed in every available part of your body??!!” He smiled, looking down at the tray and fiddling with the edge of it, face that cute shade of pink again.

His eyes came up and met yours again, “I know, I know!” Laughing, he carried on, “Look, angel... this is all still a bit unreal for me, okay? Spent my whole life bein’ a ‘never get involved’ kinda guy, to put it mildly - and politely.” His hand went to your face, and his thumb ran gently over your bottom lip. “Met you, an’... an’....boom! It’s like I’ve been hit by a fuckin’ grenade or sumthin’.” He laughed, “Knocked me clean out I reckon, yeah. Woke up and hey - I’m stoned in love with you. Still tryin’ to get my head round it, but it’s how I feel...” he shrugged, still stroking softly, “...maybe this is payback, y’know? Fate just thought, there’s that Billy Russo runnin’ all over town with lots of different women, let’s just teach him a lesson.”

His big dark eyes met yours, an apologetic look in them and a lock of hair falling cutely over one temple. He continued, “Let’s hit him so hard with a case of love at first sight it’ll knock him into next year, never mind next week.” His hand moved to your cheek, laying it gently against it, “And here I am. A lovesick Romeo, as a certain person put it. I’ve fallen so hard and so fast for you and it really, really scares me. I think if you left me, I... well, I think I’d die. I love you so damn much, angel.”

You were staring at him, mesmerised, as he spilled this to you. Couldn’t even get irritated at the passing mention of the Scorned Woman. Feeling your face blush, and sure you’d melted into a human puddle, you leant towards him and kissed him. With passion. He kissed you back, arm going round your neck and pulling you closer to him. You pulled away, putting your lips to his ear and whispering, “I love you, Russo.”

He reared back, a huge smile on his face, “You said it! You said ‘I love you’ to me!!!”

Still blushing, you nodded, “Uh-huh, I did.”

He grabbed you and pulled you up against his chest, and you heard a deep chuckle, “I knew pester power would work one-a these days!”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

You’d untangled yourself from him after that, saying that your eggs were getting cold. “Hey!” he said, “.... we’re talkin’ ’bout serious stuff here, sweetheart!”

You smiled, “Food is serious to me too, y’know!” He’d shaken his head, mock-sulking, “Okay then, here we go.” Your hand went to the cutlery, but he grabbed it before you could. Then he cut into one of the poached eggs and toasted sourdough base, and you watched entranced as the egg yolk slowly ran out of it like liquid gold and mixed in with the hollandaise sauce.

He made another couple of cuts with the knife and then stuck the fork into the bit of egg he’d cut off for you, swirling it around to pick up more sauce. “Open up, sweetheart,” he grinned, a suggestive look on his face. Rolling your eyes, you did as he said, and he placed the dripping forkload carefully into your mouth. Savouring it as you chewed, you mumbled round the mouthful, “This is really good! Did you make the sauce yourself? Or did it come out of a jar?”

Billy looked outraged, “A jar!! A jar??” he growled, “No, it did not! It was made from scratch by these fair hands,” and he held up his big hands in front of you, turning them back and forward. You looked lovingly at them; you adored Billy’s long slim fingers. “Okay, Chef - sorry I’m sure!” you laughed.

You’d let Billy feed you another forkful before grabbing the knife and fork off him, and then you started cutting up and shovelling the eggs into your mouth in a rather unladylike manner. Billy looked a bit offended, and you realised you’d spoiled his little romantic moment, so you ran your fingers through his hair, saying guiltily between mouthfuls, “Too slow, sweets. They’re getting cold, plus I’m really enjoying this so I needed to speed up my intake.” A small smile played over his lips, “Okay, then.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

After breakfast and a nice soak in the bath together, where you absolutely didn’t give Billy a helping hand when he got a sudden and rampant hard-on (okay, yes - you did), the two of you threw on some casual clothes and went out for a walk to make the most of the sunny morning. He slid his hand into yours and interlinked fingers with you.

Billy’s place was on the Upper East Side in Lenox Hill, while you lived on the Upper West Side in the Lincoln Square neighbourhood, so you were on familiar territory as he steered you towards Central Park. Strolling through the park, no particular place to go, people-watching as you sat beside The Lake in the sun for a while. The two of you talked about a whole load of nothing before deciding to go for a late lunch in a diner Billy knew and liked back in his neighbourhood.

As you ate, you noticed that Billy was fidgeting quite a bit and kept looking at his watch. You poked him with the blunt end of your fork, “Billy!” He jumped slightly, and you carried on, “You’re fidgeting. Have you got somewhere to be or something? - you’re checking your watch every two seconds!” Not meeting your eyes, he cleared his throat while shaking his head, “Nah, angel - just keen to get back out for some sun and fresh air.” You laughed, “Well, Manhattan fresh air.” “Yeah, true,” he said, now looking at you, “...you nearly done?” “Not quite, Billy, got some beer left too.” He stroked your hand, “Oh, no rush!”

You continued to chew on your chicken wrap, watching Billy as you did so. He’d already finished his food and beer, and was still fidgety - pulling at the sleeves of his leather jacket, fiddling with his hair, moving the ketchup bottles around the table and back again.

What is wrong with that boy? you thought. He’s like the proverbial cat on a hot tin roof. Finally you finished your food and drained the last of your beer. Billy had already paid, bounding over to the counter to settle up without even waiting for the waitress to bring the check.

Once outside and heading back to the park for a further stroll, you tugged at his hand... you were being disgustingly ’coupley’ today, you thought, a bit annoyed at yourself, but what the hell... and asked, “Billy, what’s the surprise?” He just laughed, shaking his head. “Tell me!” Aware that you were sounding more than a bit brattish, you added, “...please, Billy, go on!”

“No, angel, cos then it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it?” You managed to resist the need to stamp your foot, but your bottom lip was pouting of its own accord. He leant down and gave you a long, sexy kiss and you gave in, resigning yourself to the fact that the tall ex-Marine was not going to confess anything so you’d better stop sulking. You grabbed a handful of hair, and Billy laughed, taking his mouth off yours, “C’mon, sweetheart - let’s head back to my place. We’ll take the scenic route.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy took you on a very circuitous route back to his place, and it took well over an hour to make it back there. As you both walked along the hallway towards his apartment, he dug out his keys and then promptly dropped them before he could slot the key into the lock. You stared at him, what the hell was wrong with Russo? Whatever he might be, he was all about precision and attention to detail - he was not a klutz! Now you - yeah, you’d be the one to drop your keys but not Billy!

However, he’d quickly bent down and grabbed them off the floor, successfully unlocking and opening the door this time. You followed him inside, and then your mouth dropped open.

Soft music was playing on Billy’s state-of-the-art music system. There was an intimate little round table sitting in front of the big picture window in the lounge. A string of LED stars was strung across and down the sides of the window. The table was laid for two, looking like a restaurant place setting - gleaming champagne flutes, plates and cutlery, fancily folded linen napkins, a pearly pink peony in a slim vase in the middle, an ice bucket on a stand next to the table, a bottle of Krug champagne sitting up perkily in it. You swung round to Billy, “What....?”

But you looked up into empty space. Your eyes travelled downwards until they found Billy - down on one knee in front of you. A small velvet ring box was held - unopened as yet - in a vice-like grip in those long, slender fingers you loved so much, and Billy’s big dark eyes were gazing fearfully into yours.

He looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

@blackbirddaredevil23 @galaxyjane @omgrachwrites @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @ourloveisforthelovely @swthxrry

[yamithediaperdork]

Billy's Birthday Bash part 1 (DC)

Billy yawned and sat up in bed, reaching over and turning off his alarm clock which was blabbering away about how the justice league had saved the day last night, again. from alien attackers, Again.

"Like I don't know that." Billy muttered, swinging his blanket off and twisting in his bed so his bare feet could hit the floor. "I was only there."

Billy Batson after all was the secret identity of the world's mightiest mortal Shazam, gifted with gifts from seven gods and one of the league's heavy hitters.

Just thinking about that brought a smile to the 13 year old hero's face and he turned to pose in in the mirror in his bedroom, and then his face fell as he saw his reflection.

while once he said his magic word he was a 6'9 muscled beefcake, the image looking back him with it's scrawny arms and chest which were covered with a faded flash themed PJ top while around his hips was a semi bulky and again flash themed overnight diaper, that was drooping from being used many times (Thankfully only wettings though, something he confirmed with a quick pat to his padded rear and a sniff of the air) despite Billy having only made it to bed at around 3 am.

He hadn't of been worried about getting in trouble for being out so late though.

the once orphan had been happily adopted and taken in by one Barry Allen and got alone great with his new dad and tried to be pleasant around Miss west, Barry's girlfriend who came over often enough to have her own key.

It wasn't that she was unpleasant or anything, it was just with Billy's 'problems' acting up bad enough that he needed his diapers basically 24/7, she insisted on diaper checks, even in front of her nephew Wally who'd come over sometimes with her and was like the coolest guy ever!

The reason why he hadn't of been worried about Barry finding out though was because Barry was also a member of the Justice league, ironically the Flash who's symbol had been on the front of the bulky diaper at one point.

"You'd think he'd be mad these things even exist since till Bat's set up that account for us there was no way to collect royalties." Billy grumbled to himself.

But when asked Barry admitted if he could help kids like Billy who had potty issues feel big and brave like superhero's, He was fine with the diapers being made and mostly didn't touch his share of the royalties.

though as Billy's legal guardian Shazam couldn't touch his share either without permission and was irked that Barry would use some of Billy's money to stock up on his diapers.

"I'm teaching you to be reasponable. if you have to pay for the diapers you'll be less likely to rip them up like that first pack Iris got you." Barry had reminded Billy, with a smirk on his face but a slight stern tone.

"I said sorry..besides they had stupid ponies and stuff on them." Billy had whined back.

still he fell in line and even if he had wanted to just blast the diapers with his lighting some times and suck up the wasted cost, with his new day's symbol on it he just couldn't do it.

Since he was only wet Billy was allowed to change himself, there had been the great carpet incident a few days after he'd moved in trying to change a dirty diaper on his own and Barry had made him pinky swear to ask for help with those.

since Billy was on the family plan and had his own cell phone he could just discretely call Barry when he was smelly, though thankfully his daytime accidents were few and fair in between.

Snapping the tapes off Billy had a minor moment sulkiness again since his budding pubic hair had been shaved clean because of his diapers, though he had to admit Barry had been right, he was getting a LOT less rashes.

balling the soggy diaper up and holding it out with one hand, Billy took a deep breath and pinched his nose with the other one as he stepped on the foot petal for his diaper pail and dropped it in, not wishing to smell memories of diaper past.

with that done he walked around enjoying the lack of a waddle in his step for the precious few moments he would and tugged opened his version of a underwear drawer, stocked full of daytime and overnight flash brand diapers.

"Gee, what's a boy to wear, flash themed disposable undies or flash themed disposable undies?" He asked, tapping a finger on his chin and smirking a little."the struggle is real for 13 year old pants wetter."

"heh, Oh really?" Came a voice from the doorway and Billy yelped and tugged to tug his shirt down, even though he knew Barry had seen everything.

"B-Barry knock!" He huffed, and blushed, hands over over his crotch now.

"I did, someone was off in his own little world.. in fact so off he forgot what today is." Barry said and smirked, pointing over to a Shazam themed calendar on the wall, with the dates date circled in red."Your not 13 anymore silly. Happy birthday~"

Billy, who normally was ignored on his birthday either by choice or lost in the shuffle while in foster care really had forgotten and now grinned big time.

"That's right! I get a real party, with cake, and ice cream an-" Billy was saying and was cut off as Barry zipped over, a little bit slower in his blue jeans and denim shirt but not by much and was ruffling Billy's hair.

"And you get a birthday spanking." Barry teased, but winked to let Billy know he was joking.

"Try it and I'll saw you know what." Billy giggled and blew a raspberry.

"Hmmm flash vs. Shazam in a spanking fight. we could sell out areas. But At last, your butt's just too cute to mare." Barry chuckled and gave the boys chubby cheeks a soft pat before zipping back to the door frame.

the pat while gentle, was unexpected and Billy yelped and a little trickle of pee came out, something Barry missed but the now hard wood floor of Billy's room could handle it.

"Finish getting dressed buddy and I'll get this cleaned up in-"

"Don't say it!" Billy groaned rolled his eyes.

"A flash!" Barry said, zipping off as Billy snatched a pair of daytime diapers out.

'He's so corny sometimes.' Billy thought.

Dressed in a red t-shirt and a baggy pair of black shorts that did a good job of hiding the bulk of his padding (there there was a tell tale crinkle for those listening for it) he made his way to the dinning room and grinned ear to ear as the table was loaded with chocolate pancakes, blue berry waffles, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages and a pitcher of chocolate milk and a pitcher of orange juice.

with how fast Barry's metabolism was he was always making big meals and was part of the reason Billy had put on some much needed wait, but even so, this was above and beyond.

with drool trailing down his chin he grabbed a plate and looked over the feast, almost at a lost of where to begin.

"heh, Did daddy do good or did daddy do good?" Barry asked, zipping into the room.

"This. Is. Awesome!" Billy squealed. "Was this all you or did Iris help too?" Billy asked.

"She's out of town on a assignment for a news papers, she's sorry she's gonna miss the party." Barry said, looking sorry.

"Well it's ok." Billy said, starting to load up his plate, a impish grin coming across his face. "we can just have anther party with more cake when she gets back. It'll be hard having all that sugar and getting double presents, but it's a sacrifice I am willing to make." he said, topping off his plate and plopping his butt onto his special chair.

with his bulky diapers and the fact he leaked sometimes, Barry had gotten him a dinner chair with sides coming up to the middle of his tummy so Billy wouldn't lose balance and fall off, and it had a plastic cover for a easier clean up instead of the stained oak that the rest of the chairs had.

Naturally Billy had been least then pleased at the fact he had a toddler chair but after falling off of the other chairs three times he'd finally bit the bullet.

"Oh, your willing to have two party's huh? truly, your a saint among men. We'll see what happens." Barry said, coming over and getting his own plate while taking a second to mentally gush at just how adorable Billy looked, his legs kicking under the table as he scooped food in his mouth like he hadn't eaten in a month. "Heh, wow, and I thought I was fast..slow down before you choke buddy."

Billy as normal, took that warning as a challenge and sped up.

After 4 helpings Billy just sat back in his chair, burping softly and groaning as he put a hand to his belly, not even offering a fight as Barry came over with a cloth to wipe his face and hands.

"Did somebody maybe eat more then he should of?" Barry asked sweetly, as he helped the groaning boy out of the chair, and after a second picked him up, setting him on his hip and patting his back.

Billy's reply was a loud blench and Barry winced, glad he'd had the foresight to get Billy's head over his shoulder.

"well put. any follow ups?" Barry chuckled, and kept patting, this wasn't Billy's first semi food coma and he doubted it would be the little thunder champions last.

Billy went to open his mouth to say something then a loud booming fart blasted out of his bottom and for a split second Barry wondered if his arm would of been burnt if not for the padding.

"I-I didn't..I.." Billy whimpered and buried his head into Barry's shoulder and Barry could feel the heat from the boys face.

"Hey..hey..it's ok. fart's happen. besides you've gone uh-oh in my lap so this is hardly worse." Barry said, tilting his head and giving the poor blushing little guy a smooch on the head.

"N-Not helping!" Billy whined.

"Ok ok, I'll drop it.. here let's get you sat down and watching some carto-" Barry started to say but anther thunder poot from the champion of lighting cut him off.

"gawd! that stinks!" Billy whined.

"...Or Maybe you wanna go and sit on the potty." Barry said trying to be nice, but the boy wasn't wrong.

"I know when I have to go poop Barry!" Billy huffed and two more loud farts came out and the boy switched from huffy to shocked. "..and that would be right now. Potty daddy!"

Any other daddy wouldn't of stood a chance in the world, But Barry Allen didn't call him the fastest man alive for nothing, but even then it was a close call as he barley got Billy's shorts and diaper down and got him on the toilet before the boy started to unleash hell.

Knowing how Billy valued some privacy, Barry left almost as quick as he'd gotten him in there, though not before bringing a few room freshers into the bathroom and opening a window.

'don't want him to pass out form his own stink.. man..I wonder if there's anther god powering.. skunkculues, champion of stink.' Barry mused as he waited outside the bathroom door just in case he was needed.

Billy groaned as he hunched over and pounded a fist on the sink's counter, wondering if maybe he had a natural power over lava because that's what this felt like as he made use of the potty.

His own stink was assaulting his nose though thankfully daddy had set it up so it would be as bad, though he still ended up having to flush a couple of times just to help with the smell.

Sweating, Panting and feeling drained, he barley had it in him to wipe himself when it was all said and done, and swore he'd never cram that much food into his tummy again all at once.

(of course since he swore that once every three or so days the oath may of fallen on deaf ear.)

which his cheeks wiped, Billy went to stand up on shaky legs and plopped back down, then noticed the shart stains in the back of the diaper and signed.

"Dadddd..IUh...I need help." he called out. huffing and slumping, elbows on his knees and waiting.

when the door opened up and his cousin/cool bro via adoption opened the door Billy yelped and in vain tried to cover up the diaper around his ankles.

4 minutes earlier...

Wally who had retired from the superhero game while going to collage and trying to be a CSI like Barry, had surprised Barry by showing up for the party.

