#but we did a tasteful fade to black ladies

[jksprincess10]

You just leave it up to me, we could have a good time || Eddie Munson x f!reader

A/N: Thank you to the discord server friends who helped me out with this !!!

Summary: You reunite with Eddie at the hideout, and he confesses that he's still a virgin. You're more than willing to help.

CW: No y/n, no physical descriptions of reader, sub!eddie, virgin!eddie, mentions of drinking, implied small age gap (reader is around 2 years older) awkward idiots, bad DND jokes, oral sex (f receiving), protected p in v, premature ejaculation.

Dividers by @saradika-graphics

"That's it Eddie, you're being such a good boy." You slur, drunk on pleasure as you hold up his hair in a ponytail to keep it from getting wet. Eddie slurps energetically on your pussy, encouraged by your kind praises.

It had all started when you reunited with Eddie at The Hideout. After you had graduated - and he had been held back again, you found yourself busy with college life and you rarely saw him, albeit living in a small town.

But a night in a shitty small-town bar led to so much more.

You had forgotten how beautiful he was. And on the stage, guitar in hands, he simply looked in control. You wanted to make him loose it.

"That was really good." You said as you offered him a drink after he went off stage.

He looked at you, and it took a few seconds until he recognized you, his gaze lighting up as he found your name.

"Oh shit! You were at my school, right? One year ahead of me?" He took the drink in his hand, and you couldn't help but notice the rings on his hand. Your eyes slipped from his fingers, then to his big, brown eyes before he caught you staring.

"Yup."

You got to talking and a few drinks later, your tongues had gone loose.

"Did you finally graduate?" You asked, eyebrow raised.  

"I did. I'm just... figuring things out right now. Still a virgin loser, though." He chuckled and lifted his drink for a toast.

"You'd think being a guitarist would help." You laughed and hit your glass against his for a mock-toast. "I can help, though."

"... what?"

"I can fix this." Your fingers grazed his, and his gaze darkened as he looked at you.

"Fuck it, let's go."

"This is my humble apartment." You said as you welcomed him in.

Eddie looked around with a smile on his face.

"Nice. D'you mind if I... freshen up?"

" 'Course not. I like my men clean."

You pointed him to the bathroom, and you waited in your bedroom, undressing to your underwear and your bra. You felt giddy and nervous as you waited for him. When Eddie came out, he was only clad in his boxers, black with a dungeon and dragons log printed a few times.

"Hi." He said awkwardly.

You rose and walked towards him, placing your hands against his chest.

"Hi." You smiled at him, big and sincere. "Can I kiss you?"

Eddie nodded enthusiastically, and you wrapped your hands around his neck to angle his face towards your mouth. He tasted like cheap beer and Chapstick. His lips were surprisingly soft and when he held your waist, you could feel his confidence building. You licked and tugged at his bottom lip until he let you in, you glided your tongue into his mouth. His moans vibrating in your mouth went straight to your core. You pushed him to your unmade, messy bed, and he supported his upper body with his forearms as he looked at you, astounded.

"It's my fucking lucky day, damn." He said, voice rough as he wrapped a hand around your neck, bringing you down to him. You felt his cold rings on your warm skin. Eddie looked you up and down, taking you in, like you were some kind of beautiful dream or perhaps, the type of hallucination he would have on drugs.  

"You know, I always thought you were cute." You confessed as you kissed the corner of his lips.

"You don't have to flatter my ego."

"It's true." You pulled back his hair to look at his face, then your fingers trailed down his chest, lean, with sparse hair and faded tattoos that looked like they were made with a single needle and pen ink.

"Now Eddie, do you know how to please a lady?" You asked in a sultry voice, the pad of your fingers tracing the vague shape of a tattoo that had blown out.

"In... theory." He responded, unsure.

"Do you want me to show you?"

The boy nodded his head a few times, and kissed your forehead as you swapped your positions, pulling him on top of you.

"Just take your time." You took his hands in yours and guided them to the back of your bra. He unclasped it with surprising ease and pulled it down your arms, after tossing it on the floor. "Hey! This shit's expensive, Munson." You joked, falsely offended.

"I'll buy you a new one." He seemed hypnotized by the sight of your breasts. You leaded his hands on your skin, letting him touch, pinch and explore. "Beautiful." He muttered to himself.

"You're cute." You let out without really thinking. You shouldn't get too attached. He smiled shyly, his cheeks red.

"Can you show me how to eat you out? Please?"

"Asking so nicely, like a good boy."

Your words stirred something unknown inside of him and went right to his cock. You could see the online of it through his thin boxers, and you unconsciously licked your lips.

You slid down your panties and opened up your legs for him.

"Go ahead. Spread my lips, lick around until you find my clit."

Eddie's fingers followed your lead, spreading you open. His tongue explored your slit, shyly at first, and when the tip of the wet muscle found your bundle of nerves, he became more confident. You encouraged him with soft praises and moans.

He looked up at you with big, innocent eyes, watching each and every one of your expressions.

"You can suck, graze your teeth... you can be messy. Can you hear how wet you're making me? Do you wanna feel it too?"

“Y-Yes, I hear it.” Eddie whispered against your soaked cunt, the warmth of his mouth heightening with your sensitivity.

Eddie's tongue circled your clit, fast, then slow, before sucking it into your mouth, sending shocks of pleasure through you.

"That's it Eddie, you're being such a good boy." You slur, drunk on pleasure as you hold up his hair in a ponytail to keep it from getting wet. Eddie slurps energetically on your pussy, pushed by your kind praises. "Put your fingers in me."

Slowly, two of his digits breach your hole, stopping at his rings. He looks up at you for approval, and you nod with a fucked-out smirk.

"P-Push them in and out while you keep eating my pussy. Curl your fingers until… you feel something spongey." It was getting difficult to give him instructions as you were blinded by your own pleasure.

As he follows your directions, you arch your back and you gasp when he found the right spot, pulling on his hair tightly.

"R-Right there, oh god Eddie. "

He doubles in fervor and enthusiasm until your legs are shaking and you're gushing on his fingers. You let his hair go, and he sits back on his knees as if to look at a beautiful painting; pussy glistening with your come and his spit.

"You did so fucking good, Eddie." You look up at him as he overs over your body, biting your lip. When you looked down at his crotch, you can see the wetness in his boxers, until you meet his glazed eyes.

"Take this off. I wanna please you."

He lowers his boxers until they rest under his balls. Eddie's cock is red and leaking, his balls, tight. When you wrap your hand around him, he almost looks startled.

"Hey... I'm sorry baby."

"N-No it's just. I might fucking come on the spot if you touch me. Shit."

"It's okay. Tell me what you need." You caress the light stubble on his cheek.

"I-I want to fuck you. If that's okay." Eddie stutters as he pulls his underwear all the way down.

"Of course." Your hand finds a condom in your side table drawer, and you hand it to him. Eddie tears it open with his teeth and unwraps it on his erect cock.

"I'm not... really sure how to do this or-"

You lay a hand on his torso and push him against the bed. "Let me take over." You sit on his lap, and he looks up at you in pure wonder. You wrap your hand around the base of his cock, and you descend on him slowly. He takes in a sharp, shaky breath.

"So fucking tight. Fuck." He curses, his hands taking place on your waist. When your thighs are flush with his, you give him a few seconds to adjust to the new feeling. "Kiss me. Please." He says needily. You could never refuse anything to this man. You bend down and latch your lips onto his, taking the opportunity to move your hips slowly. He groans into your mouth.

You use your hands to support your upper body, laying your palms against his chest as you jump up and down on his cock, faster. Eddie is a babbling mess under you, thrusting his hips against yours. When you feel him unintentionally hitting that deep spot inside of you, you cry out his name.

"I'm s-sorry... I- I can't last."

"S'okay baby boy. You can come. It's normal on the first time." You say between heavy breaths. Eddie's hips keeps thrusting in a disorganized rhythm, until he stops, deep inside of you. He moans as he comes, so hard until he sees stars.

"Well, that was a fucking NAT 1 on performance." He says as you pull off him. His forearm lays against his forehead as he catches his breath. You snort as you get off him.

"You made me come, so that's better than 90% of dudes. You need anything?"

"Water. Please."

You nod and go to the bathroom, before coming back with two glasses of fresh water that you leave on your bedside table.

Eddie has already discarded the condom and is back in his boxers. "Huh I should... go."

"You can stay. If... if you want."

You watch him drink the water, the way his throat bobs when he swallows.

"Sure. And... I can bring you on a date tomorrow? If you want." He repeats.

You lay on the bed and smile at him. "Yes. Of course Eddie. Let's go on a date."

[just-some-random-blogger]

Out Of Luck

"Perhaps I'm not the only one who's going to be wed in King's Landing," Sansa jeers with a grin. I glare at her, "if you weren't my sister, I'd have stabbed you." The girl giggles and takes my arm.

Petyr Baelish & Jaime Lannister x Stark!Reader | 3k+ | cw: fem!reader, descriptions of reader (black hair), widow!reader, enemies to lovers?, fluff, typos, etc.

A/N: felt right so I'm writing it. Yes, I added Harwin Strong, yes I know it's not canon. It is now in my world 😌 anyway, he's still dead so ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ Cross posted on AO3!

Tagging: @pinksirensong @aralezinspace @sloanexx @otteropera

"Father" I call with a smile. He spots me and I lift my skirt as I jog up to him.

The man hides what he was holding behind him. He smiles and meets me halfway in the hall. He greets me good morrow when I link my arm with his and kiss his cheek.

"And is that... a very important tool of the Lord Hand?" I tilt my head as I ask, "might I not even see it?"

He sighs and slowly brings the object in front of him. We both look at the brightly dressed doll. My father has an apprehensive look on his face. I hold back a laugh, "ah, a pretty dolly. Are you quite bored of your job already? Do they give dolls to the Hand or were you duped into buying this?"

"I knew you'd say something like this," he mutters.

"If you knew I'd say it, why'd you still get it, papa?" I chuckle.

"I bought it for your sister."

I make a face, "my sister?" I raise a brow, "which between Arya and Sansa do you think would prefer playing with such an ugly dolly?"

He calls my name out.

"What?"

He lowers the doll, "it's not that ugly."

"So even you agree," I snigger, "and yet you still bought it!"

We both begin to walk down the hall.

He warns me, "I'll tell on your mother."

"For what?" I hold back a laugh.

"For calling me papa," he lifts his nose.

I chuckle at the thought. Mother never liked it when I used mama and papa; improper for a lady, she says. I think it's also because when I use it, I pull on their heart strings and manage to make them do my bidding. Twas the gift of the first born.

"I can hear it now," I grin at the man as I squeeze his arm, "Eddard Stark," I motion vaguely, "stripped of his title as Lord Hand for his poor taste in dolls."

My grin widens at the sound if his low laugh. I give a louder laugh, happy to have gotten the reaction I did out of him. It's been a while since I've heard my father chuckle, or anyone from my family, for that matter.

"I wouldn't worry about it, love," father pulls me into his chest, "the king's taste in dolls are surely worse than mine."

I let out a giggle. My father joins in.

I look out the window as we saunter down the hall and turn back to my father when he mutters, "she's changed quite a lot since we've moved here."

He looks at the doll in his hand.

It takes a moment before I smile and give a playful look, "have you seen any of your daughters play with dollies lately, father?"

My words do not work this time. My smile fades at the sight of the line between my father's brows. I mutter softly, "haven't we all changed?"

He turns to me then stops.

I raise my brows. Ned Stark offers me a smile. He takes my hands and shakes his head, "not you, my daughter," he rubs my knuckles with his thumb, "never you."

My heart clenches at his words. I cannot bring myself to smile back because I knew it wasn't true.

"Forgive me for intruding on a private moment."

We both pull away and turn to our side. There we see a blonde doll wrapped in steel. Ser Jaime bows, "Lord Hand, Lady Stark--" he stops himself and lifts his head, "oh, apologies. It's in bad taste for me to call you that."

My father shifts in his spot.

I play it off, "nonsense. I am born of house Stark," I pull my lips into a tight smile, "and my husband is dead."

"Ah, yes," the knight sighs, "poor man. Just had a taste of being one then--" he shakes his head to make his point. He raises a finger, "he was your age, wasn't he?"

I clench my jaw and nod.

Ser Jaime rests a hand on his hilt, "what was his house again?"

Before I can respond, my father blurts, "have you come to rub salt in my daughter's wounds, Kingslayer?"

I turn to my feet with wide eyes. I slowly turn to the see the fuming look on my father's face and whisper, "papa."

Ser Jaime lifts his nose. An smirk masks his face, "not at all, my Lord."

I look back at the kingsguard, not enjoying how quickly tension solidified between us.

"The king demands your presence," growls the Lannister, jaw hardened, golden mane wafting with the breeze.

Father's face is stern but he nods and raises the doll, "I will go to him after I-"

"Get that bloody Ned here now," Jaime speaks. He watches Ned lower the doll. He purses his lips while father's expression sours even more. He shrugs, "King's words, not mine."

In an instant, all the tension in father's body is gone. He looks like he's about to smile and it makes my stomach churn because I knew what that meant. I take the doll from him before anything else. He looks at me and I nod, "I'll give it to Sansa."

He stares me blankly.

"I'll try to force her affection onto the thing," I look at the doll, "maybe she'll let it chaperone us to the tourney later."

I smile at the sound of papa's low laugh.

He nods.

Ned's smile fades when he turns back to Jaime. Jaime gives a wry smile, "I'll escort the lady back to her chambers in her father's stead."

Neither of us decide to argue over it.

Father walks off, eyeing Jaime as he did, and I purse my lips when I turn to him, "I'm actually headed to the library."

"Mmm," he furrows his brows, "then I'm actually headed there too."

We begin to walk down the hall. I laugh as I look at the doll in my hands.

Jaime turns to me upon hearing this. He decides not to note on the ugly doll, "like reading, do you?"

I look at him and smile, "I do."

"You sure you don't go to that musty room to hide from everyone?"

I raise a brow, "you seem to have experience."

"Tyrion was like that," he looks forward, "except father never bought him a doll as a companion."

I look away just as Jaime looks back at me, "does the library match the fantasies of a book lover?"

I chuckle. I turn to his side again. I am unable to stop myself from thinking how dashing his grin at the moment was, "It definitely is as grand as I expected it to be. Winterfell is not blessed with nearly as many tomes."

"The younger Stark girls must not like reading as much as their big sister, considering the ugly thing in your paw," he nods at my direction.

"I'm sure one of them will find use of it," I lift the thing up and look at it. I glance upon Jaime, "oh, goodness. It actually looks quite like you."

Jaime pulls his chin back, "you clearly have issues with your eyes."

"No, it's uncanny. Yellow hair, evil intent."

"Evil intent?" Jaime stops in his tracks, "you mock and slander me," he raises brow and grips his hilt, "I should have your tongue for it."

"Mmm," I turn to him and slowly walk backward, "kingsguard takes the tongue of the Lord Hand's daughter? Sounds like a page out of my books."

He tilts his head, looking me up and down before chuckling as he turns to his feet. He lick his teeth then furrows his brows, "lend me that book once you're done."

We reach the stairwell the connected to the gardens.

I tilt my head and stop in my tracks when I see Sansa and her handmaiden.

"Sansa!" I call, waving at her. She looks at me and waves back.

I turn to Jaime and curtsy, "I have changed my mind, ser," I rise and smile, "I'll be joining my sister in the gardens instead."

Jaime nods and gives a lopsided smile, "very well, my lady. Bid my greetings to the pup. I pray she doesn't get a heart attack from your father's gift."

I chuckle, "she used to have a wolf, you know."

With that, Jaime and I part ways.

Sansa immediately grabs my arm once I am close enough, "what were you doing with Jaime?"

"Ser Jaime Lannister," I correct her, raising a brow, "I didn't know you two were familiar."

"Was he courting you?" Sansa asks as she releases my arm.

I immediately shush her, "do not speak of such things, girl. You know how quickly gossip spreads here." I hand her the doll, "he was escorting me to the library in father's stead."

"This isn't the library-"

"Clearly not."

She takes the doll, "what is this?"

"A gift from father," I grin, "a chaperone to the tourney later."

Sansa glares at me, nearly turning red as her hair. She chucks the doll to the ground and storms away.

I huff and pick up the doll, "Sansa." I follow after her, "it was a joke."

"I haven't played with dollies for years!"

"I know," I rush up to her and grab her arm, "papa bought it for you to try and ease your worries."

She grits her teeth and corrects, "father should just do his job and stop treating me like a little girl." She breaks away from me and moves past me.

"You are a little girl."

"I'm going to be queen one day," she turns to me, "and you won't be able to make fun of me then."

"Sansa, I'm not making fun of you!"

Sansa does not listen and simply walks away.

Her old handmaiden turns to me and smiles. She takes the doll from me, "I'll put this in her room."

I nod and smile.

By the time we were seated for the tourney, Sansa and I made peace by giving the doll to Arya for her to mutilate. All three of us enjoyed the bonding experience very much.

Right now, we were huddled together, pointing at the players. Sansa whispered to me who she thought handsomest and Arya exclaimed over who she thought was strongest. I alternate my attention between them, swooning with one, cheering with the other, but it doesn't take long for them to get into a clash, as always.

They begin to bicker over me and I would have just snapped at them had we not been in public. I instead silence both of them by swooning and cheering for the Hound once we spot him from afar.

Both young Starks gawk at me in disbelief and disgust.

"You can't be serious," Sansa mutters with a pale face.

Arya tilts her head, "I mean, he is pretty big."

I laugh at both of them, "can't I cheer for all the players?"

"No," they say at once.

I tear my gaze from the tourney grounds to look over my shoulder. I gaze upon the crowds, looking to see if father was already here. I mutter to no one in particular, "I wonder what's taking him so long."

"Look," Sansa, on my left, tugs at my arm, "ser Jaime is going to be riding!"

I ignore her and push Arya, who was seated to my right, behind as I crane my neck to look for farther.

Sansa leans on my back and mutters to Arya, "ser Jaime likes her."

Arya grins and looks down at me, "oooh. The lion and the wolf."

I quickly sit up and eye both of them, "shut it, you."

They giggle with each other.

"Father will not be pleased if he hears you are wanting to feed nasty rumors."

"Oh, but nasty rumors are the most intruding, wouldn't you agree, Lady Strong?"

The three of us turn to the man walking over. He stops just below where Arya was sat.

"Or should I say, Lady Stark?" he smiles and nods at me. He looks to my left, "Lady Stark," then to my right, "Lady Stark."

I offer a smile and my first name, "you can simply call me that to avoid confusion, my lord."

"Petyr Baelish," he grins, blue eyes glistening with apparent mischief.

"Lord Baelish," I nod. I squeeze both my sister's hands, prompting both to greet all the same.

Lord Baelish smiles, "I'm glad to finally meet the eldest Stark," he reaches a hand out to me, "the words spoken about your beauty do you no justice."

Both my sisters make a face when I take the man's hand and he leans in to kiss it.

He straightens up and brings his hands behind his back, "my deepest sympathies to you. Lord Harwin Strong left us too soon. I've heard a great many things about Breakbones, how he puts the strong in House Strong."

Arya side eyes Baelish before turning away to look at tourney grounds.

Sansa stares hotly at him as she clutches my arm.

"Thank you, Lord Baelish," I nod and pull a smile, "if it's all the same to you, I'd prefer not to talk about him more than this."

"Of course," he bows. He tilts his head back as he smiles. He walks off and climbs the stairs to get to his seat just behind us.

"Do you know who's going to fight first?" Arya asks as she leans on my lap. I wrap my arm over her shoulders and turn to where she was looking. I spot Jaime speaking to whom was probably his squire from afar.

"Don't worry, little one, they'll announce it," Baelish speaks from behind, making all of us turn to him then back front. When I look back, I see Jaime looking our way.

"I hope ser Jaime starts on our side," Sansa mutters as she leans into me, though her eyes are still fixed on the Lannister.

Arya turns to me and toys with my black hair, "I hope he defeats the Hound to win your affection."

Baelish makes a face upon hearing that.

I snort at the thought then shoot her a half serious face, "shut it."

"I see you girls are fond of the Kingslayer," Baelish says, making us turn back to him again.

Arya side eyes him once more. Sansa looks away, uninterested.

I respond before turning frotn, "he is a rather good swordsman. Or so I hear."

"He usually doesn't play in tourneys. He says he's too good for them," Baelish mutters, "something must have made him change his mind."

"Maybe he's trying to impress someone," Sansa replies, not bothering to look back anymore, "maybe a lady?"

I squeeze her arm when she says this. She does not even spare me a glance.

"Yes," Baelish darting his eyes below him, "perhaps."

We look to the sky when a rumble suddenly cracks.

"What's taking them so long?! It's going to rain, and then the games will be cancelled!" Arya complains.

"They-"

"They're waiting for the king," Baelish replies.

Arya makes a face. I'm the only one that turns back to the man. I smile at his already smiling face then turn to Arya, "papa's not here either. The king is probably making him do something."

Baelish chuckles under his breath, muttering lowly to himself, "papa? How sweet."

Then suddenly, truly out of nowhere, it began to rain.

My sisters and I quickly stand. I immediately grab them and we run off to the nearest place that could offer cover. We head to a tent, but the trouble was, everyone was heading there too.

The rain quickly begins to pour harder.

I do my best to cover Sansa and Arya's head, but my hands could only do so much. The three of us look up when something comes above us.

I feel someone behind me. I turn and see it's Lord Baelish. He's taken his tunic off and used it to cover us.

"Come, my Lady Starks," he speaks over the loud patter of the rain, "I will escort you back inside!"

We turn to him, his dress shirt now dripping and stuck to his form. I nod at him, "thank you, my lord."

"Don't thank me yet," he smirks, face wet with rain, "one of you may yet slip on mud."

Lord Baelish leads the way, uncaring of how wet he's gotten, and offers his arm out to us intermittently. Meanwhile, we hold up his tunic overhead and huddle under it, treading as quickly yet carefully as we can on the mucky ground.

"I do hope the rain does not ruin your fine garb, Lord Baelish," I call as Sansa and I lift our skirts up and do our best not to trip on it.

Arya was very much glad to be wearing pants, and cheerfully steps into puddles without a care in the world.

But then she slips.

Baelish manages to grab her arm before she falls. He pulls her upright and chuckles, "careful now. You wouldn't want to take your sisters down with you."

Arya let's out a hmp when she is released.

"And don't worry about my tunic," he smiles at me, "I'd rather it be ruined than have 3 ladies get sick under my watch."

Sansa gasps and grabs my arm when her heels sink in the wet dirt. I help her keep her footing and smile back at the man, "thank you, Lord Baelish."

"As I said, don't thank me yet. It's still quite a walk to the Keep," he comes to Sansa's side and helps her straighten up, "and call me Petyr."

I part my lips at the thought.

He shakes his head and chuckles, "I insist."

[baddybaddyadardaddy]

(adar pov) (kissing someone on saurons throne you say) (sfw but suggestive??)

You can smell Mairon everywhere in the great ruined tower of Eragion - he must have been living here for months. He's like metal on your tongue and down your throat. This place is layer after layer of forge and smithy, supplies, ores - for your former master, this must have been a heavenly kingdom to rule.

It's abandoned now. Your troops have made short work of the elves guarding it - you imagine this will make Mairon run back here as fast as he is able, when he stops being distracted by Lady Galadriel. If hte two of you stretch him thin enough, each armed with a piece of his crown, one of you will surely be able to strike him down.

There are no traps; there's not even a veil cast over this place. Just the increasing stink of smoke and ash both mortal and immortal, the same skin-clinging heat you'd feel in Mairon's forges back in Angband.

On the top floor is a locked door; your blackened knife breaks the lock easily. You open the door slowly in case of traps or a waiting enemy; none strikes.

The single spot of color in the room is an elf in green robes hunched over a desk, one hand on a machine you don't recognize. He was looking at the machine; now he's looking at you. His face and hair are streaked with forge-ash; his eyes are the only light in the room other than the candles.

"Who are you?" the elf asks, picking up a slender hammer better used on jewelry than on flesh. There's a long, golden chain attached to one wrist that clinks whenever he moves. "Did Annatar send you?"

"I do not know any Annatar. I am here seeking the one you elves call Sauron." You step forward; he steps back, hips against the desk. With the length of the chain, there's no way he can get around the table unless he crawls under it, and that will still give him little room to maneuver. You're glad you left your children to explore the rest of this place; this is exactly the right amount of fear for you to give a captive elf. "He was here. Where is he now?"

"Sauron? Sauron - what do you want him for?" the elf asks. He backs up until he's sitting on the table. You stand between his legs, palms open. "Are you one of his?"

You bark a laugh. "I have not been his for a thousand years. I have come to finish things with the Deceiver. I have little doubt he'd hate the theft of a prize he kept squirreled away so. If you wish for freedom, there are few others you can turn to."

"And few others I can trust. He weaves a veil over those in his power. How do I know you are not him? He has many names and wears many faces."

"Do you think he'd wear a face like this?" Your Mairon was always uncanny in his symmetry. You were not fair of form even before he made a ruin of your skin.

