#can’t believe i just threw shit together and made some delicious cookies i don’t even bake!!! 🥹

[flowercrowngods]

living alone is fun because you can bake improvised cookies at 11pm with no one judging you but also now you have no one to eat the cookies for you

[svtshine]

Neighbor next door

pairing: Wonwoo x reader 

genre: angst to fluff, Neighbors!au, nonidol!Au

type: oneshot

summary: Falling in love with your neighbour best friend

You heaved the heavy box filled with stuff back at your apartment and entered the apartment building yet again. Probably for the 6th time now. You wiped off the sweat that was forming near your forehead and making the hair stick to your face. Even with the aircon from the lift system blasting you, you were still feeling extremely hot and stuffy.

It was an extremely hot day however, you were still very excited to move into your new apartment and meet your new neighbors. You were told from the nice old landlady that the people here were of different variations. Some were working, students like you or parents with newborns or children. It was a way better environment as compared to your old apartment.

At the old district there was hardly any conversations or interactions between you and your neighbors. You clearly remembered the only interaction you had with one of the neighbors, a floor above you, to keep it down. Even though you weren't making any noise. He was a grumpy looking elderly, and he looked at you with such a aggressive look.

You looked at him strangely but apologized anyhow, wanting so badly to return to the book you were then reading. It was getting to the very best part where the charismatic male character was going to kiss the protagonist and confess to her under the mistletoe, on a cold yet beautiful winter night. 

You kicked your front door with one hand balancing on the box and the other supporting the weight of the door. You placed the box on the floor where it remained with many other cardboard boxes filled completely with all your belongings.

You sighed out and proceeded to tie your hair up into a messy bun to keep it from sticking onto your face. i just have two more boxes, then i can start unboxing....god there is so much to do, you thought to yourself as you sat on the end of the sofa, taking a short break before leaving for those two boxes again.

Yes it was definitely tiring, but you still smiled to yourself as you thought about the new encounters and relationships that might form in this new building. You took a sip of your opened can of soda that was still cool and sighed out in satisfaction, as the cool liquid helped cool you down for a second and satisfy your thirst. 

You smiled brightly and greeted the neighbors that you came across while moving the boxes. They were all very friendly and open in welcoming you, you made note to bake them some of your special cookies later on to thank them. 

Wonwoo was just returning from the nearby convenience store, sucking on a cold soda-flavored ice popsicle. Under the sweltering heat and bright sun, this was what he needed. He was nearing the apartment building when he saw you. He didn't recognize you at all, and he was sure he recalled everyone’s faces. You were struggling with a heavier box, and he remembered the landlady coming over previously with a box of brownies and a notice that someone was going to move in to the apartment next to his.

“Wonwoo dear, someone is moving next door, isn’t that exciting” she said smiling brightly 

“Really?”

“She looks really gorgeous dear, around your age, Slightly younger i believe. She is moving in next month so do welcome her warmly, ya hear me” 

“Yes grandma” Everyone had the habit of calling the warm soul, grandma. She definitely did treat everyone like family, no one dared to mess with her either.

Grandma was watching Wonwoo munch on the delicious brownies and spoke up, “You know maybe you should show her around, get a little closer huh” she smirked deviously. 

Wonwoo only took a sip of his milk, “Grandma this isn’t some fictional romance novel” he replied nonchalantly. 

“You’d never know my dearest” 

His flashback ended and he had noticed that you were still struggling with the heavy box and next to it was a smaller one. He swiftly walked towards to you and took the box from your hands with ease, “here let me help, I’m wonwoo. You must be the new tenant. floor 7, unit 11? i live next door, unit 12″ he spoke up.

it was only then you realised there was a handsome charming man holding onto your box and literally speaking to you, while you stared at him in a slight daze. Holy macaroni, his face is god-like and his voice? come to mama. You continued staring at him, mouth slightly open until he waved his hand infront of you and pulled you out of your imagination. You got flustered at the fact that you were literally swooning over a man you just met, your neighbor for god sakes and in front of him. Get it together Y/n. 

“Hey, i’m Y/n nice to meet you Wonwoo” you stretched out your hand to shake his. Wonwoo placed the box on the ground and shook your hand gently with a warm smile. Grandma was right when she called you gorgeous. Wearing a tank top, pajama shorts, a messy bun and slippers, you still looked amazing. 

You lifted the small box, “Thanks so much for offering to help, these are my last few boxes and i can finally start unpacking” you looked so relieved that wonwoo chuckled. “No worries, we live beside each other so it would be convenient too” He grabbed the heavy box and walked beside you towards the elevator. The two of you starting a simple conversation.

“I can’t believe we’re gonna be neighbors. Not saying i would hate it, i just kinda pictured the next door neighbor to be someone older” You wondered out loud.

“Grandma did say you were around my age, but i’m glad that you’re friendly. You’ll definitely fit right in” Wonwoo smiled at you. “she also told me that you were around my age, are you attending college?” He asked curiously, looking down at you since you were shorter than him. 

“Yeah, i’m attending the college a few minutes walk from here. Psychology course..you?”

“nice, i’m attending the same school but taking business.”

Your stomach growled, you just remembered you haven’t eaten breakfast at all. Wonwoo laughed out loud and you pouted. “Why don’t i help you unpack and get some takeout so that we can share. It’ll help you save time” He suggested. You felt very touched by his kind gesture, “If you don’t mind, it’ll really help, i’ll pay for the takeout.”

The two of you unpacked and continued getting to know each other. It simply clicked between the two of you. There wasn’t any sign of awkwardness, and you never felt uncomfortable at all around him. Wonwoo made you feel at home. talking to him felt like you were reuniting with a friend from long ago.

Wonwoo held up a book from one of your boxes, “Holy shit, i’ve been trying to find this book for ages” you looked up from folding your clothes, “That is one of my favourite books, good eye. i had to queue hours to get that, but at least with the author’s signature as well” you winked at the end at him. His eyes widened and flipped to the first page where in deed, the bold yet elegant signature of the author lay. “i could lend it to you, as a thanks for helping me as well.”

Wonwoo smiled so brightly you were going to faint he looked like a kid who had just received a kitten for his birthday.

From then on, the two of you became the best of friends. Meeting earlier in the mornings to eat breakfast together before morning classes, walking to school together and even eating lunch together most of the times. Wonwoo introduced you to his big group of 13 friends, and not gonna lie when you first met them, you were really intimidated. Most of them were almost a head taller than you and you felt so small standing next to them. However, they welcomed you with open arms and you loved spending time with them and wonwoo.

Movie nights became a weekly thing after the both of you completed all the dued assignments. You would place you leg on his lap and the both of you would indulge in unhealthy snacks and sodas the whole night before falling asleep together.

Doing laundry together, studying at the library together and buying groceries together. it was normal to see the both of you together. There was never an awkward moment between the two of you. For the first time in your life, you trusted a friend that much in such a short time, it did kind of scare you at how fast you trusted this man but well wonwoo had never done anything to make you doubt him. In fact, he has been doing the opposite. Whenever you feel down about missing your parents or a bad test grade, wonwoo would hug you tight and wipe away your tears. He would do anything to make you happy like telling you about the dumb things his friends had done this week and afterwards tuck you in, sleeping on the couch just to be sure you were okay.

You entrusted him with a spare key in case of emergencies. The first time you realised what you felt for him was probably not entirely platonic was when you returned from your part time job one night. You were exhausted, it was a busy night at the restaurant and your manager had you running table to table taking orders and serving dishes. You wanted so badly to just collapse and your bed and sleep till tomorrow noon. You lazily unlocked your door and threw your bag on the floor, bending down to collect your shoes when you realised there was already someone inside your apartment. You recognised the back of Wonwoo’s head, his soft fluffy hair sitting on it giving him a nice look. Wonwoo heard some rustling and turned to find you finally home, “hey y/n welcome home, how’s work?” You organised your shoe and wonwoo came over to give you a squeeze. You felt his warmth and it felt so good to come back and wrap you arms around hi—.

your eyes opened in shock. You realised that with wonwoo, you were always happy. He made you feel at home, just by being next to you. He was your rock, and you looked forward seeing him everyday. Seeing him laying on your couch, a book in his hands when you reached home, immediately made you feel at ease and less tired. It was so natural, seeing him in your apartment, waiting for you to come home to him was normal.

oh my god. i’m falling in love with Jeon Wonwoo

After you started realising your romantic feelings for Wonwoo, you started being more cautious and aware of his behaviours. You would get flustered when your hand accidentally brushes against his when the both of you are walking. When he hugs you, you found is hard to let him go. You realised the sparkles in his eyes whenever he smiled and how much you enjoyed his laughter, never wanting it to stop.

The both of you would continue doing the stuff you’ve originally been doing. Baking together for the neighbours and grandma or going for walks in the park together. Only until one day, Wonwoo told you

“Y/n i’m so excited, i’m going to go on a date” You felt your smile falter, your heart breaking into tiny pieces. All hoped of “maybe he might feel the same way as i am” were thrown out of your window. You dug your fingernails harshly into your skin and you forced yourself to smile again

“hey that’s great, who is she?”

“Min jun, she’s in business as well. Super talented and smart and she’s really pretty too”

tears were starting to form, and you uncomfortably looked down at your lap, “That’s great, when are you guys going out?”

“Tomorrow, 6pm. I’m gonna bring her to that fancy restaurant Minghao recommended me.” Wonwoo looked so excited, it broke your heart even more.

“but won its movie night tomorrow” you said softly. “Don’t worry i’ll get back in time, just maybe a little late” eyes focused on his clothes. He picked out a button down and showed it to you, “Hey do you think this looks like date material”

“yeah” you mumbled. playing with your fingers, trying to distract yourself from breaking down infront of wonwoo. That night you left his apartment earlier than usual, telling him you still had some assignments to complete. If assignments meant crying the whole night.

the next day, you didn’t see wonwoo that much since you had more classes than usual. You were surprised you were still able to pull through them. Your doorbell rang and you opened it to see Wonwoo.

He was dressed nice in the same button down and jeans. His wrist adorned an elegant watch and his hair was styled nicely. he smelled of fresh shave. Your heart was pounding in your chest at how handsome he looked. “Wish me luck Y/n, i’m going to pick her up now” he smiled, showing how excited he was.

“have a great time Won” You said softly, knowing you wouldn’t have a great time knowing the person you love was going to meet someone else. Wonwoo waved goodbye to you and you closed the door. Sliding down the cool wooden surface and onto the ground, bringing your knees together and bawling your eyes out.

It was about 1 am, you sat on the couch waiting for Wonwoo to return for movie night. this heavy feeling of regret on your chest. You wanted to tell him about your feelings, at least let him know how deeply you felt for him. you knew you couldn’t pretend how much it didn’t affect you that he didn’t feel the same way about you.

The doorknob jingled and you realized it was wonwoo unlocking the door. You stood up and cleaned your sweaty nervous palms on your pajamas. Wonwoo opened the door and was shocked to see you still awake and waiting for him, snacks laid out on the coffee table and tv switched on to the netflix channel. “Y/n i wanted to check if you gone to bed already. I’m so sorry, we had such a good time i lost track of it and i walked her home”

Your heart once again broke at the fact that he had a great time. Of course you wanted him to find a nice girl, but it hurt you so much knowing it wasn’t you. “Wonwoo it’s fine...i need to tell you something and it’s really serious” Wonwoo rushed to you and the both of you sat on the couch. “look won, i really treasure our friendship but i just have to get it off of my chest. i-i love you, but more than a friend loves her bestfriend.” The hand that wonwoo used to hold your hand slowly retracted from yours.

“i know you don’t feel the same way” you said, your voice slightly breaking because your tears started dropping freely. “But you found someone, Min jun, who is much better than me anyways. Treasure her okay? i just want you to be happy and if you’re the happiest with her, then she is the road to go” Wonwoo instinctively raised his hand to wipe away your tears, but he brought it back down at the last second. “Y-y/n i’m so sorry, but i-i just don’t feel the same as you do. i really wished that i did” he looked down at his lap

You sighed out, “It’s fine wonwoo, it’s not your fault either, i just want to lay down now so goodnight. See you later Alligator”

“Goodbye crocodile” Wonwoo mumbled.

You snuggled closer into your blankets as you heard wonwoo leave the apartment and let the tears flow freely. 

You know what hurts the most? Loving someone who didn’t love you back.

Wonwoo didn’t sleep that night. you were on his mind the whole time. Guilt spreading his entire body as he could still remember the way you looked when you confessed your feelings to him. The way he wanted to hold you so tight then and chase all your problems away. He reached out his hand to wipe away your tears without even thinking but backed away in the end. 

He raised his hand in front of his face and stared at it. he knew he didn’t think of you as anything else but a friend.....right? He recalled all the memories he shared with you, food fights when the both of you woke up at 3 in the morning and had the terrible idea to bake cookies right then. The way your eyes lit up as you stared at the fishes in the sea aquarium. How bright your smile was when he brought you to a cat cafe. Oh god he loved your smi--

Wait no. He thought, i like Min jun, yeah the girl i’m going out with. Right?

He didn’t see you around that much anymore. You didn’t invite him in for breakfast. You walked to college on your own and you ate lunch that you have already prepared yourself. Wonwoo’s heart broke knowing you were purposefully avoiding him, trying to get over him. He himself spent countless of nights trying to get you out of his mind. But his mind always wandered back to you, have you been eating properly? Taking enough rests? or overworking yet again. he hasn’t been taking care of himself. Meals were half eaten, his eyes were dull and he hardly smiled anymore. he just wanted to see you again 

your smile, your eyes, your gorgeous face, your kind heart. 

his head kept convincing himself, Min jun, Min jun, Min jun.

but his heart chanted, Y/n, Y/n, Y/n.

Glasses clinked together, waiters moving around swiftly. Under dim lighting, Wonwoo stared at his date, Seo min. Seo min was talking about her new designer bag that she bought. Wonwoo zoned out of the conversation tapping his fingernails on the table, he switched his phone on from under the table and stared at the screensaver. It was a selfie of you and Wonwoo. 

Seo min clicked her fingers to gain wonwoo’s attention. “Hey you okay? you seem distracted” 

Wonwoo rubbed his face and flashed her a fake smile, “erm yeah i’m sorry, what were you saying?”. she continued droning on and Wonwoo had to put in so much focus just to hear what she was saying. He realised how similar the both of you looked. H/c hair, same hair length, height. But she wasn’t you. She didn’t want to get know Wonwoo, she didn’t care to ask if he was taking care of himself. 

oh god, i’m in love with Y/n, wonwoo realised

“S-Seo min, i-i need to go, i’m sorry. and i can’t see you anymore. Here is the money for this meal. i have to go” before Seo min could even say anything, Wonwoo was running out of the restaurant. 

Wonwoo ran like he never ran before, every breath came out as a light smoke as he ran through the cold wintery streets towards the apartment building. He climbed up the stairs as he was too impatient. 

Wonwoo impatiently knocked on your door, panting heavily from running and climbing so far. He waited for you to open the door and brushed through his hair. 

The multiple knocks on your door made you put down your book and hot chocolate. “I’m coming!” you said, wondering who was visiting you at this hour. You opened the door and was shocked when you saw Wonwoo panting like he just ran miles. 

“Won-” wonwoo stopped you by placing his lips on yours, slowly snaking his arms around your waist and pulling you impossibly closer. You were shocked for a second, but hesitantly wrapped your arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. You broke the kiss first, leaning away and placing your hands on his face waiting for him to talk

“Y/n, these few week has been misery. As cliche as it sounds, it wasn’t the same without you. I missed you so much, your smile, your laughter, everything. Cooking with you, studying with you and even doing laundry together” Wonwoo said voice slightly quivering as all his emotions poured out for you. “i realised as much as i was attracted to Min Jun, my heart belonged to you. I love you, and i didn’t see it before but i really do. I hope that you’ll consider me again and i’ll really like to bring you out” he finished

You gave him a small peck on the lips, “of course Wonwoo.” He gave you the brightest smile, knowing he has you back in his life and that you love him as well, made him the happiest man alive

He wrapped his arms below your knees and carried you into your apartment and onto your bed. The two of you kay and cuddled for a while. Talking about the events that happened when the two of you weren’t talking.

With you, Wonwoo felt like himself. In contrast to how he felt when he was with Min jun. That night he kissed you goodnight and had the best sleep in a few weeks.

Wonwoo has been bringing you on dates for a couple of weeks now, but he hasn’t officially asked you to be his girlfriend. Regular activities such as having breakfast together and spending time together resumed.

On christmas morning, you woke up earlier to make pancakes for the two of you. A pair of arms wrapped around you from behind, you let out a small yelp and Wonwoo’s deep chuckle made your hair on the back of your neck rise.

You turned around and gave him a kiss, “Good morning won.”

“Good morning baby”

You raised your head to realised the mistletoe that you hung were above you guys.

“look won” pointing to the mistletoe, “looks like i get another kiss”

Wonwoo looked up as well, “Well darling, i have one question. Would you like a kiss from won? or a kiss from your boyfriend Won?” he said bringing you closer. “because i would definitely love to kiss my girlfriend Y/n, not just Y/n.”

you can’t believe he was asking you to be his girlfriend, and on christmas morning under the mistletoe. It was a perfect moment. Your hand wrapped against your mouth in disbelief as wonwoo continued staring at you. You finally nodded frantically and Wonwoo’s face erupted into a big smile

He brought you in for a kiss. A kiss under the mistletoe, from your boyfriend next door.

Masterlist

[naruto-ichigo-soul-kyobabe]

Stray kids reaction to you hurting yourself (based off of stupid things I have done)

Chan

-you were waiting for Chan to come home from practice 

-you heard his keys in the door and instantly started running from your bedroom to the door 

-slipped going down the stairs because you forgot to put your slippers on 

-chan opens the door to see you falling down the stairs 

-“omg! Baby, are you okay?” He asks as he runs to you worried 

-you nodded and say you’re okay, even though you have pain in your arm, which later bruises 

-he kisses your forehead before helping you up and bringing back to your bedroom 

-gets ice and wraps it in a towel and rests it on your arm 

-“Y/N, next time don’t run down the stairs in just socks.. you know how slippery the hardwood can be” he says to worryingly 

-cuddles you for the rest of the night 

Minho 

-You and Minho were snuggling on the couch having a movie night 

-“ugh, too hot” you whined 

-“I know I am, baby” Minho responded with a smirk 

-“not you, meant I’m sweating under the blanket.” 

-“so you don’t think I’m hot?” Minho asked raising an eyebrow 

-“of course I do.” You giggle as you removed the blanket off of you, exposing your bare legs, that were covered in bruises and a couple scratches 

-“Ya, Y/N! What happened??” Minho cried out. “Where did these bruises come from? And you have scratches!?” 

-You looked at your legs and sat their wondering the same thing. “Hm.. good question. I don’t know where they came from.” 

-he looked at your flabbergasted. “What?” 

-“hm, the scratches are probably from the cats.. I just don’t remember them scratching me though. And the bruises.. hm I get random ones all the time so honestly I don’t know” 

-you shrugged and turned you attention back to the movie 

-“Aish, Y/N, baby. I’m gonna have to baby proof this whole place now” he took you into his arms protectively. “I’m also gonna wrap you in bubble wrap because clearly you’re a danger to yourself” 

Changbin 

-the two of you decided you would go to your cousin’s house in the country and do some four wheeling 

-neither of you had really done it before, so your cousin suggested you and Changbin ride on one together (mostly because he knew you were clumsy and couldn’t drive for shit 

-Changbin was confident in his driving skills, so you climbed on behind and wrapped your arms around his waist and snuggled your head onto his shoulder 

-your cousin lead you guys down a trail he was certain would be smooth and easy to ride on - at least that is what he thought 

-the terrain after a few minutes began getting really bumping and you were having a hard time hold on 

-after a really bad bump that lifted the four wheel in the hair you lost your grip around Changbin and you went flying off 

-“OMG! Y/N!” Changbin screamed running towards you “Baby, are you okay!?” 

-You just blinked a few times not believing that just happened “Yeah, I’m fine you said” 

-“What do you mean? You’re arm is bleeding! Damn it!” He yelled worrying looking at your arm that blood running down it. 

-you looked at your arm and realized he was right “oh, I don’t feel a thing” 

-“Because of shock!” He said, “Uh why don’t I have anything to wrap your arm up!?” 

-“Eh, it’s fine. We’ll just go back and clean it up.” You said calmly. 

-Your cousin came back to see where guys went and sighed when he saw you were bleeding. He took off the bandanna that was on his belt looped and went to tie it around your arm. 

-Changbin snatched it out of his hand. “I’ll do it! She wouldn’t be bleeding if you didn’t take us down this path” 

-he wrapped up your arm and kissed your cheek. “Let’s head back so we clean this up.” 

-he glared at your cousin before turning around and brining you back to the house. 

-“We’re never doing this again, got it?” 

Hyunjin 

-You were in Hyunjin’s room helping him look for his daisy necklace that Seungmin had given him 

-“How’d you loose it?” You asked searching the desk in his room. 

-“I took it off for a second because it had gotten caught in my hair and I put it in my hoodie pocket.” He said pouting “If I don’t find it, I will absolutely die.” 

“Dramatic as always” you giggled. “Were you in your bed?” 

-You walked over to his bed, where he had already stripped clear of everything. 

-“Oh, Y/N, are you trying to imply you want to be in my bed?” He said raising an eyebrow. “During such a heartbreak I am experiencing?” 

-You rolled your eyes at your dramatic as hell boyfriend. Honestly, some days you don’t know how you put up with him. 

-“No. I just want to know if we should be searching in this area, to actually make progress.” 

-“Then yes. I was in my bed. But I already stripped off the blankets and shook them. But nothing feel out. 

-“Maybe it fell under the bed? Between the boards?” You asked picking up the mattress. “Hold this while I look.” 

-He did what you said as you went underneath and maneuvered your way between the planks. Eventually a certain necklace caught your attention near the corner of the bed frame. 

-“Found it!” You shouted as you made your way back. 

-Hyunjin was so excited and forgot to wait until you emerged before letting mattress, which landed on your head and pinned you to the bed frame. It wouldn’t have been so bad, but it caused you to bite your lip- hard. 

-“ahhh, Hyunjiiiin” you whined 

-“oooh sorry!!” He lifted the mattress back off for you to roll out. You say on the floor and could feel blood running down your chin. “GAH, Y/N! Your lip is bleeding.” 

-“Because it bit it by accident. Anyway, here’s your necklace.” 

-“Omg but this is serious! Thank you, by the way, but we gotta clean your cut! TT” 

-He ran to the bathroom and gathered all the supplies he thought he would need and started to clean your wound. “I’m sorry, baby, I shouldn’t have dropped the mattress so soon.” 

-“It’s okay. No big deal.” You said shrugging. You saw the pain in Hyunjin’s eyes as he looked at your injury, you were hoping it would make him feel less bad. “I’m clumsy anyway, so don’t worry about it.” 

-“I promise I won’t do anything to hurt you again. Next time you hold the mattress.” He kissed your cheek gently, afraid that he might somehow hurt you. “I’m sorry. I’ll do better.” 

Jisung 

-You were babysitting your neighbour’s daughter. Your families were very good friends and a few years ago you gave their daughter your old bed frame. It looked like a little house. It had a roof and a little window you could open. You lowkey missed that bed. 

-you climbed onto the roof of the bed like you would do when you were younger, and sat down looking out at the room. 

-you and your neighbour were playing fighting while up there, and you lost your balanced and fell off. You twisted your arm the wrong way as you fell, and felt some pain when you moved. You thought you might have sprained your arm, until you realized you couldn’t move your fingers. Your neighbour was worried and grabbed your hurt arm to check on you. 

-you had to hold back the scream you wanted to do. Tears instantly filled your arms. You were most certainly sure you broke your arm. 

-You called your boyfriend, Jisung. “Baby,” you choked out when he answered his phone 

-“Y/N, babe are you okay?” He asked concerned. 

-“N-no. I think I broke my arm.” You cried out. “I’m babysitting and I fell off the roof and twisted my arm the wrong way.. but I think it’s broken” 

“YOU WERE ON THE ROOF!?” Jisung yelled in disbelief

-“Aha nooo, the roof of the bed.” You said as you started crying a bit more “C-can you bring me to the hospital? P-please?” 

-“Bed roof-? Doesn’t matter. Yes of course! I’ll be soon!” 

-Jisung brought you and your neighbour to the hospital, where it was confirmed you broke your arm and would need a cast for at 6 weeks. 

-“Babe, I don’t trust you to take care of yourself during this time. So I will be staying with you.” Jisung said as he drove you back home. “I can’t believe I even need to say this, no more playing on roofs” 

-he took your hand and kissed you fingers gingerly as not to hurt you. 

Felix 

-you and Felix were baking cookies in the kitchen. Felix’s cookies were to die for and when he asked if you wanted to help, you jumped at the chance, really you just wanted to spend more time with him. 

-you two had a lot of fun baking cookies and even got into a flour war, which caused Chan to yell at you guys for the mess you made 

-you cleaned up all the flour you threw and spilled while the cookies were in the oven. 

-I couldn’t wait for them to be done, you knew they would be delicious. 

-once the timer went off you told Felix you would take them out. You opened the door and grabbed the cookie tray, your mistake was you forgot to put on oven mitts TT 

-You yelled in pain and dropped the tray back in the oven. You looked at your hands and saw your burnt fingers, which were already starting to blister. 

-“Y/n! Omg! Why didn’t you wear oven mitts!!” Felix grabbed your hands and brought you to the sink to run your hands under cool water. 

-It helped a bit, but you couldn’t help but cry a little bit. You were in so much pain and you ruined the cookies 

-“I’m sorry, ‘Lix. I wrecked the cookies” you cried. 

-“Wha-? Darling, I could care less about the cookies. I’m more worried about you! How are your fingers?” He asked taking your hands gingerly in his and putting them closer to his face so he could inspect. 

-“Burnt.. and in pain” You said mustering a small laugh. 

-“I think we have some cream for burns. Run them under the water and I’ll be right back” 

-Felix came back with the cream and applied it to your fingers. “While your fingers heal, you can stay here. That way I can take care of you and make sure you don’t hurt yourself further.” 

-You nodded, you knew you would need his help for a bit. He kissed you before going to clean up the mess in the kitchen. After that he had you sit his lap so he could cuddle you without worrying about hurting your hands. 

