#ch: ben gross

[fbfh]

Curiosity is a Wonderful thing ch. 11

wc: 13.2k

genre: slow burn, little angst, childhood best friends to lovers

pairing: slow burn bff!ben x fem daughter of alice!reader, mal x ben (allegedly), platonic reader + mom!alice

warnings: severe mommy issues, brief touch on food scarcity and trauma, COMPHET, reader scratches her arm and bleeds a little, one use of the word purge in a non food related sense, ben has a gnarly panic attack, very mild dubcon bc mal used mind control on ben without him knowing (she didn't do anything physical with him it was just ethically questionable at the very best and the important thing is ben feels gross about it), ben very briefly contemplates involuntary manslaughter, one use of the phrase "being [someone's] bitch", comfort from reader's mom

summary: Ben and Mal go on a date. You follow a rabbit. All three of you begin to realize things of critical importance.

song recs: dream girl evil - florance and the machine, girls against god - florance and the machine, tell me I'm okay patrick - rachel bloom/crazy ex girlfriend cast, hovering - miley cyrus ft trace cyrus, when you wish upon a star ethereal remix - a.krishna, nothing is every anyone's fault - crazy ex girlfriend cast, when you wish upon a star (music box) - the by8nd, silly lullaby - natasha richardson

a/n: your outfit, your mom's outfit, optional face/voiceclaim for adult alice (it's natasha richardson)

THANK YOU GUYS SO MOTHERFUCKING MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT??????? LIKE WHAT THE FUCK. also as per ush (how do we phonetically spell the first part of usual????) fangz 2 cici 4 betaing lulz mcr rox. btwTHERE IS WONDERLAND TERMINOLOGY USED IN THIS CHAPTER!!!!!!! HERE IS THE GLOSSARY!!!!!!!!!! the tldr from memory is as follows:

brillig = late afternoon around when you would start cooking dinner

nunz = don't go (with a sense of urgancy/immediate importance)

gyre = to spin around and around like a gyroscope

mimsy = flimsy/miserable hybrid word (think sad wet pathetic little mewmew)

gallymoggers = cuckoo bananas crazy

so yeah!!! I think I got everyone from my asks and replies (LOVE YOU ALL SO FUCKING MUCH EVEN YOU SILENT READERS YES I LOVE YOU TOO LURKERS AND LIKERS AND SILENT REBLOGGERS <333 YOU SPECIFICALLY READING THIS RIGHT NOW) so if you wanna be added or I missed you just hoot and holler in the notes!! (or if you wanna be more anon you can message me too I don't mind in the slightest uwu)

tags @yesv01@magcon7280 @hopefullhearts @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @sunshineangel-reads @dustyinkpages @inejsknifes @tulipmagnoliaisme @ev3ningrain @yokolesbianism @ma1dita @casey1-2007 @roseidol @eaterof-concrete @enhacatalog @inejghafawifesblog @jjmaybankisawesome @leovergurl @formulas-bitch @starsdotalk @tulipmagnoliaisme @inejsknifes @ficslutt @bwormie @urmomlikeslinotoo @jazhandzzz

Mal has a lot of reasons to hate herself. She’s weak, sensitive, and incompetent at best on a good day, as her mother likes to say. She has no grit, no spite. She knows this, because she grew up hearing it. One of the last things her mother told her before shipping her off that god forsaken rock was don’t blow it. Mal knew from her words, from the frightening pleasantness in her voice and tension in her eyes what she really meant. The way she clamped her sharp nails down painfully into Mal’s shoulder - from a distance, a maternal and supportive gesture - the weight that this opportunity held. 

If you asked Maleficent for a list of all the things wrong with her daughter, she could easily fill a book. Probably several, but Mal doesn’t think she actually cares enough about her daughter to pay close enough attention to do so. If she found out her mother put that much effort into listing her flaws, she thinks that would be the most mother daughter bonding she’s ever received. She might try becoming worse somehow, just to disappoint her mother further and give her more to work with. 

Many of the things her mother thought of her, she had started to believe over time. But now, Mal finds herself in an unusual, almost funny position of being able to add a new failure, a new flaw to that eternally winding, growing list. 

Mal is getting attention from a boy. And worse, she likes it. 

So really, it’s two for one. 

Being around Ben felt weird at first. He kept trying to kiss her, which was… gross. Mal justified it as being above all that, being too wicked and rotten for mushy gushy matters of the heart. Maybe it’s really because it’s just… too much. It’s all so much, happening so fast. A week or two ago she couldn’t be alone with anyone without trying to figure out who was going to shank who first. 

She knows that’s not how Auradon works, she knows the crime rate here is basically zero, and she wonders if she’ll ever be able to shake that feeling. Like being safe is somehow worse than being in danger. At least danger is familiar. That’s probably why she’s able to strut playfully across the rickety old rope bridge the way she is. Behind her, Ben chuckles nervously, holding tight onto the sides.

It was annoying at first, all the attention. She laughed about it with Evie. Or she tried to, at least. But the more time they spend in this frilly princess infested hellhole, the more Mal notices Evie seeming… different. Their banter and mean spirited jokes that flowed so easily seem to have evaporated overnight. 

She can tell Evie’s not as into it anymore. No one else could, but Mal can. She wonders if this means Evie isn’t as into her anymore. Mal wouldn’t call them friends. She wouldn’t call any of her friends friends. But no one would ever deny the bond, the loyalty between the four of them. The thought of Evie drifting away, pulling back from her like this hurts. It would be so much better if she just full on betrayed Mal, stabbing her in the back and sabotaging her. At least that way, they’d still be speaking the same language.

She thought if anyone would be excited about getting some idiotic prince in her clutches, a figurehead to manipulate and make dance like a puppet, it would be Evie. But now, for the first time in her life, Mal feels like she cares more about boys, about bagging a prince than Evie does. It’s strange. It’s unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and she doesn’t know how to fix it. How to make things normal again. 

It’s not like she could even call Evie out on it, either. She’s being normal enough. Mal could see her beaming ear to ear with that dazzling, blinding smile before she even got the question out of her mouth - will you help me get ready for my… date? She gagged a little when she said that, but Evie was too busy hugging her and talking about what to do with her hair to even notice. When they talked about dresses and blush undertones - something she’s still not sure she fully understands - things were great. They were better than normal, she felt like she and Evie were more in sync than they have been in years. It felt good.

 It’s when she brought up Ben that she noticed Evie’s light dim a little. Her heart just wasn’t in it. So Mal did what she does best. She deflected. She started talking about split ends, and kibbe types, and other stuff Evie has encyclopedic knowledge about that Mal has never even heard of, and just like that - boom. The sparkle was back in Evie’s eyes, the sincerity back in her smile. So Mal swore to herself that she just wouldn’t bring him up. Unfortunately, that’s proving to be easier said than done. 

Ben isn’t making things any easier for her, either. He’s been so nice, so disgustingly kind and considerate that it makes Mal sick. The worst part, the thing that really fills her with dread and sickening disgust is that he’s been like this the whole time. Before this stupid spell and the stupid cookie, before the stupid tourney game. He’s been thoughtful and considerate and kind, and good since the moment they stepped foot out of the limo. If limos don’t normally come filled with candy, that means he was good and kind even before they got to Auradon.

She feels giddy around him. Sick, and giddy. Despite everything, despite a lifetime of training for this, she can’t stop leaning into it, indulging herself. It’s so fucking stupid, she barates herself even as she turns and smiles at Ben, lets him guide her through the forest. 

“Tell me something about yourself you’ve never told anyone,” Ben requests gently, so gently it makes her flinch. For a moment, she’s pulled out of her spiraling maelstrom of self loathing.

“Um…” She hums out loud, silently letting herself revel in this feeling of captivating someone. Not scaring them, not grabbing them by the jaw and locking eyes while hers flare green, imposing her will, but actually having someone want to listen to her. Voluntarily, and not under threat of bodily harm. 

“My middle name is Bertha.” 

Ben chuckles behind her, and she turns back around away from him quickly so she doesn’t have to look at him. She’s not even sure if that’s true, and for the first time, she feels a dull pang of guilt for lying. It sounds stupid, the kind of thing no one would lie about, but Mal doesn’t even know if she has a middle name. She doesn’t know if she has a last name, other than Young Mistress of Evil, but having an embarrassing middle name sounds like something that other normal people her age would experience. 

So she goes with Bertha. 

She makes some little comment about her mom, and it gets a laugh out of Ben, one she tries to laugh along with.

“Mine’s Florian.” Ben says in understanding. “Ben Florian Lemaitre-Alarie Leroy de le Lumme-Mont.” 

Mal turns her head away, but she can still feel his eyes on her. 

“Wow. How princely.” She quips. 

“Yeah,” he chuckles, trying to look at her. She starts walking again. “It’s- it’s a mouthful…” 

He follows her closely, and soon they reach the end of the bridge. 

“Okay, close your eyes.” He instructs, placing his hand on her shoulder to stop her. 

Her stomach drops. Her brow furrows, and she shifts away from him on instinct. 

“Why…?” She asks skeptically. 

He pauses for a moment, then laughs sweetly at her reaction. 

“It’s okay, it’s just a surprise.” He says, his voice so earnest she can almost bring herself to believe him. “You’ll be okay. I promise.” 

Sixteen years of muscle memory force her to dig in her heels, to throw his allegedly good word out the window. But against her better judgment, her mind clouded with that squishy sappy dizzy feeling, that contact high she’s been getting from being around him too much, she reluctantly agrees. She knows that Ben won’t harm her because he can’t - not as long as she’s in his head.

She thinks back to the relief that flooded her when she finally pieced the plan together. She had two obvious choices; a love spell, or some sort of mind control. Mind control would have been ideal, she thought. It’s more predictable, plus it will score her some major points with her mother. 

She thought about  how great it would be, following in her footsteps and hypnotizing Ben with incorporeal hypnosis, just like her mother had hypnotized Audrey’s to touch the spinning wheel. 

She tried her hardest, she really had. But it turns out that hypnosis with eye contact or an artifact is already hard enough to begin with. Incorporeal hypnosis is about a thousand times harder. Worse off, Mal had never been able to practice magic a day in her life. All she knew until recently was theoretical second hand knowledge, gleaned from her mother’s drunken recollections of the good old days after a few too many absinth martinis. 

Mal never knew how her mom could drink that stuff. She once tried a pinky dip of the poison ivy infused gin her mother made to use in her drinks, and quickly realized it was a terrible mistake. It tasted like bitter greens and itchy, fiery spice. Her mouth was burned for a week, but her mother could easily down two or three over dinner, insisting the poison ivy gives it just the kick it needs. She asked her mother about it once, and shocked Mal when she actually answered her question instead of glaring or going off on another delusional tangent. 

“Oh, it’s a dragon thing.” She sighed. “Once you’ve had fire in your mouth, nothing tastes strong enough.”

For a moment, Mal could pretend this was what things were always like. They were always a normal mother and normal daughter. She always got advice and anecdotes from her mom. She’d get scolded if she came home scraped up or too late because her mother always cared enough to notice. Then Maleficent grabbed her shoulder, bringing Mal to look out the window at Auradon with her. 

“Someday you’ll know what I mean. After your first time transforming, you’ll understand.” She had chuckled. For a moment, just one moment, Mal dared to see the faintest glimmer of hope on the horizon. Maybe things will get better, her mother will care about her, be proud of her already. 

“Because one day, Mal, we’re going to get out of this dump… and onto the throne. Right where we belong…”

That was the day she’d been forced to let go of that hope. Her mother doesn’t care about her, just that she can have an extra pair of hands, a faster set of reflexes and a sharper pair of eyes. But she never quite let go of making her mother proud. That still seemed like something she could try for. 

That’s how she came up with the whole cookie angle. She found a simple amplification and extension spell, and managed to bake it into a cookie. Once Ben ate it, the spell would be absorbed into his system longer, making it easier to control him. After days and days of research, she came to two conclusions - one shocking, the other terrifying. Shocking was that love spells don’t actually exist. The only ones she could find word of were gimmicky ads in gossip magazines, and even those were few and far between. That’s when the second realization hit. She has to figure out how to make hypnosis work. That’s her only hope, her only chance.

Ben’s hands are strong on her waist, strong enough to make her jump and pull her from the memory that seemed to envelop her out of nowhere, hiding her from the world. She lets him guide her through the unfamiliar terrain. She tries to shake the memories, tries to get rid of that sinking, disorienting, cold feeling. Right now, she has a part to play. She has to be a good girlfriend, she has to get the wand and make her mother proud. 

It’s all part of the plan. It’s part of the evil scheme, that’s why she’s acting so coy and flirtatious, that’s why she’s letting Ben keep his hands on her waist and guide her gently through the forest, his voice soothing in her ear as he instructs her on where to turn and where any rocks and branches might block her path. She keeps telling herself, reminding herself of this because maybe if she tells herself enough, she’ll be able to ignore the fact that she’s enjoying it, leaning into the attention and safe presence of Ben’s big hands and strong chest behind her. 

“Oh, watch your foot… there you go.” He coaxes, guiding her past an overgrown shrub, careful to make sure she doesn’t get scratched up. “You good?”

He asks so gently, so sincerely, that Mal feels herself almost shrinking back a little. 

“Yeah,” she says lightly, with a forced chuckle.

“Good,” he breathes, and she can hear the smile in his voice. He moves her so easily, positioning her so she stands just in front of him, his chest to her back. She doesn’t like how small and… dainty, and pretty, and fragile she feels around him. It’s intoxicating and terrifying.

“Okay,” he says, gentle voice spiking with anticipation. He rubs his hands up and down her arms softly, struggling to stifle his excitement. 

“Ready? Open.” She hesitates, then complies. She sucks in a breath, eyes widening at the most breathtaking thing she’s ever seen. 

Covered in ivy, and vines blooming with morning glory and lilac, an open air greek pavilion sits in the middle of an enticing, crystal clear lake. Even though only half of the pillars and colonnades remain, the circular stone base is solid. Buttery golden sunlight dapples peacefully through the lush flora and plant life all around them, hiding it from sight. 

The lake itself - calm and so blue it’s almost green - is surrounded by rocky, grassy bluffs, just high enough to dive off of. To Mal’s shock, nothing around her looks… menacing. The cliffs aren’t jagged and ominous, the water isn’t murky and threatening. The rocks are smooth. Inviting, even. The crumbling pavilion itself seems like it’s been worn away from time, not from neglect or destruction. There’s no litter or trash, there’s no graffiti, no broken beer bottles or cigarette butts. 

It all seems so… welcoming. Safe, and friendly. Peaceful. After a moment of basking in the haven of tranquility before her, she notices a blanket spread out on the middle of the stone floor. It’s a bright, vibrant blue, and is free of any stains or patches or holes. Laid out on top of the blanket like something from a magazine is a spread of the freshest, juiciest, most wonderful looking food she’s ever seen. 

She gasps softly, turning to look at him, and sees he’s been looking at her the whole time. She studies his face for a moment, trying to figure out if this really is all for her. His smile tells her everything she needs to know. She lets out another breathy gasp as she turns back to the pavilion, feeling like it’s the sort of thing you’re supposed to do in this situation. 

She knows it’s all pretend, playing the part of the pretty damsel like this. The type of girl who’s wanted, who strong, influential people like Ben always protect. Somehow, knowing that it’s pretend doesn’t get rid of the way it feels - the good feelings, or the sickening ones. 

When the rocks have magically moved themselves to form a footpath onto the pavilion, Mal lets Ben guide her some more, and sit her down for their thing. Even thinking the word date still feels strange and uncomfortable. She’s quickly distracted from the uncomfortable knowledge that she’s on a date by how good the food is. 

Good doesn’t even begin to cut it, it’s delicious. Better than that, but she can’t think of anything better than delicious. It’s the kind of food she used to dream about, the kind that would show up in lavish spreads and banquets. She would always stuff her face as much as she possibly could, wanting to get enough before she woke up. Before it could disappear. 

“Is this your first time?” Ben asks softly, a knowing smile on his face. She startles slightly, forgetting he was there for a moment. 

“Um…” She starts, licking the powdery sugar off her fingers. “We don’t really date on the Isle. It’s more like gang activity.”

Ben chuckles, but it’s really not an exaggeration. 

“I meant your first time trying a jelly donut.” He clarifies sweetly. She pauses. She’s rudely awakened by that contextualizing feeling of abnormality. No, everyone doesn’t grow up not knowing their fruits and vegetables. No, everyone isn’t used to living off scraps and whatever can be scrounged together. It’s not a common, shared experience to have soggy boxes stacked up with nutraloaf bars shipped in on rat infested barges as an after school snack. 

She blinks, trying to pull herself back to the present. 

“Is it bad?” She asks cutely. Ben doesn’t chuckle like she expects. It doesn’t seem to land as endearing with him, but as a genuine question. 

“Not-”

Her eyes flare green before he can finish. Once they do, Ben chuckles. He leans closer to her, smiling softly.

Wipe the sugar off her cheek. Caress her. Act like you mean it.

No sooner does she transmute the orders into his mind that he complies. He leans in as he does, more invested in the sticky powdered sugar dusting her lips, and has her mirror his gestures. 

“Go like this…?” He says, licking the sides of his own lips where sugar sits on hers. She does, and he giggles again before reaching over to brush the rest off. Mal smiles, looking away coyly. 

“Can’t take me anywhere, I guess…” She looks away and bats her eyes like she’s seen Evie do before. Even though it’s familiar, it feels staged and contrived. It doesn’t feel natural, but like something that anyone in her position should do, so she does it. She glances down at her hands to look for any remaining sugar, and for the first time she can ever recall, she finds herself bothered by the jagged edges of her bitten nails, the chips in her worn down purple polish. 

Across from her, Ben is looking at the ground near a big old elm tree. Mal adjusts in her seat, but he doesn’t notice. She stares at him more intently, but he’s still looking off into the distance, transfixed by the place where the gnarled roots and lumpy trunk meet the grass. The illusion around Mal begins to crack. The immersion of playing princess to his doting prince starts to slip as she realizes that for the first time since casting the spell, she doesn’t have his full attention. Her expression grows stony with a cold, sick feeling as she watches his distant, almost melancholic gaze fixed on the tree.

“A tumtum what?” He had asked you one day with a chuckle.

“A tumtum tree!” You’d exclaimed back with a smile, as though you were having to explain to him something as common as clouds or air or tea. You had sighed playfully, gesturing with your hands as you explained.

“Tumtum trees have only ever been found in Wonderland. They’re quite large, even their seeds are around the size of your fist. They look like…”

You trail off, trying to think of a suitable comparison. Ben waits. He’s used to this, these pauses in your descriptions of Wonderland. The problem that you’ve found when trying to tell him about your home down there is that not everything is always like something else. It can be quite hard to describe something out of nothing, or nothing out of something. No sooner had the perfect thing popped into your mind.

“An elm tree.” You exclaim with a resolute snap of your fingers. You nod in satisfaction as you clarify, “Like a wych elm tree. A bit, at least.”

“Like which elm tree?” Ben asks, unsure if he had heard you correctly. 

“Exactly.” You nod confidently, drawing a confused, familiar smile from him. Ben watches you in fascination as you continue to describe the trees in question.

“Tumtum trees are usually quite friendly. Good at watching over one when one should find oneself in need of a cat nap.” You state, nodding surely. “Good conversationalists, too.”

Ben lets out a laugh, free and organic from his chest. 

“I forgot trees can talk down there,” he says.

“Some of them,” you say, then nod solemnly. “Some prefer other methods of communication, like pelting those they dislike with acorns, or pollen.”

He laughs again, contagiously, and it begins to spread to you as you continue.

“The most notable thing about tumtum trees is their roots and their bases. They’re usually quite big and tangled, curling in and out in lumpy little nests and sprawling through themselves-”

Ask about her.

It grabs him by the neck, roughly yanking him from his thoughts. He’s pulled from the pleasant memory of you, the voice destructively ripping through his train of thought. 

Look at her. Look at her. You have to know everything about her right now. You’re dying to know everything about her. 

The orders repeat over and over in his mind, his eyes glassy and green for the shortest moment as he’s locked into Mal’s toxic glower. The words begin to ring true. He finds himself burning with an almost painful need to know every possible detail about her. He leans closer to her.

“Tell me everything about yourself.” He asks, only hearing the question for the first time as it leaves his lips.

Mal smiles, acting surprised and flattered by the question she made him ask.

“Well,” she starts with a soft sigh, as if trying to find where to begin, “I’m sixteen. I’m an only child, and… I’ve only ever lived in one place.”

The poisonous light glows from her eyes for a moment, casting strange shadows around them. Ben responds quickly, as if he were waiting for a cue. 

“So am I! We have so much in common already,” he laughs, leaning closer. Mal laughs too, leaning away. 

“No, not as much as you might think.” She glances away, then back up at him. “Anyway, you’re going to be king soon, huh?”

Ben’s laughter grows stale, and he begins to get that distant look again, the same one he had when looking at the elm tree.

“A crown doesn’t make you a king.” He says softly, more to himself than to Mal. 

“Well… it kind of does, yeah.” Mal says dryly. She waits for another laugh, but no laughter comes.

“Your mother is the mistress of evil, my parents are the poster for goodness, but-” he hesitates, searching for the right words. “That doesn’t mean we’re automatically like them.” 

He finishes quietly, eyes falling down to his signet ring. Even with his mind a blank slate, weaved around Mal’s fingers like an obedient snake, he can still feel all the pressure, all that he has to live up to. Everything he wants to be is still right on the horizon. 

“We choose who we’re going to be.” He finishes softly.

Across from him, Mal’s heart pounds. She didn’t make him say any of that. She didn’t tell him to, he did it himself. He said that she’s not like her mom. He said that. Her heart pounds, and she wants so badly for him to say it again. His words ring in her mind like a bell, over and over. We choose who we’re going to be. No one had ever said that, or anything remotely like that to her before. No one had ever made her believe it. 

Those strange shadows dance across Ben’s face again, and Mal squeezes her trembling hands, trying to calm herself. 

Say it again, Ben. Tell her. Say she’s not evil. Say it. Tell her right now. Tell her she’s not evil. You don’t think she’s evil.

He leans in even closer. He moves his hand onto her cheek. He locks eyes with her, oblivious to the shared glowing green light between them. 

“I can look into your eyes and… tell you’re not evil.” He says with certainty. “I can see it.”

He moves closer, letting his eyes drift shut softly, tilting his head to the side-

Mal jerks away, letting go of the active control with a sudden drop. She lets out an uncomfortable laugh, scooting away from him. The pressure on his chest eases, and it almost feels like he can think again. Having a modicum of control over his thoughts and actions again, he stands up. He nods his head, gesturing for Mal to join him. 

“Come on. Let’s go for a swim.”

“Uh-” Mal falters, eyes darting between Ben and the water. “Um, no. I think I’m okay.”

“It’ll be fun,” Ben coaxes with a smile. 

“I- I think I’m gonna stay behind and try a strawberry. I’ve literally never had a strawberry before.”

She grabs a nice juicy berry and bites in, humming performatively for Ben. It takes a moment for the flavors to explode in her mouth. She can’t believe something so delicious could come from a plant. It’s so sweet, and a little bit tangy, but in a good way. It’s a different sort of sweet than sugar, though. She can’t put her finger on exactly what it is, but there’s a light twist, a depth and complexity to the taste that she never could have imagined. It somehow tastes like a bright clear morning and a darkening rich sunset all at the same time.

“Mmmh…” She hums, for real this time, taking another bite. She eats the whole berry - stem and leaves included - and Ben chuckles softly. He says something she doesn’t catch, then goes off to swim. The moment he leaves, Mal has only two things on her mind. 

Strawberries are fucking delicious, and Evie is going to love this. All of this. Picnics, strawberries, pagodas or pavilions or whatever the hell they’re called. She can see it clear as day; taking Evie out here with Carlos and Jay, the two of them can sit and talk while the boys are off splashing in the water. Evie will be so excited that she makes her and Mal matching sundresses in their colors - blue and gold, and purple and green. 

They can eat strawberries and laugh when the juice gets everywhere. They can throw shells and tourney balls into the lake for Carlos and Jay to get to keep them busy while she and Evie talk. Mal will scoff and laugh and roll her eyes when Evie reminds them all to wear sunscreen. She and Carlos will agree, but Jay will insist he doesn’t need any, and they’ll spend the following week treating his sunburn. Evie will insist on braiding Jay’s hair or twisting it up into some kind of bun or ponytail so it doesn’t get tangled. 

She’ll make Mal hold all the bobby pins and hair ties, and she’s sure Evie will have some sort of goop to put in Carlos’s hair so the water doesn’t turn it green. What’s that called again? Evie had been going on and on to Mal before they left for Auradon about how some water can turn blonde hair green. Cholera? Fluorine? Chlor… chlorine maybe? Yeah, that sounds right. There’s no chlorine in the water in the Isle, but since it can affect your hair, Mal’s not surprised that Evie knows everything about it. She doesn’t know if lake water has chlorine, but she’s sure if hair is on the line that Evie will be cautious. 

She’s only pulled from her hazy strawberry high when the berries have run out. She catches a remaining drop of strawberry juice on her finger from the edge of the bowl, and brings it to her lips. She looks around and sees Ben on top of one of the taller grassy bluffs. He waves at her, and after a moment she waves back hesitantly. She looks at his swim trunks, then yells across the lake.

“Are those little crowns on your shorts?”

Ben smiles a little, remembering when you had helped him pick them out. 

“Maybe,” he calls back. 

He lets out a loud, animalistic roar, then jumps.

She looks away before he hits the water. Her eyes fall down to the empty bowl of strawberries, the ones Evie would love. The ones Ben provided her with. She starts to relax a little now that he’s not watching her. Her facade, her perfect princessy persona starts to slip. She relaxes - her shoulders, her jaw, her posture, the grip she keeps on Ben. 

She takes a few deep breaths, trying to reorient herself, to figure out how she feels. She’s so confused, unused to acting sweet - at all, but especially around other people. She has to keep it together. She needs to use these few minutes of Ben swimming to make sure she has her head on straight and her eyes on the prize. She has to stay focused, stay grounded. 

She clenches her fists so tightly that her nails, bitten short and chipped with a deep plum polish, dig into her palms. 

She hopes the slight sting will get her head back where she needs it. The pain is good. A reminder of where she came from, what she’s here to do. She tries, but this time, it’s not enough. Not anymore. She shakes her head a little, hoping it will clear her mind, make her feel like herself again. Her hair is fried under all the purple dye, and she can tell it’s growing frizzy from the humidity and movement. She lets out an annoyed huff, and reaches up, trying to fuss with it until it looks like Evie made it look before. 

Are you kidding? The thought shows up suddenly as she catches herself worrying about her hair of all things. Realization sets in that not even that is enough to snap her back to herself. A sense of shame washes over her as she realizes how deep in all this she’s getting. In the moments after that realization, her mind begins to wander. It goes further and further from anything she had ever let herself think before. 

Maybe she could… make this work. Maybe there’s a shot at pulling it off. If she could keep Ben under her spell a little longer than necessary, she could make him fall in love with her for real. She can implant so many thoughts and repeating orders until it scrambles his brain and… makes it real somehow. Then he’ll want to look after Mal on purpose, not on principle. He can get her and her friends into witness protection or something, get some guard gargoyles and knights to watch over them.

She can talk Ben into giving her a little cottage deep in the woods - it will be safest for them there anyway. And that’s what he wants, for them to be safe. He wants that because Mal wants that, and when a prince like Ben loves someone, he makes sure they have whatever they want most. And what Mal wants most is a safe, secure, roomy cottage in the woods for her and Evie, Jay and Carlos. They’ll have a little lake just like this one, and maybe like, some ducks or something. Cats, or snakes, or whatever makes a good pet. 

Jay can chop the firewood, and Carlos can fix the computers whenever they get weird. Mal still barely understands how to use smartphones and dropbox, but Carlos has taken to all that stuff like… well, like his mom takes to furs. She’ll make sure there’s a nice big room for Evie to sew, and she won’t complain as much when Evie uses her as a dress form. They’ll have more delicious, fresh food than they can eat, and they won’t need to worry about any of this anymore.

She’ll reluctantly let Evie teach her how to use blush, and style hair. 

They’ll sit in the nice sunshine in the fresh clean air all day. She’ll make Evie crowns from all the pretty flowers that grow here so she can have as many crowns and tiaras as she wants, and Jay and Carlos can play tourney and climb trees and do whatever else they’re always doing. She can see it clear as day; Evie’s head resting in Mal’s lap while Mal uses her spellbook to weave together flowers, enchanting them to make them sparkle while Jay and Carlos laugh and roughhouse nearby. 

They’ll still share bedrooms. That’s the one thing Mal has actually kind of liked since moving to Auradon, sleeping in the same room as Evie. Getting to be close to her. She’s sure Jay and Carlos sleep better knowing they’re not by themselves, too. Maybe if the cottage is kind of small she and Evie can share a bed. She’d be fine with that. They’ll bake non magic cookies and eat strawberries, Evie will have all the ingredients she needs to make every kind of face mask and hair mask and lotion she could dream of. 

Ben will come and check in on them sometimes. Not very often, just once in a while. He’ll stop by and make sure they’re safe and protected and left alone all the time, because that’s what princes do when they’re in love with someone. They’ll never leave unless they want to, and they’ll have VIP tickets to all the balls and galas and sporting events in Auradon. Mal will go with them, because she knows things wouldn’t be the same if she stayed behind. Even though parties are boring and sports are dumb. But as long as Evie’s having a good time, she’s sure she can handle it. 

If only… if only she could figure out that it’s a sure thing. Then she’d be all the way in. 

You can’t recall a time your heart pounded in your chest like a jackrabbit as it does now, as you tread through roots and bushes and grassy forest terrain to the enchanted lake. You’ve been following the white rabbit who had alerted you to Ben’s whereabouts until you arrived at the lake. You find a little hidey-hole in the brush and gnarled roots of an old elm tree within eyeshot of the pavilion, and crouch down. You can almost make out what he’s saying, but not quite.

You fumble for your teapot bag, digging around for something you’re sure must still be in there. 

“Come on, come on…” you murmur frantically. You let out a gasp as your fingers close around the monocle, and you pull it out quickly. You’d pawned it off a ring of ring-a-ding worms in Wonderland several months ago. You weren’t sure how trustworthy they were - which usually means not very trustworthy at all if you’re doubting it in the first place - but you simply couldn’t help yourself. The monocle was a very old sort of subtitling spectacle, a kind of eyewear that lets you see what people are saying. They’re not always right, nor are they always perfect, but right now you’re desperate.

“Please please work,” you ask the glass silently before holding it up to your left eye. You squint at Ben and Mal, and between the fragments of conversation reaching your ears and the monocle, you’re able to understand things a bit better. 

“...You’re not evil. I can see it.” Ben says to Mal, as you watch and listen to his words intently. The sun is closer to setting and brillig draws nearer, basking everything in that not quite sunset glow. You try to crawl closer to see and hear better, not even noticing when you nearly lose one of your shoes in your efforts. You rub your eyes in disbelief, waiting to see what they say next. An elm leaf falls, tangling itself in your hair, and you find yourself unable to believe what you’re seeing. If you were using two monocles, you would surely dismiss it as the subtitle spectacles breaking. Unfortunately, there’s no disguising the truth you see before you. 

Ben leans in to kiss Mal, and you recoil backwards, suddenly and in shock. Your stomach twists in that terrible way, and you’re sure you’re going to be sick. You grip the grass tightly, hoping it will stop your head from spinning. This doesn’t make sense. None of this makes any sense, or nonsense at all. The world around you makes positively nothing. You can deal with chaos, with spontaneity, but this? This is just cruel. The world is… mean for making you live through this. 

You summon a rabbit hole back down to Wonderland faster than you can blink. You tumble down, dirt sprinkling down on you as you fall. Right before you’re swallowed by the earth, you scratch your arm on a rough patch of bark and roots. You catch a glimpse of your blood and tears falling in beads before you’re shrouded in darkness, blurry and delicate. They dance together like pained flurries of your heart and mind’s shared turmoil. You let yourself fall carelessly, the stuffy air disturbed by your stifled sobs slipping out where you don’t want them to. 

You don’t plan on staying long at all. You just need a few moments to collect yourself, to gather your thoughts. You take in a few deep, heavy breaths, your brow furrowing with determination. You must overcome this. You must stay focused. You have to if you’re going to have any chance at helping Ben. You let out a sharp breath with a sharp little noise attached to it, and you can feel your head coming back in place. There will be time to deal with all of this, there will be time to cry, but that time is not now.

The second Mal turns away and pulls her face from his gentle embrace, Ben takes in a deep, panting breath, feeling like his chest is suddenly less tight than it had been. He hadn’t noticed it before, but he feels the absence of his contracting muscles and shallow breaths now that they’re gone. He immediately looks back over to that elm tree, the one he was looking at before. For a moment, just a moment, he could swear he saw your fingertips, the ends of your hair, the dark glint of your silky blackberry bow falling into the earth. But he blinks, and whatever might have been there or not is gone too quickly to tell.

He shakes his head a little, hoping to reorient himself, but a breeze blows by and he could swear on anything there’s a trace of your scent carried in the air. The faintest hint of something so quintessentially you - your perfume, your smell, your blood. His chest squeezes again, this time with longing. 

He’s about to realize how long it’s been since he saw you, about to realize this is the longest he’s gone without even speaking a word to you, but something drags him back, keeping his thoughts here and now. He turns back to Mal, with that dull, throbbing headache he hasn’t been able to shake since the tourney game. 

“Let’s go swimming.” 

The enchanted lake is one of Auradon’s hidden gems. It was a gift to the newly united front of Auradon as a whole from the gods of Olympus; a thank you, an offering of goodwill for assisting in the containment of Hades. Hercules and Megara had gone through many lengthy strategy sessions and battle plans with Adam and Belle, trying to figure out how to prevent Hades from another attempt to overthrow Olympus. Adam and Belle knew that Hades was dangerous - he is a god after all - but they had no idea the extent and reach of his power. 

The First Villain Uprising was a dark time that spread over many years. Most people know the events of VU1; the poison apples, the sleeping curses and dark magic. They’re familiar enough with the coups and the curses, the unregulated dark magic running rampant through the land, wielded by power hungry loonatics. Villains. Brave leaders and heroes in countries from down near the Southern Isles to way up north in Winter’s Keep refused to cower in the face of evil. They did everything they could to stop it, and for many years the villains were presumed dead. 

The problem came from all the different countries not having a united front, not communicating with each other. There was no teamwork, no global council, so no one knew that the moment Maleficent was pierced through the heart by the sword of truth was the same moment Hades had managed to claw his way out of the river styx. The first thing he did once he got his bearings was drag Maleficent down to the underworld. She wasn’t dead, not quite yet, and they both saw the opportunity before them. A combination of Maleficent’s dark fairy magic and Hades’ rule over the souls of the dead meant they could drag the worst villains back from the depths. 

That was the start of the Second Villain Uprising. 

When the rulers figured out what was happening, they knew they had to band together, be stronger as a whole. That’s when Adam gathered up as many kings and queens as he could to start planning the first crusades. Fairy Godmother sent word out to the most powerful wizards and fairies and sorcerers she could, pleading for them to join the fight against evil. 

It didn’t take long to start rounding up villains, but they needed somewhere to put them. Eventually, Fairy Godmother devised a plan. With the help of Merlin of Camelot, Yensid of Schwartzvald, the Great Genie of Agrabah, and the Three Good Fairies of the Moors, they were able to create a magic barrier around an abandoned isle off the southern coast of Belle and Adam’s kingdom. This became known as the Isle of the Lost, the only secure place where villains and all the evil they bring with them can’t escape. 