"Wally! good to see you!" Barry had said, shaking the younger mans hand, but then, ever the good daddy/uncle had narrowed his eyes. "Aren't you suppose to be in class right now?"

"The professor for the only class I had today had a family emergency, so the class was called off, and I was gonna try and make it anyways." Wally said, keeping his voice down and Barry picked up on it and kept his down as well.

"Ah, a birthday surprise for Billy." Barry said and smirked. "you know he thinks the world of you right?"

"I might of picked up on that. hence why I pretend not to notice his little problem." Wally chuckled and ran a hand though his orange hair. "you'd think he would of linked how Aunt Iris doesn't do bum checks when I'm around with it buttt.."

"Heh, Well he see's what he wants to see. He's on the potty right now though so maybe if you hi-" Barry started to say when his com beeped.

it wasn't his JL com, but the one he'd given the Meta human crimes department for central and Keystone city, being the hero of the twin cities.

dashing over he answered it, and frowned, then dashed back to Wally but even as he did he was in costume.

"I hate to do this, but Weather wizard and Captain cold are causing heck in Keystone. could you stay with Billy? he might need a little help." Barry said and gestured his head to the bathroom.

"Of course. Listen, if you need any back up.. I might not have my costume, but after Billy gets out.."

"Hey, I'll handle it. I'll be back.."

"in a flash. I know I know." Wally groaned, having the same opinion as Billy about the phase.

Barry just smirked like it was the worlds greatest dad joke and took off.

"W-Wally!? Get out! I-" Billy was whining and had actual tears welling up in his eyes, making Wally just wanna hug him.

"Billy, Billy listen to me, Barry had to go and fight the rouges, I came here for your party..and I've know about your diapers since Barry adopted you." Wally said, cutting right to the chase.

"..No you haven't! I was super careful and someone as cool and awesome as you wouldn't wanna hang out with a diaper wetting baby!" Billy whined, in denial even as Wally sighed and shook his head.

"Really Billy? I'm training to be a CSI, so I'm learning to notice little things, I move at super speed, not as fast as Barry but still, and you crinkle lots." Wally listed off on his hand, raising fingers, then giving Billy a hurt look. "Also, you think SO little of me I wouldn't wanna hang out with a awesome and cool little guy like you just because you have accidents?"

"But..I.." Billy whimpered and sniffled, and went to wipe at his tears with his arm but Wally was there, with a wad of tissue.

"Hey, it's ok Billy. Truth be told, I wet the bed for 3 years after getting my powers. But My Parents weren't as nice and Uncle Barry and aunt Iris. they were the ones who looked after me like they're looking after you now. so no more tears alright? let's get you dressed and then we can play some video games." Wally said, and ruffled the boys hair.

Billy gave him a smile and then hugged Wally's waist, and the 19 year old almost melted and patting his head.

Tossing the dirty diaper, Wally got Billy in a clean over night diaper, and added powder, though Billy whined a little he was pacified by Wally saying he thought those looked cooler.

Going off of that logic Billy when offered a pair of baggy pants to go over the thicker diaper went all shy.

"uh. well..I mean.. if you wanna see this diaper because it's cuter.. and we're not going out anywhere.." Billy said, squirming and shifting all around.

"..I do think it's cuter, and Barry said he'd call if he needed us. Uh.. " wally trailed off and then blushed himself, and put a hand behind his head. "I have ONE question that's been bugging me."

"heh, what is it?" Billy said, holding up his arms for the older boy to pick him up.

"when you change.. do you have to take the diapers off first or..how does that work?!" Wally asked, picking him up and gushing as Billy cuddled in.

"heh, Nah, the big guy isn't padded, and as to how that works.." Billy paused and let wally hold his weight as he spread his hands, wiggling his fingers.

"Maggggggic~"

Wally snorted and smirked.

"your such a dork sometimes you know that?" he asked playfully, carrying Billy at normal speed down the stairs.

"Pffft please, I've seen you marking out over dad's cases when going over them with him, and not his stuff as flash, but as Barry Allen,CSI."Billy teased back.

Wally huffed and blushed himself and then smirked.

"You're lucky your cute or I'd super speed your butt to central park right now."

"heh, you wouldn't do that, A) because I'd say the word and leave, B) because Dad would kick you butt and C).." Billy said and tapped Wally's chest as he listed off his points. "You'd made me cry and hate yourself for it~"

"..Dang, guilty as charged."

Getting into the living room, Wally sat Billy on the couch and then went to look though the selection of games they had for two player.

"Super monkey fury 5 good for you?" He asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Um..whatever YOU think is a cool game!" Billy said, and gave a big grin.

he might of been 14 but in his diaper and t-shirt, and all eager to please his 'big bro' figure, he looked like a toddler.

"Heh, it's YOUR special day Billy, whatever YOU wanna play we'll play it." wally chuckled.

"W-Wellll.. Dad doesn't let me play Duty calls a lot because it's so violent.." Billy said, poking two fingers together.

"..I think Barry will understand." Wally smirked and put the game in, coming over with controllers for both of them.

As Wally sat down he was surprised as Billy moved from his spot next to him to sitting in his lap.

"heh,What are y-"

"it's MY Special day right?" Billy asked, flashing his imp smirk. "So I can sit anywhere I want.. rightttt?"

"heh. of course."

Barry hated how long it took him to deal with the rouges, they had gotten reinforcements from mirror master so it took longer then he would of liked to finish up, plus then he had to deal with the police over and handle the press, all part of keeping up the hero image and while any other day it wouldn't of irk'ed him, knowing he was missing out on Billy's big day, he was short tempered

he had almost snapped at Detective Morro, a long time friend on the force in both identities but caught himself.

"you ok Flash?" his friend asked.

"I..I'm missing out on my kid's birthday party for this." Barry admitted.

"heh, didn't know you HAD a kid. go on, get." the heavy set cigar chomping hard ass said. "We'll try to manage without you for the rest of the day...Oh, tell yer kid happy birthday."

"heh, Will do!" Barry said and after a trademark flash salute, was off and running.

Getting back to the house Barry found Billy in Wally lap and whining a little, sucking his thumb and a kiddy cartoon was on the TV, much younger then Billy usually liked to watch.

"Hey guys, I'm back, whats going on?" Barry asked.

"Oh well see, I was a jerk and tried to make Billy play a game I like an-" Wally started to speak up but a whimpering Billy cut him off.

"Noo! it was me! I made Wally play duty call's with me and it was way more awful then I thought and I know I've done worse as you know who but but..I dunno and I started to cry and and-" Billy whined and whimpered.

"..Billy when your Shazam you have the wisdom of Solomon that let's you work out why you have to do the things you do. not so much as yourself. that's why I didn't want you playing that, you're not in trouble, either of you but I think we're gonna keep it to cartoons or silly games for the day." Barry said, coming over and as Wally hugged the whining Billy in his lap, Barry did too and Billy sniffled and smiled.

"Kay"

with Billy calmed down, they sat down for a few episodes of different baby shows, with billy giggling and clapping alone even if Wally and Barry were bored out of their skulls. trying to break it up they pulled out a few board games but after having to watch Billy do his 'i won you lost' diaper booty shake 4 times in a row (which admittedly was pretty cute with his diaper butt on display) they switched from candy land to clue, where Wally won 2 out of the 4 games.

Barry technically could of won the other two but played bad on purpose for the last game where billy was getting all huffy.

After that they played pay day and once again were subjected to Billy's singing about how awesome he was and how much they sucked, while wiggling his padded rear in their faces but compared to the sulky silence that losing brought, Barry and wally put up with it.

Or at least they tried to till in the middle of shaking his butt in both their faces Billy froze and then let out a muffled poot.

"Really Billy?" Barry asked, waving his left hand at super speed to blow the smell away.

"I-I didn't mean to.d-do that! I'm Sorry!" Billy squeaked and turned around, blushing and starting to tear up. "P-Please don't ha-"

Before Billy could finish his thought, Wally and Barry were on either side of Billy, hugging him.

"Hey, hey, It's alright, Fart's happen." Wally was saying, rubbing and patting Billy's back.

"And I'm 90 percent sure you wouldn't fart on me after winning a game. Now if you lost.." Barry said and winked, patting billy's bum.

"D-Daddy!"

"Hmmm, Feels like it was just a fart, do you wanna sit on the potty just to be sure buddy?" Barry asked.

"Daddy, I know when I have to po-" Billy started and let out a long fart, one eye half closing and a leg coming up. the fart went from a normal sounding if massive one to wet and muddy, then Billy's leg came down and he was popping a squat.

Of course either Wally or Barry could of gotten him to the bathroom, but honestly, they had both agreed wordlessly to just let him fill his diapers.

"D-Daddy I'm Pooping!" Billy whined, as if Wally or Billy couldn't of told, and they just hugged him tighter and went double time with the bum and back pats as he whimpered and put his face in either shoulder, bearing down and finishing up even as whimpers of 'stinky' came out of his mouth.

As the diaper drooped in the back and Billy finished up, he sniffled a few times then pulled back.

"D-Daddy..Wally..Diapie change?" He asked in a voice that made him sound like a toddler.

"Of course buddy. I'll have you clean i-" Barry started to say but Wally moved his hand over and closed Barry's lips.

"I'll change him it means I don't have to hear that pun again." Wally said and winked to Billy even as Barry's eyes went wide from shock then a little glare.

Billy meanwhile was giggling like crazy and hands coming up his mouth to try and hide it.

Barry got Wally's fingers off his lips and smirked.

"oh, you think that's funny little man?" Barry asked, looking to wally and giving a evil smirk.

"I mean.. Kinda.. sowwy.." Billy said.

"Oh come on Barry, it WAS funny." Wally said and smirked.

"..Not as funny as this is gonna be." Barry said and Wally saw what was going to happen but could never beat Barry's speed, so was too slow to stop what happened next.

His hand moving at a blur, Barry smushed and squished the mess in the diaper around, making sure the boom boom went EVERY where as Billy's mouth formed a O and Wally groaned.

Zipping up to his feet Barry smirked.

"Have fun cleaning that up.. Oh and you can't use speed speed for cleaning up a poopie diaper, it'll hurt billy's bum." Barry said and went off to go and start working on lunch.

"wait what?!"Wally yelped.

"I..Poopie all over..I.." Billy was mumbling, looking out of it, and swaying back and forth on his feet, too out of it for Wally to ask if that was really a thing.

"DICK MOVE BARRY!" Wally yelled, then cradled Billy, the smell was even worst now and Wally gulped, wondering if he was strong enough to do this.

Billy mewed softly and wrapped his arms around Wally's neck and nuzzled his head into Wally's chest.

"I Sowwy. I stinky." Billy mewed, eyes semi glazed over.

Looking at how much Billy needed him, Wally found the will power needed and dashed billy off to the bathroom, though he did a slight detour to get a clothespin for his nose.

'maybe it won't be as bad as I think.' Wally thought, getting Billy on his back on a towel in the bathroom, sliding the little guys thumb into his mouth and gushing at how cute he looked.

opening the diaper, Wally realized it wasn't as bad as he thought.

it was worse, much much much.

Wally wasn't a stranger to changing diapers, as big of a family as he had and baby sitting jobs but this was the record for longest and grossest he'd ever handled.

going though a whole freshly opened box of wipes, he got it done, going at normal speed and taking time to comfort billy and talk softly to him.

it took the better part of 15 minutes, and then just to be safe Wally gave Billy a quick bath, semi worried as Billy had apparently slipped into a baby mode of sorts and was playing with some rubber duckies while Wally washed him, at one point offering one of the duckies he had been chewing on to wally.

"Uh..No thanks. you keep chewing." Wally said with a sweat drop.

Billy just giggled and nodded, noming on his ducky and letting wally wash him, only fussing when his hair was being washed, though thankfully Barry had gotten no more tears shampoo.

with Billy washed up all nice and clean, Wally got him dried off with a big fluffy towel and was walking him back toward his room to get him dressed when Barry cut him off, holding one of the presents under one arm.

"Thought I heard the tub running.Lunch is ready downstairs, I'll get the birthday boy dressed. go get something to eat." Barry said.

"Heh, Sure, now that I've handed all the smelly stuff you wanna tag in." Wally teased, and Billy giggled.

"What can I say, Perks of being a daddy and honorary uncle." Barry said.

Wally just shook his head and headed down the step while Billy toddled along side Barry, wrapped up in the towel and then just laid back his bed, willing to let Barry do all the work.

"heh, your being pretty cute kiddo. maybe you should poop your pants more often." Barry teased, tickling billy's tummy and getting a fit of giggles out of him.

Deciding with how little Billy was acting and the bigger accidents he was have, Barry got billy into a daytime diaper but cut slit in the front of back of it first, while Billy watched with a confused look and a finger on his bottom lip.

"Ummm daddy, what cha doing? I'm leak all over now." Billy pointed out.

"Well, if that was your only diapie you would, but daddy figures since we're not going out and you're having lots of accident's.." Barry said and pulled out the bulky bed time diaper.

"Sheesh, I'll be waddling like a toddler with both of these on!" Billy said and stuck out his tongue.

"I know! I don't know why i didn't think of this sooner!" Barry gushed and got a raspberry from billy.

with the bulky diaper taped up over the thinner one, Barry helped billy stand up and gushed and coo'ed at how Billy's legs were forced apart.

"Sheesh, One more and I think I'd be stuck crawling!" Billy said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Don't temp me." Barry said then handed Billy the present. "Here, open this up, it's from Iris and I thought it might be useful right now."

Warning bell's were going off in Billy's head as he took the present and he had to suppress a groan, it was a flash themed diaper shirt.

"Well what do you think? Iris noticed that your diaper sag a lot when you got pants-less and this will help! Heck, might even get you a few of theses if it works out. but for now,you can be the fastest pamper butt alive!" Barry asked.

"..I think I'll save it special occasions." Billy tried and Barry just laughed.

"Silly boy, this is your birthday, that IS special, here, I'll help you get it on." Barry said taking the diaper shirt from Billy and dashing around the boy. in seconds he was snugly fit in the diaper shirt.

Despite how humiliating it was to need the shirt for his saggy diapers, Billy had to admit it felt right, even if his bulky diapers semi showed.

"Soooo?" Barry asked.

"..I could get used to it. " he said and started to head for the door, realizing just HOW bad his waddling was now as Barry squealed behind him. "..I'll calling it in. carry me."

Billy sighed then giggled, holding his arms out.

"Well if I HAVE to." Barry laughed, coming over and picking up Billy and heading for the dinner table.

So far the day had been fun and cute, and it was only gonna get better.

[passivenovember]

@liglitterbug asked: 

Has anyone asked for 53? (crawling through your window to go get ice cream) yet? Because that screams Harringrove to me and I would LOVE to see your take on it, please! (if you have time/inspiration) <3

a Friend for the End of the World.

Billy’s, like. Halfway through Little Women when Max knocks on his door, and. Okay. It’s not like he slammed his way through the house with a fire itching under his skin and believed for even a second, that.

The world could be his. Just for while. 

He settles roughly, at first, into the Alcott novel. Like a brick hitting the bottom of the sea--slowly, heavy and thick with the inertia of words that ignite something that feels.

Pink.

Inside his belly. Billy doesn’t have the wherewithal to make sense of it so he, just. Clamps his eyebrows around the liquid sunshine in his veins and loses himself in the story. 

After Starcourt the world ends, but. 

It doesn’t sound like the poems said it would. The bang and the whimper and the conclusion that, after things catch on fire and smoke rises with the sun, silence will fall over the Earth. 

Billy remembers waiting for Hawkins to sleep.

Watching Max and Mrs. Byers and. Steve. Landslide all around them to fix what had been swept away by a misjudgment in the Earth’s ability to keep itself from cracking open.

And Billy, he feels like an exposed wire. The center of the universe molding itself around the breath before the curtain falls and the audience leaves, and.

He waits for night to fall.

It never does. The overture is played out of tune, again and again, and the world turns faster than before, the sounds leak from everywhere. All at once, and.

Billy feels. Doesn’t know how to... 

It’s never as simple as asking for silence. For peace. When his mind makes too much noise, or. When he can’t get the sound of Neil coughing up smoke to stop bouncing off the walls. 

The ambiance that comes with. Sharing space, sharing your life with someone, used to be Billy’s favorite in all the world. Back when the incandescence of his mother folding laundry could be heard through the crack in his door while pirate ships bled past the boundary of the page and took him somewhere new. 

Billy likes to think of his life as intermissions between lovers. Before Starcourt he was asleep and now. He’s never waking up again.

Max reading to El, or.

Susan making dinner.

Even Neil flipping through the channels, it. Reminds him of burning cities.

Billy wears earmuffs. Everywhere. The ones that block out the sounds of the earth crying, but. Do nothing at all for the reprise burying itself in his bones. 

Steve brought them to the hospital when Billy wouldn’t stop asking about the end of the world.

So Max knocks on the door. 

And Billy thought he made himself clear. With the nonverbal shit, like. Slamming the front door open and brushing past the dinner table and slamming his door shut.

Locking himself in. He thought it was crystal clear, that. You can’t keep shoveling dirt into the grave without stopping to pray for rain. She pounds on the door again but it’s too loud. Always too much.

“What, Max?” And his voice is softer, these days. To balance out the symphony playing all around him.