Seungmin 

-You and Seugnmin went out on a walking date. You two didn’t want to necessarily do anything, just wanted to be together, and away from the others. 

-After a bit of whining, you eventually got him to give in to hold you hand, which you swing happily as you walked. 

-“Y/N, keep doing that and I will let go of your hand.” He said pouting 

-“But I’m happy to hold hands with you.. I can’t help it!” You smiled sweetly at you. “Please keep holding my hand, Minnie” 

-He pursed his lips and looked away from you, light blush on cheeks. “Fine.” 

-You giggled. You knew he secretly liked holding hands, just wouldn’t admit it. 

-You guys were walking up an uneven sidewalk. Being the clutz you were, you lost your balance and fell over, landing on your foot weirdly. 

-“owww” you whined as you held onto your foot, which had already swollen significantly. 

-“Honey, are you okay?” Seungmin asked kneeling down. 

-“I hurt my foot.” You said pouting. “It’s so swollen, I can’t even take my shoe off” 

-He helped you up, but once you put pressure on your foot you cried out in pain and clutched to him. 

-“Ahh, does it hurt that bad?” He asked worried. You nodded with some tears in your eyes. “A-ah. Okay. Hope on my back. I’ll carry you home.” 

-“W-what?” You were taken aback by his suggestion. 

-“You can’t walk like that. So just get on my back before I change my mind!” He bent down in front of you, making it easy for you to get onto his back. 

-You wrapped your arms around his neck and snuggled into his back. “Thank you. I really love you, Minnie” 

-“Yeah whatever.” He said flustered. “love you too.” 

-He brought you back home and wrapped up your foot, elevated it, and refused to let you walk anywhere until it was fully healed. 

Jeongin 

-You and Jeongin were playing a game of one-on-one basket ball. You were pretty good and wanted to show your skills off to your boyfriend

-You has pretty good skills, but since Jeongin was taller than you, he had advantage. He was able to block your shots and grab the ball when it was in the air. 

-“Ughhh no fair!” You whined. “Why do you have to be taller than me?” 

“Uh, I think it’s because of genes?” He said laughing. “You are good, but I’m better.” 

-“Yeah yeah, whatever.” You said annoyed and took the ball from him and started dribbling. He was coming after you quickly and went to steak the ball from you. You both smacked the ball and it came back at you and pushed your middle finger farther than it should. You cried out in pain holding your hand, forgetting about the ball that Jeongin had stolen from you. 

-he made a shot not realizing you hurt yourself and turned back to see if you saw him. When he realized you were injured he ran over to you. “ahh, baby what happened? Let me see” 

-He examined your swollen finger. “Ahh I think your sprained it. You’re always doing things like this.” He let out an exasperated signed. He didn’t realized he would be constantly worrying about you 25/8 when he started dating you. You always managed to hurt yourself and he just wanted to lock you away from the world. 

-“Let’s go back to the dorms so we can put some ice on it. Maybe go to the doctors?” He grabbed your non-hurt hand and intertwined his fingers with yours. “Honestly, what am I going to do with you? How am I suppose to keep you safe if you’re always hurting yourself?” 

-You giggled. “Sorry I don’t make things easy.” 

-“It’s okay. It just means I have to try harder.” He kissed your cheek and took you to the dorms to take care of you. 

[fantastic-bby]

Strings - Happy Ending

Pairing: Reader x Jaebeom

Word count: 3.1k

Genre: Fluff, romance, soulmate au, an attempt at comedy

Summary: The happy ending to Strings.

Read Strings first lol 

Masterlist

"Ugh! I can't do it!" (Y/n) let out a groan and threw her arms up in the air. She couldn't bring herself to get them to meet. As much as she tried to will herself, she just couldn't muster up the courage in bringing them together. 

Call her selfish but she was not ready to let Jaebeom go even if it was to her best friend. She simply couldn't. 

That was where she started to plan everything to make sure they would never meet without her knowing. She was going to make them avoid each other at all costs. 

»»————-　　————-««

Haneul stepped out of her car and let out a silent groan. Work that day was absolutely terrible and she felt like all she needed was a long bubble bath with a glass of her favourite wine to unwind. 

Stupid work, stupid coworkers, stupid intern that keeps losing the files and paperwork. This was the fourth time! Who hired that kid?! She thought as she made her way towards the lift, her black heels clicking against the marble floor as she did. She stepped into the lift and was relieved when she saw there was no one else inside. 

Haneul let out a loud groan and crouched onto the ground as the lift went up. She ran her hand through her hair and messily tugged onto it as though she wanted to rip each follicle out of her scalp out of frustration. 

The lift stopped at her floor and she grabbed her leather briefcase off of the floor as she made her way to her apartment. 

"Oh, Haneul-ah!" A voice called from behind her. She turned around and her spirits lifted slightly when she saw the sweet elderly woman peeking her head out of the apartment. 

"Hi, Mrs Kim. Good evening." Haneul bowed politely as she greeted her. 

"You look like you just walked through a tornado. Are you okay?" The woman eyed the poor girl's messy hair. 

"Oh… bad day at work." She chuckled awkwardly as she started to smooth down her hair. 

"I made cookies and tea. Come inside." Mrs Kim sweetly invited as she pushed open her door. Haneul followed her into the apartment. It was smaller than Haneul and (Y/n) 's apartment but it was perfect for a lil' old lady who was living alone. 

There was a familiar scent that filled Haneul's nostrils; cinnamon and baked goods. She sat herself at the kitchen island barstool and excitedly watched as Mrs Kim placed a plate of gingerbread cookies in front of her. 

"My grandson and his wife were supposed to come over today, but they're stuck in Incheon. Eat as much as you'd like, they'll only be reaching here next week." She smiled as she placed a mug of chamomile tea in front of Haneul. 

"Thank you, Mrs Kim." She hummed out as she took one of the cookies and bit into it, the flavour of ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg quickly coating her tongue. She let out a content hum as she chewed on the cookie, "Mrs Kim, these cookies are delicious."

"Thank you, dear. Now, tell me what's bothering you." She smiled as she sat beside Haneul and placed a motherly hand on her back. 

»»————-　　————-««

Jaebeom stared at the ceiling as he laid on his bed, a smile never leaving his face as he replayed his day with (Y/n). 

“Ah, I can’t believe I’ve met her.” He bit his lip as he spoke to himself. A meow came from his side and he turned to see Cake eyeing him curiously. “Cake-ah, I’m so happy!” He happily scooped the Munchkin into his arms as he stood up from his bed, scratching her belly as he danced around his room all the while trying not to drop his cat. 

He never thought he would be so lucky in bumping into someone. He felt so much love for her, he was absolutely sure he would never leave her even if he met his soulmate. Hell, he didn’t even want to find his soulmate anymore. Even in his black and white world, (Y/n) was all the colour he needed to lighten up his spectrum. 

Jaebeom placed Cake onto his lap when he sat at his desk chair and looked at the sticky notes that decorated his wall. 

Jaebeom-ah~ don’t work too hard and make sure you take care of yourself well <3

He smiled to himself like a child who had just gotten candy. He pulled the note off of the wall and brought it closer. He loved her handwriting. He loved everything about her. He was so in love with her, he felt like his heart would’ve burst even though he had only known her for a few months. 

He stuck the sticky note back onto the wall and leaned back in his chair. 

“Cake, should I write another song for her?” He questioned the small bundle of fluff that sat on his lap. Cake turned up to him and let out a meow in response. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He chuckled as he turned on his keyboard and his computer. 

There was a tune that popped into Jaebeom’s head the moment he saw her earlier that morning. He saw her running towards him, snowflakes falling past her as she did. She looked so happy to see him that he felt like he was going to explode from how cute she looked. 

“Ah, she makes me so happy and she doesn’t even know it.” He hummed out as he pressed a few keys on his keyboard. Cake let out a happy meow when he did. “Does it sound nice?” He questioned as he turned down to look at her. She let out another meow and he laughed, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

»»————-　　————-««

"Thank you so much for the cookies, Mrs Kim." Haneul bowed as she stood in the hallway. 

"No problem, dear. I should be thanking you for getting those cookies off of my hands." Mrs Kim smiled warmly as she waved at her, "Take care, Haneul-ah!" Haneul waved back as she closed the door and turned around to head back to her apartment. 

She stopped in front of her apartment and pulled her keys out of her purse when she heard Jaebeom’s door open, causing her to turn around and freeze. Her keys fell out of her hand as she stared at Jaebeom’s figure, his entire body showing colour amidst the black and white hallway. 

“Holy shit.” She breathed out as they both stared at each other with wide eyes. Jaebeom dropped the garbage bag in his hand and it fell to the ground with a slight thud. He took a step towards her, 

“It can’t be you.” He muttered out incredulously as he stopped right in front of her, “You’re (Y/n)’s flatmate. It would break her.” He pointed out, he felt hesitant to believe that his soulmate had actually been living across from his apartment for the past few months. Not to mention, his soulmate was his current girlfriend’s flatmate. 

“It really would.” Haneul sucked in a breath through her teeth as she grimaced. They both turned to the ground as they further thought about it. Neither of them had the heart to break (Y/n). Hell, if (Y/n) was sad, Haneul would feel as though it was her fault for getting her to forget about Jaebeom’s string and forget about the possibility of Jaebeom meeting his soulmate. 

But that was when she noticed something. “Jaebeom-ssi.” Her voice made Jaebeom turn up to look at her. “Touch my hand. I need to check something.” She extended her hand in front of him. 

Jaebeom stared at her hand then back at her. He reached his hand out hesitantly and took hold of hers. He gasped when he saw the white walls melt into an ivory colour, the lights hanging off of the wall starting to glow yellow. 

“Holy shit.” He retracted his hand as he turned around to scan his surroundings, watching as the colour started to chase away the black and white. “Oh my god.” He breathed out. 

“I know right.” Haneul breathed out as well, making a full turn as she watched the colour melt into her world as well. “Is this colour?” She questioned as she turned back to Jaebeom with a glint in her brown eyes. 

“I think it is.” He nodded. “And I don’t think I’m in love with you.” He pointed out, slightly confused at the feeling in his heart. He didn’t want to hold her, he didn’t want to kiss her, he didn’t want to marry her. He just wanted to know her. 

“Just to be sure.” She spoke before leaning up and pressing her lips to his. No, this felt wrong. Jaebeom quickly pushed her off, 

“Dude!” He exclaimed as he took a step back, “What was that? I’m dating your flatmate!” He pointed out as he stared at her in disbelief. Haneul furrowed her brows before staring at the ground with her finger on her lip as she thought about it.

“I think we’re friend soulmates, Jaebeom-ssi.” She spoke out with her eyes still to the ground as the pieces started to fit together in her mind. “I don’t think we’re meant to fall in love. I think we’re meant to be companions.” She turned up to him with a wide smile on her face when she also realised what that meant. (Y/n) wouldn’t have to break up with him.

“This means I can continue to date (Y/n).” Jaebeom let out a breath of relief. He didn’t have to leave her. He could keep being with her for as long as he wanted. “Should we tell her?” He questioned but Haneul quickly shook her head, 

“She’s going to get the wrong idea. I’m worried she’ll start to feel insecure.” Haneul muttered out. 

“What if we just don’t tell her we met.” Jaebeom suggests, “We just don’t let her know that we can see colour and we try avoiding mentioning it.” 

“That sounds impossible, but for her sake, let’s try it.” Haneul nodded and with that, they did their best to hide their meeting. Jaebeom went back into his apartment, wishing Haneul a goodnight as she walked into her own apartment. 

Haneul thought it would work. Even though she knew that (Y/n) could see the strings, she didn’t know that the strings would change their colour depending on the situation. 

(Y/n) saw the string the moment she stepped out of her bedroom. She froze at the doorway of her bedroom and stared at Haneul. Her string was blue.

"Mrs Kim invited me in for cookies. Sorry I came back a bit late." Haneul mentioned as she placed a tupperware onto the counter, "She insisted I bring some back for you to eat." She turned around and stopped moving when she took notice of (Y/n) staring at her. 

"You met Jaebeom already?" She questioned softly. Haneul felt her entire body tense up and muttered out a 'shit' before she gestured to the barstool. (Y/n) moved towards the kitchen and sat herself onto the chair, preparing her heart for the heartbreak. 

"I bumped into Jaebeom in the hallway and��" Haneul trailed off. It sounded weird in her head as she tried to form the sentences before actually speaking them. "I don't think we're supposed to be in love."

"Wait, what?" (Y/n) stared at her in confusion. 

"We saw each other, I held his hand but I don't feel love for him. Well, maybe it is love, but maybe it's a different kind of love." Haneul explained. 

"So… You're not in love with each other?" She questioned slowly. 

"Nope." She shook her head. 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yep." 

"One hundred percent sure?" (Y/n) asked, still hesitant to believe that she was still able to be with Jaebeom. 

"I kissed him too. He immediately pushed me off of him." Haneul nodded. 

"You kissed him?" (Y/n)'s eyes widened and she shot up from her chair. 

"Just to check!" Haneul immediately lifted her arms up in front of her defensively, "It felt wrong. I didn't feel any explosions, or love, or anything like that. It actually felt wrong."

"And Jaebeom didn't feel anything either?" She questioned. 

"Well, he pushed me off immediately and called me 'dude', so I guess no." Haneul flashed a smile at her. "(Y/n), you can keep dating him. I think we’re meant to be friends. When I held his hand, I didn’t feel like I wanted to kiss him or hug him, I just wanted to be friends with him.” She shrugged as she opened the tupperware and handed a cookie to her flatmate, “Our souls are connected, but I guess we’re just not connected by love.” She shrugged once again.

(Y/n) took a moment as she processed everything while nibbling on the cookie Haneul had handed her. 

“So, you seriously don’t love him?” She questioned once again.

“I’m serious. You could probably go ask him right now.” She gestured to the front door. “When we found out, we didn’t want to tell you because I was worried you might feel insecure or scared. I guess there’s really no hiding soulmate things around you.” She chuckled as she pulled out a cookie for herself. 

“Your string changed colour.” (Y/n) pointed out. “When you haven’t met your soulmate yet, it’s red, if your soulmate’s dead, it’s black and after you meet your soulmate, it’s blue. Your string,” She pointed to Haneul’s chest, “Is blue now.” 

“Yeah, see? You never told me that.” Haneul remarked. “So, your string’s black?” She asked as she looked at (Y/n)’s chest. 

“Yeah, and it’s ripped off about here,” She put her hand at her abdomen. “I can’t touch it. It’s just there. I remember the most painful thing when my soulmate died was watching how the string looked like it was trying to pull itself out of my chest until it just tore.” She hummed out as she recalled the excruciating memory. 

“Maybe that’s why it hurts so much.” Haneul pointed out softly. 

“Maybe. Strings are usually floating freely like they’re in water. Mine was pulled so tight, it looked like I probably could’ve played it like a violin.” (Y/n) joked. Haneul chuckled at that.

“You know, I never wanted Jaebeom to be my soulmate. I’m glad that we’re friend soulmates instead.” She gave (Y/n) a soft smile. 

“I’m glad too. What would I have done if you two fell in love?” She punched Haneul’s arm.

“Ow!” She exclaimed with a scowl on her face.

“You were the one who told me to fall in love and I didn’t even realise his string kept leading into our apartment.” She grumbled. 

“That’s… on you. How could you have not noticed it in the first place?” Haneul retorted as she rubbed her arm. 

“You weren’t even here for the first four months, and every time I was at Jaebeom’s apartment, you were at work.” (Y/n) argued. “I only saw the string because you came home early last week. I tried to keep you two away from each other because I was scared he’d leave. I’m sorry.” She whispered out the confession, her voice small at the end of her sentence. 

Haneul looked at her in surprise but she mostly felt a sense of sadness. She had known (Y/n) for years. She knew how much she’d have to go through. She had seen what she had to go through. The idea that she would be the reason (Y/n) would have to go through it all over again, well, it made her sad. 

“I don’t blame you.” Haneul placed a comforting hand onto (Y/n)’s arm, “I would’ve done the same if I were you.” She smiled. “I’m more sorry that I encouraged you like that. I never want you to be sad.” 

“That’s sweet. Thanks, eonnie.” She smiled and pulled her into a hug. 

“Oh, you should go and tell Jaebeom-ssi you know that we’re soulmates.” Haneul mentioned as she pulled away. “I think he was a bit concerned that you might be sad.”  

“Okay, I’ll go. Don’t trash the apartment or eat all the cookies.” (Y/n) jokingly warned as she left her apartment. 

»»————-　　————-««

“I’m so happy for you!” Haneul squealed as she bounced on her feet. “Oh my god, can I plan the wedding? Am I a bridesmaid?” She gasped. “Am I the maid of honour?!” She asked as she looked at (Y/n) and Jaebeom, his arm wrapped around (Y/n)’s shoulders. 

“Yes, you can help plan the wedding. No, you’re not a bridesmaid. Yes, I’m asking you to be the maid of honour.” (Y/n) giggled as she answered all of her questions. 

“Can I be the best man too? Oh my god! My best friends are getting married!” Haneul let out another excited squeal as she hugged the two. 

Being Jaebeom’s friend soulmate meant that they got along really well. They ended up connecting to the point where sometimes it seemed as though she and Jaebeom shared one brain cell because Haneul was always encouraging Jaebeom to do really dumb shit and he tend to listen to her. This had left poor (Y/n) to pick them up in the middle of the night once when Haneul had convinced Jaebeom that breaking into her old high school while they were drunk was a good idea. 

“You can’t be the best man because you’re the maid of honour. You can’t do both.” Jaebeom shook his head with a chuckle leaving his lips. “But, you can help Mark make sure the groomsmen don’t do anything stupid during the wedding.” He smiled. 

“I’ll take it.” She nodded. “Have you guys chosen a date yet? Can I help choose a date? My mum’s one of those really superstitious mums so she knows all the good dates for weddings, baby making and all that jazz.” She laughed. 

“I’m sorry Haneul eonnie, but Jaebeom and I have already thought of a date. We’re going to do it on the same date that we met. It’ll be in a few months, so you have to get busy.” (Y/n) let out another giggle. 

“Oh, I know the perfect place to get your dress, and I know exactly who we should call for the decorating.” Haneul clapped her hands excitedly, “Jaebeom, I’ll text you a number to a tailor for your suit. This is going to be the best wedding ever!”

[ladyfogg]

Cold is the Night - 4/20

Cold is the Night - 4/20

Fic Summary: You and Pat have known each other for years but this summer, everything will change. As the two of you start to grow close, your matching tempers threaten the foundation of your rocky friendship and prevent both of you from realizing your true feelings. Cold is the Night Masterpost. 

A/N: These two…do you know how hard it is to write characters who can’t stop being soft around each other? I have a whole outline and they are stomping all over it!

Fic Song: Cold is the Night by The Oh Hellos. Fic playlist can be found here. 

Pairing: Pat Murray/Female Reader

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: Language, Slow Burn, Eventual Smut, Multiple Chapters

Gif by @ cillianmurphy

You were promoted at the bar a week later.

Excited couldn’t even begin to describe how you felt. All the extra hours and hard work had actually paid off for a change. You could finally quit the batting cages. Of course, the new promotion meant you’d be working weekends for the foreseeable future but still. Steady income and a raise was nothing to brush off. 

Which was why you decided to throw a party at your place on the only Saturday you’d have free before your new schedule kicked in. 

You invited mostly the D-Backs since you didn’t really hang out with anyone else. Almost all of them had said they were coming, so it was bound to be a fun time.

You set up a makeshift bar in the kitchen so you could practice making drinks. The living room was decked out with comfy chairs and bowls of chips. You told everyone to bring food so you didn’t have to handle the cooking. Buying extra food for a party just wasn’t in your budget.

You played music through the TV as you got ready. It took you an unusually long time to figure out what you wanted to wear. Eventually, you dressed in your cutest outfit because if you were hosting a party, you wanted to make sure you looked damn good.

The guys arrived in batches, with Vinnie and Nellie showing up first. You liked your brother’s fiancee. She was bubbly and sweet and had the patience of a saint. She was the middle child between Ty and Dells, so she had a lot of experience playing mediator. Which often came in handy anytime you and Vinnie were in the same house.

Nellie greeted you with a big hug. “How are you?” she asked.

“I’m good, really good.”

And you meant it. For the first time in a long time, you felt solid and like you had your shit together.

“I’m so proud of you!” she gushed. “I know you really wanted that job.”

“Thanks, Nel.”

Vinnie threw his arms around both of you, pulling you in close. “I’m such a lucky guy to have these awesome ladies in my life!” he gushed.

“Have you been drinking already?” you asked.

“No!”

“Yes, he has,” Nellie smirked. “But don’t worry, I’ve got my eyes on him.”

“Yeah, you do!” Vinnie pulled her into a kiss and, while it definitely was gross to watch, you couldn’t help but long to find someone of your own to grossly kiss in public.

“Alright knock it off,” you ordered, pushing them apart. “Help me finish setting up.”

The rest of the guys trickled in over the next hour or so. Barone and his girlfriend, Gina, brought wine and cheese, Zapata and Tree came with a huge crockpot of chili which they proudly announced was homemade. Garvey had pigs in a blanket and a plethora of dips for the chips you spread around the house. Ty and Dells lugged a keg through the door which instantly told you things were probably going to get crazy.

After that, you lost track of who brought what as your kitchen table became covered with various plates and dishes of delicious food. You stood at the island in the middle of the room, mixing drinks when Maz walked in. 

“Hey, Mazzello! What’s your poison?” you asked. 

“Surprise me,” he grinned as he grabbed a paper plate. He began to load it full of food. “Damn, everyone really went all out.”

“I was thinking the same thing! When was the last time you guys got together and partied?”

“Not for awhile.”

“That explains it then.” There weren’t many weeks left before the last game of the season. Once the summer was over, life would take over, making it difficult for them to spend as much time together. “Here, I made you a classic Old Fashioned. Let me know what you think.”

Maz took the glass from you and gave it a sip. “Damn, that’s good!”

“Fuck yeah it is!”

As you reorganized the drinks, Maz seemed to study you for a moment. “I think everyone’s here,” he said. “I even saw Pat drive up.”

That was news to you. While your invitation had been extended to everyone, you weren’t sure Pat would accept. You hadn’t spoken much since the laser tag team-up. “How’s he doing? Does he seem better than before?”

Maz gave you an unusual smile. It could almost be considered smug. “He seems more upbeat at least. That was an awesome suggestion, by the way. He was telling me all about your epic win.”

“He was?”

Maz nodded, taking another sip of his drink. He glanced through the doorway that led into the living room, waving to someone. Turning back to you he said, “I’ll talk to you later.”

Before you could say anything, he was gone. 

“Weirdo,” you muttered, turning around to put several empty glasses in the sink. A moment later, you heard your name and turned back around.

Pat stood in the doorway to the kitchen holding a plate wrapped in foil. “You should never have let those assholes into your house,” he commented. “They’ll never leave.”

“Hey, Murray,” you smiled. “I didn’t think you’d come.”

“I was in the neighborhood,” Pat smiled back as he crossed into the room. He glanced at all the food, eyes wide. “Shit, there’s enough to feed an army in here.”

“And then some. What did you bring?” you asked, motioning to the plate. 

“Cookies.” Pat placed them on one of the only open spots on the table.

There was a moment of awkward silence as both of you tried to figure out what to say next. “Drink?” you offered.

“God yes.”

“Alright, I need to practice my mixed drinks. Pick something.”

“Tequila Sunrise.”

You mixed him the drink and, for some reason, felt nervous. It didn’t make any sense. You had been around Pat numerous times before. Somehow this time it felt different. It was the third time you two had been left alone in the last two weeks. 

“Your place is awesome,” he commented, looking around the spacious kitchen. “I can’t believe you rent a whole house by yourself.”

“The landlady is super sweet,” you said. “And now I don’t have a roommate anymore so I have the whole place to myself.”

“What are you going to do with the spare room?” Pat asked as you handed him his Tequila Sunrise. He stared at it for a moment before taking an experimental sip. 

“I don’t know. Maybe install a sex swing or something.”

Pat snorted in amusement and surprise, nearly inhaling his drink. You laughed as he started to cough. “Fuck! Don’t say things like that while I’m drinking!”

“That was amazing!”

“Ahh! I feel it in my nose!”

Still laughing, you handed him a paper towel so he could clean the dribble of tequila from his chin. “You’re something else, you know that?” he asked.

“Yes. Yes, I do.” As you watched him clean himself up, a wave of affection washed over you. It startled you but wasn’t so unsurprising. The two of you had been spending a lot of time together lately and you enjoyed his company. “I’m glad you came.”

Pat gave you a lopsided smile. "Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

The moment was broken by Palacco calling your name as he entered the kitchen. He had been at the party for some time and was well on his way to becoming drunk. You could tell by the redness of his face and the glossiness of his eyes. 

“There you are!” he smiled, sidling up next to you. “Heard you were making drinks. Why don’t you make me one, love?”

“I think you’ve had enough.”

“Oh, come on…”

“She said you had enough, Palacco. If she doesn’t want to make you a drink, she doesn’t have to!” Pat snapped, glaring at his teammate. 

“Hey, Murray, did you tell her how many balls you missed during practice today?” Palacco asked. “Was it…um, all of them?”

“Fuck you!”

Not wanting a fight in your house, you purposefully put yourself between them. Pat stood directly behind you, the heat from his chest nearly touching your back. It was enough to give you goosebumps. “Alright, calm down, children. Palacco, what do you want to drink?”

“Something smooth and fiery, with a little kick.”

“I can do a spicy sunset margarita…”

“I was talking about the bartender.”

Behind you, you heard Pat scoff. “As if she’d fall for that one.”

“Murray, why don’t you run along. Don’t you have Maz’s ass to kiss?”

“How about I jam my foot up yours?” Pat took a step forward, bumping into you in the process. 

You turned around to face him, placing your hand on his chest and gently pushing him back. “Pat, I got this,” you said, giving him a stern look. “Go into the living room. I’ll be there in a second.”

His eyes met yours, jaw clenched. Already you could feel his body shaking with rage, his heart beating wildly under your palm. After a second, he let out a deep exhale and left, downing half his drink in one go. Once he was gone, you breathed a soft sigh of relief. 

“Now that we have a moment alone…” Palacco began.

You whirled around to glare at him. “I’m gonna stop you right there.” You weren’t an idiot. You saw the flirty looks and noticed the way he paid extra attention to you. His clumsy drunk attempt at a pick up did nothing to help his case. “I’m not interested, Palacco. Sorry.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

“I have an idea.”