As a thank you to the mortals down below, the gods gifted them with the enchanted lake, right in the heart of Auradon. Each god added a blessing or a gift of some kind, which is how it got such steadfast healing properties and good magic. The lake itself is magical, which is something that Belle and Adam decided not to advertise during the aftermath of the expulsion of evil. 

There was so much terror and fear in the land, people afraid of something going wrong, of some new villain popping up right when they let their guard down. Adam and Belle decided to keep the lake’s properties under wraps for the most part, preemptively stopping any attempts to stockpile or weaponize magic purely to get the upper hand in a magic cold war that has long since ended. 

The cleansing and healing properties of the enchanted lake are simplistic, but effective. Ben remembers a time when he was young, there was a brief few weeks when Adam seemed to lose control over shifting his form from man to beast. His condition was ultimately traced back to stress, a comorbid symptom of some nasty migraines, and high cholesterol. 

Rumors of his condition began to circulate, and Adam found himself splashed across the covers of gossip rags on newsstands and store checkouts. Fairy Godmother was able to fix him right up, and instructed him to fully submerge himself in the enchanted lake once a week for about a month or so. He followed her instructions to the letter, and was soon back to rights.  

As he stands on the small cliffside overlooking the serene, enticing water, Ben’s not sure what jogged that memory, or why it’s at the front of his mind right now. He shakes his head a little, but it keeps coming back, tugging at him like a child vying for their fathers attention. 

“Are those little crowns on your shorts?”

Ben glances over at the pavilion where Mal sits. He looks down, then chuckles.

“Maybe,” he calls back. Their eyes lock as Mal gathers her thoughts. Ben can feel it, the tightness coming back in his chest. Before it reaches all the way up to his head, his instincts kick in. He lets out a loud roar, then he jumps.

The water hits his skin. Instead of cool and refreshing, just the way he remembers it, it feels like a freezing cold burn. The world goes quiet as he sinks deeper and deeper into the lake, eyes widening in shock at the unpleasant, almost painful feeling. His skin burns, and he scratches at his arms and legs and chest. His hands move, frantic and sluggish in the water as he itches his neck, then his cheeks, then his head…

He freezes, muscles relaxing, limbs falling still as the water soothes him and purges the last of the fizzing magic out of him. He had no clue what was happening until it was over, and now, hovering underwater, it’s over. He knows he can’t have been down there for too long, but it’s when his instincts scream at him to hyperventilate that he realizes he’s still underwater. His eyes widen, and he fumbles, swimming to a rock hidden from the shore. 

He drags himself out of the water, chest heaving, body shaking. The surface of the rock is smooth, but he struggles to maintain his balance. He manages to flip over and lean back on the rock, praying for some stability. His free will, his mind, his cognizance is all coming back to him at once. He feels like a computer flashing a blue screen from too many programs running and downloading at the same time. 

He clutches his chest, unable to control his breathing. The disorientation starts to fade and his eyes widen with horror as the reality of the situation starts to set in, cutting through the painful panic gripping him. Mal… drugged him. Or worse, cursed him. His stomach drops, twisting sickeningly, his hands trembling out of control. He’s not normally like this. He never lets himself get like this. He heard stories about extremely powerful villains being able to use mind control or hypnosis on rare occasions, but he never expected it to feel so… violating. 

His gaze drifts downward to the rippling water. No one can know about this. This can never get out. If even a whisper of this gets out, the consequences and aftermath would suffocate him. She just jeopardized the entire future of the United Republic of Auradon. She could very well have just pounded nail after nail into the coffin containing the lives and futures of all those poor kids stuck on the Isle, the ones she claimed to care so much about. She may have destroyed lives, futures, an entire nation, for… what? 

He tries to figure out why. Why would she do this? She has to have some sort of motivation for reaching into his brain and jerking him around like a puppet, making a fool of himself in front of the public. Oh god- he thinks, remembering the tourney game. He never acts like that. He never acts erratic or impulsive. What must his parents think of him? What must you be thinking of him right now? Or the entire country? 

His throat tightens up as he starts to panic again, mind already clouded by the doom of plummeting in the polls. He’s unopposed for king, but after a disaster like this, who would want him? Someone else will run and win, because no one in their right mind would trust someone who voluntarily lets themself become a villain’s personal sock puppet to run a goddamn country! He breathes harder, flexing his fists open and closed until his knuckles go white. Why would she do something like this? What does she want from him, a second date?

He pauses. That must be it. A new wave of rage overcomes him as he realizes - unless he’s given a miraculously better explanation for this - that Mal pressed a self-destruct button for the entirety of Auradon because she has a crush on him. A stupid, goddamn teenage crush. And now his political career will be over before it could ever start because of it. He’s going to be the first king to be impeached before he’s crowned. He can’t stop spiraling, can’t stop the racing thoughts drowning him above the water. 

A loud, animalistic roar tears from his chest. It’s much more primal, more beast-like than he ever allows himself to be, but he supposes that it’s understandable for something like that to slip out given the circumstances he finds himself in. 

“Breath,” he tells himself, swallowing thickly. “Breathe.”

If he can’t get his head right, if he can’t be smart about this, it… well, that’s not even an option. He has to collect himself. He has to live up to the person his parents think he is, his country thinks he is, that you think he is. He has to be that person. He only has a few moments of this realization to reorient himself before he hears Mal’s voice. 

Instead of enticing and distracting like it had been before, now it feels like the lure of an angler fish’s light in the murky depths, it feels jarring. He shudders, recoiling like she just threw glass at him. She calls out for him again. This time, he can hear the spike of fear carried along in her voice as it echoes across the lake. Is she hurt? In trouble? He starts to go check on her, then for a moment, he hesitates.

All the thoughts racing through his mind like the piston cup find their way to the forefront of his head again. His chest aches as he relentlessly beats himself up over this. How could he let this happen? This is exactly what his parents warned him about, what he promised them - gave them his word - that he would not let come to fruition. And yet, here he is, sitting on a rock with the livelihoods of innocent people at risk because of him and his naive, stupid optimism. 

This, the wellbeing of all innocent people of Auradon, is what he’s devoted all of his time and power and care and focus and everything else he’s got within him into. All that work, all that potential for good, and now he lays paralyzed below the sword of Damocles. He can only stand there, watching the ropes fray one after another. 

“I can’t…” he pants, chest squeezing in terror again. “I can’t let this happen.”

He swallows hard, muttering to himself.

“Can’t let them win.”

He can’t let Mal achieve whatever the hell her endgame is here. He has to stop this before it gets worse. And above all, this cannot become known to the public. He can see the faces of disappointment and fear on the members of the council, on the senate. He was never ready to be king, they’d say in hushed, justified tones, the boy is a fool! How could we let him bring evil into our homes on purpose?! 

The voices in his head go on and on, painting the worst outcome possible in vibrant colors. The nation will lose any trust or faith they might have had in him. More painfully, he realizes how deeply disappointed his parents will be in him. The kind so irreparable that they can never even speak of it. His father will go silent, his mother will try to smile at him, but her tears will give her away. Disappointing his parents, disappointing you…

Oh god, you. Where are you? Where have you been during all of this? You and Ben are usually joint at the hip, but he hasn’t seen you in days. The realization makes him feel sick, like he’s just come to the realization that he hasn’t had air to breathe. What have you been doing without him? Have you been in Wonderland, or at the Wonderland Embassy with your mother? Why haven’t you texted him? Or at least called? Worse fears attack him relentlessly from the inside out, worse than ruining innocent lives or his political career because these fears are about you. 

A scream, followed by a large splash, then another more fearful scream pierce his senses, pulling his attention out of the momentary panic over you and your wellbeing. It must be Mal, he thinks, it has to be. She’s the only other person out here. She must have gotten into the water to look for him, but why does she sound like she’s struggling? He listens intently for a moment. She definitely sounds like she’s struggling. He stands up to jump into the water and find her, but before he can, something unusual happens. 

He hesitates.

After everything she’s done to him, and to the people of Auradon, after she stabbed him in the back and violated his free will for days, should he even bother trying to help her? What if this is part of some elaborate ruse, luring him into a trap by pretending to drown. Maybe she’s going to turn him into a bug and trap him in a jar, letting him suffocate slowly while she shakes it and laughs. 

What if she just… had an accident? Anyone could drown in a lake if they weren’t being careful, and he’s sure children of villains aren’t raised to be super cautious. Maybe it would be better that way. It would certainly give Ben one less problem to worry about, one less moving part to constantly keep track of. 

He dives back into the lake, swimming towards her. He bites his cheek, dismissing the fleeting, impulsive thought as quickly as it could intrude into his stream of mind. He’s not even going to waste time considering it or letting it argue his case. He knows who he is, and he knows who he chooses to be. He is never going to choose to be the kind of person who lets someone else get hurt when they can do something about it. 

If he can help anyone - regardless of who they are or what they’ve done to him - he’s going to. Even if it’s from a distance, he can’t knowingly be complicit in tragedy befalling anyone. That’s why he’s bringing over the kids from the Isle in the first place. He can’t sleep at night knowing that there are people struggling and suffering while he has the power to do something about it. 

He has to give his parents credit for raising him to have such strong moral character. That’s why, against his better judgment, he swims as fast as he can back to the pavilion. It only takes a moment for him to see her, kicking and flailing mere feet from the pavilion.

He dives as deep down as he can. He hopes that the longer he’s under the water, the more submerged he is, the less likely any more magic she tries on him will succeed. Or at the very least, she’ll have less time to try and pull something on him. His hand skims the bottom of the lake, brushing against something uncharacteristically sharp. He sees a cluster of glowy crystal like geodes - a wishing stone, he realizes. He grabs it, and shoves the rock into the pocket of his swim trunks. 

It’s not much, it’s barely anything really. But he’s sure any mildly sharp object is infinitely better than nothing when facing off against an unpredictable dark fairy. Trying to use a wishing geode to defend himself from dark fairy magic - either as a magic shield or a physical weapon - is like trying to use an umbrella in a hurricane. He’s really going into this blind, but at least he’s aware of the disadvantage he’s working against. In spite of all the massive errors and failures he seems to have accumulated out of nowhere, he can at least say he’s not stupid enough to be entirely unarmed at a time like this.

He can see Mal, splashing and thrashing about, slipping below the surface as she loses her footing. He rushes closer and grabs her, scooping her up and confidently walking them both out of the lake. He catches his breath, focusing everything he’s got on one thing - he cannot let Mal know that he knows. He has to keep his face neutral, act sweet and normal, not say or do anything that could possibly tip her off. He’s in the lion’s den, and one wrong move could ruin everything beyond repair. 

He silently thanks his parents for years and years of diplomatic training, for teaching him how to maintain his composure no matter how overwhelming his emotions are, no matter how much pressure and scrutiny he finds himself under. He reaches the pavilion in just a few steps, and sets Mal down gently. She doesn’t seem to notice anything about his behavior is different, so he keeps doing what he’s been doing. It seems to be working so far, which provides him with the briefest sense of relief. 

“Ugh!” She shrieks. He shakes the water out of his hair, trying to clear his head, and she swats at his chest, “You scared me!”

Ben falters for a moment, nearly letting a grimace loose at the nauseating feeling of disgust permeating him from this, from having to be so close and sweet to her after she violated his mind, his free will. And she did it on purpose. 

“Uh,” he starts, trying with everything he’s got to sound so light and casual, like she made him sound before. “You… you can’t swim?” 

It’s really not that important to either of them right now, but it’s the first thing he can think of that doesn’t start with why the hell or how the hell or jail. 

“No!” She yells indignantly, like it should be obvious. 

“But you live on an island.” He notes. He never would have been able to challenge her under the curse she cast on him, not even something as small as asking why she can’t swim. He watches her expression closely, wondering if she’ll notice.

“Yeah, with a magic barrier around it, remember?” She demands incredulously. There’s a shrill tone to her voice with a venomous sting, like Ben was the one who cast her out and put up the barrier himself. He flinches at the sound of her voice.

She can’t swim. She nearly drowned looking for him, and he let himself consider allowing it to happen. A stab of unwelcome but justified guilt catches him off guard for a moment, causing him to falter. 

“And… you still tried to save me.” He murmurs solemnly, mostly to himself. 

He hates this. He hates that she did something so horrible and so kind to him right after each other. It’s tempting to dismiss her searching for him in the lake, to let himself focus only on the pain and damage she’s caused in such a short time, and he tries desperately to cling to his moral values. Values that he’s always sworn to himself he will never abandon, no matter how hard or complicated things get.

Now here he stands, looking hard and complicated square in the purple framed face. 

People are nuanced, he tells himself, trying to remember it. Nobody is all good or all bad. People… people are complicated. It’s a hard philosophy to hold onto, and an even harder one when you’re the one that’s been made a fool of, made to dance around in public and cater to her every whim. It’s hard to remember that people are nuanced, not all bad when you’ve been made into someone’s bitch. 

“Yeah, and do you thank me?” Mal demands rhetorically, “No!”

He struggles to follow her. Her voice makes him flinch, buzzing around his head like an angry hornets nest. It makes his ears ring. He feels that strange, painful headache stirring up again - the one that got worse and worse every time she forced her voice into his mind. 

“All I get is soaking wet!” 

She looks at him expectantly, then huffs. It sounds exactly like the noise Audrey would make when she wanted something that wasn’t handed to her instantly. A new wave of indignant rage begins to bubble and boil up inside him as he realizes what she wants. She wants him to grovel. She wants him to apologize, and kiss her hands, and beg for everything to be smoothed right over. He swallows hard, managing to contain it. Just barely.

In a split second, he realizes he has to do something. The more time they spend together, the sooner Mal will realize she doesn’t have control over him again. If she finds out, that will open up more trouble than Ben would care to count. He has to pacify her, just enough to get them both home as fast as possible. Before she can do anything else to him. 

He reaches into his pocket, handing her the geode. 

“And this, uh… this fancy rock.” 

His stomach twists, spiking with anxiety as he offers it to her. Wishing stones - also called wish geodes - are a natural and common byproduct of fairy magic. They can vary in strength and appearance based on what fairy they came from, and since they usually form underground or by bodies of water, they can be hard to find. They’ve become even harder to source in recent years as less and less people use magic - fairies included. 

The ones near Auradon are from Fairy Godmother’s magic. The ones way up north in Schwartzvald are from the mainland forest fairies deep in the Fantasia Woods, the ones out west are from the Blue Fairy, and any wish geode you find on the northeastern coast will always be from Flora, Fauna, or Merriweather. Since wish geodes are essentially nature’s way of recycling magic leftovers, they’re usually not too strong. Unless they were charged up with something, like a blessing, or a falling star, or enchanted spring water from Olympus. 

Ben, however, is painfully unaware of this. He hasn’t studied magic and magic theory as extensively as you have. He suspects sometimes that you may know more about magic than the good fairy herself. He does know some introductory magic theory, and a few little facts from you that he’s remembered over the years. 

What he does know is that wishes and hypnosis or mind control or whatever the hell Mal did to him are two completely different kinds of magic. He knows that if he gives Mal the stone, even if she did wish for something, it couldn’t possibly do more damage than she’s already done. At this point, it’s the lesser of two evils. Really, it’s the only viable option he’s got. The geode shimmers and glitters, glowing softly against her skin in a luminous pearly hue. She glares up at him, and he plasters on a smile. Hopefully, a convincing one. He gestures back behind him. 

“Make a wish, and throw it back in the lake.”

Unless her goal of hypnotizing him was to somehow end up with a good grade on the next test, or a really good hair day, this rock will do nothing for her. It’s just not strong enough on its own, which makes it the perfect placebo. Mal scowles up at him, and winds up to throw the rock bitterly into the lake. 

In that moment, her heart’s unsung desires cry out desperately, begging for something that not even her mind can grasp. I wish what he said was true, her heart cries, that he doesn’t think I’m evil. I wish Ben would keep being nice to me, even after I break the spell. I wish Ben would defend me from all the people who act like they’re afraid of me, I wish he would make me feel like I belong here!

The rock sinks into the water, bubbling and glowing as her desires are realized. A soft whispered voice floats into the air, seeming to speak only to her.

“Malorie Valda Faery, Princess of the Moors and Young mistress of Evil… your wish has been heard, and your wish has been granted. So long as you do not act on the evil inside your heart, and stay trustworthy, honest, and kind, he shall see no evil inside you.” 

It’s so faint, so hard to hear that she thinks she must have imagined it. She falters, thrown off guard for a moment, then stands up and shakes off some of the water still clinging to her. The glowing water swirls and pools around Ben. An almost ticklish, tingling feeling floats down onto him. It’s so light and so soft, it’s gone so quickly that he struggles to remember if it really happened.

He takes in a breath, his brow softening as he realizes the panic is retreating. A breeze blows by, carrying the scent of magnolia and the impending night air that quickly makes its way closer to them as the sun sinks. Little goosebumps prickle down Ben’s arms and back as his defenses begin to relax back to normal. He picks up his varsity jacket to wrap around Mal, and grabs a towel for himself. The last thing either of them need right now is to catch a cold. 

He takes a few more breaths as she sits down, mildly puzzled at why it’s so easy to breathe now, but so difficult just a few moments before. He searches every crease and crevice of his mind for what was bothering him before. He doesn’t usually struggle to remember what he was thinking about, but this particular thing just seems to evade him, like a child playing hide and seek. He knows it was important, really important, but he just… can’t remember. He looks down at Mal in hopes of jogging his memory, but seeing her sit there, all sad and wet and swallowed up by his jacket, all he feels is a pang of sympathy. 

He feels himself relaxing, his reflexes softening from a state of panic to their usual level of low, constant background anxiety. Look at her, he thinks, does she really look like she wants to overthrow an entire country? The question is rhetorical, and the answer clear. No. She just wants a home, somewhere to fit in. She looks so small, so vulnerable and powerless like this. He chastises himself for letting himself lose sight of why he brought her and her friends to Auradon in the first place.

She’s here to grow, to heal - they all are. Of course she’s going to make some silly mistakes like spray painting her locker, or cutting class, or using magic to get Ben to go out with her. Besides, with coronation coming up so fast, it makes sense that she would feel like she couldn’t find an opportunity to ask Ben out without a little extra help. That’s all this is, a silly mistake. It’s nothing to be blown out of proportion, really. He sighs, sitting across from her, feeling a dull nudge of something that could grow into fondness with time.

He reaches over to fix her hair, and she looks up at him. She searches his eyes, desperately looking for any signs of hate or change in how he views her. That’s what this is, he confirms to himself. She just has a crush on him is all. He would never say that to anyone, he wouldn’t run the risk of embarrassing someone dealing with such delicate feelings, but it does make sense. She said herself just a while ago, dating on the Isle is more like gang activity than picnics and drive in movies. Of course she wouldn’t know how to talk to someone she likes, how to find ways to spend more time with them. 

Ben almost chuckles at the thought, the idea of her trying to figure out how to enchant her crush into liking her back. It’s sweet, really. Nothing malicious at all. Besides, everybody knows that love magic doesn’t exist, there is no such thing as a love spell. So if she still doesn’t know that yet, could her knowledge of magic really be that dangerous? It can’t possibly be. She just used a harmless little spell to speed things up a little. No one would ever act out like that if it wasn’t for some matter of the heart or other. It’s almost flattering in a strange way.

He decides to test his theory, letting his fingertips linger in her damp, sugar plum hair, twirling it lightly.

“Mal?” He starts, getting her attention. 

“I, uh… I told you that I loved you. At the tourney game.” He says, jogging her memory. He looks at her, studying her face. “What about you?”

This is perfect, he thinks, this is the most opportune way to offer her a way to tell him how she feels, get it all off her chest. 

“Do you love me?” He prompts.

Normally, he would never be this direct with someone. But he feels it’s warranted, given the circumstances. It’s taken many years for him to learn to trust his gut with things like this, and he’s not going to doubt himself now. Yes, what she did was bad - unforgivable, even - but at the end of the day, she’s just a hormonal teenage girl with a crush. She can’t possibly be faulted for that, for having feelings. 

“I…” Mal starts, swallowing thickly and looking away from him again. She clutches the sides of his jacket, pulling it tighter around her. It smells soapy, like it’s too clean. She knows she should probably be feeling something, but she has no goddamn clue what it is - much less how to recognize and articulate it. She feels… queasy. Kind of shaky and sweaty. Are you supposed to feel like that when a boy says I love you? That has to be the feeling that people are always talking about, getting butterflies in your stomach. Mal supposes butterflies just don’t agree with her. 

“I don’t think I know what love feels like.” She replies simply, in a rare and impulsive moment of vulnerability. If she’s ever going to be vulnerable, it will be when she can control how the other person reacts to it. She looks down. Instead of looking at Ben, she traces her eyes over the skirt of the dress Evie put her in. It’s calming, relaxing. There’s the faintest trace of Evie’s perfume, and it makes Mal feel a sense of warmth and longing that she desperately needs right now. 

Ben’s heart squeezes sympathetically. He feels so bad for her. That tragic compassion reassures him that bringing her to Auradon was the right decision, and this whole thing was just a silly miscommunication. A mistake. 

“Maybe I could teach you.” He says softly. He puts his hand on her arm, helping her stand up.

“Come on. Let’s get you home.”

When you show up to the Wonderland Embassy, the home away from home you share with your mother, you look positively and uncharacteristically ragged. It’s merely a pebble’s throw from campus, so it couldn’t have been a particularly tiring walk - unless you walked your way from Camelot, which is highly improbable. Your blackberry bow is loose and slipping off towards your ear, your skirt is all rumpled, and you haven’t even noticed the run in your favorite pair of knee socks. 

Worst of all, worse than your slouching or lethargy or the tear tracks down your cheeks, are your eyes. The vibrancy, the hope and curiosity is all but gone. Your dear mother, Alice - better known as Alice Liddel, Ambassador of Wonderland - notices all of this right away. You answer her usual question, are you ready to embark on your weekly mother daughter dinner, before she can even ask it. 

“I’m afraid I can’t make dinner, mother,” you say, babbling around the tea biscuit you grab from the counter and hold in your mouth, keeping your hands free to drop off the useless information you’ve gathered throughout the day and search for a few books in your mother’s collection. 

“But I promise I’ll get something more than tea and cakes from the school kitchens tonight.” You assure her half heartedly, more worried about her peace of mind than your dietary habits. The moment the words leave your lips, she knows that something is wrong. Not wrong in the sort of way that a leaf floats down a brook, but deeply wrong, like a subaquatic shrub. 

Shrubs are not subaquatic by nature, and if one is found it’s recommended to bring it to the nearest tree surgeon as quickly as possible. She looks at you, her darling daughter, her wonderful little dear, and sees a subaquatic rose garden. You never skip dinners with your mother, not for the tiffletoo flu, or final exams, or anything else regardless of urgency or importance. The only time you’ve skipped dinner in the past was one time, one terrible night where Ben was rushed off the tourney field with a broken wrist and a nasty concussion. 

The standard for skipping dinner and tea with your mother is one that’s very rare and quite  extreme, so you’re not too terribly surprised when she stops you from leaving the Wonderland Embassy with a gentle hand on your shoulder. 

“Nunz yet, my love,” She says softly, soothingly. She fixes your hair in that comforting motherly way of hers, then moves on to fix your bow how you like it. 

“I can’t watch you gyre like an overwrought sulphide marble for a moment longer.” She looks at you softly. “What’s got your mind so snaggled, sweets?”

Your mother, your dear dear mother is your most favorite person in both worlds, right alongside Ben. You’ve always found your inability to lie to her or hide your feelings as a relief, a blessing. Now, however, you find yourself wishing for the first time that you were able to lie to her as easily as Audrey and Lonnie lie to their mothers. Your stomach twists uncomfortably. You don’t like this feeling. You wish it would just go away, but you know you can’t tell your mother everything that’s going on. Not yet, at least. 

She’s so close with Ben’s parents - in both business and personal regards - that if you were to make the wrong move, it could mean a world of nasty repercussions and consequences for Ben. The exact ones you’ve been maddening yourself trying to shield him from. You trust your mother implicitly, but you also know she has a duty - not just as a politician, but as a parent - to inform Ben’s parents imminently of any perils regarding Ben that she is made aware of. 

You sit down, fussing with the pleats of your dress, tugging at your stockings to buy yourself some time, give yourself a moment to carefully choose the most right, non incriminating words you can muster up.

“Ben has been behaving strangely.” You state. Your voice is soft, but not fragile. This worries your mother. If your voice were fragile, you see, it would mean this was all very new and fresh. But the reluctant acceptance in your tone of voice tells her the severity of the situation in which you’ve found both yourself and Ben. Your voice is quiet, your words simple, and a soft hum of understanding leaves your mother’s lips. She nods empathically, silent in the moment that follows so you can continue. 

“And, I… can’t quite seem to figure out the reason why.” You continue, even more quietly - almost shamefully so.

Your mother hums again, this time with a deeper, more resolute understanding of how you’re feeling and why exactly you must be feeling the way that you are. You and Ben have been so terribly close for so awfully long, that if either of you had felt at any point during your numerous years of friendship that you were mildly confused by the behavior or the other - much less left clueless and in the dark, as you currently are - that that in and of itself would be nothing short of anomalous. 

So naturally, when something this catastrophically unusual occurs, it should come as no shock at all how deeply distressing it would be to you. The very worst part, you realize, is that your mother has already come to this conclusion with barely a fraction of the information you have. You shudder to think about how distraught she’d be on your behalf if she knew everything you do about your trouble with Ben’s unusualness as of late.

“Lovey…” Your mother says warmly. She reaches over to you, handing you a warm porcelain teacup and saucer of her ever perfect chamomile tea. It’s sweetened with just the right amount of honey, but not so much as to overpower it - a mistake that you’ve seen many people make quite often - and topped off with just a little bit of shaken cream and rose pollen.

You’re never sure how she manages to make it so perfectly with so little effort every single time, but it must be a mother’s touch, you suppose. A gentle hug and a warm cup of her specialty tea always gets you to open right up to your mother, no matter how mimsy and gallymoggers you may be feeling. 

Your expression drops, and your mother recognizes it instantly as the look of finally allowing yourself to let in the very best of ideas. Your posture straightens imperceptibly, and your mother disguises her proud smile with a sip from her own teacup. She loves seeing you like this, lighting up as your mind is flooded in a flash brainstorm. 

“That’s it…” you mutter again, aloud this time. You stand up, careful not to spill your beverage, and you take a great big sip before setting it down hastily. 

“Thank you,” you sigh gratefully to your mother, giving her a squeeze around the middle, and a honey chamomile kiss to the cheek before you depart. 

“I really must go now,” you say regrettably, but she’s already waving you off with affection. 

“Be safe, dear.” She smiles, then gives you a subtle and humorous look. “And don’t lose your head.”

You let out a laugh from your nose. 

“I think you’ve come close enough for the both of us.”

You exit the Embassy in a rush, determination and your mother’s laughter following in your footsteps. For the first time in days, you know what to do next.

[justagalwhowrites]

Yearling - Ch. 23: Search

You look for what was lost. A continuation of Yearling ch. 1-22 found on Tumblr here.

AGAIN Y'ALL! PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE CONTENT WARNINGS, THIS IS A ROUGH CHAPTER!!! Not as bad as 22 but it's still hard out here, OK?

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female Reader

Warnings: Remembered past SA (described, not reader experienced), canon-typical violence, torture, trauma responses. No use of Y/N. Minors DNI 18+ Only 

Length: 7.4k 

AO3 | Chapter One | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Joel was numb. 

The wind howled and he knew, consciously, that it was cold. That snow was catching on his hair and his beard, that the air was sharp in his lungs when he breathed, that his tears were turning to ice on his cheeks. 

He knew these things. 

On some level, he knew them. 

He didn’t really feel them. 

You had a daughter. 

Get away from me!

You were in pain. 

Don’t fucking touch me!

You were disgusted by him. 

I don’t want anything to do with you.

He lay down on the bottom step of your porch. He wasn’t sure he could move much further than that. He couldn’t bring himself to leave you, not when you were in that much pain, not when you might do something that would get you hurt or killed. 

He needed to take care of you. 

Get away!

But he couldn’t do that and be close to you, not when you were terrified of him and repulsed by him. 

Joel remembered the night after Simon and Ben hurt you. How you’d found comfort in him then. How you’d invited him inside, how you’d pressed your body against his, how you guided his hand to your skin. You were so soft and so warm and he could smell your shampoo on your damp hair and you let him see your skin, let him see the bruises and the scars from the men who had tried to destroy you. 

You’re just like them, I trusted you and you’re just like them.

Fuck, he needed to take care of you. But he couldn’t reach you.

He wasn’t sure how long he lay there. Snow melted against him at first and then settled on his clothes and, eventually, pain broke through the numbness. He hadn’t put on his gloves and his hands were in the snow and his fingers suddenly hurt and he could barely bend them. 

Joel sat up slowly, the snow sloughing off of his body, and looked back toward your door. 

Every light that had been on when Joel left was still on. He wondered if you’d even moved, if he went back inside if you’d let him gather you into his arms while you raged against him. 

He looked at his hands. 

Don’t touch me!

They were red, starting to swell. He knew he needed to get out of the cold or he’d risk permanent damage but it was hard to care. 

He tried to bend his fingers, to form a fist, but his joints protested. 

He needed to take care of you. 

But he needed to protect you, too. 

And the only way he could do that was with his hands. He couldn’t keep you safe if he couldn’t throw a punch or pull a trigger. 

Joel forced himself to his feet, the act more painful than it had been any time in recent memory. He looked at your door for another moment, all but willing you to open it. To yell at him, to invite him in, to stare daggers at him. He didn’t care. Just let him look at you again, let him see that you were still breathing, that’s all he needed. 

He looked at his hands again, tried to make a fist again. He couldn’t. 

Get away from me!

Joel shoved his hands in his pockets and took a long, lingering look at your door before trudging home through the snow. 

“Jesus, there you are,” Ellie poked her head around the corner from the kitchen for a second when he came in. “I was starting to worry, about to go to Bambi’s and just pray that you weren’t doing anything too gross because fuck that. Is it really bad out there?” 

Joel tried to reply for a moment but was having a hard time finding the words. His hair and coat and jeans and boots were starting to drip onto the floor.

“Joel?” He could hear her frown. “You OK?” 

He tried to answer but it was like his voice was snagged on the lump in his throat, one that he was having a hard time swallowing around. 

Ellie came out of the kitchen, holding a mug, her eyebrows knitted together and her eyes went wide when she saw him. 

“Holy shit,” she set the mug down and ran over to him. “What the fuck happened? Are you OK? Here…” 

She took his hand and led him to the table. He followed behind her, body moving slowly, and he let her push him down into his usual chair. 

“Here, you’re gonna get sick in that wet shit,” she said, unbuttoning his coat. He let her, his arms limp as she pulled the coat from him. “Joel. Hey.” She snapped her fingers in front of his face, searching his eyes with her own, a look of almost panic on her face. “Come on old man, you having a heart attack on me or something? Just because we’re not out in the wilderness anymore doesn’t mean you get to just fucking die on me, alright? C’mon, talk to me, are you OK? Where’s Bambi? What happened?” 

The mention of you seemed to bring him back into his body. He felt it all then. Just how cold he was, how much his hands hurt, the way the wet denim clung to his legs. 

He felt the pain of you more. 

It was a pain that he’d only felt a few times in his life. When he watched Tess burn after he’d failed her. When he thought he was too late to save Ellie, when he’d been afraid that he’d never find her again when she was ripped away from him. It was almost as bad as holding Sarah in his arms as she cried, her eyes wide and in pain, clutching onto her body and knowing there was nothing he could do but desperate to find a way to fix it. 

He’d do anything to fix it. 

“Had a talk,” he said, not wanting to put what had happened on Ellie. She was almost 18 now but she was just a kid, she was his kid. He wanted to protect her. She shouldn’t be caught in the middle of this, she shouldn’t have to live with the image of what was done to you in her mind or with knowledge of the things he’d done in the past. 

But, he was ashamed to admit even to himself, there was an underlying fear, too. That if Ellie knew about it all - all the things he’d done and let happen in cold, visceral detail - she would be gone from his life again. At least with this he’d feel like it was deserved. There was no excuse for the worst of it. He wasn’t going to try to make one. 

“About what?” She gaped at him. “It looks like you were fucking crying, I’ve never seen you fucking cry…” 

Joel shook his head a little. It hadn’t occurred to him to do something like clean his face up before coming inside. 

“Did you guys break up or something?” Ellie frowned. “Because I’m sure shit just got mixed up or something, I can go talk to her…” 

“No,” Joel said quickly. He knew you well enough to know that you didn’t want an audience right now. He couldn’t cause you any more pain. “No, I think we just… think we just need to give her some space, Baby Girl.” 

“But…” 

“I’ll go in the mornin’,” he said, calmer than he felt. He’d always been good at holding things together for his daughter, even when he felt like he was falling to pieces. “Make sure she’s OK with the storm. Check in. It’ll be OK, Kiddo. Why don’t you pick a movie?” 

She looked at him, skeptical for a moment. 

“Fine,” she said eventually, “But go change out of the wet shit before you actually give yourself a heart attack or something.” 

Joel nodded and hoped he’d be able to put one foot in front of the other well enough to make it up the stairs. It was almost a surprise when he did, his hands feeling like they were on fire as they warmed back up. 

But he almost appreciated the pain. It was something that made him realize that he was still alive, that just because he felt hallowed out and broken down his body was still there. His heart still beat and his lungs still filled. 

He stared at his bed for a moment. He would need sit down to peel off the wet jeans but the last time he had been in that bed you were with him. He’d woken up before you had, your body soft and warm and pliant against him, your face relaxed as you rested it against his chest. Your skin was so smooth when he’d trailed a hand gently over the curve of you and you shifted in your sleep to press yourself closer to him. You’d wanted to be closer to him then. 

I trusted you, you made me love you, I let you inside of me and you’re like them, you’re just like them…

Joel got some pajama pants and went to change in the bathroom. He couldn’t stand to look at his bed knowing you might never be in it again. He had enough sense that time to make sure it didn’t look like he was hurting before going downstairs. 

Ellie put on Jurassic Park, a movie that reminded him of you now but he didn’t say that. His eyes barely focused on the screen, playing his conversation with you over and over again in his mind instead.

Christ, you had a daughter. It made so much sense that you had a child. The way you’d bonded with Ellie, had fallen into guiding her and protecting her and loving her so naturally. The way you cared for William. The ferocity with which you hunted down every trace of a captive every time there was a sign of raiders. Of course you had a child. How had he not seen it? How had he not asked? 

He would in the morning. Maybe, with a few hours of distance, once you had a chance to process anything at all, maybe then he could talk to you. He could take care of you then, you just had to let him. Just for a minute, just let him in for a minute…

Ellie fell asleep in the middle of the movie. Joel turned it off and picked her up, carrying her up the stairs and to the first bedroom she’d ever had in Jackson, before she wanted space and moved into the outbuilding in the yard. He tucked her in, her face drawn and concerned even in sleep, and he pressed a kiss to her temple before going back downstairs. 

He couldn’t sleep in his bed. Not without you. 

He wasn’t sure he could sleep at all. He turned out all the lights and stretched out on the couch and tried to think of anything but making love to you there on Christmas Eve. How close to you he felt, how all he wanted was to be that close to you for the rest of his life. 

You’re just like them.

Joel fell asleep eventually. 

He wasn’t sure when or how deeply or how long. It didn’t matter. His mind found a way to torment him through it all. 

It was decades ago inside his head, back before buildings had truly started to decay from neglect, before it seemed like the whole of humanity had lost hope. 