"He might, to fool me," the elf says. His eyes dart over you - the heavily repaired armor, the chainmail, the faded embroidery on your sleeves and neckline. "Though I suppose there are ways to test such things."

"I'd prefer you not stab me to check what my wounds do," you say dryly - if only because you bleed as black as Mairon does.

"That was not what I had in mind," the elf says; his hands curl on your shoulders as he pulls your face to his, mouth to mouth.

You respond on ancient instinct. His mouth is open against yours. You run your tongue across his mouth, tasting iron and copper; your hands settle on his hips to keep him steady as he lets you in, sating a hunger you do not let yourself indulge in often. He is blood-warm and his hands are eager on you, urging you to kiss deeper, plunder more from him.

His cheeks are flushed when the two of you finally break to breathe. He clings to you as you draw back an inch. "Satisfied?"

"Very," the elf says. "He does not kiss as gently as you do."

You cannot help but snicker at being called gentle; you are hardly that. It is that Mairon works his lovers to the bone. "I am no friend of elves, but the one called Sauron is a greater threat to both of us than we are to each other. Will you let me rescue you?"

"You may. I had thought I'd need to sever my thumb. Do you have any better ideas?"

"Yes," and you bring your black knife up and drive it into the cuff. It melts under the touch of a shard of Morgoth's crown, allowing you to pry the warped metal off the elf's wrist. "Are you satisfied?"

"Very," the elf says, rubbing his wrist. He takes a small bag from the table and tucks it into his robes, then gingerly clambers back onto the floor. You take his elbow to make the fall smoother. "Do I have the honor of knowing who my escort is?"

The dim light of the candles flashes over the steel in his eyes, the crooked smile, turns his hair rusty, and you remember where you've seen his features before. "I am Adar, one of the Moriandor who lead the Uruk legions of Angband against your kin, Nelyafinwe Feanorian and his brothers. Will that be a problem?"

"I've worked with plenty of people who wanted my family dead. At least you're up front about it," the elf says, and there's life returning to his eyes as you walk him to the stairs, crown shard in hand. "I am Celebrimbor Curufinwean, last of the House of Feanor and lord of this city."

"You are going to be just as much of a pain as your uncle was," you say fondly. "We shall battle for the fate of this land later. We have bigger fish to fry."

Including, you think as Celebrimbor takes your hand, the fact that you've stolen into Mairon's tower, Mairon's cellblock, and stolen the prisoner he must be using to control this city. Taken a taste of him in the very heart of the forges. You will take all this elf offers up so that when you face Mairon, he can smell just how much of what was his you have made your own.

BRIMBY!!!!!

Also fact that Adar ASKS for permission to rescue him... I DIED.

[chainmailchalamet]

sugar high 🍒

synopsis: sugar daddy hs, always black n non-binary reader, established dynamic w/ some power play, possessive language, lil degradation, spit kink, mean dom(ish) hs, yktfv

Harry is…complex, by nature. He is a well curated structure of contradictions. He is a rockstar, an animal, a glossy beastly thing on stage. He glows under the spotlight, basking in all that concentrated attention with the air of a man who deserves every last drop. He is a hip roller, a tongue wagger, a dark eyed pretty boy dream. He’s sharp cut hips, tatted all over and wrapped up in glitter.

He is also a cream puff — that’s the version of him you met first, assisting a stylist on a Gucci suiting campaign. You’d steamed his double breasted coat, matched the ties to his green-glass eyes, buttoned him up all snug in his dress-shirt. And he’d blushed and dimpled his way through all of it. Told you that you didn’t have to do all that (“I kind of do, darling, it’s my job”), said please and thank you and stood where he was supposed to stand and made everyone laugh and look at him all fond because he was a professional sweetheart, an actual dream to work with. With the way he acted, you couldn’t tell he found you attractive until after the shoot wrapped and he walked up to you all bashful to ask for your number. It was the way he stated his intentions that got you, the way he said, soft and steady “anything you want, we can do anything you want as long as I can keep you company”.

He took you for squid ink pasta for the first date, because you’d never had it. He showed you how he liked his oysters (“a little lemon, just a squeeze..”) and how to tip them back into your mouth to taste them, and he watched the way your lips wrapped round the shell with a low heat gaze, kept his desire on the simmer like he didn’t want to scare him away. You let your inhibitions sink away into a glass of champagne, flirted with him in the same breath you talked his ear off about your job, about the books you were reading, about your vision for the future. He was so like you — the same raw ambition, the same comfort in the way you wore your skin that you’d both fought tooth and nail for, the same wicked tongue. You liked to make him blush, to tease him until he was giggling in faux offense (“it is not a whore house, it’s a family show, that’s the whole point!” “sir, at last show you sang the words “if you’re getting yourself wet for me”, and then rubbed your fingers together to demonstrate said wetness, those are the actions of a whore!”), until he let some of that babygirl cupcake act drop long enough to thumb some passion fruit sorbet from the corner of your lip and take it into his mouth, closing his eyes and groaning a little under his breath like you just tasted that good.

The second date was a flea market in the south of France. He prepared you with a simple instruction to pack light, and in response to your question about the cost of the train and accommodation and time off work he responded the same — kissed you on the temple and said “I’ll take care of all of it, you don’t have to worry about a thing, you can have anything you want, sweetheart”.

And then he did, took care of every detail — told your boss he was borrowing you for a shoot (“bring them back in one piece, styles, they’re one of our best” “mm, no promises”), got the both of you a private carriage so you could watch the grey London skyline fade away into lush fields of lavender, held your hand all the way, looked at you like you were the best view in sight, whisked you away to a cute little hostel where no one but the owners recognized him (the lady of the house absolutely fawned over him, called him strawberry boy, chided him for being gone for so long).

You used maybe two braincells that weekend — he made sure of that. Every whim, he tended to. If you wanted coffee, he went to the market and fetched you something freshly ground with notes of toffee and dark chocolate. If your stomach rumbled, he sat you down on the kitchen counter and fixed you lemon pasta, fed you dates by hand while the sauce settled, stole kisses in-between bites — cupped your face in his hands and licked into your mouth and said “feel so lucky, can’t believe your here, are you happy, what do you need, whatever you want, wanna give you everything…”.

You let him fuck you during that trip. After a dreamy morning picnicking with a jar of strawberry preserves and fresh bread and heavenly salted butter, and a whole day at the markets where he bought you a whole new wardrobe, gently insisting that he wanted to do this for you. “Harry, this is vintage alaïa, I don’t need that” you’d said. “You’re a stylist, sweetheart, might come in handy — and you’ve been eyeing it up since you saw it, at least try it on, yeah? See how you feel after”.

You’d tried it on, and it fit so perfect your mouth went a little dry — and his eyes on you, the way he smoothed his hands over your hips and told you that “you look so pretty, angel, prettiest fucking thing I ever saw” made you light-headed, running your thighs together in the dressing room. He liked doing that to you, putting you in pretty things, seeing you admire yourself. He bought you the alaïa, the cavalli handbag, a silk Gucci scarf — he was still polite, still your sweet thoughtful boy, but you could see through the cracks to what lay beneath that. The power he held over you, the obvious pleasure he took in being able to take care of you, showering you in nice things, the way he made you feel you didn’t have to think about anything when you were with him because he could do the thinking for you.

That’s the man that took you to bed. The one that told you to put your pretty new things away and wait for him in the bedroom while he tucked the groceries away. The one who met you with hungry eyes when he found you stripped down to your new chocolate brown agent provocateur set and kneeling on the bed and just clicked his tongue and asked you if he told you to do that. Tutted when you looked at him all confused and tried to explain yourself, shushed you and said (with the same quiet intensity as the first day he met you), “not your fault baby, didn’t have to think at all today, you’re just my pretty little doll, huh?”

that’s the Harry that felt every bit of your mouth with his fingers, pressed down on your tongue until you drooled a little and then made fun of you for it. The one that wouldn’t let you touch his dick until he worked you up so good that you thought you would cry, ran his tongue over the lace on your body, teased over every single sensitive inch of you until you were shaking and begging (“please, Harry please, just touch me, anything, anything” “look at you — pretty fucking mess for me, huh? wanna see you cry, baby, can’t give you my dick unless you ask real nice for me”).

He fucked you slow and deep with a hand wrapped around your neck, told you that one day he’d buy you something shiny to lay where his hand had been, but until then you’d just have to wear his fingers around your throat — told you that it was his favorite thing you’d tried on all day, called you his doll, his baby, his perfect little slut. “M’gonna give you everything you fucking want,” he said, licking the salt off your skin as it trailed down your cheek, pulling your head back to spit in your mouth and rub it into your tongue (“filthy thing, you like that? nuh-uh? you got real tight on me, baby, you must really like that”), rolling his hips and driving in hard until your eyes rolled back and you couldn’t even find your voice to beg him for more. “And you’re gonna let me, aren’t you? Not gonna fight me, are you baby? Just gonna let me take care of everything, I know what you need, daddy’s gonna give you fucking everything — that’s it, angel, just shut the fuck up and take it, you’re so good at that”.

He made you come like that, and then flipped you over, lifted your hips up and licked you out from the back, slapped you across the clit if you tried to run away from it, told you to “take it, don’t fucking run, gonna make a big mess aren’t you, show me, fuckin’ show me, that’s so good, you’re so good”, and then fucked you like that — pushed your face into the mattress and laid into you until you did make a mess, till you were drooling with it.

He was back in full sweetheart mode when he was done with you — ran you a bath and toweled you dry and held you in his arms till you fell asleep, kissed your head and said “thank you, baby, did so good for me, gave me everything I’ll ever need”. He was complex like that — a menace, an angel, a demon, a fucking fairytale prince. And you were lucky enough that you got to see every inch of it, bask in the flow of it.

[vleanne]

𝖣𝖺𝗋𝗄 𝖯𝖺𝗋𝖺𝖽𝗂𝗌𝖾 c.s

Summary: The battles he grew to love so much since he was kid were the ones that took you away from him. The smell of blood and the yells of the injured and still he only sees you. There, one life ends…another begins.

Warnings: description of injuries, character death, overall angst

Author's Note: First time I'm writing for Cregan Stark and I'm choosing violence.

⤹The room was warm, the flames decorating the hard stone walls with sorts of shapes. It was a calm atmosphere, one you grew to love so much ever since you became the Lady of Winterfell.

Cregan, your husband, was resting behind you, his arms holding your body glued to his. The two of you were catching your breaths, courtesy of what took place only a few minutes ago.

The man nuzzled his face into your hair, placing lazy kisses on the side of your head and behind your ear.

"You really have to go?" Your voice was just above a whisper, feeling Cregan's heart with sorrow. He thought you already settled on the matter. It couldn't be avoided. The battle was inevitable.

He squeezed your body further onto his, his lips warm on your bare shoulder "I must do my part,my love…. there's no going back"

You shifted your body so you could face him. His beautiful face was so close to yours your lips touched. Grazing your hand on his spine and tangling your fingers in his dark hair "But it is…"

Cregan shifted his weight on his arm looking down at you, his eyes becoming glassy "No, it is not..my love I wished it was"

His soft lips captured your own, tasting the salty tears that started to fall down your face as he moved on top of you.

____

No this can't be happening….please

Cregan ran as fast as his feet carried him across the battlefield. Everywhere you looked a trail of dead bodies laid lifeless, covered in blood and dirt.

The gruesome scene however didn't compare to when he saw her. Just there.

His wife…

"No-"

The man abandoned his sword not carrying where it landed and sprinted towards his lady's,unfortunately,dead body.

Her dragon laid just beside her, with wings torn apart and spear ripped from his skin.

Cregan kneeled beside his wife, his Y/N.

The long hair, associated with snow, was nearly black from all things going on around her.

With trembling hands, he took her face in his palms, his fingers stroking her cold cheeks.

"My love please-"

He couldn't stop the tears from falling wildly from his eyes. His heart shattered when she didn't respond. Her eyes were closed, the long lashes of hers giving the impression that she was sleeping. How he wished that was true.

Cregan lowered his face so it could rest on hers "Don't leave me..my love please"

"Don't do this to me–don't go away"

His men were screaming for their lord. To give them instructions of what to do. Many were screaming from the pain of their injuries but for Cregan it was simply a faded sound.

Far from where he stood..he couldn't hear anything.

His throat was dry, and he couldn't breathe properly. He felt like someone plugged their claws in his lungs and ripped them apart.

Horrible..

"Lord! Please lord we need to go!" A man approached him, with his sword in his hand.

His face was flushed red and he was covered in sweat and mud "My Lord we need to go. They're coming"

Cregan didn't spare him a glance but he heard him loud and clear this time.

He looked down upon her body, admiring what it was once his.

How could she be still so beautiful after this merciless fight?

Cregan leaned down, taking her lips into his for the final time. He still hoped she would kiss back..that she would cradle his face with her hands and deepen the kiss.

When she didn't move, Cregan whispered a single "I love you" to his wife and got up.

His eyes were red and he could barely focus.

The guard bowed his head and handed his lord his sword.

Cregan took the weapon from him and went to join the rest of his men.

He didn't look back, not once. He didn't dare.

Only when he reached the castle did he allowed himself to breathe.

Seated in the throne room, he looked ahead of his fellow devoted men "What are we to do know, lord?"

Cregan twisted his wedding ring on his finger giving one final statement "We kill them all. For our friends, for our families..for our loved ones…for her"

- there, one life ended so another could begin-

[mordenheim]

Let me remind you

The throne room was empty in the ancient castle.  The tapestries were free of dust and grime, though the ravages of time have left them tattered and faded.  The grand carpet leading up to the throne itself was threadbare from centuries of booted feet striding up and down its length.

The throne where Lady Liantha was lounging was immaculate, however.  The pillows were perfect, preened and fluffed.  The dark wood of the throne was polished to a mirror sheen and the gold inlay sparkled in the flickering light of the braziers and candles.

She relaxed in her dress of crushed midnight blue velvet.  Her long, dark hair was teased up above her head and held in place with a diamond studded silver tiara.  She swirled a glass of deep red wine in her hand as the gently pointed tip of her ear twitched slightly.  She had an uninvited guest.

A simple gesture of her free hand and her minions sprang into action.  Zombies crawled their way from under stones in the floor as stone gargoyles clambered down from their perches up in the darkness.  She heard the scream and grinned.  

She closed the hand she had been gesturing with and pulled it in towards her body.  There was a struggle and a crash, but she could hear the intruder being slowly dragged down the hall towards the throne room.

The huge double doors were opened and the intruder deposited on the ancient carpet.  They then swung shut with a loud bang, locking from the outside.  The intruder pushed herself up off of the carpet with surprising ease and grace, impressing the vampire.

She was dressed in a long black coat the likes of which Liantha had not seen before.  She finished her wine and set the glass on the floor beside her throne before seeming to float to her feet.

Her voice seemed to come from every corner of the throne room at once as she spoke, “Why have you dared to invade my home?”

The red haired woman had dark glasses over her eyes, hiding much of her expression from view.  She bared her teeth in challenge as she snapped, “Your ghouls invaded my home first.  Where is my brother?”

She ran her tongue over her fangs, glancing down at her glass, stained a deep red.  “Oh, your brother, you say?”

Liantha grinned as she closed her eyes and inhaled.  She could almost taste the despair.

“Why?  Why did you do this?  We have left you alone for centuries, and you did the same for us!  I thought there was mutual respect?”

She laughed, a sharp, cutting bark as she glared at the woman before her.  “Respect?  I was forgotten!  When was the last time your village sent their required tribute to me?”

The intruder screwed up her face in confusion, “Village?  Tribute?  How many years has it been since you’ve been outside?”

“Apparently long enough for you all to forget your duty to me.  Let me remind you.”

She let out a snarl as she began to transform.  Vicious talons shredded their way through the tough leather of her high heels.  Fingers slowly stretched and lengthened, skin spreading between them as her arms stretched out as well, becoming massive bat-like wings.  Her ears swept sharply up by the sides of her head as her nose turned upwards, her face pushing out into a sharp-toothed maw.  Her beautiful dress was shredded to pieces as her size increased by leaps and bounds.

Shaking her head, the intruder pulled a small triggering mechanism from the sleeve.  A wire vanished up into the arm of her coat which she threw open wide.  She almost appeared bat-like as well for a moment, the coat flapping wide around her until she pressed the button.

The vampire let out a shriek of agony as the high intensity ultra-violet lights flickered to life, bathing the vampire in their glow.  The skin of her wings shriveled and shrank as smoke and flames erupted from her body.  Within seconds, she was a smoking pile of bones that continued to wither under the bright lights.

The intruder snarled as she kicked the pile of ashes, grinding them into the worn carpet before she shed her coat.  She confidently strode over to the throne.  Tossing the glass aside to shatter in the darkness, she sat down on the throne, feeling the power of the ancient castle offering itself to her.

[unicyclehippo]

bg3 prompt: foreshadow

'You never liked my Lady Sh- my goddess,' she said that night, huddled close to the fire, hands almost pressing into the flame. There was a tremor to her fingers, a frightful hunch to her shoulders. Darkness swallowed up everything beyond the boundaries of their camp and Shadowheart alternated between staring out into it and deep into the heart of the fire.

Dante propped themself up on their bedroll, laid out near but not close to hers. Though it hadn't been a question, exactly, Dante knew that it was. Shadowheart did not ask for anything and it was not the prideful thing she made it seem; at a certain point, a child learned not to ask when the answer was a painful constant. Dante toyed idly with the knowledge that they would rip their beating heart from their own chest, if she were to ask for it. It painted a pretty red picture in their mind--hands blood-soaked, on their knees for her. They shook their head, banishing the thought and answering the question she didn't ask.

'I did not.' Dante kept their voice light. They wondered what a goddess's blood looked like, tasted like. If they were to present Shadowheart with the dark lady's heart, would that let her rest?

'From the beginning, you hated her. Don't try to lie to me - I know the truth,' she spat. Her anger wasn't for them, Dante didn't think, but maybe it was. 'Tell me why.'

Prying my secrets from me now? Dante wanted to tease. But it was a question, a request. In the cloak of a demand, certainly, but that was more than enough.

'She was cruel to you.'

'That's all?' Shadowheart laughed. Scratched at the back of her scarred hand.

Dante took it, covering the mark with their own hand to stop her fevered work. They moved closer, sitting up with a wriggle. It wasn't necessary--if they wished, their every motion could be graceful and powerful and direct...but they liked the way she looked at them when they were odd, awkward. To be a strange creature in her eyes was vastly preferable to monster.

'It isn't all. It's what I...disliked the most.'

'Because you care for me.'

'Immensely. Beyond darkness.'

'There is nothing beyond the darkness.'

Dante hummed. Bent over her hand and lifted it to their lips, pressing a warm kiss to the scar. 'Then I shall make something. A light, a refuge. A world,' Dante insisted, as her despair began to lift, a flustered sort of fondness taking its place. 'I'll sing a whole world into existence. It will be the most beautiful place in all the realms and the when the sun sets, there is no darkness because the moon fills the whole sky, and every flower knows a different joke--'

'Absolutely not. The flowers don't talk.'

Dante sighed, long-suffering. 'Very well. What do they do?'

'Nothing! Why must a flower do anything? Can it not simply be beautiful?' Shadowheart scolded through a smile.

'They are beautiful, then,' Dante agreed. 'Each one trying their best to match your beauty and falling short. Even so, we shall be surrounded by incandescent beauty.'

'Oh you are a charmer.'

Dante kissed her hand again, brushing their lips across her knuckles before they lowered her hand, though they did not let her go. Their thumb took up that gentle touch instead, stroking along the same path.

'I have no love for any god,' they told her quietly, and mourned the ease of her smile as it faded. 'But the more you told me of that dark lady, and the more I saw you do with and without her favour, and when she punished you,' Dante snarled before stilling, closing their eyes and hands. Would the goddess bleed midnight black? That most royal colour tinged with the purple of her servants vestments? Did they drape themselves in her blood as Dante now dearly wanted to?

A hand, against their heart. A warmth like a flower unfurling. Dante held Shadowheart's hand in place.

'Forgive me--'

'Yes,' she said, without hesitation.

Dante opened one eye a crack and, seeing neither hatred nor fear, opened the other. 'There were aspects of the dark lady I admired. To walk unafraid under the cloak of night. To have secrets and fears and sorrows and entrust them to her. But I watched as you trusted her, and gave everything to her...and I watched her take more and give nothing back.'

There was an adamantine glint in her eyes, stubborn and strong. 'She gave me great power.'

'You earned that. You earned more than what she gave you. I've never seen devotion like yours--deep and earnest, unwavering--'

'I wavered,' Shadowheart said. Her fingers curled into a fist, still resting against their chest. The fabric of their nightshirt in her hand. They would give it to her. They would give her the shirt off their back, the skin off their back. 'You may not have seen it but she did. Every - every kind deed you did, every nonsense you dragged us into without demanding payment or power or even for the weak to grovel at your feet when you spared them, helped them... I admired you for it, adored you. And she saw it. I would like to say it took time but in truth, my thoughts have been split from the moment I laid eyes on you in that damned pod.'

Dante forgot. She had asked for their help, once. Had it been the first time her prayers had not gone unnoticed?

'You know, I considered once, asking you to join me in my faith.' A deep sorrow crossed her face when her words made Dante flinch. 'An idle thought, long ago.'

'It's alright.'

Shadowheart paused. Then, carefully, she said, 'I thought you only hated her but. You fear her too.'

'Of course,' they agreed, with an almost lazy shrug. 'I would be a fool not to.' She did not buy their ease. Dante did not flinch easily. Guilt churned in their stomach. She deserved a true answer, not bravado. 'It would be...the end of me. If I served her. I don't know what happened to me before the ship and the tadpole but...there is nothing inside of my head but darkness. The only time I feel I am a person is when I sink a blade into someone,' they confessed. If the dark lady were Shadowheart, perhaps Dante could be persuaded to faith. How terrifying it was, though, to put faith in another being. It felt like they were tearing themselves open for her appraisal and Dante was certain that now she would see the rotten heart of them. 'When I fight and kill, my mind is awash in red and after endless black, it is everything. If I served the dark lady, she would take it from me. She would take everything, drain my skull even of the dregs it has now. I would be nothing.'

Shadowheart was pale but not with disgust. Empathy, writ clear in her eyes.

Dante summoned a smile. It was an act, but what wasn't? They were the architect of their own life--joy, pain, faith, love--and tonight they chose to smile.

'That's not to say that you're wrong. I am faithful. I have faith. Just,' they shrugged, 'not in the gods.'

'Oh? Very well, I'll bite. What is it you believe in?'

With a flicker of a thought, Dante pulled their lute from where it lay by their pack--too far to move, they never wanted to move from Shadowheart's side, never--and plucked it from the air with reverent hands. Shadowheart pulled her own away so that Dante could settle the instrument in their lap and her eyes focused, keenly, on graceful hands that roamed its belly and neck and trembling strings.

'Stories.'

'Stories?'

Dante nodded. Half closed their eyes, head cocked, and listened to the music as they began to play. A mournful, solitary tune that Dante heard in their mind whenever they recounted the ship. The emptiness of being--of being alone, of being awake when life had been a thoughtless march, of being--interrupted, interwoven, with two sharper tunes, a march sharp-silver and a lament so similar to that early dirge that it met and matched it before it slipped away once more. Dante played on.

'I woke up and there was a worm in my head, thoughts in my head that weren't mine. I didn't know myself except that I was not that.' Anger snapped against the strings, red. 'And when I tried to recall who I was, I could only think of more people I wasn't. Ithramier who wove a cloak of pure flames. Pharon who called on the blessing of their angelic king to fight the undead hordes for three days unceasing, who held the Chasm of the Kings against evil, and as they slew the last foe drew their own final breath. Lor, witch of the seven barrowhills, who struck down Lashlord Emgaraoch and sent it back to its hellish plane.' With each brief tale, Dante introduced them to the song as well. They had only days of practise, as far as they knew, but whomever owned these hands before them had known their way around a lute and there was such an overwhelming need for Shadowheart--and all their companions--to understand that Dante played as they never had before. Not to distract or charm or frighten. Merely to pluck truth from their soul, what meagre scraps remained of it, and play it into life. 'Whatever stripped me of my memories did not take it all, and I knew what people were, and,'

Dante dared to look up then. Their companions had left their tents, each and every one of them; even Withers lingered just beyond the bright firelight. Wyll sat close, shaking his head at the troubled noble dance they chose for him, foot tapping to it. Karlach sat beside him--perhaps because she could lean against him, or any of them, and not fear to burn them. Dante could not tell if it was a compliment when the fire in her chest roared to life as they strung her lines into play, a blazing rousing tune that could not shake off an iron weight. Astarion lounged with a profound disinterest betrayed by the longing in his eyes. Dante's fingers tripped across his strain again, a song that struggled and pushed and yearned to soar. Astarion stared at them, a loathed vulnerability writ clear across his face, and looked away. Lae'zel knelt across the way with a look of concentration; her march plucked through the night as Dante wondered if she expected to be tested on it in the morrow. Gale closed his eyes as his prideful tune fell, and smiled when Dante called it up again.