“Why? You interested in Murray?”

“I’m interested in people who don’t try to start shit in my house,” you told him. “If you can’t keep your shit together, get the fuck out. Are we gonna have a problem?”

Palacco put his hands up in surrender. “Fine, I’ll play nice.”

“Good.”

You left the kitchen in search of Pat. The living room was crowded with people but you spotted him standing by the couch, scowling as he sipped his drink. There were so many between you and him, you had to worm your way through the crowd to head in his direction. But before you could reach him, you were stopped by Vinnie.

“Sis! Settle a bet!”

“Yes, you’re a pain in the ass.“ Someone passed in front of you and then suddenly, Pat was gone. You swore under your breath. 

"No! That’s not it!” Vinnie said.

You lost track of what he was saying after that. The night dragged on and you and Pat kept missing each other. Every time you tried to talk to him, he disappeared or someone pulled you into another conversation. 

Drinks flowed, food was eaten, and by the time you finally escaped everyone, you needed a few minutes to yourself. You slipped away to your room. Clearly Pat had been upset about the situation with Palacco. While you didn’t owe him any explanation, you did want to make sure he was alright. 

You no sooner sat on your bed when a voice said, “You have my hat.”

Pat stood in the doorway, beer in hand. You recognized the same red cheeks and glossy eyes you had seen in Palacco and half your guests. He clearly had been drinking but didn’t seem as far gone as some of the others.

You glanced over at your dresser where the red hat lay. “Yeah, you left it in my car. I keep forgetting to give it to you.”

Pat nodded silently. There was something different than when he had arrived. The warmth you felt from him in the kitchen was gone and he seemed closed off.

“Are you okay?” you asked.

“You and Palacco seemed close.”

His statement took you by surprise. Mainly because you weren’t sure where he got that idea. You had had about as much interaction with Palacco as you had with Pat. Maybe even less. 

“We’re not.”

Pat wandered into the room. “He likes you though.”

“Good for him. I’m a fucking catch.”

Pat’s face cracked into a smile and he shoved his free hand into his pockets. “Do you like him?”

“Are you jealous, Murray?”

“No!”

“You sound like it.”

“…what if I am?”

The air shifted and your heart skipped a beat. “Why?”

Pat didn’t respond. You could hear Vinnie call your name but you ignored him. Pat shuffled further into the room and sat down next to you. He put his beer on the nightstand. “You didn’t answer my question,” he said. 

“No, I don’t like him. Not like that at least.”

Pat’s shoulders seemed to relax and he gave you a smile. You found yourself smiling back, a strange shyness taking hold. The sounds of the party seemed to be drowned out by the racing of your heart. 

“You’re beautiful.”

Your stomach flip-flopped and you couldn’t help but feel a warmth in your chest. At the same time, however, you knew he had been drinking. “Are you drunk?”

“A little.”

You could smell alcohol on his breath and even though you were drawn to him, you were worried he was saying things he wouldn’t say if he were sober.

“Come on, let’s join the others,” you said, getting to your feet. If he kept looking at you with those soft eyes you were going to do something stupid. 

As you stood, Pat did as well and caught your hand, gently stopping you. Swallowing past the lump in your throat, you looked back at him. “Did I do something wrong?” he asked.

He hadn’t. Quite the opposite. What he was doing, what he said, felt wonderful. But it wasn’t real. Only the musing of a drunk friend. You didn’t want to hold him responsible for words he probably wouldn’t remember the next morning. 

Just then, Vinnie appeared in the doorway. “There you are!” he exclaimed. “The guys don’t believe me that you can do a keg…stand…” His eyes fell on yours and Pat’s joined hands. “What’s going on in here?”

Not wanting him to get the wrong idea, you pulled your hand from Pat’s. “A private conversation which you so rudely interrupted.”

“Making a move on my sister, Murray?”

“No,” Pat said.

“Good cuz trust me, she’s not into gingers. Blonds maybe but–”

“Not exclusively,” you argued, shooting Pat a sideways glance. 

“Still, your track record speaks for itself.”

“Vinnie, stop being a dick.”

"What? I’m just saying all your previous boyfriends were definitely a specific type.”

“Shut the fuck up, Vinnie!”

You did not like where the conversation was headed and the last thing you wanted was for Pat to feel like shit. Clearly the conversation with Palacco had affected him. Your brother was adding fuel to the fire and you didn’t want Murray to lose it like he did on the field. 

“You can do a keg stand?” Pat sounded surprised, and like he hadn’t even heard what Vinnie had said other than that key phrase. 

You chuckled. “Yes, I can.”

“Fuck, I gotta see that!” Pat exclaimed. 

“Yes! Fuck yes!” Vinnie shouted. “You have to do it now!”

“Only if you do it first,” you told Pat. 

“Fine! I will!”

Vinnie cheered and grabbed your hand, pulling you from the room. You grabbed Pat’s and the two of you were dragged into the living room while your brother shouted, “Keg stand! Keg stand! Keg stand!”

The rest of the party went by in a haze of alcohol and laughter. Pat sort of managed a keg stand, though he didn’t last as long as you did. Your memories blurred after that but for the first time in a long time, you felt carefree and happy. Pat remained by your side for most of the party, but at a certain point, he disappeared into the crowd as you both were pulled into separate conversations. 

Eventually, the group began to disperse. Designated drivers carried your drunk friends home and by the time the last person left, you were ready for bed. The house was a disaster, a mess of empty plates, beer bottles, and other trash.

Deciding it could wait until morning, you headed to the bathroom to clean yourself up, only to find Pat slumped over the toilet. 

“Murray, have you been here this whole time?” you asked, kneeling next to him. 

He let out a groan and began dry-heaving, clearly having nothing left in his stomach. “Why did you make me do the keg stand?”

“I didn’t make you do anything, Murray.”

“I still blame you.”

Chuckling affectionately, you immediately went into supportive-friend mode. “Okay, okay, you’re alright.” You rubbed his back.

“I’m such an idiot.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Palacco flirts with you and I get all jealous…I never drink this much…”

“Don’t worry about it.” The last thing you wanted was for him to pour his heart out while his head was in your toilet. 

“And then we were in your room and you looked so beautiful…”

“Murray, stop talking.”

He was too far gone to listen. “I just want you to like me and I don’t know why.”

“I like you just fine. You don’t have to get drunk for that. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up and on the couch, okay?”

“…okay.”

He let you help him to his feet and over to the sink. After he rinsed his mouth out and washed his face, you carefully led him to the living room. His hoodie was covered in vomit so you helped him remove it before he flopped onto the couch.

“I should go home and leave you alone.”

“Bullshit. You’re going to sleep here so I can keep an eye on you. How’s your stomach?”

“Hurts. Empty.”

“Did you drink any water?”

“No…how are you fine? You drank too.”

“High tolerance, food and water,” you said. You pulled a blanket down from the back of the couch and draped it over him. “Stay here, I’ll be back.”

He looked pale and you were worried he was dehydrated. After filling a water bottle with room temperature water, you grabbed the trash can from the bathroom and brought both to Pat. 

“Here, take small sips,” you said, holding the bottle for him. Once he did as you instructed, you put the trash next to him in case he needed to throw up again. “Get some rest.”

“I just…I think I like you.”

“Sleep, Pat. We’ll talk in the morning, okay?”

He nodded, tucking his hands under his head as he got comfortable. You didn’t want to leave him alone just yet so you went around the living room picking up trash. Every now and then you’d look over to check on him, but he was fast asleep. 

You tried not to think about what he said, knowing he was drunk and most likely wouldn’t remember the next morning. But you couldn’t help it. The way he looked at you sent your heart fluttering.

“I think I like you.”

But did you like him? You hadn’t thought about it, yet now it was all you could focus on. You definitely enjoyed spending time with him. Before you had only ever seen him angry. Now, there was a sweetness there that you hadn’t anticipated. 

The fatigue of the party and alcohol got to you. Casting one final look at Pat, you went to your room, making sure to leave the door open just in case he got sick again. You changed into shorts and a tank top before sliding into bed. As tired as you were, it took a long time for you to fall asleep. 

Your thoughts strayed to the young man asleep in your living room, and the way his eyes sparkled when he looked at you. 

[animeniacss]

What I Want - BadBoy! Taehyung x Reader - Chapter 19 -Old Relationships and New Friendships

Synopsis:  You are an innocent, excitable new girl, moving all the way to Korea due to your dad’s new job. As you anxiously learn about the new world around you and how you’ll make your mark, you stumble into none other than bad boy Kim Taehyung and his band of six crazy friends. He seems to be bothered but you, something he doesn’t even understand. Will you be able to tolerate the shenanigans of Taehyung and his rowdy friends, or will you fall victim to his charms just like everyone else?

Featuring Jihyo and Dahyun (TWICE) as your friends, and BTS members as Taehyung’s group of friends.

Genre: Romance, BadBoy!V, BadBoy!BTS, High School Romance, Drama

Length: approx. 4.6k words

Disclaimer: This chapter shows scenes of domestic violence. Please read with caution.

Chapter 19 - Old Relationships and New Friendships

“Ji Seok, stop!” Hyuna shouted, stepping back into the living room. Ji Seok followed her, glaring. After stating that they needed to talk, he mentioned that he saw her with Taehyung an hour prior, talking and laughing as they shared cigarettes. He made sure to remind her how angry he got at that, and when Hyuna tried to defend herself as best as she could, he flew into a rage, throwing the beer bottle against the wall. The shattered contents fell to the floor, and the liquid itself splattered all over the wall. Hyuna was right by the wall, and when the sound of the beer bottle shattered, she jumped out of her seat and attempted to move away from Ji Seok. That was when he began approaching her, like a predator trying to corner their prey. “You’re acting crazy.”

           “Oh. Oh, I’m acting crazy?!” He asked. He punched the wall as he passed by it, making Hyuna covered her mouth to muffle a terrified shriek. When his bare fist retracted from the wall, a hole was left in its place. “I only act crazy because you know damn well how I feel when I see you with some other bum fuck of a guy! Especially…ESPECIALLY Kim Taehyung!”

           “I gave him a fucking cigarette and we smoked! Why do you always take this so seriously!?” Ji Seok finally got close to her and grabbed hold of her arm, yanking her close to him. “OW! Ji Seok!”

           “Kim Taehyung and his bitch of a girlfriend are the reason I ended up in a police station being questioned for a whole god damn night. I get out, with no call or any worry from you. How long were you even with him before I saw you outside?!” Hyuna tried to pull her wrist from his grasp, but he just yanked it tighter. “ANSWER ME.” He hissed.

           “I just ran into him then, I wasn’t even with him that long!” She whimpered as she felt the grasp on her wrist tighten. “You’re hurting me, let me go, Ji Seok!”

           “I’ll let you go when I’m fucking finished with you!” He said. “Another question. Where you happy I was locked up for a whole day? Is that why you didn’t call?” Hyuna kept trying to pry her wrist away, and it only angered Ji Seok even more. He yanked her arm down hard, not enough to break it but to put it at an angle where she groaned in pain. “HYUNA!”

           “Yes!” She glared. “I was fucking thrilled because you weren’t around to do shit like this to me!” Ji Seok snickered, finally releasing her arm. She rubbed it, letting out a few grunts and whimpers in pain as she backed away from him. Ji Seok looked at the end table beside the couch.

           “Shit like what?” he asked. “This?” He knocked on the plant that sat on top of it onto the floor. The contents shattered along the carpet and prevented a safe entry into the kitchen. “I can do a whole lot fucking worse if you want me too!” Hyuna hurried towards the bathroom, but Ji Seok caught her. He spun her around and balled up a fist, smirking as he threw a punch. Hyuna groaned, covering the throbbing eye as Ji Seok pulled back for just a moment. “You want me to show you worse?!”

           “Get the hell out of here!” Hyuna shouted. “I swear to God, I’ll call the fucking cops!”

           “Oh yeah? Do it! What did they do last time, huh? Fucking nothing. Because you’re a whore! They don’t believe whores!” He walked over and pinned her against the wall, grabbing hold of her chin. “Don’t tell me. Kim Taehyung is the one who’s encouraging this new defiant attitude, isn’t he?” He asked. “What a fucking prick, touching my property.”

           “I said get the fuck out of my apartment.” Hyuna cried out. She shoved Ji Seok away despite her throbbing wrist, using all the strength she had left. “Get out, I’m sick and tired of this shit! I never want to see you again, get out!”

           “Yeah. That’s definitely Kim Taehyung speaking. What, now that he’s all good and shit, you think one conversation with him can make you defy me? No, no, no, honey. That’s not how it works.”

           “We’re not even talking about Kim Taehyung anymore, we’re talking about you! We’re talking about how you’re a piece of shit and how I want you out of my apartment!” She shoved him again. And again. And again. He was by the door. She picked up his shoes and threw them at him. “Get out! Get out, get out, and get out!” Once they were by the entrance to the apartment, she managed to reach out and open the door.

           “You’re such a bitch!” He cried out. “Don’t think I’ll fucking forget this. Have fun, because next time I’ll break your fucking legs so you can’t run. Do you hear me?!” With one final shove, Hyuna slammed the door in Ji Seok’s face and quickly locked it, pressing herself up against it as she tried to catch her breath. She heard him kick the door a few times. She stepped back, hearing him grumble a few curse words before footsteps were heard heading down the street. While still being on an adrenaline high, she hurried to her room. Throwing open her drawers and flinging open her closet, she took out every single thing that was Ji Seok’s: every big tee shirt, every pack of cigarettes, every anniversary gift, everything that spoke Ji Seok’s name was ripped out of her room and stuffed into garbage bags. She was cursing, crying, shaking. Her head was throbbing as she yanked the trash bags closed. She picked them up and carried them into the main hall, opening the door and tossing them out the door. Slamming the door shut again, she slid down against it and covered her eye, groaning at how sensitive it was. She sat there in silence for what felt like forever before she stood up.

           “I need to clean the house before they get home…” she said, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a broom and dustpan.

------

           “Does this stuff look like it is good for a picnic?” Taehyung asked his friends, handing them the list that he had written. After meeting up with Hyuna and talking, he felt somewhat more confident. It surprised him that Hyuna of all people was someone he could find himself talking to about his problem…but it seemed as though Hyuna was a bit different than the last time they had crossed paths. He met up with the others, who were all studying together. The older boy’s entrance exams were only a month away, so cramming was something they did often. However, they did it somewhere that was free, allowing them to eat snacks, hang out, and keep the atmosphere relaxed with friends instead of tense with anxiety.

           “Lemme see,” Jin said, setting down his pencil as he took the paper from Taehyung. He looked it over. “Kimchi fried rice, scallion salad, beef bulgogi, cabbage rolls…” Jin glanced at Taehyung. “Do not tell me you plan on making all of this.” He said.

           “Well, that’s what came up when you look for the typical stuff to bring on a picnic.”

           “Yeah, if you’re feeding an entire sports team. That’s way too much for just the two of you.” Namjoon said, glancing over. “Just pick like two of those things and add some snacks.”

           “Cabbage rolls sounds delicious.” Jungkook hummed, smiling at the thought. “Make that. And the beef bulgogi.” Taehyung nodded, scribbling things down. “Are you going to bring desserts?”

           “I was thinking of making something simple. Brownies, maybe some kind of cookie. I dunno.”

           “Yeah, keep it simple.” Yoongi hummed. Taehyung sighed, looking at Jin.

           “Hyung, will you help me make everything?” he asked. Jin couldn’t help but smile.

           “I was waiting for you to ask.” He said. “Yes, of course I’ll help you.” Taehyung beamed. “But I’m not going all of the work. You’re going to make it too. She’s already tasted my cooking many times.” Taehyung nodded, a determined grin on his face. “When are you two meeting Saturday?”

           “I was thinking about 2?”

           “Come by early the morning. I’ll have everything prepared and we’ll get it all baked.”

           “Can I come too?” Jungkook asked curiously.

           “No. It’s just going to be us. If too many people come, Taehyung will be pushed out because he has barely any cooking skill.” Jin said simply, chuckling when Taehyung lowered his head on the table in defeat. Jimin leaned over and put a potato chip to Taehyung’s lips, which he took and ate. “7 a.m., be at my house.”

           “Okay.” He said. He glanced up, watching as Hoseok leaned towards Namjoon, a textbook in hand as he asked Namjoon to explain a problem. Jungkook was looking down at his work, scribbling away, focused expression on his face. Occasionally, he would stick his hand out and grab a chip or something, putting it in his mouth, but his eyes didn’t leave his work. Taehyung sat up straight, scratching his head as he reached into his bag. He pulled out some of his own work to do, the same thing Jimin was currently working on, which was Korean history, and scooted closer to him so they could work on it together. He wanted to be caught up with his assignments so that they were done by Saturday so that you both could enjoy your date without anything lingering in the back of your minds.

           You seemed to have the same idea, sitting in Jihyo’s living room with her as the two of you were doing homework. With Saturday only a few days away, you wanted your homework done and studying for the week completed.

           “What do you think Taehyung has planned for Saturday?” you asked. Jihyo rolled her eyes. “What’s with that face?” you asked curiously.

           “Nothing.” She said. “It’s just all you’re talking about.”

           “Oh sorry.” You mumbled, blushing in embarrassment. “I’m just excited. I love surprise dates.”

           “I know. And you can tell me all about it after it’s over.” She reached over and hit you over the head playfully with the end of her pencil. “You whined as Jihyo laughed a bit. “Can we finish studying? We’re almost done.”

           “Yeaaaaah.” You sighed, looking back down at your work. The two of you worked diligently from that point on, getting your studying and your work done. It was around 3 that afternoon when you cleaned up your stuff and set it aside. “With that done, I’m starving.” You stated, hearing your stomach rumble. You had worked through lunch. “Should we go out and get something to eat?”

           “Yeah. If you want to.” Jihyo said. “What do you want to get?”

           “Pizza sounds really good.” You said.

           “I agree.” So, with that set, the two of you got up and headed out. Jihyo called out to her mom that the two of you would be back later in the day, and headed out to a nearby pizzeria. It wasn’t too long of a walk, the two of you idly chatting about whatever came to mind as you headed down the street, around the corner, and into the marketplace of town. The pizzeria was somewhere you guys would frequent often, either after school with friends or with family on nights that your mom was too lazy to cook. It was pretty tasty, you had to admit. You took Taehyung here a few times, and the others too, to show them how good it was.

           The two of you ordered your pizza and sat down to eat at one of the tables. As you both ate, the bell at the front of the room rang, and you saw someone walk in. Glancing up, you saw it was Hyuna. She had on a baggy sweatshirt, leggings, and flats. Her hair was tugged up in a messy ponytail, and she was wearing glasses, even as she stepped inside.

           “Is that Hyuna?” you whispered to Jihyo, pointing in her direction. She glanced over, seeing Hyuna walk over to the counter and order.

           “Yeah. I think so. She looks different when she isn’t all glammed up.” She agreed. You watched her take her food and find a seat at the other end of the establishment, fixing her ponytail as she ate her slice silently. You were tempted to walk over to her and talk to her, but you figured that may not be a good idea. So, you simply turned around, allowing her to mind her own business as you continue with your food.

           You and Jihyo were at the pizzeria for about an hour total, between ordering, waiting, eating your food, and sitting down to chat for a few minutes while your food digested. Around 5, you both got up and made your way out, closing the door behind you. Just before you could make your trek home, the door to the pizzeria opened again, and you heard your name being called out. Turning your head, you saw Hyuna hurry up to you.

           “Hey…” she said. “Good thing I caught you before you left.” You saw her sigh, fixing her hair once again. “Can we talk?”

           “…What do you want to talk about?” You asked curiously. Hyuna bit her lip.

           “Just…we need to talk. Alone.” You glanced at Jihyo, who didn’t seem too comfortable with the idea.

           “I don’t know.” She said. “Where’s Ji Seok?” Hyuna scoffed.

           “I fucking dumped the bastard.” She said. “Trust me, I’m not trying to lure you to him or anything. I wouldn’t do that.” You noticed her put her hands in the pocket of her sweatshirt. “Please.” Yes, you were hesitant to go with her. You had only met a handful of times, but those times were never pleasant. Either she was flirting with Taehyung, or you and she were exchanging rude words. But still…you sensed that the Hyuna from then and the Hyuna from now were a bit different. Maybe it was just the clothes, but you kind of wanted to hear her out.

           “I’ll come by afterward.” You said to Jihyo. She pursed her lips.

           “You sure?” She asked. Giving a nod, you looked back at Hyuna.

           “Lead the way~.” You said happily. Hyuna nodded, and the two of you headed down the street. Both of you walked in silence for a few moments, you waiting patiently for Hyuna to talk to you, while Hyuna seemed to think of what she was going to say and how. She dug her hand in her sweatshirt pocket again, pulling out a cigarette and lighter.

           “Do you mind if I smoke?” She asked curiously, putting the cigarette into her mouth. You sighed a bit, smiling.

           “Yeah, go ahead. I think I’ve gone nose blind to the smell from Taehyung.” Hyuna chuckled, lighting her cigarette as she took a drag.

           “I’m going to assume offering you one will be met with a big fat-.”

           “No.” You said in unison with her, the both of you, again, sharing a giggle between you. “Now, what did you want to talk to me about?”

           “Well.” She began. “I mainly just wanted to apologize for what I’ve done to you and Taheyung for the past few months.” She took another drag of her cigarette.

           “Oh.” You said. “Well thank you.” A smile formed on your lips. Then, you pursed your lips. “You said you and Ji Seok broke up. What happened?” Hyuna was silent for a moment, and her pace slowed until it stopped altogether. You stopped as well, turning to face her as she dropped her cigarette on the floor, stomping it out with her foot. She wasn’t even finished with it.

           “Well, this is one reason.” She said, taking off her sunglasses. Once the glasses were removed from her face, her left eye was exposed to be horribly bruised and mildly swollen. You gasped.

           “Hyuna, oh my God…” you gasped, covering your mouth. Her eyes fell to the floor as she put her glasses in her pocket. “He did this to you?”

           “Yeah.” She said softly. “I ran into Taehyung a few days ago and we got to talking. I apologized to him too. Little did I know that Ji Seok was spying on me since he got out of that interrogation the day they had that stupid fight.” You stepped closer, gently reaching out to take her hand. “Ah!” She hissed, yanking her hand back as she rubbed it. “Fuck.”

           “I’m sorry…” you said. You watched her pull her sleeve down, exposing a long path of bruises, old and new, decorated the parts of the skin you could see.

           “He got so pissed when he came to my apartment.” Hyuna sighed. “Good thing I kicked him out and threw this shit out with him,” she said. “I couldn’t take him anymore. I was dealing with his shit since I was like 14.” She chuckled. “God, I’m so stupid.”

           “No, you’re not.” You said quickly. “Ji Seok is dangerous and manipulative. Good for you for putting him in his place.” Hyuna smiled a bit.

           “I dunno. I thought I could handle things after a while. He wasn’t always bad. He had anger issues, he was a bad boy, but he had his good moments. But, for some reason, eventually, those good moments were few and far between. Instead, all I got was yelling and threats and suspicion. I’m sure he’s sleeping with tons of other girls, but god forbid I try and hit on someone else, right?” She chuckled. “Taehyung was an idiot, but lord helps me he never raised a hand to me. I should have never broken up with him.”

           “Did Ji Seok convince you to do that too?” You asked curiously. Hyuna nodded. She pulled out another cigarette and lit it up. “Jeez. I’m sorry you had to go through that all these years.”

           “Thanks.” She said. “But whatever, I’m over it now. I always told myself I would break up with him. Never did until now.” She glanced at you. “Feels kind of good.”

           “Good! You deserve to be with someone who treats you right!” You said. “…Except for Taehyung.” Both of you laughed.

           “I know, I know. He’s off-limits, I got the message.” She said. “But if you break up, I won’t lie, I’m calling rebound.” Again, you found yourself laughing.

           “You’re really funny when you’re not trying to hit on my boyfriend.” You said. Hyuna smiled. “I’m glad you apologized and opened up to me.” You reached out, taking her other hand and holding it tightly. “I hope we can start over and be friends.” Hyuna nodded, taking her bruised hand and enclosing it over your own.

           “Me too.” She said. “I’m glad you’re forgiving me so easily. Not going to lie, I was kind of worried. If some girl who kept trying to hit on my boyfriend tried to apologize, I think I’d laugh and chokeslam her into the pavement.”

           “Oh my God.” You chuckled, grinning a bit. “Well, I don’t have the strength to chokeslam anyone. Maybe I can get in a nice, hard kick or something if I really try.” You said, making Hyuna grin. “Also, if I was dating Ji Seok, I’d probably try to hit on anyone I could find too. So, in a way, I can’t blame you.” Hyuna nodded. “Why don’t you come back to my house?” you offered. “We can get you something to wrap your wrist up and make sure it doesn’t swell.”

           “You sure?” She asked. “Weren’t you hanging out with that other girl…what was it, Jihyo? I didn’t plan on taking up your entire day.”

           “Oh, she lives by me. I’ll invite her over and properly introduce you.” Flashing a bright smile, you nodded. “Okay~?” Hyuna blinked, nodding at you.

           “Yeah. Okay…” she said. You nodded, happily leading her down the street. You kept her hand on your own, staying close to her in hopes of keeping a safe and comforting air between the two of you. Once you got home, you called Jihyo over before wrapping Hyuna’s wrist up in an ace bandage and icing it to prevent swelling. When Jihyo arrived, you properly introduced both of them to each other, and they were a bit awkward when saying hello, but your optimistic attitude kept things from going sour. The three of you got to talking, and that awkward tension seemed to melt away over time, allowing for the seeds of a new friendship to blossom.

---

           “You and Hyuna made up?” Taehyung asked, pressing his cell phone in between his ear and his shoulder. He was at Jungkook’s house, resting on the couch as Jungkook played Overwatch beside him. It was later in the evening now, and Jihyo and Hyuna had gone home a few hours ago. Once you were ready for bed, you called Taehyung up to check in on him.

           “Yeah. She told me about her and Ji Seok breaking up. I took her to my house and we got to talking. I’m really glad she apologized to me and we can start over.” Taehyung smiled. “Hopefully, things won’t be too awkward anymore.”

           “Yeah, hopefully.” He agreed. “You excited for Saturday?” he asked.

           “Can’t you tell me where we’re going? Maybe then I’ll be more excited.” You begged.