Hope, Joel had believed then, was mankind’s fatal flaw. That so many people they encountered still had hope, believed that there was something worth living for out there, made them vulnerable. 

Joel was only living for Tommy then. His brother who was, after everything, still foolish enough to want to have hope. So Joel kept living. He did everything he could to keep living. He protected his brother, he found him supplies, he followed him when he took up with larger groups because it was a better shot at survival. 

It’s how they wound up with the raiders in the first place. Joel and Tommy had run a job on a small group heading for Atlanta, Tommy faking an injury so Joel could ambush them. They’d stolen all their supplies, enough to last them for a month at least. One of Davis’ men found them when they were searching the bodies. Instead of killing them, he extended an offer: Join up with his boss, help him control a swath of the American south. In exchange, Joel and Tommy would have food, shelter, protection and whatever they wanted to fuck. 

Joel and Tommy didn’t take him up on the last part. Joel preferred a woman who was begging for it. Tommy didn’t have the stomach for it otherwise. But the rest was enough to stick around for. 

Joel was coming back to a campsite one night after a few hours hunting. It was dark, he could see the glow of the fires from the camp from far away, even through the trees. As he got closer, he could hear the camp, too. The voices around the central fires further away, the wet sounds and desperate grunts of the men taking advantage of the last part of Davis’ offer closer. 

He had to walk through the area where the captives were held as he went to find Davis at the center, the women bound to trees without any other way to contain them. Just one of the many downsides of moving to a new place. Because none of these assholes could keep it in their fucking pants for longer than a few hours let alone the days it took to relocate. 

As he passed close to one, he almost couldn’t help but look. It turned his stomach but it was like a train wreck, he couldn’t turn away. 

The woman was on her hands and knees, crying and letting out sharp little sobs as the man behind her fucked into her without mercy. Her head hung low, like she was struggling to even do that much. Joel knew what happened once they got to this point. They usually didn’t have long then, either falling asleep and not waking up or one of the men killing her. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes by accident. Joel was pretty certain that, either way, it was a mercy. Hell, there were still days where he wished he’d fail at staying alive, just so that it’d be over and it wasn’t his fault. That he’d get bit, shot. That he’d be on his own or with one of the fucking dipshits from the crew and they both wound up dead. That’d be a mercy. 

He was just about to look away hope that he could tune out the sound when the woman looked up, her eyes meeting his, vulnerable and pleading. But then they shifted. Her whole being did, until she wasn’t a nameless, wretched thing, until she had a form he knew. 

Suddenly, they weren’t just any eyes. They were yours. Eyes he knew so well, eyes he looked into from across a table or in his bed, eyes that he loved so dearly. And it was you there, at the mercy of this man, face slick with tears, those eyes desperate and begging. 

“Joel!” You stretched an arm out for him. You were sobbing, your voice cracking and thick and wet. “Joel, please, help me, please help me, please make it stop, please Joel, I’m begging you, please…” 

He tried to make himself move. Tried to make himself do anything at all as you stretched and reached for him, your fingers extended as far as you could push them. He wanted to kill the man touching you, wanted to rip you away from him and wrap you up and hold you close and promise you that it would be OK. He wanted to destroy anything that had ever harmed you, even if that meant destroying himself, too. 

You begged him until you were choking on it and he couldn’t make himself move to help you.

Because he hadn’t. He’d never helped the women in your position. He’d valued his and Tommy’s safety with the crew more than those lives. He’d been so numb to it all he’d barely even thought twice about it. 

“Not my job to help you,” he felt himself say it far more than he directed himself to. The words felt alien, cold and cruel and inhuman. But they were his. “Why would I?” 

He turned his back on you then even though he was screaming at himself to stop, to turn back, to do something - anything - to save you. 

But he couldn’t undo what had happened. Couldn’t fix what he’d already done. Couldn’t change the fact that you were right about him. 

You’re just like them.

Joel jerked awake, covered in sweat in spite of the cold air and panting for breath. He’d rolled in the night so his deaf ear was facing up and he fell back onto his back, staring at the ceiling. It was still dark, though what little light there was from the moon that was behind the storm clouds reflected and amplified by the new fallen snow. His stomach churned, his chest tight from the horror of watching someone hurt you. He wanted to vomit but realized, suddenly, that he hadn’t eaten anything since noon. There wasn’t anything in him to expel but he wished there was. He wanted there to be something he could excise, something that he could rip out as though that would make him good again in your eyes. If it would he’d do it. Carve out any organ, swallow any poison, it didn’t matter. He would do it for you, give it to you. It all belonged to you, now, anyway.

There was a creak on the front step and he shot up off the couch, heart pounding, but it was Ellie and not you who came in the door. He frowned, getting up and meeting her there as she kicked the snow off her boots. 

“What were you doin’ out there?” Joel asked, closing the door behind her and helping her out of her coat before rubbing his hands over her shoulders and arms, trying to warm her up. “Dangerous in a storm like this, Baby Girl…” 

“It didn’t feel right to just have Bambi be on her own if she was as upset as you were,” Ellie said. 

Joel sighed. 

“Kiddo…” 

“She’s not at home, Joel.” 

His blood ran cold. 

“Ellie….” 

“She’s not at the stables, either,” she said. “I don’t know where she is, Joel, but she’s gone.” 

***

You needed to find your daughter. 

You needed a gun. You needed a horse. You needed to bring Savvy home. 

You needed to talk to Maria. 

It was slow going, moving through the snow. The wind was against you, cold and sharp and you realized you were wearing Joel’s coat and one of his shirts underneath it. It made your skin crawl. 

When you got to Maria’s, you pounded on her door, stripping out of the coat and the shirt even though the wind was howling as you waited for her. 

You knew it must have only taken a minute but it felt like an eternity of waiting. Every minute you wasted was a minute longer she was with them. It had already been so long, so so long. 

“Bambi?” Maria frowned. “Jesus, you must he half frozen…” 

“I need a gun,” you said, goosebumps prickling over your flesh. 

“What you need is to put on your damn coat…” 

“Don’t want it,” you thrust it at her and she almost jumped but took it. “I need a gun, Maria. Rifle is best but any gun…” 

“Why?” She asked. “It’s a blizzard out there and…” 

“The people the patrol brought back today,” you said as quickly as you could. “The woman they mentioned, she said the raiders had a girl, a teenaged girl. I’m going to find her and I need a fucking gun, are you going to give me one or not?” `

“No,” she shook her head. “No, it’s too dangerous to send anyone out right now and…” 

You smacked your hand against the door frame, making her jump. 

“I already had this fucking conversation with Joel and I’m going. Now. You can either give me the fucking gun or I’ll go out there with nothing but what’s in this fucking pack but I’m going.” 

She searched your face for a second before she sighed and opened her door wider. You stomped inside, snow clinging to your boots. Maria opened her coat closet and pulled out a winter coat, holding it out to you. You frowned for a moment. 

“You need that, too,” she said. “Give me a minute, we have a rifle here in a safe. With ammo. But you have to bring it back, you hear me? You need to make it back.” 

You pulled on the coat and zipped it up. There was a hat and gloves in the pockets and you put those on, too. Maria came back with the gun and she handed it to you. It didn’t have the good scope, Tommy must have taken that one out on patrol, but you didn’t care. 

“If you just wait a day or two for the storm to clear…” Maria began but you cut her off. 

“Not leaving her with them any longer than I have to,” you slung the gun over your arm. You were glad William wasn’t in the room, probably already in bed though you weren’t sure what time it was now. He reminded you so much of how Savvy looked at his age, the unruly curl of his hair and the deep warmth of his big eyes. You weren’t sure you could bear to look at him in that moment. “Thank you, for this. I appreciate it.” 

“I meant it when you said you needed to make it back,” she replied. “So you’d better make it back.” 

You looked at her for a second. 

“I’ll do my best.” 

You left her there, Joel’s shirt and coat draped over the back of her couch. You went to the stable and saddled up Ares. He was the biggest horse, he’d make it through the snow the best, survive what might be waiting on the other end of this the best. You needed him to make it. You had to make it. 

The directions from the group you’d found were vague but they were enough to set you in what you hoped was the right direction. You had to demand to leave at the gate - threatening to go get Maria if they didn’t let you out - but, before too long, you were underway. 

It was miserable weather but you hardly noticed it. You were thankful for it, in a way. You wouldn’t need to watch your back in weather like this, no one else would be out. Infected would freeze, raiders would be hunkered down. You could move freely. 

You took advantage of it, resisting the urge to push Ares as fast as you possibly could. He’d exhaust too fast, especially moving through the snow. It was faster to pace yourself. You knew that. It just didn’t feel fast enough. 

You fought not to think about what life was like with them. About what she might be suffering now. About how you’d thought Savvy was dead for years, since that day by the fire. But you still looked for her, watched for any sign of her. You still held out hope that she was out there, somewhere, just waiting for you to find her again. You couldn’t accept that she was gone, not when you’d never seen the proof, never held it in your hands. 

If there was even a chance that it was her, that was enough. 

You rode through the night and it was late the next day that made it to south of Kelly and started looking for signs of people, where you might find cabins. But the foot of fresh snow made that difficult, you couldn’t tell where anyone had been and the snow was still falling. You tried to think for a moment but your mind was cloudy. You hadn’t stopped for food or rest since leaving Jackson what had to be 20 hours earlier. You hadn’t slept in even longer. There was a sort of manic energy running through your veins, a singular focus that kept you breathing and your mind focused: Find Savvy. 

You tried to remember what the landscape around Kelly looked like, where the mountains eased and where finding these cabins might be simpler. You thought you had an idea of a place to start and you pointed Ares in that direction, his footsteps heavy and plodding after you’d pushed him for so long. 

It was getting dark when you saw the tracks in the snow. Someone had walked through here, recently. 

You followed them, your heart in your throat, the sound of Ares’ heavy breaths loud on the crisp snow. 

“Gonna need you to stop right there,” a voice from your left said. 

You obeyed, turning your head toward the sound. A man had his rifle drawn high, pointed at you. You didn’t like the look of him, something threatening and harsh. You fought to focus your mind, push past the cloud of exhaustion that threatened to take over you. 

“Good girl,” he smirked. You clenched your jaw. “You’re in our territory now which means you’re coming with me.” 

“And who are you?” You asked, brows raised. 

“The difference between you dying slow and painful or surviving,” he said, stepping closer with the gun up. “Recommend you take me up on it.” 

You looked at him for a moment. He was probably with the men who had her. Raiders were too territorial, there wouldn’t be multiple groups on the outskirts of Kelly like this if they weren’t working together. 

“Now,” he said, adjusting his grip on the rifle. “Why don’t you get off that pretty horse of yours and come with me.” 

You obeyed and he came over to you, looping his hand through the strap of the rifle. He smiled when you didn’t argue with him on it. You didn’t mind it much, at least not yet. He was going to take you there. You could kill him with your bare hands once you found them. 

He took your gun and took the reins for Ares and nodded to the space in front of him. He aimed his rifle at you and you put your hands up. 

��Walk ahead,” he said. “I’ll tell ya where to go.” 

“Alright,” you said, fighting to keep your voice calm. 

Part of you knew you should be afraid. The shadow of that feeling was there, the echo of it. You were sure he was taking you somewhere you’d be outnumbered. You’d be fighting to get two people out instead of one, you were exhausted and weakening. You doubted you could even push Ares into a full gallup now, he was going to fall asleep the second you got where you  were going. 

None of that really mattered, though. If it wasn’t Savvy, you weren’t sure you had much of a reason to try and live. Jackson held Joel, just the thought of him too gutting and painful to even really consider him, and a life that you didn’t want anymore if you couldn’t give it to you child, too. 

You’d gotten remarkably close to the group without the man’s help, as it happened. You were only walking about half a mile through the woods when you came upon a small cluster of cabins, not unlike the ones you’d called home for 20 years. Smoke curled up from the chimney of the center one and you thought, for a moment, that it would be picturesque under other circumstances. The fresh snow bowing the limbs of the pine trees toward the ground, the soft glow from the fire in the window, the humble nobility of the log structures themselves. 

He tied Ares to a tree and turned back to you. 

“Middle cabin,” he said, nudging you between the shoulder blades with his gun toward the one with the fire inside. “Move.” 

You obeyed that command, too. Your heart beat so hard that, for half a moment, you were worried it might give out. But it didn’t. 

The man stepped around you to open the door and you went in ahead of him, the rifle at your back. 

“Shit, Fred,” one of the three men in the room said, looking you up and down. “Didn’t know you’d find a friend…” 

You ignored him, looking around, forcing your eyes to move slowly. The firelight was dim, the corners were dark, you could miss something. 

You almost did. It took you a moment to spot her, the girl in the corner. 

It wasn’t her. It wasn’t Savvy.

The world tilted for a moment. It wasn’t her. You’d come her to find Savvy and it wasn’t her, you were supposed to find her, you’d promised to take care of her, you’d promised. You’d promised to protect her and it wasn’t her.

“Hey!” One of the men’s voices snapped you back into reality. “What, you a fuckin’ moron? I said get over here. Want to see what our new toy brings to the table.” 

You looked over your shoulder at the man who’d brought you there, the one who’d promised you survival over slow and painful death. 

“You heard ‘em.” 

You nodded once and looked to the girl in the corner. She looked like she was about Ellie’s age, almost certainly younger than 20, with dirty blonde hair and pale skin and that half dead look on her face that told you she probably wasn’t leaving here even if you could save her. 

But you owed her a better end than these men would give her. 

And there was a chance they’d seen Savvy. You just wouldn’t know until you pulled the information out of them. 

It was like you decided what to do after you started doing it. You were moving for the man behind you before you fully realized what was happening. You lunged for him and he clearly wasn’t expecting it, ripping your rifle from his hold and slamming the butt of it against his skull. 

He collapsed to the ground and you whipped the gun around in front of you, shooting the first man before any of them fully understood what was going on. 

The second started moving for a gun but you shot him in the shoulder before he got to it. The third was faster, going for the girl in the corner and pressing a knife to her throat. 

“I’ll do it,” he said, panting for breath as you prowled closer. “Don’t give a fuck, I’ll kill her right now.” 

“Put down the knife,” you said through gritted teeth. “Now.” 

“Not until we have a deal,” he said. “Not about to just let you kill me.” 

The girl was watching you, her eyes wide but flat, nothing behind them at all. 

“Close your eyes,” you said to her, making your voice gentle. 

“Don’t tell her…” 

He didn’t get a chance to finish the sentence. You shot him in the head, his whole body jerking before he collapsed to the earth. The girl’s eyes went wide and she clutched her hand to her throat. It only took a moment before the blood started pouring through her fingers. 

“Shit,” you threw the strap of the gun over your shoulder and ran to her, crossing the small room in just a few steps. She scrambled back from you as she struggled to breathe, pressing her back against the wall. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t…” 

She looked you up and down, her eyes darting, before she reached out to you with the hand not at her throat. You moved closer and she grabbed your arm, her fingers digging into your skin, clutching onto you desperately. You cautiously put your arms around her and she all but collapsed against you, her hand still at her throat, her breaths coming in short, wet pants. 

“It’s OK,” you said quietly, your voice thick. “I’m sorry, it’ll be OK, it’s not going to hurt anymore, it’ll be OK…” 

She just nodded and you watched her already pale skin grow paler, her blood coating your arms and your legs. You kept talking to her, promising her that it would be OK, until you felt her breathing slow and stop. You held onto her for a few minutes. You brushed her hair back from her face, cradled her softly to you before you lowered her gently to the ground. 

“Don’t worry,” you said quietly. “Won’t leave you here with them.” 

Her eyes were open, wide and green and dead. You closed them gently and tucked her hair behind her ear. 

You slung the rifle and your pack off your back and freed your knife, going for the one man you hadn’t shot, just knocked unconscious. You grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and pulled him toward the fireplace as he started to groan. You searched him quickly to make sure he didn’t have a sidearm or a knife of his own but he didn’t seem to. You straightened up and brought your foot with all your weight down on his forearm, snapping the bones there. He jerked awake with a pained cry, shooting up. You pulled your boot from his arm and put it in his chest, forcing him back to the ground. 

“What the fuck!” He moaned, looking around at the carnage you’d wrought in that room. 

You adjusted your knife and knelt, putting your knee in the man’s chest and grabbing a fistful of his hair, forcing him to look at you. 

“I’m lookin’ for information,” you said. Your accent was thick when you were worked up. You had a drawl now. “And you’re gonna give it to me.” 

“Not gonna tell you shit,” he spat. 

“Maybe not,” you said. “But I’m still gonna try to get it outta you. Should know, I don’t know what I’m doin’. Just watched someone do it once. Someone like you.” Your stomach churned at that. “Might fuck it up. Might push you too far. Just have to see.” 

You took the knife and sank it in between two ribs on his left side and he screamed. You held it there and watched him writhe below you. Some part of you knew you should feel something about this. Something bad hurting another person. Something good in getting retribution. But you were numb to it. 

“Fuck!” He tried to throw you with his unbroken arm but you left the knife embedded in his side and caught it before he properly reached you. You dropped his head and it thudded into the ground before you gripped his arm with both hands and twisted it, watching as you forced his bones into unnatural positions as he screamed and you felt the give of them when they broke. You dropped the arm and grabbed his hair again. 

“You taken teenaged girls before?” You asked. He didn’t respond, his eyes wild and darting, as though there was something here that would help him. You sighed and gave his head a sharp shake and his eyes locked on yours. “Pay. Attention. Told you, don’t know what I’m doin’, might push you too far. Should want to give me what I want so I can stop hurting you, right?” 

“Who are you?” He managed around his panting breaths. 

“Don’t you know?” You cocked your head a little. “I’m what stands between you and a slow death or a quick one. Give me exactly what I want and maybe I’ll even let you live.” 

You weren’t going to. He didn’t need to know that. 

“Now, tell me,” you continued. “Have you taken teenaged girls before?” 

You twisted the knife between his ribs this time and he screamed with it. 

“Yes!” He sobbed below you. “Yes, yes, we have…” 

“How many?” You asked through gritted teeth. 

“I…” he panted for breath. “I don’t know for sure… four? Five?” 

You nodded and pulled the knife from his side and held it for a moment. 

“Do you remember any of their names?” You asked. 

He frowned, clearly puzzled. You signed and plunged the blade in between two other ribs and he screamed. 

“No!” He managed once he calmed down again. “No, we didn’t… didn’t focus on their names.” 

You nodded and rapped your fingers along the handle of the knife. 

“What did they look like?” You asked. “Any of them have brown skin, brown eyes, dark curly hair? Would be 14 now?” 

He frowned at you, like he was just piecing it together. You gritted your teeth and twisted the knife and he screamed again, his legs kicking uselessly behind you. 

“Asked you a fucking question!” You yelled. “Now tell me. Any of those girls fit that description?” 

“She a friend of yours?” The man asked. “Tell you now, all the girls we’ve had? They’re dead. Every last one of ‘em…” 

You dropped his hair and grabbed him by the chin, digging your nails into his cheeks. 

“Asked you a fucking question!” You yelled back. “Better answer it otherwise only use you are to me is fun. Think I’ll like hurting you, once I get the practice…” 

“No!” He said quickly. “No, no we didn’t take anyone like that, we didn’t, never seen anyone like that. Closest I got was a woman, she was closer to your age, not who you’re lookin’ for…” 

You looked at him for a moment. You thought he was telling the truth. But you couldn’t be sure. 

“Please,” he panted. “Please just…”  

You pulled the knife from his side and he gasped, his eyes wide in shock, before you plunged it into his throat. He couldn’t scream around it, only choke on it as his blood started to pour into his chest. 

You pulled the knife from him and wiped it on a part of his shirt that looked clean enough and you got to your feet, watching him bleed for a moment before sheathing the knife and going back for the body of the girl. 

But you fell before you could get there, the hand of the second man you shot flying out and grabbing your ankle as you passed him. You caught yourself before your face smacked into the ground and he scrambled on top of you, grabbing your hair, his fingers harsh on your scalp, slamming your face into the ground. Your head spun and you felt blood on your face as you scrambled to at least turn over in his clumsy hold. But once you were on your back, he was sitting on your stomach, a vicious and bloody grimace on his face. 

“You really thought you could just fuckin’ kill us?” He growled. You could see the hole where you’d shot him, his shoulder bloody and open. “Thought you could just end it there? Huh? Fucking bitch.” 

He grabbed the knife from where you’d dropped it as it fell and thrust it into your right shoulder, making you gasp in shock. He smirked, distracted by his own victory. You didn’t go for the knife or even his hands in his moment of distraction. Instead, you reached for his bullet wound, thrusting your thumb into the ragged hole and pulling on his damaged flesh. He screamed and shocked back from you. It gave you the space to grab the knife from your shoulder and thrust it into his neck, just like you’d done to his friend. You shoved him off of you before you were too covered in his blood and you stood there while he bled, watching to make sure he was dead this time before you took the knife and wiped off the blade before putting it in your back pocket.

You shoved yourself to your feet and went for the girl. Her body already felt a little cooler than you remembered and you lifted her gently into your arms, the wound at your shoulder screaming in pain. You ignored it. 

“It’s OK,” you said softly. “Not gonna leave you here with them…” 

You maneuvered her through the door and to your horse, draping her limp body over the saddle. Ares huffed and you brushed his velvet muzzle with your hand. It left a bloody print behind. 

“It’s OK,” you said, this time to your horse. “Not goin’ far. Then… then we’ll figure it out.” 

You untied him from the tree and led him away from the cabin, leaving the door to the bloody scene inside wide open. You didn’t care. 

You only walked about a mile before you found a place to set the girl down. It was pretty, you thought. The trees were so covered in snow and frost that they sparkled in the moonlight. You put her body down against a wide trunk, one that had roots that formed an almost comfortable looking seat with a cushion of snow. You arranged her so it looked like she might have just fallen asleep there when she’d stopped to rest or enjoy the sight, her head leaned back on the trunk, her hands together in her lap. You frowned as you arranged her hands, a leather bracelet on one wrist. You traced over it with your thumb and you realized that it was stamped with something, some beading on either side of the lettering. You carefully removed it and held it into a beam of moonlight. The name Lacy had been put into the leather. 

You slipped it on your wrist and tightened the ties before turning back to the girl. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you, Lacy,” you said, the hot pinch of tears at the back of your throat. “You deserved so much better. I’m so sorry.” 

You stood and looked at her for a moment. You wished you knew anything about this girl. If this was a place she would have liked, what her favorite food was, if she had a family. 

But you had no way of knowing any of it. You turned back to Ares and took his bridle in your left hand, your right side in too much pain from the knife wound and carrying Lacy to even think about controlling him with it.

“C’mon boy,” you said. “Let’s get some distance, find… find a place to rest.” 

You weren’t sure how long you walked with him. It felt like a long time but it was still dark when you gave up. Every step was hard. You could barely lift your feet and you snagged your boot on a tree root in the snow, sending you sprawling onto the ground with a pained groan. 

Ares’ nose appeared at the back of your neck, his breath hot on your skin and you tried to get up but couldn’t find the strength to. Instead, you just rolled over, the horse hovering over you. Your head was light and your vision was fuzzy and you couldn’t feel a lot of your body anymore. 

You tried to raise a hand to pet his large head but you couldn’t even summon the will to do that, your arm only coming a few inches off the ground before falling back into the snow. 

It took you a second to realize that you’d felt this way before. Dying had been a lot like this, bleeding in the snow. And then Joel had found you. Saved you. Made you love him. Made you trust him. 

“You’ll be OK,” you said to Ares. He huffed. “You… you were wild once, before I broke you. Wasn’t that long ago. You can live out here just… just fine without me.” 

He lowered himself to the ground, almost in response. His large head curved around your body to rest on your stomach and you managed to rase a hand enough to rest it on him. You closed your eyes and tried to focus on the heat of the animal instead of the feeling of the snow seeping into your clothes. 

You stayed like that for a while. You were barely conscious when large hands pulled you from the cold of the earth and into a warm, broad body. 

Next Chapter

A/N: I know, this was another rough one.

Feel free to yell at me. I promise, I read all the comments even though I haven't been great about replying lately. I plan to soon, I promise! I love each and every one of them and I love each and every one of you, too.

Thanks for being here through the rough parts of this fic. I appreciate you!

Taglist: @ashleymsnodgrass@planet-marz1@kalea-bane @juneswonderlust@ilovepedro@h-annahayy@starstruckmusiciansartghost@beccerjune@mumma-moonchild@netonetoneto@mellymbee@purplelye@n7cje@flugazi@evyiione@randomhoex@aliengirl99@orcasoul@reds-ramblings@pedropascalsbbg@fupoola @tinypotatothing @knopes-waffles @lilmizmoz @ayamenimthiriel@jenispunk@panda-pascal@sarap-77@flugazi@your-slutty-gf@daniegraceg@partyofone3413@cumberpegg@noisynightmarepoetry.@fifia-writes@grumpygrumperton @srmacaroni @txlady37 @bigboiseason123

[toxicanonymity]

Empire Builders. Ben's Hardware Ch. 3

5.4k / Ben Solo x Rey / ch 1, ch 2

WARNINGS: I8+ mdni. Sexual tension, gaslighting, another woman tries/fails to seduce him, angst, dubcon via uninformed force connection, ben jacks off, unsafe P in V (in force connection). Hardware Store AU explained. Strategic planning humor. Excessive plot. Beta/Star wars consultant: @dark-scape A/N: Written in February 2023. This chapter has far more world building & background than necessary. Like I set up way too much stuff for a miniseries, but I wanted to answer some reader questions. And at least the world is constructed in my head for future use.

Ben opens his eyes and looks around his office.  There's a leather couch, a chaise, an end table, a credenza stocked with high-end liquor.  It's certainly too high-end for the general manager of a local hardware store, but Ben likes things a certain way, and so do the clientele. He zips up his pants.  With Rey, he feels like he's doing nothing wrong.  He has his own rules for himself about the force connection, although they continue to evolve. 

The first time it happened, it took him by surprise. He felt a familiar tingle in his nose, the same faint tingle he gets when he uses the force.  And there she was in her bed.  He watched her for a few minutes, growing more and more aroused.  Then he gave it a shot - he invited her.  And there she was in his house.  After that, all she had to do was want him and he could tune in at will. 

He may tune into Rey's cute little thoughts about him sometimes, and especially her sexy little thoughts, but he only interacts when he's clearly invited.  When she desperately wants him.

In a way, Rey is in control – or, that's what Ben tells himself.  If Rey wants something from him sexually, he makes sure she either asks for it or takes it herself. He merely makes suggestions.  He opens her eyes to the possibilities. Rey may not understand it, but Ben barely understands it himself.  Certainly not well enough to explain it to her.  It would be like trying to explain to someone why water is wet or how to breathe.  It's not Ben's fault Rey doesn't know she's force sensitive. Most people don't know about the force at all, and they're better off that way.  

Ben never had a chance at a normal life.  His parents dedicated their lives and his to using their powers for good.  He didn't understand why teachers asked what kids wanted to be when they grew up.  Did anyone have a choice?  Ben even went to the FBI academy at Quantico and started in the Behavioral Analysis Unit.  It just . . . Didn't work out.  Or, it didn't work out *the way his parents wanted*, to say the least.  

His parents' names followed him everywhere.  Everyone had this very specific idea of who he was and what he was about before they even met him.  Everyone had expectations. His entire career was laid out for him. He'd probably be the director one day.  Without the freedom to be his own person, he grew bitter and angsty.  It was only once he interacted with the most dangerous criminals that Ben realized the choices he could make. 

Ben feels like he's protecting Rey by not cluing her in.  The only thing he feels a little guilty for is using a Jedi mind trick on her.  It's a little gross in principle, but he was  protecting her by making her forget what she saw between him and Hux.  Ben works for dangerous people, and Rey is far too curious for her own good. If Rey were to find out the store is funneling supplies to a dangerous criminal organization, it would not only ruin the whole set-up, but her life would be at risk.  

-----

Ben goes back downstairs to the store and passes Hux on the stairs, who's on his way up to the office.  Hux asks, "Want me to run those numbers for tomorrow?"

Ben has no idea what Hux is talking about.  He sighs, "What's tomorrow?"

Hux looks worried that Ben forgot.  "Uh, the retreat, right? Corporate?" He uses finger quotes when he says corporate. 

"Fuck me," Ben mutters under his breath.  "Yeah.  Thanks." 

How could he have forgotten? He knows how - Rey is a total distraction.  Empire Building's strategic planning retreat - what a joke, but Ben doesn't have a choice.  Who plans a retreat a week before Christmas? An organization that considers itself your only family.

Ben wants to get out of it.  "Hey, Hux - shouldn't one of us stay here to watch the store?" 

"Yup, that's why I'm attending remotely. I'll be here in the office and go down to the store during the breakout sessions." 

"Actually, I wouldn't mind staying. You deserve the break," Ben offers.

"Ben, no offense, but you know nothing about running a hardware store.  That's why I'm here in the first place."

"It's only two days," Ben says.  He's annoyed, but can't really dispute the assertion that he doesn't know what he's doing.  He's a hobby carpenter, which used to give him a false sense of handiness, but he's eaten his fair share of humble pie since opening the store.  If he had to run any other department besides Wood, he'd be in trouble.  

Hux sighs. "Alright, I wasn't supposed to say anything, but you're being honored.  You can't skip out." 

Honored? That intrigues Ben.  He tries not to seem too excited, though.  "Whatever," he says.  "Yeah, run the numbers, but run them by me before you share anything."

A buzz saw whirrs in the distance as Ben steps back onto the floor of the hardware store. He wants to learn to manage the store himself, he just doesn't want to learn from Hux. He walks by the key-making station and the staff member greets him.  He thinks about shadowing the keymaker to learn something new, but he goes to Lumber instead. They're filling an order of custom-length 2"x4"s.  

"Want a break? I've got it," Ben says.  The woman stops the saw and offers Ben her protective glasses.  He takes off his jacket, puts on his apron, and rolls up his sleeves.  He pulls on a pair of canvas gloves.  He can feel the woman checking out his ass as he bends over to get the first piece of lumbar lined up just right. "15 minute break," he tells her. "You don't have to clock out."  She walks off then Ben fires up the saw and cuts the wood.  

He's finishing up by the time she comes back.  He gives her the goggles back.  

Ben puts his jacket back on, collar popped, and goes out to the nursery and picks up the water dispenser.  He waters the tropical plant section and inhales the fresh smell of lush foliage mingling in the air with the sawdust from carpentry.  He thinks about how much he enjoys the hardware store.  He would love to just manage the hardware store one day and have that be his whole job.  If only things were that simple. 

----

The next morning, Ben drives his bulletproof Range Rover with dark tinted windows to the retreat, which is two hours away.  He dresses in all black and lays a charcoal blazer in the passenger seat.  He pulls up to the hotel at the last possible minute.  He opens the glove box and puts his old beat up Glock in the back of his pants.  He doesn't carry it all the time. It's truly gnarly, but it works, and it's a family heirloom.  It was returned to him from the District Attorney's office after his grandfather died.  He puts on his blazer and makes sure the notched Mandarin collar is standing -  he doesn’t like his neck exposed.  Then, he tosses his keys to the valet

There are two huge guards at the door dressed darkly in plain clothes.  Ben knows one of them and gives him knuckles. 

There are only a couple dozen people attending but they've branded it like it's some huge event.  Ben would prefer to sit with his back to the wall in any given room, but there's a seat reserved for him in the second row. The retreat kicks off with a speech from the Emperor, which is a big deal. No one knows his real name and Ben has never heard of him appearing in public before.  He hangs on every word at first, but it's a pretty general speech about the importance of loyalty and how prosperous they are together.  Yawn.  Then he talks about adversity.  

He continues, "As we all know, we had some challenges last year. Now, I don't have anything against journalists - heck, my granddaughter is one - but they tend to stick their noses in places they shouldn't." The crowd murmurs. Ben starts listening closer again   

"And it's not like the old days where we can take care of one problem and it just goes away.  They've gotten smart.  They've gotten digital.  Setting up dead man switches and whatnot.  Anyway, after the Post article last year, and the boycotts, each of our biggest suppliers suddenly grew a conscience at the same time. Construction came to a total standstill.  For two months we built nothing." He lets that linger in silence for a moment, then continues, "Until one of you had an idea." His eyes twinkle as he looks at Ben.  A few people quietly cheer.  Someone behind Ben pats him on the back and Ben turns his head a little and smiles on acknowledgement but keeps his focus straight ahead.  

In truth, Ben saw the Post article coming.  The way they were handling their business it felt inevitable.  But it would have been a big risk for Ben to try to change how they were doing things.  Instead, he started anticipating the fallout and plotting to save the day.  

"Ben's Hardware, ladies and gentlemen." He gestures to Ben.  "We're back in business."  He makes Ben come up to the front and presents him with a ruby signet pinky ring.  When he sits back down, Ben sees Hux sends an applause on the Zoom screen behind the speaker podium.  Ben's tries not to roll his eyes. 

"That was real strategic thinking, and it got us out of a real jam. I want all of you to start thinking strategically.  That's why I've brought in a consultant this weekend." He  gestures to his right and an attractive young woman stands up. "This is Paige.  She's going to get all of you thinking like Ben."  She smiles at Ben and he swallows.  

Ben wonders how much Paige knows and what's in store for her.  This is sloppy.  He manages a small smile.

----

The first session is a SWOT analysis of Empire Builders.  Paige talks through their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.  It turns into somewhat of a post mortem of what led to the Post article and boycotts. 

Strengths: Reputation, resources. 

Weaknesses: Disloyalty, competing priorities

Opportunities: Services. Diversify disposal. 

Threats: Attention. Regulation.

This is a load of crap, and Ben is 100% sure Hux is just eating it up, scribbling notes and making stupid plans.  He rolls his eyes at the thought.  This is worse than a load of crap, he realizes.  Nothing good could possibly come from openly strategizing about how to expand this criminal enterprise.  

Ben could have walked right into a different crime family and taken his grandfather's seat, but that would have been the easy road, and he wouldn't have been met with true respect.  He knew he was capable of sitting at any table he wanted, and chose a different family.  A rival family.  He's climbing from the ground up by merit.  He whacks off a bad egg here and there, but he builds his reputation with brains more than brawn.  He's bringing the family into the 21st century.  

As part of his plan to make himself indispensable, Ben shared one of his many good ideas - the hardware store.  He shared just enough to climb one more rung on the ladder, and now they want all these goons bumbling around trying to bring something fresh to the table? He would hate for this family to implode before he has a chance to destroy it himself and build his own dynasty. 

In the SWOT session, they discuss some of the points together, but it's awkward because no one knows how much Paige knows about the organization or when she's supposed to get whacked.  They keep trying to be vague, but they're really conspicuous about it.  Ben tries to peer into Paige's inner world to find out how much she knows, but he realizes he can't see anything at all, much less read her thoughts.  He wants to test a hypothesis that the sexual attraction and tension with Rey is what's creating their connection.  

-----

They take a break and Ben takes off his blazer.  He leaves it on his seat and goes to the bathroom.  He looks in the mirror as he washes his huge hands, then he unbuttons two buttons and rolls up his sleeves.  He feels kind of slutty doing this, but in a hot way, if he's honest.  He runs his long fingers through his dark hair and swallows. When he sees his Adam's apple in the reflection he remembers his most powerful weapon.  He should've made an acceptance speech.  

Before they get back from break, Ben approaches Paige with a twinkle in his eye.  He talks about nothing.  He uses the lingo.  He gesticulates with his massive hands and shifts his weight flirtatiously as they talk.  He flashes his charming smile and compliments her on the dumb SWOT analysis.  He tries to keep talking.  He crosses his arms and watches her eyes drift to his forearms.  When it's time to re-start the session, he heads back to his seat and glances back. She's definitely checking out his ass.