“Steve’s here.” She says, and.

The earmuffs don’t actually block anything out. Billy can hear the battery die in the car down the street, and. He can hear Max shuffling on the other side of the door one-two-three, one-two-one, like a waltz. A tiny dancer. 

She has the most. Distinct footprints in the sand. Billy held onto that when he was bleeding on the floor. 

He pads over to the door and tugs it open, wincing at the sharp sting of. 

Soundsoundsound

Hammering against the walls in his head. Billy squints, shielding his eyes. To block the noise as if it were rain. 

“Tell him I’m not home.”

“Your car’s in the driveway, dumb dumb.”

“Well, tell him I’m busy.” Billy moves to close the door, but. Max sticks her foot in the jam. 

Folds her arms and gives him this look, like. He’s supposed to have a big realization about something. About the way he’s acting. Hiding in his room all the time with the blinds pulled taught against the sun. 

You’re acting weird.

He knows. He thinks it’s okay.

Billy shrugs like. Spit it the fuck out. And Max rolls her eyes. Billy can hear the shift of muscle, he can--

“Too busy to see Steve?” She says.

And okay. 

Billy picks up on why that might be weird. He shrugs again--there’s a throbbing, like. The beat of a drum. Just outside, on the lawn, or right at the back of his skull. 

Billy can’t tell and he doesn’t want to know, so.

The door falls shut once more. 

--

Being with Steve is like getting the instruments to play a song instead of just. Wailing out of tune for the audience to throw tomatoes.

He makes everything quiet. Just by running his fingers through Billy’s hair the world is made new. Starts over with a whimper instead of the rest, but. 

Sometimes Billy can’t breathe. 

Or his eyes will close when they’re wide open, and he can’t see anything but snow twirling against a gray sky, or like.

Veins turning black and smoky with rot. Disease and Ice. Barren fields the end-- 

Steve says the Earth has healed itself once more. That the cracks have been mended, and the ground isn’t coming apart under their feet.

So it’s summer.

That’s what Steve says. “It’s summer, baby.” let’s go to the lake. 

Billy looks up from his book. Fifty pages left in Little Women--at least an entire afternoon, once he picks up the second, and. “You want to go to the lake?”

Steve sort of. Rolls onto his side, next to Billy on the quilt Mrs. Harrington made when he was in the hospital. He looks up to the sky, the clouds and the sun. 

Steve has a daisy between his fingers. Billy doesn’t know where it came from, but then Steve is smiling. All soft, like. A stretch of grass just before sunset. He sticks the daisy between the pages of Billy’s book, and. Closes it., takes it away. He sits criss-cross-applesauce until his knees are pressed against Billy’s leg. 

Steve tugs the headphones off, so. 

The sun hits Billy. Burns every part of him. 

“You seem like you need water.” Steve says.

And he is the only person who makes the Earth contract, So Billy tucks his hair behind his ears with shaky fingers. Keeps his hands there, holding his own face until things quiet down. 

He breathes in, sharp and then slow, when the tears start to fall. When Steve reminds him to be gentle with yourself, baby. That’s it.

It takes five minutes for Billy to figure it out.

He needs water, like. A flower whose roots have gone frail. Or a boy who longs for home. Billy opens his eyes to Steve watching him, counting breaths on the watch he had made special.

For Billy, and his.

Bullshit. The panic attacks and the sensory bullshit, and. It’s summer. Billy feels the air get choked from his lungs when Steve takes his pulse, because.

“You go.” He whispers. 

Steve looks up from the watch and then back down again. “You still have ten more breaths, come on.”

“I’m fine.”

“Ten more big ones, okay. Just to be safe.”

“Steve, I’m fine.” Billy smacks the watch down. Away, so. He can. Think. Billy scrubs at his face just the wrong side of too hard. Too abrasive, and there’s a drum beating somewhere down the hill when Steve tries to grab his wrist. 

Again, to. Play nurse Maid. Steve kisses his palm once--twice, and.

“It’s summer.” Billy says. 

Steve winks. “Yeah, it’s beautiful.”

It. Is, Billy thinks. With the smell of Lilac and Honeysuckle. Afternoons that give way to skies full of fireflies and Steve’s hair turning blonde in the afternoon light, it looks. Like a work art, like. A page from a book. 

His favorite in all the world. Billy tugs his hand away from Steve’s lips, tucks his hair behind his ears again, and. Steve looks worried.

Always worried, like. He’s waiting Billy will snap in two. 

“I want you to go to the lake.” He says. Because he’s tired of seeing that look.

Steve blinks wide, owlish eyes at him. “I want us to go, Bills, that’s why--”

Billy shakes his head. Suddenly the drum falls. Silent. Steve sits frozen, suspended in time and space while the symphonies play out of tune. 

“You aren’t my doctor.” Billy says.

“I know--”

“And you aren’t my therapist.”

He expects Steve to. Say something, or stop looking like the ground is splitting open between them, when Billy charges on.

“Or my housekeeper, or any of that shit, Steve. You’re. A twenty year old boy, you should be. Out with your friends for the fourth of July not taking care of your invalid partner who can’t make it through the day without breaking down in tears.”

“I don’t want to be with anyone else.” Steve says, and.

It means now. And it means always.

Billy stands to grab his book. 

--

He leaves his earmuffs on the blanket in the grass. 

Thinks about calling and. Begging Steve to bring them over, drop them off because his head is spiraling rock formations and earthquakes let loose in the heartland. 

After dinner it hurts.

When the fireworks start to explode. Bright light and heat burning a wound into his chest, or a breaking his bones to crumbling dust. Each explosion is like child birth and pulled teeth and gunshot wounds playing a libretto behind his right eyebrow. He tries to read but the snow falls all around him--

“Hey dipshit, we’re going to watch the--” 

Billy doesn’t try to hide the tears, and.

Max doesn’t bring them up. She presses an ice pack to his forehead and wonders if. She should call Steve. Call him home.

Billy wants to say yes.

Wants to call Steve himself, but. “Go have fun, kid.” 

And the wound only grows.

--

He has four pillows on his head when the window slides open. That’s why he doesn’t hear the scattered footfall until there’s a weight on his bed, and a pair of hands rubbing his back.

One hot, one cold. 

He frowns. “Hands are cold as dick.”

Steve chuckles, fingers digging into the muscle of Billy’s neck in a way that has him soft. Huffing against the sheets. “Sorry, I brought Ice cream.”

Billy peeks out from under his fortress to Steve peppering kisses along the base of his skull.

“What time is it?” He grumbles. 

“8:30. Go to sleep.” Steve muffles against Billy’s hair, and.

“How come you’re here?” 

Steve holds out the earmuffs, cherub face scruffy and apologetic and so, so beautiful. “Sorry it took so long, I wanted to give you space, you seemed like. You needed space.” 

He pulls the blanket up around Billy’s shoulders, even as he worms around to sit up. Get a better look, and. Apologize. 

“Look, Stevie--”

“You shouldn’t be sitting with a migraine like that,” He says firmly. “Doc says three glasses of water, two Tylenol, and--”

“Rest, yeah, I.” Billy feels like smiling. For the first time in days, he. Wants to smile. “Thank you.”

Steve nods. Like he’s disappointed. Eyebrows wrinkling as he fiddles with the cracked leather headband. 

Billy looks at the pint of cherry crunch leaking a puddle onto the mattress. “So you brought ice cream, huh?”

Steve shrugs. “Yeah, I mean. What else do you bring after a break up?”

And.

Billy feels like shit. “Steve I didn’t mean that--”

“I know.” He says. Soft, like a confession. “I’ll always dream of you, you know that?” Billy’s heart kicks into overdrive when Steve leans forward, slipping the earmuffs against his head, and.

Putting the world to sleep.

[yikesharringrove]

Oh my goddd that Trans!Steve fic was hot! What about the boys (billy, steve and tommy) going out to a party or something like that and Steve would just keep teasing them whenever he’s alone with the other one, telling them he’s so wet right now and how he needs their dicks. Billy and Tommy try to act all cool, but when Steve dances with both of them and grinds himself on them intentionally they would just lost it and fuck him.

smut

I can’t find the first part

-

Steve knew what he was doing.

He had worn his tightest jeans to the party, the ones that made Billy grabby. He had spent more time on his hair than usual, making it looked like it did when Billy and Tommy had just finished fucking him.

All of this was very planned.

He worked on Tommy first. He had more self restraint than Billy did, so he sometimes took a little longer to jump Steve.

“I’m so wet right now.” He was murmuring in Tommy’s ear, pressed up against his back. “Haven’t been able to stop thinking about you both all day.” He licked Tommy’s neck, grinned at the white-knuckled grip Tommy had on the counter.

“Quit tryna make me hard right now.” Steve reached around to Tommy’s belt, just lightly touching the buckle, suggesting.

“I’m not trying to do anything.” And he pushed off Tommy, made his way back to the couch the three of them were taking up.

He plopped himself right on Billy’s lap, snaking his arms around Billy’s neck, leaning to mutter in his ear now.

“Can’t stop thinking about both your cocks in my cunt. I’ve been wet the whole party.” He nipped at Billy’s ear. He smirked to himself as Billy’s breath hitched.

“You wanna head home then, Pretty Boy?” Steve kissed under his jaw.

“Could always find a room here.” Steve wasn’t shy about what he liked, Billy and Tommy both knew he had a bit of a thing for getting caught, the potential that someone could see them.

The couch bounced slightly as Tommy threw himself down next to them, throwing one arm around Billy’s shoulders.

“He going for you now too?” Billy laughed at Steve’s pouty face. “He cornered me in the kitchen, told me all about how wet he is.”

“He just told me he wants to take us both in his pussy.” Billy and Tommy were throwing looks at Steve as they poked fun at him, made him huff on Billy’s lap.

“Y’know, I’m just trying to have a little fun. You two go jerk each other off then. Have fun.” He made sure to sway his hips as he walked to the mass of people dancing in the living room.

He could feel both theirs eyes on him as he began to dance, making sure to roll his body, really move his hips.

He felt warm hand on his waist, Billy pulling him back onto his firm chest as Tommy appeared in front of him. He tugged Tommy closer, grinding back and forth, feeling them both starting to thicken up in their jeans.

He leaned against Billy, really rubbing his ass along the Billy’s hips, letting his head fall back, his mouth open slightly. He took Tommy’s hands to feel over his body, guided them up his flat chest.

“Can’t take this anymore.”

Steve grinned.

He knew Billy would crack first. He could never contain himself when Steve and Tommy were involved.

He grabbed both their wrists stomping through the big house to find an empty bedroom.

He pushed them both inside, locking the door behind them. He shoved Steve onto the bed.

He looked up innocently at the boys staring down at him.

“What?”

They both descended, tugging off his clothes, tossing them on the floor.

Billy sucked on his neck, his chest, as Tommy went down, biting Steve’s inner thighs while shoving them apart.

“He wasn’t lying. He’s fucking soaked.” Tommy was running two fingers up and down his pussy, circling his cock on the upstroke. Billy detached himself from Steve’s collarbone to slide one of his fingers inside Steve. He smirked down at him.

“You really want us in this tight cunt, don’t you?” Steve nodded, whimpering as one of Tommy’s fingers joined Billy’s inside of him. “You want us at the same time?”

“Yeah, want both your cocks at once.” They had never done this before.

Steve loved to be full, liked when each of his boyfriends fucked both his holes until he was wrung dry, but he had never taken them both in one.

“Gonna need to stretch him out, then.” Tommy pushed another finger inside, guiding Billy’s to finger him at once.

Steve was a pretty small guy.

He was thin, with long lean legs. He didn’t have much in the way of tits, even before the surgery.

And he was tight.

Even just taking one cock, he needed at least two fingers to get him ready. He needed the first push to be slow, needed time to relax.

So Billy and Tommy took their time, working him up to taking both their index, middle, and ring fingers, all six stretching him out, ripping four orgasms out of him.

They had once spent hours trying to see how many times they could get Steve to cum, had lost count somewhere around forty six.

“Fuck, I’m ready. Want you. Want you both.” Steve was panting, chest heaving as Billy pulled his fingers out, stripped off quickly as Tommy kept his fingers working, keeping Steve open.

He batted Tommy away, yanking Steve’s legs to lift him up. Tommy got the hint, getting naked as quickly as possible, standing behind Steve. He took Billy’s cock, lining it up to Steve, helping him sink down onto it.

Billy let him adjust for a moment, before shifting his hold, letting Tommy press in alongside him.

Steve choked as he was completely filled, both boys stretching him out. Tommy wrapped his arms around his thighs from behind as Steve held onto Billy with dear life.

He let his head fall into the crook of Billy’s neck as they started fucking up into him, just shallow thrusts.

His brain was shorting out, being stretched and filled more than he thinks he ever has been before.

He was limp in their arms, just letting Tommy and Billy buck their hips, hold him up completely.

“God, you both feel so fucking good.” Billy had sweat on his brow, was breathing heavy. Steve was so tight, Tommy’s cock was rock hard against his own, and everything was fucking Heaven.

“I need, touch my cock. I’m so close, please, please...” Steve was whimpering into Billy’s neck.

Billy shifted his grip, let Tommy take more of Steve’s weight to he could get one hand between their bodies, jerking him off.

“Oh God, oh Jesus.” Steve tossed his head back, leaning into Tommy as he came, squeezing both of them like a fucking vice. His legs shook, and Tommy’s knees almost gave out as he came. Billy wasn’t long after, not with how slick Steve got, Tommy’s spunk only making him wetter.

They set him down, Steve immediately slumping forward into Billy’s arms.

His legs were shaking, cum dripping down his inner thighs. Tommy kissed the back of his neck, trailing wet kisses along his shoulder, leaning forward to kiss Billy’s neck, both of them making out over Steve’s melted form.

Billy led him to the bed, letting Steve sit and catch his breath as the other boys got dressed.

Tommy slipped out for a moment, getting Steve a washcloth, cleaning him up gently.

“You wanna head home? I can drive.” They had all taken Billy’s car there anyway.

“Yeah, don’t think I could walk if I tried.” Steve slumped back onto the bed, smirked as Tommy manhandled him into his clothes.

“You wanna help, or...?” Steve looked down at Tommy as he was shoving Steve’s legs back into his jeans.

“Nah. Like it when you do stuff.” Billy just huffed a laugh, pulling Steve to sit up, yanking his shirt on.

“You’re a pain in my ass, Stevie.” He smiled so sweet up at Billy.

“You two get to rail me on the regular, and in return, I make you dress me. I don’t see that as an issue.” Billy and Tommy exchanged a look.

“Whatever, you Baby.”

[lesbianlovelanguage]

Lost Boys of Starwood Ch 1

Fandom: Stranger Things Paring: Harringrove Chapter 1/10 Rating: T Co-written by myself and the amazing @catharrington​

Summary: West Hollywood California was a lighthouse on the beach for Steve Harrington moving down from nowhere Indiana. But for billy Hargrove it was a cage with golden bars kept locked by his father good and tight. They both found safety inside the darkness and splendor of Starwood, but will they be able to see the only way they can be truly found is through each other?

Read it on ao3 here or in the read below

“Get your fucking hands off of me!” Billy grunted, trying to squirm his way out from between two massive bouncers.

They ignored his shouts and threats, and continued to lead him outside. Once at the door, they threw him on to the street and slammed the door behind him.

“And fuck you too!” He gave one final middle finger at the closed door, and huffed before pulling out his almost empty pack of Lucky Strikes and lighting up a cigarette. This night was turning out to be a bust. The few drinks he was able to pilfer from the bozos around the dance floor weren’t doing much more than giving him a light buzz. When Billy tried like hell to convince an older guy to buy him a shot of Jack, the old geezer got security involved. Billy had just slid his hand up the meat of this guy's inner thigh a little, nothing big. No one is ever down for a good time any more.

Thankfully, the lights of Hollywood Blvd never turned off. He walked slowly, hands stuffed down inside the pockets of his tight denim, sweat from the club slowly drying on his naked chest. Billy left the top buttons open, even out on the street, wouldn’t want anyone to miss the show.

In his short year of exploration of the strip, Billy was proud to say he had been in each club at least once. Usually he was able to get a beer in his belly and a hand on his ass before he got caught and kicked out for being 17. He didn’t look it though, hand to god. He could pass for older, no problem, the earring and cocky smirk only aiding in the ruse. It’s just he didn’t have a fake ID, and, whilst Billy hid his age, he never hid his loose sexual orientation. Some clubs were okay with it and some were not, to say the least. The ones that didn’t care played the music that Billy craved. The angry lyrics, the loud guitar, the volume breaking the metal from the speakers as quick as they can, that’s the music Billy needed in his veins.

Taking slow drags from his cigarette, head down and debating about going home for the night, Billy started hearing some halfway decent music. He turned up his head to the sound of hard drums and a fast guitar start up, followed by an angry voice practically screaming I don’t wanna live to be thirty-four. Billy was definitely intrigued, and so he followed the music to another club. The neon sign naming the bar as “Starwood” and proclaiming the night’s guest to be a band called The Circle Jerks . Between the music and the name, Billy couldn’t find one reason to resist as he steered towards the doors. The chaos of the loud music at a shitty bar seemed exactly the kind of excitement buzz Billy was craving so deeply.