           “No way.” He huffed. “You’ll know when we get to where we’re going.” You whined a bit on the phone, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Awww, it’s only a few days away. It’ll be here soon. Trust me, I’m excited too.”

           “Okaaay.” You pouted. “I’m going to go to bed then. That way it’ll be one day closer.” Taehyung chuckled.

           “Alright. Goodnight.” He said. Jungkook leaned over and shouted hello to you over the phone before the two of you hung up and turned in for the night.

           Saturday finally showed itself, and you woke up early in hopes of finding the perfect outfit and looking your best. You took a shower, put some curls in your hair, and dug through your closet. Taehyung suggested she wear something comfortable, that this date was not a fancy one. That led you to choose a pair of overalls and a pink graphic tee shirt. You found a matching headband to put up your bangs and some pink flats. You were ready to go, spinning around in your mirror to get a good look at yourself. Suddenly, your mother called your name from downstairs.

           “Taehyung is here!” She shouted. You hurried downstairs as you saw your mother letting Taehyung in. He was in a white tee-shirt and a pair of jeans with sneakers. His hair was up in a headband as well. When he saw you come down the steps, he smiled.

           “Hey. Ready?” he asked. You nodded, hurrying towards him as you greeted each other with a kiss.            

           “Have fun you too. Be safe.” Your mother called as the two of you headed out the door.

           “So now will you tell me where we’re going?” you asked curiously. Taehyung shook his head, his hand clutched tightly in yours.

           “Nope. But I’ll give you a hint, we have to take a train to Seoul.” You pouted.

           “Awww, that’s it?” You asked. Taehyung smiled, and the two of you headed to the train station.            

           It took some travel time, but the two of you arrived in Seoul and made your way to a park. Naksan Park, to be exact. You walked through the beautiful park, seeing people walking the trails, running around with friends, or sitting and just enjoying the views that this gorgeous park had to offer.    

           “We’re pretty close,” Taehyung said, leading you down one of the trails. You kept close to him, looking around until he finally spoke.            

           “Okay, look.” You glanced over and your eyes sparkled. Before you were a red and white checkered blanket, laid underneath a big, beautiful tree. A picnic basket rested on it. “Remember when I said it was too cold in December to have a picnic? Well, it’s not cold now.”

           “Awwwww.” You hugged him tightly, kissing his cheek. “This is so cute! I absolutely love this!” You took his head and led him over to the blanket and both of you took a seat. As you sat, you heard footsteps fading away, and looked over, seeing what looked like Jimin and Hoseok booking it down one of the trails. You smiled, glancing at Taehyung.

           “They came just to make sure nobody touched the blanket while we got here. Jin-Hyung also brought the basket and set it all up for us.” Taehyung explained. He opened the basket and you peeked in. “He also helped me make everything.” You saw him pull out different food in little Tupperware’s, like the cabbage rolls and some beef bulgogi. There were some rice and some bottled waters.

           “You made this?” you asked curiously, taking some chopsticks.

           “No, no,” Taehyung said, opening his little Tupperware of beef bulgogi. “Jin-Hyung did. I helped.” You began laughing as you opened your mouth and took a bite of the bulgogi.

           “Mmmm!” You gasped. “That’s so good!” You smiled up at him. “I can tell you helped make it.”

           “Is that an insult?” he asked, and you shook your head with a giggle. You scooted closer to him, resting against him as you continued to eat your food.

           “It’s really good.” You assured. “You and Jin did a wonderful job.” Taehyung smiled a bit, leaning over to kiss your forehead. The two of you, snuggled up to each other, began to eat. “So what else do we have to eat?” You asked, reaching over and using your chopsticks to cut your cabbage roll in half, popping one half into it into your mouth. Taehyung hummed, setting down his chopsticks as he pulled the basket over.

           “Well-.” He began, glancing at the other half of the cabbage roll. “-I call that.” He opened the basket, pulling out another Tupperware of little brownies. “I wasn’t too sure what to make. Jin-Hyung suggested brownies are nice and simple.” You smiled a bit as he set them back down and picked up the other half of the cabbage roll, eating it. “Mmm, these are so frigging good.” He sighed.

           “I know, right?” You agreed. Taehyung glanced down at you as he swallowed his food. He watched you reach into your little plastic boxes of food, picking up some rice and some beef and putting them into your mouth, the corners of your lips pointing up in a little smile as you eagerly ate the food. Taehyung rested his head against you, taking a deep breath as he continued to eat.

           Jimin seemed to be right. I think this mood is helping. He thought to himself. Taehyung took another deep breath and sat up straight, setting down his food and turning to you.  

           “I need to talk to you.” He said. You blinked, swallowing your last bite of food as you looked up at him, setting your own food down as well and turning towards him.

           “Is everything okay?” you asked curiously.

           “Yeah. There’s just something I really want to tell you.” You felt your breath catch in your throat, and you smiled a bit, nodding. “Uhm…well…” He glanced towards the big tree beside you, before looking down at the basket of food, then back to you. “You know I’m not good at saying this kind of stuff…to anyone, not just you….”

           “I know.” You said, giving him a reassuring smile. Taehyung nodded. He felt a wave of confidence wash over him as he took your hands, giving a quick kiss to your knuckles.

           “Well, you see…I-.”

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[onlovestreetwithjimmorrison]

Lavender Walls: A Jim Morrison Fan Fiction. Part VIII

Lavender Walls: A Jim Morrison Fan Fiction. Part VIII

Jim and Sarah were back in their apartment eating their pizza in their living room with their lavender walls. Sarah said, “Those assholes can't make you legally join the band or anything can they?” Jim shook his head, “Nope. I am contractually done with The Doors. There is not a thing they can do. Besides, they ate legally known as JaRR now and since I was never apart of JaRR there is nothing connecting me to JaRR. They are on their own and they will fail and everyone will see just how important I was to the success of The Doors.”

Sarah and Jim were in the kitchen putting away the leftover pizza when there was a knock at the door. Jim opened it and saw John, Robby and Ray standing there. Jim immediately slammed the door and locked it. Sarah looked at him. He said, “Those assholes are out there. They had the audacity to show up at our home.” Sarah said, “OMG what the hell is wrong with them. Why would they just show up unannounced like that? Fuck them!”

There was another knock. This time Sarah went to answer the door, “Jim! Call the cops. The damn stalkers are back.” Jim walked over to the door and smiled smugly at his former bandmates, “See no one wants you here and you really are stalking us. I told you I wasn't coming back to the band and I'm not. And showing up at my home is not the way to do it either.” Ray said, “Just hear us out and if you don't like what we have to say we'll leave you alone.” Sarah and Jim rolled their eyes but let them in anyway.

Sarah and Jim spread out on the couch leaving Ray and Robby to take the chairs and John sitting on the floor. Sarah said, “John if you get puss from your rash on our floor you're going to have a big problem.” Ray said, “I'll get right to the point.” Sarah rolled her eyes, “That's a first.” Robby glared at her, “Shut the hell up. This doesn't even affect you.” Jim looked at Robby, “The hell it does. If you want me to join this fucking band again it does affect her. But I'm not joining the band so you're wasting your time.”

Ray continued, “Jim the band is failing. You know that. The fans are unhappy. We've had to cancel concerts due to poor ticket sales. Album sales aren't much better. This was our dream and your dream too and you're just going to let it die?” Jim responded, “No my dream was always to be a poet and I got sidetracked with the band. Why would I come back to something where I was not respected or treated as a valued member. I'm finally doing what I love and I'm successful at it. I'm not going to throw all that way from some lame ass band. Fuck you.”

Robby stood up, “You are so fucking selfish Jim! You don't care about anyone but yourself.” Jim seethed, “Like you ever cared about me. I was drinking all the time and no one gave a damn. You just bitched at me when a show didn't go as planned. My only concerns are Sarah, our marriage, my health and my career. Those are what matter to me. Not some stupid band. Now leave!” Ray stood up, “Forget it. I don't know why we ever thought he would want to help us out.” Jim said, “Trying to make me feel guilty isn't going to work. I am so over The Doors and I don't give a shit if JaRR fails. You knew it wasn't going to work. Like who the hell is going to believe that John is a sex symbol. Damn it John! You're getting puss on our rug! You know what? The three of you need to leave. Tomorrow is Christmas eve and Sarah and I have plans and things to do to get ready for Christmas. Maybe if you're lucky a bunch of fans will get that stupid JaRR calendar under their tree. Though I can't imagine why anyone would want to look at John trying to be sexy on the beach. That's part of your problem. You're trying too hard and you've completely changed the image of the band. The Doors were cool and fun and intellectual. JaRR just comes across and fake and phony and trying too hard. And the music sucks.”

Finally, JaRR had left and Jim turned to Sarah, “Can you believe those clowns? Wanting me to join the band again. Like what the hell?” Sarah said, “I know! But I don't think they'll be bothering us anymore. They didn't even have a response after you told them off and that their band was fake and phony. They just walked out.” Jim nodded and ran his hand through his shoulder length brown hair, “Maybe they finally got the message. They are jealous of me. I know they are. I am a success at being a poet and my fans love us. They get so excited when we walk into a cafe or coffee house when I have a poetry reading. They're really respectful of you, something Doors fans were not.”

John, Ray, and Robby were on their way back to JaRR's workshop. Robby said, “Can you believe Jim? He's so fucking selfish. And did you see their Christmas decorations? Only Jim would put lights around the inside of his living room window and think it looks good.” John responded, “I don't know. I kind of liked their Christmas decorations. The silver tree was nice. Ray and Robby just looked at him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~Christmas morning~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jim awoke around 6am and decided it was time to get up. He gently shook Sarah, “Sweetheart, its Christmas morning! Time to get up. I can't wait to see what Santa brought us.” He leaned over her and gently kissed her cheek, “Come on baby girl. We need to get up. We have presents to open and  then we're going to out to breakfast.” Sarah looked at him. Jim stood up and said, “Let's go see what Santa left us.” Sarah sleepily got up and followed Jim into the living room. Jim said, “OMG look Santa came and he ate the cookies and milk we left him.” Sarah put her hand on his back and said, “Its cute that you still believe in Santa.” Jim said, “Santa is as real as you and me. I've always believed in him and he's never let me down. Let's see what he brought us.”

Jim and Sarah sat next to the tree and Jim grabbed a present to open. He ripped the paper off and screamed when he saw it, “OMFG its that goddamn JaRR calendar. Why the hell would Santa bring me this? I don't want this.” Sarah looked at the torn off wrapping paper and said, “It's not from Santa, it's from Ray.” Jim threw the calendar across the room and said, “Fuck Ray. If he thinks seeing this disaster is going to make me want to be a Door again he has another thing coming. Besides if I did come back to the band would it still be JaRR or would it be The Doors again? Oh well its never happening so let's just open some more presents. Open this one. It's from me.”

Sarah unwrapped the tiny box that was wrapped in purple paper with silver stars on it. She opened the box and found a silver ring with a big pink stone in the middle. She looked at Jim. He touched her hair and said, “As soon as I saw it I thought of you. And I know how much you like pink.” He slipped it on her finger and kissed her. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his long hair. He held for a while and then let go.

Jim grabbed a present from under the tree and said, “I know this is from you because of the terrible wrapping! How much paper did you use?” Sarah said, “I hate wrapping presents. It's hard and they always look like hell.” Jim smiled as he opened his gift, “Sarah I love it. I've never had a leather journal with my initials on the cover. And the pages are so thick. This is perfect for me to write my poetry in. Thank you so much. You have no idea how much it means to me that you completely support me being a poet and doing what I love. Thank you baby girl.”

Jim and Sarah decided to stay home instead of going out for breakfast. As the cuddled on the couch and sipped hot chocolate Jim said, “Where's that dumb JaRR calendar. I want to see what kind of crap they put in there. You know its awful. Those three are so weird and don't know what people want.    

I mean who really wants to see John sprawled out on the beach?” Sarah said, “I know right? What are they thinking? Like did they forget how things were when they were Doors?” Jim said, “Apparently so.” Jim opened the calendar and gagged, “OMG Sarah look at August. You can see John's butt crack! Gross.” Sarah shook her head, “OMG what the hell? No one wants to see that. Do they have any idea how many Christmases they ruined? People are seeing that and being traumatized for life.” Jim pushed his long, messy hair out of his face and said, “I give JaRR 3 months before they are no more. People don't want to see that, nor do they want to hear that awful music they keep putting out.” Sarah giggled.

Jim smiled at Sarah from across their small dining table and said, “Sweetheart this lasagna is delicious. You always cook such delicious meals and the garlic bread is really good too.” Sarah said, “I bought the garlic bread in the bakery section of the grocery store.” Jim said, “It still good. I just love that you're always making us yummy things to eat and I can't wait to have some of the chocolate chip cookies you made. I was getting hungry all afternoon smelling them bake.” Sarah smiled at him, “I love that you're so enthusiastic about the food I make for you.” Jim was about to say something when he looked out the window, “OMFG what the hell is that?” Sarah said, “What?” Jim said, “Look out the window at the billboard across the street.” Sarah looked and saw a huge picture of John sprawled out sexy on the beach. The letting above him read Beach Sex. The new album from JaRR.

Jim and Sarah were snuggled in bed together. Jim said, “We'll have to keep the blinds closed so we don't see that awful billboard. Can you believe that's what they are calling their album? When people think of JaRR they do not think of Beach Sex. I mean geeze even The Doors didn't do crap like that. They are going to be the laughing stocks of the music industry.” Sarah had her head on his hairy chest while he held her. She glanced up at him and said, “Let's just forget about those losers. I just want to lay here with you and fall asleep together.” Jim kissed the top of her head and pulled the covers closer around her and soon the two of them were sound asleep.

This is Jim excited about Christmas morning.

[pegasusdragontiger]

The Plot To Get Steve Dating.

Prompt: “I’m not spying, just copying some files that belong to them”.

Pairing: Steve Rogers/OFC Reader

Rating: G

Warnings: Fluff, lots of fluffy and laughs

Summary: They plot to get Steve dating.

A/N: This is for @themanwithovtfear writing challenge! I hope you enjoy this, it took a while for me to write this. I couldn't think of how to create a story with the prompt but I wrote this last night and thank you too @rebelslicious for the editing, hugs you so much! Enjoy!!

The lift doors open, your colleagues proceed out of the lift, while you enter and press the button for the top floor. You had just received a message from Director Fury as you arrived for work. He told you to be on the top floor 15 mins before the Avengers briefing to photocopy two important files. Finding this weird and unusual you grilled your boss as to why? “You have Jarvis, he’s basically a computer/A.I. and an assistant-ish he could have the files copied and in front of all Avenger seats before anyone arrived.” Let’s just say the persistent ringing in your ears would last for a very long time, and Fury’s glare also gave you the urge to look over your shoulder for the rest of your life for even daring to ask your boss, why? Shaking your head to stop thinking about the revenge Director Fury will have on you, you went back to glancing at the lift slowly going up to the top floor; you’d think that coming to the tower they’d have fast lifts built by Tony Stark himself! But today for some reason they were so slow and seem to be stopping on all floors. The doors open and no one get’s on or off. It’s strange, like someone had gone from the ground floor all the way to the top and pressed all the call buttons on the outside panel. You huffed at the long ride up that was to come as you went through the mental rev up over the possibility of seeing him.

Endless dreams, with him plaguing your mind; handsome, strong, witty and such a shit stirrer. Leaning back against the lift wall, sighing heavily, “Stop it, just clear your mind and forget that a man like him could want a girl like you.” This is Steve, the Steven Grant Rogers, a.k.a Captain America, a.k.a the hunk of spunk. You recalled now, Bucky said to you once that his buddy loves women with curves! Pfft yeah right! Being fuller figured entitled every man and woman to pre judge you for your size. Despite the fact that you were an agent, a deadly agent, only your work mates it seemed, had no judgement at all. They knew how you put the fear of god into the judgmental ones,  even the rookies.

You’d been trained by The Black Widow herself, and she was mighty proud of you. So proud that she loves your cookies, the undeadly kind. Everyone said your cakes, cookies, muffins where the best everyone has had in the history of them all working in Shield. *You scoffed at the thought* They only said that because of what you might do if someone dared say that they tasted like dirt! Which would never happen as you made doubly sure they are always yummy and delicious.

Meanwhile, up on the top floor, all Avengers were in Meeting Room 1. Funnily enough, for the first time in the history of them all working together, they had all arrived on time; which shocked Steve to the core. His Cap senses were tingling, something wasn’t right! Something was off, he knew it. Never once since he met all of them had they ever been all on time! Okay, so that maybe was a bit wrong. Bruce, as much as he was a scientist, never ran late to meetings or briefings. And there he was sitting next to his Science Bro Tony. Now Tony, he could run from 15 minutes to 4 hours late to any and all meetings and briefings. Again no one was ever to mention that he was 4 hours late. Everyone was still waiting for Fury to get his revenge on Stark, for the event that happened 5 years ago. Waiting for Fury’s payback to happen scared everyone even more.

Shaking his head, he turned his attention to the spy assassin’s of the team. Clint and Nat were never late, ever. They arrived 1 minute early or right on time. Clint once told him when first starting at Shield the one thing you learned was to never get on Fury’s bad side and never be late to any meeting or briefing with or without Fury actually being present. Without giving much away, Clint explained how breaking the rule was dealt with. All Clint said was that his “body had never felt such pain in his life”. Nat, sitting next to him smirked like she just got told what she was getting for Christmas, and she was getting all the cake. Nat being Nat, smiled evilly and said she had never nor would she ever be late for meetings or briefings. Thor, he just shrugged and said he’d never liked being tardy. Sam, being a military man, was never late either. Vision was always 1 hour early, Wanda was on time, and Bucky, sitting next to him, was never late; arriving with him all the time.

Mainly Bucky came along to nag him about you, asking if “you’d asked her out yet?” And “why not punk? You don’t have forever!”. As everyone was sitting and waiting, it  still nagged at him that something wasn’t right, all of them were off! It made him want to dig and find out what was going on. Just as he was about to grill them all, Bucky beside him said, “We’re gathered here today to discuss the elephant in the room.” Confused at the silence and all the nodding, he wasn’t really understanding what was going on, or why Tony texted someone and looked up with his full attention on Bucky. Tony coughed once then proceeded with the secret meeting.

“We all know why we are here?” Everyone said yes, but him. From him came a lonely confused no. “Right so we all have to come up with a plan to have you and Steve finally get together, the tension and flirting is starting to grate on my nerves!”. Looking around the room everyone nodded, with Clint raising his arms in a finally gesture, while getting smacked by Nat to “shut up, and listen”.

Steve, in shock, looked at everyone and said “What? What do you mean by all this!”.

Bucky turned to Steve and with a sympathetic face, and sad eyes said, “We’re here punk, to help you make your move, to *closes his eyes and opens them again* make sure you get your happy ending. To have our two favourite people together as a couple before you lose your chance and she’s gone!”

His mind still doesn’t comprehend what he’s heard, he shook his head in a no gesture. “Buck come on, stop joking around..”

Bucky sighed “We’re not. Seeing you both mooning and sending googly eyes at each other every time you both come within sight distance.”

“We want you happy Steve!” Bruce said. There was more nodding from everyone. His mouth is opening and closing like a fish and Clint can’t hold himself in “So are we doing candlelight dinner, slow dancing and flowers? The works?”

Tony threw blueberries into Clint’s mouth “Duh Legolas, why else are we here on time for a meeting within a meeting!”.

His head hits the table with a thud, then with two more thuds. “Come on Cap it’s not that bad. I mean you are not subtle with your mooning eyes at her! All we’re trying to do is give you the motivational push to admit it out loud and then get you to ask her out. And then through time, bam you’re married with kids and then I get to spoil them for life and be godparent and best Uncle to them!” Screamed Tony.

What surprised him the most was the onset of the shouting matching going on between them all. Out shouting each other, Clint and Tony, so much so that Tony threw blueberries at Clint. Which Clint either ate or threw back. Both saying *Yeah, nah yeah, nah!* to each other while Nat picked up the stray berries on the table and plopped them into her mouth while grinning. He locked gazes with her. They both raised their eyebrows at each other with Nat letting out a happy smile and giving him a wink before she went back to eating the forgotten berries. Next to her Clint and Tony started to throw paper and pens at each other, moving up from the berries.

Steve asked her “How come you’re not in on..*hands waving around at Thor, Vision, Wanda, Sam, Bruce and Bucky all shouting at each other about god-parenting, Uncle and Aunt rights and what that entails* This!”.

Still happy and eating Nat responds. “Why do you think Rogers?”

It hits him, his eyes widen. “You’re already godparent?”

Laughing at this Nat allows, “Well to all future kids, plural Steve! Not only am I godparent but also Maid of Honor! I have my priorities right Stevie.” Smile gone, her eyes hard. “Don’t let me down Steve, not only do I have kiddies to spoil and protect, but you hurt her and you’ll wish you’d never had food ever again”. Once the threat was done  Nat turned back to the shouting matches with her smile at full wattage.

Still not believing what his ears heard and his eyes saw, he just sat there and watched as they all planned his future. Not a one realising that the talk of dating had moved out the door of meeting room 1, and could be heard at the printer located a couple of feet away from them. It wasn’t until you turned the printer on and started photocopying for the meeting, that you could hear what had already started, which was again weird. You glanced at your watch to check the time and you still had 10 more minutes. You shrugged as this wasn’t the most unusual thing to happen at Shield, and went back to photocopying. It wasn’t until the muttered chattering you heard turned to full on shouting that you could hear every word. You tried your hardest not to listen in, yet you heard everything. That Tony wanted “full Uncle time” and Clint saying he wanted “double Uncle time”, to Bucky saying “Over his dead body would anyone but him be honorary godparent and Uncle to the future children.” You shook your head at the randomness, you told yourself to stop eavesdropping on people's private conversations. Thinking they were talking about the mission they were going to be on soon, you shrugged your shoulders and went back to printing. Not really noticing that what you were printing was kitchen plans and nursery plans for new rooms to be created in the tower called Steve and your rooms part 1.

As the shouting increased, you did everything you could to not listen. From humming songs to singing lyrics; everything you could come up with you tried, to ignore it all while printing. All of a sudden the door opened in a flourish and out came Steve. He shut the door behind him and leaned against it. He muttered, and shook his head in frustration. You tried to come up with a reason to be there, at the printer, when everyone knew that your office had a printer. The first thing that came to mind you said out loud “I’m not spying, just copying some files that belong to the meeting”.

Your innerself asked ‘why did you do that you moron!’ While Steve, thinking he was alone till then, turned in shock and looked at you, the woman of the hour right here in front of him! He knew they were right, he was mooning after you, but he still felt like he was 4 feet tall, and skinny. He had learnt how to know talk to women, how to  ask them out, but whenever he was within range, or he finally had the courage to turn up at your office to ask how your “mission” went or to say “my printer died can I use yours?” (even though everyone, including himself knew that the next nearest printer was Bucky’s office next door to his 8 floors up from your office). He was just now realizing that you said something to him and he responded.

“What?.. Oh yeah of course.. Didn’t even cross my mind you were. Uhh how’s um how’s life going, I mean seeing anyone, I mean dating, no wait *arm stretched out* are you free? I meant, I know you’re free, free, but do you have any plans or, as I like you  you know? I mean not like but more than like, it’s just, I’m attracted to you and you’re funny, smart, deadly. I love your cooking, not to say that your place is in the kitchen or anything like that, as you have every right to work and kick butt and be gorgeous while doing all that! I’ll uh I’ll stop now”.

Throughout his speech, his arms waved around, hands combed his hair in that nervous stress tick he had and rubbed his neck. He looked all flustered and nervous, far from his usual manner. The shouting had stopped, you both didn’t realise that the door behind him was open, with the rest of the Avengers crowding the doorway. They looked like they were watching as a tennis match was going on. Bucky loudly spoke, “Steve breathe buddy, come on! Like I said this morning, nice and easy don’t rush.”

Nat, being the first one to the door, stood in the middle of the doorway. She lifted her foot and whacked Bucky in the shin with her new (that went to her knee and so nice and shiny) high heeled boots (that were her thing). Hearing an “Ouch Nat, what was that for? I’m being all supportive, and motivating to my brother!” Shook both of you out of the dream like state you were in.

You tried to get your mouth and brain working. You opened and closed your mouth. Come on and think of something to say, he just told you he liked, liked, you or more than liked you! He’s waiting, say something! “I more than like, like you too….and I’m not dating anyone. I think you’re funny, sweet, so caring, and I’m uh..no, no one’s ever asked me out before so um...” Letting out a little laugh you looked down at your feet then back up at Steve and back down again. You scuffed your shoes on the floor, not even realising you’d printed the same page repeatedly since Steve came out of the meeting room. “Not like men love a fuller figured woman you know! Being called fat, having women humiliate me, I’ve umm..” You were trying not to cry with all the emotion.

He noticed the tears as he walked up to you, his long arms wrapped around you giving warm cuddly hugs, leaning his head down to put kisses on your head. He rocked you slowly, leant down to your ear to say that no matter what people said, or how they say it, you would always be beautiful. No matter the size, no matter how people looked at us or you, you would always be his one. That they are just jealous of the beauty that comes from within you and shines on everyone daily. Feeling all the warmth that was him holding you; you snuggled into him with the occasional sniffle.

Your head leaned against his chest, you heard his thudding heart beat, you told him yes, yes you would love to go on a date with him. With a wide grin, his eyes sparkled as he gave you another peck on the head and said, “Why don’t we go and have some morning tea.”

While the two of you walked to the lifts to head to the main kitchen you left the watchers behind. Nat smiled wide and turned to the others and said, “This is why you never doubt me and my plans every again. Ooh and Tony, you might want to let Jarvis know that he can wire me the money anytime.”

She walked away with a spring in her step while whistling a tune. The others groaned with the thought of another lost bet to Nat. Bucky was smart enough not to bet against her and he grinned at them and said “You’d think after all this time working and living together so long, you’d know not to bet against her.” He shook his head and grinned at his win with the money pot ashe walked away singing :’we are the champions’. Bruce turned to Tony and said “That’s the last time I’m listening to you.” and he walked to the lift to head to his lab.