"What do we mean by 'diversify disposal'," someone asks, and  Paige doesn't know how to answer it. So she doesn't know everything after all. 

One of the big wigs chimes in.  "You'll recall the Post article was primarily the result of a specific disposal that was discovered at a construction site. Which led them to look at other construction sites, pulling permits, and employment records, and so on and so forth.  All that fuss started with one sloppy disposal."   

The man still looks confused. The big wig makes a subtle gun gesture out of view of Paige.

"OH, disposal," the audience member realizes.  "Okay and diversify that how?" 

"Well primarily by considering properties that don't trace directly back to Empire Builders. And techniques that lessen the residue over time." 

"Like lye?" The man asks.  Paige swallows and doesn't know what to say.

Ben interrupts and saves her. "Have we thought about *reducing* disposal?" He asks the big wig.

The big wig laughs. "It's a core part of our business model." 

"Reducing unnecessary disposal? That's when things get sloppy, right?"

"Go on."

"Like say you hire a person for one job, like a conference, but they have a diverse business skill set.  That person could potentially be reassigned to, say, logistics and supply chain management?"

"Instead of. . ." The big wig is thinking.  "Right.  Good question Ben. Let's take that offline." 

-----

After the session ends for the day, Ben goes to the hotel bar.  He wants to check in on the store but needs a drink before he can even think about talking to Hux. Mainly he's curious if Rey came by.  He knows she wants to. Ben orders a whiskey on the rocks and thinks about Rey.  He feels like she has all the control.  He only gets to see her when she shows up to the store.  He thinks about the way she blushes under her freckles and her dimples and her perky tits and how bad she wants him.  He's horny. 

As Ben examines his drink in his large hand, a sultry voice startles him.  

"Ben's hardware, huh?" It's Paige.  She slides her small hand onto his shoulder and puts her other hand on the back of the stool next to him.  "Anyone sitting here?" He must have really worked his magic earlier.  

"No, please." He welcomes her to sit. His sleeves are still rolled up.  

She orders him another drink. "Another one for him. And one for me." 

Paige reaches for Ben's large hand and inspects the ruby signet ring on his pinky. She wants to try it on.  It's too big for even her thumb. One of the big wigs watches casually from the end of the bar. 

Paige asks too many questions, and Ben doesn't give her any answers.  He doesn't want to put her in more danger than she's already in. Also, part of him wonders if she's a trap. Maybe they've realized what he's known all along - that he's the future of this empire - they need to know he can be trusted and won't get distracted by competing loyalties.  Even if it's not a trap, Paige isn't Rey, so that works against her.  

At the bar, Paige is all over him. It turns him on.  He's not that interested in her, but he's only human.  She finishes her drink and slips Ben a key to her room.  She scribbles her room number on a napkin with lipstick.  He wants to leave the key and the napkin on the bar, but he wouldn't want a worse guy to bust into her room in the middle of the night, so he takes them with him.  

Ben looks at his phone and has a missed call from Hux. He decides not to call him back, lest Hux think Ben answers to him.  Plus, Ben is exhausted from being "on" all day.  He's a solo creature and having to pretend to enjoy "the family" really takes it out of him.  Especially with all eyes on him as an honoree. He felt like he couldn't let his guard down for even a moment.  

-----

Ben retires to his hotel room alone he washes his face and hands and grabs the hotel lotion.  He props up two pillows and lies down on top of the bed without unmaking it.  He crosses his large feet and studies the pattern of his argyle socks.  He really prefers stripes these days.  He should overhaul his sock drawer.  He reads the label on the lotion, then moisturizes his enormous hands. He holds the napkin in his hand and runs his thumb over the room number, which is just a few rooms away.  

He recalls the way Paige looked at him and gets hard. He starts to think about whether he should just do it.  It's not like he and Rey are dating - they haven't even gone out once.  On the other hand, hooking up with Paige wouldn't do anything but physically get him off, and he still wouldn't be satisfied.  He runs his long fingers over the mark on his neck.  There is only one person who can satisfy him now.  His eyelids are heavy.  

Ben palms himself through his pants and  debates whether he should try to force connect with Rey.  If he does try to connect with her and she isn't already thinking about him, it could startle her or make her question everything.  He decides to take care of himself  instead.  

-----***------

Ben takes takes off his slacks and hangs them on the back of a chair and lies back down.  He leaves his shirt on and pulls his boxer briefs down. He closes his eyes.  He wraps his hand around his hard shaft and despite how big his cock is, it almost looks normal sized in his massive hand.  He's proportional.

He's almost too tired to do it, but his arousal wins over.  He spits in his hand. He thinks about Rey sitting in his lap and begins to slowly move the skin on his shaft, lazily and in short, firm strokes, just getting warmed up. He thinks about her furrowed brow and her soft little sighs and how her warmth felt against his cock.  

Before he can get far, his nose begins to tingle. Ben yanks up his boxer briefs and palms himself through them as he closes his eyes to let it happen.  

But before he can see anything, Ben hears a moan echo from the bathroom of his hotel room.  He lies there frozen, wondering if his ears deceive him.  Then, he hears splashing and squeaking from the bathtub.  He jolts up and grabs his Glock from the nightstand. He holds it in both hands, his arms straight, and slowly approaches the bathroom.  He turns the door knob with one hand  and pushes it open before resuming his stance. Steam billows out of the door and the mirror is fogged up.  

The door creeps open the rest of the way on its own, and Rey is in a robe.  Thank God she's facing away from him.  He lowers his gun and quietly rushes back to the bed, taking huge strides. He puts the Glock in the nightstand but doesn't close it all the way.

The sink faucet turns on, then off.  Rey emerges from the bathroom and looks around curiously.  She doesn't  look surprised to see him. He hasn't done it on purpose, but the collateral gaslighting might be driving her mad. Surely she hasn't figured out how this works.  

Ben is lying on the bed in his boxer briefs and button up shirt.  He's still hard.  Her eyes meet his. "Ben," she says.  It's the first time she's said his name to him and it's the sweetest sound.  Her eyes scan his body, resting on his underwear longer than anywhere else.  She looks away shyly then he sees her remind herself it's not real. She gains confidence and smiles demurely at him.  "Where have you been?" she asks. "Where are we now?" She crosses the room slowly.  

Ben ignores the questions.  "Well, you found me,"  he says. Her eyes rest between his legs again.  He's emboldened by her continued belief that this isn't real.  He adds, "And you found me in quite a state." He strokes his hard length from outside his boxer briefs.  "Is this what you were looking for?" He looks down to his lap then meets her eyes again as he strokes himself slowly.  He knows it's what she wants. He still wants her to say it. 

Her hair is damp.  Her skin is rosy.  He's disappointed to have missed her bath, but glad she's here now.  Rey approaches the nightstand, then stands facing the bed, not far from him.  Ben wonders how much she can see in this room.  Can she see the napkin? The Glock in the nightstand? If she can, she ignores them.  She lets her robe fall open "Maybe so," she says.  That's close enough to a yes for him. 

Ben sits up in the bed and pivots to face her. He sits on the edge of the bed and takes both her hands in his.  He spreads his knees.  She stands in between his legs, close to the bed.  They search each other's eyes. He can feel all her thoughts even stronger now.  She wants him bad.  He scoots closer to the edge of the bed, barely on it.  His large feet are firmly planted on the floor. 

She wants his body against hers.  He brings his hands around her waist to the small of her back.  Her figure is striking and her skin is so soft and smooth.  He gently nudges her closer. His knees are spread wide with plenty of room in between.  She comes as close as she can and his clothed hardness meets her bare skin. 

She starts unbuttoning his shirt.  She looks even prettier with no makeup.   He strokes her damp hair, then cradles her pretty little head in both of his massive hands and brings her face to his. Their eyes close.  Her lips part.  Their mouths meet softly, then the kiss grows hungrier.  She wants Ben inside her.  He slips his tongue into her mouth and she meets it eagerly.  She finishes unbuttoning him as they make out.  

Ben moves his hands down each side of her neck, then to her collar bone.  He slips the tips of his fingers under each side of the robe and slides his hands gently to her shoulders.  She shrugs off the robe. His hands slide from her shoulders down to her breasts and cup them gently.  He takes one nipple into his mouth and moves his other hand around her back, down her spine as he tongues then sucks her breast. 

Her skin is supple and her ass is round.  He grabs a cheek in his large hand and pulls her into him, then his hand slides down her ass crack between her legs.  His middle finger reaches her pussy and she’s so fucking wet.  He releases her breast from his mouth and grabs her ass with both hands.  He stands up and lifts her off the ground in one swift motion.  Her legs wrap around him.  He turns around and lays her down on the bed and their faces meet again. His nose brushes hers as their lips come together.  As he reads her mind, he’s struck by the intensity of her passion for his nose.  He’s so fucking hard.

Her fingers curl under his undershirt.  He takes it off and she marvels at his physique - his sharp shoulders, his broad chest.  Her hands trace his hard pecs,   then his abs, and his happy trail.  Then she slides her hand inside his boxer briefs and seizes his huge, swollen cock.  Her hand feels so good.  He thrusts into her and her other hand grabs at the hem of his briefs.  He takes them off.  She wants him inside her so bad, but he wants her to say it.

He reaches a large hand between them to finger her while she strokes him.  As his long digits slide against her slick folds, he says, “You can have whatever you want.”  He knows there’s only one thing on her mind and it’s his cock.

“I want all of you,” she says.  She releases his cock and it smacks against her hip bone, then he removes his hand from between them and grinds his hips into her.  His hard cock slides along her folds and her head falls back.  Her neck is so delicate.  It’s hard to resist putting his hands around it but he doesn’t want to scare her.  

“Take it,” Ben snaps hastily.  “Take what you want.”  She opens her eyes wide and grabs his cock again.  She swipes a bead of pre-cum around the head, strokes him for a second,  then rubs his cock against her folds again.  She wraps her legs loosely around his back.  

Ben kisses her deeply on the lips and grinds into her hard.  He can feel her wanting something beyond his body, beyond this room.  “I want it to be real,” Rey says.  

“This isn’t real?” He asks with a twinge of guilt. It’s an inopportune moment for this conversation, in his opinion. He just wants to be inside her.  

“I want you in real life,” Rey says.  

He slides off her and rolls onto his back, breathing heavily.  He cradles his massive, aching erection in one hand, loosely stroking it.  “I do too,” he says.  

“How do I know?” she asks.  She rolls over on her side to face him and hooks a leg over his closest leg.  Her face is quizzical, but he can still see the want in her eyes. She traces his pecs and her nipple grazes his bicep. 

“You just know.” He laughs. “I know you know.” Rey climbs up and straddles his big thighs, hovering her lower abdomen near his cock as she searches his face. He'd say almost anything to fuck her right now, but he settles on something reasonable.  “Give me your number or something,” he says. "then I'll make sure you know it. I promise."  

She relaxes.  "Okay."  She seems to view this experience as some way of accessing her intuition or some kind of mystical guidance on how to get with him in real life. She feels like she has her next step now.  She'll give him her number.  

“Can we still have fun meanwhile?” He asks and his hips lift up under her. 

She smiles.  The only thing on her mind is his cock now.  She grabs it again and scoots forward more, her warmth hovering over his aching balls.  He sits up and kisses her passionately as she grinds into him.  

He nuzzles his nose against hers.  “Whatever you want,” he says.  Her hips roll into him more intensely until she rolls off of him and back onto the bed, lying face up, pulling him onto her.  He brings his whole body down into hers and she grabs his cock and nestles the tip at her entrance.  Ben kisses her deeply as he plunges into her.  She moans as the thick head parts her seam.  

He gives her a few seconds, then thrusts again, further into her.  She digs her fingers into his back.  Her cunt is so hot and tight.  He feels like he could come at any second already.  “More,” she says. 

He pulls out an inch or two then plunges all the way in and she moans.  They sloppily kiss as he thrusts into her again and again.  They sweat and their hot bodies slide against each other.  He knows he’s hitting that special spot deep inside her.  He knows she’s close. And so is he, his pleasure is building rapidly.  

As Ben pounds into her, Rey begins to whine and her face contorts.  “Yes, yes, Ben."  He feels a pang of pleasure in his balls at the sound of his name in her mouth. She says it again and he kisses her desperately before his name is gone from her lips, like he's catching it in his own mouth.  She comes and her walls clench around him, and he starts to come, too.  He slowly thrusts into her as his cock erupts.  When his balls are empty, he pries his lips away from hers to look at her.  His hair falls into her face and she tucks it behind his ear.  

There’s a knock at the door. For a moment Ben hopes Rey can't hear it, but her face screws up.  Ben ignores it and kisses Rey's neck sweetly, trying to make her forget about it.

Another knock.  "Ben, I know you're in there," Paige says from the door.  Rey's eyes water.

Ben wants to explain.  ,"No, it's not - hold on.  One second," Ben whispers to Rey. He gets up and starts toward the door.  When he glances back, Rey is looking at the napkin and key on the nightstand.  Before Ben can answer the door, Paige says "Whatever, you've got my key."

Ben turns around to come back to bed, but Rey is gone.  He stews over it for a while, but there's nothing he can do.

-

The second day of the conference, Paige starts off cold toward Ben, but she tries to cozy up to him more during the breaks.  He tries to play nice but he's upset about the night before.  There's no way she could have known, but it still bothers him. He replays Rey's thoughts in his head and he's fairly sure her infatuation and attachment will win out over apprehension.

Paige's presentation talks about waste and efficiency.  One of the types of waste is underutilized resources.  Ben doesn't want to say it in front of Paige, but he feels like his capabilities are underutilized.  There are so many times they forgo mind tricks in favor of straight-up offing someone.  It would be cleaner to just to make them forget.  

Of course, a mind trick doesn't always work.  He can't imagine it would work for someone like Mitaka who worked full time for them.  What memories would the person be left with?  Plus, there are different rules for snitches. But as far as Ben knows, a mind trick would've worked for the disposal that ultimately led to the Post article. Ben keeps his mouth shut, though. He doesn't want to draw more attention to himself by bringing up his capabilities.  Plus, he knows better than anyone that sometimes your temper just gets the best of you.

After the session, during the social hour, Ben gets invited on a hunting trip.  He says he should really get back to the store.  A big wig slaps him on the back and asks if he can tour the store the day after tomorrow.  Ben agrees. 

Ben really can't wait to get back to the store.  

-

Thank you for reading!

[popculturebuffet]

Next up for Cartoon Network era of shows, who is your favorite character from each of late 2000s-early 2010 era shows (I included the final 3 that began before the big logo change in May 29, 2010 and rebrand to make the next one less heavy since a lot premiered in 2010-11) you've seen like: Chowder, Transformers Animated, Ben 10 Alien Force, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, The Secret Saturdays, Adventure Time, Ben 10 Ultimate Alien, and Generator Rex?

I"m also going to throw a brucey bonus one in here that wasn't produced by Cartoon Network, and i'm making an exception for. (Transformers Animated was it turns out so it wasn't needed but I incldued it in the teaser just inc ase) I als oonce again thank you for doing this

Chowder: A hard choice but the boy himself is such a fleshed out and hilarous character and i'ts a shame his actor retired, though I respect it. CH Greenblat's first show stilll holds up: intensely silly, whimsically creative and deeply hilaroius. Outside of the nightmare that was panini, this show is still a great time and well worth yours.. and one I go back to frquently

Transformers Animated: It's been a while so i'm not firmly sure so i'll go with Wreck Gar, he dares to be stupid. Also having Weird Al voice him was too brilliant and the concpet work. But the show itself is amazing, a creative reboot that found new ways to do the autobots war against the evil force sof the deceiptcons by making optimus a rookie, having the tick be his asshole superior, and our heroes a ragtag bunch against a far stronger deciptcon army and delightful supervillians. I love this so much.

Ben 10 Alien Force: Julie: Sh'es a well done love intrest with a pet blob dog thing. Easy pick. Alien wise it's jetfire. As for alien force itself.. it's my faviorite of the four ben 10 shows i've seen (i.e. everything but the reboot). Or at least seasons 1 and 2 are, season 3 is a bit of a mess. It's clear they had a solid intresting if retcon heavy plan for seasons 1 and 2, giving us an intresting and horrifying meanace in the high breed, the glory that is parodox and a great main trio. Though as I said season 3 is a hot mess. But compared to the not terrible but still messy things to follow it's at least more consitent.

Flapjack: Peppermint Larry whose the right mix of hilarious and creepy. As for the show itself.. i'm not a fan. I respect it's impact on animation, top notch vocal cast, and gorgeous animation.. but it's too much of a gross out show and deeply disturbing for my taste. It's a me thing, but yeah the show lost me after a while, but i'ts not bad just not my forte.

The Secret Saturdays: Doyle. You combine will fredle's Terry McGuinnis voice with a badass bounty hunter , bad influence and fun uncle and you got a stew going. The series itself I badly need to revisit and is a fun adventure show with a well built cast, world and twist. Criminally underated and canceled before it's time, though still at least managing a satisfying finale.

Total Drama Island: The Brucey Bonus that's been on my mind since the reboot is currently airing in the us and i've watched half of it. (Need to go back and finish it that's on me etc). But while it wasn't made by cn so I wasn't going to obligate you to include it, I had to as before our next entry it was the big breakout for CN for a while. Flapjack was good and got praise over time and Chowder was well loved, but Total Drama was the big star for a bit. Faviorite is hard to pick, but for this season i'll go with gwen. Time would not be kind to her but teenage me couldn't get enough. And adult me can't get enough of the show, as it's well done, with only a few rough edges and season 1 is so good few other seasons have competed. It's got a great cast, great challenges and a lot of good jokes. And farts but that's Total Drama for you, you get numb to it.

Total Drama Action: Harold because he' smy boy, but really no one was on top game this season. This season is bad.. not as bad as some later seasons, but it's clear they had no real direction for it, gave up on their first antagonist halfway through, and derailed trent. While I was never big on trent and gwen, that whole fiasco leaves a bad taste in the mouth for the rest of the season and courtney's derailment, while not a stretch is a waste of a good villian turn by making her invincible. The film themeing is okay, but it's clear they were not ready for the sequel.

Adventure Time:Jake. I know same name and all that, but the guy just has chill dumbass energy for days, one of the best scenes in teh show (Jake , your president now), and is easily John DiMaggio's best performance. The show itself is excellent: it did stumble a bit after rebecca sugar left for something i'm sure we'll get to next time, but while I left the show after a while, it recovered and has since gone on to have two excellent spinoffs with more coming and a movie. The show wasn't perfect, but damn if it wasn't important to animation as a whole, saved cartoon network and generally just... slaps.

Ben 10: Ultimate Alien: This one's.. a bit more mixed. Character wise, Julie looses it, but Sir George picks it up as one of the franchises best villian, a knight who simply hasn't adapted to a far less simple world. Ultimate Alien itself.. is a mixed bag. The villian for the first half of season 1 is generic as fuck, though Kevin's return to evil was brilliant and while it had some weird bits (gee ben your really gonna kill your best friend huh?), it worked far better than it had any right too. The second arc likewise followed the pattern: started messy as hell, picked up well after with the forever knights ressurgence. It's not as messy as omniverse to a point, but it's just kinda okay overall. The ultimate transformation was a neat idea, Sir George is great but it has a lot of bad one offs, questionable decisions and a general lack of direction at times.

Generator Rex: Now bringing me the oppsite of the above, Generator Rex. Breach is my faviorite , from her creepy design , to her creepily perfect voice acting and redepemption arc (and weird chemistry with rex). The show itself though is underated: while it has minor tonal issues here and there (Having wacky shenanigans episode ina fairly horrifying setting and the rock soundtrack sometimes clashes), it compensates with a brilliant horrifying concept, a dumptruck of memorable characters too big to list here, and really going hard, exploring the implications of this fucked up world with whole cities turned evo, rex's parental substitue and secret agent buddy given orders to kill, and Rex struggling to find SOME normalcy. It's an underated classic that badly deserves a reboot at some point.

[castiel-jane-as]

Chapitre 2: L'intégration

J'ai raccompagné Castiel jusqu'à la porte et on s'est dit au revoir. Ouf, quelle journée , vraiment. J'engloutis des pâtes en vitesse avant d'aller me coucher. Vraiment, c'étais une grosse journée. Démone est montée sur le lit pour dormir en boule à côté de moi. Je me suis endormi en passant  à la journée d'aujourd'hui. 

PDV Jane

DRING! DRING!

Jane:ta g*ule *appuie sur snooze*

DRING! DRING!

Jane: Ah , c'est pas vrai *appuie encore*

DRING! DRING!DRING! DRING!

Jane:grrrr*le débranche*

DRING! DRING!DRING! DRING!DRING! DRING!

Jane: Quoi? C'est quoi ça? Je l'ai débranché. Alors, si c'est à ça que tu veux jouer.... PDV Castiel J'étais arrivé devant la maison d'la gamine. Ça faisait une éternité que je sonnais sans réponse. Si ça se trouve, elle doit déjà être partie. Et là, je vis un réveil tombé de la fenêtre et attertir à côté de moi. Nan.... mais elle est folle. Je continuai à sonner. PDV Jane Jane: Ca t'apprendras à vouloir jouer à ca avec moi

DRING!

Jane: o.o , c'étais pas le reveil c'était la porte. rooohhh, fais ch*er! Qu'est-ce que vous voulez? Il faut jamais me demander de réfléchir le matin. Je dégringolai les escaliers pour aller ouvrir la porte. Quel crétin peut sonner à une heure pareil?

Jane:*ouvre la porte et surprise* Castiel?! Cast: le seul et unique Jane: Qu'est-ce que tu fous ici? Cast: ben...j'apporte les trucs pour ta chienne Jane: ah, c'est vrai...t'aurais pu passer plus tard, non? Cast: nope...et vu comment tu m'accueilles, j'ai bien fait de passer *sourire pervers* Jane:hein?

J'ai mis un peu de temps pour comprendre ce qu'il voulais dire pas la. Et puis...merde... J'étais habillé en soutien gorge et avec un TRÈS mini short. Faut dire qu'il faisait chaud cette nuit, alors. Je rougis instantanément.

Cast: Quel accueil parfait pour un dieu comme moi Jane: tais-toi. Bon entre, je reviens.

Je courus au premier pour me préparer. Aujourd'hui, je mis un un chandail à spaghetti noir et mauve avec une jupe carreautée noire. Je portai des talons et était maquillé légèrement.

Jane: chuis prête Castiel:ben..on y va J'ai fermé la porte et commencé à marcher quand Castiel m'interpella.

Jane: quoi? Castiel: euh...j'suis pas à pied Je me suis retournée pour lui faire face. Jane: T'es en quoi, en bicyclette,je présume? Cast: non...en moto. J'admirais la moto que Castiel me pointai. Elle était rouge et noir. Wow!

Cast: tiens, un casque. Jane: ok...*met le casque* Castiel a embarqué sur sa moto et je me suis assise derrière lui. Nous sommes arrivée au lycée en 5 minutes. Castiel a garé sa moto, puis nous sommes partis en direction de nos amis. Pendant qu'on se dirigeait vers l'arbre pour aller voir nos amis, je sentais le regard noir de certaines filles sur moi. C'est quoi leur problème, j'ai rien fait!

Jane: Salut Rosa: Salut, vous deux. Depuis quand vous arriver en même temps? Cast: Depuis que je suis allé là chercher ce matin Jane: Bon il faut qu'on aille en classe, là On avait français avec Mme Fourleau. Elle me faisait bien rire, elle étais tellement désordonnée  La fin de l'avant-midi approchai.

Prof: Bon, dans quelques cours vous devez faire un poème et vous allez le réciter devant la classe. ???: Est-ce que le sujet est aux choix? Prof: oui, mais il y a des limite, hein Bon il manquait plus que ça: un poème et un oral. Pfffff! Bon, vu que l'avant-midi est fini, on peut aller diner. Comme d'habitude, Rosa nous parlait de tout et de rien

Rosa: Dites les filles, on pourrait aller magasiner demain Iris: Je peux pas, j'ai du retard à rattraper Mélodie: J'ai de la paperasse à régler avec Nathaniel Violette: je peux pas..désolé Rosa:  oh ok, et toi Jane? Jane: ben...ça me dérange pas, là Rosa: cool, \^.^/, demain à 13h devant la crèmerie Jane: Ok noté Après le diner , on était en math et j'étais assi à côté de Castiel.

Cast: *en assoyant* ça va, gamine Jane: ouais, ca peut aller et toi Cast: correct, pour l'instant La prof de math n'arrêtait pas de me fusiller avec un regard noir. Faut dire, qu'elle a pas oublier pour hier. Elle cherchait un moyen de m'humilier à tout prix

Prof:Mlle Fletcher, redressez-vous sinon vous finirez par vous endormir Avant que je puisse lui en placer une, la directrice a fait irruption dans la classe. Ils sont où mes lunettes  ''anti-rose'' quand on en a besoin.

Dirlo: Bonjour, les élèves. Je viens vous parler d'un événement spécial. On approche à grand pas de la fin du mois. Alors, le comité a décidé d'organiser un bal de la rentrée. Participation obligatoire pour tout le monde sous peine de 10 jours de colle. Un bal? bof...moi et les bals

Dirlo: Vous devez vous trouver un cavalier ou une cavalière. Il y aura aussi l'élection du roi et de la reine du bal. Ah la galère. Faut que je trouve un cavalier. Et qui j'vais inviter j'connais à peu près personne. Ah oui, je peux demander à Natha-machin. Je suis sûre que ça lui dérangerait pas et puis...

Cast:*coupe mes pensées*toi, t'y vas avec qui? Jane: En quoi ça te concerne, piment rouge? Cast: La vache, ta vraiment un sale charactère Jan: Regarde qui parle Cast: pff, donc tu répond? Jane: Oui, j'y vais avec nath, nath, Nathaniel, c'est çà! Cast: ah Jane: En quoi, il y a un probème? Cast: non, rien Je pris mon cell pour regarder l'heure, vu qu'il n'y avait pas d'horloge dans ce local. Bon, un cours et c'est finit. PDV Castiel J'allais lui demander , mais elle y va déjà avec l'autre conn*rd. pfff...qu'est qu'il a de plus que moi? Bon, c'est pas grave, c'est pas les nanas qui manquent *plus tard* PDV Jane Je finnissais avec le cour d'Histoire. Quand la cloche a sonné, Castiel n'était pas là. Peut-être qu'il voulait sécher? PDV Castiel J'étais parti sur le toit, je voulais plus aller en cours. Cette file, elle me perturbe vraiment. Au même moment, j'ai senti quelque chose vibrer dans ma poche.Ttiens, c'est le portable de Jane. Qu'est qui fout là? C'est un messge de sa mère

De:Maman

À: Jane

Salut, ma chérie. Je t'écrivais juste pour te demander, si tu vas bien. De mon côté, ça gallère donc ca se peut que ça prendra plus de 6 mois, ce voyage. Je te laisse.

bisou,bisou

Maman

Hein? Sa mère est en voyage d'affaire. Pendant 6 mois, voilà pourquoi ses parents étaient pas là? Et son père? Bon, faudrait que je lui rende..... Ou...bien...bien j'attend qu'elle se rende compte qu,elle l'a perdu. Bon, je me casse. PDV Jane Les cours étaient finis, j'ai pris mon stock pour mes devoirs et me suis dirigée vers la cour. Castiel est toujours pas là. Il se comporte différemment depuis tout à l'heure. Je vais demander à Lysandre, peut-être qu'il sait quelque chose. Tiens, le voilà.

Jane: Et Lysandre!

Il ne m'a pas attendu, alors je me suis mise à courir vers lui

Jane:Lys! Lys: oui Jane: J'peux te poser une question Lys: oui Jane: c'est à propos de castiel Lys: plait-il? Jane: Euh...voila, est-ce que tu sais pourquoi Cast est parti Lys:il m'a dit qu'il se sentait pas bien jane:ah, est-ce que j'aurais fait quelque chose de mal? Parce qu'il m'évite depuis l'après-midi. Lys: Cela ne me regarde pas, mais peut-etre que tu devrais lui demander en personne. Jane: ouais, j'avoue Bref, ça veut dire que je rentre à pied aujourd'hui. Je suis retournée à la maison. C'étais vendredi enfin! Demain, je vais maganiser avec Rosa. Tiens, le téléphone sonne. (conversation téléphonique) Jane:allô ???: allô, c'est Rosa, pourquoi tu réponds pas? Jane:hein? Rosa: oui, sa fait plus de une heure que jt'appelle sur ton portable Jane:... Rosa: alors Jane:euh..jte rappelle, ok? Rosa: ouais, si tu veux Où est-ce que j'ai foutu ce portable? Après dix minutes de recherche , j'ai abandonné. Peut-être que je devrais l'appeler ainsi je saurai où est-ce qu'il est? Ça sonnait au téléphone, mais nulle part dans la maison, bizarre, et puis quelqu'un décrocha.

???: Allô, je me demandai combien de temps t'allais prendre pour t'en rendre compte. Jane: Castiel? Cast: Ou ton dieu si tu préfère Jane: non je préfère pas et qu'est que tu fous avec mon portable? Cast: euh, tu la laisser traîner et je l'ai ramassé jane: bon, tu comptes me le rendre quand? Cast: Qui a parlé de te le rendre Jane: castiel... Cast:*raccroche* Non mais, quel effronté ce mec. Si c'est comme ça, moi j'vais aller chez lui. Mais, j'connais pas son adresse. Ah, j'vais appeler Lysandre.

Jane: Allô, Lys Lys: oui Jane:tu peux me donner l'adresse de Cast Lysandre: pourquoi? Jane: je voudrais aller récupérer quelque chose  Lys: ok, attend , jte la donne Je notai l'adresse sur un bout de papier. J'enfilai un chandail et attacha un pull à ma taille, il va faire froid ce soir. Pas très féminin, amis au diable la féminité quand il s'agit aller chercher mon cellulaire.

J'arrivai devant chez Castiel en moins de cinq minutes. Qui sait ce qu'il peux faire avec mon portable? Faut dire qu'il habite pas loin. J'ai sonné...

Cast: oh...gamine, t'es là en quel honneur Jane: rends-le-moi Cast: De quoi tu parle Jane: De mon portable Cast: Ça je sais pas, je l'ai pas Je suis rentré en le poussant et me suis dirigée vers sa chambre. Elle était assez classique. Je me suis mis à fouiner dans ses tiroirs

Cast: Oh la, qu'est que tu fais Jane: Je cherche mon cell J'ai vu que j'avais commencé à l'énerver, tant mieux. 

Cast: Cherche ou tu veux tu le trouvera pas

Il avait raison. Pendant que je continuai à le chercher, un sourire moqueur se dessina sur son visage. Rah...il m'énerve!

jane:Il est où Cast:... jane: Bon...qu'est-ce tu veux? Cast: euh...un bisou Jane: Cours toujours Cast: bon , j'en connais une qui va chercher longtemps Jane:*soupir* Cast: alors? Jane: rah...tu m'énerve, ok. il s'approcha de moi tandis que je reculais vers le mur. La je pouvais pas y échapper. Nos lèvres se touchèrent.  les siennes étaient douces et avait un goût légèrement fruité.

Jane: *rougit et regarde, ailleurs* mon portable Cast:* rouge aussi* T-tiens le voilà.

Il sortait mon portable de sa poche. Rah...j'aurais dû m'en douter, quel cruche je suis.

Jane:*invente une excuse* Bon, je dois y aller ma mère doit m'attendre à la maison Castiel: Ca m'étonnerait qu'elle puisse t'attendre Jane:quoi? Castiel: ben... elle en voyage d'affaire, non? jane: oui et comment tu sais sais ca? Castiel: ben... tu as reçu un texto de sa part, et je l'ai lu Quoi? Il a tripoté mon portable! Grrrrr! J'en reviens pas. Gardons son calme.

Jane:Ta quoi? ah, pis laisse faire. ok, j'y vais

Je cherchai mes clés dans mes poches, mais les ne les trouvais pas.

jane: Et merde Castiel: quoi? Jane: j'ai laissé mes clés à la maison. Castiel: et alors Jane: chez moi, la porte se ferme automatiquement, alors... Cast: bon..alors t'as qu'a squoitter chez moi. jane: hein?  Cast: ben...à moins que tu veuilles geler dehors jane: ok..c'est bon Un malaise s'installat. Après deux minutes, Castiel a rompu le silence.

Cast: ta faim jane: euh..oui Cast: pizza Jane: oui! Après une attente interminable, la pizza arriva. On a mangé.

Jane: on regarde un film Castiel: ouais, mais je choisi Jane:pourquoi? Castiel: parce que de un :tu skoite chez moi et de deux: j'ai pas envie de me taper un film genre Twilight. jane:....ok*boude* Castiel: J'ai Scream 4 à moins que ta peur des films d'horreur jane:pfff...moi non!(OUI!!!) Castiel: Si tu le dis Castiel a mis le DVD. On a écouté le film. Sans m'en rendre compte je me suis réfugiée dans son chandail, pendant les scènes de peur. À la finf du film Castiel semblait tout rouge

Jane: Ça va Cast: oui Puis, je remarqua que j'étais toujours collée contre lui et agripper à ses bras. Je le lâcha et me sentis un peu gêné.

Jane.oh là là Cast: quoi? Jane: c'est vraiment j'ai pas mon pyjama Castiel: ben...c'est pas grave, tu peux toujours dormir en soutif *sourire pervers* jane: ah,non! Castiel: Je te niaise *part et reviens* tiens un t-shirt Jane:merci Castiel: J'ai pas de pantalon à ta taille donc... Jane: Ça va. Ta une couverture et un oreiller supplémentaire Castiel: Pourquoi? Jane: ben...je dors sur le canapé Cast: Non , tu peux dormir avec moi jane: non, ca va Je m'installa sur le canapé. Castiel, dans la chambre. Pourtant, je n'arrivais pas à dormir à cause du film d'horreur. Je me suis dirigé vers la chambre

Jane: Cast, je te dérange? Castiel:beh...oui je dormai, qu'est-ce que tu veux? Jane: Ton film, il m'a traumatisé, je peux dormir avec toi? Cast: Tu deviens raisonnable Jane:... Castiel: Viens, t'inquiète, je te ferais rien...du moins pas tant que tu sera pas endormi *souris pervers* de Castiel

Jane: Crétin

Je me suis allongé dans son lit. J'étais encore perturbé donc je bougeait beaucoup. Castiel, m'a alors pris dans ses bras pour que j'arrête de bouger. Quelque minutes plus tard, j'étais endormis dans ses bras. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ J'espère que ça vous a plus. J'veux vos commentaires!

[vinnie-w]

【 Gravity Falls x Reader 】

➥ MASTERLIST ┃ CH 01 ┃ CH. 02 ┃ CH. 03

➥ TITLE: The Legend of The Gobblewonker

➥ PRONOUNS: You/Yours, They/Them

➥ POV: Third

➥ SUMMARY: It's family fun day and Stan has decided to take you all out for fishing, but you end up having a strange encounter instead!

➥ NOTES: unrelated to the story but I hate dancing, so much. -10/22/22

"Go, Sir Syrup!" Mabel cheered, 

"Go, Mountie Man!" Dipper cheered, the twins holding up maple syrups over their mouths. They both kept cheering when someone poked their neck, causing them to drop the bottles and have a coughing fit. 

"(Name) dear, don't do that. You're gonna kill them .." Elise said, not looking up from the stove. You had just woken up and walked in on them starting the syrup race and decided to ruin their silly cute race. You smiled sleepily at Dipper and Mabel,

"Sorry, couldn't resist, hehe" You giggled, obviously still tired. They both shoved your shoulders making you laugh more. 