Just as he was poised to go in, Billy faltered in his step as a towering brick wall of a man covered the doorway. His one hand pushed the heavy door open, while the other was almost closed in a fist around a bloodied up man's throat. They walked out farther into the sidewalk, with the bouncer dragging the other man like a doll.

Billy knew an opportunity when he saw one, and even though there was a heavy thrill in seeing this fight and getting a look at the full sleeves of ink up and down the bouncer’s arms, Billy saw an opportunity. Billy used the distraction to dive for the quickly closing door.

Inside Starwood wasn’t much. The hallway was blacked out and the floor was scuffed from use to be just as dark. Multiple layers of faded posters glued to the walls on either side were a buffer to the noise, but not a good one.

Billy let his hands slide alongside the short hallway as his ears lead him around a corner into a thick mass of bodies.

As soon as he entered the main area of the bar, he was overwhelmed in the best way. The music was loud and fast, the bodies were sweaty and constantly in motion, and the booze was pouring freely and creating sticky puddles that merely added to the atmosphere. For the first time in a long while, Billy felt at home. It was easy to slide between the dancing bodies towards the bar in the back. He hung back, read the crowd, and easily snuck over to a particularly crowded spot at the bar.

He tucked himself just behind a thin woman who was already slurring her speech and snatched the neck of a beer bottle right under her nose. She was too busy leaning forward into the space of another girl talking with her hands to notice the thief, and once Billy took enough steps away she would have no reason to suspect a thing. Sometimes people let their guard down too easily at a bar, and while Billy knew about that, thankfully he just wanted to get drunk tonight. He cleaned off the lip of the bottle with the hem of his shirt before gulping it down for dear life.

There was a uniquely shaped stage on the other side of the large room, taking up almost the whole wall but was narrow. The band performing that night had the singer squashed between a massive drum set and a guitarist who held a wide power stance in tight leather pants that fit him like a second skin. The singer didn’t seem to have a care in the world as he bumped and even grinded against his guitarist's ass during a long and heavy solo.

This bar kept getting better and better to Billy. He wondered for a moment if he would have luck with what he attempted in his previous escapade. He had leaned up against a support beam covered in stickers and something sticky, but he didn’t care about that, nothing he hadn’t felt before in other places like this. Sea blue eyes scanned around the dark room hunting like a shark.

Then he saw someone, a lanky boy, fresh as a daisy but rushed and sweating behind the bar. He had long brown hair that just seemed to float above his head like a damn halo, and brown eyes that were just as big. From where Billy was standing all the lights of the stage reflected off those eyes, rainbows of colors, and when the boy slid a glass down the bar top and smiled, it was just as fantastic. Something that pretty shouldn’t be in a place like this, where the floor was basically one big puddle and the paint was peeling. He belonged on the cover of those magazines Susan read. Billy wanted to get his lips on that smile.

Billy chugged the last of the beer and marched over to the bar, waiting for a minute until it seemed that the bartender, with eyes like that damned cartoon deer Bambi, had a second to stop and wipe his hands down with a rag, then Billy took his shot. He caught the boy’s attention with a small gesture, and he had to yell over the noise, but he didn’t really care who heard.

“Hey, fuck me if I’m wrong, but is your name Bambi?”

He heard a couple hoots and cheers from the small gathering around the bar, but all he got from the boy was an eye roll, and he strutted to the other side of the bar to continue working. Bambi it was going to be then, his goal for the night, and oh was it going to be a fun chase.

He didn’t get to keep good on his goal however, because after staring at Bambi, or rather Bambi’s ass, for a minute and debating his next move, Billy felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, and came face to face with a person who was so clearly a skinhead, and not the nice kind judging by the nazi ring and the white laces in his boots, it made Billy want to roll his eyes.

He’d dealt with assholes like this at other bars, but he really didn’t want to go home with more bruises. It couldn’t be helped though, when the bald bastard leaned in close and spit “You a fucking fairy?” in Billy’s face.

Billy’s jaw flexed. This man was bigger than him,  but Billy wasn’t a push over. Hours under the sun surfing through unforgiving waves, weight lifting, and getting into more fights than he would care to remember has left him with an impressive physique of his own. Billy knew he was cut. And he knew how to win a fight. It wasn’t always about bigger or stronger but sometimes about the tricks.

“Who’s asking, big guy? Looking for a good time?” Billy flicked his eyes back across the bar just for a second to make sure that Bambi’s eyes were fixed on him. Their brown color sparkling with something intense as they connected. “Sorry but I’m taken right now-“

“Can’t fucking go anywhere these days without some faggot trying to suck dick in public. You’re disgusting!”

Billy couldn’t keep his smile under control, practically baring his teeth at this point. “You wanna watch me suck his dick, fella? Promise I’ll make it a show.” Then Billy’s tongue darted out to swipe along his bottom lip rapidity, wagging so suggestively, and it was turning the bald head on this bastard bright red. He hollered loud over all the music and noise of the bar, then lifted two hands gripped like fists in a club, fully ready to swing at Billy’s head of curls.

But then, the skinhead's shout was cut short. His anger boiled over so he was attacking all offense, leaving no room for defense. Billy easily leaned to the side and lifted his arm to push hard at the back of his sweaty, ugly head, successfully sending the thick skull of the man into the bar with a sickening crunch. That must be his nose, Billy had heard that noise many times before.

The skinhead crumbled to the ground, whimpering pathetically as he tried to stop the blood flowing from his face. Another man at the bar was lumbering over to haul the man up, maybe another security guy, maybe the same one from the door, Billy wasn’t watching. He only had eyes for Bambi, turning in place to stare at the bartender.

The sweet brunette bartender had obviously heard and seen what Billy did, and it worked like a charm. He leaned one hand on the bar and another against his hip, fingers coiled tight around the part where his shirt was tucked into tight denim jeans. “Nice show,” he had his head leaned down to look at Billy but his chin cocked up, like he was sizing him up. “Got a name?”

“Billy! The name’s Billy, pretty boy. But you can call me any time.” He had to yell over the music that hadn’t stopped.

“Order a drink, Billy. Whatever you want, it’s on the house.”

“You on the menu?” Bambi clearly hadn’t expected Billy to try and flirt so blatantly again, blinking a couple of times as if to process what he had meant.

“Sorry Billy, not tonight. How ‘bout a beer?” His voice was loud from having to holler over the sounds of the bar, but somehow soft and spoken just into Billy’s ear. It felt almost like a caress.

Billy grinned, at least this time wasn’t an out-right rejection. It could only be a matter of time before he wormed his way into Bambi’s heart, or at least his sinnfully tight jeans.

“Or, what about a Dirty Shirley?” Billy said, licking his bottom lip.

“How about a good ol’ Moscow Mule?” Steve hollered back, a light chuckle in his voice.

“I think I’d much rather a Quick Fuck.” Steve’s eyes glinted mischievously under the harsh lights of the bar.

“I know just the drink for you.” He then proceeded to mix together three different types of alcohol from the bottles lining the back wall. He poured it all into a little shot glass and placed it in front of Billy with a flourish.

“Well, pretty boy, what’s it called?” Billy asked, trying not to seem too eager, but fuck if this wasn’t the most fun he’d had in while.

Steve finally leaned over the bar towards Billy, and whispered in his ear. Soft rose petal lips tickled the blonde hairs curled under the lobe of his ear.

“It’s called Blue Balls,”  Steve pulled away, looking like the cat who got the cream, not realizing that his snark had only cemented Billy’s determination to win him over.

With one quick move, Billy downed the shot easily and stood up.

“You got me, Bambi, I guess I can handle a little blue balls tonight, but next time I’m really hoping for that Quick Fuck,” and with that promise of a return, Billy strode deeper into the club, thinking

You may have won this battle, Bambi, but I’m gonna win the war.

--

So this started as me being thirsty for headcanons, and then catharrington was a genius and brought up the amazing idea of punk!Billy in California, and well... Lost Boys of Starwood was born! I'm so excited to start sharing this story with y'all, so please let me know what you think :)

Also, if you're into punk music, totally check out the music in this fic! It's all LA based bands from the 1980s. Or message me for a playlist I made lol. Also let me know if you’d want me to make a taglist for this series!

[spartanguard]

(love will see us through these) Dark Days [CSRT; 4/7]

Summary: A century ago, the United Realms of Pomem had been a land of peace, prosperity, and magic. Until war tore the land apart, leaving behind cruel leaders and even crueler laws regarding the use of magic. And each year, the youth of each realm are subjected to a fight to the death, both for entertainment and to weed out anyone capable of wielding magic. In the 99th Magic Games, past victors Emma Nolan and Killian Jones find themselves serving as mentors, while Alice Gothel and Robyn West end up representing their realm. Everyone has secrets; everyone has something to lose. Who will win? Who will die? Just don’t forget: all magic comes with a price.

rated M | 9.2k words | part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | AO3

A/N: Here we go on the longest chapter yet! Continued thanks to everyone who has stuck through it thus far; this chapter puts us past the halfway mark, omg. And eternal thanks to the best beta ever @optomisticgirl​ and to @captainswanbigbang​ for putting on the CS Rewrite-A-Thon! chapter title comes from “Take the Heartland” by Glen Hansard.

part 4: should I kill you with my sword, yeah? Or should I kill you with this word?

Thirteen years ago

If Emma closed her eyes and cleared her mind, it wasn’t hard to imagine she was home. Trees were everywhere in Misthaven and she’d basically grown up in the limbs of them; the smell of pine and pitch were as ingrained in her memory as the smell of her mom’s kitchen and her dad’s aftershave. 

The warm, gentle breeze on her face as she sat near the top of a particularly tall conifer almost tricked her into thinking this was just another summer day—that her friends were waiting for her on the ground and her parents would be calling her in for dinner soon.

Until a cannon boom ripped her from the illusion. Lest she forget, she was still in the Arena, and still fighting for her life. 

“What can you see?”

Lily was barely visible on the ground through the branches, but Emma could hear her loud and clear. They’d developed a system pretty quickly: Emma would climb to scout, while Lily kept a lookout on the ground.

“There’s definitely smoke, but it’s all the way on the other side of the arena. Looks more like an explosion than anything,” she answered as she watched the plume of smoke rise. A forest fire wouldn’t have surprised her, so she was relieved that it seemed to be contained—and hoped it stayed that way. “I’m coming down.”

She hopped down the branches as lithely as she’d scaled them, then dropped the last few feet to the ground. Lily was waiting with her crossbow at the ready, dark eyes scanning around them, guarding both the tree and Emma’s backpack. “Which way was it?”

“To the northeast; so we should be good for a while if we head that way,” she said, nodding in the opposite direction as she hefted her bag onto her shoulders. 

“Let’s do it, then.”

She’d met Lily in the training center and they hit it off surprisingly quickly. Graham hadn’t been so sure of creating an alliance with a tribute from Phrygia, for whatever reason, but the girls insisted. Emma had no idea what was going on behind the scenes, but things seemed to be going well so far. There were 6 left in the games—well, 5 now, based on the sound they heard a bit ago. Once they reconnected after a day of wandering (and somehow avoiding the pixees that swept their way through the arena), they’d become what Emma had to assume was a formidable pair.

Lily was good at hand-to-hand combat; Emma had a sword in her hand from a young age—it was how her dad won his games. Between the two, they’d been able to take down anyone that came at them, easily eliminating 7 tributes between the two of them.

Emma’s co-tribute, Billy, hadn’t made it out of the bloodbath at the Apple Tree, but Lily’s was still out there, most likely. “Is it bad that I hope that was Abigail?” she said as they walked, not really in search of anything but mainly to avoid the dangers of staying in one place for too long.

Emma just shrugged. “I think the definition of bad and good doesn’t really matter here.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

They found a rocky outcrop that night to sleep on, one that kept them hidden from view but able to see anything (or anyone) coming. 

A packet of trail mix had arrived from a sponsor a bit ago, and they were both munching on it while watching the still forest. Other than the breeze and the occasional forest creature, it was nearly silent; Emma just might be able to let her guard down enough to get some sleep.

A jaw-cracking yawn told her she needed it. “Hey, Lil—Lily?”

She had to repeat the other girl’s name because she was either lost in thought, or really intrigued by a tree. But she jumped at the second mention of her name. “Yeah?”

“Do you want to take first watch, or should I?” Emma asked, silently hoping for the former option. But she didn’t trust Lily implicitly enough to not give her the choice.

“I’ll take first; get some sleep. I’ll wake you in a few hours.”

“Awesome. ‘Night.”

“Night.”

Before she laid down, she unbuckled her sword belt—the only time she did that—and hugged it close as she settled her head on her pack. She was asleep within minutes.

Sometime later, she was awoken by the strains of the national anthem and the announcement of that day’s losses. One was the last tribute from Atlantica, who Emma and Lily had taken out that morning; the other was one of the tributes from Erebor. So not Abigail.

Emma tried to drift back off, but something didn’t seem right. She glanced around and realized she was alone.

“Lily?” she whisper-yelled, then waited. But all she heard was crickets.

She called out again, and silently unsheathed her sword.

After the longest 10 seconds of her life, she nearly jumped out of her skin at footsteps.

“Calm down; it’s me,” Lily said as she hopped back up on the ledge. “I just went to...go.”

“Oh.” Well, now she felt awkward. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. Wanna switch?”

Emma was definitely too wired to sleep now. “Yeah, I’ve got this.”

She couldn’t shake the paranoid feeling that had taken over her, though, and found herself jolting at every sound, from Lily’s snores to a bird taking flight. She’d never been more grateful for sunrise when the sky finally took on an orange hue. 

When Lily woke up shortly thereafter, they quickly packed up and headed off, snacking on their trail mix again. 

After a couple of uneventful hours and a stop at a stream for water, Lily paused. “How’s this tree look?” 

It was a little wide, but seemed tall enough. “Sure.”

She dropped her pack, like always, but tightened the clasp on her sword belt; she was spooked enough that she wanted it handy, and it didn’t get in her way. And then she climbed.

Once she got to the top of the canopy, she took a look across the arena. “Looks like a storm is coming,” she called down, seeing some dark clouds in the distance; knowing the Games, there was as good a chance of it being acid rain as normal. “But nothing else looks to be going on.”

A gust of wind blew across the trees then, but she still thought she heard the sound of another voice—not Lily’s.

“Lil? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s good. Wanna keep moving?”

Part of her was screaming not to, but that wasn’t much of an option. “Okay; I’m coming down.”

But before she started her descent, she made what was possibly the smartest move of her life: she pulled the sword from its scabbard, and held tight as she slipped down.

Thank God she did. No sooner had her feet hit the ground than the thwick of a crossbolt hitting wood sounded above her.

Instinct took over and she swung out with her sword as she stepped forward. A cry came out when she connected with flesh, and Lily dropped the crossbow to hold her slashed forearm.

“I thought you said she trusted you,” Abigail sneered from where she stood, just behind Lily. She had a fierce-looking set of daggers, one in each hand and ready to strike.

“I thought she did,” Lily spat back, wincing at the sting of her cut.

Though she was gaping at the pair in front of her, it didn’t take long for Emma to piece everything together, and a pit formed in her stomach: Lily must have set this up when she disappeared last night. She led Emma right to this spot so they could ambush her. 

Weren’t they friends? God, she’d never felt so betrayed. 

Anguish quickly gave way to anger, though. “I did,” Emma growled. “Did you ever trust me?” She swung again with her blade, but Lily jumped back. “Was this a setup from the start?” Her next jab hit Lily in the thigh, bringing her to the ground.

There was a sudden stinging in Emma’s left shoulder; she looked to find one of Abigail’s daggers stuck in it, the girl within striking distance of using the other. But Emma didn’t give her a chance, and thrust forward with her sword, sinking it in the girl’s stomach and twisting. She hated the squelching noise it made, and tried to ignore the whimpers when she pulled it out.

Then she plucked out the dagger, tossed it aside, and turned back on Lily. She placed the tip of her blade not-so-gently under Lily’s chin, forcing the other tribute to look up at her. “Well?”

“I did, for a bit. Figured you’d be good for sponsor gifts. But I trusted her more.”

Emma huffed; of course—of course all anyone could see was what Emma was worth on paper. All the other Tributes had been clamoring to get in her good graces during training—surely, the daughter of two victors would be hard to pass up for a sponsor. Lily was the only one who hadn’t sought her out, which ironically drew Emma to her.

Logically, she knew the alliance wouldn’t have lasted; only one can win. But still—she thought she’d found a tiny glimmer of hope in the shit sandwich that was the games.

So, with a primal yell she didn’t know she possessed, she reared back and forced her sword into Lily’s chest.

The cannon fire came seconds later.

She didn’t waste any time in looting the girls’ bags and had already headed off when the cannon for Abigail finally sounded.

There were two more tributes out there and Emma would be damned if she wasn’t the one to win this thing.

That thought kept her going until she called it a night, hiding up in a tree; she wasn’t about to go stay out in the open all alone. Then—and only then—did she let the grief consume her. Angrily, she tore out the braid in her hair that Lily had made a few nights ago, throwing it into a messy bun instead. Sure, Emma had friends at home, but everything was different now—and Lily got that. 

Had. Had gotten it. Past tense. 

She silently cried herself to a fitful sleep until the chirping of birds woke her in the morning.

Before she left her spot the following morning, a flash of white caught her eye; a feather was stuck in some pine needles. It was too long to belong to any of the birds she’d seen in the arena; heck, it kind of looked like a swan’s, but no one had seen any of those in Pomem in years. Weird.