The End

Tagging: @magellan-88 @princess-evans-addict @themanwithovtfear @ilovethings-somuch @suz-123 @bolontiku @ryverpenrad @rebelslicious @buckyappreciationsociety @mycapt-ohcapt @theycallmebucky @supernatural508 @sebstanfanma @fanfics-and-coffee @tilltheendwilliwrite @this-kitty-has-claws @misshyen @kimistry27 @hellomissmabel

[junker-town]

A Halloween candy draft, because we are a sports website

Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Eight GMs. 24 picks. 1 ultimate candy haul.

Halloween is for everyone. Kids who want to trick-or-treat. Adults who want an excuse to wear costumes outside of Comic-Con. But especially for the candy lovers.

While children trade cuteness for the primary currency of their adolescent world, the childless among us must wait an extra 12 hours to profit. There’s no sweeter day in this world than November 1, where the racks and racks of sugary sweetness at grocery stores across the world become a distressed asset. All Saint’s Day is America’s gift to the gluttons, the beginning of a one week period where, if you play your cards right, you can purchase your body weight in Milky Ways for $15.

But which candy truly reigns supreme? That’s too big a question for just one person.

[Related: 17 last-minute Halloween costumes for sports fans in 2019]

About two weeks ago, a handful of SB Nation staffers threw down the gauntlet on breakfast cereals. A raging debate between honey vs. fruit vs. chocolate eventually exploded into a three-round draft where the world saw James Brady reign supreme with a lineup of Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Reese’s Puffs.

Brady, oat-loving coward that he is, decided to retire with his mantle intact. In his place, eight other SB Nation writers stepped into the void to create their three-candy roster. Now it’s time to dive back into that sugar mine for Halloween season. Here’s how it turned out.

Round 1

1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups — Whitney Medworth

It’s Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Do I really have to explain it?

David (Fooch) Fucillo: How am I supposed to shit talk peanut butter cups? Who would NOT have this atop their big board?

Tom Ziller: Easiest No. 1 overall pick since Zion. Disks over novelty shapes.

2. Skittles — Matt Ellentuck

Best fruity candy. It’s obvious.

Fooch: Y’all will trash me for candy corn, but as Eric Stephen put it, taste the lame-bow. Skittles are a perfectly fine candy, but who the hell takes it No. 2 overall? I feel like this will turn into the Ryan Leaf of #2 picks. If you had to go with “fruit” candy, Mike & Ikes would have been my preferred choice, but even Starburst feels like a better choice.

James Dator: Skittles are so overrated it’s scary. They’re way too sweet and literally dissolve into sugar crystals.

Ziller: Jabari Parker went No. 2 over Joel Embiid and Skittles went No. 2 over Snickers. Wow.

3. Snickers — Caroline Darney

Look, I didn’t think Reese’s would fall to three, so I’m happy going with Snickers. Snickers is one of the few candy bars that doesn’t loose that...je ne sais quoi...when it’s fun sized, but it’s a grand slam if you get a full sized one of these bad boys in whatever plastic pumpkin/pillow case you’re carrying through the neighborhood. This is a classic, and sure, I’ll build a team around it.

Christian D’Andrea: Regular Snickers aren’t even the best candy in their own brand extension. Crispers. Almond. Peanut butter. ALL SUPERIOR

Ziller: Both a delicious candy and a workout for your jaw muscles. Win-win.

4. 100 Grand — Tom Ziller

100 Grand is a classic candy that is best served in fun size (hence why full-sized bars are split in half). A lot of different textures happening here. A lot of complexity.

D’Andrea: Ziller, in either an act of hubris or just not being on Slack for draft day, missed his picks in the first two rounds and played catchup later. His first pick was a brick of mud dipped in rice. Nestle Crunch and Milky Way were both still available. This was a terrible idea.

5. Kit Kat — Christian D’Andrea

The chocolate is pretty great, especially if you can get your hands on the European version. The wafers don’t taste like anything, they’re just there for wonderful texture and to provide something to break apart with your teeth if you’re a nervous weirdo like me. Bonus points if you can break the candy down to its basic components like a Hershey Park diagram before eating it.

Eric Stephen: Gimme a break!

D’Andrea: God dammit, Eric.

6. Candy corn — David Fucillo

I get dumped on for picking Candy Corn in the first round and you’d think I was the Jets drafting a fullback. Most of y’all will argue I reached in a big way, but it only takes one other person to ruin my Halloween. I don’t eat candy corn outside of October 1 to October 31, but for that one month, it is truly a delight. The only opinion that matters is that of my taste buds, and they demand candy corn every October.

Darney: This pick has big “took a kicker in the first round” energy.

Ellentuck: Candy corn is good and I’m here to stan it actually.

James Dator: Yeah, I thought Fooch was tanking the draft like @boring_as_heck used to ruin NFL mock drafts. I still think he might have. I refuse to believe that in the pantheon of candy any reasonable adult with their faculties would look at a list of confection delights and say “why yes, I would like this honey-flavored wax please.” While the overall abuse of candy corn has gone a little far and is the cool thing to do (like trashing pineapple on pizza) this is still an absolutely garbage pick that would have been a UDFA. This is a worthless, awful, horrible pick that absolutely nobody should applaud Fooch for. I still love you dude, and I’m not mad. I’m not even disappointed. I’m just bewildered.

Ziller: What are we doing here? Is Fooch taking edible vampire fangs in the second round? Is he actually going to pick something like raisins?

7. Twix — Eric Stephen

I was worried that with such a low pick that I would have to draft a lesser treat in the first round, but instead I was fortunate enough to have a Mount Rushmore candy fall into my lap. Twix provides a perfect crunch with the inner biscuit, coated with the best combination of caramel and chocolate in the candy universe. It usually gets dark earlier around Halloween, but houses that give out Twix are beacons of hope.

Darney: I’ll say it. Caramel Twix are trash. TEAM PB TWIX FOR LIFE.

Ziller: Good value pick.

8. Reese’s Pieces — James Dator

Thanks to someone picking Candy Corn in the first round I got a sleeper here. I’m not going to say something ludicrous like “Reece’s Pieces are better than Reece’s Cups,” but the drop off really isn’t that far. This is a No. 1 pick adjacent candy I’m thrilled to get with the 8th pick.

Fooch: I don’t hate Reese’s Pieces, but the peanut butter aspect of them is missing something. They’re the M&M version of the cups, but frankly it just doesn’t go together as well. M&M type candies are best as plain chocolate (down with peanut M&Ms!), and going PB with them, I just am not a fan.

Round 2

1. Starburst — James Dator

I was a little shook at this pick, to be honest. I was sure I was going to be able to go Twix-Reece’s Pieces with my back-to-back selections and walk away knowing I owned these noobs. Good pick by Eric, so I had to pivot.

Starburst was my top fruit candy on the board and paired nicely with my Pieces pickup. Every flavor of Starburst is good. They are the perfect size and have a good tail end for medium-length enjoyability.

D’Andrea: All the flavor of Fruit Stripe gum, only with an added 3 percent chance of pulling out a filling with each lemon piece you bite into.

Ziller: Half the flavors low-key suck. So in the fun-size two-candy edition, you have a decent chance of coming up empty. Decent overall candy, bad Halloween candy.

2. Peanut M&Ms — Eric Stephen

A tried and true classic, M&Ms in the fun-sized bag is the perfect amount. I chose the peanut variety over regular because I love the combo of peanuts and chocolate, and each M is a perfect bite. Though who are we kidding, I’m not putting just one of these in my mouth at a time.

Fooch: Outside of peanut butter, peanuts are just bad. Why ruin a good little piece of chocolate with them? Frankly, any candy with a peanut in it has just been ruined.

Ziller: Fooch’s comment here explains a lot about his draft.

D’Andrea: I think we all came away from this pick more worried about Fooch’s wellbeing than Eric’s actual selection.

3. Nestle Crunch — David Fucillo

I pondered a Hershey’s special dark bar here, but that ricey chocolate mix of the Crunch bar has been a favorite of mine all the way back to a childhood. A Hershey bar is great on its own, but the “crunch” of a Crunch bar is unmatched amongst chocolate bars. Outside of candy corn and Reese’s peanut butter cups, this was #3 on my big board.

Dator: I’m supposed to shit talk you, but I’m subverting our structure just to tell you that I’m proud you made a good choice here.

4. Crispy M&Ms— Christian D’Andrea

By far the superior breed of M&M. I don’t know why they don’t sell these in five gallon drums.

Ziller: M&Ms aren’t great, but at least they are versatile (add them to cookies, popcorn, ice cream sundae). You can’t really do that with Crispy M&Ms.

5. Hershey’s Special Dark — Tom Ziller

This was a panic pick after missing the live draft, but to justify it: these always go first in that variety bag with Hershey’s, Mr. Goodbar, and Krackel, right? There’s a reason: dark chocolate is delicious. Even Hershey’s dark chocolate.

D’Andrea: Were baking morsels unavailable? There’s a certain brand of old man strength here, picking a chocolate bar that also sounds like a six dollar bottle of rum.

6. Tootsie Roll Pops — Caroline Darney

There’s going to be some sass on this pick, but 1. don’t tell me you don’t still search to see if you got a wrapper with the star on it and 2. any song related to these slaps. Don’t @ me.

D’Andrea: The taste of going to the doctor to get shots as a child, wrapped around the 20-year-old sweets eternally stuck to the bottom of your grandmother’s candy jar. Truly a winning combination.

Dator: Take a trash candy and put a stick in it so it’s even less enjoyable. Sounds like a winning combo.

Ziller: I haven’t eaten one of these in 25 years and I can still taste the cotton swab that stays stuck to the Tootsie Roll in the middle. Bleh.

7. Mike & Ike — Matt Ellentuck

Second-best fruity candy. It’s obvious.

D’Andrea: The perfect “my stepdad let me buy candy at the Dollar Tree” selection.

Ziller: Hot Tamales without any flavor. What’s not to like?

8. Butterfinger— Whitney Medworth

I can’t believe Butterfingers were still available at this point in the draft. There is nothing better than a fun size butterfinger in your trick or treat bag. Crispety, Crunchety, peanut-buttery chocolate bar perfection.

Stephen: Butterfinger has a rich history as one of Earth’s greatest candy bars, but since the flavor change last year it tastes like rancid cockroaches.

Ziller: I got so mad I left Butterfinger on the table. First-round talent. This is why sports teams “prepare” and “do research” and “make big boards.”

D’Andrea: Butterfinger is great. Especially the way it adheres to every crevice in your teeth so you keep tasting it for hours afterward.

Round 3

1. Wild Berry Skittles— Whitney Medworth

First off, my prior two picks were Reese’s Cups and Butterfinger so this pick is to round out my team and add that extra kick of flavor necessary. The combo is too strong: Berry punch, Strawberry, Melon berry, Wild cherry, and Raspberry. No weak links. No green. No yellow. Just good.

D’Andrea: Congratulations on selecting the fifth-best version of Skittles. Each one is a tiny trip to Smoothie King, only without the smug satisfaction of babysitting a 40oz jug of “vitamins” the rest of the day.

2. Cookies and Cream Hershey’s — Matt Ellentuck

Regular chocolate is basic as hell, but the cookies and cream version is not basic as hell. It’s actually the perfect complement to fruity candies like umm... Skittles. Or Mike & Ikes.

Ziller: “Want a cookie? Too bad, here’s a piece of chocolate with fake cookie inside it.”

3. Nerds — Caroline Darney

Nerds are the perfect Halloween candy because it’s not one that you’d really ever buy for yourself. October 31 is like the only night you accumulate these little crunchy nubs of sugar, and eating them straight out of the tiny little box is truly one of life’s delights.

Ziller: Pop Rocks without fizz. Why not just drink corn syrup straight from the bottle?

4. Whoppers — Tom Ziller

Obviously, based on my draft, I like chocolate and chewy candy. Whoppers hits both marks! Also, my daughters hate them so this is free money for me on Halloween. I’ll be rich in Whoppers on Friday and I can’t wait.

D’Andrea: I can’t say anything bad about a candy they package in old milk cartons. Whoppers are ...fine. Better than 80 percent of the selections available? Nope.

5. Sour Patch Kids — Christian D’Andrea

Because some days my tongue can just go to hell. Midnight Milky Way and Baby Ruth were strongly under consideration here, but a strict sugary diet of only chocolate would be a wasted opportunity. Throw about 20 of these little guys into a cup, microwave it for about 10 seconds, and then to go work on the softened mess moments later. And then ignore the filmy coating of corn syrup that lasts on your teeth for days afterward.

Ziller: Make a meal of it with Cap’n Crunch and just completely destroy your mouth for a week. Sadist candy.

6. Sun Maid raisins — David Fucillo

Halloween may be about indulging, but why not have a sugary treat that offers excellent fiber?! I was that kid who loved a box of raisins and am perfectly comfortable with it. There was no way any of these heathens was taking raisins, and since we did not have a UDFA option, it made sense to ride it to the last round of the draft. It gives me a well-rounded Halloween bag of waxy, chocolate, and fruity — the perfect Halloween for me!

D’Andrea: I swear to god this pick was emailed to me in all caps from DAVIDFUCILLO_1@compuserve.net. Which one of your grandchildren showed you how to use the internet, Fooch?

Dator: I take it back. I hate you so much, Fooch.

Ziller: Unbelievable. So like Werther’s Originals and peppermint candies were a little too adventurous for you? Love to eat a box full of the worst part of basic trail mix.

7. Krackel — Eric Stephen

Halloween is Krackel’s time to shine, since it’s just about the only time you can find the crispy deliciousness in regular stores. Don’t listen to the heathens: Krackel is wonderful, a Nestle Crunch with even more crunch. Krackel is the highlight of those Hershey variety packs.

D’Andrea: Exactly like Nestle Crunch, only worse! I’ve never seen this bar in non-mini form.

Ziller: Almost always the last chocolate candy remaining in any modern Halloween basket. It’s the mid-November desperation chocolate when all the good stuff is gone.

8. Baby Ruth — James Dator

I will get down on some Baby Ruth. You know what a Baby Ruth is? A Snickers for an adult. Instead of some pressed peanut sweepings you get whole-ass peanuts and its makeup is essentially identical. If someone says “I like Snickers, but I hate Baby Ruth” they’re either pedantic, a liar or a sleeper agent.

Also its wrapper is silver and I like shiny things because I am actually a bird.

Darney: It’s no surprise the candy bar that is used as a euphemism for a turd went last in the draft. Good pick, James.

Ziller: Good pick, though inferior to its close, more exotic cousin Almond Joy, which I can’t believe I didn’t pick in retrospect.

The final results?

So who had the best draft? Vote below so we can mercilessly mock the loser, who will almost certainly be Fooch.

[chvrchesrp]

Okay, as of now, you can pick up from where this transcript leaves off. You’re able to write threads on the dash that take place directly after this transcript, or the next day/etc up through March 1st.

Below is the long transcript of tonight’s Chat portion of the event. I broke it up into 5 parts with mini-summaries to try and make it a little easier. Tl;dr summary:

War definitely began, holy Batman, the fights were fighty. There was lighthearted discussion of the food being poisoned once Satan showed up. Magda faced her fears and confronted Satan to ask for safety during the night. Satan felt ganged-up on but agreed to a truce after some coaxing from Renee. Adele invited Satan because 'everyone deserves a chance' and Josh, Maria, and Zoe heartily disagreed with her, causing Zoe to lash out at Adele. People continued to try to have a good time. Elijah and Isaiah supported Adele. Babylon got jealous of Maria and Zoe. Renee brought arm candy. Satan went over and squared off with Magda on his terms. Magda tried to make peace but when he refused, she threw a cinnabun at him. Shibah and Raziel had words with each other. Shibah told Satan to leave, but Satan lingered to say a few words to Adele. After being comforted by Donato, Magda left with Maria; Raziel argued with Magda through the cab window. Shibah told Satan to leave again, which interrupted Babylon comforting Adele; Satan and Babylon left. Kezia got mad about all the posturing. Zoe tried to calm her down and told Shibah to back off. Crowley spent most of the night smoking joints outside and Adele ran outside for a breath of fresh air only to get fresh doubts instilled in her by Crowley. Kiara arrived with baklava. Kezia confronted Kiara to ask about her mom and basically learned she is dead. Raziel pulled Kezia away from Kiara. Zoe went outside to get Adele and ran into Renee, Renee's man friend, and Isadora and effectively lost her shit. Belial showed up with booze. Babylon came back and is drinking with Zoe on the roof.

TRIGGER WARNINGS!! Mention/discussion of abuse/assault.

The 5 ‘Sections’ and their summaries:

INTRODUCTIONS. Dissent and poison discussions.

THINGS HEAT UP. Magda confronts Satan. Zoe fights with Adele about his presence. Tensions rise with Josh, Maria, Kezia, Babylon, Elijah, Renee, Isaiah. Raziel baits Shibah about Cassiel. Crowley, Isadora are dismissive. Satan agrees to a truce.

AND THE PARTY ENSUES. Crowley kisses Magda in public. Baylon gets jealous of Maria’s attention for Zoe. Adele takes a breather and goes back to hosting rather than fight right now. Zoe is hurt. Shibah chats up Kezia. Tensions die down a bit. Donato arrives. Satan gets a mysterious text message. Vodka smoothies happen. Babylon and Satan try to leave, Renee tempers them. Crowley tries to smokes up Raziel. Magda apologizes to Adele and encourages her to connect with Zoe.

SATAN’S ENCORE. Satan baits Magda. Shibah tries to cut Satan off. Zoe prays to Raziel to bring him back inside. Tensions mount in the room, Kezia becomes uncomfortable. Raziel comes back in and tries to halt the situation. Magda makes a peace offering by trying to give Satan a piece of cinnamon bun. Satan rebukes and ignores Magda, as well as ignoring Raziel, addressing only Shibah. Magda throws the cinnabun at Satan and goes to be comforted by Donato and Maria. Magda decides it’s best to leave, asks Donato and Maria to smooth things over inside, Maria decides to leave with her. Shibah commands Satan and Babylon to leave. Kezia has an outburst. Babylon apologizes to Adele. Raziel has words for Shibah. Raziel reprimands Magda. Satan and Babylon leave; Satan has a parting statement for Adele, Babylon and Shibah face-off. Outside, Crowley tries to convert Adele. Shibah apologizes to Kezia.

PESTILENCE ARRIVES AT THE SCENE. Kiara arrives with baklava. Kezia has a message for Shibah, to think more about what they’re leading than that they’re leading it. Zoe gets very concerned seeing Kiara. She tries to get herself and Kezia to find Adele and leave. Kezia becomes entranced by the idea of confronting Kiara about her mother’s whereabouts. Zoe prays for Raziel to come back inside. The baklava really is delicious. Belial appears with wine to comfort Adele. Isadora baits Zoe and Zoe takes the bait, fighting with her nemesis. Kezia demands answers, Kiara withholds them. As that escalates, Zoe prays to Babylon of all people for reinforcement to try to tend with Kiara. With Satan gone off, Babylon comes back. Crowley offers Donato cupcakes. Raziel tries to take Kezia away from Kiara, but Kezia refuses and presses Kiara more; then she goes outside with him.

___________________________________________________________________

1. INTRODUCTIONS.

Dissent and poison discussions.

Magda wandered in to the potluck—she wanted to put on a brave face, but also she wasn't one for cooking, really; takeout was her friend and Maria was the better of the two of them, so she just kind of tagged along. She brought some cupcakes, but they were funfetti with pink icing, something she'd made out of a box. But hey, it was something. She put it on the shared table and looked around.

Kezia sat on the counter having just stuck around after her shift. Her eyes wandered -- everyone seemed happy enough, a good-natured meeting of neighbors. Blowing out a sigh, she leaned back on her hands and kicked absently, beat up Vans marking the bottom of the counter.

"Cool," Isadora said, glancing up from her phone at the cupcakes, one dubious eyebrow raised. "It's like I'm at a kid's birthday party."

Magda snorted at Isadora, never really put off by her. "Hey, at least they taste like childhood and nostalgia, we can't all be chefs. What did YOU bring?"

Following Magda in, Maria set down a crockpot filled with chili and frowned slightly. These sorts of things had a tendency to go badly, but she could understand the attempt. "I like kids birthday parties," she said, defending her sister's creation.

Babylon rarely bothered with dates, but this one offered both brownies and a ride. She'd traipsed in early (for once), Satan at her side, and staked out a spot near enough to the potluck to keep an eye on "things".

Crowley sauntered in with a box of cookies she had stolen from a kid's soccer game party earlier, eyes roving around the building. While they lingered on Magda for a moment, she glanced over to Kezia and grinned, unable to help herself from winking over at her. However, she didn't approach the young woman yet, preferring to head over to Babylon. "Babs, I didn't know if you knew this but there appears to be a Satan on your shoulder."

Adele stood back in quiet amazement that people had actually shown up ( needing to remember to put more faith in believing herself ) as she smiled and greeted those who entered, but never standing still long enough to let her nerves get the better of her or so she hoped. There were familiar faces, ones that she'd never seen before, and a few that she never thought would have showed as such an event. It only made her feel more strongly about her position on having it in the first place as she put the finishing touches on the table full of food, smiling over at the nearest face. "Don't be afraid to dig in, we don't want all this food to go to waist," she replied faintly, a touch of exhaustion across her brow before she wiped it away with a wider grin that eclipsed it.

Zoe appeared from the back, untying her apron and hanging it on a hook before moving to set a plate of fresh tempura on the shared table. She was in a particularly edgy mood lately and startled when she caught sight of Satan, becoming incredibly tense. Moving back towards Kezia, she exhaled shakily, "Can I pass on this next time?"

"Coconut rice." Isadora shrugged; it was somewhere on the table, in some bought-to-use-once container. The only thing Dad ever taught her that she could still remember how to make. She favored Maria with a brief, flimsy smile. "Nice. I bet you even get home before bedtime. What is that, seven o'clock?" Izzy paused. "Is it past your bedtime now?"

The wink from Crowley brought a slow smile over Kezia's face but it tempered at the sight of Satan, of Babs, of Zoe. Setting her teeth together, she mustered a smile for her best friend. "Dude. Preaching to the choir," she said softly. Inconspicuously, she linked their pinkies together. But she couldn't help the way her gaze wandered back to Crowley, before scanning over the rest of the crowd with interest.

Isaiah wandered in, nothing but a plastic container of some very malformed cookies in his hands. He beelined to Adele, "I think that these," he wiggled his container of treats, "really should go to waste."

The grin Babs flashed Crowley was nothing less than shit-eating; she would expect no one else to notice she was higher than hell, figuratively, than the younger demon. Kezia's eyes certainly didn't go unnoticed-- Babs lifted a hand and wiggled her fingers Kezia's way. "He made a convincing case for attendance. Want a brownie?"

Magda nodded and didn't sass back, for once—at least Isadora had made something real, which she couldn't account for herself, and the dwarfing she felt with that only made her feel smaller when Babylon and Satan walked in. She was glad Naomi was nowhere in sight, but it took everything in her not to bolt. Magda looked for Adele, wondering—knowing he had to have been invited—but wondering if she could manage whatever he would do. She stood, ever so slightly, behind Maria, trying not to hide by Crowley.

Maria ignored Isadora, looking past her to lift two fingers in greeting toward Zoe. She would have left to go speak to her instead, a far more pleasant source of conversation, but this time she was not going to be separated from her siblings.  Not while Satan sat in the corner.

“Just here to make sure she doesn’t get away with pretending these weren’t store bought.” Satan deadpanned at Crowley, looking more and more disgruntled the more of the interior he took in, and of course, Adele beaming like some pure force of hosting prowess right in the center of it. “Might as well eat them, everyone else is already probably convinced they’re poisoned."

"Nope!" Adele told Isaiah with a small laugh, taking the container and opening it up to set it with some of the other desserts, both a mixture of her own creations as well as some that'd been brought by others before she turned back towards him. A quick embrace, one that couldn't have been stopped even if given the chance, before she pulled back but didn't release him hands until she gave them a comforting squeeze. "If they don't get devoured tonight, then you can bet that they're gonna end up with some people that'll love 'em just as much as me for you bringin' them. Everythin' that's left over is gonna be donated to the soup kitchen afterwards so," she nodded as she spoke before letting his hands go. "Thank you."

A sigh blew from lips as Renee walked in, a murmured comment, cutting between her and the man whose hand she’s got her uninjured one intertwined into. “Are you sure you want to meet them? We could go back to my place and have really great sex instead,” she said, though he shook his head, as she figured he would. “I want to meet the people you associate with.” At that, she shrugged, “Be careful what you wish for, dearest,” she said softly, before following him to the table where he casually dropped some sort of casserole onto the table, a thing he’d made for the occasion because Renee insisted she didn’t cook with him too, and he felt badly showing up empty-handed. Then, she gently tugged him off to the side slightly, before starting to discreetly point out familiar faces and feed him names as well as slight pieces of information about each of them.

"You're so sweet," Isaiah said to Adele, ears perking up at the word 'poisoned' from another of the attendees. "D'you think people actaully would poison anything here?" Isaiah's eyes were wide; a little bit suspicious at the people he didn't recognize

"Ah, that's cool, that's cool," Josh said, appearing over Adele's shoulder. He mixed the boozy part of a smoothie with the straw. "This is pretty--" Fuck him, that was a whole pack of demons. "--cool. Uh--who all did you invite?"

"A brownie? Always." Crowley didn't wait for Babylon to even offer the container to her, greedy fingers snatching one of the squares up. In turn, she offered the box of cookies. "I think they're macadamia nut, I'm not exactly sure yet. Didn't really buy them myself." She arched an eyebrow at Satan, canting her head to the side. "What a good gem you are, Satan." She faked a look of surprise. "Are you telling me you didn't poison them for once? How surprising." She caught sight of Renee and both of her eyebrows went up. "Bow chicka bow wow, Renee brought a beefcake."

Kez hopped from the counter, leaving Zoe with an affectionate tug in her hair, and tracked carefully to the table of food. She popped a cookie in her mouth and snagged an extra for Zoe. Heading for the smoothies, she sniffed out one with rum for herself and one with vodka for her friend. Catching wind of a conversation, she chuckled. "Poison might be welcome..."

Elijah ran his hand through his hair, eyes set on the bowl in his hands. Mac & Cheese wasn’t exactly the best thing to bring to a potluck and considering the many people already inside, he was wondering if he should go in at all. But one look inside had him meeting Adele’s gaze and he knew he had to step in. With a sheepish smile on his features, Eli made his way to the shared table and lingered there as he took a look around the place and the familiar faces as well as the ones he hadn’t met yet, before casually making his way towards Isaiah and Adele. "Do we know everyone here?" He asked quietly, wrapping an arm around his best friend's shoulders as he grinned at Adele.