"Hey! No roughhousin' in the kitchen!" Grunkle Stan scolded from outside the kitchen. You sit next to Mabel and slam your head on the table, still tired, and Mabel decides to braid your messy hair. Dipper decides to read the newspaper next to him, waiting for breakfast.

"Ho ho, no way! Hey Mabel, (Name), check this out." He said, showing them the page he was reading.

"Human-sized hamster balls? I'm human-sized!" Mabel gasps, you look up to read the newspaper too and instead see an expensive brand of oil paints on sale on the bottom page.

"Oh crap, oil paint on sale? That's awesome!" You cheered, excitedly sitting up.

"No, non guys. This." Dipper said, pointing to the ad above the oil paint sale. It was an ad about a monster photo contest. "We see weirder stuff than that everyday! We didn't get any photos of those gnomes, did we?" Dipper asked,

"Nope, just memories. And this beard hair." Mabel said, holding up beard hair,

"Gross, why haven't you thrown that out?" You asked, leaning away from her as she holds it closer to Dipper. She shrugs and makes an 'I dunno' sound, sitting back down with the beard hair in her pocket. 

"Good morning, knuckleheads. You three know what day it is?" Grunkle Stan asked, walking in.

"Um... Happy anniversary?" " .. Happy 'niversary??" You and Dipper hesitated, 

"Mazel tov!" Mabel yelled, Stan hits Dipper and you with a newspaper,

"It's Family Fun Day, genius! We're cuttin' off work and having one of those, y'know, bonding-type deals." He said while checking if the milk had gone bad.

"Grunkle Stan, is this gonna be anything like our last family bonding day?" Dipper questioned,

---

Dipper, Mabel and you were all sat at the table helping Stan make counterfeit money.

"You call that Ben Franklin? He looks like a woman!" He said, police sirens started blaring and the flashing blue and red light.

"Uh oh."

---

"The county jail was so cold." Mabel shuddered, you nod in agreement. A large plate of pancakes was suddenly slammed on to the table cause all four of you to flinch. 

"And guess who had to get your butts out of jail?" Elise sneered, Stan nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Said I was sorry, 'lise .." He muttered, embarrassed.  "All right, maybe I haven't been the best summer caretaker. But I swear, today we're gonna have some real family fun. Now who wants to put on some blindfolds and get into my car?" Grunkle Stan asked, wrapping his arms around Dipper and Mabel.

"Yay!" The three of you cheered, "Wait, what?" Dipper muttered.

━━┃ ? ┃━━

Grunkle Stan was driving his car with you in the passenger and the twins in the back, blindfolded. Elise, unfortunately, couldn't come. Something about the 'darn raccoon den'. Stan leans down to adjust the radio and the tires screech.

"Gramps if we die, I will hurt you in the afterlife." You threatened, clinging to the leather chair and car door, feeling yourself get more and more dizzy.

"Whoa whoa! Blindfolds never lead to anything good." Dipper mumbled, 

"Wow! I feel like all my other senses are heightened. I can see with my fingers!" Mabel said, touching Dipper's face, making him laugh. The car jumps and you bump into the doors. You mutter censored curses, curling even more into your seat.

"Whoa! Grunkle Stan, are you wearing a blindfold?" Dipper asked,

"Ha ha. Nah, but with these cataracts I might as well be." Grunkle Stan waved him off then leaning in and squinting. "What is that, a woodpecker?" Then he drives through a wooden guardrail, making you three scream.

---

Grunkle Stan helped you out, letting you lean on the front of the car (with several branches and sticks caught in the grill) with Mabel and Dipper at your side while he throws away the barf-filled paper bag into the nearest trash can. 

"Yeesh, good thing I didn't throw that away .." He mumbled, "Okay, okay. Open 'em up!" You take your blindfolds off, rubbing your eyes to help adjust to the brightness. 

"Ta-da! It's fishin' season!" Stan grinned, 

"Fishing?" Mabel asked,

"Oh great, another reason for barfing." You grumbled, crossing your arms.

"What're you playin' at, old man?" Dipper interrogated,

"You're gonna love it! The whole town's here!" Stan said, gesturing to the townsfolks in the water.

"Here, fishy fishies! Get into the pan!" Lazy Susan said, waving her pan at the water.

"Say cheese!" Toby Determined said, taking a photo of a man with a large fish. The flash of the camera causing the poor man to fall backwards into the lake.

"Uh, is this good?" Marcus asked his dad, Manly Dan, holding up his fishing pole.

"NO!" Many Dan yelled, taking his son's pole and breaking it in half. "I'll show you how a real man fishes!" He then grabs a fish straight out of the water, laughing, and he throws it on the boat and proceeds to punch it repeatedly with his sons cheering him on. 

"Get 'em! Get 'em!" Tyler chants, his boat moving towards their boat.

You watch him beat up the poor defenseless fish with a grimace. Sure you were violent but never towards defenseless animals, except cockroaches and mosquitos. Big emphasis on mosquitos.

"That's some quality family bonding!" Stan said, 

"Grunkle Stan, why do you wanna bond with us all of a sudden?" Dipper asked, 

"Come on, this is gonna be great! I've never had fishing buddies before. The guys from the lodge won't go with me: they don't "like" or "trust" me." Grunkle Stan explained,

"I think he actually wants to fish with us." Mabel muttered to both of you,

"Hey, I know what'll cheer you sad sacks up." Grunkle Stan said, slapping hats on the twins and you, "Pow! Pines family fishing hats! That's-that's hand stitching, you know." You take off your hats and see your names stitched on, the 'L' on Mabel's hat slips peels off and a letter in your name was stitched on backwards.

"It's just gonna be you, me, and those goofy hats on a boat for ten hours!" Grunkle Stan said, excited.

"Ten hours?" Dipper gaped,

"I brought the joke book!" Grunkle Stan said, holding up a 1001 Yuk 'Em Ups book. 

"No! NO!" Dipper screamed,

"Great, motion sickness, sea sick and now a migraine?" You grumbled again, slouching.

"Stand up straight, kid." Grunkle Stan warned, you sigh and fix yourself.

"There has to be a way out of this." Mabel said,

"I SEEN IT! I SEEN IT AGAIN!" Someone yells, you turn towards the voice and saw an old man running from the docks, crashing and overturning various things. "The Gravity Falls Gobblewonker! Come quick before it scrabdoodles away!" Old Man McGucket shouts in the middle of a crowd, dancing frantically.

"Awww... He's doing a happy jig!" Mabel said, 

"NOOO! It's a jig of great danger!" He yells to Mabel, you gently pull her behind you. Another man with a cap and hair covering his eyes comes out and sprays the older man with a spray bottle,

"Hey, hey! Now what did I tell you about scaring my customers? This is your last warning, Dad!" Tate McGucket warned,

"But I got proof this time, by gummity!" McGucket yelled, leading everyone to the dock. Mabel and Dipper holds your hands as you follow the old man.

"BEHOLD! It's the Gobble-dy-wonker what done did it! It had a long neck like a gee-raffe! And wrinkly skin like...like this gentleman right here!" Old Man McGucket points to Stan who was picking his ear. "It chewed me boat to smitheroons, and shim-shammed over to Scuttlebutt Island! YOU GOTTA BELIEVE ME!" He was practically begging to his son. 

"Attention all units! We got ourselves a crazy old man!" Sheriff Blubbs snickered, everyone but the Pines and the ranger point and laugh at McGucket. Tate shakes his head in shame.

"Aww, donkey spottie! Aw, banjo polish!" McGucket said, walking off.

"Well, that happened. Now let's untie this boat and get out on that lake!" Stan said, stepping into his rowboat and starts untying it from the dock.

"Guys, did you hear what that old dude said?" Dipper asked,

"Aww, donkey spittle!" "Aw, banjo polish!" Mabel and you mimicked,

"The other thing. About the monster. If we can snag a photo of it, we can split the $2000 between the three of us!" Dipper said, you take your phone out to use the calculator.

"that's $666.. " You gasped, 

"Imagine what you can do with six. Hundred. Dollars!" Dipper beamed as Mabel drifted off into her imagination.

---

Mabel, inside the human sized hamster ball, stands pridefully in front of a hamster in a smaller hamster ball.

"Not so high and mighty anymore!" Mabel boasted, 

"Aww... " The hamster, surprisingly, said. Mabel laughs and crashes through the wall. She rolls out onto the street and meets Xyler and Craz.

"Hey, boys! You can look, but ya can't touch." She flirted, the traffic light goes green and she scurries down the street, squeaking.

Xyler and Craz stared at her in awe then at each other, "Awesome!" They yell.

---

"Mabel! Mabel?" Dipper called out while snapping his fingers.

"Dipper, I am one million percent on board with this!" Mabel said, 

"I'm also looking forward to be working with you two on this Monster hunt." You said, the twins looked at you then at each other.

"Why are you, so formal?" Mabel asked,

"I-I'm not good with casualties .." You mumble, rubbing your arm. They shrug and Dipper runs up to Grunkle Stan.

"Grunkle Stan! Change of plans: we're taking that boat to Scuttlebutt Island and we're gonna find that Gobblewonker!" Dipper ordered,

"Monster hunt! Monster hunt!" You three chanted,

"Monster hunt!" McGucket chimed in, you three stop chanting and stare at him.

"Monster... Eh... I'll go." He mumbled and left. A loud honk was heard a bigger boat arrived at the dock.

"You dudes say somethin' about a monster hunt?" Soos asked,

"Soos!" Mabel cheered,

"Wassup, hambone!" Soos greeted, fist bumping with Mabel and making explosion noises. "Dude, you could totally use my boat for your hunt. It's got a steering wheel, chairs; normal boat stuff." Soos offered,

"All right, all right, let's think this through." Stan butted in, "Ya kids could go waste your time on some epic monster-finding adventure, or you could spend the day learning how to tie knots and skewer worms with your Great Uncle Stan!" The three of you look at Soos in his boat as he does the robot dance. You look back at Stan in his leaky old boat; he sniffs his left armpit. You then look at Scuttlebutt Island and grin at each other. 

"So, whaddya say?" Stan confidently asked when Soos' boat drives away with you three on it.

"We made the right choice!" Mabel cheered,

"Ingrates! Aw, who needs 'em? I got a whole box of creepy fishing lures to keep me company." Stan said, looking at the lure with flies buzzing around them. He cringes in disgust and closes the box.

Meanwhile, S.S. Cool Dude was headed for Scuttlebutt island. Dipper stands on the stern of the boat, with one foor on the guardrail. He adjusts the visor of his cup. 

"Hoist the anchor!" He ordered and Soos pulls up a cinderblock anchor.

"Raise the flag!" He ordered again, Mabel holds up a beach towel instead.

"We're gonna find that Gobblewonker!" She yelled,

"Do any of you dudes have sunscreen?" Soos asked,

"And we're going back for sunscreen!" You yell, Mabel and Soos cheer with him turning the boat back. Underwater, a strange shape swims by.

---

After fetching the much needed sunscreen, you're back on track to Scuttlebutt Island

"Alright. If we wanna win this contest, we've gotta do it right! Think. What's the number one problem with monster hunts?" Dipper asked, 

"You're a side character and you die within the first five minutes of the movie. Dude, am I a side character!? Do y'ever think about stuff like that?" Soos panics,

"No, no, no. Camera trouble! Say bigfoot shows up. Soos, be Bigfoot?" Dipper asked, Soos strikes a Bigfoot pose.

"There he is! Bigfoot!" Dipper said, in mock acting voice and he pats his life vest "Uh-oh, no camera! Oh, wait, here's one! Aw, no film! You see? You see what I'm, doing here?" He asked, you all nod in understanding.

"That's why I bought seventeen disposable cameras!" He said, revealing cameras as he lists off their locations "Two on my ankle, three in my jacket, four for each of you, three extras in this bag, and one... under my hat! There's no way we're gonna miss this. Okay everybody, let's test our cameras out!"

Soos takes a picture of himself, the flash startling him. "Aw, dude!" He yells, throwing the camera overboard.

"You see? This is exactly why you need backup cameras. We still have sixteen!" Dipper said proudly, a seagull then starts flying over Mabel's head causing her to panic and throw a camera at it. "Fifteen! Okay, guys, I repeat; don't lose your cameras!" Dipper panicked,

"Wait, lose the cameras?" Soos asked,

"DON'T!" Dipper immediately answered

"Dude, I just threw two away." Soos points at the two cameras floating on the water. You went over to take a picture for memories but tripped on a loose board and dropped the camera you were holding into the water.

"Uh.. Sorry." You said, sheepishly turning to them.

"Twelve! All right! We still have twelve camera—" He accidentally crushes another with his fist "Eleven. We have eleven cameras."

"So what's the plan? Throw more cameras overboard or what?" Mabel asked, about to drop her cameras into the water.

"NO! No. Okay. You'll be lookout, Soos can work the steering wheel, (Name) can help navigate with Soos, and I'll be captain." Dipper said,

"What? Why do you get to be captain? What about Mabel, huh? Ma-bel! Ma-bel! Ma-bel! Ma-bel!" She chants,

"I'm not sure that's a good idea." Dipper hesitated,

"What about co-captain?" Mabel asked,

"There's no such thing as co-captain." Dipper shot down

"Aw, whoops." Mabel tosses a camera into the water.

"Okay, fine! You can be co-captain." Dipper finally surrendered,

"Can I be associate co-captain?" Soos asked,

"As co-captain, I authorize that request." Mabel said,

"Can I be associate associate co-captain?" You asked,

"Well as first co-captain, I authorize your request, (Name)." Dipper said, you clap you hands in excitement.

"Now, our number one order of business is to lure the monster out with this." He said, gesturing at a barrel of Fish Food.

"Permission to taste some?" Soos asked,

"Granted." Dipper said "Permission co-granted." Mabel said,

"Dude?" Soos asked, turning to you.

"U-Uh, P-Permission associate associate co-granted!" You stuttered, another thing to stay awake about tonight.

"Permission associate co-granted." Soos said as he licks some, than gags and wipes his tongue, coughing. "Dude, I don't know what I expected that to taste like!" He said with you three laughing.

"Oh, Soos..." Dipper sighed,

---

Stan watches you four from afar, "Traitors! Ah, I'll find my own fishing buddies!" He said, looking around and sees a couple sitting in a boat up ahead. "Ah! There's my new pals!" He said, starting the engine

Reginald turned away from Rosanna, looking at a ring in a box; he takes a breath "Now that we're alone, Rosanna, there's a burning question which my heart longs to ask of you." He said,

"Oh, Reginald!" Rosanna tears up, when Stan pulls his boat up to theirs.

"Hey! Wanna hear a joke?" Stan asked the couple, they only stared at him. "Here goes. My ex-wife still misses me...but her aim is gettin' better! Her aim is gettin' better! Y'see, it's-it's funny because marriage is terrible." He explains then the couple row their boat away. "What?"

---

As you arrive at Scuttlebutt Island, there's fog everywhere. Soos is at the back of the boat shoveling fish food. Dipper, Mabel and you are at the front. You were looking through some binoculars Dipper is trying to see through the fog while Mabel is playing ventriloquist with a pelican.

"Hey! How's it going?" She asked the pelican,

"It's going awesome! Bow bow buh bow bow!" Mabel voiced the pelican,

"Mabel, leave that thing alone." Dipper said, 

"Aw, I don't mind none!" Pelican said,

"Hey, look, I'm drinking water!" Mabel said, drinking water "Twinkle, twinkle little..." She chokes on water and coughs, and the pelican flies away). 

"Aren't you supposed to be doing lookout and not (Name)?" Dipper asked,

"Look out!" Mabel yells and throws a volley ball at Dipper, hitting him on the arm. Dipper holds his arm and shivers. "Heh, heh. But seriously, I'm on it." She said, moving next to you. She shakes your arm lightly, you turn to her and she makes grabby hands. You gesture to your binoculars and she nods. You hand her the binoculars with a smile and step back from your spot, looking out into the ocean instead. The boat jolts to a stop, signaling that you've arrived at the island.

"See? We're here! I'm a lookout genius!" Mabel said, handing the binoculars back to you. "Hamster ball, here we come!" The team then disembarks and ventures into the foggy woods. Dipper and you lead the group, Dipper carrying a lantern and you carrying a flashlight. They soon come to a large sign nailed to a tree that says 'Scuttlebutt Island'. Soos and Mabel stop in front of the sign.

"Dude, check it out." Soos said, covering the 'Scuttle' part of the sign. "Butt Island." 

"Soos, you rapscallion! Hey! Why aren't you two laughing? Are you scared?" Mabel teased, you weren't paying attention though. Your shoulders were tense and you were checking the area for anything or anyone dangerous, especially after the giant gnome fiasco.

"AH!" You squealed as Mabel tackled you from behind, you fall on your stomach with Mabel on top of you, laughing her heart out.

"Hah! Oh my gosh! You scream like a whistle!" Mabel laughed, getting up. While everyone was laughing, you sat up, embarrassed about your high-pitched scream. 

"S-Shut up! I was zoning out!" You were as red as a tomato, picking up the flashlight before it rolled further into the fog. The trio stopped laughing as they heard a growling noise in the distance. 

"Dude, did you guys hear that?" Soos asked, 

"What was that? Was it your stomach?" Mabel asked him,

"Nah, my stomach normally sounds like whale noises." He said, Mabel and you leaned in to listen to Soos' stomach, which DOES make whale noises.

"Wow! So majestic." "Fascinating .." You both awe, Dipper gasps at a possum taking his lantern and running away.

"Our lantern! Aww! I can't see anything!" He yelled, turning towards you guys and flinches at the light. It was you pointing the flashlight towards him.

"Duuude, I dunno, man. Maybe this, uh... Maybe this isn't worth it." Soos hesitated, 

"Not worth it? Guys. Imagine what would happen if we got that picture!" He said, imagining what would happen if he did get that picture.

---

In Dipper imagination, he's dressed like Indiana Jones being interviewed on a talk show.

"Tonight we're here with adventure seeker Dipper Pines, who bravely photographed the elusive Gobblewonker! Tell me, Dipper; what's the sevret to your success?" Charlie, the host, asked Dipper.

"Well, I run away from nothing." Dipper answered, dumping coffee into his mouth; an embarrassing picture of Grunkle Stan appears on screen. "Nothing, except for when I ran away from my annoying Grunkle Stan, who I ditched in order to pursue that lake monster." He explained.

"How right you were to do so. He looked like a real piece of work. I don't often do this, but I feel the need to give you an award!" Charlie said, handing Dipper a medal and they get their picture taken. Panning over to (Name) who was painting the wall with the new oil paints when Mabel suddenly crashes through the wall in a hamster ball.

"CHARLIE! WHY WON'T YOU INTERVIEW ME?!" She shouts, and you three run as Mabel chases after Charlie, screaming like a maniac.

---

"I'm in!" Dipper smiled,

"Me too!" Mabel said and they both run off in excitement.

"Shoot! Guys, wait up!" You call out, "Kuya, tara." You let slip, signaling for Soos, who looked scared, to follow.

"All right, dudes. I'm comin'!" He yells and you both chase after them. You finally catch up to them, seeing them waiting patiently for you both.

"Don't do that, double dorks. 'ma's gonna kill me if I lose either of you." You scold, ruffling their hairs and they laugh.

"You sure it's just that? Or are you gonna miss us?~" Mabel teased and Dipper laughs. You rolled your eyes, amused.

"Yeah sure, whatever makes you idjot's happy." You teased back, Dipper raised his brow.

"Id-jots? You mean idiots?" He asked, 

"Idiot, id-jot. What's the difference?" You shrugged, Dipper shrugged as well and you walk in peace for a bit. Soos then starts to beatbox with Mabel rapping.

"My name is Mabel! It rhymes with table! It also rhymes with... glabel! It also rhymes with... Shmabel!" She sang, you laugh.

"There's also fable, stable, indistinguishable, unfashionable, uncontrollable, impressionable.. Those are just the first few words that popped up." You suggest, 

"Woah! You've got a big vocab there, cous'." Mabel said,

"Yeah, dude. You should help Mabel write this down." Soos said suddenly the growling noise from earlier can be heard; a flock of bird flies overhead, away from the sound. 

"This is it! This is it!" Dipper beamed, him and Mabel punching each other excitedly as they walk towards the sound. Soos grabs two large sticks and hands one to you, just in case. Walking through the fog, you stop the group when you spot a monster silhouette. Grabbing Dipper's arm and Soos grabs Mabel's, you duck behind a log nearby.

"Everyone: Get your camera's ready!" Dipper said, you turn on your camera. "Ready? GO!" Dipper yells. Soos yells and jumps over the log, holding his camera in front of him as he runs toward the silhouette, snapping photos at random. You three follow after him, but as you get closer, you discover the silhouette was the remains of a wrecked boat with beavers living on it. They were all communicating and hugging each other, you snapped a few quick photos of the beavers.

"But... but what was that noise, then? I heard a monster noise!" Dipper asked, clearly upset. The 'monster noise' sounds again. You turn to the noise and it turned out to be a beaver chewing on and sometimes activating a rusty old chainsaw.

"Sweet! Beaver with a chainsaw." Soos said, taking two pictures of it. "I'll give you the other one afterwards, dude." He said, you smiled gratefully at him. 

"Maybe that old guy was crazy after all." Dipper muttered, 

"He did use the word 'scrapdoodle'." Mabel muttered,

"Also donkey spittle, banjo polish, that and... " You faltered once you noticed they were staring at you. "I'll, uh. S-Sorry, I'll go with Soos." You stammered, feeling your face grow hot in embarrassment and run to Soos who pats your head to comfort you.

---

"Look, when you're threadin' the line--lot of people don't know this--but you wanna use a barrel knot." He then whispers, "That's a secret from one fishing buddy to another! Hehe." He explains to some poor kid on another boat.

"Uh, I, uh, who are you, exactly?" The poor boy nervously asked,

"Just call me your GRUNKLE STAN-"

"Sir, SIR, SIR! Why are you talking to our son? If you don't leave right now, I'm calling the police!" The boy's mother shouts, pulling her son away from Stan.

"Ha, ha, you see, the thing about that is.. " He said, nervously. Starting his motor and speeds away.

"Go bother your own kids!" The mother yelled.

---

"Ooh, yeah! Work it! Work it! Nice! Nice! Gimme another one of these! Yeah, I like that one." Soos compliments the beaver he was taking pictures of, as it was posing on a stump. 

You sat next to the twins, bored. Another beaver made it's way towards you, tilting it's head curiously and sniffs you. You turn to it, tilting your head at it as well. You held out your hand to pet it, it sniffs your hand and happily places it's head underneath it, letting you pet his head. The beaver crawled it's way into your lap and making itself at home. "Cutie.. " You mutter, continuing to pet it's head.

You hear Mabel scream and immediately carry the beaver, seeing the Gobblewonker's silhouette swimming away. "No way!" You gasp, running next to Dipper.

"This is it!" Dipper squeals, taking a picture. You grab his arm and gently pull him back. "Wh- Come on guys! This is our chance!" He said, Mabel and Soos back up and you continue to tug at his arm. "What's wrong with you guys?" Dipper asked.

"Dipper.. ?" "Dude...?" Mabel and Soos mutter, and you finally had enough and yank Dipper back, making him drop his camera.

"Wh- (Name)! Come on, It's not that hard, all right? All you gotta do is point, and shoot. Like this!" Dipper said, aiming his camera at the Gobblewonker and realizes it's right in front of him. The beast roars causing Dipper to drop his camera and the beaver climbs on your head and you pull Dipper away, running.

"Run!" Soos yells, the Gobblewonker pushes a tree over which falls and almost hits Dipper and Mabel, but Dipper lunges and Mabel and they roll out of the way, you slow down and grab the twins, helping them up. You continue to run and dodge falling trees and eventually catch up with Soos. 

"Get back to the boat! HURRY!" Soos shouts, the Gobblewonker snaps at Mabel who hops onto Soos's back. Dipper trips and drops another camera but you catch him, carrying him like this;

(I didn't know how to describe it so have a picture 😭)

"The picture!" Dipper yelled, 

"Dude, if it makes you feel any better, (Name) and I got tons of pictures of those beavers, dude!" Soos attempts to comfort him.

"We almost wasted a roll or two of film on them actually!" You added,

"WHY WOULD THAT MAKE ME FEEL BETTER?!" Dipper shouts back.

You finally arrived at the boat, the beaver still with you surprisingly. Soos lifts the twins off the boat and you help him push the boat back into the water. The twins help you up and you pull Soos up together and he runs towards the helm. "Let's get outta here, dudes!" He yells and drives the boat away backwards.

"Alright! This is it!" Dipper said, trying to take a picture "Cracked lens?! Soos! Get a photo!" He yelled only to see Soos throwing cameras at the monster. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Dipper shouts, 

"Oh! I still got one left! Don't worry, dude!" Soos answered, throwing a camera at Dipper but misses hitting the wall and breaking it instead. 

"(Name)! Do you have any cameras left?!" Dipper pleads. 

"Yeah but they're kind of filled with pictures of beavers! Sorry!" you apologized, checking all of your cameras for any space left. Dipper only sighs in disappointment. 

---

As Stan was struggling to tie a knot, a few yards away were Schmipper and Schmabel's boat.

"Can you pwease tell me mo'e funny stories, Pop Pop?" He asked his grandpa,

"Anything for my fishing buddies!" Pop pop laughs and pats his grandchildren on their heads, Stan growls at the sight.

"Pop pop? I just weewized dat... I wuv you." Schmipper admitted,

"Aw, come on! Boo! Boo!" Stan yells,

"Hey, now! What's the big idea?" Pop Pop confronts,

"Maybe he has no one who wuvs him, Pop Pop." Schmipper suggested,

"Yeah, well, I.. I... " Stan stammered when the S.S. Cool Dude drives past him and soaks him. He throws his hat to the ground in frustration, then sits down and sighs.

---

"SOOS! BEAVERS!" Dipper yells, the boat crashes into the old, broken boat and beavers fly everywhere, biting the boat and the crew.

"Ah, beavers! Oh, no!" Soos cried, there were beavers biting Dipper's hat, Mabel shakes a beaver off of her arm, you were trying to pull off your new beaver friend who was attacking another beaver that scratched you in the face, and another lunges at Soos, who stumbles away from the wheel. Mabel run to steer the boat while you chased after Soos, trying to help him out. Dipper throws the remaining beavers on board at the Gobblewonker.

"KUYA! Quit running!" You yelled, Soos stops running and yells,

"Sorry dude! It helps with the pain." He apologized, you pull the beaver that was latched onto his face while he held onto the railing of the boat. Once you pulled it off you threw it off the boat with the beaver landing on another fisher's boat. They stared at each other before the beaver attacks the fisher while he screams in pain. The boat drives through a place with people fishing, who are overturned by the Gobblewonker behind them. 

"Headlock!" Manly Dan said, headlocking a fish. His sons cheer him on when the boat is overturned by the wave from the Gobblewonker. Fish start raining down on them.

"The fishes! They seek revenge! Swim, boys! Swim!" Manly Dan shouts as the family frantically swims back to shore.

Back at the S.S. Cool Dude. The Gobblewonker swipes at the boat and manages to knock the control cabin off.

"Aah! Look out!" Mabel warned, 

"Easy... Easy... " The man said as he and another man transport a glass sheet by boat when the S.S. Cool Dude drives through it.

"My glass!" The other man cried.

"WHERE DO I GO!?" Mabel shouts, looking at the dead-end ahead. Dipper looks around and flips through the pages.

"Um... uh... GO INTO THE FALLS! I think there might be a cave behind there!" Dipper said, 

"MIGHT BE!?" You and Mabel yell back at him as you all scream. The boat goes through the waterfall and crashes into a cave behind, sending them into the dirt. Standing up, you see the Gobblewonker swim in and grab the twins' arms and back up only for it to get stuck in the cave entrance.

"It's stuck!" Mabel said,

"Haha! Yeah! Wait... It's stuck?" Dipper realized and searches for an extra camera, frantically. You lift Dipper's hat to reveal another camera, he laughs and takes several shots of the beast.

"Did'ja get a good one?" Mabel asked, 

"THEY'RE ALL GOOD ONES!" Dipper laughed, hugging you and Mabel.

"WOO! HAMSTER BALL!" Mabel and you cheered with Dipper. The Gobblewonker, still roaring, gets hit by a rock. It's head falls down with an electric noise.

"What the.. ?" Dipper blurted, walking up to the Gobblewonker and touches it's side. "Huh?" You quickly follow him as he steps on the Gobblewonker and knocks on it. It makes a hollow metalic sound.

"The hell?" You mutter, Dipper tries to climb the Gobblewonker and you push him up, climbing after him.

"Careful, dudes!" Soos warned,

"We got it, Soos!" You shout back as you climb over the Gobblewonker, Dipper then pops up from the other side.

"Hey, guys! Come check this out!" He calls out to them. You four discover a handle and turn it, causing steam to come out. You pull the trapdoor causing more steam to come out and find Old Man McGucket insde, controlling the machine.

"Work the bellows and the... Eh? Aww, banjo polish!" He curses, 

"Wha- Yo- You?! You made this? W-w-why?" Dipper questioned,

"Well, I... I, uh... I just wanted attention." McGucket cried,

"I still don't understand." Dipper said,

"Well, first I just hootenannied up a biochanical brain wave generator and then I learned to operate a stick-shift with ma beard!" McGucket explained,

"That's really cool and gross but like, why?" You asked,

"Well, when you get to be an old fella like ne, nobody pays any attention to you anymore." He answered, remembering to the time when he was outside his son's window with a baseball and gloves. His son, inside his office, closing his blinds. "My own son hasn't visited me in months! So I figured maybe I'd catch his fancy with a fifteen ton aquatic robot!" He laughs like a maniac, then sighs. "In, retrospect, it seems a bit contrived. You just don't know the length us old-timers go through for a little quality time with our family." McGucket finished explaining. You take off the hat Stan gave you and sigh,

"Dude, I guess the real lake monster here is you two. Heh." Soos said, the twins and you stare at him. "Sorry, that just like--boom--just popped into my head there."

"So, did you ever talk to your son about how you felt?" Mabel asked,

"No, sir, I got to work straight on the robut!" McGucket answered as a projector shows blueprints for the Gobblewonker on the trapdoor, "I made lots of robuts in my day!" He pushes button and projectors shows a newspaper with a robot pterodactyl breathing fire on a town and the word 'chaos', "Like when my wife left me and I created a homicidal pterodactyl-tron-" He pushed the button again and projectors shows a picture of a man, "-Or when my pal didn't come to my retirement party." he pushed the button again and projector shows another newspaper with a large robot terrorizing a town and the word 'disaster', "And I constructed an eighty ton SHAME BOT THAT EXPLODED THE ENTIRE DOWNTOWN AREA!" He laughs like a maniac, "Well, time to get back to work on my death ray!" McGucket finishes as he ducks into the Gobblewonker and construction noises can be heard from inside. "Any of you kids got a screwdriver?" He asked but proceeds to get ignored.

"Well, so much for the photo contest." Dipper sighed, taking out his last camera.

"You still have one roll of film left." Mabel points out,

"What do you you guys wanna do with it?" You asked, the twins look at you then at each other then the camera.

---

Stan with a defeated look, sighs as he drives his boat back to the shore. "Hey! Over here!" Dipper calls out as you drive by on the incredibly beat-up S.S. Cool Dude and both boats stop. Dipper takes a photo of Stan.

"What the-- Kids? I thought you two were off playing 'Spin the Bottle' with Soos" Stan said, you grimace at the thought.

"Well, we spent all day truing to find a 'legendary' dinosaur." Dipper started,

"But we realized, the only dinosaur we wanna hang out with is right here." Mabel said,

"Even if you're a big grump with some lame old jokes." You joked, earning an elbow jab from the smiling twins.

"Save your sympathy! I've been having a great time withoutcha'! Makin' friends, talkin' to my reflection-- I had a run-in with the lake police! Guess I gotta wear this ankle bracelet now, so that's fun." Grunkle Stan explained, 

"There's... Lake police..?" You asked, no one answered you.

"So... I guess there isn't room in that boat for three more?" Dipper asked, Stan glares you three. The twins put their hats on while you turned the hat around, showing your poorly stitched name. 

Stans expression softens as he asks, "You knuckleheads ever seen me thread a hook with my eyes closed?" 

"Five bucks says you can't do it!" Dipper bets,

"You're on!" Stan challenged as Dipper climbs into the Stan'o'war.

"Five more bucks says you can't do it with your eyes closed, plus me singing at the top of my lungs!" Mabel adds,

"Another five if you can do it in under 30 seconds!" You chimed in, Mabel climbing in with Soos and you following after.

"I like those odds!" Stan said, "Whoa! What happened to your shirt? And what's with the beaver?" He asked the shirtless Soos and you, completely forgetting about the beaver that's been hanging onto the back of your shirt.

"Huh, forgot you were there." You said, pulling the beaver off and carrying it instead.

"Long story, dude." Soos replied,

"Well, good thing we have several hours to explain everything!" You said, nudging Soos.

"All right, everybody get together. Say fishing!" Dipper said, a camera in his hands.

"Fishing!" You, Stan and Mabel said, Soos steps into the picture but only his belly shows.

"Dude, am I in the frame?" He asked.

Dipper takes pictures of the entire thing like Mabel covering Stan's eyes, you behind them with the beaver on your lap and phone in hand with a stopwatch, as Stan peeks and tries to thread a hook; Stan reading jokes while Mabel and Soos laugh, you obviously holding in your laugh with a hand covering with your mouth and your Beaver friend on your lap, munching a wooden plank; Stan and Mabel stealing fish from Smabel and her grandfather; The twins, you and Stan driving away from the lake police. As Stan drives the boat, the boat shakes.

"Whoa!" Mabel yelped,

"What was that?" Dipper asked, Mabel shrugs and they lean back into their seats. Stan drives back to shore and you all get off,

"Uh, kid. The beaver." Stan points out, you look down at the beaver in your arms, happily snuggling into you.

"But-" You tried to reason,

"Kid, it's a wild animal and known for eating wood, which the shack is made of." He states, you frown and look back at the beaver who is staring at you curiously. You sigh, and walk back to water and gently drop it in.

"Sorry little guy, you can't come with." You apologized, petting it's head. As you stand up, it bites on your pant leg and pulls you back.

"Oh no no no no no no." You panic, trying to push it back as gently as you can. "Come on, little guy! You can't do this!" You cry, everyone at the car watches with a grimace before Stan has enough and runs up to you.

"Okay, you know what? SCRAM!" Grunkle Stan shouts at the beaver scaring it and it quickly swims away. You wave goodbye at it's retreating figure, sighing, and walk to the car. Everyone looks at each other sadly and they get in, as you waited for Stan to start the car, you heard the trunk open and shut with Stan just coming in.

The sun just set and the drive was quiet. Mabel and Dipper were asleep in the back and Stan dropped Soos off at his place. You were staring out the window. Stan glances at you then back at the road, "Uh, heh. Crazy day, right?" He asked, nervously. You only replied with a hum and a shrug, too tired to talk.

You arrived back at the Shack, was outside and led the sleepy twins back into the house. You went to help Stan out with carrying the fishing stuff back when he handed you a paper bag. "Here, looked like you were pretty upset back there." He said, you raise a brow at him and opened the bag.

"What?" You muttered, pulling out a stuffed beaver. 

"There was a gift shop nearby and you looked really bummed out." He explained, carrying the fishing stuff back to the house. 