Still, she added it to her overstuffed pack. The bit of happiness she’d gotten from Lily’s friendship was as dead as she was; may as well take some joy from something else. She could almost hear her mom telling her that it was a symbol of luck or hope or something; as much as Emma didn’t put stock in those kinds of things, knowing that her mother did was enough.

And then she set off to end things. On her own.

◇─◇──◇────◇────◇────◇────◇────◇─────◇──◇─◇

Present day

Four days in, Emma still wasn’t sure about all this. The concept of the games was still appalling, obviously, but she was unfortunately becoming a bit desensitized to that. It was the whole working-with-others thing she still wasn’t crazy about. 

She wasn’t ungrateful for the alliance—not by a long shot. Between Killian, Ariel, and Graham, she’d figured out the ropes pretty damn quick. As it turned out, her years of pretending to be in a loving relationship worked wonders on potential sponsors. (It also helped that Tamara was leading in kills. Unfortunately, August had fallen on day 2 to one of the tributes from Erebor—who, in turn, quickly became part of Tamara’s body count.) 

But she knew it was going to have to come to an end at some point, and that would be messy. She knew first-hand just how bad it could get. And, dammit, she actually liked them—especially Ariel, with her bubbly optimism and sweet demeanor. She was a stark contrast to Killian—all dark hair, good looks, and a cocky attitude that Emma could see right through—but Emma got along with him way too easily for comfort, and it was pretty clear to her that it was mostly a front, having seen through a few of its cracks already. Whatever had happened on the elevator last week still nagged at the back of her mind, on occasion.

There wasn’t enough downtime to get that answered, though. If she wasn’t keeping watch over things in the game center, she was either resting or hitting up a potential sponsor. She and Graham were trying to keep things balanced so that one of them was always in the center but god, it was exhausting. The games were 24/7, which meant their jobs were, too. 

Honestly, she was kind of surprised that she was still so busy, given that both Misthaven and Atlantica were down to one tribute each; William had fallen victim to a swarm of pixees—insects native to Neverland that were the product of normal bees getting into an ancient (and long-gone) supply of pixie dust—that had basically been bomb-dropped by one of the girls from Sherwood. But Tamara and Ursula had finally met up and were doing pretty well together. They managed to tag-team the boy from DunBroch, but that was the only move they had made on offense.

That said, there were still some times Emma had to calm herself down; when the image of Lily’s sneer flashed in her memory, or the way life had faded from her eyes. She could feel her magic creeping up her spine in those moments, threatening to let loose; it was only her experience in putting on a face for show (and several deep breaths) that held it back.

She had just watched the girls survive a run-in with some raining fireballs. They’d found shelter by a river and were using the water to soothe their injuries, but they needed burn medicine if they were going to get any farther. Even though it was only a few days in, the price of everything had already skyrocketed. That meant they’d have to hit up a well-endowed sponsor. Which meant she and Killian would have to take a trip. 

Early on, Graham had thought it would be a good idea to split up and maybe learn some tricks of the trade from the other pair of mentors. Emma, being the least outgoing of the two of them, consequently ended up with Killian. “Maybe his personality will rub off on you,” Graham ribbed. (Emma responded by punching him a little harder than playfully in the arm.)

“I know a retired doctor who can help us—might even be able to knock the price down,” Killian said, somewhat casually. He had spread himself over the length of the sofa across from Emma, almost as if he was putting himself on display; not for the first time, her thoughts drifted back to their conversation the other night. She was still pretty ashamed of what she’d accused him of, but then again, he was the one flirting with someone he shouldn’t have been. Not like she’d done anything to dissuade him, but, you know, he started it. As to why she flirted back...she didn’t have time to think about that.

She could have just chalked it up to him being him: he was easily one of the most handsome guys here, and he clearly took pride in (or at least relied on) his appearance—his hair was perfectly tousled and his clothes were expertly tailored. He thankfully hadn’t adopted the outlandish style of dress typical of the Capitol that some victors had taken to; he simply wore a black waistcoat over a light blue shirt with a navy jacket and slacks (of course, his shirt was unbuttoned a bit lower than it should have been, revealing some of the dark hair that covered his chest). 

She couldn’t help it if she was affected by him, given that most were (probably even Graham). And she shouldn’t be reading anything into the charms he used on her; those were probably the only thing keeping him alive. If there was one thing she knew, it was playing a role.

At the moment, he was picking at a small plate of finger food. She wasn’t sure if it was purely out of utility, or just to show off, but he was stabbing each morsel with his hook before eating. So, all told, she found Killian Jones both endearing and annoying.

Given his lack of a sense of urgency, Emma leaned back against the cushions and glanced around the room, taking stock of the rest of the fallout from the firestorm. Large, red Xs appeared over the screens of the tributes who’d succumbed; “Looks like that took out the last tributes from Agrabah and Erebor.” If she needed any further confirmation, Leroy, the mentor from Erebor, grumpily cursed and headed out of the room. Only one other tribute seemed to be tending to wounds, though. “The kid from Sherwood got hit good, too.”

Killian’s gaze left the cheese cube on his plate and flashed up. “Which one?”

“Alice, I think.” She hadn’t been paying enough attention to which one was which. “Not the one with the bow; the other one.”

Suddenly, Killian was on his feet, eyes darting around the room. “Goddamit, Eloise,” he muttered, then held his hand out to her. “Come on, let’s go.”

She ignored his hand and stood on her own, grabbing her sweater and bag. “Lead the way.” 

He took off at a brisk pace, but Emma glanced behind her before they left; Eloise was nowhere to be seen, so he must have figured she was already on it. If his urgency was in order to beat the other mentor to the punch, then Emma was definitely on board.

When they met with the sponsor—an older woman who was clearly well-preserved by the Capitol’s plastic surgeons—Emma turned on her well-rehearsed show face, which had quickly become second nature. It was a bit of a struggle to keep it on when Killian was making plans with the woman for later, but she followed his lead; he didn’t seem too distraught or disturbed by it, even if the woman’s garish black-and-white hair was far from what she’d consider attractive.

They were easily able to convince this Doctor Cruella to pony up the needed meds—more than enough for both their tributes—and, prizes in hand, headed back to the game center.

“I don’t mean to upset you, Emma, but I think we make quite the team.”

“Oh yeah?” she tossed back, feeling a bit giddy. The value on that medicine was probably astronomical, especially with how much they got.

“Aye. With your smarts and my good looks, we could run this thing.”

“We’ll see,” she teased back. With him, it was way too easy to forget that they were literally responsible for children’s lives—and, at the end of the day, would be fighting against each other at some point. She wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

Honestly though, they got along much too well. She didn’t know why that was a problem, but it was.

(Probably because of what she knew she was going to do later.)

Thankfully, nothing had changed when they got back to the game center; night was falling and things typically calmed down then, though not always. But the day had been exciting enough.

“Want me to send those off?” Emma offered, nodding at the small canisters in Killian’s hand.

Oddly, he looked sheepish, like he was hiding something. Now what was he up to?

“Uh, yeah—send this one,” he said, putting one in her hand. “But I was going to offer this one to Sherwood.”

Emma narrowed her eyes and could feel her magic licking at her spine in reaction to her sudden spike of anger; she took a breath to tamp it down before she said anything. “I thought…” She was going to ask him about her earlier hypothesis, but that clearly had been wrong. “I thought those were both for our kids?”

“One is more than enough to get them healed and then some, both of them. If we’ve got more, we may as well help out another realm who’s struggling.”

As poor as Sherwood was, Eloise had actually been doing decently on the sponsor end of things—or, at least, better than usual. Still, Emma had to wonder what kind of angle Killian was playing; briefly, her mind flickered to their first conversation, and the way he was staring at Alice’s screen the other day. 

“You know we can’t save all of the kids, right? Our priority is supposed to be our realm.”

Killian rolled his eyes at her. “You think I don’t know that? Darling, I taught you that. But no one ever said there wasn’t room for a bit of compassion.”

Compassion hadn’t won either of them their games; all it got Emma was a few more bricks around her heart.

“Look, her mentor is MIA and we shouldn’t just leave her to the wolves,” he continued. “Consider it a small act of rebellion, if you must. We may get turned down anyways, but at least we tried.”

Emma huffed; he was definitely appealing to her motherly instincts, which she’d been trying to put on mute while here. But rebellion...she could always get behind that.

“Fine.” 

He didn’t say anything; just turned and crossed the center to the game makers’ office. She tossed her bag on the sofa and rushed to follow, which was probably unnecessary because he let her go first when they got to the door. 

Everything that went in had to be inspected, though everyone knew that was merely a formality—people had sent weapons through before and no one batted an eye. (Something she was counting on.)

She was about to knock on the door when it swung open, taking Emma by surprise. Even more timely, Eloise was leaving. The expression on her face was somewhere between smug and annoyed—or maybe her face was just always that way? Either way, her eyes skimmed over Emma on their way to Killian. 

He stepped around Emma and held out the ointment. “Got this for Alice, unless you already took care of it.” It was rare for a mentor to actually enter the room until the end, unless there was an issue of some sort. 

“No, I didn’t.” Eloise’s tone was cool and indifferent. 

“It’s yours, then.” Killian was oddly serious. 

Eloise glanced down at it, then back up at him. “Send it yourself.” And just as cooly walked away.

Killian sighed in what Emma assumed was frustration, closing his eyes and gripping the container. There was clearly a history there Emma didn’t know about.

“What was that?” she asked. Regardless of whatever their history was, it was odd that a mentor would act so indifferent in the face of a valuable gift.

“Nothing new,” Killian muttered, before shaking his head and stepping forward.

The medicine was quickly approved and they were both given the opportunity to attach a note; Emma scribbled out a quick encouragement while Killian wrote something equally brief. God, that kid was probably going to be so confused, getting a gift from another realm. But she’d definitely appreciate it.

They ended up back on the couches, watching as well-trained birds delivered the packages they sent. (Emma honestly didn’t want to know how they always found their tributes—it probably had to do with the chip each tribute was implanted with, but she wouldn’t put it past Olympus to have something more sinister going on.) It was hard not to smile at the excitement from all three girls when they were delivered, and even Killian let out a sigh of relief. 

“Rebellion feels good, eh?” he teased.

She chuckled back, but answered with “Don’t let them hear you say that too loud. That’s a cursed word here.” She was trying to joke but they both knew it wasn’t far from the truth.

“Aye, I know,” he said, leaning back against the cushions. “I just get so...tired of it.”

“The Games?”

“Yeah. The death, the control. The parts of my life that have to stay hidden. The lies.” 

She definitely understood that.

“I know you know what I’m talking about,” he said pointedly.

But she didn’t appreciate being called out, and her hackles rose at the accusation. “Do you?”

He gave her a sidelong glance. “Please. I’ve been around you two for nearly a week now.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but had no idea what to say. It was easier to fake their romance when they knew they had an audience, but around Killian, she didn’t have it in her to lie—not about that. 

But she could evade it pretty well. “Yeah, well, what about you and Eloise?”

His brow furrowed. “What about her?”

“Is she some spurned ex-lover?” It maybe wasn’t fair to throw that back at him—again—but if there was one thing the games had taught her, it was that you couldn’t fight fair.

“I thought we were past that,” he answered, sounding slightly more hurt than she’d have liked. “But...something along those lines.”

“Did you break her heart?” She didn’t know why she needed to know. She just did.

“It’s more complicated than that, but no,” he answered truthfully. Then she watched as his armor slip back into place as he sat up and threw a coquettish look her way. “Why—are you jealous?”

“No,” she said, way too quickly and completely unconvincingly. (She was. A little. Dammit.)

Thankfully, he just replied with a deep chuckle, before leaning close enough that she could feel his breath on her neck. “Darling, if you want to get close to me, all you have to do is ask. No need to use propriety as an excuse.”

She squeezed a fist as she felt her magic react to him, trying to hold it back—but still, a glass broke somewhere on the other side of the room. One of the stewards picked up the shards and looked around, confused, which was Emma’s cue to get out for a bit.

Hastily, she stood up and ran her hands down her skirts, hoping to shake off the extra static. “I’m gonna take a walk; think you can man the fort for a bit?”

Killian followed. “I should actually tap out; Cruella is waiting.” But he remained close to her. “Can I follow you out?”

“Sure, I guess,” she answered, then didn’t wait for him to follow her out of the center.

They headed down the corridor in silence, Emma trying her best to keep distance between them. The butterflies she’d been feeling in her stomach whenever they got close like this returned, but that was the first time she’d risked exposing her magic because of it. It was kind of aggravating, honestly, how much that was happening—and that she had no idea what the exact trigger was: was it him? Was it just being in Olympus, and therefore in closer proximity to Neverland and its magic? Or was it related to what she had planned for later? Regardless, she needed to calm down.

She started rubbing her arms, either from cold or nerves—she wasn’t sure—but Killian noticed right away.

“Love, you’re shivering; here, let me—” He started to take off his jacket before she interrupted him.

“No, I’m fine; I just left my sweater back there.”

“I could try to warm you up, if you’d like,” he offered, with that all-too-charming grin and a seductive quirk of his eyebrow. Even if she knew it was for show, she couldn’t deny: it worked.

And tempting as it sounded, that was the last thing she needed. “I’ll just go grab it. You go on ahead.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“If you insist. Then I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Don’t have much choice, do we?”

She turned to head back—or to somewhere, just to walk—but then Killian grabbed her hand as she retreated. She wasn’t expecting it, and another shock let out, this time jolting him.

Shit.

Most of the time, she could play it off as static, but when she looked back at him, there was a wide-eyed expression of recognition on his face, first as he stared at where he was holding her forearm, then as he looked up at her. He knew.

“Don’t tell anyone,” she whispered.

He swallowed. “I won’t; you have my word,” was his solemn reply. “Especially if you don’t repeat what we said earlier.”

“I won’t.”

He nodded. “Until tomorrow, then.”

“Bye.”

They couldn’t get away from each other fast enough.

She ended up pacing the long hallway for a bit until she’d calmed down enough to go back in, but she knew she wouldn’t make it much longer; gods, sometimes she wished she had one of those magic-blocking cuffs, so she didn’t have to worry about being found out. At least one of the perks to being stuck in this castle was the fantastic baths and easy access to alcohol; even if it was the middle of the night, she’d have no trouble getting her hands on a glass of wine and a long, hot soak. But she had one thing to do first.

She slipped back into the game center relatively unnoticed; each of the few realms left had representation, but Ariel hadn’t yet arrived. And Emma didn’t know if she could face her once she did. She’d just have to hope the kids would be okay for a few minutes without anyone.

Her bag and sweater were still on the couch where she’d left them. She slipped her hand deep into her tote, feeling the smooth wood of the small hatchet she and Graham obtained earlier that day. What could she say? They’d learned from the best. They’d been saving it for the right moment, and she didn’t know if she’d get another.

Alliances couldn’t last forever. She knew that better than anyone. Which meant it was now or never for Tamara, especially with only 7 tributes left.

The door to the gamemaker office was ajar, so she slid in. “I have another sponsor gift,” she told the official at the desk, and pulled out the weapon.

The woman’s sterile expression turned stern as she inspected the tool. “I’m going to have to get this approved; hold on a minute.” Glancing over her shoulder, she called out, “Mr. Hatter? Can you take a look at this?”

The head gamemaker, Jefferson Hatter, was in the middle of a conversation with Sidney Glass, and held a finger up. Emma could hear him tell the other man, “We’ll make the announcement tomorrow. Excuse me,” before coming her way.

Jefferson assessed the weapon with a careful eye, pulling and tapping on it a bit to make sure nothing was concealed. “Looks fine to me. It can go.” Emma smiled to thank him, but he was already gone, off to deal with some other aspect of the games. She both loathed and envied his job.

“Alright, we’ll get this out. Did you want to add a note?”

“Yes, please.” The woman offered Emma a slip of paper and pen. She thought about it for a moment, and then began writing.

You know what to do. —E

◇─◇──◇────◇────◇────◇────◇────◇─────◇──◇─◇

Alice screamed. 

Logically, she knew that was a terrible idea and a sure-fire way to draw an enemy. But, she figured, if anyone was actually close enough to hear her, then they were also caught in the firestorm and, well...they weren’t exactly her problem anymore. 

So she screamed, and she ran, trying as hard as she could to outpace the heat that was chasing her heels and nipping at her skin. In a rare moment of clarity, she’d pulled her shirt over her mouth and nose to prevent breathing in smoke, but the only other thing she could do was get away—fast. 

She ran and ran and ran, focusing only on the feel of the forest floor under her feet until suddenly, the world changed and she had to throw her hands up to stop from running face-first into a tree—which she promptly collapsed upon, coughing and wheezing to get her air back. 

She also may have vomited. But it served her right for thinking that any berries she’d found here would be edible; those had been giving her fits since last night. 

When she was finally able to breathe properly, she took stock of whatever she could. A glance behind her showed the fire was far enough away that she was in the safe zone—but how she’d gotten that far away, she wasn’t sure. 

She shivered, which was awful for two reasons: one, it made her suddenly very aware of the burned skin on the backs of her arms and legs; and two, it sent a static shock through her body that answered her question: her magic had carried her to safety. 