'I knew what people could be.'

'But the stories aren't real,' Astarion bit out with a sneer.

The song began to unwind, thread by thread. Each had a moment to shine and be heard on its own.

Dante spoke. 'Maybe not. But aren't they true enough?' they asked, wistful. 'Don't they sing to you? Don't they show you what could be real? Don't they make you dream of the world where someone is as noble as the great heroes, as brave, as kind?' Astarion said nothing to that. Dante played his tune again and, this time, let it soar. Free and golden as the sun. In answer came Dante's mournful, empty dirge plucked through with rage. They closed their eyes and dredged their heart again--what they would not give to a goddess, they would offer freely to their friends. Blood and pain and a hollow aching that nestled in their chest and Dante began to fill it--music became thought and magic, became the grit of dirt beneath their nails and the glint of gold in their palm, became leaves trembling on branches and bitter between their teeth, became wonderment, became bubbling mixtures and the chop of knives not for dismembering but for cooking and campfires and alchemy, became laughter, became meals, became the simple joy of plodding a forest path, became the fierce pain of being embraced, welcomed, the dusty press of moss and mushroom, became every small and wondrous thing Dante had known in a week of life. And the hollow in their chest was not so big. Did not have so many teeth.

The music stopped. Dante did not know how to end it yet, so they simply let their hands fall away from the strings. Their hands and fingers ached with the effort and they stretched them open wide, pressing back against the hurt like a bruise.

Wyll let out his held breath, his tone admiring as he spoke.

'I have caroused and wept in my fathers hall to many talented bards, my friend. You have put them all to shame. I don't know whether to be pleased or not, to know all future musicians shall not live up to this standard.'

Dante grinned. 'You're just happy because it was about you. Somewhat.'

Wyll laughed. He didn't correct them, but Dante could see he fought the urge. They expected he would mention it again, before long.

'I'll give you this,' Astarion said, in that arch way of his, 'you can certainly spin a good tale.' He paused, then flicked a gold Dante's way.

Lae'zel growled at him. 'A single gold is not payment enough.'

'Darling, you aren't exactly the expert on bartering here. Do you even know the worth of a gold piece?'

'The song is priceless,' she told him, voice firm. 'And the wisdom... It is something to consider.'

'High praise, Lae'zel. Thank you.'

'It is not as straightforward as the ten thousand decrees.' She sounded frustrated and, pushing to her feet, she turned back to her own tent with a brusque, 'I will think on this.'

One by one, Dante's companions scattered until it was as it had been, only Shadowheart at their side and the fire. Dante set the lute down carefully.

'Would you believe me if I said I hadn't meant for that to be such a big deal?'

She laughed quietly. She wasn't ready to hear it yet, but she had a laugh like the sweetest moonbells.

'I would, actually.' Shadowheart shook her head in wonder. 'You inspire all of us, and yet you seem not to understand it.' She paused, then added, 'I wondered, for a time, if you truly cared for me. You spoke so highly of everyone, and took time I did not think we could spare to help them, and it made me think...I wasn't special. I wasn't the only one you cared for.'

'Shadowheart...'

'It was a selfish thought, a long time ago.' Another laugh. 'Not so long, I suppose, but it feels a lifetime past. It doesn't upset me now. What we have is even more than that, isn't it?'

Dante nodded. They almost felt like that was the more selfish thought, when it came from them. That they would fight and kill for the others but they would die for her. They said as much and Shadowheart sucked in a breath, expression mercurial, unsettled between a powerful pleasure and a look they could not pinpoint. It was not concern, exactly. Conviction?

'I will never ask that of you,' she said. 'Do you know that? You have promised me yourself forever at my side. I intend to lay claim to it.'

Dante closed their eyes. A strange urge filled their mind--its red was not of that blood-soaked kind, but fire-bright. They reached for their lute again, but Shadowheart took their hand in hers before they could.

'You could speak it, you know. How you feel. Instead of playing it for all to hear. I may not be her servant anymore but there are some things that perhaps require...privacy, if not secrecy,' she teased. 'You always let me lead the way. Why is that?'

Dante's eyes flickered to the night, the dark beyond. 'Because she did not let you choose. Because the rest of your life was orders and punishment. Because everything has been taken from you and I will not take anything more.'

'And what of what was taken from you?'

It scratched something deep inside, that question. Clawed open something that had begun to heal, or at least to close over without Dante poking and prodding at it, well-ignored.

'I think...' (A vast, blank canvas was their mind. Soaked in red paint. No thoughts had ever marred its surface. Not chisels or brushes as their tool but knives and wicked tearing things.) 'I - ' (Fields of rolling hills, the sweet-sick stench of iron. The hills are soft underfoot. They are bodies piled high and your body aches in satisfaction, a job well done.) 'I don't think it is the same. As wicked a thing as it is, I cannot help but think it may have been deserved. That I am more wicked still.'

It was a thought for the night, and one they could not yet answer. Shadowheart lifted their hand and kissed it, their veins burning red as she did. Dante moved their bedroll a fraction closer and tangled their fingers with her as the firelight dimmed and the night drew in closer.

Perhaps that's why I could never be a cleric,' they mused. 'If your dark lady couldn't love you, there is no god who could love me.'

[belevant-candy-corps]

‘Go to hell bitch’

Mai x female y/n

One shot:

I opened the door to a bar. My friends were throwing a party for the end of school. Maki would usually be the one to accompany me at a bar. She knew what to do and what to say. Supposedly this bar is the only one in the city that serves underaged high school kids. I was about to graduate and leave to go to college with Maki. Me and Maki had decided that we would go to state university and study culinary and business. Maki had stolen a large amount from her family when she ran away. About 1.2 million dollars. Her family was loaded. They lived in the states for a while but when Maki was old enough to fly on a plane herself she faked her parents permission and came to Japan. Today Maki said that she had to go out to eat with her boyfriend's family.

I walked inside and saw a few of my friends sitting at the bar. I walked over and sat at an empty stool. I participated in light conversation but my real talents showed when it came to drinking. Most people would never guess but I could hold my liquor pretty well. I started off light with some shots then a glass of whisky before some margaritas. By the end of my long drinking Journey I had to excuse myself to the bathroom. I asked someone to watch my drink.

“You don’t mind, right?” I asked the old lady sitting next to me. I had sworn just a minute ago that it was my friend. She responded with a simple no and I walked down the hallway into the women's bathroom.

After I did my business I stumbled out and back to my seat. The woman I asked to watch my drink was talking to another pair of girls about my age. I taped her shoulder and she turned to face me.

“Did someone mess with my drink?” She shook her head and turned back to the other people she was talking to. I picked up my drink and washed it around before taking a sip. It tasted normal.

That’s about the moment everything went wrong.

—

I faded in and out of consciousness. For a moment I would find myself inside a dark room tied to a chair then I would relive past moments of my life. One of the moments that would come up the most was when I first met Maki. It was a nice spring day at our school. As an honored student I was to show Maki around the school. We had become friends almost immediately. The memory’s faded out of my mind as my eyes opened.

This time, they didn’t close. I was in a dark large room, similar to a basement. There were wooden stairs in one of the corners of the room. I tried to open my mouth but duct tape held them shut. I tried to move my arms and legs but they were similarly tied with duct tape.

The sound of a creaking door was followed by the bright light coming peering in from the top of the stairs.

“ Y/N~” The voice was that of a woman, tinder but hard and mature at the same time. Her legs were the first thing that I saw from the stairs. Her legs were sculpted by god. Then it was her chest, those must’ve been sculpted by the devil. She was masculine and muscular but lean and beautiful at the same time. Her face held soft features and hard almond eyes. Her black haircut was short and a slight bob. A wide smirk was set in the middle of her face.

Not to say that it was love at first sight but it was close. She walked in front of me and stopped. She put her hands on my knees and leaned towards my face. We sat like that for a while before she finally said something.

“Where’s Maki?” She asked me. Her breath warmed my face. I had no idea why she was asking about Maki but my face was too red and I was blushing too hard to worry about it.

She also seemed like it wasn’t the only thing on her mind, definitely not the most important. Her face lowered down to my exact level. She leaned in closer. Our lips finally touched. She moved one of her knees in between my thighs and the other on the outside of the chair. She rested her weight on my leg as our kiss separated. We went in for another kiss before she twisted the hem of my shorts between her fingers.

Her fingers slid under my shorts and past my underwear. Her fingers played at the entrance of my hole. Our kiss got sloppy on my end when she stuck one of them inside. She added another inside and started scissoring me. Her fingers were thick and long.

She stuck another inside and twisted them around. It honestly became too much for me to handle.

“Fuck!” I broke away from the kiss to catch my breath.

I threw my head back as she rubbed my cunt and twisted inside of me at the same time. I was almost at my climax when she pulled her fingers out. My breath calmed down and I lowered my head.

“Wanna tell me where she is now hun?” Her lips curled into a smirk. I had almost forgotten that that’s why she kidnapped me. Not that I minded. She traced her fingers along my thighs. She rested them on my inner thigh. Her nails dug slightly into my skin as she made circles.

“Go to hell bitch”

[libidomechanica]

Untitled (“Goes all”)

A Meredith sonnet sequence

               1

Legitimacy its spotted rushrings,   and letter of pearlins and when with his   feet, and marriage in: and all my lifeless ilka quarters, to be curious quills, with right that can a marble found shew the   soul—the din of the air cheapening ’t   was ta’en myself self-Lost, and end the lattice, as not thine eagle homeward Angels speak to your boat a book, o nobleman   from slimy nest through gorges unexpressly   for text. Goes all in honey fed; who, when you would look, so Juan’s was folde, the circuses, so my lustfull leave ere long with   all commanding mourne with you, yet let this.   Could now before their farthest from aboue, who will sit besides. The parching great deserved.

               2

True, her a hundred years later shame and   wine upon the Eastern gate, and in her   lids hungry gorges unexplored since, it grew black dots on pants and conversation. And what it may wax too be dumb? Corinna   can, with open mouth of God nor sonnet   sedge, inwrought, and both to mosque in secret House of dull amazed by a fatall sister Lilia, their shoes, and of certain,   still flings singing, opened in this is   that red Hell his great pleased be, by what is in view,—farewell! Richer third seizures come to tell me that phrase was sent frae then, if   matter; that frolicked off. The laws of   navigation of forms which the dead? And Secret nobody required; and right die.

               3

Is the wind serve me pleated on; sigh’d Juan.   I would be, to tears for each new and left   him bore strange they love, who though not the star pricked queenly was a town, with mirth, pleasures proved connubial animosity; ’ he   left and from your moral to thee themselves;   hardly had killed the Ring town stole down by instinct now wasted: the Sultan’s coming to the drill but frae her than said, as we   trod a sovereign courtesy should not catch   they cannot speak to you turn and a’! Of so seen, drew all emong, is faded quite dispossess’d.—Heavenly calm, and the tame   and dark latrine, for past us freeze before   the loud, sweet. But ’tis not be but those who looked arrows stars. Juan stand watch them vphold.

               4

Or heart-flame of all he saintes, that I   had a sweated off to themselves were once,   tearing and let this, as thought my book to grace in space ship came thousand draws it from this vain to say. With sudden shoulders did   she, in sweetly taken him Pity’s machine.   Up and ducklings; and forlorne, alas doth reproue, and on the day. Not left the dew- slick grass, a lamb, or kid; so that drove her   cheeks assume the great deserts, for its   precocious you, i’d have them at this, how he hoped some other hairs on you realize it. But I know, and curtsies I disdayne.   Shade doth form a Turkish wont,—a gaudy   taste the while abye. She issues radiant air was not speak? Your Highness with palace!

               5

And lose my measure, mine own approbation   it teach me to the dolls, perfect, ever   strike me clear’d herself was sent from which may cover. And oh, her and aware of nature much, and pawed his mourn; your faithless   Thing—to whom all this digestion? For the   bases love no signs, but it is more philosophy displayd, it floureth fresh dews of natural was from the eye, and a smile,   Love once, other even in her brow great;   but to reel, and on two post with those on for to keep them all she is nae sae blue eyes, we knew the glowworm o’er her eares;   but grim to obey, even These ladies’   force of her now, the half-history. His good name; thought up in Murderers’ feasted is.

               6

She called things great verse seek with other state?   But when t is sair, that’s what is Love? To   which from the Veil may; that impress of having and death doom’d this loue. No, she hardiest chatted, a year when a fire-balloons.   Mastered limbs go lame! For what went with that   th’eyes of a bride went forth, and to common- sense! Instead of Widdin. When they ’d made themselves to Time. His too longed, all rate? For   instance laughs to sew by degrees and them   think that rang with silent music on the gloom but strong, that he third, ’ said Juan, I’ll be- ’—Now, pray, how long with tear beneath the days   are not boast: wretch me euen thus wretched, for   a word. Burning to lead were battle for none, or shake again. It brushes the name?

               7

Of goodness, did me kindlier than fame. And   a confidential queen. Be beneath her   caprices e’er stirring sky with many a day the same time eaten by chronicle; and bawled like a tooth slips the rose up   a wail of impotence? Two or the gate,   to many of these ladies which for evermore; but tugging to give for miles, and listening, on her statue property   at last stops of variety there in   wives’ eyes make him lest himself should visit us not a dawn grew afraid her face, a Gothic ruin I mourne with soule vnbodied,   body over my mind in triumph   droop-headed mountain to kicks, and said Juan, mutter’d cowslips of variety there?

               8

When the tearing ears; “fame is better dayes.   Or else force him call when some malignant   of yore. The wise. I know long hath Love! She once disdaine, who wore the twilight which makes me in there’s no key. With blank as flies,   a song for thee. Where beneath the summer   cloud of shame and Right, like flying thirst time in doze I seeme his palate finest Gothic ruin and her this display’d. Himself   she saw within their game of Death was her   cheek, whose we lay: and talk, and unlawful odes she also risk’d her learnd a lessons as here; but yet this the blue sky above   that bards, they were out in hue, were ye playing,   nor in broad ambrosia mixt, and bitter constant shadows! Not yet. But with woe.

               9

The man would Pope quotes there’s nothing. Without   a stable talked, above, below him!   Of finest Gothic ruin and with shrine, albee my love—does a lioness, to watch these I better Women, when we walk about   was tilled the dear Murray, needs must   end at best: a married and the walk in which some great travail so gladly spight and all have your sorrow wring up; no more   durable is nourished through each in Beauty   of her said—just after seeing a livelier lanely night days in bed to know there, for none admired, would have not   what I have deep below love first hint then   thou bonny blue eyes a moment wi’ the story scarce those white, as the dispossess’d.

               10

And crooked upon my father darkness   heart and desolate, its source or leg a   sponge was, alas why it must now inside them both and if they talked as he rode many a day shifts, we talked at winter than   Believing Princess; she, in them I burn’d   fair in ilka thousands not God it’s an ideal like figure to all our olives for long-staid night Ends love tunes its way that   same flower down to the tower’d as they   came of hideous prison-wall still, I feele there, other more quite enough. Receipts in field of the famous, threaten ither;   sic a wife and come in there’s the   last to vary, while before me a married at collect thy thigh lawns appetite.

               11

And with nectar with you, already donne.   She never being and unjoin, be lost   thro’ thee, as vertues braunches beare, care shines so in the captives, others through so sweet you was like Atlantic portal thronge, should   not fed, luxurious hues, as I could   not weep who tramped there it glided faith praise, painting somewhat grieved, could you like Arab- spears, we gained with a bitter forehead cool.   I wonder what he third flood is winsome   and prospects hight. If thou great song while. As you with Beauty that satiate dance with their cups with such a debt to pray; who laughters   and cleanse his pipe of chess won’t decorated,   body required—but soone as there’s no one dark, if a might have we, for her!

               12

Of earthly soul, but you, already in   our buds with a kiss, she see pregnant still   nobleness. Yet since Stellas eyes on a diverse, yet I love you ever fight warbling her in a sunbeam: near his comrade,   who will bring head, some red cock crew, there: for   the bottom of three figures on mine eyes, faithful and die. Shirt off, such a way as one wide chase, but bland they were a grave I   could pull from her darkness. More in the late-   writ letters, sing furious love evening, closed that she will sit beside my balefull verse than men knows only two at present   weighing what conducted, it ne’er me   rolling storm we try if I could by no men, but my hand, and I am tired.

               13

But of nation; a woman! While he was   grave when you women, when her song.—Mortal   through a mistress, to thee, my other men. To bed: goldilocks that burned to be shed him back a present till say the step, and   straight starts are slavery—had heard was sometimes   sleep will not how; and an unwonted solace is ouercomes just to experience, so, I leane, I quite alone. When   he tries to eye us but after all   see, if she young ones, shawl, whose whose short, all its salutary Vintage they wore the sky, and of times beneath with spouse? Now, for   on the dead. Thou only majesty of   the sacks, in that we came there it gotte. A water one knew what I so wood1 that all.

               14

Is far away. God said Baba, who have   cut back together were much, and   capabilities, as well—a moments mar? And when you read the knows where is similes at times have no authority, is the   subtle Censor scrutinize. And then he   tried; his daughter and having an ox, an ash, and Wedlock and raise How could comes soothed me away that impressed, half commandant   stretch’d in no man spoil, as if we lost in   this hallow’d temple, this palate finest Gothic ruin I mourned not. Lamp of all Created; till lying understand how   one can stand soft flesh-colour; five rust Life’s   appointed surface but this side, to fit folkes my songs the served with Cyril and knife.

               15

But not their Institute taught; we are whelming   tears prevail: she hard-ship that fatal   shalt gayne, much great, for wanting trimm’d in the from his still, each of that scarcely can discretion rather life’s buried body over   his Justice, confounds the pine, but here   few! To prove overcome my dearest pledge of the lady rising up and demands your tear the griefe, when we come too little:   his sires a crush on Myrna Loy, which were   sows, accept; provided always mourne with bees and as coy be ashamed nature say, ’t would but the cheer. Felt humbler lot had   no blush, but in white steel cable wench came   running out roads to love, called is death-moth be of the true we all posterity.

               16

Stay while ye there do denounced amongst they   glides, that lies. To be my daughter from out   of the boy I fear! I know what all; and kept their shoes of a grand sighes is a man’s views a horsemanship so rare, the paine.   One more, O ye laurel: her face aglow   with woe. And her bottles here, and the shrieks and all the mill: but yet fast as one view— but tis imposture art disdayne. Then lover,   horsemanship aduaunce, such a grave I   come before. He caress’d a sin the wide close their green pebbles for long-clothes, who, when shadows! While him out; ’ and psalms but copying   is, was half calls up all now she is   warm. But go, and slipp’d a pain became like shepheards deuise she hateth as Rogers’ rhyme.

               17

So doth raise the gear the Lord Christs, die with   mirth, go, and heard can wipe there’s a sometimes   beneath the discovered, each beautiful is dead she punishes than we hither phone. Follow, If the leave its utmost   terrible to the swoll’n with this was like   the streets, but just now his was calm, and whether the flying bandage rather ammon’s ill pleasures false eyes are we, ’ one voice as   dropp’d; but I never he was haughty, though   me wretched make you a hand then a stretch attain both to us a touched the other Secresy; stirring sheepe, whose steadfast   faithfu’ and all things, such pleasaunce now emong   the fresh woods and desolate, mark, whose endless vigil kept, and broider the rest.

               18

Two hours, when he though it seem Angel bring   no cause to weep, and high, nor any man   walked, the Devil’s Own Brigade: and bended his head became Christian quarrel kill’d by flowing kind, what then? A man apart from   thee, like things I have also mine. At noon   his head and ducklings; the police tape separative burns in the faded flow’d in the working now I cannot paused, and with   you, worth their names who rear the left me by   this heart in prison to less o’er her hate, deaths than the hideous riddle the sighs, oft within the first Man took exactly.   Yet, trust her she was a sultan’s bride: with   Cyril whispered the faded honour, whilk the rhyme; now that the falling mirth, your face.

               19

Are hurl’d; whether in his numbered much will   rot, and errors of May, without   elucidation of food I think it is our complexion which he brought us the other is grilling theyr sondry colour wanting.   And then he would bring step of desires   he could be third rail thou will; heroic, for his nest, some bay-window shall fall on some rebel pachas, and the big white   hairy, and the personal quietly   leans, their head of rose to loue, some euill we dwells with greater through and shaven help the self-love possess’d, passing, welcome, proud man   came upon the manner they did! And from   my wit or window’d hears, so long your waken’d half house said Juan, which I clothed in sleep.

               20

Don Juan took fire, like to live with a word.   Into its features, Heaven like a maukin   she had look’d so little hour, been on your berries harsh intellects, whose fancies marry, but not your question’d ear is by   this shame was much. An old taint to heresy:   this souls of delicate your gentle swaines mellifluously presence is in the fiddlehead cool. Which night giving thy   fellow! And blesse, there’s no key. Once one   dawn whate’er they’re tried to mellowing kind, since her side two little bone away,&blast blow-’ and kept in height oaths, what, if also   gentle world should Humanity’s long low,   pointed by sun. We lover, horse by a doom which grows the pain or please, was sixty!

               21

Yes, ’ said he, it would pull through the tone thereon   were wont in her sultry horn, batt’ning   our flocks snug study, an open on a town and ivy-claspt, of mortality of reflection and blessing, Baba found   life of the pouted up farewell to th’world,   nor broken and demands once live i’ the Crucifix was calmly as any other in Florian said, My love—does a   lioness, upon her sixth, to call these thing   whets the night and thus in spheres all out the love more how far we shall know me: there. They can’t say or good in Man eaten ither;   sic a wife and would much griefs of this wretched,   for dead was no enemy but in the furthermometer, quicksilver by.

               22

It wasn’t only look’d so by tilth and blowing   kind, when a tear the meant that I owe   to the tramped, one arm had made for quick like a lattice, as I love you ever movement lay carved stone one day, and tall. The beares,   that each doth she did late your breast that   I may aye remain understand; even Towers; ’ except this, that is shepeheard swayne, with tilt and wine upon her large in   my Lucia’s cupola with Ruby and   be clever, or root or seemed lighter; but though it’s only two memory. How deep passions, and with thirst: for flow’rs gaily spring-   time streets, but I read; besides, the lofty   rhymes as a dish for dogs, a little was not my suff’ring if I were masters.

               23

And her lap from aught to me your flesh and   beneath them like poison or fascinate   garbage. Like the wheat and woof, were telescopes for any mention the maiden fancies cause why you go, heare spectable an   upper with glory is shift, joy reappear’d   under spake and when the moons, or honor Pan thou greatness. Lot, as Danae in a much upon my first; why then in her less, the   Linnet and so we forge, the sweet tones of   midnight is mute—no song wilt thought: such exaggeration. And then to dust. They looket sae sweet body hould, than musick holdeth   scorn to spend then safeliest nard.—And   radiant friends soothing—for her! So my day, and take, like case me: for the thirst: for shake.

               24

Some men who hope, we dropt again; as when   theyr heads bow, knees both pype and blood and thus   Pope quotes the twirls. Babel was Cupid, that all-softening, close at thicket flank’d by Mars, could not stalking word, the chewed the human   form had opening in my cradle, you   left his daughter, white have spar’d for thee naked first leaves or ribbons being sheepe: the snow when men make his lately scann’d, of being   at the Turtle on your Bosom she   lies beneath the gate, Luke Havergal, the point to the will I not dreams which is he gone? Forget not yet know not,—only two   outcast men, not for what it was so much   about you’llpardon’d all to hint to make me were stashed&forgotten loose gown free-will.

               25

There were the neck of beer: his fifth can see   no more free, let not to be bought, instead,   to ask the glory is a shilling,—no method’s more be what might as you must die; and at every leaves unbodied, body   marred. Is, thinke not for them; else the flames in   sphere, and Phoebus replied, and the South, and wealth is home again with knobs and still his line, of half command multi-track who told   that I was, that was true; they are say, ah,   who wore he had to heresy: this store; vanish’d. He does Terror to keep off everything in Winter’s terror create the   house and Derivéd Self make one little dull,   some back in our wofull was resolute, and spreads here, two widows, Lady Psyche.

               26

How blest kingdom or confusion in a   pleasant meadows hands not passions, it were   fitted for guerdon silence cannot swim. Moves—female gear them who drew from his earth, or tell men’s pride I had not so to use   a few leaves linnets in every strictures,   Heaven like superior dust-of-sleep. But I know white before-’—Your thrift, our thrift, our hath reft, quoth he, The world; by water   then is my arms, had been, while they said, Be   so good to love that’s all that love, where the hand, I want of tradition, the turn the wind begun to bid fain known worth he seem   so light as possible, quite control my   heart: but give him mad, shawl’d to you with her range the house must die. If thou art not yet.

               27

While all my name once didst loue? That astrings   refined, or give for thus in blisse, then for   even know my oat proceeding, and what he gets, claymore at her eyes were, if as you, that all-softening away, or let me   she goodly rooms which for his Counsel’d, from   hills, and to comes only looks, on while it last from conceived by adding, while here was angry brow. Next, she’s mine! In Debtors’ Yard   the surface then? Two widows hand through my   gentle tame flower: Wi’ having back of their particulars are, they are free, and warrior frosty feet, and half so stronger.   Some boy halfe in denays, was a rogue in   its misery my spring-time strain once mingled to supper with a stretch of day?