You run up to him, hugging the plush. "T-Thanks, I, uh.. I really appreciate it." You grinned, Stan rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, it's whatever. Didn't want'cha cryin' about it to your 'ma." He teased, you laugh and look back at the plushie with a wide smile. Stan glances at you and sees you stroking the plush with your thumb and hug it again. You greet Elise with a hug and run upstairs to get ready for bed. Elise shuts the door for Stan as he drops the stuff next to the coffee table and drapes himself over the couch.

"Say, where'd (Name) get the toy from?" Elise teased with a smile, leaning on the couch.

"Don't talk about it." Stan groans.

━━┃ ? ┃━━

A/N: Surprise! You guys have motion sickness AND a small bonding time with your Grandpa Stan! You guys were also supposed to get easily sea sick but I completely forgot because of all the action 0(-(

WC: 6638 😭

[kyracanwrite]

Word count; 900+

(I made these on wattpad a few years ago so don’t mind the weird ooc writing lmao)

You’re on your period.

Bill;

-You were cramping really bad, so you skipped school.

-He got worried and biked over to your house, praying you were okay.

-He knocked on the door and you opened it, wrapped in a blanket.

-"Oh, hey Billy. What's wrong?"

-"A-Are You oh-okay?"

-"Yeah... Im just..... Cramping..."

-Was confused at first but soon realized.

-"D-Do you wa-want ch-chocolate?"

-"Yes please." You smiled.

-He got you chocolate and a warm water bottle.

-He rubbed your stomach and cuddled you for the rest of the day.

(I need a bill and I ain’t talking money💀😭)

Eddie;

-You haven't been acting like yourself. Lots of mood swings, closing yourself off from other people.

-He got worried.

-You were in the cafeteria and you had your head in your folded arms, not eating.

-Eddie thought this was a reason for concern.

-He asked if you were okay and you told him it was just your period and hormones.

-After school he went to the pharmacy.

-He bought women's products and candy.

-He showed up to your house with a bag.

-"Hey Eds, what's in the bag?" You smiled and raised a brow.

-"Hey N/n. I got you some stuff. Can I come in?"

-"Sure. Come in."

-You ate some of the candy and cuddled with him, while watching movies.

Richie;

-You would normally be in a flirty and joking mood, but today you weren't.

-You were quiet and unresponsive.

-Bev knew what was going on, but the boys were confused and concerned.

-Bev told them you were fine and the other boys shrugged it off, except for Richie.

-After class he asked if you were okay.

-You told him about periods.

-You thought he'd joke about it, surprisingly he didn't.

-He didn't think it was gross, since it was normal, he just felt bad you had to go through that.

-He offered to relax with you.

-Obviously you accepted.

-As soon as you were off he went to the arcade with you.

Stanley;

-He overheard you talking to your best friend, Bev, about it.

-He got flustered and avoided you for the day at school.

- You got upset and confronted him about it.

-"I-I'm sorry I just didn't wanna make you upset by saying something stupid o-o-or-"

-"Stan, you could never make me upset. Even when i'm on my period." You giggled.

-That relieved him, So you hung out and talked about birds for a little.

Ben;

-He found out because he saw you bring period products into the bathroom.

-You had really bad cramps so you sat down at P.E.

-He acted like he didn't know about your period, but after school he went to the pharmacy and bought you tampons, pads, etc, your favorite candy, and medicine for the pain.

-He put it in a cute picnic basket, with a tiny blanket over it.

-He put a poem about you on the top.

-He placed the basket on the doorstep, knocked, and hid in a bush.

-He was really nervous, but once he saw you open the door and take it inside with a smile the nerves went away.

-You immediately knew who it was from, making you smile and blush.

-You never confronted him about it until you saw each other when you were older. (In chapter 2)

-(You kept the poem, blanket,  and basket forever)

Mike;

-He looked at you when you had your back turned and there was blood on your pants.

-He knew what it was from so he tapped you on the back.

-He let you know quietly, to save you from embarrassment.

-"Hey.... N/n.... You- uh... You have blood on your pants" he whispered.

-Your eyes widened and you covered your mouth to stop from screaming in mental pain. (Same)

-He rubbed your shoulder and then took off his jacket.

-"Here, wrap this around yourself."

-You wrapped it around your waist and jumped in his arms, hugging him tightly.

-"Thank you!" you cried.

-You were so glad he saved you from embarrassment.

-You kissed his cheek, making him smile brightly.

-The next day he saw you wearing his jacket.

-When you bumped into him you were embarrassed.

-"I was gonna give it back but it was comfy.." you mumbled, blushing.

-"Keep it." he smiled.

Beverly;

-You told her about it and she immediately understood your pain.

-She had gotten hers a few months before you, so she knew what to do.

-She got some of her favorite products and chocolate.

-"Thank you, Bev." You smiled.

-"No problem, N/n."

-You cuddled and she rubbed your cramping stomach.

-She brought you a warm water bottle and put it on your stomach.

-You both fell asleep in your bed, and your mom walked in on you.

-She smiled at you two cuddling. She always assumed you both had something for each other, you both just hadn't found out your feelings yet.

-She wrapped you both in a blanket and let Bev sleep over.

-Your mom told her dad about Bev staying over, which he didn't mind because you're a girl.

-Unbeknownst to your mom, she saved Bev a beating.

-You were glad it was your mom who found you because your dad is homophobic and he beats you and your mom.

-Your father would have assumed you were gay, which you are, and beat you.

———————

Like my writing? Go here for my masterlist <33

[infinite-wanders]

After the Storm,

Something Was Born...

• Never Have I Ever ... opened a text book •

As told by Devi Vishwakumar.

The final chapter can be found under the cut / Ao3.

CH 5 - HIS GIRL FRIDAY

"Devi, are you almost finished?” Nalini called out from downstairs. “Dinner will be ready soon.”

“Almost done,” she yelled back.

Devi wished she could ask Paxton to stay, but they were both looking at each other knowing what Nalini's answer would be.

“I should go anyway. I told Rebecca I’d drive her home from work,” he said, quickly excusing himself. “Thanks again for today.”

“Of course,” Devi smiled fondly as she led Paxton downstairs.

“Bye,” waved Pati from the kitchen, while Nalini watched them sternly all the way to the front door. He waved back at Pati with a small smile.

“Bye, Dr Vishwakumar,” he nodded seriously towards Nalini. “See you tomorrow, Devi.”

After closing the front door, Devi turned to see her mother looking at her with raised eyebrows, while Pati was grinning like a school girl. Having Pati the past couple weeks as the buffer between her and her mother was a double-edged sword of comfort and a painful reminder that her dad was no longer around to be their peace-maker.

“So - how much longer will you be tutoring, Mr. Community College?” 

“You know his name, Mom! I really wish you would be nicer to Paxton. An apology for calling him an idiot would be a start,” Devi defends vehemently.

Nalini doesn’t flinch. “If he’s not an idiot. Then why does he need tutoring?”

“Because, his accident meant he lost his swimming scholarship!”

“You better just be tutoring and not be kissing him again,” warned Nalini.

“Mom! You don’t have to worry about that anymore. We're just friends.”

“What do you mean anymore? I thought you said you were just tutoring him.”

“I can still be friends with people I tutor.”

“That’s not how friends look at each other,” Nalini replies dismissively.

Devi could feel her mom’s eyes burrowing into her soul. She forced her best poker face on and held on tight to her inner truths she had been working hard to hide. If only her mother knew why there was no chance Paxton would be kissing her any time soon. Maybe in seven years when they run in to each other randomly at a Los Angeles bar. Devi quickly brushed aside that hopeful image, and brought herself back to the present.

“You’ve been mean to Paxton ever since you met him. Why, Mom? But you invite Ben over to dinner when I wasn’t even friends with him!”

“Ah yes, Benjamin Gross. Another boy who I caught you kissing,” Nailini scoffs, deflecting her accusations.

Devi reaches for her phone, grasping tight to the device that held her father’s voicemail. 

“Why are you the way you are!?” she says frustrated.

“Ooo Devi, you have two boyfriends ha?” coos Nirmala.

“No, I don’t Pati,” Devi replies flatly, trying her best not to snap. I have zero boyfriends.

“Okay, I think we’ve had enough drama for tonight. End of discussion, Devi.”

“Fine. Excuse me a moment. I need the ladies' room,” she said, rushing to the bathroom so she could listen to her dad’s voice again.

---

The next morning, Devi left early so she could meet Paxton for last minute revision.

“Are you okay? You seem … tired,” Paxton asked hesitantly. “Should I have been up studying too? Like I tried to stay up but I fell asleep cause it was so boring without you.”

Why does he make it so hard to not like him?

“I just didn’t sleep the best,” she smiled mid-yawn.

“Wanna talk about it?” 

“Not this morning. Just stuff with my mom. You don’t have to be nice to me.”

“Sure. Well, if you change your mind.”

Devi gave him a grateful nod, then continued to quiz him.

---

Once the bell rang for first period, they kept practicing as they made their way to Facing History.

“The Warsaw Pact, and that’s a fact. See? I can rap too,” Paxton answers smugly.

“Quality rapping,” she smirked. That was the dorkiest thing he has ever said. Devi was feeling lighter again, the angst of last night’s discussion melting away. “Okay, who was the first American man in space?”

“Wait we had a trick for this one. Uh...  space, the moon, counting sheep, shepherd. Alan Shepard!”

Okay two-for-two.

“How long was the Cuban Missile Crisis?”

“Twelve days!" Paxton responded confidently.

So close! Devi pinched his arm instinctively at his incorrect answer. She tried not to feel bad as he cried out in grimace. Overbearing Indian mother time.

“You just brought shame to your whole family. Why can't you be more like your cousin? Hmm? Hmm?” Devi performing a phrase she knew all too well from her mother.

“My cousin works at a weed dispensary?” Paxton replied confused.

“Well, let me just dispense some knowledge into your brain. It was thirteen days,” she replied to which he became deflated.

“Hey, it’s okay. You got this.” Giving him one last reassuring pat on his arm before heading into class.

---

It was nice to have Paxton back sitting in his usual chair in front of her, but Devi couldn’t let her mind wander during any test. She was up to answering the outcome of the Arms Race when a commotion ahead breaks her concentration and she sees Paxton rushing out of his seat into the hallway. Her chest tightens, worrying what went wrong. Finish the test, then you can go find him. She rushed through but was still confident she would get an A. Her focus on finding Paxton meant she barely noticed Ben watching her with an annoyed expression as she hands her test in early to Mr. Shapiro.

Devi heads towards his locker hoping to catch him there, but finds Paxton sitting on the staircase looking miserable. "Hey are you okay? What happened?”

Hearing him describe his racing heart and short breath reminded her that he was not invincible to the woes of high school. Before getting to know Paxton, she had always seen him as this confident God, where everything came easy to him. Seeing him vulnerable and unsure made her feel a mutual kinship she hadn’t expected.

“I think you had a little panic attack,” she explained gently.

“I... I used to get nervous before swim meets, but I mean once I hit the water it went away, because I knew I was good at it.”

“Well, you can be good at school too. You just need to practice. I mean were you good at the butterfly the first time you tried it?”

“Yeah. I set a school record,” he answered. Amazed, she took a moment to absorb this fact.

“Oh. Wow. That’s famously a very hard stroke.”

“Not for me,” Paxton shrugged casually. 

“Okay, Michael Phelps, chill.”

 

Although Paxton was feeling awful about failing the test, Devi explained that it was a good thing and showed that he actually cared. For someone who initially was so apathetic to school, it brought Devi some comfort to know that Paxton was not the complete opposite of her as she initially thought. 

“Well, it’s a good thing you have a pushy Indian mother,” Devi grins cheekily. “Get up. Let’s go. I want to talk to your teacher. Are you deaf? Get up! Let's go!”

“Okay. Okay,” Paxton laughs at her playfully barking orders. 

Devi always worried she would turn into her mother, but in Paxton’s moment of need, she could see the positive. She knew how to fix this for him.

“Mr. Shapiro,” Devi calls out as they catch him walking out of class. “Paxton would like to retake his test.”

Mr. Shapiro looks at them both uncertainly, “I’m sorry, guys. That wouldn't be fair to the other students.”

Okay, you asked for it Mr. S. Time to channel my inner Eleanor.

“Mr. Shapiro, because you bowed to the establishment, Paxton was besieged by a crisis of self-worth. If you don't give him a second chance, you're teaching him that it is not okay for young men to be vulnerable, and are therefore furthering the agenda of toxic masculinity,” Devi sobs dramatically, choking up towards the end for impact.

“Yeah,” agrees Paxton. Devi has to keep face at his confused expression to her theatrics, which evidently have worked.

“Oh my god. Am I?" gasps Mr. Shapiro. “Thank you for calling me in, Devi.”

Paxtons face lights up at Mr. Shapiro agreeing to give him re-take his test. He turns to Devi in happy disbelief, “Oh, what was that?”

“First rule of being an honors student, you have to learn how to manipulate your teacher. Mrs. Paloma gives me a Christmas gift every year,” Devi smirks proudly, and they both chuckle.

“Okay, so you’ve got a second chance. Don’t worry that it’s not multiple choice. We’ve studied all the answers. If you start to panic again, just breath okay.” 

Devi unconsciously had reached for his hand to reassure him. She looked at him in horror and pulled back upon her realisation. To her surprise, Paxton was not mirroring her current expression.

“Thanks, Vishwakumar,” he smiles back.

---

Paxton texted her to come over after school so he could share his test results. He seemed excited so Devi took it as a sign that he hadn’t fail. She was a pro tutor after all.

“What’s poppin’?” she announced, letting herself into his garage.

“Yo!” 

“I brought some tarts for my favorite tutee.”

Past Devi would have faltered whenever she complimented him or showed affection. It was nice to be at this comfortable place again after the storms they had been through. Catching the bag, he ripped into them and took a bite.

“Thank you. Mmm... these hit different when you earn them. Check it out,” says Paxton, proudly flashing his AP history test with a red B on top.

“You got a B!" Devi exclaims happily, pulled the test from his grasp.

“I got a B!”

“That’s sick,” Devi beamed with pride. Her heart swells as he thanks her for pushing him. “Of course. I mean, I sort of owe you for the fact that you got hit by a car."

Paxton nodded, his bright smile slowly fading. Why did I bring that up? You got too comfortable, Devi, too comfortable!  

Since they were on topic, it felt like her best opportunity to make sure he knew how sorry she was. “And the other thing... ”

“Yeah, the other thing,” he acknowledged sadly. “We really don't need to talk about that.”

Devi could see Paxton's wall coming up. Back to square one, Devi. You had to push.

“We're cool,” says Paxton.

Or maybe she was tearing this wall down!

The weight of her guilt lifted and she was floating again. “Really? Wow. That's a relief.”

“Yeah. I mean, it’s … it’s crazy when you think about it, right? You and me? I mean, there's no way it would've worked out,” he chuckles. “I mean, we just don't make any sense, you know?”

And there it was. In one breath, Paxton Hall-Yoshida had plunged a verbal knife into her heart and with one last twist sealed their romantic fate.

“Uh... right. Right,” she replies in forced agreement. She was crazy to have ever thought he would be her boyfriend. Crazy Devi.

Devi hoped the tightness in her voice wouldn’t give away how shattered she was at hearing him validate all previous doubts. “Tutor and tutee seem like a much more natural relationship between us.” 

“Exactly,” he concurred. “So, would you maybe want to sign my cast?”

Devi had grown accustomed to having Paxton in her life. She would respect his decision and treasure his friendship over no relationship.

“It’s kind of crowded. I see Zoe Maytag wasn’t overly concerned with leaving room for others,” she says, shuffling closer and grabbing a marker.

“That’s Zoe,” he laughs.

“I’m not surprised.”

“It’s cool that you’re not afraid to speak your mind,” he smiles fondly.

“Like that’s helped me. I’m sure that’s what every guy ranks as their top quality when looking for a girlfriend,” she laughs sarcastically, as she signs her name.

Devi immediately scolds herself for saying her thoughts out loud. Panicked she grabs her backpack and lamely tried to cover her tracks.

“I mean, I’m joking. I don’t know why I said that. Anyway, I have to get going. So … see you Monday, Paxton!”

She leaves so quickly, she misses Paxton slump back into the lounge.

"See you Monday, Devi," he mumbles sadly at where she left her mark on his cast.

[viscountessevie]

7, 20, 22 please 👀

Salty Bridgerton Asks Let's Go!!

Just wanna put out a blanket statement that these are all my thoughts and of course a mix of my own observations and perceptions of the show, the fandom's interaction with the show and influenced by some of my fave blogs that share similar sentiments. And before I get the 'not all of us are like that!!" asks, just wanna say rn that when I mention the 'fandom' I mean the general consesus and 'popular' opinion and perception of a ship/character/scene. Anyways let's get to it! It gets a little long so answers under the cut:

7. Is there anything you used to like but can't stand now?

Let's start mild, while I have another character in mind I know she'll be my answer for a lot of these asks so I'm going focus on Saphne for romance/ships and the way the show has been trying to handle social issues.

I really loved their dynamic in the show (so I watched the show first before discovering it was based on books) and my initial reaction to them has been reaffirmed by reading TDAI for the first time recently. They honestly have so much potential - no they hit the potential but JQ really said I'm going to ruin these characters (well this is more directed at Daph but Book!Simon during their main conflict wasn't great either) and their love story. CVD didn't do Show!Saphne any favours for keeping that scene in and then doubling down on that narrative choice as a female empowerment for Daphne like no sir that was gross and disgusting and should have been left on the cutting room floor. (I can go on a whole spiel about how I would have changed or reframed that scene and conflict but I think I might make a separate post for that using Qn 16)

This is getting long and is only the first qn oops but as for the social issues: I was kind of excited about personal issues and trauma being covered. Especially with Simon's Daddy Issues and stutter! I still maintain mans should have had it well into his adulthood just like in the books. However, they massively dropped the ball with the throwaway race line between Lady D and Simon. And now I despise that they are making it a bigger thing to address via the India plotline with the Sharmas. Like CVD it's not that deep, let us have our colour blind casting and utopia fantasy!

20. What is the purest ship in the fandom?

Trick question! This is a HR book series so all the couples have steamy scenes and are nasty in the best way.

Okay so this initially reads as a wholesome question but I remember these are salty asks 😂 so I'm going to take pure as in purist culture and I'm going to interpret it as the ship that the fandom babies and woobifies.

I think this might fall to two ships in the fandom to be honest. Benophie and Polin. We all have seen how defensive Polin stans get over their ship. If you've been on my blog long enough, you may have recently seen all the thoughts from other blogs I have reblogged on them so I don't want to repeat all of that. However, the gist is that the larger fandom and especially most of their stans insist neither Pen or Colin can do no wrong and will literally let them get away with murder...we've already see it happen with Penelope so 😬

About Benophie: I thought more on this and answer this with the second point of which ship the fandom woobifies in mind. While it's not obvious because the Benophie fans can seem far and few, I do realise that some of the fans infantalise Sophie at times. This leads to babying both Ben and Soph as individuals and a couple. And from my personal pov, it comes across as setting them up as a 'pure' couple because they don't really get up to anything steamy until a love confession (it's been a while since I read AOFAG so please correct me if I'm wrong!)

Honestly this perception of the ship isn't a bad thing! Just something to mindful of especially when accidentally infantalising Sophie and diminishing her agency in escaping her abusive situation. As for Ben, guys I know Luke T made him hella charming but Book!Ben was far from it and we shouldn't let Book!Ben off the hook so easily for being so pushy in the book.

22. Popular Character You Hate

If you know, you know 👀 but for those who are new to my blog, it's Show!Penelope and I specify cos Book!Pen is pretty harmless and relatable sometimes as an introvert writer

Bring On The Salty Questions Asked & Answered

[btsslowburnfic]

Born to be Yours Ch. 10

Story Summary: For Namjoon, the moment he set his sights on being the #1 rapper, he pushed the symbol to the side and hated it. Love should be chosen, not forced on you. He didn’t believe in fate and this mark on his wrist was a big “fuck you” to all that.

Chapter summary: Life after you and RM part ways goes back to normal until an accident changes everything

Previous chapters found here: Chapter 9

You are surprised that life does in fact go back to normal. You and Xavier make up and get back to working with smaller local groups after the awards season ends. Things with you and Ben get back to normal; you become a master of using heavy foundation on your soulmark when you’re at home. The summer tour is amazing. You and Xavier traveled to 32 states in 4 months. You find yourself following Twitter and Weverse to see what RM is up to. And you sometimes found yourself thinking about that night the two of you spent together. You mostly try to push it out of your mind though. Even though you told Xavier and he randomly brings it up.

“Right here? On this desk!?!” he asks, running his hands over the surface.

“Yes. And don’t do that, it’s weird and gross.”

“How was it? Describe it to me again.”

You chuckle a bit and roll your eyes, “No. I told you once so I could get it out of my system.”

“Ughhh you’re so boring.” he whines playfully.

“Shouldn’t you be reprimanding me about being a terrible cheating slut?” you raise an eyebrow.

“No. I ship that shit.” he responds, sipping on a smoothie. “Have you eaten yet?” he asks

You laugh and look through your phone. “No, I had a zoom meeting with Gina at noon and then I covered spinning class.” You press some buttons on your screen. “There. I just ordered. I’ll see you in a while.” You stand up and put your flip flops back on.

“Sounds good. I’ll see you in pilates tonight.”

You toss your bag over your shoulder and put your sunglasses on as you step out the door. You look both ways and start to cross the street as you hear a screeching sound. The next thing you hear and feel is the sickening crunch of bone hitting glass. Tires screeching away and then everything is black.

----------------

Namjoon occasionally finds himself thinking about you. Mostly when he accidentally slams his body into a door frame or cuts his finger. He always says he’s sorry and then kind of feels like an idiot for apologizing to no one. He also thinks about the night the two of you shared together quite often and had made Jhope send him those photos he took.

He’s happy to be working and on tour again. It’s been a fun summer. They wrapped up the Asia portion of their journey and were well into Europe now. As usual, the filming crew was in the green room as they were preparing for their second night at Wembley. The first night had been amazing. He couldn’t think of anything that made him happier than being in front of ARMY, especially when they were singing along to the songs he wrote. He smiled as he scrolled through his phone while he had his makeup touched up. 

“10 minutes, 10 minutes.” Management called out.

“Alright guys, let’s get it.” he yells through the green room.

They gather around and do their chant. The minute they step out of the green room they can hear the fans roaring and cheering along to the pre-show videos. They each go to their respective starting positions and wait to hear the signal. 

They open quick and fast with “On” and the crowd is absolutely pumped. They begin their second song and will then introduce themselves. The music for “Dionysus” begins to play and the elaborate set pieces are added throughout the song. They are almost to the end of Dionysus when RM goes down hard. He falls off the table. People are gasping, Jin runs over and signals to the staff on the side of the stage that something is very wrong. ARMY and BTS are freaking out. The visual director quickly puts a message onto the big screens to please wait a moment. The medical staff immediately takes the lift up to the main backstage area. The obvious damage is a cut on his arm that took the brunt of the fall from the table, but that gash can’t account for the fact that he’s unconscious and breathing shallowly. There is a rush of oxygen masks and people yelling. Jimin and JK start crying, the other guys are freaked out about the show and what to do next. Jin rises to the occasion by asking if they should go ahead and skip to his and Suga’s solos until there is more information. A decision is quickly made to begin the solo portions. The two of them quickly change costumes and prepare to go out. An ambulance ends up needing to be called. The guys decide that Namjoon would want the show to go on and so they do. It’s ugly and weird and they are unfocused but they manage through it. ARMY is crying for RM because they know it’s bad when he doesn’t come back on stage. They skip the ments and encore and  the guys are immediately loaded into vans and transported to the private health facility that he’s been taken to. 

The staff escorts the six of them to a room where they wait for a doctor to come and speak to them. A translator is located and brought in as well.

“What happened? Did anybody see what happened before he fell?” Hoseok asks.

“He was fine. I didn’t notice anything strange.” Tae responds. 

“They took video and showed the doctor,”Yoongi adds, having overheard the staff on the way there.

After a few minutes a doctor comes in. “Hello Gentleman. Your friend is in good hands here, and is stable.” she reassures them. 

There is a collective sigh from the group as they hear this news.

“However, we aren’t sure what’s causing this condition. There is no evidence of an aneurysm on the CT scan and the video doesn't show any seizure-like activity prior to the fall. His heart is in excellent shape as well as his lungs. At this point we are running more tests but we do need to ask you all some questions here. Please answer honestly. Does your friend use any drugs? Even maybe extra prescription medication?”

It takes a few seconds for the translator to relay the message and the guys’ reactions range from anger to disbelief. Jin is up on his feet shouting about how they should be focusing on fixing Namjoon rather than gossiping, Jimin is crying more. It’s a mess.

“Calm down guys, it’s a standard question,” Yoongi says stoically. “She’s not trying to be rude.”

“No. He drinks beer and wine sometimes. But no. He’s not on any drugs.  That’s ridiculous.” Jungkook summarizes.

“I’m sorry, it’s something I do have to ask. Is there anything else you guys could think of that might be pertinent? An old injury? Something he did earlier today or ate that he doesn’t usually?”

The guys all sat there for a minute. It was Jin who made the connection first: “His soulmate. She lives in LA.”

Tae’s hand flew to his phone to make a phone call.. The next few things happened over the course of a few hours: a phone call to Hitman Bang to get Gina’s contact information. Several phone calls to Gina. Calls from Gina to you. No answer. Phone calls to Xavier. No answer. Xavier calling Gina back hysterically sobbing that you were in a coma with a skull fracture and blood loss, Gina crying, Gina having someone else call Hitman Bang because she couldn’t stop sobbing, Hitman Bang calling Tae back.

The doctor was updated on the situation. “Ah...well that would explain it. Were the two of them very close?” she asks delicately.

It’s highly inappropriate but Yoongi just laughs, “No. They met one time .”

The doctor raised her eyebrows, “Oh. Well that’s unusual.”

“If she dies, will he die too?” Jimin asks quietly with tears in his eyes.

“No. And especially not if they weren’t close. I need to consult with some colleagues on this before we proceed. If you all want to go get some rest I think he’s going to be like this for a while. We can call you if anything changes.” the doctor informs them.

They are uneasy about leaving Namjoon there so they split up into groups of two to take turns. Jin and JK take the first shift at the care facility.

 ----------------

The doctor reaches out to several colleagues who are familiar with more case studies of soul mate injuries and what to do when there is a mirrored trauma response. She gets permission from RM’s parents (who have flown to London as well at this point) to try a reverse cryogenic procedure to restart his systems. Basically, they will bring his body down to an almost hypothermic point and slowly reheat him, encouraging cell regeneration and movement. It has been successful in similar cases, but it is a slow procedure that needs to be carefully monitored. 

Meanwhile, social media is having a field day about what could have happened. BigHit put out that story that RM has developed a severe allergic reaction to shellfish and went into anaphylaxis on the stage; he was administered an epi-pen and hospitalized but is now resting and recovering. The rest of the guys give interviews to back up this story as well. 48 hours after the incident began, RM is slowly regaining consciousness. 

“What happened? I feel like someone is opening up my skull with a pair of pliers.” he asks the doctor.

“I’m sorry but your soulmate was in a very bad car accident. She’s in a coma and you suffered a mirrored trauma response. I’m going to go let your friends and family know you’re awake.” 

“Shit.” RM says, really taking in everything that was just said to him. 

Jin is the first one in the room. “Hey. You’re finally awake. We were so worried.”

“How long have I been out for?”

“2 days.”

“Shit. What happened with the concert? Is everything ok? Oh God. What did they tell people?”

“One thing at a time.” Yoongi said as he entered the room. “We finished the show. The tour is postponed for at least a few weeks. We told people you had an allergic reaction.”

RM visibly relaxed but was still upset about the show. “Those fans have to be so disappointed.”

“Yeah, but they want you to be well. There’s thousands of flowers and cards being left at Wembley and so many messages on Weverse. We’ll make the dates up when you’re better. ARMY understands. It’s not your fault.”

“No, it’s [Y/N]’s fault.” he says briskly. 

“I mean. She got flattened by a car. So, not really.” Tae added.”She’s in an actual coma. They can;'t just reheat her.” he was surprised by how cold RM sounded talking about his soulmate.

“You’re right. I’m just...it’s a lot. My head still hurts and I guess I just want someone to blame.”

“Blame the asshole who hit her,” Yoongi adds.

“Yeah. I will. I’m so tired.”

“Here, we’ll leave so you can talk to your parents for a minute before you rest.”

“My parents flew in?” he says surprised.

“We thought you were going to die,” Jimin says seriously. “Your sister is on her way here too.”

Rm laid his head back against his pillow. This is exactly the kind of soulmate bullshit he’s been trying to avoid. And you were in a coma. He stopped for a minute and thought about how scary it must be for you but he won’t allow himself to dwell on it. He’s getting his soul mark obliterated as soon as you wake up from your coma and sign off on it. If you wake up from it. Shit. 

----

24 hours later he is discharged from the hospital and decides to book a flight to LA to see what your doctors are doing about rectifying this situation. He can’t shake the massive headache and leg pain that he’s still experiencing constantly. He cannot perform like this. Also he’s looked into the legal status of soulmark obliteration if one party is a permanently vegetative state and what counts as legal consent. Because of course he has. The guys all talk and decide that Tae will go along with him for support. Really it’s to be the voice of reason because they can’t believe that rather than going to see how you’re doing, he is going to ask you to remove your mark. 

------------

RM knows what hospital you are at because his doctor consulted with yours in order to determine the best course of treatment. You doctor was hoping that once RM woke up, you would show signs of improvement. So far though, there wasn’t a lot on your end.

Ben and Xavier dutifully took shifts staying with you in the hospital. On this particular night, Ben is taking the night shift, walking back from the vending machines. He stops when he sees two dudes who look like models standing outside your door.

“Hey. Are you guys friends with [Y/N]? You must be from the studio. I don’t think we’ve met before. I'm Ben” Ben is tired but tries to be friendly.

Tae and Namjoon turn and look to him. Ben. Ben must be her boyfriend. 

“Actually we’re from one of the bands she worked with. I’m Namjoon and this is Taehyung. You must be her boyfriend?”

“Fiance actually,” Ben politely corrects. “Just a few weeks ago actually,” he awkwardly laughs. “But then this all happened. You know the asshole didn’t even stop?” 

Tae feels extremely awkward. He can understand a small bit of what’s going on, but he knows that what’s coming will be very difficult for everyone.

“That’s awful. How is she doing?”

“Bad. Stable. But, bad. She lost a lot of blood and hit her head pretty hard. They’re surprised she didn’t have any broken bones other than her skull fracture. She dislocated her shoulder when it hit the hood. The guy was definitely speeding.” Ben runs a hand through his hair. “Sorry if you were hoping to visit.”

RM awkwardly runs his hands up and down his jeans. There is not an easy way to say this.

“So. You know that [Y/N] has a soulmark on her wrist?”

Ben stiffens ever so slightly, “I do. But it’s ok. We don’t really care about that whole destiny thing. It’s unconventional but you know…” he trails off.

RM takes a deep breath and rolls up his sleeve. “I have the matching soulmark. I was in a coma for 2 days. I need to speak to her doctor immediately.” NEXT CHAPTER

[luvskywalker]

prideful piloting- ch 3

warnings: gets a little.. risqué, some unwanted advances, language probably

word count: about 1.8k

series masterlist !!

a/n: hi!! sorry it’s been a bit, ive been putting this one off for a while! hope you enjoy, there’s more poe in the next chapter btw :)

you were preparing to leave on your mission extremely early in the morning, it was quite a simple task. you were assigned a trip to coruscant, formerly an imperial hotspot in the first galactic civil war, and now run by the first order. the black squadron was the only group on this mission in order for you all to lay low. the assignment was to gather intel on what the first order was currently scavenging the galaxy for, because it seemed to be of great importance. your target was a general shalzar and your squadron would enter the fancy club he was set to attend in order obtain as much intel as you could. you approached the unmarked ship you were to take to coruscant, inspecting the exterior of the simple silver ship. walking up to the entrance of the ship, your departure was interrupted by damerons droid. the beeping and whirring of bb-8 made you pause your movements and turn around to see what he was fussing about. you were met with not only the droid, but also it’s owner.

“dameron?” you questioned, surprise evident in your speech.

“just wanted to wish you good luck” he grabbed your hand and shook it, adding a small pat as encouragement. he seemed sincere and for once in his life, not outrageously irritating.

“thank you.” you found his touch to be overwhelming, but you didn’t know why. you quickly pulled your hand away from his, and nodded his way hoping he would take the queue and leave. he did.

you then entered the ship, (and tried not to dwell on the strange interaction you just had with dameron) making your way to the cockpit to start on your pre-flight checks.

you turned on your comlink before departing d’qar, checking in on the squadron. you were all to leave at separate times in order to remain inconspicuous.

“this is admiral (l/n), departing now.”

your squadron all responded with acknowledgment, so you continued.

“remember, the mission information and your temporary identification are all on your data pad. i’ll see you all at the rendezvous.”

“glad to have you back admiral.” was the comment that caught your attention.

“glad to be back” you responded with a smile before turning your comm back off.

you took off, abandoning the jungle planet and setting route for coruscant, giddy to be back in an x-wing.

eventually, the full black squadron made their way to the rendezvous point. you were all dressed in the best clothes the resistance budget would allow, an attempt to camouflage in the high profile club. you entered the room, quickly spotting the general you needed information out of. you discreetly pressed the com hidden in your earring.

“i’ve got eyes. if things go bad do not tell them you are resistance. if i get taken just let me go.”

you couldn’t allow anyone else to get captured. if they got you, they’d bring you to kylo ren, and you knew how to deal with him.

you received acknowledgment from the squadron, and you put your personal plan into motion, which was to seduce general shalazar. he wasn’t too slimy looking, quite young and if he weren’t first order you may think him attractive. you watched him discreetly, and knew that all you had to do was make yourself look willing. when he finally met your glance you did your best to capture his his attention. you smiled at him, bit your lip, and twirled your hair, before winking and quickly glancing away. flirty, but not too seductive, something you know a man like him would fall for. you saw the general dismiss the troopers around him before sauntering over to you in your peripheral vision.

“what’s such a lovely lady like you doing all alone in a place like this?” could the man be any more predictable? it was nearly infuriating but you knew you had to play along.

“hoping for someone like you to join her” you gave him your best smile, twirling your hair again.

“good thing i did then, let me buy you a drink.”

“only if you get one too” you faked bashfulness. you had to get some alcohol in him, enough to have him let his guard down even more than he already has.

“a fuzzy tantuan for the beautiful woman, and a glass of darkoma for me please.” the general smiled at you, and you returned it.

“thank you, can i have a name to match such a handsome face?” you needed to be sure it was the general, and you knew knowing his name would make it easier for you to coax information out of him.

“general julius shalazar, and what’s yours gorgeous?” ugh, how charming. suppressing an eye roll, you gave him your false identity.

“vienna pane. i’m honored to be in the presence of such an accomplished man, i hope i can help” you paused your sentence to run your hand down his arm, attempting your seduction now. “alleviate some of the stress of such a high ranking man.”

“i’m sure you can” he took a few sips of his drink before continuing “right now i’m so busy it may have to be within the hour, i depart from coruscant soon, sadly.”

you pouted your lips, before turning up your charms. “only an hour of fun?” you were almost disgusted with yourself, touching the scum in such ways, but you knew it was for the sake of the mission. you rested your hand on his thigh now, and spoke to him again. “i cant imagine anything else being more important than me and you having a good time tonight”

to your dismay, he returned the touch to your own thigh, but then you knew you got him. you pretended to fiddle with your necklace, turning on the recording device.