"Yo, Vice! Who's your date?" Izzy called out from her perch on against a tabletop.

Shibah knew she'd be a few minutes later to Adele's party, but as she placed her stuffed shells -- tradition Italian like her mother taught her -- she was certain the hostess would forgive her. After scanning the room she smiled at Adele and gave a small wave. She made eye contact with each person she passed as she made her way towards an empty bit of counter in search of a drink.

Adele tried not to laugh, or deny the fact that she'd heard the same thing before her gaze fell on the source before she whipped her hair over her shoulder and faced Isaiah once more with a blinding smile. "If you want, I'll try anythin' you're interested in eatin' first just to prove that it ain't poisoned, trust me." She heard an all too familiar voice over her shoulder that had her trying to keep her cool as her smile only wavered ever so slightly at the sight of Josh talking to /her/ of all people before she managed to catch herself. "I uh... everyone? Everyone that I could... you know, spread the word an' all that good stuff. I'm glad that you came tonight."

Zoe let her pinky hook with Kezia's, grateful for her friend's presence and raised her free hand to wave at Maria, giving her a small smile. When Maria made no move to come towards her, she resigned herself to sitting on the countertop, only to have Kezia hop off and make a move for the food. Bristling, she let her fingers dig into the countertop and watched, anger boiling in her stomach as the thought occurred to her that Satan had been invited. Adele had invited Satan to this, to be with them.

It certainly wasn't the first time the surly bulldog at her side had snapped at a friendly face. Babs didn't expect the hand she squeezed his elbow with to offer him any reassurance but extended the gesture all the same. She couldn't help but feel a flicker of pride as she took stock of Renee's "beefcake", displaced as the feeling was. "Damn. She's got a hotter date than I do."

"Hopefully by the night's end, we will?" Adele chewed on her bottom lip, holding back her smile at Elijah when he came in and found himself situated between her and Isaiah as her gaze was caught on the sight of Shibah, taking her breath away that she'd actually come.  Maybe Jairus hadn't been wrong in  saying that people would come, giving her a small boost of confidence as she waved back.(edited)

"What if i eat like six servings of Leggy's mac n' cheese? I doubt that's poisoned," Isaiah said, but smiled at Adele's offer. "How y'doin, Eli?"

Plinking down the gathered goodies for Zoe, Kezia followed her friend's line of sight. "Be cool, Sodapop." There was a note of warning in her voice, though. Catching sight of a few friendly faces, Kezia chucked a /shaka/ to Josh and Isaiah.

Of all the things that Raziel had to do, going to the potluck was relatively low on the list, but he'd still shown up. Empty-handed, having had a dish delivered on his behalf earlier that day, and uncharacteristically later than he normally would have been, the angel brushed lint from the shoulder of the dark gray long-sleeve shirt he was wearing as he made his way inside. His gaze picked out familiar faces, lingering on the ones that were likely to cause trouble, and wound his way through the crowd without greeting anyone and grabbed a drink, vodka, to start the night off with. Maria gently steered Magda away from Isadora and the food table, moving them both toward Joshua. There was a small crowd around Adele so Maria didn't try to engage her in conversation yet, posing her words to her brother instead. "One wrong move from Satan and we're out of here. Agreed?" "You're gonna get bogged down in all that mac 'n cheese that someone's gonna have to roll you out of here," Adele told Isaiah with a smile, glancing over to where she saw Zoe and Kezia as she gave them a small wave and a hopeful shrug of her shoulders at the night's turn out. "Everyone?" Josh said to Adele, eyeing up Satan. His hands balled up into fists and he had to force them open. He glanced down to Maria, speaking close and quiet. "Agreed. Get yourself out of here." "Hopefully," Elijah agreed, a frown appearing on his features at Isaiah's words. "Poisoned?" The question left his lips in as he tilted his head. "Why are we talking about poison here? --But yes, you should, I make the best in town, let's be real."

Maria shook her head, fully in older sister mode. "No. All of us." Having located a gin and tonic Shibah turned to survey nearby company. "Good evening, Raziel." Shibah gave a nod to the angel, keeping half an eye on the gathering crowd of demons that had appeared. /Poisoned./ The word moved through the room like a goddamn fog. Babs nudged Satan with one knee and shot a black look his way, muttering "Jesus Christ, can you use your inside voice?" Magda didn't mind being moved by Maria toward her sibling and toward Joshua—and she echoed Maria's sentiments. "I'm not leaving you again." "If i die from over-eating mac n cheese it's just how i want to go." Isaiah's eyes darted around the room -- so many people he didn't recognize. "Yeah, some rando mentioned 'poisoned' and it's just... y'know? A thought that sticks?" "Anyone who wanted to come," Adele replied simply,  not stressing on the fact that most of her didn't believe that anyone WOULD have come. "Nothing is poisoned, goodness... if everyone thinks that then no one is gonna try anythin' tonight." Satan huffed out a laugh as he rolled his eyes, far from oblivious to the glares being thrown their way. “You brought a much less popular date too. Do you think it’s because I didn’t bring a casserole?” The title Vice grabbed Renee’s attention instinctively, the label as much a part of her as anything else. Glance lingered on him for a final moment, as she whispered to him, “Well, no getting out of it now.” Then, eyes flickered from him to Isadora in an instant and a smirk crossed lips, before she called back to her, “A not so well-kept secret of mine, now.” Making the decision she didn’t want to scream across the room, she crossed to the tabletop, Izzy’s perched herself on, bringing him along before facilitating introductions. “Isadora, Liam. Liam, Isadora." "Pardon me, loved ones, I see a Ivan I wanna speak to." Crowley turned to look at both Shibah and Raziel, taking in the sight of the possible new God. Licking her lips, she strolled over to them, looking nonchalant. She spoke to Raziel first, green eyes running down his pretty face. "Where's your cabbage? Aren't Russians supposed to bring cabbages?" Josh grimaced. Both Magda and Maria's arms and legs were unbroken--for now. "I can take him," he insisted. If I have to, he finished in his head. The bottom of her smoothie cup vacuumed and Kezia gave a dark laugh. "I'm gonna need a few more of these, ya know?" Leaning back, she tossed the cup into the garbage can behind the counter. "Especially if we're gonna be singing Kumbaya." Elijah's gaze flickered between Isaiah and Adele, then around the room at everyone who'd attended. "Okay, nothing's poisoned so we should all just.. dig in?" He shrugged. Why would anyone think that in the first place?

2. THINGS HEAT UP.

Magda confronts Satan. Zoe fights with Adele about his presence. Tensions rise with Josh, Maria, Kezia, Babylon, Elijah, Renee, Isaiah. Raziel baits Shibah about Cassiel. Crowley, Isadora are dismissive. Satan agrees to a truce.

There was a part of this that literally tortured Magda, to be cowering, to be waiting like prey, to have to stand behind her brother's strength, her sister's wisdom. She couldn't live in fear—she'd done it too many years and had just got out of her hole a month ago and she wasn't willing to Groundhog Day it back in. Eyes flashing between Maria and Josh, she—she did what a fool would do. “Cool," Isadora said, favoring Vice's Liam with a crescent smile that lasted for about two seconds. Zoe huffed quietly next to Kezia and nodded, "Please, share. I don't know how I'm gonna make it through all of this." "Don't be stupid," Maria snapped, though she wasn't truly annoyed with Joshua. The situation just made her tense. "There are too many people here. Let the Angels handle him if anything goes wrong, grab a civilian and get out. Meet back at my place if we get separated?" "i think it was the linebacker squeezed into regular people's clothes that said it? He seems the type." Isaiah tried not to smile at his comment, it was mean but it wasn't wrong Magda sighed loudly—if the spirit of this event was togetherness, then that wasn't going to work divided as they were. Besides, Raziel was here with her this time, and she refused to feel as vulnerable as she was. The redhead spitfire walked right over to where Babylon and Satan were standing, her Louboutins toe to toe with Babylon's, but her eyes were for Satan. "Hello." Kezia cast her eyes to her friend, snagging on sticky edges. "Dude. Say the word and we can bail early. Horde a bunch of the alcoholic drinks and find a pier to drink under?" With that, she hopped up again with a smile and set about gathering a few drinks and plate full of the food for her and Zoe to share. With a side-long glance, Raziel took in Shibah's presence there. He bit his tongue, refraining from snapping out a comment about how she now wanted to play at amicability, since they were in public. "Where's Cassiel?" He'd barely gotten the question out when Crowley's recently familiarized face appeared and brows rose, something akin to amusement on his mouth. "Potatoes, too, but I'm fresh out of both, it seems. So sorry to disappoint, Crowley." Josh saw it as it was happening. "--da--" he managed to croak. "/Shit./" No sooner had Maria laid out a very sensible plan that included the three nephilim sticking together than Magda was gone, standing toe to toe with her own nemesis and Maria's ex. "Jesus Christ." Magda looked Satan up and down. "Monsters always clean up nice, don't they? Only way they survive in the world. Think we can agree, for the evening, for you to keep your shit in check?" Satan didn’t bother concealing his surprise as the all too familiar redhead made a beeline for them through the crowd and he waited for her with a grin that would’ve been placid on any other face. “Fancy seeing you here, Magdalene. Bring anything good for the group? Cobbler? Fresh apple pie?” Zoe's eyes tracked Magda's movements, watching carefully as she moved towards Satan, unable to stop herself from getting up to follow her. She all but ignored Kezia for the moment, stuck in one state of mind as she got close, but not too terribly. And now Zoe too. "Shit is right," she muttered, following her sister and her girlfriend into the eye of the storm. "He never should have been invited," she tossed over her shoulder at whoever wanted to listen, more than a little annoyed. Babs' smile was surprisingly docile and wholly genuine. She admired the human's sheer cheek; that move would put Abaddon to shame. "Cute shoes, Magda." An amused smile passed across Renee's face at Izzy's reaction, before he glanced at her uncertainly,  uncomfortable at the less than entirely warm reception. She had warned him. However, then Renee's eyes flickered across the room and noted Magda standing near Satan and Babylon. "If you'll excuse us," she said calmly, before crossing to the assembled party and placing herself right behind Satan, leaning forward with no warning and whispering to him, "Don't." Shibah opened her mouth to reply but before she get a word out Crowley had slipped into their conversation with mutterings of cabbage. Shibah raised an eyebrow as she sipped her drink. "Plenty of vodka though." Elijah’s gaze followed his best friend's to the guy in the back, and an eyebrow raised. "Sounds about right." Though while Is was distracted, he subtly reached towards Adele's hand and gave it a quick squeeze before letting go in case anyone's gaze drifted their way. "You got this, it's going to be fine." He whispered, as he leaned back against the wall closest to them. "That fucker never should have been invited," Josh said, a growl in his voice. He glanced at Adele. "Listen, you know--that guy is bad fucking news, okay?" Magda smiled nonchalantly, face unperturbed, "I would think that more to your taste, seeing as you were the one force-feeding apples last time I checked." She flickered her attention to Babylon, more suspicious now of the beautiful woman than she'd been before, to have the Beast on her arm. "Thank you," she replied, but compliments weren't why she'd come. "I can't breathe with you here," she said to Satan directly. "I know that pleases you. I don't care. Can you or can you not keep your shit in check tonight? Are you even capable?" Crowley laughed, unable to help herself at the angel's comment. All around her were members of the Church of Virtues and angels with only a few Sinners and even fewer demons but Crowley wasn't worried. She knew she could take at least a quarter of these fucks in a bar fight. She glanced over her shoulder to where small Magda was staring up at the towering Satan. That's my Girl, she couldn't help but think. She glanced back at Shibah and nodded, looking very serious. "Aye, and that'll be a good thing when someone eats far too much and needs the liquor to vomit up all the food." Maria stood silently behind Magda, arms crossed. She hoped to look menacing, but knew that even with a different face Babylon would know she was hardly that. Zoe was hovering behind Magda, both protective and fearful, running purely on adrenaline as their last encounter with Satan flickered through her mind. She felt Maria beside her and exhaled, "Why would Adele invite him? Why is he here? Who is he going to hurt this time?" Magda was Crowley's, wasn't she? The little shit with the hair like fire and mouth to match. If for no other reason, Babs decided-- however abruptly-- that she'd go out on a limb to distract Satan and prevent another 'mishap'. "He's behaving. He brought brownies." "Perhaps a visit to the emergency department might be in order after such a thing." Shibah raised an eyebrow. "Will you be needing such a visit tonight, Crowley?" Kezia glanced at the confrontation and bristled. Zoe had joined but Kezia was keeping her distance. Her eyes caught on the anger in Josh's face and she sighed -- lesser of two evils. "Dude," she intoned softly, coming up to his side. As nonchalantly as possible, she tucked another drink into his hand. "You cool?" "I appreciate the brownies—or rather I'm sure Adele does," Magda said coyly, "but I think the Beast can speak for himself." More people. The grin faded away. “What, no making friendly conversation?” Satan snapped at Renee, thoughtless, “Don’t you have someone to be looking after? Or is he proving to be more of the ‘crawl away alone to die’ sort?” It wasn’t the first time he’d found himself caged in on all sides, but never before had it been by a group of women quite like this. “And Madga, I thought this was supposed to be a peaceful meeting. Which of us is playing rabble-rouser here?” "Mm." Isadora pushed off the table, wandering over to the liquor. "Limo fight, part two." Adele's eyes fell on her hand, feeling Elijah give it a small squeeze of strength before she shot him a small smile and nodded. "Everyone deserves a chance," she told Josh before her eyes were on Zoe. Magda snorted. "I'm not the one with the millennia  old track record, so I am within reason to ask the question. I want to know what we're all getting into. If you say you're cool—well, I'll doubt it, but at least I'll function civilly further away." "He has had /lifetimes/ of chances," Josh shot back. "And he still takes whatever and does whatever." Again, Raziel cut his gaze sideways at Shibah's comment about vodka. He didn't bother wasting the energy with responding, ignoring Crowley's comments too, as his attention had been brought across to the gathering of demons and humans and Nephilim across the room. He knocked back the rest of his vodka before making his way over, gaze sliding across the faces of Satan and Babylon and Renee. "I hope no one's causing anyone trouble over here," Raziel said, positioning himself so that he could see both sides and he, rather pointedly, put his gaze on Maria and Magda. "It's starting to look a little... West Side Story-ish." As the situation behind her grew even tenser with the words being fired back and forth, Crowley couldn't help but smirk over at Shibah. "No, I don't think so. However, I definitely might make my way over to one of Lucifer's virgin sacrifices. Do you want the deets, Shibs? Gotta get those supposedly Godly hands bloody, yeah?" She looked her up and down, clicking her tongue. "I must say, if you're going to be God, you're gonna have to try to not be as disappointing as the last one." She shook her head regretfully. "I don't see you living up to that expectation though." Zoe couldn't help but whip herself around, totally changing direction and tactic as she heard Adele tell Josh that 'everyone deserved a chance.' She was so angry, so fearful, her feelings unchecked as of lately and she couldn't seem to help herself. "HE deserves a chance? After what he did to Magda? After what he did to ME? Do you really believe that, Del? Do you?" She was almost shaking in her fear and anger and the betrayal she felt was palpable. "They're saintly," Babylon drawled Raziel's way, making a poor show of hiding her discomfort. "Coming at us like a pack of hyenas." “Then start doing it. Your siblings over there are champing at the bit for an excuse-” Satan gave Josh  a gaunty wave over Magda’s shoulder, more of a patronizing waggle of his fingers than anything else, “- and as much as I would love to test out the probability of it going well for them another round, I don’t think Adele would be very happy about her block party heading that direction.” Here, Renee freed her hand from Liam's, and placed it upon Satan's shoulder, fingernails digging into him, sighing as she's made herself into a target- though better her than someone else. "Don't make this unpleasant," she said softly, before pausing a moment, "And I'm currently only interested in looking after you. No one else."(edited) Kezia went stiff at all the shouting, immediately uncomfortable. The cup of smoothie in her hand strained as her grip tightened. Maria uncrossed her arms and snapped sarcastically for Raziel's benefit. She was just here to make sure Magda didn't get into trouble, not to stir it up further. "Oh, for fuck's--" said Babylon. For the first time in a long time (centuries, most likely), Satan found himself wishing Belial would appear, if only to get his pet out of the way. "Don't patronize me." His eyes still never left Magda's face, but the focus of his words was clear. "I asked a simple question. You still haven't answered it. That's all I want, Satan, an accountable answer. I know you might just lie, but at least I want to hear it, that tonight, there's truce between us, and then I'll leave you be. There are cinnamon buns with my name on them,” sighed Magda. Adele took a step back at the intensity of Zoe's words, trying to straighten herself back up but she felt like she'd taken a punch to the gut at the strength of her words. "Zoe... I.." She was at a loss for words. "Maria." Raziel's voice was cold, and nearly as icy as his gaze. His gaze lifted, catching sight of an agitated Zoe and Adele nearby. "Go check on Zoe." He was here now, and more durable than her if things broke down with Satan. Even as his eyes remained on Magda's, Renee knew the comment was aimed at her. "Then play nice and give Magda the answer she wants to hear." A smile passed across face, "It's not very difficult." It might not have been difficult, but Renee was certainly making it that way. Babylon couldn't help shooting her sometimes-friend an exasperated little and what the fuck are you doing? look. Isadora nudged Kezia. A vodka smoothie of her own condensed in her hand. "Don't sweat it. Betcha Vice talks him down." Maria frowned, but looked over her shoulder at Zoe. She looked more brittle than Maria at the moment and that was a situation she was more likely to be able to diffuse. She sighed and squeezed Magda's elbow before slipping away across the room again. One arm slid around Zoe's waist but she didn't speak just yet, waiting for Adele to answer what seemed like a valid question. Josh was somewhat past words--not his specialty, anyway. He crossed his arms, standing at Zoe's back over her and Maria. Zoe felt Maria's arm around her waist and relaxed just slightly, the warmth of her girlfriend giving her the tiniest bit of calm. Her voice and expression were still pointed though, still angry as she took in the sight of her best friend. A beat, Satan silently weighing the options of letting the situation be versus turning the smoothie bar into something more like a meat locker. "Alright, Magda." He finally said, voice defaulting to a neutral coldness. "Tell Renee she's more likely to keep her hand if she removes it from my shoulder, and I'll play nice with all the neighbours."

3. AND THE PARTY ENSUES.

Crowley kisses Magda in public. Baylon gets jealous of Maria’s attention for Zoe. Adele takes a breather and goes back to hosting rather than fight right now. Zoe is hurt. Shibah chats up Kezia. Tensions die down a bit. Donato arrives. Satan gets a mysterious text message. Vodka smoothies happen. Babylon and Satan try to leave, Renee tempers them. Crowley tries to smokes up Raziel. Magda apologizes to Adele and encourages her to connect with Zoe.

"Now if you pardon me, beloved dove. I gotta be the belle of the ball and say hello to someone." Crowley passed by Kezia and couldn't help but pause to place a hand on the woman's shoulder. "Take a breather, kid. Let me handle this. Demons and angels don't even compare to crackheads." She rolled her shoulders back, light glinting off the black leather before she strolled forward again. She wasn't kind in elbowing people out of her way. Her green eyes swirled with mischief as she shoved her way to place a hand on Magda's shoulder to spin her away from Satan and into the chaos demon's arms. "Don't even wanna come over to say hi, babe? Rude." Crowley didn't let her speak before she swooped in and placed a kiss on the redhead's lips. And there went Clara-- Maria-- wrapping herself around Zoe's waist like a second skin. Jealousy was an unfamiliar enough sensation to make Babylon's teeth grate together. "Looks like an all-sides block party really means 'whites only'," she muttered Satan's way. Guess we should've read the fine print.

The touch from Crowley was unexpected but did help. It helped to know that she wasn't the only one in this for some kind of cooperation. Shaking her head a little, Kezia edged back to her seat at the counter. With Maria gone, Raziel turned his gaze back to the others. Renee's presence was grating on his nerves, too, but she couldn't be as easily ordered around. A response to Babylon's comment about 'whites only' was on the tip of his tongue when Crowley swooped in to plant a kiss on Magda's lips. He felt his brows lift, despite his normally well-restrained expression, before blue eyes rolled slowly. "Now that that's out of the way, are we done here?" Crowley took a step back from Magda and patted the woman on the chick, nodding approvingly. "Just wanted to see if those lips were as soft as they looked when you danced." She glanced to Satan and clicked her tongue. "Thought maybe I could taste the prophecies but alas, it appears I was wrong." Crowley spun and bumped her hip into some passing woman, "accidentally" knocking her down so her glass shattered along the floor. "Yikes. That's my b, I'll admit." Maria rolled her eyes at Adele's lack of response, a soft snort of derision escaping from her lips. Adele was supposed to be Zoe's best friend. Maria refused to believe the girl could be so naive as to be fooled not only by Belial - which wasn't entirely her fault - but also by Satan. "Come on, Zoe, Kezia is looking lonely." Shibah pressed towards Kezia, preferring to keep an eye on the fray in the middle of the room rather than join in quite yet. "How's your evening going?" She asked, the growing friendship with the demon on her mind, though not voiced out loud. Magda nodded her head; he seemed almost—disappointed? Deflated? She couldn't believe for a second he actually wanted to /talk/ to her. So she matched his neutral cold tone and looked at Renee, "You're more likely to keep your hand if you remove it from his shoulder," her eyes dead mimic for his. She almost thanked him—almost—but couldn't bare it, couldn't even believe it, but it was the best she was going to get. Almost said something about kicking him in the balls again, but refrained, for Adele's sake. She kept her word, though, she backed off. If Satan wanted to make small talk... well, they'd see, like always, how the night went. Kezia mustered a smile for Shibah, bopping a laugh. "Oh, just peachy," she said, a little breathlessly. Between surprises kisses and racial innuendoes, Kezia wasn't feeling very welcome, to be honest. Magda was surprised that Crowley planted a kiss on her lips, right in front of Satan, and then brushed it off like she should have done something else. Slightly rankled, she let it slide with an internal 'chaos demon' kind of sigh before looking for Adele. She wanted to know what went into the cinnamon buns. As tension dissipated and Satan's acquiescence lingered in the air, followed by Crowley's actions, Renee removed her hand from Satan's shoulder as suggested. Another soft comment from her followed, made for Satan's ears only, though it was loud enough that perhaps Babylon or anyone close could hear it. "And do not bring up Belial to me right now. Now enjoy your evening." Then she turned away from the gathered group, facing Liam with a smile. "Sorry, dear. I did tell you, be careful what you wish for," she said with a shrug, before recapturing his hand and tugging him away. Shibah winced slightly at the tone of Kezia's voice before nodding in agreement. It does seem to be that kind of night. "I'm glad you're sticking it out though. Feels like I haven't seen you in weeks, and it's nice to see you out of work. err... off the clock I guess. Might be nice to try and make it a habit." Though the assault from all sides seemed to be over, Satan’s hackles still refused to go down entirely. “Remind me, Babylon,” He ground out, jaw clenched tight as he watched Madga and Crowley’s brief collision, “Was this your idea or mine?” Kezia let her shoulder bump against Shibah in a friendly manner. "Yeah, I guess it has been awhile. I've been on the waves or at the gym mostly in between shifts," she reasoned. Not to mention, seeking out answers about her mother. "Yours," Babylon muttered sidelong towards Satan, turning a look that was only just shy of a glower towards Renee's retreating back. "Some fucking party." Zoe felt betrayed and hurt, her chest aching as she tried to figure out why it felt like the world was crumbling around her, following Maria and Josh's lead over towards Kezia. Deflating a little, she exhaled shakily, "I... probably shouldn't have snapped. I don't feel great right now." Looking up at Kezia, she 