Dammit. She’d been doing so well. Er, rather, as good as could be expected when the very air sent her magic sparking.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to will it away, to calm it down, to press it back inside that pool of power deep within. But it was begging for release; had been since she got here, really. She’d always thought it was a tall tale that Neverland was filled with magic, but she’d felt it ever since she arrived—that tingle in her spine, the spark at her fingertips. She’d been doing as best she could to keep it in but it’d finally had enough, apparently. 

“Bloody hell,” she murmured to herself as more sparks fell from her hand, landing near the raw skin at her ankles and then making her hiss in pain. 

God. Fuck everything. 

It didn’t matter that she was still in the middle of the arena, with death and threats all around her; she fell to the ground, put her head in her hands, and cried. Well, sobbed. She’d been holding it all in for days now and was done. 

Just because she had genes that had won the games didn’t mean she was emotionally prepared to be here.

That, and she just kept seeing the way the boy from her father’s realm swelled up when he got stung by the pixees, coughing and sputtering as he tried to breathe but was going into anaphylactic shock. She hadn’t wanted to kill him; she just wanted his backpack. She didn’t know he was allergic. 

God, what had she gotten herself into? 

“You’re the cleverest person I know, Starfish,” her papa had told her before she’d left Olympus. “Trust your instincts and be smart.” She was trying, but was it enough? 

And now it felt like her skin was on fire and she was thirsty and what good were those heavy clouds in the sky if it wasn’t going to rain? She could bloody feel the static from the storm and that just added to her tension.

Her tears did nothing to soothe her skin but did wonders for her emotionally. 

When she was finally spent (or dehydrated; it was hard to tell), she took another long moment to look up at the sky. It’d been painfully obvious to her right away that the stars it showed at night were artificial; her papa had taught her to navigate by the constellations but there were none she recognized. 

Now, though, all she saw was a haze, smoke blending into storm clouds. She needed to get back on the move and find a source of water. The spring she’d been frequenting was probably now nothing more than a steaming crater in the middle of burned-out wood. 

Hauling herself to her feet was, well, a feat, and the more she moved, the more her skin stung and ached. She had a middling knowledge of herbal plants that had helped with the pixee stings (even if she hadn’t gotten the brunt of that one, they still hadn’t been keen on her disturbing their home), but nothing to help with burns, save for cool water. (At least she knew what dreamshade looked like and to stay the hell away. After what happened to her uncle, Papa had made sure of that.)

Which made her search all the more urgent. There was still a little left in her canteen but she knew she’d need that to drink. That meant her only option was to keep pressing on until she found some.

Eventually, she crossed a tiny stream that looked to be reasonably clear; it’d have to do. The cool water helped but wasn’t a complete balm—but what else was she going to do? At least she’d be able to keep the wounds clean and hopefully avoid infection.

There was a thick copse of trees just a few feet away; once she’d finished tending her burns and refilling her canteen (after many long, long gulps of water), she shuffled over and, after checking it over for dreamshade and finding none, collapsed inside it. Night was coming and she definitely needed to rest.

She’d just gotten kind of comfortable when a quiet tweeting started outside her makeshift shelter. Ugh, she didn’t want to get up again. But that sound could only mean one thing: a sponsor gift.

She’d gotten one earlier in the games, after a day or so without food: just a loaf of bread, but one she recognized as coming from her favorite bakery back home, with orange marmalade baked in. It was definitely a rare treat for the games, and possibly undeserved, but it’d given her the energy to keep going. (Which was when she found the spring.)

She poked her head out of her enclosure to see a small container sitting a few feet away, a deceptively slight songbird sitting nearby. It flew off once it saw it’d gotten her attention, back to wherever it was Olympus released the carrier birds from. With a wince, she got up, practically crawled the distance to the gift, then moved back inside as quickly as possible.

It wasn’t a large container, but it looked expensive. A note was taped on top; she peeled it off first and was both surprised and not to see that it didn’t have any words: just a small doodle of a starfish. Which meant this came directly from her papa. “Thank you,” she said into the night, hoping he’d see or hear her (and wishing she could say more).

She stashed the note in her pocket and fiddled with the jar to open it, taking way too long to figure out that the top twisted off, revealing a creamy white substance. She brought it to her face to sniff it—it had a vaguely floral scent—but leaned a bit too close to it and clumsily stuck her nose right in the stuff. Woops.

Almost immediately, though, she felt a cooling sensation on her skin. Did that mean…? She didn’t waste any more time in thought and took a modest amount on her fingers, then spread it on the raw skin of her opposite arm.

The effect was instantaneous, and she sighed in relief. For the first time in hours, that part of her body didn’t feel like it was still aflame. Quickly, she applied the ointment on all her other burns, careful to not use it all up but thrilled to finally feel better.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she called out again. She didn’t know exactly how, but she could tell her papa was watching. Their last hug—in private, before the hovercopters took them to the arena—was impressed in her memory, and she could sometimes still feel the fatherly kiss he’d left on her temple. (Her mother...well, she’d shown as much affection as she was capable of, but it was definitely one of the more awkward hugs in her lifetime.)

God, what would her parents think of her now? Logically, she knew they’d be the last people to judge her, but she’d killed a person now; the pain in the boy’s dying screams would probably play in her dreams forever. Hell, it was starting to again; she put her hands on her ears to try to block it out, though it did little. This was no place to dwell on that, though; with any luck—as morbid as the idea was—she’d have a whole lifetime to. But she had to keep going forward, not looking back. 

Since she had a moment to breathe now, she pulled the bag into her lap and stashed the remaining ointment in one of the smaller pockets. Goodness, this really was a great bag: her jacket was a tattered, melted mess, but this thing barely had a scorch mark on it. She knew that kind of material existed—her realm was responsible for textiles, after all—but civilians never saw anything like this. Olympus bastards, hogging all the good stuff. 

Her brief moment of jealousy was interrupted by a jaw-cracking yawn, so she dug out the blanket the pack had come with, set the bag aside, and tucked herself in; it got bloody cold at night and the blanket just might be her favorite thing. 

She hadn’t even realized she’d fallen asleep when suddenly, it was daylight. Crap. Yeah, she needed the sleep, but that meant she missed the announcement of who had passed away during the previous day; she thought she heard a couple of cannons in the mess of the forest fire but she hadn’t encountered anyone since the boy from Atlantica, so she had no idea who it would be. 

Hopefully not Robyn. She hadn’t seen her, either; they’d been on opposite sides of the Apple Tree and had probably gone in opposite directions. From a logical standpoint, Alice’s odds were better if Robyn wasn’t still in the game—she was fierce with that bow, if she’d gotten one—but she liked her too much to wish she was gone.

And that kiss...her lips tingled at the thought.

(And her heart raced and butterflies flitted in her stomach and all those cheesy cliches that turned out to be cliches for a reason. She was Killian Jones’ daughter; of course she was a hopeless romantic.)

But following that train of thought into daydreams wasn’t going to help her at all. She stood and started to pack up, and noticed that her burns didn’t hurt anywhere near as much; a glance at her forearm showed it was mostly healed. Thank bloody goodness. 

After getting her blanket put away and a quick sip of water, she was in the middle of applying more of the burn cream when trumpets sounded overhead—the ones that usually accompanied the midnight death announcement. God, she’d been more tired than she realized if she managed to sleep through those blaring alarms.

“Attention tributes,” Sidney Glass announced. “There has been a recent change to the rules.” 

Alice tilted her head and looked at the sky, even though she couldn’t see anything but foliage; that never happened this late in the games. 

He continued, “If the last two tributes remaining are from the same district, they will both be crowned victors. Thank you, and remember: all magic comes with a price.”

Alice dropped the container of ointment. Seriously? If Robyn was still alive, they could go home together?

Blindly, she ran out from her hiding place and called out for the other girl. Not that she was going to get a reply, but that was her immediate reaction. Thankfully, no one else was around to hear her outburst, but the images of the remaining tributes were up on the screen—and Robyn’s was still there, right next to Alice’s. She couldn’t hold back her grin. (At least, not until her magic sparked her again.)

It looked like Phrygia still had two tributes in, too, so that was probably the most worrisome competition, though she thought she’d seen the girls from Atlantica and Misthaven together at some point. 

She was getting ahead of herself; would Robyn actually stand a better chance with her around than she would alone? What if she was already in an alliance? What if she didn’t actually want to share a win with her? (She didn’t think that would be the case, but it didn't take much for Alice’s mind to spiral.)

Whatever. It couldn’t hurt to try to find her. Not that she had any idea where to look, but she’d be damned if she didn’t give it a go. “A man who doesn’t fight for what he wants deserves what he gets,” her papa always said. “Well, woman,” he’d add, smirking.

Once she packed up, she headed in the direction of the central lake in the arena; at the very least, it would be a starting point, and with any luck, Robyn would have the same idea. 

She’d hardly gone a few meters when something on the forest floor caught her eye: a feather, white as snow. “That’s odd,” she said to herself. “There aren’t any birds here that look like that.” She’d seen all manner of bluebird, jay, and wren, but nothing so pure and bright as this. It reminded her of a swan’s, but this place was oddly devoid of waterfowl. 

Regardless, she tucked it in her pocket and set back off, imagining her movements were as graceful as that bird’s (and that, if the occasion called for it, she could be as fierce as one).

A couple hours later, she was near the lake, and on high alert; any open area was dangerous, especially this late in the games. Her tattered jacket was tied around her waist and her hair was in a messy braid; the heat was starting to become oppressive, but there was a charge to the air that kept reacting with her magic and making her wonder if a storm was coming.

She was staring at the sky, trying to figure out what the clouds were saying, when she was suddenly flying towards them. Her ascent peaked, and then she yelped as she fell back to earth, only to be jolted to a halt in midair by something that was as soft as it was constraining. She started to fight against it, looking for a weak point, and found many useless holes—it was a net.

“If you’ve got any last words, say them now,” a familiar voice shouted intimidatingly.

“Robyn? Is that you?” she answered, twisting in her restraints to see out.

“Alice?” Robyn called back, now in disbelief. “Shit. Hold on—I’ll get you out of there.”

Alice held still, not really sure what she was waiting for, when she heard the whizz of something flying towards her, followed by her actually falling to the ground; she was higher up than she’d thought and the wind was knocked out of her.

She laid there, taking gulping breaths of air, when Robyn swam into her blurry vision. “Oh my god, are you okay? I’m so sorry!”

“I’m fine,” Alice coughed, unconvincingly, but took one more deep breath before that was closer to the truth. “Where the hell did you get a fishing net?”

“It was in my pack,” Robyn shrugged as she helped Alice up to sitting. “It must have been meant for someone from Atlantica.”

“Okay, but then how did you learn to do...whatever that was with it?”

She gave a devilish smirk that set those butterflies alight in Alice’s belly. “Remember Alexandra, from school?”

“Yeah.”

“Remember how we had that feud that seemed to end very suddenly?”

She didn’t—Alice was definitely on the periphery when it came to classmate drama—but she could pretend. “Uh-huh.”

“Let’s just say when I got my revenge on her for stealing my first girlfriend, she spent a lot of time thinking about it. While suspended in midair.”

“Damn,” she sighed, but she was honestly more fixated on the ‘first girlfriend’ part of that statement. She couldn’t lie—she’d been worried Robyn might have just been placating her, or getting in some final kicks when Alice stole her kiss; she hadn't been certain Robyn liked girls, too. So at least that was one less thing for her jumbled mind to be anxious about.

And then any other fears were put to rest when Robyn launched herself at her in a bruising hug. “God, I’m so glad I found you,” she murmured into her neck, and Alice didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around her, too. She closed her eyes at how perfect they seemed to fit together, even with the awkward way they were sitting. 

“Me too,” she whispered back.

“You heard the announcement?” Robyn asked without pulling away.

“Aye.”

“Wanna go home together?”

“Oh, fuck yes.”

Robyn giggled. “Then let’s do this.”

They helped each other to standing, brushed off the forest detritus, and then stared at each other for a long, charged moment, somewhere between intense and awkward (probably both). Because all Alice could think about, yet again, was the kiss, and if the way Robyn was licking her lips was anything to go by, she probably was too. Should she try it again? Was the ball in Robyn’s court? Should she not even be fucking worrying about it because they were literally in a fight to the death? 

At least Robyn didn’t seem as unsure as Alice, and cut through the thick air between them with a “Let’s go.”

Alice fell into step behind her, keeping an eye on both the path and the sky; the clouds were continuing to darken.

“What’s your count?” Robyn asked as they picked their way across the arena, vaguely in the direction of the lake. 

She didn’t need to ask for clarification, and shuddered again at the memory of the boy’s dying screams. “One. You?”

“Same,” she said. “It’s how I got the bow; off one of the kids from Arendelle.”

“Did you get them with the net, too?”

“No; they tried to shoot at me and missed. Turns out my aim is good even without the bow.”

There was a hint of regret in her voice that Alice could definitely identify with. She jogged ahead a bit and reached for Robyn’s hand, giving it what she hoped was an encouraging squeeze. Robyn looked down at their joined hands, then up at her, and the shy smile she gave was just a bit of sunshine in this gray day.

But then a big, fat raindrop hit her nose, making her gasp in surprise. Then Alice felt one on the back of her neck, dripping down her shirt—and it was cold.

They could hear drops falling on the dense foliage in a crescendo around them, and suddenly, they were caught in a downpour. 

“There’s a cave nearby we can hide in!” Robyn shouted, having to over the volume of the storm. 

Thunder rumbled overhead. “Lead the way!” Alice yelled back.

Robyn clenched her hand around Alice’s before letting go, and then they took off in a sprint back the way they’d came. They darted through the clearing where the net still sat in a heap on the ground, then turned and headed in the opposite direction from where Alice had come, hopping over fallen logs and trying to keep their footing over increasingly muddy terrain.

Alice was starting to shiver, but Robyn hadn’t slowed, so she couldn’t either. Her magic was still reacting to the static in the air, so she had to keep that tamped down, too, lest it carry her away again—and they needed to stay together.

Thunder and lightning continued to build as they went, and it felt like they were running towards the center of the storm. As if in confirmation, a bolt of lightning struck a tree not 100 yards from where they were; both girls screamed, but Alice managed to stay upright. Robyn, though, lost her footing and fell forward, then cried out again.

Alice caught up to her and offered a hand to help her up—but Robyn didn’t take it. “My ankle—I think I twisted it,” Robyn hissed.

So Alice did the next logical thing: she knelt down, got an arm under Robyn, and helped her back to standing. “How far away are we?”

“It’s just up there,” she nodded in the direction they were headed. “There’s a big rock formation; you can’t miss it.”

Much slower, they continued on, Alice taking extreme care with each step. It seemed to take forever, but eventually, there it was, almost looking like it had been cut perfectly from the overhanging rock—which it probably had.

It was deeper than it looked from the outside; more than enough to keep them dry. Alice carried Robyn to the far wall and helped her sit down, before both were finally able to catch their breaths.

“At least it’s not acid rain,” she quipped. Robyn gave her a tight smile back, but it quickly morphed to a grimace when she tried to move her leg. “Here; let me check it.”

Alice carefully stepped around Robyn and crouched down near her right ankle, the one that was injured. The light was dim this far in, and though she knew she could illuminate the space with her magic, she didn’t want to expose herself like that just now, if at all. 

“I’m going to touch it, okay?” she said, hoping that if she gave some warning, it’d hurt less. Robyn just nodded at her.

Gingerly, she brushed her fingers against the ankle, watching Robyn’s reaction. It didn’t change, but what was under her touch was far from what she expected. 

They were both soaked to the bone, but her skin was a different kind of wet, almost slimy.

“Oh, no,” she cursed, then jumped up to get closer to the light.

“What is it?” Robyn asked, but her voice was weak.

Alice only got close enough to the light to see what was on her fingers, but it was as she feared: blood. “Fuck.”

She ran back and, without thinking, created a ball of light in her palm; she needed to see what was going on.

And it was worse than expected: a long, jagged gash ran up the side of Robyn’s shin, and it was still trickling blood; Alice was no expert, but it looked deep, and probably had something to do with the ashy she could now see on Robyn’s face.

“You’re bleeding, badly,” she told her. “Do we have anything to sew it up?”

“W-wait,” Robyn stammered, as if she didn’t even register what she’d just been told. “You have magic?”

Alice gave a sheepish glance toward her hand, then back up at Robyn through her lashes. “Uh, yes?”

Robyn just gaped and blinked at her a few times, then her eyes rolled back into her head and she passed out.

Bloody fuck.

◇─◇──◇────◇────◇────◇────◇────◇─────◇──◇─◇

thanks again for reading! more drama to come, of course ;) tagging some friends  @kat2609​ @thesschesthair​ @xpumpkindumplingx​ @shipsxahoy​ @amortentia-on-the-rocks​ @mryddinwilt​ @cocohook38​ @annytecture​ @wingedlioness​ @word-bug​ @distant-rose​ @wellhellotragic​ @welllpthisishappening​ @let-it-raines​ @pirateherokillian​ @its-imperator-furiosa​ @killianmesmalls​ @sherlockianwhovian​ @ineffablecolors​​ @laschatzi​​ @ive-always-been-a-pirate​ @nfbagelperson​​ @stubblesandwich​​ @killian-whump​ @phiralovesloki​​ @athenascarlet​​ @ilovemesomekillianjones​​ @whimsicallyenchantedrose​​ @snowbellewells​​ @idristardis​​ @scientificapricot​​ @searchingwardrobes​

[hargroves-angel]

Can you write Alpha! Billy gently fucking and claiming the cute, shy and small (height) omega who blushes all the time he's around but somehow he manages to get her to come around.