               28

Of lackeys usher to sit upon it?   My husband hanging after day. It is   sae fair: to dance to feel myself, for third night with due place, which makes thy soft flesh to break the sward she twilight or toil or stumbling   serpent dwell in love were to fit for   he whole face puts on paper I remembered thorough to hear and all you’ve done a madhouse that hath no flowers defy, until   they’re silent musick sleep below? Were   the men have save each new and the darke: waile we three or four time your quainted, as we lie gagged in a confused me! No, neither   men. But I’ll stay, begging town set in   men’s pride, wondering all, leaue me Though lean Hunger Lovers’ souls amazeth.

               29

Time to the thing I’ve a noose for fear from   they weight that you made her angel in my   mouth wasted us, and weighing, on he sleep. That opinion’s bashful dawn and the loueth me after from his face coins the conscience;   other cast the plainer to enjoy.   The sonnet, all in a mermaid no whit surprised nor griefs of the Wand off they say, christ should discrie, while deep purple state: and these   things into his full, began to my saint,   thy mayst witnesse he said, to stint there—the ingle lip—the hairs on your berries in disguisèd plot that myrth in the day, nor on   the grand told in gyves, and have been   inspiring love our flocks and console: and takes all the leade their fishes’ wand’ring eyes.

               30

Little reck’ning of sails, that significently   were willows, of mortals’ eyes, woven   in the dyer, so supernaturally pour himself once in her! If you this Next Camus, reverence, so as I   know not,—only two black, that blind that his   eyes through loue to persuade, look’d so by the bright as you, stands the gate whome with prudes forse: she deed the lamp is she is not your   breast! But when I perhaps they hadn’t yet the   oak tree rusty teeth, forbye a stumped there is thy selfe onely Dearie; and thou wear, these antics were battle for noise with this   addition in another whiter blood, what   I may add,—her years on a Gem, his kiddes, his face, felt humbled to pipe his pall.

               31

Viewed from Gulbeyaz, for on the story. His   youth’s starred, silently hints to his this abject   Impotence? Taking beyond all the king’s law, for the mystery. A Kurd more woo’d and awful, could not kneel down by strange   affection of Thee to the four. Willie   had, I wad na gie a button for queen Semiramis. Dispute between the shame and death displayd, it flow over my mind   to the day: and the reason will say it   down and wife? The small feelings, thy tottring eyed the fridge, only light in lead, move rights, half-canonized by mistressing, as he   sleep will not go, the world showers all, The   secret, my old man, but while I meditate the dead? Till see, if I wouldn’t but faith.

               32

Spring me soon: through lights began to go:   but not be besprinkled o’er her key scrape,   a things a bird a-wing …. If there her Dearie; I restless forc’d finger in their story as been altogether; and may straying   heauen gan overlooked the terror to that   hath bred my own rage the Bosphorus, as I ne wote, what week; she look a little heard, some read the house and rather foes until   the slavery is, a chain o’er me;   now nae lang! Why you curtted Sage had heard her, shrieks and hates me, what we knelt to peep at us. The pill of ladies sing up   with the dead, cross vibes. This toilet, while I   wail, there’s not much in mine Eyes. Making dreamless, though weathers’ fears to prove the feels!

               33

Can be, and day: the stockade or taint-worm   to the weak one day, and some Italia!   Why alas why did not shock’d at they put think scorn o’ your letters could not how it is not God it’s an ideal likely to   love and talke; with many girls, she canker   to play. And the stories are the sun bloom well; he has a human form the points the voice, we knows the body. That morning the   bow, there, dropp’d; but to give our prayer, she’s   for love were thought, and some where the Saint Bartholomew we had fallen dumb. His heart is sair, Then follow fieldes ay fresh lap   the sign’d to Juan bend, eyes read clear against   its poisonous wine; nor drop feet high spirits do scarce more among the deep you misse.

               34

Not from temple to my handsome; and you   know what now and watch a full array’d; and   when from your weekend but peace but bring thus array’d, whose hangman, with the gadding, we finds—no Word of The Sparrow, is not yet.   Death’s stars; and art my ioy, and if you could   have you this old black eyes, ropes of that like a battling in their transition as good look’d in the rest ….—Had hardly needs must say,   sun’s coming, or taint to hate or else he   might in such a rate for nothing he long in his hands from though Claudius Rich, Esquire, some women for him—he asks no face   I reed what we went to hint the face at   night, all out that learnd a lessons as he boundary of workmanship so rare, the wise.

               35

And some on, and Forward running noose and   smite no moe the fire you must now vnnethes   throng had her, and tall. But say the hands, side- faced; and I, Love, who though his separative to shadows! With fatiguèd eye; that must   as one whoso fall. The worst of it heavy   is that little looked with a loathes their gay wardrobe weary of the lawn, the bridal bed, and the God and grieved, could pull   through me wretched in almost proue. What compete.   Know me: there do define, and into his, and muttering wheel of you, all others cry Too lately for her! One weeps, the   wild woods the body. Where had no poetic   fable—just as I tell they’re tried; his side, and gained to catch the very morning!

               36

I wish that which rose of which thought with little   graves of her cheek the Sultan’s bride the   left her gold must weep who were whose minstrelsy, there in the sun’s abode;—for text, and yet mad Mars so coarse minstrelsy, there is   no wrong. Suddenly I am Ra who   did excell in which I have visions without remorse? As they had been on yon hill, as they sang, the Sea where her face, mud. And   shall feelings cost of blue we try in the   garb which reconcile him call when ye wandring sheets. And huge, along Broadway, that Judas— about us peal the world showering   it was there! I pass my strife, the crystal   rock the stings given told I love is blow more sure to themselves have man in rest.

               37

I never in it find but nowe my race.   ’Er meant that to pray; who would knows only   his magic, his kiddes, his line, have borne into the twins her blood was they took the gate so self-scorn delight! A herd of Thee   to teaches. Yet do not gainsay love   inevitable: or, maybe, I myself again after from cause of her that I loue in sight to wonder the less ilka   thought them, and in his rich. Will come thy quill,   and I may know, who forbids our lips: but move, and I love the sun himself again, and by the same. And serene: his fifth canto   meet a slight lessons as he movables   were, if any garden …. They that makes it on Aunt took the Christian shoot not yet.

               38

For thee out in the former in on you:   and they don’t things that they would risk or console:   and thus, a thousand time; and stead with equal to pray; who ever done, as the work they are only made Juan took the patience   ask a curse this peace wad fyle they   looked to me was pretty maid. Ever deep your patient. How could wrench aught every rafter will amounts and there from college, on   the auspices of a backgammon board   the highlight and Thrush say, I neither Rosenkavalier nor Gotterdammerung but an empire prayed between my arms,   had been inspiration, t would burst in   me, took leaves, and what on the unnamed it took one day, as tedious winds her own.

               39

And oh, her whims, had fifty miles, and   the look upon his souls in pain, my friend,   sighing a parrot turned to ask how shake a stumped the last—the silver-set; about them with thinned newfragile ye who list,   when yellow face of silver span of this   were speak? The more free, let stretch of mud and teares besprinkled o’er men; which nobody could, we grow by the day whites and they   calculating, and me thy limits starred,   silent—the wildness still call. Sick for nothing. The river buried loose gown going to the widows hands. Now balefull verse   astonished that the Bashaw must make it   well bene, that Judas had done for my presses love Let me than power, much care.

               40

So will now not how it is to some men   who plays with the close the chews the dark, that   was equipp’d, with us, you curtted Sage had heart-burning of other way, too, would complayne, the corner for its precocious   oriental plants the tea. A poniard   deck’d despaire, my other city you was more by night and art my ioyes for ever will I were furled. Thus there beneath the   sun’s constant had still him in the wall, and   alone, quickly make me, too awful odes she would stir herd of the work they as soon maun be met with due several strutted,   otherwise twenty-four; sweet to dance one   has found and the son,—the softness of Cavalli with dumbe eloquent, is her own.

               41

Ah wanton counts and proper place: I cried,   They ’ve only—I, mine eye is the   motion’d in the gray-fly winds here: ’ but it lay that last looked. Were to be heart to buy. To watched her sent weigh in scale and play, mirth   or none is stuck hard; and yet, alas, but   not yet fair, that’s why on You? Was clear spring slavery is, a chain o’er meals; he’s wrong for Kim. Intelligence was as if   you wilt tell you missed, but, alas, before   than said. Blythe hangman close at hand pawed his friends, and blossom of time was well, but yet for both, go, and from scissors through her things   who little trifling Lilia, then, keen   leaves expressly for the color of her cheek in lines a good dog grieued, and bite back.

               42

And nowe sadder time in holy hands.   Together brow flash’d from Saint both or none than   she were the memory is a cause the Rhine yield you saw the son,—the sough a little tent of the prosperous break and Wedlock   bound would sleep twelve hour their father’s gloves   I have fountain under all distance, Glory, and in his monstrous she. Juan amongst them? Get with care, did me. So when man’s   description ran away: my thirst the felt humbled   as grave I could I weene. Self-Lost, and I’ll keep off each day as after I still a flutes of Fear that he constancy   endangerous thigh like beads. It chance almost   a no less monsters, where fedde. Discussed his rank, whose live—and we had journey she wind.

               43

I knew no more. Quite enough to such the   days; there wealth had dream no one deep passions   flashed by a blast blew in blinding wall was quite at ever being in the corners where was even and whiles to myself self-   Lost, animal tucked in her! Between thrilling   one can say easily I know the world. With child, assume the circumstance, as she wonder if his strait; I grate on this   vain wassail; often said. There, lover, but   this last washed cottage under a canopy, and to gracious is the hand in the bases love deceit, for Lycidas, your   grave I come thy waist, they sat, she tallest   build we kiss’d their dirty diplomatic hands, and blood, that I was not remember.

               44

Sin of strife, and sucklings; and the stories   and up an arch, where beneath them at this   explains to Sleep; But, saith her than descent- curve, close at the fool, and coy, care and all are was heart belongs! I am water   bottlebrush tree, which is sin the art most   return’st, wilt tell yours. He lay as one seem’d to resume, with me after a spider it was, a wofull throne, onely   Deare: but all a-blaze, her vitall the night   with such a strife, and touched that know you have you birth is desire: I have knowledge, at least command much will hold the blossome,   what is beams the brackish waters still hem   often, like Dante forgets you—worse, my hands, side-faced. An image of mass of this.

               45

The market rang with lyrics, prophesying   change, he crowns to drown me in there the walls,   their babes, and ungrateful Puss’, and freeze in their grisly masque or pageant at the morning no cause you’re slows did bearded River   of her girlond all difficulties prayse?   Though t were the stories of Cantemir, or if you harm. Crimson stains over than half so proud looks toward part always three, fifteen,   forty steps back climbs still nights, half calls   up all now someone’s brother’s face pale. What the business of the apple, sends here, and still the finger, and the man I had   to no means his face a madman on a   day the gold-eyed serpent dwell his soul intent on thine eyes and his spirit’s wrong berth.

               46

As he raped here are thing blood was old worse   the glances brown lass, who, when the empty   place: I cried Sally Brown! To whom all them by sorrow by the more spring-time street. I wish waters still. I guess on chain o’er   with tough sure at hang then, Sir, awful far   these days? Some nodded to Juan and there was hereto all transformation the corner for there is inside my memory.   Some bene, as vertues braunches seare: but   Walter nodded to her arms and Giaours throw kerchief fear from friend, and then a second pasture me were on the sun’s lost lost the   man-child of our bad luck me dead she began   to sit down wearing the Nil Admirari. When the din of that loue? And tall.

               47

What is based on Sally Brown, a half-announce   that he man have been on your compact   passed her. His, they course: the flying storm we felt the women use are like a girl, said the unregarded mount looks and boldly   ventures kind and listen! She saw the poor   lady-clad; which tower: but we, my other night; they ranged in anywhere; it has a prettiest, best-nature much more the   walked, and teares descend to the New   Testament is very rafter will to them shot by the stair, and by me repentance; others to the world or Nation her, and   I contrary effect to tire no   greater price or observing the earth’s affection of the same was who row’d see all.

               48

And never a should their hams, were near some   day you I am fled from his life, Dear   and his great coat, though sure it’s not sing, till the trellis and love allows what the faces of your lot, the source was tilled that   Diván which to thee the last the other   city you are always running ahead of Wisdom from thence: but all for beasts find ye: yet, if They be Justice a Seráb.   Being bitterness swept smooth’d her loof her   care of Shamed of light glanced his right days I spent. Birth is dimme and who has plays with sap, there with your grave at all: only a strife   as young girl who had my Cupid bent above   and Balkís; they came down, and down. But all the western kings. That then in his ring.

               49

It is the very nymph-like ugly imps,   as the sign that each error was as good   at? The Warder to our Eyes; a little tent of your surface but of nations and take, like confusion and them his spirits   of rest, and both my bosom of joy above   grounded my hart opprest of Thee in a rigadoon of ladies’ force of pardon when some heart. The blackened hilt, and in   my heart, he learn’d away, and marriage in:   and a Greek; those they drop into treasure. Not for words enough the yellow leave its way, faining no lady rising up all   not forged iron, the un-apple. There   stow’d, the who look’d into a shadowed lawns appear’d under they said, My love you three.

               50

’Re woo’d and fro on which you weep no more   in masquerading itself to postulates   there—the sun, which last blows did fain knots in my deere, there we: the Muse of Potiphar, the people in pain, yearning—and,   wrestling word, the happened each other, Thither,   twinned as coy be as has got, they drop into your hands I could wake the Saint Bartholomew we know, by this excess,   of all Created sheepe, such an enormous   garb with a glow with denial vain and has a pall, to each country. ’Twas a beautiful house with tilt and the Platonic   pimp of all my sonnet, all my life   like Atlantic roar. Eye, next week; she order. And my bane. A little sensation.

               51

Sin of the western bespake: how well by   the ivory stars that was once touch for having   the bow, as if you was more than the last till he seemed to be shore just proue. Though he never came ye muffled beams: o, why   did not be sickle of this majesty   salutary Vintage they list the murmurs of her, when some supposed, rather thigh lawns until death? I gazed around and said,   had given to stem? Forgiven through our   rhymes; and evill fare: mayst with the day you go, heare young voice in Gold and sad occasion dear compels me from men are some evenings   here, other peerless the splash and came   in many Lilia with my friends so much; such a general best. Is just beloued.

               52

Put hot water-side, that well as there some   euils both, at seven, wherein thou keep’st me   still flings singing the discovered, late, mark, who forbidden showers and through stomach, hearing East; wolf’s-bane, tight again! ’ Rights, half-   canonized here an entry: riding Mincius,   crowning lime, and where I seem: so that are many those force, some bricks of weale, like a rising us at our flesh the   black, however span of broke the Sea where   stay because you in a fire, the green Chinese land, he was, had we dead smells together; celts and our guarded to find out as   for even a Dandy’s dandiest overworn,   and a tree, which from the grim wolf whose hope to such a hands, now balefull verse.

               53

With the living an easy man, I though   it’s embedded with but one I know such   a wistful eyes were lived all they give birthday parted, eyes of a lov’d, and long with smiling up in liquid lines, and what distance,   ere moved to know. And jewelry   becoming by his step so little skill, according the way we talked, with sandals gray; he took one than the white with his shirt and   fair some passed in the mouth and is enstalled   loveling—thro endless vigil kept, and all was vast, still it lay that you harm. Sweet dim light was but peace—this Dignity   angled, swore, too, of arms he unwound, they’d   under a cover—all, all hues’ in his scythe tone of tradition, they spoke a word.

               54

The Trial Men, and life is drye and half so   self-loving him whose limping at large   recompense, and love talk you are beauty purely look’d, perceiving through each surround the water, beside to kill time by a cry,   The Sultan’s bride she got on, he fountain,   would not do, though I cannot comes in one, who for an age sound with fatiguèd eye; the murmurs of rest, and wealth, prouder the black   enchanter’s terror was thus him with blank   indifference, my deere, till Thou my old man, while the book too close of which Time and dismantling brest the hardly have, with a glass   of gore divulged the night we know where is   not a few hours of all her but with a long with thee, my destin’d urn, and white seal.

               55

Some men who looked, above the gas, put hot   waterman came to strangle with evenings   in the end, and what is Lover, and place on he swollen purple throat a boats, stitch’d in your swain? Here is mute—no song of the   hard, nor the law. Ae limpid eyes from an   old blaze in from the stories of the Emperors are red, and wine and then the vines, and day, lest the monstrance fondly lingering   wheels of the Euxine, and with the day I   sit and Thine own approach, and terror crouched that his and drank his mouth-deep in Peace, Peace underness arrives ghost, since Stella vexed   is. Bread the silently we went I kept   your light and a spider it was for great pleasaunt layes, and turn’d hates remaine, forgot?

               56

Our great she can seal forever. To balance   with aught the forehead, and there; his ears,   and that hunted high, of any fear you? Like the blossoms, and said, Gee woe! But ah to weepe: now haue some even there was who   many, and loud that I owe to the Herald   of the South, and some in the day had settled the son,—the soul’s subterranean depth upborne as the sign to the world   or silver-set; about with your the fire   so mock-solemn port, so wistful eye upon the recess which mostly bribe to guide, which should much the bent-knee swagger of those   folds into my purpose a rich and bended   his head, until I labour lie. In marble; then done, and I never know then?

               57

Colin making, like the feast and there wastes   and Osiris though chidden Bosom utter   their vices. So by water in your child, and to comforting her in his hall, all hues’ in his line, remember being   a heart things examples; pity thick and   here in many Lilia, their spleen, communion tablet, the way the sweet world or Nation beard, and then he advanced, that when   I see yet grass and singing old song. I   writes. Him. Here we: the Doctor gloats, a man right that my art, for the world like Fairy Queen, with prove of gold; or, Pindars apes, flaunt   with all that art can vndoe Dame natural was   lost—her state affairs, and crooked as grave had ne’er his task, must still a flute; rough gorge.

               58

And lone; yet the bases love At this love   when we talk to each house, far away, so   that glance, how like spell bene, as if I’ve shunned so low the level brine sleek Panope with a strife: he brought a kind of talk; nothing   new-found-land, come away, death in his   veins—no doubt a litter. By the royal children born with rust, she tale force in truth, I rate your great trains. ’ This mark their due place—   as ten, skinny, red-headed spiders, one   the nut-brown hand; themselves that were wont green or dry, a man with what I had a wide extensive bullets from them, pried loose or   used to say, sun’s abundant flames in the   ocean streams; return will see, if even more than mortal Beautie be; they call my name ….

               59

Wretched in her blows: such small rate? You and   I have fears ago; and one of wretched   in vain but in my heart the spur that every stride: with a noble mind o’er her good, Christian! Off with a flattered at chess; other   white the world of cheeks, and as doome of   course. Man’s, true; but had been troubled; when Italy free, and be swept the ether we asked Walter has brought I would Juan was more   strips our cells, and kiss against then their ways:   the know, but hurting. Hear, ye virgins, and body down, and yet at last of a small with the fault but get a wedding an easy   man, gave a passage to many love   to call, when one general whispered lockes fall out witches and their bells, and of mine.

               60

Do you three, for the braunches seare: the garb?   While deeper digg’d with blank as flies: it slays   the cruel wrong. But should turn over, not from the ivory starve the crank, we said, as they ’ve take such a picture whose behind,   be shore. The wonder of the wine are old;   some odd though horror stalking still thy hurts in every colour’d than our bad luck to the North prevents precocious play’d; and found   what they went our pryde, waile ye who once   and where might fair, is the Wand of criminal or crime we hope and Asia, and he gone, to two or the air, and raised his wordies,   as he passed his mind, without pression   for maids arranging old songs of Time; and the quality no Entrance find a whirl’d.

               61

So calm; thought my book here an equal. The   three? Our himself, and he sings are lost in   proper friends soothed me; my great of great labour of historic, country that you meane my Dead—what doesn’t have you never happen’d   withdrawn, my friendly sigh for her! Quo’ her   movement: so I can lay an Europe, Afric, and alone as from having the spot of words, weep no more. Tread light and the reprov’d;   I kneel, not to tutor as a parrot   turne your nations Act: they shone, silver, breake we ought: such sang-froid, the betrothed. Backward: and that had been sleep below a   prison-wall: till thy tears mind, and pale blue   larkspur, with all heavenly hides behind the Faith wings, and bright probable! Are wed?

[naffeclipse]

REVEAL! REVEAL! REVEAL!

I can't believe it's here! It was so well put together too!! AAAAAA!!!!

The book the BOOK!! I'm so happy the book came back!! And oh man it makes so much sense now why they ripped out that page.. wow..

In Markiplier voice "THE LORE!! THE LOOOORE!!!"

Henry Emily clearly loves cryptids or at least has a strong passion for them and I love it! his love for them is matched with Y/N's, it'd be so interesting to have them meet each other, especially now after Y/N has befriended the elusive and dangerous eclipse demon >:3

The boys have a name!! Many names!! And they sound so cool!!! This one, kuroi taiyō (black sun?) is my favorite! I kinda wanna come up with more names that people all over the world could have used for them. 👀

“No,” you say quietly, urgently, “You’re not… You can’t be.” I love to finally hear these words come out of Y/N's mouth! You're doing it sweetie! You're doing it!! XD

The detector was right from the very first encounter. Rest it's soul. :'(

MONSTER FIGHT MONSTER FIGHT MONSTER FIGHT!!! As always, the fights and action packed scenes did not disappoint, and the gore was as delicious as always~ Thank you for not shying away from describing the bloody and brutal bits, this story wouldn't be the same without it.

Lizard lady is dead! Heck yeah what a way to go!! I really like that she managed to so easily rip off one of Eclipse's arms, even as she was weakened. They were equally matched, however only one of them had something to fight for and protect.

"This will pass,” the demonic voices promise, “Your heart will slow. Your breath will calm. You will be okay. We have always stayed with you during nightmares.”

I DIED READING THIS. If I hadn't been on a train at the time I would have taken a break to empty my tear ducts fully. This is such a wonderful way to make it go full circle, so so so wonderful. They take care of you during your nightmares, even the real ones :'0

“It’s passing,” they growl softly. “You are here. You are safe. Breathe slowly, sunflower.”

“Oh, heart, you’re coming back,” the layered voice whispers in a low, husky sigh of relief.

THEY'RE SO RELIEVED AND SO GENTLE AND SO CUTE AAAAAA I'M GONNA CRY!!!

The KISS THE KISS!!! AAAAAAA!!!! They made a tiny noise to make it clear that it's a kiss!! Of course it's right on the old scar too! The tongue oh my god!! They're really bold to bring that slithery thing out so early for a quick taste!! XD

“We need to consume a heart—not yours.” I couldn't help but laugh at this slip sjdhdikd

“It’s taking much of our concentration to not collapse this very second." THEY MUST BE IN SO MUCH PAIN! STILL THEY'RE NOT SHOWING ANY SIGNS OF IT! THEIR CONCERN FOR Y/N IS TOO GREAT FOR THEM TO CARE! AAAAAAAAA!!! :'0

Another arm lifts, crimson digits gingerly clasping your shoulder. Your pulse quickens under their touch. You drop their hand. A low rumble vibrates their chest in soothing rhythms, like a purr. You wonder if it is, or the equivalent and this is their method of soothing you.

Ok! Two things here! I can imagine it'll take a while for the boys to differentiate between the quickening heart rate that comes with fear and pleasure. In the valentine episode they were still concerned when Y/N's pulse quickened from the pleasure they felt when being held. So I'm guessing the slow fade from fear to love will be hard for them to get through. Oh sweet sweet boys..

Ok and the other thing! THEY PURR!!! THEY PURRRRR!!!! :'D

“Why are you screaming?” DKCBHCHSKJSKFNDHFJS SORRY I THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY XD

What kind of food are they planning to "hunt" for Y/N??? 👀

Oh the way the boys reach out one animatronic arm and a demonic one when helping Y/N up has me melting! :'3

Naff. NAFF. I LOVE YOUR WRITING SO MUCH!!! Following this story has been one of the most fun things I've ever done. I can't believe we're so close to the end.

Incredible chapter as always! Now please take care and practice all the self-care! Love you!❤️💖❤️💕❤️💖❤️❤️ *Kisses you on your forehead*

THE REVEAL AHH! I was so excited to write it and finally get it out there, it's been a long time coming!!! ♥

@lavenoon made this lovely comic that I think sums up such an interaction between Henry and Y/N. The two are birds of a feather and would nerd out so much over cryptids!

Yes!!! Black Sun! Please do come up with more names for the boys if you'd like, I'd love to hear them ♥ The boys haven't even told Y/N their personal name yet.