Kezia shook her head at her friend's apology, smile a fine line. "You cool?" ashed asked, eyes trying to divine something past words. Timing wasn't always Donato’s strength. Was it a benefit or a curse that he had apparently missed something that left quite a bit of tension in the air? He didn't quite know. Either way, he entered the room and sought a familiar face, seeing Magda's first. And so, he crossed the room, matching pace with her as she walked to wherever she was going. "I miss something?" "That does sound nice." Shibah paused in thought for a moment. "You know, surfing is one of the few things I've not had the chance to explore yet in my lifetime. Would it be strange to ask you for a couple of lessons? I'd pay you of course." Shibah looked up as Zoe, Maria and Josh approached and smiled. "Evening, Zoe. Something on your mind?" Maria gave Zoe a gentle, reassuring squeeze. Later, perhaps, she would bring the situation up with Adele but this seemed like...not the best timing. Zoe was too emotional to handle any response. And honestly, what could Adele say? There was no defense Maria could think of that would satisfy her. "Kezia, where did you get that drink? Please tell me there's alcohol in it." Kezia waved her hand. "You wouldn't have to pay me. I'd probably just be out ther eon my own time anyway." Grinning to Maria, she nodded. "Of course there is. "She pointed to the counter with the alcoholic smoothies set up. "One of us is wrong and I don't think it's me." Satan was halfway through one of her grocery store brownies before he realized it, decisively turning his gaze out the window rather than continuing to scope out the crowd. Left well enough alone, his mind was more on the text message still pulled up on his phone screen than this mess of emotional conflict, "Second question: why are we still here?" "I need one of those!" Shibah looked towards the counter with excitement. "Coming up," Maria said, scooting away quickly and grabbing smoothies for all of them. "I have no idea what flavor these are, but I don't care. Everyone grab one." Satisfied for the moment (though still annoyed that a near altercation had come up anyways), Raziel glanced at both Satan and Babylon. "Enjoy your night." The sincerity in his tone was more or less forced, but it was there, before he made his way towards the back of Smooth Moves. He paused at the grouping of Shibah, Kezia, Maria, and Zoe. A look of concern was given for Zoe, before Raziel brought his gaze to Shibah. "I'm stepping outside for a moment. If anything happens, I trust you to handle it." It was the friendliest he'd spoken to her in weeks, or months even. He didn't linger before heading outside, wanting 'fresh' air rather than the tension-heavy one inside. Adele stepped backwards when she watched her best friend walk away, hurt and wanting to talk to her but didn't get the chance. Instead she excused herself from the people she'd been talking to moments before, no longer in the mood to talk, as she ducked behind the table and took a swipe at one of the cakes with a finger as she tasted vanilla. It tasted like nothing at the moment. "Poor life decisions." Babs' eyes were on Raziel's broad shoulders as the angel made a well-timed retreat, too aware that he was the only one who'd moved to their defence. "I'll see you out." Shibah raised an eye at Raziel's retreating back. "Of course." She frowned, frustrated despite his almost friendly tone. "Thanks, Maria." She took a smoothie with a smile, mind buzzing with annoyance over Raziel. Before Raziel made it all the way out, Magda managed to squeeze his hand and whispered, "Thanks for having my back," as he trailed past. Zoe was grateful for the smoothie that Maria handed her, nodding her thanks and moving closer into her side. She was more comfortable nestled between Kezia and Maria, her eyes trying not to find Adele across the room no matter how desperately she wanted to. Responding lightly to Kezia and Shibah, she smiled softly, "I'm cool." She gave Kezia a meaningful look that explained she was anything but. She was trying. A glance backward as they were retreating by Liam, had him catch the glower Babylon sent in her direction, a thing he quickly notified her of with some curiosity. And so, Renee parked him at a seat, offered him a smile, before murmuring, "Give me one moment." Then she crossed back to Babylon, "Don't be angry with me for seeking to keep the peace by tempering Satan even if it was their fault. He's the one who could turn this room into a ruin," she said softly. "And this isn't the place." The close-enough-to-an-apology that Renee offered tempered Babylon enough to slow her stalk. "Could've. Won't. We're leaving." Magda hovered by Adele, but she seemed engrossed in her thoughts, so Magda almost didn't want to interrupt. Had she ruined everything? She just wanted a promise of safety, something they could all look back at, and she didn't think that was a crime to ask him to keep to some basic standards in public places. It wasn't lost on her that every place there'd been an issue, it had been public. Granted, Magda was dramatic, but—she couldn't help it, it was the effect especially he had on her, because of what he'd done. Her skin was crawling with anxiety by the time Donato approached her, but she was happy for a familiar, steady face. Crowley peered up as the familiar blonde stepped outside of Smooth Moves, looking at him through the acrid smoke rising from her joint. "Off to buy yourself a cabbage or are you off to go horseback riding with Putin?" She questioned, almost blending in with the shadows. Satan had nothing left to say to Renee, not even a change in expression to mark her return to their corner of the room even as the pair was attempting to make their exit, just an insistent, "It's time, Babylon." Kezia sent a sad smile to Zoe that said she understood. Her body was still humming with the earlier confrontation. Moving away from the couple, she dropped a friendly kiss to Zoe's cheek. Let her talk to her girlfriend, that should help. She made her way to the food table, loitering by some macaroni and cheese. A glance to Satan followed both of their speeches, an apology living and dying on her lips for a moment, before she shrugged. "Then go." Then Renee shook her head and turned away once more, returning to where she had been before. Babs pressed a hand to Satan's lower back, not pushing so much as urging. The last thing she needed was the pack descending for an encore round. Right behind you. Adele noticed that she wasn't alone as she glanced up and saw Magda, finger in mouth as she was caught red handed trying to eat her feelings as she hid her hand behind her back with a sheepish look in her face. "Sorry, I know... I shouldn't be eatin' without a fork. An'... sorry 'bout," she couldn't even say why she felt the way she did as she waved her hand in the air, gesturing towards everything that she felt as Zoe was on the other side of the room, where Adele wanted to be but couldn't move her feet. Maria's voice was pitched low, intended only for Zoe. "You okay?" And he'd thought he'd be alone, if only for a moment, out here. Rolling his eyes, Raziel turned to face Crowley as his hands, one still warm from Magda's brief squeeze, slipped into the front pockets of dark jeans.. "Putin and I aren't friendly, actually. I loathe him. What's your fascination with cabbage, anyways?" Granted, it wasn't as bad as 'moose and squirrel' jokes. Magda scrunched up her face, answering Adele and Donato somewhat simultaneously. "I just asked Satan to promise a truce because I couldn't convince myself to be here with my abuser without it, but apparently calling a spade a spade made everything—worse, and now I just feel guilty." She didn't excuse Adele's finger-eating, but in a moment of fuck it, she did the same thing, trying to comfort herself with sweetness. "You shouldn't feel guilty, that's my job tonight," Adele told Magda with a faint smile that didn't reach her eyes as she glanced down at the table and suddenly wasn't hungry anymore. Magda shook her head, "I'm the fucking Prophet," she said in a self-deprecating voice. "I have to learn to deal with this. I'm a moving target and he... well, I don't know, I just — I reacted instinctively. But folks are calming now?" she said, tentatively. She looked to where Adele was looking, over at Zoe. "You—you don't have to stay with me, I'm—I'll be okay." "Ah, I see," Donato said, before noting that Satan appeared to be on his way out, and deciding that there wasn't anything he needed to do about that. "Are you good, Magda? Where's Raziel?" Crowley shrugged, bringing the paper up to her lips again. She didn't respond for a moment before she held the joint out toward Raziel. "I watched Avatar the Last Airbender recently and I wanted to see if the Russians loved their cabbage as much as the Cabbage cart guy did."

4. SATAN’S ENCORE.

Satan baits Magda. Shibah tries to cut Satan off. Zoe prays to Raziel to bring him back inside. Tensions mount in the room, Kezia becomes uncomfortable. Raziel comes back in and tries to halt the situation. Magda makes a peace offering by trying to give Satan a piece of cinnamon bun. Satan rebukes and ignores Magda, as well as ignoring Raziel, addressing only Shibah. Magda throws the cinnabun at Satan and goes to be comforted by Donato and Maria. Magda decides it’s best to leave, asks Donato and Maria to smooth things over inside, Maria decides to leave with her. Shibah commands Satan and Babylon to leave. Kezia has an outburst. Babylon apologizes to Adele. Raziel has words for Shibah. Raziel reprimands Magda. Satan and Babylon leave; Satan has a parting statement for Adele, Babylon and Shibah face-off. Outside, Crowley tries to convert Adele. Shibah apologizes to Kezia.

“Actually, you go ahead.” Like a dog with bone he couldn’t quite leave alone, Satan’s eyes fixed once more on the Nephilim behind one of the tables. “There’s one thing I need to resolve.” Leaving Babylon supporting nothing but thin air, Satan turned in his tracks, what remained of the skittish crowd parting before him as he turned the script on Magda’s earlier bold approach. Zoe responded lowly to Maria, "Not sure. I'm trying." Adele shook her head. "I don't think she wants to talk to me right now." Kezia's body tightened, bracing for another confrontation. She followed the slow track of Satan's path with her eyes. "Fuck tonight, seriously," she muttered low under her breath. "You don't have to stay," Maria assured her. "No one would blame you for leaving." She turned her head, spine stiffening as Satan made his way back toward Magda. "Fuck." Raziel's brows furrowed, trying to decide just how those two could be remotely connected. "How does that... what's the connection there?" "I think Raziel is outside, I tried to catch him on the way out but then I lost track," Magda admitted. To Adele, she said, "You can ask, I guess? If she needs space and time, that's fair, but if she'll talk—and you wanna—you can. Or you know, maybe focusing on hostessing will give yourself some ti—" and then she trailed off as she saw Satan draw near again. She steeled her jaw on reflex. There was a second of silence, a second of Satan assessing the girl from a place of pure calculation, somewhere close to amused she’d had the gall to approach him at all before. “You still seem worried that I’m determined to be here just to make your life a living hell,” He was all too aware of how close he stood to her, the memories such an infringement might awaken. “So let me make one thing clear, Magda. You are useless to me at this point. And therefore you are safe. Make of that little tidbit what you will.” Shibah had watched the room from a distance most of the evening, but as Satan swept the room. Quickly she stepped between him and Magda.  "I think you are finished tonight, Satan." Zoe felt Maria tense and looked up, watching Satan move over towards where Magda and Adele sat. It didn't matter how angry she was, she was not about to let either of them get hurt because Satan wanted to prove a point. Putting down her cup, she slid out from Maria's grasp and followed Satan over to the pair, praying desperately to Raziel that he might come back inside if things went sideways. "Here for cake, right? Vanilla?" A tremor ran through her body but her voice didn't shake as she reached out to swipe some of the frosting in front of the two girls. "You know, the cabbage dude from Avatar the Last Airbender. I've never seen anyone love cabbages that much, not even the Russians with all their cabbage dishes. Been to Russia a couple of times and they love cabbage almost as much as we Irish do." Crowley tried again, wiggling her hand to once again offer him the joint. "You gotta binge it sometime, dude. It's A+."

Magda kicked up her chin and looked at Satan full in the face, not willing to let him see her crack or falter, not now. Those moments would be for later, when no one could see the fear leak out of her. No, for now, she was steel, and the backbone was a proud one, not a wish bone, but a triumph she'd tried to rebuild since October. "I worry you're here to make anyone's life a living hell." She stepped forward so their chests were nearly touching. He would be able to smell her perfume as she pushed her own screams from her mind. "I am never useless." Her eyes flickered around the room. "Shame you're going so soon, after all that, tucking tail. I'm hardly a threat—No? You should at least stay and feast." The response was veiled and layered, but she meant that last part, for Adele. Not wavering in her stance before Satan, Shibah gave Magda's hand a quick squeeze of support while her flashing eyes never left Satan's face. Something bitter eeked under Kezia's tongue, like the moment before a big swell, but not as fun. As more and more gathered, she stayed hugged against the wall. "Cabbage.... is an acquired taste." Raziel replied, blue gaze dropping to the offered joint. It wouldn't effect him, wouldn't even cause the slightest bit of change in the chemicals of his body, but before he could either accept it or deny it, he felt a pull within his head. A voice, Zoe's, calling him back inside. Clearly, Shibah hadn't handled whatever was happening. A quietly hissed curse in Russia left his mouth as Raziel turned and swept back inside, gaze immediately singling out what and where the problem was. "Maybe I wasn't clear enough, before." His voice was only a step above a growl as he approached the group, gaze roving from one face to another. "This-" One hand waved, encompassing the air between Satan and Magda, and ignoring Shibah's position between the two. "-This is over. You, both, were invited here under peaceful pretext. If that can't be maintained, I would be happy to rectify the situation, outside. Am I clear?" Magda, shot through with adrenaline and running on sugar and little else, squeezed Shibah's hand back—the first time she'd really touched the Heir. It was odd—almost oversensory, when trying to handle Satan, it was hard to have a would-be God she barely knew at her side, but it wasn't unwelcome. Eying Adele hopefully, Magda picked up a bit of an untouched cinnamon bun and a plate, putting it on it, and broke a piece off—she held it out in her hand daintily, Eve offering food to the Beast. “Poor, battered martyr. Your bravery is inspiring.” The disdain was clear, Satan’s gaze starting to slide from Magda’s steely mask and onto the face of the other girl who’d come up to them — a face that he strangely enough recognized, a connection that would have clicked into place (with possibly disasterous implications) had it not been for Magda’s second surprising action of the night drawing his attention back. He looked down at her offering for a brief moment before the curling of his upper lip made it obvious what his response would be without him even vocalizing it, choosing rather to acknowledge the angelic presence that had joined their group with a curt nod and zero change in expression. “Shibah.” Maria was relieved to see both Shibah and Raziel move in to back Magda up. She would have preferred Zoe stay out of it as well, but maybe Raziel would sent her back the way he'd sent Maria earlier. Zoe let her eyes flicker back and forth between Magda, Satan, and Adele for a moment before using all of her focus to cut herself a piece of cake, her comment seeing to go unnoticed in all the other tension. Satan came over to say... Magda was safe? That was... odd, but not unwelcome. Raziel was there, attempting to get everyone to calm down, but it seemed that the standoff was not coming to an end any time soon. Zoe simply tried to block Adele's body with her own, should things turn violent, watching and waiting and trying to eat the cake that tasted like ash in her mouth so close to Satan. Magda huffed. "Please. Go fuck yourself, then, I tried. Was hard enough to find your balls to kick the first time." She tossed the plate so that the icing would land on Satan's shirt and then just left, not wanting to be among strangers. She let Shibah play at whatever she would and instead coiled herself next to Donato, needing his energy, his grounding. Maria cursed under her breath as Magda literally threw food at Satan. Perhaps if this devolved into a food fight they could avoid an actual fight, but that was likely wishful thinking. She slid off her stool quickly, moving to stand with Magda and Donato. "Was that really necessary, Mags?" she asked softly. Shibah bristled at Raziel's interruption. The situation was being handled, perhaps not in the way /he/ would have done, but Magda was speaking for herself, she did not need other's words foisted upon her. But strangely Satan's attention turned to Shibah instead. "Satan." She replied.  "It is time to take your leave. Take Babylon with you." No smile lit her face, no attempt at pleasantries here.

As things once again began to escalate between Satan and Magda, ending with Magda throwing icing and a plate at Satan, Renee shifted slightly from her position in Liam's lap, intending to once again involve herself, before he wrapped arms about her and shook his head, "Don't Renee. I don't want to see you do that again. You've already been hurt enough lately." Here, she sighed, before leaning back into him. "Fine. This is my world, though, dear. It's not without its fights. If you want to know who I associate with, this is part of it." Magda looked up to Maria and said, her voice finally the tone of all the bravery gone out of her, "He made me a non-person, Mar... I tried and he just talked to Shibah instead. I'm just not going to engage, not that it stopped him when I moved away before." Her eyes asked her to understand. "I asked him to stay." "He should have just left," Maria huffed. "I get it, I do, I just... I want one gathering that doesn't end with someone bleeding. Is that too much to ask? Adele never should have invited him, I don't know what she was thinking." Another outburst and Kezia's frayed nerves snapped. "Oh honestly!" she blurted out. "What the fuck?" Shaking, she turned and dropped her hands to the table, back to the meager crowd and shoulders tight together. "No—you know what, it's me. It's me. I'm going to go, I'll be okay, I'm going to go. Let them stay. This night doesn't deserve this," Magda replied. As was his way, Donato simply observed for the most part as Satan returned, doing nothing to draw attention toward himself or away from the already involved parties. Eyes rolled as Shibah tried to assert herself, but he otheriwse paid more attention to Magda and Maria. "She was trying to be kind," he said, passing no judgement either way on Adele's motivations. "Magda, stay. No one wants you to go." There was a brief silence in the wake of Madga’s last gesture; Satan standing there with a violent inner conflict scrawled clearly across his face. “I think,” He finally managed, “That may be the wisest thing you’ve ever said.”  As for Raziel, he got as much attention as Renee had been afforded at the end of she and Satan’s interaction. In the company of the cherub’s competition, perhaps ignoring him in favor of talking to Shibah was more of an insult than anything Satan might have pieced together from words. “Maybe next time, Shibah.” Magda kissed Donato on the cheek. "Thank you, but it's probably best. You can help smooth things over, I know you can." With that, she moved past everyone and just removed herself from the situation, hoping it would let everyone calm down. If she was the problem, she could be big enough to solve herself. Overhearing Maria, Adele shrunk further into herself and wished that she could just disappear at that moment despite Zoe's presence and the need to to talk to her and fix what she'd done that night in trying to make things right for everyone. It didn't work. So instead, she stepped back and away from the table to put some distance between her and everything. Zoe looked up at Kezia's outburst, concern coloring her features and helping her block out any of her own emotions. Extricating herself from the situation with Satan, Shibah, and Raziel to the best of her ability, she gave one last look towards Adele to make sure she was safe before she moved over towards Kezia and called out softly, "Kez?" Moving closer, she placed her plate down on the counter next to her friend and warned, "I'm behind you, I'm gonna touch you, is that okay?" Placing a hand gently on Kezia's, she looked at her with worried eyes. "If you're going, I'm going," Maria said, following her sister. A small smile passed across Donato’s face at the kiss pressed to his cheek, before he shook his head, disagreeing with the idea that she was the problem, though he did as she suggested and stayed and simply watched her leave. He'd check in on her later, if Raziel didn't beat him to it. Or perhaps he'd check in anyway. Kezia exhaled slowly at the sound of Zoe's voice. She nodded lightly to answer the question. Eyes closed, shame of some kind replaced the fear and anxiety. "Sorry. I didn't mean to--" Her shoulders rolled shrugging. "This is so fucking stupid," she muttered. "Dogs pissing in circles." Adele's retreat brought her closer to the corner where Babs had tucked herself, watching the wholly unnecessary drama unfold. The foibles of humans were less a concern by the day. She reached, not thinking twice until it was too late, for the little churchmouse. Babylon's warm hand ghosted over Adele's sharp elbow. "I'm sorry." That everything went to shit. That they ruined your night. That I couldn't keep him under control. The second the plate left Magda's hand, Raziel's eyes rolled to the ceiling, tongue pressing hard to the roof of his mouth. "Bozhe moy." Muttered under his breath before he steeled himself for an outburst from the demon, though it never came. The lack of acknowledgement from Satan didn't bother him. He was just glad to see that Satan had maintained his cool, for once, and agreed to leave. The angel turned then, gaze cutting disdainfully down to Shibah. "That should have never gotten that far, Shibah. When I say handle it, I mean handle it." Voice a low growl, the angel cast a sweeping gaze over at the rest of the group, only just restraining his irritation, before he turned and headed after Magda. "What was that, if I may ask?" Zoe nodded in agreement, squeezing Kezia's hand. "These types of things don't normally go particularly well. We keep trying to mend the fences but then there's... you know, Satan... that doesn't help." Shutting down her own fear and anger into a small box that she could tuck away, she questioned, "You wanna go? We could go to the beach, sit and listen to the waves. You came, you saw, you realized why this job is so ridiculously hard..." Magda kept walking and hailed a cab, saying over her shoulder as she felt chastised, "I can't right now, but folks in there—they still have a chance to have a good time. I'm not a good time right now, and that's okay. I didn't think I was asking for that much, but I guess I was, and that's okay. I love you. Goodnight." "Very good." Shibah said by way of dismissing Satan. She kept Kezia in sight as she replied to Raziel. "Magda has a right to speak for herself, cake was thrown, not rocks or knives." Her tone was final, she would not take direction or criticism from Raziel tonight, or any other night for that matter. Slowly, Shibah approached Kezia and Zoe, watching the pair, uncertain if she should inject herself in their moment alone. With her breath caught in the back of her throat at the touch to her elbow, it took Adele a moment to realize that she hadn't imagined it but rather had nearly backed into Babylon who was still there. "I though you'd left..." She shook her head. "Don't be, it wasn't your fault... it was mine,  I shouldn't have... I shouldn't have done that. It was, thoughtless of how Zoe an' Magda.... how Naomi an' all of of them might have felt with him here. I just..." What did she want? She wanted everything to be okay, was that so much to ask for? Some days, it felt that it just might be. There was long moment. Broken by a breathy laugh and then, quietly, "It wasn't just him, ya know?" Turning, Kezia met Zoe's eyes carefully. "That was all fucking stupid, from everyone." She shrugged, eyes flickering to Adele, the third of their Powerpuff trio. "Don't wanna hurt Adele's feelings." "Magda, wait!" Maria called, jogging up to join her. "I'm serious, I'm coming with you. I don't want to stay." She looked entreatingly at her, silently begging her not to make her go back into that shit show when this was a perfect reason to leave. En route to the door for the second time that night, Satan paused by Babylon and Adele, not even bothering to offer either of them a smile that would've come out more of a grimace either way. "Well, I hope you've learned something of value, unlike all your little friends." This aside to Adele, his eyes burning into her. "I told you to be careful where you extended your hospitality, didn't I?" The familiar voice cut through the crowd and Shibah turned in an instant. "You were instructed to leave." She ordered to Satan, a hand coming to rest on Adele's shoulder, eyes narrowing as her patience began to wear thin. The cab pulled up and Magda looked softly at Maria, "It's up to you. I think it might be better to help people accomplish what Adele set out to do—I just, I wouldn't have come if I thought he'd be there, I—I tried. But don't let me ruin it." She didn't know who could clean it up, but she knew it couldn't be her, and she knew it didn't have to be Maria. Adele stilled when Satan stopped before her, not even bothering to try to smile for not the first time that night. "I'm sorry for you," she told him with a shake of her head. "I hope you're happy an' you got what you wanted tonight." She didn't, but that didn't mean she wouldn't keep trying. Zoe watched Kezia carefully, responding, "That's true. People aren't really interested in getting along for the greater good or anything right now. Infighting is just as stupid as fighting with Satan. He just... he shouldn't have been invited. He shouldn't have come. But he did and then... things spiraled. I want to understand where Adele was coming from, but everything is too fresh." Sighing heavily, she leaned into Kezia explaining, "I feel better being away from him, but Magda's got a lot of demons to deal with. I just wanted to make sure it wouldn't escalate. Turns out, I didn't help with that much." Looking over at Adele, between Babylon and Shibah and faced with Satan, she shrugged, "No way you can hurt her feelings more than I did." "Can you fuck right off for once, Shibah? We're clearly leaving," said Babylon. "You have both overstayed your welcome, I'm ensuring the message is clear, Babylon," said Shibah. Maria shook her head, "I can't this time. I'll text Zoe, she'll understand. If I stay, I'm going to put my foot in my mouth or lose my temper and make it worse. I'd rather stick with you." She pulled open the door of the cab and slid in without hesitation. "Forgive me, Shibah, I overlooked the part of your history that designated you the patron guardian of smoothie shops." Satan had another small tic of annoyance at Adele's persistent optimism, though her downtrodden expression was at least consistent with the general mood. Kezia bristled visably as voices raised again. Nodding to Zoe, she waved a hand over. "That," she spat out. "All the fucking posturing that just escalates and you could all just let it go." Her eyes darted between Shibah and Satan, Babylon and Adele. "Honestly, you are all so fucking stupid with the baiting and snapping." Her spine straightened. "There are more important things than the size of your dicks." "I won't stop you this time, Babylon." Satan had zeroed in on the demon now, determined not to stretch his patience any further than it was already being tested. "Do you want to stay here and comfort Paula Deen here over her failed brunch, or are we leaving?" Raziel broke into a light jog, closing the short distance between Magda and himself so that she wouldn't leave before he'd spoken to her. He stepped alongside her, one hand lifting to press the door of the cab firmly shut. His gaze didn't stray to Maria as she joined them, but remained firmly on Magda. "What you're asking for is understandable, but not in this situation, Magda. This wasn't hosted by the Church, it was hosted by Adele, who was trying to do something good for everyone. I understand what you were trying to accomplish, but this? This wasn't the right venue for it." He released his grip on the door as Maria moved towards it, allowing her to climb inside. "I don't blame you, and I'm not angry at you, understand that. If you're going to leave... that's fine with me. I know Adele would prefer it if you'd stayed. Crowley, probably, would do the same. Think about it, alright?" Babylon bristled so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash, ignoring Kezia and Satan alike. "You're such a fucking hypocrite, princesa. The only ones picking fights are you and your cronies. Great to know that patience and humility are still virtues." Zoe put a hand on Kezia's shoulder, both in support and hoping to calm her, and explained evenly, "Shibah, this is not your party. This is not your job and not your call. This is Adele's party and frankly, no one asked you." Turning to Babylon she offered, "Babylon, do you want a smoothie? I can put tequila in it." "Babylon." The tide of disent seemed to be turning on another immortal and Satan was eager to make his way out while it wasn't aimed his way, he'd seen enough of the little shop to know what he needed to for his plans for the end of the night. Kezia felt helpless and small. She wanted it all to stop -- wanted to go back home to Pasadena, wanted Mom and Dad to stop fighting, wanted her Mom to come back. Wanted her Mom to come back and this group of people who were the only ones who knew anything were too busy yipping like trumped-up chihuahuas. Turning, she stalked away from the center of the room and put her back against the wall, arms crossed tightly. Adele held up her hands. "Please," she wanted them all to stop fighting before things got out of hand again, ignoring the dig at her character as she glanced around at everyone and knew that they wouldn't stop if they stuck together. An event that she'd hoped would have the opposite effect as she pressed her lips together in a thin line. "Can we all just... take a breath, please? I'm sorry you didn't enjoy yourself or that you had the need to.. do what you did, but you've had your say... everyone has... so please..." She shook her head, out of words as she ducked out from them all to  gather herself and a breath of fresh air as she head straight for the door and walked outside. "Your Church has turned their back on you, kid." Crowley commented from where she still lingered in the alley, eyes focused on the fragile pale figure in front her. Adele. Charity. Funny how charitable she was to everyone but no one was charitable right back to her. It amused her to see the Church of Virtue was as hypocritical as she had always known it to be. "I think you should hunt for another." Watching Maria's girlfriend intervene with success almost gave Babylon a stress rash. "Fuck," she muttered, eyes turning upwards as if praying to their dead God for strength. "Raincheck, Zoe. Thanks." And she meant it. "But I've gotta get out of here five minutes ago." "If you want," Magda said to Maria, again, and then her eyes narrowed surprisingly at Raziel, who had never been the target of her ire. "This isn't about any fucking Church. Heaven knows if it wasn't for you I'd probably pledge Sinner. Not everything is politics, Raz, thought it might be for you. Last time I saw him, he hurt Naomi almost as bad as he hurt me the time I saw him before that. So sorry for asking that he assure a fucking truce for the night—what's the right venue for that? When's the right venue for me to ask for my safety when my every interaction with him has involved assault?—but he couldn't just say Okay, he had to be HIMSELF about it until I stepped away, and when I was aside, he approached ME and baited me, and I responded by fucking trying! I know it was Adele throwing it or I wouldn't have tried to feed him, to assuage my abuser! I tried to be nice and he pretended I wasn't even there! That I wasn't human! AGAIN! That Shibah was the only relevant being! What am I, I'm just a pig to be stuffed, so whatever." She stopped speaking and closed the cab, rolling down the window. "I don't blame you and I'm not angry at you. Go be God. I know Adele would prefer it if you fixed it. But you're not me, and I can't. I'm sorry." "A second Exodus seems to be the way the night is going." Satan offered his hand down to where Babylon sat, his expression a mirror of her own frustration. Zoe nodded to Babylon, full of a sincerity that surprised her, and exhaled, "Any time. Get home safe, however that is. That goes for anyone else leaving." At Adele's words Shibah ignore Zoe's commands and Babylon's snark, removing herself from main crowd to work on cooling off. A few moments later she neared Kezia, though kept her distance as she doubted the girl wanted her company. "I won't come closer. I simply wanted to apologize for upsetting you tonight, Kezia." She started to back away, uncertain how much longer she would be staying tonight.