October 15th - Pretty Little Thing

Summary - You’re the cutest little Omega Billy’s ever seen

Warnings - Smut, omega verse,

A/N - I’ve never written Omegaverse but I hope I did ok angel! X (I didn’t write the knot stuff because I got a little confused about it all 😖)

“Hey little one, hows it going?” Billy teased, taking a quick glance up your skirt as you stood on a chair to reach the top shelf in the store cupboard.

“Hey.. can I get some help here?” You mumbled, stepping down from the chair and huffing. He smirked, finding your frustrations adorable.

He reached up and grabbed the books easily with one hand. “Here you go princess, and by the way the pink ruffles are adorable” he smirked.

You furrowed your eyebrows. “Ruffles? Where?- Billy!” You went scarlet. He was clearly referring to your underwear.

“What?!, come on angel, you know you wanna be mine, just imagine it, I’ll be your alpha” he chuckled, he’d fantasied about it many a time.

“I told you... I’m thinking about it... I feel like Steve and Nancy would hate me...” you mumbled, looking at the floor. Billy placed his fingers under your chin and lifted your face up so that your eyes met his beautiful blue ones.

“Well Steve and his little prissy beta can say all they want, I want you so bad Y/N, I wanna mark you” he whispered, leaning down, his lips hovering over your neck, he smiled wide his teeth nearly touching the skin. You let out a soft whimper, wishing that he would just bite down and end all your worry. But he pulled away.

You bit your lip and watched him put his hands back into his jacket pockets and smirk at you.

“Pretty little thing... you should whimper more, you make some beautiful little noises omega” he winked, opening the stock cupboard door and leaving.

You let out a shaky breath. In all honesty, yes you did want Billy. You wanted Billy to claim you and parade you around school as his little omega, but unfortunately you didn’t think Steve or Nancy would approve.

Steve hated Billy, for obvious reasons, but everytime you saw Billy, your gazes would linger and soon enough gazes became words and words became full out conversations. Which evolved into a flirty friendship, something you and Billy both wanted to take to other levels.

Nancy stood mostly by what Steve said, after all Billy hadn’t been particularly kind to her either, not necessarily nasty, just not kind...

Another factor was how protective Billy was. Sometimes a guy could do as much as look at you for too long and Billy would get riled up.

But you were hooked... you needed an alpha and Billy seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

—————

You huffed out a sigh and checked the clock, History tests were always a drag. Billy tapped your shoulder and handed you a note, a small smirk on his face.

You uncrumpled the paper and looked at his scruffy handwriting. It read :

‘Meet after school, My car, see you then shortcake’

You felt a heat rise in your cheeks as you bit your lip and looked back at the board.

Billy Hargrove has you hooked. The bell rang and Billy winked at you as he left to go straight to his car.

You were headed straight to follow him but Nancy grabbed your arm and stopped you.

“You coming to Steve’s later?” She asked, it took one glance to your hand for her to snatch the paper out of it. “Hargrove! Seriously Y/N, if you’re trying to get an alpha at least try someone who’s not an asshole” she muttered.

“Billy’s not an asshole, he can be really sweet... and - he makes me feel -“

“No Y/N, no way, he’s just using you, that’s what he always does to girls... you know this”

“Well I guess I’ll just take the risk then!” You stubbornly stated, grabbing your books and leaving to go to Billy’s car.

Billy threw his cigarette on the floor as he saw you approaching. “What’s wrong princess?” He placed his hand on your cheek and caressed it with his thumb.

“Nothing just people being annoying...” you stated, leaning into his soft touch.

“I can make you forget about all those people my little omega...” he smirked. “How about we head to my place huh?” You nodded and got into his car.

You finally arrived to Billy’s house. He led you straight to his bedroom, excitedly. He had fantasied about this ever since he’d met you, you were a sweet little thing really.

You sat down on his bed and looked around his room, it was a little dirty, a few cans here and there, the ashtray filled to the brim with cigarette buts.

Slowly, Billy approached you. “You have anything you wanna do in mind little one?” He asked, his eyes training on your hesitating form. You bit your lip and carefully nodded.

“I-umm... I think I want you...” you muttered, your heart racing.

“What do you want from me angel?” He sunk down to your level as you sat on the bed.

“C-Claim me... please” Billy chuckled, a dark smirk on his face.

“You really wanna be my omega don’t you?” He pressed a soft kiss to your jaw. “You 100% sure you want me to claim you?” He asked one last time, glancing into your eyes.

You nodded, “please alpha”. Billy’s cock twitched. He pressed a gentle kiss to your lips, his soft lips battling yours to gain the upper hand, you were unable to keep up, submitting to his kiss.

You let out a soft moan as you felt his hand creep up your thigh and under your skirt. “-touch me Billy” Billy chuckled, his fingers roaming up to run over your panties. You felt a wetness pooling as Billy touched your sensitive spot.

“Keep moaning like that my little omega” he growled, kissing and sucking at your neck, he wasn’t going to claim you just yet. This allowed desperation to flood your system as you submitted to him further.

He layed you back onto his bed and took his shirt off, revealing his abs. You couldn’t tear your eyes away from his toned torso. His ego grew as he watched you check him out.

He carefully removed your clothes, leaning his head down to your lips and kissing them again.

“You ready for me to really touch you?” He asked in between kisses. You nodded and whimpered as he lowered himself down to your panties. “These are honestly so adorable” he smirked, removing your panties. You shyed away, feeling very self conscious of your current position.

“You ok? We can stop if you want” he assured, his eyes searching you for any sign of hesitation. You shook your head.

“N-no... I really want you to touch me... I just get a little embarrassed” he smirked and poked his tongue out to start lapping at your clit. You moaned above him, hands gripping his pillows and bedsheets.

You gained more confidence as your reached your hand down and tangled your fingers in his hair. Pulling at his roots as his tongue delved in and out of your folds.

You felt the familiar feeling of a band tightening in your stomach, it took one last lick from Billy’s skillful tongues before it snapped and you came hard. Billy took his fingers and gathered up your juices, “here princess, taste yourself” you took his fingers into your mouth and sucked on them, looking him dead in the eyes.

“My little omega, you’re playing a dangerous game looking so cute whilst doing that” he growled, leaning down and replacing his fingers with his lips. Your hands travelled to his jeans, you unbuckled the belt and pulled them down along with his boxers.

Quickly you broke the kiss, desperate for a taste of his delicious cock. Billy took your hair into his hands and he held you back from his cock, watching you squirm to touch him.

“Please alpha...” you whined.

“You wanna taste my cum angel? You want me to fill up that pretty little mouth of yours?” You nodded vigorously, aching to please him.

His grip on your hair loosened as he pushed you closer to his throbbing cock.

“Give it a little lick baby, see how much it’s aching for you” His eyes rested on your body, how your tongue carefully kitten licked his tip. His cock twitched from the sensation. “Can I suck it alpha?” You whispered, practically worshipping his cock at this point, so desperate to have it.

“Of course you can my little omega” he smirked, grabbing a cigarette from his draw and placing it between his lips. He took a long drag and laid back against the headboard of his bed.

Your lips wrapped around him, your tongue swirling around his tip and gathering up his pre cum that was oozing out of it.

Billy’s breath would hitch occasionally as you licked up his vein. He blew out a puff of smoke, head leaning back as you blew him into bliss. His body tensing and relaxing at the same time.

“I’m gonna cum princess” Billy choked out, his hand going down to your hair as he pushed you further into his cock. You still made eye contact with him, he loved every second of it, his sweet little innocent omega making a dirty mess of herself, gagging around his cock.

You deep throated him at this point, his cock hitting your right at the back, your throat would be sore tomorrow.

Billy felt his cock twitch as he released his cum down your throat, it pumped you full with his seed as you swallowed every last drop.

“That was amazing angel... didn’t know you were so dirty” he chuckled. He watched you squirm a little. “What’s wrong omega? You need me to help that little ache you have down there? Do you need your alpha to pound you?” He smirked. You bit your lip and nodded. “Hands and knees then babygirl” he watched you get ready for him. He for sure had to mark you now, he had to claim you to belong to him and only him.

He rubbed his cock along your slit. His hands rubbing your hips as he readied himself.

He slowly pushed in and held you for a moment, allowing you to adjust to his rather large size.

“O-ok... I’m ready alpha” you mumbled, he chuckled as he thrusted in, his hips meeting yours before he pulled back again. You moaned at his thickness.

“Such a good little omega huh? Always teasing me... wearing them short skirts and knee high socks... and not to mention-“ he leaned over you, his arm holding you as he pounded you from behind. His lips came close to your ear, “when you wear such cute panties” he kissed your ear and gripped your neck, a firm but light grasp around it.

“I-I’m gonna cum...” you whimpered, quivering in Billy’s grasp. Billy shook his head.

“Not yet princess, I’ll tell you when you’re allowed to cum” he growled, his pace increasing.

“Please Billy...” you begged. Your body not being able to take it, from the amount of shaking and the pure force Billy was pounding you, it was like you were his little fuck doll.

“Hold it” he grunted, feeling himself get closer.

You bit your lip and quivered, you needed to cum so badly.

He lifted his lips so that they hovered over your sweet spot on your neck.

“Cum for me angel” he whispered, sinking his teeth into your neck. You were officially claimed.

You screamed his name as your walls clenched around his cock, you milked his cock, “Take all my cum like the good little omega you are” his eyes watched you pant and get flustered as you came down from your orgasm.

“How was that my angel?” He smirked, pulling out of you and picking up your collapsed form and holding you to his chest. Your breathing was uneven and heavy.

“It was perfect Billy” you admired his beautiful face. “Just like you” you smiled, reaching up to touch his cheek and bringing him down into a kiss.

“It’s getting late kitten, how about we head to bed hmm, and tomorrow we can see how Steve and his little priss react to this” he licked his lips, looking at your bruised and claimed form. His thumb rubbed over the mark, admiring it.

He’d never claimed an omega before, he didn’t think he ever would. But something about you made him change a little inside.

You were his omega now, and he sure as hell was going to let everyone know.

[stanbillyhargrove]

Prompt: Billy's in love with his bestfriend, shes in an emotionally abusive relationship, one day she gets hit and skips school, billy finds out then sees them together at a party, shes getting hurt and Billy loses his mind.

Okay, this RAN AWAY on me, I had many feelings. I hope you like this, I hope it is as healing to read as it was to write.

Billy leaned against the wall of the hallway, chuckling at his best friend, Jane. He had met her long ago, back when he lived with Neil and was always bruised, before they left Hawkins and ran away to university. Billy knew that he loved her, so fiercely wanted her to be his, but there was an issue. Tristan. Fucking Tristan. Had been attached to Jane's hip since school started and she followed him around like a puppy, eager for his affection. Except Billy could see that every time Tristan was around, Jane smiled less, no longer joked around. It wasn't always like that, at the beginning she had still joked, still smiled. But as Tristans verbal beatdowns kept crumbling her she became a shell of herself when she was around. With Billy, she was able to be herself, except for denying that anything was wrong with her relationship, and Billy would die, die, rip his own fucking heart out to keep that smile on her face.

Then, Jane's face fell and she withdrew inside herself and Billy turned, glaring into the face of her boyfriend. And he felt himself get prickly, the anger ready to burst out of him.

"What the fuck are you doing? I've been waiting, let's go," Tristan ordered.

Billy watched, anger brewing right under his skin as she gave him a weak smile and walked behind Tristan.

--

Billy hadn't been able to shake the anger all night, he had tossed and turned thinking of how Jane's face fell when she saw Tristan. Kept calling himself an asshole for letting her go back to him every. Fucking. Day. He was determined to corner her today, tell her to ditch that asshole but when he walked onto campus she wasn't where she normally met him for coffee. He shrugged it off, thinking she must have slept in but as the day went on he grew worried.

Jane never skipped her classes unless she was so sick she physically couldn't walk across campus. Even then, she'd sometimes text Billy asking him to carry her to class so she didn't miss anything. But today there were no texts, no calls and Billy was feeling uneasy.

After lunch Billy decided he was going to stop at Jane's and figure out what was going on. He knocked on the door and waited for a moment before beginning to point on it. When Billy's pounding didn't let up, Jane eventually opened the door. She huffed at him from behind the crack of the door.

"Billy, what are you doing here?"

He placed his hand on the door, leaning towards her, "you weren't answering me and it's not like you to skip. You gunna let me in?"

Her oversized sweater hid her hands as she clutched the door, "Billy, I don't think it's a good idea."

Billy pushed the door open, his strong arms able to move her easily, "okay, tell me what happened."

Jane looked away from him, hiding the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes, "nothing happened."

He scoffed, throwing the door closed as he stepped forward to grab her face. Her eyes were ringed red, lips puffy and split, a light purple bruise spreading out from her mouth.

Billy growled, his fingers shakily tracing her lip, "he did this to you?"

Jane tore her face out of his hands, "I fell."

Billy could feel rage bubbling under his skin, burning him from the inside out, "don't. Don't cover for him, we're past that. You know me, you know you can tell me."

"Billy, I don't know what to tell you," she sighed, her shoulders sagging.

"Tell me the truth, Princess."

She pulled away from him, pulling her arms into her chest and sat down on her bed, "I did, I fell. That's all."

Billy bristled, "fine, Jane. Lie. Lie to me for that bastard. What, he told you it was never going to happen again? He didn't mean it?" Billy's voice came out mocking, harsher than he wanted, "it's bullshit, Jane. You know it is. I know it is."

Billy knelt beside her, taking her hand in his, pleading now, "you need to leave him. He's an asshole and you need to leave him."

Tears pooled in Jane's eyes, "I-I can't," her voice was small, broken, "I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"He.. he said he'd hurt himself if I left, Billy. I can't do it," she curled into Billy's shoulder, sobbing, "I've tried, after the first time-"

"He hit you more than once?!"

"No! No, just... he's so mean! You know he thanks God when I put make up on? Mocks me, makes me feel stupid... I tried to leave the first time he got drunk around me. I thought he was cheating on me. He was so cruel, screaming at me..."

"Stop," Billy interrupted, "just, you're done with him, okay? If he does anything to himself that's not on you," Billy sat back on the floor, pulling her into her lap and holding her tight as she cried. "You just pick up your phone and tell him it's over, you'll put his shit in a box and have a friend take it over. You don't see him again, okay? If you need anything, I'll be here for you."

She sniffled, nodding into the puddle on his shirt.

--

Billy strolled through the party, drink in hand, he had asked Jane to go to the movies tonight in an effort to cheer her up but she'd denied so here he was. Bored at another party when he so badly wanted to be curled around her.

Anger cut through him like a hot knife when he turned the corner. There she was, his Jane, quietly standing behind that monster. She had expertly covered the bruise with makeup but Billy could still see the cut on her lip.

"Fucking idiot," he grumbled, finding a spot on the wall he could keep an eye on her.

He saw Jane roll her eyes at something Tristan said and then that fucker had his hands on her. He gripped her face hard, fingers pressing into the tender flesh by her mouth that she had tried so hard to cover. Her face scrunched up in pain as he pressed on the bruise and Billy pounced. He was across the room in a second, sliding off his leather jacket. Billy pushed Tristan off her, sending him stumbling back and pushed his jacket into Jane's arms.

"Jane. Get out of the way," Billy's voice was low, dangerous.

Her eyes were wide and her lip had busted open again, sending a small drop of blood down her chin but she nodded and hugged Billy's jacket to her chest and backed up.

"Hey! What the fuck are you doing? Get the fuck away from my girl!" Tristan yelled, neck tense as he got in Billy's face.

Billy sneered and laughed in Tristan's face, his rage was a whole different type of chaos. Calculated violence learned over years of being too angry.

"Your girl? She hasn't been your girl for a long time, amigo."

Tristan jabbed at Billy's chest with two fingers, "I don't think you know what you're talking about, friend."

"I know exactly what the fuck I'm talking about," Billy growled.

Then the first punch was thrown, Billy's fist connected with Tristan's cheek, sending his head whipping to the side. Tristan's eyes went wide, a sneer painted onto his face as he spat blood. The two boys lunged at each other, the sound of fists cracking into skin filling the room along with people chanting, hollering at who they wanted to walk away the victor.

Jane curled into herself, hiding behind Billy's jacket, trying to block the whole thing out. Small hands pulled her, tucked her into a shoulder. Jane looked over at one of the girls she considered a friend, watched as she winced and tucked her head down beside Jane's.

"Should we stop him?" The girl whispered.

"Who...who's.."

"Winning? Your loyal boy, Billy."

A small smirk touched Jane's lips, "good."

He had beat Tristan until his knuckles were bruised and bloodied, until other guys had pulled him off before things went too far.

Then Billy had stood over him, loomed over him, a fire in his eyes and growled, "if you ever even THINK about her again, I will fucking end you. Do you hear me, you piece of shit? You don't lay a fucking finger on her."

He waited until Tristan nodded from the floor, whimpering through a mouth full of blood and then he walked over, took Jane from her friends arms with a nod and held her face gently. His hands shook, trembled with the excess adrenaline thrumming through his veins. The stark contrast in his movements a shock to everyone around.