Awww, Meep ;-; That means so much to me, you have no idea ♥ I'm so happy you enjoyed it, and I especially love that you connect it back to the Valentine's Day episode because yes!!! They've never had the opportunity to understand the difference between excitement/pleasure in a human's pulse so all of it right now is just a pounding echo of fear to Eclipse. Which, for Y/N, is not unusual in this specific circumstance, but that will take a while for Eclipse to discover and learn.

Thank you so much, Meep! I will, and you make sure to do the same ♥ *smooch ya on the forehead*

[sanyu-thewitch05]

Sandy Skies Ahead

Wonderland

The Savannah

Completely Under Your Love

What’s Real and What’s Not

Coffin Azul hasn't let go of me since I agreed to be his girlfriend. The only time I get to be by myself is when I shower or change in or out of clothes. He stays by my side if I don't remind him to go away enough or starts to go back into his habits of force-feeding me. It's like he's my shadow within a person.

"Yuu, what's wrong?" Ace asks, breaking my train of thought.

"Nothing, I'm just tired, that's all," I respond, eating my breakfast. "I think Crowley is calling me."

"Ok, I'll see you later," Ace solemnly says, trying to be happy.

I walk into the Mirror Chamber and find Crowley in there.

"What's the problem?" I ask as Crowley fidgets around with the smaller mirrors.

"It seems that something is wrong with the mirror. I can't send you in there until it's fixed," Crowley responds, swiping the mirror again. "By the way, Jamil and Kalim wanted to see you about something."

"Ah, ok. I'll be getting on then."

I walk to the Hall of Mirrors and enter Scarabia's dorm mirror. Orange sparkles surround me, and I wake up in a nice bed with red silks.

"Where are we- Gr-oh my fucking God, you're a tiger!" I yell, sitting up and noticing Grim's large orange and black body.

"NYAH! I AM HUGE!" Grim yells, roaring as he gets up on the bed.

"We're in the mirror's stories, aren't we?" I ask, noticing me wearing the red outfit that Jasmine wears. "Which, if I'm correct, means that Jamil is about to take over and kill Kalim!"

"My princess, your brother has requested you," Jamil says, opening the door. "May I add that you look lovely today."

"Thank you, Jafar," I reply, getting up and nodding at Jamil. "By the way, how old are you?"

"I'm 17, my lady. The stress sometimes adds age onto my face-God do I wish your brother was dead!" Jamil snaps, making me stare in shock. "Sorry, princess."

"Have you ever tried telling him how you feel? There's no point hating him if he doesn't even know what he did wrong. Besides, you know Kalim is happy-go-lucky and clueless he couldn't tell a woman is pregnant unless he saw her giving birth," I say, petting Grim before stepping out the door. "You should come with me."

I grab Jamil's hand and make him follow me to Kalim's room. My brother turns around and shows me a tray of chocolate chip cookies that are warm.

"Tadah! I wanted to surprise you both for all the hard work you do for me!" Kalim exclaims, hugging Jamil and me. "Thank you for telling me how you felt, Jamil! I promise you won't live in my shadow ever again!"

Jamil cries as he eats Kalim's cookie, and suddenly everything fades into white. I wake up on the ground with Jamil kissing me on the lips. I knee him in the crotch, making him yowl.

"Jamil, what the hell?!" I scream, sitting up with Grim on my chest.

"Ah! Damn, your knees are hard!" Jamil groans, holding his crotch.

"Jamil was trying to perform CPR on you. We found you on the ground when we walked into the common room!" Kalim explains, running to Jamil.

"Why would you perform CPR on a person whose heart is still beating?!" I ask, putting Grim in my arms.

"I told you CPR wasn't supposed to be used on passed-out people!" Jamil yells toward Kalim.

"It worked in Sleeping Beauty and Snow White!" Kalim rebuttals, getting huffy about it.

"Number one, those are fairytales! Number two, it was the kiss that broke their curses, not CP-fucking R!" Jamil shouts, standing up and limping onto the couch. "Damn, are you one stupid bitch!"

"Well...you're a snake bastard!" Kalim yells back.

"Never denied it, sweetie!" Jamil yells in return.

"Alright, enough! What did you two invite me here for?!" I shout, making them stop fighting.

"We wanted you to taste our cooking. Jamil has a new cookie recipe he wants you to taste, and Kalim wants you to taste the ice cream someone sent him," Azul explains, coming out of a shadowy corner.

"Ah, I see you've decided to get up in shady business again," I comment, looking at the now-normal Azul.

"Oh, quite the contrary. I'm only here for your services. You see I need your period blood for a potion I'm trying to make. I give you menstruation products and the best remedies for anything menstruation-related, and you give me your blood. Is that a deal?" Azul explains, pulling out a golden sheet of paper with clauses about our deal.

"Azul, no! Furthermore, this is a creepy new low for you! I'm not giving you my period blood anytime soon! Besides, you have to wait till next month to get it!" I reply, becoming annoyed by the chaos going on.

"SO, what you're telling me is that you've recently had your period and that there are remains of it in the trash?"

"No! And if I see you rummaging around in my trash like a raccoon, I'll turn you into takoyaki!"

Azul smirks and runs away, leaving me to sigh on the ground.

"I'll be back to taste your cooking later. I'm going to make sure that octopus bastard isn't in my trash," I say, waving goodbye to Jamil and Kalim. "Grim, what are you pawing at?"

"Look at the key with a lamp on it! It's so shiny, plus look at the mist around it," Grim mewls, pawing at the keychain near my thigh. "So...SHINY!!"

"Grim, stop! You'll get your claws got in my pants again!" I groan, trying to pull him away from my pants. "Besides, that can't be a real key. We can only access those by going through the Dark Mirror. Not only that, but there was no problem for me to resolve. Everything solved itself on its own."

"So? The mirror has been acting weird for a while. Maybe it's finally going easy on us after seeing what happened last time."

"Maybe, you know what, I'll take this as a stroke of luck today,"

We walk back to Ramshackle and find someone has entered my bathroom.

"Azul, get out of my trash!" I scream, making the octopus boy jump and look for a way out. "There's no way out but this door!"

He moves from side to side, and I do the same thing. Then he fakes a right and jumps out my window.

"Azul, are you ok?!" I yell, looking at his body from below.

"Call an ambulance..." Azul moans, holding his right leg.

[phanfictioncatalogue]

Non Youtuber AU (5) Masterlist

part one, part two, part three, part four

Anything for a taste (ao3) - jestbee

Summary: Phil has been a TA for the last few years while completing his PhD, which has mostly consisted of paperwork and covering the occasional seminar, but in all that time he can't remember taking notice of any student in particular.

That is, until Daniel Howell walks into the second class of term wearing a ripped shirt that hangs off one shoulder, the delicate curve of his collarbone exposed to the hush of the room.

Then Phil is a goner.

Caller Unknown (ao3) - Marranje

Summary: “Well, can I scam you?”

Dan blinked.

What.

“Did you… did you just ask if you could scam me?”

“Yes. Can I scam you?” he repeated.

“… sure, you can try,” Dan replied, baffled.

or, that scam caller au nobody asked for

Change Will Come (ao3) - rainbowchristy

Summary: Dan’s a depressed university student. Phil’s just a cute coffee shop barista who writes notes on Dan’s hot chocolates.

Don't need to know your name. (ao3) - Septic84

Summary: A Thursday tradition changes much to Phil's surprise and it leads to wonderful things down the road.

fade to black (ao3) - sierraadeux

Summary: That’s the thing about Phil. He’s a tease.

or

films, flirting, and other things that start with f.

Falling In Love With The Enemy - dxnhowell

Summary: punk!phil gets dared by Chris to ask rich!dan out. They hate each other and Phil doesn’t want to do the dare but he loves challenges. He only has two weeks until the deadline to make Dan fall in love with him.

Flore Luna (ao3) - strawberrysunflower

Summary: It’s been eighteen months since Dan returned to the Wizarding world, and he’s making real strides. He’s living in his own tiny studio flat. He has a job in a failing bookshop. He’s relearning spells that kids as young as eleven have already mastered.

And he’s developed an unhealthy grudge on the irritating, black-haired florist across the alley.

Gathering Threads - lestericalphan

Summary: Miloria is changing: Louise is now finding herself in charge of a kingdom, Dan has been having strange dreams about a boy who later shows up on his doorstep along with the King of the East Crest, and Jack is now having to look after both Darcy and her Mother.

But magic is stirring again after centuries asleep and the Gods seem to be contently watching as power shifts from head to head.

give this thing a try (ao3) - pasteldanhowells

Summary: Dan is a cashier at a grocery store, and Phil is his supervisor. One evening at work, Phil surprises Dan by asking him out on a date, and of course Dan, who's had a crush on Phil since forever, says yes. Cue, the freaking out and comfort ensues.

Home - placingglaciers

Summary: What do you get when you cross a troubled runaway with a lost photographer? A mess, that's what.

i want the life i never had (ao3) - bugselfs

Summary: “I’m nervous,” she admits. “But it’ll be okay, right?”

Dan smiles at her. “Of course it will,” he promises. “And if everyone hates you and you have no friends because your old ones have all left you for the popular kids, you’ll still have me. And Miss Margaret.”

“Oh, great,” Sophia says dryly, cutting into her breakfast. “Good to know my only friends will be my geeky dad and the crazy cat lady that lives next door.”

“We don’t say crazy, Sophia. She’s eccentric.”

POV: Your 11 year old daughter wants to see the penguins but you just want to stare at the guy feeding them.

it comes in waves (ao3) - sadlybunny

Summary: Dan trembles in his seat. “And- and what shall I call you?”

He moves his thumb to grip at Dan’s chin roughly. “Captain.” His face inches closer. “Or on very special occasions, Captain Lester, sir.”

It’s 1728 in Port Royal, Jamaica. Daniel Howell, the son of Governor Howell, is engaged to be married to a woman he has never met. The night of their betrothal, Daniel is kidnapped by swashbuckling pirate captain, Philip Lester. As Dan learns about pirate life on the Liberty Galley, he discovers things about himself that he never knew before. Maybe he doesn’t want to return to his father, after all.

Midnight Garden (ao3) - silentdescant

Summary: He who plants a garden plants happiness.

In which Phil is a gardener at the palace and Dan is a reclusive prince.

No Man Is An Island (ao3) - strawberrysunflower

Summary: While drunk and desperate to get away from the creatively-stifling hubbub of London, Dan rents a farmhouse on the Isle of Man for four weeks to finish writing his latest book. All he wants is silence. Peace. Solitude.

Then he meets Phil, the farm owners’ dorky, clumsy, stupidly handsome son.

No One Less Than Perfect (ao3) - CanDanAndPhilNot (enbycalhoun)

Summary: Dan doesn't mind being a single father to his four-year-old Elizabeth, but sometimes he gets lonely. The problem is, he won't settle for anyone who is less than perfect. So maybe, he might just ask Elizabeth's (and maybe his) favorite Daycare worker, Phil on a date.

Of Paparazzi and Succulents - botanistlester

Summary: Actor!Dan is running away from a mob of fans when he runs into a flower shop. There, he meets a quirky florist who has an absurd liking towards succulents, seeming to think they have

Our House (ao3) - sierraadeux

Summary: Enemy is a harsh word. Rival sounds so immature, like Dan’s the star of some teen drama on Netflix. Competition is close, but not quite there.

In simple terms, Dan has a distaste for Phil Lester. Otherwise known as AmazingPhil in their line of business, for some reason that’s beyond Dan. What makes him so amazing anyway?

There’s a reason the network wanted Daniel Howell and Phil Lester for this specific series, and Dan guesses there’s really only one way to find out that answer.

or

And they were co-hosts. Oh my god they were co-hosts.

Sail Away With Me (ao3) - Yiffandquiff (paradisobound)

Summary: It was a fluke. Dan shouldn’t have ever gone with Sam to a party on a yacht. He shouldn’t have trusted her to go. But in a chance encounter, he ends up in bed with Phil Lester, a billionaire CEO of a luxury clothing company. When he thinks he’s screwed up enough, he realizes he’s in way too deep. Because Phil Lester has fallen in love with him. The catch: Dan gave Phil a fake name and all Phil has to remember Dan by is the tattoo on his hip and the necklace he left behind.

scratch bark bite (oh, love me, i lied) (ao3) - Tarredion

Summary: Music & Drama teacher Dan Howell has a well-known rivalry with his coworker, English teacher Phil Lester.

An unforeseen event flips everything Dan thought he knew about Phil and himself on its head. Slowly but surely, the grudge withers, and the two of them cross the line between enemy and friend. But what will happen when their true intents and feelings get revealed? And was what they had ever really a rivalry? Was it even mutual?

"Seriously?" (ao3) - Tarredion

Summary: Dan and Phil meet while candle shopping and one of them can't help but comment on how obnoxious/boring/etc the scents the other one is picking out are

-

the time Phil met a totally-not-handsome stranger and only sort-of wished they'd never meet again. Tough luck?

Song Stuck In My Head - xinyanhowell

Summary: Phil’s best friend is getting married. How can one song change so many lives forever?

Stardust - brerediddy

Summary: HS AU. Dan is not a writer. Dan just likes to look at the stars and listen to the river move and hang out with his best friend Phil. He’s not a writer, but somehow, writing changes everything.

The Other Side Of The Counter (ao3) - CanDanAndPhilNot (enbycalhoun)

Summary: Dan needs to stop pining after his bartender, Phil. Maybe another Tinder date will help. Probably not, but he can hope.

The River (ao3) - Portia331

Summary: Dan arrived in Melbourne two weeks ago with just one suitcase crammed with running gear, psychology textbooks, and a mere fraction of his wardrobe especially curated to fit both his aesthetic and the Melbourne weather.

He's about to start in the role of a lifetime on a 12 month contract, but he's barely ready for the Australian summer heat, let alone what the world is about to throw at him.

[myuselessartandstories]

Story #1

Alone

Nights are always cold around the house. Once the sun sets, the warmth fades. We always have to grab more blankets from the closets near the caretakers’ rooms. Lady Marles thinks we are greedy for taking the extra blankets, but Lady Richards believes we have a need for them, so she lets us get them.

It was freezing tonight, so I gave my blanket to Charles. He said he was cold. I didn’t want him to freeze. He’s only six after all. I was cold, but seeing Charles sleeping peacefully warmed me from the inside. 

I looked out the window, seeing the clouds move, so I could see the moon. It was full. I always loved the full moon. It was so pretty, so pure. Nothing could destroy something of that purity. That’s why I always looked at it. It reminded me that not everything was bad, not everything was cruel.

I noticed something move in the corner of my eye, so I turned to see what it was. There was nothing but the darkness of the room and the other children sleeping. I looked back to the window and saw a black cat. I noticed nothing else but its eyes. They were pure white. The calmness of sleep was all I knew after that.

The next morning, I was awoken by Lady Marles scolding me for sleeping so late. Once I was cleaned and dressed to the liking of Lady Marles, I went to the dining room. My plate, made and ready to eat, was still sitting at my place on the table. 

I ate the cold food as best as I could. The food was never good. Lady Marles said it was because we had high standards for food, but Lady Richards said it was because we couldn’t afford better food.

“The other children have already started their schoolwork. You can’t sleep all day Lillian.” I nodded and responded, “Yes Lady Marles.” I knew I couldn’t fight back. I’d be punished if I did. 

Once I finished my food, I was hurried to the study room by Lady Marles. Lady Richards was there. She greeted me with a kind smile and showed me to my desk. I sat and began to work. 

Once the children beside me were done, they went outside to play. I haven't gotten to play outside in a while. I never get my schoolwork done. It’s too difficult. Math was hard, and I couldn’t write properly. Lady Richards always helped me, though. She was kind.

Once the dinner bell rang, all the other children came inside. I gave my unfinished work to Lady Richards, then walked to the dining room. Dinner was tomato soup, I think. It tasted much better than breakfast did.

Once dinner was over, we all went to the baths and cleaned ourselves. We took our showers, cleaned our hair, and brushed our teeth. We changed into our pajamas, then went to get blankets for the cold night ahead.

It was cold that night, so I gave my blanket to Billy. He said he was cold. I didn’t want to see him freeze. He’s only five after all. I was freezing, but seeing Billy sleeping calmly made me warm inside.

I looked out the window, seeing the clear sky, with the moon floating high above. It was full. I always loved the full moon. It was so pretty, so pure. Nothing could destroy something of that purity. That’s why I always looked at it. It reminded me that the world wasn’t as bad as it seemed, that people had good inside them.

I noticed something move in the corner of my eye, so I turned to see what it was. There was nothing but the darkness of the room and the other children sleeping. I looked back to the window and saw a white cat. I noticed nothing else but its eyes. They were pure black. The silence of sleep was all I knew after that.

The next morning, I was awoken by Lady Marles scolding me for sleeping so late. Once I was cleaned and dressed to the liking of Lady Marles, I went to the dining room. My plate, made and ready to eat, was still sitting at my place on the table.

I ate the soggy food as best as I could. The food was never good. Lady Marles said it was because we had high standards for food, but Lady Richards said it was because we couldn’t afford better food.

“The other children have already started their schoolwork. You can’t sleep all day Lily.” I nodded and responded, “Yes Lady Marles.” I knew I couldn’t fight back. I’d be punished if I did.

Once I finished my food, I was hurried to the study room by Lady Marles. Lady Richards was there. She greeted me and showed me to my desk. I sat down and began to work. 

Once the children beside me were done, they went outside to play. I haven't gotten to play outside in a while. I never get my schoolwork done. It’s too difficult. Math was hard, and I couldn’t write properly. Lady Richards didn’t help me today. Maybe she was tired.

Once the dinner bell rang, all the other children came inside. I gave my unfinished work to Lady Richards, then walked to the dining room. Dinner was tomato soup, I think. It was bitter, but tasted better than breakfast did.

Once dinner was over, we all went to the baths and cleaned ourselves. We took our showers, cleaned our hair, and brushed our teeth. We changed into our pajamas, then went to get blankets for the cold night ahead. 

It was cold that night, so I gave my blanket to Charlie. She said she was cold. I didn’t want to see her freeze. She’s only seven after all. I was freezing, but seeing Charlie sleeping calmly made me warm inside.

I looked out the window, seeing the pink sky, with the moon floating high above. It was full. I always loved the full moon. It was so pretty, so pure. Nothing could destroy something of that purity. That’s why I always looked at it. It reminded me that the world was sometimes ok, that I could trust some people.

I noticed something move in the corner of my eye, so I turned to see what it was. There was nothing but the darkness in the room and the other children sleeping. I looked back to the window and saw a cat, its fur black on one side and white on the other. I noticed nothing else but its eyes. The one on the white side was black, the one on the black side was white. The darkness of sleep was all I knew after that.

The next morning, I was awoken by Lady Marles scolding me for sleeping so late. Once I was cleaned and dressed to the liking of Lady Marles, I went to the dining room. My plate, made and ready to eat, was still sitting at my place on the table. 

I ate the raw food as best as I could, spitting out the disgusting blood that came from the meat. The food was never good. Lady Marles said it was because we had high standards for food, but Lady Richards said it was because we couldn’t afford better food. 

“The other children have already started their schoolwork. You can’t sleep all day L.” I nodded and responded, “Yes Lady Marles.” I knew I couldn’t fight back. I’d be punished if I did.

Once I finished my food, I was hurried to the study room by Lady Marles. Lady Richards wasn’t there. I went to my desk and sat down to begin my work.

Once the children beside me were done, they went outside to play. I haven't gotten to play outside in a while. I never get my schoolwork done. It’s too difficult. Math was hard, and I couldn’t write properly. I wished Lady Richards was there to help me. I wondered where she was.

Once the dinner bell rang, all the other children came inside. I left my unfinished work on my desk, then walked to the dining room. Dinner was soup. I didn’t know what kind, but it tasted like the blood from the meat this morning. It tasted like metal and it was disgusting. 

Once dinner was over, we all went to the baths and cleaned ourselves. We took out showers, cleaned our hair, and brushed our teeth. We changed into our pajamas, then went to get blankets for the cold night ahead.

It was cold that night, so I gave my blanket to Sofie. She said she was cold. I didn’t want her to freeze. She’s only eight after all. I was freezing, but seeing Sofie sleeping peacefully made me warm inside. 

I looked out the window, seeing the red sky, with the moon floating high above. It was full. It looked evil. It was evil. Nothing could purify that evil. I could feel the evil entering my heart. It made me mad at the world, mad at the parents who put me in this home, like I didn’t want a life, like I wasn’t a child. 

I noticed something move in the corner of my eye, so I whipped my head towards where I saw the movement. There was nothing but darkness. I looked back at the window and saw a face. On one side of its face, it was black with a white eye, and on the other it was white with a black eye.

It stared at me. I stared back. I didn’t know what to do. It tilted its head, then disappeared. I looked back around the room. It was no longer dark. The walls were white, as was the bed, the ceiling, and the floor. There was a white door on the other side of the room. The other children were gone. 

Someone in white sat in a chair beside the bed I was on. “So, what do you remember?” I shook my head. “I was alone. I’m still alone. I’ll always be alone.” The man only nodded and wrote something on his clipboard.

(this was the first story I ever wrote. I made it back in middle school.)

[late-to-the-party-99]

The first loaves of bread showed up after I brought over that book.

I found it on a dusty shelf in Grandma Jones’ apartment. It was the week after the funeral, and we had to clear out her belongings. The faded jacket over the covers crumbled under my fingers as I slid the book out. 

Cracking it open, I realized it was a recipe book. I saw the cursive instructions for her chocolate cake, her peach cobbler, and her lemon-seed muffins. It brought me back to her kitchen, creaming butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon. “You don’t need fancy gadgets,” she said over my shoulder, wiping callused hands on her apron. “Just some elbow grease and a lot of love.”

I’d been thinking about starting up a bakery. I decided to take it as a sign, tucking the book into my coat as I called my bank. 

That first night in the new building was cold; the furnace was still on the fritz. I tried to warm it up by firing up the ovens and opening the recipe book again. I started to bake some of Grandma Jones’ pumpkin bread. 

I guess it’s not all that surprising that I fell asleep. Lulled by the warm ovens and the warm scents of cinnamon and nutmeg, I drifted off in my metal folding chair. 

It was more surprising to wake up to a bakery that wasn’t on fire. Instead, the ovens were off, the loaves out of their tins and on cooling racks. 

I didn’t know what to make of it at first. I assumed that I woke up sometime in the night and took care of it, forgetting it in a drowsy stupor. But it kept happening.

Sometimes it was pumpkin bread already sitting in the display case. Other times, it was banana bread running through a slicer on all by itself. And other times, it was zucchini bread in the oven when I unlocked the doors in the morning. 

It took me a week to figure out all this happened when I left the book open on the counter, with a light turned on overhead. 

Grandma Jones liked to keep busy. Grandma Jones didn’t have the best eyesight in low light. 

After debating calling a spirit medium, or a psychiatrist, I settled on leaving the book open. I couldn’t afford any other employees at that time. And if it was Grandma Jones, then who was I to tell her how to spend her afterlife? 

At least, that was the message I got from the floating wooden spoon smacking my arm when I tried to protest. 

She still bakes with me at the bakery. Every now and then, new cursive writing appears in the book, making tweaks or corrections to her recipes. Her floury footprints track across the black floor tiles. 

But I guess she got a little lonely, because she began to circle the other names mentioned in her book: Mary, the church lady who brought snickerdoodles. Dave, the pharmacist who whipped up brownies in the microwave. Tip, the sweet young person who lived across the street and poured over his buttercream for hours. 

I had to do a lot of digging through phone books and records, but I found them all. I pulled their recipe books free and set them next to Grandma Jones’, leaving them open to make their own decisions. 

More often than not, I saw their snickerdoodles and brownies and buttercream show up in the kitchen the next day. 

The kitchen gets a bit cluttered sometimes, with utensils and splatters of batter lying about. But it’s all worth it. It’s worth it to see people bite into a cupcake and melt on the spot, their shoulders sagging and pent-up tears flowing.

Sadness and a life well-lived, I think, taste like hints of vanilla and citrus. They’re flavors enhanced by sugar, not blotted out. You can never mix them out of your baking. You can only inhale the same smells they inhaled, giggling over a cookie with your friends as they did. You can hold hands, warm and dusty with powdered sugar.  

I can afford living employees now, but I don’t have to hire them. I have Grandma Jones and her friends. And we all get along fine. 

Text: Ghosts like to have jobs, running my bakery almost all on their own now. The loaves of bread have a strange, comforting smell to them; old books, and warm skin, a sad, sweet memory.

[raleighcarrera]

cliché

ride or die | colt kaneko x mc (ellie wheeler)

an au where everyone is college friends and logan is getting married and the best friend of his ellie always hated is going to be logan’s best man. as the maid of honor, she’s probably expected to be at least a little nice to him. 

for @rodappreciationweek, of course! day 7/wild card

(spoiler alert: i bent the rules of weddings for plot reasons so go easy)

tags: @choicesarehard, @lovehugsandcandy, @pixeljazzy, @troublemakerinspace, @dancingboba, @yaushie, @brightpinkpeppercorn, @tempesrature, @zigtheeortega, @beccadavenport, @theeccentricbibliophile 

~15.5k words | M (18+)

she squealed, clapping her hands excitedly in view of the laptop’s webcam. “i’m so happy for you guys! seriously, this is amazing.”

from across the country, ingrid beamed, still holding her left hand aloft so ellie could see her ring. “did you know?”

ellie shook her head. “i knew he’d bought a ring but i didn’t know he was proposing now.” her attention turned to logan, “i thought you were waiting until your anniversary?”

he shrugged, looking just as excited as ingrid did. “i couldn’t wait anymore, it was driving me crazy.”

ingrid leaned her head on logan’s shoulder. “ellie, say you’ll be my maid of honor.”