5. PESTILENCE ARRIVES AT THE SCENE.

Kiara arrives with baklava. Kezia has a message for Shibah, to think more about what they’re leading than that they’re leading it. Zoe gets very concerned seeing Kiara. She tries to get herself and Kezia to find Adele and leave. Kezia becomes entranced by the idea of confronting Kiara about her mother's whereabouts. Zoe prays for Raziel to come back inside. The baklava really is delicious. Belial appears with wine to comfort Adele. Isadora baits Zoe and Zoe takes the bait, fighting with her nemesis. Kezia demands answers, Kiara withholds them. As that escalates, Zoe prays to Babylon of all people for reinforcement to try to tend with Kiara. With Satan gone off, Babylon comes back. Crowley offers Donato cupcakes. Raziel tries to take Kezia away from Kiara, but Kezia refuses and presses Kiara more; then she goes outside with him. Babylon drinks with Zoe on the roof.

Kiara casually strolled in toward the table with a big plate of baklava with chocolate frosting. Three hours late was better than not arriving at all, she thought. "Well, there are less people than I anticipated. Disappointing," she announced. "So where should I put this?" "They haven't..." Adele felt her shoulders rise and fall, letting out a heavy sigh as she brushed back the hair from her face to glance over at Crowley with a twist on her lips that wasn't a smile or a frown. It was the confusion that she felt in her heart at tonight's gathering. "I should have known better... I should have paid more attention, or I should have been better at... thinkin' about Zoe an' Magda's feelings 'bout tonight." But she hadn't. That weighed heavily on her. Babs slid a hand into the one Satan offered, letting her nails bite into his skin hard enough to leave crescent-shaped marks. She knew he'd understand that she needed it-- needed to flash her canines and shriek at someone, and he was by far the safest option to weather the temporary storm. "Get us gone." Kezia's shoulders shifted in a manner nearly reptilian. Eyes landing on Shibah, she felt sympathy trekking through her but she swallowed it. "You all would do better to think about what the fuck you're leading than the fact that you're leading it, ya know?" Zoe nearly dropped her smoothie as Kiara -- or the being that used to be Kiara -- entered the building, with a plate to pass to boot. Eyes flickering over to Kezia and Shibah, she made a move towards Kezia and murmured lowly but seriously, "We have to go. Now. We have to leave, Kez. And we need to get Adele."

Noting Adele walk outside from her vantage point, and seeing Crowley follow, Renee figured that now was as good a time as any to actually get herself invovled in things again. And so, she shifted, intertwining her hand in his, ending the conversation they were having about nothing particularly important, before stepping outside and crossing to Adele and Crowley with him in tow. A frown crossed her face first, aimed at Adele, before she spoke. "I'm sorry Adele. I can't imagine this was the evening you were hoping for."

Kezia wanted to still be angry but Zoe's tone cut down her immediately emotional response. "Why? What's wrong?" Her eyes darted to Adele, uncertain and hating to feel out-of-the-know. Adele shook her head at Renee with a sympathetic smile. "I just wanted people to have a nice night together... thought it might work," she replied with a shrug. Her eyes fell on the man that she'd never met before as she offered her hand at him to shake.  "Adele, it's nice to meet you." Satan gave her a short nod, holding their clasped hands almost behind his back as they passed through the door - less to protect Babylon from further conflict and more to discourage any unfortunates who decided they needed to get their last word in with the similar brewing storm at his side. "Haven't they?" Crowley questioned, shaking her head with a quiet laugh. Crowley didn't have much faith in people and even less trust in them. Disappointment was constant in situations like that and for people like Adele, built up of trust and faith. "They turned pretty easily, didn't they? Zoe, Maria, Josh." She sighed, clicking her tongue. "I'm sure they'll 'forgive' you but only after they make you grovel for it." Her lips pressed together. "They're self-righteous like that. All of them." She looked to Renee, nodding in greeting and eyeing the man but looked back to Adele. Raziel bit his tongue, preventing himself for snapping back at Magda. Everything about this was politics for him, she knew that. He wanted to remind her that she should have known better than to approach Satan, in the first place, too. But that would only make things uglier than they currently were. His hand gripped the frame of the door once she rolled the window down, and he leaned down, peering into the cab. "I understand, болтун. I know what that and this means to you, but with him..." He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "Я люблю тебя." I love you. "Go have a good night, or what's left of one." Shibah's head whipped around at the new voice. "Listen to Zoe." Shibah agreed as she recognized Kiara.'s presence. "You won't want to remain here." As for herself, Shibah moved around the room, leaning against the counter ash she watched to see what would unfold. Adele shook her head. "They didn't... no, that's not what... I should have known better than to try an'... I don't know, mend things?" It was a frivolous thought now that she heard it out loud, wanting to help what couldn't be helped on a night like tonight. Zoe had every right to be upset with her, but she wished that it didn't hurt as much as it did as she glanced back at Crowley. "She's my best friend, I love her... an' I'll do anythin' to make things right by her...always." Zoe gripped Kezia's arm and fired off a quick prayer to Raziel explaining, "I need you to be calm. Remember when I told you about Pestilence? She's uhm... here. And she brought baklava. I don't know what that means but I think maybe getting out of here and taking Adele with us is the best course of action." At Adele's significantly warmer greeting, he smiled for the first time in a while, taking her hand and offering his name in return, "Liam." Then Renee spoke once more, "And that's Crowley," she said, nodding towards the other, before Adele spoke once more and Renee tried to gather context for the conversation she had entered. "Oh, Adele, this isn't entirely on you, but there is such a thing as a lost cause." Kezia's eyes brightened at one word: Pestilence. The Horseman. The one who knew. "Right," she murmured. "You get Adele and go to your apartment, okay? Get safe, find Maria. I..." She swallowed thickly. "I have to talk to her, Zo."

"Mend things? Is that a bad thing?" Crowley pushed herself off the wall and flicked the joint away, stepping toward Adele, expression soft for once. "You're true to your nature, Charity." Discord in the Church of Saints pleased Crowley, so she chose to sow the seeds of distrust even deeper. "Your best friend? I don't think best friends are supposed to shriek in rage at each other but I've never really had one myself, y'know?" Her expression grew regretful. "Jairus is dying, Adele. No angel secures that. Do you really think Zoe is going to even let you be considered a candidate for a position like that? Nah, she wants it herself but I guess that might have to be a lesson you need to learn yourself." She gently placed a hand on Adele's shoulder. "Should come to karaoke sometime." She stepped back, winked at her and turned to Renee. "As ethereal as ever, Vice but if you excuse me, I got a movie marathon to get back to." With that, she went strolling around the front. Zoe leveled her gaze at Kezia responding, "Remember that time when we don't do stupid things that get us killed? Cause that's always. I'm not going to leave you here with a fourth of the Apocalypse, that's just not gonna be a thing. I will grab Adele, sure, but not leaving you here." Looking back and forth between Kezia and Kiara, she prayed to Raziel even harder and saw Crowley come in the front door, wondering if that could at all be used to her advantage. Chaos demon, probably not. "Kez, I am begging you, please do not do the thing." Adele opened her mouth and shut it again at Crowley's words, finding nothing but an empty space where the demon had been standing by the time she even knew what to say that left her even more confused than she'd been moments before inside. Before tonight, she knew exactly where she stood with Zoe and the rest but now? She didn't have a clue and Crowley, undoubtedly, had a point. Though she didn't have time to dwell on it as she glanced back at Renee and the man on her arm. "I don't believe in that... even if I should," she told Renee with a half smile. Swallowing, Kezia didn't move her eyes from the woman, the Horseman. "I'm not going to do anything." Bring a smile up from the depths of her very being, Kezia loped toward the newcomer, Kiara, Pestilence. "Whaddup? I love baklava. Too bad you missed the fireworks earlier." Renee silently let Crowley push buttons and do whatever it was she was doing, since she herself had entered in the midst of a conversation, before shooting Crowley a warm smile as disappeared, making a note that she'd have to text her and ask what the hell ethereal was supposed to mean as related to her. Once Crowley disappeared, she allowed the smile Adele would be looking for to pass across lips. "I know, dear. We wouldn't be where we are if you didn't believe that." Zoe could have smacked herself in the forehead at Kezia's reaction to her words, knowing that Kezia was going to do that but having desperately hoped that she would choose to do... oh, maybe anything else at all. Deciding she had very little time, she rushed out the front door and around the corner to where she had seen Adele disappear to earlier, nearly running into Renee. "Oh! Uh, hi. Renee. Renee's manfriend. Adele? We have sort of a Horseman shaped situation in the dining room and I'm thinking we Powerpuff out of here post hasty?" She was still not pleased with Adele, but she certainly wasn't about to let her become Pestilence food or be known as 'the girl that threw that party where Pestilence killed everyone.' Kiara set down the plate of baklava at a random spot on the table, slowly canting her head to greet Kezia, corners of her mouth slowly twitching into a thin-lipped smile. "Well, hello, my dear Kezia," she greeted, curiosity piqued on her features upon hearing about the fireworks. "Oh? That's a shame," she said blankly. "What exactly did I miss?" Still not wishing to go back inside, Raziel loitered out front for a few moments longer after Magda and Maria had left, before choosing to round the corner of the building. He caught the pull of another of Zoe's prayers, brow furrowing, just as he entered the alley and saw Renee and Adele and the stranger he'd seen on Renee's arm all night standing there. Not thirty seconds later and Zoe burst outside, saying something about a Horseman. Pestilence, presumably, unless War had made its arrival already. "What, exactly, is going on?" Plucking up a square of pastry, Kezia took a bite and savored the taste. "Oh, a whole bunch of bullshit," she replied. With the mission, Kezia's nerves and anger has dissipated. "'My horse is bigger than your horse' and all that line-drawing bullshit." "Wow, Chastity, chill a little." The smell of a just-smoked cigarette wafted off of Isadora as she rolled up by Renee's side. "Pestilence isn't interested in little shit sins." "Apparently Kiara's decided to make an appearance now that things have quieted down," Renee commented calmly to Raziel. "Because the evening hasn't been exciting enough." Then an amused chuckle passed lips at Isadora's comment, "That reminds me, Izzy, dear, we need to talk about that at some point. Do remind me, hmm?" Zoe couldn't help firing back at Isadora, her one true weakness in life, snapping, "Right. Because she asked me for a demon to munch on so I guess us humans are safe and I shouldn't worry whatsoever about the demons attending. It's not like I care about them, right? Or is this just because Pestilence is your girlfriend?" Crowley eyed the baklava with longing, moving toward the plate before pausing to look at the Horseman. "Yo, real talk though, you didn't infect the baklava, did you? Because that looks good as fuck." She eyed Kezia, lips twitching at the sight of the ballsy human. "Wonderful." Raziel muttered, gaze rolling up to the sky overhead before it dropped, glancing over Isadora and to Zoe, still aggressively and uncharacteristically hostile. "Shibah's still inside, isn't she?" As the night had already proven, he couldn't trust her to handle anything. Zoe looked up at Raziel and exhaled, "Shibah has been just about everywhere she shouldn't be tonight, so I'm sure she is. Apparently this is her party to dictate attendance for and there's nothing like leaving everyone vulnerable with a Horseman to prove you'll make a good God." Kiara slowly arched an eyebrow, eyes averting to the way Kezia ate the pastry dessert, immensely pleased at the sight. "Humans," she said with distaste, rolling her eyes. As much as she disliked them, it would've bought her delight to watch them bicker amongst themselves. "No," she answered bemusedly to Crowley's question. "I wouldn't do such a thing to that. Eat to your heart's delight." Kezia's eyes wandered to Crowley watching and chewing in silence. Cocking her head to the side a little, Kezia corrected Kiara. "Not just us, though. Actually, mostly not us, really." Crowley met Kezia's gaze and despite the nonchalant look on her face, her eyes briefly flashed with a warning before she returned to trying to find the best piece of baklava to eat. She finally selected one and picked it up. "Bomb cooking, Pestilence." At Kiara's comment, Donato finally found himself spurred into action once more, having quietly been standing very far off to the side observing in a fashion that had left him all but forgotten about. Here, he crossed and picked up one of the deserts in question, and moved to join the periphery of the conversation, before biting into the desert in question. More gathered and Kezia shifted, uncomfortable. Too many bodies. She just wanted Kiara to herself, so she could find out what she knew... The look from Crowley had her curious. She blinked to the demon thoughtfully, before looking to the angel that joined in silently. "These really are good," she commented, taking another bit of the baklava." "I'd noticed as much, actually." Raziel spared a glance for Renee and Isadora before he turned to Zoe. "I'm going to go inside, see what needs to be sorted before the night goes entirely up in flames. Are you coming?" "I'll make it an appointment." Then, at Zoe's comment, a look of real confusion flickered over her face. Isadora masked it almost as instantly.  "The Church's tenets are do what you will and bear the consequences. Pestilence is now a consequence. They're demons. They know what they're doing. Also, I definitely saw like a third of the demons in LA catching a freakin' cab on the way back. If you were gonna hand a demon over, which by the way is like herding a fucking cat, you're def narrowing your selection a little." Zoe pointedly ignored Isadora in an attempt to rein herself in, her emotions spiking at completely random moments tonight, as she responded to Raziel, eyes flickering back over to where Adele was standing. "I need to do something first, I'll be there in a minute. Can you please get Kezia away from there as quickly as possible? I can take her home or I can ask Josh to." "Oh," Kiara said simply, internally chastising herself for arriving late when she had no particular reason to be. "Fascinating. Clearly, people need to inform me when angels and demons are about to fight," she said with a hint of sarcasm. More people had come closer, which surprised her none. She remained stoic, watching people eat her dessert. "This is the best baklava you will taste in your life." It was my mother's recipe, she almost revealed." Kezia smirked to Kiara, eyes bouncing along the other people near by. Fuck it. "So. You're Pestilence now?" Raziel followed her gaze to Adele before his returned to Zoe's face. "I'll see what I can do." He didn't bother looking at either Isadora or Renee as he headed inside, making his way across the smoothie bar to the gathering. He paused next to Donato, looking with mild interest at the plate in the younger angel's hands before directing his attention upwards. "What've I missed?"

"Nothing," Donato said simply, keeping voice soft. "Only everyone mostly clearing out and the arrival of a late... guest, whom I'm sure you can identify." Then he let a wry smile pass across face. "Her baklava really isn't half bad." "What? Oh my god. Who told you?" Kiara inquired with mild surprise, unable to help herself.

"Oh, okay," Isadora said when Zoe, too, refused to take bait. She held up her hands so that the cruel tips of her acrylics pointed to the sky. "Damn, you heaven-y folks are doing some cheek-turning tonight. Is it 'cause you know you can't clap back as hard as you want to and still think of yourselves as the 'kind, reasonable' ones? Or maybe you can't do it all. I think I only know one member of hashtag team saint who has any teeth." Kezia laughed at her feigned surprise. "The angel on my shoulder whispered it in my ear," she joked. Inside, her very organs were grinding together with the need to ask, to know, to demand. "But, so, that means you're behind all the death, despair, destruction, right?"

A quick smirk passed across Renee’s lips once more, at Isadora's baiting, content to stand quietly as Isadora cut Zoe to pieces just a little, a thing she, frankly, found amusing, before she finally weighed in just slightly. "Oh, Izzy, honestly I don't know why you're remotely surprised. This is typical Church of Saints behavior. Patience, kindness, et cetera. If you're looking for a real verbal match, you'd better search elsewhere."

Belial appeared from the shadows with a bottle of his favorite wine dangling  from two fingers and came up from behind to wrap his arm around Adele's shoulders, 'Well if it isn't my favorite saint, I brought goodies.' He held out the bottle of wine for her perusal and grinned. "Oh, well, at least the baklava is good," Raziel sighed, resisting the need to massage his temples. The need only increased as he watched the conversation between Kezia and Pestilence, anxiety knotting up the length of his spine. Kiara's gaze averted to the side, purposely done to look as if she was bored. While she was fairly sure she knew the question Kezia was dying to ask, she had little patience for her prolonging the inevitable. "Yes. Ask me what you want to ask." Steel worked its way into Kezia's expression, she skipped over Raziel without a second thought and met eyes with Kiara. "My mother is missing. No body found. I want to know where she is. How can I find her?" Zoe bit her lip so hard it almost bled, clenching her hands into fists as she tried to control how deeply she wanted to lash out at Isadora. Something about that woman got to her on a visceral level, something that was not helped by the fact she was spiraling due to the fact she had not dealt with her feelings regarding the fight with Satan whatsoever and containing everything you felt all the time for a state of perpetual zen was not necessarily all it was talked up to be. In some strange moment of desperation, she found herself talking to Babylon in her head, the need to have a presence there that was actually calming and rational overwhelming any other response. Any other response except Zoe turning to face Isadora in an eerily calm manner and responding, "Is that all? Explaining to me that you're 'hashtag' Team Pestilence and completely and utterly selfish isn't really something that requires a clapback. I think you handled that all on your own. Tell me, is it just because you're so attracted to Kiara that even murder looks cute on her, like a designer outfit,  or do you just really not care about anything in this world at all? Either answer is not particularly becoming of you. Aren't you supposed to leave the lack of action or care to Sloth? Oh. Wait. Your best friend Pestilence killed him under my Christmas tree. Are we done now? Cause I'm really hoping we're done now." Adele jumped. She was expecting the worst when Zoe met her gaze asking for a minute, but she wanted to talk  to her best friend and explain her actions. She wanted to make everything right but didn't know how to do just that when an arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her back against them and away from the where Zoe and Isadora were standing off. "Belial," she let out a breath of relief as she shook her head. "I uh, I didn't think you were comin' not that I would have blamed you... tonight hasn't been..." It wasn't what she had hoped for as she glanced back at him with a tired smile that didn't reach her eyes. Belial's eyes traced over the small group of people and finding them wanting, so focused back on the saint he'd come here for in the first place, "What, your happy little get together of all saints and sinners didn't end with sunshine and rainbows? Color me shocked.' Belial chuckled softly and pulled her further away from the group, "No worries, because the life of the party has arrived.' Kiara was internally cackling on the inside, all too amused with the stress levels in the room just at her presence alone. "Go outside," she began, taking a step closer to intimidate. "Second star to the right, 'cause darling, she's in Neverland." Belial's arrival automatically put Renee at incredibly tense. Shifting slightly, she pulled Liam close to her, leaning into him, a gesture made to encourage him to wrap an arm about her, which he did. In that moment, she leaned up, and whispered into his ear, "Belial," and then watched as his face tightened in displeasure too. She had told him enough that he knew how she felt. Still, she said nothing until Zoe, went on some kind of rant, only addressing the last of it. "Ah, Zoe, I'm afriad, Isadora was never particularly fond of Sloth. That dig, while an admirable attempt, would have been much less wasted on me" God FUCKING dammit! All Babylon had wanted was to enjoy the last of her joints in relative peace outside the smoothie shop from hell. Satan had nearly broken her wrist in his haste to get them both out of the potluck and away from the flock of so-called that seemed to be out for blood, only to drop and run. It was Zoe's voice that niggled at the base of her skull, compelling her back through those doors the way she had Raziel some minutes before. Her eyes were nearly as dark as the ink on her shoulders as she hovered, metaphorically, in the doorframe before crossing the threshold. Crowley finished munching on the baklava and turned her face toward some of the other dishes, wondering if she should go straight for dessert or just try some of the actual food. Lord knew she loved some sweet potatoes. In the end, however, she picked up a cupcake. Treat yourself, right? Another arrival -- rearrival -- caught her attention but Kezia just spared a glance for Babs. After all, she was about the get her answer. But Kiara's taunting only set her teeth on edge. "Very funny," she bit out. "Now give me the real answer. I know there are people who have whatever demon STD you gave 'em and are living. There was no body," she insisted. "Where is my mother?" "I think the party has long since been over," Adele told Belial with a shrug. Glancing back at Zoe, and the rest of them, and didn't know what to  do to fix what she'd done that night. Belial looked between Adele and the group, catching Renee's rather lackluster glance and the answering scowl on her arm candy's face. He sent the man a pleasant smile and wave, before turning his attention back to Adele, 'now you have my interest piqued. did someone die? because it seems to be a regular at these shindigs lately.' Crowley, holding two cupcakes now, focused her gaze on the unhappy looking angel in the corner. "What a babe." She commented to herself before strolling toward Donato. "I'd offer you a cupcake but word on the street is I don't want to give you my cupcake nor anymore of my Valentine's Day pickup lines that you were so unhelpful about." "I'm a Sinner," Isadora said, in a tone icy enough to rival Chastity's. "Kiara was cute while she was Kiara. We had a good time, but I'm over that. The Rapture is here, and I'm not fucking giving in on my Church. That's what I care about. Don't mistake me for a nihilist or a horseman groupie or whatever. While you're scrambling around, looking for a cure that eludes you at every turn, grappling with what I'm sure is a heady moral fucking dilemma, I'm doing what I can to show people that when the end is nigh, they shouldn't give in either. I'm a fucking fanatic, bitch. This is what I believe in." Adele frowned but it wasn't genuine, knowing Belial's sense of humor bordered on the verge of inappropriate. "The night's not over yet," she mumbled before she shook her head and tried another failed attempt at smiling. "No.. I hope that isn't how tonight ends. I just wanted people to have a nice night..." It was too much to ask for and she only had herself to blame as she hung her head slightly.

Oh, poor Kezia, desperate for answers. Kiara picked up a piece of baklava she had oh-so-lovingly cooked earlier in the day and slowly nibbed at a corner. "Oh you're not going to visit? It's quite the sight, I assure you," she said while her eyes gleamed with delight. "You won't get your answer until your dear, dear friend gives me what I want." Zoe did not wait for Isadora to respond, did not wait for anything, deciding that there were plenty of people in charge right now that were not her and if everyone was going to be one thousand percent ridiculous, she no longer had to care. She wanted to talk to Adele, she really did, but that would just have to wait until she could have a rational conversation or a single thought that didn't make her skin buzz. Seeing Babylon enter the shop again, she walked smoothly up to the demon and gently grasped her wrist, tugging her towards the back of the shop and into the kitchens where she wordlessly grabbed a bottle of tequila hidden in one of the back fridges and led them out a back door, beginning a climb up to the roof. Once she was sitting on the edge, she uncapped the bottle and exhaled, "Drink with me?" Under different circumstances, Raziel might have been quietly amused with Pestilence's response to Kezia. But, right now, it would have been inappropriate to be such a thing. He stepped forward, gaze drifting towards Pestilence as it spoke again. "Kezia, let's step outside." At Belial's smile and wave, they both frowned and he whispered to her, "Do you want-" before she shook her head.  Swallowing hard, Renee turned attention to Belial for a moment, knowing she couldn't ignore him forever. "Satan's presence made a mess of things," she said calmly. "Something you, no doubt, learned from him." Then she turned to Isadora, offering her a genuinely pleased smile. "Well said."

Donato: Head cocked for a moment, as Crowley approached him before eyes lit up with recognition. "And, pray tell, why exactly did you pick me for that?" Kezia's eyes narrowed at the non-answer. "What does that mean? What do you mean?" Her friend? Did Kiara mean Zoe? Why wouldn't she just give her a damn straight answer. She glared at Raziel, razor-sharp. "No," she said, full of force and just the single syllable. "What do you want? I'll get it for you?" When was the last time Babylon had permitted a human to drag her by the hand like a dog on a leash? She bit back on the answer but couldn't stop it before it could drift to the forefront of her eyes, flashing like a neon sign: Clara. How many times had the hand holding hers touched the new skin wrapped around Clara's soul? Something in Zoe had bid the saint to call her Babylon the sullied; Babylon obeyed, against her nature as it may have been, and let Zoe guide her where she would. "Depends. Are you going to push me off?"

Crowley: "Because I've yet to see you fully smile and because I wanted to try out some bomb new pickup lines on you. Is that so bad, doll? I'm not a cherubic cupid but I'm a sucker for sad little angels who grump it out more than anything." Zoe didn't look up at Babylon, letting her decide for herself whether or not to stay, before tossing back effectively a shot's worth of the bottle. "Nope. Even if I did, you can fly. That's kind of pointless."

"Nor will you see me smile," Donato said calmly. "I'm not particularly in the habit of smiling at pickup lines or for the sake of people who decide I'm their personal cause." Kiara continued eating her baklava like Kezia wasn't pissed at her or having a sort of existential crisis. "No," she shot back. "It can only be Zoe." Belial looked between Adele, and the stoic Renee and smirked, 'That /is/ what Satan does best, I will admit. Did he insult someone's dress, or try to choke them over the last cream puff?' Belial turned to Adele and raised a brow, 'maybe next time we treat it like Survivor. Piss off the hostess with the mostest, and you get sacrificed to a pagan god.' Kezia fought against tears, fought against the pit in her stomach that had been lurking since December, the voice that whispered there was no use. "I just want my mom," she said, voice cracking. She was horribly ashamed, mortified really, to appear so weak when she had been so determined to be strong. "You... I just want my mom." "Well done is better than well said," Isadora said to Renee, her voice still cold and empty. She stared a hole into the air where Zoe had stood. "They run the minute they can't get a clean victory."

For the umpteenth time that night, Raziel bit his tongue before he lost his temper with another human. He breathed slowly, reining himself back in, and watched Kezia instead of looking back to Pestilence, gauging her reaction before it cracked. "Would you like to step outside for a moment, Kezia?" He repeated. "My personal cause is making sure the cat island in Japan is funded for the rest of existence, don't flatter yourself, love bug." Crowley commented, taking a bite of her cupcake. "Tell me, angel, were you always so douche-y?" Kezia struggled to keep herself upright, solid. Wordlessly, she nodded to Raziel but didn't wait. Always graceful on boards, Kezia's feet stumbled and stuttered as she made her way toward the entrance. "Always is," Renee said eyes not on Isadora, as she agreed with her but on Belial, since it was topical to where they were. "But then, that's almost entirely the point of the Church of Sinners. Action even if there are consequences." Then she smiled tightly. "Lucifer knows I'll do it every time. Every single time without apology." Then she directly addressed Belial, "You know something of that, too, don't you Belial?" Glance flickered to where Zoe had walked away, "Take the victory in it anyway." Raziel cast a glance around for Donato, spotting Shibah's brother in the corner with Crowley. He debated saying something, lingering a few steps behind Kezia, but sharing her distress was something he'd invoked on himself. He followed her outside with another glance to Donato, hoping that the angel would be fine in Crowley's company.