"Jane, are you okay?" He eyed the bruise near her mouth, some of the makeup having wiped off.

"Yeah, let's just get out of here."

--

Back in Billy's dorm, Jane was gently wiping the blood off Billy's hands. His fingers flexed and his breath hissed out as the cloth ran over sensitive skin.

"Billy?"

"Hm?" He groaned, biting his tongue.

"Why..why'd you do that..you didn't have to. It wasn't your fight," she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, nibbling at it nervously and winced.

He brought one hand up to cup her face, using his thumb to gently pull her lip out from her teeth, "yes, I did. Have to, I mean. I needed to protect you."

Jane leaned her face into his soft touch, "but, Billy-"

He shook his head, leaning in close to her, "Jane. You don't understand. You're my best friend, I care about you," he sighed, wiping his face with a hand. "You're it for me. I don't have much family. And..well.. fuck, this isn't how I wanted but, fuck it. I love you, Jane. I've loved you for so long."

Soft tears ran down his fingers where the touched her face, "Billy, I-"

"I know, I fucked this up, didn't I? I always do," his eyes flicked down, expecting her to break his heart.

She smiled, choked out a laugh that was halfway to a sob, "you idiot. I love you."

His heart surged, exploded, when her lips ghosted over his, just a small peck before she curled up into his lap. Felt like it might burn through his chest when she settled against him, the smell of her shampoo filling his nose. Here she was, his best friend, his chosen family and he was never going to let her go.

[vidkid20ssimblrlair]

Episode 20: The Vultures (Part 1)

"No. Please. You can’t do this!" I heard DJ scream.

"Shut up!"

I slowly opened my eyes. My vision, blurry. All I could make out was colors and shapes, but I could hear DJ. He was in trouble.

"But..."

"Shut up!"

I heard a thump and low whimpering. I opened my eyes again. This time things were clearer now. I could see DJ laying in the dirt and three masked individuals surrounding him. All in leather jackets. One of them was a hulking man in a skull mask, another in a pig mask, and there was a smaller figure amongst them in a very familiar white cat mask. I was sure the cat one was the one from before. My so-called phantom who stalked us earlier. They aimed a gun right at DJ while the other two new ones stood by armed with rifles.

I called out to them and reached out my hand. "No...DJ. Don't...don't hurt him."

I was surprised they even heard me with how weak my voice sounded. It sounded so foreign to me. I knew something was wrong. Just breathing was pain-inducing. I cringed as an intense pain radiated from deep inside me, but I tried to remain focus on the situation. I got their attention away from my friend and that was a start in my mind. My smaller seemingly feminine phantom lowered her gun and gestured to the other two to standby. She walked over and stopped in front of me.

She stared down at me menacingly. "You're supposed to be dead. Why are you alive?!"

I wasn't quite prepared for the pain I would feel next. She kicked me hard in the side. The first blow made it feel like my body was going to explode, but she continued.

“Die already!” she roared kicking me even harder. She kicked and kicked. Every kick harder and faster with her big boot. I yelled out and squirmed in pain. Grinding of bone could be felt shifting inside me. I nearly blacked out, but she stopped after one last powerful blow. That last one turned me on my side and I curled up, but I remained conscious gasping for air.

She then gestured for one of her big brutes to come over and drag me to where DJ now sat. The skull one came over. As he dragged me I felt indescribable pain and screamed in agony. He let me go and I fell into a heap shaking. DJ hurried to my side looking positivity horrified as the frightening skull mask man watched over us.

"Get the other guy," she spat at her other minion. He nodded and they both walked away out of view. She came back seconds later rolling a cart. The same cart we had been using to carry scrap metal. In fact, all the metal we had gathered was still there. She dumped it out on the ground and thew DJ's crossbow in the cart. She collected the bows and picked up what looked like my ax.

As I watched her, her minion in the pig mask came back dragging a motionless Vince. He dragged him to the side as he whistled merrily to himself. He kneeled down over him and started to reach in his pockets, but as he did Vince suddenly came to life and kicked him. 

The man fell backward letting out a yelp and the woman came rushing over to his side. She immediately aimed her gun at Vince.

"Oh for fuck sakes!" she huffed. "Get up and restrain him already."

He grumbled but did as he was told. He sat Vince up and forced him on his knees. He tied his hands up with zip ties. She then kneeled down to Vince's eye level.

"How about you cooperate and spare us the extra bullshit, huh?"

"Fuck off!" he roared. He then spat at her and his saliva hit her mask.

She shook her head. "Good thing for you I'm wearing a mask or I would be very angry about that," she chuckled. "Now, let's see. You're hurt? Is that a bullet wound?"

She touched his abdomen and looked at the bright red blood on her fingers. She rubbed it between them and seemed almost mesmerized by it.

"Did I do this?"

Then without warning, she jabbed those fingers in what I assumed was the wound. Vince's eyes grew wide and he screamed like I never heard him. He squirmed as she laughed maniacally. That same laugh I heard earlier. It brought chills down my spine.

She pulled her fingers away and blood dripped from the wound like a leaky faucet. Vince's fight and vigor clearly gone as he slumped over quivering.

She felt the blood between her fingers again."Not so tough now are we?" She giggled. "You know they can smell this right? I bet they can smell it now just wishing they could have a bite."

She then stood up and pointed to her pig mask henchmen. "Search him and do it quick. We need to get out of here."

He threw Vince on the ground and grind his face into the dirt with his boot.

He gave him a good kick and proceeded to search him. He took several trinkets and a pocket knife. He dragged Vince over to the middle where we sat. He then to my shock cut Vince's hands free.

"Do anything and I'll kill your friends. Understand?" he snarled. He then looked at us. "Same for you."

He walked over to the cart joining the woman. The skull mask man keeping his gun on us the whole time. As he remained on guard, his cohorts study our weapons. Each taking turns playfully posing with them.

"I'll call dibs on the machete," he jested.

She groaned. "No fair!"

"You're can have the crossbow."

"Whatever. Just pull the car around."

They then got serious again. The man hurried off and the woman turned her attention back to us. She took out a handgun and checked it’s bullets. She then threw us the gun to our amazement.

"I consider myself a fair person. There's three bullets in there. One for you each in the event you get bit or worse. Use them wisely."

The rev of an engine could be heard in the distance as she said this and a strange armored vehicle with a shovel pulled up. Vince picked up the gun and checked the chamber. Three bullets as she said were in it. 

DJ then suddenly looked frantic looking around. He waved his hand to get the woman’s attention. “Wait! Our friend! The lady who was with us. Where is she?!” he cried.

The woman stopped and looked back at him. Her posture, rigid and cold. She said nothing. She turned back and continued walking towards the vehicle while Vince took aim.

"Wait!" I shouted, but it was too late.

Everything happened in slow motion. A single shot rang out and the woman's head jerked forward. I was fully expecting more gunfire and bullets to fly in our direction, but neither happened. Instead, she turned around and held the side of her head. She ordered her henchmen to go and jumped onto the vehicle. They sped off leaving us sitting there puzzled.

"Wait? For what? I'm sorry I missed!" Vince fumed glaring at me.

"You could have got us killed," I mumbled struggling to breathe. "We might need those bullets."

"I'm not offing myself if that's what you mean."

"No...numbskull."

DJ furrowed his brow. "But why give it to us in the first place?"

Unfortunately, DJ's question would be answered. Suddenly, car alarms rung out around us. Then the sickening sound of walkers could be heard with them. Hands and arms dug their way out of the trash heaps like graves. Twisted bodies hobbled their way toward us from where the car had disappeared.

"I thought you said it wasn't any walkers," DJ yelled as he climbed to his feet.

"How the fuck was I supposed to know? It wasn't at first," Vince said grunting as he rose up gingerly holding onto his stomach.

They both helped me up to my relief and the three us stood back to back at a loss for words or ideas. Would we die here?

"Over here," a voice called out.

We looked over to see a young man waving us down. The three of us looked at each other. It almost seemed like a mirage. He looked be standing in a doorway with a large metal door made into a trash heap. If it wasn't for my comrades seeing it, I'm pretty sure I would think I was hallucinating.

"In the words of the Terminator, come with me if you want to live!" he said in his best Arnold impression.

We looked at each other again. Confusion spread across all of our faces, but we ran towards him and he shut the metal door behind us as we dived in. Just in time too. The walkers were on our tails. They banged and clawed at the doors. It was a relief to get away from them. My body slid to the floor almost instinctively. What little adrenaline I had left depleted, but my eyes scanned the place. I wasn't too sure where we were. It looked like a giant metal room from first glance, but as my eyes adjusted I realized we were in a giant shipping container.

"Are you alright?" the young man asked looking down at me. I looked up into a boyish face with short brown hair and bright green eyes. He looked to be about twenty at most. He wore a hoodie and jeans, but also a mask pushed sideway off his face. A strange white mask with a toothy grin. It almost looked like a dog. My eyes narrowed on it. He smiled nervously. "Is something the matter?"

We heard the click of a gun and I looked up to see Vince aiming the gun we received at the boy. He turned around and put his hands up with a stunned and almost fearful expression on his face.

"Nice mask," Vince said smirking. "Let me see. I used one bullet, so I have two left. Each one for one of your legs maybe or I can just empty the clip in your face."

"I'm trying to help!"

Yeah sure. Just like the other three masked freaks who just helped themselves to our weapons and left us for dead."

"I'm not like them."

"Oh really?"

"I'm serious. I'm not! I want to help!" he cried. He sighed lowering voice. "I'm sorry. Let me introduce myself. My name. My real name is Billy. Nice to meet you."

DJ perplexed. "Billy?"

"Yeah. We don't usually share our names."

"We?"

"Yes. My group. We don't go by anything official really. Well, Ace often likes to call us a bunch of vultures and we sometimes jokingly call ourselves that. The Vultures"..., he said. He furrowed his brow and crossed his arms. "It sounds sort of stupid when I say it out loud."

"It sounds ok. Kind of cool."

"Really?"

"Um...excuse me, but can we get to the point?!" Vince huffed still aiming the gun at him. "Why are you helping us?"

"Oh, sorry," Billy said blushing. "So yeah. Well, I was watching. From in here. I saw what was happening and well I wanted to help. I didn't want to stand by anymore. So...um let me help you?"

The three of us stared at him like he was crazy. He smiled nervously again. "So yeah. Um...let's go?"

"Go where?" Martez scoffed. He pointed to the door. “There's still corpses outside and we need to find our friend. She might be still out there. That’s if she’s not...”

"Dead?" DJ said finishing his sentence looking upset.

Billy beamed suddenly. "You guys are talking about Lin?”

Vince gasped. "Woah. Woah. How?"

"Well, my sister had me out on recon after she trapped you guys. Told me to look for survivors. I found Lin buried under some hefty trash, but I dug her out and she was alive. Really alive. I was planning to take you to her actually. I can take you to her if you want.”

Previous Episode

All Episodes

Part 2 >>>

Hey, night owls. Sorry for the delay. Part 2 on the way. It just needs piccies and I’ll be doing that ASAP.

[manicpixietrashfire]

Prompts 1-4

@femmepinklola

“That’s starting to get annoying”

“Hey, hey, calm down. They can’t hurt you anymore.”

“You can’t just sit there all day.”

“I’m too sober for this.”

This got a lot bit longer than I was expecting. I’ve never done prompts before lol...so uh...sorry?? Anyway, I hope you like it!!

“You can’t sit there all day,” Billy said, watching Steve shovel a spoonful of chocolate ice cream into his mouth. The last thing Billy had expected was Scoops Ahoy temporarily shutting down for “maintenance”  to put him in a bad mood, but apparently, it did.

“Oh yeah, watch me, Hargrove.”

He wasn’t sure if he was purposefully making a point by biting into the ice cream like a heathen or he’s just that far gone. Either way, he drove all the way there so he’s getting his fill of Harrington.

“You don’t even like your job,” Billy flopped down next to him on the Harrington’s cushy couch. In the winter the thing was nice, amazing actually, but now that the sun is burning high and bright and Billy’s nothing breathing air he’s drinking it.

He’s uncomfortable.

He shifted around on the big sofa on purpose, grunting, elbowing Steve hard.

“What?” He snapped. Dark eyes somehow bright and alert and foreboding at the same time like he would dump the remainder of the tub on Billy’s crotch if he keeps it up.

“I said--”

“I heard what you said,” Steve huffed.

“Then you know I want a response, Harrington,” Billy said with a grin. He spread out over the couch, grinning wider, creeping into Steve’s space, consuming it, until they were stuck together, sticky with summer heat and Billy’s suntan oil.  

What can he say?

He missed the uppity bastard.

“Okay, fine, then what’s up your ass, Harrington?”Steve gnawed on his lips. He stuck his spoon back into the tub. “King Steve,” Billy sang. He poked him too, kept poking him.

He likes to be entertained and Stevie isn’t entertaining when there’s something bothering him, and Billy honestly hates seeing him pout. It makes him think that Steve’s thinking, like Billy might actually be the annoying one here even if Steve is the clingy one usually.

“What’s got your panties in a twist, pretty boy. Mommy and daddy being mean again, or is it the nerds? What’s it they do that you don’t like…” And Billy’s a good friend because he watches and he listens. He probably watches more than what’s good for him, but so does Steve when it counts. “Hang around that lab? Isn’t that what had you all pissy before?”

He felt Steve shift underneath him.

Bingo.

“M’ not pissy and it’s not a lab, it’s a hell hole,” Steve said. “Don’t worry about it.” He wacked Billy’s hand with his spoon. “And that’s starting to get annoying. Stop poking me.”

Also, he sounds like his mom and Steve only sounds like his mom when he’s upset, so. Billy rubbed his hand, now sticky with chocolate too.

“ You really are in a pissy mood, you know that? Now tell me about the hell hole,” Billy whined. “My sister hangs around that place and I get that she’s a she-devil and all so she’ll probably be fine, but y’know...educate me since you’re not gonna do anything else.”

Steve rubbed at his face. He looked tired, actually, and Billy was secretly pleased Scoops is shut down for 10 days. The whole dark circles, pale face, sad-shut in look is hot on Harrington, but it’s probably not a good thing.

“I’m too sober for this,” he grumbled. “No.”

But let’s be honest, Billy hardly ever takes no for an answer.

“Why did you even ask me to--”

“I’m cranky, okay?” Steve cut him off.

“Yeah, no shit.”

“And I like having you here.” He sighed. Steve switched the channel to something else. Has he been watching the news the whole day?

Billy could feel the exception coming, there always is one.

“I’m just...tired.” Steve deflated as if everything he was holding in had come out in that one word. “I don’t like them near that lab, I don’t like that place.” He said it with the same contempt that Billy does when he says ‘dad.’

He doesn’t just hate that place.

He’s afraid of it.

“There are things there, Billy. And sometimes I just...and things at night hit just right and I hear...and I think...and I can’t sleep.” Steve���s eyes looked wet. His face looked red like he’d basked in the sun for five hours without sunblock. “I can’t sleep anymore,” he whispered. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”  

Oh.

“Hey, hey, calm down. Whatever it was, it can’t hurt you anymore,” he said. “Or anyone, I keep those little shits from hanging around the lab for you if I have to. I will.”

“No. You don’t go there either,” the thought if made his stomach turn. He whimpered with it, the thought of Billy being dragged down into the tunnels or worse eaten by demodogs like roadkill. 

“I know the lab’s,” Steve groaned. He shoved his palms into his eyes and sighed. “I know the lab’s shut down, I don’t know what’s wrong with me because it still bothers me.”

Billy’s next question would’ve been ‘so what’s the worst of it?’ He hates that house, hates being inside it even more, he hates the people inside of it the most. Steve can hate a place, but there’s more.

More, he probably won’t get to today which is fine. It’s hot and they’re both gross and that’s all he wanted to be with Steve--hot and gross and happy.

Again, sue him.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you, Harrington.” Billy shrugged and sniffed. It’s probably not true. He looks haunted and wounded from the inside like a ‘Nam vet. The weak ones as his old man calls them. It’s what Steve wanted to hear though, so. “Not anything that can’t be fixed,” Billy amended, because he’s honest like that.

“Some things linger,” he added. All the shit his old man’s done isn’t going away, not for a long time. “I don’t think it’ll last forever.”

He hopes not at least.

Steve pulled his hands slowly away from his face. “You don’t think?”

“Nah.”

“How do you know?”

“I don’t,” Billy said honestly.

He would like to find out with him...one day.

They stared at each other. Steve’s eyes weren’t quite swimming anymore, but they were shining brightly. His lashes were all clumped, cheeks a bright shade of pink and lips parted.

Billy stared at them.

He stared at them for far too long before he realized it.  

“And go easy on the ice cream,” he snatched the remote between his thigh and the couch cushion just to have something else to do besides think about the feeling of Steve’s lips on his. “You’re gonna give yourself a cavity. I’d hate for the dentist to ruin that pretty smile of yours.”

Steve tried to frown. He tried. But he smiled softly, breaking through his tired, pale face and the tears in his eyes.

“Pretty smile, huh?”

Billy snorted. He turned his head back to the TV before he ended up staring again.

His face felt hot.

Enough with the channel 11 News, enough with the morbid shit. He was going to find something light and funny.

“Yeah, don’t get a big head over it, pretty boy.”