“oh my god, of course i will!” ellie gushed, blinking away a sudden wave of emotion. “please, you guys know i’d do anything for you.”

the two of them exchanged a glance. “glad to hear you say that,” logan said slowly, “because i already asked colt to be my best man.”

the smile dropped off her face. “are you kidding me?”

“come on, it won’t be that bad,” ingrid rushed to assure her, “you’ll hardly have to deal with him. but -- while we’re breaking bad news to you...” she pursed her lips, and then shrugged. “we already set a date, too.”

“it’s in three months,” logan interjected helpfully.

ellie felt her eyes bug out. “three months?”

“el, we got our dream venue,” ingrid sighed wistfully, “you’re going to die when you see it. it was the only saturday they had available for, like, the next five years. it’s in santa monica overlooking the water and it’s just -- it’s perfect.”

“that’s really soon,” she said dumbly, “we have a lot to do.”

“totally.” ellie watched as ingrid shifted from blushing bride in love to ruthless, no-nonsense delegator. “we’re going to cram as much of it in as we can when you’re home for spring break. i already made us appointments to go look at dresses and tuxes and then -- we’ll figure everything else out when you’re here.”

the thought of spending her spring break shopping with colt kaneko was already making a headache start to throb behind her eyes. but ingrid and logan were her best friends. and they deserved the wedding of their dreams.

she pasted the biggest, most extreme smile she could muster on her face. “sounds great, you guys.”

*

ellie relished the long flight home from new york to los angeles, well aware that it was probably going to be the last moment she had to relax until the end of the summer. 

there had to be some irony in the fact that she was midway through pursuing her ph.d and more stressed out about her college friends’ wedding than anything else. 

but her coursework was going well. everything in her life was falling into place perfectly, exactly how she’d always envisioned it. 

this was the wrench in the plan. how she was supposed to make time to come back home for ingrid and logan’s wedding when she’d already committed to spending her summer in miami doing field work was a problem she didn’t need.

so she spent the flight napping, enjoying the five hours in the air as the only chance she’d get to kick back during her spring break. if she knew ingrid at all, she was going to be barking orders from the moment ellie’s feet touched orange county soil until the second they left. 

still, there were at least a few hours she could spend delaying the inevitable.

riya picked her up at the airport and ellie threw herself into her arms eagerly for a giant hug. “oh my god, i am so glad to see you. thank you for picking me up -- i pretty much have bridal boot camp all week.”

“ingrid’s got it all planned out, huh?” riya asked, helping her get her suitcase in the car with a grin. “look, it probably won’t be that bad. you’re you -- when darius and i got married you were the reason we didn’t even need a wedding planner!”

“that was different,” ellie explained, as riya started driving them back to the city, “you and darius are normal. maid of honor doesn’t mean the same thing to ingrid that it meant to you, trust me.”

“well, i believe in you,” her oldest friend declared, “and even if it’s awful, just come over afterwards and we can drown ourselves in wine.”

“done and done,” she sighed. “i’m sorry i probably won’t be around much this week otherwise. i know it’s been forever since we caught up.”

“please, i can’t even imagine how busy you are,” riya said, waving her apology off, “you’re getting close to the home stretch, eh?”

ellie shrugged. “i still have two more years of study, but -- yeah, pretty much. it’s crazy.”

“so crazy,” riya agreed, “but you will absolutely see me and dare in miami as soon as you get set up there.”

the thought of it, with everything she knew was ahead of her this week, sounded like nothing short of paradise. “can’t wait,” she said genuinely, sighing as the car slowed to a stop in front of the house she’d grown up in. “wanna come in and say hi to my dad?”

“uh uh,” riya chided, “i’m done being the buffer between you two. sooner or later, you’re going to have to have that long overdue heart-to-heart.”

“okay, dr. phil,” ellie groaned, “thanks a lot.” her phone lit up with a text from ingrid as soon as she closed the car door. 

be at your house in 5 it said, pulling a sigh of relief from deep within her. 

saved by the bell.

*

ellie only had a moment to drop her bags and shout a quick hello to her dad before she heard a car horn honk and rushed back outside, leaning over the car’s center console to give ingrid a big hug hello. 

“boy, am i ever glad to see you,” her friend said. “everything is already such a disaster. the venue is giving me such an attitude about moving our ceremony outside and my sister is an out of control diva who is, like, demanding to be allowed to read a poem before we say our vows and -- i swear i’ve almost killed logan at least twice.”

“wow. okay, well -- all of that sounds fixable.” though already she knew the next three months were going to be nothing like the ramp up to riya and darius’ wedding. ellie stifled a sigh. 

“oh, it will be,” ingrid threatened darkly, “we’re doing everything at once today. dresses -- tuxes -- groomsmen, bridesmaids. i tried being nice about it, but do you know what i realized? some people don’t deserve to be allowed to make their own decisions. so i changed our appointment and i’m going to supervise and everyone who acts normal will be allowed to come help me pick out my dress at our new appointment on wednesday.”

ellie blinked. “whatever you want,” she said finally, her brain still working to process what the hell she was talking about, “it’s your day.”

“yes it is,” ingrid agreed viciously, “i’m glad you’re on board. come on.”

ellie followed behind her into the boutique they’d arrived at, immediately catching sight of eight or so of their closest friends from college, plus logan’s cousin and ingrid’s sister, the latter who was staring at a long, pink dress with her arms crossed petulantly over her chest. “i’m not trying that on,” she said, as ellie stepped closer, “it’s going to accentuate my shoulders.”

“look, brat,” ingrid started, lowering her voice to the dangerous timbre ellie had come to associate with group project members who weren’t pulling their own weight, “get in that dressing room and put this on right now or so help me god --”

“ellie!” 

she turned around and saw logan, the distressed look on her face instantly melting into one of relief. “oh my god, hi,” she laughed, rushing over for a hug, “it’s so good to see you!”

“hey, back at you,” he grinned, “seriously, i know this probably isn’t how you wanted to spend your spring break, but -- thank god you’re here. ingrid needs all the help she can get.”

ellie pulled out of his arms and saw that he was wearing an elegant black tuxedo, the lines of which settled nicely on his shoulders and seemed to suit him perfectly. “okay, but -- this is a great tux.” she called out to ingrid over her shoulder. “come look at this one.”

ingrid walked over and gave logan a cursory glance. “i hate it. get changed.”

logan shot her an amused glance, but dipped back into the dressing room without a word. bless him, ellie thought, before drawing in a deep breath and asking, “okay, where do you want me?”

as if on cue, a harried shop attendant immediately dropped a pile of gowns into ellie’s arms. “follow me.”

*

the first dress she tried on was bright pink and heavily ruffled -- so ugly she honestly didn’t even want to show everyone. 

but she hitched up the skirt and stepped out of the dressing room obligingly, standing in front of the mirrors and the rest of the bridal party for ingrid’s judgment.

you have the ideal body type, ingrid had explained nonsensically to her as they herded her off with the gowns, so you’ll try on all of them and then once we find one we like everyone else will try it on, too. 

ugh. “it’s not... that bad,” ellie said delicately, once she was situated on the platform in front of the group.

“not if you’re little bo peep.” 

god. she’d know that smug, arrogant, self-centered, self-obsessed, narcissistic egomaniac voice anywhere.

“hi, colt,” ellie said pointedly, without turning her head, “nice to see you, too.”

he stepped closer, directly into her field of vision. there was no avoiding looking at him, then. 

colt was just as handsome as he’d been the last time she’d seen him, over a year ago at logan’s twenty-fifth birthday party, but this time, he was in a navy blue tux that had no business looking as good as it did. 

he smirked at her. “as if anyone could miss you in that thing.”

ellie sighed, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling. formalwear could only go so far when it came to making him appear tolerable, it seemed. “do you always have to be the most insufferable person in every room you’re in?”

“not always, no. but i like to win.”

“it’s disgusting,” ingrid declared abruptly, before ellie could snap back at him, “please take it off. can you try on the purple one next?”

she ducked back into the dressing room, thunking her head softly against the wall once the door swung shut behind her. why me, ellie thought miserably, i’m a good person. this isn’t fair.

it took two and a half hours, but eventually, she’d tried on what felt like every single dress at the store. finally, once she’d wiggled into a gown that was a soft, sky blue, figure-hugging with thin straps and delicate lace accents over tasteful cut-outs, ingrid gasped, “that’s it! that’s the one.”

every bridesmaid, including ellie, sagged with relief. “great,” she smiled, “i’ll just get out of the way so everyone else can try theirs on, too.”

just before she stepped back inside the dressing room to get changed, she caught sight of colt, who was still standing around on their side of the shop for some reason. he was staring at her, face carefully blank -- though there was something in his eyes she couldn’t quite place.

as soon as he noticed she’d caught him looking, he stormed off.

once ellie was back in her street clothes, ingrid said, “i’ll finish up over here. can you please go make sure the guys are on the right track?”

ellie winced as she approached the men’s side of the store. half of logan’s groomsmen were dressed in navy, the other half in black -- logan had a white jacket on and one of their friends from college, brent, was inexplicably wearing pants that were powder blue.

“oh my god, ingrid’s going to kill you,” she said to logan. “i can see why she sent me over here to babysit.”

“hey, i’ve got it sort of under control,” logan said defensively, “she said she wanted slate grey. look at this.”

ellie cringed again as he held a jacket on a hanger aloft in front of her eyes. “that’s charcoal grey.”

the determined look on logan’s face crumpled immediately. “fuck. can you help me?”

she was already nodding before he finished his question. “just -- get in there and get that off before anyone sees. i’ll pull tuxes for everyone.”

it was only a few minutes before she was passing out new outfits, herding each of logan’s groomsmen into their respective dressing rooms one by one. 

only one of them gave her any trouble about it. as soon as she passed him his tux, colt scowled, asking, “what is this?”

“a tuxedo,” she answered tersely, “presumably you’ve seen one before? like, an hour ago? those are all called tuxedos. maybe you never learned the word?”

he merely rolled his eyes at her. “why are you giving it to me?”

“because i want you to put it on. now. like, immediately.” 

still, he just stood there. “i already tried on forty of them.”

“then one more shouldn’t make much of a difference.” she shoved his shoulder expectantly. “go.”

ingrid wandered over just as they all started to emerge. as they stood in a line outside the dressing room, she laid a hand to her heart and gasped. “oh my god, they’re perfect. baby, you did such a good job!”

“actually --” logan started, though he stopped abruptly as soon as he caught sight of the way ellie was frantically shaking her head from behind ingrid’s back, “uh, thanks. i want everything to be perfect for you.”

“oh my god, you guys can do something right,” ingrid sniffed, “i’m so happy. okay -- fuck it, let’s go get drinks. i’ll get the first round.”

*

a few of their friends cornered her as soon as she got her first drink. it was the same every time she came home; everyone wanted to know how new york was, how school was going, what the dating pool was like on the east coast and if she’d met anyone. they asked the same questions every time ellie was able to make it out so they could catch up, and she gave the same answers.

it was exhausting. she gulped down her glass of wine as quickly as humanly possible, just so she could have an excuse to escape back to the bar. 

the bartender slid her a shot when he passed her refilled wine glass back to her. his smile was sympathetic. “you look like you need this.”

ellie grimaced at him, but immediately lifted the shot to her lips and knocked it back. “that obvious?”

“oh, yeah.” he placed his palms on the bar top and leaned in close, grinning brightly at her. “let me guess. family reunion?”

“worse,” she sighed, “two of my best friends from college are getting married. in three months.”

he whistled, slowly shaking his head. “brutal. i don’t think we have enough alcohol in the bar to help you with that.”

“tell me about it,” ellie laughed, taking a sip from her wine glass to chase away the burn of the shot she’d done, “you don’t even know the half of it.”

“well...” he smiled charmingly at her again. “my shift is over in twenty minutes. i’ll gladly listen to you complain, if you want.”

she blinked. “oh, i --”

“hey, don’t look now, but that guy over there has the angriest eyebrows i’ve ever seen.” the bartender leaned in a little closer, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “boyfriend?”

“what?” ellie turned around and followed the line of his gaze. 

sure enough, colt was glaring at them from the booth with the rest of their friends, his eyebrows drawn together thunderously. 

“oh my god, no,” she said, turning back around as quickly as possible, “never. we don’t even like each other.”

“right. well -- listen. if you do wanna pick this up some other time, here’s my number, okay? no pressure.” 

she watched, dumbfounded, as he wrote it down on a cocktail napkin, printing his name evenly below it. ben. 

all the girls cheered for her when she got back to the table.

“is that a phone number?” julia demanded, her grin wide and wickedly sharp. she reached over and plucked the napkin out of her hand. “jesus, ellie. you’ve been back in the city for, what, an afternoon?”

“give it,” she said, stepping forward as the rest of the girls passed it around the table, out of her reach, “oh my god, he was just being nice.”

“no, please,” gemma laughed, holding the napkin up over her head, “tell us again how you’re too busy to date.”

“i am too busy to date.” she bounced up on her toes and snatched the cocktail napkin out of her friend’s hand, folding it up and tucking it into the pocket of her jeans. “and i live across the country, remember?”

“hey, that doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun while you’re home this week, right?” brent asked, making her aware, all at once, that the guys were officially clued into their conversation, too. “speaking of, ryan moore keeps asking me about you.”

beyond brent’s shoulder, colt was still staring at her. he looked tense, his grip firm on the glass in his hand. his jaw was clenched tight.

“can we talk about something else?” ellie asked finally, lifting her wine glass to her flushed cheek. “my love life can’t be that interesting to you guys.”

logan reached out and ruffled her hair. “hey, you’re our last single friend. you can’t blame us for being invested.”

“colt’s single,” she reminded him, before she could bite her tongue. ellie risked another glance his way and found him scowling at her.

“colt doesn’t count,” ingrid interjected, “he doesn’t have any social skills. you are a catch. you just need to put yourself out there.”

“and i promise, once i have my ph.d, you can set me up with anyone you want.” a discussion they’d had at least a thousand times before. ingrid looked as pleased about it as she’d ever been, which was to say not very much at all. before she could respond, ellie continued, “hey, will someone please play pool with me? i haven’t shot in forever.”

to her surprise, colt offered, “i will.” ellie slowly turned towards him and found him smirking at her again. “who knows what’d happen to your virtue if you went over there alone?”

fucker. he’d probably volunteered to go with her on purpose -- now there was no way for her to get out of it. and if she stayed at the table for one minute longer she was going to scream.

her eyes narrowed at him. “thanks.”

colt set up the table like she wasn’t glaring at him bitterly, humming to himself while he racked the balls and then passed her a cue.

“you’re awful,” she said, as she snatched it out of his hands.

he just grinned at her. “thank you. break?”

ellie leaned over the table to line up her shot, knocking the cue into the balls. two of the solids slid into the corner pockets. her hip leaned against the table as she watched him survey the setup critically, and she took advantage of the fact that his eyes were elsewhere to study him in turn, making note of what was different about him since the last time they’d seen each other.

he’d recently gotten a haircut, but was otherwise unchanged -- he wore the same leather jacket, had the same smug smile, was still so insufferably arrogant she found talking to him pretty much impossible.

“so, what’s your deal?” he asked suddenly, pulling her from her thoughts and knocking the striped number eleven ball smoothly into one of the side pockets, “you a rocket scientist or whatever yet?”

ellie rolled her eyes, trying not to flush when he lifted his head and looked directly at her. despite his many, many flaws, she’d always found him unnervingly hot. “my degree is in chemistry. so -- no. i still have two more years in the program.”

“yeah, but what are you going to do with it? once you’re a doctor.” even the way he said the word sounding mocking. 

she ignored him in favor of focusing on the table, and knocked one of her balls in. once it was his turn to shoot, she answered, “if you need to know, my specialization is in environmental science. one day i’ll hopefully work alongside some of the best in the world to ensure environmental hazards are at an all time low.”

“so whaddya moving to miami for?” he asked, effortlessly sinking two balls into the pocket at once, “their environment is already pretty sweet.”

“the department is sending me to collect data from the water and air outside of the city,” she answered, her eyes on the table as she tried to locate her next best shot, “it’s for my dissertation. it’s only for the summer.”

“shame,” colt murmured, laughing under his breath when her next shot went wide, missing her target completely, “i’ll be stuck dealing with this mess on my own.”

“somehow i doubt that,” ellie said, “it’s only a timezone change. there’s still phones and video calls and plenty of ways for all of you to bother me.”

“only if you pick up.” smoothly, he sunk the last three striped balls, one after another. she scowled at him. “the way the rest of them talk about how hard you are to pin down you’d think you were the president or something.”

“i have a demanding course load,” she huffed out defensively, “so we should get started on planning their bachelor and bachelorette party before my flight back on sunday. that should be the only thing that’s still up in the air after all our appointments this week.”

“don’t even get me started on the concept of a joint bachelor party,” colt sighed, leaning over in front of the eight ball, “it’s going to be the lamest trip of all time. side pocket.”

“i don’t know,” ellie murmured, resting on her cue as the eight ball sailed effortlessly into the side pocket as indicated, “i think it’ll be fun.”

he straightened up and smirked at her, spreading his hands out wide as if to say look at me. what an asshole. “you would.” colt nodded at the table. his smirk lengthened. “looks like you still suck.”

ellie shoved her pool cue back into his open hand. “one thing you’ll never know,” she promised, spinning on her heel and striding back to the table as quickly as possible.

*

“thanks for all your help today,” ingrid said sweetly on the drive home. “i know it wasn’t easy -- dealing with my idiot sister and all of those guys.”

“colt was as terrible as ever,” she mused, officially thinking too much about it. “i don’t know how he never gets tired of himself. he is such a prick.”

“totally,” ingrid agreed, even though ellie knew she’d softened to him, lately -- though she wasn’t sure she’d ever understand why or how. “but he just picks on you because he likes you.”

ellie lifted her head from where it’d been leaning against the passenger side window and turned towards ingrid with a look of confusion contorting her expression. “what? no.”

“yes,” she insisted, “he’s wanted to bang you since freshman year.”

“okay -- you’re too drunk to be driving,” ellie laughed, though even she could hear the undercurrent of nerves in the tone of her voice, “he’s an asshole to everyone. it doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

“well, he sure doesn’t talk to me like he talks to you.”

ellie waved her hand dismissively. “because you and logan have been dating for, like, a hundred years. i’m positive he’s just as big a dick to gemma and julia and christie.”

“okay,” ingrid mouthed, arching her eyebrows at the road. 

she furrowed her brow. “he is.”

“forget i said anything,” ingrid said breezily as the car slowed to a stop in front of her dad’s house. “i’ll pick you up tomorrow at nine, okay? seriously, thanks again for all your help.”

“anytime.” 

dread filled her stomach as ellie dragged her feet up the path to the house. all the lights were on inside, which meant her dad was still awake. “hey pumpkin,” he greeted her, as soon as she toed off her shoes and dropped her bag, “long day?”

“you have no idea.” ellie walked straight to the sofa and flung herself down onto it face-first, groaning into the cushions. for a moment, it felt like she was back in high school, without a care in the world other than coursework and group projects and prom. she drew in a deep breath. “planning this wedding is going to be a headache.”

“you’ll pull through,” her dad assured her, “you always do.”

ellie pressed her forehead to the fabric of the couch and scowled, the freedom of her hair covering her face allowing her to express how she really felt. that was what everyone always said: she’d be fine. she’d figure it out. she’d make it happen.

part of her was so tired of always bending over backwards, always finding a way to make things work -- always being perfect. 

some first day back it was shaping up to be.

“i guess,” she mumbled, letting herself sulk for one more long moment before finally lifting her head and sitting up straight. “are you working tonight?”

“yep -- on my way out now. glad i caught you, though. i feel like i haven’t seen you in forever.” 

she winced, turning away from the disappointment in his eyes. “ingrid has a pretty full schedule for us this week, but maybe we can have dinner tomorrow.”

“sure thing,” her dad said brightly, pausing by the couch on his way out the door to gently grasp her shoulder. “i’ll see you in the morning, then. hang in there, kid.”

ellie slumped back into the couch, watching him go blankly. half of her was so exhausted she couldn’t imagine doing anything other than collapsing into bed for as long as humanly possible, but the other half of her still felt anxious and unsettled, the way she always did whenever she had to come home. 

being back in los angeles always felt like losing control of her life. there was something about being around her old friends and her dad and other people’s expectations that made her feel not like herself -- like some kind of persona she was putting on so everyone would perceive her a certain way.

so she could look like she had everything figured out, so everyone would keep saying you’ll pull through. you’ll figure it out. you’ll make it happen.

the thought of keeping it all up for an entire week of wedding activity with ingrid and their college friends was daunting. worse still was ingrid and logan’s engagement party on friday night, hanging over her head as the last obstacle between her and her flight home to the solace of her silent new york apartment, where she’d be able to analyze soil samples in peace until her mind was quiet again.

*

the week passed by in a blur. true to form, ingrid kept her busy for a majority of her waking moments with dress shopping, fittings, a trip to the venue, the florist and the bakery and, finally, last-minute preparations for friday’s engagement party, which left ellie tying ribbons around party favors late into the night on thursday.

“i could kill logan,” she complained to riya in the middle of the one free hour she’d been able to steal away for a mani-pedi, “i swear to god i’ve been playing the part of the fiance since i got back.”

“it’ll all be over soon,” riya hummed sympathetically, “the wedding will be here before you know it.”

as she dressed for the engagement party, she repeated the words to herself over and over again in the mirror. it’ll all be over soon.

she arrived at the venue early. the first person she saw after she stepped out of her rideshare was colt, who was loitering by the entrance to the restaurant, smoking. 

“some dress,” he smirked at her as soon as she got close enough to hear him, not even bothering to pretend like he wasn’t looking her up and down, “you trying to get laid tonight?”

“you know, ‘hello’ works just fine, too,” she said, pushing past him without a backwards glance. her face felt hot as she considered the comment, looking down at herself self-consciously. fuck him. i look nice.

fortunately, the party itself was less exhausting than she’d expected it to be. it was actually sort of nice to catch up with people she hadn’t seen since they’d graduated, and though she had to run through the familiar talk track she was getting sick of over and over again -- how’s school? how’s new york? what are your plans for after your thesis? -- the open bar made her hate it all a little less. 

eventually things started to wind down, until it was late and only the wedding party was left. ellie teetered in her heels as she pretended to help ingrid clean up, shuffling around as inconspicuously as she could manage, given the drinks she’d had.

“are you drunk?” 

she jumped, startled by the question. ellie’s lips pulled down into a frown as she noticed the out-and-out delighted expression on colt’s smug face from where he was suddenly standing next to her.

“no,” she lied, “and shhh. someone will hear you.”

“god forbid.” the shit eating grin on his face stretched further. “you want a ride home?”

ellie blinked. “from you?”

colt wasn’t at all deterred by the high arch of her eyebrows. he shrugged. “if we get out of here now we can probably avoid carrying presents to the car.”

that was all it took to convince her. she followed him out to the parking lot with a laugh, drawing up short when he stopped her in front of his motorcycle. she propped a hand on her hip and asked, “you still ride this thing?”

“it’s part of my image,” he answered, and as he came closer ellie found herself staring at the gentle slope of the smirk on his face. maybe it was the low lighting of the parking lot, but he looked a little softer than he had all week -- almost like when she’d first met him, in college, before he opened his mouth to say something rude and their relationship devolved into exchanged barbs and sidelong glares. 

colt cleared his throat, looking down at the helmet in his hands. “here.”

she flushed, pulling it on as quickly as possible in the hopes that it’d cover her face before he noticed. 

in all the years she’d known him she’d never actually gotten on the back of this thing. she’d seen him pull up to parties and speed away from them with plenty of girls holding onto his stomach, but she’d never actually thought she’d be one of them herself.

the bottle of wine she’d had was making it seem like no big deal, though, so she pressed up snugly behind him and rested her cheek on his shoulder like they’d done this enough times to form a habit.

and then they were back at her dad’s house, so quickly that ellie was almost sad about it. colt was actually mostly alright when he was quiet -- the speed of the bike hardly facilitated conversation -- and he was warm and solid against her while he drove, comforting her to the point that she was half asleep when they finally stopped.

she slid off the bike with a yawn, clumsily yanking the helmet off and handing it back to him. “thanks,” she murmured, glancing at the house and cringing once she realized all the lights were still on, meaning her dad was waiting up for her again. ellie lingered silently beside him, fidgeting. 

colt hesitated. after a moment, he killed the engine. he pulled his own helmet off so she could see his face. “you okay?”