“try finding a map for luke skywalker.” you did your best to calm yourself. they’re looking for dad. you once again pretended to move the necklace as a nervous act, this time turning the recorder off. you masked your shock in more flirtation, even though you got what you wanted you needed a way to get out of there without giving the womp rat anything. you definitely didn’t want to kiss him, and anything more would be incredibly unwanted.

“you must be so busy” you feigned sympathy and ran the hand that was on his thigh up and down slowly. you laid eyes on pava and gave her a small nod to signal that you got what you needed, and she relayed that to the rest of the black squadron before exiting the club and preparing for her scheduled departure.

“how about a distraction, general” you pat his thigh a little and he agreed with you.

“that would be nice, vienna.” he almost made it too easy.

he led you to the booth he was at before in a more secluded area of the club. you were still able to spot a member of the squadron though, so someone has eyes on your location.

you didn’t want to be with the general, but you’d rather sit with him then take a blaster shot to the head and fail your mission. the general pulled you into his lap, and ran his hands up and down your side. you really wished he wouldn’t touch you, but you did nothing to stop it, knowing that although you didn’t like it you had to let him. you were trying to stall, attempting to play games with him instead and doing your best to avoid the unwanted touches. you were saved when the troopers came back, telling the general he needed to go. he, however, was persistent and insisted on giving you his info, in case he needed a distraction. you took it, continuing with your act, before briskly leaving the club. gross. you shivered, your skin was crawling and your stomach was churning in disgust, but also you felt proud of such a success. you turned on your comm and let the squadron know you got the info and everyone could depart the planet at their scheduled times.

you changed back into more casual wear, and when you departed coruscant you let yourself think of the new information gathered.

“try finding a map to luke skywalker”

your father had departed long ago, leaving you and the rest of his family after ben became kylo ren. he felt it as a failure, and he had told to you that the force showed him he needed to leave- leave you and his family. you were quite young, and you didn’t fully understand why he needed to go, but general organa seemed to and assured you that he was right, he couldn’t be here. you had trusted her, and deep deep down you felt the same feeling your aunt and father had, telling you that you needed to separate from your father. still, it hurt you deeply that your father had left, and now you knew you needed to find the map before the first order. your heart ached at the thought of kylo ren getting a hold of your dad, it was his fault your dad was gone. you exhaled deeply, trying not to get your hopes up as you made the jump to lightspeed, but your eyes welled up at the possibility of seeing your father again. returning to base, you thanked the black squadron for joining you and having your back before heading off to give the general and the rest of the superior officers the mission report. leia directed her gaze to you and spoke.

“admiral, stay after you give the report please.”

did she know already? is that why she sent me on this mission? it wasn’t necessarily a pilots mission, she could’ve had other officers go, but did she send you because she knew what you would find out? you felt a little betrayed; why would she make you retrieve information if she already knew it? you shrugged it off and nodded at her, before playing the recording for the officers in the briefing room. the information caused quite the buzz and you ended up staying extremely late, not only giving the mission report but discussing what this meant as a high ranking resistance officer. when the room finally calmed, general organa dismissed them and turned to you.

“how are you feeling, (y/n)” the care the older woman held in her voice brought you deep comfort, and you spilled your true feelings to her.

“hopeful, yet so afraid. what if they find him before we do, aunt leia? i know there’s still good in ben but i don’t think he can resist snoke.” she silently agreed, and you continued on. “i just miss him, i want my dad back.” your voice cracked in the end, and you felt a lump form in your throat. your aunt grabbed your hand gently before looking you in the eyes.

“we’re going to find him. i know we will. but first, you’re going to need some training.”

[ren1327]

Sweet Survivor Ch.7

Darius burst into the room, causing Ben to yelp and sit up. Kenji groaned and looked up.

“Darius? Dude, what—”

“We got a problem.”

*

“What is that?” Sammy asked in fear, looking down at a sixteen foot high deep green spinosaurid with bright yellow striped markings across it’s back and flank. It had a smooth back and a long crocodile like snout lined with sharp teeth.

Kenji and Ben were dressed in their regular clothes, looking over the balcony with Darius, Brooklynn and Sammy, Yaz inside.

It was currently roaring at Ally, both circling each other.

“Suchomimus…” Darius said. “It’s jaws aren’t that strong but…”

“But?”

Ally roared and charged the Suchomimus, snapping at her and missing, the suchomimus bit Ally’s throat, tearing out a chuck of flesh, Ally screeching and backing up. But the Sucho advanced, snapping and missing until Ally tried to bite her again, the Sucho using her sharp claws on her flank.

Ben gasped as she hooked her claws deeper into Ally’s side and yanked her off balance, tearing open her neck wound even more, Ally screeching in pain. She thrashed her legs at the Sucho, but it locked it’s jaws around her wound and with a twist of her head, left Ally bleeding out.

Ben covered his mouth as the Sucho screeched in victory, rearing her head up and pausing, tilting her head this way and that.

She growled and a juvenile came out of the trees, only eight feet tall and started tearing into Ally’s side, feasting on the well fought meal of its pack mate. The smaller one was a navy blue with white dappled markings on her body.

Suddenly, one coughed and spat out something familiar.

“Hello? This is -SCRRRRCH- to Jurassic World. Do you read me?”

“A satellite phone?!” Brooklynn yelled before clapping her hands over her mouth.

Two sets of eyes looked up at her.

But by the time they looked, the five had ducked down past the balcony to hide themselves.

The duo went back to eating and the teens snuck into the room.

“How are we gonna get that phone?” Ben asked. “I can’t imagine it has that much battery left.”

“Ben’s right.” Darius said. “We need to draw them away.”

“And how are we gonna draw Army and Navy off?” Kenji asked.

Everyone gave him a look.

“They look like camo colors—urgh! What’s the plan?”

“Ben and Yaz are too injured to move really fast.” Sammy said.

“Wait. Brooklynn,” Darius said. “Remember when Kenji and I were in the raptor paddock?”

“Yeah. You two almost died.” She said. “Wait…wait!”

She smiled.

“Wait, what’s the plan?” Ben asked.

 *

 “This is so gross.” Yaz said, riding Bumpy as she pulled a trolly full of raw meat.

“We gotta get them away from the front. So if we distract them with this, which they’re use to, maybe we can run out and grab the phone.” Sammy said.

Yaz wrinkled her nose.

Ben was looking at the empty bottles Kenji had stuffed in a canvas bag.

“Just count on Yaz. You know she’s got a killer arm.” He said.

“I don’t like this.” Ben said.

“I’m the fastest out of all of us.” Kenji said. “I can do this. We still have our second date.”

Ben chuckled and nodded.

Brooklynn and Darius were wearing trash bags over their clothes so the smell of meat wouldn’t stick strongly on them. They finished hauling the meat out to the south courtyard from the third floor window.

“Okay, you two get up to the penthouse.” Darius said. “Sammy, you’re with Ben and Yaz. Let’s go, guys.”

Ben grabbed Kenji’s bicep and he paused, placing a hand over his.

“I’ll be back.” He said, kissing his cheek. “I promise.”

“Be careful.” Ben pleaded before getting in the lift with Bumpy and Yaz.

Kenji smiled and made sure the windows were sealed and covered up.

They went down to the front.

“Any minute.” Darius said before hearing three loud shatters and the clang of the trolly being thrown over a balcony.

The suchos lifted their heads and sniffed, stalking towards the other side of the hotel.

“Keep low and slow for now. Only run if you have to.” Darius whispered and opened the front door.

Kenji nodded and crept down the monorail steps next to the entrance. He looked over the banister to see Army’s tail disappear. He quietly zeroed in on the yellow and black brick of a phone.

He bit his lip when he saw Ally’s blood soaked maw and dull lifeless eyes.

He turned and ducked when he saw Navy look over the side of the building, before sneezing and turning back around to join her pack mate. He army crawled to the monorail and started to climb, before feeling hot rancid breath wash over his right.

Army stood there, eyeing him.

He stayed very still…

Until she roared.

He crawled up and started running up the stairs, the phone clutched hard in his hand.

A bottle smashed behind Army and she turned to look, giving Kenji the moment he needed to run into the building. Darius closed the door quietly and they snuck to the hall.

“Here.” Kenji whispered, giving Brooklynn  the phone.

She checked it over.

“Still enough power to make a call.” She said.

They smiled at each other before Army burst through the glass doors and monitors, dazed.

Brooklynn gasped as they saw the younger Sucho came up behind her as she stood and shook her head.

The three ran towards the staircase, Army roaring and charged at them, slipping on debris and sliding in front of them, blocking the staircase.

Darius slid to a halt right in front of her open mouth before it shut. Kenji pulled him into the elevator with he and Brooklynn, Army smashing into the metal doors, making it impossible for them to move.

“Darius!” Kenji said and hit his shoulder. “The emergency door!”

Roaring, they heard Navy charge again, the door creaking open a fraction.

“Darius!” Kenji yelled.

Darius stepped in Kenji’s hand and was lifted to his shoulders. He pushed it up and open, crawling up as Kenji lifted Brooklynn and followed after her, Navy’s snout breaking through.

Darius was already climbing up the ladder when Kenji heard the elevator door above them burst open, Navy shaking her head as she snapped at Brooklynn’s ankles.

“Hey!” Kenji yelled and got on the other side of the ladder. “Right here!”

“Kenji!” Darius yelled.

“Just go!” He yelled. “Come on…”

Navy snarled and lunged at him. Kenji thought of his Dad, Candy, his soon to be born little sister, Ben…

And jumped over Navy onto the third floor.

Navy screeched and landed heavily on Army, who snapped and growled at her.

Kenji took off towards the stairs, climbing up as fast as he could. He heard banging behind him and the staircase echoed with Navy’s snarling.

 *

 Ben paced around as Sammy opened the roof top access door.

“With all that noise, we should get up on higher ground.” She said.

“And go where?” Yaz asked.

Sammy bit her lip, Yaz taking her hand and hugging her.

Darius burst through the door, Brooklynn behind him.

She panted and held out the phone.

“Here! Call the last number!” She huffed.

Sammy grabbed it and started dialing.

“Hello?” A familiar voice asked. “Hello? How did you get my number?”

“Roxy?!” Sammy asked.

“Sammy? Are you okay?!” She asked.

From the background they could hear a few voices. Then Dave spoke into the phone.

“Where are you right now?”

“We’re in the hotel! There’s two suchomimus trying to get at us!”

“The hotel?” Dave asked. “The one with the big SOS on top?”

“What?” She yelled.

“Look up, Kid!”

The five looked up to see a large sleek helicopter coming from afar. The word “KON” printed on the tail.

[bexterbex]

A Soul to Mend His Own | Ch. 71

Warning: 🥵🥵🥵

Warning, PLEASE CHECK TAGS IF YOU SEE SOMETHING YOU DON’T WANT TO READ THEN DON’T READ. | Tag lists are closed | INBOX OPEN

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Will tag as I go along, Will update tags, Slow Burn, Influenced by Star Trek and other Sci-Fi themes, References to We Happy Few, Tons of References and quotes to George Orwells 1984 see if you can find them all, The First Order is the new Big Brother,  but who is really surprised, Blatant Nazi Symbolism, Interrogation Themes, Eventual Smut, Eventual Romance, Really just drawn out Slow Burn, Don’t repost without permission, Torture themes, Suggestive Themes, Execution themes, Disturbing Themes, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Verbal Abuse, Controlling Kylo Ren, Physical Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Kylo Ren is Not Nice, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, Possessive Kylo Ren, A character shamelessly based on Zelda

A Kylo Ren x Modern! Reader in a soulmate au with canon divergence. —————————————SLOWBURN————————————–

He is already the Supreme leader, searching the universe to find you, his Empress. Your name on his wrist has been the only constant in his life, while you have doubts about his existence and his acceptance of you. He isn’t in the database and why did the name Kylo Ren cover Ben Solo?

MASTERLIST

Chapter 71: The Answers You Were Seeking

The ship came into the hangar, so you were finally back on the Supremacy. You attempted to get up, but your legs were failing you. This amused your guard dog. He came face to face with you, “Does Kitten need help?” He seemed to enjoy teasing you.

You just held your arms out in a silent demand. Enjoying the feeling of him picking you up in his strong arms. Inhaling his natural scent as you tucked your face into his neck to hide from the outside world. You wanted to stay in your little bubble with him for as long as possible. “If I am an Empress, shouldn’t I be carried everywhere, always?” You imagined him carrying you.

He chuckled, “That can be arranged if you want it, but you other royal carriers might disappoint you.” You felt his hands shift, holding you more securely against his chest as he entered the hallway.

As much as you tried hiding your face and avoiding the people you could hear them shuffling out of the way and saying “Supreme Leader” and “Empress.” You just wanted him to look at you, him alone. You were his, and no one else’s. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding when you entered your chambers.

Instead of heading directly to the bedroom, he brought you into the dining room where dinner was waiting for you. It was at that moment that you realized that you had worked up quite an appetite. Your nerves from before your consummation had completely dissipated. He set you down, in front of a glorious-looking feast. “I thought that a little Kitten like you would be hungry after playing with her guard dog.” You could hear the smirk in his voice as he teased you.

You tried to put a poker face as you teased him back, “We didn’t exactly play.” No, you didn’t play, not per se.

“Didn’t you have fun,” it was more of a tease than a question. He knew the answer, but you two were just in a rather flirty mood.

“Oh, I had more than fun.” It’s true you did have more than just fun.

He leaned forward and scooped you up into his arms and onto his lap, “You’re too far away. You’re a Kitten that is meant to curl up on my lap.” He buried his head into the crook of your neck, delicately kissing the bruised skin there.

You chuckled at his neediness, “And who set me down there, hmm?” You buried your face into his chest. For the next hour, you spent time feeding each other, slowly with many kisses exchanged for bites of food. Once finished his hands roamed your body while your arms were wrapped around his neck. A hand made its way down to your bruised heat, testing the delicate flesh. You winced and whimpered at the feeling, still sore from you earlier escapades.

You could see Kylo contemplating your reaction to his touch. “We’ll have to get some bacta on that if we want to have any more playtime tonight.” He grazed his nose against you affectionately. He then carried you into the bathroom and set you on the vanity where he untied your dress, exposing you to him. He reached behind you and into the medicine cabinet and pulled out a bottle of what you assumed to be bacta. It was a warm liquidy, gelly substance that he carefully applied to your bruised cunt.

You thought the sensation to be rather unpleasant. It wasn’t like lube, but more like aloe slathered everywhere down there making you feel rather gross and not quite sticky. “When should I be healed enough?” You had no idea how this worked. This was an entirely new concept for you.

He thought for a moment before responding. “An hour to two max. You aren’t bleeding and as far as I can tell you haven’t torn anything, just bruised and overstimulated. It’s best to let it work undisturbed so, for now, we will have to do something else.” He then carried you out of the bathroom with your dress still hanging open. His eyes seemed to dance across your marked flesh as he took you upstairs to the lounge where you both settled down on a couch.

His arms wrapped around you keeping your against him, hands teasing and ghosting over your bruises. Almost as if he was silently worshiping you, appreciating the offerings he had left all over your body. You had a couple of hours to kill before you went back to your rounds of lovemaking. “Can you tell me why you didn’t tell me that making me Empress meant that we were going to get married? Because you just up and left before explaining that.” You wanted some answers, you just hope you could tiptoe around him so you wouldn’t ignite his anger.  

His fingers wrapped themselves in your hair, his palm against your skull, and his lips against your temple. “Because I thought you might say no, so I didn’t ask. I was worried you would leave me Kitten, and then I would have no one to guard.” You could hear the hint of fear and sadness still lingering in his voice. You were the only thing he truly had in this galaxy. You knew it would devastate you as much as him if either of you left. It was better to be bound to each other than to live without the other half to your soul.

You turned your head and tilted up to kiss him, “I’ll accept that answer.” More kisses before asking, “How did your fight with the scavenger go? I watched the transmission, but I want to know how you thought it went and what your feelings are.” You knew there was much more to the fight than what you saw in the transmission. You knew there was a bit more to their ‘relationship’ in general that he hasn’t told you yet.

He let out a deep sigh as he turned to look away from you, to look at the ceiling while lost in thought. “It wasn’t easy trying to find her. Her friends tried to stay one step ahead of us and it worked until it didn’t.” You now fully turned to face him.

“The fight itself wasn’t that difficult until the defective stormtrooper shot at me and distracted me. She stabbed me, but she did not hit any vital organs thankfully. Managing to impale me between my liver and stomach. But as you can see I am alright…” he then trailed off as if lost in thought.

You brought a hand up to caress his face, trying to bring his attention back. “But what about her motivation? She wanted you to join her, to leave me.” You almost wish the vision in front of your blaster was actually her, so you could have killed her instead of him. He has already seen lifetimes of battles and death, and you just wished you could take just one away from him, to save him from that pain.

His voice became slightly agitated, “Yes, its true she wanted him to join her, but I didn’t want to. The only person I want in the universe is you. She believed she knew Ben Solo, but she didn’t because he still wanted you, he would have never have gone with her if it meant losing you. She was lost in her own delusion. I, Kylo Ren, have always wanted you, and just you.” His confession made your heart soar. You rolled onto your side and rested your head against his chest. Showing him how much you cared.

“I’ve always wanted you too. It’s why I am here, it’s why I have stayed. I don’t want anyone else.” You felt his hand rub up and down your back, making you feel all warm inside. You hated that you needed to break this tender moment with another heavy subject, but if you didn’t do so now, you don’t know when you would be able to get the chance again.

“But what about your mother? She just wanted her son to come home.”

You could see his demeanor shift, this wasn’t a conversation he really wanted to have, “In the end, it was something I would always have to do. It was always going to be Ben Solo or myself. She knew this too. She lost her son long ago, this was just the final act. In the end, I think she realized that I am still her son. She and Han Solo may have been gifted Ben Solo, but Kylo Ren is the man they made.” You could hear the anger and hurt in his voice even if you weren’t looking at his face. The man lying next to you had killed both of his parents, to be with you, to make Kylo Ren triumphant.

Your memory recalled her words, her warning, “But what was she saying about this not being the last of it? What is coming?” To say you were worried was an understatement.

He peered down at you, his eyes were like black steel with his brows furrowed and his lips hard in a solid line, “I do not exactly know yet, but I feel it in the Force. Something powerful has awoken, and I need to stop it, to protect you.” His hands grabbed your face, “I will protect you. I had a feeling on Mustafar that a key might be there, I will find it. I will find out who it is, end them and I will protect you.”

His reassurances were sexy, something about his need to keep you safe was something that aroused you. Which wasn’t a great feeling at the moment, as your wetness mixed with the gell and made you uncomfortable. You whimpered at the feeling, your belly warm but your brain disgusted. This caused Kylo to reach between your legs, testing the tissue there and it seemed to pass inspection as there was no more pain. Only a pleasured gasp escaped your lips as his fingers stroked you. “Hmm, it seems like you are ready to go Kitten. Shall I go clean you up so we can play again?” You let out a whimper in response, as his fingers still roamed your heated flesh.

He picked you up and carried you down to the bedroom instead of the bathroom. He set you down on the bed and left you to walk into the bathroom. Your body did not like the separation from him, as you whined as he left you. He turned on a switch in your brain which caused you to be needy for his touch. He returned with a damp washcloth and proceeded to wipe away the bacta, his stokes and attention to detail caused your slick to almost gush out of you at the attention. You rolled your hips up trying to cause friction, this caused him to chuckle. “Needy aren’t we Kitten?” You heard a wet slap as the washcloth was abandoned on the floor.

He quickly lifted you, ridding you of the wrap dress entirely before his fingers began to massage your clit in circular motions. Your hips attempting to follow his rhythm. “Can we try something Kitten?” He seemed to be the coherent one between the two of you. All you could do was nod in response, words failing you.

His touch ceased on your clit, on your cunt all together, which caused you to cry out in frustration. But then he brought your wrist to his lips. His name was now being kissed and sucked like the many, many love bites that littered your body. Suddenly it was if your body didn’t need anything else. You cunt seemed to pulse in pleasure at the sensation. Reacting as if the most wonderful touches were being performed on you, but they weren’t. Kylo was just nipping and sucking on his name on your wrist. It was like the ultimate key to getting you to orgasm as it didn’t take long before you were seeing stars. Your back arching as you came, Kylo’s name on your lips. You felt like you were going to blackout again, but Kylo’s lips on yours brought you back from the edge of it.

It took you a few minutes to regain full consciousness again, full coherence. When you did you threaded your hands into those dark raven locks and deepened the kiss rolling your hips up to meet his, which somehow were now completely bare. In your lack of awareness, he stripped down to his nakedness and your hips rolled up to meet his hardening cock. “That was amazing,” you said rather out of breath.

A smirk graced your lover’s face, “Mmm I could tell.” His hand reached back down to your now messy cunt, “You are absolutely sopping wet Kitten.” He kissed you hard, as one of his fingers entered your wet hole, earning a moan from you. “I guess we shall have to do that often. But let’s see if you can return the favor.”

He flipped you both over; you were now straddling his thighs, his cock in front of you. You saw its angry red, swollen head, and the shine of pre-cum on the tip. You wanted to eat it rather than ignore it, but he brought his wrist to your lips. You were supposed to mark your name as he did his. And you complied.

Kylo hissed in pleasure at the sensation, his hips rolling up, his dick bouncing. You continued to lick, nibble, and suck on your name. You even went as far as tracing the letters with your tongue. If you thought you were a mess, then he was a disaster. Moaning and panting your name and nickname. His hips trying to find fiction for his cock. It didn’t take long for his hips to stutter and his cum to shoot out in pulses as he orgasmed. Your name a shout on his lips, his voice haggard. His cum painted both of your chests with the splattery aftermath.

You decided to be a lady and clean his semi-soft cock with your tongue before you traveled up to his chest, rubbing your breasts against his, smearing the milky white substance. When you were satisfied with the completion of yours and his painting you licked up the evidence from his chest before flopping down next to him and beckoning him to do the same. He took his sweet time as he licked up and down your breasts, making sure both nipples were absolutely glistening with saliva.

One of his fingers tested your hole again as he positioned himself over you. “Mmm Kitten, you will be the death of me,” he said as he pushed his index finger into you, to his knuckle. He hooked into you and teased your walls.

You moaned back. “Death by sex doesn’t sound so bad to me,” you mused as he plunged another finger in you, trying to get you ready to fully take him again. Without this prep, you would surely tear right in two.

You heard him chuckle, the sound you loved so much, the sound you were pretty sure you were the only one who got to hear it on such a regular basis. “I suppose you’re right. If I had to choose how to go out. Dying with my cock buried in your tight cunt would be the best way.” His voice was sultry now, a velvety sort of sex that could get you to do almost anything.

It didn’t take long for him to get you ready. Your body responds quickly because he was right, you were made for him. He lined himself up once more, teasing you with his engorged head, just pushing your flaps around and only putting the tip in. “Please, just fuck me Kylo. I can’t take it anymore,” you whined earning a quick deep thrust from his hips, fully sheathing himself in you. You threw your head back in pleasure and released a loud moan.

It didn’t take very long for him to pick up a steady rhythm of his hips snapping consistently. You attempted to help him by meeting his thrusts, but he was buried so deep inside you it didn’t really matter. “So…  tight..” was what he struggled to get out as his thrusting deepened. You could feel his cock twitching between your walls of pleasure. Enjoying the feeling of being fully engulfed in your heat.

You attempted to respond to him, “So… BIG,” you shouted as he found that spot, your g spot. The head of his cock relentlessly pounding into it, causing you to see stars. His pace and power only picked up as he was locked on target. The sounds of skin slapping and panting filling up the room.

You could feel the orgasm starting, “Kylo…. I’m…” you couldn’t even get the words out. Your brain was a solid clump of mush. He was almost literally fucking your brains out.

His thrusts causing the bed to quiver. “Cum with me,” his voice was thick with ecstasy. You followed orders as your walls clamped around him, his hips stuttering. His panting and moaning almost overriding yours as you came together. Eventually both your hips stopped as you both exhausted your energy, reveling in the orgasm together. Kylo collapsed on top of you, keeping his dick inside you, something you didn’t know you liked until he did it the first time. Your cunt being very happy at not being left empty. Loving the feeling of the weight of his dick inside of you. You also enjoyed the post-sex lazy kisses that he seemed to give you. A silent thank you for giving him his orgasm like you were a goddess blessing his fields with rain.

The next few days were filled with work and plenty of sex. Adlez and Olivia-Rose were rather pleased and horrified at the state of you in the morning. Kylo and you had another few wonderful rounds of sex. Your body looked more bruised than alright, but you assured them that it was fine. Three days after your wedding night, Kylo got a call to return to Mustafar, something there needed his attention. Something you wished would just disappear.

A/N: So....I take it y’all like smut? 

[iamtrebleclefstories]

Everyday I Love You More - Ch.2

Ch.2 - NO DETAILS

After having drunk sex, Jo and Alex are having a baby. An actual baby. Here’s how everyone finds out.

- Multi-chapter Sequel to I’m Happy Right Here with You -

Hi guys! I am on a roll today :) this is my second upload of the day. If we're lucky, maybe we can make it 3 for 3 and I'll finish Didn't Think. Who knows?

The next morning began with more throwing up and hunching over the toilet. Jo was trying her best not to wake up Alex, but about 20 minutes into her puking fest, he walked into the bathroom and sat down next to her on the floor. Jo looked up at him, “Go back to bed. I’m fine. You can sleep for another twenty minutes.”

  “No I can’t,” Alex shook his head. “I can’t sleep knowing that you feel miserable because I messed up and forgot to wrap it up.”

  Jo let out a burst of laughter, “You’re sweet, but honestly, you don’t have to sit there while I’m puking. It’s gross.”

  “I don’t care,” Alex looked at Jo intensely. “I’m staying right here and you are going to have to deal with me hovering for the next seven months. You’re going to get sick of me, but when I said we’re doing this together and that I was gonna be here every step of the way, I meant it.”

  “If I weren’t all gross and puke-y, I’d kiss you right now.” 

  After a few minutes without the overwhelming need to vomit, Jo decided it was time to get ready. She showered and got dressed, going downstairs to eat something. Jo walked into the kitchen and searched around for something that wouldn’t make her stomach churn. Her options were limited. For a house of doctors, they didn’t really have a lot of clean, healthy breakfast options. Everything was sugary. Deciding to settle for a piece of toast and some coffee, Jo turned on the pot and waited for her cup to be done.

  She was just about to bring the mug of coffee to her lips when Alex swooped in and grabbed the coffee out her hands, “What the hell?”

  “You can’t have caffeine, you’re pregnant.” Alex stated. 

  “I can have one cup a day,” she said, snatching the coffee back from Alex. “It’s perfectly okay for me to have one cup of coffee.”

  “Hmm, well you see, I disagree,” Alex shook his head, taking the coffee out of her hands again and taking a sip. “And you’re the resident and I’m the attending, so what I say goes.”

  “Oh that’s rich,” Jo glared. “You and your position as my superior have nothing to with my uterus. Because if it did, you—and all of your years of experience over me—would’ve thought to wrap it up and we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

  “Yeah okay. That’s on me,” Alex cringed and handed the coffee back. “You can have one cup, and only one cup a day.”

  “Thank you,” she drank the coffee and finished her toast. “You ready to go?”

  “Yeah,” Alex smiled. “It’s weird... Starting today, I get to kiss you whenever, wherever I want.” 

  “I’m kind of nervous,” Jo confessed. “I don’t want people to think I’m just another resident trying to get surgeries for sex.”

  “No one’s going to think that,” Alex assured. “Most of the attendings tease me on a daily basis about how I was too chicken to say anything to you. We’re best friends. You’re not some random chick that they’re going to gossip about. You’re Jo. They’re gonna be happy about it. Trust me... Besides you don’t need to give me sex for surgeries. You’re good. Really good. That’s why people want you on their service and that’s why you get more responsibilities than the other residents. So when we get to the hospital today, let’s just do what’s natural. We don’t have to do some huge announcement. Let’s just be us.”

  Jo pinched herself, “Am I dreaming? Because I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard you be this nice to anyone ever.”

  “Shut up,” Alex scoffed.

  “That’s more like it,” Jo grinned. 

  “Let’s go.”

  They arrived to the hospital on time and exited the car. Alex grabbed a hold of Jo’s hand as they walked through the parking lot into the building. So far, they hadn’t seen anyone that would care enough about their relationship to make a big deal about it, so he saw that as a plus. They continued down the hall and entered the elevator hand-in-hand only to find Arizona Robbins already standing inside.

  Arizona smiled at them as usual before doing a double take, “Oh my God! You’re holding hands! You finally told her?”

  Knowing exactly what Arizona was referring to he responded, “Yeah. I did.”

   “Oh my goodness! I’m so happy for you guys!” Arizona beamed brightly, embracing Alex and then pulling Jo in for a quick hug as well. “Ah! Best way to start the morning. I feel like a proud mama who’s baby just grew up.”

  “Wait, what did you do?” Jo furrowed her brows.

  “I told you I love you.”

  “Hold on… Dr. Robbins knew?” Jo turned to Arizona. “You knew?”

  “Yup! He confessed it to me the night of the night of the storm in the NICU storage closet,” Arizona nodded with a large smile on her face as the elevator dinged. “Well, this is my stop. I will see you both later for rounds. Congrats you two!”

  “You were already in love with me back then?” Jo squinted at Alex. “And you didn’t say anything? We could’ve been together for months now.”

  “Wait,” Alex looked at Jo confusedly. “You wouldn’t have run if I told you I loved you?”

  “No, you dumbass,” Jo slapped his arm playfully. “Do you know how long I spent trying to get over you because I thought you only saw me as a friend? I been in love with you since the tree crashed through the living room.”

  “You have?” Alex was shocked.

  “Yeah,” Jo nodded. “Really, I’ve loved you since before then, but I didn’t realize it until I was standing in your living room that night, thinking about how I always choose bad guys and how you’re the best guy I’ve ever met.”

  Alex squeezed her hand, “I really didn’t know. If I did, I would’ve said something sooner.”

  The elevator dinged again, signaling it was their turn to get off the elevator. Walking out hand in hand, Jo paused, “When did you realize you were falling in love with me?”

  “The day we illegally helped the kid in from the ride along in the closed down ER. Meredith kept pushing me to ask you out and said something about how you’re a badass—”

  “Meredith Grey said that about me?” Jo exclaimed.

  Alex nodded as they approached one of the conference rooms and pulled her inside to finish their conversation, “Yeah. She thought you’d be good for me. I kept telling her no, that there was nothing between us and that were just friends. But then you pulled me into the storage closet and had my favorite powder-sugar donuts. Then it was like something shifted. I saw you bite into one and you had powdered-sugar all over your face, and I knew that was it. That I had fallen for you.”

  Jo—who’d started crying—wiped the straggling tears and let out a laugh, “I’m sorry. It’s the hormones.”

  “And here I thought you were trying to snag another surgery from me,” Alex teased. “Alright, we both have to go before we’re late. I’ll see you for rounds.”

  “Okay,” Jo replied and kissed Alex sweetly before watching him walk out the conference room. She took a moment to collect herself and walk over to the residents’ lounge to get ready for the day.

  Unbeknownst to either of them, the kiss Jo and Alex shared had been witnessed by none other than Leah Murphy. Her jawed dropped and she bolted towards the residents’ lounge to tell everyone before Jo arrived. Leah ran into the lounge, “You guys will never believe what I just saw!”

  Ben, Stephanie, Shane, and a few other residents turned around to look at her. Shane made a face, “Did something happen?”

 “Oh, something happened alright,” Leah grinned. “I just saw Jo and Karev kissing in a conference room.”

  “Woah,” Ben’s eyes widened. “That’s definitely something.”

  “No way!” Stephanie jumped up from the bench. “They’re together? Why wouldn’t she tell me?”

  “Are you sure you saw Jo and Karev?” Shane asked.

  “Yes, I’m positive it was them! I ran over here as soon as I saw it to tell you guys.”

  “Saw what?” Jo asked as she walked in. She noticed everyone was staring at her. “What? Do I have something on my face?’

  “You had Alex Karev all over your face about two minutes ago,” Stephanie snarked.

  Jo froze, “Damn. Word really gets around fast.”

  “Hold on, so its true?” Ben asked. “You two are actually together? Finally?”

  Jo smiled shyly, “Yes.”

  “Oh my God!” Stephanie laughed. “How did this happen?”

  Jo thought back to the circumstances that brought her and Alex together. Deciding to skip over most of the story she took a deep breath, “He told me he loved me, and I said it back.”

  “That’s it? That’s all we’re getting?” Leah questioned.

 “That’s it for now,” Jo grinned. “I’ll keep the details to myself for a little while longer. Don’t worry though, I will tell you all eventually.”

  “That’s great Jo,” Shane smiled. “We’ve all been waiting for it to happen for a while.”

  “Really?” Jo asked. “I thought you guys were just teasing.”

  “Oh, Jo," Stephanie shook her head. “Sweetheart, everyone knew you two were going to end up together. We were just waiting for you guys to catch up to the rest of us.”

  While the residents were trying to get information out of Jo, Alex had walked into the attendings’ lounge. He walked up to the coffee pot as he did every morning and began to pour himself a cup, whistling to himself. Alex heard the room go quiet and turned around to see his friends staring at him.

  “What?” Alex scowled. "Stop staring. I’m just getting some coffee. I haven’t been here long enough to have annoyed anyone or be blamed for something not working. So, just tell me why hell everyone is being weird.”

  “Dude. You were whistling," Jackson pointed out.

  “No, I wasn’t,” Alex made a face.

  “Uh, yes you were," April confirmed. “You came in here with a smile on your face and swing in your step, then you started whistling.”

  “Yeah, it’s weird and unnatural coming from you,” Callie squinted. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing is going on,” Alex shook his head. “Is it so hard to believe that maybe I’m just happy or in a good mood today?”

  “You? In a good mood,” Meredith laughed. “I don’t think I have ever seen you this… giddy before. What’s really happening?”

  “You know, one time Mark and I caught Bailey humming in the elevator looking all happy and minutes later, Ben Warren got on the elevator after Bailey left humming the same exact song,” Derek told. “I say, Alex is in love.”

  “With who? The girl he brought some from the bar last week? Or an intern? Or one of his patients’ moms? Or the sub-I’s that come and shadow for a week in the hospital?” Callie teased.

  “Shut up,” Alex glared.

  “Cristina! You’re being awfully quiet. Why aren’t you making fun of Karev with us today?” Jackson asked.

  Cristina—who had been doing her best to keep her mouth shut—exchanged a look with Alex. From her spot on the couch, Meredith gasped, “You do know something! You have to tell us because he never will.”

  Cristina looked at Alex once again before allowing a giant grin to grace her face, “Alex finally got his head out of his ass and he and Wilson are together now.”

  The room erupted into cheers and Alex rolled his eyes, “Okay everybody, calm down. It’s not that big a deal. Yes, we’re together. So, what?”

  “You can’t just leave it at that? How did it happen?” Meredith questioned.

  Alex shrugged, “I told her I love her, and she said it back.”

  “You actually confessed your love to her?” Jackson widened his eyes.

  “Yes,” Alex nodded.

  “Aw! That’s so cute,” April squealed. “I can’t believe it. Big bad Karev told a girl that he loves her.”

  “Congratulations, Karev,” Derek smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Wilson is good for you.”

  “Is this why you stole her off my service?” Callie asked. “Because we were having a great time before you came along and stole her back from me. She was into it. We work well together. But now you’ve got her slumming it in peds.”