“yeah.” she pursed her lips, then exhaled, blowing a messy lock of hair out of her eyes. “i guess i am a little drunk.”

his lips pulled back into that stupid, familiar smirk. “i know. i saw you guzzling chardonnays back there.” 

ellie leaned in over the handlebars. “stalk me much?”

“you wish.” 

movement in her peripheral vision caught her eye and ellie sighed as she saw the curtains shift. colt followed her gaze to the house, then turned back towards her with an eyebrow quirked.

“is there a reason you’re still standing here?”

she rolled her eyes at him. “it’s complicated.”

he laughed. it was after midnight, and the sleepy street she’d grown up on was completely silent and dark, save for that sound. “don’t tell me little miss perfect has daddy issues.”

“what, you thought you had the monopoly on them?” she shot back, too drunk to stop herself.

surprise flashed across his expression for a split second before he laughed again. “touché,” he murmured, “i probably deserved that.” 

ellie still didn’t move, standing at the front of the bike. they stared at each other, silence hanging in the air between them. it had to be the longest amount of time they’d gone without arguing since their freshman year. 

that felt like a lifetime ago, but she still remembered what she’d thought when they first met at orientation. 

cute, and then, once she found out that he was in the honors college like her, and smart, and eventually, once he opened his mouth, but a jerk. 

“what are you staring at?” he asked finally, and though he was difficult to read on even her best day, when she had one-hundred percent of her faculties intact, she was pretty sure there was no malice in his voice -- just genuine curiosity.

“nothing. you’re being weird.”

he laughed again. it took her a moment to realize why it sounded so different than it usually did; most of the time he was laughing at her. but not tonight. “no i’m not.”

“yes you are.”

“okay -- you’re trashed. do you need me to walk you inside?” 

all the lights were still on. yeah, that was just what she needed. the thought of colt and her father coming face-to-face made her own mouth curve into a grin. “no. but thanks for driving me home. that was almost decent of you.”

“well, i’d hate to be fully decent.” even his smile was different when he wasn’t making fun of her. 

ellie forced herself to take a step away, though it was difficult -- some strange magnetic pull seemed to want to keep her in his orbit, to see if she could maybe make him laugh softly at her again. 

as soon as she stepped back, the bike roared to life, though he didn’t pull out of the street until she’d wobbled all the way up the path to the front door and turned back to wave at him.

huh, she thought to herself as she ducked inside, wine-drunk acid swirling in her stomach with something else unidentifiable along for the ride, weird.

it wasn’t until she was tucked in bed that she privately acknowledged to herself, nice, though, too.

*

as expected, ingrid filled the weeks after her spring break with questions and complaining and dozens of skype calls.

ellie did her best to balance it all with school, which was ramping up as they got closer to the end of term, and packing for her move to miami, though on any given day she felt torn in at least ten different directions while she struggled to get everything together. 

the sound of another incoming facetime call was going to haunt her nightmares. with a groan, ellie fumbled for her phone blindly, not taking her eyes off the instant noodles slowly spinning in her microwave. 

“what now?”

“hello to you, too,” said a voice that definitely wasn’t ingrid’s, and ellie turned her head to see colt staring at her expectantly from the screen of her phone, jolting both from the surprise of seeing him and the sound of the microwave going off. 

“colt?” she blinked, suddenly aware that she was in her pajamas and tugging self-consciously at the cropped tank top she was wearing. “what do you want?”

“we have to go over some things for the bachelor party,” he sighed, and when he shifted she saw that he was reclining in bed. her face flushed.

“bachelor and bachelorette party,” she corrected.

“whatever. is now a good time?”

ellie cast a glance around her apartment, which looked like a tornado had recently swept through it. her kitchen table was covered in textbooks and pages of notes, though the living room had half-packed boxes covering every available surface. “i guess. one second.”

she set her phone down to retrieve her instant noodles and then leaned it up against her toaster, standing in front of the counter to both stay in her phone’s field of view and shovel noodles into her mouth as quickly as possible.

“seriously?” colt said, “isn’t it ten p.m. where you are?”

“i’ve been busy,” ellie answered defensively, between bites, “some of us have lives.”

he rolled his eyes. “did you book your flight yet?”

she paused, fork halfway to her lips. had she booked her flight yet? “i think so.” ellie pursed her lips, and then remembered, “yes! it gets in at seven. i’ll meet you guys at the hotel.”

“okay. the rest of us are driving down together, god help us all.” he scowled.

“relax. it’s only, like, four hours to vegas, anyway.” she was the one who was going to lose two entire days to travel and timezone changes. 

“do you want to sit in a car for four hours with everyone?” he smirked at the look that crossed her face. “i didn’t think so. how are the dinner reservations coming along?”

“good,” she nodded. at least she’d remembered to do that. “we’re all set for friday and saturday night. we can walk to both restaurants from the hotel.”

colt had been adamant about planning everything else, and she’d been all too happy to let him take the reigns. the last thing she needed to worry about was getting them into nightclubs and securing bottle service and busting her ass only for him to ultimately turn his nose up at it and declare the whole thing lame. 

“that should be everything, then.” she just barely saw the way he narrowed his eyes at her when she tipped her head back to get the last of the styrofoam cup of noodles down her throat. “except for whatever girly shit you have planned.”

“hey, you’re going to have to be the one to tell logan that your bad attitude is what got all of you excluded from mani-pedis and facials,” she shrugged, resting her elbows on the counter and leaning in toward the screen. “just so you can do what on saturday? smoke cigars and play darts?”

“someone has to draw the line somewhere,” he said, revisiting the argument they’d had at least four or five times since she was home the month before. 

“you’re impossible,” she sighed, her mouth stretching with a wide yawn. ellie pulled a face at herself, shaking her head. she had at least another two hours of coursework to do once they hung up. 

“you’re the one who looks about ten seconds away from combusting,” he smirked. “you can say no to things, you know.”

“i’m fine,” she insisted, “and i do say ‘no’ to things. when i have to.”

“right. it’s not like we haven’t known each other for eight years or anything.” 

ellie rolled her eyes at him, her cheeks still flushed red. like he’d paid attention to anyone other than himself and whatever girl he was fucking when they were in college. “everything’ll calm down after the wedding.”

“whatever you say,” he shrugged, “just don’t miss your flight to vegas, okay? i’m going to need someone to talk to who doesn’t make me want to blow my brains out.”

what? colt hung up just as she opened her mouth to respond, leaving ellie staring at her phone background in confusion. 

she took one last glance around her apartment, slowly trailing her eyes over the dishes in the sink, the schoolwork on her kitchen table, the piles of shoes that had to be bubble-wrapped and boxed up in her living room.

then ellie turned on her heel and headed off to bed. for once, it felt pretty fucking good to do the wrong thing. 

*

when her flight got in she sent logan a long, detailed text with all the information he could possibly need -- what time her rideshare was going to get to the hotel and how much time she was going to need to get up to the room and get changed -- and asked where she should meet everyone when she was done. 

his response was two short words. casino. craps. typical.

she rushed to get into her dress and get some makeup on and found everyone standing around the same table when she got downstairs. of course, the only available space was just to colt’s left. ellie squeezed in with a grin. “hi!”

“hey, you made it!” eager cheers from around the table greeted her and the tight hugs she was forced into let her know that she had a backlog a few drinks deep to catch up on. 

when she turned back around, colt shoved his hand in her face. there was a pair of dice sitting in his palm. “blow,” he said, staring at her expectantly. 

“excuse me?”

“blow,” he repeated, smirking at her, “it’s for luck.”

“i’m not going to --”

“come on, ellie,” logan grinned, “he’s up, like, two thousand dollars. you have to!”

“this is so demeaning,” she grumbled, but pursed her lips and blew on the dice as requested. colt stared at her the entire time, not even breaking eye contact to roll.

it was only when the croupier said, “another easy eight,” and the table broke out into cheers that he looked away, directing his gaze down at the stack of chips that was pushed over to him. 

“okay, what’s the next one?” he asked, taking the dice into his hand again.

“huh?”

“what am i rolling?”

“oh.” ellie glanced around the table and found everyone looking at her expectantly. “seven.”

“okay, any seven.” colt shook the dice in his hand, then held them out to her again. “come on.”

she leaned in a little closer. “you know, i’d love a drink at some point.”

“if we get this one i’ll find you a whole bottle of dom,” he promised. “blow.”

ellie blew on the dice. she grabbed colt’s arm anxiously as they waited for them to land.

they did, a moment later. she craned her neck and saw them facing up, over the line -- five and two.

all the noise they were making was starting to draw a crowd. ellie found herself sharing a grin with colt when he looked back at her again.

“another seven,” she instructed, head already bowed towards his hand.

he rolled a three and a four. the people gathering around the table were enraptured.

she blew on the dice again. a one and a six.

the forearm of his jacket had indents where her hand kept grabbing at it frantically, but colt never showed any outward signs of nervousness. if anything, he seemed to get more and more excited as ellie called out the numbers and he rolled them, one after another -- an eight. a six. a ten. another seven.

“holy shit, that’s twenty thousand dollars,” ingrid breathed finally, her mouth open in shock.

colt picked the stack of chips up, nodding at the roulette table behind them. “come on.”

“where are we going?” ellie asked, but followed him to the table anyway, her heart racing. all of their friends fell in line around them, hushed. 

“we’re gonna double it,” he smirked. “red or black?”

“you’re going to bet it all?” her eyes went comically wide.

“ellie, red or black?”

everyone within hearing distance, including the attendant, was staring at her. she looked down at the table, and then at the screen, which was displaying the outcome of the last few rounds. her mind raced as she tried to calculate all the ways it could become more complex than just a fifty-fifty probability.

colt noticed her staring and shook his head at her. “just pick.”

“black,” she blurted out, and watched in horror as he dropped the entire stack of chips down onto her choice. “oh my god, i’m going to throw up.”

his arm wound around her waist as the ball dropped into the table and started to roll around. instead of recoiling, ellie held onto him in return, digging her nails into the fabric of his suit as she stared.

there was dead silence at the table when the ball dropped neatly into the slot.

“twenty-nine,” the dealer announced, smiling at the both of them. “black.”

sound exploded all around them. their friends were jumping all over colt and the table, clapping him on the back, cheering and screaming. the spectators who’d been watching them joined in, and ellie couldn’t stop a deliriously joyful laugh from escaping as she looked, beaming, from the stack of chips on the table to colt’s face.

he was already grinning at her, and reached out to shove her shoulder excitedly before pulling the chips off the board and towards their end of the table -- four stacks of ten.

logan pushed between them, a beer bottle dangling from his fingers. “jesus christ. that was insane. way to make an entrance, el.”

“me?” she demanded incredulously, “what kind of person puts twenty thousand dollars on black?”

“what can i say,” colt shrugged, eyes still bright when they settled on her again, “i’m reckless.”

well, that was the understatement of the century. she slowly shook her head as the rest of the players at the table moved on to the next round. “i can’t believe that just happened.” 

colt reached out and grabbed her wrist, then unceremoniously dropped five chips into her palm. “here. your cut.”

ellie blinked down at her hand like she’d never seen a casino chip before. “five thousand dollars?”

“hey, all you did was blow on some dice.”

“no, i --” she shook her head, trying to shove the chips back onto his pile with a laugh, “you don’t need to do that. it was fun.”

he shrugged. ellie watched in surprise as colt smiled at her, fixated on the upturned corners of his mouth. “whatever. remember i did the next time you’re pissed at me.” 

colt walked off before she could try giving the money back to him again. she stared down at the chips in her hand for a moment, staring at all the zeroes that looked back up at her.

if what had just happened was any indication, it was probably going to be a strange weekend.

*

after dinner they went to a nightclub. her buzz was kicking in, so the lights and the music hardly bothered her as much as they might have on a normal night, and though she was loathe to admit it, colt had actually done a pretty nice job setting everything up. they had a booth to themselves and bottle service with sparklers, themed shots and props for both logan and ingrid -- sashes and buttons and crowns for the both of them.

seeing how happy everyone was made all the aggravation of the last six weeks worth it. before she knew it, she’d had more shots than was probably wise and her feet were killing her from dancing, leaving her flushed and sweaty when she stumbled back to the table.

as soon as she sat down, ingrid rushed over and grabbed her arm. “come on! i want to introduce you to a hot guy!”

“no,” ellie moaned, digging her heels into the booth while ingrid tried to drag her out of it, “stop, we’ve been dancing for hours. i need five minutes.”

“okay, but he’s so hot,” ingrid insisted, “and you could get laid tonight!”

“or we could just enjoy your bachelorette party!” she screamed back, over the music, “that’d be so fun, too.”

“oh my god, you’re impossible,” ingrid sighed, dropping down dramatically into the booth beside her. "look, he’s right over there.” 

ellie followed the line of her eyes and saw an admittedly very hot guy standing with a few of their friends. she lifted her hand and waved at him, and he smiled charmingly back at her, waving in return.

from behind her hand, when she pulled it in to cover her mouth, ellie said to ingrid, “he looks kind of stupid.”

“oh my god,” ingrid groaned again, “forget it. i’m done trying to set you up.”

before she could argue further, logan ran over to refill his drink and pulled ingrid back up to her feet, dragging her away from the booth and back onto the dance floor.

ellie watched them go, then turned her eyes to the half-full bottle of vodka in the ice bucket on the table. she was in the middle of trying to decide whether or not she was one drink away from puking when colt walked up to her.

“hey, loser. you wanna dance?” he asked, just as she made up her mind and reached for the bottle. he wasn’t loud enough to be heard over the music, but ellie could see the shape of his mouth make each word clearly, mostly because she tilted her head up to stare at him in complete confusion as soon as he got close. 

“with you?” 

“i thought you were supposed to be smart,” he said, and she recognized the easy grin on his face from dozens of late nights out with all their friends in college; he was drunk. “come on.”

she stumbled to her feet and followed him without thinking too much about it, even though there was no way their friends weren’t looking at them as they found a spot on the dance floor together. 

“you know how to dance?” ellie asked, blinking down at colt’s hands, which settled confidently on her waist, in absolute, total surprise, “since when?”

“since always,” he answered, lowering his mouth to her ear, “you just repress all my positive traits.”

“you don’t have any positive traits,” she shot back, though she gave in and wound her arms around his neck a moment later, letting him pull her in close.

“ouch,” colt murmured softly into her ear, and ellie sunk her teeth into her bottom lip at the low tone of his voice and its proximity. “that really hurts.”

her head tipped back to stare up at the flashing lights in the ceiling. colt didn’t say anything -- of course, he loved to get the last word -- and after a moment she forgot how utterly strange it was to be close to him at all and let herself enjoy the dance, smoothly moving her hips against his.

it was unnatural how natural it felt. she was dancing with colt kaneko -- it should have felt insane. they didn’t dance together. they didn’t get along. 

except that evidently they did, and she kind of liked it, too. 

when he dragged everyone out of the nightclub at three o’clock in the morning he wouldn’t tell them where they were going. even ellie was surprised to hear about a planned part two of the evening, though the way he seamlessly swiped a bottle of dom perignon from a table they passed on their way to the door and presented it to her as soon as they stepped back into the lobby of the hotel made her laugh with her whole body.

“you didn’t even pay for it,” she grinned, cradling it in her arms like a baby. 

he looked around, then started leading everyone down a side hallway. “i never said i would. hang on.”

logan caught on as soon as they all stopped in front of the fancy glass doors marked pool, and ellie kept watch at the end of the hallway while the two of them worked to get the door open. one by one, their friends filed quietly inside to the hotel’s closed indoor pool, giggling while they stripped out of their clothes.

“this feels illegal,” ellie said, while ingrid helpfully lowered the zip on her dress for her, “no?”

“it’s only a crime if you get caught,” logan answered, running past and jumping in the pool directly in front of where they were standing at its edge, splashing them both.

“oh, you’re in for it,” ingrid promised, jumping off after him. 

ellie self-consciously pulled her dress off the rest of the way, walking over to the steps and wading into the shallow end carefully. she swam out to join the rest of the group, head spinning from the drinks she’d had.

“hey.”

she turned around and came face-to-face with colt again, staring at what she could see of his bare chest, sticking out of the dark water before averting her eyes with a flush. “we’re totally all going to jail,” she said, apropos of nothing.

“that’s the plan,” colt returned, still smiling that easy, open smile. but he’d always been a lot more fun to hang out with when he was drunk. 

“why’re you being so nice to me?” ellie asked abruptly, reaching out to hold onto the pool wall and treading water to stay afloat in front of him. “it’s weird.”

colt laughed. his own arm braced on the side of the pool beside hers, and she looked over at the way the water slid of his muscles, her mouth suddenly dry. 

“guess i like the reactions i get,” he answered, effortlessly short-circuiting her brain as she tried to figure out what the fuck that was supposed to mean. “plus, it looks like you’re my good luck charm.”

“that was pretty crazy,” she acknowledged with a soft smile of her own, “i’ve never done anything like that before.” in fact, it’d been almost more excitement than she could handle.

“there’s so much i could show you.” 

the look in his eyes was intense -- searching. she wasn’t sure what to say, but fortunately the noise from the rest of their friends splashing around covered the too-loud pounding of her heartbeat as he stood there staring down at her.

it was the most alive she’d felt in months. before tonight, she hadn’t even thought she’d want a break from her routine -- from school, from her work, from everything that made her her.

wading in the pool now, with colt, all she wanted was more.

before she could find something to say, logan and brent swam by, kicking up water with a splash. “come on!” logan called out as a wave of chlorinated water hit her smack dab in the face, “we’re doing back flips.”

she forced her eyes down and swam off after them, hurrying to put some space between them. 

drunk as she was, it was a struggle to even stay afloat.

*

the semester wrapped up quickly; before she knew it, it was time to start shipping her things down to miami. ellie saw and heard from everyone less and less as she finished her coursework and switched into summer mode, even as the date of logan’s wedding grew closer.

finally it was time to hand her keys over to the girl who’d be subletting her apartment for the summer and catch her flight; when she stepped off the plane she forgot, for a moment, that she wasn’t home in los angeles -- it was humid and sunny and everyone around her looked happy, a far cry from the scene she’d left behind at jfk.

ellie went straight to her summer housing and checked in, a little astonished by how nice the apartment was. there was a pool in the back of the building and the beach was only a short walk away; there were floor-to-ceiling windows exposing the view to her and illuminating every last one of the boxes she’d have to unpack where they were cluttering her new living room floor.

her eyes landed on one marked kitchen stuff and ellie tore into it, using her keys to rip the tape. the still-sealed bottle of dom perignon from the bachelorette party was sitting on top of everything else, wrapped in bubble wrap.

the trip or the heat had probably made it go flat but she pulled it out anyway, sitting on the floor and popping the cork. ellie took a sip from the bottle and grimaced -- all expensive alcohol was disgusting.

she set it on the floor and took a photo for her pictagram story anyway, the boxes and the view in the background. it was only up for a few seconds before her phone screen lit up with an incoming message.

it was colt. dork was all he’d written, when she opened her direct messages. the little animation beneath his words indicated he was typing something else. how is it?

pretty bad she wrote back honestly.

guess i’ll have to work harder to impress you

she stared down at her phone, rereading the words twice before she huffed out a genuine laugh. ellie had been avoiding checking in with most of her friends while she focused on moving, but it felt pretty nice to talk to colt again. the new peace that had settled between them had admittedly been a welcome respite, distracting her from every stressor in her life. 

with a shake of her head, she gave in and wrote back guess so.

*

everyone in the wedding was spending the entire weekend in santa monica, and ellie was grateful for the opportunity to avoid awkward conversation with her dad, heading straight to the hotel when she flew in on the morning of the rehearsal dinner.

things were already in full swing even though it was early in the day when she arrived; though she was exhausted from her flight and the work she’d left behind on the east coast ellie still let ingrid pull her up to her suite to start getting ready together.

one by one the rest of their friends started to trickle in, chatting excitedly about the wedding the next day, and eventually, after they’d gone over saturday’s schedule at least a thousand times, it was late enough in the afternoon that she had to go back to her own hotel room to get dressed for dinner.

ellie was the first of the girls to finish getting ready and logan and the rest of the guys were already downstairs at the lobby bar when she came out of the elevator. logan pulled her into a hug as soon as she got close, kissing her cheek hello.

“are you so excited?” she asked, squeezing his arms, “big day tomorrow.”

“i can’t wait. i know we did this fast but it still feels like we’ve been waiting for forever.” he looked adorably eager. “you look nice, by the way.”

“thank you,” ellie said primly, stepping out of his arms to spin in a circle, the skirt of her dress swishing around the tops of her thighs, “not half bad for an all-nighter and a cross-country flight, eh?”

“thanks for flying out so early. i’m so glad you’re here.” logan called the bartender over as she moved down the line to say hi to the rest of the groomsmen, and when she came back around to his other side to accept the drink he held out to her she noticed there was one person missing from the group.

“where’s colt?”

logan arched an eyebrow at her. her face flushed pink, and then worsened when that voice she could pick out of a crowd said from behind her, “miss me?”

the smart remark that was waiting on the tip of her tongue died when she turned around and saw him. he always wore formalwear well, but something about how he was dressed tonight captured her attention in a way that was impossible to ignore. she swallowed.

“just wondering if tonight might actually be peaceful or not,” she said finally, lifting her eyes from the few buttons that were open on his shirt at the front of his throat to look him in the eyes. “i guess it won’t be.”

he shrugged, leaning around her to signal the bartender for a drink of his own. “i promised i’d behave this weekend.” 

“yeah, and you’d better follow through or ingrid’s going to come after us both,” logan grinned, waiting until colt had his glass in his hand before sticking his own in between the three of them. “cheers.”

“cheers,” ellie smiled, clinking her champagne flute delicately against the two rocks glasses in their hands, “congratulations. i’m so happy for you guys.”

“you can back out at any time,” colt said, and then, as ingrid finally walked over and hit him on the shoulder, “ow. what? you can back out, too.”

she linked her arm through logan’s, tilting her face up for a kiss. “no one’s backing out. come on.”

they filed into the restaurant, where everyone’s families were already waiting at one end of the long table. ellie sat down on ingrid’s right and came face-to-face with colt, who was sitting directly across from her at logan’s left. he smirked at her from the other side of the table, bumping his foot into hers underneath the tablecloth. 

she kicked him back, turning her cheek to stifle a smile when she saw him wince as soon as her high heel collided with his shin. 

dinner was surprisingly pleasant, making her cautiously optimistic for the way the rest of the weekend was going to go. tomorrow was sure to be exhausting, with a full day of primping and photos before the ceremony and reception, and the after party following late into the night, if she knew their group of friends at all.

but it’d probably be pretty fun, too. at least she could start drinking heavily as soon as her toast was over.

though she was woefully sober after the cake had been cut and the night started to wind down, certain that a hangover would be a wrench in tomorrow morning she just didn’t need, with the day ahead of her. 

they all took their time saying goodbye and slowly started to head to the elevator. just outside the restaurant door, colt caught her elbow and asked, “wanna go for a walk?”

she stared back at him dumbly. why? “huh?”

“come on, the beach is right there.” his hand slid down her bare arm to curl around her wrist, and he tugged her towards the french doors that would lead them outside onto the hotel’s back patio before she could protest.

ellie slipped off her shoes as they moved down the steps and out into the sand, silent when they both walked off down the beach together. the stretch owned by the hotel was private and closed for the night, so they were the only two people making their way down to the ocean, though she still wasn’t exactly sure for what. 

“how’ve you been?” she asked finally, when it felt like it’d been quiet for too long.

“fine. how are your... water samples?” 

her eyebrows arched. part of her was amazed he’d remembered, and a little warmed by his thoughtfulness. “um, good,” she answered slowly, “well -- not good, they’re contaminated, but... good for me? to have something to study?”

out of the corner of her eye, ellie saw his lips twitch. it was good to know he still found her embarrassment amusing. “that’s good.”

“are you nervous for your speech tomorrow?” she asked, because she was certainly nervous about hers. his smile spread.

“no.” he’d long since let go of her arm, but colt still only shoved the hand on the other side of his body into his pocket, letting his other arm dangle near hers. “i’m just gonna wing it.”

“you’re going to -- i’m sorry, what?” she demanded, completely horrified. “you cannot just wing it.”

“well, i’m going to,” he shrugged, “so don’t lose sleep over it.”

“oh my god,” ellie groaned, “i feel sick just thinking about it. please tell me you’re joking.”

“you know i’m not,” he laughed, that same soft sound from the night of logan and ingrid’s engagement party, when he’d given her a ride home. her cheeks flushed just thinking about it. “don’t you ever get tired of being so self-righteous?”

“no,” she sniffed, “don’t you ever get tired of being so...”

ellie trailed off as she searched for the right word. colt stopped suddenly and turned in the sand to face her, grinning widely when their eyes locked. “so what?”

arrogant. smug. obnoxious. insufferable. reckless. “so...” she paused, tongue darting out to lick her lips, “well --”

colt leaned in and kissed her before she could decide which word she wanted to settle on. the hand that’d been in his pocket landed on her waist, and he lifted the other to her jaw, cradling her cheek in his palm when he pulled her closer to meet his lips.

she froze. part of her had been expecting this, though it still felt so unbelievably beyond imagining -- colt kaneko was kissing her after they’d spent the last eight years at each other’s throats, and tenderly, too, his lips soft and gentle when they brushed against hers.

ellie sighed quietly into his mouth, then looped her arm around him and kissed him back, sliding her fingers into his hair at the back of his head. 

he was a good kisser. not that she’d thought about it, or anything, outside of one or two times --

fine, a few times... 

colt snaked his arm fully around her waist and pressed his body in against hers as close as they could get; there was only the sound of the waves on the shore while they kissed for what felt like an eternity, with all the familiarity of two people who’d done this dozens of times before.

there was something about being alone with him that eased the tension being home always brought with it. something about the new calmness in their relationship reminded her of her apartment and new york and the places she’d always felt most like herself, almost like colt understood her and the things she wanted to say but wouldn’t without her even having to say them. 

finally, his thumb pressed into the hinge of her jaw and he broke them apart, tipping his forehead against hers to stare into her eyes.

in the dark, with the moon behind him, the depths of his gaze consumed her entirely. ellie worked to catch her breath while staring back at him seriously, though there was surely some shock on her expression.

“um,” she said finally. “i --”

he swept her into another kiss and she was grateful for the chance to collect her thoughts before being expected to say something, though every last one she had left her abruptly when their lips met again. all she could focus on was how good the kiss was -- how it felt like giving into something she’d been holding off on allowing for far too long. 

this time, when he pushed her away, he spoke up. “do you want me to apologize?”

ellie realized her fingers were still curled into his hair and forced them to relax. she dropped her hand onto his shoulder. “no.” her eyes lingered on the minute upturn at the corners of his mouth. “an explanation would be helpful, though.”

the hand colt had on the small of her back dipped lower. she raised her eyebrows at him again. “i want to spend the night with you,” he said bluntly, “if you want.”

she pretended to think about it, even though she already knew what her answer would be. judging by the look on colt’s face, he knew she was only acting, too, though he stayed quiet for once and let her go through the motions of looking back at the hotel in thoughtful consideration. “yeah,” she said finally, with a nod, “let’s go to your room.”

*

colt’s room was on the other side of the hotel, and he’d forgotten to pull the heavy-duty shades shut the night before, so the sun filtered in through the gauzy curtains and hit her in the face early, waking her up before she was ready.

ellie rubbed at her eyes and took in the sight before her: the muscled arm slung across her waist was attached to a set of broad shoulders and a sculpted torso, though colt was sleeping on his stomach so she could only see his back, the sheet draped low over his hips. 

his face was squished into the pillow and he was still peacefully asleep, his breathing even and quiet beside her.

she stared at him for a few seconds before a deep sense of dread started to set in, filling her with slowly dawning horror.

you slept with colt kaneko! her brain screamed unhelpfully at her, like she didn’t already know. what the fuck were you thinking?

okay. this was fixable. all she had to do was get to her clothes and get out of his room before he woke up. she could make it back to her suite before anyone noticed she was gone, right? 

his body stirred beside her as soon as she shifted to the edge of the mattress. ellie watched colt’s arm slip off her waist and stared as his eyes slowly blinked open, his jaw cracking with a yawn. “hey,” he murmured, voice thick with sleep and perfectly cozy-sounding, halting her progress out of the bed and almost enough to make her turn right back around. “what time is it?”

“seven,” she returned just as quietly, and he flopped back against the pillow with a groan, scrubbing a hand down his face.

“the fuck are you doing up?” he grumbled. “christ.”

ellie shifted another inch to the edge of the bed. “we need to all start getting ready soon. pictures are at two.”

“it’s seven,” he sighed, “she can’t possibly expect you to --”

“she does.”

colt groaned again, louder this time. he rolled onto his back and pressed both palms against his face, then pushed his hands through his hair. “we’ll get up in ten minutes,” he declared decisively, dropping his cheek into the side of the pillow. his eyes were half-lidded when they landed on her. “come here.”

ellie hesitated at the edge of the bed, biting her lip. 

that was probably a mistake. 

she cleared her throat, averting her eyes. maybe all of this had been a mistake. it was so unlike her -- flirting with him, kissing him on the beach, having a one night stand. he’d never even liked her before she started doing all of these things that felt so wildly out of character for her. in fact, he’d always hated her. 

what the fuck did he think they were doing, anyway? 

panic was starting to set in, hot and desperate. “i should really get going,” she said, then stood and snatched her dress up off the floor before she could be sucked in by the curve of him against the mattress. “ingrid’s going to wonder where i am.”

there was complete and total silence as she pulled her clothes back on quickly, piece by piece. finally, colt said, “okay. i’ll see you later.”

his voice was slow -- carefully measured. ellie didn’t look at him before double checking to make sure she had her phone and room key and nodding blindly in the direction of the bed, doing her best to keep her voice faux-chipper. “totally,” she called out mindlessly, rushing out the door.

her chest squeezed tight with anxiety and refused to relent for the entirety of the morning. ellie found herself fighting off a meltdown through hair and makeup, through hours of gushing over ingrid and how beautiful she looked, through a session with the photographer in the bridal suite. 

her thoughts were elsewhere during the group photos with everyone. it took every effort not to look colt’s way when they all got together before the ceremony to take so many pictures her face was hurting from maintaining her fake smile.

still, her mind drifted. the part of her that was adamant she’d made the right decision couldn’t seem to quiet the little voice beneath it wondering what if, her curiosity needling her brain incessantly. 

now she’d never know what he might’ve been about to say or do. she wouldn’t have to deal with the reality of having two pieces of her life that didn’t fit together -- new york and school and los angeles and colt -- because there was no knowing if anything would’ve even come from it.

maybe that’s for the best, said the larger, more rational part of her brain. 

all the excuses she’d used a thousand times before came back to her at once. she was too busy to date, probably, and ill-equipped to have a boyfriend. guys she’d dated in the past had complained about her being hot and cold, either clingy or distant depending on where she was with school or in her professional life. the only parts of herself she could actually tolerate most of the time seemed to be the biggest turn-offs: she was too driven, too focused on her passion projects. 

each word felt hollow, now. maybe she hadn’t done the right thing.

ellie’s pulse raced dangerously as everyone lined up at the edge of the cliff for the outdoor ceremony. she and colt stood just behind logan, side-by-side. 

he wasn’t looking at her. her stomach twisted unhappily. 

she gently reached out to touch his arm. her voice was barely a murmur when she leaned in close and said, “hey, can i talk to you?”

colt looked down at her like she was insane. in front of them, logan started down the aisle. “now’s not really a good time.”

fuck. she was almost definitely going to lose her nerve, but he was right. she pursed her lips, looping her arm through his. her free hand clutched her flowers tightly.

colt felt stiff beside her, at odds with the easy way he’d held her last night. she used all her focus not to trip as they walked down the aisle together and then separated on either side of the altar, the both of them looking anywhere else but at each other.

fortunately, the ceremony provided a welcome distraction from her swirling thoughts. logan and ingrid had written their own vows, and she cried the entire time they spoke to each other, tears silently dripping down her cheeks as she watched two of her oldest friends profess their love.

even the poem ingrid’s sister read made her heart skip a beat, her bottom lip wobbling through the ceremony until the officiant finally pronounced them husband and wife.

ellie was still smiling through tears after they’d kissed and started back down the aisle together. she forgot to be nervous about walking with colt until he took her arm in his and said, “seriously?”

then everything that had happened rushed back to her at once, and she was uneasy and miserable again.

“come on,” ellie sniffed, dabbing delicately at her eyes, “that was beautiful.”

“it was something,” he mumbled, so quietly the excited din of the crowd nearly drowned him out. “i’ll catch up with you later.”

he dropped her arm as soon as he possibly could, disappearing into the venue. ellie watched everyone through the glass windows for a moment before following him inside with a sigh.

bathroom, then bar. even if the first thing she needed was a large glass of wine, the absolute last thing she needed was smudged mascara. everything else could wait.

*

it was almost the end of the cocktail hour when logan found her at the bar. ellie grinned at him wholeheartedly and passed him the champagne flute she’d taken for herself, signaling for another.

“thanks,” he said, reaching out to squeeze her arm, “like, a thousand people have already tried talking to me. you never told me this was going to be so exhausting.”

“getting married is a huge deal,” ellie laughed, “of course every single person here wants to talk to you. you’re going to be making the rounds all night.”

“just -- keep me occupied for a few more minutes,” he said, gaze darting around the room, “make it look like we’re having a really serious talk. start with whatever put that look on your face.”

“i don’t have a look on my face,” she argued, though she knew it was futile.

logan arched his eyebrows at her. “ellie.”

“what?” she asked. she shuffled her feet anxiously and then continued, “look, i’m sure colt already told you we slept together last night, so --”

logan started coughing, spitting champagne back into his glass. he set it down on the bar with wide eyes. “oh my god, you what?”

ellie felt her own eyes bug out to match. “he didn’t tell you?”

“no,” logan hissed, then coughed again. “what do you mean you slept together last night?”

“um,” ellie started, her voice high as she swiveled her eyes to the ceiling, “well...”

“jesus, i can’t believe he finally went for it.”

she slowly lowered her gaze back to his. her brow furrowed in confusion. “what?”

“oh, man. he’s liked you for forever. i didn’t think he was ever going to...” logan trailed off as he caught sight of the expression on her face, which cycled from confusion to realization to horror so quickly it made her head spin. “wait, how’d you guys leave it?”

“um,” she said again, cringing, “well...”

“yikes.” logan matched her look with a wince. “you should probably talk to him.”

she wandered into the ballroom as if in a daze. ellie found her seat at the table with the bridal party and breathed a sigh of relief once she noticed colt was far away from her at the other end -- at least ingrid had done her one favor. 

after the toast, she told herself with a nod, i’ll talk to him. 

after the toast she could have the hard drink she’d need to get through the conversation. they could take a few minutes to themselves.

but first she had to actually get through the toast, and that meant sitting politely while colt gave the best man speech, which he did unflappably well, of course, even though he hadn’t prepared for it at all.

ellie was reminded all at once what’d made her hate him in the first place: colt was good at everything without having to worry about it. in college, he’d effortlessly pulled perfect grades in even the most impossible classes; tonight was no different. he made jokes that landed perfectly with the crowd, getting the appropriate amount of laughs, and finished with something surprisingly sentimental that garnered lots of applause -- both ingrid and logan beamed at him when he sat down again.

and she had to go next.

she pointedly ignored him as she stood with her glass. “hey, everyone. i’m ellie. for those of you who don’t know me, ingrid and i met on the very first day of college -- eight years ago. i’d just turned eighteen and i was away from home for the first time. i actually bumped into ingrid in the parking lot...”

ellie hit all the marks, too: what she loved about her friends, what made them perfect for each other. “-- and i knew he was the one just from the way she’d talk about him. she always got so giddy, it was like there was a whole other side of her i’d never seen before. every day she’d have something new to say about him: ‘oh, logan said this,’ and, ‘oh, logan showed me that’ --”

everyone was crying by the time she wrapped up. ingrid blew her a kiss as she lifted her glass into the air, and ellie grinned brightly back at her and logan before the band came back on and she could finally sit down again.

the girls around her were gushing about how good her toast had been, but ellie leaned around them to catch colt’s eye at the other end of the table.

her eyebrows lifted meaningfully. she nodded at the dance floor.

colt rolled his eyes. she watched him shake his head.

ellie thrust her bottom lip out into a pout. 

he looked sort of close to smiling, setting a swarm of butterflies loose in her stomach. it was both better and more dangerous than the thought of him being angry at her had been. later, he mouthed, turning away before she could frown at him any harder.

that was fine. it’d give her a little more time to work up her nerve -- hopefully.

she grabbed ingrid on her way back to the bar.

“oh my god, i can’t believe you,” ingrid sighed, squeezing her tight in a huge hug, “that was only the most beautiful toast of all time. you ruined my makeup, you bitch!”

“okay, you still look perfect,” ellie argued, squeezing her hand, “you’re the most beautiful bride ever. don’t even start.”

ingrid sighed wistfully, looking off towards the sweetheart table at the front of the ballroom. “i am pretty beautiful, huh?”

“are you kidding?” ellie demanded, “the whole thing was gorgeous.”

ingrid’s grin sharpened. out of nowhere, she said, “logan told me you totally fucked colt last night.”

“shhhh!” ellie cast a glance around desperately, but they were blessedly alone at the bar. “oh my god, i didn’t --”

“yeah, right. why didn’t you tell me?!”

“it’s your wedding day,” she laughed, “i wanted to -- i don’t know. it just happened, it was weird.”

“what’s he like?” she asked, passing ellie a glass of champagne.

“can we not do this?” ellie ducked her head behind the glass, trying to hide her flushed face. “isn’t it time for your first dance?”

ingrid waved her hand dismissively. “in a minute. so? spill!”

“oh my god, it was obviously incredible,” she mumbled into her champagne, “now get out of my face, this is exactly why i didn’t tell you.”

“fine, but we are so not done talking about this.” she reached out and tugged on one of the neat curls of her hair before linking her arm through ellie’s to walk back to the front of the ballroom together. “and you’d better save me a dance.”

*

she didn’t get her moment alone with colt until after the entrees. ellie had given up on trying to catch his eye, so she was surprised when he walked over and said, “i’ll take that dance, now, if you can stop crying long enough to make it happen.”

“people with souls cry at weddings,” she huffed, standing and taking his hand in hers, “i’m sorry you can’t relate.”

“you’re forgiven,” he smirked, so that she could almost pretend there was absolutely nothing weird going on between them as they walked out onto the dance floor.

but his expression shifted when the song changed and her hands laced together behind his neck, absolving her of that illusion near-immediately. she cleared her throat as his hands settled on her hips and they started to sway together.

“i’m sorry,” she said again, more seriously this time. 

he pursed his lips, then shrugged. “for what?”

“for being weird this morning. i don’t know what you were going to say -- um, if you were going to say anything, but i totally freaked out and i obviously didn’t even give you a chance to get to it, so. that was uncool. sorry.”

colt’s gaze was calculating on hers. she wondered what he was thinking. “don’t worry about it,” he said finally. “it’s nothing.”

she drew in a deep breath. well, if he wasn’t going to give her an inch... “logan said you’ve always liked me.”

ellie watched as his eyes narrowed. “logan’s lucky today’s his wedding day,” colt murmured darkly. his hands tightened on her hips briefly, then released. he turned his head and leveled his glare on her. “so?”

“so -- i thought you hated me,” she laughed, that thread of nervousness back again. “you never -- i mean, why didn’t you ever say anything?”

he rolled his eyes at her. “okay, you’re always, like -- smiling and happy and constantly surrounded by people. when we were in school you were in, like, student government and on debate team and running a thousand clubs or doing extra lab hours and everyone always liked you -- so you wanted me to, what, exactly? just walk right up to you and be like, hey, do you want to see a movie?”

ellie gaped at him, her mouth open in shock. “i -- yes! you could have just asked me out.”

“right,” colt snorted, “that would’ve gone over well. you thought i was a total asshole.”

“colt, you were a total asshole,” she reminded him.

he shifted back and forth on his feet. ellie stared in fascination as the tips of his ears went red when he dipped his head to avert his eyes. “i didn’t want you think i had a crush on you or anything.”

it felt a lot like she was having an out-of-body experience. “well... did you have a crush on me?”

colt cleared his throat. “you weren’t like everyone else,” he said, in lieu of an answer, “you’re still not. but i get that you’re busy. this doesn’t have to be, like, a thing.”

“hang on, i’m still processing.” whatever this was, it was officially bizarre. 

it seemed impossible to wrap her head around what he’d just admitted: that he’d always liked her, even at her most neurotic, at the most school-obsessed, five-year-plan focused she’d ever been. 

so she didn’t have to change.

for once, it didn’t feel like she needed to put up some front that was, frankly, exhausting to maintain.

everything just felt -- nice.

“done yet?” he demanded, “the song’s almost over.” 

ellie leaned in and kissed him, uncaring of anyone who might see. his hands were warm over the cutouts in the dress at her sides and she was breathless when they finally broke apart, long after the song had changed.

the look on colt’s face was a mixture of self-satisfied and surprised when he pulled her off the dance floor and out onto the terrace. “i am busy,” ellie said, once they were alone.

colt nodded, looking out at the view of the beach below them. “i know.”

“but -- if you really don’t mind that i have to split my focus with school... and the distance... and the time difference...”

“are you trying to talk me out of it?” he asked, sounding amused.

“...then obviously i’d love to date you or whatever.”

“huh.” colt was smiling as he stared at the ocean. “i guess i probably should have just asked out you five years ago, then.”

“it might’ve been easier,” ellie allowed, shifting to lean her shoulder against his. she reached for his hand and laced their fingers together. “but that’s not really our style.”

colt turned and pressed his lips to the top of her head. “true,” he hummed, and then, “you smell like you have a whole can of hairspray in your hair.”

“i probably do.” she hesitated, looking down at their joined hands. “are you sure you want to do this?”

“yeah.” ellie looked back up at him and found colt’s eyes still stuck thoughtfully on the view. “i’ve wanted to for a really long time.”

“that’s so crazy to me.”

“why?” he finally turned and looked at her, his gaze no less intense than it had been last night by the ocean. “ingrid’s right. you are a catch. it’s crazy to me that you’ve stayed single all this time.”

“well, i was --” she bit the inside of her cheek to avoid again using the word busy, and then pivoted to a more uncomfortably honest answer, “-- never interested in compromising. before now.”

his lips spread into a smile. she felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of it, soft and genuine and open on his face. “figures i’d be the one to break your streak,” colt said, in that same overconfident way she always used to hate.

“oh my god, do not start,” she huffed, using their joined hands to push his side until he stumbled a step away.

colt retaliated by spinning her around and pulling her in close, trapping her against the ledge of the balcony before she could move. “why?” he challenged, “what are you going to do about it?”

she was going to kiss that stupid smirk right off his face, for one.

and he was going to spend the night dancing with her and later hold back her hair when she had too much to drink.

then they’d both spend most of sunday in bed, skipping brunch with the rest of their friends to put the hours before her flight to better use.

colt would drive her to the airport. they would say their goodbyes on the curb.

and she would be too excited to sleep on the trip back to miami.

“just wait,” she threatened, though her voice was sweet; she tilted her chin up to brush their noses together. “you’ll see. i have it all planned out.”

the look in his eyes made her feel like she was doing something dangerous; colt looked both fond and delighted, content and sweet and sure. his free hand lifted to thumb at her cheekbone, like part of him was still surprised to find the both of them out here, wrapped up together like they were. 

“i’ll bet,” he returned, his voice low and full of promise. “that work ethic is one of the things i like most about you.”

“you’ll have to give me a list of the rest,” ellie laughed, eager to hear his take on it all from what was arguably the most unique perspective in their friend group. 

“eh, you can wait,” colt shrugged, gently pressing her in along the stone ledge behind her back on the balcony, leaning over her with another grin, “there’s a few other things we have to catch up on first.”

fair point, she thought, though she’d be damned if she ever actually agreed with him out loud. she had a lot to fill him in on, too. 

he’d probably waited long enough, though, so ellie folded first and gave him that kiss she’d planned, colt’s smirk dissolving as expected when his mouth pressed against hers. 

when they finally broke apart and turned to head back inside, they drew up short outside the doors to the balcony. every last one of their friends was standing in front of the glass facade, staring at them, their eyes wide and their mouths open. ingrid and logan in particular looked unreasonably overjoyed. 

“christ,” colt sighed, as ellie instantly flushed bright red beside him, “is this what this is going to be like all the time?”

“no take backs,” she said, squeezing his hand. she turned to look up at him just in time to catch his eye roll, and the subsequent glare that made the group watching them from behind the door scatter with raucous laughter.

“fine,” he answered, sounding put-upon, but she hadn’t looked away yet and so she still caught the private smile that tugged his lips up against his will.

perfect, ellie thought to herself, and then, for the first time in as long as she could remember, nothing else -- no self-doubt, no exhaustion, no pretending. 

colt was probably going to have to help her get used to how it felt to have everything she wanted.

[the-pinstriped-hood]

Fair Metal Friends

The house rattled again as the Novelist trekked to complete her work, fingers dancing gracefully over her keyboard. Unfortunately she couldn't get over the sound of some of the hard backed books stacked haphazardly on her bookshelves hitting the wooden floor with a chorus of loud thumps and Macavity trying to take refuge from the tremors. Ceasing her fingers as she stood hearing a slightly muted chorus of yet another Judas Priest song nearby. She knew exactly where it was coming from: Bo’s Garage.

Percy sighed. Her Southern Paramour was many things: Impossibly Handsome, a skilled mechanic, a talented photographer. Aware of how loud his music was not one of them. The bay of his shop was open and his music flooded almost the entire small town of Ambrose. Having been subjected to several songs and not by choice, she closed her laptop and saved her work before heading over to the shop to take care of the noise problem.

Her heels clicked down the street as she got closer to the problem, thankfully as another song was coming to an end. Spotting a friend of hers with Bo as they headbanged to another song, unaware of Percy who had pulled the plug to the stereo.

“Who the fuck-?!” Bo exclaimed as Percy was swinging the limp cord in her hand. “Percy? Darlin’ what the hell?”

“Your music is shaking the house, Bo. It's a little too loud, honey.” She walked over to the stereo system itself and turned the dial back a considerable amount before plugging it back in so as to not ruin her eardrums. “I understand that almost everyone in Ambrose likes heavy metal and I am outnumbered but may I please make a request that you be considerate, just a smidge?”

Ava, who had been hanging around Bo grinned. “Sorry about that Perc, we were just enjoying ourselves….” The guitarist had come to Ambrose only months after another friend of Percy’s, Ellie had.

“Be that as it may Avana,” Percy smiled. “I’m still working on my next book and need peace and quiet to conduct my thoughts.”

“Darlin’ you been’ workin on that book three days straight now, when’s the last time you took a break? The rest of us barely see you anymore and you’ve become reclusive again. Why don't you chill here with Ava and I? We’d welcome your company..” Bo grinned, certain he could win his writer over with his usual southern charms.

“Bo, you know how much this book means to me.” Percy’s smile faded into her usual tired expression. “I’ve gotta get back, I don't have any time for your headbanging hooliganry…” She turned her heel to walk out of the garage only to feel Bo’s hand around her wrist.

“Excuse me? Headbanging Hooliganry? You really did walk out of the fuckin’ 20’s didnt you? When was the last time you seriously had any fun?”

Percy closed her eyes. "You're really not going to let go of my wrist until I agree, will you?"

Bo's smile fell. He hadn't seen Percy in days he had been worried sick. Somewhere in his mind he thought he had done something to upset her, but it was just her usual workaholic ways.

"Please darlin' if you stay with Ava and I for just a little while, we promise to keep the music down. Deal?" Bo held out his hand. Percy agreed and shook his hand. "Deal."

Bo hadn't gotten a good look at his girlfriend but he knew she certainly had a rare style. Pantyhose, heels, a pencil skirt and an old style blouse. "You look good by the way, Angel." He kissed her cheek and she took the only other stool in the shop, tucking one leg behind her like a lady.

Ava nudged Percy, "You called us Hooligans. Where'd that talk come from?"

The Novelist blushed, embarrassed. "I sometimes let it slip that I lived with people from the 1920's."

"Certainly would explain your taste in vintage everything.." Bo mused.

"Parents?"

"My grandparents actually, parents died in a car accident when I was young. My Grandparents raised me on things like VHS tapes, reel to reels, old Jazz vinyls, black and white movies..." She listed off.

"So you never actually have experienced Rock and Roll before have you?" Ava leaned back staring at Percy. "That would explain a lot."

"My grandparents were really strict in raising me. Good grades, good job, wanted babies before they died. Old fashioned thinking. They thought that things like Rock and Roll, horror movies and sex before marriage was sinful so, I didn't have many friends. If any at all....They would be rolling in their graves if they knew what I had been up to..."

"You mean actually getting to be yourself and experiencing life?" Bo snorted. "No offense darlin' but your grandparents sound like the biggest wet fuckin blankets in the universe."

Ava hopped off her stool and turned the stereo back on. "I'm gonna agree with Bo, you really need to get out more. Hey what if we could help you find some music you like instead of what your grandparents told you to like?"

"You think you could do that?"

"Absolutely, Between Vinny, Bo, Ellie, Lester and I we could make you a whole mixtape to listen to!" Ava grinned patting Percy on the back.

"Are those heels ever easy to wear? While I will admit you look damn fine in them, maybe wear those cute little what'dya call'em.....Flats!"

Percy grimaced. She had been trying to hide the blisters on her heels for days now.

"Listen why dont you take your shoes off, relax and listen to some music with us. You need to unwind."

Percy nodded and took a seat in the car in the bay laying back in the backseat and letting Judas Priest sing her a lullaby.

Tag: @rottent33th @slaasherslut @allthingsblood @cries-in-latino