  “I didn’t put her on my service because she’s my girlfriend,” Alex defended. “I put her on my service because she’s my favorite resident. And don’t say that’s not allowed, because you all have had your favorites. Besides, she likes peds and she’s good with kids and parents.”

  “More like she likes the peds instructor,” Cristina muttered.

  “Shut up.”

  Meredith who had been quiet for a while finally spoke, “It was that day with the kid in the ER wasn’t it? That was the day your feelings changed. You actually thought about what I said to you.”

  “Yeah,” Alex nodded shyly.

  “I knew it,” Meredith smiled brightly. “Tell Wilson that we’re sorry it took us so long to finally bully you into admitting it.”

 Alex huffed a laugh, “Tell her yourself.”

  “I think I will,” Meredith replied.

[bitchinrichie]

Fears of the Past, major IT ch 2 spoilers!!

Adult!Stanley X Reader

Ch 2

AU

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

“I’m sorry, a ritual? That’s how we’re gonna stop IT?” Richie pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Yes! Come on guys just hear me out,” Mike was pleading as everyone stood around in disbelief and panic. Bill stepped forward, putting a hand on Mike’s shoulder,

“I’ve seen it, the ritual, it works. We have one chance to do this right, we owe it to each other.”

“IT touched us all, changed us. We’re the only ones who can do this,” Mike looked back at Bill, who nodded and then looked back at the group. Everyone glanced around and one similarity appeared, fear, no one knew what was going to happen this time.

One by one, belongings were put back, some lingering around the staircase longer out of anxiety. Stanley had remained by your side, standing closer than reconnected friends probably should but then again, you and Stan were something else.

***

Following Mike through the quaint, little town almost to the edge where the barrens were, you felt homesick. Not for Los Angeles but Derry, 27 years ago give or take a couple years. After fighting IT the first time, you all stuck together, obviously some closer than others but you stayed friends nonetheless.

“I hope he’s not just taking us to the barrens to kill us or be smothered by poison ivy,” Stan chuckled beside you and before you could reply,

“Not every plant is fucking poison ivy, Stan-” Richie yelled before pausing in shock,

“That was intense deja vu, holy shit,” you looked at Stan with wide eyes and his drowned in confusion before you burst into laughter.

You reached the destination Mike had set out for in the barrens, which you realized to be close by to where you all had a rock war with the Bowers gang. But the spot was special because it’s where the losers clubhouse was.

“This is where the clubhouse was!” Ben ran ahead in search of his beloved creation that he had built. He did find it- by falling in.

***

One by one you all climbed down into the cavern below, that Ben was so proudly showing off and frantically trying to fix small broken panels. Richie climbed into the hammock with a comic, Eddie and Bill sitting on old buckets, Bev smoking, Mike swinging in an old wooden swing that he found and had Ben help him put it up, and you and Stan sitting close with your head on his shoulder. It was peaceful for once but it didn’t last long enough, Eddie and Richie started bickering like an old married couple they pretended they weren’t while everyone stared in fake annoyance trying to hide their laughter.

“Why are we here, Mikey?” Richie’s eyes held fondness but his tone had concern.

“This was a place we came to together but we weren’t together that whole summer. To perform the ritual we have to collect a token from the past so we can kill it.”

“A token? Mike come on-”

“Richie just listen to him, we’re trying to win against a demon clown and this is what you’re worried about?” You had snapped, you didn’t mean to but you just wanted some answers and a way out of IT’s claws. Richie mumbled an apology and rubbed the back of his neck, you were considered the mom of the group so everyone tended to listen to you.

“You’ll find your tokens in places where you were alone, so we should split and find them, it’s our best bet,” Mike nodded at you as a thank you.

“No, nope, absolutely not. We’ll have a higher chance of dying if we split up.”

“I’m with Eds on this, I mean he’s the risk analyst after all,” Richie paused while everyone just stared at him- “What? I pay attention.” You shake your head knowingly as you hear Stan laugh quietly behind you.

***

After the terrifying experiences at Neibolt and Richie blowing up at Bill because Eddie and Ben were seriously hurt, you all split up for awhile. Stan walked you home in silence which you eventually broke,

“My dad’s gonna kill me, he told me not to go to Neibolt.”

“Just tell him you went to help your friends, he’s bound to understand that,” he smiled at you but you looked at him confused.

“Are you not my friend?” his eyes widened and he started sputtering answers which made you laugh- “I’m kidding Stan, I got it.” He glared playfully before laughing too. Giving you a quick hug goodbye, he starts walking up the street as you unlock your front door.

***

You were standing in front of your old house, you didn’t know if anyone lived there anymore, your dad moved out to California five years ago. You went around back to the fence that hid your small backyard to find the gate open, not that it surprised you, that gate never stayed locked. Inside was an old bench you helped your dad build next to a small swing set you remember begging your dad to buy.

Your mom died when you were 6 due to breast cancer, so you only had your dad. He worked a lot to make enough money to take care of you and your bond was unbreakable, he would do anything for you. You peered up toward the house and saw the window to your bedroom had been opened, thinking it was just an old house, you decided to climb up to it like you had many times before coming home from secret dates and hangouts.

It was dusty and gross but for the most part exactly how it looked when you lived here, it was set up different, you guessed due to another family living here. Crouching down on the floor, you look under the bed and find a wooden box, opening it to find your old diary with secrets you’ve withheld for so long.

***

“Are you ever going to let me see what’s in your diary? I see you writing in it all the time, if it’s full of your drawings you have to show me!” Stan whined as you put your diary back in its box and under your bed.

“It’s not my drawings, those I would show you because I know how much you love them, it’s not important,” you wrapped your arms around him and leaned into his chest. He held you close and pressed kisses to your temple and nose.

“Hey are you two just gonna sit up here and make out or are you gonna join us downstairs for the movie?” Richie made gagging noises and Stan whacked the back of his head before following him out and looking back at you.

“I’ll be down in a sec, I need to grab something,” Stan smiled and nodded, continuing downstairs. You pulled your diary back out to finish what you were writing but as you got the box out, it wasn’t there. Confused and a little angry, you marched downstairs to confront Stan about it but there was no one there. You looked around the living room and the kitchen but nothing,

“Guys this isn’t funny, don’t do this to me you assholes!”

“WHAT’S NOT FUNNY Y/N? YOU CAN’T HIDE FOREVER BUT I CAN HIDE YOUR FRIENDS” You let out a broken sob as you lose feeling in your body, collapsing on the ground. IT- Pennywise appeared before you, holding your diary and all you could is sob.

“THEY’LL NEVER BELIEVE YOU Y/N. THEY’LL CALL YOU A LIAR, YOU’RE FAKING IT” IT just laughed and leaned over you, drooling. IT fucking laughed at you and you screamed, cowering in fear. And then it was like nothing happened, IT was gone and you were still in your bedroom, clutching your diary.

You had been reading through it and you found the last entry you wrote in it:

October 12, 1989

I started finding Bev really attractive, more and more girls have started looking back at me and I get butterflies in my stomach. But my feelings for Stan haven’t wavered.

I don’t know what to do. Who am I?

@peteporkers @dry-brian @unamused-fangirl @chipoisaloser @multi-parker @happyhanlon @tropicaluris @finnie-wolfhard

[vorish-musing]

Always Here to Help

Holy shit this took me forever! I’m sorry this took me so long, I was so busy the past week or so!

Summary: a continuation to ‘Dirty Little Secrets” The losers go out to dinner, but Eddie notices Richie is acting strange. the man isn’t eating, and looks like he was in pain. Understanding what was going on, Eddie creates a plan to help Richie.

Warnings: this story contains Vore, g/t, cursing, a worried Richie, an annoyed Eddie.

A special thank you to that anon who sent this idea in, I hope this I did your Idea justice!

Richie sighed as he turned off the engine off of the car, he stared up at the big bright letters that read ‘Jade of the Orient’. He was honestly a little nervous to go inside, since the last time the losers went there, there were decapitated heads singing in the fishtank and eyeballs in the fortune cookies, not something he’d rate five stars on yelp.

But pennywise was dead, they killed him, turned him into a fucked up balloon baby and finished him. Nothing like that would happen again, and he kept telling himself that. His head hung low and he held the steering wheel tightly, so much so that his knuckles turned white. 

A knock on his window alerted him into lifting his head up, his demeanor changed completely seeing who was there. 

Eddie knocked once more on the window, trying to get Richie to leave the car. It wasn’t a hard task, seeing the man get out almost instantly seeing him. Richie stood up, pulling Eddie in for a long hug, holding on tightly to his boyfriend. 

“I missed ya’ Eds”  he spoke, though a bit muffled due to his face being pressed up against the other man. 

Eddie hugged back, his face in Richies shoulder, “It’s only been a few hours Richie.” 

It had been a few days since eddie was almost killed by pennywise, and Richie was still on edge about the man going anywhere alone, he was almost overprotective of the man. Eddie too was nervous about being left alone, knowing how vulnerable he really is by himself, but Richie was taking it to a whole new level.

Richie chose to ignore eddies remark, instead holding the man's face up, and kissing him. Eddie immediately kissed back at this notion. Since it had been a few days since they started dating as well. 

It felt like an explosion in Richie when he kissed Eddie, years of repression gone, he could finally feel happy about who he is and who he loves. 

The two let go of each other, Eddie still holding Richies hands tightly “Wanna go inside and eat?” Eddie spoke 

‘There's something right here i’d like to eat’ the thought passed through his mind, but he just held it down, he knew Eddie hated talking about it, and he couldn’t blame him. His boyfriend can eat people for god's sake! He knew it was uncomfortable for eddie, since he was terrified out of his mind when it happened, still probably is and just hiding it. But at least Eddie wasn’t scared of him. That would destroy richie. 

“Y-yeah, I’m starving”

Eddie tensed slightly at Richies words, but calmed a second later, Richie eating him was always on his mind, but he could never tell Richie that. 

The two of them entered the restaurant, reuniting with the other losers. Bill and Mike sitting next to each other, Ben sitting one seat away from Bill. Beverly sat between them, Ben grabbing a hold of her hand lovingly. The only other seats were next to each other, which Eddie and Richie gladly took.

Ben looked over at Richie and Eddie, “We were wondering when you’d show up.” Ben turned to look at the other losers “thought you’d try and leave again without us knowing.” 

Richie shrugged, looking simultaneously Innocent and devilish. “I had to cancel dinner with your mom, so don’t worry about it.” 

The table erupted into laughter as well. Eddie laughed into his drink, spilling a bit on himself, he wasn’t the butt of the joke this time, so he could actually enjoy Richie’s jokes. 

Though it felt weird when Richie made jokes about women, knowing Richie was gay. It almost made him feel bad, he never noticed it before but now he could just tell it was a wall to hide himself.

“Beep beep Richie” Ben spoke, holding back his laugh too, he didn’t mind the comment, he knew Richie was just playing. 

As the food arrived, the whole table began to chatter again, it felt nice hearing everyone talking and being genuinely happy again. Everyone began eating, the only acception being Richie, who sat and listened to every conversation. . 

All the loud chatter and light banter soon died down when a low growl from Richie’s stomach interrupted them all. 

Richie paused at the noise, grabbing a hold of his stomach. Something wasn’t right, his cravings were stronger. Richie was in pain holding back the urges. Being around so many people and their smells everywhere, it was almost overwhelming. He hated how sometimes it was heightened to an insane amount, like today. He never understood it, and he probably never would.  

“J-Jesus Ch-Christ Richie” Bill broke the silence with another laugh “h-how long has i-it been since y-y-you’ve ea-eaten?!”

Richie laughed awkwardly, probably for a second or two too long, “I mean I was going to eat something… but again, I cancelled my date with Ben's mother”

It took Ben a moment to realize what Richie was implying, But when he realized he had turned a deep red “oKAY” he said, trying to move on as the other losers erupted with laughter once more at Ben’s embarrassing demise.

The losers began piling their plates with food, all accept Richie, who sat and listened to everyone talking and having fun. He was there physically, but mentally he wasn’t paying any attention, he was just trying to keep the hunger pains down. He held his stomach as it quietly gurgled hungrily.  It just smelled so good, but when he tried actually eating, it almost tasted bad to him. 

It took richie a moment to realize that he wasn’t smelling the food in front of him, but the scent of the losers around him. It made him feel worse, he couldn’t even control himself around his friends. 

His stomach made another low, but loud growl, which he masked pretty well with a fake coughing fit, but he couldn’t mask the pain any longer, he groaned to himself, quiet enough for him to notice… or so he thought.

 Eddie had been keeping an eye on Richie for a while, and noticed every little thing, and he sympathized with the man. He couldn’t control the fact that he had... cravings. The thought sent a shiver up Eddies spine, remembering the fear he had felt when he was…gross, don’t think about that, he interrupted his own thoughts, pushing that particular thought down. 

He wasn’t ungrateful for what Richie had done to him, not at all. He pretty much owed his very life to the man. It was just a bad memory for him, he almost died, so of course it wasn’t the nicest thing to think about. 

But when he saw Richie hold himself in pain, he couldn’t let this go on for any longer. He noticed the losers noticing, but not saying anything to be polite. He grabbed his phone, pretending he had a text, then sighs loudly to get the attention of the rest of the losers 

“Shit… sorry guys, I have to go, I gotta get on a call with my boss in like” he looked at his watch, pretending to look at the time “Twenty minutes”

Richie laughed “What's wrong, everyone fall asleep at your boring job?” he teased lightly, the losers chuckling.

“That sucks Eddie, we gotta go out tomorrow to make up for lost time.” Mike spoke, Ben and Bill nodding. 

“Absolutely” he agreed with the men “Richie? I parked next to your car, can you show me where that is? I don’t remember” Dumb idea, but he was thinking on the spot, can’t exactly make a mastermind plan in only a few seconds.

Richie looked confused, and just nodded and got up. Pointing to let Eddie lead the way. Eddie turned, walking out, the losers letting out a chorus of goodbyes. 

Richie followed Eddie quietly as he could out of the restaurant, he was quiet, his stomach was not, it gurgled loudly, begging for him to eat, he covered his stomach the best he could to muffle the noise.  He looked away from Eddie, his mind creeping to places he didn’t want to go to.

He smells so good. Richie didn’t notice until now, his smell was so inviting, and delicious. You know he would taste good. Richie looked back at Eddie, his mouth watering looking at the man, he remembered exactly how the man tasted, Granted there was a lot of blood, but underneath all of that was amazing. 

But he couldn't. He promised himself he would never do it again without Eddies consent, and the man didn’t seem like he wanted to be eaten ever again. Hell, the man didn’t even want to TALK about it. 

When the cold air hit the two of them as the exited the building, Eddie stopped in his tracks, Looking around. Richie thought it was to find his car, but Eddie was making sure nobody was around. 

“This way Eds” Richie beckoned for Eddie to follow, walking to the parking lot behind the building. Richie could already see his bright red car, but no cars beside it, he turned back to Eddie, about to ask what was going on, when Eddie ran to him, giving Richie a surprise kiss.

Richie jumped back in surprise, but kissed right back, he smiled this is what he wanted. He wanted to kiss me, what a fucking nerd...I love him so much 

He tastes good. 

Richie pushed back quickly as that thought hit him like a bullet, and as if on cue, his stomach let out another loud gurgle. Richie let go of Eddie, pinching the bridge of his nose “Fuck...sorry”

Eddie turned a slight red at the noise,his arms around Riches shoulders, “I took a taxi here, y’know” 

Richie looked back at eddie “so you just wanted to make out in the middle of the street for a bit? Wow ed’s you’re more of a freak than I thought.”

Eddie laughed softly, before turning extremely awkward. “Listen, This is going to sound fucking weird… but I know you’re in pain, I can see it.” 

Richie turned red, he was caught, he made it too obvious and Eddie was afraid, fI fucked up goddammit. He had to say something “Eddie listen I won--” 

Eddie hushed him when he was Richie's fear, dropping his hands to his sides “Shut the fuck up and let me speak tozier” his tone was jokey, but he wanted Richie to actually listen. The man shut up immediately.

“I know what you’re feeling, fuck I can hear it,” Eddie pointed to Richies stomach, making richie turn a darker red. “I want to help, and if that means you have to…” He paused, am I really going to offer myself as a meal? What if I’m wrong and Richie just has food poisoning? No, I know whats happening, I’m not stupid.

“If that means you have to eat me...I’m okay with that.” 

Richie was at a loss for words, he never expected this in a million years “You...You want me to do that?” He wanted to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating

“I wouldn’t say I want you to,” Eddie turned red “But...for you…I want you to be okay, the other losers could tell something was up, I don’t want them to find out the hard way about your...power” 

Richie wanted to deny that he would ever do that to them, but he knew Eddie was right, He was holding back that feral part of him that would Eat anyone in sight,  he wasn’t at that point in this moment, but he was close. 

“Eddie, you know what you're asking me to do right?” 

“yes, and I’m okay with that” 

Richie smiled, wrapping his arms around Eddie, embracing the man in a hug “I love you. I love you so fucking much”

Eddie hugged Richie back, holding him tightly. He would never say it, but he was scared to do this, but he kept telling himself it would be different this time.

The two men let go of each other, “we should go to my car. It’d be more private.”

Eddie just nodded, following Richie to his car, the two men getting in. Eddie sat in the passenger seat, playing with the cuff of his jacket nervously. Richie sat in the driver's seat, sighing deeply.

Richie was nervous as well, he had never had a willing participant before, and it seemed so bizarre. He always wanted someone to willingly let him do this, but never in his wildest dreams would it actually happen!

“So…” Eddie broke the silence after a few minutes, to Richie it felt like hours.”Do I uhh...do anything?”

Richie shook his head “No no, I just didn't want to jump into it Immediately” he smiled nervously, I didn’t want to scare you…. You’ve been through enough. 

“Just fucking do it Richie” Eddie crossed his arms, his tone stern, but not mad “Before I change my mind” he almost felt impatient with Richie, if the man was hungry, he should just do it. 

Richie, Shocked at how serious Eddie was being, just nodded, adjusting himself so he was turned to face Eddie completely.

“You’re gonna feel a bit dizzy, so I’m told, so… Sucks to be you” He smirked, getting a silly smug look on his face. He held out his hand, Eddie took it carefully, intertwining their fingers. Richie’s smile faded a bit “Are you ready?”

Eddies stomach dropped, realizing he was actually doing this. He was going to allow himself to be eaten by Richie. He wasn’t nervous, he was just shocked at how absurd the situation was. I’m about to be eaten by my boyfriend, and he's asking me if I’m ready? 

“Yes.” Eddie let out the breath he was holding, he wasn’t going to go back from this, even if he was given the chance, he wouldn’t “I trust you”

Richie was about to start shrinking Eddie, but paused, He trusts me. The words never hit him that hard before, but nobody had ever trusted him this much.

Richie Squeezed Eddies hands, and Eddie got a dizzy feeling hitting his head, the inside of the car slightly spinning. He watched as Richie got bigger and bigger to him. 

When Eddies head stopped spinning, he was about 4 inches tall. Eddie backed up to look at Richie, who let go of the tiny man. 

“How you doing?” Eddie jumped slightly at the Volume richie was speaking at, the man noticed, speaking a bit quieter this time “Sorry” 

The two just stared at each other for a few minutes, Eddie was waiting for Richie to pick him up, Richie waiting for Eddie to change his mind.

When Richie realized Eddie wasn’t going to say anything, he carefully put his hand down beside the shrunken man who climbed on quickly, quicker than Richie expected. 

He Lifted his hand slowly, bringing it up to his face, Eddie sat as still as possible, nervous he could fall off. 

“You know” Richie spoke, softer now that Eddie was right by his mouth “You can back out at any time--”

“I’m not going to so shut the fuck up about it” 

Richie put his other hand up in defense “Okay! Okay!” he sighed, bringing Eddie closer to his mouth, half expecting the hypochondriac to change his mind.

But Eddie wasn’t going to do that. He made up his mind and he wasn’t going back, no matter how gross it was. 

Richie’s mouth opened, and before he could bring Eddie in himself, Eddie climbed into it on his own, Richie let out a surprised yelp. 

“What the Fuck” He spoke, the words slurring around Eddie. The tiny man didn’t say anything in response. 

Richie’s thoughts were pushed back when he began tasting Eddie. It was a whole different experience than last time when the man was covered in blood and dirt. This time, he was sweet, almost like vanilla, but mixed with something that he had never tasted before. The two flavours worked beautifully together. 

It was actually pretty hard to not swallow the man immediately, he had to hold his instincts down for the time being. 

Richie rolled Eddie around in his mouth, tasting the man all around. He was getting a bit carried away, but he didn’t care, Eddie was insistent, so he was going to give the man what he wanted.

Eddie barely moved after entering the mouth, he laughed at Richies surprised noise. He was half expecting the mouth to be terrifying like before. 

But It was just a normal mouth, and the tongue was slightly soft, and actually comfortable to be on top of, he laid with his head facing outward of the mouth, and his legs near the hot, red throat. 

He gasped as Richies tongue pushed him around, rolling him underneath and overtop of it, Eddie let out a yell out of disgust, not expecting this at all. It took him a moment to realize eddie was playing with him 

“Fuck off Richie!” he yelled, pushing back on the spongy tongue, which only resulted in it pushing him back up on top of it. Richie laughed, making eddie move around in his mouth involuntarily. “Hey dickweed! Can you fucking hear me? Cut it out!”

As Richie teased Eddie in his mouth, it got harder and harder not to just swallow the tiny man up, his own mind was taunting him to do it, and he couldn’t hold on anymore. His stomach gurgled loudly and painfully, signaling that he had to swallow now. 

And without warning, Richie's head tilted back and the man Swallowed. Eddie let out a gasp as he was pulled back, his lower half pulled into Richies throat. He tried to move his legs, but the throat was too tight to even to that. He yelled out to Richie “Dude!” 

He at least expected a warning before it happened, but he wasn’t surprised Richie wanted to swallow out of the blue to freak him out. 

Richie swallowed again, this time the rest of Eddie was pulled into his throat, traveling down. He brought his hand up to the bulge in his throat as it passed down his esophagus. It just felt right. It felt so much better when someone wasn’t struggling and fighting back. He could actually breathe when swallowing. 

Swallowing…

“Shit!” Richie finally realized what he had done, he didn’t mean to swallow so soon! He didn’t even give Eddie a chance to get used to the surroundings. He hoped that Eddie’s stillness was because he was calm and not frozen in fright. 

Eddie heard Richie's heartbeat quicken instantaneously as he made his descent down. He focused on the muscles massaging him down, they pushed and relaxed on his body, it was almost rhythmic. It wasn’t as horrific as he remembered it, it was soft, and it felt so...comforting. Eddie felt so stupid for being afraid of this, it was actually nice. 

As he entered the stomach, he heard a deafening gurgle around him, almost as a welcome to him. Eddie began moving once his whole body was released by the esophagus, trying to get in a comfortable position. 

Richie put a hand on his belly, feeling Eddie moving around “Jesus Ed’s, are you okay?” He asked, his voice at a normal volume now 

“Thanks for the warning trashmouth” He pushed on the stomach wall, making Richie let out a small ‘oof’

Richie put a hand on his forehead, “Yeah… I got a bit… carried away” He turned red, laughing uncomfortably.

“I could tell” Eddie laughed “how are you doing?” 

Richie smiled “What can I say, You’re delicious”  when he swallowed eddie, the pain in his stomach was immediately gone, replaced with a feeling of being full. “I feel actually...great. I’ve never felt this good after before.”

Eddie blushed, taking richies words as a compliment “You should go back inside, they’re probably worried.” 

Richie looked at the time, ten minutes had passed, but to him, it felt like an hour, “But it feels too good!” He spoke, dragging out the o’s in the word good. “I think I’ll sleep” Richie moves around, placing his hands on the bulge in his stomach,, squishing eddie a tiny bit, nothing that would hurt the guy, but enough to annoy him.

“No, NO!” Eddie yelled, trying to push Richies hands away from him, which only resulted in being squished even more “you are NOT sleeping with me in here!” 

Richie Laughed, letting go of his stomach. The walls around Eddie vibrating and jumbling him around. “You’re cute Ed’s” He sat back up, “But yeah, I’m gonna go back inside, I know this is hard for you, but keep your mouth shut” 

“Says you trashmouth!”

Richie chuckled, getting out of his car. As he walked to the restaurant, he could feel Eddie moving around, not in a panic, but it almost seemed like he was exploring. It brought a smile to his face. He had always saw himself as a monster, and his ability as a curse, but having someone willing, and not scared to be in there, made him feel… like he was a protector.  He always wanted to keep eddie safe, and now he could. 

Eddie stayed quiet as he felt Richie walking. He started moving around slowly, trying to see anything in the darkness that surrounded him. He crawled, pushing at Richies stomach walls, feeling the wet, squishy walls. 

It was extremely fascinating, he was probably the only person to be able to explore a stomach while it was still in process. 

Well, not the only person, Richie had eaten people before. He felt his face flush as he thought about it. Am I jealous? Why the fuck am I jealous of this?! Eddie sighed, it was probably because Richie was his boyfriend, and his boyfriend eating other people besides him doesn’t sound that great. 

Maybe I should ask that he could only eat me from now on, besides stuff like emergencies.

He entered the building, waving to the Waitress, who took him back to the table. The rest of the losers were still chatting, being loud and eating. 

“Holy shit finally!” Beverly spoke “I don’t even take that long to have a smoke” She laughed, “What were you two doing?” 

“Did you get L-Lost?” Bill jokingly asked. 

Richie shrugged, sitting back down at his seat, “Well I have to give my boyfriend a decent goodbye right?” 

Eddie froze at Richies words, before pushing on his stomach wall “What the fuck!” he wispered to himself, he didn’t expect Richie to say that, he expected after a few months Eddie would tell them, but no. he just blerted it out right then and there. 

He wasn’t mad richie told them, far from it, he was proud of the man for coming out now, for taking a stand and being true to himself.

The losers chuckled at Richies words, but Richie didn’t laugh, he just smiled slightly. Beverly’s eyes went wide, followed by the other losers.

“You’re not Joking?” Ben asked, Richie shook his head. Beverly looked like she was about to happy cry, Bill and Mike were just smiling like idiots. 

“It's not a big deal, come on guys.” Richie laughed awkwardly, “You guys didn’t cream yourselves when Ben and Beverly got together” 

Beverly stood up, and made a Beeline to Richie, giving him a huge hug, “I’m so happy for you both.”

Eddie Smiled, feeling Beverly hugging Richie, it was almost like she was hugging him too. He pressed a hand against Richies stomach wall, giving it a pat. 

“Why didn’t you say anything when Eddie was here?” Mike asked

“I don’t know, It didn’t come up”  Richie smirked, Beverly let go of him, going back to her seat. 

The losers quickly dropped the subject, moving on to other topics, other things to make fun of in Richies case, and Eddie listened in on all of it.  It was almost like he was there with them, when a question was asked he pretended to answer it. 

The best part is when he could hear Richies heartbeat quickens when he was embarrassed or energetic, and his voice all around him. Sure he would have to cover his ears when the man got too loud, but that didn’t bother him.

He felt so...safe. Even with the noises the stomach made every once in a while were more calming than scary. Before there was this fear in him, that one wrong move would turn him into human soup but now...they gave him a comforting feeling. 

It almost made him laugh out loud, how could a stomach be so calming. He wouldn’t be okay if it was anyone else's. Even if it was safe.  Maybe it was just Richie, being as close as possible to the man he loves. He lied against the stomach wall, massaging the organ as he did. 

The movement made Richie jolt, surprised at the feeling, it sent a chill up his spine, but in a good way. Discreetly, he brought his hand down to his stomach, massaging Eddie back. Who seemed to respond well, since he didn’t move away. 

“Alright” Mike spoke, bringing Richie out of his head, looking up at the man “I think it's late enough, I’m going back to the library to pack for Florida” 

“Woah Already?” Richie asked, it never occurred to him that they were gonna go back to their lives, he didn’t even think of what him and eddie were going to do, they lived in different states!

“Time waits for no man” Mike smiled, grabbing his things “we can all meet up for breakfast tomorrow, but after that, I’m on my flight” Richie nodded. 

“I know the best place to go” Ben smiled, looking at Beverly. 

The losers made plans for tomorrow, then said their goodbyes. Ben and Beverly going off on their own, Mike leaving with Bill, and Richie was left alone.

Well, not completely alone. 

 He walked back to his car, Patting his stomach with a cheeky grin on his face.“You awake in there Eddie Spaghetti” 

It was a moment or two of silence, then Eddie spoke with a sour tone “Never fucking call me that again”  Richie laughed, getting into his car. He didn't start the ignition right away, he just laid there with one hand on his belly. 

“What, you don’t like being compared to food?” Richie continued to tease “You basically are--”

Richies words were cut off with a kick to his spleen, Making him yelp out in pain, it wasn’t that bad, but it wasn’t anywhere close to a love tap. 

“That was a warning.” Eddie spoke, Sounding childlike “do it again and I’ll kick you in the liver, trashmouth” 

Richie Laughed, he knew Eddie was bluffing, Eddie wouldn’t do any more damage without feeling bad. 

“Aw man, My livers gone through enough over the years”

As Richie drove home, the two bickered playfully, hurling backhand compliments and downright calling each other crude names, Richie probably looked crazy to everyone else on the highway, yelling and laughing to himself in all, but he really didn;t care. 

When Richie parked, he froze, a thought popping into his head, one he should have thought of before. “How are you gonna get to your room” 

“What?” Eddie crossed his arms at the strange question “What do you mean?” 

“How are we getting you to your room.” 

“You're gonna let me out dumbass” Eddie pushed on the wall, thinking Richie was messing with him. 

“Yeah ed’s, Just walk in covered in my saliva. Good idea” Richie hit his forehead, why hadn't the thought crossed his mind. 

The relization finally hit the tiny man, “fuck” he wasn’t thinking of that either  “Maybe just get me out in the bathroom? No, they wouldn’t see me enter… that would make them curious of where I came from… maybe you could distract them and I can sneak in quickly?” 

“Bold of you to assume you can enter a building quietly, you take 5 minutes to untie your shoes man. And if they didn’t turn around then, they would when the Stairs creaked, that place is like a hundred years old!” 

“Okay then what do we do?! I can’t walk into the house covered in slime, they’d think that...that there's another monster in Derry, I can’t let them stress like that.” 

Richie’s head lit up with an idea. “Eds say still.” 

“What?!”

“I’m getting you out, stay. Still.”

Eddie was quick to stop moving, letting Richie cough him up, as he was squished through the esophagus once more, he wondered what the man's plan was, and if it would even work. 

Richie cringed as Eddie entered his mouth once again, taking a deep breath and taking the man out of his mouth with two fingers. Eddie wiped the saliva off of his face, looking up at Richie with a skeptical look on his face, then shivered at the change in heat. 

“Okay” Richie whispered, his breath warming up Eddie in the process “I’m gonna bring you back to normal size, and you’re gonna play drunk, like whatever meeting you were at got you fucking wasted” 

“Okay what does that have to do with me covered in--” 

“As I was driving home I went by the barrens and saw you in the river, you were trying to walk home by yourself and fell in” 

“Wow, make me look like a total idiot” He crosses his arms, not liking the plan, but it would have to work. He didn’t have a better plan after all, begrudgingly, he agreed “fine.”

Richie placed Eddie onto the passenger seat, keeping a hand on him. Eddie felt a wave of dizziness came over him, and his eyes pulling shut, his brain felt immense pressure as he grew back to normal size. 

As soon as he was done, Richie hopped out of the car and moved to the other side door, opening it for Eddie

“We have to use your state as an advantage”

“What staTE!?”

 Eddie spoke as he got out of the car… or at least tried to. His legs had gotten used to the squishy, ‘ground’ of Richies stomach, he couldn’t walk right. As he slipped, Richie caught him, helping the man stand up normally by puting Eddies arm over his shoulder.

As richie slowly brought eddie to the door, he quietly spoke “Action” 

The doors to the town house opened, and just as Richie suspected, the Losers were in the main room, drinking and talking loudly, though they paused at Eddies state. 

His legs shaking, hair sticking out in random places, he was soaked. His eyes were semi-closed due to the amount of light hitting his face, which helped with his facade. 

“Holy shit” Ben broke the silence, “what happened to you?!” 

“Oh hey Ben” Eddie spoke, faking a slur in his words, making ben look to richie for answers with a confused and worried look. 

“I found him in the barrens, drunk off his ass”  richie shrugged with a half smile on his face, he hoped it looked normal and not what it really was, him trying not to laugh

“What the hell was he doing there?” Bill chimed in “did you see anything Eddie?”

Eddie panicked at the question, how was he supposed to answer that? Bill was alluding to IT being back, and Eddie didn’t want to falsely worry the losers. 

“I was TRYING to get home!” Eddie spoke louder, right in richies ear. He pulled Eddie to the staircase, helping him up them slowly 

“Okay well I’m gonna get him into bed.”  the losers just shared looks, nodding and saying goodnight.

When the losers voices slowly died down as they went upstairs, Eddies walking became more normal, and he didn’t need Richie to hold him like a ragdoll. The two started laughing at each other quietly. 

“I can’t believe your stupid plan worked” Eddie whispered, opening the door to the bathroom, he couldn’t wait to get cleaned up and be slime-less again. Richie let go of Eddie, letting the man go and take a shower, which Eddie did, closing the door quickly and the shower turning on a second later. 

Richie just went to his room, Laying down on the bed, placing a hand on his stomach, he wasn’t even hungry anymore, but he still wanted Eddie in there. Was this going to be their new normal? Or was this just a one time thing? 

His questions flew in his mind going a mile a minute, and he didn’t even realize when Eddie came to Riches room, In sweatpants and a loose t-shirt. 

“Richie” Eddie spoke, but the other man seemed to be lost in his thoughts “Richie!” 

Richie jumped out of his thoughts, turning to Eddie with a smile “Oh...hey” Eddie crossed his arms, walking over to Richie.

“So… tonight” Richie sat up, holding himself up with his arms, laying back.

“Richie I’m tired can you make fun of me tomorr-”

“Thank you.” Eddie paused at richies tone, the last thing the man expected was richie thanking him “I probably would’ve gone crazy without you. And you don’t need to do it again if you don’t want to.” 

“Who said I don’t want to?” Eddie blurted out, turning a bit red. “I mean, it's not terrible, and I want to be there for you.” Eddie slightly pushed richie, crossing his legs as he sat down on the bed next to richie “And If you wanted to do it again, I’d be fine with that.” 

“Really?” 

“Well, yeah. It's not bad,” Eddie laughed as he said this, knowing it was absurd to say being eaten was not bad, implying that it was good “ sure it's a little gross when you let me out, but I can deal with it, I’ve been covered in worse” 

Richie nodded, but didn’t speak, truth be told he had no idea what to say. thanks? No thats dumb. Cool? That's too casual. 

Kiss? Yeah fuck it.

He gave Eddie a small kiss, the man returning it instantaneously , the chill of Eddie's soft lips sending a shiver down his spine. Eddie’s stange vanilla taste  combination was back, and it made Richie's heart flutter 

“Y’know, you taste really good”  Richie pulled away licking his lips, still really close to Eddies face. Eddie gave him a look of confusion, but also curiosity.

“Does… everyone have a taste?” 

“When they’re not covered in dirt or sweat yeah.” then Eddie asked what other people taste like “Mostly just dirt and sweat, I never really got anyone willing, so they were either running away and getting dirty, or sweating out of fear.” 

As he spoke, his voice went down, sounding a bit guilty “I didn’t like scaring people, but i knew the consequences if I didn’t do anything. At least you’re weren’t scared” he let out an exasperated laugh.

Eddie just nodded, grabbing hold of Richies hand, “so...What did I taste like?”